It's On The House [Rita/Kenichi]

Money is nice, huh? If you are feeling shit n' blue, buy some weed, book a flight, and find yourself a fancy resort to chill and relax away the valentine's woes away. It was sunset on the Miami strip, and Rita herself chilling with a pair of thick shades on, her bikini and was basking in the fading glow of the evening sun after spending the day shooting off Valentine's texts, managing her finances, keeping track of her business and all the other boring shit that goes into maintaining her empire.

But, after a while of work, you need to cut loose, and she soon found herself lighting up the devil's lettuce, taking an inhale from her joint, and exhaling its blissful contents out of her lungs. With a cheesecake dish next to her, the woman had a relaxed smile come across her face as she took a bite, and it simply felt divine as that warm beach breeze blew over her.

Of course, it felt pointless if there wasn't anyone to share the moment with. And since she didn't feel like being alone, she offered to pick up Kenichi, have one of her workers drop him off at the beach free of charge, and probably smoke a joint, catch up, and get something to eat.

An excellent way to drive the morale of her workers, huh?

Kenichi didn't really have anyone to spend the holidays with, truth be told, but that suited him just fine. It simply meant he went another year without his dream woman. He received his fair share of letters from friends and loved ones, but the girlfriend remains elusive. He was going to content himself with spending it alone, but Rita had other plans in mind. He was playing a game at his home until one of her men knocked on his door, stating that Rita had offered him the opportunity to spend some time with his boss.

Well, he supposed it was hard to turn down. Food and drink with an attractive woman in both personality and body was something the rising dragon wouldn't turn down in a thousand years! Finding appropriate beach wear, a tank top and swim shorts, he got there through the quickest way they could get him there, and once he exited the car, he looked around to look at and gaze about in search of his boss, finding her sitting in a comfy position and area on the beach. He made his way toward her, grinning from ear to ear as he greeted with the woman with a fist bump.

"Heya, boss. Couldn't spend valentine's day alone, huh?" He humored.

After fist-bumping him back, Rita didn't deny it.

"Course not. Who the hell wants to be alone on this day?"

Even in times like this, she still kept her confidence up and snorted.

" Besides, Miami is real nice if you got the money to enjoy the city. May as well take advantage and share it with folks. People get hella depressed or clingy on this holiday, but I just see it as an excuse to be nice for no reason."

Nodding her head, at least Rita was pretty straightforward about things. A lot of people in this world sometimes had the worse of intentions, and given her own history, she knew how bad shit could get. So why not be someone who could go against that and be some sort of positive force on things?

"You need anything to eat or drink? Let me know since I bet it's been one hell of a work week. Whatcha' been up to?"

Kenichi chuckled as he sat down beside the woman. He expected that response, admired it even, since the woman always maintained an air of confidence even in difficult times. To her point, though, Kenichi wouldn't have shed a single tear spending this day alone, but he certainly didn't mind sharing her company.

"I've never really thought much of it, in all honesty, either. It's just one day. And if you really love anybody, it shouldn't matter if it's Christmas, Thanksgiving, or any other holiday for that matter. All that matters is that you let him know they're loved every day of every week, whether romantically or in appreciation for what they mean to you."

Gazing at the bright sun, he'd look at the woman after she offered him food and drink. Naturally, he would never turn that offer down.

"Yeah, I'll take whatever you're in the mood for. My appetite is always open for business," he quip, transitioning into answering her question.

"Hm? Nothing much outside of duty. I've been spending a lot of time training and helping Vanyel along. I also met this cool lady along the way. I adopted her as my sister. She's pretty adorable. I think you'd like her."

Nodding, Rita agreed with his first line of logic. Being someone with a fair amount of money, she could see straight through the marketing bullshit around such a holiday. Profiting on people's emotions, fears, and isolation made this a lucrative time if you were in the right business and knew how to push people. So, she'd communicate that thought to Kenichi without much hesitation.

"True. Any day of the week is fine to express how much you care for someone, and not just in a romantic way. Valentine's is a holiday that is built to profit off of people's unhappiness, and you'd make a fuckload of cash if you were in the right business. Lonely hearts have big needs, and people tend to make a buck when trying to solve those needs."

After taking a sip from a fizzy cherry drink, Rita let out a content sigh and then had the service at the hotel nearby bring them both a thick beef burrito with a side of chips, salsa, and a beer if he fancied it. If not, there was a glass of water or soda nearby.

"Hope you don't mind the heavy food. I should watch my figure, but eh, most men and women like a woman with fat tits, hips, and an ass. So in my case, I can't go wrong."

Snorting, she'd then take a bite from the burrito, listen to Kenichi, and raise an eyebrow.

"Adopting people? Aren't you a kind soul Kenichi? Well, spill the beans: what is she like?"

Listening to her explain her view on the matter, Kenichi nodded along, intrigued by her wisdom on the subject. He was far from a business oriented mind himself, but it was always interesting to hear her opinion on how the business world worked as a whole. In his opinion, it was scummy to profit off of weak-minded individuals, but he couldn't condemn it entirely. It was simply the way things were, he supposed.

His eyes lit up the moment she ordered their meals. When he presented it, Kenichi honestly didn't mind the heavy food one bit! He could probably clear off an entire plate of these burritos alone whenever he worked up an appetite after training. Chuckling softly, he nudged her shoulder to in response to her thoughts on her figure. After all, he never had been shy about how attractive he thought his boss looked. Honesty may as well be his middle name, truth be told.

"Of course, you can't. I've always thought you had killer looks. Besides, I love a woman who can throw down just as well as me," he humored before digging into his own burrito, taking a large bite. She seemed curious about the adopted sister, and Kenichi had no problem at all speaking at length about his newfound imouto.

"Very caring. She wouldn't hurt a fly. Trust me, I mean it. We met at random, shared a bento box, and then I offered to help her get stronger, and we trained together. In the middle of the spar, after landing a good hit, she panicked. The cut hadn't really hurt me, but she seemed to take it worse than I did, as if she had truly left me in dire condition, you know? After reassuring her and seeing her wrap my hand up with a sash, we talked... and I figured I just wanted to adopt her, protect her like a sibling would if combat scared her so much, you know? She's very shy, but I think you'd like her."

"Of course I know you think I'm hot, hell, I think I'm hot too."

After a hard laugh came from her mouth, the woman then cocked back a Strawberry Margarita to go with her burrito, and it hit the spot just right as that refreshing feeling of meat settling in her gut and alcohol hitting her blood was relaxing as hell.

So, now in a state of comfort, the woman's teal eyes narrowed in on Kenichi when he started describing this "sister" person. It seems they were super cautious and all over the place. If they were going to spare, you know, bruises, cuts, and all sorts of ugly injuries would happen. Still, at least they have a heart of gold if they want to care for Kenichi.

"Sounds like I might have to talk some sense into them then.Good job for protecting her."

And with an approving nod of the head, Rita handed Kenichi her phone and rolled her wrist:

"Feel free to put her contact information in, and perhaps we can arrange a time to meet this mystery sister of yours."

A hearty chuckle escaped his lips amidst his enjoyment of the large beef burrito, responding to that ever familiar confidence with a roar of laughter once he digested his food properly. As always, her confidence had never failed to amuse him. It was what drew him toward her in the first place.

Of course, he would have been remiss to say he expected them to make this far based on their first meeting, but he was rarely one to complain, especially when those chance meetings led towards meeting great individuals. Charismatic and boisterous, she was a certainly an ideal woman to call "Boss", and he would certainly never stop reminding her of the impact her presence held in his life.

After finishing his burrito, he was far from full, and waved his hand around to order another one, turning his gaze toward Rita as he pulled his phone from his pocket, sending her Cala's phone number. He sent a text to Cala in preparation for the meeting one day, and set his phone back down. Obviously, he wanted to make sure his imouto was prepared.

"There ya go. Now, enough about me, boss. I'm curious to hear what you've been up to since we've last spoke."

Hmmmmm, recent counters, eh? That was something for Rita to ponder for a few moments before she spoke.

"I've been keepin' the business n' properties going along well. Though, outside of that crap, I've been doing soul searching, figuring out who the hell I am, getting my affections declined, and helping a bunch of people here and there. Met someone you might find fun as well back in Karakura Central."

It was good that Kenichi mentioned his little "rescue" buddy as Rita found her own. So, with her phone still open, she pulled up a contact named "Shou," with her picture and name, and handed her phone back to Kenichi to read up on.

"I think you may want to save her contact info since I found this one in the woods wandering. She's a paid intern of sorts, and I figure she might do well with a mentor or something. You seem like the kind of guy for the job, right? You are already taking in sisters, after all."

Kenichi tilted his head curiously, observing the Shou contact with measured interest. Rita certainly wasn't wrong in her assumption, considering the man he was, and he was far from opposed to the idea of welcoming others under his wing. One could argue that it fell in line with his vision of extending the olive branch to those who wished to assert their position in life, and carve out a path they could be proud of in the living realm. He added her contacts, with nary an ounce of hesitation to be found in his motions. After adding her contact, he shot a finger towards her in a gun motion, chuckling softly as he reflected on what she'd said prior. Of course, he was the teasing type, so the idea of looking into who'd turned down his boss was difficult to resist, his sheer sense of humor unable to be contained in that moment.

"Oho? Well, well. Who turned down the affections of my boss?"

Truth be told, he hadn't exactly been hitting any homeruns himself either, striking out left and right. To drive home the baseball comparison even more, he hadn't even experienced what it felt like to be at first, second or third base, and while that hardly wore at him to any discernible degree, he still longed to find his ideal woman - an embodiment of strength and determination given human form, one who shared in his desire for combat, yet also in his vision for leaving a significant impact every where they went.

It was, perhaps, unreasonable to expect that out of any woman in particular, but even now, he longed to reach what he had come to admire in the one woman who had captured his heart and never looked back. A difficult standard, to be sure, but he was no fool in acknowledging that, content with opening himself up to other possibilities. There were other ways of displaying strength than physical capability, after all.