c h a p t e r t w o
then came MANIPULATION
x
"President?"
For once, Maki sounded surprised. Tora's eyes were hard and cold as iron but, when he turned around to face Maki, the expression had gone, replaced by cool indifference. "Kanade," he said.
Maki stepped in, the doors swinging shut behind him. "I apologize for any inconvenience," he said smoothly. "I didn't know you were in here. We are ready to begin the auditions. Shall I proceed?"
"No." Tora's response was both short and curt. Maki's eyes met his, and Tora could see the surprise in them, evident and inquiring. "We already have a female lead. Sarakshi Ishin." Then his eyes hardened. "I want to know everything that could compromise her, by tomorrow."
Maki's eyes flickered. "Of course. Hiroshi-san will want to cast the other roles, however."
"That is none of my concern. Do as you wish." Tora made to sweep past him.
"Tora."
Not President, not President Igarashi, but Tora. Tora paused, and their gazes locked.
"What is it?" Maki said.
"I wouldn't call it revenge," Tora said. "But it will be fun."
;;;;;
"Sarakshi-chan…" Manilla sounded worried. Sarakshi looked up, mustering up a weak smile, though it faded when she saw the expression on Manilla's face. "Is everything alright?"
"I think I'm coming down with a cold," Sarakshi lied. Under normal circumstances, she might have told the Oh-It's-Nothing lie, but she had a feeling it wasn't going to work in this case. Manilla's gaze was too anxious.
"Well, why don't you take the rest of the day off?" Manilla asked. She set down the beater, and peered at Sarakshi over the top of her spectacles. "You don't look too well, you know."
"No, it's okay. I'll be fine, Manilla-chan, I really will be."
Manilla frowned. Not one to be down-in-the-dumps too long, though, she brightened up almost immediately. "Do you know, Mitsuko-chan thought it would be a good idea if we dress up as animals, tomorrow," she giggled.
Sarakshi nearly dropped her plate in surprise. "Animals?" She asked. "Like… animals?"
Manilla looked like someone had dropped a big, live fish on top of her head. "No!" She gasped. "Of course not, Sarakshi-chan! Like bunnies and cats and things! You know! Cute pnes!" She raised her hands to the sides of her head likes ears, wriggled them, and began to hop about. "Like that! Isn't it adorable?"
Sarakshi had to laugh. She'd been repressing the memories of yesterday for the past God-knows-how-many hours, and Manilla's antics drove them straight out of her mind for the first time since Tora had pinned her against the wall. "I doubt I could pull it off like all of you can, Manilla-chan," she laughed. "But I'll give it a try. I could be a cat, I suppose."
"We'll have to give you pink ears~" Manilla squealed. "Here, give me those." She grabbed the pile of plates from Sarakshi's hands. "Take the day off, Sarakshi-chan. You have to be in tiptop condition for tomorrow. I'll ask Mitsuko-chan or Hianta-chan to do the night shift. Have a good day, Sarakshi-chan~" She trotted off with the plates and, a smile curving her lips, Sarakshi headed for the changing room.
She didn't have the night shift often but, the few times she did, it wasn't something she exactly enjoyed. Her usual shift ended at half past nine, but the night shift didn't end until midnight. She'd scheduled things according to the night shift for today, though, so she took her time in the changing room. She had a shower, and while she was at it, she confronted her memories of what had happened the day before.
Tora Igarashi. He was – there was no other word for it – vile. She could still see his eyes, burned against her mind. Deep gold and gorgeous, and utterly arrogant. He thought he could buy me. He thought he could buy me just because I wasn't wearing what the other girls wear, and probably never will.
Moron.
She emerged from the shower, smelling of cinnamon soap, and dressed in shorts and an baggy white shirt beneath an oversized jacket, her red hair wet and tangled. She ran her hands through it, took a deep breath, and stepped outside. It was a little after ten, and the world was dark, and she wished she could have driven her bike home. Petrol was expensive, though, so she didn't use it often. She'd just have to walk home.
She did just that, walking home through the street lights and a few dark, alleys.
She never noticed the figure following her.
;;;;;
"Ishin-san?"
Sarakshi turned around at the sound of her name. She'd been leaning against the bushes, watching the students diving into and emerging out of the huge swimming pool. It was a free period, which meant she needed to complete a plethora of assignments. The boy addressing her was lean and tall, black-haired with narrow eyes. He might have been handsome, if it wasn't for the deceptive smile and how sharp those eyes were. She had a feeling she had seen him before.
"Maki-kun?" She asked, realizing who he was. She rose to her feet. "May I help you?"
"The Headmaster would like you to see the Theatre Committee." Sarakshi raised an eyebrow and, as if sensing her wariness, he held out something that looked like a pass, before saying anything else. "They are interested in the project you handed in for G&T class. If you would accompany me?"
Sarakshi looked down at the pass. It was clearly legitimate. "Okay," she said. "But I have a class in twenty minutes."
Maki bowed. "This shouldn't take very long. If I may escort you."
"Of course."
He led her into another block, up a grand staircase, and on to a landing. There was a row of doors here, each two doors far apart as if the rooms were huge, and Maki stopped in front of a highly-polished door which he knocked twice, before holding open for her. There was a name plate attached beside the door, but Maki was standing at an angle that blocked it from view, and Sarakshi couldn't read it. She gave the boy a smile, which he returned with his close-eyed one, and walked in.
The moment she did, she heard a lock click into place, and realized she'd followed him straight into a trap.
;;;;;
The room was huge, carpeted, and very dark. There was a table at the far end, polished and expensive – she could just tell – and, standing behind it, his hands crossed behind his back and his back to her, was a tall, deceptively lean figure.
Tora turned around. He pressed a button, and the lights came on, illuminating the room. It was done in gold and scarlet and – there was no other word for it – magnificent. There was nothing too simple, nothing excessive, nothing distasteful and nothing less-than-breathtaking about it.
"Sarakshi-san." His voice was cool, almost nonchalant, but his eyes were cold. Sarakshi raised her chin, meeting his gaze without flinching, although she felt like flinching.
"What do you want, Igarashi?"
"I?" He sat down, not offering her a chair, though she would have refused it even if he had offered it. Being treated as an inferior. She couldn't stand it. "It's the Theatre Committee that wanted to see you. Didn't Maki tell you that?"
Her eyes flashed. "You lied to the Headmaster."
"That's beside the point, isn't it?" His smirk was slow and plain, sheer maddening. "It might interest you to know that you've bagged the lead for the play."
For one moment, she didn't understand. Then the words registered. "But I didn't even audition!" That crap hadn't been an audition.
"Of course you did, Sarakshi-san." His eyes locked on to hers. "Don't you remember?"
She pursed her lips. "Open the door, Igarashi. I'm leaving."
He rose to his feet, and walked up to her. Sarakshi held her ground. He placed a hand beneath her chin, raising it, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Do you know what I can do?" His other hand caught her arm as she raised it, with effortless ease. "I can tell the school management about this." He let go of her hand, reached into his pocket and held something up. It was a picture of her, dressed as a maid, serving a customer. He pushed it aside with his thumb to show a second picture. This one was of her waving to someone who couldn't be seen on the camera, in front of a pile of dishes. He let go of both the pictures, and they floated to the floor, where they lay, motionless and accusing. "Do you know what they do to students who risk Miyabigoka High's reputation by taking up jobs like these?"
Sarakshi felt numb. He'd had her followed and, like the fool that she was, she hadn't known a damn thing about it. "What do you want, Igarashi?" She asked in a whisper.
He ignored her question, his hand still under her chin, tilting it upwards. "They expel them," he continued. "And it's very hard to get into a good school, once you've been expelled from a place like Miyabigoka. You do know that, don't you, Sarakshi-san?"
She grabbed his arm, and pulled it away from her. "What do you want, Igarashi?" This time, her voice was harsh. She wouldn't let him see her break. She wouldn't.
He walked over to his desk, picked up something, and held it up. It was a script, he realized. "You will accept the lead in the play. You will act happy about it. You will come to each rehearsal, starting tomorrow."
"When are these rehearsals?" She walked up to him, and took the script from his hand. Her eyes were hard and, he realized, she didn't look like she was about to cry. He'd expected her to break down. He'd expected her to apologize. He'd expected her to tell him she would do whatever he wanted, anything to please him, if he kept her secrets, helped her out. But her shoulders were thrown back, her chin raised, and there was nothing but hard resolve and something like fire in her eyes.
"Every day after school," he smirked.
Her breath caught. "I have jobs to do after school."
"You'll have time to go to that café of yours." His voice was still all silk. "Crème Maid, isn't it?" There was a smirk in his words.
She met his gaze, without wincing. "I go to Diner Lafay before that," she said. "I need that job."
He was standing against the tall window, his back to her once more, looking outside as if he had lost interest in what she had to say. "Perhaps you should have considered that earlier."
He wanted her to apologize, Sarakshi could tell. He wanted her to ask him for help. This is revenge, she realized. Revenge because I slapped him. Because I walked out on him.Well, he'd picked the wrong girl to fight with. "Very well," she said. "I will reschedule my other activities, for the extent of this… extra-curricular activity."
He turned around, and there was a smirk playing around his mouth. "I'm glad you came to that decision. Let me escort you to the door, Sarakshi-san." But he swept past her, unlocking the door, and holding it open for her.
She didn't say a word to him as she stalked out.
This was, I think, the shortest chapter I've written so far. *eyes it*
OTAY.
arianne: Thank you. I'm trying not to update soon without it being too soon, but I want to get to the good parts already. I have no patience. XD
OhanaChan: COOKIES. Does I get cookies now? *_*
Ultimate Ending: Thank youuu, and YAY for Tora fans! *high fives* XD I love Toraaa!fiction, so I'm going to stalk your FF. =3
