A/N: Finally!
After a summer of disappointment I have a tiny bit of good news!
I'm temporarily back!!!!I don't know for how long but I finally have access to the internet and a place to type now that my sister bought a laptop to replace my dead one. It's hers so technically I can't write as much as I want to so it'll have to work around her schedule as well but nonetheless better that then none at all right?
I'm finally updating those stories that you've all been waiting for and I hope everyone enjoys and will, if not a long one, take the time to leave a short review to give me a sign that someone out there is still reading and anticipating the next chapter. Happy Halloween!
MARYLOVER- I must be because kids have taken the majority of my stories. I noticed and redid it which caused a landslide towards frozen instead of black wings XD
tsub4ki- It definitely benefited the pair in this situation but it's only the beginning so things could take a turn in either direction.
Gyokuei Kuragari- I prefer to have my "Main" OC's have a strong or interesting front so they can be distinguished among the rest. They know each other from work :)
More Than Meets The Eyes
Rated: M
Summary:When multiple problems can be solved with one solution, it may be the best way to go... unless there's more than meets the eye.
Chapter III: Merry-Go-Round
Tokyo, Japan
Yoshida Residence
Fuji's heavy hand came down hard on the clock that was beeping insistently beside him as he shifted onto his back with a groan. It was another day and he was feeling more tired than usual today but he forced himself up anyways. Stretching slightly, he opened the door to walk down the hall to wake up Sho as usual only to find him very awake and annoyed with Shion on his lap happily eating an onigiri.
"Ohayo Syuusuke," Asuka called out with a smile from where she was making more onigiri's.
"Ohayo," Syuusuke said with a smile. Sitting across from his father he looked at his annoyed face and smiled.
"You're up early for a Saturday." Syuusuke commented.
"Someone," Sho stressed, "decided I had to be up at seven sharp."
If Asuka saw the glare directed at her, she didn't care to comment about it since she continued to hum to herself as she rolled.
Sho reached for his coffee and Syuusuke watched Shion almost with as much awe as Shion was watching his father drink coffee.
"Dada milky?" Shion asked.
"He wants milk?" Sho asked Asuka although he didn't look at her but at his son.
"No, he already had his bottle." Asuka said. "He's most likely asking what you had."
"And you know this because?" Sho asked suspiciously.
"He's looking at you isn't he?" Asuka asked. "Usually if he wanted milk he'd come to me rather than you."
"She's got a point…" Syuusuke chuckled out.
"Whatever, I have to go get ready and stop at the studio." Sho said putting Shion on the floor.
"I have to get ready for work as well." Fuji said with a slight glance at the clock in the living room.
"Asu-chan…" Ryoma muttered coming from the hall with bed-haggled hair.
"Morning sleepyhead," Asuka said switching to English and a bright smile. "Breakfast is almost ready."
"Okay… sorry for sleeping in." Ryoma said sitting at the table.
"You always sleep in silly." Asuka said not looking up from where she was dishing out the grilled fishes and checking on the miso soup.
"Why so traditional today?" Ryoma yawned out.
"Because," Asuka said turning around with all the plates to set onto the table. "I have no idea what our landlord likes to eat in the mornings so I thought I'd go traditional."
"He likes ready-made bentos," Syuusuke said with a smile as Asuka's head came up slightly surprised that they had been speaking in fluent English and Syuusuke had been able to catch it all.
"I studied English for four years on my own accord since my father was learning it as well." Syuusuke said coming back to the sit next to Ryoma. "We're both quite fluent."
"Oh," Asuka said turning to dish out the omelets she made next. "Well you two go wash up for breakfast, Shion?"
"Mama?" Shion asked walking over as he maneuvered around Syuusuke and Ryoma who were heading to the bathroom.
For a fifteen month old boy, he was quite advanced in understanding. He was, of course very curious with his new surroundings but tended to only explore freely if Asuka or Sho was in sight.
Picking up Shion, Asuka set the last of the food down just as Sho walked back into the main room.
"If you need to leave, you can eat first." Asuka said sitting down with Shion on her lap.
"It's fine, we'll wait for the other two." Sho said sitting next to Asuka and Shion.
"Dada going?" Shion asked shifting his big dark eyes from Asuka to Sho.
"Yes," Sho said bending slightly to tap his forehead against the little boy's. He honestly didn't want to get close to the boy due to the fact that his mother may still come back for him in the event she changed her mind and he didn't want to get attached to something that wasn't going to stay. It had hard not to get attached to the boy though…. But still; he thought it was best he left it to Asuka to oversee.
xXx
Syuusuke looked at Ryoma who was washing beside him obediently as his sister had told him to and wondered how two such good-looking people could just end up here all of a sudden. He made a mental note to find out from Sho how he got a babysitter so soon as well as bonus.
Looking at Ryoma now, he noted the boy had a very nice jaw line. The boy wouldn't look at him long enough so he could distinguish exactly how nice his hazel eyes might be but it was okay… after all, they were practically strangers who met yesterday and somehow ended up living in the same house.
"Are you going to hurry or what?" Ryoma asked as he headed out to go eat.
Syuusuke glanced down and started to hurry as he realized he was so busy looking at the boy, he had forgotten that they were probably waiting to have breakfast together and he had to leave soon if he wanted to be in time for work!
xXx
"Have a good day at work," Asuka whispered to Ryoma as she gave him a tight hug. "Be careful,"
"Aa… you too." Ryoma said a bit bluntly but Asuka understood. Ryoma had never been one to show emotionally through words or action how much he truly meant. She shifted Shion's weight on her hip as she said a good-natured goodbye to Syuusuke then Sho.
"Stay with Asuka." Sho commanded Shion on his way out. They boy merely smiled back and moved his chubby fingers up and down in a waving manner.
"Buh bye dada… Shion stay mama!"
Sho merely walked away with a sigh. He didn't really want him to call her mom since she wasn't his mother but what could he say. They were similar in look with brown hair and hazel eyes as well as smiles.
xXx
Haru Haru Bookstore
"Good morning you two!" Sagara- san said coming over to drag Ryoma away. "I'll see you later Yoshida because I need to get Morisato settled.
"Of course," Syuusuke agreed with a polite smile and headed to the back to put down his things. It seemed Sagara-san was enthusiastic about everything when they included good-looking people that could bring him a lot of customers.
"Everyone, this is Ry." Sagara-san introduced to the full staff.
"Wow, he looks even better than Jirou and them." The girls giggled out.
"This is Sayaka, Rei, Kyoko, and Minako." Sagara-san said pointing them all out to Ryoma.
"Yoroshiku," Ryoma said with a slight bow.
Sagara smiled; he could use the looks of this young man very well because he could already tell in that short time that he worked yesterday, the women's eyes were drawn to his blunt ways and handsome features.
"Sagara-san?"
"Yes?" Sagara asked turning towards Oishi who had called towards him from the bookstore side.
"Some ladies would like to know if the café is open yet?"
"It is!" Sagara said ushering his waiters to get to work. After all, all eight would be needed to keep a place like this running at full speed.
Ryoma heard a slight groan from one of the guys and turned to see one of the guys looking him over.
"He does look good ne?" Ootori said with a smile.
"Hn… almost my name too." Shishido complained. "Gosh I need a glass of Black velvet or something."
"Got beer and champagne?" Ryoma asked helping the girls take down the chairs.
"No…why?" Shishido asked.
"Ne Sagara-san?" Ryoma asked walking over to the boss. "Do you have any scotch whiskey by chance?"
"Yeah… but we usually don't serve alcohol." Sagara said not really understanding.
"Can I borrow some?" Ryoma asked going behind the counter and looked for an ice pick. As soon as Sagara brought the whiskey over, Ryoma started mixing the drink until he took out a cup putting some chunks of ice in and passed it to Shishido.
"What's this?" He asked with a raised brow.
"Rusty nail," Ryoma said and took out his order pad. He walked towards the girls seated by the window and went to work while Shishido and Sagara stared at the drink.
"Amazing… he mixed it like a real bartender… do you think it tastes like it too boss?" Shishido asked.
"I don't know…" Sagara admitted and took a shot of the drink. A smile lit his face as he set it back down. "The boy has some talent."
xXx
Yoshida Residence
"Come on Shion." Asuka said after succeeding in doing finishing all the laundry in the hamper. She had just spent two hours cleaning the kitchen, living room and doing the clothes so she wanted to take a nap with Shion if it was possible.
"Let's put Daddy's clothes in his room then we'll…." Asuka stopped talking as she took one look at the pigsty she just opened her way into. Looking at Shion who smiled back at her Asuka sighed, "Well… why don't you take a nap on daddy's bed and I organize his room."
She was thankful that she had something to do but she wasn't pleased that the guy was such a slob! He looked good but that didn't reflect his room for god's sake! Tucking Shion into his bed with his bottle, Asuka set to work on his desk first.
xXx
Haru Haru Bookstore
"Ne Yoshida." Oishi said catching Syuusuke on his way to put some books away.
"What?" Syuusuke said turning his head to stare at his boss whose eyes were focused outside.
"The area is just crawling with police ne?"
"I guess…" Syuusuke said looking at the pair of policemen that had just walked by the store front. "Why did you notice all of a sudden?"
"Well Tezuka told me that his grandfather mentioned that two very important grandchildren of Takeuchi-san disappeared the other day." Oishi said with a slight nod. "I think they were kidnapped."
"Hn…. Enemies? How can the Takeuchi's, who supply so many people with jobs and is well liked in society, have enemies that would stoop that low?" Syuusuke asked putting the last two books in their place before turning back to face Oishi.
Oishi let out a slight laugh as he patted Syuusuke on the shoulder. "Not everyone can be liked since jealousy could be the main cause. That and I heard the alliance of Takeuchi betrothing his grand-daughter to the oldest son of the powerful Takahashi's might cause a slight dislike from others."
"It could be…" Syuusuke said before both turned to go back to their business. Both didn't see Ryoma who stood behind a section of the bookcase breathing irregularly as he looked around and also noticed the increase of police.
'Looks like gramps is serious now…' Ryoma thought with a frown. He had to warn Asuka to be careful and stay alert in case someone recognizes him despite the different hair and eye color… after all, he couldn't change his face shape!
xXx
VA Studio
Sho sighed as he walked towards home for the day. He had just started a new series as a seiyuu and was having a pretty good day when Shion's mother called him.
"Mikiko! You can't just leave him with me!"
"Why not? He's yours."
"As much as he is mine, he's yours too!"
"Sho, I can't just wait for you forever. This is my chance to get married and have a normal life. I can't take Shion!"
"Then marry me, everyone's been bugging me about it!"
"I wouldn't. you can only please me in bed Sho… otherwise your cold and mean. You don't care about me at all besides when you need to do it and when I want to do something, you only go along with it and buy me lots of things to make up for your mean attitude!"
"Well at least I can provide for Shion and you!"
"You are not stable… your job is unpredictable; what if they cut off the show? You never know and I want to own a house."
"we can eventually have a house!"
"In how many years? Forget it Sho, I'm marrying Hiko, he's rich, pays attention to me and knows ME!"
Sho frowned and sighed in frustration at the memory of that horrible phone call. He didn't understand woman's at all… the only time they were good when they were in bed panting for him. Otherwise all they did in life is whine and worry and for the love of everything, they just wanted attention. Something he didn't want to put effort it since it was too annoying!
If Mikiko wasn't so high and mighty about feelings and so high maintenance in fashion and jewels, he would've married her a year ago when they were dating. But now he felt obligated to marry the woman who gave birth to his son…
'What the hell was wrong with you anyways Sho?' He questioned himself as he neared home. If he had used protection that night then he wouldn't even have to worry about the little boy sitting at home waiting for him.
What she said brought back and even worse memory from the past. The only fucking girl he ever wanted and she turned him down for some nobody because of the same damn reason. Because he didn't seem as if he cared enough and didn't seem capable to taking care of her.
"Dada!"
The voice brought him out of memories and straight into Asuka and Shion who looked dressed to go somewhere.
"Where are you two going?" He demanded.
"To the park nearby, want to come along?" Asuka asked depositing Shion into his arm which gave him no choice BUT to go along.
Upon reaching the park, she spread the blanket she brought and laid out some toys Shion while Sho and she sat watching. She watched other kids play on the swings, jungle gym and merry-go-around.
She felt the merry-go-around best represented her life at the moment. No matter where she ran, it always seemed to bring her back into a position where she started.
She was thankful to her grandfather for providing her a place to stay but she didn't want to marry the Takahashi's!
The sons were rumored to be devils. Doing as they pleased, living how they wanted to. She didn't want that in life! At the age of twenty-seven, she felt as if she hadn't explored or live life enough to want to settle with some man she barely knew.
"Mama!"
Asuka turned her attention back to Shion who ran into her arms. She looked up and saw the nice couple smiling at how shy Shion was to strangers.
"Sho, is this your wife and child? Did you finally get married?" They asked looking at Asuka to Sho who sat beside her.
"No, actually-"
"Actually I'm his fiancée… we aren't married just yet." Asuka said with a smile as she slipped an arm through Sho's. "Although, we will be very soon because we have out handsome little Shion here,"
"Oh that's nice!" The woman said. "Finally Sho! We were starting to get worried that a good-looking man like you wouldn't be getting a wife!"
"We'll leave you two to your own time then," The man said and led his wife away to tell the others what they had just heard while Asuka was left with the glare of the man she was currently holding.
"How could you deliberately lie to my neighbors?" Sho hissed lowly for privacy's sake.
"Sho-san… people break up all the time in the world. When Ryoma and I have our own place, we'll go our own way and you can just tell everyone it didn't work out all right?"
"Hn.." Sho merely said looking away from her. He wanted to take a smoke but he knew it wouldn't be good for Shion so he suppressed it… after all, she must've forgotten that her arm was still wrapped around his.
xXx
Takeuchi
That Night
"Those two damn kids!" Takahiro shouted as he took a seat on the sofa. "When I get my hands on them-"
"I know how you're feeling… but we have to assume they've left the city in order to escape so we'll scour the places and towns nearby."
"Please do, Keep it low because I don't want any of my enemies to know! They could get killed and I may lose my only chance of leaving a suitable grandchild all my money!"
"Of course," His secretary said backing out of the room. In the room, Namie worried for her mistress and master. When they had planned their getaway she hadn't thought to enemies that may have wanted them dead!
'Please keep them both safe….' Namie prayed silently as she carried the tea to Takeuchi-san.
xXx
Takahashi Mansion
"Anata…" Sakurako said sitting beside her husband. "I just heard a small rumor that Takeuchi's grandchildren and last hopes have gone missing."
"Well then I guess we won't have to marry off Ayumu to his granddaughter to secure their fortune then?" Kenji said looking up from his papers. He appreciated the view his wife's dress was giving him of her cleavage but her hairstyle didn't suit her seductive gown at all. Her light brown eyes always seemed to capture him despite anything he may be doing.
"But if we don't then our business might fail and people might know that we aren't doing so well stock and business wise since you let Ayumu mess up so badly." Sakurako said with a frown.
"We'll think of something… till then we'll make sure to find his granddaughter and put ourselves in an even better position in the event of his death to gain even more."
xXx
Yoshida Apartment
"Where are they?" Ryoma asked for the tenth time as both waited for Sho and Asuka to come back.
"I don't know…"
"And you don't have a key to your apartment?" Ryoma asked looking at Syuusuke.
"I left it in my pants pocket I wore yesterday." Syuusuke admitted. "I thought they'd be home…"
"Well… what else can we do but wait?" Ryoma said with a sigh as he sat beside the door.
Syuusuke wondered if he should count it as good or bad luck, they were stuck in the cold but now; now he'd have a chance to get to know this very striking guy.
A/N: The next chapter we'll focus more on Thrill then the situation at hand so those who are waiting for that will finally get to be happy. XD leave a review please!