Jake Stafford scanned the ballroom, trying his utmost to keep boredom from showing in his appearance or actions. As captain of the squad that was assigned to Japan for 6 months, it was his duty to attend to events like these, especially those that were especially thrown in their honor. Nonetheless, it didn't mean that he had to like it. He never felt at home in societal gatherings, and more so with people and places unfamiliar to him. He would have preferred to stay at the barracks drinking with his men than attempting to make polite talk with strangers. He was contemplating whether to excuse himself from the party when his eyes espied upon a petite figure at the other side of the ballroom. Well, I'll be… Maybe this night isn't such a waste, after all.
xxx
Hino Rei looked around the ballroom, hoping against hope that she would not end up bumping into her father. She never had much use for parties, knowing full well just how empty in meaning these events were. She would much rather prefer staying at home at the temple, or spending quality time with her friends. Duties, however, came first, which was why she found herself seated near one of the corners of the ballroom which was thrown in honor of some visiting soldiers. Barbarians, she thought to herself, wrinkling her nose in disgust. They visited the Hikawa Shrine a few days before, and they treated the grounds as though it was a tourist attraction more than a sacred place. She had to spend an extra hour cleaning the temple in order to make it resemble how it looked like before it was invaded by the soldiers.
"I didn't know Shinto priestesses came to parties," a voice behind her drawled in English.
Rei turned her head and almost groaned. Jake Stafford was one of the soldiers who visited the temple, and he lost no time in trying to flirt with her, much to the amusement of his men. To add insult to injury, the man had attempted to speak in Japanese, effectively mangling the language, so much so that Rei decided to take pity and speak to them in perfect, but slightly accented English. When the man, who had introduced himself as a captain, had expressed his astonishment that she was able to speak his language perfectly, she gave him a sweet smile and said, "Unlike some other people, I did get proper education so I don't end up destroying someone's language." Instead of being insulted, the blond man laughed and had the gall to say she looked cute when she was irritated. After they left, Rei amused herself by imagining the captain's face on the floor just so she could sweep it clean. "I am a Shinto priestess, Captain Stafford, not a nun," she said, her tone prim, keeping her hands folded on her lap. "I am allowed to have fun every once in a while."
"And are you having fun, my little miko?" He asked, his tone roguish. Rei shook her head before she realized what she was doing, and then she turned beet-red.
Jake laughed at her reaction. "Yeah, same here," he said, winking at her conspiratorially. Despite herself, Rei found herself chuckling at the man's antics. "What do you say we go out and have some real fun?" he added, wagging his eyebrows at her.
Rei rolled her eyes at his entendre. "Thank you for the invitation, Captain, but I have to decline. I have responsibilities here."
Jake looked at her curiously then. "Just what is a miko doing in a ballroom, anyway?" There was no insult in his question, only mild curiosity.
Rei shrugged. "I am the head priestess of Hikawa Shrine, so my position has a certain standing in community," she answered. The answer, at least, was partly true.
Jake inclined his head to acknowledge her response, although his expression showed that he didn't completely believe what she said. "How did you get to be the head priestess, anyway?" he asked. "All the other temples had old men managing these. Not only are you a girl, but you're also quite young."
"So kind of you to notice," Rei said dryly.
"Oh, believe me, I wouldn't be able to miss it had I wanted to," Jake promptly responded, and then grinned as color bloomed in the raven-haired woman's cheeks again.
"Are you always this inquisitive about the people you meet, sir?" Rei asked, a hint of her anger showing up in her voice.
"Only when it comes to pretty women," he said, and grinned even wider when he saw the redness in her cheeks deepening.
Rei harrumphed. "Is that what I am to you? Just another pretty girl? Is that why you're doubting my abilities to run my temple?"
Jake held his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. "Hey, that's not what I was trying to say. I'm just curious since you seem to be very different from the other temple priests and priestesses."
Rei's eyes remain narrowed in suspicion, although she was somewhat mollified by his response. She gave a nod to acknowledge his silent apology. "I got the title of head priestess ever since my grandfather, who used to own and manage the temple, died. He left the temple in my care," she admitted quietly, and then became surprised at what she actually just said. What was it about this stranger that made her want to talk about her life issues?
"Oh, I see," the blond-man said, his tone becoming awkward, in contrast to the playfulness in his voice earlier. "I am sorry. Has it been long since he died?"
Rei shrugged. "About two years ago," she said, pleased that her voice didn't tremble. She still missed her grandfather. "Look, I have to go." She bowed at the blond man. "It was a pleasure talking with you, Stafford-san."
xxx
Jake felt sympathy when he saw the look of pain and loneliness that appeared on the young woman's face when she talked about her grandfather. When she turned to leave, Jake didn't hesitate. He bowed and said, "Would you like to dance with me, Hino-san?" He almost laughed to see the surprised expression on her face, and he was inordinately pleased with himself that he somehow managed to remove the sadness in her expression, at least temporarily.
"Dance, Stafford-san?" Rei asked, her expression confused. "But I don't dance."
"Then I'll teach you," he said, proffering his hand to her. He grinned again. "Come on, a simple dance won't ruin your reputation, you know? Besides, you did say that you came here to have fun, right?"
Warring emotions appeared on Rei's face. However, when she was about to take the blond man's hand, a voice suddenly interrupted her.
"Rei!" The two turned to see an angry man heading toward her. He threw a look at loathing at Jake before he addressed the young woman. "I want to talk to you. In private," he added, speaking rapidly in Japanese, irritation in his voice. While Jake wasn't good with speaking the language, he had a good understanding of it, and curiosity made him listen in on the conversation, all the while striving to keep his expression neutral so that the two would not be able to see that he could understand what they were talking about.
"There is nothing to talk about," Rei said, her expression cool, re-assuming the ice queen persona that Jake had somehow identified with her.
"I forbid you to talk with this man!" The older man said, almost spitting in rage as he threw another glare in Jake's direction. "He is gaijin, Rei! You will bring much dishonor to my name if people see you associating with him!"
"And of course, it's always about you, isn't it?" she answered in that same cool voice. "Like I said, we have nothing to talk about. If you'll excuse me," she began, beginning to turn and walk away.
"I am not done talking," the older man snarled, grabbing hold of her arm in a grip that looked tight enough to bruise.
It was at that moment that Jake decided to intervene. "My dance, Hino-san?" he asked, extending his hand to the young woman and deliberately ignoring the older man. A look at gratitude appeared on Rei's eyes, and she managed to disentangle her arm from the other man's grasp, putting a hand on Jake's own.
"Thank you," she said softly, looking down as they whirled about the dance floor.
"No problem," Jake grinned, pleased to note that contrary to her initial claim, she could handle dancing well. "Who was that, anyway?" he asked, inclining his head in the direction of the older man, who was glaring at the two of them.
"You really are a curious one, aren't you?" Rei asked, this time lifting her head and then giving him a small smile. "Stafford-san, you have just had the fortune of meeting Hino Takashi, my sire."
It took a few seconds before Jake recognized the name. "Hino Takashi is your father?" he choked out. "The senator? You're the senator's daughter?"
A flash of anger appeared in her eyes. "He is not my father," she hissed. "He may have partly been responsible for my birth, but he is not my father."
"I take it that you and he don't exactly have a cordial relationship," Jake hazarded.
Rei gave an unladylike snort. "You don't know the half of it," she muttered.
"Well, if you two don't have a good relationship, I'm kind of curious as to why he doesn't want you to talk with me. The gaijin," Jake said, a mocking smile appearing on his face.
Rei's eyes widened at his words. "So you understand Japanese better than you can speak it," she ventured.
"Guilty," Jake said, giving her a rueful grin. "My teachers often told me that I would have been able to rule the world if I was able to speak languages just as easily as I understand them."
Rei smiled back at his response. "Sorry about what he said," she said belatedly, tilting her head to where Senator Hino stood, still glaring at them.
Jake shrugged. "Don't be," he said. "It's not like I'm not used to dealing with angry parents," he said, his cocky grin reappearing.
Rei rolled her eyes at the implications of what he said. "Just so we're clear, the only reason why I'm dancing with you is so that I can piss off my father," she said, her tone deceptively sweet.
"I'm glad I'm considered as the lesser of two evils," Jake deadpanned.
Rei chuckled at the man's audacity. "You're incredible."
Jake grinned back at her. "I know," he said, waggling his eyebrows at her. "And since you seem to want to piss of your father…" In so saying, he pulled her closer to him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Rei hissed, the mirth in her face replaced by irritation.