Once Upon a Time
By: Mako-chan
Mako-chan digs into her pockets and pulls out a cent and a fluff of
tissue -- This is all I have, and if you're still going to sue me for that...
Chapter Three - He raised hell everywhere he went
Xiaoyu found herself standing in the center of an enormous oakwood-furnished
study. She watched as her employer paced to and fro, round and about his desk as
if he were a king or some kind of president in his oval office. He had been
talking for the past five, six minutes or so, drilling her with house rules and
everything HE thought she OUGHT to know.
"Here's a typical day for me," Jin started, "I usually wake up at
5:00, eat my breakfast and go for a jog at 6:00, go to work at 7:00, be home by
5:30, training until 7:30, dinner by 8:00, 9-10:00 attend to my work, watch TV
until 10:30 then go to sleep."
"..."
"Of course this gets disrupted all too often. There are parties,
conventions and a whole other host of functions that I have to attend to...why
are you looking at me like that?"
"Isn't there usually someone who makes a living out of being another
person's daily planner? Why are you telling me this?"
Jin walked up to Xiaoyu and leaned, his face inches away from her. "We had
an agreement, as clear as day. And part of the agreement was you would do
anything and everything I wished, and assume anything and everything I wanted.
So if I wanted you to be a rug, you will be a rug. Understood?"
"Yes, Master."
"And it's Jin. We're about the same age, aren't we? Besides, I like keeping
a friendly atmosphere, you know," he said with such a winsome smile, so
winsome that Xiaoyu wanted to kick him in the face. "So that you won't be
too bothered about it...Tomo," he called through the intercom, "Can
you call my office? Give this message to my secretary: Uno-san is fired."
The young woman gasped and rolled her eyes in shock. Jin sensed this but paid no
heed. He gave a shrug. "See what you made me do? Now are you
satisfied?"
"What did I do?!" Xiaoyu asked irately.
"Well, it's certainly too late to cry over spilled milk." Jin changed
the subject just as he would easily shrug off some dirt on his suit. "Where
was I? I almost forgot. The gatherings I go to are very important for the
Mishima conglomerate. Every single one of them is an opportunity to close some
deals and look into promising ventures. But they will not be possible unless
they are talked over a game of tennis, over lunch or dinner. And I need someone
who will without fail remind me of such. Therefore, I need you to be there as
well," he explained, but was slightly taken aback by the stupid look on
Xiaoyu's face. "Where I go, you go," Jin spoke as if she had the
slowest of all comprehensions.
"Alright!" she yelled. "You were perfectly understood. I would
greatly appreciate it if you would stop staring me as if I was missing half a
brain."
"Well for a minute there you sure looked like it. I just didn't want to
offend you."
"Do you have any friends?!"
"You mean girlfriends?"
Xiaoyu shook her head in defeat. Boy, was he difficult. "I did not and do
not wish to pry on your personal affairs...nor will I ever want to...I must beg
for your forgiveness for my disrespect, Master."
"Jin."
"Yes, Master Jin."
"Jin! Just 'Jin' goddammit! Now get me a cup of coffee!"
Moments later...
Jin shook his head, he grimaced. He looked up at Xiaoyu, his face painted with
utter disappointment. "This won't do," he said.
"What?!"
"This does no good for me."
"What do you mean, 'no good'? It seems perfectly fine to me."
"Nope."
"I assume they make everything to your liking. How is it supposed to be any
different?" With your impossible whims, I wonder why any one of your
employees haven't thought of poisoning you, she silently added.
"I have my coffee with 2.32 cubes of sugar, at 137.25 degrees," he
knowledgeably said. "This tastes sweeter by .05 and cooler by 2.67
degrees."
Now Xiaoyu really wanted to hit him in the head with her tray. He was talking a
lot of nonsense moreover, he was making fun of her. "If you want YOUR
coffee that bad, then make it yourself!" she yelled and stalked away, but
not before aiming for Jin's forehead.
Jin watched with wide eyes as the young Chinese girl stormed out of his vast
study. He looked at the tray that narrowly missed him. But instead of harboring
the wrath of a Greek god, he just stood there in silence. He folded his arms and
after a few seconds, his shoulders began shaking. Then a sharp bark of laughter
followed, filling the usually silent and empty the halls.
------
Steam escaped as Jin went out of his marble bathroom after a good, hot shower.
After putting on a pair of jeans, button-down shirt and fixing himself up, he
took one more look at the mirror and ran a hand through his thick, jet black
hair. Throwing his head slightly to the side, he noticed someone sitting in the
middle of his estate's magnificent flowerbeds. Extremely entranced and
intrigued, he stood by his enormous window, hiding himself slightly behind the
room's massive draperies.
There, Xiaoyu sat amongst the flowers, her knees drawn up to her chest with her
chin resting on top of them. She drew random circles on the ground beneath her.
Tears began to form out of the corners of her eyes. She sniffled once, twice,
then broke into muffled sobs. "I want to go home," Xiaoyu told
herself, wiping the tears that fell with the back of her hand.
"You know, if you cry any more than you do now, you'll end up killing every
single one of my mom's precious flowers."
The youthful girl noticed the shadow casted upon her, and she turned to look at
Jin. His face was expressionless as he loomed before her. Xiaoyu quickly stood
up and backed away, hoping to go inside and deposit herself in some dark corner
of the manor. She stopped suddenly when she felt his hand on her arm. "I'm
sorry I'm nowhere beautiful to be worthy to be in this place. I apologize
deeply. I should know my place in this house. I am very, very sorry. Now if you
will --," she was cut off by Jin.
"No and no, I didn't say anything about being worthy, I just wanted you to
stop crying. It was a joke."
"Some sense of humor you have, Master."
"Jin. Haven't I told you to call me that? Just Jin...why were you
crying?" he suddenly asked.
The sincerity in Jin's voice made Xiaoyu snap. She pulled her arm harshly away
from his grasp, and glared at him. "And why would you care? Why is it any
of your business if I cry or not? Go ahead and care about your money and
yourself. Isn't that what rich people like you are supposed to do? I don't need
sympathy...especially if it's coming from you," she spat and walked away.
With a mixture of anger, shock and guilt, Jin ran after Xiaoyu and tossed her
over his shoulder. "You're coming with me!"
She tried to free herself from his hold but she couldn't. She hit him repeatedly
screamed and then screamed some more but to no avail. Xiaoyu had tired
herself when they haven't reached halfway inside the house.
Jin opened the door with one hand and threw Xiaoyu onto his massive bed. He had
intended to scold her and punish her, but the sight she made made all the fury
he had fade away. On his bed lay a spitfire, her eyes fiery as well as her lips,
her luxuriant midnight hair spilled like waterfall. Jin looked at Xiaoyu as if
she were a goddess.
She lay there for moments, unwilling and unable to move, very much aware of the
strange gaze her master was giving her. Xiaoyu felt blood creep up her
cheeks, and the only thing she could do was look away.
Jin held her by both wrists, his restraint and reasoning breaking. The smell of
fresh flowers lingered on her. "Look at me," he commanded.
Xiaoyu's heart gave a leap for some reason. Her mind was screaming to defy him,
but his voice, rich and deep, had a tremendous effect on her. As if hypnotized,
Xiaoyu slowly met his smoky gaze and his eagerly waiting lips...
"Please, let go," she silently begged, an indescribable fear building
up within her. To her surprise, he got off her abruptly, but Xiaoyu noticed that
he was greatly confused. She took advantage of the situation and quietly slipped
away.
Jin stood, glued to the spot. He was greatly bothered. What just happened? More
important, why on earth did I bring her here? he thought. He ran a hand through
his hair and found himself staring at his bed. He stared at wrinkles of the
sheets and the crease on his pillow. "I must be going crazy," he said
to himself.
That night...
Xiaoyu stared at the ceiling, unable to get some sleep. For some reason, she was
given a room of her own, separate from all the other helpers of the Kazama
household. It was near Jin's magnificent library. She gave a loud sigh. She
tossed and turned, but that aggravated her even more. What happened during the
day had bothered her greatly, and it was not out of fear or any negative
reaction. Ever since that incident, Jin had not beckoned for her, had not even
once called for her during the night. It must have bothered him too, she
thought, but took it back. Impossible...but why? she asked herself. Xiaoyu
closed her eyes and she was taken a few hours back in time...his hair falling
rackishly and masking his face, his sun-kissed skin, the smell of musk and
pinewood, his deep brown eyes and his oh-so luscious lips...without her knowing
it, she brought her supple fingers to her lips. "What am I thinking?"
Xiaoyu mused out loud. Then, for some reason, she suddenly found it easy to fall
asleep.
------
Xiaoyu woke up to the incessant rapping at her door.
"Xiaoyu!" Jin called from the other side.
Frowning slightly, she rose from bed and answered the door. He towered before
her, his hands folded across his chest.
"I told you I wake up at 5:00," Jin started as he invited himself
inside Xiaoyu's room. "It's already half past the hour, and we have a lot
of work ahead of us. Plus, the tutors are arriving today."
"Tutor?"
"Yes, a Japanese and an English one. We're gonna have to stop talking in
Mandarin."
"You'll just waste your time," Xiaoyu blurted out.
"Why?"
"I don't need your lessons."
"The tutors will be here this afternoon," Jin dismissed. Then he sat
himself comfortably on the bed. "Are you still thinking about
yesterday?"
Xiaoyu froze. "What makes you think that?"
"Nothing. I just take it that you didn't get a good night's sleep, judging
from bloodshot eyes and the fact that you wouldn't wake up," he said, now
lying leisurely with a hand supporting his head.
"Don't think so highly of yourself."
Jin smirked at her remark. "You think I'll waste my time with the likes of
you? Me, with a poor little nobody? Think again." Bolting right up,
he added, "On the contrary, you should be the one who shouldn't think
highly of yourself." With that, he went out.
Who was I to think he'd care? Of course it wouldn't have mattered to him. How
foolish of me, Xiaoyu sadly thought. But before she could go into any more of
her musings, Jin barged in again.
"Haul your ass out of here and come with me," he blatantly ordered.
Xiaoyu found herself again in his room. The familiar surroundings made her
emotions stir, that is, until Jin carelessly tossed a pile of clothes to her
direction, with his black silk boxers hitting her nicely on the face.
"Those need to be washed. You just have to bring them to the laundry
room...oh, except for those," Jin said, and then pointed to about five
pairs of boxers. "Those need to be handwashed."
Her eyes grew wide, enough to bulge out of their sockets. Did he really expect
her to DO his underwear?! Alright, Xiao. Just do as he says so he'll shut his
trap. Damn Kazama brat, she fumed and proceeded to pick up the discarded
clothing as well as the rest of his boxers. "Is there anything else?"
With the tone of Xiaoyu's question, Jin immediately knew that his plot failed,
much to his annoyance. He had expected her to protest, insult and call him names
but none came hurtling towards him. Obviously, he had not intended for her to do
such chore, he just wanted to humiliate her as a way of testing her, it was all
about that since she decided to come with and serve him. Jin just waved a hand
signaling her dismissal. "Come to the library at half past one. The
Japanese tutor will be waiting for you."
"You're just wasting your time."
"I have had enough of that. Now go."
------
Barely fifteen minutes have past since Xiaoyu's language lessons began.
Meanwhile, Jin was up to his elbows in paperwork and documents when he heard a
knock on his door.
"It is I, Mr. Kazama," the person over the other side said.
Recognizing the voice, Jin straightened himself up. "Please, come in."
Mr. Wada, the Japanese tutor came in. He was a man of relatively old age, and he
had just recently retired from his professorial job at the university.
"Please, take a seat."
"Don't mind if I do."
"Is there anything that I can do for you?" the youthful Japanese asked
as he placed his hands on the desk. "Is she bothering you? Wait a moment,
did she come at all?" he asked, trying to feign annoyance.
Mr. Wada replied with a wide and pleased smile on his face. "Mr. Kazama, I
do not think you will need my services. Ms. Ling has acquired mastery of the
language. I have nothing else to teach her. But if it is alright with you, I
would like to have a talk with her some time. A wonderful and astute young lass,
if I do say so myself."
And as if on queue, Xiaoyu entered Jin's study with a victorious smile on her
face. Seeing Jin's puzzled reaction, she spoke in impeccable Japanese,
"Sono koto wa mou moushite shimattan desu ne, Kachou-sama?"
Jin opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the elderly
man. "Her pronounciation is even perfect. I'm afraid there is not anything
left for me to do," he said, chuckling. "Well, since it is so, best be
on my way now." Then he turned to Xiaoyu. "It has been a pleasure
to meet you, Ms. Ling."
"The pleasure is mine, Wada-sensei."
Jin and Xiaoyu saw off the professor to the door of the study. As soon as it was
closed, Xiaoyu beamed at Jin. "You may be my master but don't pretend to be
all high and mighty."
"And I take that you also know how to speak English?" he asked with
slight irritation.
"Yes, otherwise I would have jumped on the chance."
"Good. Then I take it that you're very much ready for the convention on
Saturday."
"Convention?" Xiaoyu blinked. It was a Wednesday.
"Oh yeah, I haven't told you about that. Well, now you know," he
replied matter-of-factly.
"Thank you for the notice. Better late than never," Xiaoyu remarked
dryly.
"And I've taken care of everything you need. You can't possibly show up
with no less than ME looking like you're gonna beg them for money. I had all of
your clothes thrown away and replaced with new ones. I'm sure you'll like it. I
picked them all myself," he declared proudly, despite Xiaoyu's big scowl.
"How dare you!"
"That's the thanks I get for being overly generous. It doesn't hurt to see
them for yourself." Jin added for effect, "And knowing you, you
wouldn't have the heart."
------
I have told you that already, haven't I, Master?
