I shouldn't have been surprised really. Father moved around so frequently that I barely had the sufficient time needed to make friends. Friends are not made on first glance. There is no 'fuzzy' feeling in the pit of your stomach which you think is a blatant indicator that this person that you're talking to right now is a person that you can rely on, you can talk to, you can share worries with. For me, it's very different. That 'fuzzy' feeling is something that you think that may be true. It's something that you want to be true. Moving to a neighbourhood where the fellow neighbours are like yourself, families of rich powerful businessmen, was not a good thing. Going to a school where the other students fawned over your every move, every step, every action was not a good thing. Only having people talk to you because of your status in society, because of the money you possessed, was not a good thing.
Charming Trouble
Chapter I
It was a regular day of August. It held no special importance, nothing to make it all the more memorable. The season was taking its time to transition to autumn, the trees shedding its coat of bright vivid colours to the more apathetic browns. The skies showed no signs of easing up its intense blue, meaning that the days will continue to be humid and sweltering.
A young girl stared out of the tinted window of a sleek black limousine, using the one sided window to freely observe without any restraint. She had the merriment of being accompanied by her parents. Actually, the situation would be better described as the young girl accompanying her parents for it was her parent's wish to move to this certain area.
"Shizuru, you should really stop sulking," her father said, his crimson eyes eyeing her intently over his netbook. "I apologize profusely for moving again when you had so nicely settled down but you need to understand that it's completely necessary."
The girl called Shizuru turned to regard her father silently. His brushed back black hair and pristine black business suit indicated that he was a man of status and power. Due to this life that he led, he had shut off his emotions as is suitable for his job, often forgetting to turn them back home once at home. This was something that she seemed to have inherited from him. She was able to put up a mask around all those around her to show them the person they desired her to be. One thing that she had surely inherited was his intense crimson eyes that had set her apart from others. Distinctively, some of his Japanese heritage had seeped through as they could be seen by her facial structure.
If only you understood-
"I'm sorry if you got the intention that I was sulking Father," Shizuru replied. "I was merely wondering how easy it would be for me to fit into a new society."
How it feels-
"Nonsense," he remarked, shoving her worries aside. "There is sure to be a few of my business associate's daughters attending this new school of yours. They've had the same upbringing as yours and though you may not have the same interests or views, it will be the exact same society that you have derived from."
To truly be alone.
His wife sighed, giving him a reproachful look. She was a beauty that Shizuru had got her grace and elegance from. Though she was of Spanish descent as was shown by her light skin and dark blonde hair, both which had been passed to Shizuru, she was much in tune which the Japanese cultures and traditions. On more than one occasion, she has been often seen wearing kimonos that complimented her in one way or the other and when working for her husband in their share of business, she entertained guests with the Japanese art of ceremonial tea making. On this particular occasion, she wore a pale brown kimono that was decorated with pink faded cherry blossom petals tied by a darker brown obi.
"Keijo, don't be so insensitive. Not everyone has steel emotions like yours," she teased him slightly. "Although Zuru does try to hide hers so."
Shizuru smiled in embarrassment. Whether it was at the pet name that wasn't dropped after sixteen years or that her mother could see straight through her, it was unknown.
"Mother," she protested.
Adella merely chuckled before turning back to her husband. "Kei, don't make me use the female emotion card again. You don't know the wonders of oestrogen."
Keijo's strong facade didn't give him the ability to look embarrassed. "I understood it when you were bearing Shizuru, Adella," he said quietly, turning to his netbook exclude himself from the conversation.
"Zuru, I know this constant moving isn't the best conclusion to security but we're certain that this establishment is one that we'll be staying in from now one. Your father has secured a position in his newest business, a position that'll require him to be on hand for a long while," her mother said, knowing that this was the biggest issue on her mind.
There was the word again. Establishment. They could call it a house, an abode or even habitat but they could never call it a home.
"Are you positively sure?" Shizuru asked, cautious about this sentiment though her face didn't show any signs of wariness. "I do not want to make acquaintances with people whom I may never see again."
"Friends, Zuru, friends," Adella sighed. "You're supposed to make friends at this young age, not business associates."
"Ara, one cannot help but inherit their parent's habits," Shizuru retorted cheekily. "After all, I am usually required to attend your business parties."
"What are you talking about? I have plenty of friends," Adella laughed. "I think we're close to our new house."
Shizuru nodded and resumed her observance of the outside world. Objects and shaped blurred by as the young girl returned to her thoughts.
"Kids! Where are you?" A deep voice called out, impatient footsteps pacing.
A young girl with blue hair that bunched on two sides of her head with had two braids below them walked into the room silently and diligently. Her amber eyes watched as the older man frantically searched through countless papers hazardously thrown onto his desk.
"Father," she said, making her presence known.
"Ah, Nina," he said, looking up momentarily before continuing searching. "Are the others in? Can you call them down? Even if Miyu is here."
She nodded even though he couldn't see and walked away, returning soon enough with two other girls accompanying her.
"Uncle," a girl with hazardous blonde hair fairer than his said as she entered the room. "What's up?"
She reclined on the couch, her feet clad with canvas trainers resting on the coffee table. Her friend who had rather blunt cut cyan coloured hair sat next to her in a more polite manner shown by the blonde. Nina took a seat on a separate couch, leaving space for her father should he choose to sit.
"Alyssa, where's your sister?" He asked the blonde girl, picking up several documents and bringing them with him to the couches.
"No idea," Alyssa replied, examining her fingernails with disinterest. "You know how she never tells us anything."
"Ah, okay then. We can always update her later," he said before turning to the papers in his hands. "An important event is coming up and our whole family will be needed there."
"That includes Miyu too right?" Alyssa interrupted, wanting her best friend, often guardian, to be constantly around her.
"Of course, I know how you're inseparable," he joked before asking, "Is that fine with you Miyu?" When she answered in the affirmative, he continued, "Our boss is hosting some sort of dinner party, a social gathering if you will, for his arrival in this district. It seems that he's staying here for good so we will need to make an impressive first impression for him."
"Father, isn't your boss..." She trailed off unsure on how to address her father's somewhat creepy, overly familiar superior.
"Nagi is just the manager of our sector," he explained from her side. "He's in a position that allows him to assign us tasks but he does not hold power over the whole company."
"So you just want us to go to your boss's fancy mansion and mingle with the other spoilt kids?" Alyssa asked, already gauging out the possible attendees in her mind.
"Don't be rude," Sergay chastised her lightly. "And, not just socialise. I think it would help us greatly if you probed around the area and came back with a few numbers."
"I'll do what I can Uncle but I don't think I can survive the mindless rich girls who talk about immensely boring topics," Alyssa whined. "'Daddy bought a new house today, daddy made double the profits today, daddy got promoted to Principal Applications Executive of Ass Kissing.'"
"You're blowing it out of proportion Alyssa," Sergay said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "I have a list of people you girls should take note of. Just be make sure you don't alert their awareness, last thing we need to do is wipe a person."
"Who cares, we'd be doing ourselves a favour," Alyssa laughed. "Why not give them a life where we don't have to listen to their drivel."
He ignored her condescending comment and passed around a paper which had various names listed on it. Miyu gave it a once over before putting it on the table in front of her, the names already stored in her mind by her impressive memory. Alyssa skimmed through the document, her blue eyes narrowing at the mention of a few names and Nina tucked the paper into pocket for later use.
"Father, who is the host?" Nina asked.
"Keijo Viola," Sergay answered, frowning deeply. "A man of respectable stature. He is the first profile we have little to no information on."
Shizuru graciously stepped out of the car held open by the chauffeur. She walked besides her parents towards what would be her new home. To call it a mere house would be an insult to this beautiful composition of architecture. It was nothing short of glorious, a true representative of a businessman's bank account.
The three Violas arrived to the front door where a butler opened it, bowing deeply as they passed. Shizuru took in the decor of the building, noting that it was impressively beautiful and well crafted. She looked up and stood in awe of the magnificent chandelier, supporting diamond-like glass that looked like falling icicles frozen in time.
"Miss Shizuru, do not stare. It is quite unbecoming of a lady," a stern voice spoke out from the depths of doorway, sending a cold chill down Shizuru's spine.
A woman of aged physique stepped out from where she was hidden and presented herself to the family of three. She bowed deeply and respectfully, nodding at the butler to fetch the luggage.
"Mr Viola, I hope you are well," she said in an attempt to be polite yet it came out in the same cold sharp voice. "There is a dinner arranged or if you feel particularly fatigued, your rooms have been prepared."
"Miss Maria," Keijo acknowledged the older woman in the smart black outfit. "How nice it is to see you again. We'd like start our dinner."
She nodded and showed them to a living room stating that the dinner would take thirty minutes to prepare. Keijo left for his office to start on whatever business plans he had, leaving Shizuru alone with her mother in a sitting room.
A maid deposited two cups full of rich green tea and the table and withdrew from the room immediately after enquiring about any other needs.
"This is an extravagant house, is it not Zuru?" Adella remarked as she sipped her tea.
"It certainly is Mother, I wonder how long it will stay as our house," Shizuru said, sitting in seiza position in front of her mother who was in a similar stance.
"Shizuru," her mother admonished. "I give you my word for it. It looks like we have somewhere to settle down long term."
Shizuru only hummed in reply, taking a sip of the bitter concoction. In certain situations it was better to reconcile than argue so Shizuru kept her thoughts to herself.
A girl dressed in black garb entered a household in the dead of the night. Her footsteps were silent, not even making a sound when her rubber soled combat boots made contact with the hardwood floor. She gave a fleeting glance at the clock, mentally noting that it was a little past midnight yet way past her allocated curfew time given by her guardian. Her hair was almost as dark as the midnight itself, tinges of blue betraying the fact that its darkness was not pure.
She crept into the kitchen; the moonlight that shone through the bare windows illuminated her pale skin making it appear almost stark white. As she opened the fridge, her stomach let out an embarrassing growl at the exact same moment. At the sound of a footstep, she looked around and almost jumped out of her skin when she saw a silhouette of a girl in the doorway.
Alyssa stood there, dressed in her nightgown as she tiredly rubbing her eyes. Her hair was stuck at sporadic angles, and her nightgown was almost indecent as a strap slid off her shoulder.
"Oi, go back to bed," the one at the fridge commanded in a harsh whisper before going back to scouring the fridge for edible items.
"Ne, you're back late. I thought you were a burglar. I was ready to defend myself," Alyssa said, her voice thick with sleep giving her a slight drawl. "What were you out doing?"
"That's none of your business," the other said snappily. She wouldn't be this ticked off but the events of the night wore heavily on her mind. To add to her frustration, there weren't any leftovers to reheat for a quick snack. "Go to sleep."
"I want some milk," she said, ignoring the orders and going to the fridge to get the aforementioned item. "You know, I can just get Miyu to follow you and tell me what's up."
The other wisely chose to ignore her and set about making a simple meal consisting of a sandwich, the only food she could make without spoiling it by some unexpected calamity. She set about getting the necessary items, manoeuvring around the lengthy kitchen to stay clear of Alyssa who didn't just want a glass of milk.
With her items prepared, she stuck a knife into a mayonnaise jar, choosing to use the white substance in replacement of margarine. After the thick layer coated the bread, she added some lettuce, tomatoes and cheese, the essential accessories used to make a good sandwich. She added on a slab of ham then thickly coated that with mayonnaise. Once done, she assessed the mayonnaise to normal food ratio, concluding that a little more mayonnaise was needed. When the bread was thoroughly saturated with mayonnaise, she situated herself on one of the kitchen stools with a glass of orange juice to compliment her snack. Alyssa, armed with cookies, biscuits and other rations to dunk into the milk, sat in front of her, much to the her dismay.
"That's so nasty," Alyssa commented whilst staring owlishly at the other eating the sandwich, a drop of mayo seeping out of the sandwich. "How the hell can you eat that?"
The other grunted her reply, her emerald eyes twinkling because of the distinctive, sweet flavour that mayonnaise produced.
"Natsuki, before you lose yourself in your morbid wet fantasies of mayonnaise land, I should inform you that Sergay has asked us to go to a dinner party," Alyssa said, nonchalantly dipping her cookie into the milk whilst Natsuki spluttered at her comment. "Mmm, that's good. Apparently it's a big affair so the least we can do is go and back up Sergay."
"I'll pass. We're not remotely related to him," Natsuki said, pausing in the midst of eating her sandwich.
"There's a new family in town so we're going to do a bit of soul searching. And the party's hosted by the big man at the top of the food chain," Alyssa added. "We're Sergay's representatives; he hasn't got anyone else apart from Nina."
Natsuki mumbled incoherently, still devouring her stuffed sandwich. Once finished, she chugged down the orange juice in one go and discarded the dirty dishes in the sink. She was at the doorway when the young blonde spoke again.
"Natsu, are you going to go?" She asked. "I hate these dreary functions, they lower my IQ and I'll only go if you're going. Besides, you need someone to bail you out of those awkward social situations you seem to get yourself into."
"Depends on what he offers me," Natsuki said before walking away.
Alyssa only shook her head in amusement before setting about eating the junk food placed in front of her.
Author's Notes:
I won't get on the subject of my other fanfiction but in case anyone cares, I've brushed it aside for now.
The whole mayonnaise overload thing has purposely been exaggerated. I mostly add these little snippets for my own amusement, to silently poke fun at these characteristics.
The supernatural stuff will start later. For now you'll see some vague dialogue referring to it.