Authors greeting: Hey guys, this is my first fanfiction so bear with me. English is my third language and I learnt British English so some spelling will be different to what is used in the USA. If you or anyone you know would be willing to be my beta it would be greatly appreciated. Feedback would be loved.
Love, MadameBlackwood
(I'm re-uploading this as I found some spelling errors.)
Disclaimer: I do not profit off this story in any way, it is for entertainment purposes only.
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Chapter 1 A Very Serious Talk.
Natsuko Aichi knew the day her parents would call her into their study for a 'very serious talk about her future' would eventually come, but that didn't make her any less nervous when it did.
It happened on a Friday. A Friday that up until she got home, had been completely normal for Natsuko. She'd gone to school, taken notes in her classes, had lunch with friends, gone to a club meeting and come home. Not a single thing out of the ordinary. That is, until she began climbing the stairs en route to her room and her father called her back.
"Natsuko, your Mother and I need to have a very serious talk with you." He said in his deep baritone, the sternness of his voice causing a look of pure panic to wash over his daughter's pale face as she tried to recall if she'd done anything to disappoint him recently. "About your future."
Natsuko's face blanched as she realised what was happening. Her whole life she had been told that one day her parents would pick a suitable husband for her. Someone who would not only protect her but who would also bring valuable business connections to her family's corporation. She had always been ok with the idea as it was how things had always been in the Aichi family. She just didn't expect it to happen during the third term of her second year of high school.
She nodded in understanding and followed him towards the study, anxiously fiddling with the end of her ebony ponytail. She'd never been so nervous in her life. Her body felt like it was both boiling and freezing and she was sure her face was beet red. Clenching her slender hands into fists and struggling to calm down she walked behind her father like a prisoner heading to the gallows.
Once in the room she quickly lowered herself into one of the room's mahogany high backed chairs and looked towards her father. Ichiro Aichi was a tall man with slender shoulders and a gentle face. A gentle face that usually held a smile but now just looked tired. He ran his hand through his short graying hair then cast his brown eyes on his only child. Ichiro uncharacteristically stumbled over his words for several seconds before casting his wife a look of desperation. He had no idea how to broach the topic at hand.
"Now honey," Her Mother Megumi started, drawing the young woman's attention and rescuing her husband from his predicament. "We know this is sudden and quite a bit earlier than your father and I originally planned but certain circumstances have forced us to rush the decision."
"You see," Her Father said having finally found his voice. "In the last year we have had increasingly frequent interceptions of domestic deliveries by several of the region's Yakuza syndicates. We have lost hundreds of millions in merchandise, gone well over our wages budget to pay for added security and to discourage employees from quitting, over a dozen of our truck drivers have been severely injured or just disappeared and some of our biggest clients have threatened to start importing their purchases from overseas. So I have had to make a very tough decision in order to save my company. The company that has been in our family since 1489. The company that survived the Sengoku Period but can't survive organised crime."
Natsuko sat rigid, her dark brown eyes wide as she watched her usually placid father become more and more distraught. She had never seen him act so alarmed before. It was actually scarier than the prospect of an arranged marriage or the family business failing.
"Dear, our hands have been forced." Her mother said softly as she walked to her husband's side and laid a comforting hand on his trembling shoulder. "You must understand we would not have picked this as a solution if we hadn't already exhausted our other options."
The dark haired teenager was becoming tenser with every passing minute. She just knew she wasn't going to like where this conversation ended.
"As your Mother said, we have run out of options." Ichiro admitted once he'd calmed down. "We tried upping security, decoy deliveries, asking the police for assistance and an admittedly naive attempt at suing but nothing has helped. Very few people are willing to oppose the Yakuza. Thus I had to take drastic measures. And I know you aren't going to like it but it's for the good of the company."
She was confused. Who could they possibly betroth her to then if no one would willingly stand up to the mob.
"I pushed my pride aside and went to the head of the Kasanoda syndicate and tried to make a deal with him. Maybe exchange weapons for the gang's protection." At this Natsuko shot her father a look that clearly expressed that she thought he made a mistake. "Now don't give me that look. Their gang had not been linked to any of the stolen shipments and they are the toughest gang in the region. If anyone could scare the smaller gangs off it would be them. But he wasn't interested in weapons. He said they get theirs from another connection but he offered a deal of his own. One that I readily accepted. You will marry his only son Ritsu and his men will protect our deliveries and scare off other gangs."
Natsuko had stopped listening at the boy's name. Actually she was pretty sure she'd stopped breathing. Ritsu Kasanoda. The human blizzard. An underclassman. A mob heir. THE BOY WHO HAD AN UNREQUITED CRUSH ON ANOTHER BOY!
Ichiro and Megumi looked at their daughter in concern. Her usually smiling face had paled and become a blank mask. Her dark eyes were wide and emotionless. And the slender leg that had been bouncing anxiously throughout their conversation had stopped dead mid bounce as if it had become frozen in time. In short, their onyx haired daughter looked like a child confronted by the monster from their nightmares.
"Dear please say..." Megumi was quickly interrupted by a shrill yell.
"BUT HE'S A MOB HEIR!"
"I know it's not ideal Natsuko but it's our only option." Her mother replied soothingly in an attempt to calm her panicked daughter.
"BUT HE'S YOUNGER THAN ME!"
"Natsuko the agreement has already been made. I am your Father and I have done what's best for the company." Her Father snapped.
"WHAT ABOUT WHAT'S BEST FOR ME?"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! YOU ARE GOING TO MARRY THE KASANODA BOY AND THAT'S FINAL!" Ichiro roared in anger making his daughter's eyes fill with tears. His anger had never been directed at her before.
"But… he's gay." she mumbled meekly while wiping the tears from her eyes.
"What?" Her parents asked in confusion.
Natsuko quickly explained what she had heard about the Kasanoda heir and the commoner from the host club. About how he had attempted to confess his feelings to the brown haired book worm before being swiftly rejected without even being able to finish his admission. When she was through with retelling the story she looked up at her parents mirrored looks of abashment before snapping her eyes down to her lap. She suddenly felt like a gossip.
"Are you sure Natsuko? It's not nice to say things like that about people." Her Mother questioned in bewilderment.
"Yes. It was all the school was taking about last week." She replied still focusing on the yellow material that draped over her crossed legs. .
Her Father stood abruptly, seized the phone off the desk and stormed out into the hallway leaving his confused wife and upset daughter in an awkward silence. Natsuko knew her Father was most likely calling the Kasanoda chief for answers and although she didn't want to marry the boy, she couldn't help but feel bad for forcing Ritsu to come out of the closet. But if it got her out of this marriage she could deal with some guilt.