「NATSUKI」
〈Shizuoka Prefecture, Fuji, Japan〉
"This sucks," says a girl with short black hair, with hair clips fastening her fringe.
She went onto tapping her fork on the ceramic plate before her, creating noise that jarred the awkward silence in the room. Sighing, she then leaned her head on the palm of her hand, conveying her boredom to the man sitting nervously across her at the dining table.
"Just call your father and let's get this over with," she ordered, now tapping her foot impatiently under the table. Her statement seemed to catch the man off-guard, making his eyes widen as a response.
"Please, just give me one more chance. Father will not be happy upon hearing my failure."
The worry in the man's eyes was already evident.
"I'm also not happy wasting my time sitting here." The girl retorted coldly, making the guy flinch. She rolled her eyes, thinking about how truly pathetic her date is.
Snap!
With a snap of her fingers, a man twice her size instantly appeared.
"Tatsuhiko, let's get out of here now." She plainly stated, her voice laced with authority.
"Wait!"
Her date pleaded, before he was pushed aside by the walking chunk of muscle called Tatsuhiko.
"This way, young miss." He said, his slightly husky and velvety voice turning into echoes in the spacious dining hall as he tried to assist his young miss away from the scene.
"Wait! Please, I'm begging you!" The guy that was pushed aside managed to cling onto the raven-haired girl's leg, which shocked everyone in the room except Tatsuhiko, whose face instantly turned dark.
How dare he—
The young lady looked down at the guy with a blank expression and eyes glaring daggers, before she spoke. Her tone of voice was as cold as ice, and her next words sent shivers down the spine of the man clinging unto her ankle as if she was some sort of lifeline.
"You have just proved your worth."
She then averted her gaze from him, avoiding the pleading eyes of the young man. Her eyes, with purple irises that are tinged with red, were focused on the exit of the establishment.
"Tatsuhiko."
No other words were needed for Tatsuhiko to know what his master wanted him to do.
His heavy footsteps resounded in the hallway, as he made his way to the young man that was still clinging on his young lady's leg. The bodyguard paused for a moment, as if giving the young man a chance to run for his life. And the daring young man's hands remained attached on the ankles of his milady.
It's either the young man was too dense, or the fear he felt towards his father outweighed his fear for his life at the moment.
Tatsuhiko thought that it was a mix of both and grunted in dismay, before setting his foot on the young lad's arms. The latter screamed in pain, catching the attention of other guests from different areas of the establishment.
The young lady immediately noticed this and she eyed everyone with a deadpan expression. All of them were able to recognize the look she gave them and they went back to their own businesses and dodged her eyes out of fear, except for two men who had finished their business and were just about to leave.
"Kenma," called the taller young man out of the two.
He had black, naturally messy hair. His right eye was partially covered with his fringe, but his narrow, hazel brown, cat-like eyes were staring at the scene transpiring before him and his companion.
"What is it, Kuroo?" Kenma glanced at Kuroo expectantly, waiting for an order.
"Do you know who that is?" The raven-haired male asked. His eyes did not even shift the slightest bit at the female who was standing a few feet away from them.
"If I'm not mistaken, that's one of the Fujiwara Clan's young misses, Natsuki-sama. The man accompanying her is her aide, Yamamoto Tatsuhiko-san." Kenma quickly explained upon being asked.
Another cry was then heard from the younger male across the hall, as he finally released his hold on Natsuki's ankle. The young girl took notice of the two men staring at the scene that she and her party were causing from the end of the hall, and gave them a quick glance.
Other people would have shrunk at the sight of her, especially with the cold expression on her face that matches Tatsuhiko's own stony-faced expression.
The two men across the room did not even flinch. Instead, the one with dark, rooster head gave her a lopsided smile which caught her off-guard. She felt her face heating up in embarrassment upon seeing it, and she was sure that her ears and some parts of her face were turning red.
She quickly turned around and marched towards the exit of the hotel's restaurant where her failed date took place. Tatsuhiko looked in the direction of the men, and gave a nod of acknowledgement before he left to follow his young miss.
"Who were those people?" Natsuki asked when she and Tatsuhiko finally got inside the car.
"Hm?" Tatsuhiko thought a moment, before remembering the two men that were left standing in the middle of the restaurant.
"If I remember correctly, the shorter one with blonde dyed hair is Kozume Kenma. He is the right-hand of the man with dark hair—Kuroo Tetsurou-sama."
"Kuroo... Tetsurou?" Natsuki muttered thoughtfully, trying to recall where she had heard the name. She knew she had heard that name from somewhere, but she can't completely remember.
Tatsuhiko caught the hint of interest in his young lady's voice, deciding to explain further to clear up her confusion.
"Yes, young miss. Kuroo Tetsurou-sama is the heir of the Kuroo group. One of the largest families—only second to yours, in fact. They own the Kobuki district."
"I see," Natsuki mumbled, remembering how the guy managed to smile at her despite her feared status.
I guess he must be different from the others.
She thought, gazing through the window with a rare-to-be-seen, calm expression on her face that only those who are close to Natsuki will be able to see.
-Meanwhile, back at the events area-
"Fujiwara? Isn't that the clan that doesn't have an actual heir?" Tetsurou asked.
"Yes. It's due to the fact that the chairman's wife could only bear two daughters before she developed an ovarian cyst. I heard she's not able to carry a child anymore since it had been removed," Kenma explained, as they made their way to another meeting place.
"Ah, now I get it." Kuroo nodded as he came to understand the reason behind the family's dilemma.
Anyone who'll be able to marry one of the Fujiwara clan's daughters will be lucky and unfortunate at the same time. Lucky because they'll be one of the richest and most powerful men. Unfortunate because they might end up dead in a ditch somewhere because of one wrong move.
"I like her." He suddenly added after a little pause, catching the attention of Kenma who was focused on reading some important documents.
"What?" His aide managed to cough out, nearly choking on his own spit. He was a bit unsure if what he heard was right.
"I said I like her. She's quite feisty don't you think?" Tetsurou gave Kenma a heartstopping smile, which the latter managed to ignore.
Luckily, Kenma was not a girl, and he's already used to seeing that particular smile of Tetsurou whenever he is about to do something reckless. For the record though, it just annoys the hell out of him.
"Does she already have a fiance?"
Kenma heaved a sigh upon hearing the question from his young master, before replying, "Judging from the looks of what happened earlier, I don't think so."
The gleam in Tetsurou's eyes almost blinded Kenma. The latter's eyes widened instantly upon hearing the next words that literally spewed out of Tetsurou's mouth.
"Great! Let's set a date then!"
[Author's Note]
Hey everyone~ This is Haru & Aki!
(Haru) Here's the first chapter! Hope y'all stay tuned for the next update ;)
(Aki) Thank you for reading guys! We hope that you liked the first chapter. Watch out for the next update! Also, do check out the story in Wattpad as well. There is a mood board for the characters there. For now, I'll go back in my corner to cry my heart out because Haru was being mean~ TTwTT *insert ugly sobs*
((story/172877798-yakuza-affairs))