A WARM HEART
Disclaimer: I don't own any Maid-sama.
CHAPTER 6
Misaki came out of the front door to cool her angry heart. The little puppy wiggled, cuddling in her arms. She knew life in this mansion would be terrible, for the residents here hated her. Why did her father want her to like them so much when he knew they would hate her. She also didn't like them. Must she stay here until she was twenty-four?
She walked up to the fountain and settle the puppy on the ground. She laid her arms against the fountain and stared at the flowing water. Though the mansion was beautiful and the fountain was captivating, her heart was lonely and battered. She had no friends and no one who cared for her. Her father had been wrong. This house could never give her warmth, not when the residents were so cold.
And Mr. Yuu Walker? Was he cold like his home? Why had he helped her father and would he had been like the father she'd always wanted? She sighed and rebelliously laid her head down to rest.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
The head cook, Via, quickly came out of the house to greet Takumi as he walked up the stairs into the house in his suit.
"Mr. Walker! Mr. Walker! That girl from the States threatened to fire me!" she blurted out in sympathy.
Takumi looked annoyed.
"Where is she?"
"She's out in the back. She's also taken your dog and not allowed us to feed him," Via continued.
One of the maid, Bua, came out nervously to take his briefcase. Takumi took off his shoes and entered the house. He knew she would be troubled, but he didn't know that she would go around threatening his employees on her first day in his house.
He took off his suit jacket and breezed through the doors and strolled to the back rooms. He walked over to the windows and saw her outside with his dog. He looked in anger. She was with his dog. And his dog seemed to be enjoying her company, as it followed her around as she looked at their plants in the back.
He opened the sliding door and stepped out, slipping on a pair of slippers to step out onto the grass. He watched her annoyingly as she seemed to be happy and in peace as if this was her real home.
"Licht," he called out, and hearing its name, the dog turned from Misaki and ran toward its master. Misaki turned around in surprise at the dog's departure and turned cold as she saw Takumi.
The dog ran up to him and he picked it up, cuddling it with some gentle words and then he turned back to look at her. She stood staring at him from across the lawn. And he walked toward her.
"Licht seems to like you," he began, patting the dog's head. She looked at Licht and back to him coldly.
"You seemed to get along well in this place. Do you like it?" he asked sarcastically.
She looked around and turned to him and nodded unkindly.
He raised one eyebrow.
"Does it go with your lifestyle?" he questioned unkindly, "I'm sure you must had more enjoyment in the States with all the freedom and booze. My servants are rather conservative if you find their service to be little and unhelping of what you are used to."
Misaki's eyes narrowed as she knew he was insulting her.
He turned away from her, as if not regarding her with value.
"Must I make it clear to you, Miss Ayuzawa, that you are here as my father's guest. As the head of the house, I do not like any guests to threaten any of my employees under my roof."
"What are you saying, Mr. Walker?" Misaki asked firmly.
He turned back to look at her coldly.
"I am saying, Miss Ayuzawa, that you are welcome to roam this place as you like, but my employees will only answer to me. Any threats you plan to make will not be tolerated in this house that is now my responsibility."
Misaki's eyes narrowed in deep hatred.
"I plan to make no threats in your house, Mr. Walker. But as a man of status and name in this society, I would assume that you would teach your employees some manners and respect for those they serve," She began angrily. "Even if they don't serve me, a person alone knows how to greet someone when they first meet them, especially if they are a servant greeting a guest, don't you say so?"
She then smiled cruelly from a thought.
"But then, their manners must have came from their employer," she slowly replied with a shrug. "For he also has no manners to greet a guest with hospitality. Like they say, an employee is only as great as the employer."
His eyes narrowed. She lifted her chin to meet him and then she turned away to leave in triumph. He set the dog down and followed her.
"I don't care what threat you make here, Miss Ayuzawa, but I will not tolerate you cowering my employees."
Misaki stopped and looked at him.
"Why do you worry so, Mr. Walker? In your eyes, I am not your guest. In fact, you view me no different from them, am I not correct?" she asked with a disgusted look on.
His eyes narrowed angrily.
"If that is how I view you, then I would have ordered your luggage to be placed in the servant corridor," he remarked.
"But you can't because of your father's Will," she retorted plainly.
"I don't care about my father's Will, or what he would have wanted me to do," he cruelly remarked. "I only want to know why my father is doing all these for your father, and if I have to take you in for two years to wait for that damn Will to be read, then I will patiently allow you to step in this house as a guest."
She coldly returned his uncaringness.
"And what happens when you have real guests over, Mr. Walker? Will you hide me like an unwanted guest, or will you blend me in as one of your maids?" she questioned boldly.
He stared at her blankly. The thought never came to him.
"What would you want it to be?" he asked suddenly, a twist to his lips.
She looked away almost regretfully.
"I would have wanted it to be that my father never did your father a favor, so I wouldn't need to wait two years here in this cold house of yours just to hear his last words. And I wished that my father had never rivaled with your father, so that we wouldn't be here hating each other out."
Takumi looked surprised at her. He didn't expect her to be saying those words. He didn't expect her to have some sensitivity. It seemed as she almost hated her position here, where she could be owning millions of his father's money.
She was the first woman in his life who'd told him this house was cold, something he had felt at times. He had thought she would be a common, wasteful talker, annoying, perhaps bossy woman. He actually felt sorry for her now as her face turned away from him as if torned and depressed. For once, he actually felt regretful of his unkindness to her.
Misaki quickly dismissed her thoughts and faced him bravely.
"I am glad that your father bought this huge house, Mr. Walker, for I can hide myself when I don't want to be in any of your presence."
She turned away from him and walked into the house, leaving him stunned and tensed.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
A knock came at the door around 6 O'clock. Misaki went to open it and to her relief it was the kind maid who she'd met first.
"Mr. Walker asks you to join him for dinner."
Misaki looked surprise, but she slowly nodded her head, telling the maid that she will be out shortly.
Few minutes later, Misaki cautiously entered the dining room, where Takumi awaited her patiently on a huge long dining table. There were two plates set out across from each other. When she came in, he glared at her disapprovingly.
"Please sit down, Miss Ayuzawa," he plainly stated.
She looked around suspiciously, wondering why they were alone and why no one else joined them. After a moment, she sat on the chair opposite him and Takumi nodded to Bua, beside him, to serve the food. Bua nodded and came to serve them.
"How do you find your room? Is it spacious enough for you to hide in?" he asked mockingly.
She ignored him, and thanked Bua after she emptied two spoonful of rice on her plate.
"I learned that you have another brother, is that correct?" Misaki slowly asked.
He looked up from his plate.
"I have a brother and a sister."
"Why do they not join us for dinner?"
Takumi smirked.
"You will find them hardly in the house. If you do, you will be lucky," he remarked, continuing to eat.
"You are alone in this house then?"
He looked up from his plate again, surprised at the question.
"I am not alone in this house. You've seen all my employees," he replied rather annoyed.
"I know," She began rather foolishly. "I meant as family, you are alone here."
He looked disapprovingly at her.
"Eat or your rice will go cold," he command, avoiding the question.
She picked up her spoon and looked strangely at him.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
As Misaki left the dining room, Licht came running up to her. Surprise, she bent down to pick up the dog. Takumi followed her behind. He looked rather annoyed that she was holding his dog, but he didn't say anything as he knew it would make him look crazy.
He passed her and strolled into a room. Misaki saw him entered the room, and curiously followed him. Silently she stepped up to the closed door and let Licht down. She placed her ear to the door, but to her horror, Licht strolled up to the door and barked.
"Shhhhhhhh," Misaki quickly scowled to the dog.
But Licht continued to barks and Misaki quickly moved aside just as the door opened. Takumi looked at her as if finding her sneaking around. Licht quickly slipped through her legs and went into the room.
"Were you looking for something?" He asked her, rather annoyed to find her looking like this.
She quickly shook her head and then peered inside.
"What room is this?"
He frowned at her and opened up the door for her.
"Come in if you are curious. I don't like people snooping around behind my doors," he remarked, looking at her with a sarcastic grin.
She frowned and slowly walked in. The minute she took a look around the room her mouth opened in awe. The room was full of shelves of books. In the middle was a huge desk and a large wall-size window loomed behind it. To the left was a fireplace, burning and two comfortable-looking sofa and a loveseat, with its own foot-setter.
"Is this your library?" she asked, still in awe.
Takumi walked over to his desk and picked up a folder.
"This is the library and my office. As you can say, it is my place to hide from the rest of the world," he mockingly replied.
Misaki ignored his comment and walked over to one of the shelves. She turned to Takumi, who obviously had forgotten her and was looking through some paper.
"Can I?" she asked.
He looked up at her.
"What?"
"Can I take one of your books out to look at?"
Takumi frowned.
"Go ahead," he began, "that is if they interest you."
He returned to the papers on his desk. Licht came over to Misaki and barked. Misaki smiled and took a book out. It was rather old. Slowly she opened the book and read the first page.
Licht moved to the fireplace and barked at her. She smiled at Licht and followed him to the fireplace. But before she took a place, she looked at Takumi to see if he minded. Seeing that he was preoccupied, she looked at Licht and sat by the fireplace next to him.
Takumi glanced from his papers to look at her. Surprised, he found her sitting by the fireplace, making herself at home in his home. He frowned and looked away rather annoyed that she was looking happier than him in his own home.
His eyes glanced back to her again unwillingly. He found her rather attractive, sitting next to his dog reading from a book. A book which he probably had never read, but he knew that she was here for his father's wealth and he didn't like it one bit. Forcefully, he pulled his eyes away from her.
A/N: I turned the cat from the anime into a dog in this story if you guy noticed lol.