Chapter 104 - Brag

The first day of the International Business and Economy Conference opened and ended abuzz with excitement. Of course, the presence of the Koutaishidenka of the Homura House was the center of it. However, the thing that garnered the most noise was the fact that at the end of the conference, during dinner, Homura Ryuu sat next to Suzuki Aki, and they seemed to have a close relationship. So now, everybody in the business world was gossiping about the two of them, trying to figure out their connection.

The two people involved in the news, however, didn't care about what was being talked about. Each of them had their own agendas to busy themselves with to bother with rumors. Everyone except Suzuki Daizo who had been warned went home without their curiosity being satisfied.

Marriage.

Homura Ryuu felt at ease knowing that he had secured Aki's blessings on registering his marriage with Ara ahead of time. The older Suzuki agreed to sign his consent as Ara's guardian so they could go to the Marriage Bureau and register without a hiccup. Homura House's lawyers had already followed Aki the same day to secure the required documents.

As for informing Ara…

Or better yet, as for making Ara agree with his plan, Homura Ryuu still had no idea how to go about it. He reckoned, he would wait until tomorrow when he picked her up from the train station to see how to do it. Or maybe he should ask Gin-nii since Kazehaya was at the Cedar Palace right now.

He was in the car, thinking about his plans when his phone suddenly rang, and his face softened when he saw the caller ID. "What is it my pretty darling princess?" he drawled.

"Darling," Ara drawled back, but her voice was obviously laced with suppressed irritation.

A huge grin plastered on Ryuu's face. He remembered that by now, his little wife and her group had already finished their itinerary for the day.

"Why didn't you tell me you're from Hakone?" she finally asked the expected question.

Before they went back to the ryokan, Ryuu had arranged for Ara's group to visit the original Homura House in Hakone as their tour finale. It was only thirty minutes away from where they were staying.

"Because I'm not from Hakone. I'm an Edokko," Ryuu answered smoothly.

An Edokko was a term used to refer to people who were born and raised in Edo/Tokyo to a family lineage spanning back three or four generations in Japan's capital. Otherwise, if the person was only born and raised in Tokyo but his parents were not from there, they were referred to as Madara.

Homura Ryuu however, even if the clan originally hailed from Hakone five centuries ago, was a true Edokko, since the Homura House had been staying in Tokyo for five generations, a hundred and fifty years.

"Don't be funny – you know what I mean," Ara countered almost sulkily. "I even bought a lot of souvenirs for you because I thought you haven't been here."

"Oh?" The Koutaishidenka's voice was spiked with interest. He wondered what Ara got for him. Homura Ryuu didn't look like it but he loved Japanese sweets, wagashi.

Hakone had lots of famous sweet snacks. The top of the list was the yumochi, a unique rice cake with delicately carved pieces of sweet, gelatinous red bean paste inside with a citrus scent. Another was a sweet snack from a store called Nanohana, called Tsuki no Usagi, which was a wagashi filled with a sweet red bean called "Manju." Inside you'll find a large and soft chestnut that harmonized well with the flavor of the surrounding bun. This delicacy melted in the mouth.

Remembering those sweets, Ryuu felt a sudden craving.

"Yeah. But I will eat them instead," Ara said, to which, of course, the Koutaishidenka didn't agree.

"It's mine. Don't eat it."

"But the Homura House is from Hakone – why do you want to have snacks from here?"

"I haven't had them for a long time. I just had the ones from Kuuya," Ryuu countered. He honestly didn't care where his snacks came from as long as he had them. He just would not let Ara take back the gifts she got for him.

"If you say so," Ara finally gave in, and a small smile softened his face once more.

"Did you have fun?"

Homura Ryuu was still a bit unhappy that her group didn't go to the Cedar Palace, but if Ara was able to have a good time with his arrangements then it wouldn't be so bad.

"Yeah," was her breathy answer. The Koutaishidenka could imagine her smiling as she spoke. "Thanks for making the arrangement for us again. We all had a great time."

"You're welcome. As long as you had fun," he answered, and it was true. He wanted to please her – to make her happy and satisfied being with him.

This would make asking her to register their marriage earlier a bit easier – or so he hoped. He could never force her otherwise.

"What time should I pick you up tomorrow?"

"As if you don't know," Ara answered with a small laugh. Ryuu was the one who arranged for their transport, of course, he knew. She answered anyway. "We'll leave after breakfast at nine, so we'll be back in Tokyo around eleven."

"Okay."

Ara was right of course. He knew everything about her schedule. He just asked for the sake of asking. He didn't know why, but he wanted to hear her talk.

"Are you going to sleep soon?"

"No. I promised the girls I'm going to bathe with them," she answered and Ryuu frowned.

He remembered clearly the sight of her naked last night, under the moonlight. He felt unhappy knowing people other than him would be able to see her like that.

"Why do you have to go with them?" he unthinkingly asked.

"Boyfriend bragging, remember?"Ara reminded him, and Ryuu was not able to do anything but sigh in defeat.

He now truly wondered if girls loved talking about boys while naked. That's weird.

"Behave and wait for me, okay?"Ara told him afterwards that made his amusement return.

Behave?

The Koutaishidenka wondered if Ara thought of him as some kind of a puppy.

"You behave," he countered. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said softly before ending the call.

But he didn't keep his phone yet. In a moment of inspiration, the revered Koutaishidenka of the Homura House decided to take a selfie.

The car swerved a little when the driver forgot what he's doing upon seeing their boss doing some poses as he took his picture. Even Koga who was usually poker-faced was astounded.

"Does this look good?"Ryuu asked as he showed his picture to Koga.

"Yes, Young Master. You look so handsome," was Koga's swift reply.

Satisfied, Ryuu sent the picture to Ara with a special message before putting his phone back in his pocket with a grin. He went home to the Cedar Palace in a great mood.

Meanwhile, a girl in Hakone who just finished talking to her boyfriend was smiling sheepishly. She had just realized her faux pas, verbally telling her man to behave like a pup.

It was a good thing Kou didn't mind – not that he noticed – or so she hoped.

She was about to put the phone in the locker of the bathing area when it vibrated again. When she checked, she let out a peal of laughter seeing Kou's photo with his message. "Brag well."

"This silly husky," she muttered with a grin. She appreciated how handsome he was in his photo though.

"Suzuki, what are you doing? Let's take a bath," the happy voices called, and Ara put her phone in the locker before turning around, running towards in the hot spring clad only in a towel, only to discard the piece of cloth to join the other girls naked in the pool.

"Soooo, let's continue our chat from yesterday," Yashiro said as everyone eyed Ara with excited faces. They were referring to their talk about boys and romance.

Suzuki Ara, on the other hand, came prepared. With a smile, her boyfriend bragging sans mentioning Ryuu's name began. "I'll show you his picture later okay?"