The Reunion

Present day

Mitsuha jumped back once again to Japan, changed clothes and headed to Bar Micchan, as she had several times by now. Growing up, this had been practically a second home as she and Michiko, who she called "Micchan" had been friends since kindergarten. However, ever since Adelaide's debutante ball, "Yamano liquor" had caught on, right alongside "Yamano cuisine", and while most of the cuisine could eventually be made locally, albeit with some ingredient cheating...err assistance here and there, high-end liquor was another matter entirely. Mitsuha didn't have the means nor ability to make nor duplicate what professional winemakers and distilleries with generations of expertise could create, and while the Zegleus Kingdom certainly had its share of distilled spirits, they didn't hold a candle to the best that Earth had to offer.

Back then, Mitsuha had managed to get Michiko's dad to sell her those first few bottles, even though she was underaged with a little gentle arm-twisting, along with a promise that the product wasn't for her. It'd all worked out for both of us; he got a ton of sales; Adelaide's party was a huge success and I made lots of gold so what was the problem? Of course, success begat success and more of the nobility started asking for these delightful alcoholic indulgences which Mitsuha was fine to provide for the right price. Getting more meant coming back to Bar Micchan; no other bar in Japan was likely to sell to her, even after she turned 20. With her appearance, they'd probably accuse her of trying to score with a false ID.

"Hellooo!" she called out with her usual lack of restraint. She expected to see the burly middle-aged man coming to meet her, but her heart skipped a beat when instead seeing the all-too-familiar face of her childhood playmate.

"Mitsuha!" Michiko immediately stepped forward and the two girls shared an embrace and for a moment it was like both were back in high school. A few minutes later, Michiko was pouring both of them tea in the small kitchenette.

"So, you're a party planner now?" Michiko asked. "It sounds like a fun and exciting life! I'm so happy you found your calling!" she added with a smile.

Mitsuha returned the smile. It was mostly true. She had found a new life. Ironically, it was the parties that were the biggest pain. "And you're back from college? Where's your parents anyway?"

Michiko nodded. "For two weeks, yes. Otoosan and Okaasan are taking a much-needed break, so I'm watching the store."

Mitsuha looked at Michiko over with fondness, and not a little envy. By now, she was a half-foot taller and better built in all the right places, and unlike Mitsuha, was well on her way to blossoming into the beautiful young woman she would one day become. No one would be confusing her as a twelve-year old. "So... if I were to need to buy any kind of booze..."

Michiko sighed and let out a smile. "Otoosan said you'd become his new number one customer."

Mitsuha placed her hands together in a beseeching way before handing Michiko a couple sheets of paper. "Great... so you'll help me?"

"I guess if Otoosan let you get away with it, it's OK to let a few more slide under the table," Michiko conceded. She then glanced at the list and blinked. "Y-you have over 800 bottles here. Just how many parties are you catering?"

"A-ah ha," Mitsuha tried to laugh. "It's several actually..." Which was totally true; back in the Zegleus Kingdom, ballroom season was coming around again, much to Mitsuha's dread. As a newly made member of the nobility, Viscountess Yamano was obligated to make at least an appearance to a few of them.

Michiko scanned the list more carefully. "Several of these are very premium labels. Who's coming to these parties? The Count of Monte Cristo?"

Try Count Claus Von Bozes and his family Mitsuha thought to herself. Six of the high-end bottles were going to be gifts to him and Iris for an upcoming anniversary and as a sign of gratitude for all they had given to her over the past year or so. The rest... well, she refused to stock Earth liquor in the Yamano county store because she didn't want her citizens to get hooked and drink their lives away but she had no problems making it a special-order item for her capitol city store for ripping off... err charging a premium price to noble families for their ballroom parties. Mitsuha took a breath. "A few of those are going to be a gift to a very important family, who helped me out of a very dark time of my life. The rest... well, some very important people are coming to these parties. Big time movers and shakers... captains of industries... people who are accustomed to the very best." Not a single word of that was a lie, when you think of it, she thought proudly.

"Well, the regular stuff you can have now. The high-end stuff, I'll have to special-order, and you can pick it up in a few days. Do you have a shipping warehouse for me to send the bottles?"

"Oh no, I was just going to load it into my car and take it home if that was OK," Mitsuha said innocently.

Michiko looked out into the parking lot and visibly scoffed at Mitsuha's Japanese subcompact. "Not in that you aren't; unless you were planning to make multiple trips."

Mitsuha froze for a moment; she had gotten so used to letting world-jumping be her go-to solution for so many problems. It was the little things that she had started to lose track of.

Misreading her confusion, Michiko chimed in. "How about this? We'll load up Otoosan's work truck. I'll close up the shop and we'll just take the afternoon off. It's been so long; we can catch up and take care of your business at the same time."

Mitsuha put her hand behind her head and looked sheepishly, "Well, that's nice of you, but...I kind of feel a little..."

"Don't worry about it!" Michiko assured her smilingly. "Besides, you've practically cleared out half the shop stock. Even if another customer came, chances are we wouldn't be able to sell them what they wanted anyway."