Futari no Himitsu

Chapter 14:

Date with Haruka…?

Nanami Haruka stood in front of the small azalea garden in Sakuramichi Street, admiring the colourful flowers while it was still on the peak of its bloom.

Yesterday, when the news reached Shibuya Tomochika's ears about the date, Haruka was dragged to the mall to buy some clothes. When Tomo-chan was asked how she knew about it, she answered:

"Does it even matter?" She did not even give her a glance while speaking; eyes were busy scanning the rack of clothes. "What's important is," She took a white dress from its hanger and shoved it on Haruka's arms. Golden eyes widened and she took it without a word. "I'm gonna make you the prettiest girl Mr. President has ever seen!"

And now, Haruka was getting worried that she looked too dressed-up even though it was just a date.

She admitted that she was grateful for the help, since this was her first date and she didn't have any clue about what to wear on such occasion. But what if her boyfriend thought she was trying too hard to look pretty? What if he said the clothes she was wearing doesn't suit her?

Haruka shook her head. She must be happy on her own skin before others will notice her true beauty, that was what Tomo-chan said this morning when she barged inside her apartment to give her a make-over.

Today, her red-locks were ironed to give her hair a more pronounced bob-cut. Her hair was now longer compared to the day she first entered the gates of Shining Academy, so her bob cut didn't look so 'bouncy' anymore. Tomo-chan also applied make-up on her face, but she chose light colors because Haruka 'looked better with it' because of her 'innocent charms'. She applied some eye-mascara and eye-shadow to bring out the color from her enchanting golden eyes. Her cheeks were painted pink, to give shade to her normally pale cheeks. The redness of her lips could have beaten the apple Snow White ate; Haruka just hoped she can stop herself from licking it clean because of its tempting flavour.

For her clothes, she was wearing a knee-length white dress. Even though she was not fond of wearing heels, Tomo-chan forced her to wear a pair of stylish black boots. The taller red-haired insisted on buying her some accessories, but Haruka told her that she didn't need to burn her money all for her first date.

She got to admit, when she looked in front of the mirror, she could not believe that the girl staring at her wide-eyed was herself. She looked pretty, beautiful even. But of course, it was expected. After all, Shibuya Tomochika, the owner of one of Japan's leading cosmetics and clothing line, was the one who invested on her.

After tiring her eyes out, Haruka took out her phone from her small purse.

10:30 am, It said.

"Ichinose-san's late…" Nanami muttered, returning her phone back to her small bag.

She wondered if something came up but decided against it. If something occurred that prevented him from attending their date, Tokiya would be the type to inform his date. Not make Haruka wait in the middle of the wilderness.

Now that she thinks of it, why did Ichinose-san choose this place for their meeting area? It was in front of a shrine in the middle of the forest, almost out of the boundaries of Tokyo. It would be really dangerous if they were out at night because of the wild animals and the potentially ill-intentioned people in this world.

Haruka felt something wet landed on her cheeks. She looked up and saw the angry grey sky, the rain fell harder and harder. She thought of seeking refuge from the rain, but thought against it. What would she do if Tokiya arrived, only to see no one at their meeting place?

The rosette shook her head.

"I will wait for him." She whispered silently, tucking her drench hair behind her ear.

..

Meanwhile, at the Ichinose Mansion…

"I forbid you from seeing that wench!" The voice of Ichinose Hajime echoed throughout their huge residence as he stormed out of the dining room. "You will remain here and do your task as the heir of the company!"

The Ichinose head was unexpectedly young. He was only on his mid-thirties, still handsome and well-built. He had stormy grey eyes and furrowed eyebrows that made him look as if he was always scowling. His hair was a darker shade of blue but with a few strands of grey; it looked almost black if one did not look at it more closely. He was wearing an expensive blue suit, for in a few hours he will depart and attend a meeting with one of Japan's leading company. Of course, he had to look presentable.

"But Otou-sama…!" Ichinose Tokiya argued, following him out of the room. "I have finished it all yesterday—"

Blue eyes widen when his father turned around, cold grey eyes glared at him. Shivers ran through his spines, all the terrifying memories that hid behind the back of his mind resurfaced. His voice failed him, all the words that he was meaning to say got caught up in his throat.

Through the window, Tokiya could see that it started raining. He felt worried that Haruka might still be standing in the middle of their meeting place, but he wished she was sane enough to find shelter from this rain. But knowing her, she would probably wait for him on the exact spot. Not caring it she was drenched or if she got sick. He felt a stronger pang of dread on his chest.

"Since you've been going out with that woman, you have started defying me!" He shouted angrily. "I have allowed you to make friends with that group of yours because Hijirikawa and Jinguuji will be your ally when you take the company. But that woman…!" He gritted his teeth. "I tell you, she will be the reason for your downfall! Cut all ties with her now, Tokiya. That is an order!"

The bluenet opened his mouth, but no words came. He looked down, biting his lips bitterly while his hands formed a fist. The Ichinose head smirked, usually by this time his son would obediently nod his head and say, 'Yes, Otou-sama'. He turned around and continued walking, but was surprised when footsteps followed him and Tokiya seized his arms.

"Please, Otou-sama." He begged. "Please allow me to attend my meeting. She… Haruka is a very important person. I love her—"

"Love?" Hajime scoffed. "My son, there is none like that in this world. That feeling so-called as 'love' was only created by humans to continue on with their beliefs of a happy fairy tale-like life! But no, Tokiya. 'Love' will not grant you happiness. Money, power, and fame will. Heck, I bet that woman is only following you around because of those three—"

"You're wrong!" He gripped his father's arm tightly. "Haruka isn't a gold-digger! In fact, I was the one who courted her. She's not like any girl I know," His voice softened as he remembered the beautiful rosette. "She… accepted me for who I am."

"You are a fool." Hajime shook his head in disbelief. "I expected more from you, my son. I thought you were a man that knows how to deceive, not the one being deceived. Mark my words, that woman is only doing this for the money. Just like…"

He managed to stop himself he could say anything unnecessary. But Tokiya knew what he was going to say, he knew it since long before. He knew the reason why his father became a bitter man; he knew why he took all his anger out on his own son. It was because of…

"Soragami Shirayuki."

Hajime flinched. He glared at his son, as if the name itself was the embodiment of all his pent-up anger. And it was. Tokiya knew.

"Just like Okaa-sama, is that what you're going to say?" Tokiya asked. The older Ichinose did not reply. "Otou-sama, have you forgotten. You were the one who told Okaa-sama that if she married you, you will fund her studies in medicine. She made it clear from the start that she only married you for the money, please don't put the blame all on her—"

Tokiya did not even finish his sentence. He felt a sharp blow on his cheek; the poor boy fell on the ground like how he usually did years ago when his father became violent. Just like this moment.

"Do not speak of her as if you knew what happened!" His voice was seething in hate; grey eyes looked cloudy as the storm outside. He knelt down on the floor and grabbed his collar; treating him as he they weren't even related. "You are only a mere child, don't act like you know anything. If only you weren't important to the Ichinose Corporation, I would have beaten you to death years ago!"

"…Try beating us up again this time, I won't hesitate to fight back."

Grey eyes widen, he was shoved harshly and he fell pathetically on his bottom. He gasped, looking at his 17-year old son as he stood up and he fixed his collar, glaring at him while his at it.

"Old man." He said menacingly. "If you try hurting Tokiya again, I will avenge him."

No, this was not his son. It was Tokiya's dual-personality. The reason why he stopped hurting his son was because of this horrifying creature. Unlike his weak-willed son, this being had the backbone to threaten him. He remembered, back when Tokiya was 7 and it was also the first appearance of that monster.

"Do this again and I won't hesitate to defame you." The being, who called himself as 'Hayato, warned. "I will report it throughout the company, to the news, to every single person in this world, how much of a sick bastard you are and how you treat your son like this!"

After 10 years, this completely disappeared from his mind. And this monster just had to remind him.

"I don't care what bullshit are you against, but I'll make myself clear." Blue eyes were cold; warning Hajime of all the things Hayato can do and will do if he crosses the line again. "Don't. You. Dare. Hurt. Tokiya. Again."

With that, Hayato turned around and left to God knows where while Hajime stayed on the floor, completely dumbfounded at their sudden reunion.

…

Hayato jumped on his bed, caressing his swollen cheek.

"That fucking old man…!" He growled, fishing out Tokiya's phone from the pocket of his jeans and he started fiddling with it.

As you all know, Hayato appears when Tokiya hears a sound that 'resembled' danger. But he also appears when Tokiya is in danger. But that rarely happens because he believed that his other-self isn't careless enough or wasn't the type to get into fights. So when Hayato 'woke up', only to feel an excruciating pain on his face, it certainly didn't make him laugh.

He continued playing on Tokiya's phone, only to see an 'event' written on his calendar. He blinked and clicked on it, blue eyes widened when he read the reminder and its details.

Sunday.

Meeting Place: Sakuramichi Street

Event: Date with Haruka

Be there before 10 o'clock!

Hayato immediately checked on the time, his heart nearly jumped out from his chest. It was already 11 AM. An hour after their meeting time. He looked outside the window, it was raining hard. Judging from Haruka's stubbornness, he guessed that she's still waiting there in the middle of the rain.

He didn't even properly change his clothes. He just took a white shirt and a blue jacket from Tokiya's closet and wore it as fast as possible. Because he was already wearing jeans, he had no problems with that. He wore a pair of socks and wore his pair of sneakers. He immediately headed out and called their driver, telling him to drive him to Sakuramichi or wherever this place was.

…

It was raining hard.

Haruka didn't move a step away from where she was standing. She was drenched from head to toe; she looked like some pitiful lost kid. She wanted to cry, she really did. She couldn't believe that Tokiya just ditched her out-of-nowhere.

'He didn't ditch you.' A hopeful voice inside her head assured her.

'If he didn't,' A mocking voice asked. 'What do you call this?'

Haruka sneezed.

She took a handkerchief from her purse and wiped her face. She has been feeling cold for a while, but her body felt uncomfortable warm. Her sight has become rather hazy for quite some time now. She wondered if she's gotten the flu, after all she stood in the middle of the rain for an hour.

She shook her head, not wanting to be pessimistic.

"You just sneezed." She told herself. "Just because you sneeze doesn't mean you have—"

And then she blacked out.