Once Lt. Kumagami had been given a room, Kanuka left the woman to unpack and freshen up. "I'll go call the restaurant and meet you back here in 20 minutes." She looked down at herself apologetically. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to be seen with me in uniform." "No problem," Takeo said in accented English and gave the other woman a wave. Forty minutes later saw the two women seated at a small, lower east side noodle house. Kumagami looked around with a bemused smile. "This is so much like Tokyo that if I didn't know I was in New York, I wouldn't believe it." "I know it's not fair, making you eat Japanese food your first night here, but for me it's a treat. And this place is open almost all night long, so we can relax." "That's alright," Takeo said pleasantly. "I expect that they'll be serving bad American food at the conference and the hotel. I'm sure I'll get my fill of hamburgers and steak." Sake' was poured and toasts spoken. They put their glasses down and Kanuka looked directly at the other woman for the first time. "I suppose now would be a good time to apologize for the last time we met. I was extremely uptight and rude." Kumagami shook her head, "You were fine – I was the one whose behavior was unconscionable – after all, you were a guest in my country." "No, really, it was entirely my fault. I was extremely poorly behaved as a guest and should have given you more respect as your rank and seniority deserved." "Oh no," Kumagami said, "We can't even apologize without competing." She laughed lightly. "And now you sound like Ohta. Please don't say things like that." Kanuka stopped mid-apology. "That was about the only thing we did right that night, wasn't it?" she said with a tight smile. Kumagami eye's met hers and a broad smile broke out on her face. "Definitely. What a boor." Both women drank to the humiliation of Section Two's most notorious officer and the memory of throwing the man out the window into the hot springs repeatedly. The udon was, as Kanuka had said, excellent. They slurped their noodles contentedly, while Kumagami caught Kanuka up on the current state of affairs at Section Two of the Second Patlabor Division. As far as Kanuka was concerned, it was all status quo. "I get the occasional note from Noa," Kanuka admitted. "She's always so… cheerful." Kumagami sighed. "Yes, she's very energetic. Exhausts me sometimes." They smiled sympathetically at each other. "So, how long are you in New York for?" "I'll be returning Monday. First to Hong Kong to visit some friends, then back to Division Two." "That's hardly any time to enjoy the city." Kanuka said, then paused a moment in thought. "I don't know how you'd feel about this, but if you're not otherwise engaged, I'd be glad to show you around. That is, if you don't have someone here you're visiting." Kumagami shook her head. "I don't know anyone in New York. But what about you? Surely you have prior engagements?" Kanuka thought of the empty apartment that awaited her. "No, nothing pressing. Let's meet tomorrow night at the networking party – say eight o'clock – and we'll go do a little sight seeing or dinner or whatever. If you're too tired, we don't have to do anything at all." "That sounds lovely, thank you." Kumagami's eyes sparkled. "I'm looking forward to it." Kanuka looked at her watch. "It's very late – You'd better get back to the hotel and I need to get some sleep myself. I can catch the subway right at the end of the block – will you be all right to get a cab back to your hotel?" "If I'm not," joked the other woman, "I can always ask a policeman."
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