Business Relationship

Chapter 8 - Caught in the Rain

Mai sat on a bench in the station. She read through a volume of manga, her speed quite slow. She examined every panel, appreciating the art.

"A manga artist spends hours on each page. You have to appreciate the love and care they put into the work!"

Or so Minato had said.

Mai had learned a lot about manga in the few months they'd been dating. She wasn't about to join the manga club or anything, but she'd check out the ones Minato adored.

Someone sat down on the bench next to Mai, then leaned over and rested their head on her shoulder.

"Sorry to make you wait," Minato said.

"Don't worry about it. We're still on schedule."

Mai slipped a bookmark into the manga and put it into her bag. The two rose, joined hands, and moved to the trains.

"Was it hard waking up so early?" Mai asked.

"I managed it, didn't I?"

"Barely, it seems."

Minato smiled. She enjoyed how Mai joked around a little now.

Their destination was Nikko, a mountainous area popular for sightseeing. The trip would take over two hours each way, so they had gotten up early.

The place had many beautiful things that the two took their time enjoying. Temples and shrines, classical Japanese art galleries, sprawling gardens, waterfalls and lakes, and so on. Mai paid for everything, which Minato had grown used to.

They'd gone on similar day trips a few times. The Nikko trip only turned out to be different because of how it ended.

"Eh?" Mai looked at her phone with a frown.

"What is it?" Minato asked.

"There's a typhoon."

Minato moved closer, examining the screen. "Oh? Is it gonna reach here?"

"It doesn't look like it, at least not today. But the trains back might be cancelled."

Minato pursed her lips. "What should we do?"

"Hmm... For now, let's take the train to Utsunomiya. Worst case, we grab a hotel for the night and take the shinkansen back once the typhoon passes."

"Alright!"

Utsunomiya was a bit over half an hour away. The two girls checked the news on their phones as they travelled.

"Yup, we can't go back," Mai determined as they stepped off the train.

Minato giggled. "I guess we were too excited about the trip. We should've checked the news."

"I'll keep it in mind next time. For now, let's try to get dinner before the rain reaches here."

"Good plan."

Mai did a search on her phone and picked a restaurant. Minato had picked on their last date, so it was her turn to choose. The two messaged their parents to let them know of the change in plans, put their bags in a coin locker, then headed off.

When they stepped out of the restaurant an hour later, rain was falling. Mai took out her phone once more.

"Let's see... Um... There's a love hotel one street over."

"A love hotel," Minato murmured with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

"Businessmen use them during trips too, or so I hear, so it'd probably be fine," Mai said uncertainly. "They're not just for sex... I think. There are some other hotels of course, but they're a longer trip. We should get umbrellas first."