Chapter 13

"Do you have everything?" Her mom had asked her f or the third time already. Soujiroh grabbed his and Yuki's belongings and packed them in his car. He walked over the Matsuoka family and bowed.

"Thank you for having me here." He said.

"You're welcome, visit anytime." The man patted his back.

"Bye nii-chan and nee-chan." Emi waved. Yuki blinked back her tears and nodded. She bowed once before getting into Soujiroh's car.

"What's with all the tears?" Soujiroh asked as he handed her some Kleenex. "Haven't you ever been away from your family before?"

She quickly dabbed her eyes. "I have slept over at Makino's house before but still, this is different. They're giving me away to your family, you're so lucky you're a guy, you won't have to be away from your parents."

"More like you're lucky." Soujiroh muttered.

"What?" Yuki didn't understand the words that just came out of the Soujiroh's mouth.

"You'll understand later." Soujiroh merely smiled and drove to his house.

-Nishikado Residence-

"Hello outo-sama, okaa-sama." Yuki greeted politely.

"Welcome to the Nishikado household, Yuki." The woman bowed and smiled.

"Thank you for accepting me." Yuki smiled at her in-laws and Soujiroh smiled slightly. If he had brought any of the girls he hooked up with back to his household, they for sure would not have been as polite as Yuki. They would probably give his parents heart attacks and use their money easily.

"Alright, Soujiroh, put her stuff in her room and Yuki, be ready to train hard." The old man said gruffly and walked from the living room.

The two headed up the stairs which seemed long and endless. Soujiroh opened the door of his room and gestured her in.

"Is this my room?" She asked.

"It's our room." Soujiroh smirked after seeing her shocked expression.

"You have so many rooms, why can't I just have my own."

"Did you forget?" He held up his left hand which had a ring on it, Yuki sighed and shut her mouth. There was a knock on the door and a maid walked in wearing a French maid outfit.

"Pardon me for the interruption, but Madam would like to see Yuki." She bowed and left after she had announced the news to them. Yuki was curious as to what she was going to say and the two walked down the stairs where Soujiroh's mother and father sat on the couch.

"Welcome to the Nishikado Residence." The woman said politely.

"Thank you okaa-sama." Yuki bowed politely.

"Since you're here, we are going to teach you the art of making tea and you will learn proper etiquette a woman must know. I see you already have a sense of how to be polite, however it is not good enough yet." The father said in a gruff voice.

"Yes otou-sama." Yuki bowed and sighed inwardly.

"Master, Yuko-sama is here." A maid reported.

"Oh bring her in."

A lady clad in an all navy blue suit walked in neatly. She was around her late forties or early fifties, but she was still pretty. Her posture was very straight and her hair was made neatly and no strand was out of place. She bowed at a perfect 45 degree angle. "Hello Nishikado-sama."

"Hello Yuko-san." The man smiled politely. "Yuki, this will be your etiquette teacher, Hanazono Yuko."

"Hi, my name is Yuki." Yuki bowed.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Hanazono Yuko, I hope we get along." She smiled politely.

"Well, I will leave Yuki in your care." Soujiroh said politely and left as did the other two people.

"Alright, I will tell you straight, this training will be hard and I will be tough." She warned.

"Yes, ma'am." Yuki saluted which got her hand smacked.

"Ladies do not salute like men." She said and she held a wand out similar to that of what conductors use.

"Yes ma'am." Smack.

"It is madam, please refrain from shortening it."

"Yes...madam." Yuki said.

"Good, now please show me the way you walk."

Yuki walked casually and she got smacked again. "Ouch!" Smack.

"Please do not slouch and keep your back straight."

"Yes madam." Yuki walked again.
"Good, now please try walking in these shoes." She held up a pair of three inch stilettos. "I hope I got the right size fit."

Yuki put on the shoes and much to her despair, it fit perfectly. Yuki has walked in high heels before but her highest were two inches and they were not stilettos, they were more like wedges. She stood up and she felt her legs wobble and she bit her lip while she walked. She tripped and fell.

"Are you alright?" The lady asked as she helped Yuki up.

"I'm fine, thanks." Smacked on the wrist again.

"It's not 'thanks,' it's 'thank you.'" Yuko said. Yuki sighed inwardly, afraid that sighing out loud will get her hit again. Yuko was like those scary nuns that used to use a ruler except she was scarier. Never in her life had she ever been hit.

"Thank you." Yuki said quietly and bowed.

"Alright, try again."

"Yes."

-Meanwhile-

"Soujiroh, are you prepared to make tea for the tea ceremony we will be having in honor of announcing your wedding to Yuki?" His father asked.

"Yes father, I have decided on a tea to make already."

"The invitations will be sent tomorrow and the tea ceremony is to be held next week."

Soujiroh nodded in response, he wondered how Yuki was doing with her training. Madam Hanazono was known to be a great etiquette teacher for aristocrat heiresses but hardly anyone is able to survive her intense training. He doubt he would be able to live either and she didn't seem to be the type to give in to handsome boys.

"Are you paying attention?" His father questioned.

"Ah, yes." Soujiroh nodded and turned to his concentration to his tea, but he found that hard to do. "Father, did mother ever go through such training?"

"Not really since she was already born into a noble household so she knew the etiquette as she was growing up, but she did receive hard training on the art of tea."

"Oh I see." Soujiroh said quietly.

"We will end here for today."

"Yes father." He bowed and walked away.

"Soujiroh."

"Oh, mother." He greeted.

"I just wanted to tell you that what Yuki's going through is very tough and I hope you will be there for her and support her."

"Don't worry, I will." Soujiroh remembered the promise he made with outo-san.

"Your father isn't hiring the teacher to just teach her etiquette, but to test her mental endurance and her ability to stay calm. Being a tea maker's wife is not an easy task and sometimes there may be social situations where she needs to stay calm and endure any hardships. To make matters worse, she is your wife and you are loved by every single woman in Japan." His mother sighed the last sentence.

"I know." Soujiroh acknowledged. "Well I'm going to go and get some rest." He walked slowly up the stairs and sighed. His mother was right, he was a renowned playboy and all of Japan knew it. He sometimes wondered if he acted like a proper son to his father and mother. Did he fail their expectations of a good son?