Brianna's Date

While Haruo was breaking space-rocks, Tatsuyoshi was spending time in the local watering-hole. It just so happened that after a rather tiring day of teaching recalcitrant kids, Brianna decided that she was going to get herself a drink to calm her frazzled nerves.

Brianna's mood brightened seeing Tatsuyoshi there, but she headed past him to the dart board. She decided to challenge him to a darts game.

Of course, he had no objection to playing a game of darts with her. He was more than up to the challenge.

It was a close game, but of course...Brianna won.

Darned Paparazzi, they never fail to show up. Brianna ended up getting accosted by a paparazzi who started barraging her with questions about the guy she was with, but she ignored the woman.

...then she got up abruptly and walked over to Tatsuyoshi...and said, "Let's get on the dance floor so that witch can't bother us...". Tatsuyoshi nodded and they turned the stereo on to dance. At least while they were dancing they wouldn't be pestered.

It appeared as though Greta came over to grab a quick drink and a snack. Evidently she'd had a rough day in council meetings and she needed a little liquid pick-me-up. Seeing Tatsuyoshi and Brianna dancing, Greta smiled and headed out the door She really needs a guy in her life. Greta thought, And Tats seems like a nice enough guy.

Braden had come home from work...and well...he was hungry but he waited until his step-grandmother got her food from the fridge before he got his own.

River didn't worry that her daughter wasn't home yet. After all, she'd been texted a message that Bri had met up with Tatsuyoshi at the bar and would be going out to get something to eat at Hogan's Diner; her daughter was also a level 10 black belt in Sim Fu. And after all, Tatsuyoshi had a healthy fear of Bri's dad who was also a Levle 10. Not to mention, River herself was at Level 10.

After dinner, Brianna and Tatsuyoshi chatted outside the diner about certain inconsequential things. But sooner or later things turned around to personal stuff and eventually one thing led to another...

...a little flirting...

a little smooching...

...a little flower gifting...

...a little necking... (thank goodness Haruo wasn't there to see it...he would have probably wrapped Tatsuyoshi backwards around the lamp-pole...for doing such a thing to his baby-girl).

He had something of an inkling that something wasn't right but he wasn't sure...

...and after all if something was really wrong...his wife would let him know about it, wouldn't she?

"Hi...honey..." River said.

"Mmmphmmm..." Haruo had a mouth full of eggroll so he wasn't able to say much.

"Isn't it romantic?"

Haruo barely looked up from his plate of food, there wasn't much that he could comment on that non-sequitur coming out of left field.

"Bri's got a boyfriend..." River exclaimed happily. Haruo nearly choked on his next bite of fried chow mein.

I'm gonna kill him.was Haruo's only thought.