Congrats to everyone who had the correct assumption!
whointheworldbelievethat: Nice insight detective! You also spelled "intuition" correctly. =] I'm glad you had a good day!
yuukuzuri: Thanks! I'm happy you like the suspense!
6bloodyTears: What will she do indeed! Of course, I'll update on Saturdays! It's my job! ;]
Shark's Fin: You're very welcome! They have done "it" before. The first chapter described the nature of their relationship. Chapter Twenty-four and Twenty-five mentioned the second time.
Guest 1: Three words: I know right?
Ripplerose: *great leaps of jubilation* I've been dying to write about Usui since I started this story.
Guest 2: *salutes* I shall do my best. xD
"You're a fraud," she spat out.
The blonde man did not flinch at her harsh, blunt statement. He was quiet and kept a solemn face.
"Correct. I am not Gerard Walker," he confirmed.
She gritted her teeth and diverted her golden eyes towards the ground. "You deceived me."
"Yes."
"You lied to everyone."
"Yes."
"You played with my feelings."
There was no answer.
Then she looked at him. He looked compose, but his eyes told a different story. It was a bend of guilt and sympathy. She was beginning to hate those jungle green eyes. Those very eyes captivated from the beginning. It gave her false hope and she, the fool, played right into his trap.
"Well, didn't you?" she screamed. "You were toying with me from the beginning!"
He still made no comment.
"Everything. All your words, acts of kindness, and-" Misaki hesitated. She was so disgusted by the events that recently transpired, unable to continue speaking.
She took a deep breath and asked in a dangerous, cool voice. "Do you regret it?"
That earned a response from him. His composed mask broke as his eyebrows furrowed in mixed emotions. He opened his mouth. "I..." he started to say. He looked trouble, trying to figure out what to say without incurring her wrath.
His inability to respond fueled her anger and hurt.
It was a boiling point. She needed to release that energy somehow. Without thinking, her body moved on its own, striding across the bathroom in rhythmic motion. Simultaneously her right hand raised and when she was in range, she propelled her lifted hand and smacked him across the face. The strike resonated a loud slap that echo throughout the bathroom.
Misaki barely registered the throbbing pain her hand sustained. It was changing colors, but that was the least of your problems. "I regret it," she proclaimed in disgust. "I regret the fact I believed your lies and I gave myself to you." She was fighting a blush. "I regret that I said 'I love you.' I despise you. I despise you and your games you played with me. Igarashi was right. You are a fraud. I only wish I could have seen it sooner."
During her rant, he was quiet. He grabbed a wash cloth and wet it, then placed it on his cheek where she smack him. He listened to her speech while nursing his injury, but when she mentioned Igarashi, he spurred into action. The wash cloth dropped and he grabbed her shoulders. "Igarashi?" he asked. "What did he do?"
Misaki growled in annoyance. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked. She promptly removed his hands from her shoulders. "Why should I tell you what Igarashi said to me? This has nothing to do with you! Leave me alone!"
He took a step back. "I'm sorry-"
"Sorry doesn't even cut it," she snapped.
Having the last word, Misaki turned and retreated from the bathroom. She failed to see the wince he made when she slammed the master bedroom door too aggressively. Misaki hustled down the stairs and into her bedroom. She needed to change out of these stifling business outfit and into casual clothes she was more familiar with. She finished putting her top down when her phone beeped with the text message.
There were two messages. One was from Erika stating that everything was being taken cared of and hoped she feel better. The other one was from Suzuna. In Suzuna's text, she informed her older sister she was on the train towards Misaki's area and asked to be picked up. Dread well up in Misaki's stomach over the concern of her little sister's well being. Once she was decent, Misaki summoned Cedric and asked him to drive to the station. While sitting in the backseat, Misaki can think was pleading that Suzuna was all right.
When Misaki reached the steps to the station, she found Suzuna calmly sitting at the benches with a soft drink in her hand. As she approached her sibling, Suzuna turned to acknowledge Misaki's presence.
"Onee-chan," she chimed.
"Hey. I got your text. Are you okay?" Misaki rambled in exhaustion.
Suzuna arched one of her delicate eyebrow. "Seems like I should be asking you that Onee-chan," she commented. She received a defensive grunt from the other. "To answer your question, I'm fine, but I got contacted by Father." Misaki became concerned. "What did he say to you?" she inquired. She started to fear for her sister's safety.
"Not here Onee-chan," Suzuna reprimanded. "Can't we go in a secluded area?"
Misaki nodded and dragged her sister where Cedric was waiting. He and Suzuna muttered a quick hello, before he drove out of the station parking lot. "Ayuzawa-san, where shall we go?" the butler inquired. Suzuna glanced at her sister. "Want to go to your home Onee-chan?" she softly suggested.
Home.
That has an ugly ring to Misaki now. Her face wrinkled in disgust, but a puzzling look from Suzuna made her behave. "How about we go to the park? I'm sure it's empty since the kids are in school and it's closer than the mansion."
Cedric parked the car not too far from the sisters. His back rested against the door and his penetrative gaze kept a lookout for any unwanted intruders that might harassed them. Misaki and Suzuna sat on a bench. Although the park was relatively empty, the two talked in quiet voices.
"Suzuna, tell me what's wrong," Misaki pleaded.
Suzuna quietly noted the desperation in her sister's voiced. Going against her better judgement to question her sister, Suzuna complied. "As I said, Father visited me on campus and Hinata-kun was with me so I was in no danger." Misaki looked pacified; this encouraged Suzuna to keep talking. "I asked him how did he find me, but he ignored my question. Instead, he demanded me to deliver ¥700,000,000."
Misaki could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her sister had to get more yens than she was blackmailed. "Apparently, Father has been keeping track of all the contests I entered and won. He wants me to enter the lottery and go into pachinko parlors to raise enough money within three days! I told him I refused to do it, but he-"
"He threatened you by harming Mom," Misaki interjected.
"Yeah, that was he said. How did you know?"
"It's because, I got the same threat too," she answered quietly. Misaki noticed the panic in Suzuna's expression and shortly told her sister the showdown at the office. Although Suzuna had better control of emotions than her sister, she found it hard to stay compose while Misaki recounted the tale. At these rare moments, Suzuna's face morphed into fear and sadness. One look at her sister's face reminded Misaki to stay strong for her sister. It was her role after all.
Misaki quickly explained the file and gave a milder, abridge version of discovering the man posing Gerard. "I can't believe Igarashi was right about him in the file he gave me," she muttered to fill the silence.
That perked Suzuna.
"What file?"
Misaki handed her the file she received. Suzuna flipped through the file, skimming through the papers. She paused when she saw the blonde man's picture. "So that's what he looks like," she commented.
"What are you talking about?"
"Onee-chan, I knew the Gerard we met at Christmas was a fraud."
"What?"
"Let me explain," Suzuna hastily replied.
The two walked in silence. After a great distance from the house, Suzuna broke the spell.
"You are not Gerard Walker," she declared.
The companion next to her, did not bat an eyelash. "What do you mean?" He was not upset by her outburst. "You know what I mean," she countered. After that, hardly any words were exchange. It was a battle of wills. Green were pitted against gold in a frosty exchange that proved to be more potent than heat. Neither side was willing to back down.
Fresh snow falling concluded the battle. Green eyes broke contact with the other. "You're right, I am not Gerard."
"Just as I suspected. You do not have the same...air as him. He had a haughty, cruel behavior. Yours is...different," Suzuna observed.
"You and your mother are sharp. She immediately knew I wasn't your sister's husband the moment I called her," he applauded.
Suzuna shook her head sadly. "Of course, but Onee-chan doesn't know."
"Your sister had moments of doubts in the beginning, but she truly believes Gerard is alive again."
"May I ask for your name and why you are doing this?"
"I cannot disclose such information," he said tersely.
Suzuna sighed in defeat. "Very well, if you can't tell me, then at least answer this. How far are you willing to go on deceiving my sister? At this rate, we know this will end poorly for Onee-chan. Whatever your reasons may be, just be prepare. Be prepare for a lot shit that will go down."
"That was not my intention at the beginning."
"Something changed, didn't it?"
He nodded. "I will expect nothing less from your sister."
"You knew for that long and you didn't bother to tell me?" Misaki interrupted angrily. "He asked me to keep it a secret Onee-chan," Suzuna countered. "Based on the vague account he gave me and skimming that file, I have a feeling something else is greater at hand."
Misaki agreed with her sister. She recalled the file mentioning a private investigation of the Swedish hospital the man claimed to reside in his three year coma. The investigation concluded there was no hospital record of man named Gerard Walker. Another interesting note in the file was its references to medical records the Walker Family possessed. As a child, Gerard had perfect vision. This was tied into the glasses case Misaki bought with Li Yi.
Somehow, Igarashi was able to tapped into the medical records. The records displayed the fraud lacked perfect vision and had a written prescription for glasses. There was a copy of the receipt that the fraud bought Fendi's glasses, the same brand as the case. Misaki had to give him credit, Igarashi's thorough investigation and creative, yet plausible conclusions were crafted into a perfect argument for a lawyer.
She looked at Suzuna who was reading the files more carefully. "Don't you have classes to attend Suzuna?" "I only have three classes today. Two of them are done and the other was cancelled," she replied casually.
Misaki looked at her cell phone. It was getting closer to lunch time. "Well, I suppose I can take you out for lunch. Want to visit Mom? It's only right to notify her."
"We can't do that. Father told me there are men patrolling the neighborhood. We are not allow to contact her, otherwise he would harm Mom," her little sister said.
Misaki gritted her teeth. "Fine, we'll go somewhere and eat. I'm not ready to return to the estate and face that fraud." She stood up and walked towards the Cedric with her sister trailing right behind her.
As they ate lunch, Suzuna strongly urged her sister to confront the fraud and hear his side of the story. She believed that was Misaki's best bet to find a loop hole in this complicated situation. The older sister reluctantly agreed. Suzuna returned to her college campus after lunch. Misaki promised her little sister that she would not let their father get away with this behavior.
Cedric and Misaki kept a quiet conversation on the ride back. Misaki felt slightly guilty for keeping the faithful butler in the dark, but he reassured her that she can tell him whenever the opportunity was right. He pulled up to the front steps and Misaki abruptly opened the door.
She slowly walked up the stairs with her bag and file clutching in her hand. Misaki was greeted by Yukimura and he led her to a conference room. In the room, the blonde fraud was calmly sitting on the arm chair. The servant quietly closed the door, leaving Misaki isolated with him. She quietly took her seat on the couch opposite of the man.
"Let's cut to the chase. What's your name and why are you here? Don't tell me you can't disclose it. You and I both know it's far too late for me to back out," she declared.
"Indeed. My name is Usui Takumi. I am an undercover agent working on a mission to stop Igarashi Tora."
Usui officially makes his appearance!
The London Summer Olympics is here and I'm totally geeking out at the opening ceremonies. I'm rooting for all the countries! xD I'm so excited to watch it, so just a warning in advance, the following chapters might be slightly delayed.
Anyways, please review! =]