Chapter XIV

Nozomi woke up from her bed on a cold Sunday morning. She opened the drawer next to her bed and pulled out a sheet of paper with lyrics on it: "Ruteshi Kisuki Shiteru". She had suggested getting µ's to perform love song, but ended up being unable to muster the courage to go through with the suggestion. With the new distance between her and Ren, she couldn't quite admit her feelings for him, either. She and her friends came up with a new song, and that was all that mattered. She considered ripping up the paper in front of her. Maybe I should ask the cards for their opinion first. She pulled out her deck and shuffled it. She drew the Fool first. Let me guess. The Lovers is next. Sure enough, the second card she drew was exactly as she suspected. And now for the Ten of Cups. She drew the next card, and while it was a Ten of something, it wasn't a Ten of Cups. She looked at the card in front of her: the Ten of Swords. The Ten of Swords represented willing surrender and defeat. In her current predicament, this could mean one of two things. The first thing it could mean would be for her to give up on Ren, but then again that would mean that the usual Ten of Cups (marriage or resolution) was meaningless. On the other hand, it could be telling her to give in to her feelings for Ren and fall hopelessly in love with him. She reorganized her deck, and put in back in the drawer along with the unused sheet of lyrics. She needed an answer, but the cards wouldn't give it to her. She gave Ren a call. It didn't take long for him to pick up.

"Nozomi? Why are you calling so early?"

"I wanted to meet up today."

"I just got back with my family for the first time in two years. How about you come over to my place, instead?"

"Would that be alright?"

"I'm certain of it. Besides, I think I should properly introduce you to my father."

"You make it sound like we're a couple."

"We're a couple of good friends, aren't we?"

"I meant that it sounds like we're dating."

"I know what you meant. I was just teasing you."

"I never thought you teased people."

"I haven't been in a good enough mood to tease people for two years."

"So, how are things with your dad?"

"We're moving in the right direction, but it's still going to take some time. We had a bit of bonding last night after I moved back in."

"Bonding?"

"We drank whiskey together."

"You're only eighteen years old…"

"It's fine as long as it's supervised, though I definitely have a headache."

"How much did you drink?"

"Five glasses. No ice. According to my dad, I get really smug when I'm drunk."

"He doesn't sound like a good supervisor, Ren."

"He was testing to see how much I could handle, so I got to drink a little more than usual."

Nozomi sighed. Ren was clearly enjoying his return to luxury.

"It sounds like I might need to knock some sense into you. When can I come over?"

"I'll pick you up right now. Make sure you're ready when I get over there."

*click*

Nozomi washed up as quickly as she could and put on a blue dress, black stockings, a light grey peacoat, and a white beret. She might not be going as a girlfriend, but given the social status of the Hayashi family, she figured she should wear something nice. As she stepped outside of her apartment, she saw a familiar limousine parked outside. A butler stepped outside of the vehicle and opened the passenger door. Nozomi approached the vehicle cautiously, and the butler bowed as she approached. Stepping inside, she noticed Ren. He was wearing a plain white oxford, a pair of blue jeans, black dress shoes, a black leather jacket, and his usual rimless glasses. He looked at her with small smile on his face.

"You don't have to dress up so much, Nozomi. We're not going to a gala or anything like that."

"I just thought I'd look nice for your family."

Ren scooted next to her and put his arm around her shoulder, leaning back in a casual manner as he did so.

"You said so yourself, Nozomi. We're not a couple. Besides, you already passed my mother's evaluation. My father is much less discerning."

"If we're not a couple, then why is your arm around me?"

Ren recoiled his arm, his cheeks burning red.

"S-sorry. I just kind of miss having you next door. I guess I got a little carried away."

Nozomi giggled and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"It's fine. I was starting to miss the smell of your cooking."

"Is that all I am to you?"

"Pretty much…"

After passing a few more playful jabs back and forth, Nozomi and Ren reached their destination. Upon stepping outside, Nozomi's jaw dropped. Ren's "house" was massive. It would be more accurate to call it a "mansion" or perhaps even a "palace." The estate was surrounded by tall trees and a massive stone fence: They had perfect privacy in the middle of Tokyo. Nozomi had been impressed by the wealth of the Nishikino's, but the Hayashi family took affluence to an entirely new level. The house was built in a Jacobethan (a mixture of Elizabethan and Jacobean architecture) style, with stone walls and an elegant promenade. Ren led her up to the entrance as two maids opened the large wooden double doors of the house. The main entrance was astounding, with two large staircases to the second floor on either side of a hallway that ran between them.

"This is… quite the place you have here, Ren-kun."

"It was built by my grandfather on my mother's side, Satoshi Nakashima. He studied in England and fell in love with an estate known as Mentmore towers. This house is a near perfect replica of the English country house in Buckinghamshire."

"Near perfect?"

"Correct. Due to the sea level in Tokyo, we have an outdoor storehouse instead of a cellar. We also have an additional wing in the back with a dojo, a weight room, and an indoor bath. Last but not least, we are in the middle of Tokyo, so the grounds outside of the house are considerably less expansive compared to the rolling meadows of the Mentmore estate. Still, we make up for our drawbacks with an ornate garden, and of course, modern amenities."

"How old is this place?"

"My grandfather built it about fifty years ago, I think."

"Wow…"

"Anyway, let's introduce you to my father."

As if on cue, Ryu walked into the main foyer to provide a proper greeting. Nozomi looked at the man in front of her. He was even taller than Ren, and he towered over Nozomi. His hair was blood red and he had a thin mustache and a pointed goatee that resembled the kind in western depictions of the devil. His eyes bore an almost orange hue to them, flickering like flames. His face had a chiseled appearance to it, and it seemed that perhaps he wasn't entirely Japanese. However, Nozomi couldn't quite pinpoint any specific nationality. Ryu looked her up and down with a stern, cold expression on his face, but it soon softened into a small smile.

"This must be the young lady that turned me in. Am I correct?"

Nozomi nodded.

"Sorry about that, sir."

"Don't be sorry, miss. I wouldn't be standing with my son in the same room if you hadn't done what you needed to do. You have my thanks, miss… um…"

"Tojo… Nozomi Tojo…"

Nozomi bowed politely.

"Don't be so shy, Miss Tojo. Let's have a seat in the study, shall we?"

Ren and Nozomi nodded as they made their way to the study. Nozomi couldn't quite get her mind off of Ryu's foreign appearance.

"Ren-kun. You're Japanese, aren't you?"

"You're noticing this now? My father is half-German. He even has a middle name."

Ryu turned his head back to Ren.

"Could you not bring that up please?"

Ren sneered.

"Sorry about that, Friedrich."

Ryu rolled his eyes.

"Miss Tojo, I hope you're not like that. He's even worse when he gets drunk."

"So I've heard. I guess this explains why you're so tall, though."

"Indeed. Aya is about 168 centimeters tall, which is above average for a Japanese girl. Meanwhile, I stand at 191 centimeters. Ren-kun, how tall are you?"

"I'm 178 centimeters tall, father."

Ryu smiled as he sat down in an arm chair in the middle of study. Ren and Nozomi sat across from him on a loveseat.

"So, Miss Tojo. Would you like a glass of whiskey?"

"No thanks, sir."

"That's Mr. Hayashi for you. 'Sir' is far too formal."

"Of course, Mr. Hayashi."

"So, you and my son are not a couple?"

"N-no! We're just friends!"

Ryu sighed and turned to look at Ren.

"You have a lovely little thing sitting right next to you, and you don't have any romantic interest whatsoever?"

"W-well, it's not that I'm n-not interested, i-it's just that…"

"So you are interested."

Ren took a deep breath.

"Maybe…"

Nozomi started blushing at his answer. Does this mean he likes me? How do I respond to that? Ryu looked back at her as if reading her thoughts. A wry smile formed across his face.

"Well, then. I'll leave you two alone for the time being. I need to go over a few things with Aya."

He walked out of the room, leaving Ren and Nozomi together… alone.

"So… um, Ren-kun. Are you going to see me at the preliminary finals?"

Ren frowned. He had just gotten bad news about that from Haru.

"The date for our regional judo tournament got moved. I had planned on seeing you, but… I can't do that anymore."

Nozomi sighed. There had been no point in writing her love song in the first place.

"Isn't Toudou-san on your team?"

"She has permission to miss out on the tournament. The change was completely unexpected."

"Well… good luck on that… Enjoy the rest of the year."

She stood up to leave. It was pointless. Every time she tried to get close to him she'd get pushed away. As she began to walk away, however, Ren grabbed her arm and pulled her into an embrace.

"I meant what I said earlier, Nozomi. I… I like you…"

As soon as he said that, she broke the embrace.

"Give me some time, Ren. I'll have an answer by New Year's day."

With that she left… and Ren was alone once again…