A/N: Thank you to all the people who have reviewed so far and for all the +alerts. Please enjoy - Also, there is a sex scene at the end. Just so you're aware.
PS: A special thank you to the Guest who gave me a detailed review on the aspects they appreciated/liked about my writing etc. I don't usually address individual reviews (I know I should so I do apologise!) but I just had to with that one. I love that lots of people love my writing and the story - and yes I know its not an original plot line but I could just see this happening when I was watching the anime which is why I went with this one. Then I read the manga and I thought...hmm...maybe not but I did it anyway. :) So, thanks Guest for your thoughts, I really hope I don't disappoint as I have a habit of leaving stories in the lurch when I get writers block.
Thank you to all the other reviewers too - I appreciate your thoughts, I especially love reading the long reviews so thanks!
Unexpected Circumstances
Chapter 4
Usui walked back up to his room, still recovering from what he'd just done. He'd never be able to see her again.
Or would he?
His mind always went a million miles per hour and due to this, he came up with a five year plan to see her again in about two minutes.
All he had to do was persevere and make sure that his brother didn't suspect anything. He'd be the perfect, submissive brother and successor until the day came when he was the head of the family. Or at least, until they trusted him enough for him to travel back to Japan.
OOO-OOO
A year had passed. He pulled off his suit jacket then loosened his tie and sat in a comforter next to his bed since he'd just come from a benefit his family held yearly for charity.
He reached under his bed until his arm was all the way under it and pulled out a photo. It was Misaki and himself. It was the day that he'd taken photos of her and gave her back the camera for her to keep.
She'd given him this photo, along with the photo album, before he'd left for England. He always this particular photo close to him when he slept since it was the only thing that kept him going.
This photo was special to him because it was their first date. It was also the first photo she voluntarily was in with him and she looked so cute when she was embarrassed.
This made Takumi smile for the first time since he'd gotten to Raven Castle.
He was reaching for his goal with her in mind and it was then that he realised what an old photo it was. He had to get another one.
Takumi sighed and placed his head in his hands, the photo still held loosely in his hand. Why did it have to be like this?
The only woman he'd ever cared for and loved, the only one that had ever captured his eye and he had to leave her to save her life. The world was cruel; people were cruel.
When Misaki had come to see him that day, downstairs, he'd been so happy despite knowing that he had to let her go.
Takumi frowned at the memory. He wondered what she'd wanted to tell him that day.
"I had something very important to tell you, but I can't possibly tell you; not when you're so repulsed by me now. Have a great life Walker-san."
He was curious, yes, but he supposed that once he got her back that he would find out.
OOO-OOO
Two years had passed. He had just finished three quarters of his medical degree with only a year to go and had just come back from a party to celebrate the end of the year.
Since he'd made his five year plan to see Misaki again, he'd made his own contacts through people he knew within the family's companies in Japan. He found out information easily and realised that now was the time to finally get a new photo of Misaki, even though he wouldn't be there to see her himself.
Unfortunately, he'd just been introduced to his supposed 'fiance', Reika. She was just like all the other women he'd rejected, so doting and flirtatious. Apparently a lot of people admired Reika but when he looked at her, all he could see was a plain girl who was nothing like Misaki.
He couldn't stop thinking about her; his Ayuzawa. He'd thought that as time passed that the pain of not being with her would lessen. It hadn't. In fact, the further he got toward his goal the more it hurt.
And the more he wanted to see her.
The next day an envelope arrived for him. He opened it and pulled out two photos and a letter.
They were two new photos of Misaki. The first one he picked up was of her attending University at a law school. He smiled at the thought of her becoming a lawyer or a diplomat because he knew she would do something great with her life and he wasn't wrong.
In the photo, she was smiling at a male classmate, which somewhat bothered him.
Who was in her life now? More to the point, who did she replace him with?
He pulled out the letter and skimmed the lines which were basically telling him that the Manager of the company was trying to get on his good side.
But he stopped skimming the page when they began to describe what sort of life Misaki was leading.
"...Tora Igarashi," spoke Usui out aloud slowly. He narrowed his eyes at the offending words.
So he was in her life now.
"She works part time at Maid Latte. After she finishes there, she periodically goes into a district just out of town after University and/or work. We're not sure what she's doing as she always leaves the area from a different route. There is a play group there for young children and there is also a small shopping district."
Takumi smiled. She never changed, still working part time at Maid Latte and obviously doing errands still for her mother and sister.
He should have known that the reason she'd gone to that district every day was because she was picking up her son from play group. Their son.
He'd spent fifteen minutes looking for Misaki. He'd seen her dropped bags outside the lift, so picked them up. He ran to the stair case but since she was way ahead of him, couldn't tell which floor it was so he'd tried every level from one to five but it seemed that five was the winner.
He dropped her bags to the ground as the lift opened to reveal her small form waiting for the doors to open. When she saw whom was standing there, her eyes widened, but as she attempted to run again he grabbed her wrist tightly.
She wasn't going to get away this time.
When he'd seen the child downstairs, he felt nostalgia since the boy looked almost exactly like him when he was that age. Sure, the boy had darker blonde hair and the shape of his eyes were different but he held the same bored, nonchalant look he'd always had. Nothing was challenging to him and when Takumi listened to the boy speak, just by the observant way he knew that Takumi had been in a fight, it reminded him of how he used to be.
And it didn't take a genius to know that the boy was smart for his age. And very introverted, just like him.
But why did the boy look like him?
When he'd seen who his mother was he immediately knew why.
That boy was his. That boy was his son, without a doubt.
Misaki struggled and tried to pry off his vice like grip around her wrist but it was no use. He just looked down at her flustered face but couldn't help but be angry.
His five year plan and goal to win her back momentarily forgotten. This changed everything.
If he'd known...if he'd known that she was with child that day in England, he would never have done what he did. He never would have said those hurtful things to push her away.
Takumi Usui would have married Misaki and ran off with her. No matter what it took, he would have done it.
But when he looked down at her, noticing tears were running down her face now and she'd stopped struggling, all he could feel was betrayal. He'd been lied to and Misaki hadn't even tried to tell him the truth.
Misaki looked down at the ground as silent tears ran down her face. Her thoughts were going wild of how Usui would react. Would he take Hiroki away? Would he be ashamed? Would he just walk away?
And then a plan formed in her mind.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "But Hiroki isn't yours."
Takumi let go of her wrist, his face still unreadable, until he raised his voice at her.
"DON'T LIE TO ME!" he yelled angrily, looking at her as if she had killed someone. His green orbs blazed with a rage he'd never displayed, hell, she'd never seen him angry like this before.
Misaki had witnessed him narrow his eyes when people hurt her or when Tora had almost raped her but he never once raised his voice. Not ever.
Misaki's eyes widened as he walked forward and grabbed her upper shoulders with his large hands and squeezed them tightly.
"I'm not," she practically whimpered, still unable to look into his eyes.
"I know he's mine, Misaki. He has my eyes, tch, practically everything about him came all from me!" he said, his voice shaking from how angry he was.
Misaki shook her head and her fringe fell in front of her eyes, shielding them from Takumi. His grip began to get tighter and tighter but she couldn't feel it as the magnitude of her mistake came rushing over her.
"No...no..." she said softly, shaking her head, his grip getting tighter. Finally she felt the pain and winced.
"I can't even look at you," he said coldly, letting her go. Not really meaning it but he'd never been betrayed in this way before. Even at a young age, he had been told about his parentage.
Misaki fell to the ground in a heap, the tears hadn't stopped falling. Her world was falling apart. Takumi hated her, making her feel worse than she did when he'd been cruel to her five years ago in England.
But she deserved it, didn't she? Before she hadn't fully grasped the concept of her mistake of not at least telling him and now as Takumi stood above her, seething from her foolish mistake, she knew what she'd done.
No matter who a father is, they deserve to know if they are one, right?
On the other hand, Gerald probably would have stopped her from communicating with Takumi anyway but she should have tried harder.
"Come on, get up," he said softly, realising how horrible he'd just been. The guilt he felt was soon masked by his anger of the situation and so he didn't help her up.
Misaki nodded and got herself up slowly. She walked back toward the room, knowing that Takumi would follow.
Takumi walked slowly behind with her bags in hand. He'd calmed down somewhat now and it was then that he noticed her shoulders were going a soft purple colour now. He closed his eyes for a second in guilt but there would be time to apologise later.
As she reached the room she stopped outside the door but still did not look up at Usui. All the thoughts of how much she thought she hated him were lost for now.
"Are you...are you going to take him away from me?" she asked quietly.
"It depends, we can discuss it later."
She nodded, knowing that at least it was a possibility. After all, he didn't care one ounce for her but of course he would care to know that he had an heir to the Walker family.
Misaki slotted the key card inside the lock and as the light turned green she opened the door slowly. She walked inside and Takumi went past her to stand above the double bed at the back.
Hiroki was sleeping soundly with the covers drawn up to his neck. The even rhythm of body going up and down told them both that he was asleep.
Misaki slid herself onto a chair next to a dining table which was situated near the window at the back, a few metres from the bed. She observed as Takumi watched her son silently.
His eyes widened a little and then his face turned slightly to face her. Takumi's face was once again unreadable, she didn't know if she could handle him being angry again.
She should be angry at him too, just a little, because he'd given her no reason to let him know back then. He had been cruel to her and wanted nothing to do with her.
Plus his brother told her not to tell him and she took his words as a threat to her child.
"Ah, but you have another life to also think about, don't you?"
She couldn't tell Takumi, though. Not yet. If Gerald found out, would he hurt Hiroki?
"He...he looks exactly like me," said Takumi suddenly, breaking the silence and their apparently staring contest.
Misaki nodded, wiping the tears that started forming again. Her thoughts were beginning to darken into despair, but she was Misaki Ayuzawa. She had been the demon President that everyone had feared and she stuck up for what she believed in.
She was a fighter, she couldn't give up. She couldn't let him take Hiroki away from her without fighting for him.
So she stood up, motioned for him to follow her outside and as she walked toward the door, she wiped the last of her tears away. Takumi followed her silently.
Once they were outside, she looked up at him with determination.
"I didn't lie. I am sorry for not telling you. At the time, you hurt me and so I didn't tell you out of spite. I should have tried to contact you again but didn't. I apologise for that," she whispered solemnly.
Takumi opened his mouth to say something but she continued on, ignoring him.
"However, if you try to take Hiroki away from me, I will fight it. I hate doing it but, Tora will help me. I don't want some custody battle over Hiroki because he needs nurturing and at least a semi-normal home environment, despite his inability to interact with other kids his age. But, that's not to say that I won't do it if I have to," whispered Misaki.
Takumi frowned. "Listen-"
"Don't. I don't want to hear you say what I know you're going to say," said Misaki, shaking her head as the waterworks started again.
The emotion from the thought of Takumi trying to take away her son from her was enough to cause her to shake anxiously and feel a great sadness...loneliness.
"What do you think I'm going to say?" asked Takumi, taking a step toward her.
"You'll say that I don't deserve to be his mother that you never wanted this and you never wanted to see me again...you'll take him away-"
Before she could finish her last statement, Takumi pulled her into his arms and laid her head against his hard chest. He had his hand on the back of her head and wrapped his arm around her small form tightly.
Misaki's eyes widened in surprise, unable to process what he was doing from the shock.
"You think that, do you, Ayuzawa?" he asked softly, resting his face in the crook of her neck.
"Yes," she whispered softly, still recovering from the close proximity they were in.
"I should. I should take him away and I would if I didn't love you," he said quietly, causing Misaki to push away from him and stare up at him with rage in her eyes.
"Don't you dare say something like that! Say that you'll take Hiroki, say that you hate this situation and that you can't believe I didn't tell you...but don't ever say that you love me because I know that its a lie," she exclaimed angrily.
Misaki clenched her fists at her side, her emotions getting the better of her. He had always managed to fire her up, it was why they'd had so much passion in their relationship.
Takumi was the cool headed one with a plan and she was hot headed and didn't think before flying off the handle.
But it was too much. His lies had to stop! What was the point of it?
Takumi clenched his jaw in irritation. He knew that she'd take some convincing but the look in her eyes told him that she'd completely changed her view of him.
After all, she was a woman scorned. And a scorned Misaki Ayuzawa was ten times worse than the average woman. The whole reason she'd denied her feelings toward Takumi for so long to begin with was because it had taken her that long to truly open her heart. She hated rejection and she was a prideful woman.
"I'm not lying," he said. "Do you think I wanted to say those things?!"
Misaki narrowed her eyes up at him, her traitorous heart actually starting to believe him. But her head knew better.
She shook her head. "Look, its been a long night. Tora has been calling me-"
"Oh yes. Tora Igarashi, what the hell are you doing with him Misaki?" snapped Takumi.
Misaki pursed her lips in annoyance. So now Takumi was jealous? She couldn't keep up with this man! First he'd hated her for her lie about Hiroki, then he said he loved her and was now jealous?
She shook her head. "None of your business, Usui. I'm tired and I want to go to bed. State your decision on this matter and then we can work things out tomorrow night," Misaki explained impatiently.
"It is my business. I don't want Igarashi being around my son, you have no idea the things he's done-"
"No! You don't understand. He's the one who's helped me all this time with Hiroki. He visits and helps cook and clean, he baby sits and helps to look after him and organised for his tutor. He helped me get into University, in fact, I owe him so much I've no idea how I'm going to repay him," said Misaki but at the end of her explanation, she knew just how much she owed Tora.
And why wasn't he collecting?
Takumi looked away from her for a moment, his jaw line tense again. "Do you have any idea what you've done? By getting help from him? He won't want money or jewels or something little like being his date to a function, Misaki, he wants you!"
His eyes were showing anger again and a bit of disappointment.
"I know he does but I've made it clear that its not happening. And besides, its not any of your business! He takes care of Hiroki, he would never harm him," exclaimed Misaki.
"I thought you were smarter than this. Didn't you learn from when he tried to take you by force at his school? I saved you then but then you just go and jump into his bed anyway-"
His hurtful scolding was cut short as Misaki slapped him in the face. His green orbs widened from the sudden physical contact. He'd received physical violence from her before but it was usually in a playful manner to which he'd always reacted in a comical way.
This time, it was personal...serious. Misaki was hurt, he could see it in her eyes. They were glossy and her lips were shaking a little as she dipped her head, facing the ground.
"I would never just jump into someone's bed that I didn't love," she said, her voice hurt.
She looked away from him knowing that he obviously thought her to now be some sort of hussy. He obviously didn't know her as well as he said he did and he was just being cruel now.
"Misaki, I-" he began, trying to apologise. After all, he knew she wouldn't do something like that. When it came to Misaki, he was always out of character. He'd always been calculative and careful with his words but after meeting Misaki, a few times over the years he'd made a mistake by saying things he didn't mean.
This was one of those times. But he hated any man touching her that wasn't him, even though he had no right to feel that way. That didn't change the fact that he did though. He had always thought that way, ever since he'd started liking her back in high school.
"Don't. Just...don't," she whispered, her eyes looking at the door handle rather than up at Takumi.
He'd already hurt her in every way possible, mentally, so she couldn't handle any more.
She opened the door and closed it behind her. And Takumi let her.
OOO-OOO
Reika paced her hotel room as she recalled the conversation that Tora Igarashi and Takumi had as they fought each other like animals outside the art gallery.
"But this game...it ended years ago. It ended when I won," said Tora his eyes full of dominance.
"Tch. You think that, do you? If only Misaki knew that you were involved in what happened back then-" began Takumi.
She remembered that conversation well. Just who was this Misaki? What bothered her the most, however, was how emotional Takumi was over this Misaki girl.
"But she'll never love you, Tora," said Usui calmly.
"She'll always love me."
Reiki cried out shrilly and grabbed a nearby lamp from the side table next to the couch and threw it to the ground in rage.
"Don't you worry Misaki, you and I are going to meet...and soon."
OOO-OOO
"Okaa-chan, are we going back home?" asked a tired Hiroki the next morning.
Misaki nodded as she pulled her bra straps up and grabbed for her shirt, which was a simple button up long sleeved top.
There was no point in hiding out now since Takumi already knew about Hiroki. The question was, would he keep this information to himself? She had to come up with a plan to ensure that he did.
"Come on sweetie, I'll give you a bath before we go," she smiled down at him as he nodded and pulled the covers off.
She walked to the bathroom, following Hiroki, with just her shirt on as there was no point putting her jeans on yet as she would probably get them wet in the bathroom.
"Start getting undressed, I'm just going to check my phone," said Misaki as she remembered Tora had been trying to get her all night.
After Takumi had left or more, after she slammed the door in his face, she'd felt so drained and tired that she decided to just pile herself in next to Hiroki and sleep.
However, once she got in she couldn't sleep. Her thoughts kept drifting to how Takumi had said he loved her and the fact that it seemed that he still cared about her, since he was able to get jealous.
Misaki shook her head and picked up her phone, trying to not think about that right now. She frowned. There were ten missed calls and three messages.
Tora: Did you get home okay?
Tora: Seriously, are you okay?
Tora: Where are you? I went to see you at the apartment and you're not here, call me when you get this message.
Misaki sighed. Takumi was wrong, Tora did care about her. Sure he wasn't the most stand up guy around, but he was a decent friend. At least, she was pretty sure he was.
She dialled his number.
"Where are you?!" exclaimed Tora on the other line.
"Hey Tora, sorry, I didn't realise you'd called. Look, don't panic but Takumi found us-"
"He what? Where are you? Is he there?"
"No he's not here now. I slammed the door in his face but I said he could come over tonight to see what he wants to do about the situation," explained Misaki as she fiddled with a piece of her hair and sat on the bed with her leg under her bottom and the other leg dangled off the edge.
She heard Tora sigh on the other line.
"Well there's no helping it now. The cats outta the bag. How did he find you?" Tora asked.
"Hiroki found him. I panicked last night and so I rushed over and grabbed Hiroki and we packed our bags and headed to a hotel that luckily had availability. It just so happened that Takumi was on the couch in the lobby. Hiroki ran off and so, here we are. But Tora, he was so mad...I don't know what he's going to do," she said, her voice intermittently shaking.
"When are you going home?"
"I'm just giving Hiroki a bath then we'll head home. How was the rest of the party?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
"Not sure, I left. Wasn't in the partying mood I guess. Look, I'll see you soon, I'm gonna come over," said Tora.
"Okay, see you soon, bye bye."
She pressed the 'end' button on the phone and threw it on the bed. She walked quickly to the bathroom to find Hiroki sitting in the bath, naked and eager to get the bath over with. His deep green orbs lit up when he saw her and smiled.
"I'm ready," he said.
"I know honey."
OOO-OOO
Tora put the phone in his pocket and after feeling Maki's judging gaze, snapped his head toward his subordinate.
"What?" snarled Tora.
They were sitting in the limousine next to each other, facing the drivers cabin and Tora had just gotten off the phone from Misaki.
He knew this was going to happen eventually, he just didn't expect it so soon. It was going to put a spanner in his plans.
"You know, its a dangerous game you're playing," said Maki, finally answering Tora.
"You think so, huh?"
"Don't tell me you actually care about that girl...she's trouble, always has been since high school," said Maki with an unreadable expression, as always.
Tora narrowed his eyes at him.
"You think I don't know that? It makes it all the more sweeter when she's mine," said Tora with a smile as he thought about the day he won her over.
Maki sighed and shook his head in disapproval.
"And what of Chiyo-san?" asked Maki with a worried tone. "She is your betrothed."
"Tch. She's a nice girl, more interesting than I'd first anticipated. But Misaki is within my grasp. Gerald promised me Misaki in return for my services and loyalty-"
"I know that, Igarashi-sama, but your goal and theirs will clash because what if they intend on silencing her?" asked Maki, trying to make Tora see what a mistake he was making.
Tora clenched a fist, hating that Maki was probably right.
"They wouldn't, not yet anyway. I know their game but they've already lost. Now that Takumi knows about Hiroki he'll never succumb to their influence now," explained Tora. "But that also bodes unwell for me, however, if I can get Reika Yashitoro involved and up to speed, I'm sure she'll fix everything for me."
OOO-OOO
Last night, Takumi had been sitting in the foyer wondering if he should go up and see Reika to apologise for ditching her, he supposed. After all, he had to keep her at least a little happy, despite the fact he didn't really like her.
It was lucky he was, because he found out he had a son and that Misaki had kept it from him for these last five years.
After he'd said something that he regretted to Misaki, he'd let her go. He hadn't planned on doing that since he wanted to stay with them that night to talk to Misaki and to propose something that she probably wouldn't like right now, but, when he'd seen how much he'd hurt her he just let her go.
Tonight was a different story though. The hours couldn't go by faster for him so he filled in the time by going to see one of his family's companies in town.
"Ah Mister Usui, we weren't expecting you!" said Tomo Yashitoro - Reika's father.
Takumi bowed politely. "Hello, I thought I'd come and get a status report from you...on behalf of the Walker's of course," he said with a smile.
Tomo lead him to his office on the top floor. It was quite a uniform looking office and had an amazing view.
Tomo closed the glass doors behind him and walked briskly toward his desk. Takumi sat in a chair in front of the desk, crossing a leg over the other comfortably.
"Before we start, I've got the information you requested on Misaki Ayuzawa," he said with a smile, handing over an A4 yellow envelope which was quite thick.
Usui frowned because he'd made no such request, since his last one which was to get a photo of her. He accepted the envelope.
"I didn't request anything like this," said Takumi, stunned really.
Tomo furrowed his brow in confusion. "Oh, but your assistant said-"
"I don't have an assistant," interrupted Takumi. "Who was it?"
Tomo could see Takumi's agitation now and was afraid that this incident could prove fatal for business. "Cedric Morris."
Takumi's eyes widened knowing what this meant. He suddenly grabbed the files from inside the envelope and looked over them.
They were Misaki's university schedule, her Maid Latte work hour schedules, Hiroki's schedule for Tutoring, several photos of her walking randomly somewhere on the street and several of Hiroki as well.
"How did you get these?" asked Takumi, heatedly, his eyes glaring at Tomo.
"I-uh...a private investigator," stammered Tomo as beads of sweat began to form on his balding head.
"I see. Don't ever do this for someone other than me personally, understood?" commanded Takumi as he placed all the documentation back into the envelope. "Now, lets do this report as I have somewhere I need to be."
OOO-OOO
Misaki was grateful for the day off university but wished that it were under better circumstances, but she was so stressed out about what Takumi was going to do.
She'd spent the whole day with Hiroki.
For a normal child, she would have taken him to the park, got some ice cream and went to the play centre in town where they had jumping castles and ball pits but Hiroki wasn't interested in any of that.
Instead, they stayed in her apartment and played some interesting seek and find games and Hiroki did some homework. She made him a nice lunch, his favorite, which was rice balls and mini octopus.
Unfortunately, she was really bad at cooking but luckily she had a rice cooker and a recipe for the octopus.
Misaki looked at the clock. It was six o clock. She started cooking dinner so she could keep her mind off Takumi.
"Hiroki, honey, dinner is almost ready. Can you go and wash your hands please?" yelled out Misaki from the kitchen as she just checked the rice.
"Hai, mamma," she heard Hiroki yell. She heard him scramble from his room and walk down the hall to the bathroom.
She hadn't heard from Takumi since last night and she thought she would feel thankful for this, but she wasn't. It was so nerve wrecking not knowing if he would show up or not. Even though she didn't tell her his address, she was sure he would find out.
Misaki walked down the hall to see that Hiroki was managing with the stool so he could wash his hands as he was still too short.
"Are you right?" she asked softly with a small smile.
Hiroki got up on the stool and turned slightly to nod and then proceeded to turn the tap on the sink.
"Good boy, I'll be in the kitchen," she said before walking out of the bathroom and down the hall.
As she got to the living area, she saw a man with blonde hair sitting on the couch.
"Takumi?" she asked hesitantly, but as the man turned, she found that it wasn't him.
It was Tora.
"So he didn't show then?" said Tora as he loosened and pulled off his black tie, throwing it on the end of the couch.
He spun around and placed his hands behind his head and rested his feet on top of the arm rest at the bottom of the couch. His head turned slightly to look at Misaki, expecting an answer.
"Uh, no. But he might still come, so, maybe you should go?" said Misaki quietly, hoping it wouldn't offend him.
Tora smirked and turned away to look up at the ceiling.
"Maybe I will, maybe I won't, just to piss him off," said Tora smugly with a playful smile still upon his lips.
Misaki seethed in annoyance and pursed her lips.
"Tora, no. The situation is already bad, he might take Hiroki away," she said in hushed tones so her son wouldn't hear her.
Tora shook his head. "He won't. Just say the word and I can make life difficult for him, he won't touch a hair-" he began.
"No, that's not necessary. I already owe you too much and its grating on me. I've tried to save up some money to pay you back but its still not enough," said Misaki dejectedly.
With this comment, Tora got up and walked over to her with a serious look on his face. "Why? I told you that I don't need it," he said softly with a genuine smile.
One of those rare smiles of his that he only reserved for her. Misaki didn't know this of course, but he did.
"Of course you don't but I need to pay you back," she said but her eyes widened slightly as he moved toward her.
"Okay...how about a kiss then?" he said as he placed a hand on her cheek, cupping it slightly.
Misaki shook her head but he was already leaning down toward her face. She pulled away however before his lips could touch hers.
And then it occurred to her, maybe Takumi had been right about one thing. Maybe Tora was doing all these things so that he could get with her - to make her his.
"You have a fiance, Tora," she said with remorse for Chiyo. She looked to the ground almost in shame. Not that she had done anything wrong, but, it felt like she had.
Tora clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at her. "Why do you always bring her up?"
"Maybe because its true!" exclaimed Misaki but looked down the hall realising that Hiroki was down there.
Tora groaned. "Yeah but its an arrangement. And arrangements can be broken, Misaki," he said, looking down at her.
God, he wanted her so badly. Why wouldn't she just let him kiss her? Out of all the women in the world she was probably the only one to ever deny him. And that made it all the more thrilling.
Misaki sighed. "Did you help me because you want me by your side, Tora? Is this still all a game to you, like all those years ago?" she asked evenly as Takumi's words were playing back at her in her mind.
"Do you have any idea what you've done? By getting help from him? He won't want money or jewels or something little like being his date to a function, Misaki, he wants you!"
Tora looked at her, stunned. She hadn't spoken to him like this since they were in high school. In fact, ever since Takumi had thankfully pushed her away, she'd been very amicable and trusting, until now.
Which meant Takumi must have said something to her to put doubt in her mind about him.
"We're friends, aren't we? And friends help each other. It just so happens that you are friends with a very powerful and influential guy like me, its no different to any other friendship you have. You've never had a problem with this until now...did he say something last night?" asked Tora suspiciously.
Misaki frowned. Yes, Takumi was just getting to her, right? But it was all very complicated. What Takumi had said made sense now and even though Tora's words comforted her, the nagging feeling in the back of her mind wouldn't go away.
There had been several times that Tora had made a pass at her or looked at her in a way that 'friends' do not look at each other. It was disconcerting.
In another life, perhaps she would have given in. And to be honest, she wasn't really sure why she hadn't by now.
Tora Igarashi had turned out to be a kind sort of guy, maybe not to others, but to her. He helped her with Hiroki, visited her, cared about her. He was influential and rich but cared about his friends. What women would turn that down? And he was easy on the eyes. He was probably one of the most suitable guys out there.
But he's not Takumi Usui.
And her traitorous heart and mind betrayed her once again.
"Yes, but honestly, I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth." Liar.
Tora sighed. "Good. Now, are we having dinner?" he asked with a half smile.
She nodded. "Yes, I guess he's not coming so you can stay if you want," said Misaki, her brown orbs finding his golden ones.
Tora watched her walk to the kitchen in her skin tight pajama trackies and tank top. His eyes flickered with want, just for a moment, but he turned around to see Hiroki walking down the hallway to have dinner.
"Hey kid," smiled Tora.
"Hey Toto," said the boy as he walked slowly to the dinner table.
OOO-OOO
They just finished dinner when a knock on the door reverberated around the apartment. Immediately Tora and Misaki exchanged glances and she got up from the table and walked to the door. She looked through the spy glass in the door to find that Takumi was standing behind it.
Misaki's eyes widened as she turned to look at Tora who was already getting up.
"Yeah I get it," he said slowly as he walked to the couch to grab his suit jacket and tie, before walking toward the door to put on his shoes.
Misaki slowly opened the door to see Takumi staring down at her. She opened it the whole way and observed as his green orbs immediately looked at Tora whom had just slipped on his shoes.
"Interrupting something?" asked Takumi, a seemingly innocent question but to Misaki and Tora, it was sarcastic and bitter.
Tora simply smirked at him, nodding as he pushed past him. "I was just leaving, Usui. Have fun, kids. Seeya Roki!"
"Bye bye Toto," Takumi heard from inside the room.
His eyes immediately found Misaki's and narrowed with suspicion.
"I see you didn't heed my warning," he said snippily as he walked inside and pulled off his shoes.
Misaki didn't answer straight away as she closed the door behind him.
"Hiroki, honey, why don't you go and play your game on the pad and close the door please," said Misaki as she walked over to the dining table.
Hiroki nodded. "Oh! Its the man from the hotel," smiled Hiroki up at Takumi whom smiled back.
"Hey kid, you can call me d-" he began but was cut off by Misaki.
"Takumi," she finished. "Hiroki, this is Takumi, he's a...friend of mine."
Hiroki nodded. "Hi Taka," he said, giving him a nickname as he did with most of the people he met. "Nice to meet you."
He then walked down the hall, leaving his parents alone and shut the door as requested. Not that he knew that they were both his parents.
Takumi automatically sat down in one of the chairs as Misaki began to clear the table.
"I uh, made some extra dinner for you. Well, I made lots so Tora had some too but there's enough for you if you want," said Misaki as she placed some dishes in the sink.
Takumi contemplated it for a moment. Well, he was sort of hungry.
"Its um...edible. I've actually improved since high school," she said sheepishly, almost in jest actually.
And for a moment, Takumi smiled at this.
"Not porridge then," he said, the smile evident on his face.
She turned around red in the face just remembering that fiasco.
"No, its not. Its onigiri with Kare Raisu," she said as she turned on the tap to fill the sink so the dishes would soak while they talked.
Takumi raised his eyebrows. "Hmm, yeah okay."
After he finished eating, Misaki cleared away the dishes and placed them in the sink. Takumi watched her as she was doing her domestic duties, observing how utterly beautiful she was, even just doing dishes.
He too noticed her attire and how they pronounced her features. Especially those larger breasts of hers. At least now he knew why they were bigger - because of child birth.
She leaned down to pick up a sponge she just dropped and so he got a good view of her bottom in the process, and then he recalled the last time she'd bent over in front of him.
"Prez, is that flashy underwear?" asked Usui as he pulled up her Maid Latte skirt to perve on her backside.
Misaki blanched and pulled away suddenly, grabbing her skirt to pat it down and turned her head to yell at him.
"Don't just go around flipping up skirts in broad daylight! These are drawers!" she exclaimed as a red tint was evident on her cheeks from embarrassment.
"You don't need to get that mad..." said Usui, innocently.
Takumi smiled to himself at this. Those were the days.
When Misaki was his and his alone and things weren't so complicated.
But that was the past. Now, they had a love child together and there was a big rift between them by unforeseeable circumstances.
"Misaki," began Takumi.
Misaki turned and gasped. Of course, they had to talk and here she was doing the dishes.
"Oh, sorry, yes. I'll do these later," she said with a small smile.
She wiped her hands on her trackies, walked over to the table and sat opposite him.
They sat there in silence for a few moments and stared at each other. To be honest, she didn't know where to begin. What could she start with? Hey Takumi, please don't take away my son? Hey Takumi, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that you have a son but I was heart broken?
Or ...
Hey Takumi, I'm still in love with you and you've ruined me for any other man?
Misaki looked away from him at her last thought. Where had that come from?
"You know why I'm here," began Takumi finally, breaking their silence. "But before we begin there's something else we need to discuss."
Misaki looked at him once more and frowned in confusion. What could outweigh their need to talk about Hiroki?
"Okay, what is it?" she prompted.
Suddenly she heard some crumpling coming from his jacket pocket as he pulled out a yellow envelope and placed it on the table. He slid it over to her.
Misaki took it and opened it. She pulled out its contents and as she read the first page her eyes widened and then she went to the next one and the next one and then saw the photos. Misaki looked up at him and glared in incredulity.
"Before you start, its not me whom acquired this information," said Takumi. "Its Cedric."
Misaki gasped in horror. "No...no, no, no!" she exclaimed, shooting up from the chair and began to pace the room with a hand to her forehead.
"No, they said they wouldn't do this...they said we were safe..." she mumbled to herself, not even caring that Takumi could hear it because it was too late now.
This time it was Takumi that was concerned. He got up from his chair and walked over to her, grabbing her shoulders to stop her from pacing madly.
"What are you talking about, Misaki?" he said calmly, looking down at her frightened state.
Tears began to leak out of the corners of her eyes as she shook her head.
"No, he can't do this. He promised. He said he wouldn't come after us," she said hysterically as she was loosing her sanity.
All she could think about was Hiroki. But it seemed that if Cedric had got all her schedules and Hiroki's too that Gerald was going back on his word.
"Who?!" exclaimed Takumi as anger began to creek into his body.
Someone had threatened her, that was for sure. Someone from his family.
"I can't...I mean...oh god, I don't know. I just...Gerald, he promised. He said that if I left you alone and never contacted you, he said he wouldn't come after us. Well, not in so many words but it was a threat. A threat against me and my child, Hiroki," she exclaimed as she finally found her words and looked up into Takumi's shocked eyes.
"So that's what you two talked about that day. I suppose that's why you didn't tell me and you didn't try to tell me," he said aghast.
"Yes. He said if I didn't tell you he would give me money to leave and I guess I didn't confirm but I assumed that meant he would leave us alone," said Misaki as he eyes automatically went to the hallway where her son was in his room.
Takumi sighed, his hands leaving her shoulders as he, too, looked down the hallway knowing exactly what she meant.
"Did you take the money?"
Misaki shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Because I hated Gerald. I hated everything he stood for. And I hated you. I didn't want to touch any money that had come from your family even though I knew I needed it," she said quietly, her eyes looking down at the ground now.
She wrapped her arms around herself as her thoughts went a million miles an hour. What was she going to do? Should they run? Should they hide? What were the Walkers going to try to do?
"And so that's why you accepted Igarashi's help?"
Misaki nodded. "He promised my protection but then he went further. And by then I was in too deep and I...I actually started to like him, as a friend. He's always been kind to me," she said as she reminisced quietly.
Takumi's gaze hardened at this. He wished that he'd been around to help her, instead of Tora Igarashi.
"What am I going to do? I should run-"
"Running won't help and it won't help Hiroki," said Takumi. "You know, Gerald had a talk with me too."
Misaki looked up at him in surprise. "He did?"
"Yes. He got a phone call and then he came to me and told me that he would kill you if I didn't get rid of you," said Takumi truthfully.
Someone had told Gerald something about Misaki, its the only explanation he could think of to explain why he took such drastic measures. Whether he was bluffing or not, he couldn't tell.
He had a feeling that if it were a bluff, he wouldn't have Cedric tailing her right now or finding out her schedules.
Misaki shook her head. She couldn't believe this. Takumi was just playing her, like he said he did when they were in high school together.
"I understand that you want to see Hiroki and that this situation has escalated, but I won't hear any of your lies," she said in low tones, her eyes blazing with fury.
She refused to get hurt again and what was the best way to ensure that she didn't? It was to not let Takumi Usui into her heart again. Not ever.
No man would ever break her again.
Takumi groaned and rolled his eyes. "Its not a lie, Misaki, its the truth. I believe you about Gerald, don't I? Why can't you find it in your heart to believe me?" he uttered in frustration.
Misaki clenched her jaw and glared up at him.
"Because you lied about loving me and I'll never forget it. My doors are closed in that department and always will be because of you," she snarled angrily but realised she was being too loud.
She walked over toward the balcony doors and opened the sliding door. Takumi followed and she shut the sliding door behind her so they could talk more loudly so that Hiroki wouldn't hear.
"How can you not believe me? If it were all just a game, as I lied about, why would I have gone to all that trouble when Maki held the footman trials? I injured myself for you, do you think if it were a game that I would do that?" he asked, pointing to his chest.
Misaki frowned. It was plausible she supposed but even so, Tora went to a lot of trouble too to play a game with her.
"If it were a game, I wouldn't have got annoyed every time someone touched you. I'm possessive, jealous and always will be when it comes to you, Misaki," he shouted, causing Misaki's eyes to widen in shock.
"If I was playing you, I wouldn't have cared when you entered that beach volley ball contest with Aoi and I certainly wouldn't have saved you from hitting the umpire chair," he further explained, trying to make her see reason.
Misaki shook her head as tears came to her eyes yet again. "No, you're lying! You're a no good liar!" she screamed, running forward and pushing him the chest.
He felt the push but didn't budge and instead grabbed her wrists. She looked up at him in surprise at the sudden contact.
"You know that I love you, you know it, don't you Ayuzawa?" he asked softly with a small smile.
She shook her head, closing her eyes tightly as her tears fell down her cheeks, wishing this were a nightmare. She didn't want to face up to her feelings or the fact that she knew he was right. He lied five years ago to protect her. Why else would he do this? If it truly were a game and he was playing her, he wouldn't bother to keep playing it after so long...after everything that happened.
And suddenly she felt his lips on hers. Her eyes flew open in bewilderment and before she knew it, she was already accepting his kiss.
Misaki stopped fighting and so Takumi let go of her wrists, continuing to kiss her. Finally she opened her mouth slightly to allow him entrance and then she was backed up to the glass sliding door.
Takumi lifted her up by her bottom. She wrapped her legs around his waist and linked her arms around his neck. They gave into the passion that they'd missed out on since they had parted from each other.
Both of them forgot what they were fighting about, just for tonight. By the time they realised, their clothes were coming off and they were already doing what Misaki swore she'd never do with him again, let alone kiss him.
And then Misaki's underwear was thrown carelessly to the side and Takumi's pants were down; her legs still wrapped around his waist.
Twenty minutes later, both Misaki and Takumi moaned in pleasure as their rhythm and pace slowed after they'd both climaxed together. Surprisingly the sliding door held up well.
Moments later, they lay next to each other on the ground on the balcony, naked, looking up at the stars. And that was when Misaki realised what she had just done.
She'd gone back on the secret pact she had with herself. She'd been so caught up in the moment with Usui that she'd totally forgotten her promise.
But did that really matter now?
Takumi stroked her hair as she had her head resting on his chest, just like all those years ago before he left for England. His other arm was wrapped around her neck and his hand rested just above one of her breasts.
Suddenly Misaki's eyes widened.
"Oh my god, Hiroki!" she exclaimed as she got up quickly, grabbing her clothes and ran inside.
Takumi smirked in amusement, watching her run inside comically. They could laugh now, but when they got dressed and went to sleep, the next day they would have to deal with the other issues.
Hiroki and Cedric.