AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hiya, everyone! This chapter should give you all more insight on everyone's characters. Not much else to say...but leave a fav/follow/review. I really do reasure your reviews, whether it's criticism (in my opinion it's probably the best way to improve my writing) or simply your thoughts on my story. So hit up that review section ;)

Alright! That's all for now. See you in September! Feel free to pm me anytime.

Chapter Two: The Challenge

As a child, Akako had always gleefully anticipated her father's returns from his long business trips to foreign countries. Hours before his plane was due to land in Tokyo, Akako and her mother would work happily in the kitchen of their large mansion and prepare a feast to welcome her father, all the while guessing at what new gadgets and gifts her father would bring back from his trip.

And when he arrived at the house, he'd scoop her up in his big arms and say, laughing, 'How's my little Aka-chan?' He would swoop down to kiss his wife on the cheek: 'I've missed you, Ayano.' And they would giggle all through dinner, after which her father revealed his souvenirs.

'Papa bought a miniature airplane, this time, Aka-chan. Do you like it?'

And Akako would laugh and say, yes, she loved it, but she would much rather her father stay home instead of go abroad. The three of them lived contentedly like this for a long time, in their large manor house, in the bright, golden years of Akako's childhood.

And then, soon after Akako had turned sixteen, everything began to fall apart.

She remembered very clearly what the doctors had said when her mother fell ill that winter, when she had collapsed, rasping for breath, on the floor of her bedroom.

'Her lungs don't work properly,' the doctors told a panicking Akako. 'It's something that can't be fixed in very short amount of time. Have you been paying attention to her health lately?'

'N-no,' Akako had said, very distressed and on the verge of tears. 'Because I'm at boarding school, I c-can't — I can't take care of—'

'That's alright, dear,' the nurses had said then, leading her out of the room. 'Your mother needs rest now. We'll call you when she wakes up.'

So Akako had returned to her large, empty house alone that night and slept very badly, her pillow damp with tears.

The next morning when she went to visit her mother, she found her father in the room as well, standing by the bed. Akako had rushed in, hugging her father tightly and sobbing into his shoulder. 'W-what are we going to do?' She cried, her face streaming with tears. Her father didn't answer her then.

Later that day, when they had returned to the house, Akako overheard her father making a phone call in his study. He was speaking in a voice she didn't recognize: it sounded nasty and very threatening.

'Now, Yamamoto-san, at this point you've become more of a liability rather than an asset. If you don't do as I say, I will personally come to Osaka and drop your entire branch. Do I make myself clear?'

A panicked voice came from the other line. 'What? But, Mizuhara-san, I can't afford to lose my job! I—I've got two sons to send through school—'

'That's enough, Yamamoto-san. I will be flying there tomorrow.'

Akako stood, transfixed in horror, at the conversation she'd heard. How could her father, who was always warm and kind, cut that many people off from their jobs? What an awful, cruel, harsh thing to do…. And he had come out of his study, smiling at her as if nothing was wrong…

'Papa will be flying to Osaka tomorrow, Akako. You take care, alright?'

'How can you say that?!' she'd shouted furiously. 'Don't you understand how many people's jobs would be lost, how many people's lives would be ruined?! And what about Mom, who'll look after her?!'

Her father had stopped dead in shock; obviously he hadn't known that she'd overheard his conversation. 'Now, Akako,' he said slowly, after a long pause. 'That's just the way business works. I wouldn't expect you to understand. If I didn't do this, my company will lose money. I have to go.'

'Is that all you care about?!' she yelled. 'There are more important things than money!'

And she didn't know how, or why, but suddenly she felt very, very angry at him. 'IT'S YOUR FAULT!' she screamed at him suddenly, tears pouring down her face, and she had to restrain herself from throwing herself at him. 'You — you're never home to take care of her — always away on trips — do you care more about your stupid company than Mom?!' she yelled, her voice hoarse, her eyes red and puffy.

The next time Akako had visited the hospital, she told her weak mother that she had moved out into her own apartment, she'd found a job at a local grocery store, and she didn't want her father paying her bills anymore, and lastly, that she would be transferring to Miyabigaoka High School after being offered a rare scholarship.

'Don't you think you should go talk to your father?'

'No,' Akako had said stubbornly. 'I won't.'

And her mother, sensing that nothing she did could change that at the moment, abandoned the subject.

'And why are you working so hard at school, all of a sudden?' her mother had asked.

'Because I'm going to become a top CEO when I graduate,' Akako said grimly. 'But I won't be backstabbing or greedy. I'll do good things, not bad things. I'm going to show the world what a real leader should be like….'

Now, Akako took her seat at the table during the student council meeting, where she remained motionless, surrounded by the uneasy-looking members of the student council.

"Please welcome our newest member, Mizuhara Akako."

Faint murmurs sounded from around the table.

"She will be filling in for Ichijou-san as funds manager," Tora continued. "I believe she is more than worthy for the job."

Akako watched him carefully as he stood at the head of the table. Grudgingly, she noted that he was very good-looking; he had the kind of striking face and composure that would make you turn and look twice if you walked past him on the street. His light blonde hair was neatly cut and his bangs were parted on one side over his pale forehead to an effortlessly messy-but-neat effect. His eyes were strikingly honey-yellow colored, and together with his eyebrows, they slanted upwards slightly, giving him the look of a very shrewd and keen cat. He carried himself with a casual sort of grace, with easy confidence and self-assurance, like there was not a single thing that could stand in his way.

He was smiling right now, a sort of falsely polite smile that showed his perfectly straight white teeth, although his canines seemed a bit sharp (or perhaps that was just her imagination). She couldn't help thinking disdainfully that it was a pity that such a handsome face was wasted on such a superficial personality. She could tell that every minute he was in her presence or in front of the student council, he put on the perfect airs of a considerate gentleman, all the while hiding his true character. It gave her a bad feeling, like the other side of him was so unpleasant that it ought to be hidden away. She had yet to see it surface. The thought of it made her shiver slightly.

"Now, to continue on with our meeting–" Tora pulled out a file and turned on the screen projector. Instantly the murmurs around the table ceased as Tora stood; it was evident the members of the council respected him a great deal.

"Miyabigaoka's swim team has been accepted to the national swimming competition this coming spring," Tora began, gesturing lightly toward the screen, which was displaying a diagram of a construction plan. "Naturally, we would like to accommodate them. The school board is currently thinking of renovating our swimming pools and would like us to handle it."

There was a skittish round of muttering at the table.

"The pools we have now, are, of course, of the best caliber in terms of quality, however the team has been requesting an update for quite a while, and I think now is a most opportune time to acquiesce."

A boy with black hair and round glasses raised his hand interjected, "Kaichou-san, how much will the renovation cost?"

"The board estimates about one and a half million yen*."

Akako's attention snapped rapidly to him, shock rippling through her. That much money could probably feed a person for a whole year….There were some audible gasps from the council too, and the mutterings increased in intensity.

"Of course, the funds and construction work will be supplied by the board–"

"No, they will not." Akako interrupted suddenly, raising her eyes to meet Tora's. This was excess. Why were they willing to spend that much money on a simple renovation? The way she saw it, that one and half million yen were better off in charity, where it would actually make a difference. The murmuring around table stopped rather abruptly and his citrine eyes traveled slowly across the room to meet hers.

"Do you have a problem with this arrangement, Mizuhara-san?" Tora asked, hoisting a polite smile onto his face.

"I don't approve of the board's decision of hiring a company for this." said Akako, with her head held high and the usual removed expression gracing her features.

A silence fell as all the members of the council turned to look at Akako.

Tora was the one who spoke first, "I'm sorry, Mizuhara-san, but there is no alternative–"

"Of course there is," Akako scoffed, rising from her seat. "I'm the funds manager, aren't I?"

Out of the corner of her eye Akako saw people putting their heads together and whispering feverishly once again.

"Mizuhara-san, I fail to see your problem with our choice in the construction company. It is a branch of my father's conglomerate, and I assure you only the finest quality–"

"Well you see, that is precisely the problem with your arrangement, Igarashi."

All around the table jaws dropped and eyes widened. Even Tora looked a little taken aback. No one had dared call the president by his name before, without even so much as an honorific. And now this newcomer stood here, questioning his authority, and taking matters into her own hands.

"I believe," Akako continued seamlessly, ignoring the other students' blatant shock, "We should work to achieve our own ends with this project. From what I see, there doesn't seem to be much work that needs to be done. The plan outlines only a re-tiling of the floors and sanding down the rough concrete in the pools. There's no reason to spend money hiring a company to do this for us when we could simply do it ourselves. What we need first are volunteers–"

"Excuse me, Mizuhara-san," Tora interjected, his voice with an edge to it now. "I must remind you that I am the president of the council, and it is my wish that we hire the Igarashi Co–"

Akako let out a harsh laugh. His reaction had been nothing less than what she'd expected. "Of course. To you wealthy people, money must be so easy, so dispensable…." she continued bluntly, "It's made you lazy and inconsiderate. Have you gotten so used to having everything spoonfed to you, that you balk at every obstacle? Have you been so pampered that you forgot what it is to work? You'll have to learn, all of you, how to do something for yourselves. I'll make you realize the true value of the money you so casually throw away at your whim."

Akako sat down forcefully, crossing her arms. "And if your President Igarashi won't agree to this," she shot him a blazing glare, "then I'll lock up the funds. "

There was dead silence.

"Very well," Tora said slowly, breaking the silence. "I am willing to entertain your request for the students themselves working to refurbish the pools."

Murmurs broke out around the room.

"You can be the one to supervise the others for this job. I'll give you….until the end of next week to get it all done."

"A week?!" A sinking feeling pervaded her stomach. One week. She glanced anxiously at the complex diagrams displayed on the projector screen. There were eight pools in total, eight full-sized 20 by 40 standard pools that needed to be refurbished. Even for a fully equipped professional team, this job would take three, maybe four weeks at the very least. But all she had now were the other members, who were now sitting dumbfounded and placid in their seats, and she found herself hoping wildly that they would perhaps jump out of their silence to support her. Akako swallowed, her throat dry, trying to mask her apprehension. "A week…." she repeated numbly, "That's barely–"

"You dug yourself into this hole, Mizuhara-san," Tora smiled, shrugging casually as he ran a long finger down the sides of the folder he was holding.

The sinking in her stomach was abruptly replaced by a boiling of anger. So, that was what it was….this task, the first task she had taken upon for the council, was set up for a sure failure. There was no question as to why. Because in the midst of all the members of the council, she alone had chosen to speak up against him. And now she was being punished for it. Really, she shouldn't have expected anything else from the son of the one of the wealthiest business leaders in the nation. They were all the same, the rich, thinking that everything and everyone was theirs to control just because they had money. She clenched her fists at her sides.

He continued, "If you are unable to complete this task within the time frame, I'll have to call on my father's company to–"

"No, I'll do it." A hard look had come over her eyes. If he wanted a show, she'd give him one, and make him see exactly who he was reckoning with. "I accept your terms, Igarashi," Akako said in a ringing voice, so that all the attention in the room turned to her. She raised her chin and regarded the students around her, praying that her next query would not come to silence. "So, which of you will volunteer with me to renovate the pools?"

The whole council sat motionless, their mouths agape.

"Is there no one?" she demanded, inwardly panicking.

Still, no one spoke.

"Fine," Akako said readily, a steely sense of cold purpose filling her senses. "I'll do it myself." She glanced quickly at Tora, who was smiling back at her like he'd already won. The anger returned fiercer this time; and right then and there, as she stood glaring into his infuriating citrine eyes, she made a burning promise to herself: there was no way she was failing this task, even if the odds were stacked against her. She would prove them all wrong.

She snatched up a copy of the diagrams that were laid on the table. A girl sitting across from her flinched nervously at this, but Akako paid her no mind.

"I'll do it all myself."

And she walked out of the room.

"Everyone, this meeting is dismissed," said Tora quickly, his eyes glued to the door through which Akako had departed. "You are free to go."

The talking resumed quite suddenly as the students began packing away their things and chattering madly.

"...did you hear that?!"

"...who does she think she is? Kaichou-san must be upset."

"...is she actually gonna make us do everything?"

"...There's no way. I'm not going to spend my day scrubbing the floors."

Their echoes faded away as Akako made her way down the hall, clutching the file folder so tightly in her hand that her knuckles were white. She hadn't made it far when she heard a voice:

"Mizuhara-san, I need to speak with you."

It was Tora, standing at a door across the hallway. Akako turned, the sensation of burning anger returning.

"In my office, please." He gestured at the door, and, having walked there himself, held it open for her. Silently, she steeled herself for the worst and walked quickly past him through the open door.

But what struck her first was the surprising neatness of his office; it was agreeably devoid of clutter and his desk was bare of any decoration but for a shiny plaque that read, 'Igarashi Tora, Student Council President'. A pile of papers sat untouched on the corner of the table, waiting to be signed. There was a large window on the side of the wall that overlooked the expanse of trees surrounding the school, allowing the late-afternoon light to pour into the office.

"Is that why you turned down my offer earlier?" Tora said as he closed the door behind him.

His question caught her a little off-guard. She didn't say anything and glared at him instead, her eyes following his path through the door.

"Yesterday, when I offered you a cheque," Tora persisted in spite of the silence, a smile playing on his lips. His citrine eyes looked amused yet unreadable. Akako frowned imperceptibly. For some reason, he didn't seem to be the least bit scared of her, when most other people she'd encountered would've been long gone within the first second of that glare.

Her expression darkened. "I told you, I don't want your dirty money."

"You are a stubborn one, aren't you?" said Tora, smiling even wider at her response, eliciting a spark of annoyance from within her. "But tell me, I'm curious…." His eyes were glinting. "If you hate this dirty money so much, why are you at this school? That seems like quite a large contradiction, don't you think?"

"You don't get it." It was her turn to smirk now. "I'm here because I'm going to graduate and I'm going to lead a business the right way. I won't use underhanded cowardly tactics like all of you," she said, her voice filled with contempt, and she was boiling with hatred. She narrowed her eyes. "You'll see, Igarashi. One day I swear, I'll bring you all down. Just wait."

He didn't seem particularly frightened by this predicament ."Ah….and that's also why are you so bent on antagonizing me?"

"Someone has to," said Akako bluntly. "I can't be the only one who can't stand people like you."

"You are a stubborn one, aren't you?" said Tora, smiling even wider at her response, eliciting a spark of annoyance from within her.

She saw his eyebrow twitch slightly at this, and for a moment she was sure he was going to lunge forward and do something to her. But then he blinked and his face was a smooth cloak of calmness once again.

"Then I hope you are aware of the scope of the endeavor you have taken upon. Realize that you are at my mercy here," he continued, smirking and taking on a more sinister tone, and suddenly she felt slightly intimidated by his form. "I chose to let you do this, don't forget, and if you don't meet the requirements then I am free to continue how I choose. Do you understand?"

"Of course," said Akako harshly, her fear melting away with a fervent desire to smack the smirk off of his face, and she remembered the promise she had made during the student council meeting. I'll do it myself. "Believe me, I can handle this. So don't interfere with my plans."

And she walked out again, leaving him standing there in his bright office, with a predatory smile on his face.

Tora stood there a long time, and her last words, the image of her dark scorching eyes with her silkily straight bangs played on repeat in his brain. But of course he had absolutely no intention of interfering just yet. He wanted to see how long she would last against him, how long her stubbornness would persist before she burned out, to see if she could be of any interest to him. For now, he would let her work herself to the bone if she wanted to. Let her do what she will, he thought bemusedly. In the meantime, he might as well just enjoy the show.

The weather was warm outside as Akako departed from the looming campus of Miyabigaoka; large white clouds dotted the brilliant blue sky above the city, and a light breeze lingered in the air, bringing a promise of the imminent beginning of autumn. A younger Akako would have seen this day as an opportune time to take a nice walk outside with her mother and father, but presently she only thought of starting on her most recent project immediately.

It was as she'd said in the meeting: the updates to the pools were simple enough, all they required was manpower….something she did not have. And yet it was too soon to give up. She couldn't just let Tora order her around, make her throw away all the things she valued most….like her steadfast belief that money was never the answer to everything. But she quickly pushed this to the back of her mind. Right now, she had to focus on getting home to do the research she needed in order to start as soon as possible.

And so Akako sat waiting alone at Miyabigaoka's bus stop in silence, tapping her foot absentmindedly as if she was attempting to draw the bus out from the distance with its noise. The small space in the stop was quiet now and thankfully free of people, because the school was separated from the rest of the city by an expansive forest-park. The students rarely ever took the bus either, preferring instead to call up their own private chauffeurs. Akako stared vaguely into the distance, and the sound of tree branches swaying in the breeze and the soft song of twittering birds was just distinguishable over the distant, muted roar of the Tokyo city.

A few stops down the road, however, and the atmosphere changed completely.

It was here, a couple of kilometers away from the school, where Akako usually departed the bus at the busy intersection just off of Shibuya Crossing. Here was a bustling collection of restaurants and cafés lining the streets, with huge faces of famous idols and models plastered onto sides of tall buildings. Bright sunlight glanced off of the vast facades of glass towers, and the stores' lights were flashing garishly onto the street; masses of people crowded the sidewalk, each one of them rushing to their own destination. The smell of fried food and livelihood filled the air, and the noise of the city, the noise of cars and hurried conversation and the rush of polished shoes on the pavement, were so deafeningly loud they passed unnoticed. Already, high school students, who, like Akako, had just been released from school, were lining up at their favorite getaways, laughing with their friends. She walked past some of her classmates, still in their school uniforms, giggling together as they each sipped their iced drinks.

Akako stopped at a convenience store on the corner of the street to buy her week's supply of instant ramen and breakfast pastry. She shopped here so frequently that she was quite sure the owner of the store, Mr. Saito, would be able to recognize her on sight. She quickly picked out her preferred brand of ramen (extra-spicy), a loaf of plain bread, and, because she had a little cash leftover from the month's payment, a couple of ripe-looking apples. She paid, thanked Mr. Saito, and left the store for the busy street.

The sun was lower in the sky now; the light was taking on a softer, golden shade, giving everything a hazy look. A queue was forming at the bus stop nearby, where Akako had to catch another bus to get to her small apartment complex just east of central Tokyo. This time she waited with strangers at the bus stop; but still, it was quiet. They did not greet each other, nor meet each other's gaze, nor try to strike conversation. Each person cared naught for any other, thinking instead of their lives far removed from the denseness of the city, so that even in a place so full of life, in a place that was bubbling with the sound of laughter, in a place that was loud, and boisterous, and bright, with thousands of people in a kilometer radius, one's own loneliness was enormously intensified.

The bus ride home was quiet. Akako passed the time by looking out the window, watching as crowded streets and stop-lights slid by her vision. The fading sunlight flashed upon her face every now and then, intermittently illuminating her features in a golden glow.

When she arrived home, she set down her schoolbag and sorted her newly-bought ramen and bread into the pantry. Her apartment, on the third floor of 309 Chiyoda Avenue, was humble and simple: there was a small kitchen with a breakfast table; just across from that was a very modest living room, where Akako kept endearing photos of herself and her mother on a picture shelf attached to the wall. Akako's room was just behind a door leading from the living room; inside, her bed was made neatly, and her desk was tidy. A petite black bookshelf leaned against the wall; on its shelves were the various books she had liked growing up and textbooks she used for studying. There was a bathroom adjacent to her room, with a very small shower stall.

The size of the apartment was somewhat made up by its starkness. All the walls were painted white, as they had been when Akako had first moved in, and nearly all the furniture, like the couch, the shelves in the living room, and the table in the kitchen, were black. All of Akako's meager possessions were sorted away in her room, leaving the rest of the apartment quite empty.

That night Akako sat down at her desk with her laptop (which was her sixteenth birthday gift from her mother), and began her long research on reconstructing pools and floor-tiling.

Review replies:

AusllyBeliever: Yes he is! He's trying very hard to be careful, since Akako is someone he needs on his good side (although I'm not sure if he was ever on her good side haha) for business at this point in time

*1.5 million Japanese yen is about 15,000 USD.

I apologize, I have no extras for this chapter! Please look forward to more next month. :)

08/03/17 first draft.

Revised 09/17/17.