Thank you Blackfang64 for being the beta of this story. I need help to proofread this story (future chapters, more to come), anyone interested, please PM me. If anyone want to point out any wrong in the grammar, do so by giving out the "RIGHT" one, don't just complain without giving any solution showing people how "pathetic brat" you are.
For example : "Who you've been yesterday?" (that is wrong) the right one "Where you've been yesterday?"
Best, be the proofreader/beta if you are so uptight about the grammar! Be useful to other human here.
All readers, I'm so sorry about late update, since I only have one beta. I wish more help will come in the future. I post this update while relaxing on the beach for my vacation with someone I secretly in love...nahh...we're just friend (for now..fufu).
Chapter 1
Mukashi-mukashi, there was a princess who lived in a beautiful white castle. She had all the rich soil in the world, but the only thing that missing in her life is companionship. Living alone in a faraway land with no other creatures other than herself, she made everything around her from ice. That's the only entertainment that would keep her company.
One day, a lost deer sat in her ice garden. At first, she left it alone, for she knew that the deer would be leaving soon. But, alas, the deer would stay in her garden, night after night. Puzzled, the ice princess approached the deer ever slowly and unsurely touched the deer. The soft fur reached her senses, the deer not running from her touch. From then on, every day she would approach the deer, giving it food of fish as that was the only thing that she could manage to find for it.
As time goes by, she grew to love the deer. But the deer is a living thing; as such its time will come when the deer will leave her. The day is when she, like always, approaches the deer to give it food, but it just laid there, unmoving nor breathing. She knew, the deer had left her. She felt lost, sad and grieving. Sitting on her throne, she would cry day by day, grieving for the deer. Until one day, a fairy came to her and said "Dear child, why are you sad?". The princess raised her head to face the fairy "My friend, the deer has left me alone. Why must it die?"
The fairy sat next to the princess, touching her cold black hair "Child. All living things will die someday. Nothing is immortal and eternal. Losing our loved ones is what we all must face."
The princess hugged the fairy and cried on her bosom "If there is no eternity and immortality, then I don't need friends. I don't want to feel sad. But, knowing the deer made me know the lonely feeling. What should I do? Please, help me, cast away all these feelings."
"Is that what you want, my child?"
"Yes...I don't want these feelings; lonely, sadness, grieving...take it all away from me."
"If that is what you want, then, that is what I'm giving to you" The fairy put her hand on the princess chest and cast a spell. At the finishing of the spell, the princess's beating heart slowly stopped as white ice began encasing it in a transparent wall. With it, the vibrant black eyes of the child turn to blue and her black hair turned white. The princess from then on became a living doll with no heart and feelings...
"Well, Kruger-sama, it is a very nice classic story. So, what happened next to the princess? I bet some prince in shining armour on a white horse will give her a kiss and save her like many other fairy tale stories." The driver joked, his eyes turning to the rear-view mirror in the car.
"You think so?" an answer came from the woman, leaning comfortably on a black leather passenger seat of the luxurious car. With it, green cold eyes turned towards the rear-view mirror, now focusing on the driver's face in the reflection. The action caused the driver to feel nervous and shiver from the sudden cold air around him. Swallowing the lump in his throat, the driver tried to make his reason "Well, most fairy tales go like that, Kruger-sama."
"Haha.." the other occupant in the car chuckled. "I bet you haven't heard about Shrek"
The chuckle from the backseat lightened the atmosphere in the car.
"She...reck- what? Ah, Kruger-sama, we have arrived." The driver stopped the car and immediately made his exit to open the door for the passenger.
Putting on her black aviator sunglasses, the woman walked out from the car. Her emerald eyes peered from her glasses at the small white building with a black double glassed door. The doors split in both directions as she approached it, her feet leading her inside the building as she was met with a nostalgic scent. The air reaked of alcohol and smoke, the room was dark but in charming way she found as a few lights were still on. She was met with pairs of eyes from visitors sitting on a bench facing the bartender, a man wearing a nice suit with a bottle and glass in his hand on the other side. She walked towards the bar, her eyes catching sight of another visitor sitting at the corner accompanied by beautiful, sexy woman dressed in a very alluring outfit. A very expensive looking cigar hung on his lip with a glass of wine in his hand as he laughed aloud; giving the impression he was having a good time. A very typical high-end bar which only served rich customers, she thought.
Ignoring the surroundings, Kruger preceded to the red door on the far left of the dance floor which written 'Manager'. Without knocking, she twisted the knob and pushed it open. She found a man sitting comfortable behind his oak crafted desk as a smile greeted her. "Yah! Kruger-sama, welcome!" He walked forward and extend his hand for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you too, Yamada" Natsuki bowed lightly, shaking the man's hand.
"Come on in. What would you like? Wine? Champange?" a gruff tone coming from Yamada's invite.
"Red wine." Kruger answered as she took a seat on a leather chair.
"Red wine eh? Then I have a very good one for you." He reached for the small bar area and opened a bottle and pour the content into nice curvy glass.
"The information." She spoke after taking her first sip, her emerald eyes turning serious as they eyed the black haired businessman.
"Yes, yes...always straight to business, aren't we.?" Yamada reached from his desk as he drew a beige dyed envelope, handing it to Kruger. "Here's your target. I've already booked the event for you, it's on tomorrow at 8pm at the Garderobe Hall. You will find her there. All the information you need about her and the event is already in the envelope"
Kruger read the details, eyeing closely at the picture of a young woman. The woman smiled sweetly at the camera, her enchanted scarlet eyes shined under the bright sun. She was wearing a formal light purple office wear and her wavy brunette hair let loosely reaching her waist. Her arms extend forward to give a handshake to a man, which Kruger doesn't even care who.
"Hai. Sure... I will find you there..." Kruger smiled.
Garderobe Hall, 8pm. Fundraising Event for Orphanage
As the sun set in the distance giving off a silhouette hue under the orange light, the honour guests arrive at the Garderobe Hall in their luxury cars and expensive dresses and suits made by famous designers. It was a very nice evening with the mild climate of the autumn, though the reporters and cameramen were busily with their mic's and devices running after guests on the red carpet.
The arrival of a white limousine parking out from of the red carpet had all the paparazzi stop and go silent. The door of the white car opened and the guest that they had been waiting step outside of the car with fine and beautiful violet dress for the night. The few seconds of silence was quickly turned into chaos again as cameras and microphones started hovering around the guest.
"Fujino-san...Fujino-san! Here, here!"
The said guest turn toward the reporter and smile seductively, the flash of cameras didn't want to miss the opportunity to catch the appearance like an angel.
"I'm from Otome Magazine." the reporter started, nudging her glass as she began. "First, as the organizer for today's event, how many donations do you hope from the auctions? And Fujino-san, we heard that today there will be an auction of the rare ruby necklace from France, how much will you bid for it?"
"For donation, of course I want the highest in history, and about the ruby necklace... Where you got the news?"
"I have my sources, Fujino-san. Tell me, how much are you ready to bid for it? Everyone knows of your interest in the ruby necklace"
"Ara, ara, whatever you think, urmmm... reporter-san" the woman paused, as if waiting for the reporter to cue in.
"It's Harada… I'm Harada Chie from Otome Magazine and, I will make sure to find you again after this event, Fujino-san"
"Very well then, I won't make an effort of running away from you, Harada-san" as the last word passed the gorgeous lips, Fujino walk towards the entrance.
"Chie, Chie..." another reporter came beside Harada. "What?"
"You forgot to ask about the rivalry from the new leader of the Zhang Group."
"Atta...my bad, I should..." before Harada could finish her words, another black car came in front of the red carpet. It took a moment for the butler to open the door, maybe he's waiting for the signal from the passenger. Different from the arrival of the white car before, this time, only a few reporters were surrounding the arrival area. Some reporters still standing in front of the entrance are still in awe and some calling out like a hysteric fan. Typical paparazzi. A short waiting ended when the door open revealing another honour guest that is unknown to the reporters nor the paparazzi. The guest maybe either not famous or new in the business, as she was wearing a black suit with a red necktie. At the end of the neck tie, a silver Chinese character pin was glittering contradict to the full black suit. The mysterious guest fancied a black aviator sunglasses as they quietly stepped onto the red carpet. A serious frown clearly showed on the guest's lips, yet, the mysterious aura and charming looking face still captivated people around. It's rather tempting anyone to approach yet it's like screaming people to butt off at the same time.
Chie gather her courage to approach readying her mic to interview the mysterious guest.
"Er..err...a..anoo..." Chie stuttering before she could begin with her question.
"Excuse me, Kru-" the butler trying to intervene but a hand from his master stop him.
"Who…I mean, you are the representative of?" Chie asked nervously.
"...Zhang Group..." the husky voice answered simply.
"W..woah!" as Chie loud exclaimed, nearby reporters started to alert and questioning each other. Some already realized and heard the answer as they started to surround the guest, but by this time the butler stepped in and prevented them from approaching his master as his master continued to walk towards the hall.
As the double door open and Kruger step inside the Garderobe Hall, it was already packed full of people. The receptionist handed a card with a number and gestured Kruger to proceed to any vacant seat in the hall. Silently, Kruger went to the far end of the hall, secluded from the attention. A waiter came serving champagne but was stopped as Kruger ask for a red wine instead. The waiter complied and came back with wine, but this time he showed the wine label and asking to precede before pour them. The hall went into silence as another woman dressed formally entered the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, honouring guests. Welcome to the Fundraising event for the Fuuka Orphanage. Before we begin the auction, let us welcome the organizer for this event, Fujino Shizuru from Fujino Corporation." as if on cue, guests clapped as the gorgeous woman in a very elegant designer dress walk onto the stage, as she passed the announcer and stood before the small mic placed.
"Good evening, I'd like to welcome you all and thank you for coming tonight. Its a very nice autumn evening and here we are, together again just like last year, in the event where we tried to make the world a better place for everyone, sharing our luck and wealth with everyone. Not just to prove our credibility in Corporate Social Responsibility, but what important is showing that we care. We have love that we want to share..."
"I love you, Fujino-san! " a shout from the distance could be heard and some guests chuckle at the daring declaration.
"Ara, ookini..." Shizuru smiled sweetly under the lone light before she continued again with her speech. "Therefore, I hope you enjoy this evening and enjoy the auction. I heard that some of the items we'll be bidding today will be some rare items and it's also a surprise to me because I also don't know what it is. Thank you again, all honouring guests for attending this event"
At the end of the speech, guests clapped and maybe the same person who bravely declared his love for Fujino also clapped loudly and whistling at the background.
Next, the same woman with the formal attire enter the stage again. This time, she was holding a wooden hammer in her hand.
"Honoring guests, let's start with our first item. The painting from the famous painter, Ezra, donated by the Kanzaki Group. The painting is said to be the same quality of Da Vinci's Monalisa, as Ezra was rumoured to be Da Vinci's apprentice. The price start from 10,000,000 yen…"
An hour has passed when the time come for the final rare item that's been awaited by all guests.
"Our last rare item today is the Red Serpent Necklace." A picture of the necklace was shown in the background.
"The item is made by a ruby stone from the mythology, the eye of the red serpent of the sea in the east called Kiyohime, approximately 100 years ago by the famous designer, 'The Clow'. Donated by the Japan Collectors Association, it is said, a person who wears the necklace will be blessed with eternal beauty and charm. The Clow, was believed as a great sorcerer in some countries as he is more known to be the creator of the legendary and mysterious Clow card. For the Enchanted Ruby Clow Necklace, the price starts at 8,000,000,000 yen"
People started yelling the price of their bid. Some people had already given up and just enjoyed the fierce battle to get the rare item.
"30,000,000,000 yen from number 8, first call, do I hear any more bets?"
The hall finally went into silent as many people already given up on the bet to Fujino who's holding the card number 8.
"30, Second call..."
"40,000,000,000 yen!"
"Did I hear another bet for 40? Yes... 40 from number 13"
That managed to draw Shizuru's attention, whoever the bidder was, this time Shizuru raised her bet a little.
"45!"
"Yes, 45 from number 8!"
"60!"
Now people start to look around looking for number 13 who dared to challenge the vice president of the Fujino Group.
"Did I hear 60? Again 60 from number 13!"
"70!"
"100!"
The guests exclaimed at the price. It is a very ridiculously high price for such an item, no matter how rare it is, and surely the bidder with the number 13 is...somewhat crazy.
"100, second call!"
Shizuru bite her bottom lips. Her heart really desired the necklace, yet, she cannot make herself continue with this outrageous bidding price. It's unreasonable. Very unwise. Looks like I have to let it go... Shizuru noted to herself disapprovingly. It's unreasonable for such an item.
"100, last call"
No matter how beautiful it is, and no matter how much I really want it to be mine... Shizuru inwardly sighed.
"Sold! The Enchanted Ruby Clow Necklace goes to number 13!"
As the last announcement rang in the hall, guests clap and cheered for the closing of the auction session. Some guests tired from all the bidding decided to leave early, while some didn't waste opportunity to socialize especially when it comes to talking and being close to Fujino Shizuru, the vice president of the Fujino Corporation, a very established company which excelled in science and technology field. 5 years after the establishment of the company, they already monopolized the electronic market and then become the founder and leader of neuro-technology. The device such as Nerve-gear sold at a high price and never stopped receiving high demand from customers. Apart from the glorious corporation story, the sole heir of the Fujino Corporation, eligible bachelorette, Fujino Shizuru caught many media's attention as she has become the iconic young leader at the peak of Fujino Corporation. Unreachable, untouchable and seeming very far above average woman. Shizuru was not only the leader of the R&D Division, but also the centre of the corporation as she is actively involved in many social responsibility events. An angel...the community claimed.
The mystery guest with number 13 had become the evening's topic that night. Tired from all the attention and deciding it is time for her to take a break from the crowd, Shizuru slipped out of the group and head for the balcony to enjoy the chill autumn air when she heard a chuckle from the corner of the balcony.
"Hello, stranger..." a husky voice coming from the mystery person hiding in the shadow.
She didn't realize there was another person at the balcony until the person greeted her.
"Ah...hello..." Shizuru composed herself "...Stranger..han"
The person chuckle again and a few steps toward her reveal the person with long midnight blue hair fluttering in the cold wind and a pair of vibrant green eyes shining under the moonlight. She was very beautiful that it captivated Shizuru's heart in awe. Her heart stopped when the person giving her a lopsided smile and Shizuru was unable to take away her glance at those lustrous lips.
"Like what you see?" the stranger tilted their voice, awakening Shizuru from her la-la land.
"A…ara.. I, excuse my rudeness...where are my manners..." Shizuru stumbled in her words, hands touching her cheeks trying to cover her blush.
"If you like it, it can be yours, Fujino-san" again, Shizuru's heart betrayed her by beating so fast. She now could see her breath vaporized in the cold air, as her breaths became heavy.
"Ara, whatever does stranger-han mean? Stranger-han should know better to ready a flower and ring to ask my hand in marriage. Ikezu" This time, the stranger blushed at those words and Shizuru found it really suited her that it is so cute.
"Natsuki Kruger..." the words uttered as the stranger's hand stretched for a handshake. Shizuru took the hand and didn't waste an opportunity to seductively slide her finger along the stranger's palm. The action made the stranger, now known to be Natsuki Kruger blush again, with a much darker shade. Something in Kruger's deep green eyes shows a strange emotion that Shizuru couldn't comprehend.
Shizuru start her own introduction "Fu..."
"Fujino Shizuru, I know." Kruger scratched her cheek before she continued "You sent the invitation to Zhang Group for this event."
"Ara!? So, Kruger-han is the new leader of the Zhang Group for Japan's Branch?"
"I am. The main office sent me here to manage the Japan Branch. As you are already informed by the media, Nao is going back to China to help father"
"It's great to make your acquaintance, Kruger-han"
"Please, just Natsuki. It feels strange people call me Kruger as I'm not accustomed to first name basis used by Japanese. You can either call me by my family's name, Zhang, but that make me no different from Nao and father, or just call me Natsuki which is much better."
"Then, Natsuki-han it is? Urmm... only if you call me Shizuru."
"Hai, of course… Shizuru my leng lui"
"leng lui?" Shizuru raised her brow at those alien words.
"It means beautiful girl"
"My, flattering me won't get me to agree to your brave proposal before"
"Propo...what...arrrghhhh!" again this time the blush turned to new level of shade.
To be continued…
Preview for Chapter 2
A knock came from the door as Shizuru glanced briefly towards the double oak door before she spoke. "Come in". At heeding to her command, the door opened as her assistant came walking towards her, resting a royal blue square box on her desk.
Shizuru raised her brow, taken aback by the strange gift before her. "What is this?"
"Ermm...Fujino-sama, this was delivered for you by someone, requesting that it be taken to you immediately." her assistant bowed before taking her exit.
Touching the soft fabric of the box, Shizuru slowly unlatched the lock on the box and opened it, revealing the necklace with a ruby stone that has been captivating her eyes since the fundraising event. Speechless was understatement. She could only stare wide eyes at the item in front of her. As if on cue, her phone began ringing making her flinch as she immediately picked it up out of her shocked.
"F..Fujino Shizuru speaking"
"Hello, stranger..." a husky voice from the other end greeted her.