"And for the last segment of our program this afternoon, I am joined by two of the most trending people in Japan right now. Worldwide acclaimed international lawyers Katsumi Sutorimu and Kamei Tadashi!" The young and beautiful host of the evening program on Channel 7 claps her hands and stands up as she welcomes the two lawyers on the set.
Kamei looks somewhat nervous, glancing over at their temporary PR Manager standing off the screen with every movement he takes. Katsumi on the other hand seems perfectly at ease, charming the hostess and the public with a warm smile and tender laughter. But this is live television, and appearances don't usually last for long in here.
"Welcome welcome" The black haired hostess smiles and sits down at the gray couch, inviting the couple of lawyers to follow her "We are thrilled to have you here! I bet this isn't your usual routine for the day eh?" She jokingly tries to spark up the conversation between her and the lawyers. Kamei shyly chuckles in response and looks over at Katsumi, silently pleading her to take over the interaction while he gets used to the flashing lights and intimidating cameras.
"We are more than happy to be here! And you're right, on a normal day at work we'd probably be at the office terrorizing our interns to get us our fourth cup of coffee of the day" Katsumi's natural personality chimes in to answer the question, stealing a collective laugh from the public.
The volume on the TV in the somewhat busy diner in Miyagi is quite low, making it hard for Sugawara to eavesdrop on whatever the redhead is talking about and whatever his date is also talking about. He must've been furrowing his brows too hard because the woman in front of him can't help but question the reason behind his stress.
"Is everything okay? You seem quite tense over a side of fries" She blushingly asks, tilting her head to the side to try and get a better glimpse at Sugawara's face.
He promptly looks over at her, terrified at realizing he wasn't being subtle at all and that now he's probably risen some suspicion over his behaviour. "Yes! Everything is all right!" He tries to brush things off, still with the same childish demeanour and the quick blush hurrying to get to his ears. "I just zoned out for a bit, guess I'm more tired than expec-"
"Isn't that the one chick from Tokyo?!" A random guy shouts at the TV from his stool at the counter, accidentally throwing his fork to the floor and drawing everyones' attention in the meantime. "She used to buy these weird fucking flavoured popsicles from my store like a lifetime ago!" He continues to cause a commotion at the diner, pointing his index finger at the TV in front of him and telling the waitress to turn the volume up.
Promptly, all eyes were on Katsumi's tender smile and endearing dimples on her cheek. She was the usual charming self that she'd give to the cameras. "It has been a tough journey, not only for us but for everyone involved in this case" Katsumi answers the question that the hostess asked a couple of seconds ago. "This case is bigger than any of us, bigger than the country itself. It represents a side of humanity that we've chosen to forget" Her words are presented calmly, structured and determined. There is no room for faulty or shaky expressions, not that there'd be any anyways. She has been preparing her whole life for moments like this.
"Such powerful words indeed, I think I speak on behalf of everyone watching us that your efforts have left us speechless after such victory on the court the other day" The woman answers back, everyone in the diner is attentively listening to the conversation on the TV.
The man that caused the commotion is now muttering something to his friend along the lines 'I know that chick, we're basically close acquaintances'. Sugawara can't help but laugh at this moment, how Katsumi still manages to steal everyone's attention even with hundreds of kilometres in the way. He looks up at the TVs again, all of them broadcasting an image of Katsumi and Kamei. Underneath a text that says 'Japan's newest formidable duo' can be read. Koushi's stomach slightly pinches itself, and the man is somewhat unsure for the reason behind this feeling.
