Thankies so much for those kind reviews! They are very heartening. and now...enjoy the chapter. I have nothing else to say. Except that my review-eater's tummy is rumbling, andI have little left to feed him with ;P.

(yes, I'm shameless, aren't I?)

Enjoy.

CHAPTER 9

Hatori paced angrily around his office. Akiko should have been home by now. It was almost ten o'clock. He hadn't even realized she'd left, until he discovered that the front door was still open. He had checked the phone, and found that the last number called was Rin's. Which was fairly fortunate. He didn't even know why he was worrying. Then he heard the door open. He rushed from his office, intending to scold her for making him worry.

Someone walked in, but he wasn't sure quite whom, until she turned and gave him a catlike smile. Hatori stumbled back against the wall, wrenching his gaze away.

It was Akiko. She was wearing spike-heeled sandals, black and strappy. Her skirt was so short and tight that it defied the laws of physics. By rights, it should have been bunched around her waist. The shirt-if it could be called that-barely covered her upper torso. It was a lace-up thing that allowed anyone to see bare skin almost straight from her collar to her navel. She was very obviously not wearing a bra. Around her neck there was a black choker. Her hair was pulled back in a jaw-clip, and longer pieces hung around her face, which had been transformed. Her narrow eyes had been emphasized with eyeliner, and her eyelashes lengthened with mascara. Black eye shadow faintly made her eyes seem even darker than they naturally were. The rest of her face was pale, as usual, except for her lips. Her lips were a brilliant red color, shiny and wet looking.

She paused, and turned on her heels. Outside of the door, a figure on a motorcycle had just dropped her off. Akiko waved and blew them a kiss. Unbeknownst to Hatori, the figure was Rin, but her long hair was done up inside the helmet, and she was wearing a full leather jacket as opposed to her usual lace-up shirts, so he couldn't tell it was her. Rin waved back and roared off on the borrowed motorcycle. Akiko walked to the couch and slumped down on it, not caring what showed. She picked up a cushion, and hugged it for a second, not realizing or caring that her blood-red lipstick was smeared all over it.

Hatori fled for his office once more. Akiko was picking up guys now? And what was she doing dressed like that? Where did she get that stuff? And the makeup…?

The scariest thing was that the overall effect was, well, rather appealing. Hatori smacked his head against the desk, trying frantically to rid his mind of the new image of Akiko.

Shigure received a frantic phone call from Hatori at about ten. The teenagers were all sleeping because they had school the next day.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Ha-san? What's wrong?"

"Help me. I'm beginning to find Akito sexually attractive." He was so distraught that he didn't realize that he had said Akito instead of Akiko.

Shigure choked back a laugh. "Look, I'll come over tomorrow while she's at school and we can discuss it."

Silence on Hatori's end.

"Oh, and should I bring Ayame?"

"Why not! Let's make it a party." Hatori sounded near hysterical.

"So I should bring booze?"

"Yes. And lots of cigarettes."

"Ok." Shigure hung up the phone, stretched and went to bed. Hatori simply stared at the phone in his hand. He gently put it down in the cradle, turned purposefully toward his desk and started smacking his head again.

Akiko had gotten up from the couch a few minutes after Hatori had left the room. She'd just gone to bed after changing her clothes. In the morning, she'd gotten up, changed into her school uniform, washed off the remnants of the makeup and brushed out her hair. But she left the clothes she had been wearing on her unmade futon, just in case Hatori ventured in.

Akiko was in the bathroom, experimenting with lip-gloss, when Hatori walked in. She smiled at him in the mirror and made the kissing gesture.

"Good morning, Ha-San." She said, turning to him. He didn't appear to notice she was there, so she left.

When she had gone to breakfast, she'd noticed that Hatori had a large bruise in the center of his forehead. Akiko didn't waste time wondering. Hatori looked dazed, as though he hadn't fully woken up yet. Akiko decided that she would get to school on her own today. She didn't trust Hatori behind the wheel.

About an hour after Akiko had left, Ayame and Shigure showed up. They found Hatori still sitting at the table with a dazed expression one his face.

Shigure grabbed a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and shoved it into Hatori's mouth. Hatori blinked, as though he was waking up, and took a long drag. Pulling the cigarette out of his mouth, he slumped face-first onto the table.

Ayame was the first to break the long silence. "So what's this I hear about you finding Akito sexually attractive?" He paused, and no one said anything. "Well, I don't blame you, the way he's always letting his yukata fall open like that…"

"Akiko, not Akito." Hatori said, without lifting his head.

"Oh. well, she's not so bad either-"

Hatori finally lifted his head. "You know what she did this morning? I walked in on her putting on makeup, makeup in the bathroom this morning. She blew me a kiss! She…She's in one of those sailor uniforms! It's just wrong!"

Shigure suddenly realized that Ayame didn't know that Akiko and Akito were the same person. "Uh..Ha-san..?"

"What?"

"Ayame doesn't know-"

"...oh…You tell him."

After Shigure explained, Ayame let out a long, low whistle. "That explains a lot." He said, stretching.

"Yes, it does, doesn't it." Hatori agreed. "What am I going to do?"

"Do? About what?"

"Akiko, you moron!"

Shigure was watching this exchange with a look of amusement on his face. He sat down and opened a beer.

"Give me one." Hatori said, not looking at him. Ayame looked very amused as well.

"Well, why don't you tell us what she's done?"

Hatori recounted the bra episode, the driving episode, what had happened after they came home, waking up in the same bed, the keys in the bra, walking in on her when she was changing, and how she had come home last night.

"Look," He said, pointing to a cushion. The cushion that Akiko had hugged. Shigure went over and got it. It was covered in her red lipstick.

"Wow." Said Ayame, examining the cushion. "This is Rin's brand, too. It doesn't come out."

Hatori groaned and slumped on the table, dropping his cigarette on the tatami. Shigure quickly picked it up before it could burn anything. Ayame grinned and winked. Shigure understood and nodded, then held up four fingers briefly. Ayame nodded back.

"I don't see what's wrong. But.." he trailed off.

"But? But what?" Hatori demanded.

"But, I think that the scariest thing is…You like this."

"WHAT?" What the hell are you on? How could I-"

"Or, more specifically," He cut Hatori off. "You like her."

"WHAT!" He flung a second cigarette onto the titami. Shigure picked it up. Hatori seemed like he was about to go on a rampage and kill something, but he deflated and sank back to the table.

Ayame grinned. "See? That's 10000 yen for me." Shigure scowled and handed it over. Hatori looked up.

"You were betting on me? My best friends…I don't believe this. She's a teenager, for God's sake. I can't take this! The only thing she doesn't do is get into trouble at school. It's gotten so I expect a call at any second! She came home at ten with a guy. I can not take this!" He lit another cigarette and shoved it between his teeth. Then his cell phone rang. He answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Is this Souma Hatori?"

"Yes, may I help you?"

"You are the guardian of Souma Akiko, correct? Well, this is one of her teachers. She's had some trouble-" The teachers voice cut off suddenly, to be replace by Akiko's.

"Hatori, don't listen to them! It was their fault! I-" Akiko's voice was cut off and replaced by a different teacher's.

"I apologize. Her suspension has been doubled after what she did to the teacher. You are her father?"

"NO! No, I'm her cousin."

"Oh. Is it possible for you to come and pick her up, immediately?"

"ah-"

"Wonderful! We will be expecting you as soon as possible." She said in a falsly cheerful voice, the true meaning of which was obviously 'Take this crazy girl far, far away from me'.

There was a click, and then dial tone.

Hatori stared hatefully down at the phone for a second. Then he hurled it with all his strength across the room. It hit the wall and shattered. Throwing down his cigarette, again, Hatori sank down and sobbed. Shigure, who by this time was thoroughly tired of picking them up, emptied the contents of the beer can on it to put it out. It burst into flame.

"You idiot!" cried Ayame. He rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a bucket of water from a servant that was mopping. He dumped the water on the mess and then turned to chew out Shigure. "Don't you know that beer is flammable?"

Hatori got up and went to look for the car keys. They were hanging on the hook again, fortunately. Leaving Ayame to rant at Shigure, he went to pick up Akiko.

Author's Note:

R&R. Well,I assume if you're reading this, you've already read the story...so R, as in REVIEW. Also, I in no way advocate drunk driving. Hatori isn't drunk. Just hysterical.Yes. Until next time, Farewell.