Chapter 28: Little White Lies
"When it started we had high hopes,
Now my back's on the line, my back's on the ropes."
--Coldplay. "Yes"
Of all people.
Satsuma Aiko.
Of all the billions of females in the world.
Satsuma Aiko.
Rei just stared in utter disbelief. Satsuma. She who had made Rei's short-lived high school life hell. She who was probably the devil's spawn herself.
Satsuma Aiko was Rei's boyfriend's fiancée.
Tyki looked like he'd turned into stone. His face was blank, his eyes dull, as he simply stared at Aiko with uncertainty. Rei knew Tyki's disposition—unlike Lavi, who didn't particularly care about who he had one night stands with as long as she was pretty, Tyki actually analyzed a girl's personality before bothering to flirt with her. Looks didn't do much for Tyki, seeing as he himself was beautiful…but lack of substance in personality was a turn-off for him, and Rei could see the apprehension crawl into his features.
"Well?" said Aiko haughtily in her terrible English. "Why are you so surprised? It's only natural for me, heiress of the Satsuma Company, to be the Tyki Mikk's fiancée, no? I, after all, have the natural bearing of royalty! So, commoner, be so kind as to let go of my fiancé's arm."
"Listen here, Satsuma," said Rei with poisonous sweetness, her language slipping into Japanese to alleviate her ears from listening to Aiko's awful speech, "Tyki and I happen to be dating, so if you think you're going to get to my boyfriend that easily, you have another thing coming."
"Dating?!" said Aiko, horrified, answering in their native language too. "Dating you?! Who'd want to date you?! You, who has no sense of fashion or common sense—how could you stand on par with my gorgeous fiancé?!"
"Tyki," said Rei in English, turning to him and trailing a finger up his cheekbone. The action seemed to jolt him out of his trance, and he looked at her questioningly. "Why don't you let Satsuma and I have some alone time so we can work things out a bit," she said, her lips hovering over his. "You don't mind? You can just wait in our room…"
"Sorry," he said breathily, bending down and meeting her lips swiftly. "I'll stay. This happens to concern me."
"Ah, but I'll be speaking in Japanese because she seems to have some difficulty understanding high-flown English, you know? Do you mind?"
Tyki smirked at her out-of-character friendliness, knowing that it was just a façade to show Aiko how well they got along. He kissed her lingeringly again.
"Of course not."
"Thanks." Rei turned to Aiko again, pleased as Tyki wrapped his hands around her waist. "So, Satsuma…"
"There's no way in hell that my fiancé would willingly go out with you," said Aiko murderously. "You must have drugged him."
"That's petty," said Rei smoothly. "Tyki and I are…very much in love." Rei cringed inwardly at her cheesy words, thankful that Tyki could not understand them. While he'd picked up some Japanese, it wasn't enough for him to follow their conversation.
"Ha," said Aiko with a sneer. "I doubt that. Tyki-san will fall for me instantly—after all, who can resist me? I'm beautiful," she added, flaunting her long black hair by tossing it over her shoulder. "And besides, you can't compare, Matsumomo. Your small chest can't possibly compare to my D-cups."
"Here we go," muttered Rei, rolling her eyes. "Again you have emphasized your stupidity—you think the only thing that's good about you are your boobs, which you seem to believe is the only thing guys look for. But no, Satsuma, men happen to look for intelligence—which you seem to be lacking awfully, considering the many times you were…number two hundred out of two hundred one? And wasn't number two-hundred one just an imaginary student the school put in their rosters to make you feel better? Yeah, that might've not occurred to you."
"I don't need intelligence," said Aiko hotly. "Once I marry Tyki-san, I'll be royalty, and everyone will pamper me like none other—the world will be at my feet!"
"It's Portugal!" said Rei exasperatedly. "Since when did the world revolve around it?!"
"That's not the point!" said Aiko, her face beginning to get flushed. She took a deep breath, then smiled again. "You know, Matsumomo, that I happen to know everything about you."
Rei's stomach gave an unpleasant lurch.
"What do you mean?" she said warily.
"Well, how about…you were Kanda-san's bodyguard?" said Aiko sweetly. "And that your father's been missing, and that the only reason you could even possibly make it to this international stage is because of Tyki's power?" Aiko let out a dramatic sigh. "You know, the paparazzi managed to get to me when I landed here in Spain. I happened to let it…slip…your history, I mean. You might want to watch the news," added Aiko brightly. "Let you know what's going on, and how the rest of the world sees you as a lying, cheating slut—"
"You bitch—"
Rei moved out of Tyki's arms and lashed out at Aiko, the palm of her hand connecting with Aiko's blemish-less cheek instantaneously. The slap resonated through the empty lobby, causing several eyes to stare.
"Don't think you can get to me, Satsuma," said Rei with a steely glint in her jade eyes. "So what if the paparazzi know? It's troublesome, but it's not like I was trying to hide it deliberately. But what goes on in my life is none of your business—don't think you can just stick your nose into my affairs and get away with it."
Tyki caught Rei's hand and brought it down slowly to her side, making sure that she wouldn't strike out again.
"I think that's enough for tonight, mm?" he said, nuzzling her neck. "Let's return to our room."
Aiko let out a high-pitched laugh. "You think you can just hit me and not be punished? You've hit me! You've taken away my fiancé! He's not your man, Matsumomo. His brother has dictated that I be his fiancée, not you. You think your petty emotions could override royal orders?"
"You are really annoying," said Tyki bluntly. He seemed to have been able to understand that last sentence.
Aiko's face flushed at Tyki's words, but she managed to smile tremulously.
"I love you, Tyki-san," she said. "I'm your fiancée—and I won't let anyone get in my way of it."
"What you love are his title, his looks, and his money," said Rei coldly. "Try me, Satsuma. The more you cling to him, the worse it'll get. And don't think that I won't bitch-slap you to the next era—I don't care about letting my image slip up a bit."
Without another word, Rei took Tyki's hand and pulled him out of the lobby, uneasily noticing that Aiko had a vindictive smirk plastered to her disgusting face.
They were in the confinements of their room. Tyki shut the door behind him as Rei strode quickly to the television, flipping it on with an angry expression on her face. It took her a while to navigate to the gossip channel, and when she got there, she sat down right in front of the T.V., her green eyes scanning the screen.
"Do you think she was just threatening me?" she said sharply.
"I don't know what you're talking about," sighed Tyki. "I couldn't follow your conversation that easily…"
"She said she let it 'slip' that I used to be Kanda's bodyguard," she said. He could hear the worry begin to seep in her voice. "Shit…what am I going to do?"
"…Seriously?" said Tyki, sitting down beside her. "That would not be good…Cyril must've been involved in this too…maybe she was just lying…maybe…"
His voice trailed off when the T.V. flashed the words "Breaking News!" A woman excitedly sat at a table, microphone in hand; beside her was a picture of Tyki and Rei.
"SHIT!" said Rei aggravatingly, slumping down on the ground.
"Breaking news!" said the newscaster eagerly. "It has been announced that Tyki Mikk, Portugal's superstar and notorious playboy who was destined to be the bachelor extraordinaire forever—"
"Ow, that's harsh," said Tyki with a wince.
"—now has a fiancée! Though it was an arranged marriage, the fiancée seems to be greatly interested in Tyki!"
The scene now flashed to Aiko climbing out of a plane, her attractive face marred by an enormous sneer.
"Aiko Satsuma is the sole heiress of large Japanese corporation Satsuma Company, a company that produces mostly clothing products. Satsuma has been named Most Beautiful Teenager in Japan for two years running, and has often been commended for her affiliation with large brand-name companies. It seems that the marriage was arranged mutually between Cyril Camelot and Daisuke Satsuma and will be a great benefit to both parties: the Satsuma Company has a good bit of political influence in Japan and is also very wealthy, while the royal family in Portugal is…well, royalty. Today, as Miss Satsuma was leaving the plane in Spain, she stopped for a moment to speak with some of us."
They were now watching Aiko speaking in front of a camera, her lips parted in a vindictive smirk.
"So tell us, Miss Satsuma," said one male reporter, "what do you think of the partnership that is going on between Tyki and Rei? They've made it clear that there's no real romance involved, but are you worried about it?"
"Not particularly," said Aiko in her accented English. "After all, I used to go to school with Matsumomo, and she's not a very…sophisticated character. I don't think Tyki would like that kind of girl. She's not attractive—no fashion sense whatsoever—and she's mean. I heard she pushed a girl down the stairs because she didn't like her, and then she exploded a can of soda amidst a crowd because she wanted Kanda Yuu all to herself."
"She what?!" said the reporter, aghast.
"It's true," said Aiko dramatically. "I witnessed it all…"
"So she likes Yuu Kanda then?" inquired the reporter.
"I don't know," admitted Aiko. "I also heard that she was working for him as a bodyguard. She's somewhat…unworthy of being by Tyki's side."
The scene shifted back to the main news lady, who was pursing her lips into a fine line as she surveyed the camera.
"Well, what scandalous accusations!" she said, almost horrified. "To think that Rei Matsumomo, who is cooperating with the Tyki Mikk, could be this kind of person! Will Rei respond? Or is she truly what Miss Satsuma says she is? We'll have to see!"
Tyki flipped off the T.V., feeling disgusted. This was problematic…and he hated the paparazzi now more than ever. He chanced a glance over at Rei, whose expression was unreadable. He didn't know how she was going to react—she wasn't used to the fame, nor was she used to the difficulties that came with it, the assumptions on her unknown character, the public reactions…
"…Rei?" he said anxiously.
There was no answer. Tyki tried again, preparing himself for the worst: for her to start bawling, or for her to explode. Either seemed highly likely.
"…Rei?" he said again.
Rei got up without another word and headed for the closet, pulling out a suitcase. Tyki stood up and approached her from behind, not knowing what to expect as she fumbled through the zippers.
"…What are you looking for?" he asked warily.
"I'm going to murder that bitch," she said in a voice much unlike her own.
"…I, I don't know if that's a good idea…what exactly are you looking for?"
"Your gun."
Tyki reached down and pulled her hastily away from the closet, dragging her to the bed and plopping her down on it. She struggled to get back up, her expression livid, but Tyki pushed her down on the bed and held her in place.
"Now, Rei," he said calmly, keeping her pressed down with some effort. Anger seemed to fuel her strength, and Rei's face was contorted in such rage that Tyki was vaguely aware of her murderous capabilities.
"I pushed someone down the stairs?!" she said furiously. "I sure as hell didn't—she pushed that girl down the staircase and blamed it on me, and it was only because Lee-sensei knew me as a scholarship student that I didn't get in trouble—"
"Rei."
"—and yeah, I exploded a can of soda into her face but that was only because Kanda was sick of her clinging to him like a slutty octopus and he told me to get rid of her! How DARE she accuse me—"
"Rei!" said Tyki firmly. "That's not the point right now—you have to deal with the public, and you have to decide what to say. If the entire world sees you as some flighty jerk of a woman, our photos are going to be ill-received. That's the most important thing right now. And you know as well as I do that you can't very well cause her physical injury—right now, she's holding more cards than you are."
Rei inhaled deeply, held the breath for a few seconds, then let it out. Her expression cleared a bit, but her emerald eyes still flashed in fury.
"You don't believe her, do you?" she said accusingly.
"As if I would believe that kind of girl over my own girlfriend," he said consolingly, letting his forehead rest on hers. "It's all right. Calm down. It'll be fine. I'll be with you to talk to the public."
Rei exhaled again, her green eyes fluttering shut. Seeing that she was no longer struggling his weight, Tyki removed his hands from her wrists and brought them to her face, caressing her cheek lightly. Rei reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, sighing against his skin as she hugged him tightly.
"Of all the women in the world," she said softly, and there was still a grimace in her voice, "it had to be her. I can't believe it…she's so…ugh," she said, shaking her head in revulsion as she tightened her grip around his neck. "I can't lose you to her. Not her. She's so…goodness, I can't even describe how much I hate her. She's like a Venus flytrap; she's all pretty and sweet on the outside, but once she gets you, she'll just go 'chomp, chomp' and eat you up."
"Rei, you're choking me with your grip," said Tyki dryly, amused with her nonsensical talking. After she relaxed her hold a bit, he spoke again. "You're not going to lose me to her. Believe me."
"Prove it," said Rei, moving her lips from his ear to his cheek, then kissing her way to his lips. "Mm…"
"If you want me to prove it that way, then by all means," he murmured, kissing her deeply.
He slid his hands up her shirt, taking her thin waist into his hold as he kept her body under his. Rei reached up and garlanded his neck with her two interlaced hands as she kissed him back gently. She seemed to still be fueled by her great animosity toward Aiko, as well as the image of losing him to her archenemy, for Rei was being much bolder than before. Every kiss was hot and heavy; Tyki opened his mouth against hers, intending to begin French kissing her, but she took the initiative and slipped her tongue into his mouth. He chuckled slightly, pulling away a bit, allowing her to muster up enough energy to flip them over. Surprised, he pushed up a bit against her, disliking the feeling of being on the bottom, but Rei ignored him and continued to trail her lips down his neck. Her hands slipped to the bottom of his shirt and slipped under the cotton cloth; the tips of her fingers ghosted his toned stomach, making him shudder.
"Bolder today, aren't you?" he said breathily as she tugged his shirt up.
"Isn't that a good thing?" she replied, kissing his stomach and moving gradually upwards.
"True, but I don't like being on the bottom," he breathed, nuzzling her neck. "Let me lead."
"No," Rei said stubbornly as Tyki flipped her over, pinning her arms over her head. "I—"
He silenced her with another kiss and began to push up her shirt, letting his hands roam her entire torso. She shivered at his touch, evidently uncomfortable with the extent of their contact, and struggled to escape his grasp.
"You were the one who came onto me," he said teasingly, taking the skin over her collarbones into his teeth and sucking on it. "Don't be struggling now…"
"Stop," she gasped as he bit down. "That'll leave a mark…"
"My intention exactly…"
There was a loud knock on the door, drawing their activities to a close. Tyki collapsed down beside Rei, and neither of them made a movement to answer it.
"You go," she said wryly.
"You do," he answered, tracing a finger on her cheekbone. "You're closer."
"You're the guy."
"You're the girl."
"That's the point."
"Just go."
"I don't wanna get up."
Tyki heaved a sigh, sitting up and climbing over her to get the door. She followed suit, much to his amusement.
"If you were going to get up anyway, then you could've just gotten it."
"I felt bad," she said simply, standing behind him as he opened it.
It was Aiko.
"How indecent," snorted Aiko as she glared at the two of them. "Sharing the same room?!"
"What do you need, Satsuma?" said Rei frigidly.
"I'm here to warn you," she said loftily, holding up a sheet of paper. "Due to your terrible, violent actions in the lobby, I now have had a restraining order put on you."
"…Because I slapped you?" said Rei incredulously.
"Indeed! The horror," said Aiko. "Well, the Spanish police as well as my personal bodyguard forces have agreed that you are a threat to me, and you aren't allowed to come within fifty meters of me at any time."
"…What?"
"You heard me, commoner," said Aiko with a smirk. "You can't be within fifty meters of me. And just letting you know, I happen to be living in the room right next to this one…which is in a fifty meter radius. In other words, you can't stay here."
"She has to," said Tyki with uncustomary coldness. "We have reasons and she has to stay by me—"
"We'll just switch a room," said Rei frostily.
"Ah, well, my bodyguards happen to consist of many people, and all other rooms are unavailable," said Aiko sweetly. "Which means you'll have to move hotels!"
"What the hell, Satsuma?!" said Rei furiously.
"Language, Matsumomo," said Aiko, waving her index finger in a "no" motion. "Watch yourself. The entire police force is backing me. And did you watch T.V.? Things aren't looking so good for your image, mm?"
"You bitch—"
Rei made an instant movement to slap Aiko again, but Tyki caught her arm quickly and held her back.
"Watch yourself," he said warningly. "If you hit her again, it's going to be problematic."
"Ah, see, hubby understands me," said Aiko venomously, blowing an air-kiss at Tyki. He resisted the desire to throw up. "So Matsumomo, let's see what you can do now, mm? I'm afraid Tyki-san won't be able to help you any. He won't be able to stand your ugly face for very long—I mean, who can resist me? I've had so many awards for my beauty—you can't possibly compare. So no, Tyki-san won't help you."
"What makes you think that?" said Tyki dryly. "As long as you're nowhere near—"
"Ah, but do you really think I won't be anywhere near you?" said Aiko with vindictive pleasantness. "No, me and hubby need some nice, bonding time…"
Rei slammed the door shut in her face, but the thick block of wood wasn't enough to block out Aiko's calling voice.
"This isn't an empty threat, Matsumomo!" she said jubilantly. "If you don't leave this room, the police will be here to escort you out!"
Her strident laughter died away from their ears as Aiko left the hallway. A few seconds passed, and they heard the door next to their room shut. So she really was right next to them…
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" said Rei feverishly as she began pacing the room, gripping her head between her hands. "What the bloody hell!? The entire police force?! How does she—"
"It's probably Cyril," said Tyki calmly. "Well, we can't have you switching hotels—who knows, you might be kidnapped along the way…the best bet is for you to room with Kate."
"I hate inconveniencing people…" said Rei, leaning heavily against the wall.
"She won't care," said Tyki, shrugging. "She was fine with it before, and she'll probably be jumping for joy once she hears that I'm not rooming with you anymore."
"Sorry for inconveniencing you like this," said Rei miserably when Kate handed her a set of bathroom toiletries.
Tyki had just explained to Lavi and Kate about their situation, and Lavi seemed absolutely amiable with it, as always. They'd decided to call room service for an extra bed in both of their rooms, and Lavi would room with Tyki while Rei roomed with Kate.
"No, it's fine," said Kate reassuringly. "I…I needed a break from…right, well, don't worry about it. I'm actually really glad you're here."
Rei looked at Kate with a peculiar expression.
"…Are you and Bookman having problems?" she asked warily.
"Problems? Oh, no, far from it," said Kate shakily. "No, definitely not…"
Rei was disturbed and continued to scrutinize Kate's expression. She realized that the German model's eyes were red.
"What's wrong?" questioned Rei, sitting Kate down on the bed and looking at her. "Did Bookman do something?"
"No," said Kate, tears leaking out of her hazel eyes. "No, it's all my fault. He's too good for me, and…and I'm an awful person…."
"You are not," said Rei chidingly. "You're a really, really nice person."
"No, I'm not!" wailed Kate, burying her face in a pillow. "I'm judgmental and awful!"
"You're not!" said Rei, patting her on the shoulder. "Goodness, Kate—"
"No, I'm really, really bad!" she sobbed. "I judged you the first time I met you, right? A-And I'm really mean to people and I always speak my mind—"
"You're not mean, you're just frank," said Rei soothingly. "That can be a good thing."
"I tried to kill your boyfriend with my shoe!"
"I've thought of doing that sometimes too," confessed Rei. "It's okay."
"I hate your boyfriend!"
"Well, that's not nice, but you're not dating him, so that's all that matters. Kate, what's going on? This is completely not like you. I'm supposed to be the one crying into a pillow because my boyfriend happens to have a bitch of a fiancée—"
"Speaking of her," said Kate, lifting her face from her pillow and looking up at Rei. Her face was covered in mascara and tears. "Why are you letting her push you around again?"
"Because she put a restraining order on me," said Rei lightly, clenching her hand into a fist as she imagined Aiko's simpering expression. "I managed to slap her because she was all up on Tyki earlier."
"Oh," said Kate, now more composed. "Good going."
"Thank you. Now, care to tell me what's going on?"
Kate shook her head.
"There's really nothing wrong," she said honestly. "I just…sometimes I feel insecure because I'm so much older than Lavi and…and what if he gets tired of me or—"
"Kate!" said Rei indignantly, hitting her on the head lightly. "I highly, highly, highly doubt anyone could get tired of you. Have you looked in the mirror? And you have a great personality—"
"My last boyfriend dumped me because he said I was too violent," she said grimly.
"Well, that's his loss and your gain. I'd personally beat the crap out of Tyki dumped me for that reason, but I guess that would just be reinforcing his point…well, you're not violent, you're just…passionate. Now cheer up, okay? I don't like seeing you depressed."
Rei handed Kate a Kleenex and helped her clean up the mascara smeared over her cheeks.
"You're right," Kate said, blowing her nose. "Being depressed really doesn't suit me—let's do something…keep my mind off of…oh, hey, let's play Wii."
"…Oh…kay," said Rei uncertainly as Kate suddenly bounded up and pulled the electronic system out of cabinet. "Uh…I've never really played…"
"What?!" said Kate, scandalized. "Dear goodness, didn't you Japanese people make the Wii? It's the greatest creation in the world—here, let's play baseball—"
"Oh," said Rei, bemused as Kate thrust the white remote in her hand. "Uh—"
"It's motion sensing, so you'll be fine as long as you know how to play baseball," said Kate brightly. "Oh, beware, I murder at this game. Not being arrogant or anything, but it's the truth. I destroyed Lavi…"
At the mention of Lavi's name, Kate's face fell and her voice trailed off. Rei was seized the desperate need to turn the conversation around—something must've happened between them.
"So!" she said with feigned cheerfulness. "How are you good at this again?"
"I used to play softball in middle school, which is pretty similar to baseball," answered Kate, winding her arm like she was going to pitch. "I was the pitcher, and a damn good one at that."
She made the motion of throwing the ball while Rei just fixated her gaze on the T.V. screen, only to see the ball pass a still-standing figure.
"Rei!" said Kate. "You're supposed to swing!"
"Oh."
"Here let's try that again."
Kate wound her arm and threw forward; Rei saw the ball moving across the screen and swung haphazardly, only to see the ball pass her figure easily.
"…You're not very good at this, are you?" said Kate weakly.
"Sorry. Maybe you're just too good. That must explain how all your shoes connect with men's heads so nicely."
Kate snorted and prepared to switch the games, while Rei's mind trailed back to her big issue: Aiko.
"Kate, have you ever been in big trouble with the paparazzi?"
"Not really," shrugged Kate. "I've had a couple bad outfits, et cetera, but nothing huge. Why? Did the fiancée spill the beans about your background?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, it's not a big deal, working as a bodyguard."
"She said I pushed a girl down the stairs in high school."
"Did you really?" said Kate excitedly.
"That's sort of the wrong way to take it," frowned Rei. "Of course I didn't. She did it and blamed it on me."
"Oh," said Kate with a sigh. "I didn't want to be the only bad girl around."
"What is up with you today?" said Rei anxiously. "You're not a bad person!"
"What if I told you that I was kicked off my middle school softball team because I purposely threw a ball into this girl's face? I ended up breaking her nose."
Rei didn't have anything to say to that except for,
"Well, she must've been a bitch, so you're excused."
"Exactly!" said Kate. "That's what I told my coach, but that excuse didn't fly…"
Rei let out a laugh and patted Kate on the shoulder.
"Good thing that didn't get out into the public…"
"Look, Rei, if the public image of you is bad, then all you have to do is go out there and prove your worth," said Kate seriously. "You're thinking far too hard about the public—the next time we have a press event, just dress up, look stunning, outshine that fiancée of Mikk's and show the world that you're not whatever the hell she said you were. Someone's gotta notice that she's a sly, lying little jerk."
"Kate, I can't look stunning for the life of me—"
"You seriously believe that?" said Kate with a raised eyebrow. "I guarantee you, give me a week, and I can make you absolutely gorgeous. Posture, catwalk, everything. Trust me."
"Right, well, I don't know about that—"
There was a knock on the door. Rei walked over and opened the door. It was Tyki and Lavi.
"Hey," she said. "Something wrong?"
"Marian's pissed," sighed Tyki.
"…At Satsuma?" said Rei hopefully.
"No, at you," said Lavi.
"What did I do?!"
"He reckons you shouldn't have slapped her so fast," said Tyki wearily.
"But—"
"He also thinks we shouldn't be dating," said Tyki.
"What?! He supported it initially!"
"Well, he doesn't care any more because he got the magnetic attraction pictures he wanted."
"That is so—"
"Let me guess," said Kate, approaching her from behind. "Cross is holding a gathering of some sort, and all the paparazzi are invited."
"Bingo," said Tyki tiredly. "And guess who's the star…"
"Me," said Rei glumly, feeling very down.
"Yeah…"
Kate let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair as she stared into space with a very thoughtful expression on her face. Rei couldn't help but notice that Kate seemed determined not to look at Lavi, who was looking pleasantly bewildered with Kate's avoidance.
"How long until the party?" asked Kate.
"About a week," answered Lavi, who seemed anxious to establish some sort of eye contact with her.
"Okay," said Kate, nodding, still not looking at Lavi. "We can work this out. Rei, you're not allowed to leave this hotel. We're going to work on everything that will make you seem like a fabulous model—being tutored by me has its benefits, of course—and we're going to put a halt to all photo shoots."
"You can't just decide that by yourself," said Tyki incredulously.
"Try me," retorted Kate. Some color was flowing back to her cheeks as she grew more animated. "During that time, you can't meet with Rei, Mikk."
"What?! You can't limit my time with my own girlfriend—"
"You can go bonding with Lavi," she snapped back. "I need for Rei to be perfect at the party—this is crucial to her public image. She needs to learn how to become beautiful—not that she isn't already, but she needs to learn how to always be beautiful and be comfortable being pretty. I can't have you distracting her training."
Tyki threw up his hands.
"Why can't we just tell the paparazzi that Satsuma is a lying little cheat who is only engaged to me because my brother is forcing me—in other words, the truth!"
"Do tell me," said Kate mockingly, "how many scandals you've been in, Mikk, and how you wormed out of them. Oh wait, did you always tell the truth to the public? Yeah, I don't think that worked most of the time. Your reputation's none too clean, and the words of a playboy and newbie are going to be fruitless blows against the supposedly innocent fiancée and the Portuguese royal family. Use your brain, nutcase."
"But I want to meet with Tyki!" said Rei, scandalized. "If you don't let me meet him, Satsuma will be all over him."
"That's a good thing," said Kate.
"What?!"
"Just trust me," said Kate soothingly. "Deal, guys? Deal. Okay, goodnight—starting from right now, Mikk, you can't meet with Rei—"
Kate retreated into the room and prepared to shut the door. Tyki caught it, his golden eyes gleaming.
"Don't try to be splitting me and Rei up just because you're having problems with Bookman," said Tyki through gritted teeth. "If you're going to sort them out, Kate, be a mature adult and do it without involving us—"
"Goodbye," said Kate brightly, kicking Tyki in the shin and slamming the door, locking it swiftly afterward. "Now, chop, chop, Rei, we have a lot of work to do—"
"I refuse to do this," said Rei seriously. "Tyki is sort of my only support right now, and while I think you're a wonderful person, this doesn't quite concern you—I need to talk to him—"
"Rei," said Kate in a voice that made Rei shut up. She looked all teary-eyed again.
"Kate," groaned Rei. "Don't do this guilt-trip thing with me, it's not going to work—"
"I'm having problems with Lavi," said Kate, a clear teardrop sliding down her cheek. "This break is important for me, and it's equally important to you. Please."
Rei heaved a sigh.
"I'm going to meet with him in secret," said Rei threateningly.
"As long as I don't catch you, I don't care."
"Fine," said Rei, blowing out a breath. "And this little training session better be worth it, Kate—if I'm going to be away from Tyki for a week while Satsuma's flirting with him, you better ensure that I beat her, somehow."
"Don't worry," said Kate, brushing away her tears and smiling—she obviously was quite the actress. "I'm one-hundred percent sure I can make you mind-blowing. And as long as you have the charisma and appearance necessary to stand along supermodels, you'll have the greater advantage over the public—I'll also have to teach you what and how to say, explain and—"
"Kate, are you ever going to tell me what exactly is going on between you and Bookman?"
Kate's smile slipped a little, but she hitched it right back, though it seemed a bit forced.
"I'm fine," she said. "You're the bigger deal—let's get you started."
A week was impossibly long. Six days had passed without Tyki getting any contact with Rei—he'd tried calling her, but it seemed that Kate had confiscated Rei's phone, and his many inquiries at their door had been ignored.
Tyki hated sharing a room with a guy, and though he got along fine with Bookman, Lavi was being unnaturally moody. It also didn't help that whenever Tyki went out of the room, he was found ten minutes later by Satsuma Aiko, who clung to him like a jellyfish clung to prey. And while Aiko was attractive, Tyki found her downright annoying.
Even more annoying was the fact that Rei was not there to repel her, and the constant absence of his girlfriend seemed to renew Aiko's energy in attacking him, which just led to an increased amount of aggravation on Tyki's part.
So Tyki tried to stay in his room most of the time, but at one point or another, Lavi's moodiness became too irritating to bear, and Tyki snapped.
"Look, for the last time, Bookman, if you're having problems with your girlfriend, knock on her fucking door, drag her aside, and make out with her like you always do. And make sure your shagging session lasts over an hour—I need some time with Rei."
"I don't know why we're having problems!" said Lavi with uncustomary anger. "We were doing perfectly fine—she's a great person, great woman, but we were having this pretty deep conversation and—"
Tyki groaned. "Don't tell me—you proposed to her."
Lavi blinked a few times, absorbing Tyki's prediction.
"Well, no, not really, but I think I mentioned at some point that I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with her," said Lavi sourly. "But now that I think about it, I might take that statement back."
"Bookman, that was basically saying you wanted to marry her."
"It was not," said Lavi stubbornly. "If I wanted to marry her, I would've said so."
Tyki let out another groan and rolled over on his bed, bored out of his mind. Time for another trip out—hopefully he could last fifteen minutes without Satsuma knowing.
"I'm going," he announced, standing up and putting on a jacket. "Call me if anything happens—I dunno, maybe your girlfriend will stop being an absolute tyrant and will release her little prisoner of war."
"I'll let you know," said Lavi sullenly.
Tyki gave an appreciative nod and left the room. Maybe he'd go for a drink at the bar—it was a little after ten p.m., and he would probably have some time alone. Little girls couldn't go to bars after all.
He walked down the hallway and passed by the vending machine, which a dark-haired girl in extremely short shorts stood in front of. Tyki backtracked and stared at her.
Was that Rei? He couldn't be sure. He knew that Rei could never for the life of her wear shorts that short…nor would she wear five-inch heels in the middle of a hotel. Nor, now that he was studying her, would she wear a hat in the middle of the building—Rei had previously mentioned that she hated hats because they made her hair frizzy—or wear real-diamond studs…
"Rei?" said Tyki uncertainly.
She turned around, her eyes lighting up in surprise as she looked at him. She was looking really attractive, now that he thought about it. Her hair was straightened, and it seemed like her bangs had been trimmed—though she looked a bit too Asian for his liking, she looked good, to say the least.
"Thank God," she said, rushing over to him. Her speed was reckonable, considering her shoes.
"In here," he said, opening the door to the laundry room and dragging her inside.
"I finally snuck out to get a drink—I was hoping to bump into you but I didn't want to knock on your door—you know, fifty meter radius—but I had no idea—"
"You look…fantastic," he breathed, pushing her up against the wall as he studied her face.
Her makeup was impeccable. Damn, Kate was right—she really had made Rei look like a fabulous model…or maybe it was because he hadn't seen her face in six days, and that made him realize how he, sadly enough, had missed her to some degree.
"Six days of hell," said Rei in return, draping her arms around his neck. "Kate has been an absolute…I mean, I love her, but man…whenever she wasn't teaching me or rapping me on the back about my posture, she was just depressed and wouldn't tell me what was going on with her and Bookman—"
"Tell me about it," said Tyki dryly, nuzzling her neck. "Bookman's been downright strange—he's never like this. It's annoying as hell."
Rei kissed Tyki comfortingly on the cheek as his hands wandered up her thighs, eventually pushing her against the wall so that she was sitting her weight on his arms.
"Who said you could wear such short pants?" he questioned, kissing her on the lips.
"Kate," said Rei simply, deepening their kiss.
"I refuse to see you in such scandalous clothing—you can wear it for me, but in public…you don't look like you're wearing pants at all."
"That's what I told her," said Rei acidly, "but she insisted that they showed off my legs…"
"And fine legs you have, my dear," he murmured, kissing her deeply and cutting off their conversation.
His hands stroked her legs as he dominated their kiss—he made it a bit more forceful than normal, savoring the sensation of being able to touch her. Tyki trailed his tongue over her lips, outlining their shape, before slipping in her mouth and intensely exploring it, relishing its taste. Rei let out an unexpected moan that sent shivers down his spine—damn, she tasted amazing—he let Rei's weight balance on one arm as he slid his other hand up to the buttons of her cardigan, undoing them one by one.
The door opened abruptly, and only when Kate's voice intruded into their activities did they even break off the kiss.
"OI! What the hell do you think you're doing, Mikk?!"
Tyki leaned away from Rei, who was panting slightly for air. Her face was brilliantly flushed.
"One week!" said Kate. "You couldn't hold on for that long?!"
"No," said Tyki. "Could you?"
"Obviously!"
Lavi appeared at the doorway, looking a bit apprehensive at the position that Rei and Tyki were in. His green eyes, however, were more fixated on Kate's face.
"Look," said Tyki lightly, "if you two have problems, work them out. I need some time with my girl—it's been six days, and that's ridiculous for no contact at all—I haven't even been able to talk to her—"
"Talk, if you want," said Kate coldly, "but all you're doing is snogging her."
"Ah, well, why waste our scarce minutes talking when we could be doing something much more fun?" said Tyki pleasantly.
"Excuse me?" said Rei evenly. "So making out is more than talking to me?"
"You agree too, don't you?"
"Shut up, Tyki."
"Don't say that—it's always fun—"
"Look!" burst out Lavi. "I don't give a damn about them right now, Kate—what's going on with you?! I thought we were doing fine—I still, for the life of me, don't know why you're upset."
Kate looked taken back—her tan complexion alternated between a shade of pallor then a rosy red.
"B-because you said you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me!" she said hotly. "I—that was so awkward —"
"Sorry for telling the truth!" said Lavi exasperatedly. "But if that upset you, you could've just told me—"
"It's not that!" said Kate, her voice now shaky.
"Then what is it, Kate?!" said Lavi, taking her by the shoulders and looking straight down at her. "I don't get it—"
"You're too good to me!" she said, her voice bordering a wail.
"What?! That's a bad thing?!"
"No!" she cried. "But it makes me feel guilty!"
"Over what?" said Lavi, looking positively confused.
"I-I've slept with other m-men before," she said, now crying into her hands.
"…Well…" said Lavi awkwardly, "I mean, that's not good, but…I've slept with other women before…lots of other women…so there's really no meaning in feeling guilty, dear—"
"That's not it…" she said, sobbing. "There's one of them that I slept with that I-I feel r-really bad about—"
"Kate, I don't care, it doesn't matter—"
"N-no, I'm an awful person—"
"If you feel guilty about it, just tell me who it was," said Lavi gently, now approaching the situation with a suaveness that could only calm women down.
Or so Tyki thought. It apparently had the opposite effect on Kate.
"I-I r-r-really can't tell you," she said. "Y-you'll hate me…"
"I promise I won't. Please?"
There was a silence after his words, save for Kate's sobbing. Tyki and Rei looked expectantly at the dramatic scene.
"Kate?" said Lavi kindly.
"Please don't h-hate me."
"I won't," said Lavi patiently.
"Y-you too, Rei," said Kate.
"Me?" said Rei, bemused. "Of course I won't."
Kate took a deep breath, then said a name under her breath.
"…Sorry?" said Lavi.
"…I slept with him," said Kate wretchedly.
"Who?" said Rei, and there was a strong wariness in her voice now.
"Mikk," said Kate shakily. "I slept with your boyfriend."
Free Talk:
Sorry, one cliffhanger after another, and this probably seemed a bit random. It has a point, believe me. And sorry for the lack of other characters--it's hard juggling everyone in one chapter.
And sorry that the update is late, as well for the lack of interesting events. I don't think this was a very good chapter--sorry. I'm sinking back into Writer's Block and I'm also not doing terribly well in school right now--senioritis has hit me hard. I apologize.
Thanks to all who reviewed! We've broken 700 reviews, which is incredible. :) Thanks again!
And please review again! I'll try to update sooner--the next chapter will be the explanation of Kate and Tyki's VERY enigmatic relationship, (after all, why doesn't Tyki remember?), as well as the party. (Where hopefully Rei will do well enough to trump over Aiko, but you never know. It's Rei's life, after all. It's not too good.)
Again, sorry that this chapter isn't too great. I will try to make up for it in the next chapter.
Please review! I need the encouragement, haha. And again, in-depth discussion will be on my livejournal later. Please review!
xoxo,
m.n
