Hello again!~ Soo…I really apologise for the long wait~
Credit to white . affection! :)
Oh, and I am not bothered to describe the whole Onodera manor, only just the inside lol.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.
'…well…here I am again, home sweet home.' Onodera took a deep breath and relaxed as he walked down the stone footpath to the Onodera mansion. He knocked on the door three times and at an instant the door opened, revealing an aged woman with some grey hairs streaking through her dark chocolate coloured hair and shining emerald eyes.
"Ritsu! It's been so long!" Onodera's smiling mother greeted him at the doorway with a warm hug.
"Mother, you've seen me at the hospital already." Onodera laughed softly as his mother pulled away.
"But I didn't get to see you properly since I was asleep for most of the time! Not to mention it's been more than a month since that time! Now, come in! Make yourself at home!" Onodera barely had time to recognise a blur of black and white running to him at full speed as he found himself toppling onto the floor.
"UWAH! Ow…Ayumi!" Onodera slowly sat up to caress the exuberant dog towering over him. Ayumi gave a loving lick in return.
"Ahaha Ayumi! Stop! Yes it's been a while but please!" Onodera laughed whole-heartedly as the beloved pet continued to lick the brunette's face.
"Oh Ayumi, happy to see a familiar face now hm?" Onodera looked up to see an old, but healthy man smiling happily standing near the grand staircase gazing at him.
"Father!" Onodera chuckled as his mother lifted him up from the ground. Onodera's father too had grey streaks in his chestnut hair.
"How have you been doing? Are you eating enough?" Onodera's mother questioned as he chuckled slightly.
"Well I've somewhat reduced my meals to only once a day." Onodera repressed the urge to scowl at the reason why he was forced to eating a meal a day, but there was a small part of him that was grateful for the meal.
"One meal?! Ritsu! You could collapse at that rate!" Having being scolded by his fretting mother, he knew it wasn't a good time to tell them that he had already experienced that.
"Sorry mother, I'll try and eat something whenever I have the chance."
"You should try and make a bento and bring it to work." His father suggested as the three of them unconsciously walked down the hallway.
"Well my boss says it's not recommended because I might spill some of the food onto the storyboards."
"Storyboards? Why would you need that when you're editing literature? Shouldn't you be doing discussions with the author and such?" Onodera-mama pointed out sharply. Onodera bit his tongue, realising what he had just spilt out.
"W-well…I was told that there soon would be a graphic novel created out of the book I'm currently editing…s-so I have to have discussions with the artist and explain to them how the panels and pages will be laid out."
"Well you must be editing quite a lot of books that will be created into graphic novels causing you to only have one meal a day." Onodera-papa smiled. Onodera swallowed the lump in his throat when he saw his mother picking up on what he said. When she was about to question his father burst out with a happy laugh and gave his son a hard pat on the back.
"That's great son! You're finally moving up in the rankings! Hahaha!" Onodera nervously laughed along with his father, hoping that his mother won't question him any further.
"You should do that for our company once you're ready to take over!" His mother joined in once more.
"Mother! I'm really sorry but I really have no interest of taking over!" Onodera protested half-heartedly.
"But son! You're our only child! And it's not difficult since you already know the basics of doing so!" His mother smiled happily. His father could only nod and smile softly, however there was a glint of guilt in his eyes.
"It's like what Isaka-kun does with Marukawa, if you ask him then it wouldn't be a problem for your future!" His mother added. Onodera turned to his father, who smiled reassuringly.
"Now come! Let's continue to talk about how you'll take over our dear company so you won't be worried about pulling the ropes!" His mother smiled once more as they walked down the long hallway.
'But that's not what I'm afraid of.' Onodera blinked in confusion for a mere moment, processing what he just thought.
"What am I afraid of?" Onodera muttered under his breath, ignoring the sudden sick feeling in his stomach.
Night came over the Onodera mansion. It was close to dinnertime and thanks to his mother's constant nagging about how he should be eating healthily, he found himself situated at the end of the table with his father on the other end while his mother was sitting in the middle. And across the table was filled with ungodly amounts of food that he could practically eat throughout winter.
"Ah, it's been so long…" His mother reminisced when they used to eat together at the long dining table. The butlers standing close to the wall murmured in agreement.
"It feels very nostalgic and warming to have Ritsu-sama back here with us." One of the butlers, Sato-san – who used to take care of Onodera in his younger years – pointed out sincerely.
"I suppose I'm sorry to have left you for a while." Onodera laughed quietly as he continued eating his food.
"It's very much alright, you of course wanted to chase your dreams, and now look at you! Already a hardworking adult! And your books proudly edited by no other than Onodera Ritsu! That's some achievement and experience right there!" Another butler – Kobayashi-san – smiled as he poured some more wine into Onodera's mother's glass. Onodera could only smile awkwardly as he ate some more.
"Let's hope that one day he'll achieve this at his own company." Yamamoto-san chuckled as he stood by the doorway to the kitchen.
"Ritsu, while you are here, may I ask something?" Onodera-mama spoke out. Onodera swallowed the food he had in his mouth before responding with a nod.
"I know it's not the time to mention something like this, but are you ever willing to marry An-chan?" Onodera stared at his mother quietly, a piece of the juicy lamb held up to his mouth, but placed it back down and sighed.
"Kaya…" Onodera's father intervened, knowing his son wouldn't want to be stressed with unnecessary things.
"No, Ichirou, we must." The butlers stayed silent as they watched the scene unfold.
"You know full well of the story of how you were born right?" Onodera nodded. His parents were lucky to have him even though in the past his mother encountered many miscarriages. By the time she turned 36, it was a complete miracle to have been given Ritsu, and they cherished him as their only child.
"Your father…he's growing old, and I worry about him, but he refuses to retire."
"Kaya, stop, Ritsu is finally spending time with us-"
"He's a lot like you, in many aspects of your personality, especially his stubbornness." Onodera's mother sighed exasperatedly and glanced back and forth at both Onodera men.
"But it would keep your mother's mind at ease, if you would take over the company, at least. Once you're in good standing, we'll think about marriage soon."
"Kaya, I've told you many times, Ritsu will choose to take over when he would feel at most ease to." Ichirou cut in. Onodera looked closely at his father, seeing how old he's gotten, and felt slightly guilty, making his father work hard for the company while he has been working to be a shoujo manga editor, something that his mother wouldn't approve of greatly.
"But dear, look at your state! I'm worried that you're working to your death!" Kaya opposed worriedly.
"And Ritsu's already 26, surely enough he is capable of leaving his job to continue the Onodera line. Isn't that what you wanted for our son?"
"It still is, but right now Ritsu is actually very willing to see the world! He wants to go places! He wants to explore! I can't just force him now to sit down and watch over." Ichirou replied, considerate of his son's dreams. Onodera slightly squirmed in his seat uncomfortably, glancing down at his plate of food.
"Ichirou-"
"Kaya, please let Ritsu be for now, give him time."
"We've already given him too much time!" Kaya retorted back as she let Kobayashi-san take away the plates of unfinished food, knowing no one will be eating during a time like this.
"Well, how about we let Ritsu-sama decide? As well as being capable of taking over, he is also capable of making his own decisions, right?" Yamamoto-san interrupted, slightly reprimanding the two parents in his spoken sentence while encouraging Ritsu to speak up. Onodera swallowed nervously, the knot in his stomach growing worse. Sato-san could only look at Onodera with sincere eyes. Even though he had no interest in taking over, after hearing the problems his parents were facing due to his absence, he quietly spoke out,
"P-please give me some more time alone…maybe after I'll choose whether to take over or not…" Onodera spoke loud enough for everyone to hear as he fiddled with his hand and chew his bottom lip.
"Well…I suppose it's better than him straight out saying 'no'…Ritsu, we'll give you time, but please make up your mind soon. You have to understand that we can't stay around forever." Onodera's mother looked at her son with pleading eyes, as he could do nothing but nod.
"Son," Ichirou slowly began. "…I know I'm contradictory in whatever I say, but I would like to retire sometime in the near future. It's okay if it's not right now, but in a few years time." Onodera looked up at his father with guilty eyes before nodding once more.
"Excuse me, I need to head to the bathroom." Onodera announced quietly before departing from the dining room. Ichirou watched his son with weary eyes as he sighed softly.
"Honestly…" Ichirou murmured. Kaya turned to look at her husband. "I wish Ritsu will never have to face the stresses of this company."
"Haah…" Onodera exhaled as he washed his face with cold water. 'This really sucks.' The brunette thought, wiping his face with a small towel before exiting the bathroom.
"Eh?! Ritsu-sama!" The brunette looked up to see woman not too far from where he was standing, dressed in a simple uniform with her hair tied back in a bun. "You've grown!"
"Azuki-neesan!" Ritsu exclaimed as he headed towards the shorter woman and embraced her. "It's been a long time!" He laughed.
"Haha, yes indeed, too long in fact!" She laughed, patting the brunette on the back. Back in Onodera's childhood, he knew Azuki as young adult whom always watched out for the brunette and An whenever they played around in the garden, and often played the role close to that of a guardian. Onodera had come to know the woman really well, as far as being the ring bearer at her wedding.
"Why are you here?" The brunette asked as he parted from her. "Aren't you already living with your husband?"
Azuki smiled and nodded. "Yes, however I continued to serve for Master and Lady Onodera, up until three months ago. I decided to find a new job, and I'm just simply taking my belongings back…as well as some other things." Her smile broadened.
"Eh? Other things?"
Azuki pointed to Onodera's old nursery and the realisation hit him.
"You're pregnant!" The woman grinned and pat her belly, emphasising the small baby bump.
"Uwah…" Onodera remarked. "Congratulations!" He smiled. Azuki laughed before patting him on the shoulder.
"More like, I should be saying that to you Ritsu-sama! Congratulations!" Onodera blinked before looking at her in confusion.
"To me…? What for?"
"E-Ehhhh? You don't know yourself?" Azuki remarked. Onodera stared at her.
"S-Sorry…but did my parents say something about me that is worth congratulating…? I don't recall any of the sort…" He trailed off. Azuki watched as Onodera's expression turned to one of confusion and frowned.
"…I don't think I should've let that slipped out. If you don't know, then it's probably because your parents might tell you later." Onodera looked down to the floor.
"Please forget about what I said, Ritsu-sama. "
Already close to midnight, Onodera finally left with some homemade sweets – made by a kind maid Onodera knew well in his childhood – in one bag, refusing to be taken home by Sato-san. And with that, he walked down to the main road, and ended up at the train station. During the journey there, he began to think about what had transpired at the dinner.
'We can't stay around forever.'
'I would like to retire sometime in the near future.'
Onodera quietly wondered if he's been making his parents suffer due to his absence from the company. Maybe he should take over? He may have been spending time editing manga but he at least knew everything about how to run a company when he was in England. As he boarded the train, he wondered why he wanted more time.
'Maybe I haven't done enough…I need to try harder…haah…but I know I'm not capable of taking over a huge company…I don't even have the experience to back myself up like Isaka-san…so is it even possible?' Onodera thought quietly as he leant against the back of the train seat he sat on. His thoughts then wandered over to Takano.
At times when he thought that he was no good, Takano always set him back on his feet, telling him he was doing alright, and that it would take many years to get to his position, and a lot of experience as well. But even the thought of that just made him feel more incompetent. If he was unable to become a fully-fledged manga editor, how can he be a fully-fledged heir to the Onodera company? Onodera quietly laughed, manga editing and taking over are two different things, he realised as he boarded off and walked to the apartment complex.
"But then again, maybe I'm horrible at both." Onodera mumbled. "Maybe I really was just riding on Father's coattails when I was working in literature." Onodera gave a half smile to himself, allowing all of his self-confidence to break away.
"But even so…I still want to edit books, so maybe I'll ask my parents about that if it is possible…" As much as he tried to feel positive about the idea of it, he unconsciously placed a hand over his stomach and slowly slid down against the elevator wall, the knot in his stomach beginning to annoy him.
"Nngh…" Onodera groaned quietly as he strode over to his apartment door once the elevator opened. Before he could unlock it, he glanced at the small container of food – possibly dinner – placed inside a plastic bag, along with a small sticky note attached to it.
'I figured you haven't eaten so I decided to make some dinner for you. It's fine it you don't eat it now, but if you aren't going to touch it anytime soon, place it in the fridge instead of leaving it lying around where it could easily become soiled.' The brunette sighed. Had Takano always treated him like this? As if Onodera was some sort of child?
'Honestly, I feel that if I don't do these things that you'd probably end up in hospital again.' Onodera glared at the note. Was he making fun of him?
'Which I honestly, never want to happen again.' The brunette blinked at the note, before swiftly crumpling it up as he flushed slightly, not having to read the last line below, knowing it obviously spouted words about love.
'Jeez…! He needs to realise that anyone else besides me could've read this!' Onodera took the bag and was about to place it down on Takano's handle, only to stop halfway.
"…"
Onodera glanced at the door in front of him, before taking the bag of food back and entering his home. Onodera sighed, trying to relieve the strange feeling in his chest.
'How do you always manage to find a way to relieve my worries…?'
Well…another chapter finished! ^^ And by far I'm pretty proud of it, really long, but detailed (or not, if that's your opinion lol). And this is really starting to become angsty…so I'm sorry if you don't like this type of thing ;-;
And…I'm really gonna hate to tell you this but…I will be inserting an OC in here…I'm so freaking sorry (IMHO, I hate OCs, including Mary Sues). So in the near future, please tell me about how I'm going with my OC, I'll try make her (yeah, it's a girl) not so predictable. Otherwise, if the criticism is too bad regarding my OC, I'll write her out, and somehow move down through the story without her lol. Hope this chapter makes up for my huge absence, and please review! ^^ Bye for now!