Chapter Two
didn’t say anything, but she knew that Yagyuu was somewhat staggered when they entered the ballroom. As much as she had tried to distance herself from her family at all costs, she still didn’t know why she agreed to come.
She also did not know why she had decided to go and buy herself a new gown. It was a strapless satin dress that hugged her body, showing off her curves in the right places and flowed outward from the knees down, making a trail behind her. Depending on the angle of the light, it either looked ivory or bronze tinted silver in color. The intricate bead and embroidery patterns that littered the dress were strategically placed to show emphasis in the particular area where it was done.
had to admit that she was surprised as well when Yagyuu picked her up. She had to blink several times when she got into his car. He looked different. She never knew a person could change just by not wearing glasses or pushing their hair back. However, as much as she had wanted for this to be 'fun', she wasn’t too thrilled with the company or outing. She knew that he wasn’t either.
They walked in together. Yagyuu didn’t hold her hand and she didn’t hug his arm, but she could distinctively feel his hand lightly on her back, leading her inside. Once they were in, it was clearly another world. It felt like they had traveled into space and entered another dimension. The live music, the hordes of waitresses, the colorful gowns... actually stopped and retraced her steps, but she was pushed forward by Yagyuu. "You dressed up for it, might as well enjoy the evening."
How am I supposed to enjoy the evening when my companion isn’t saying a word to me, she thought sarcastically. She turned to him and gave him a wry smile. They walked further into the middle and mingled non-heartedly with the so-called shallow people as liked to call them. At one point, she just wanted to see her father and leave. She looked at Yagyuu and wanted to see any signs of him being bored, but she found none. She frowned as they decided to walk out for a fresh air and stopped in her place when she noticed someone. She had hoped that she wouldn't see him, but it was his party after all. To make things worse, he had noticed her and was making his way towards her.
unconsciously leaned against Yagyuu and hugged his upper arm. "Whatever you do, don't you dare push me away," she hissed in his ear, just as stood in front of them.
"Good evening," he said sweetly, a smirk apparent on his devilish face.
resisted the urge to gag, but held onto Yagyuu to preserve her sanity.
"Well, well, if it isn't my sweet little -chan."
glared at him. "Hello, ," she said coldly and looked away.
Yagyuu glanced at , who was ignoring the man, and then back at the man she had called . "I am Yagyuu Hiroshi,” he said, introducing himself. “If you are , then please accept my congratulations on your achievement."
"Thank you," he said with his eyes on . "What is it, ? You won't hug big brother after not seeing him for a long time?" he asked, smiling. "I know you didn’t get me a gift. The least you could do is give me a hug."
scowled. "I would rather drop dead than have you touch me," she hissed, pulling Yagyuu away from him and heading towards the opposite direction. She led him straight to the garden for some fresh air; she just felt so claustrophobic that she needed some air.
"Well, I can see that being rude seems to be a common trait in the family."
glared at Yagyuu. "Don’t call that ass ‘family’. He is not family and will never be family."
They both went quiet. sat at the edge of the grand fountain in the middle of the garden while he stood in front of her. "I'm sorry."
Yagyuu looked at her and realized that the 'sorry' was from her. "It doesn’t matter, you have your reasons."
"Yes," she agreed softly. "I do have reasons. If anyone tells me that it's alright to accept the fact that your father got married and brought his new wife and step son without his daughter knowing, then I must be crazy for not agreeing to it."
He didn’t say anything.
"I didn’t know. I was even more shocked to find people moving into my home. This is the home that my mother lived in and the home that she died in." She looked away to her side. "He didn’t waste anytime in replacing her."
"A man might do crazy things at times, but that doesn’t mean he doesn't care about his family."
didn’t comment to that. She just stood up and looked at him. "Let's leave, I believe we’ve wasted enough of our precious time and I know you have better things to do than be here with me."
Again, he didn’t say anything. He waited for her to straighten herself and she lifted her dress lightly so it wouldn’t get any grass stains. They were just about to walk out from there when they both stopped when they heard something.
"The devil; It is you! I had to make sure that I really did see you. Almost didn’t recognize you without your glasses."
saw a man approaching them. The closer he got, the more handsome he looked in her eyes. The suit that he wore made him sexier, spiky silver hair adorned his head. Mysterious wolf-like eyes watched her, almost like a predator wondering if the prey was worth the effort to hunt or not. He was talking to Yagyuu, but his eyes never left her.
" -san, this is Niou Masaharu. He is an old friend of mine from middle school."
"Yes, but we lost touch years ago," Niou watched . “Is this your family event?" he asked, realizing that it was the same last name.
"No, I don't know them," answered.
Yagyuu looked a and then back at Niou. "What brings you here, Masaharu?"
"My date was invited."
Yagyuu conversed a bit with Niou while stayed quiet. For a second, she actually panicked when she saw that someone else had stepped on the garden grounds of where they were.
" ."
All three turned to the said distinguished gentleman. had finally made an entrance. One look at him and together and even strangers would know that they were father and daughter. They shared the same mischievous eyes. "Hello," said in a whisper. Her voice could barely be heard.
turned to the two gentlemen and introduced himself. They in turn did the same as well. " , will you accompany me to my study for a chat?" he asked casually.
Taking one look at the man in front of him, and Yagyuu could tell that he was a man who missed his daughter very much. He tried to imagine how he would feel if Sumi ever boycotted him like that, but he just couldn’t, for even just thinking about it made it too painful.
wanted to say no, but she wasn’t given the chance to say anything when Yagyuu said something else instead. “Go ahead, -san. I'll wait here for you.”
I don't want to go! Her mind screamed, but she wasn't given a choice as her father took that opportunity and whisked her away.
The two men stayed there and once the father-daughter pair was out of sight and hearing range, Niou finally turned to Yagyuu. "I can finally ask you."
Yagyuu sat down at the fountain and looked up at his friend. "Ask me what?"
"Are you gay?" Niou asked casually.
Yagyuu stared at him wryly.
"What? It’s a reasonable question. Rumor has it that you're living with Yukimura and raising a certain little girl together. Of course, I'll assume…"
"That's enough." Yagyuu massaged his temple.
"Is the girl yours or his?"
“Mine."
Niou pulled out a cigarette and offered Yagyuu one, not surprised when Yagyuu took it. As much as people thought he was a gentleman, he did have a wild side to him if pushed. "So is that a yes or no to my gay question?"
"No," he answered, allowing Niou to light his cigarette for him.
Niou leaned by the wall and exhaled. "Then answer me this." He looked around and then returned his gaze back at Yagyuu. "You have a beautiful and luscious woman with you tonight, have you even slept with her?" he asked, referring to .
Yagyuu looked up and inhaled slightly. "You really think it’s all about screwing around? I'm not interested in that woman."
Niou raised an eyebrow. "I can’t believe that people actually thought I was the devious one in middle school," he muttered.
“You were. They didn’t call you the Trickster for nothing,” Yagyuu retorted, blowing out a puff of smoke.
“I guess being called the Gentleman would make people think you didn’t have a shred of deviance in you,” Niou mused with a grin. “But I know better. It takes one to know one right? Those were the good old days.”
Yagyuu didn’t fight the small grin that surfaced on his face. He briefly thought of their days in middle school, back when they were referred to by those titles. Although he had grown up, the name Gentleman was still a part of him, if only on the surface at certain times.
“So when do I get to meet her?” At his old doubles partner’s questioning look, Niou rolled his eyes. “Your daughter.”
“You’re rather quick in assuming you’ll get to meet her,” Yagyuu stated, an eyebrow raised.
“What? You’re not going to allow me to meet your one and only progeny?” Niou questioned with a look a mock hurt on his face. He chuckled when he received an annoyed glare from the brown haired man. “Now then, I wonder what happened to your date.”
Yagyuu just gave a nonchalant shrug, but in his eyes one could see he was wondering the same thing.
--------------------
glanced around the office that she had frequented when she was a young girl with an indifferent gaze. Images flashed in her mind of a little girl happily running into this very office, often bothering the man that was usually found working here. She lightly shook her head to rid of the memories that temporarily surfaced.
“So what did you want to talk to me about?” questioned, eyes looking anywhere but at the man that she used to call father.
“Am I not entitled to have a normal conversation with my only daughter?” inquired. He tried to sound lighthearted but his voice was tinted with sadness.
stayed quiet.
cleared his throat and folded his hands together. "How have you been?"
"Fine, I guess," she answered automatically.
"You guess?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
sat up straight and looked at him. "I'm fine."
He watched her with concerned eyes. "How can you be fine? I can see that you’re not fine. You barely wear proper clothes and you're living in a rundown studio."
"You've been snooping again!"
"I was not snooping. I have every right to know how my daughter is living."
stood up. "No, you don’t. You lost those rights a long time ago." She glared at him. "And you have no right to judge my attire. That's how I dress! I'm not poor to not buy myself clothes."
"Then let me buy you a proper apartment!" he snapped as well, standing up.
"So it would lessen your guilt!?"
paused. Even paused for a second. Without thinking, she turned to leave, but he caught up to her and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly, not letting go. "I just want this, . I want my daughter at home with me and around so I can spoil her like a little girl."
felt her father's love for a second. She wanted to melt in his arms and be spoiled like how he used to before, but she froze in a second. She froze when she remembered the suitcases. She froze when she saw the newcomers. Without thinking, she pushed him away and bolted for the door.
She blindly made her way back to the main hall where most of the guests were to get her date and leave immediately. However, she wasn’t able to make it to where Yagyuu was when she collided into a broad chest. She would have fallen if it weren’t for the arms that grabbed onto her and steadied her. She looked up to apologize only to violently break away at seeing who it was.
“I don’t receive gratitude for saving you from breaking your neck? That’s rather rude of you little -chan,” said in mock hurt. However, the devious smirk on his face spoke volumes of how much he really was hurt by her actions.
“If I had known it was you, I would rather have a broken neck than have you saving me,” retorted with a glare that would have sent him to the pits of hell if it were possible. She turned to walk away, but once more her path was barred. This time by a person she definitely did not want to meet.
“ , what is the matter here? The other guests are wondering where you have gone.”
“Nothing’s the matter mother. I was just waiting for -chan here to show her appreciation to me for saving her life,” replied coolly, the devious smirk still plastered on his face.
eyed her stepdaughter with a critical eye, not really bothering to cover up her look of distaste. “Still ungrateful as always, aren’t you?”
“What reason do I have to be grateful towards him or to you for that matter?” spat out, shifting her glare between the two of them.
’s eyes blazed in fury at the younger female’s insolence. “Why you—”
“ -san.”
The trio turned when they heard the call of their name. When realizing that the stepmother-brother pair had responded to the name, glared even harder at them. She turned her attention to the person who had called in the first place and saw that it was her date.
“You might want to clarify which you are addressing,” replied, gesturing towards the people that possessed the surname.
“My apologies, I was referring to -san,” Yagyuu said in a clipped tone. He then proceeded to ignore the mother-son pair, turning his attention to the one he accompanied for this event. “Shall we be heading out?”
“Yes,” came ’s quick reply.
Without so much as a farewell, the two left, ’s step a tad quicker than Yagyuu’s. Before they fully left the hall, a voice called out to the brown haired male. Yagyuu turned around and saw Niou catching up to him.
“Leaving already?” Niou asked, even though it was rather obvious that the two were leaving. Yagyuu just nodded while keeping an eye on who looked about ready to run out, despite the outfit she was wearing. “Well call me up sometime.” He shoved a piece of paper into Yagyuu’s hand.
Yagyuu just nodded again, accepting the paper and went after who was almost out the door. Niou looked on with an amused grin, wondering just how long it would take until those two ended up together.
--------------------
The atmosphere in the car wasn’t exactly pleasant. Neither of them talked. sat brooding in the passenger seat, looking out the window while Yagyuu drove, occasionally taking a glance at the female from the corner of his eye.
When they arrived, he walked her to her door, his gentleman persona coming out. Plus he wanted to make sure that she would be all right. Surprisingly enough, she hadn’t protested when he escorted her to her studio apartment. However, he might have thought too soon when they were standing at her open doorway.
"What?!" demanded, standing by her door. "Waiting for an invitation to sleep with me?'
He swore softly and walked in, pushing her in with him. "Are you going to be alright?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern. You may leave now," she said flatly, tugging her shoes off roughly.
"I'm serious."
glared at him. "And so am I! Now leave."
Yagyuu crossed his arms. "I'm not leaving when you're this upset."
"Do I look upset to you?" she shouted. "Yes, I am annoyed and yes I am frustrated, but I am not UPSET," she walked to the kitchen. "Now, do you want tea?" she asked angrily.
Yagyuu walked in after her and stopped her from taking out the utensils. He grabbed her shoulders and held her in place. "I know you have issues, but I need to know if my daughter's assistant teacher will be fine to teach tomorrow!" he said, watching her. "You're a wreck!"
pushed him away. "I'm fine," she said softly, looking away. "This will be forgotten tomorrow." She sat down, leaning her chin on her hand.
"What's your friend's number?"
She looked up. "Friend?"
" ."
waved her hand. "Don't bother, he's out with his boyfr--" she said, but shut her mouth. Uh-oh!
Yagyuu rubbed his eyes and swore softly. "I'm not even going to ask," he mumbled. "Well, that settles it. I'll stay with you until morning, but I'm leaving before Sumi wakes up."
watched him sharply. "What makes you think you can invite yourself to stay over?" she asked, hands on her hips.
"If you think I have another hidden agenda, then you're clearly wrong! I don’t have time to be screwing around." He walked to the sofa on the side and sat down, taking off his tie.
raised an eyebrow at him. “No wonder you’re such a stiff.”
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t know how to relax,” explained in an exasperated voice. She made her way to the bathroom to change but left the door open a crack so that she could hear if her guest said anything.
“And you don’t know how to be serious,” Yagyuu retorted in a slight mumble, wondering if she heard him. Apparently she did because she stuck her head out the door and gave him an annoyed glare.
came out in pajamas. She didn't bother removing her makeup or letting her hair down. "I seriously do wonder about you. You have ME in this room, yet, you just want to sleep?" She retorted with a flip of her hair, for she knew that she was gorgeous. "I'm starting to wonder about how gay you are."
"Whatever happened to modesty these days," he muttered.
"Answer my question!"
Yagyuu narrowed his eyes. "Just maybe… maybe I don't want to sleep with an uncontrollable woman like you," he answered, walking past her and heading to the bathroom.
She swore softly as she heard him slam the bathroom door.
--------------------
Yagyuu tried to control his anger. He wasn't one to get riled up so quickly, but she was beginning to push all of his buttons. He washed his face and ruffled his hair. He didn’t want to feel it plastered on his head anymore. Unbuttoning his shirt, he finally walked out and found the room dimly lit. He didn’t say anything when he saw on her bed with her back to him.
He walked to the sofa and found an oversized shirt and a pair of boxers. She had included a pillow and an extra blanket as well. He took the shirt and put it on, but didn’t bother with the boxers. If he didn’t know who it belonged to then he wouldn't wear it.
He settled on the couch as best he could. Unfortunately, he could feel the springs digging into his back. He let out a soft groan at the uncomfortable night that awaited him. As he tried to drift off, he wished that he was in his own comfortable bed.
--------------------
Yagyuu groaned loudly as he shifted onto his side to hide away from the sudden stream of light that shined on his eyes. It felt like he only had an hour of sleep. He pulled the blanket he was using over his head in an effort to block out all light and get back to sleep.
“You might want to get up. I don’t know what time you’re supposed to go to work but it’s most likely not at the same time as me.”
At that voice, the brown haired man immediately opened his eyes. Jolting up, he looked around, taking in his surroundings. Flashes of what happened the night before whizzed through his mind. It explained why he was in a run down studio apartment rather than his own.
When he finally realized the implication of her words, he hastily stood up from his temporary bed. Looking around in a slight panic, he tried to find out exactly what time it was. For once he was grateful towards her when he spotted a clock on the wall. His eyes then widen in slight surprise in seeing that he actually had time to go home and get ready for work. He glanced at her with a questioning look.
“I got up a bit earlier so that I could get you up, hopefully in time for when you had to work,” explained, giving a nonchalant shrug. “Consider it an apology for putting up with all the crap last night. Besides, I knew you wouldn’t want to miss work anyway.”
He scratched his head for a second trying to absorb everything and finally sat down back on the sofa, after putting on his shirt and buttoning it up. "How come you're not dressed for work?"
"I've simply decided to play hooky today and not go."
He frowned.
"Don't give me that look! You need to get up and go to your daughter before she wakes up," she said, pouring coffee for him. “Here, this’ll help you wake up some more.”
He eyed the offered cup of caffeine skeptically.
rolled her eyes at his antics. “I didn’t poison it if that’s what you’re wondering.”
With some hesitance, Yagyuu took hold of the cup, taking a tentative sip from it. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t bad. He reluctantly admitted to himself that she made a good cup of coffee.
“You might want to hurry. Sumi-chan will wonder where you are if you’re not there,” informed indifferently.
Yagyuu nearly choked on the mouthful of coffee that was about to swallow. He abruptly stood up once more and handed the cup to her while making his way to the door. Making sure he had his keys and cell phone, he put on his shoes.
Just as he was about to step out, he chanced a glance back at her and saw that she wasn’t even there anymore. The brown haired man hesitated for just a second longer before stepping out, closing the door behind him. He quickly made his way to his parked car and headed out back to his own apartment.
--------------------
ran a hand through her long hair, a sigh escaping her lips. She had just finished informing her friend that she wouldn’t be going to class that day. Although had pried, she didn’t relent to him the reason she didn’t feel like going.
However, now she really didn’t have anything to do. Although she liked being with the kids, they were sometimes too perceptive for their own good. They’d be able to pick on her bad mood easily and then start asking questions that she definitely did not want to answer. Then would start pestering her about it until he got the answers he wanted, which she did not feel like going through.
Another bored sigh managed to escape before a thought came to her. “I haven’t done that in a while,” she said to herself. “A walk may hopefully do me some good.” With that she got ready.
An hour later she found herself in the semi-busy part of Shibuya. It was a place she didn’t often frequent because it was a bit a ways from her apartment but she figured it wouldn’t hurt to venture there. She took note of the little shops that caught her interest, deciding to explore them with her European friend when they got the chance.
Her feet seemed to be on automatic, taking her up and down streets that were unfamiliar to her but interesting all the same. Her thoughts came to a sudden halt when her feet did. She glanced at the buildings around her, one in particular standing out from the others.
stared at it from across the street, trying to decipher why it caught her eye. A second later she realized the reason. It was an art gallery and a new one at that. Memories long since pushed to the back of her mind began trickling forward; making her remember of times she had visited galleries with her parents.
Waiting until the signal turned, she walked to the new gallery. Hesitance made her pause outside of the glass doors, hand inches away from opening said doors. Shaking her head, she pushed open the door and walked in.
“Good morn…"
blinked.
The person that greeted her blinked.
"YOU!" yelled, pointing her finger at the person. "What are you doing here greeting people?" she demanded. Why are these people not leaving my life?! She thought wryly.
Yukimura Seiichi was amused. From all people to walk into his art gallery today, it just had to be her. "Shouldn't you be at work?" he asked, rubbing his jaw in question.
looked embarrassed.
"You don’t have to answer me," he said, walking towards her. "So how can I help you?" he asked casually, hands in his pockets. He wore semi-formal clothes today; black pants with a loose untucked white shirt and a tie that hung loose on him as well.
hesitated. "Actually, I noticed that this store was new so decided to check it out," she answered truthfully. "Are you a collector?" she asked somewhat surprised.
He nodded, leading her to the antiques. "It's a side hobby of mine. I don't run this store, I just own it," he told her. "I'm just here to check some stuff now. I'm actually a financial analyst."
raised an eyebrow. "So, why aren't you at work?"
He chuckled softly and shook his head. "I have a week off to sort this place out. Plus, on a side note: I took this week off to sort my stuff so Yagyuu can take some time off in a couple of weeks. Sumi will be at her grandmother's in Kanagawa and he definitely needs a break."
All unwanted thoughts of Yagyuu Hiroshi rushed back into her mind. She had managed to push him away for most parts of the morning, but here he was back again and haunting her thoughts. Somehow, she had a feeling that things were really messed up last night. "And why are you sharing this extra information with me?"
He smirked, a sly one. "Because I know that he went out with you last night."
picked up a book and skimmed through it, and found out it was a catalog. "It wasn't a date," she said. "He was my escort."
"He was an escort that didn’t return home until this morning," he pointed out even more slyly this time. If anyone had told that this man was an angel then she would've punched them. His looks indeed showed angelic features in a man, but he was certainly the devil himself and not one in disguise.
ignored his implying looks. "Nothing happened! And why the hell am I explaining myself to you?"
He laughed. "I believe you," he said, putting his hands up, surrendering. "Yagyuu is too rigid at the moment to see someone seriously. That man has issues."
"Tell me about it," she muttered.
He just smiled. They stayed like that for half an hour. He was showing her some of his frames and books when finally someone entered the shop. "Ah, right on time," Yukimura told the young lady who walked in. "This lady will be running the shop for me," he said, looking at . "If you need anything anytime, just ask for her."
nodded as the lady went to check on stuff.
Yukimura turned and looked at . "Now -san, why don't we have lunch together?"
blinked. "Huh?"
He smiled. "Lunch. You and me. My treat."
looked about ready to protest, but another look at his smiling face, she somehow felt that declining would not be a good idea. “…Fine.”
“Wonderful. I know the perfect place,” he said, smile still on his face. “Well, let’s go.” With that, he made way to leave, trudging behind the blue-haired man.
It wasn’t long before they were seated at a quaint restaurant that was only a few buildings down the street. sat across from Yukimura with a small frown while her dining companion still had the same smile since they left. Silence reigned as they waited for their orders.
“I didn’t know you were into fine arts -san,” Yukimura started, breaking the quietude between them.
“ .”
“What was that?” Yukimura asked with a confused look on his face.
“Call me ,” insisted. “And to respond to your statement, I used to go to art galleries when I was younger. Nowadays, I go to them when I can.”
“Oh? Which gallery do you often go to?”
seemed to perk up at the topic at hand and began opening up some more. They both engaged in their common interest and somehow it expanded from fine arts to other various things. It wasn’t long before they were chatting like old friends catching up on lost time.
“So you and Yagyuu went to the same school?” asked, scooping a spoonful of her dessert and plopping it into her mouth.
“That’s right. We were on the tennis team together,” Yukimura replied. “I was the captain and he was one of the regulars.”
“Oh?”
Yukimura nodded. “He used to play golf before playing tennis so that earned him the name Gentleman.”
scoffed at that.
“Well that was years ago. Now he’s a workaholic with a four year old daughter and me as a housemate,” Yukimura said off handedly.
“Housemate? Why are you rooming with him? You seem to be doing just fine on your own,” wondered, curiosity shining in her eyes.
“It may seem like it but I do have a few loans and stuff to pay off,” Yukimura replied. “Besides, I thought it would be fun to be housing with someone else.”
“And what were the chances that you would be rooming with someone from your younger days?” polished off her dessert with one final spoonful. “Slim to none I’d say.”
“Well that slim chance happened,” Yukimura said in an as a matter of fact tone.
didn’t make much of that. She sipped her glass of water and glanced at him curiously. He wasn’t really saying much now and by the time they stood up and left together, realized that she had spent at least three hours in there with him.
As they walked out, he put on his shades and tied his hair loosely. "Where do you want to go now?"
looked at him. "Depends on what you're interests are in spending time with me?"
He laughed and once he was done laughing, he raised an eyebrow. "My interests only lie within friendship. Besides, I am going to be honest and say that I believe you are more suited to be Yagyuu's woman than mine."