Fifteen minutes to eight, Sakamo was looking at the main gate of the Hangaku’s manor. It took him about one hour and thirty to arrive by car, even with his driver taking all sorts of shortcuts to avoid traffic. Sakamo opened the darkened window at the back of the car, for the security guy assigned to the gate to see him. He took a good look at the smiling young man and went for his cubicle, to open the gate.
As the car drove along the paved road that led to the manor, Sakamo looked around, admiring the well-treated grass and bush sculptures, depicting cranes and pandas.
As the car approached the manor, a huge blue marble fountain could be seen in front of it. As the car circumnavigated it to stop near the stairs that led to the front door where a butler was waiting, Sakamo saw a group of beautifully carved rocky baby angels in a pedestal inside the fountain, spitting water from their mouths to the pound at the bottom. The driver opened the door for him, and Sakamo exited, going in the direction of the serious butler as the driver rode the car to a park on the right side of the manor, where other cars where parked. Sakamo glanced into that direction, and saw a few expensive cars parked, next to the dark limousine that Hangaku went to, when she left School that day.
The butler made a slight bow and spoke with an expressionless face:
“Sakamo-kun, welcome to the Hangaku household. Please, follow me.”
As he entered through the main door, Sakamo looked around the large hall they were now. A huge crystal chandelier was on the ceiling, giving light around that was reflected into several marble statues that were near the walls. A light blue marble floor with pristine glow and spotless. A long carpet with an expensive look served as a path, that led to two large wooden doors. The butler opened it and entered, signalling Sakamo to follow him. Inside, the butler announced the visitor to the members of the family that were seated on a large light brown leather sofa. Hangaku Mae got up with a jump and went to Sakamo with a big smile plastered on her face. She held his hands and guided him to the sofa, where her younger brother was looking at them with a puzzled face. Her mother and father looked at Sakamo without bating an eye, and waited to see his reaction. Sakamo made a deep bow near the sofa and said:
“Good evening, I am Sakamo Ryu. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
The stern looking father stared at Sakamo and gave him a slight bow when he stood up.
“I am Hangaku Tokimasa. You may call me Tokimasa-san. Considering your relationship with my daughter, it seems appropriate.”
“Than you very much for your consideration.”
Sakamo glanced at the right harm of Hangaku Tokimasa, that had a sling supporting it. Tokimasa noticed and said:
“It was this weekend, I had a car accident. Sometimes I like to ride a car, instead of relying on my driver, but this time I wasn’t lucky.”
Sakamo did his best to mantain an inscrutable face, because the arm injury, the sound of his voice and the way he tilted his head when he was speaking so casually, were sure giveaways of the real identity of Hangaku Tokimasa.
The serious mother spoke with a wrinkled nose while she got up from the sofa:
“I am Hangaku no Maki. You may call me Hangaku-san.”
Sakamo approached and offered her the wrapped present while making a slight bow:
“I took the liberty to bring you a present, I hope it’s to your liking.”
“Young man, I seriously doubt a youngster such as you could ever bring a present that a person of my social status would like, but I will indulge you.”
She leisurely unwrapped the paper, and raised one eyebrow at the exquisite velveted box. When she opened it, she gasped. She took a few seconds to recover and looked at the signature of the artist at the bottom of the sculpture, and turned pale. She faced Sakamo and stuttered:
“H-how did y-you managed to get this? He never sells anything!”
“It seems I was able to surprise you. He is my friend. I told him that I was going to meet my girlfriend’s parents, and he said that I could choose anything from his smaller works so that I could cause a good first impression.”
Hangaku no Maki took a slow deep breath and frowned:
“Come on, are you really going to say he is your friend? He is a very eccentric person, and he is well known for not liking youngsters.”
Sakamo took his cell phone from his pocket and showed her the picture that his bodyguard prepared.
“He likes me, at least. As for some youngsters out there, even I have some problems dealing with them.”
Hangaku no Maki slowly nodded while looking at the picture of one of the best jade sculptors in the country, someone that she always tried to meet, and was always refused.
“He seems happy near you. He doesn’t smile much, so for him to be like this near you, it makes me believe that he likes you a lot.”
She gave the phone back and Sakamo nodded:
“We get along.”
Hangaku no Maki made a slight smile, and her body relaxed a bit:
“It seems you are full of surprises, Sakamo-kun. My daughter showed us the necklace you gave her. She said it wasn’t as expensive as it looked, but I know a thing or two about jewellery and I can tell that necklace didn’t come out from a factory, and the one who made that necklace was a master jeweller. She said you got it from an old woman in China, I believe?”
“Yes, an old family friend. She sells enough to have a good life, but she is not famous.”
Hangaku Tokimasa spoke as he signalled with his hand to a door on the left side of the room:
“Perhaps we can continue this conversation in the dining room, because I am curious about the crystal that is on Mae’s necklace. I collect crystals, you know, and I never saw one of that colour and that gets dark as Mae’s mood changes. Like now, for instance, it’s getting darker by the second.”
Sakamo immediately looked to the necklace, and realized he was distracted ever since he heard Hangaku Tokimasa’s voice for the first time, and his Magic was leaking. It was not leaking much, because Sakamo left Azurath for a full day already so his Magic pool was low, but he still had enough to make the crystal absorb the leaking Magic.
He took a slow deep breath while lowering his Magic, and he became less worried because the crystal was not getting darker, it was in the middle of the normal light blue and the dark blue when full of Magic. Sakamo smiled while facing Hangaku that was looking down at her crystal that she was wearing over her white knee-length dress:
“I think that’s a strong indication that Hangaku-chan is more nervous than me. I don’t have the faintest idea where my friend found that crystal, but it sure is pretty and makes the perfect choice for that necklace.”
Hangaku Tokimasa made a slight smile as he sat at the edge of the long table, with his wife at his right, Hangaku at his left followed by Sakamo Ryu, and Hangaku’s younger brother near his mother, in complete silence and staring at Sakamo. Tokimasa spoke with a slight grin while the food was being served:
“Perhaps my daughter is worried about what we may think of you. She is right, because we are indeed worried. You see, the Hangaku family name is very old, and we are used to live in a certain way and among a certain kind of people. You, being a foreign orphan, will for sure gather a lot of… how should I say it… frowns and doubts about your real intentions from our closest friends.”
Sakamo raised one eyebrow:
“I beg your pardon? I am not a foreigner, at least that’s what it says on my passport, I am a full-fledged Japanese citizen.”
“Well, if I am not mistaken, only your mother was Japanese, your father was English, correct? You do look Japanese, but your eyes betray you because of their light brown colour.”
Sakamo recovered his usual calm and answered:
“My father was indeed English, but his parents were also mixed between English and Japanese. According to my research over the years, my mother came from a very old Japanese bloodline, that goes way back to the Tokugawa Shogunate. If I am not mistaken, your great-grandfather was Chinese, and he married a woman from Okinawa. They moved to the mainland when your grandfather was a baby, so it seems you are even more of a foreigner than me. Perhaps I should be the one worrying about mixing my mother’s lineage with a Chinese descendant.”
Hangaku no Maki became red in anger, and she was about to say something, but then Hangaku Tokimasa smiled and said:
“It seems I wasn’t the only one to gather some intel about you. You wanted to be sure that you found a good target after getting close to my daughter?”
“That thought never crossed my mind, actually. I understand you might be apprehensive by my humble origins, but I didn’t know anything about Hangaku-chan when she approached me in School. In fact, I was a little upset and annoyed with her advances and interest. I was raised in a Shrine, as I am sure you are aware, so girls were never near me, and money wasn’t something that I needed or wanted.”
Hangaku Tokimasa grinned:
“You eventually left the Shrine, and it seems you are doing well, because you are living alone in a not so cheap area, and you even have two part-time jobs that I am aware about, in the Earthquake Institute, and as a Martial Arts instructor to the security personnel attached to the Imperial Family. Tell me, it is true that you are somewhat involved in a secret project in the Institute? Because my staff heard a few rumours, but they couldn’t confirm anything.”
Sakamo swallowed the piece of meat that he was munching and answered:
“Actually, I am just an errand boy at the Institute. It helps to pay the rent, but I needed some pocket money for School expenses and such, so I applied to a spot as a Martial Arts Instructor. Getting students that are doing security for the Imperial Family was a nice surprise.”
– At least it helped you to get familiar with the Imperial family, considering that you are going on Thursday to a very exclusive event.”
Sakamo nodded:
“Yes, but not by free choice. The Empress heard that I was dating your daughter, and her secretary called me and told me to attend that fundraising and to bring Hangaku-chan with me. I tried to escape, but one never refuses an invitation from the Empress.”
Hangaku Tokimasa kept on grinning:
“The way you speak, I could be led to believe you don’t know the Empress very well, when I know that Princess Nabito Hiko calls you older brother, meaning that you have a good relationship with them. More than us, actually.”
“I think that will change in the near future, considering that your son over there is dating the Princess. Or it could, because I don’t know what her reaction will be when she finds out he babbled so much about me. She might start to reconsider her relationship with him, because if he tells to anyone everything that she told him in confidence, it means he can’t be trusted.”