So, rollarcoasters! I'll admit, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junky when it comes to speed. Any sort of ride that throws me around has my mark of approval. I mean, that moment your stomach drops on the giant hill down at the beginning of a rollarcoaster is incredible! My favorite are by far the swinging rollarcoasters, cause then your movements aren't as restricted to the track. The twists are much wider and there's more G-force being exerted. There's also the mere fact that having your feet dangling is just plain fun. The downside is just how freaking expensive it is to get into amusement parks. Uggggh!
Without further ado, I give you chapter three!
A limousine is waiting when we finally arrive in Japan. Despite my situation, I practically throw myself into the lengthy back seat when Sebastian opens the door. It feels so amazing to be off that plane! How many hours was that, anyway? What does is matter, though? What matters is the fact that I couldn't catch so much as an hour of shut eye the entire time.
I huddle myself against the limousine's far door and prepare to nap. I don't really get it, why I can sleep in cars and not planes, but at times like this I can't bring myself to care. Ciel slides inside after me, Sebastian bringing up the rear. I don't pay attention as Sebastian gives the driver the address and instead close my eyes. I'm only vaguely aware of a muted sliding, indicating the separator between us and the driver has been shut. At first, I expect the two sitting with me to start talking, but they don't. Puzzled, I crack open my eyes to find Sebastian on the floor. His hands swipe broadly, and I'm forced to tuck my legs up against my chest when he leans over to stick his head underneath where I'm sitting.
My eyes trailing after him questioningly, I mumble, "What're you…?"
Apparently finished, he returns to his seat. "It's clean."
"Clean?"
"I mean that the car is not bugged."
"Bugged? Why would it be bugged?"
"You'll know after I explain why we're here," Ciel informs me, crossing his arms. "Really, I'd rather not explain it to you, but it would get complicated if I kept you in the dark." I blink, straightening. Yes, I'm tired, but this is important. "Simply put, I'm here to inherit the Naoto group."
"Naoto group?"
"They're yakuza."
"Ya-" My eyes widen. "You serious? But you're English!"
"I'm not directly related," he goes on, his tone making it clear that my ignorance annoys him. "The old head died without an heir, so he left it to my dad. Apparently my father did him some sort of favor, saving his life or something, so the two of them were really close. Thing is, my old man is dead now, so the inheritance would rightfully fall to me. I didn't come right away, though, since I still had work. During that time someone dared to usurp the position of head. I'm here to get it back."
I don't realize my mouth is hanging open until he orders me to close it. Snapping my lips back together, I try to absorb the new information. "S-So...you...are a part of the yakuza?"
"That's what I said, isn't it?"
I...I knew this was serious, but this? This I didn't expect. This is really dangerous! Somewhat dreading the answer, I wonder, "What does all of this mean for me, exactly?"
"Nothing."
"Clearly it means something! Otherwise I'd still be in California!"
"You saw something you shouldn't have. You yourself did nothing wrong, however, so it would weigh on me if I killed you. I didn't feel like shooting an innocent girl. We're keeping you with us until we can be sure you won't talk."
I bite my lip at the 'girl' comment, instead asking, "When...how can you ever be sure I won't talk?"
He glares at me out of the corner of his eye. "We'll see what happens. If you ever do become a hindrance, I'll go ahead and get rid of you."
I gulp. "I'll stay out of your way."
Apparently finished with his explanation, Ciel turns his head and begins conversing with Sebastian about one thing or another. I don't listen to it. Instead, I lean my head against the window and try to sort out my thoughts. Yakuza. How did I ever get involved with the yakuza? They're, like, japanese mafia, right? The big difference is, when you say mafia, usually you think back to the early nineteen hundreds when people like Al Capone were at large. In contrast, I'm pretty sure yakuza groups are still mostly active. And dangerous. Aren't they the ones that cut off your pinky if you do something slightly wrong?
I shiver, glancing wearily at Ciel. Sitting with his legs and arms crossed, he certainly exudes an air of authority and arrogance, but that hardly makes me think yakuza. I mean, he gives me more of an untouchable awe rather than a terrified awe. He still has that beautiful doll-like appearance, after all. And he's only eighteen! How could he be a criminal boss?
Wait, but didn't he say someone had taken over while he wasn't here? So is he...going to challenge him? A Yakuza boss? Is he insane?
"You're…" Both of their eyes turn to me when I begin to speak. "You're really going to...try to take over the group? Do you really want to be the boss of something like that?"
"It's mine to take," he states, his confidence making it feel as if he feels it will be easy.
"But...it's dangerous!"
To my shock, a smirk twists the model's lips upwards. "Well, it would be boring if it wasn't."
Before I can get the chance to process this new side of Ciel, the car pulls to a stop and all of a sudden we're climbing out. I watch in silence as Sebastian heads inside to check us in, the driver beginning to unload the luggage from the back. Once again, I'm struck with how unprepared I am.
"U-um, Ciel," I turn to the boy standing next to me. When he doesn't respond, I resist the urge to give up talking and instead go on. "What about...what am I going to wear? I didn't bring anything from home."
Not even glancing over my way, he tells me, "I had Sebastian call and have things prepared for you."
"Oh." What….what exactly did he 'prepare'? Things like a toothbrush and stuff are a given, but if he got me clothes….well, they think I'm a girl! I'm not going to be given skirts and dresses, am I? I shift uncomfortably at the thought. This is stupid. I should just tell them already, that I'm actually a guy. I can clear things up and get it out of the way, and...but that'll also ruin any chance I might have with Ciel! No, I shouldn't think like that. I've known all my life that there's no way a guy like him would like me back. Even if he falls for me thinking I'm a girl, that'll all be over when he discovers the truth!
My eyes flicker to him again, my teeth gnawing on my thumbnail. I shouldn't nurture false hope. I shouldn't but… His dark, silky hair reflects the light pouring out from the hotel, and I can't get over the way it contrasts against his milky skin. The pattern of light and shadows across him is mesmerizing. And despite him being older, despite the regal beauty he possesses, the way he's only a couple inches shorter than me makes him incredibly adorable! Somehow it makes him even cuter since I know he'd snap at me if I actually called him that. Could I really give up my chance with him, if such a chance exists? I was fine before, when I had never met him and thought I probably never would. I was content to admire him, to love him, because it was from a distance. Can I keep doing that without that distance?
I startle when Ciel suddenly grabs my hand, yanking my fingers away from my mouth. "Stop acting so nervous," he glares, his sapphire eyes narrowed into daggers. "Someone will think it's strange."
"Sorry." My fingers curl with regret when he releases my hand. Maybe...it's okay. I mean, even if he sees me as a girl, it's not like he'll fall for me, right? So even if he figures out the truth, it's no big deal. So I can cling to this dream a little longer...right?
"Young Master," Sebastian steps out of the revolving door, "everything is prepared."
Ciel nods and we follow his manager inside. To both my anxiety and my delight, Ciel doesn't allow me to walk behind the two of them. Instead, I stand beside him as the three of us and a bellboy with our luggage file into the elevator. The elevator is already huge, but the mirrored back triples the effect. No one talks as we ascend. I lean against the back wall, quietly examining myself in the mirror. I've always had a pretty face. I knew it even before I met Sandra and she enthused over it. Most guys don't think things like that, I think, but I did, because pretty boys are my type. So, I think I'm attractive. At least, I thought so, but that little bit of confidence wavers when I compare myself to the eighteen year old standing beside me. With him right next to me, my face looks utterly normal. Sure, I've got silvery gray eyes, but what's that worth next to the gems Ciel's eyes are? My hair isn't bad, but it's a little rough. I've never particularly cared about that aspect, but after seeing Ciel's silky hair, it's begun to bother me. Maybe I should have listened a little more when Sandra tried to get me into all that excessive hair care stuff.
I try to shake it off when we exit the elevator. Yes, appearance matters to me, but I need to stop worrying so much about it. Thinking so hard on it isn't normal.
When we enter our hotel room, it's much less a room and much more a miniature house. Actually, I guess the term would be a flat, or a condo, or something along those lines. Immediately out of the entryway, it opens up into a living room with a giant couch and a flat screen TV. Past that on the left, a full kitchen with even an oven stands ready to be used. The right leads into a hallway that I would guess leads to the bedrooms. I take all of this in and try not to think about how expensive it must be.
"Your room, Tyler, is the farthest one from the front." Having been absorbed with the decor, I pivot to see Sebastian tipping the bellboy. Closing the door behind the bellboy, then, he turns back to me and says with a smile, "That way, you'll have to pass our rooms if you try to escape."
Like I'd try to escape. Maybe if I was still in the U.S, but when they've taken me to a foreign country? Not a chance. Sebastian waits by the door, though, as if guarding it. Uneasy with his behavior, I make my way into the kitchen. Sebastian may be hot, but the way he acts is certainly not. It gives me the chills.
Opening the fridge, I'm pleased to find it stocked. However, I have no idea what any of it is. Most of it is packaged, but all the labels are, of course, Japanese. I can't read a single word. I grimace and snag what is probably a water bottle, seating myself at the small counter.
"Ah, yes, it has been awhile since any of us has had a full meal," Sebastian comments, finally moving away from the door to check the refrigerator himself. "I shall cook us something, then. It looks like we have all the ingredients for miso soup."
"Then hurry up and make it," Ciel orders, surprising me when he suddenly situates himself on the barstool next to me. "I'm hungry."
"Yes, my lord."
It's silent as Sebastian gets to work, the only sounds being the clattering of pots and utensils. Maybe from the outside, a scene like this would feel pretty normal. It's not. It's seriously strange, and all I can do is sit and marvel at the oddity of it all. Look at me! I'm in a high class 'hotel room', in Japan, sitting next to both my idol and a possible yakuza boss, while some hot dude who's a freaky as hell cooks for us. How can reality get any weirder than that?
And yet, somehow, it gets weirder. When Ciel answers a knock at the door, a new bellboy with a bulky bag slung over his shoulder steps into the room.
"I was told to deliver this here," he informs Ciel, plopping the bag down inside the entrance. Unzipping it, Ciel takes one look and then ushers me over. I slide off of my seat and glance at the bag's contents.
Girl's clothes.
Oh god, is this hell? Sitting at the top of the pile is a pink blouse that I swear would be laughing at me if it had a mouth. This was what I was afraid of. Kneeling down, I dig through the clothes in an attempt to find something a little more unisex, but what I find makes my stomach twist. Lips stretched tight, I zip up the bag and sigh. Then I wonder to myself how long it would be considered okay for me to continue wearing the underwear I have on.
"You've got a pretty girlfriend," the bellboy compliments Ciel, glancing down the hallway before returning his gaze to the model. "I hadn't been informed that there was going to be a third."
Informed? Is he a friend of theirs or something? I glance up, wondering if Ciel will introduce us, when all of a sudden I'm yanked backwards by the collar of my shirt. Choking, my wide eyes land on Ciel, who evidently had been the one who'd pulled me back.
"Wha-" My voice cuts off when I see his expression.
The click of the door closing draws my attention back to the door, and the bellboy. Then I see what's in his hand and freeze.
One one hand he's got a rope, but in the other…
I finally understand when I register the knife.
Disclaimer: Any resemblance to any one person or group is purely accidental. All the facts about the Naoto group and any other groups mentioned come entirely out of my imagination, making any similarities coincidental. I had to get that out of the way. We wouldn't want people tracking me down and beating the crap out of me if something in this story accidentally resembled something in reality, now would we? So, disclaimer. Please take note, all possibly offended persons! I will be here hoping there's no tragic accident in my near future before I upload the next chapter.
Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!
