Let Me be His Replacement

Suzukawa Family Dinner

Third Person's POV

'Saturday. It's Saturday today' Ichigo thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. Yes, a Saturday. In Ichigo's calendar on the box of Saturday were words of reminding marked in red. Family dinner with the Suzukawa's, it's about time she met with her boyfriend's family. She smoothened her uniform and looked to her wardrobe, 'What should I wear tonight?' she asked in her mind as she scanned through her dresses, she wanted to be ready so she wouldn't have to make Naoto and his family wait later in the evening and at the same time she wanted to make a good impression on his parents. She thought long and hard yet she couldn't decide what to wear.

She then thought of asking her friend Ran who is knowledgable with fashion so she gave her a call. Her friend's advice was simple,
"You can go with a simple one that shouts out you. No need to go over the top, put effort in it but not too much and not too little" she said, Ichigo expected more from her but from what she could hear on her end were shouts and arguments. She remembered that Ran is supervising a fashion show in a mall to promote the clothing shops and they are sponsored by Spicy Ageha, they requested her guidance for it was their first time doing so and it seems that chaos happened and the stress was getting to Ran, Ichigo only thanked her and made a mental note to send some Nori bento to her for lunch. As much as she also wanted to ask Aoi she remembered that Aoi was doing an early morning shoot for the drama she's currently working on and she didn't want to interrupt her work. So Ichigo made her choice, plain and simple, though she doubts the part of the outfit that shouts out her.

Realizing that she's running out of time, she decided to make some changes later after work. She packed up the stuff she needed and headed off. Throughout the day, Ichigo couldn't help but smile, nervous and excited to meet Naoto's parents.

Naoto didn't have to do anything as a teacher, but as Nao he did. He grabbed his guitar case and went to the front door placing it to his side and sitting down, as he was putting on his shoes he felt a light tap on his shoulder.
"Naoto" a monotone voice called. He glanced back to see his mother,
"Yes?" he asked as he continued to put on his shoes.
"Does Ichigo-chan have a particular favorite food? A meal she likes?" his mother asked,
"She likes to eat nori bento and strawberry parfaits. She doesn't dislike any food either" Naoto answered. His mother chuckled lightly,
"Then I'll prepare the food I make best" his mother said,
"I heard from Tiara that Ichigo-chan's family owns a bento shop so I was wondering if she had a certain palate" his mother added as Naoto stood up.
"I'm sure she will love your cooking" he assured his mom
"Then I'll have to do my best" his mother said.

Loud footsteps could be heard from the inner part of the apartment and out came Naoto's father with a panicked look. He skidded to a halt to avoid hitting his wife and son,
"Morning! Where's Tiara?" he asked,
"Aneki already left a while ago" Naoto answered in his usual tone,
"What?! She said she'd wait for me" his father said slumping.
"If you go now then you'll catch up with the bus. And maybe Tiara" his mother said.
"Alright. I'll be off now! I'll be back in time for dinner!" his father said quickly as he put on his shoes and dashed out of the apartment. Naoto's mother sighed, she grabbed the guitar case on the floor and held it out to Naoto.
"You still have work to do right? You should get going" his mother said as Naoto nodded while taking the case from her and strapping it to his shoulder.
"I'll be back tonight with Ichigo. See you later" he said, his mother nodded and waved as he made his way to the door. He walked down the stairs and out the building, rode on his motorbike and drove to the studio. He swore he saw his father and older sister Tiara on a bus he passed by.

-Later that day-

Both Ichigo and Naoto finished work for the day, Ichigo rushed back to her private dorm and changed to her chosen outfit while Naoto changed his attire in the bathroom of the studio. He made his way back to Starlight Academy's private dorm for the Starlight Queen and Ichigo sat at the couch waiting for Naoto.