A Fighting Chance

Chapter 9

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The Hyoudou residence was relatively quiet besides Miki scaling the fish in the kitchen. Gorou was at the computer, he was researching churches in England and jotting down possible locations that Touji could have relocated to. It was a bit frustrating as England was such a big country, but figured that maybe his wife would know something.

Gorou: Hey, honey?

Miki: Yes?

Gorou: During your girl talk with Mizuki-san, did she ever mention something about her goals?

Miki: Such as?

Gorou: Like what she wanted to do?

Miki: She has talked about owning a restaurant, why?

Gorou: I'm trying to narrow down where they could have gone, from what I am seeing the more family-friendly cities are Oxford, Bristol, Liverpool, Brighton, and Cardiff.

Miki: Well, at least we narrowed it down to five.

Gorou: For now - as his skills as an analyst were kicking in, he already called at least 20 churches prior to narrowing down the cities - now let's see...

Looking at the cost of living, he did not believe that they moved to Cardiff, despite being a family-friendly city, it was too high, in his opinion. He eliminated Oxford next, so he started to call churches in Bristol, the city seems to have scenery. He was unlucky as they could not help him, he was about to look into Liverpool, but someone had suggested that he should check Brighton or Wales.

He realized that he should have done that because the Protestant Church was in Wales, he even included looking at restaurants that specialized in Japanese cuisine. He continued to look into Japanese restaurants, and he choked on his drink, when he finally found one. It was located in Wales and its owner was none other than Mizuki Shidou.

Gorou: We got something! Haha, Mizuki did it!

Miki: Did what?

Gorou: She has a restaurant, come see - as he went to the restaurant's website, and they could see the staff of the restaurant.

Miki: That's definitely her - recognizing the black-haired woman - well, call them!

Gorou: Right, right - as he went to their landline and called the number of the restaurant.

Receptionist: Hi, this is King's Lantern, how can I help you?

Gorou: Uh, hi... is Shidou Mizuki... there? - speaking in broken English as he knew some from when he used to travel for work.

Receptionist: Are you calling about Mizuki Shidou?

Gorou: Yes.

Receptionist: I'm sorry, she is not here right now.

Gorou: Oh... um... could you... let her... know that... Hyoudou Gorou called?

Receptionist: Um, how do you spell that?

Gorou: Uh... H-y-o-u-d-o-u G-o-r-o-u - at least he could articulate the alphabet in English.

Receptionist: Um, okay, I'll let her know.

Gorou: Thank... you - hearing a dial tone.

With a heavy sigh, he put the phone down and slumped in the chair, Miki was able to see that something happened.

Miki: You didn't get her, huh?

Gorou: No, it's been a while since I spoke English as well.

Miki: Why don't you take a drive or walk, you know, to relieve some stress.