“Thank you for coming! Have a good night!”
As the last customer left for the night, Kouga gave a relieved sigh and wiped his hands on his apron. His mother was soon at the door placing the wooden slats into place so as to deter any after hour drifters from walking in.
“Please, allow a weary youkai a place to rest for a while and to receive some hot food after a hard day’s work.”
As his mother laughed softly, Kouga looked up to find his father slipping in, the man still dressed in his work clothes. The older wolf youkai greeted his mate and wife with a nuzzle to her cheek, which she barely made a show of thwarting it off, complaining about the film of dust clinging to him from the construction site.
“My son!” The man greeted boisterously, Kouga nodding in greeting before leaping over the counter and approaching the graying wolf youkai.
His father smiled as he pulled Kouga in for a hug, the younger of the two smiling broadly at the affection. It was odd that even at this age, getting this kind of attention from his parents made him feel ecstatic. His father nuzzled his hair affectionately, before he pulled away, turning to his wife who was smiling softly at the two males.
“Satomi, my dear, we must have sake with dinner tonight! I have good news.”
Satomi only sighed with a small shake of her head but went off to get the sake while Kouga only gave his father a curious glance.
“Over dinner, I’ll explain it all. I must wash up first.” He said with a chuckle, hand resting atop Kouga’s head reassuringly. “Set the table, son.”
Kouga only rolled his eyes and went off to do as he was bid and his father disappeared into the back of the kitchen. The man preferred to use the slop sink instead of going up to Kouga’s apartment, even though his son had told him countless times that it was perfectly alright.
It wasn’t long before the small family was gathered around one of the tables in the restaurant, dinner set in front of them and the trio eating quietly. Kouga was heartily eating the simple dinner of rice and grilled fish when his father cleared his throat, causing him to stop mid bite and look up at him.
“You’ll never guess who I ran into today.” The older youkai was saying, his wife refilling his cup with tea.
Kouga waited patiently knowing that his father would spit it out soon enough, so he continued eating, but was wary as to what could come out of the man’s mouth. He knew when his father had an agenda and it was obvious. He also knew by the way he was acting way too formal at the table that it concerned him.
“You remember my old friend, Yorozoku?” The question he directed to his wife, but Kouga stiffened anyway. Satomi only hummed to show she was still listening and her husband continued. “He and I ran into each other down at the train station. It was good to see him again; we reminisced of how Kouga and his granddaughter used to play together as children.”
“Ayame-chan?” Satomi said in delight, her face holding a happy smile. “How is she?”
“It would seem that his granddaughter has reached marrying age.”
And there it was.
Satomi was gasping as Kouga suddenly began choking on his food and quickly took to gently patting her son on the back, his father continued eating as if nothing was wrong. Once their son was calm, Satomi was settling in her seat again before looking to her husband.
“Masanori, dear, do go on.” She insisted, while Kouga gulped down his water.
“As I was saying, she has reached marrying age and Yorozoku is in search of a worthy suitor.”
