The evening was fine. Late summer, warm from a long day in the sun, but cooling with every twinkling star that appeared as the sky grew darker. Guests meandered onto the balcony of the event’s venue, commenting on how lovely the garden was, how so very delectable the food, and of course, such a gracious host. Marion – wife of Superintendent General Hakuba – had made it a point to host as many as she possibly could while visiting from London, and this was to be the finest. After all, this event was not only to gather donations and sponsored funding for preserving an ancient forest (which was wonderful for PR!), but it was a chance to socialize with the truly high-class, highest end of society. 

Unfortunately, this also meant that young Saguru, the sole child of the Hakuba family, had been brought out to ‘perform’ as expected. The detective, dressed accordingly in black coat and tails, waded through the crowd making small talk with those on the pre-arranged list that he had memorized in the week prior. This was common practice for such an event, to ensure that each felt known, welcomed, and wanted. And, with all of the practice that Hakuba had in this regard, he did as expected with ease and with grace. He was, after all, a host. 

That said, Hakuba was dreadfully bored and dreadfully lonely. It wasn’t as easy to find proper company in Japan as it was home in England. In the sea of expensive taste, he easily stood out for his mixed heritage, and this was not a good thing. Still, he sought out any potential ‘conquests’ as he met with the guests, reassuring them that they were, in fact, just as important and wonderful as they believed that they were. The compliments were given sincerely enough; Hakuba genuinely liked most of the visitors there, at least reasonably so, but it was for wildly different reasons than what was expected.

Really, if Hakuba could just find someone close to his own age, his evening would be vastly improved. He scanned the crowd, searching. There were plenty of strong, powerful men there – many of which he knew had children – but he did not have confirmation of just who would attend. 

Sighing, the detective went on to comb the perimeter of the ballroom, nodding politely, flashing that charming smile, and continued his hunt for someone truly interesting to talk to.