Just a quick author's note.  This is one of my favorite chapters that I have written thus far for this story.  It's about twice as long as my normal chapters, and I wanted that put out there before you start reading it.  I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I do!

Naru guides Mai gently by placing his right hand to the small of her back. They tread up a small paved incline to a glass vestibule that houses doors which open to four separate elevators. Unfortunately even standing in the vestibule gives Mai no hints as to where they are going. She almost wants to stomp out her impatience as they ride the elevator up to the ground floor. She is shocked when the door opens up to the lobby of the Mori Art Museum.

Did he know I have a fondness for art and the artists in question responsible for their creativity and design? Or does he have a fondness for it himself that I wasn't aware of? Before Mai can utter a verbal response Naru takes her hand and guides her to the first exhibit.

Noll watches her face to determine her emotions when she finally absorbs where they are. It eases his nerves a bit to see that his choice seems to be affecting her in a pleasing, if not surprising manner. But how will she react to the big surprise I have planned? He couldn't help but admit that this part of his plan probably made him the most anxious.

The first few exhibits that the main hallway branches off into focus on realism then gradually meander into Renaissance. "Honestly, I can appreciate this artwork for its use of light and shadow. Plus there is no way I could measure up to this kind of artistic talent. But, when it comes to Renaissance artists I think I prefer to focus on how much they all accomplished during that time frame. Specifically, Leonardo da Vinci and his inventions that were well before his time."

Instead of teasing her for showing even a modicum of intelligence Noll instead chose to engage the intellectual conversation. "I think I would have to agree. I mean his most known inventions are probably of course those that revolved around flight. Did you know he also invented many military related concepts?" When Mai shook her head 'no' he went on to tell her about an armored car that very well could have been a precursor to the more modern armored tank. "A frenchman named Leon Levavasseur also made a proposal for a similar concept in 1903. Unfortunately for them both it was Benjamin Holt in 1907 that obtained the patent for a crawler type tractor that lead to the beginning plans for the modern tank."

"It's sincerely a shame how many inventors have gotten passed over by others getting their credit." Mai shook her head sympathetically.

"Yes, and it's happened enough times that we would have enough conversation to last us weeks. Unfortunately, we don't have that kind of time to meander around the museum like that." He half smiled at her, and she muffled a chuckle that tried to erupt from her throat.

It hadn't taken the two long to find their way to a hallway of Impressionists. Mai stopped and studied a painting that's subject was a field of purple flowers. "I've always loved the Impressionists' movements in their brushstrokes." She paused to cup her chin in contemplation, a pose that was more characteristic of Naru and when she realized she adopted the same positioning she immediately dropped her stance. "Um, is that what it could be called?"

"It's something definitely up for debate." He indicated the painting in front of him. "Van Gogh definitely wasn't considered an artist during his lifetime. So he wasn't asked the representation of his brushstrokes. But it hardly matters when he produces something this exquisite."

Mai nodded. "I'm happy they had Irises here. It's probably my second favorite Van Gogh."

"Why is this one your second favorite?"

"Well, the subject is obviously the field of flowers itself. But, I still think it has a separate focal point." She paused to let Naru concentrate on the painting.

Noll had his own hypothesis about the subject matter but he was curious to know Mai's. He held his hand out signalling that she should explain her thoughts first.

She grinned broadly and pointed to the left hand side of the painting. The spot where instead of a bright violet iris was planted there was a white one in its place. "I obviously don't know the reason for certain that it's white, and this may or may not actually be the focal point but I like to think that perhaps Van Gogh was pointing out the beauty of this particular flower's simplicity. A flower doesn't have to wear flashy colors to stand out."

Naru was impressed by her intuitiveness. He actually was thinking along similar lines and made sure to tell her so. "What if the flowers all represent specific women in Van Gogh's life. Then perhaps the one woman that Van Gogh admires is possibly one that most others overlook easy. He just happens to find beauty in her uniqueness."

Mai wasn't sure why but his explanation sounded like a compliment that was directed at her. Whether or not that was his intent the statement made heat rush to her cheeks all the same.

Noll of course noticed the light blush infusing her cheeks. He had probably inadvertently given her a compliment but he chose to steer the conversation back around to something she had said previously. "I bet I could easily guess your first favorite painting of Van Gogh's." He smirked. So many people were exposed to one particular Van Gogh painting he was sure he would be correct.

"If you are thinking it would be Starry Night you would be incorrect." Mai arched an eyebrow at Naru, and nearly laughed gleefully when when she saw the cocky expression fall from his face.

Noll was pleasantly surprised but still curious. "Okay then. What is it?"

"I've seen it go by two names. Starry Night over the Rhone and Night Stars."

"Oh come now. Those two titles sound as if they were two other known names for Starry Night." Noll groaned in complaint.

"It's not the same painting I swear." She took a finger and traced a cross over the upper left swell of her breast. When he still didn't look convinced she rolled her eyes then pulled her smartphone out and began typing with her tiny fingers on the touchscreen. Once she grinned in triumph at finding what she was looking for she held up the screen to show him.

The painting in question, while also a nighttime landscape therefore having a nearly identical color palette, was quite different in its representation of light and movement. He pointed out the couple located in the bottom right corner of the painting. "Do you think that could be Vincent Van Gogh himself?"

Mai shrugged. "Who could say? But, if it is that makes me wonder who the woman might be."

"Perhaps his mother. If memory serves me right he also has done portrait paintings of his mother."

Mai honestly didn't know if this was accurate or not but with Naru's vast knowledge she wouldn't have been surprised.

The last section the two come to hold a great deal of artists that neither of them have heard of before. Some of the paintings are interesting. Some of the sculptures are strange. But they both stop at one painting in particular. "It's blue." Noll states and due to his tone it's quite obvious it's a complaint.

Because the two of them are fans of art they know to stand a good distance away. But all either of them can make out at the distance is just a light blue color on canvas. Noll turns away while Mai arches her eyebrow at the painting and decides to take a couple steps forward. It's then she notices something that shocks her and gasps. "No, Naru, it's not just blue. Come here."

Noll casts a skeptical eyebrow at Mai but humors her and is also quite surprised. Underneath a thin layer of paint there is hidden multiple images throughout the painting of several little creatures and landscapes. "It reminds me of a children's picture book."

Mai steps back again and now that she knows the images are there she can see them more clearly. "The painting isn't simply blue. The creatures are camouflaged by the paint to make you have to take a second look at it." The two both note the name of the artist, Dean Byington, to research him further.

Noll glances at his watch. "Are you hungry?"

Mai nods.

He clasps her hand and leads her to another elevator that she hadn't noticed before. It only leads up which confuses Mai. "I thought we were going somewhere to eat."

Noll smiles but avoids her questioning eyes. "We are."

Perhaps she should have expected that Naru would have something big up his sleeve. But she never expected that the museum would have not one, not two, but three restaurants. True one of them was a cafe and another was more of a bar/lounge. But still the museum had three restaurants!

When Naru escorted her into The Moon restaurant she was flabbergasted by how upscale everything was. It wasn't so extravagant that in her classy casual attire she felt out of place. But when Naru pulled out her chair for her, and she noticed the napkins were cloth she had an inkling that it wasn't just your average sit down eatery either. Her suspicions elevated when the waitress came by and filled one of each of their wine goblets with ice water.

"It is early yet for our dinner traffic so you are more than welcome to choose either from the lunch or dinner menu." She handed them each a menu. "I will give you some time to decide." She bowed and backed away.

"Honestly, I haven't eaten since breakfast." Mai admitted. Technically she barely even ate that. She nibbled at a donut.

The corner of Noll's mouth lifted. "Truthfully, neither have I." He wasn't ready to admit how nervous she made him. But he wouldn't deny that he was more interested in what the dinner menu had to offer.

The menu consisted of four choices that served two to four people. "I'm leaning towards the options from the third dinner course selection."

Truthfully while they were making their selections Mai phased out a bit. But when Noll asked for a bottle of their finest champagne she attempted to intervene. He reached out for the hand that was attempting to call the waitress back. "It's alright Mai. It's a special occasion. There is no price tag too steep to make this the most memorable first date for either of us."

Mai had to admit to herself that it already was indeed her most memorable first date. "You really don't have to spend so much money to try to impress me, Naru. You kind of already have."

Noll mentally patted himself on the back. Only a few spare moments pass before the waitress brings them back a bottle that she lifts for his appraisal. He nodded in acceptance, and she promptly pour them each a glass. It's as she leaves again that he notices Mai hasn't really looked past the table setting in front of her. "Did you notice the view?" He indicated the large floor to ceiling window just beside them.

Mai had honestly been too preoccupied with the nerves she felt. Glancing at the cloth napkin and the vast number of utensils was enough to make her want to tuck away like a turtle in her shell, but because he asked her she couldn't help but look the direction he indicated and found herself gasping. She was almost overwhelmed by the site before her. The view overlooks the vast city and she can mentally picture all the lights twinkling below them when it becomes dark, but it isn't exactly that fact that has her so astonished. The window faces the eastern sky and the sun is slowly making its descent below the horizon. "You purposely brought me here at this precise time to be able to watch the sunset over the city?"

Noll smiled and clasped her hand. "Yes, yes I did."

Mai felt her nose begin to almost burn and her eyes begin to water. She tried her best to blink away the happy tears but one still managed to escape and roll down her cheek. "That is the most thoughtful...gah words don't even express how that makes me feel." She suddenly feels parched so she sips gently at her champagne. "Oh, wow. I've never had champagne before. This is lovely." She takes a larger sip and giggles. "The bubbles tickle my nose."

Noll finds himself smiling in response as their first course is brought out. It's a small white bowl of a vibrant green pea based soup. In the center are two perfectly seared scallops. "Scallops are the only mollusk I enjoy." He admits before pulling the two delicate pieces of meat from the soup to eat separately.

"Are you not going to eat it with the soup?" Mai curiously questions him. She almost fears his actions might come across as rude to the staff.

"I could but I find the soup easier to eat this way."

She nods as if that perfectly answers her question. It doesn't but it is definitely a Naru-like response, and she can't fault him for being himself.

Once the last spoonful of the bowls are eaten the next plate is brought their way. A small plate of buttery white asparagus is laid before them. "I realize we could have ordered the cutlassfish or the clam but with you ordering the trout as your main course I thought that seemed like an unbalanced meal."

"Not to mention the fact that the only mollusk you actually enjoy are scallops." Mai grinned at him. "I love asparagus. I prefer green but this is lovely too."

The portion size of the bowl of soup and asparagus plate they shared had luckily been small enough that they were both still anticipating the rest of their meal. Naru poured them each their second glass of champagne, and they chatted with each other a bit before their entrees were brought out to them. "I thought perhaps after we were done here we could stroll around the Mori Garden. They might even have some of the twinkle lights they put up for Christmas already."

Mai shrugged. "I think it might depend upon how warm it is out. If the temperature has dropped too much I am not sure I could handle the frigid air."

Noll didn't mean to take her words poorly, but he still found himself frowning. He didn't have the chance to reply at that moment however because that's when their entrees were brought out to them.

In front of Mai was placed a beautiful plate. At the base were sliced lemons on top of that was a whole trout that had been seared directly over an open flame. On top of the trout were previously skewered evenly seared shrimp. The two of them both knew that the fish and shrimp alike had been marinated in a sake ginger and garlic mixture just from the description on the menu.

In front of Noll was placed a humble plate of evenly sliced beef wagyu. It was seasoned perfectly and roasted with the accompanied vegetables adorning his plate. Baby bok choy, carrots, japanese eggplant, and onion not only looked visual appealing but the fragrant aroma was exceptionally mouth watering.

The two both said at the same time something to extent of. "Maybe I should have ordered that." They found themselves easily laughing at each other's reaction and asked the waitress kindly if she could give them each a small clean plate so they could sample each other's dishes. Her face had held confusion for a brief moment before she smiled at them as if it was a request other customers had often made. It probably was proper etiquette to put in such a request, but the two of them couldn't find it in themselves to be overly worried about it.

The two both dug into their own plates while they waited on the additional plates to be brought out to them and Mai sighed. "Naru, I don't want you to think that I don't want to spend more time with you tonight. Honestly, I don't want this night to end. I just don't know if I want to spend it out in the chilly weather right now." She took a heavy sip of her champagne while she gathered courage to proceed with her next thought. "I would like this night to continue on, and I was going to suggest maybe we could spend the rest of the night in. I have plenty of blu-rays and dvds we could watch..."

The waitress brought out their extra plates, and Noll finished his bite before thanking her. "Have you forgotten your lack of comfortable furniture?" He saw Mai tense and reached out to her. "Sorry I didn't mean that to come out quite as rude as it sounded. What I meant was that I like the idea but I wouldn't be comfortable on that futon of yours, and the kitchen chair is fine for going over notes but not to sit in while watching a movie."

Mai almost suggested they could watch a movie from her bed. But that definitely wasn't appropriate. Not only that but her mattress was a twin size, and they would be practically right on top of each other while watching the movie. Her face grew exceptionally warm as she replayed the realization she just had in her head.

Noll grew worried that there was something wrong with her entree when her face took on the hue of a tomato. "Are you okay, Mai? You aren't having an allergic reaction to something, are you? Damn, I knew I would mess this night up somehow."

Mai pushed past her embarrassment to assure Naru that he did nothing wrong. "No, Naru, the food is wonderful. The date has been wonderful." She really couldn't verbalize why she blushed so fiercely. It was simply to embarrassing. She proceeds to explain, without explaining. "I just...it wasn't you or the food okay."

Noll was exceptionally confused but he let the subject drop for the moment.

"We do have the recreation room that we normally use for gatherings. It's centralized on the top floor with our apartments. We normally use it for celebrations like our annual Christmas party and such. But it does have a sofa, large smart television, and blu-ray player. We could hang out there after we have eaten." Mai suggested with a raised eyebrow.

Noll actually considered taking her back to his apartment where it would be a bit less public than what she was suggesting. Unfortunately, that probably wasn't a smart choice for a first date. Plus, he didn't exactly live alone. Who knew when Gene would be back. Also, while Lin had his own living space. It was located upstairs from the twins', and he spent most of his time downstairs with the twins anyway.

Naru's lack of answer was making her nervous. She didn't realize she had drained her glass until she reached for it again and found it empty. She grabbed the bottle and poured another glass for herself.

She looked up to watch Naru seem lost in thought, but still nibbling at his food. She should probably get busy on her meal herself. The waitress would probably soon be by to ask if they were ready for dessert, and she had yet to finish half of her plate. It wouldn't be an easy meal to reheat so she tucked in and tried to slowly eat more of her entree. With every three bites she took she would become thirsty and have to take a sip of her champagne. If she had thought it through she would have switched to her water at that point. But the champagne was lovely and definitely enhanced the flavors of her meal.

"I suppose we could do that. Watch a movie in the recreation room at your place I mean." Mai had almost forgotten she had even offered it up as a suggestion. She was thrilled at the prospect of having more one on one time with Naru and found herself smiling broadly.

Noll immediately smiled back in response. Would he ever be able to seem completely composed in her presence ever again? And, if not how much did he really care about being perceived as indifferent to the people around him anymore? He wasn't sure he could answer these questions of himself. Time could only tell.

Noll was completely blindsided. How did he miss it? How could he have not noticed the empty champagne bottle? Or, how Mai's eyes had gone glossy and unfocused? He noticed how her cheeks had become infused the pink blushing tint he had grown to adore. He had chalked that up to her being in his presence though. Not the copious amount of alcohol she had obviously consumed.

The glow to her cheeks had become nearly permanent by the time the waitress had brought their desserts around. He should have noticed then but they both were too engrossed in savoring the sweet flavor of their strawberry tarts.

Perhaps he should have noticed when they walked into the elevator, and she seemed a tad unsteady on her feet. She had managed to regain her composure once the elevator stopped at the garage level so he chalked it up to simply the nerves she normally seemed to have in his presence.

He only began to notice when she lost her footing walking down the incline that headed back to his car. Then his mind immediately zeroed in on the visual of the empty bottle left behind at their table, her infused cheeks, and how unsteady she had been on her feet. Now going back to watch a movie with her seemed dishonorable. He should be a gentleman and leave her at her apartment door.

The drive back actually stressed him out a little bit. He once again found him tightening his grip on the leather steering wheel.

"Naru, is something wrong?" She reached toward him. Her fingers lightly grazing his upper arm.

The action left goosebumps in their wake, and he covertly hid the shiver that overtook his body. He took a deep breath, flexed his fingers, and turned to glance her way before focusing on the road again. "I think perhaps we should take a rain check on the movie."

Mai felt her eyebrows arching downward and her forehead beginning to crease as she frowned in reaction to what he was telling her. "Why are you being a poop?"

Noll's jaw dropped. "A poop?"

"Yes, a poop. You are reneging on our plans." She crossed her arms across her waist and pouted, pretending to look out the front windshield when she wasn't focusing on anything other than her own inner turmoil.

"That's not exactly what is happening Mai." He sighed as he glanced her way and noticed the expression on her face. "It's just that you consumed more alcohol than I realized. I think you should rest instead."

He was right about the amount of champagne she consumed. She felt her brain going fuzzy and her vision was a bit blurry. Her cheeks were quite warm but she was definitely used to that when she was around Naru. She had to admit that concentrating on keeping her words from slurring was also proving to be difficult. "You're right. I did drink more champagne than I should have, but the few times that I have gotten like this it hasn't lasted for long." She pauses for a moment in consideration. "Can we make a deal?"

Noll found himself being quite cautious when he asked. "What kind of deal?"

"We go ahead and proceed with our plans. Start a movie to watch together. If I don't seem to sober up within half an hour of the movie then you can stop it, escort me back to my room, and tell me goodnight. If I do seem to sober up we continue the movie and finish our date properly."

What trouble could half an hour cause? He asked himself.

He regretted agreeing the next morning when he woke up to Takigawa storming in the recreation room and peeling a disheveled, sleeping Mai from his chest. Takigawa passed off Mai to Ayako who seemed just as furious at the scene. Then Takigawa pulled Noll to his feet and began to scream in his face. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?!"