Chapter Text
ꜱɪɴɢʟᴇ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ ꜱᴇᴇᴋɪɴɢ ᴏᴜᴛ ꜱᴜᴘᴇʀ ʟᴀꜱᴛ-ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴛᴇᴍᴘᴏʀᴀʀʏ ꜰᴀᴋᴇ ʜᴜꜱʙᴀɴᴅ!
𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 24 - 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢’𝘴 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘩
Glancing at the plain, black clock on the wall for the umpteenth time, twenty-six-year-old Shinobu Kochou begrudgingly acknowledged that they were already at risk of not being ready on time. By hurrying to set up the spread of food and drinks on the foldable table at the last minute, they had to accept the possibility of others' disappointment at the lack of professionalism and punctuality on their part. Currently, there were a few more minutes left before the man of the hour would arrive. Hopefully, everything would be put in place with a minute or two to spare.
"You worry too much about anything and everything, Sobrinhazinha!"
{Sobrinhazinha: A diminutive of the word for niece in Portuguese, sobrinha. This word roughly translates to little niece.}
Upon hearing an endearment meant for her being called out, Shinobu glanced up from the ornate platter of fruit in front of her to find herself face to face with a young woman who was around the same age as her, albeit one year older.
Standing directly in front of her was her maternal auntie by marriage, Mitsuri Kanroji, who was always easy to distinguish from a crowd with her bright pink hair that was streaked green at the ends and bright green eyes that always seemed to sparkle; absolutely nothing could dim them whatsoever.
Mitsuri placed both of her hands on top of Shinobu’s shoulders. She leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching.
Then, Mitsuri began nuzzling her forehead against Shinobu’s as she whispered in the softest and sweetest voice she could muster, “You will be alright. Everything’s going to be just fine. Your Tio Obanai insisted that I tag along with you, and for good reason, too! You always go above and beyond for just about anything and everything…But, you’ll have to realize that your hard work is never in vain…It’ll never go unnoticed…If that Senhor Tengen Uzui doesn’t realize just how much time and effort you’ve spent on his little personal pet project, then he’s a fool! A real lousy fool! You’re the reason as to why there’s been nothing but success for the design and construction of his beach house!”
{Tio: The word for uncle in Portuguese.}
{Senhor: The word for mister in Portuguese.}
“Do you mean what you’ve said, Titiazinha?”
{Titiazinha: a diminutive of the word for auntie in Portuguese, Titia. This word roughly translates to little auntie.}
“Of course! I mean every single word!”
As if needing to prove her point, Mitsuri let go of Shinobu’s shoulders to plant a quick kiss on Shinobu’s forehead. It was soft and chaste but straight to the point in meaning.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime, anytime. What is family for, huh?”
Shinobu rolled her dark bug-like purple eyes at Mitsuri’s question, retorting with, “You were my best friend before having become my relative by marriage!”
“So? I can still be both for you!”
At Mitsuri’s statement, Shinobu stuck her tongue out. “Sure!”
This intimate moment was short-lived as the door of the clients’ office room suddenly opened. In came a hulking figure of an older man with strikingly white-colored hair and dark fuchsia eyes that twinkled amicably at the sight of the two young women in front of him.
Whistling appreciatively, he remarked, “I was told that A Calma would be catering, but I wasn’t aware that hugs and kisses were part of the package deal, too!”
{A Calma: This roughly translates to "The Calm." It is a café owned by Mitsuri Kanroji and Obanai Iguro.}
Immediately, Shinobu pulled herself apart from Mitsuri, explaining quickly, “Oh no, it’s not like that! She’s my maternal auntie by marriage, and before that, we were best friends who went to school together!”
Mitsuri nodded her head in agreement. “Uh huh! She’s my niece by marriage because I married her mother’s distant relative. We’re still close as can be, if not closer after the marriage!”
“We weren’t expecting you to arrive early, Senhor Uzui, but everything’s been laid out for you!”
Shinobu gestured to the table that had been covered with a hot pink tablecloth adorned with a black lace overlay. Plenty of food and drinks were spread out easily for anyone to pick, choose, and grab.
“Please, help yourself!” Gesturing to the door from which Senhor Tengen Uzui had entered minutes ago, Shinobu continues, “I’ll be informing the others that breakfast is ready to be served.”
He clapped, a thunderous sound rumbling from the action of his large hands. “Excellent!” Eyeing the tablecloth, he turned to Mitsuri with a handsome, knowing smile on his face. “I take it that you are the one responsible for this rather interesting choice in tablecloth?”
Once again, Mitsuri nodded her head, this time in answer. “Yes, Senhor Uzui.”
“Excellent! I’m all about being flashy, but you already know that, don’t you? I overheard from your niece’s coworkers that you have a special iced pistachio latte named after an album of mine?”
In an instant, Mitsuri’s eyes widened to the size of intergalactic spaceships.
Squealing ecstatically, she beamed up at him. Jumping up and down, and clapping her hands together repeatedly in sheer exuberant delight, she answered, “Yes! Yes! Yes! My all-time favorite album of yours is Holy Shine! That’s why we have the Holy Shine drink; it’s the special iced pistachio latte you were talking about earlier! Anyway, you’re my all-time favorite rockstar, Senhor Uzui, but surely, you must have heard thousands of people say that to you already!”
“I have,” Tengen Uzui acknowledges before grinning, “That still doesn’t mean I am not touched every single time I hear it from my fans!” Turning to Shinobu, he nods approvingly, “She’s a good one, that auntie of yours; she’s got pizzaz to her! Someone like her ought to be attending my birthday party!” Turning to Mitsuri, he asks rather suavely, “You’ll be attending my birthday party, won’t you? It’s not every day that one turns forty…Your husband, I hope, is a fan of my music, too?”
Mitsuri squealed once more. “Oh! He most certainly is a huge fan of your work, Senhor Uzui! My husband, who is my niece’s biological uncle, has been working up a storm, concocting the perfect marshmallow pumpkin spice latte recipe for us to launch as the second drink named in your musical career’s honor! It’s going to be named the Gambler’s Firework after your album, which is his all-time favorite!”
“Excellent! I’ll have your niece send the address for the party venue to you and your husband. Naturally, we’ll have to wait until my three assistants have finalized the digital and physical invites, but with my birthday only a week away, it’ll come soon enough!”
“Yes, of course!” Glancing at her watch, Mitsuri cried, “Oh! Please, forgive me for my rudeness, but I'd better get going! We’re having the final consumer taste test of the Gambler’s Firework later today. If all goes well, then we’ll release the drink on your birthday!”
“Do make sure to bring some over to my party! I’ve got to try it out myself!”
“Oh, yes! Why, of course, we’ll bring some for you, Senhor Uzui!”
“Please, let’s drop the titles and honorifics. Formalities are not that flashy. I’d much rather be addressed by my stage name instead.”
“Alright. It’s been a pleasure meeting you in person, Sound Ninja! I can’t wait to meet you again, but this time with my husband.”
“Naturally.”
With both hands, Mitsuri enthusiastically waved the two of them goodbye. Once she left the room, Shinobu and Tengen were finally alone.
It was Tengen who broke the silence. “Make sure to bring your husband as well.”
“Yes, of course, Senhor Uzui.”
“Excellent.” He walked to the door, and before he left, he turned to Shinobu, a warm, genuine smile on his face as he said, “Keep up the great work! Tokitou was right on having you lead the project; your work is commendable. Subtle as you are, you’ll be flashy soon enough!”
“Thank you so much, Senhor Uzui.”
“Why are you thanking me for telling you the truth, Kochou?”
He had already left the clients’ office before Shinobu could respond. Since she wasn’t certain if she would be alone for long, Shinobu allowed her to exhale a few deep sighs.
“At least he’s aware of what I can do. Maybe he’ll seek me out personally once I am properly licensed?”
With that positive thought in mind, Shinobu was able to smile genuinely at all of her project team members and Tengen himself once they all arrived at the clients’ office, where breakfast awaited them.
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It wasn’t until lunchtime that Shinobu realized the dire predicament she was in. She was walking to A Calma, the café owned by Titiazinha Mitsuri Kanroji & Tio Obanai Iguro, when all of a sudden, she noticed two teenage boys in foreign school uniforms speaking in heavy accents of the local language.
It was the boy with spiky pink hair in an undercut that asked earnestly, “Do you think they have the drinks that all those celebrities were drinking?”
His companion, the boy with uniquely stylized black hair with long spikes that jut out in every direction around his head, resembling a sea urchin, answered the question with a question of his own. “Why wouldn’t they?”
It was at this moment that Shinobu decided to step in and offer her assistance.
Faking a cough, she waited until both boys stared at her before offering, “I can speak your language. Would you like me to help you with your orders?”
Now that both boys were turned to her, she was able to read the names embroidered over their navy blue school uniform suits. The pink-haired boy’s name was Yuuji Itadori, and the dark-haired boy’s name was Megumi Fushiguro.
It was Yuuji whose large, bright brown eyes glimmered hopefully as he pointed to the double-sided outdoor menu board. “Do they have the drinks and pastries that Princess Noelle Silva of the Clover Kingdom and her two bodyguard knights, Asta and Yuno, were photographed having?”
“I didn’t think you were the type of person to be interested in what young royals were doing.”
Yuuji shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “They say researching the local pop culture is one way of educating yourself about a country.”
“You’re right, it’s a great way of learning how things are in Cetuvila.” Walking over to where the menu was displayed, she pointed to a few items listed, explaining, “My auntie and uncle own this café, so I know all of the menu items like the back of my hand…Hmmm, let’s see, if memory serves me right, these are all the items the three of them ordered.”
{Cetuvila: A made-up name for a made-up country loosely inspired by the real-life country of Portugal.}
“Thank you so much!”
“My pleasure.” Turning to Megumi, she asks, “Is there anything you’d be interested in ordering?”
“I believe footballers Izuku Midoriya and Shouto Todoroki visited your country for their three-month-long honeymoon…Do you know what they ordered?”
“I do! Actually, my family members and I all got to meet them in person! They autographed many things for us.” Pointing to different menu items, Shinobu explains, “My auntie and uncle are hoping to expand the business by opening up a second location. Until then, they’re working on new menu items. These are what the happy honeymooners ordered! I highly recommend the iced oatmilk lychee chai latte that Shouto ordered. Even though October’s coming to an end, it’s still a fun drink to have anytime of the year!"
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” Gesturing to the main front doors through which several people came in and out, Shinobu suggested, “How about you two tag along with me? I’m on my lunch break, and I was going to get lunch here anyway!”
At once, Yuuji and Megumi asked, “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Although the two high schoolers didn’t have to, both of them held the doors for Shinobu. Greatly flattered as she was, their chivalrous gesture resulted in Shinobu reminiscing about the times men would act chivalrous to her. While she was not exactly unattractive per se, her older sister by three years, Kanae Kochou, on the other hand, basically never had to lift a single finger to get men to do kind things for her.
From being stopped by representatives of talent agencies to receiving free food and drink items to having all of her things carried for her without any hesitation, Kanae Kochou was truly a woman cared for. It was no wonder that she was happily married to Sanemi Shinazugawa, a man who loved her so truly that his love for her was as natural as breathing air. Kanae might as well have been the air Sanemi breathed because more often than not, Shinobu had caught him inhaling his wife’s natural fragrance. Anytime Shinobu witnessed Sanemi being addicted to his wife and all of the essences of her beauty, she felt like gagging and oftentimes had to resist the urge to dramatically enact herself throwing up at the sight of such romantic nonsense.
Would she have to endure such romantic nonsense if she had a husband of her own? She sure hoped that would not be the case whatsoever!
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Shinobu had Yuuji and Megumi stand in front of her because, truth to be told, she was curious about the sort of food and drink items they would be ordering after going through the menu together.
“Dona Shinobu, have you tried out the Gambler’s Firework?” Yuuji pointed to one of the employees at the front counter whose floral name tag read ‘Sofia.’ “Dona Sofia says they’re handing out free samples of the Gambler’s Firework to get final consumer critiques on it.”
{Dona: Although this word is not always used in reference to an older woman, with this word being said purely out of respect, many women might feel aged to be addressed by this word. Dona is the feminine version of the word Dono, which means owner.}
Simultaneously, Shinobu and Sofia cried out, “Dona?”
With a heavy sigh, Megumi slapped his forehead before turning to Yuuji, scolding him. “Silly, Yuuji…Senhorita is the right word! Dona would be if we called them Mistress.”
{Senhorita: This is the diminutive of the word Senhora, which means "Miss." Senhorita roughly translates to little miss.}
Yuuji’s eyes widened. “Oh!”
Megumi nodded his head in understanding. “Yeah.” His dark, bluish-green eyes softened as he continued, “How would you like it if we were called Lord or something of similar sense?”
“I’d feel old.”
“That’s exactly what those two are feeling right now,” Megumi explained.
“I see.” Bowing deeply to Shinobu and Sofia, Yuuji apologized, “I am so sorry about that! I didn’t know! It’s our second day being able to free-roam in Black Clover City, so we’re still learning how to address everyone correctly.”
Instead of Shinobu and Sofia, it was another A Calma employee whose name tag read ‘Angie’ who spoke, “Don’t worry! It’s basically a rite of passage at this point for a woman to be called Dona for the very first time in her life…Isn’t that right, Shinobuzinha, Sofinha?”
{Inha & Zinha: These endings can both be added to a name to convert it into a diminutive. Although the general rule says -inha is ideal for names ending in vowels and -zinha is better for names ending in consonants, since Shinobu is a Japanese name, I thought Shinobuzinha sounded more melodic and flowed better than Shinobinha. Additionally, as a foreigner myself, I would prefer -zinha attached to my name.}
At this, Sofia retorted, “Easy for you to say, Angelique Angelica! You know…We should start calling you Angie Anginha.”
Another A Calma employee placed herself between the two bickering women. Her name tag read ‘Chiara.’
Chiara smiled apologetically before handing all three of them twenty-four-ounce paper cups. “To answer your question, Senhorito Yuuji, Shinobuzinha has tried all of our different versions of the Gambler’s Fireworks except for this one…Why don’t all three of you give it a try and let me know what you think! We’re going to tweak it just a bit, and it should be finalized and perfect for good, I hope?”
{Senhorito: This is the diminutive of the word Senhor, which means Mister. This word roughly translates to little mister.}
After taking a few tentative sips, Shinobu remarks, “Mmm! I dare say this is the best drink you’ve all worked on since Annabel!”
“What’s Annabel?” Megumi asks.
“It’s a limited edition drink we made for the wedding of the Chappy brand heiress Rukia Kuchiki and medal-winning pediatric surgeon Ichigo Kurosaki,” Chiara answers.
She gestured to a picture frame behind her.
In the picture, there was a short, black-haired woman and a tall, orange-haired man standing together. Both held white paper cups that had the face of Chappy the Bunny. The cups were cut to have the long, white, rounded ears that the character was famous for. They were both wearing the traditional matrimonial attire of their native country, with the bride in bright red bridal robes and the groom in black groom’s robes. What was endearing was the sight of the matching couple’s charms of Chappy the Bunny attached to the bride’s bright red purse and the groom’s bright white belt.
“The funny part is that they were already married…They eloped and had a big fat wedding two years after their elopement,” Shinobu points out.
A fond smile appeared on her face as she reminisced about the elegant Rukia Kuchiki, whose husband-groom looked at her affectionately as if she were the reason why the sky is blue and the clouds are white.
Shyly, Megumi asks, “Will you ever bring the Annabel back?”
“I don’t know about that, but we do have the ingredients to make it right now if you’d like,” Chiara offers.
Slowly, Megumi nods his head in answer. “I would like that.” He turned to Yuuji, who was already staring at him.
Yuuji’s grin towards Megumi widened as he said, “I would like the Annabel, too!”
“We’ll get to making it,” Chiara says. Turning to Shinobu, she asks, “Would you like the usual lunch special?”
“I’d like what they’re having,” Shinobu answers, nodding in acknowledgment to Yuuji and Megumi, who beamed at her.
“That’s not a problem!”
While they waited for their drinks to be ready, they sat down at a table by the window and started digging into their respective lunches. As great a company as the two teenage boys were, Shinobu could not help but continue eavesdropping on the two young women who were giggling incessantly in hushed whispers.
“He’s so cute,” said one.
“The other’s even cuter,” argued the other.
Shinobu followed their line of sight.
In one corner of the café was a tall young man sitting down on one of the many pastel pink seashell-shaped chairs. His skin was pale ivory. His long, spiked black hair was tied into a loose ponytail. There were scarves tied loosely around his neck: one in burgundy and one green with yellow geometric patterns. His sharp eyes, reminiscent of lapis lazuli, were currently engrossed in the task he had at hand, and that was finishing his oversized tofu bánh mì sandwich. Despite his appearance as a lean, muscular man who one would assume to eat messily, he ate surprisingly eloquently. He was even a daintier eater than Shinobu was! This was the man the first friend found cute.
On the other hand, at the opposite end of the café was a tall young man sitting down on a pastel pink sofa between two small girls who did not appear to be school-aged. In between bites of his vegetable gỏi guốn, he flipped the pages of his comic book featuring four teenage mutant ninja turtles wearing bandanas in blue, purple, red, and orange and holding katana swords, a bo staff, two sais, and two nunchucks. His skin was tanned with a slightly golden, healthy glow. His long, spiked, flaming blonde hair, which was streaked red at the ends, went past his shoulders, and there was a small ponytail tied at the top. His bright golden, filled red eyes went back in froth between his food, comic book, and the two little girls sitting beside him. He was lean and muscular with thick, veiny forearms that had all sorts of colorful beaded bracelets on them. He had the sort of volume in his hair that would make Shinobu cry her complaints out to her hairdresser. However, Shinobu cut her own hair, so she’d have to resign and admit defeat. This was the man the other woman found cute.
Two men, with vastly different appearances, both alike in dignity, captured the attention of not only the two friends but Shinobu Kochou as well. It was then that Tengen Uzui’s words from earlier came back to Shinobu in her mind.
“Make sure to bring your husband as well,” spoke Shinobu, repeating the words aloud to herself.
“I didn’t know you were married,” said Yuuji.
“Me either,” said Megumi.
“Does Senhorita still work if you’re married?”
Gesturing to Shinobu, Megumi answers with yet another question, “Look at her! She’s young, isn’t she?”
It would have been the right thing to do to admit to Yuuji and Megumi that she was unmarried and never had a single boyfriend in her twenty-six years of living on this planet, but that was not what happened.
What happened was that she answered Yuuji’s question by explaining, “Most women under forty don’t wish to be aged…Calling us Senhorita even if we’re married is fine. It’s more friendly, I suppose.”
Yuuji and Megumi nodded their heads in understanding before going to the front counter to pick up their drinks. Megumi handed Shinobu her drink, which she readily started sipping.
While enjoying her drink, she contemplated what she was going to do next week. She did not have a husband of her own. Why would she? She’s never once taken a man to be her lover! With Tengen Uzui, better known as the international rockstar Sound Ninja, as a very, very, very important person client, or VVVIP client for short, at Deep Space, the award-winning architecture and urban design firm she worked in, it would be ill-advised for her to be able to refuse his personal invitation to his birthday party. Since she and Mitsuri were school friends, he must have been under the impression that Shinobu was married as well. And why wouldn’t friends around the same age be married around the same time as well? Many people Shinobu knew got married starting at age twenty-five and onwards, but Shinobu was unfortunately not one of them. It would be quite awkward, to say the least, if she showed up with a significant other while Titiazinha Mitsuri and Tio Obanai came together as the married couple that they were. Questions would be asked, and then Shinobu’s current job as a project designer, soon-to-be project manager, would be no more. She loved her job too much to ever wish to be without it. Where else would she find a boss as kind and compassionate as Dono Tokitou? Would there ever be a boss like Dono Tokitou who’d bring his middle school-aged twin sons, Yuichirou and Muichirou Tokitou, over to work and befriend all of his employees, knowing them on a first-name basis? No way! Definitely, absolutely, there was no way there would be another work environment as wonderful as Deep Space!
It was a great thing that Yuuji and Megumi went to the restroom because Shinobu was temporarily alone to groan, “Ugh! Just what am I going to do?”
She had a week to figure out what would be the best solution for her totally major predicament. Hopefully, that would be ample time for her to keep her job and not lose face!
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As short-lived was the time she spent with Yuuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro, she was glad she approached them when she did because they made for such pleasant company. It was through the one-hour lunch break that she spent with them that she learned many things about her temporary companions. It was evident from the beginning that Yuuji and Megumi were foreigners from the far southern east of the world, but she was thoroughly surprised, shocked, and stunned speechless when they informed her that they would be staying in her beloved Black Clover City for an entire week!
The country of Cetuvila was a marvelous country to be from, and Shinobu was always proud to be a citizen of her country, but Black Clover City was not the first city or even the second city one would visit while in Cetuvila. There was the capital city of Cévorambra, which was also the largest city in Cetuvila. Following the capital and largest city was Sinfaro, the second-largest city, which had bakeries in the dozens for every neighborhood. Black Clover City may not be a tourist town where aesthetically driven travelers flocked to by the hundreds of thousands, but it was where Shinobu called home, and she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Black Clover City’s main driving force for tourism was the many spicy hot chicken shops local to the city, plus the two historical haunted abandoned pirate ships that washed up on the shores more than half a millennium ago. The millennium pair was what the two abandoned pirate ships were called, and virtually all of the youth in Black Clover City have visited both of them. Shinobu has been to both sites more times than she can count with both hands combined.
While it was not a surprise to many, Shinobu always desired to marry someone from the same city as her so that she would not have to move to somewhere far, far away like her Tia Katsumi and Tio Tamotsu did. Her Tia Katsumi was her father’s younger sister, and she and her husband moved to another country. Shinobu only got to see her auntie, uncle, and her four younger cousins every winter.
{Tia: This is the standard word for aunt in Portuguese.}
Katsumi and Tamotsu have four daughters, one biological and three adoptive. Their firstborn biological daughter, Priminha Aoi Kanzaki, was the same age as Shinobu’s younger adoptive sister, Kanao Tsuyuri. Their three younger daughters, Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho, were all orphaned as newborn infants, and coincidentally, they shared the same birthdays.
{Priminha: This is the diminutive of the word Prima, which means female cousin in Portuguese. This roughly translates to Little Female Cousin.}
The wonderful thing about Shinobu’s family is that blood isn’t important, but love is. Even if Obanai wasn’t biologically a distant relative of Shinobu’s mother, he was still her Tio Obanai, and nothing would ever change that. Out of respect to Obanai being above her by one generation and Mitsuri marrying into the family, Shinobu, Kanae, and Kanao all started calling Mitsuri their Titiazinha Mitsuri the day she married Obanai, even though Kanae was older than Obanai by a few months! Still, he outranked Kanae in the hierarchical family tree.
Speaking of family, Shinobu went back to A Calma after clocking out from work, but there were absolutely no signs of either her auntie or uncle in sight. Once again, Sofia, Angie, and Chiara were at the front counter, and they explained to her that Mitsuri and Obanai had an emergency at the last minute, immediately after Mitsuri met Sound Ninja.
Rolling her eyes, Shinobu remarks, “Of course, she would make a big deal out of meeting her favorite rockstar!”
Her words did very little to convince Angie out of asking, “So…Is he even more handsome up close in person?”
“I don’t know…He’s far too big for me to comfortably make eye contact with him.”
“That’s not what I mean…Bosswoman says he’s really dreamy when you’re in proximity to him.”
“He’s not my type.”
It was Sofia who asked, “What is your type then?”
“I’m not too sure myself.”
Chiara smiled reassuringly. “No worries! You’ll find the one meant for you sooner or later!”
Under her breath, Shinobu said, “I hope he comes real soon!”
Fortunately, neither of them could hear what she said.
Since her auntie and uncle were not present at the café, she left. Before she did, she waved goodbye to the trio of employees who were nothing but sweet to her the entirety of their time knowing each other.
Perhaps a few phone calls and text messages would have to be made once she arrived home.
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Even though it’s been a little over a month since Kanao Tsuyuri left the country to study a quarter abroad at the University of Magnolia, located in the country of Fiore, Shinobu still called out for Kano out of habit.
“Kanao, I’m home!”
Even though Kanao’s bedroom door was left unlocked and fully open and Shinobu could easily enter her younger sister’s bedroom without facing any severe consequences, she chose not to. Instead, Shinobu went to her bedroom, where she found a large floral gift bag on top of her white desk. Attached to the bag was a printed pastel green card.
𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘢 𝘔𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢'𝘴 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘩! 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳!
-𝘒𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘦 & 𝘒𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰
“I wonder what could be inside.”
Slowly, she pulled apart the bright green tissue paper wrapped all over the gift to find a light blue box tied with a dark blue ribbon. Untying the ribbon, she opened the box to find a mini black quilted clutch purse with two detachable chains. Underneath the tiny logo were even tinier words that read ‘Mirajane Strauss.’ Paired alongside the purse were a pair of comfortable-looking black heeled sandals with a crocheted lace overlay. On the bottoms of the shoes were painted golden mimosa flowers alongside the words ‘Mimosa Vermillion’ carved into the shoes.
Immediately after reading the fashion brands the purse and shoes belonged to, Shinobu pulled out her phone and left quick text messages afterwards.
Shinobuzinha: Damn it! Who told you to spend money on me while you’re studying abroad, Kanaozinha?
{Shinobuzinha: The diminutive of Shinobu.}
Shinobuzinha: Irmã Kanae, this was your idea, wasn’t it?
{Irmã: The standard Portuguese word for sister.}
Shinobuzinha: Fiore and the Clover Kingdom are one hour ahead of Cetuvila, so I know you two are not fast asleep in bed.
After a few minutes of waiting, Shinobu finally received responses from her older and younger sisters.
Kanaozinha: I wanted to get you a gift.
{Kanaozinha: The diminutive of Kanao.}
Kanaezinha: Me too.
{Kanaezinha: The diminutive of Kanae.}
Shinobuzinha: Why?
Kanaezinha: Because we love you!
Kanaozinha: Because we love you!
Kanaezinha: You have to hand it to Mirajane Strauss from the Fairy Tail Guild; she knows a thing or two about purses! Good on Kanao for choosing that specific purse for you!
Kanaozinha: Princess Mimosa Vermillion has superb quality control on her fashion-related merchandise. I understand why Irmã Kanae chose the shoes for you. None of the shoes from the collection is uncomfortable to wear.
Shinobuzinha: Wait…If you, Irmã Kanae, are in the Clover Kingdom and Kanaozinha is in Fiore…How were my gifts packed together?
Kanaezinha: We arranged to meet each other for a weekend at the Land of Fire. We actually ran into the mayor, Minato Namikaze, over there! He’s for sure the handsomest mayor in all of Konoha history!
Kanaozinha: We were planning on buying Inuyasha keychain blind boxes, but all of the stores at Senju Shopping Center were out of them, so we decided to go ahead and buy gifts for everyone. We mailed everything to Mamã and Papá so that they could hand the gifts to everyone in person.
{Mamã: One way of saying Mom in Portuguese.}
{Papá: One way of saying Dad in Portuguese.}
Shinobuzinha: Unfortunately, I wasn’t home, so Mamã and Papá left the gift bag at my desk instead.
Kanaezinha: I see. Well, at least they printed out the card and delivered it to you on time.
Kanaozinha: Yes!
Shinobuzinha: I guess so.
As Shinobu was typing out another text message, she received a phone call from someone. She accepted the phone call and proceeded to place the phone close to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Is it true?”
“Is what true? Also…Good morning to you, Priminha Aoi!”
On the other side of the line, a forced giggle was made before Priminha Aoi Kanzaki responded with, “Good evening to you, Prima Shinobuzinha!” There was a pause before Aoi asked, “So…Is it true? That Sound Ninja invited you to his birthday bash?”
With a groan, Shinobu demanded, “Why does everyone and their pet hamsters want to know if I’ve been invited to stupid Senhor Tengen Uzui’s 40th birthday party?”
“Well? Is it true?”
“Yes, it’s true! He’s invited our Titiazinha and Tio, too!”
“Wow! That’s like totes awesome! Ahhh! I wish it were me!”
“Isn’t there plenty of things for you in West City? Why don’t you visit the main headquarters of the Capsule Corporation or something?”
“Ugh! But I have like been there a million times! Besides, Trunks Briefs isn’t there for the time being, so…”
“So, what?”
“So…I’m bored out of my mind!”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“I don’t know? Tell me all there is about your life?”
“You know you have more boyfriends than I do!”
“So? There’s no telling when you’ll find someone! In fact, you could get a boyfriend tomorrow!”
“Actually, I need a husband by next Friday.”
“Say that again?”
Shinobu sighs, then explains, “It’s a long story, but let’s just say that Senhor Tengen Uzui is under the impression that I’m married like my Titiazinha because we’re about the same age…Now, I’m struggling to figure out what I should do when I go to his stupid birthday party and show up empty-handed!”
“Why don’t you just ask out a good-looking guy on the street to go out with you?”
“Hard pass!”
“Hmm…,” Aoi pondered for a minute before suggesting, “Since it’s related to Titiazinha Mitsuri, why not ask her to set you up on a blind date?”
“Are you crazy?”
“No, I’m sensible!”
There was a pause as Shinobu took a few minutes to ponder over Aoi’s idea. It actually wasn’t such a terrible thought. Mitsuri Kanroji and Obanai Iguro’s cafe, A Calma, was the newest & hottest café in the city’s social scene. Plenty of celebrities and influencers, both domestic and international alike, flocked by the hundreds to try out the menu items. A Calma has catered for several extremely exclusive events, and Shinobu was able to attend them for having helped out with the catering services. Before being business owners, it was actually Mitsuri and Obanai who set Kanae Kochou up on a blind date with Sanemi Shinazugawa, and the rest was history.
It wasn’t that Shinobu doubted Mitsuri’s judgment, but rather that she didn’t want to disappoint Mitsuri if all of the older woman’s efforts went in vain because Shinobu didn’t know and didn’t have what it takes to keep a man close by at all times. She wasn’t like the irresistible angel Kanae, the charming wallflower Kanao, or the confident siren Aoi. Shinobu Kochou was too small and too smart for her own good. What man would ever desire to take her for a lover, let alone a wife? She was better off learning alchemy from binge-watching both versions of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime one hundred times each than she was capable of landing herself a temporary fake husband for one night and one night alone.
Finally, Shinobu relented. “Alright, I’ll ask her about it tomorrow.”
“Oh my goodness? Really? Yay! Like, you’ve totes got to tell me what happens afterward, okay? Capisce?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll talk to you later, then!”
“Bye!”
“Bye! I totes love you the most…You’re my favorite prima! Don’t tell the others that, though!”
“I won’t, don’t worry!”
With that, the phone call ended, and Shinobu was left alone with her thoughts once more. On the bright side, she had Titazinha Mitsuri Kanroji to turn to. The bad news was that she might actually wish for Shinobu to be in a long-term relationship, and Shinobu was already happily in one: she was committing all of her time and effort into getting all of her prerequisites completed so that she could finally be properly licensed as an architect. She wouldn’t be titled as an architect until she met all of the requirements.
✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*✧❁❁✧✿✿✧❁❁✧
𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 25 - 6 𝘋𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢'𝘴 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘩
As much as Aoi Kanzaki was a fan of the dramatics, Shinobu could always count on her younger cousins to keep her secrets intact. That being said, something was off, and Shinobu was able to detect the difference in the air the minute she stepped inside A Calma.
It was worth mentioning that before she could even step inside A Calma, she accidentally stumbled onto something. Luckily, she did not end up tripping and falling flat on her face because a strong pair of arms held her as she steadied herself.
“Are you alright?” asked the other person, their voice concentrated in concern.
“I am, thank you.”
“Do not thank me. I was only doing the right thing.”
As much as Shinobu wanted to thank the person for having caught her in the nick of time, she chose to dart inside A Calma instead. The perks of being related to the owners were that she could freely enter any of the areas restricted to the public. And, so, she ran upstairs to the attic loft where either Mitsuri or Obanai or both would sleep whenever they needed to work overnight during particularly late hours.
The sound of incoming footsteps was heard. She expected Titiazinha Mitsuri, but instead, it was Tio Obanai who came to check up on her.
“What happened?”
She played with Kaburamaru. He was Obanai’s pet snake since childhood, and he much preferred to be kept in the attic loft out of all of the rooms in the building.
She took a few deep breaths before answering, “I don’t know what came over me…I tripped on something, but I didn’t fall on my face because a nice man grabbed hold of me before it could happen. I should have looked up to meet his eyes and properly thank him, but after everything that went on yesterday, I didn’t think I should…So, I ran all the way here.”
Obanai pinched Shinobu’s nose. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll always be there for you.”
“I know, I know.” She bit her lip before asking shyly, “Um, actually, I do need something, but it’d require both of your help.”
“I’ll fetch Mitsurinha, then.”
{Mitsurinha: The diminutive of Mitsuri.}
“Thanks.”
He pinched her nose again for good measure. “We’re your family.”
She watched him leave before stroking Kaburamaru on the head.
“I’m helpless…Who’ll ever take me for their wife, huh?”
It did not take long for Obanai to arrive back with Mitsuri in tow.
Mitsuri was the first to speak up, “What is it that you need, Shinobu?”
“Um…This is going to be strange, hearing the words from my mouth…But, I need a husband by next Friday!”
In an instant, Mitsuri gasped, her hands on her cheeks, while Obanai dropped the large powder blue box he held in his hands, blinking rapidly.
“What was that?” Obanai turned to Mitsuri. “We’re not hearing right. That must be it.”
Mitsuri walked over to Shinobu, sitting down on the bed before placing Shinobu on her lap as if she were a small child. Shinobu might as well have been a small child, as she fit in Mitsuri’s lap perfectly.
With glistening eyes that could make women with the shiniest of diamond rings throw out their rings with how shiny Mitsuri’s were, Mitsuri asked softly, “Are you asking us to find someone for you?”
Shinobu quickly nodded her head. “Uh huh.”
“Why?”
Shinobu frowned. “What do you mean by why?”
“Well, you’ve always rejected all of my offerings in the past,” Mitsuri explained.
“That’s true.”
“Well? What made you change your mind?”
“Here’s the thing…After you left, Senhor Uzui told me to invite my husband since you’d be bringing yours.”
“Huh?”
Obanai nodded. “He thought you’d be married like we were since you two are close in age, didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” said Shinobu.
“Oh!” Then, Mitsuri squealed, “Well, dishonesty is never right, but who am I to pass up on the opportunity of a lifetime?”
“What?”
In between fits of giggles, Mitsuri explained, “You see…One of my all-time favorite tropes in romantic storylines is the whole fake relationship scheme charade that the main characters attempt to pull off! I’ve read so many Attack on Titan fanfiction stories with this trope!”
Muttering under her breath, Shinobu retorted, “And I’ve written so many fake relationship AU fanfiction stories involving Inuyasha and Kagome in middle school…”
Smirking, Obanai remarked, “Oh, I’ve read them all! You’d make for a great romance novelist.”
Shinobu glared at her uncle, insisting, “Please! You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“No, it’s true. Besides, I preferred your Fruits Basket and Ouran High School fanfiction stories best.”
“I loved her Shugo Chara fanfiction best,” Mitsuri interjected.
Sticking her tongue out at Mitsuri, Shinobu points out, “That’s only because we both had giant crushes on Ikuto back in the day, and I wrote them to be indulgent stories for the two of us!”
“When are you going to continue that Jinu x Rumi story? I love the way you write the Huntrix and Saja Boys!”
“If we can successfully land me a fake husband for Senhor Uzui’s birthday party, I’ll update all of the fanfiction stories you’ve been bothering me to update! I’ll even binge-watch Hilda Furacão for the billionth time with you.”
{Hilda Furacão: An insanely popular televised Brazilian soap opera in the 1990s.}
Mitsuri’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really,” Shinobu confirmed.
Mitsuri clapped her hands together. “That does it! Obanai, meu bem, let’s find the real husband of our queridinha sobrinha’s dreams!”
{Meu Bem: This literally means my good in Portuguese. You can say calling someone by this name means they represent all of the goodness in your life.}
“I said I wanted a fake husband!”
“Queridinha Sobrinha, we’re giving you a real husband! Only the best will do!”
{Queridinha Sobrinha: This roughly translates to my dear little niece. Queridinha is the diminutive of querida, which means dear. Sobrinha is the regular word for niece in Portuguese.}
Afterwards, Mitsuri and Obanai led Shinobu to their office, where there were several instant film photographs scattered around the desk.
Mitsuri and Obanai began going through them one by one.
Mitsuri began, “Let’s see…You’re twenty-six, and I don’t think you ought to be anyone over thirty years old, so let’s have the age range be from twenty-four to twenty-nine.”
“I’m twenty-six,” Shinobu pointed out before arguing, “Why would I want someone without a supposedly fully developed frontal lobe? Let’s change the age range from twenty-six to twenty-nine. Three years is the most I can handle for an age gap.”
“I can respect that,” Obanai says, nodding at Mitsuri, adding, “We’re fortunate enough to only have two years between us.”
After what seemed like an eternity of going through all the instant film photographs, Mitsuri and Obanai had two photographs each. Four in total. Both of them held photographs of the two men Shinobu had taken notice of yesterday when she was with high schoolers Yuuji Itadori and Megumi Itadori.
“Who are they, anyway?”
“They’re regulars of ours,” Mitsuri says.
With her left hand, Mitsuri held up the photo of the man whom Shinobu had seen wearing two different scarves and eating his bánh mì like some brooding winter rogue ex-nobility warrior.
Mitsuri informs, “His name is Giyuu Tomioka. He’s twenty-nine years old, and he’s a furniture marker. The Tomioka Antiques & Collectibles is only a walk away from here.”
With her right hand, Mitsuri held up the photo of the man whom Shinobu had seen reading a comic book and eating vegetable cỏi cuốn while not being troubled whatsoever by the two little girls who sat on either side of him.
Mitsuri informs, “His name is Kyoujurou Rengoku. He’s twenty-eight years old, and he’s a cinema weapons maker. The studio where you can see some of his previous projects is only a walk away from here.”
“Meu Bom, surely, there’s a lot more you can say to argue about both men,” Obanai asks.
“Of course, there is…But Shinobu’s a grown woman; she’s old enough to make decisions for herself. I think she ought to people-watch them before asking us for more details.”
Shinobu sighed. “Do I really have to spy on them like some pervert?”
“But, you’re not a pervert!”
“I feel like one.”
Mitsuri waved Shinobu off. “Nonsense! Come on! Let’s go!”
Shinobu glanced at Obanai with pleading eyes, but he shook his head.
Still, his mismatched bright blue and yellow eyes softened at the sight of Shinobu being so vulnerable. “Never try to turn back on a new road – you don’t know what adventures await you.”
{The quote Obanai says comes from Lisa Kleypas's 2006 historical romance novel Devil in Winter. Lisa Kleypas was born and raised in America. Several of her books are translated into Portuguese, along with many other languages. Apparently, she has her books translated into forty different languages. Lisa Kleypas' works were recommended to me by a beloved teacher of mine. I love you so much, Miss C.L. I showed her a GiyuuShino + third wheel Tanjirou fanart once!}
Shinobu rolled her eyes at his words. “Not you quoting lines from my mother’s bodice rippers…This must be karma for stealing all of your Spider-Man comics when we were growing up, huh?”
“Partially.” With a faint blush, he says in a whisper, “I’ve always respected the intelligence that romance novelists possess to write such nuanced lines when it relates to the matters of the heart.”
Even though she was twenty-six years old, Shinobu might as well have been twenty years younger than what she actually was, for she grabbed onto Obanai’s shaggy, asymmetrically cut black hair as if she were six years old and he was nine years old.
“You’re so sappy! No wonder you and my best friend are married! You two match each other’s freak!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing!” She stuck her tongue out at him before asking in the faintest of whispers, “Will somebody ever be willing to be sappy with me?”
“Of course.”
“Really? Actually? Is somebody going to match my freak?”
“Don’t word it like that!”
“Eh!” She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly before sticking her tongue at him once more.
After people-watching Senhorito Giyuu Tomioka and Senhorito Kyoujurou Rengoku longer than she would like to admit. It was time for Shinobu to make a decision and come to Mitsuri for more information about the man she’s decided on pursuing…
𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚊…
{𝚃𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍…}