A Few Weeks Later
Kaori stared at herself in the mirror, her heart beating in her ears. She wore a long-sleeved white shirt and a skirt of the same color, along with thigh-high stockings and black boots. This is good, right? She asked herself for the fifth time. Uh... Maybe the stockings are a bit much but...
She shook her head and pouted. No! You look good, it's fine.
As she continued to pick apart what she wore, she heard someone knock on the front door. Kaori exited the room, but her mother was already on her way to answer. The older woman opened the door and from behind, Kaori saw Ash standing there, her hands in her pockets.
"Oh, Ash!" Kaori's mom said brightly. "Good morning!"
"Morning," Ash half-bowed. Kaori's parents had met Ash just a couple of days ago, as she'd shown up to walk her to the restaurant so they could keep working on the project. "Is Kaori...?"
