The Promise

First Part

The sun was already high in the sky when the bell on the Cat's Eye front door jingled and the first customer of the day walked in.
Miki, sitting at one of the bar stools as if she were a simple customer instead of the owner, turned to the woman and, as soon as she recognized her, beamed at her.
"Ah, Kaori-san, welcome!"
The cheerful expression clashed with her still slightly pale complexion, but Kaori was glad to see her standing. She had expected to find her in bed, since it had only been a week since the day she was injured, and instead her friend was smiling happily and perky.
The professor had discharged her the day before and had forbidden her to work, so Falcon took care of the chores of the bar, helped by Kasumi when she could; however, Miki didn't really want to stay in bed doing nothing, so she preferred to stay in the bar with the other two, with the promise not to get tired or overdo it.
“Good morning, Umibozu-san. Miki-san, I see you're recovering quickly! " the other greeted her.
The woman nodded, but did not seem very interested in the pleasantries because, as soon as the girl sat down in her usual place, he was immediately beside her, staring at her with a toothy smile; Kaori stared at her for a moment, unsure: what was wrong with her? It wasn't like her to do that.
“So, Kaori-san! A little bird told me that there has finally been a turning point between you and Saeba-san! "
Kaori blushed, but neither denied nor confirmed the other's words, so she decided to welcome that reaction.
"So what happened?" he wanted to know, reaching even further towards her.
Kaori pulled back a little frightened by that reaction. "Success? Nothing, nothing happened, why? "
Miki looked at her sideways. «Come on Kaori-san, don't be shy! You won't tell me there were no other developments after you and Saeba went home, did you ?! "
Kaori shook her head hard. "Absolutely not".
Miki stared at her, incredulous. "You are making a fool of me? Didn't he even give you a little, little kiss? "
"Miki ..." Umibozu tried to intervene to protect the girl's privacy, but his wife ignored him. “Oh, stop it! Come on, Kaori-san, there's no need to be ashamed! Tell, tell! "
"It's the truth, Miki-san, nothing happened between me and Ryo after that day."
"But how? But he declared himself, right? He told you he loves you, didn't he? "
Kaori nodded, her face increasingly burning. "Yup. But then nothing happened anyway. '
"How?! And why? You won't tell me this situation suits you, I hope! Because I don't believe it! "
No that didn't suit her, of course. Or rather, he had preferred not to think too much, in fact. A week had passed since Ryo had declared himself. In that span of time, things had changed between them, he could not deny this: even if he continued to play havoc with Saeko and the others and did not want to accept male clients, he had still stopped going to clubs in the evening and let her go. on the street to bother some beautiful woman. In fact, the times he had used the hammer had drastically reduced, even if he could not yet let his guard down: just the previous evening he had caught him putting his hands in his underwear.
From a physical point of view, however, there had been no change between them. And if on the one hand this worried her, on the other she was happy: she had never been with a man and had no idea how to behave on certain occasions, so even the mere idea of ​​having to kiss Ryo terrified her. . Of course, it is true that they had already kissed, but it had happened on a ship that was exploding and there was a half-glass: not exactly the most romantic world situation. What if he made some mess? Ryo would surely have teased her for life. After all, when she pretended to be Cinderella, hadn't she had to teach her that to kiss someone you have to close your eyes? And he, then, did not know who was in front of him; if he had known, he would surely have laughed in her face.
"No, but ..."
"I think it's time for you to do something!"
"I?" If possible, the blush on the sweeper's cheeks turned even more heated. "For heaven's sake, I don't even know where to start!"
“Kaori, I'll tell you a secret: if we waited for the men to move, we women would still be here waiting. Look at me: if I hadn't come here to Japan looking for him, I would never have found Falcon. And if I hadn't decided to take the initiative, do you really think she would have married me? "
Umibozu coughed, embarrassed to find himself the protagonist of a discussion between women, but the other two barely noticed.
Kaori looked down. Miki was right, but ... would she really make it?
“But I… I don't think I'm capable of it. I tried once and it was a complete disaster. '
In a nutshell, he told her about Silver Fox and his crazy idea that she was Ryo's girlfriend.
"Even that time Eriko forced me to even wear a wig, things certainly didn't go any better."
“But I don't mean that you have to pretend to be someone you aren't or that you have to turn into a femme fatale . You are already a beautiful woman and you have many qualities ».
Kaori looked at her with an unconvinced expression: what qualities was she talking about? The girl immediately understood his perplexities, but did not give up.
“For example, you are a great cook and have a beautiful body. You could prepare a candlelit dinner and maybe wear a nice dress that highlights your strengths. "
"A nice dress? Ryo wouldn't even notice, I'm sure. "
"You say? I am not at all convinced. On the contrary, "Miki jumped up happily," I have an idea: let's go shopping together! I'll find you a dress that Saeba will not be indifferent to! "
Kaori tried to pull back: she had gone there just to make sure Miki was okay, how did they get to that point? "But Miki, you are still recovering, you mustn't overdo it!"
"Nonsense: we're going shopping, not to war!" For women, shopping is always a cure-all. Falcon, I entrust you with the place, please! " and pulled a not quite convinced Kaori out of the bar.
"Women, whoever understands them is good!" thought the poor man left alone.