Eizan was sitting at a small table sipping tea wait for her to be done. His hair was perfectly manicure and he was dressed in a fine white suit with a blue tie. He had been waiting almost an hour since he was done. They have been in the store for more than two hours. He was starting to grow impatient and was currently reading a novel he had the driver retrieve from his backpack in the car. Mio had just finished and was slowly approaching him unnoticed by Eizan. When she saw him, she thought “He looks like a prince. He’s too good looking, especially when he’s so focused like that.” Finally, she spoke “Um, have you been waiting long?”

He looked up from his novel and gulped, almost choking on the tea he had just drank. He stood up calmly acting like he hadn’t just almost choked and stifled his cough. Mio was standing there in a gorgeous blue dress with her hair put up in a bun. He stood there in shock trying to think of what to say. He accidently let his thoughts slip out as words. “Beautiful.” She blushed. He thought to himself “Damnit, I need to control myself better.”

She looked down at the ground and replied “Thank you.”

He scratched his cheek. “Are you ready to go?” She nodded. He extended his hand and she reached out and grabbed it. He guided her out to the car and opened the door for her.

On the ride to their destination the mood was rather awkward. Both of them were nervous. Finally, Eizan tried to break the tension. “Sorry to put you through all this. Did you at least have a good time getting your hair and makeup done? I know Pier is a little strange but he does good work.”

She looked over at him and smile. “It was a little tiring. I had fun with Pierre, he’s very lively, but a little strange.”

Eizan laughed “Yeah, he’s a little different. But he’s good at what he does.”

Mio smiled “I’m very thankful for his hard work.”

He eyed the dress she was wearing “Do you like the dress?”

She smiled brightly “Yes, it’s very beautiful. I just hope it wasn’t too expensive.”

Eizan stifled a laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure it wasn’t too much.”

She gave him a suspicious look “Eizan how much was the dress?”

He thought for a few seconds “I didn’t ask.”

“Eizan, that’s not what I asked. You know how much it was don’t you.”

He giggled a little trying to hold back his laughter. “I have a relatively good idea at its price.”

Her eyes narrowed and in a demanding tone. “Eizan, how much was the dress?”

He sighed “The price doesn’t matter, does it? It only matters if you like it. Do you like it?”

She nodded “I like the dress a lot. But you still didn’t answer the question.”

He got a mischievous smile on his face “Don’t get mad at the stores staff. I told them to do it.” He paused. “That dress is about 1.4 million yen. It’s the second most expensive dress in the store.”

Mio gave him a look of astonishment. She stuttered “D-d-did you just say 1.4 million yen.”

Eizan burst out laughing.

She yelled at him angrily. “Eizan, that’s way too much money. There’s no way I would have excepted it, if I had known.”

He was busy wiping tears from his eyes “Yeah, I know. That’s why I told the store clerk to remove the price tag.”

She hit him in the arm. “Why would you do that?”

Eizan laughed. “My suit is 9 hundred thousand yen. I couldn’t have you going to this party dressed in a dress less valuable than my suit. Besides, nothing makes me happier than spending, my grandfather’s money frivolously. He’s always dragging me to these things. I have a whole closet full of these suits back home.”

She hit him again “It’s not right to waste money like that.”

He smiled “You do realize, he probably made more than the cost of that dress in the time it took you to buy it.”

She frowned “That doesn’t matter. You need to be better at handling money.”

He smiled “I’m actually great with money. I only ever waste his money. I guess I never told you.”

She looked at him curiously. “Told me what.”

He looked out the window and sighed “I’ve pretty much been paying everything but my rent for the last year myself. I furnished everything in that apartment. I pay all the utility bills. I’ve paid for every meal I fed you. I earned all of it myself, working with my uncle. I only spend my grandfather’s money when it involves him. My mother still pays the rent. But only because she insisted on it. Actually, moving this weekend is going to hurt pretty badly. I have plenty of savings but not going to work for a day is going to hurt. I make good money working at the repair company. Way more than most part time workers.”

“Isn’t it your fathers’ company?”

“Yeah, it is. But I didn’t start making good money. I’m actually a skilled technician now. I started working from the bottom. You know how your air conditioner broke the other day. I’m the one who fixed it. I figured it out before my uncle even had a chance. Actually, I think I’m making my uncle lazy, when I work. My father doesn’t believe in handouts. I don’t make any more than anyone else in my position.”

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She was lost in thought. The car slowed and stopped at a large gate. She looked up at a large mansion on a hill in amazement. “Eizan, do you know where we are?”

“One of my grandfather’s estates. I visited him here a few months ago.” The gate opened and the car drove to the entrance of the large house. Eizan laughed “And you thought I was the one who liked to waste money.”

Before they got out of the car Eizan stopped and looked at her. “I know we were just talking about not wasting money. But I did buy you something today with my own money.” She tilted her head to the side. Eizan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “It didn’t cost a lot but I thought it matched your eyes.” He handed her the box.

She opened it and marveled at the small blue stone attached to a thin gold chain. “When did you have time to buy this?”

“I went to the small jewelry store across from the clothing store while you were getting ready.”

She took out the rather thin necklace out of the box and looked at it. Her eyes sparkled the same color as the stone. “Can you put it on me?”

He nodded and she turned around after handing him the necklace. He unclasped the necklace and delicately placed it around her neck. She turned around smiled beautifully and said “Thank you.” The sight of her happy smile made his heart skip a beat. “U-um should we go.” She nodded and he opened the door and stepped out. He walked around to the other side and opened her door offering her his hand. She took it and blushed a little.

He led her by the hand to the front entrance of the large home. There were two men dressed in butler’s uniforms waiting by the entrance. They opened the doors for the young couple and Eizan led her inside. They were then led into a large extravagant dining hall. Mio kept looking all around nervously as they were led to their seats. There was no one seated at the table with them yet. There were roughly fifty people wandering around and talking amongst themselves. Across the room Carter could be seen laughing and talking with a group of people.

Eizan looked over at her realizing her nervousness. “Are you ok?”

She shook her head. “I’m a little nervous.”

“I get it. I’m not a fan of large gatherings myself.”

“It’s not just that. This place is way to fancy. I’ve never been to this nice of a place before.”

“I think I am just used to it. I’ve been forced to go to parties like this since I was a small child. Even if my mother has distanced herself from her family. We still get invited to things like this every once in a while. Grandpa likes to show off his family to others. He may be a demon but he’s very family oriented.”

From behind them a man’s voice could be heard. “I’d prefer if you topped calling your grandpa a demon.” Eizan turned his head to see a tall handsome looking blonde man in a black suit. “Uncle nice to see you again.” His uncle smiled “Even if my father is a demon, you really shouldn’t say such things.”

Eizan laughed heartily “So even you admit he’s a demon.”

His uncle laughed and looked over at Mio. “Who is the young lady you brought with you tonight?”

Eizan turned and looked at Mio. “Mio this is my uncle Michael Carter. Uncle this is Sakurai Mio.”

Mio stood up and bowed toward him. “Nice to meet you Mr. Carter.”

“Oh, please don’t call me that. I prefer Michael. Mr. Carter is my father.”

Eizan smiled brightly at his uncle “Uncle what brings you to Japan?”

Michael replied “I am taking a vacation from my research. Father and Mary are in Japan so I thought I would come visit.”

“Where’s Aunt Virginia? It’s been forever since I’ve seen her.”

“This type of function is to much for the little ones. She stayed back at the hotel with them.”

“That’s right how are the twins. I bet there getting big. If my memory serves me correctly, they should be two now. I haven’t seen them since they were infants.”

“They are wild little toddlers now. Twin girls were so unexpected. They can be quite the handful. Both of them have already learned to bypass baby locks and are learning at an incredible rate. Sadly, I think they have also inherited the family curse.”

Eizan and Michael both had sad looks on their faces. “That’s too bad I hoped they would be normal.”

Michael sighed “Yeah, me too.”

Mio was giving them both strange looks. “You both act like children being smart is a bad thing.”

Eizan had a sad look on his face. “It is if their too smart.”

“I don’t get it.”

Eizan smiled “I’ll explain it to you later. When the time is right. So please don’t pry to much at the moment.” She nodded.

Michael smacked Eizan on the back in a friendly manner. Eizan winced in pain. His uncle gave him a strange look. “Are you hurt?” Michael looked at him closely. “From the way you reacted I would say you recently had a few broken ribs. Michael looked at him even closer.

Eizan laughed. “I guess I can’t fool one of the leading physicians in the world.”

“Did you get into a fight?”

“More like I got the crap kicked out of me.”

“They must have been skilled martial artist if they injured you.”

“I didn’t fight back.”

Michael was studying him closely. “Are you still dealing with psychological trauma from a year ago.”

“Uncle this isn’t time for a medical exam. Turn off doctor mode for a little while.”

Michael scratched his head in embarrassment “Sorry it’s not so easy to turn off.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine in a few months.”

“Well, it has been nice talking to you again. Mio it was nice meeting you. I must go socialize with a few people from the medical field that are attending the party. Father’s orders. I’ll see you later.” He bowed and walked off towards a group of people.

Eizan looked over at Mio, she had a sad expression on her face. “What wrong?”

“You’re still hurt badly enough that a doctor can tell that you are injured.”

Eizan smiled at her “He’s not a normal doctor. Michael is probably one of the best doctors in the world. His client list includes many powerful individuals. I doubt any regular doctor could do what he just did.”

“That still doesn’t account for the fact you winced in pain when he hit you on the back.”

Eizan scratched his head “Mio, I’m fine.”

“You always say that even if you are not.”

“Yeah, you might be right about that. But let’s not worry about this for now. Are you hungry.”

“Fine, I’ll reprimand you later. I am, but eating in this dress seems dangerous.”

“Oh, forget about that dress already. Let’s go get something to eat.” He grabbed her by the hand and began to drag her to the fancy buffet on the other side of the hall.

“Slow down it’s hard to walk in these heels.”

“Oh, I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking.”

“You can be such a ruffian at times.”

He smiled mischievously “I am a delinquent.”

She shook her head at him “Just slow down.”