"And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
When the war came, the war came hard."
-"When The War Came" by The Decemberists
When will this class end…?
Tsukushi yawned deeply, jaw popping as her mouth stretched wide. More and more, it was all she could do to keep awake during class. When she was not working late shifts at the dango shop, she was staying up late to wait for Domyoji to come home from work.
Tsukushi was living in a single room in the largest dormitory on campus, all compliments of Domyoji. Part of the investment was selfish; here, Domyoji could always have her to himself, but Tsukushi did not mind. In fact, her favorite part of the day was watching the doorknob turn at a quarter past eleven and waiting for Domyoji to take off his coat and throw his arms around her waist.
The past few weeks had been tiring but peaceful. Domyoji would come in, sit with his head in Tsukushi's lap, and share stories from work. Tsukushi loved listening to him and playing with his hair, letting her fingers work in and out of silky spirals. On the rare occasion that he would fall asleep in her room, she traced his lips with her fingertips and gently stroked the back of his hand.
"Makino. Could you repeat what I just said?"
Makino shook herself from her sleepy stupor and sat upright to face her professor. He folded his arms, thoroughly irritated, and cocked an eyebrow, waiting for a response.
"Uh…"
"Well?"
To her tremendous relief, the bell rang and chairs began scraping against the floor, cutting her off completely. Her professor rolled his eyes and waved his hand vaguely at the departing class. Tsukushi collected her books and headed toward the main entrance, trying her best not to call the attention of her professor as she left.
"Tsukushi! Hey, what's up, you were falling asleep in class again!" Sakurako called as she bounced up beside her. "One of these days, you're going to make that professor blow a fuse! Unfortunate, seeing as how I am one of the professor's favorites."
Sakurako batted her eyelashes at Tsukushi, waiting for a short response, but received a mere grunt. Sakurako sighed.
"You really are tired. What have you been up to?"
"It's a long story. Hey… what's going on outside?"
Sakurako and Tsukushi hesitated before opening the door outside, as there was an enormous throng of people congregating around a long, black limosine parked outside the gates. Security guards stood in a circle around vehicle, blocking the students from seeing who was inside.
"Tsukushi, isn't that one of Domyoji's cars? Look, it has the Domyoji insignia on the side!"
Tsukushi gazed at the passenger door, and, sure enough, there was a golden "D" enclosed in a circle of silver vines on the car.
What is he doing here? Tsukushi wondered, hurrying ahead of Sakurako to get to the car. She pushed her way through the group of clamoring students to the front of the line, and the door began to open. A long, thin leg appeared from the darkness of the limosine, and following it was Domyoji Sumi.
"Ah, Tsukushi! It's been quite awhile," Sumi said, smiling warmly. She reached out for Tsukushi's hand and pulled her forth from the crowd of people around her.
"Y-yes," Tsukushi
stammered, a little embarrassed from her last encounter with Sumi.
Sumi laughed and squeezed her hand.
"No need to feel shy. I'm
sorry for being so abrupt. I seem to have caused a little scene,"
she said, motioning toward the hundreds of students surrounding them.
"I actually have some important business with you. Would you mind
coming with me for an hour or so?"
"No, I don't mind at all! But, is everything all right? Domyoji's not injured or anything, is he?"
Tsukushi saw Sumi's face darken a bit before she melted into another warm smile.
"Let's go get coffee," she said.
Tsukushi waved goodbye to Sakurako and climbed into the car first. Sumi also waved goodbye to the students and gracefully seated herself beside the window. As the car began to roll, Sumi took a pack of cigarettes from her coat pocket and offered the pack to Tsukushi.
"Ah, no thank you."
Sumi winked and drew a cigarette from the box, balancing it carefully between her red lips. She opened a window and smoke furled from the car in elegant, gray waves. Tsukushi thought she looked almost regal, dressed entirely in black and delicately blowing air through the window. She suddenly remembered how she could have found this woman threatening.
"I suppose I've frightened you," Sumi said at last, flicking ash off the end of her cigarette.
"I'd say more surprised than frightened me," Tsukushi said, folding her hands in her lap. "What did you need to talk to me about?"
"Oh, we're here!"
The limosine stopped in front of a small, emerald-colored building. Tsukushi followed Sumi outside of the limosine and into the café, where glass tables lined the walls, each separated by a thick, red partition.
"Here we go! We can have a little privacy," Sumi said, taking a seat. She motioned for Tsukushi to sit beside her and ordered two cups of coffee. When they had settled, Sumi folded her hands on the table and turned intently upon Tsukushi.
"Tsukushi, the reason I asked you here today was to talk about you and Tsukasa," she said. Tsukushi tried hard not to squirm in her seat, as the notion of speaking to Tsukasa's cousin about their relationship seemed entirely uncomfortable.
"Tsukushi, did you ever wonder why Tsukasa's mother insisted that he become the next heir to Domyoji Financial? Didn't you ever wonder why she didn't give that job to Tsubaki?"
"Well, actually, no. I guess I never thought about it," Tsukushi said.
"Well, many people did wonder. Tsukasa comes off as a bit of an idiot, as I'm sure you know. In fact, our competition was practically rejoicing when they heard Tsukasa was to take the throne. They certainly underestimated him. Within the first year of Tsukasa at the head of the corporation, our profits nearly doubled. He is, without exaggeration, a brilliant businessman."
Tsukushi looked quizzically at Sumi, causing her to laugh.
"I know what you're thinking! How in the world, right? Well, Tsukasa's willpower is enormous, even compared to Tsubaki's, and he is a very intimidating person. On top of that, he is extraordinarily fair. He has a great sense of justice, and for this reason, his employees are very faithful."
Tsukushi listened to Sumi and supposed that everything made sense. She knew Tsukasa possessed these qualities, but never thought to apply them to him as a businessman.
"I'm happy to hear that he is so successful! I never dreamed he was so gifted," Tsukushi said. Sumi grinned.
"And now you're wondering, 'Where do I fit into all this?'," she said as she stirred the coffee that was just placed on the table. "Since Tsukasa has taken the reigns on the company, our circumstances have changed drastically. A new financial corporation is on the rise, and they are threatening to turn the Domyoji Corporation on its head. Have you ever heard of Yamakura Company?"
Tsukushi shook her head.
"The company is very new, but its power is growing exponentially, and Yamakura is now our main competitor on the market. Such growth is unheard-of in this business."
"How could Yamakura Company have grown so quickly?" Tsukushi asked. Sumi gazed seriously at Tsukushi over her mug.
"The head of Yamakura is a man named Yamakura Ken. It is rumored that he is heavily involved with a crime syndicate known as 'Agent Orange.' Have you read the newspaper today, Tsukushi?" Sumi asked. Tsukushi shook her head, dumbfounded at all the information presented to her. Sumi reached into her black, leather bag and produced a newspaper. She set it in front of Tsukushi and with a red fingernail, pointed to the main headline.
"'Hoffmann remains seriously injured after mysterious bullet wound'," Tsukushi read aloud. "Who is-"
"Gregory Hoffmann is the head of Hoffmann & Co., the third largest financial corporation in Japan. The papers are predicting failure for the corporation if Hoffmann's leadership is lost," Sumi said. Tsukushi's heart began to race uncontrollably. Her coffee shook in her hand.
"You're beginning to see now. I don't think Ken intended to hurt that man. I think he intended to kill him. Tsukasa is the head of the most profitable financial corporation in Japan. Tsukushi," Sumi said quietly, as she leaned across the table. "As long as you stay with Tsukasa, your life is in serious danger."
