Janus was planning everything for their wonderful date. Neomi was super excited about it too but once she told her mother about it…

“That boy that your roommate told you to stay away from?” Sapphire wasn’t much bigger than her daughter. There might have been an inch or so. Her vibrant purple hair and sapphire-colored eyes stuck out to everyone who saw her. Cyril was behind her tasting one of the tree’s leaves.

“Yes… but…” Neomi got shy. “Please?”

“Okay… but you are having your date at the Kaname family’s restaurant… and we’ll be nearby.” Sapphire easily gave in. It was easiest to control the situation in a familiar place.

Neomi was pleased with it and moved to hug her mother and then she got her father’s attention enough for a hug from him. “Thank you both!”

Finding Janus was another thing entirely as she knocked on his and Myrri’s dorm room door. “Janus?” She waited until he opened the door and didn’t know how to break the news to him. “I told my parents and unfortunately… Lila told them all about you… The good news is that they said I could go on a date with you. The bad news is we have to do it in Ayaito. There’s a small family restaurant there and my parents want to be present.”

Janus wasn’t entirely sure how to answer Neomi at first when she broke the news, but in the end easily relented. What choice did he really have? It took him little time to adjust his plans, letting both Myrri and Lila know where he was heading. He wasn’t entirely sure the best way to dress, and in the end chose to wear a basic tunic with a light coat. Plain and simple…he would have to impress less with clothes, and more with actions. That would be easy enough, given the circumstances.

Neomi was waiting, and the two opened a portal outside of the academy. Strictly speaking, the students of the finishing school were not allowed to leave the campus for any reason, but it was hard to enforce, and rarely ever came up as an issue. It also helped that the way that they were leaving was rather uncommon even for the mages that attended the school.

The first thing that Janus noticed when he stepped into the difference in climate that he had come to associate with Iria. It was warmer than he expected despite the winter, and he was thankful that he hadn’t decided to overdress.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to Nisshoki,” he commented as he looked around. “Is that the restaurant over there?” He pointed out a building that seemed rather welcoming to guests. “Mom and Dad apparently visited a lot of places before I was born…I wonder if they have a reputation here.” Janus smirked. As he had gotten older, he had gleaned a little of what Lewis had done for work. While he didn’t know all of the details, he did know that his father was an assassin for hire at the very least.

“Ms. Neomi, would you care to lead the way?” Janus said as he switched languages flawlessly to Ayaitian. He may not have visited these lands, but his parents sure as hell instilled the language into him. It was one of many that he could speak, though he struggled a little with some of the more unique and local dialects that came with each territory.

Neomi had changed into her everyday clothes. It must have looked weird to see her in a kimono. Her hair was braided with a few flowers in it. Her kimono was purple with a darker purple obi. She took Janus’s hand with a blush and lead him to the restaurant.

It was a homey small restaurant with a few people running around. “We got a hotpot special Mom,” Effie yelled to the kitchen. When she saw Neomi with her date she grinned a bit. “We need another hotpot special, some tea, and throw in some of your special mochi Rashomaru.” She came over and bowed to them. She was in a red kimono and had brown hair. “Welcome home Neomi!” She quickly hugged the girl. “We have a table ready for you both.”

“This is Effie, she is the daughter-in-law of the owners,” Neomi introduced her date to Effie. “Effie this is Janus.”

“It’s a pleasure. It might not be as cold as Iria but we still have snow. So take a sit and enjoy the food. We’ll take care of everything else. We have hotpots going on right now so that’s what you’ll be having. Rashomari, my husband, makes some amazing mochi.”

“Thank you~” Neomi seemed happy but first they stopped by another table first. “Mother! Father!”

“Neomi!” Sapphire was happy to see her daughter. She was in a light blue kimono with her purple hair done up in much the same way as Neomi. She was very clearly not from Ayaito but she fit in just fine. “You must be Janus. I’m Sapphire and this is my husband Cyril.” She introduced her husband who had a mint leaf in his mouth for the moment. There was a curt nod from Cyril before he went back to investigating the mint leaf. “Enjoy your date like we’re not here.” She shooed them away.

Now that they were at their table Neomi went about getting the hotpot ready she helped Janus with it as well as they added stuff in. “If you want more meat please tell me.” She smiled at Janus from across the table. “Hotpot tastes the best when it’s cold outside you know.”

Janus had managed to keep his cool when Neomi showed up in a kimono. He had been suave and elegant when taking the portal and making his critiques, as well as switching languages as easily as he did. He even held his head when he was introduced to Effie, to which he gave a quick half bow and a smile.

“It’s a pleasure,” he said, keeping up Ayaitian. “I’m glad I could make it out.” He was being civil. Surprisingly so for the fact that he rarely acted so polite to anyone. He was making an effort.

It was when he met Neomi’s parents, though, that he got a little nervous. It was rare for him to feel such an emotion. Most of the time he rarely had to worry about anything. School was easy for him, and messing around with the girls was effortless. Yet for some reason, when it came to this, where it absolutely mattered, he was nervous.

“It’s nice to see you,” he said, messing up some of his words. He blinked. That didn’t sound right, but he continued anyway. “I’m glad to be able to fool around with your daughter?” Again, that didn’t quite sound right. That wasn’t the right phrase he had learned, but it was the only string of words coming to mind.

“Sorry,” he said, switching to Adelunan. This he knew by heart…after all, what kind of mama’s boy would he be if he couldn’t learn such a simple language. “My Ayatian is not perfect. I am happy to meet you, and hope that we get along well. Thank you for letting me take your daughter to dinner.”

Even if they didn’t understand it, he felt better at least saying it out loud in a tongue more native to him. He bowed, and sat down with Neomi. He had never had a traditional hotpot like this before, and watched Neomi first before attempting his own meats and vegetables. “Sorry…I was trying to show off and I messed up.” His heart was racing, but it was slowing down now that he was eating. “I’ll just stick to common for now…is that okay?” He wanted to impress them…

“More meat sounds delicious. And what’s that over there?” he asked, pointing to a vegetable he didn’t recognize. He smiled. “This is fun…it’s a lot more relaxing than I was expecting it to be.”

Sapphire could recognize that he was nervous and gave him a smile when he messed up his Ayaitian. She switched to Adelunian easily enough. “Don’t worry about it. It can be hard at first. Effie didn’t even speak Ayaitian when she and Rasomaru met. We don’t judge around here.” Well too much.

Neomi pet his hand softly as he struggled. She could tell that he was nervous just like Sapphire could. She spotted an ominous ornate vase in the center of the room and took a sigh. Looks like they had more than two observers today.

“Don’t worry about showing off. Lila told them you were smart,” Neomi smirked a bit at him. For everything that Lila had shouted about Janus, she had made note of that. “Everyone gets nervous meeting the parents for the first time. Common is fine.”

Neomi was happy that he was finally relaxing. “Hotpot is the best!” She added more meat for them before looking at the vegetables. “Well… That is chrysanthemum greens, enoki mushrooms, scallions… Oh, and you already know carrots and cabbage.” She wanted to encourage him to join her. “You can add stuff to the hotpot too. It's better when you share the experience.”

A plate of mochi in the shape of bunnies were brought out to them. “This is red bean mochi that Rashomaru makes and shapes. He normally only makes them for special occasions and he’s really shy about the fact he can do it.”

She was enjoying her dinner with Janus and looked shyly up at him from her bowl. “I was surprised when Camille pointed me out. We interacted a little the last time she came to visit. I helped her get Blanc down from a tree.”

Janus had to make a mental note that Lila wasn’t entirely setting him up. He let out a lot of nervous energy in a sigh as he vowed to give hi sister hell later for her little stunt. “S-sorry…I’ll just keep it simple.” He was still enjoying his time with her, though. He was starting to get the idea of the hotpot too, and how it worked. With two people, it was interesting, but he could easily see the appeal of an entire family sharing it. Each of the different flavors of what they cooked in the broth would add to the overall dish. The more that people ate, the tastier the initial broth got, and the better the experience would be.

“I should bring my whole family here,” he commented as he tried some of the vegetables he had never seen before. When the mochi was brought out, though, he paused on the main meal to look at the adorable bunny mochi. “These look tasty. I’ve never had these either.” He thanked them for the food and was surprised to find how sweet the mochi was. He was assuredly going to bring the family here.

“I see,” Janus said finally as Neomi mentioned Camille and Blanc. It was starting to make sense why his little sister was so insistent on Neomi. “Well…you are a good person. I’m sure Camille saw that in you. I would thank her, but it might go to her head.” He smirked and gave a small wink. “Just don’t call me Janjan and I think we won’t have to worry about her too much.”

Outside, perched on a tree was a small, pure white tit, gazing in. Snowball wasn’t exactly here to snoop on the date, but instead here to make sure that Janus was being good while outside of the finishing school. It was rare for either of the twins to leave the school grounds, so when one of them did, it was important to make sure they were safe.

Lewis appeared briefly next to Snowball, and ruffled his pet’s feathers a little. “I think he’s doing just fine, don’t you think? He’s got plenty of people watching. Pretty sure that vase isn’t supposed to be there, so we can call it for the night.”

Snowball chirped back at him, and flew up to his shoulder. The darkness seemed to envelope them, and they were gone.

Inside, Janus shivered a little, and looked out the window. “Huh…” It must have been nothing. He turned his attention back to Neomi, and smiled as he started to talk about the test they needed to prepare for that next week.

“You should! They change what they offer seasonally. Right now it's hotpot. I think Camille would love the little rabbits.”

Neomi laughed a bit and nodded, “Well… I was there for the explosive option that is your sister when someone else calls you JanJan other than her. That’s a special you and her thing isn’t it? I overheard Lila saying not even your mom is allowed to call you it. So I guess it makes sense why Camille got so upset by it. She is five so there’s only so many things she can call her own right now.”

They casually chatted over the hotpot for another hour. They were laughing and talking about all sorts of things. Once they were ready to go Sapphire bid them good night. “I think we can trust you taking her on dates at the school,” the mother was gentle in her approach. “Thank you for doing this for us. Neomi is our only child so she is treasured and beloved.”

After bidding them good night Neomi took Janus’s hand and they headed back to the school. “Thank you… For a very good first date.” She looked up at him shyly as they made their way to the girl’s dorm. “Thanks, Janus…” She pushed herself up and gave him a quick kiss before blushing. “I’ll see you in the morning alright?”

Once Neomi was back inside… Lila’s voice popped into his head. Man, I can’t believe you told them I want to fool around with your daughter. She was laughing so hard.