Ginza was the beating heart of Tokyo's luxury, where every corner radiated prestige and old money. Iconic landmarks stood their ground as the defining features of the district's skyline, from the majestic Wako Building with its stately clock tower to the sleek, futuristic facades of Ginza Place and Tokyu Plaza Ginza.
The weekend atmosphere in Ginza felt alive yet composed. The main boulevard, Chūō-dōri, had been closed entirely to traffic, transformed into the pedestrian paradise known as Hokōsha Tengoku. Among the fashionably dressed crowds, couples were scattered everywhere, enjoying their own small worlds, and somewhere in the middle of it all, Naoki and Yachiho walked side by side, drawing quiet attention simply by existing.
While they waited at a busy crosswalk for the light to change, Yachiho closed her fingers firmly around Naoki's hand.
"Hey, Naoki. Have you ever been to Ginza before?"
He shook his head slowly, his gaze drifting over the gleaming storefronts of international luxury brands. "Never. To be honest, my family's finances growing up only really stretched to the basics. The insurance money my parents left behind had to be managed carefully enough to last until I finished university. Living somewhere like this wasn't even on my radar."
He smiled faintly, taking quiet notice of how soft her hand felt. "But then, life has a way of surprising you. Who would have thought I'd never have to worry about graduating just to become some company's corporate drone? With the abilities I have now, I'd say I've already achieved financial freedom, even if I'm not exactly a billionaire."
Yachiho gave a small nod of understanding. As the pedestrian signal turned green, she swung their joined hands lightly between them. "Ginza has a reputation for being expensive, yes. But this place isn't just for wealthy people looking to throw money around. Anyone can come here."
She pointed down Chūō-dōri, where people strolled at an unhurried pace in every direction.
"On weekends like this, the street becomes a walking zone. Plenty of people come just to take in the atmosphere, take photos in front of the boutiques' distinctive architecture, or simply window shop. Ginza is about the experience, Naoki. And today, I intend to make sure you have the kind of experience you'll never forget."
Watching Yachiho explain all of this with such genuine earnestness, Naoki suddenly stopped walking. He leaned down slightly and, without any hesitation at all, pressed a gentle kiss to her lips right there in the middle of the passing crowd.
"I'm looking forward to every second of it, honey." He murmured with an easy, teasing lilt once their lips had parted.
Yachiho's composure collapsed on the spot. Her face went a vivid shade of red all the way to the tips of her ears. She stared at him with a mixture of shock and mortification so intense it nearly took her breath away.
"Wh-what do you think you're doing in public?!" She gave his chest a light smack. "And stop calling me that! Honey? It's revolting! It gives me goosebumps all over!"
Naoki simply lifted a shoulder, wearing an expression of perfect innocence. "Showing a little affection to your partner isn't something to be embarrassed about, is it? We're on a date."
Becoming aware that a few pairs of eyes among the passing pedestrians had begun to drift their way, Yachiho decided the argument wasn't worth continuing. With a thoroughly irritated stomp on his foot as her final act of protest, she seized his arm and pulled him away from the intersection at a brisk pace.
Being tugged along in Yachiho's wake, Naoki took a glance around at the people nearby. They went on walking, each absorbed in their own business, treating the two of them as nothing more than passing background characters in the story of their own afternoon.
(Remarkable. Japanese people really do move on quickly. The news about the first man to awaken a Peach Fruit Blessing went viral not that long ago, and yet not a single person here recognizes me.)
In Japan, the public's attention toward any given sensational story tended to cycle through fast. The media was quick to move on to the next headline, and the cultural instinct to avoid drawing things out meant that most people would rather return to their routines than keep picking at something that had already passed its moment. For Naoki, this was nothing but a convenience. He could enjoy his date without a press scrum or a crowd of curious strangers circling him.
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A few minutes later, they stopped in front of the grand facade of a high-end shopping complex, all crystal glass and polished marble. Yachiho led Naoki inside with a steady stride, heading directly for a well-known designer clothing boutique on the ground floor.
The boutique was the quieter kind of luxury. The air carried the faint, expensive scent of perfume, and ebony wood display racks were arranged with generous spacing, showcasing a limited collection produced in only a few dozen pieces worldwide. Warm, subdued lighting fell over silk, cashmere, and lace that looked impossibly fine under the spotlights.
Yachiho selected a handful of garments and disappeared behind the fitting room curtain, leaving Naoki to wait on a velvet sofa the color of deep red.
"Naoki! I want your completely honest opinion, understood?!" Her voice carried through the curtain.
A moment later, it swept open. Yachiho stepped out in a deep burgundy cocktail dress that fit her like a second skin, tracing the slender line of her waist with precision.
"Well? What do you think?"
Naoki looked at her without blinking. "Extraordinary. That shade of red makes your skin look like snow, Yachiho. You look like a goddess who just descended from her throne. I'm almost afraid to touch you, you look that perfect."
A flush rose in her cheeks. She lifted her chin with great satisfaction. "Hmph, of course! Someone of my standing suits bold colors."
Without lingering, she disappeared again and returned in the second outfit: an ivory summer dress with ribbon accents at the shoulders that gave her an impression of sweetness without sacrificing even a trace of elegance.
"What about this one?" Yachiho asked, turning just slightly so the skirt flared out in a soft sweep.
"Stunning." Naoki said, his tone dropping just a little. "That air of grace and purity... you're genuinely playing with my heart, Yachiho. If we walked outside right now, I'm certain every man in sight would look at me with envy."
The compliment, slightly over the top and entirely deliberate, landed on her like a direct hit. She laughed a small, self-satisfied laugh that carried more pure happiness than she likely intended to show. "Good, at least you have decent taste! Wait just a moment, I have one more to try. The best one."
Yachiho kept Naoki delivering his verdicts, savoring every word of praise that came out of his mouth as though it were fuel for an ego already soaring somewhere near the stratosphere. For her, this wasn't simply a shopping trip. It was a performance, a chance to show off her charm in front of the man who had quietly become the center of her world.
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Yachiho didn't waste time. With the same casual ease she might bring to buying a bottle of water, she handed all five sets to the cashier. The monitor displayed a figure that gave pause even to look at: one and a half million yen.
Naoki, standing beside her, could only let out a long, slow exhale.
(One and a half million yen for five pieces of fabric. The world the wealthy inhabit truly operates on a completely different plane of logic.)
After the gleaming black card was swiped and the transaction was settled, Yachiho didn't return it to her wallet. Instead, she turned and held it out toward Naoki, pressing it gently against his chest.
"Take this, Naoki." Her voice carried its usual edge of arrogance, but something quieter and more careful ran beneath it. "I've heard that men tend to have a great deal of pride and usually insist on paying for things themselves. From now on, this card is yours."
"Use it freely, without worrying about any limit. As a prospective son-in-law of the Azuma family, you cannot be seen looking like you're short of money in public."
Naoki accepted the card without ceremony, just as the cashier behind the counter was directing a quietly disdainful look his way. Her expression made it perfectly clear that she had already decided he was a kept man taking advantage of a wealthy woman.
"I won't thank you for this, Yachiho." Naoki said, sliding the card into the breast pocket of his vest without any particular hurry. "After all, what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. We're basically a married couple at this point, aren't we?"
The sheer shamelessness of announcing their relationship as a "married couple" in front of a stranger hit Yachiho like a splash of cold water. Her face flared red immediately. She turned her head away to hide it.
"Wh-who's your wife?! We're not even married, you have absolutely no shame!"
Casting around for an exit from the moment, Yachiho promptly offloaded all the branded shopping bags into Naoki's hands.
"Here, carry all of these. Your job now is to be my assistant. And don't look so pleased with yourself. Next stop, we're buying you some clothes. I am not walking around Ginza with a man who owns one formal outfit."
She set off ahead of him with her chin held high, trying very hard to ignore the way her heart was still running at an irregular pace over the word "wife."
"..."
Naoki watched her retreating back, noting the slight unsteadiness in her step that nerves had put there.
He said quietly, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, "Hmph. All that pride, and she turns that color just because of the word 'wife.' You really are adorable when you're embarrassed, Yachiho."
With both hands now occupied by an assortment of expensive bags, he fell into step behind her.
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Shortly after, they were standing inside a menswear boutique of equal exclusivity. Unlike the one before it, this space had a more masculine character, all chrome metal accents and dramatic overhead lighting.
Yachiho went to work immediately. She wasn't interested in standard dress shirts or sensible office suits. Her sharp eyes moved along the runway collection racks, and she pulled out a black silk shirt patterned with gold dragons coiling up toward the shoulders, paired with a slim-fit burgundy leather jacket that made no effort to be subtle.
"Naoki, put this on." She instructed, handing over the boldly conceived ensemble.
Naoki raised an eyebrow at the combination, which was effectively announcing itself to the room.
"Yachiho, isn't this... a little much for a daytime date?"
"Are you questioning my taste?" Yachiho folded her arms beneath her chest and fixed him with a look that dared him to push further. "You are not an ordinary man who needs to blend into a crowd anymore. You are my man. You need something that projects dominance and refinement. Either change now, or I will dress you myself right here."
"Haah. Fine."
Naoki surrendered to the inevitable and ducked into the fitting room.
When he came out, the mood inside the boutique shifted almost imperceptibly. The combination of the silk shirt and leather jacket settled over his athletic frame in a way that worked rather well, giving him the air of the very dangerous, very attractive leader of some clandestine organization.
"..."
Yachiho went quiet. Her gaze moved over him slowly, taking in the full picture. She swallowed, and the color that came to her face this time was the particular shade that came with a satisfaction too strong to contain.
"There, you see? I told you my choices are never wrong. Now you actually look like a man worthy of standing next to me. Don't you dare take that off until this date is over."
"All right, all right."
Naoki walked to the cashier with the same unhurried composure, wearing the new outfit as though he'd had it for years. He drew out Yachiho's black card and handed it across the counter.
The quiet beep as it went through without resistance, even for a sum that could have purchased a decent car, produced a peculiar sensation in him.
Buying something extravagant without glancing at the price tag or mentally calculating his remaining balance was a completely new kind of experience. The adrenaline it gave him was a different species entirely from what he felt fighting Shuuki. This was the specific rush of financial power.
"Transaction complete, sir. Thank you for visiting." The cashier said, bowing with noticeably more deference than when Naoki had first walked in.
"Hehe, how does it feel to be rich?" Yachiho teased, her bag resting on one shoulder, her eyes bright with amusement as she watched Naoki beginning to settle into the luxury around him.
"Not bad." Naoki answered simply, the faint smile still in place. "Really not bad at all."
After that, Yachiho gave him no chance to rest. She guided him through every corner of the complex like a private tour given by someone who had been born knowing which rooms the public never gets to see.
They visited a fine watch boutique where rows of diamond-set timepieces were displayed with the same care a museum gives its sculptures. Yachiho walked him through the differences between Swiss and Japanese mechanical movements with a fluency that made clear just how much she had absorbed growing up in a family of her standing.
Their path then took them through an exclusive cosmetics and fragrance section, where the air itself felt deliberate, rich and calming enough that no one was in any hurry to leave. Yachiho spritzed a little of a sandalwood and musk cologne onto Naoki's neck and leaned in to smell it a moment later, turning pink immediately after.
They also passed through a contemporary art gallery on the upper floors that could only be entered by VIP members, its marble walls hung with abstract works valued in the hundreds of millions of yen.
In every space they entered, Yachiho drew eyes. Not only because of her striking beauty, but because of the authority she wore as naturally as her clothes. Naoki walked beside her carrying his new presence, and together they looked like the most conspicuous couple in all of Ginza.
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