-Oxford - Wednesday: Part 18-


Todoh Susumu was already mentally drained dealing with teenagers. 'I should never expect them to be as well behaved and honest as Kyoko-chan' his eyes darted towards the three of them for a moment. Neither of them seemed to really have an answer for him, no they all have slightly different answers actually. David said that Ren Tsuruga was a good guy, clearly, he cared about anyone important to Maria. Amanda had pointed out that he likely just thought of this as a way to get better in with the Royal Family, seeing that tended to be everyone's goal. They had such power and sway and if he wanted to break out of Japan, well what better way than to use them to do that. Still, they both agreed that he was kind and always smiling, they figured that the smile was likely fake at times but they couldn't tell when he was being real or not. Keiji seemed the most like him when he was a child, brilliant as they had said. Susumu was sure he had a far better idea what was going on between them if there was anything going on at all, but he simply said it was nothing important.

So when Susumu had walked into the room he felt a wash of relief that there had been an adult dressed Arabic attire thawb. The dark skinned man gave a small bow of his head, "You must be Todoh Susumu" his voice was extremely quiet, likely so the other man in the room wouldn't hear them, "I'm Ruto, Kyoko's Godfather and the Servant of the Takarada family." It was clear that Susumu was expected to know this so he gave a small bow of his head in greeting but said nothing as he moved forward in.

Kyoko was standing near one of the chairs as he walked further into the room and her smile seemed to brighten up the room somehow. the much taller Japanese man standing near her as she gave a slight nod of her head towards him, "Todoh it's wonderful to see you again." she had chosen to use his first name and he couldn't help the smile that played across his features.

'She is playing as if I have always been her lawyer, smart girl' Susumu bowed his head and looked at her, "It's always a pleasure to see you Lady Kyoko." His eyes turned towards the young man, "I'm afraid we haven't met, I'm Todoh Susumu." He said giving a more formal bow towards Ren.

Ren had stood when they had entered the room, mainly because Kyoko had done this process. He had been surprised by the new face that had entered but it was clear Kyoko was not surprised at all by the way her whole face had lit up, the bitterness that it wasn't directed at him made him grip his watch once more before mentally telling himself that he would be fine. Keiji had shot him a look as he had moved to stand near Ruto, close enough to hear what was going on but clearly not taking part in it. Ren smiled one of his best smiles and he noticed how Kyoko slightly moved away from him. 'Yes she can read me somehow' as Susumu moved and introduced himself to him he smiled brighten, "Ren Tsuruga, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Susumu."

Susumu pushed his glasses slightly back up on his nose. "I'm sure." He said taking the seat next to Kyoko as she motioned for him to sit down and join them. "I assume this is the young man you hired?" he said simply as he looked at Kyoko as if all of a sudden Ren wasn't really there or to put it simply he wasn't important and for Susumu this wouldn't be far off, Ren was only important enough when he had a purpose. Otherwise only his client was important. That was how it should always be in his mind.

"Yes... well Amanda and David want to hire him as well it seems," she said with a roll of her eyes as Amanda wrapped herself around Ren's arm pulling him back onto the couch, not that Ren couldn't have fought the force but he had simply chosen not too, he was strangely getting used to their weird habits, that he didn't even blink an eye as David sat down on the other side of him. "Seeing as this their plan, I do not plan to pay the cost for it," she said pulling her legs up into the chair and tucking them under her.

Susumu pulled his briefcase into his lap clicking it open. "Then I guess we will start there. So I need to make sure your contract is done before we agree to anything else being done," he said pulling out his laptop. Kyoko gave a small nod of her head as she looked at him. He flipped open his laptop as it booted, "With the requirement, you sent me in mind correct Lady Kyoko?" She nodded her head again and he smiled, "Wonderful, this won't take long at all then," his eyes turn towards Ren "You do agree of course? I was told that this would not be a problem and you agreed to use your acting skills to help her as she sees fit, and you set the payment requirement yourself and accepted her condition for that payment." he pushed his glasses forward on his face, "Is that all correct?"

Ren nodded his head slightly, "Yes." Not that he was exactly happy with that little addition to the requirement but if it allowed her to feel better about accepting his help, to use him as she needed without having to worry about it in the end. Then he would do it and he would make sure it allowed him to see her once it was all over with. Susumu smiled once more and crackling his knuckles his eyes turned sharp and everyone minus Kyoko stared at him as his fingers began to dance with inhuman speed across the keys on his laptop.

Even Keiji eyes moved from his cellphone to stare at the man with his keyboard, slowly he flipped open his camera and began to record it. Ruto looked at him with resulted in Keiji shrugging his shoulders. "Just want to show my brother." Ruto eyes turned from him before Amanda slowly pulled her gaze away from Susumu and his typing skills.

"Oh, really nice." Amanda said running both her hands down Ren's hand who looked at her a bit surprised by her action, "Michael still much more fit..." she said tilting her head as she bit her lower lip in thought. "What do you think my male half?" Keiji eyes turned towards Ren and smirked as he turned his camera towards the three on the couch. David ran his own hands causing Ren to jump slightly as he did so. The difference being that David shifted just enough to run his hands across Ren's shoulders. He did this in a way that wasn't awkward for David himself but the look on Ren should his uneasiness with the younger man.

"Yeah, I dunno. I think Keiji might still be sexier in the body." Ren wasn't sure what to make of this at all but he was quickly growing uncomfortable when Amanda grabbed his face.

"I dunno know I think he has the prettier face." she shook her head slightly, "Not as prettier as my male half, yet no one compares to our beauty. I mean we're like a double-sided coin, clearly we look good as a male or female that's why God made two of us to truly show our perfections and flaws even if they are perfect flaws" she said releasing Ren's face as she leaned back some "But I also don't really know how Keiji's body like."

David ran a hand down Ren's thigh and watched as Ren jumped slightly grabbing his hand and shooting him a rather dangerous glare, it was clear to everyone but apparently the two twins that they were pushing their luck at the moment. He jumped slightly when Amanda followed suit and nodded her head, the look Ren shot her had her blowing him small kisses.

"Can you two focus please?" Kyoko asked looking at them both for a moment. Kyoko had picked up that Ren was slowly slipping into his quiet anger and she really didn't want that directed at either of them, not for their teasing him anyways. She sighed heavily as she leaned against the armrest towards Susumu.

"We are..." Amanda said simply. "I know you don't shop that often, that anti-spending money thing of yours. Still one must be sure they are getting a perfect product, or at least damn near perfect," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I don't do tall, dark and handsome, I like my men tall, light and handsome."

"But I do... I like the dark and handsome ones." he said grinning at Ren "height's not an issue for me." he said looking back towards Keiji who rolled his eyes.

"I'm not interested." Ruto looked towards Keiji for a moment before looking back towards David. It was clear Ruto didn't know what to expect at the moment and was simply watching with interest at the interactions between the children in the room.

"You're breaking my heart again Keiji..." he said resting his head against Ren, "Can you believe what he does to me?" he said looking at Amanda.

Keiji rolled his eyes, "Poor you."

"Well that's because he has no taste when it comes to beauty," she said patting David's leg from across Ren who was still rather uncomfortable being between these two. Ren looked up at the ceiling, wishing to the gods that it would end soon.

"Hm. We'll hire him." Amanda said simply, as she pulled away from him. David shrugged his shoulders. Keiji canceled his recording as he lowered his phone. Ren made a mental note to make sure that he got his phone and deleted that video, it would not do him any favors if it got out.

"You sure, she is kinda on the small side," David said leaning back looking at Kyoko with a grin. Kyoko simply frowned sighing softly as she stared at the two of them, she wasn't even sure she wanted to get in the middle of whatever game they were playing at. She knew the overall plan but still the way of going about this was just idiotic to her. Yet apparently this was part of their plan and as long as Ren seemed to keep control over his anger which seemed to the case at the moment she saw no reason to try and stop them.

"Yes well that will make them stand out even more, eyes will be on them." she said with a smile, "Ren you are going to go on a date" she said simply, "You will have to make it look good though," she said looking at him carefully looking at him sadly, patting him on the knee, "Kyoko isn't exactly the dating type."

"She will really make this difficult, she's not even happy with our brilliant plan." David said shaking his head sadly as he leaned in, "I mean she would do it if it was Keiji but Amanda knows how to make people stand out in a good way. I trust her judgment, I mean it's half mine in a way."

Amanda smiled softly, "Well I wouldn't have completely come up with it without you by my side."

Kyoko stared at her before sighing heavily as she raised up on her knees leaning over the armrest, she looked at Susumu laptop, her eyes scanning it some but it was moving so quickly she caught almost nothing that was being typed. "We need another contract that matches this one a bit, the same payment plan will work, no additional conditions." Her eyes glanced "Well it might be better to leave out that condition." Susumu gave a small nod of his head as she sat back down. leaned over towards "We will need to bring up another contract."

Ren finally understood what they were doing, not that he was exactly comfortable with their little game of treating him like a piece of meat, still he couldn't help but be pleased with the idea of going on a date, even if it wasn't real with Kyoko. His eyes turned towards as he watched her lean over the armrest before he fully understood what was she was saying. "Wait they can cook?" his eyes turning towards Amanda and then David, "Safely?"

Amanda huffed slightly crossing her arms, David smirked, "We make a mean toast and jam together." he said nodding his head as if it was the greatest thing in the world.

Kyoko rolled her eyes some as she looked at Ren, "Anyone can cook if they follow instructions and don't get distracted." she said turning away from him, "It's when people stop following instructions that things get difficult..." Ren frowned he actually couldn't cook at all and it wasn't because he couldn't follow instructions or he got distracted, it just never turned out good. "Might want to make sure they are responsible for any damage done," she said sitting down on the back of her legs as she looked at Susumu who gave a small nod of his head.

Ren closed his eyes "Maybe it would be best if they found a different way of paying me..."

Kyoko eyes turned towards him, "It would look weird if I'm the only one paying you in means of food don't you think?" well the whole process was strange but he had a feeling she was trying to find a way for him to complain about the payment and getting out of it altogether. He mentally sighed as he smiled, he noted her twitched as he smiled at her.

"You are correct, I didn't think of it that way." She clearly wasn't going to look at him with that smile and not for the first time did his smile soften into a real smile as he stared at her. Her eyes turned towards him and he leaned forward. His eyes turning towards Susumu as he spoke.

"I just want to make one thing sure before you sign these papers, with all four of you," Susumu shifted his glasses as he looked mostly at the three in front of him. He was pretty sure with how badly Kyoko had been hurt this wouldn't be an issue with her but with the other three he couldn't be exactly sure more so with the way those two twins had been acting, "You are not attracted to each other in any way, are you? If so I will need to make some edits in these contracts."

"You should know that the answer would be yes," Kyoko said simply, Ren felt his heart skip a beat for a moment but then she of course went on crushing that small bit of hope he had been holding onto, "It would be stupid to say no, for any of us." she said looking at him, "It would be like asking if David was attractive or Keiji, they both are attractive men, and Mister Tsuruga is known at least in Japan for being attractive." she said closing her eyes, "But if you mean would I want to be with him in any romantic or sexual way, then no." The lights began to dim and Susumu for a moment thought perhaps the electricity was acting up, but seeing as Ren's and he seemed to be the only ones who had taken the moment to look at the lights, while everyone else was looking at Kyoko he figured out quickly that wasn't the case.

Amanda rolled her eyes, "Like I said before, I'm not into tall, dark and handsome." she said tilting her head as she looked at him.

David shrugged his shoulders "I could do him." Ren's eyes snapped towards David who looked at him and grin, Amanda didn't even seem bothered by it the statement, "What I could, don't mean I will, but I could get behind it." he leaned back looking at Susumu, "I'm totally into loving everyone equally."

Keiji shook his head, "The keywords are don't mean I will but only because the Queen Mother and the Queen herself would likely skin them both alive if they relations with anyone they didn't plan to marry." he looked towards Ren for a moment before looking back towards Susumu "I also think you should make the video I just took of him being hired into the contract between them." He smirked slightly, "Then again it should be a matter of public record, a princess and prince both fawning over an actor. In fifty years maybe sooner, they'll want to use this for a movie." he said placing the phone into his pocket. Ren glared at him and Kyoko sighed heavily.

"Mr. Tsuruga?" Ren's eyes snapped towards Susumu. "I need your answer."

"I have no plans to have any relations with any of them." he said simply, "I will not deny that they are attractive though." he left out the fact that he thought Kyoko was special to him and had been since they were children but she didn't know him as Ren and besides, it wasn't like he would do anything the fact remained her father was Lory and that would not end well for him.

"That's all that really is needed," Susumu said simply as he began to finish up the final touches. "All that's really left if for the paperwork to be signed, I will explain to you all a bit of what's in here, you'll each have your own copies," He said leaning back some, "For the contract between Princess Amanda, Prince David and Ren Tsuruga you don't have the extra requirement as recommended by Lady Kyoko. The transaction you are being hired for is one date between Lady Kyoko and yourself..." he paused for a moment, "There isn't anything you want to add to your contract for hiring him is there?"

Amanda shook her head, "Nope, just make it look it good."

David, "I think it should end with a kiss." Kyoko shot him a deadly look and he could feel something wrapping around his legs and winced, "I was joking, it's good, just as Amanda said." he whined slightly as he felt himself being freed he sighed heavily, "It should be noted that Ren will likely have to lead the date. That the date really will depend on no him pulling most of the weight. He's not Keiji so... she's not as likely to be opened with well anything."

"I'll do my best..." Kyoko muttered though it was clear she wasn't happy about it at all.

"That's not required within the contract," Susumu said simply, "You will, of course, be keeping this date clean, nothing indecent is allowed." He said shooting him a glance that caused Ren to mentally shiver, "The payment must be paid within a year of this contract being fulfilled." he smiled, "I did add that any damage that they cause, rather you getting sick or the place blowing up is their responsibility to pay for, they are however not responsible for any damage to you personally in the process." he smiled slightly, "You should likely have someone who knows what they are doing watching them," he said looking at the three of them, "Do you understand and accept these conditions?" the three nodded their heads and he went on.

"As for the contract with Lady Kyoko, the one condition is that you eat whatever she makes, without complaint. This includes your manager, friends, family, etc. Needless to say, we can't control your brainwaves…" Susumu pushed up his glasses as he went on "if you are unable to do that, whatever remains will be refunded to you in the form of whatever the average cost of a meal is… which won't be much of course. If you attempt to fight this, you will owe her the cost for breaking the contract" he said looking at him, "with the addition of 100 million yen per hour it would take on average for travel, shopping and cooking" he said simply. "As you already agreed to this, if you attempt to fight this now, I will have to add an additional 500 million yen." he closed his laptop, "This will also be supervised visits for cooking. Lady Kyoko can choose who comes along with her, this does not include her eating the meals with you, she is simply there to cook for you. You are responsible for your own cleaning. Do you have any complaints?"

Ren stared at this man, somehow he seemed scarier than Keiji or Lory or even his parents. Still, it wasn't exactly what he was hoping for but he also didn't think he would be getting a date with Kyoko either so he closed his eyes, "No." he said.

"Wonderful let us print this out, get it signed, I will be backdating it till two days ago for Lady Kyoko contract, the witness will be Ruto. For Princess Amanda and Prince David contract, Keiji will be signing as the witness, seeing as he has the video in his hand" Susumu said simply.