Golden Era (Book 2)

40. Lean on Me

Atobe had to rush off to his next meeting when they finished. After seeing him off, Inui stepped out to make a phone call to gauge their chances with the Osaka venue. Back in the boardroom after a few minutes, he informed Ayuna that they could meet with Shiraishi tomorrow. 

This immediacy bewildered Ayuna. "He agreed, just like that?"

"I wish it was that easy, but no." Packing up his gears, Inui explained, "Shiraishi wants to have an in-person discussion with us at Utsubo Tennis Center. It works out perfectly for me, since I'll be in Osaka for a few days for business. Does tomorrow work for you?"

Ayuna nodded. Before bidding their farewells, she offered to show Inui around the campus, perhaps even contact Eiji and Fuji for a quick reunion. But Inui politely declined, claiming that he had other work to do. 

"Now that our plan's confirmed, I'm sure we'll have plenty of other opportunities to catch up."

Ayuna agreed. "Do you think it'd be okay for me to bring Noa?  She'll need this information to finetune our budget."

"I think you can bring whoever." After a pause, Inui added emphatically, "According to Shiraishi, nothing really matters as long as you are going."

Stunned, she didn't quite know how to respond.

"Seems like he's very interested in meeting you."

Flummoxed, Ayuna asked, "Why might that be?"

Revealing a knowing smile, Inui said, "We'll find out soon enough." With that, he turned and walked into the glorious autumn day.

***

The rest of the day was crammed full of lectures and meetings. Even though Ayuna was buried in work, Inui's last words stayed in the back of her mind. She felt like he was deliberately withholding information. But why? Shiraishi Kuranosuke was a stranger to her.

Unable to abolish this curiosity, Ayuna used the break before her last lecture to search up their future partner. There turned out to be minimal information about him, save for a short profile on the regional government website:

Born and raised in Osaka, Shiraishi Kuranosuke is the youngest director at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Shiraishi entered the ministry through an internship. During this time, Shiraishi assisted the former director with projects that elevated Osaka to core city status. This change led to an influx of business establishments and international tourism that helped increase regional jobs.

After graduating from an expedited program at Osaka University, Shiraishi was hired as a Strategic Planning Officer at the ministry. In his new role, he boosted tourism by promoting recognition to lesser-known towns in the region, such as rebranding the seaside towns of Ine and Kinosaki to "Japan's Sicily" and the "Best Hot Spring Town of Japan". 

Recently promoted to the director position, Shiraishi's current projects include securing UNESCO World Heritage status for the historic ports in Hyogo and Fukui prefectures in northern Kansai. 

In his spare time, Shiraishi continues to give back to the Osakan community by volunteering as a temple attendant and a tennis coach for Shitenhouji High School.

Below his professional biography was a shining list of achievements, which was to be expected for a government official. Unfortunate for Ayuna, there was no mention of tennis. 

Scrolling back to the top of the page, she zoomed in on Shiraishi's profile photo. It was a standard headshot of him in a monochrome suit, his light-brown hair neatly coiffed and a slight smile on his face. While he appeared to be just another clean-cut bureaucrat, an indescribable nostalgia pervaded her the longer she perused the photo: it was a nameless recognition and a hint of distress for having forgotten something critical.