Forced To Love
Chapter II
The Fight Begins
"EH?!" Almost everyone exclaimed. Mizashi blinked, unmoved by the sudden exclamation. Ren was still staring at her, but this time, his eyes were holding no specific emotion. He stood up and approached her, towering over her small, well-built frame. She looked up at him, her eyes searching for any emotion so she could read his mind, but with no avail. They just stood there, staring at each other, not noticing that the rest of STARISH were still there.
Here she stood before him, wondering why her father agreed to this. The man seemed to hate her. It made her feel relieved a bit. This means she will not face problems with her plan to destroy this whole marriage thing. Minutes later, she decided to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Jinguuji-san… Do you think I like you…?" she asked, tilting her head a little. Ren seemed taken aback by the sudden question. The question seemed to be coming out of the blue, totally unexpected, but no. It was not just a random question. Mizashi wanted an answer for that. A clear one, to be exact.
"No." The man answered blankly. "I don't."
"Good." Mizashi said with a smile, but, unlike her first smile, this one was sly. Mizashi is not naïve or stupid, Ren thought. Her eyes showed otherwise. "I don't like you, either. So let's play a game." Now this was getting even creepier. Not only the girl looks suspicious, but she is starting to act like it. "I'll be staying here for two weeks. The thing is: Each of us has to make the other love him. You win when your opponent admits it. Simple, isn't it?"
"What are you up to, Mizashi…?" Ren asked, narrowing his eyes at the girl. Mizashi simply chuckled and shook her head.
"Jinguuji-san, it's just a game." She said. "Or more like a challenge, if you like." Her attitude was getting onto the saxophonist's nerves, but he did his best to hide it. He has never met such a person who can easily tick him off. "Are you in, or are you afraid?"
"In your dreams, Mizashi." The name seemed familiar when he said it. He was sure he heard that name before, but where?
"Good. May the best player win, Jinguuji-san." With that, she turned around and walked to the door. Before she left, she tilted her head back a bit, so that her crimson eyes looked straight into Ren's blue ones. "And, just so you know, Jinguuji-san, I never lose a game." She said with a sweet smile. "Good luck." Then she left, leaving Ren, and the other members of STARISH staring with wide-open mouths and eyes.
"That...was weird…" Ittoki said at last, still staring at the door.
"She seems weird…" Cecil murmured.
"Yes," Natsuki agreed. "Her words are...weird…"
"And her eyes are w-"Cecil was cut off by an angry Syo.
"Say that word again, and I'll punch you!" he warned, glaring at the prince. Cecil smiled mockingly.
"…Weird-oof!" Cecil toppled over, clutching his stomach.
"You deserve it."
"Syo. Cecil. Enough."
"But, Tokiya…"
"I said enough. We need to go now. We have work." They all walked to the door, leaving Ren behind. He had spaced out for several minutes, thinking of Mizashi's words. I never lose a game… The words kept repeating in his head over and over again. The girl was not as simple as she seemed like. But Ren was not going to give in to her tricks. If there was something he knew. It was how to charm a girl. Really, Mizashi got herself a tough opponent.
Ittoki wanted to help Ren. Everyone in STARISH wanted to do that. And that's why he, Cecil, Syo and Natsuki were there: inside the library. Each of them had a book in their hands, pretending to be reading. Mizashi, their target, was sitting not so far away, keeping herself busy with a book. Ittoki would peek out at her every now and then, and then he would whisper to Cecil, who would write down some notes.
"Nothing is suspicious yet…" Ittoki whispered, trying to be as quiet as possible. Cecil nodded.
"Hai… Nothing yet…" Syo rolled his eyes.
"Why are we even here…?" He whispered. "The notes you took are useless. They would do us no good." Cecil pouted.
"No they will."
"They won't."
"They will." And the two kept arguing quietly. Mizashi glanced at them from the corner of her eyes, sighing inwardly. Ittoki noticed her and coughed lightly, gesturing for his two bickering friends to stop their fight. They stopped momentarily, only to go on moments later, but quieter.
"We have to help Ren win his game." Ittoki said. "So we need to find out every piece of information that can be helpful…"
"How can 'She turns the page with her middle and thumb fingers.' Be helpful?" Syo noted. Ittoki shrugged, making the small blond sigh. "I knew this was useless."
"Aw, Mizashi-san looks cute when she is concentrating…" Natsuki cooed, smiling a little. "But she is a bit scary when close…"
"And wei-"
"Cecil. Do not say that word again." Syo warned, to which the prince rolled his eyes. Mizashi glanced at them again, smiling lightly. 'How cute…' she thought. Ittoki noticed she was looking in their direction. His red eyes met with her crimson ones. Ittoki immediately hid behind his book and gestured for the others to hide.
"I think she knows we are watching her." Ittoki pointed, sweating a little. Cecil scoffed.
"Nonsense! Our cover is perfect!"
"Uh…Hiding behind books?" Syo asked.
"Yes." The prince replied. Syo and Ittoki sweat-dropped.
"Uh…Guys…?" Natsuki began, putting his book down a little.
"Yes?" The three replied.
"Mizashi-san is looking at us directly…" he said, pointing to the smiling girl. The three looked up at the black–haired girl. She had a sweet smile on her face, but the tension in the air said otherwise. Cecil was the first to get up.
"Our cover is blown! Run!" With that they all rushed out of the room, leaving Mizashi to wonder what was wrong with them. She simply shrugged and got up from her seat, picking up the books they dropped. She sighed tiredly.
"Well… I guess I'll need to put these back in their original places."
Ren was lying down on the top bunk, thinking about Mizashi's challenge. Why would she come up with such a thing, especially that they only met that morning? There is a trick. He knew it. Whatever she was up to, it's not good. Right now, he has to think of a way to make her lose: to make her fall for him. He had done this before, but why did it seem hard now? He sighed in frustration for the tenth time that minute, causing Masato, who was sitting on his bed, to look up.
"Ren." He called, but Ren did not answer.
'Her eyes… Something was wrong with them…' Ren thought, remembering how her eyes seemed so… captivating when he looked at them. He could almost fall into their deepest realms and- No! He cannot think like that. He will not fall in love with her. There is no way he would lose to that girl. Never.
"Ren." Masato called once more, sounding a bit impatient.
"Huh?" The saxophonist snapped out of his thoughts. "Yes, Masa-chan?"
"… Forget about it…" Masato said after a small pause. Ren raised an eyebrow.
"You forgot what you were going to say." Ren noted, smirking a little. Masato blushed lightly and turned his head away.
"No. I just feel it's not important."
"Really now?"
"Quiet down, you two." Their senior, Ranmaru, snapped at them. "I didn't give you a day off so you'd bother me." He glared at them. Masato said nothing. Ren sighed again, but then an idea popped up in his mind.
"Ne, Kurosaki-senpai.. Can I ask you for a favour…?" He asked. Masato's eyes widened a bit.
'No..He will not… He can't tell him…' The pianist felt his heart beat faster in anticipation. Ranmaru, who didn't suspect anything, except for Ren being polite, looked at his junior.
"What is it, baka?" He asked. Masato held his breath, waiting for what he thought Ren would say.
"Can I borrow your shampoo?" He asked with a small smile. Ranmaru was about to lash out one very angry comment when masato let out a long sigh of relief, which puzzled both Ren and Ranmaru. The pianist fall back so that he was lying on his back, breathing deeply.
'Baka…he scared me…'
"Haruka?" Tokiya called out as he walked into the practice room. Nanami was sitting by the piano, doing some improvements on some songs she was working on. She smiled upon seeing the dark-haired mail entering the room.
"Hello, Ichinose-san…" She greeted. Tokiya sat next to her by the piano with a thoughtful look on his face.
"What do you think will happen to Ren?" He asked. Haruka sighed tiredly. The matter has been bothering her for the past hour. She shook her head with disappointment.
"No… I fear that he'll be discovered…" She said. "I'm worried."
"Me too." Tokiya admitted. "anyway. I came here to give you this." Then he handed her a letter. "It was sent to you from Shining. He said it was special, and that no one except you should know what it has." With that Tokiya stood up, walking to the door. He smiled at Nanami before he left the room. "Good luck."
Nanami looked at the letter in her hands. What was shining planning to do, she wondered. Was it… a mission…?
That's all for today's chapter. Leave a review, minna. Well, if you want to. It's not like I can force you to do it. Please do not hesitate to tell me if there are any mistakes, or if you have any tips that can make my story better. I really need your help everyone.
KuraiHaru17
