Chapter 16: Outing

"Relax sis." Akiko chuckled as she watched her sister keep on using her tennis racket to serve against the automatic machine that was in front of them.

"How can I stay calm?" Narumi huffed before hitting the ball back into the court. "A trip to Paris with Daiki." 

"What do you expect? This is a normal thing for married couples." 

Narumi rolled her eyes at that comment as she hit the ball that was just released by the machine again. 

"It's a contract marriage, not a real one." She reminded Akiko and took a deep breath before taking a shot at the machine. 

"Well, the public doesn't know that. Everyone believes you are married, but if you want them to find out the truth, which could bring up another scandal," Akiko  said.

"You are not helping!" Narumi sighed. 

"Listen, Narumi, you can take either mom or I with you guys if you feel uncomfortable. Then it will be a family vacation, not a couple's trip." Akiko offered.

"That's not a bad idea." Narumi hit the next ball back towards the machine and waited for it to return to her side. 

"I'm a genius." Akiko laughed lightly. She stopped laughing after seeing Daiki, who was approaching the court. 

He was surprised when he saw Narumi playing tennis; it was shocking for him, but he couldn't stop himself from watching her serve.

'She's good.' He thought to himself as she served. 'Her form is flawless…' 

"Hey Daiki." Akiko greeted him. He was startled by her voice because he was focused on Narumi.

"Hi." He mumbled back in greeting. 

Akiko was thinking about how she could bring the two of them closer together so they could be a couple for real. 

'I have an idea.' She thought to herself.

"Daiki, you play tennis, right?" Akiko asked curiously.

"Yeah," Daiki nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"The two of you should have a match." She suggested it and saw his eyebrow shoot up at the idea.

"A match? No offense, but I don't want to crush my boss completely." He responded and shrugged lightly. 

Narumi turned off the machine and looked at Daiki. "Do you really think you are better than me?" She asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

He didn't reply immediately but gave her a reassuring smile instead. "Yes, I do." 

Narumi huffed softly. "You sound so confident." She remarked while looking away from him.

"Because I am sure that I will win." He smirked at the challenge.

She narrowed her eyes but said nothing.

"I think the both of you should have a match with a prize for the winner, or you can place a bet." Akiko proposed.

"If your sister doesn't have a problem with it, then I'm good." Daiki said.

"I have no problem with it." Narumi smiled. 

"I want to pick the prize," Akiko announced.

"No problem." 

"The loser will have to do whatever the winner says for the whole day."

Both Daiki and Narumi raised their eyebrows at this suggestion.

"Think of another thing," Daiki said.

"What's wrong? Scared of losing?" Narumi  teased.

"Of course not." Daiki responded. "I'm worried that if I win, you will deal with me for making you do things I want." 

Narumi narrowed her gaze. "As long as you don't pick stupid things, then there will be no problem, but there's no way you can win."

"If you say so." Daiki shrugged before putting his hands into his pockets. 

"I'm going to be the umpire." Akiko smiled. "Alright, let's start." Narumi smirked. 

The first set ended with Daiki giving Narumi a hard time. Every time he was supposed to serve, it was really hard for her to return it, and it was frustrating.

'He didn't lie about being good.' She thought to herself.

Akiko was enjoying the match immensely; she didn't really care about who won because all she wants is for them to spend time together.

Daiki kept his cool all through; he won the first set, but Narumi won the second. Heavy breaths were the only sounds around them for a while, and concentration was the main focus between the two of them.

Daiki eventually won the last set, and he felt his body relax a little bit. His shoulders fell, and he looked at Narumi with a soft expression.

"You are good."

Narumi breathed out and felt her own face heat up a bit. "I admit defeat, but don't get too cocky."

"Dear sister, since Daiki won, that means you must do everything he says for the whole day." Akiko giggled while Narumi just sighed. 

"I know," Narumi muttered.

"Great, so what would you like my sister to do first?" Akiko asked with excitement in her tone. 

"I don't know," Daiki said nonchalantly.

'Come on, stupid man, just pick something for the both of you to do.' Akiko internally begged. 'But what could they possibly do? swimming, going out for lunch.'

"It's alright, Daiki; there's still time for you to come up with something." Akiko smiled reassuringly. "Just pick something that you want to do with Narumi."

"Okay, that's enough." Narumi cut in. "I'm going to have a bath, and after that we have some important work to deal with Daiki." 

"Yes ma'am." Daiki nodded and bowed before leaving the court.

Narumi took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"You seem tired, sis. I think you should go out and have lunch with Daiki." Akiko suggested. She wasn't going to let her hard work go to waste so easily.

"I need to finish my paperwork." Narumi stated while rubbing her temples.

"Don't worry about that, finish it later, just go for lunch outside with him." Akiko said. 

"Why should I?" Narumi questioned.

"Well....because..." Akiko was trying to come up with the perfect reason so that her sister would agree. 

"Talk," Narumi said bluntly. 

"Because mom said so." Akiko answered quickly. It was a lie, but there was no other sensible thing that she could think of.

"Oh, but she didn't tell me anything?" She raised her eyebrows in question.

Akiko opened her mouth but closed it again and looked at the sky. She couldn't think of a valid excuse. The silence was tense.

"Well, maybe she forgot about it. You know the way she is forgetful sometimes." Akiko chuckled and prayed that her sister would buy the lame excuse.

Narumi stared blankly ahead for a few seconds before saying something. "Fine, let me finish my work."

"Okay, I'll book a reservation for the both of you at an amazing restaurant." Akiko said. 

"That's alright." Narumi mumbled before leaving. 

'Thank goodness, my idea worked.' Akiko muttered and picked up her phone so she could book the table with more details and make sure her sister had a relaxing time.