"So, how much is it going to be for all of this?" Kaminari asked James, putting his hands together and preparing for the worst.
"For all of this, the repair, paint job, detailing, I'd say $400." James said, putting a rag over his shoulder.
Kaminari sighed, looking at his rather empty wallet. He had used the last of it already, and his next payday wasn't for another few days.
"I don't have that much money yet..crap." Kaminari said, a bit upset that he couldn't pay.
"Well, since you're good friends with Baidar, and this is your first time being my customer, I suppose I could bump the price down to $0." James said, smiling.
Kaminari began to smile too, and Jirou was happy for Kaminari. Acts of kindness like this were very common in La Bella, it gave the town a special charm to it.
"Thank you so much, James. But I'll have more money soon, and I'll at least give you something. Promise." Kaminari said. James nodded, and he gave the keys to Kaminari. The 3 exchanged their goodbyes and he went back inside his car shop. Denki looked to Kyoka, who was leaned with her back up against Denki's car.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's take her for a spin." Jirou said, smirking.
Denki smiled, wanting to do some more flirty things to Kyoka based on how she was leaned up and ran over to the car, opening the passenger side door for Kyoka. He then got in the driver's side and started it up, the engine making an amazing sound that it hadn't made in years. Kaminari marveled at how clean the interior was now, and it truly felt like a new car. It had a retro aesthetic to it, since it was made in the late 80s.
The two drove out of the lot and out onto the main roads of La Bella, the new tires making it quite a smooth ride. Kaminari noticed that James even filled the tank with gas, making Kaminari certain he wanted to pay James back.
"So this hotel, where is it, exactly?" Kaminari said, looking over to Kyoka.
"It's near the highway. Head over to the main entrance to La Bella, you won't miss it. It's like 4 stories tall." she said.
He followed her directions and drove to the hotel. It looked like a comfortable place to stay, not a motel but also not a luxurious 5-star hotel either. The day was overcast, and it looked like it might start to rain soon.
He parked the car in the parking lot and opened the door for Kyoka, and the two walked into the hotel lobby. Immediately to the left was the concierge, who greeted the two with a warm smile.
"Good afternoon, welcome to El Corazon Del Mar. How can I assist you two today?" the concierge said, standing up and being as polite as possible. She had red hair and looked to be around 40 years old.
The two froze for a second, because they didn't quite think through what they were even going to ask the concierge.
"Uh..where's the bathroom? Sorry, weak bladder.." Denki said, trying to avoid an even more awkward conversation.
"Oh, don't be sorry! Here hon, the bathroom is to the left and down the hall. You can't miss it." the concierge said, pointing Kaminari in the right direction.
"Thank you.." he said, pretending to really need to go to the bathroom. Kyoka smiled at the concierge and followed him down the hall, then the two stood outside the bathroom.
"Good call, I didn't think about what we were actually going to say once we got here.." Kyoka said.
"Maybe we should look at all of the employees? You know, ask if we can speak to each one?" Kaminari said.
"Yeah..that'd be easy.." Kyoka said, somewhat sarcastically.
"I don't know! All we have is a business card with some writing on it." Kaminari said. "What even is Lana del Rey or whatever?" Kaminari said, again butchering the name of the hotel.
"Corazon del Mar. Close, but not really. It means Heart of the Sea." Kyoka said, trying to think of what to do next.
"Heart of the Sea.." Kaminari said to himself, thinking about what to do next. Just then, a hotel employee came up to the two of them.
"Excuse me, can I assist you two in any way?" he said. It was a bald man around his 40s with a brown mustache.
"No, not really." Kaminari said.
"Well, please move away from the bathroom door. You two are blocking it and other people need to get through." the hotel employee said.
"What, are you the manager or something?" Kaminari said, somewhat pissed off with this guy.
"I am, yes." the manager said, pointing to his name tag.
"Oh, sorry.." Kaminari said, moving away from the door.
"Thank you." the manager said, about to walk away.
"Hey wait up one second!" Kyoka said, trying to ask the manager a question.
"Yes, what's the matter?" the manager asked Kyoka.
"What's the history behind this hotel? Any reason for the name?" Kyoka asked.
"Hmm..well the hotel went up around 100 or so years ago when the town was first founded. As far as the name, I believe it's named that way because of the river that runs behind the hotel, El Rio Corazon, or the Heart River."
Kyoka and Denki both got the idea to check the river for any clues.
"Wow, that's interesting. Well, thanks!" Denki said.
"No problem. If there's anything else you need, you'll find me around. Enjoy your stay." the manager said, walking away.
Kaminari and Jirou looked at each other smiling, because they weren't even staying at this hotel. The two walked out of the hotel and began walking back to the car.
"So, we're checking the river?" Kaminari asked.
"Yeah. I know an access road that'll take us down to a particular part of the river, it'll be good to check there first." Kyoka said.
"Alright then, let's get going." Kaminari said.
The two got into his car, and Kyoka began instructing him how to get to the access road. As they drove, a few drops of rain began to gently fall onto the windshield.
"Rain? Seriously?" Jirou said, frustrated.
"What about it?" Kaminari asked.
"Well now the river's going to be flooded with water..we won't be able to check anything out down there. Plus, we're not really dressed to be out in the rain." she said, looking down at their clothing.
The more Kaminari drove towards the river, the harder it began to rain. Eventually, it was pouring, and Kaminari pulled off the road and parked in a small off-section.
"Yeah, it's raining too hard now. Guess we'll have to wait it out." he said, pulling the key out of the ignition and turning the car off.
"Good call," Kyoka said.
And then there was a silence between the two. The sound of the pitter-patter of the raindrops hitting the metal frame of the car was somewhat calming to hear from the inside of the car. Kaminari put his hand on his forehead and leaned back, closing his eyes.
"You alright?" Kyoka asked.
"Yeah, my head hurts a bit." Kaminari said.
"Aw, come here." she said, pulling him towards her. She placed his head on her lap, so he was facing up at her, and she gently ran her hand through his hair. Although she was just touching his hair, it did make Denki's headache go away. He looked up at her and admired all of her wonderful features, such as how clear and perfect her skin was, how her chin curved in such a particular way, how her eyes had such an amazing gaze.
"There's no other place I'd rather be." Kaminari said.
"Me too." she said.
YOU ARE READING
Harvest Moon - KamiJirou
Fanfiction18-year old Denki Kaminari is not at all pleased with his life. Coming out of a relationship, his life consists of working the graveyard shift at a convenience store and sleeping to pass the time at his hectic home. Kaminari later finds himself in a...
