Himari's advice (p1)

Maki teleported to the host district before it got dark. He wanted to leave the house and investigate (i.e. talk about Kōga) as soon as possible.

He entered the host club and looked around - Himari was nowhere to be seen. It was mostly empty, because of the early hour. A handsome manager with blond hair appeared in front of him.

"Young man, I remember you. Himari’s client, right?" He winked. "You will have to wait, they are changing into a suit. I will show you to the room." He smiled most charmingly and gestured for Maki to follow, he added: "Have you considered working as a host yourself? With your looks…"

"I already have a job." Maki cut it off. He didn’t understand why he would be asked to work in such a place - he believed he looked average. So he just followed the manager, occasionally glancing at other hosts, who looked back at him, whispering. Someone smiled and waived. He turned away, shy.

"Oh such a modest guy," Maki heard someone say. He looked up, and one of the hosts who waived appeared in front of him, a fan in his hand. "Maybe you choose me for tonight? I will give you a first-date discount." He looked beautiful, his straight, light-pink hair reached his chin, framing his cute round face in a complementary way. That mischievous sparkle in the eyes confused Maki.

"Em…" Maki looked at the manager.

The manager tagged at Maki's elbow, glancing at the host, "Give up, Kai-kun. He is not here for you. And also, be fair to your colleagues."

"Oh so sad," Kai raised his folded fan towards Maki's chin, "Such a beauty wasted on some girl." Then he turned around, walking away.

Maki stood there a bit shocked. Kai... Seems like he is also a yokai. Did he understand something about me? The heavy perfume obscured my senses, so I couldn't guess who he was.

Kai was the kawai host. He was not very tall, a bit feminine, light blush on his cheeks. His maximalist style matched his attitude. After talking to Maki, Kai returned to the others, whispering and glancing at him. Maki felt embarrassed, so he left the hall in a hurry.

The manager still held his elbow. "Hey, beauty," he whispered, "if you ever feel like Himari is not fitting, I suggest you choose Kai. He is just playing confident so you notice him, but he is a good boy. He has been working hard to collect money for something. We still have no idea what! He loves men, you know, but he respects women, never playing with their feelings... Even though he would earn more money that way." Th least part sounded almost sad.

Maki looked at him, "why are you telling me this? Could it be he is the most expensive one here?"

"Ha-ha," the manager clapped his hands, "I am the most expensive one, of course. He is... well, second."

"I thought so." Maki opened the door himself, "I will wait here, by myself. Thank you."

"Oh, letting me go so soon? Doesn't bother me at all, handsome. I shall leave now and let Himari know." He bowed and flew away with grace.

Maki flapped down on the sofa. In several minutes, or so, he heard Himari enter.

"So Kai liked you?", she looked at him, smirking, "You don't even realize how lucky you are. He never chooses anyone."

"Uh, whatever. It's his job so..."

She showed off a cocktail in her hand, "You are paying, right?"

"I came here with several questions, and I will pay for an hour, as we agreed, and for the cocktail. I need advice, and… help with something."

"Oh, " Himari flung herself down on the opposite side of the sofa. "I am all ears."

"First, I am looking for a man, who might be dangerous."

"Do you have a picture?"

"I drew him," Maki took out a folded paper. There were several, detailed sketches of a face from the side, and from the front.

Himari took the paper and looked back at Maki. "You realize you are asking me about one of the most known models in Tokyo, right?"

"What? For real?" Maki looked surprised.

"Yep, he is a star nowadays. Has a lot of followers on Insta, and also had some cool campaigns recently."

"Can you tell me his name?"

"Sure, his name is Kazuo K., It seems to be a professional pseudonym."

"Well, that really helped," Maki typed it down on the search bar on his phone, "I had no idea this issue would be resolved so fast."

"What did he do?"

"Uh, you know, it has to do with the second issue. He...I saw them kissing with Kōga."

Himari stopped sipping her drink, laughing "That is considered dangerous behaviour, you are funny, aren’t you?" Maki remained serious, so she stopped teasing. "Well, I told you he was toxic for you, an absolute red flag."

"Well..." Maki blushed.

Himari's eyes widened, "Uh, don't tell me you two had something?"

"No, no" he waved his hands, getting redder, "Not like that. He invited me to his house, and then he flirted with me. And I didn't understand anything. It seemed we did not understand each other at all. But it makes me want to try even more. But then, the next day I see him with this man, kissing..."

"Okay, so he tried to seduce you, and you refused. Then he got mad?"

"Yes, for a bit of time, he did. And I proposed to talk about this situation, which made him even more mad. I just wanted to explain why I could not do it before we got to know each other..."

"Oh wow, old-fashioned you are?"

"Maybe..." He closed his eyes.

"Listen, Maki, I understand, but to me, it sounds like he is not very serious about relationships in general. He probably has many options..."

"Oh, you think?" Maki's face turned tragic.

"Yes, and seeing him with this model only means that he likes playing with different options?"

"But... He seemed hurt by my rejection. "

"Probably his ego," Himari touched her hair, "I wonder if many rejected him as you did. You didn't even get a chance to explain. How many more times I should tell you to drop it." She signed, "But it's useless, I know. What do you want to do now?"

"Well, I was avoiding him all this time, and of course, he did not contact me either. But I need to talk to him about this model now, because... well, he is no good, he is involved with a very dangerous person. I need to understand what they did together, and why."

"So you basically have an excuse to see him, right?"

"I was thinking of coming to his house before, but now I am afraid to come, what if he's not alone..."

"Oh, I would love the drama," She laughed, "why wouldn't you try? I think it is a good idea, to see him like that. And to see how he behaves around other people, and with you."

"I think it's a terrible idea, Himari. I can't do that."

"Okay, if you can't maybe we should come up with a plan. Maybe you can come to his building and call him, saying that you need to talk, about professional stuff, and such. This will allow him to decide whether to invite you in, or come out to you, in case there is someone?"

"I guess. This sounds a bit better to me."

"Okay, and what's next? Do you plan to address what happened to you two?" Himari straightened, interested in the progression of the conversation, she even forgot about her drink.

"No, it seems he wanted to forget that. But, how do I tell him I saw the kiss. I will die."

"Oh, you do not need to mention that, just say you saw them on the street, you just need to know about the guy, right?"

"Okay, yes, this makes sense." He contemplated a bit, "Why do I become stupid, when it comes to him?"

"It's a crush, of course, you would be nervous, oh, and the emotional roller coaster... It's okay though, you just need to look confident, right?"

"I guess."

"So why won't you go there, and see how it goes this time, maybe confront him about the model in the process, ask him what he thinks of you. Tell him what you think of him, but not too much, remember, you've barely met..."

"Maybe I shouldn't tell him at all?"

"You'll see, I guess. I think it would be beneficial for you to get over this confusion, so you can move on."

"Okay," He thought about it for a moment, and smiled at her, "thank you Himari!"

Himari returned to a relaxed position on a sofa. "We still have time, do you want to talk about something else?"

"Well," Maki hesitated, "Maybe you tell me how are you doing since we are already doing this?"