Note: OMG! Aren't I such a horrible update writer? !! SOOOO sorry you guys! Seriously I didn't mean for it to take THIS long of a wait! OO! Anyways, I hope I get more reviews on this soooo here it goes! Oh yes, I don't exactly know WHEN Ayame and Miine's birthdays are so I'll make them up but please don't sue me!!! Oh yeah, I don't remember what Tohru calls Miine or what Miine calls Tohru so if I'm wrong please don't sue me on that either! I haven't seen the anime for a while!
Chapter 4 – Happy Life
Sunshine took the toll in the already July heat that came earlier in June. People around her began to moan in frustration, complaining about the weather as she begins her day at the shop, but Miine wasn't complaining. It was a good day to go to the beach after all and celebrate her and Tencho's birthday.
"Ah! Miine-san!" The girl with glasses looked up and fixed her glasses on top of her nose. The source of the voice was indeed Tohru Honda, the brown haired girl who gave her the idea for the beach in the first place. She explained to her the other day that her, Kyo and Yuki were planning a trip to the hot springs for their birthday, but she called this morning to tell her the day was going to be beautiful. As soon as Miine heard this, she packed her mini backpack with sunscreen lotion, snacks (in case she got hungry), extra slippers (in case she lost the pair she was wearing in the water) and changing clothes (just in case they plan on going somewhere after).
The younger girl approached her and gave her a hug before saying, "Everyone is waiting for you! But before we get going…" Tohru removed her back pack from her back and began to fish through it with her hands. "Ah!" she exclaimed, startling Miine. She pulled out something from her bag and handed it to her.
Miine was surprised when she glanced down at it. "A….a swimsuit?"
Tohru blushed. "Well hah hah! It's my present to you…Actually it's a present from the three of us."
"The three of you?"
"Hai!" Tohru gave a smile and a sort of embarrassed look on her face. "Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun didn't know what to get you so I told them I would get your present and we split it fifty fifty!" She adjusted her backpack on her back and continued to smile, but then it faltered when she noticed Miine looked like she was about to cry. "Dai-daijoubu-desu-ka, Miine-san?"
"Oh…hai!" Miine smiled. The older girl unfolded the newly bought swimsuit and lifted it up in front of her. She blushed a little when she realized it was a two piece dark blue swimsuit, the bikini part falling out of her hands and onto the ground. Miine didn't mind wearing this kind of thing, but then again she was going to be with the other Sohma family members, most of which she hasn't even met yet. She gave the swimsuit another glance from front and back. The swimsuit was indeed revealing from both front AND back. 'Oh dear,' she thought.
"You…you don't like it?"
Miine looked up and noticed that Tohru seemed quite hurt by what she was doing. She gave the younger girl a shake her head and a reassuring smile. "I didn't say I didn't like it Tohru-chan! It's lovely and it was very thoughtful of you to give me a swimsuit this beautiful! In fact, I was going to get myself a new one since my old one shrunk. Either that or I'm just gaining weight! HAH HAH!"
Tohru laughed with her, which gave Miine the impression that she wasn't offended any longer by what she had. She gave a shrug, smiling and glancing at the swimsuit in the older girl's arms. "I thought it was beautiful too and I realized it suited you so I bought it! It was odd though…Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun didn't even WANT to see the swimsuit and-!" She paused when a hand reached out to block one eye, pulling her gently to the side. The young girl looked up to see Kyo looking down at her, quite annoyed, but from what Miine could see…he was more worried than anything.
"Oi! What's taking you so long to meet me up at the bus station?"
Tohru looked up, sweat pouring down the side of her face. "Gomen nasai Kyo-kun! I guess I got too caught up with the swimsuit I gave Miine-san that I wasn't paying attention to the time."
Kyo sighed, turning around and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Well everyone else is already there so we should get going."
"Kyo-kun?" Tohru called.
The orange haired young man stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. "Nani?"
Tohru smiled, wrapping an arm around Miine. "Aren't you going to say 'Happy Birthday' to Miine-san?"
Kyo glanced at Miine and turned away, blushing. "Happy Birthday…" he mumbled. "Now let's go." He began to walk away, faster than his normal pace. Miine could see he was embarrassed to be saying such a thing, adding the fact that he probably remembered the little bit about the present they gave her. "Ah! Matte!!!!" Miine snapped out of her reverie and looked up at Tohru ran to catch up with Kyo. When she did catch up with him, it surprised Miine that Kyo moved his hand to reach for hers and the younger girl took it without hesitation.
"AH! I was beginning to feel worried that you abandoned me, Miine!" Ayame's voice was above everyone else, a tone in which Miine could pick out from the crowd if they all yelled at once. She was used to his voice and it was about the only thing, apart from Tohru, that calmed her nerves.
Miine gave her Tencho a sweet smile.
"KAWAII!!!!" a melodious, child-like voice spoke. Miine looked down and noticed a little boy with blond hair and bright blue eyes staring up at her with a smile. He tugged at her skirt and said, "Neechan! Ayame-kun has told me all about you, but I never imagined you to be so pretty!"
Miine blushed. "A….arigatou!" She gave him a smile and patted him on the head. "And you are one of Tencho's cousins, correct?"
The little boy took a few steps back and nodded, his cute smile never fading. "Boku-wa Momiji-des! Nice to meetcha!" He held out a hand for her to shake and Miine did so, surprised at the softness of his hand.
Miine gave a short laugh. "Nice to meet you too, Momiji-kun!" Momiji was indeed a cute little boy, but at once, when Kyo had told her he was a year younger than himself, Tohru and Yuki, she was quite surprised.
The day had been quite interesting. She had finally met the rest of the Sohma family. Miine was actually looking forward to guessing which animals they would turn into and the one, whom she favoured out of all of them the most, was standing amongst his good friends, Hatori and Shigure. He had caught her attention when he suddenly glanced her way and smiled, giving her that reassuring look to give her confidence. He hadn't forgotten what she said about being nervous to meet with the family and in fact, Miine found it quite refreshing. Ayame Sohma's family was fun to be around, despite the constant bickering, especially between the very violent looking girl named Kagura and Kyo, whom she felt bad for when she began to beat him senseless until he could no longer move. Poor Tohru was trying her best to keep him away from her and it ended up into a whole big argument when Yuki, Hatsuharu and Shigure joined in.
"Miine-san!" Tohru suddenly spoke from beside her.
The older girl turned her head at the younger teen and smiled. "Hai?"
Tohru stood up and offered her a hand. "Would you like to go for a swim with me? I want to show Kyo that I can swim now!" There was confidence in her voice as soon as she said these words and the first one to notice that was Kyo himself, who turned and watched the younger girl with much interest. Miine wasn't quite sure whether Tohru noticed that look or just didn't see it at all.
The older girl took her hand and stood up. "Sure!"
"Ja, let's go!" She let go of Miine's hand and turned and ran to the water. Miine, confused about Tohru's gesture ran after her, yelling 'cheater!' Tohru giggled as she made it to the water first, followed by Miine who slightly blushed when she realized that all the men were looking at her. "Tohru-chan?" She took a step forward Tohru.
"Nani?" Tohru spoke, looking at her curiously.
As soon as Miine took another step to whisper in her ear, she heard the sound of something snapping behind her. Miine gasped and stared at Tohru. "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Miine-san? Daijoubu?"
Miine nodded vigorously and leaned deeper into the water until it reached the bottom of her nose. "Tohru!!!!" She gestured with her hand to come nearer.
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
"Yes," Miine whispered, her face turning into a crimson red. "My….my strap broke on my swimsuit. The back part is now missing and if I move anymore, I'll be completely…naked…"
Tohru gasped. "How did that happen?"
"I…it's been a long time since I had that swimsuit…maybe three years now so it must be because it's old and I've gained weight since then…." Miine moaned, burying her face deeper into the water.
"Miine-san!" She reached out for her hand, forcing her to go back up into the water, but the older girl slapped her hand away and lifted her head back up.
"Don't….this is so embarrassing!"
"Don't worry! I'll go get help and-!" she gasped when Miine grabbed her arm.
"NO!"
"Nani? Doushite!? You can't just stay in the water all day!"
"Yes I can…"
Tohru sighed. "That's ridiculous! You can't do that! Everyone else will be worried about you!"
"OI!" someone called. Tohru looked up, while Miine slowly turned to see who was calling them. It was Ayame and Miine felt even more redness flowing on her cheeks at the thought of her walking around naked while Ayame watched her. "Are you girls all right there?"
Tohru nodded. "Ah! Hai! Daijoubu-des! Don't worry about us right now Ayame-san! Miine-san and I are just…having a little girl talk!"
"Souka…Well, we're going to be eating lunch soon so hurry back!"
"Hai! Arigatou!" The younger girl looked back at her, sweat pouring down at the sides of her face, pondering on a solution with this little problem. "Hm…………Ah! Souka! I'll be right back!" Tohru turned and began walking away.
"What? Where are you going?" Miine asked worriedly, watching as the girl didn't even answer. She watched her go, leaving her alone in the water, only her head showing in the surface.
"Tohru-kun? Is Miine-neechan all right?" Momiji asked, looking at the girl. She was found rummaging through Miine's things, throwing aside her sunscreen, her towel and finally her slippers when she found what she was looking for. "Tohru-kun?" When she didn't answer, this gave all members of the Sohma family their undivided attention, especially Ayame, who was glancing from Miine into the water, with only her head showing, then to Tohru, who grabbed a swimsuit from Miine's pile of clothes and began to head back to Miine.
"Tohru-kun!" Ayame called, grabbing her arm. "What are you doing and why is Miine just standing there in the water?" He nodded to Miine, who was only standing there, doing nothing.
"Eto…well…she um…" She couldn't take it any longer. She HAD to tell someone or she would go insane. Tohru was never the type to lie and even, Kyo and Yuki knew that. Well, it didn't harm anyone to let only Ayame know…after all, he is Miine-san's tencho and good friend! Tohru sighed and leaned towards Ayame's ear to whisper Miine's predicament. When she was finished explaining, Ayame just turned calmly, grabbed his own towel and began marching in the water, towards Miine. "Ano….Ayame-san?"
Ayame turned to look at Tohru and smiled. "Daijoubu Tohru-kun!" With that said, he continued to walk into the water, wearing his swim shorts, while holding up the towel to keep it from getting wet. Miine's back was to him so she couldn't see him approaching. "Are you all right Miine? You must be cold just standing there," he finally spoke after watching her.
Miine gasped and jerked herself around. "TENCHO! What-? Where is Tohru?" She blushed even harder at her Tencho's site…wearing no shirt, but with only his boxer shorts.
The white haired man didn't answer instead he approached her, opening the towel in his hands wider. "Well? Are you going to accept my offer in helping you out of the cold water and back to the surface? Or are you going to refuse me and let you wait another minute for Tohru?"
Miine hesitated for a moment, trying to rethink his offer over and over again. She was indeed freezing from head to toe, but then again, she wouldn't want to feel uncomfortable in his presence. But then again, why WOULD she feel uncomfortable towards him? The image of their lips touching together flashed in her mind. The brunette blushed again. "I am of course irresistible," Ayame spoke, grinning after a few moments of silence. "But even with the offer I gave you, I can't leave a girl in the cold…" He approached her and before she had a chance to protest, Ayame wrapped the towel around her and made sure he wouldn't make contact, concealing the areas where the straps broke. "Come on, they're waiting for us." The white haired man said, his hair tied up into a neat ponytail. He grabbed her hand while she held on for dear life for the towel that was around her chest with the other and he led her back to the surface. "See? That wasn't so hard," Ayame said, smiling, turning around to face her. "I don't know why you didn't ask any of us to help you."
"Because…." Miine buried her face in her hands and blushed some more. "Because it's embarrassing TENCHO!"
"Hahahahaha," Ayame laughed. "What is there to be embarrassed about? You have a beautiful figure and any man would want you! Ne, minna?" Ayame glanced over his shoulder at the men present in the family and received nods from his question.
Momiji was the loudest to answer. "HAI! Miine-neechan is VERY cute!"
Even that comment didn't give Mine the confidence she needed. She kept her face buried in her hands, still embarrassed to look at everyone. Ayame turned to look at her and placed a hand underneath her chin and forced her to look at him. "Miine…"
Miine looked up and stated into his golden eyes.
"There really isn't anything to be embarrassed about! Momiji is right! You ARE cute and I meant what I said that ANY man would want you!" He placed a hand on her cheek and stared back into her eyes, smiling reassuringly at her.
"My, my! What's this, a party that I wasn't even invited in?" The voice sounded cold that even Miine knew that the shivering in her spine wasn't the water from the ocean. Everyone had gone silent and Miine noticed that Ayame's eyes had turned alert and….afraid?
It was Tohru who spoke first. "Oh! Akito-san! What are you doing here?"
Miine glanced over Ayame's side to see a young man, who looked a bit older than Yuki and Kyo approaching them. He had his hands stuffed in his jean pockets and he walked in even, calm steps towards Ayame, who seemed to move right in front of Miine as if protecting her. Akito gave Miine a cold, menacing look as he walked by them. He stopped at the very edge of the beach and stared out into the ocean. "And you chose a good spot for a party too! I am impressed!"
It seemed Tohru was the only one confident enough to speak and Miine wasn't sure why everyone else weren't talking to him like she was- as if…as if they were afraid of him. Ayame stood there, his hands still grasping both Miine's shoulders and she could tell he was tensing up a bit at this young man's presence. "Tencho?" She looked up at him. "Daijo-"
"Isn't it wonderful to be together again?" Akito said, interrupting Miine's words. At this time, the young man with the dark hair turned, his eyes now focused on Miine. Miine felt that slight chill down her spine as her eyes too began to focus back on Akito. "And oh I didn't know we had company other than Tohru…May I ask about your name, Ojousan?"
"Watashi-wa-Kuramae Miine-des," she answered in a slight, scared tone.
"Souka," Akito said, giving her a smile. For some reason, that smile gave more shivers down Miine's spine. Ayame took a step forward, blocking her view of the young man, but said nothing to him. "So she is a friend of yours Ayame?"
"………."
Akito sighed and approached them again, walking pass Ayame towards Miine. He placed a hand on her cheek and caressed it. The dark haired man leaned over her right ear and whispered, "You, just like Tohru will be very sorry if you ever interfere with our lives." He pulled away and with his other hand produced the glasses in which he put on her face and adjusted slightly before walking away. Miine turned, adjusting her glasses again and watched Akito disappear like a shadow in the sunlight.
"Miine," came Ayame's soft whisper. "Daijoubu-desu-ka?"
The brunette looked up and nodded. "Hai," she replied. She tried to smile, tried to take a deep breath from the fear she was feeling right now, but Ayame wasn't fooled. He could see through her false mask that was Kuramae Miine. She…out of everyone there right now…was frightened beyond anything else.
No one spoke a word after that; afraid that if they said anything, it would result with more anxiety amongst the family, but Tohru wouldn't have that kind of attitude. She wouldn't dare let anyone feel terrible about what happened this afternoon because it was, after all, Ayame and Miine's birthday. "Ne, minna! Why don't we go out and eat lunch?"
"Ahahahahaha! Good idea Tohru-kun!" Ayame said, letting go of Miine's shoulders. "First, Miine I think you should go change. You don't want to walk around holding a towel around you, do you?"
Miine blushed and laughed. "Hahahaha of course not! I think I better do that now." She turned and left towards the direction of the hotel they were staying in, but not before she grabbed her stuff from the beach.
"I'll go with her!" Tohru decided and follows Miine.
"We'll meet you at the front gates of the hotel!" Shigure yelled after the two girls. When he was sure they were out of earshot, the dog jyuunishi turned towards the snake and looks at him. "Are you sure she's going to be all right, Aya?" There was a serious tone in his voice, in which Shigure rarely put up front with the rest of his family.
Ayame didn't look at him as he continued to watch the path in which Miine and Tohru took back towards the hotel they were renting for the night. "No matter how you look at it, Miine is a very strong person just like Tohru-kun."
"Demo Ayame…" It was Hatori's turn to talk now. "She's the second person to know of our secret, what do you think Akito will do now? It was different with Tohru because she was the only one and now…with another person…Akito will find another excuse to maybe harm Miine. Are you going to let that happen?"
"Of course not," was Ayame's reply. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen. AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Look at us all serious! Come on, let's grab our stuff and go back to the hotel so we can change into better clothes!" With that said he grabbed his stuff and led the way back to the hotel, no matter how much Hatori and Shigure wanted to ask Ayame more about how he felt about this.
"Ne, Tohru-chan?" Miine spoke as she slipped one arm through the sleeve of her burgundy tee-shirt. She looked over her shoulder at Tohru, who was also changing into her casual clothes.
"Hai?" Tohru said, looking up.
Miine turned back around; her eyes now focused at the wall in front of her and slipped her other arm through the sleeve of the shirt. "Who was that man earlier?"
Tohru was silent for a while until after a couple of seconds, she finally said, "His name is Akito Sohma…he's the head of the Sohma Family."
"Souka…so THAT'S Akito." After putting on her shirt, she slowly began to slip on her khaki coloured pants in which there was a drawstring at the bottom to adjust the legs at anytime. "Why…why was everyone silent when he came? Tencho seemed…frightened. Did I do something wrong?" She finally turned around to face Tohru after putting on her pants and sat on the bed.
"No of course you didn't do anything wrong!" Tohru replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "It's just that…Akito-san has had a…reputation of being…violent towards even his family." Tohru recalled in her mind about what happened about two summers ago when she finally confronted Akito.
Miine's eyes widened. "Nani?"
The younger girl began to fold her wet clothes and hung them on some hangers they provided in the hotel. "Demo, he's all right now. I'm sure he won't harm anyone any longer." She glanced at her watch around her wrist and gasped. "Ah! We should get going. I'm sure everyone else is waiting for us right now!"
Miine nodded. "Hai." She stood up and slipped on her slippers and followed Tohru downstairs and then they reached outside, just as Tohru predicted, they were all there waiting for the both of them near the front gate. Ayame was dressed in a white turtle necked short sleeved shirt and black faded jeans. His hair was as usual tied up in a pony tail behind him, which, Miine realized, made him look a lot more attractive without it falling behind his back to make him look a lot more feminine than masculine. But then again, Ayame's femininity looks was actually the only thing that made Miine attracted to him.
"Oh! Fashionably late, as usual Miine!" Ayame commented, winking at Miine.
Miine laughed. "Gomen nasai, Tencho!"
"Well it doesn't matter now. We don't really have time to chat amongst ourselves. We have lunch reservations down at Couleur Bleu," Hatori spoke in a stern, gentleman-like tone.
Ayame wrapped an arm around Hatori and began to stretch the older man's face, forcing it to smile. "Mou! Tori-kun is ALWAYS such a stiff when it comes to being on time! SMILE Tori-kun! Smile!"
Hatori frowned, slapping Ayame away from him gently. "Go away."
"Can we go now?" Kyo said in a very bored voice.
The lunch ended up being dinner by the time they got there. The owner of the restaurant made an error in their reservations and, too proud to admit to his error, the manager decided to put them into the dinner reservations. Hatori with a calm, polite attitude, disputed with the manager that they HAD reservations for lunch in the restaurant, but Kyo, who couldn't hold his patience any longer, yelled at the manager and DEMANDED to be let in. It took Yuki, Shigure and Ayame to hold the impatient cat away from strangling the manager half to death. Angered by the attack, the manager decided to book them five hours earlier than they intended, leaving most of the Jyuunishi members agitated.
"I can't BELIEVE THIS! BAKA NEKO!" Yuki yelled, glaring at Kyo once they were out of the building.
"Urusai!!" Kyo replied.
"Who are you to tell me to shut up!?" The young man with the curse of the Jyuunishi rat stepped in front of Kyo, his veins basically showing around his forehead. "YOU'RE the reason why we have to wait five more hours to eat!"
"ME!? It's not my fault they're BUSY you annoying RAT!"
"DON'T TALK TO YUKI-KUN LIKE THAT!" Yelled the one named Hatsuharu or Haru for short, glaring daggers at Kyo. This resulted in a fight between the cow and the cat, but oddly enough, the cat had one the fight. Miine thought the cat would lose again seeing as how he'd always lose to Yuki.
Miine watched in both fear and amusement as the three continued to argue, when she felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. The brunette girl looked over her shoulder to find Ayame smiling down at her. "Do you want to go do something on our own?" He had leaned down now to whisper in her ear, while everyone else were too busy trying to break up the fight between the cat, the rat and the cow.
That question surprised Miine and the brunette found herself blushing (seriously not like her). "Um…what do you mean, Tencho?"
Ayame laughed. "Ahahahahahaha! Miina!" He turned to face everyone else. "Miine and I are going to go for a little alone time if you don't mind!"
"You mean…on a date Aya-chan?" Shigure replied, with a grin on his face.
The white haired man only laughed and grabbed Miine by the hand. "Ahahahahahaha! You could say that! Miine and I haven't been on a date before and I'm sure it will be fun since it's my lovely assistant after all!"
Miine couldn't help but laugh. "You are right Tencho! Maybe we can find someone from around the street to model for our dresses, ne?"
"Ahahahahahaha! Maybe, Miine! He will be a man with a great taste, but we do have many lovely young men in our family who I'm sure would be willing to—" And as soon as he said those words, most of the young males in the family, except for Shigure and Hatori, had disappeared.
"Ore?" Tohru looked around. "Where did they all go?"
Kagura and Kisa waved as Ayame and Miine went on their way. "Bye you two! Hope you have fun!" The girl with the curse of the boar yelled after them.
"Aya-chan! Why are you cheating on meeee!?" Shigure yelled after them. A drop of sweat fell from the sides of Hatori's face. "Could you be less loud, Shigure?"
No one could tell. They didn't need to know, but Miine was having the time of her life. She has never been this out in the streets for a long time, especially with someone as special as her Tencho. Ayame, with his usual attitude about life, was very much enthusiastic about their walk. Miine just watched as her Tencho went from store to store to examine all the clothes and compared them to his store. He was much impressed with their style and Miine wasn't bored at all. She was never bored around her Tencho and never unhappy. It was only the time that she was forced to marry Ringo did she feel the happiness fading away from her. She didn't want to go back to the life she grew up in. She would rather stay in this life…this life she knew now. This life with her Tencho.
"Miine! Come look at this!" Ayame waved for her to come to him and Miine complied and approached her Tencho with a full smile on her face. Of course, there were times when she was happy during her childhood. She had everything any girl would have dreamed of; a nice house, nice toys, nice swimming pool and a nice nanny who dearly loved her like she was her own daughter. But deep down, Miine was never happy. When she was old enough to understand the meaning of love and marriage and was old enough to be able to make her own decisions, her parents strictly forced her to meet this one young man around her age named Ringo. He was the son of a very rich businessman, who worked with her father and their mothers were best friends. She did her best to make her parents happy, but even then, it was never enough for them. When she told them she didn't want to marry because she didn't love him, they threatened to disown her. Miine wanted to be free. She wanted to make her own life, even if it meant abandoning her own family.
"So? What do you think?"
Miine looked up and watched as Ayame pressed a dress against her. She touched it with her hand and looked down upon it. It was beautiful indeed. It was a black, backless satin dress, with a wavy looking skirt. "It's gorgeous…" she whispered.
"It's yours," Ayame spoke.
"Wha-? What?" Miine was shocked beyond words. What did he mean by that?
Ayame laughed. "You know you are very cute when you're shocked! Hahahahaha!" He took the dress from Miine's hands and handed it to one of the women who worked in the store. "Could you also add this as well, please?"
The woman glanced at Miine and smiled. "This is a fine choice, miss!"
"T-Tencho!!!" Miine exclaimed.
The white haired man looked at her. "What?"
"I can pay for this dress! You don't have to pay it for me!" Miine frowned.
Ayame waved off what Miine said and continued on with his shopping. "Iiee, iiee! This will be my present for you!"
"Demo, that means I have to buy you the same price as this dress and this isn't exactly cheap!"
Her Tencho turned and looked at her. "You know what I really want for my birthday, Miine?"
"Nani, Tencho?" Miine asked curiously, looking back at him.
Ayame approached her and untied her pigtails, her curly brown hair falling about her face. "I just want you to show up for dinner with that dress and see how you look like in it." He stared into her eyes, her green, mesmerizing eyes. She too, stared into his eyes, the golden eyes in which she wasn't used to staring for so long.
The woman who had taken Miine's dress came back a few seconds later, interrupting the wonderful moment between the Tencho and her assistant. "Are you two ready to purchase or is there more you would like around here?"
The white haired man glanced at the woman and shook his head. "No that's all we're getting for today! Thank you so much for your help."
The woman nodded and smiled at Miine before walking over to the cash register and began calculating the clothes Ayame purchased. Ayame and Miine joined her in seconds on the other side of the counter and patiently waited for the total amount. "Tencho, you didn't really need to buy me a dress."
"Of course I do! Besides, you need a dress for dinner and it's a formal dinner!"
"Demo…"
"Daijoubu! Daijoubu!" He heard the woman speak out the total price and Ayame fished through his pocket and took out his wallet. The white haired man took out his debit card and slid it towards the woman with one finger gently. He didn't understand it himself, but he wanted to buy that dress for her. When he was sure Miine wasn't looking, he glanced at her and thought for a moment. True, he liked the way she looked now, wearing a cute baby blue tank top with a bunny drawing on it and white capri pants, but part of him wanted her to show a little more. That thought shocked him. 'Where on earth did I go on and thinking like that!?'
"Sir? Here is your receipt," the cashier spoke, interrupting the white haired man's thoughts. She slid the receipt to him gently and put the clothes they purchased into a plastic bag.
"Huh? Oh…arigatou gozaimasu!" Ayame gave her a smile, grabbed his card and the plastic bag. "Miine are you ready?"
Miine was looking through some more dresses and when she heard her name being called, she glanced up and nodded. She followed her Tencho out the door and into the beautiful, cool night. It had already gotten dark and both of them had no idea that time went by so quickly. It was now two hours before their dinner.
"Miine-san! Ka….kawaii!!!!" Tohru exclaimed.
Tohru, Kisa, Kagura were all staring at her, with eyes glowing with surprise. They were all wearing formal dresses of course, but it was none compared to the dress Miine was wearing. It was quite plain, yet elegant. It was short, which showed Miine's legs. "Where did you get that dress?" Kagura asked.
Miine glowed. "It was from Tencho. He bought it for me as his birthday present!"
"Sugoi! I would love a boyfriend who knows how to pick clothes for his girlfriend!" Kagura replied, which made Tohru and Miine both sweat with nervousness. She glanced at them and gave them an odd look. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
Miine shook her head. "Ahahahahaha! I am usually mistaken for that, demo, Tencho and I aren't in THAT kind of relationship!" She gave the girl with the Jyuunishi boar curse a reassuring smile.
"Souka…" Kagura blushed. "How silly of me! Gomen nasai!" She bowed in apology, but Miine just shook her head and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to apologize, Kagura-chan!"
"Ja…what kind of relationship do you have with Ayame-kun?" Kisa suddenly spoke up from where she sat on the bed she shared with Kagura.
The two older girls stared at the eldest girl, obviously curious with the answer of the tiger's question as well. "Well…our relationship is that of a Tencho and her assistant! That's all!"
Kisa just nodded, but Miine could tell the little girl didn't believe her. Of course, she shouldn't believe her. Part of her believed there was something more to that kind of relationship, but the rest of her was afraid to admit that there COULD be. Kagura and Tohru seemed to have believed the story, but that was only because they were both good at hiding their feelings. Miine could never understand what the older girls are thinking as she spends more time with them, despite Tohru being so transparent at times. "We better get going!" Tohru said enthusiastically. She clapped her hands together in excitement and opened the door and was shocked to find Kyo there, who was about to knock on the door. "Kyo-kun!" She examined him for a moment and was quite overwhelmed by how he looked. With a suit, Kyo Sohma looked quite…handsome. With that realization, Tohru blushed.
Kyo opened his mouth to speak, but didn't have a chance when Kagura came charging out the door, tackling him on the ground and beating the crap out of him. Tohru could only stand and watch as Kyo struggled to get off the ground and run from Kagura. "KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-KUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
All the boys were seated on their reserved seats in the restaurant, still waiting for Kyo to come back with the girls, or rather, with Kagura to come back with Kyo half beaten. They were all dressed well as most of the older men were clothed with suits, while the younger ones were dressed in nice polo shirt and trousers. Ayame was looking through the menu, deciding what to get, once in a while 'flirting' with Shigure. Hatori sat in between the two, calmly sipping tea. Momiji and Ritsu were chatting away, while Hatsuharu kept staring at Yuki. Hiro sat silently, brooding over some issues he had in his head.
After a few seconds or so, Hatori put his tea down and looked around at the table and towards four empty seats. There was an empty seat in between Hiro and Hatsuharu, which would most likely be Kisa, two beside Yuki (Kyo and Tohru) and one beside Ayame (for Miine). "What do you think is taking them so long, Ayame?" For some reason, Ayame was the first name he thought of when Hatori asked that question.
Ayame put down the menu and laughed. "Ahahahahahaha! You know those girls. They like to fix things up perfectly so they take their time!"
Hatori lifted up an eyebrow curiously. "You spend more time in the bathroom than the average male AND female combined, Ayame."
"Oh that is true! Hahahahahaha!"
And just after Ayame's laughter died, the entrance door of the restaurant flew open, revealing a disheveled looking Kyo, who looked bruised and battered, followed by Kagura with her eyes that seem to reveal with relief (whatever the reason). Tohru, Kisa and finally Miine arrived. Ayame was the first one to recognize the dress Miine was wearing. "My! My! I picked the right dress didn't I, Miine!?" Indeed, the dress he picked suited her VERY well. The form of her figure showed so much and Ayame found himself glancing back at her for the second time.
Miine smiled and nodded. "You certainly did, Tencho!" She sat down beside him as the empty seats were finally filled in.
"You look beautiful Miine-chan!" Shigure commented.
"Arigatou, Shigure-san!" For some reason, she could feel her heart beat when her Tencho looked at her. She didn't know WHAT kind of look that was, but any kind of look from Tencho was enough for her.
"Did you see that, Ringo-san!? Boy has Miine-san changed!" Jou glanced at the man staring at the window of the restaurant. "Ringo-san?"
"Yeah, yeah I saw what happened! You don't have to tell me twice!" He clenched his knuckles. 'You're going to be sorry you EVER left me Miine! Your precious Tencho will no longer be able to look at you the way you want him to! I'll make SURE of that!'
"Ringo-san!"
"WHAT!?" Ringo jerked his head at his companion, who was nervously looking down at his hands. The dark haired man glanced down and noticed that he was holding the camera in his hand and if Jou hadn't stopped him sooner, he would have broken it. Sighing, Ringo loosened his grip around the camera and stared back through the window of the restaurant where they could see Miine smiling and laughing away with her Tencho.
"So what's your plan?" Jou suddenly asked.
"We wait until late at night tonight and then…plan A will start." Ringo said eerily, smirking.
GoodGurl: Ooooooohhhhhhhh I wonder what Ringo is planning! STAY TUNED! OH! Don't forget to review mmmkay!?
Chapter 4 – Happy Life
Sunshine took the toll in the already July heat that came earlier in June. People around her began to moan in frustration, complaining about the weather as she begins her day at the shop, but Miine wasn't complaining. It was a good day to go to the beach after all and celebrate her and Tencho's birthday.
"Ah! Miine-san!" The girl with glasses looked up and fixed her glasses on top of her nose. The source of the voice was indeed Tohru Honda, the brown haired girl who gave her the idea for the beach in the first place. She explained to her the other day that her, Kyo and Yuki were planning a trip to the hot springs for their birthday, but she called this morning to tell her the day was going to be beautiful. As soon as Miine heard this, she packed her mini backpack with sunscreen lotion, snacks (in case she got hungry), extra slippers (in case she lost the pair she was wearing in the water) and changing clothes (just in case they plan on going somewhere after).
The younger girl approached her and gave her a hug before saying, "Everyone is waiting for you! But before we get going…" Tohru removed her back pack from her back and began to fish through it with her hands. "Ah!" she exclaimed, startling Miine. She pulled out something from her bag and handed it to her.
Miine was surprised when she glanced down at it. "A….a swimsuit?"
Tohru blushed. "Well hah hah! It's my present to you…Actually it's a present from the three of us."
"The three of you?"
"Hai!" Tohru gave a smile and a sort of embarrassed look on her face. "Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun didn't know what to get you so I told them I would get your present and we split it fifty fifty!" She adjusted her backpack on her back and continued to smile, but then it faltered when she noticed Miine looked like she was about to cry. "Dai-daijoubu-desu-ka, Miine-san?"
"Oh…hai!" Miine smiled. The older girl unfolded the newly bought swimsuit and lifted it up in front of her. She blushed a little when she realized it was a two piece dark blue swimsuit, the bikini part falling out of her hands and onto the ground. Miine didn't mind wearing this kind of thing, but then again she was going to be with the other Sohma family members, most of which she hasn't even met yet. She gave the swimsuit another glance from front and back. The swimsuit was indeed revealing from both front AND back. 'Oh dear,' she thought.
"You…you don't like it?"
Miine looked up and noticed that Tohru seemed quite hurt by what she was doing. She gave the younger girl a shake her head and a reassuring smile. "I didn't say I didn't like it Tohru-chan! It's lovely and it was very thoughtful of you to give me a swimsuit this beautiful! In fact, I was going to get myself a new one since my old one shrunk. Either that or I'm just gaining weight! HAH HAH!"
Tohru laughed with her, which gave Miine the impression that she wasn't offended any longer by what she had. She gave a shrug, smiling and glancing at the swimsuit in the older girl's arms. "I thought it was beautiful too and I realized it suited you so I bought it! It was odd though…Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun didn't even WANT to see the swimsuit and-!" She paused when a hand reached out to block one eye, pulling her gently to the side. The young girl looked up to see Kyo looking down at her, quite annoyed, but from what Miine could see…he was more worried than anything.
"Oi! What's taking you so long to meet me up at the bus station?"
Tohru looked up, sweat pouring down the side of her face. "Gomen nasai Kyo-kun! I guess I got too caught up with the swimsuit I gave Miine-san that I wasn't paying attention to the time."
Kyo sighed, turning around and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Well everyone else is already there so we should get going."
"Kyo-kun?" Tohru called.
The orange haired young man stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. "Nani?"
Tohru smiled, wrapping an arm around Miine. "Aren't you going to say 'Happy Birthday' to Miine-san?"
Kyo glanced at Miine and turned away, blushing. "Happy Birthday…" he mumbled. "Now let's go." He began to walk away, faster than his normal pace. Miine could see he was embarrassed to be saying such a thing, adding the fact that he probably remembered the little bit about the present they gave her. "Ah! Matte!!!!" Miine snapped out of her reverie and looked up at Tohru ran to catch up with Kyo. When she did catch up with him, it surprised Miine that Kyo moved his hand to reach for hers and the younger girl took it without hesitation.
"AH! I was beginning to feel worried that you abandoned me, Miine!" Ayame's voice was above everyone else, a tone in which Miine could pick out from the crowd if they all yelled at once. She was used to his voice and it was about the only thing, apart from Tohru, that calmed her nerves.
Miine gave her Tencho a sweet smile.
"KAWAII!!!!" a melodious, child-like voice spoke. Miine looked down and noticed a little boy with blond hair and bright blue eyes staring up at her with a smile. He tugged at her skirt and said, "Neechan! Ayame-kun has told me all about you, but I never imagined you to be so pretty!"
Miine blushed. "A….arigatou!" She gave him a smile and patted him on the head. "And you are one of Tencho's cousins, correct?"
The little boy took a few steps back and nodded, his cute smile never fading. "Boku-wa Momiji-des! Nice to meetcha!" He held out a hand for her to shake and Miine did so, surprised at the softness of his hand.
Miine gave a short laugh. "Nice to meet you too, Momiji-kun!" Momiji was indeed a cute little boy, but at once, when Kyo had told her he was a year younger than himself, Tohru and Yuki, she was quite surprised.
The day had been quite interesting. She had finally met the rest of the Sohma family. Miine was actually looking forward to guessing which animals they would turn into and the one, whom she favoured out of all of them the most, was standing amongst his good friends, Hatori and Shigure. He had caught her attention when he suddenly glanced her way and smiled, giving her that reassuring look to give her confidence. He hadn't forgotten what she said about being nervous to meet with the family and in fact, Miine found it quite refreshing. Ayame Sohma's family was fun to be around, despite the constant bickering, especially between the very violent looking girl named Kagura and Kyo, whom she felt bad for when she began to beat him senseless until he could no longer move. Poor Tohru was trying her best to keep him away from her and it ended up into a whole big argument when Yuki, Hatsuharu and Shigure joined in.
"Miine-san!" Tohru suddenly spoke from beside her.
The older girl turned her head at the younger teen and smiled. "Hai?"
Tohru stood up and offered her a hand. "Would you like to go for a swim with me? I want to show Kyo that I can swim now!" There was confidence in her voice as soon as she said these words and the first one to notice that was Kyo himself, who turned and watched the younger girl with much interest. Miine wasn't quite sure whether Tohru noticed that look or just didn't see it at all.
The older girl took her hand and stood up. "Sure!"
"Ja, let's go!" She let go of Miine's hand and turned and ran to the water. Miine, confused about Tohru's gesture ran after her, yelling 'cheater!' Tohru giggled as she made it to the water first, followed by Miine who slightly blushed when she realized that all the men were looking at her. "Tohru-chan?" She took a step forward Tohru.
"Nani?" Tohru spoke, looking at her curiously.
As soon as Miine took another step to whisper in her ear, she heard the sound of something snapping behind her. Miine gasped and stared at Tohru. "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Miine-san? Daijoubu?"
Miine nodded vigorously and leaned deeper into the water until it reached the bottom of her nose. "Tohru!!!!" She gestured with her hand to come nearer.
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
"Yes," Miine whispered, her face turning into a crimson red. "My….my strap broke on my swimsuit. The back part is now missing and if I move anymore, I'll be completely…naked…"
Tohru gasped. "How did that happen?"
"I…it's been a long time since I had that swimsuit…maybe three years now so it must be because it's old and I've gained weight since then…." Miine moaned, burying her face deeper into the water.
"Miine-san!" She reached out for her hand, forcing her to go back up into the water, but the older girl slapped her hand away and lifted her head back up.
"Don't….this is so embarrassing!"
"Don't worry! I'll go get help and-!" she gasped when Miine grabbed her arm.
"NO!"
"Nani? Doushite!? You can't just stay in the water all day!"
"Yes I can…"
Tohru sighed. "That's ridiculous! You can't do that! Everyone else will be worried about you!"
"OI!" someone called. Tohru looked up, while Miine slowly turned to see who was calling them. It was Ayame and Miine felt even more redness flowing on her cheeks at the thought of her walking around naked while Ayame watched her. "Are you girls all right there?"
Tohru nodded. "Ah! Hai! Daijoubu-des! Don't worry about us right now Ayame-san! Miine-san and I are just…having a little girl talk!"
"Souka…Well, we're going to be eating lunch soon so hurry back!"
"Hai! Arigatou!" The younger girl looked back at her, sweat pouring down at the sides of her face, pondering on a solution with this little problem. "Hm…………Ah! Souka! I'll be right back!" Tohru turned and began walking away.
"What? Where are you going?" Miine asked worriedly, watching as the girl didn't even answer. She watched her go, leaving her alone in the water, only her head showing in the surface.
"Tohru-kun? Is Miine-neechan all right?" Momiji asked, looking at the girl. She was found rummaging through Miine's things, throwing aside her sunscreen, her towel and finally her slippers when she found what she was looking for. "Tohru-kun?" When she didn't answer, this gave all members of the Sohma family their undivided attention, especially Ayame, who was glancing from Miine into the water, with only her head showing, then to Tohru, who grabbed a swimsuit from Miine's pile of clothes and began to head back to Miine.
"Tohru-kun!" Ayame called, grabbing her arm. "What are you doing and why is Miine just standing there in the water?" He nodded to Miine, who was only standing there, doing nothing.
"Eto…well…she um…" She couldn't take it any longer. She HAD to tell someone or she would go insane. Tohru was never the type to lie and even, Kyo and Yuki knew that. Well, it didn't harm anyone to let only Ayame know…after all, he is Miine-san's tencho and good friend! Tohru sighed and leaned towards Ayame's ear to whisper Miine's predicament. When she was finished explaining, Ayame just turned calmly, grabbed his own towel and began marching in the water, towards Miine. "Ano….Ayame-san?"
Ayame turned to look at Tohru and smiled. "Daijoubu Tohru-kun!" With that said, he continued to walk into the water, wearing his swim shorts, while holding up the towel to keep it from getting wet. Miine's back was to him so she couldn't see him approaching. "Are you all right Miine? You must be cold just standing there," he finally spoke after watching her.
Miine gasped and jerked herself around. "TENCHO! What-? Where is Tohru?" She blushed even harder at her Tencho's site…wearing no shirt, but with only his boxer shorts.
The white haired man didn't answer instead he approached her, opening the towel in his hands wider. "Well? Are you going to accept my offer in helping you out of the cold water and back to the surface? Or are you going to refuse me and let you wait another minute for Tohru?"
Miine hesitated for a moment, trying to rethink his offer over and over again. She was indeed freezing from head to toe, but then again, she wouldn't want to feel uncomfortable in his presence. But then again, why WOULD she feel uncomfortable towards him? The image of their lips touching together flashed in her mind. The brunette blushed again. "I am of course irresistible," Ayame spoke, grinning after a few moments of silence. "But even with the offer I gave you, I can't leave a girl in the cold…" He approached her and before she had a chance to protest, Ayame wrapped the towel around her and made sure he wouldn't make contact, concealing the areas where the straps broke. "Come on, they're waiting for us." The white haired man said, his hair tied up into a neat ponytail. He grabbed her hand while she held on for dear life for the towel that was around her chest with the other and he led her back to the surface. "See? That wasn't so hard," Ayame said, smiling, turning around to face her. "I don't know why you didn't ask any of us to help you."
"Because…." Miine buried her face in her hands and blushed some more. "Because it's embarrassing TENCHO!"
"Hahahahaha," Ayame laughed. "What is there to be embarrassed about? You have a beautiful figure and any man would want you! Ne, minna?" Ayame glanced over his shoulder at the men present in the family and received nods from his question.
Momiji was the loudest to answer. "HAI! Miine-neechan is VERY cute!"
Even that comment didn't give Mine the confidence she needed. She kept her face buried in her hands, still embarrassed to look at everyone. Ayame turned to look at her and placed a hand underneath her chin and forced her to look at him. "Miine…"
Miine looked up and stated into his golden eyes.
"There really isn't anything to be embarrassed about! Momiji is right! You ARE cute and I meant what I said that ANY man would want you!" He placed a hand on her cheek and stared back into her eyes, smiling reassuringly at her.
"My, my! What's this, a party that I wasn't even invited in?" The voice sounded cold that even Miine knew that the shivering in her spine wasn't the water from the ocean. Everyone had gone silent and Miine noticed that Ayame's eyes had turned alert and….afraid?
It was Tohru who spoke first. "Oh! Akito-san! What are you doing here?"
Miine glanced over Ayame's side to see a young man, who looked a bit older than Yuki and Kyo approaching them. He had his hands stuffed in his jean pockets and he walked in even, calm steps towards Ayame, who seemed to move right in front of Miine as if protecting her. Akito gave Miine a cold, menacing look as he walked by them. He stopped at the very edge of the beach and stared out into the ocean. "And you chose a good spot for a party too! I am impressed!"
It seemed Tohru was the only one confident enough to speak and Miine wasn't sure why everyone else weren't talking to him like she was- as if…as if they were afraid of him. Ayame stood there, his hands still grasping both Miine's shoulders and she could tell he was tensing up a bit at this young man's presence. "Tencho?" She looked up at him. "Daijo-"
"Isn't it wonderful to be together again?" Akito said, interrupting Miine's words. At this time, the young man with the dark hair turned, his eyes now focused on Miine. Miine felt that slight chill down her spine as her eyes too began to focus back on Akito. "And oh I didn't know we had company other than Tohru…May I ask about your name, Ojousan?"
"Watashi-wa-Kuramae Miine-des," she answered in a slight, scared tone.
"Souka," Akito said, giving her a smile. For some reason, that smile gave more shivers down Miine's spine. Ayame took a step forward, blocking her view of the young man, but said nothing to him. "So she is a friend of yours Ayame?"
"………."
Akito sighed and approached them again, walking pass Ayame towards Miine. He placed a hand on her cheek and caressed it. The dark haired man leaned over her right ear and whispered, "You, just like Tohru will be very sorry if you ever interfere with our lives." He pulled away and with his other hand produced the glasses in which he put on her face and adjusted slightly before walking away. Miine turned, adjusting her glasses again and watched Akito disappear like a shadow in the sunlight.
"Miine," came Ayame's soft whisper. "Daijoubu-desu-ka?"
The brunette looked up and nodded. "Hai," she replied. She tried to smile, tried to take a deep breath from the fear she was feeling right now, but Ayame wasn't fooled. He could see through her false mask that was Kuramae Miine. She…out of everyone there right now…was frightened beyond anything else.
No one spoke a word after that; afraid that if they said anything, it would result with more anxiety amongst the family, but Tohru wouldn't have that kind of attitude. She wouldn't dare let anyone feel terrible about what happened this afternoon because it was, after all, Ayame and Miine's birthday. "Ne, minna! Why don't we go out and eat lunch?"
"Ahahahahaha! Good idea Tohru-kun!" Ayame said, letting go of Miine's shoulders. "First, Miine I think you should go change. You don't want to walk around holding a towel around you, do you?"
Miine blushed and laughed. "Hahahaha of course not! I think I better do that now." She turned and left towards the direction of the hotel they were staying in, but not before she grabbed her stuff from the beach.
"I'll go with her!" Tohru decided and follows Miine.
"We'll meet you at the front gates of the hotel!" Shigure yelled after the two girls. When he was sure they were out of earshot, the dog jyuunishi turned towards the snake and looks at him. "Are you sure she's going to be all right, Aya?" There was a serious tone in his voice, in which Shigure rarely put up front with the rest of his family.
Ayame didn't look at him as he continued to watch the path in which Miine and Tohru took back towards the hotel they were renting for the night. "No matter how you look at it, Miine is a very strong person just like Tohru-kun."
"Demo Ayame…" It was Hatori's turn to talk now. "She's the second person to know of our secret, what do you think Akito will do now? It was different with Tohru because she was the only one and now…with another person…Akito will find another excuse to maybe harm Miine. Are you going to let that happen?"
"Of course not," was Ayame's reply. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen. AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Look at us all serious! Come on, let's grab our stuff and go back to the hotel so we can change into better clothes!" With that said he grabbed his stuff and led the way back to the hotel, no matter how much Hatori and Shigure wanted to ask Ayame more about how he felt about this.
"Ne, Tohru-chan?" Miine spoke as she slipped one arm through the sleeve of her burgundy tee-shirt. She looked over her shoulder at Tohru, who was also changing into her casual clothes.
"Hai?" Tohru said, looking up.
Miine turned back around; her eyes now focused at the wall in front of her and slipped her other arm through the sleeve of the shirt. "Who was that man earlier?"
Tohru was silent for a while until after a couple of seconds, she finally said, "His name is Akito Sohma…he's the head of the Sohma Family."
"Souka…so THAT'S Akito." After putting on her shirt, she slowly began to slip on her khaki coloured pants in which there was a drawstring at the bottom to adjust the legs at anytime. "Why…why was everyone silent when he came? Tencho seemed…frightened. Did I do something wrong?" She finally turned around to face Tohru after putting on her pants and sat on the bed.
"No of course you didn't do anything wrong!" Tohru replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "It's just that…Akito-san has had a…reputation of being…violent towards even his family." Tohru recalled in her mind about what happened about two summers ago when she finally confronted Akito.
Miine's eyes widened. "Nani?"
The younger girl began to fold her wet clothes and hung them on some hangers they provided in the hotel. "Demo, he's all right now. I'm sure he won't harm anyone any longer." She glanced at her watch around her wrist and gasped. "Ah! We should get going. I'm sure everyone else is waiting for us right now!"
Miine nodded. "Hai." She stood up and slipped on her slippers and followed Tohru downstairs and then they reached outside, just as Tohru predicted, they were all there waiting for the both of them near the front gate. Ayame was dressed in a white turtle necked short sleeved shirt and black faded jeans. His hair was as usual tied up in a pony tail behind him, which, Miine realized, made him look a lot more attractive without it falling behind his back to make him look a lot more feminine than masculine. But then again, Ayame's femininity looks was actually the only thing that made Miine attracted to him.
"Oh! Fashionably late, as usual Miine!" Ayame commented, winking at Miine.
Miine laughed. "Gomen nasai, Tencho!"
"Well it doesn't matter now. We don't really have time to chat amongst ourselves. We have lunch reservations down at Couleur Bleu," Hatori spoke in a stern, gentleman-like tone.
Ayame wrapped an arm around Hatori and began to stretch the older man's face, forcing it to smile. "Mou! Tori-kun is ALWAYS such a stiff when it comes to being on time! SMILE Tori-kun! Smile!"
Hatori frowned, slapping Ayame away from him gently. "Go away."
"Can we go now?" Kyo said in a very bored voice.
The lunch ended up being dinner by the time they got there. The owner of the restaurant made an error in their reservations and, too proud to admit to his error, the manager decided to put them into the dinner reservations. Hatori with a calm, polite attitude, disputed with the manager that they HAD reservations for lunch in the restaurant, but Kyo, who couldn't hold his patience any longer, yelled at the manager and DEMANDED to be let in. It took Yuki, Shigure and Ayame to hold the impatient cat away from strangling the manager half to death. Angered by the attack, the manager decided to book them five hours earlier than they intended, leaving most of the Jyuunishi members agitated.
"I can't BELIEVE THIS! BAKA NEKO!" Yuki yelled, glaring at Kyo once they were out of the building.
"Urusai!!" Kyo replied.
"Who are you to tell me to shut up!?" The young man with the curse of the Jyuunishi rat stepped in front of Kyo, his veins basically showing around his forehead. "YOU'RE the reason why we have to wait five more hours to eat!"
"ME!? It's not my fault they're BUSY you annoying RAT!"
"DON'T TALK TO YUKI-KUN LIKE THAT!" Yelled the one named Hatsuharu or Haru for short, glaring daggers at Kyo. This resulted in a fight between the cow and the cat, but oddly enough, the cat had one the fight. Miine thought the cat would lose again seeing as how he'd always lose to Yuki.
Miine watched in both fear and amusement as the three continued to argue, when she felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. The brunette girl looked over her shoulder to find Ayame smiling down at her. "Do you want to go do something on our own?" He had leaned down now to whisper in her ear, while everyone else were too busy trying to break up the fight between the cat, the rat and the cow.
That question surprised Miine and the brunette found herself blushing (seriously not like her). "Um…what do you mean, Tencho?"
Ayame laughed. "Ahahahahahaha! Miina!" He turned to face everyone else. "Miine and I are going to go for a little alone time if you don't mind!"
"You mean…on a date Aya-chan?" Shigure replied, with a grin on his face.
The white haired man only laughed and grabbed Miine by the hand. "Ahahahahahaha! You could say that! Miine and I haven't been on a date before and I'm sure it will be fun since it's my lovely assistant after all!"
Miine couldn't help but laugh. "You are right Tencho! Maybe we can find someone from around the street to model for our dresses, ne?"
"Ahahahahahaha! Maybe, Miine! He will be a man with a great taste, but we do have many lovely young men in our family who I'm sure would be willing to—" And as soon as he said those words, most of the young males in the family, except for Shigure and Hatori, had disappeared.
"Ore?" Tohru looked around. "Where did they all go?"
Kagura and Kisa waved as Ayame and Miine went on their way. "Bye you two! Hope you have fun!" The girl with the curse of the boar yelled after them.
"Aya-chan! Why are you cheating on meeee!?" Shigure yelled after them. A drop of sweat fell from the sides of Hatori's face. "Could you be less loud, Shigure?"
No one could tell. They didn't need to know, but Miine was having the time of her life. She has never been this out in the streets for a long time, especially with someone as special as her Tencho. Ayame, with his usual attitude about life, was very much enthusiastic about their walk. Miine just watched as her Tencho went from store to store to examine all the clothes and compared them to his store. He was much impressed with their style and Miine wasn't bored at all. She was never bored around her Tencho and never unhappy. It was only the time that she was forced to marry Ringo did she feel the happiness fading away from her. She didn't want to go back to the life she grew up in. She would rather stay in this life…this life she knew now. This life with her Tencho.
"Miine! Come look at this!" Ayame waved for her to come to him and Miine complied and approached her Tencho with a full smile on her face. Of course, there were times when she was happy during her childhood. She had everything any girl would have dreamed of; a nice house, nice toys, nice swimming pool and a nice nanny who dearly loved her like she was her own daughter. But deep down, Miine was never happy. When she was old enough to understand the meaning of love and marriage and was old enough to be able to make her own decisions, her parents strictly forced her to meet this one young man around her age named Ringo. He was the son of a very rich businessman, who worked with her father and their mothers were best friends. She did her best to make her parents happy, but even then, it was never enough for them. When she told them she didn't want to marry because she didn't love him, they threatened to disown her. Miine wanted to be free. She wanted to make her own life, even if it meant abandoning her own family.
"So? What do you think?"
Miine looked up and watched as Ayame pressed a dress against her. She touched it with her hand and looked down upon it. It was beautiful indeed. It was a black, backless satin dress, with a wavy looking skirt. "It's gorgeous…" she whispered.
"It's yours," Ayame spoke.
"Wha-? What?" Miine was shocked beyond words. What did he mean by that?
Ayame laughed. "You know you are very cute when you're shocked! Hahahahaha!" He took the dress from Miine's hands and handed it to one of the women who worked in the store. "Could you also add this as well, please?"
The woman glanced at Miine and smiled. "This is a fine choice, miss!"
"T-Tencho!!!" Miine exclaimed.
The white haired man looked at her. "What?"
"I can pay for this dress! You don't have to pay it for me!" Miine frowned.
Ayame waved off what Miine said and continued on with his shopping. "Iiee, iiee! This will be my present for you!"
"Demo, that means I have to buy you the same price as this dress and this isn't exactly cheap!"
Her Tencho turned and looked at her. "You know what I really want for my birthday, Miine?"
"Nani, Tencho?" Miine asked curiously, looking back at him.
Ayame approached her and untied her pigtails, her curly brown hair falling about her face. "I just want you to show up for dinner with that dress and see how you look like in it." He stared into her eyes, her green, mesmerizing eyes. She too, stared into his eyes, the golden eyes in which she wasn't used to staring for so long.
The woman who had taken Miine's dress came back a few seconds later, interrupting the wonderful moment between the Tencho and her assistant. "Are you two ready to purchase or is there more you would like around here?"
The white haired man glanced at the woman and shook his head. "No that's all we're getting for today! Thank you so much for your help."
The woman nodded and smiled at Miine before walking over to the cash register and began calculating the clothes Ayame purchased. Ayame and Miine joined her in seconds on the other side of the counter and patiently waited for the total amount. "Tencho, you didn't really need to buy me a dress."
"Of course I do! Besides, you need a dress for dinner and it's a formal dinner!"
"Demo…"
"Daijoubu! Daijoubu!" He heard the woman speak out the total price and Ayame fished through his pocket and took out his wallet. The white haired man took out his debit card and slid it towards the woman with one finger gently. He didn't understand it himself, but he wanted to buy that dress for her. When he was sure Miine wasn't looking, he glanced at her and thought for a moment. True, he liked the way she looked now, wearing a cute baby blue tank top with a bunny drawing on it and white capri pants, but part of him wanted her to show a little more. That thought shocked him. 'Where on earth did I go on and thinking like that!?'
"Sir? Here is your receipt," the cashier spoke, interrupting the white haired man's thoughts. She slid the receipt to him gently and put the clothes they purchased into a plastic bag.
"Huh? Oh…arigatou gozaimasu!" Ayame gave her a smile, grabbed his card and the plastic bag. "Miine are you ready?"
Miine was looking through some more dresses and when she heard her name being called, she glanced up and nodded. She followed her Tencho out the door and into the beautiful, cool night. It had already gotten dark and both of them had no idea that time went by so quickly. It was now two hours before their dinner.
"Miine-san! Ka….kawaii!!!!" Tohru exclaimed.
Tohru, Kisa, Kagura were all staring at her, with eyes glowing with surprise. They were all wearing formal dresses of course, but it was none compared to the dress Miine was wearing. It was quite plain, yet elegant. It was short, which showed Miine's legs. "Where did you get that dress?" Kagura asked.
Miine glowed. "It was from Tencho. He bought it for me as his birthday present!"
"Sugoi! I would love a boyfriend who knows how to pick clothes for his girlfriend!" Kagura replied, which made Tohru and Miine both sweat with nervousness. She glanced at them and gave them an odd look. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
Miine shook her head. "Ahahahahaha! I am usually mistaken for that, demo, Tencho and I aren't in THAT kind of relationship!" She gave the girl with the Jyuunishi boar curse a reassuring smile.
"Souka…" Kagura blushed. "How silly of me! Gomen nasai!" She bowed in apology, but Miine just shook her head and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to apologize, Kagura-chan!"
"Ja…what kind of relationship do you have with Ayame-kun?" Kisa suddenly spoke up from where she sat on the bed she shared with Kagura.
The two older girls stared at the eldest girl, obviously curious with the answer of the tiger's question as well. "Well…our relationship is that of a Tencho and her assistant! That's all!"
Kisa just nodded, but Miine could tell the little girl didn't believe her. Of course, she shouldn't believe her. Part of her believed there was something more to that kind of relationship, but the rest of her was afraid to admit that there COULD be. Kagura and Tohru seemed to have believed the story, but that was only because they were both good at hiding their feelings. Miine could never understand what the older girls are thinking as she spends more time with them, despite Tohru being so transparent at times. "We better get going!" Tohru said enthusiastically. She clapped her hands together in excitement and opened the door and was shocked to find Kyo there, who was about to knock on the door. "Kyo-kun!" She examined him for a moment and was quite overwhelmed by how he looked. With a suit, Kyo Sohma looked quite…handsome. With that realization, Tohru blushed.
Kyo opened his mouth to speak, but didn't have a chance when Kagura came charging out the door, tackling him on the ground and beating the crap out of him. Tohru could only stand and watch as Kyo struggled to get off the ground and run from Kagura. "KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-KUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
All the boys were seated on their reserved seats in the restaurant, still waiting for Kyo to come back with the girls, or rather, with Kagura to come back with Kyo half beaten. They were all dressed well as most of the older men were clothed with suits, while the younger ones were dressed in nice polo shirt and trousers. Ayame was looking through the menu, deciding what to get, once in a while 'flirting' with Shigure. Hatori sat in between the two, calmly sipping tea. Momiji and Ritsu were chatting away, while Hatsuharu kept staring at Yuki. Hiro sat silently, brooding over some issues he had in his head.
After a few seconds or so, Hatori put his tea down and looked around at the table and towards four empty seats. There was an empty seat in between Hiro and Hatsuharu, which would most likely be Kisa, two beside Yuki (Kyo and Tohru) and one beside Ayame (for Miine). "What do you think is taking them so long, Ayame?" For some reason, Ayame was the first name he thought of when Hatori asked that question.
Ayame put down the menu and laughed. "Ahahahahahaha! You know those girls. They like to fix things up perfectly so they take their time!"
Hatori lifted up an eyebrow curiously. "You spend more time in the bathroom than the average male AND female combined, Ayame."
"Oh that is true! Hahahahahaha!"
And just after Ayame's laughter died, the entrance door of the restaurant flew open, revealing a disheveled looking Kyo, who looked bruised and battered, followed by Kagura with her eyes that seem to reveal with relief (whatever the reason). Tohru, Kisa and finally Miine arrived. Ayame was the first one to recognize the dress Miine was wearing. "My! My! I picked the right dress didn't I, Miine!?" Indeed, the dress he picked suited her VERY well. The form of her figure showed so much and Ayame found himself glancing back at her for the second time.
Miine smiled and nodded. "You certainly did, Tencho!" She sat down beside him as the empty seats were finally filled in.
"You look beautiful Miine-chan!" Shigure commented.
"Arigatou, Shigure-san!" For some reason, she could feel her heart beat when her Tencho looked at her. She didn't know WHAT kind of look that was, but any kind of look from Tencho was enough for her.
"Did you see that, Ringo-san!? Boy has Miine-san changed!" Jou glanced at the man staring at the window of the restaurant. "Ringo-san?"
"Yeah, yeah I saw what happened! You don't have to tell me twice!" He clenched his knuckles. 'You're going to be sorry you EVER left me Miine! Your precious Tencho will no longer be able to look at you the way you want him to! I'll make SURE of that!'
"Ringo-san!"
"WHAT!?" Ringo jerked his head at his companion, who was nervously looking down at his hands. The dark haired man glanced down and noticed that he was holding the camera in his hand and if Jou hadn't stopped him sooner, he would have broken it. Sighing, Ringo loosened his grip around the camera and stared back through the window of the restaurant where they could see Miine smiling and laughing away with her Tencho.
"So what's your plan?" Jou suddenly asked.
"We wait until late at night tonight and then…plan A will start." Ringo said eerily, smirking.
GoodGurl: Ooooooohhhhhhhh I wonder what Ringo is planning! STAY TUNED! OH! Don't forget to review mmmkay!?