A/N: I know I've been on hiatus for a long time, but I finally got back into the show again, and I felt like I wanted to explore the characters I had created for the brothers, picking my series up with Reiji. Thank you so much to anyone who reads this, especially to those of you who favorited and followed so long ago. Please comment if you have ideas or suggestions, I always take those under consideration when I'm crafting chapters. Please enjoy. ~Nique
Ch. 01: The Miracle Cure
It was not a difficult trend to pick up on. And yet, Reiji seemed to be the only one of this brothers who had caught onto his plan, with the exception, perhaps, of his older brother, whose mind he had never been able to successfully comprehend. Usually, his brother proved himself to be of the most reprehensible kind, lazy and foul-minded, with a haughty disregard for authority that enraged his envious younger brother. Though at times, it seemed, even to Reiji, that Shu possessed a knowledge and a power that even he would never be able to match.
Shaking off such... distasteful thoughts, Reiji laid his knife and fork to the side of his china plate and dismissed his brothers from their monthly dinner party, which had, as of late, become a much more trying experience, due to the inclusion of his brothers' new mates, whose deplorable manners and infuriating temperaments made the otherwise serene affair intolerably noisy and vexing.
"Nfu~, Come on, Neko-chan, I think it's time for dessert." Laito gripped his mate's hand and led her, blushing profusely, but still giggling, from the room. Ayato also proclaimed loudly that he was going to his room with his vampirette mate, the newly-turned Yui. He made it very clear that his brothers "were not to touch what belongs to Ore-sama." Reiji sighed and reminded him to keep any and all lewd activities within the boundaries of his own chambers. Shu and his mate simply stood and disapparated without a word. As Kanato and Subaru stood, the maids came to take away the dishes, and Reiji was free to return to his lab. Sinking into his chair, he opened the notebook where he had recorded the data from one of his latest experiments. Finally, some peace and quiet.
Hacking and coughing, Masumi laid on her back in the hospital bed. Despite the fact that the nurses were trying to keep her in good spirits, Masumi was too intelligent to miss the signs and the pitying looks. She was dying. This was her fourth hospital bed. She'd come to this place because the doctors promised they could extend her life for several years, at least, but it had only been two months since she'd arrived, and already her condition was deteriorating.
The doctors must have run hundreds of thousands of tests, she thought to herself, but all of them show that I'm in perfect health. And yet... At that moment, another wave of coughing wracked her frame, leaving her throat sore and her body exhausted. Without a diagnosis, the doctors couldn't treat her, and so she was dying a slow, torturous death. They tried to keep her comfortable, at least, but she knew it wouldn't be long.
Would death really be so bad, she mused, since Papa passed and Mama hardly even acknowledges my existence? Perhaps I'd be doing her a favor. Raising me seemed such an inconvenience for her... Shaking off such thoughts, Masumi combed her hair into a top bun, leaving two wisps on either side of her face loose. Looking at herself in her bedside mirror, Masumi sighed and sat up straighter. She could hear his dress shoes clicking on the floor as he made his way down the corridor, her mysterious visitor. She'd only just been informed of his arrival, but she tried to at least present herself decently.
And then, there he was, his large frame filling the doorway. He was tall but trim, and most of his expansiveness came from his powerful presence, rather than his physical appearance. As he entered the room, Masumi noted his expensive three-piece suit, his Italian leather shoes and his striking gaze. Quick on her feet as always, Masumi spoke first.
"You're Sakamaki Tougo-sama, correct? I must confess I was not expecting such a high-profile politician, today." The man smiled and bowed slightly.
"I see introductions will not be necessary then, Miss Yatari-san. How are you feeling today?" Masumi bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement.
"As well as can be expected. Forgive me for being so forward, Sakamaki-sama, but what are you doing here?" Tougo smiled, but rather than being reassured, Masumi found his smile disturbing. There was something about this man that gave her the creeps. Reaching out to grasp her wrist, Tougo brought her hand to his lips, placing a sweet kiss there. Masumi resisted the urge to yank her arm away.
"Why, sweet child, your father and I were old friends. I was so sorry to hear about his passing a few months ago. I quite enjoyed his company when we were brought together by business and politics, you know how it is. When I heard my friend's daughter was in the hospital with what can only be described as an incurable disease, I knew I had to take action." Masumi was not placated by his story, and felt wary, but curious.
"What do you mean, 'take action'? I have seen the finest doctors in the world, and none can even diagnose me. What makes you so sure you can?" Tougo released her hand and walked to the window, looking out at the hospital courtyard below, where patients got a little fresh air and sunshine while undergoing treatment.
"Yes, you've seen some of the greatest doctors in the world... but not all of the greatest scientists. You see, medicine is a tricky thing. Many scientific advances take years, decades even, to make it to the doctors, and even longer to make it to the patients who need it most. Bureaucracy, you understand. But you don't have that much time to wait, do you, Miss Yatari?" Tougo turned to face her. "Looking at you, I'd say you have a few months, at most. But I am here because I can offer you something that none of your doctors can... a chance." Masumi was speechless.
"If that's true, I'm sure you would not give such a thing out of the kindness of your heart, Sakamaki-sama, after all, you're a politician. Very well, I have experience dealing with people on the upper echelons of society, thanks to my father. I know how you think; this miracle cure comes at a price; money, notoriety, power... So what can I offer you, Sir?" Tougo's lips twitched, as if he were restraining the urge to chuckle.
"Oh I quite like you. Yes, you'll do just fine. You're right, of course, my services do come at a price, though not likely one you're expecting... In exchange for my help, I require you to come to live in my manor, and apprentice under my son. He's a scientist himself, one with a brilliant mind, if I may say so. I've heard you're quite gifted in the arena of academics as well, Miss Yatari, so you should have no issue assisting another academic. What do you say, Masumi-san?"
Masumi met and held the politician's gaze for several long moments. Eventually, she leaned forward.
"I know what you are, Tougo-sama, I'm not stupid, and in fact, I'm fairly observant. If I accept your offer, and come to live in your house, how can I be assured of my safety? I know nothing about your son, or his appetites. I would rather die of my own accord than at the hands of some mad adolescent scientist with a taste for Type B." This time Tougo did laugh, a terrifying sound, like nails on a chalkboard, like a smoker of 30 years, like a wail of despair, so was the tenor of his laugh. Masumi hoped never to hear it again.
"Very well, I shall also guarantee you your life. Understandably, I cannot promise you total safety, but my sons are still beholden to me, and they will do as I command. I will not allow them to put you in any mortal danger." Masumi searched his eyes and found sincerity. He could be lying, but she would have to chance it. A shot at a new life, away from her absent mother and the memories of her dead father? An opportunity to pursue her love of science and other academia? The assurance of several more years, at the very least? How could she pass this up? Sitting up straight again, he back resting against the pillows, she nodded slowly and stuck out her hand.
"Then we have a deal, Mr. Sakamaki-sama." A cool hand met hers, shaking gently but sincerely.
"I shall take care of this issue myself. Do call me to tell me how you feel in the morning, dear?" Masumi found a white business card in her palm, with only his name and phone number printed in dark black letters. When she looked up from the card in her hand to agree, however, he was gone. And Masumi was alone again.
Her heart monitor beeped steadily, and Masumi relaxed, allowing her body to sag back into the cushions. Just that short encounter had tired her nearly to her limits. The effort of maintaining such an austere facade had nearly taken all of her strength. She doubted she would feel any differently in the morning, but deep inside here, there was a hope, a small flame flickering weakly, but burning nevertheless.
Please, she prayed to whoever was listening, let this work.
The next morning came far too slowly for Masumi. The early morning rays had just begun to touch her face when her eyes snapped open, her muscles tensing as she felt an indescribable need to either fight or flee. Who was in her room? Sitting up quickly, Masumi flung her legs over the side of the bed, not wanting to be trapped in her sheets should she need to make a run for it. It took her a few moments to recognize her mother, so rarely had she visited Masumi's hospital room.
"Mother, what are you doing here?" She asked, once she had calmed down a bit.
"So I take it the cure worked then?" her mother ignored her question. "No more pain? You've at least got a bit more color in your cheeks than the last time I saw you. Sign this, we're leaving." The woman thrust the papers at her daughter, sweeping what books Masumi had sitting on her nightstand into a bag and rising quickly. Masumi quickly signed her name on the discharge papers and followed her mother down the hall, only a blanket wrapped around her in her thin hospital gown.
"Mother did you at least bring me a change of clothes? I can't very well greet anyone in this." He mother stopped sharply and looked her daughter up and down coldly.
"No, I didn't think to. But it's no matter, I think this look quite suits you." With a cruel smile, she turned again and proceeded out the front doors of the hospital. There was a car waiting for them, and Masumi and her mother were ushered into it promptly.
The drive was long and awkward. Masumi had nothing to say to her mother, and her mother clearly felt the same way. She stared out of the side window with a bored expression. Masumi tried to configure her hospital attire into something remotely presentable. She settled on turning the blanket into a long skirt, which laid over her hospital gown, covering the most important bits and creating something of an ensemble.
Nearly as she tied the last knot of her make-shift skirt, the car pulled up in front of a massive wrought-iron gate, which opened to reveal a tall, foreboding manor house. As the car stopped, the driver got out to open the door for the two women, and Masumi climbed out, waiting for her mother to follow. But she didn't.
Thrusting the bag of books into her daughter's arms, Mrs. Yatari looked her daughter straight in the eye:
"You've been given a wonderful opportunity, which frankly, you don't deserve. Don't mess it up."
With that the door swung shut and Masumi found herself on the front steps of a new home, where she didn't know anyone, in nothing but her hospital gown/blanket outfit.
Great, she thought, and rang the doorbell.