Chapter 3

Park in Lowee's main city

The next day

Noon

Pov (Kaito)

"Didn't keep you waiting did I?" Kurome asked me after she arrived at our meeting place; which was the same park that we had been at the previous day with Larvayne and Uzume.

"Not at all; just got here myself." I said answering her even though I had gotten there 10 minutes early, "I made reservations at a fancy restaurant for dinner tonight, so we both need to dress formally for it. Speaking of food; have you eaten lunch yet?"

"I haven't." Kurome said answering me answering me as she sat down next to me on the same bench that we had been sitting on yesterday, "Anywhere in particular that you have in mind?"

"Normally I'd say we could go to Sieg's, but we ate there yesterday." I told her while pondering where we could go while looking up at the sky, counting some clouds as they passed.

"How about we go to old man Sigmund's?" she suggested as she scooted closer to me, "It's been awhile since we've been there."

"It's also the place we had our first date at." I said reminding her of that fact and causing her to blush slightly, "Sounds great though; after that we can go shopping for some clothes."

"Only you wouldn't be afraid of taking a girl shopping, but I am in need of a new dress." she said sighing as her blush faded and standing up, "Let's just go."

"After you milady." I said giving her a soft chuckle as I stood up as well, "Sigmund's should be about a 20 minute walk from here; right?"

Sigmund's Ramen Shop

20 minutes later

"Welcome!" A bald, tall, and tanned man greeted us as we entered the small establishment before turning around to see who had entered, "Kaito! Kurome! It's good to see the two of you again after so long!"

"Good to see you as well, Sigmund." I told the man as Kurome and I walked up to the small counter/table that stood between the front of the shop and the cooking area and took our seats.

"How's the family going for you?" Kurome asked the tall man.

"Charlotte's been doing good with our adopted twins whenever I'm here; she's really loving both of them." He said answering Kurome, "How's the relationship between the two of you doing?"

"We broke it off." I said sadly, "It just wasn't working out the way we were hoping; things in both of our lives happened, but as you can see; we are still close friends."

"I still have hope that we can get back together, but I can settle for a date or two every so often." Kurome said giving her own answer while giving me a hint that she wanted more from me.

"That's to bad; the two of you looked so good together. Well I do hope that the two of you do get back together." Sigmund said after hearing our answers, "Your usuals I'm guessing?"

Getting his answer as a nod from both of us; he got to work on making our ramen; making small talk with both Kurome and I as he did so. The topics the three of us talked about ranged from how we've been doing lately to our plans for the near future.

Before we knew it; our ramen had finished cooking and was served. "Hope the two of you enjoy." Sigmund told us with a smile before making his way to the small dish area; leaving the two of us somewhat alone.

"What else do you have planned for us today besides shopping and a fancy dinner?" Kurome asked my before she started to quietly eat some of her ramen.

"I'm kind of expecting the shopping part to take a while." I said answering her question after swallowing the small mouthful of noodles I had, "The reservation isn't until 6:30 tonight, so if we have time we can go see a movie or take a walk."

"A movie sounds good." She told me after taking a moment to enjoy her small meal, "We could always go to a movie after our dinner anyway."

Mall in Lowee's main city

1 p.m.

"The clothes stores are on the third floor; right?" I asked Kurome after we arrived at the mall.

"Last I knew; they were." She said giving me her answer, "Doubt that it would have changed in the time I was away."

"You decide what kind of dress your getting yet?" I asked her as we started walking towards the escalator to the third floor, "I'm planning on buying a normal three-piece suit; just so I can have one."

As we were walking to the escalator to the third floor Kurome decided to ask me a question. "Do you remember how we first met?" she asked me.

"As if it were yesterday." I said answering her, "You were so full of hate and anger at the time. I still regret that we couldn't get there faster."

Flashback start

This flashback is going to be posted in a separate story because of implied situations I ended up putting in it that, after re-reading, I believed to be more mature than I intended at first, but fit so well with how Kurome hated humans in VII that I couldn't change it.

Flashback end

"What I said that day still stands by the way." I told Kurome as we arrived at a clothing store that sold both dresses and suits, "If you or your sister ever needs help with anything; all you have to do is call, and I'll come running as soon as I can."

"Then how about buying my dress for me?" Kurome asked me jokingly.

"You have up to 20,000 credits to go from." I said in response to her, "I still need to buy myself a suit and pay for dinner tonight."

"You know I was joking right?" she asked me after hearing my response.

"Yeah, and I'll still buy it for you." I told her as we entered the store.

Our first stop in the store was the dress section. One of the first dresses we saw was a dark blue in color that stopped just below the knees on the display mannequin and had thin shoulder straps, "What about this one, Kurome?" I asked my date.

"Not exactly my style, but it looks good." She said answering my question after looking the dress over, "If we don't find one I like better; than we can get this one."

The next dress we saw, this one Kurome really liked, was a dark purple in color with a dark red flower design along it's left hip. The length of the dress itself went to the mid calf on the mannequin and had a single thick shoulder strap on the right shoulder, but left most of the wearers back exposed. "How about this one?" I said asking Kurome about her opinion on this dress.

"Well this one is more my style, and I like it better than the last one." was the answer she gave me before she left to get an employee to ask if she could try it on.

A few minutes later I was waiting by the changing room as Kurome was trying on her dress, "How's it going in there?" I asked her.

"How about you see for yourself." was the answer I got from Kurome as she opened the curtain to reveal her wearing the dress, "How do I look?" she asked me.

"Honestly; you look stunning in that dress." I said answering her question, "A better question is; do you like it?"

"Absolutely." She said answering my question, "This is the one I'm getting."

"Great!" I told her, "Get changed again, and then we'll find me a suit."

The Sapphire Dragon

6:15 p.m.

"You sure that you can afford this place?" Kurome asked me once she saw where our reservations were at; catching a few glances from people on the nearby sidewalk because of how she looked in her dress.

"Very." I said answering her question as I adjusted my black tie. The suit that I bought along with Kurome's new dress had a white undershirt along with a sapphire blue blazer with matching pants. "Let's go in."

Once we got to the door; I opened it for her and said, "Ladies first."

"You are too much." she told me as she entered with me following shortly after her.

Once we had entered; the male host approached us and asked, "Do the two of you have a reservation?"

"Two for Raglan." I answered the host, "We're a bit early."

After checking his clipboard for reservations and available seats he said, "Follow me. We've had your table ready for a couple minutes now. As Kurome and I followed our host; we both got a few looks from some of the customers that had already been seated. "Here you are. Your server will be with you in a moment." our host told us as we stopped next to a private booth that was slightly segmented off from the rest of the restaurant for privacy.

"You really do look good in that suit, Kaito." Kurome told me as I pulled out her chair for her.

"Thank you. You look stunning in that dress as well, Kurome." I told her after she sat down in the chair and I pushed it in before taking my seat across from her.

"What can I get the two of you to drink?" Our female server asked us after she got to our table, "It's Nepsi products along with various types of tea."

"I'll take a Nepsi then." I told the waitress.

"A raspberry tea for me." Kurome said after hearing what I ordered.

"I'll go get those for you. In the meantime; here's a couple menus for you to look over." The waitress told us before leaving to get our drinks.

"Have you been enjoying yourself today, Kuro?" I asked the girl sitting across from me.

"I enjoy every date the two of us go on." Kurome told me as she looked over the menu in front of her, "I'm more curious to know if you're enjoying yourself today."

"Always." I said answering her, "I'm thinking of getting the grilled steak with the cranberry salad on the side."

"I was thinking about the fish platter with fries and a salad." She said after having heard what I was planning on ordering, "This place looks rather new though; the tables that I saw looked almost brand new. There wasn't that many scratches on them."

"Remember I was planning on taking you to that new restaurant that was about to open up before we, unfortunately, broke up?" I asked her and got a nod as a response, "This was going to be that date."

"You're joking right?" Kurome asked me with a surprised look on her face.

"Not at all." I said answering her before our server came back with our drinks.

"Are you two ready to order?" She asked Kurome and I.

"I'll take a fish platter with fries and a salad." Kurome said placing her order.

"I'll have the grilled steak with a cranberry salad on the side." I said giving my order, "Put both of these on one receipt; please."

"Not a problem. I'll get these put in right away." our server said before leaving.

"How do you think things are going to be working for the CPU?" Kurome asked me after a moment passed.

"Things should be fine." I said answering Kurome's question after thinking about my answer for a moment, "How are things between your sister and Larvayne?"

"Those two are almost always together." Kurome said while letting out a sigh, "Kinda like we were."

"Well once I get my life settled down; we could give it another try." I said relenting slightly, "When you and I were together; I was the happiest that I had been since my father disappeared."

"Well then; I look forward to you getting settled down then." she told me, "Even if it does take a you a while"

Kurome's Apartment

3 hours later

10 p.m.

"I'll see you later, Kuro." I said after we arrived at Kurome's apartment, "I had a lot of fun today."

"Me too." she told me before she walked over to her door, "I look forward to next time."

"Hope you have a good night." I said giving her a wave before turning around to start the walk back to my apartment.

"You too, Kaito." I heard Kurome say before she opened and closed her door.