Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
{[Dimensional Chat]
James: Hey, is Tatsuo back yet?
Tatsuo (Admin): Just got back
Tatsuo (Admin): What's up?
James: Got a favor to ask
Tatsuo (Admin): Need to borrow Coins?
James: Nah
James: That's not it
James: I wanna come to your world
James: Actually, my grandma and Venelana wanna come
Tatsuo (Admin): You told them about the concert, huh?
James: Basically
James: So, can we come?
James: We'd need a place to stay, too
Tatsuo (Admin): I don't see why not
Tatsuo (Admin): I'll just need to talk to my mom
Tatsuo (Admin): She should be home tomorrow night
Tatsuo (Admin): I'll let you know after I talk to her
James: Cool
James: Keep me posted
Violet: Oh, it's okay if we come to see the concert, too?
Violet: If possible, I'd like to come, as well
Aletia: Me, too
Violet: If possible, I'd like to bring Shea-San, as well
Violet: She really misses you
Sakura: I would like to come, as well
Sakura: I've never heard you play before
Zelretch: Oh, that sounds fun
Zelretch: I enjoy music of that sort, after all
Zelretch: I would like to attend, also
Tatsuo (Admin): That spiraled quickly
Tatsuo (Admin): Does anyone else wanna come?
Tatsuo (Admin): Let me know so I can ask my mom all at once
Alfonzo: A day away doesn't sound bad
Lici: If Fonzie's going, I'll go, too
Lici: I'll have to work over time to make our outfits, though}
"Oh, hell yeah." Tatsuo shouted as if he just won the lottery.
Having just taken a shower, Tatsuo was only wearing a pair of shorts with is hair down and a towel hanging from around his neck, having only returned from the [Training Space] about half an hour ago.
While in the shower, he decided to check the [Dimensional Chat]. At first, he was going to tell everyone who didn't go to the [Training Space] with him about the experience. Just as he logged in, he saw James' first message, leading to this very moment.
However, after reading the last message from Elicia, Tatsuo's eyes lit up. With that message, he felt that he had been saved from something dreadful.
A shopping trip with is mother, Mai, Kasumi, Tio, and Ayane.
With Elicia's talent as a seamstress, there would be no reason to go shopping. And with the number of coins he had collected over the years, he would not even have a problem making it worth her while.
{[Dimensional Chat]
Tatsuo (Admin): Actually, can you make a tuxedo for me, too, Lici?
Tatsuo (Admin): I'll even pay you in Coins for it
Lici: Really?
Lici: Sure, I don't mind
Lici: What's the deadline, again?
Tatsuo (Admin): The concert is Friday Night
Tatsuo (Admin): It's Monday night here
Tatsuo (Admin): So, you'll have about three and a half days
Lici: No problem
James: Damn…
James: The Kid is gonna look pretty fly
Lici: Of course
Lici: I'll make sure of that
Alfonzo: Yeah, Lici's the best at what she does
James: Is she Wolverine now?
Tatsuo (Admin): Is she your world's version of Wolverine or something?
Lici: Lol
Alfonzo: I walked into that one
Violet: Wolverine?
Sakura: No idea
Akatsuki: An American comic superhero
Zelretch: Thank you for the clarification
James: Man, I'm glad Shuna made that Protean Gear last year
James: Otherwise, I would have to go shopping, too
James: I'm still traumatized from that time I went shopping with Mom and Sona in Lilith back when I was 11
Tatsuo (Admin): As much as I wanna hear that story, I gotta go
Tatsuo (Admin): I gotta get up early for practice tomorrow
Tatsuo (Admin): But just to make sure, everyone wants to come to the concert except Akatsuki-Chan, right?
Akatsuki: Don't call me Akatsuki-Chan
Akatsuki: I'm older than you
Akatsuki: But it's not that I don't' wanna go
Akatsuki: Rather, I can't leave right now
Tatsuo (Admin): Got it, Akatsuki-Chan
Tatsuo (Admin): I'll ask Mom when she gets back tomorrow}
After that, Tatsuo closed the [Dimensional chat]. However, not even a minute later, he heard his smartphone vibrating from the charger on his bed. When he picked it up, he saw that Chiho had sent him a message.
Sasaki Chiho: Maou-San and I will be at the concert
Sasaki Chiho: We'll go shopping for formalwear tomorrow after work
Soramoto Tatsuo: Oh, looks like you'll be going on a date
Soramoto Tatsuo: have fun, you crazy kids
Soramoto Tatsuo: Oh, and I better not catch you holding hands before marriage
Sasaki Chiho: It's not a date!
Sasaki Chiho: Though I could see why you think it was
Sasaki Chiho: Shut up, Tatsu-Chan
Soramoto Tatsuo: You sent that second message by accident, didn't you, Chi-Chan?
Sasaki Chiho: Huh?
Sasaki Chiho: No!
===Message from Sasaki Chiho, "Though I could see why you think it was" has been deleted===
Sasaki Chiho: I don't know what you're talking about
Soramoto Tatsuo: The message is in the delete notification
Sasaki Chiho: I don't know what you're talking about
Sasaki Chiho: Anyway, I'm going to bed
Sasaki Chiho: I have to work early tomorrow
Sasaki Chiho: Good night
Soramoto Tatsuo: Lol
Soramoto Tatsuo: Good night
Putting his smartphone down, Tatsuo did a bit of mental math.
"So, that's twelve from the [Chat]." Tatsuo muttered to himself. "Five for Yakumo-Chan, and two more with Chi-Chan and Maou-San. So, that's a total of nineteen VIP seats. I wonder if Mom will even have enough."
Yet, since there was nothing he could do about that for now, Tatsuo decided to think about it later. He then laid his head onto his pillow to go to sleep like he told the [Chat]. However, not even thirty seconds after his head hit the pillow, he shot back up, realizing there was something he had not even thought about until now.
"Fuck…" Tatsuo muttered to himself. "They're all gonna meet Violet at the concert. Damn it… Aletia and Shea will be fine, since they live with her. But I don't know what Yakumo-Chan is gonna think when she finally meets my girlfriend. Lilith might be fine, though… *Sigh* I should talk to Yakumo-Chan beforehand. If I do, maybe things won't be so bad."
After realizing the position he had put himself in, Tatsuo found it hard to fall asleep. Even so, he did eventually get to seep. Though, he only got to sleep for about four hours before his alarm went off and he had to start getting ready for the day. Because thanks to Kaori's schedule, the practice began at nine in the morning rather than close to noon.
However, if Tatsuo had stared considering how Mai might react when so many women showed up, he probably would not have gotten any sleep at all. And because he knew that, he consciously pushed her out of his mind for the night.
Waking up at about seven in the morning, Tatsuo quickly went through his morning ritual before leaving his room and starting to cook breakfast for Mai, Kasumi, and Tio. Then, after dealing with Mai's over the top displays of affection while eating breakfast, the quartet started getting ready for the day.
While Mai and Kasumi left to continue surveillance and eliminating the threats from DOATEC, Tatsuo and Tio headed to Kurashikku Ensō so that Tatsuo could practice with Kaori for a few hours.
Like the previous day, the practice session lasted until Tatsuo's [Energy] could no longer suppress Kaori's disease. Then, they left the company and headed their own way for lunch and to do their own things for the rest of the day.
"Hey, Tio, let's go to the Sumiredori Shopping District for lunch." Tatsuo said from the passenger seat of the car as Tio drove.
"Okay, Tatsuo-Sama." Tio replied with a smile as she started putting the destination in the car's GPS. "Is there a particular restaurant you were looking forward to?"
"Yeah, it's a little eatery called Yukihira's." Tatsuo replied. "I haven't been there in a while. But the chef there is even better than I am."
"Really?" Tio asked in surprise. "Well then, I shall look forward to it."
"Yeah, you should." Tatsuo replied with a smile.
It did not take long for the two to arrive at the Sumiredori Shopping District. After parking the car, they started walking towards Yukihira's. However, when they arrived, they could only stand outside of the store while looking up at a sign.
"Closed…" Tatsuo muttered while reading the sign.
"It would seem so." Tio replied calmly. "Do you think it went out of business?"
"I doubt it." Tatsuo replied while shaking his head. "More than likely, it's closed for another reason. And I bet it's temporary. I just don't know when it will be open next."
"Quite a shame." Tio replied. "You really got my hopes up."
'Yeah, my hopes were up, too.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'Jōichirō-San is one of the few people I can watch to get my [Cooking Skill] up to another level.'
"Oh well, I guess this was a wasted trip." Tatsuo muttered as he shook his head. He then turned around and started walking back towards the car. "I'll just cook lunch for us when we get back."
Hearing that, Tio smiled brightly as she turned and followed Tatsuo back to the car.
"Even if what you say about the chef's cooking at that restaurant is true, I prefer your cooking, Tatsuo-Sama." Tio said happily as she smiled at Tatsuo.
"You can say that now because you've never tasted Jōichirō-San's cooking." Tatsuo said with a smile of his own. "But if you ever get to eat his food, you might change your tune, real quick."
"I doubt that." Tio replied. "From your cooking, I can taste just how much you care about all of us. It's similar to Sumire-Sama's cooking. But no matter how good that Jōichirō-San's cooking is, there's no way he could be able to put that feeling for us into his food."
Roling his eyes in response, Tatsuo turned his head back to looking forward. However, when Tio saw him fighting to keep the corners of his lips from twitching up into an even wider smile, her smile widened in return.
The two then reached the car and headed back to the apartment building in Sasazuka. Along the way, Tatsuo could not help thinking about what he saw in the Sumiredori Shopping District.
'If Yukihira's is closed, then that means that the canon events for Food Wars have started.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'And if that's the case, I probably won't see Soma or the others any time soon. Well, unless I get hired to play at the Totsuki Resort, or something. Ha! Yeah right. As if there are coincidences like that in the world.'
After having that thought, Tatsuo laid his head on the passenger side window and looked out at the streets of Tokyo as Tio drove.
'I just raised a flag, didn't I?' Tatsuo wondered.
Not long later, Tio pulled the car into the apartment's garage and the two stepped into the elevator. However, they were both surprised when the elevator stopped at the lobby. They were even more surprised when they saw who was waiting for it.
"Yusa-San? Hello." Tatsuo said with a smile when he saw the fuchsia-haired young woman standing outside of the elevator.
"Soramoto-Kun? Klarus-San?" Emi asked in surprise as she stepped into the elevator. "I wasn't expecting to see you at this time of day."
"Neither were we." Tatsuo replied. "Got off work early?"
"No." Emi replied. "I was supposed to go out with a friend after work today. But I forgot to bring a change of clothes. So, I came back to get them. I can eat a little something while I'm here, too."
"Oh, that makes sense." Tatsuo replied. "Well, I just got back from practicing for a concert. I'll be piano accompaniment for someone on Friday night."
Hearing that, Emi could not help but look at Tatsuo with surprise. Although she's known him for almost half a year, she did not really know anything about him. And hearing that he was good enough to play the piano at a concert was definitely a surprise.
"You must be good, then." Emi said after getting her shock under control.
"Yeah, I'm pretty good." Tatsuo replied confidently.
"He's actually just being modest when he says, 'pretty good.'" Tio said, injecting herself into the conversation for the first time. "According to his mother, the owner of Kurashikku Ensō, he's at the top of all the world-class pianists."
That statement dumbfounded Emi even more. Though she wanted to just say that Tatsuo's mother was only bragging about her talented son, in the time she has spent in this world, she has heard of Kurashikku Ensō. And if Sumire really was the owner, then her words are a lot more believable.
"If that's the case, I would love to hear you play sometime." Emi said with a smile. "I probably don't have the money to go to one of your concerts, though."
"Don't worry about that." Tatsuo replied while rolling his eyes at Tio, who only smiled sweetly in return. "Any time you wanna hear me play, just give me a call and if I have time, you can come by to listen. Besides, Mom seems to like you, so I'm sure she won't mind a visit."
"Oh… Okay." Emi replied, not really knowing what to say. A moment later, she remembered something integral to that plan and pulled out her smartphone. "Actually, I don't think I have your number."
"Oh, now that you mention it." Tatsuo replied while pulling out his own smartphone.
Like that, the two exchanged numbers. Meanwhile, Tio finally pressed the button to Emi's floor, since both Tatsuo and Emi had forgotten while they were having their conversation.
Not long later, the elevator arrived at Emi's floor, and she rushed out to grab her change of clothes, throwing a quick goodbye over her shoulder as she ran towards her apartment. Not long after that, Tatsuo and Tio arrived at the penthouse and Tatsuo immediately headed into the kitchen to start cooking while Tio watched daytime dramas in the living room.
'I don't' know what to do for the rest of the afternoon.' Tatsuo thought to himself while coating pieces of chicken with flour and breadcrumbs. 'I planned on trying out the [Challenge Tower] today. But that stops time during the attempt. So, I'll still have a lot of time left until Mom and Ayane-Nee get home. Hmm… Maybe I should talk to the girls about these feelings. Ugh… I don't even want a damn harem. But I don't wanna let any of them go, either. I'm so damn selfish.'
Unfortunately, Tatsuo's greed and unwillingness to lose anything he treasured came standard when you have dragon blood. So, there was nothing he could do about it. Instead of thinking about it too hard, Tatsuo put all his focus back on cooking lunch for now. The rest could wait until his belly was full.