A bright sunny m, a fiart to the week. It couldn’t be aer, unless it was the spring and the Sakura trees were in bloom. Even still, nothing made it better than today. The excitement and eagerness in the air was so patable that it actually was iious, though not necessarily in a good way.

  It is said that one’s happiness spread to another. However, the opposite was just as likely. One’s happiness could cause sadness in another. In the case involved here, it was more jealousy or just annoyanbsp; Someone shouldn’t be that happy, especially a mature adult going oy-five. It was more as if he was a love struck teehat just heard back from the girl he fessed to agree to on their first date.

  Worse, he was already married. He shouldn’t have been so happy. No one uood it. He did try to hide it, but a grin so wide you swear his head would fall off made it a little too obvious. Though possibly more strange was that no one had really seen him like that before.

  “I guess he’s normal like the rest of us,” one ented.

  “Well normal-ish. I don’t think the way he’s ag is that normal either.”

  “We’re going to hear o his boasting now.”

  “He’s not really the boastful type though.”

  “Look at that face, if that’s not boastful pride what is it?”

  “ism, ugly reality,” someone just joining ied.

  “No, I heard she passed pletely without any aid from him.”

  “Damn, so she’s a prodigy like him then?”

  “No wohey’re married.”

  Not oblivious to the stares or ents as her husband, she leaned in a little towards him. “Dear, I think your excitement is showing a little too much.”

  He ed his arm around her shoulder, still uo tain him. “Nonsense! I’m gd to finally be able to be with you again! Why shouldn’t I be happy!” It had been two years sihey were apart. Well apart as much as one could be living together, but him w and her going full time to the uy. A long time ing for him, he looked forward to this today for so long.

  It made her pleased to see him so happy for her, even though it did embarrass her all the attention they received. The man was dead serious about so many things, yet for her he pletely flipped personalities. She sidered on several occasioing him tested for multiple personalities. But joking aside, she was happy to be with him as well. “Even so, this is a professional enviro.”

  “Since when were you the stuffy one caught up on manners and protocol?” He ughed a little with other thoughts on his mind. “I’m the serious one, you’re the outgoing one! That’s why I fell in love with you!”

  He was only making things worse. “Dear…this is Toyama Labs, one of the most well respected and pi medical researpanies in Japan.”

  “And now you’re here too!”

  She sighed, he wasn’t listening to her. It was actually surprising that he wasn’t paying attention. Even at his worst in doting on her, he would still listen if he went too far. ‘I never would have pnned on this happening to him. I would have thought he’d be more reserved around others. This is going to be a long first day…’

  Fortunately for her, they arrived at the security checkpoint, the sed already. They took their secrets very seriously and monitored all activity of their employees throughout the building. Another point that surprised her for his behavior.

  Lifting her newly acquired security badge for the guard, he sed her into the system. “Tomiko Hayashi, you’re clear,” the guard replied, wavihrough the gate. The man held up her husband, sing him ie remarking that they had known him for two years. “Clear, sir.”

  After they both passed safely through the gate, Tomiko started to turn to the right. However, Isamu stopped her. “We’re down this way, dear.”

  “I’ve been assigo the Sakamoto Team.”

  “What?!” he excimed with his fapletely melting.

  Chapter 300 – Rewind 3

  Laughing, Tomiko finished reting the m details around an outer door table in front of a local restaurant. Among friends, she stopped being the professional one. “The look on his face riceless. If I wasn’t inside, I’d probably have started ughing out loud.”

  Kiku giggled while trying not to cough oea. “No wonder Isamu looks so miserable right now.”

  She patted Isamu ohigh trying to cheer him up. It was a little heartbreaking to see him look so sad after being so excited. The oy he did would have given someone whipsh at his speed. “I didn’t have the heart to tell you, you looked so happy today. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything.”

  He poked his fi his sandwich as though he was a child. Despite his intelligend normally straight-ced attitude, he had a surprisingly immature side to him. “I know I requested you for my team. Did they not get my request?”

  “Did you really think they’d allow a married couple on the same team, Isamu,” Hainded, “For being so smart I thought you would have realized that simple fact.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?!”

  She sighed a little disappoihat Isamu didn’t uand. The two women ughed more between themselves.

  Switg topics, as she teased her husband enough, Tomiko zeroed in on Kiku and Hachiro. They sat together opposite of them at the table. The normal set up for them during their lunch get-togethers. “So you two doing anything for your anniversary?”

  Immediately blushing with embarrassment, Kiku might have known Tomikhout their time at the uy, but it didn’t make her any less immuo her more intimate remarks. The questio her almost pletely shut down.

  Tomiko grinned like a cat watg Kiku. “You’re ag like a schoolgirl still, Kiku. You two have been together for nearly as long as we’ve been married.” She slid her eyes over to Hachiro cheg him out for a rea. “You must be pnning something special, six years.”

  It was hardly the first time she pressed them. Hachiro had gotteo it more than Kiku, but he still found her nosio be a little annoying at times. “I’m grateful to you for what you’ve done, but what we do is our business.”

  Pouting a little in disappoi, though more just giving him a hard time, she smiled again quickly. “Aw, e on! We’re all friends here! The two of us are finally through with uy and you’re looking for work. You only live once!”

  “Private matters are private matters,” he replied stubbornly.

  “You’re so old fashioned!” She g onto Isamu more intimately than most would have viewed as acceptable by more stridividuals. “Society’s more accepting these days to being open and free about your retionship, you don’t o hide it away in your apartment.”

  Her ent and act mao make Hachiro blush a little now. “And you could do with a little more restraint.”

  Tomiko giggled, pleased with her success. “You’re my friends. More than anything I want you two to be happy.” Another patient was admitted for whipsh. She flipped so fast it might have made the two fall out of their chairs.

  “I know,” Kiku said, almost instantly recovered. A warm smile came across her face seeing the siy from Tomiko. She had a lot that she owed to her. It made her wonder if she would ever be able to repay her friend for everything she had done. “Thank you.”

  Everything seemed to be ba trabsp; The mood returo a happy ohout the teasing. Their meal could tinue or so they thought.

  Suddenly, someone passing by the restaurant colpsed right at their table. The seemingly unscious body spread out on the crete quickly threw everyoside into a panibsp; People screamed and panicked not knowing what to do. Others ran into the building looking for help.

  Kiku and Hachiro both looked over at their friends. It was barely even a seds after it all happehat they ran out to the colpsed man trying to see what was wrong with him. Hachiro stood up with , but aware he could do nothing. “ you do something?”

  Isamu checked the man’s vitals, turning him over with the assistance of Tomiko. “I might have a medical degree, but my expertise isn’t in the practig area. Though I know enough to provide some help.”

  “He’s still breathing, though a little shallow,” Tomiko reported.

  “He’s sweating a lot and seems like he’s burning up.” Then suddenly a deep groan came from the man’s stomach, making all four of them sweat a little. “…he’s starved…” With Tomiko’s help, they got him up to their table.

  Haet with the restaurant owner as they rushed out. “He doesn’t seem to be in any daher than starving…” He quickly had to expin to them that the stranger was fine and no ambunce was needed. It took a few minutes of ving whided when the fner came back to reality with drool down his lips as the sight of food.

  “Thank you!” he repeated several times in rough Japanese, as though it was the only thing he knew. He had a thick at that didn’t sound Ameri for the few words of English they picked up from him, as side ents to the food.

  It took him several minutes of stuffing himself before he respoo anythiernal. He then looked over at Kiku, seemingly reizing something familiar in her. “Oh you’re a foo!” he responded in English to her. He quickly grabbed up her hands as though he had found his savior. “I don’t know any Japanese!”

  Kiku hesitated a little, he targeted unknowingly on a sensitive subjebsp; “…um…”

  Jumping to Kiku’s aid, Tomiko separated the overly friendly man from Kiku. “Kiku is Japanese.”

  The stranger didn’t seem to uand why Tomiko said it, though it was in English. “But she looks Ameri.”

  “That doesn’t matter, are you feelier?”

  “Oh yes! Thank you very mubsp; You’re very kind for the meal.”

  Isamu had been rubbing his face the whole time trying to figure out the at. He knew his English well enough from his college csses, but it was nothing like what he heard before. “Are you Ameri?”

  “Oh no! I’m British, I’m just a tourist! I’m surprised how good ylish is, I haven’t found ahat uands me!”

  “That expins it. How long has it been since you ate st?”

  He had to rub his a little in thought. “Two days?” The reply received quite the surprise from the table. “I couldn’t get any meals and I was lost. Then the heat…I didn’t know summers in Japan were so bad, it’s nothing like Engnd.”

  “It’s not always this bad, you just caught us at a bad time of the year.”

  The man looked around at the table realizing that he was out of pd didn’t really belong. “I’m sorry for intruding on your meal. Thank you for the meal, how much was this?” Isamu and Tomiko deed. “But I insist!” He dropped a couple thousand yen bills down oable. Before any more protest, he bolted as his way of ensuring he paid.

  They all looked around at each other not pletely sure what happened. Peace at least returo the restaurant. Things no longer even seemed to notice that something occurred only a few minutes before.

  “Strange man,” Tomiko ented.

  “Yeah…”

  Staring dowreet for a moment, Isamu spoke, “It’s odd that he couldn’t find food anywhere, even without knowing Japanese.”

  Hachiro nodded in agreement. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  The British man disappeared into the crowd and broke through into the alley. He looked around the alley seeing that it was empty. A moment passed in silence as a beep sounded off firming something for him. Then a ripple suddenly came out from his feet altering his appearanbsp; “…hmm, so those were the Hayashi’s… They might be ones I trust…”