Toru got off the ferry when the sun was almost set, and he lowered his cap further to prevent anyone from recognizing him. He knew that as soon as someone saw him, the news would hit the whole island and he would definitely not have the quiet time that he wanted to have with his father.

He also hoped that a particular vile woman was not on the island so that he could relax and finally enjoy his holiday instead of being chased around and forced to go on a date with her.

He quickly moved within the darkness to cover the distance between the pier to his father's house, but when he arrived, the house was dark and there seemed to be no one around.

Strange.

Wasn't his father supposed to be sick?

He looked around and found that the neighborhood was also quiet, so he decided to go to the bar to ask Hideo where everyone seemed to go.

When he turned around and started to walk to the bar though, he saw a familiar old man who got out of his house and whistled happily. But he stopped when he saw Toru, and his lips turned up in a smile before he approached him and gave him a back pat.

"Toru, long time no see! Are you here to celebrate the opening of the new ryokan too?" The man grinned and dragged Toru with him. "You came at the right time! Everyone is invited to try the new onsen with free alcohol and food, courtesy of our newest resident, Azusa." The man chirped happily and this was the nth time Toru heard the name. First from his father, then his uncle, then Chikara too – and he sounded like he was in love with the woman already.

"Azusa? Is she the one who bought the bar and Chiori-san's house? Everyone seems to talk about her a lot these days." He was kind of suspicious with how easy the woman won the residents' hearts, and he really wanted to find out more about her to keep his home safe.

With the violence and all the human's behaviors he had witnessed in his line of work? It was hard to trust people, especially the one who looked as good as this Azusa.

"Yeah, and she's a pretty one too. You should introduce yourself to her, who knows…" The man's eyes twinkled with mischief and he could literally hear the gears turning inside his head.

"I will do that, Goto-san. I am very curious too." He didn't acknowledge the godforsaken thing that everyone had tried to do ever since he was accepted at the Major Crimes. He just didn't have time nor patience for romance, and he enjoyed his solitude after work.

Sure he knew they had a good intention, but he still felt like it was a breach of his privacy.

But then he noticed that the old man Goto was trying to set him up with this Azusa and he frowned. Wasn't she his old man's girlfriend? How old was she?

He didn't want to ask Goto though because this man was a notorious gossiper and he didn't want to start a fire. So he decided to ask his father instead – if by some luck he could manage to find the man.

They arrived at the new ryokan and Toru was impressed. The usually old and tired ryokan was revamped to look fresh and inviting just by adding a fresh layer of paint, changing the rotten wooden floors, the noren (cloth divider), the shoji (paper sliding door) and a new name board.

Well, in short, they fixed almost everything, and in a short time too.

He had to congratulate uncle Kenji, since he must be the one who did it. Flawless job too. And now he was curious about the bar and the house, but those two could wait until after he found his lying father.

Yes, he already suspected that his father must have been lying to lure him back home, and he roped his boss into this farce too. He wondered what was their intention, when he was dragged by Chiori-san – who obviously had been waiting for him – and she gave him a thin gray yukata with the new ryokan's name embroidered on the left chest.

Shokujosei Ryokan.

Hmm…

Whoever picked the name must be such a romantic fool, to be able to believe in such a tale about star-crossed lovers. He guessed that it was probably the rich newcomer's doing. And now he was curious about her.

"Toru, after you change, go to the end of the hall for the banquet, we have prepared special dishes for you there. Please enjoy!" Chiori-san sounded very cheerful and Toru chuckled. The woman was always such a delight, although she could be very stern too, and he loved her quirkiness.

He quickly changed into the soft kimono and walked to the end of the hall where there were a few closed shoji doors, but he could clearly hear the laughs and the chatter reverberated inside.

He was not really in the mood for a community meeting right now, and it seemed that Chiori-san understood, since the door at the end of the hall was quiet.

He entered the room and found out that there was already a low table with a huge spread for two – which he assumed that the other one was for his father – and he whistled in awe. The food was plenty, and they were the freshest and the most appealing in color and presentation. Sashimi spreads with salmon belly, tuna belly, sea urchin, shirako, a variety of sushi, tempura, fish, thick cut katsudon, miso soup and everything a man could dream of.

Toru took a piece of shrimp tempura and ate it and groaned from the crisp and the great taste.

"Damn, this is great." He looked around the room and saw that it had a private onsen at the back. He smiled as he took off his kimono and everything as he entered the onsen.

He groaned again as the hot milky water enveloped his tired body, and he leaned his toned body back then put a wet towel on his face.

God, this was heaven.

He really appreciated the peace and quiet, before he berated his lying father for… well, for lying to him, obviously.

Then he heard a very clear sound of women talking very close to him, that he almost jumped from surprise. But he noticed that the voices came from the onsen next to this one, and he could recognize one of the high-pitched familiar annoying voices and he shuddered in disgust.

"I heard that Toru the Stud is going to come, is that true?" One of the women giggled and the others followed.

"Hey hey, he's mine, don't you dare come onto him!"

"What? Karen, you're so selfish, he's single so it's open season for everyone here. Besides, no man has an ass as fine as he has in this side of the hemisphere."

"And I heard that he has a huge… you know, and he's really good at using it."

Everyone giggled, and Toru cringed when he heard how the local women described him like he was some kind of a livestock. He just wanted to scold his father and went back to the city, when he heard Karen continue talking again with her venomous tone.

"Do you think that he will fall for the whore, Azusa? You know, I heard from my connection that she was actually a very famous prostitute back in the city, that's why she has that kind of money. Apparently a yakuza boss fell in love with her and gave her all kinds of stuff for… you know… favors."

Toru heard loud gasps from the women and he couldn't help but chuckle. The imagination of those people was really amusing.

Suddenly he felt something nudge his side, and when he took the towel out to see what it was, he saw a floating tray with a bottle of sake and two shot glasses, and long slim fingers that held the tray.

"Sake?" She poured the bottle into the two glasses and gave one to Toru. He accepted it automatically because he was still stunned by her beauty.

Her hair was long and dark, and she was obviously naked under all those milky water. But the most mesmerizing thing that made him unable to turn his head was her eyes. They were gold and silver, and they looked at him with such an intensity behind them.

"You're… Toru the Stud, I presume?"

He could hear the laugh behind the words, and he couldn't help but smile at her humor.

"At your service. And you are…" He took the glass and drank the sake to calm himself and was surprised when he tasted his favorite sake.

"Well, I am Azusa the whore. Nice to finally see you, Stud."