Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo
"So, how was it?" Sumire asked as soon as Tatsuo and Tio returned to her office. "Did you enjoy your trip around the company?"
"Yeah, it wasn't bad." Tatsuo replied as he took a seat on the same couch he was sitting on earlier. "Got to hear that Miyazono-San play, too. Even got to play with her for a little while. And like you said, she's not one for following the sheet music."
Luckily, Mai was not in the office at the moment. Otherwise, the sound of her gritting her teeth would have been audible after Tatsuo mentioned spending time with another woman. Sumire, on the other hand, was smiling widely when she heard that.
"And it sounds like you enjoyed yourself." Sumire said happily.
"Yeah, playing like that to keep up with someone who kinda goes off on their own is something new." Tatsuo replied. "Feels like I might have improved a little, too."
"Really?" Sumire asked enthusiastically. "You'll have to play something for Mommy when we get home, then."
"Sure." Tatsuo replied. "It actually feels like this was the first time in a while that I played."
'Actually, now that I think about it, I didn't play at all in Sakura's and Zelretch's world.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'Yeah, I'm definitely not okay with that. I'll have to bring my [Spatial Ring] everywhere I go from now on. I still have the piano I made in Tio's world in there, after all.'
"Oh, and you shouldn't be surprised if Miyazono-San askes---" Tatsuo began to say.
*Ring!*
Yet, before he could finish his sentence, the phone on Sumire's desk rang.
"Yes." Sumire said after putting the phone's receiver to her ear. "I see... Well, after what Tatsu-Chan just told me, I expected as much... Sure, I approve it... Yes, Tatsu-Chan will be here... Good."
Reaching that point, Sumire hung up the phone with a smile.
"So, what were you saying?" Sumire asked as she turned her gaze to Tatsuo.
Tio giggled when she heard that while Tatsuo could not help but sigh.
"I'm fairly certain that you just heard what I was about to say." Tatsuo said while pointing at the phone on Sumire's desk. "I didn't expect her to move so quickly, though."
"I see." Sumire said with a smile that made it look like everything was going according to her plan. "Well, it looks like you're not gonna have as much free time as you expected during your Spring Break. You'll have to come here every day until Kaori-Chan's concert, which is next Friday at Santory Hall. The show starts at eight o'clock."
"Might I suggest a shopping trip, as well?" Tio asked in her manager tone. "Tatsuo-Sama will need a tuxedo for the event, will he not?"
'Oh shit...' Tatsuo groaned internally. 'That means they're gonna play dress up with me, aren't they?'
"Ah! That's a fantastic idea, Tio-Chan." Sumire said while excitedly clapping her hands. "Now that I think about it, we need to get a gown for Kaori-Chan, too. So, we might as well have her come along with us, too."
"That's an excellent idea, Sumire-Sama." Tio replied with a smile. "Choosing their outfits together would ensure that they match, as well."
"Exactly!" Sumire cheered happily. "Great minds truly think alike."
"Someone, kill me now." Tatsuo said as he hid his face in his hands, causing both Sumire and Tio to giggle at his reaction.
*Click!*
"I'm back, Sumire-Sama." Mai, after opening the door to Sumire's office, said with a smile. "I have good news about the advertisements for Tatsu-Kun's new album. We just need the PR department to write something and the advertising agency we have a contract with will get the information out to as many people as they can."
"Good. I'll take care of writing that myself." Sumire said, sounding even more energetic. "The distributers gave us good news, too. Tatsu-Chan's album will be in stores all over the country by Golden Week. So, all we need to do is set up another live performance before then. Then, we'll have to find a radio station who wants to interview him. Oh, we'll have to pick a release date for his single, too."
Sumire, Mai, and Tio were clearly much more excited about the beginning of Tatsuo's career than he was. So, while the three chattered, the only thing he could do was lament the fact that he could not pass the time chatting with the other members of the [Dimensional Chat].
"Oh, that's right!" Sumire said, temporarily interrupting the trio's conversation about Tatsuo's music career. "Mai-Chan, make room in my schedule this week. We need to go shopping! Tatsu-Chan needs a tuxedo!"
Immediately upon hearing that, Mai's eyes lit up like signal lights. Then, she turned to smile at Tatsuo.
"Don't worry, Sumire-Sama." Mai said, never taking her eyes off of Tatsuo. "I'll make sure that we have an entire afternoon free for this. I'll even do research on the best brands for tuxedos and where they can be found. I'll have a list of at least fifteen stores and their locations ready for you by the end of the day."
Hearing that, Sumire and Tio were please. Tatsuo, on the other hand, started dripping cold sweat from his forehead and back profusely.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot." Mai said, finally looking away from Tatsuo. "But what's the occasion?"
"Oh, right." Sumire said, realizing that Mai was not in the room when the news about Tatsuo playing accompaniment for Kaori was made official. "Tatsu-Chan will be the piano accompaniment for Kaori-Chan's show next Saturday. So, you should include stores that also have elegant eveningwear for ladies, as well."
Mai's expression dropped almost immediately when she heard that. Even so, she did not throw a tantrum, which surprised both Tatsuo and Tio. Instead, she simply nodded her head in acknowledgement. Though, after a few seconds, a gentle smile did spread on her face.
As previously mentioned, Mai was the one who recruited Kaori into Kurashikku Ensō. And during that time, she actually came to like the energetic, independent, free-spirited young lady. So, although she did not like the thought of Kaori spending so much time with her Tatsu-Kun, she was happy for her. Happy that her first concert would go well, if for no other reason than because Tatsuo was her accompanist.
'But I'll have to be careful with her.' Mai thought to herself. 'Tatsu-Kun is so handsome and outstanding. There's no way that girl won't fall for him. And if he ends up taking a liking to her, too, then he'll want to heal her. And if she ever finds out that it was him who did it, she'll definitely fall in love. Ahh~~~~~! What should I do?'
Seeing the minute changes in Mai's expression after she quieted down, Tatsuo, Sumire, and Tio each thought they had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking. Then, after exchanging glances, they all decided to simply let it stew. There was a chance, no matter how small, that Mai's obsession with Tatsuo might be lowered to a manageable level by the time everything was all said and done.
Though, none of them held much hope for such a positive outcome.
"Anyway, is there anything else you need to do here today, Mom?" Tatsuo asked. "Because like I said, I'm more interested in seeing where our new house will be than the record company."
"No, I don't think so." Sumire replied while turning to look at Mai.
"Other than a few documents that need your signature, there's nothing else left on the schedule, Sumire-Sama." Mai said, replying to Sumire's silent question.
"Great." Sumire replied energetically. "Then, why don't we have something to eat. After that, we can head to the lot I was looking at. How does that sound?"
"I'm okay with that.' Tatsuo replied with a shrug.
Neither Mai nor Tio had an issue with that plan either. So, after Mai brought Sumire the documents and Sumire signed them, the four left Kurashikku Ensō in the BMW.
After leaving the company, Mai, already knowing which restaurant Sumire wanted to go to, drove towards Shinjuku. Then, shortly after crossing from Marunouchi into Shinjuku, she found a parking garage in a poorer part of the district and parked the car before the four made their way towards a multi-business building and headed down to the first basement-floor.
"You know, I wasn't expecting to come to an area... like this." Tatsuo muttered while looking around after stepping out of the stairwell.
"I know, I know." Sumire said cheerfully. "But trust me, this place is really good. An old friend's grandson runs the place. And trust me, when you see it, you'll understand exactly why I wanted to bring you here."
Less than a second after Sumire finished speaking, Tatsuo's head snapped in the direction of a wooden door with a golden nameplate in the shape of a cat hanging from it.
"Yup, I knew you would notice it." Sumire said with a smile. "This is Western Restaurant Nekoya. My friend, Yomi-San's grandson became the owner after her husband passed away."
"Why are there spatial fluctuations coming from the door?" Tatsuo asked with his eyes narrowed while storing the information about the owner away for later, in case he ever needed it. "Does it lead somewhere different?"
"Only on Saturdays." Sumire replied. "Well, that's a bit inaccurate. From this side, it doesn't lead anywhere special. Just the inside of the restaurant. But on Saturdays, it connects to another world. And believe me, if you come here on Saturdays, you'll meet a bunch of really colorful characters."
"Huh? Only on Saturdays?" Tatsuo asked in a confused tone.
Not only Tatsuo was confused, but both Tio and Mai, who had been to this restaurant with Sumire before, were confused, as well. But that made sense, neither of them could feel the spatial fluctuations like Tatsuo and Sumire could. Though, their confusion quickly gave way to curiosity about the "colorful characters" Sumire mentioned.
"Anyway, let's go inside." Sumire said while urging the other three forward. "The Master of this restaurant is one of the best chefs in Japan."
"Oh, did he go to Totsuki?" Tatsuo asked, hoping that he might be able to improve his cooking skill if he was able to see this Master work.
"You know, I'm not sure." Sumire replied in an uncertain tone. "I never thought to ask."
And with that, the group of four pushed open the door to the restaurant
Hub World, Earth, United States of America, New York, New York City.
On the island of Manhattan, three tall towers, nearly as tall as the World Trade Center stood. Connecting these three skyscrapers a little more than halfway up was a walkway. And across this walkway, the word, DOATEC, was written in bright gold letters.
In an office on one of the research floors of the center tower, two people were meeting to discuss the progress of some of DOATEC's most recent, under-the-table, ventures.
"Is there any news about the recapture of Subject 47?" A masked man with slicked-back blond hair wearing a white pinstripe suit asked from behind the desk in the office. "I put Christie on this. So, I'm sure there should be good news."
This man, Victor Donavan, was the shadow leader of DOATEC. Although the company is run by Helena Douglas, the illegitimate daughter of the former owner of DOATEC, Fame Douglas, who was assassinated at the end of the first Dead or Alive Tournament, ever since the death of the former owner, Helena has had little say in the company's operations.
"Christie has not been heard from in months." A tall, brown-skinned woman, standing at 5'9" tall with dark brown eyes, short dark brown hair styled in a bob-cut, and a voluptuous figure wearing a black blouse, black pants, a pair of black high heels, a lab coat, and a pair of black-framed reading glasses replied while reading from a tablet. "It's possible that she failed her mission and has either been captured or worse."
"That could be a problem." Victor said as he looked up from the document he was reading. "Christie was only a hired assassin. But she does know the location of quite a few of our hidden bases."
"I don't think you need to worry about that." The woman replied, also looking up from her tablet. "Christie has been trained to resist torture, by that monster of a woman, no less. So, I doubt we have to worry about her spilling any of DOATEC's, or your, secrets."
"Even so." Victor replied as he turned away from his desk and looked up at the television mounted on the wall of his office. "Lisa, dispatch the Alphas to Japan to make sure that she is dead. I don't want to take any chances."
Lisa, or Lisa Hamilton, the head scientist for the cloning experiments carried out on Tatsuo and Kasumi, widened her eyes when she heard that.
The Alphas were the successful clones made using Kasumi's DNA. And they were all nearly as skilled in terms of stealth, assassination, and martial arts as Kasumi herself. Though, they are notably less flexible when completing tasks. But that was also by design. No one wanted a bunch of completely self-aware clones with that kind of skill running around, after all.
"Understood." Lisa replied after schooling her expression. "I'll inform Miyako of this immediately. I'm sure having support from the head of the Japan Branch will be welcomed. And who will be assigned to lead them in this mission?"
Victor did not answer that question immediately. Instead, he continued to watch the television which was currently playing an ad for a young violinist who would be playing at Santory Hall in Tokyo.
"Activate Rig." Victor said once the advertisement finished playing. "Oh, and have him make a mess at the Santory Hall on Saturday night. That concert has her name written all over it. And I think she should pay for her betrayal, don't you?"
For the second time, Lisa widened her eyes in surprise. Yet, by the time Victor turned around to look at her, she had corrected her expression.
"Understood." Lisa replied while adjusting her reading glasses. "I'll relay your orders immediately."
Then, after an affirming nod from Victor, Lisa turned and left the office, her high heels clicking against the floor as she walked.
'I think he's starting to lose his cool.' Lisa thought to herself as she walked through the halls of the DOATEC research and development section towards her own office. 'It seems losing two test subjects is affecting him more than he would like anyone to believe. Otherwise, there is no reason to poke that monster. Either way, I'm sure Helena would like to know about this. And I'm certain she'll have some use for this information.'