A Different Turn

Chapter 17

(8man PoV)

Free food here I come.

Or so I thought.

You know what I like about Chiba? I like the cool sea breeze, the calming surroundings, the peas, fresh from the farms among many other things. But one thing I have come to absolutely abhor is the traffic, the almost disgustingly high amount of traffic that seems to fill the roads so densely that not even a cycle can cut though. But don't get me wrong Chiba, this isn't your fault.

I shake my head a bit to rid myself of these monologues, it has been quite some time since we left home but to me it seems like we haven't moved at all. I mean it has been over 15 minutes and I swear the driver in front hasn't even moved 15 inches!

"Calm down Hat-chan." Mom puts her hand on my shoulder as she attempts to cool me down. I relax my shoulders a bit and give her a nod which is greeted with a smile, I really need to work on my patience, especially when it comes to traffic jams.

By some miracle the car in front of us suddenly moves as the traffic is in flow again, relaxing back in my seat I wonder if the 'fashionably late' in these parties is actually a deliberate action or merely a ploy to cover for the mortality of even the rich and powerful succumbing to traffic. Honestly I think I'll never know the answer. The cab speeds up as we pull into the highway, traffic moves fast as I am finally able to relax. Soon enough our destination is within sight as a wave of nostalgia hits me, this would be my second time visiting hotel Royal Okura. It almost feels like years when I went there on that bug's request, and yet it's not that far into the past...

Seems like my hunger is now playing mind games with me, I really don't want to think about all this right now.

The cab pulls over the front as a uniformed valet opens the door for us. I get out of the car as the cab pulls away. Turning around I see a few other cabs and a range of fancy cars pull in one by one as people move out dressed to the nines, I follow mom as she puts on a plastic smile moving fluidly through the sea of people straight into the lobby. She stops momentarily before she withdraws something from her clutch before handing it over to me. Being the dutiful son I quickly put it in the inner coat pocket, one of the main advantages of this suit.

I look up to her to see that she has extended out her elbow towards me, did I miss something? My silent question is met with an annoyed look as I scramble my mind for possible answers, what could she...

Oh.

I silently extend my hand as our elbows as interlocked, we then join a stream of people as we near a large oak paneled door guarded by 2 burly looking guys dressed in suits. Mom extends her free hand and gives one of them a slip which is inspected before the guy nods to his partner.

"Name?" the other guy enquires as he inspects a list on a small tab in his hand.

"Hikigaya." Mom answers coolly, the guy nods as he holds open the door and we enter a hall large enough to play a football match.

"Welcome." Two female attendants hold out trays of drinks in front of us as we take a few steps inside, mom picks up a glass of what I assume is lemonade, I try and pick up anything that looks non-alcoholic as the girls move on to the other guests that enter the hall.

"Mrs. Hikigaya, what a pleasure." A petite woman with a smile greets my mother as we move inside, our hands free now that there is no need to lock elbows.

"It indeed is Sayomi-san." Mom answers with a fake smile that even rivals Haruno's as she chats on something relating to page 3 of tomorrow's newspaper.