<strong>Karuizawa Street<br/>Saisei, Japan<br/>3:20 Tuesday Afternoon</strong><br/><br/>It wasn’t her intention to arrive fashionably late at the Cake Shop gathering, but for some reason to the Japanese even five minutes late was considered a sign of tardiness. It took Elizabeth less time to get dressed and find matching shoes in the closet than to actually walk there. In what was supposed to be a roughly twenty minutes walk from the Grayle mansion to the Carnation Cake Shop, Elizabeth took her time especially in front of the Temple where Masato Ishimaru was most likely to be found at that time of day.<br/><br/>To her, this wasn’t officially an act of stalking someone, she had no idea whether he’d be at the Temple or not, but if by any chance they could bump into eachother and walk together to the meeting, why not? She hasn’t seen him since the beginning of summer break – her parents took the whole family to another exotic beach location to spend the summer holiday and it wasn’t until yesterday that they came back, all tanned and relaxed, except for Elizabeth.  She was still as pale as ever and the load of makeup she used only intensified her natural whiteness. Today however she decided to keep a low profile and not dress like a living doll taken out from the “Gothic & Lolita Bible” magazine, but chose a blue summer dress with a floral pattern instead. It matched her eyes.<br/><br/>She gazed at the temple’s main gate, without really having the intention to go ahead and ask if Ishimaru was there. Just when she decided to turn around and resume her walk to the Cake Shop, she heard a rather loud motor and someone calling her name.<br/><br/>“Rizaaaa-san!”<br/><br/>The young man riding a black Yamaha Roadliner S stopped in front of her with a smile. She knew him from a family visit, being the third son of the Fujioka household. His father was a reliable business partner and close friend of her dad.<br/><br/>“Need a ride?” he asked  informally, but at least he didn’t get as cheeky as using “-chan” for honorifics. “Elizabeth” was just so darn hard to pronounce and she was used with the idea by now.<br/>It was just what she needed in fact and Elizabeth took the chance without second thoughts. Well, she did take another look at the Temple, just to be sure.<br/><br/>“I’m going to the Carnation Cake Shop, Hayate-san” she replied as she took the backseat, wrapping her arms around his waistline. He turned around with a smile. “Put on the helmet first. You going on a date?”<br/><br/>Ten minutes later, they arrived in front of the Cake Shop and Elizabeth went off the motorcycle thanking the young man for the ride. Hayate nodded, asking yet for another chance to go on a date. As always, she gave him an ambivalent answer, but it was understood that they will meet again.<br/><br/><strong>Carnation Cake Shop<br/>Saisei, Japan<br/>3:57 Tuesday Afternoon</strong><br/><br/>She entered the shop gleeful, spotting Fuyuko first. The white tables and cushioned chairs were familiar, she often hang around here after school.<br/>“Hello, Gozen-san” she greeted Fuyuko’s father as she approached her friend, surprised to see that she was the second one to arrive.<br/>The large cake was placed on the table and Elizabeth smiled at the sight of it with intent.<br/>“You’ve really outdone yourself this time, Fuyuko-chan”  she said admiratively.  “Should have expected something like this. “<br/>