Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Hot Gimmick, I'm just borrowing characters.
Unexpected Love Chapter 5- Escape
Hatsumi ran down the crowded street, heedless of where she was going or who she might have bumped into upon passing, all she cared about was getting away—far away: somewhere she could think uninterrupted and unmolested. She knew just the place, a private garden nobody went in. There was a gazebo there and she had spent many hours there as a child when the apartment got too unbearable. She adjusted her course and, having gained back some of her rational thought, slowed her pace, attempting to calm herself. She reached her target, the gate to the garden, and climbed it easily, the places to put her feet worn from the years of use.
Hatsumi dropped down onto the soft grass beyond the gate and stroke purposefully toward her destination. Glancing around on her way, she realized some drastic changes had been made since her last visit. 'Someone must have moved into the mansion that goes with the property,' she thought, 'which means I'm going to have to find another hiding place.' She looked around once more before sitting down in the gazebo. 'I sure am going to miss this place,' she thought dejectedly. 'Maybe I can continue to come here until I'm discovered.' She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, resting her head on her knees. She wondered how things could have gotten so bad. 'Just another case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,' she thought wryly. She sighed. 'And the worst part is that there's nothing I can do about it.'
Hatsumi sat for a while just breathing in the cool air as dusk fell. 'I bet everyone's wondering where I am. Dad's probably home by now and will have started an argument with mom saying she doesn't keep a good enough eye on her children. Akane's probably in the living room trying to drown out the noise with the TV, while Hikaru is shut in his room on his bed with a pillow over his head. Shinogu will have left hours ago. I wonder if they'd even notice if I slept here tonight. I've done it before.' She thought, changing positions and lying down on her side, extending out her legs.
Slowly she drifted to sleep and did not dream, but awoke again when the night air became cold. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs again. 'I should go back. I don't even know what time it is.' While she had slept, full darkness had fallen. Hatsumi heard rustling leaves behind her and turned, startled.
"Hatsumi?" a familiar voice said. "Hatsumi is that you?" Suddenly a figure emerged from the trees. Shinogu.
"Oh, Shinogu, I'm so glad to see you," Hatsumi said, uncurling herself and getting up to meet him. She hugged him and then guided him to a seat.
Shinogu arranged himself then cut right to the chase. "Where did you go? You certainly didn't just come here; you only come here when you're upset. What happened? The whole family was worried. Even Hikaru asked about you."
Hatsumi leaned into her brother, putting her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. "Remember when we were little, how I used to come here when things got too tough to handle?" she asked, avoiding the question.
"But," Shinogu started.
"I guess I just needed to escape from reality. I needed to get out and away," Hatsumi continued, interrupting.
"I worry. Well, we all do," Shinogu replied.
"Why don't we just sit here and enjoy the beautiful garden and each other's good company," she suggested. He sighed and nodded, his movement barely visible in the dark. Shinogu pulled her close lost in the memories and the moment.
Beep, beep, beep, beep...
Hatsumi yawned and stretched in her bed, acknowledging her alarm clock and then promptly hitting the snooze button. She didn't really remember getting here last night; something about her brother carrying her home and putting her here. She was still in the clothes she wore last night.
Hatsumi burrowed back under the covers, savoring the nine minutes that the snooze button would give her before she really needed to get up and shower. She drifted, but was then rudely re-awakened by the alarm clock: beep, beep, beep, beep...
"Alright, alright. I'm up!" she said aloud, flinging back her covers and daring to touch the cold hard wood floor below her feet. She shivered. 'When did it get to be so cold at night?' she wondered to herself.
There was a knock at her door. "Hatsumi? You in there? Where were you last night?" That would be Akane.
"Yes, I'm fine, Shinogu brought me home," she said, getting up and walking to her wardrobe.
"Well, we were worried, but I'm glad that big brother was able to find you. None of us knew where you had gone," Akane said, still through the door, a touch of worry evident in her voice.
"Yes, yes, I swear to you, I'm fine, now, may I please have some privacy?"
"Okay, but just so you know, I'm using the shower!" Akane stated, gleefully, scampering down the hall.
Hatsumi gritted her teeth. 'Well, I guess that's the house rule: whoever wakes up first gets first dibs on the shower,' she thought. 'That's what happens when you grow up with two girls and two boys. That way there's no fighting.'
She turned back to the closet and studied her clothes. Brown skirt, brown pants, khaki skirt, khaki pants, jean skirt, jeans... All of her stuff was out of style and out of date. 'At least I'm not like most girls and walking around with their butts hanging out of their pants, and not even wearing underwear,' she thought, trying to boost her self-esteem. 'I guess clothing was never really that important, what's on the inside is..."
She selected a pair of Khaki Capri's and a cute t-shirt she got on her one family trip to Cancún. They had saved for almost 2 years to be able to afford it, and had stayed for a week.
She exited the room, walked into the bathroom (much to her sister's dismay), used the brush on the sink to try to make sense of the disarray that is the hair on her head, brushed her teeth, grabbed her back pack and breakfast from the kitchen counter, kissed her mother goodbye, and left the apartment building, knowing she'd be at school early.
Hatsumi had started walking when she heard her name being called. She turned and realized it was Ryoki, and he was chasing after her. She turned again and resumed walking down the sidewalk, not wanting to talk to him.
Ryoki caught up to her in a couple of minutes and when he was right behind her, grabbed her shoulders, almost knocking her over backwards.
"Never, ever, do that to me again. Never embarrass me like that, Slave. If I call you, you turn and wait—wait—for me. You're going to be walking me to school every day from now on. I expect you to meet me at my apartment building at 7:15 on the dot so we can be at school at 7:45 when the bell rings. Understand, slave?"
Hatsumi nodded and bowed her head. "I understand."
"Okay then, let's go," he said, turning and striding down the street. Hatsumi hurried to catch up, not able to match his long strides. "Oh, and one more thing, I expect to meet you for lunch, in the courtyard," Ryoki said.
"Okay, I'll be there."
"You'd better, you don't want to make me mad."
They walked together until they got to school, where he left her to go say hello to his first period teacher. Hatsumi was thrilled to finally be on her own, and went to the library to see her friends and explain that she'd not be seeing them in the mornings anymore.
Akane followed her sister, not far behind Ryoki as he chased her down the street. She watched the whole exchange, how he was so familiar with her sister and how didn't seem to mind his presence. She followed them to the school and as soon as Ryoki let Hatsumi alone she pounced.
"What did I tell you about Ryoki?" Akane asked, startling Hatsumi out of her thoughts.
"Oh, hi Akane, sorry I didn't wait for you this morning, I wanted to get in early, but it didn't quite turn out that way, as you can see."
"Oh, I can see alright, I can see that you're totally going against what I said and still hanging out with Ryoki."
"Akane, you have to believe me, it's not like that, it's not like that at all. I don't even like him, he's been following me around lately, that's all, and I can't tell him to go away since he's the Principal's son. I don't know what to do."
"Well, I guess it's okay if you can't get rid of him, there's really no accounting for taste with some people, is there? No offence, Hatsumi, I just don't understand why he'd want to follow you," she said, sensing her distress.
"Okay, well, the bell's about to ring and I have to get to my locker before first period. I'll see you when I get home. Bye Hatsumi!"
"Bye," Hatsumi said, basically to herself, since Akane had taken off running. 'How am I going to deal with this, it keeps getting worse and worse,' she asked herself. The bell rang, and then she was off and running to class.
