Title: Cherry Blossom 1/13
Author: Haruka
Disclaimer: I don't own GW.
Pairing: 1?
Rating: R
Warning: OOC, AU, angst, sap
Note: Thanks to my great beta silver-eyed! Enjoy and please read & gimmy feedback!
( ) means they are speaking in Japanese.
"Heero, how many is that?"
Heero walked around his living room, pacing as he talked to his friend on the phone.
"In this last month, eight" Heero answered.
"And not one of them interested you?"
"No," Heero told him, sitting down on the sofa.
"Heero, Quatre, Howard and I have set you up with I don't know how many women in the past year. This is getting ridiculous! Just pick one and get laid already."
"Duo, I want someone to be with, not just to 'get laid,'" he told the other.
"Well, I don't think you know what you want," Duo replied.
"Its late Duo. I have an early meeting, goodnight," Heero said, and hung up his cell phone before Duo could object. He made his way up the stairs to his room and sat on the edge of his bed. The clock showed that it was already one in the morning. He sighed, undressed and turned into bed.
--------
When Heero's eyes slowly opened, the sun was shining on his face telling him it was morning. He sighed and looked at the clock on his nightstand, he was late. "Shit," he murmured as he got out of bed. He decided to skip the shower and got dressed, then he hurried out of the house and jumped into his old car and started the engine, only for it to dye and refuse to start. Heero gritted his teeth and got out of the car. Of course today of all days the hired help had the day off. He cursed a few more times before flagging down a car and bumming a ride to the train station a few blocks away. He ran up the station stairs only to see the last cart of the train past by. He was annoyed, sighing once more.
The brunette continued to stand there, with his tie undone and loose and his hair as messy as ever when something suddenly hit his foot. He looked down, and saw a magazine. A pretty girl looked up at him from the cover. Bending down, he picked up the magazine. 'Cherry Blossom' it read in big bold letters and in smaller letters beneath it was 'Mail Order Brides'.
Ring! His cell phone rang. "Yuy," He answered.
"Mr. Yuy, we have been wondering what happen to you, our meeting was over an hour ago, do you still wish to build the project?" The man asked.
Thinking about the magazine, Heero said, "I'm no longer interested in the project, have a nice day." He hung up and started back down the stairs still holding onto the magazine.
--------
Back at home, he was on his sofa flipping through the magazine. The women showcased were all of Japanese or half Japanese origins. They were classified in 4 different classes;
A, B, C and D.
Class A were girls ages 17 to 19 years old. All virgins and never been married.
Class B had girls ages 19 to 21 years old. None had ever been married either.
The third class, C had girls ages 22 to 24 years old. These girls have been married once or twice before and were most definitely not virgins.
And last, class D, there were girls ages 24 to 26 years old. They have been married more then 3 times.
Heero turned to Class B. The girls were all pretty but none grabbed his attention. He wandered into the Class C section. While looking through the pages and seeing the lovely faces, he saw her. She was beautiful... sensual, emerald green eyes, crowned with long, black lashes. Her hair was a soft, light brown and braided and was draped over her left shoulder. Her shiny long bangs fell to one side of her face.
Intrigued, Heero read the small facts located underneath her photo.
Case #: 330013
Name: Ayako Watase
Age: 23 yrs old
Description: Tall and slender. 5'8, size 6, 36A
Origin: Half Japanese and European from Bosnia
History: Married and Divorced twice, both within a year
Likes: Flowers
Dislikes: Mean people
Heero quickly turned back to the information page he had skipped in the beginning of the magazine. He quickly read: How to Order, Call 1-800-103-9264-0069
Heero called the number and a woman answered after the first ring, "Thank you for calling Cherry Blossom, how may I help you?"
"I would like to place an order," As he said those words, the thought that he was being rash and hadn't really thought about what he was doing flitted through his mind... but that did nothing to make him hang up the phone.
"Ok, sir," the woman continued, "This is how it works. I will be asking you information that we need for a background check. Any problems with the proceedings?"
"No."
"Great! All right, I will ask for your information from you and then I will schedule an appointment to meet with you at a later date."
"Fine," Heero replied. She asked him general questions about himself as well as some in the line of his profession.
"What was your gross income last year Mr. Yuy?" She asked.
"2.1 million," He told her.
"I see..." she sounded surprised and a bit of something else that Heero couldn't identify.
He stored that observation into the back of his head. The woman continued for a bit with her questions.
"Ok, well, when would you like to schedule your appointment?" She asked, as if finally satisfied about him. The brunette racked his mind for his next available day. He knew he could free up his weekend if it wasn't free all ready. So they agreed on the up coming Saturday.
---------
It was Friday night and typically Heero was at home in his home office.
"Hey Heero, ready to go on the hunt?" Duo asked as he suddenly walked into Heero's home office.
"How did you get in? My front door was locked," Heero said, obviously annoyed at his friend's presence.
"You ready yet?" Duo asked, purposely not answering the question.
"I already found someone," Heero told him, gaining a curious look from Duo, who sat down across his desk.
"Oh?" The other boy was interested. Heero kept on typing on his computer, ignoring the unspoken question on Duo's face.
"Since when have you been wearing glasses?" The random question caused Heero to look at him. He took off his glasses and took out the magazine, deciding to answer his friend after all. He opened it to the page Ayako Watase was on and then handed it to Duo.
"A mail order bride? Are you serious?" Duo said, eyeing the picture.
"Yes," was the only reply he got from the short-haired brunette.
"Ok, whatever you want but I hope you thought about this," Duo cautioned his friend.
--------Saturday afternoon, 2pm at Heero's house.
"Thank you for coming," Heero said, as he opened the door to an older blonde woman who smiled in reply to him. Heero led her into his living room where they sat down on his couch.
The woman skipped right to the business at hand.
"Well, Mr. Yuy, we ran a background check on you, like you were told when you first called, and you are indeed a very wealthy man. So there certainly won't be any financial issues," she said, still smiling. He nodded for her to continue. With the nod, she asked him, "Have you already picked out a bride?"
"Yes," he answered, and grabbed the magazine from where it was on the small coffee table and opened it to the picture of Ayako Watase.
Unsure of the choice, the woman asked, "Are you sure, Mr. Yuy? She's been married twice and quickly divorced after. Perhaps a Class A Bride would be more suitable for you," she suggested, flipping to the Class A Brides.
"No, I would like Ayako Watase," he said firmly, showing her he wasn't going to change his mind.
"Alright. Well then," she said, placing the magazine down on the coffee table then going through her briefcase, "First of all, I need to make sure that your bride is still available. Depending on the answer, if she is available, then you'll have to fill out a few papers."
She called her office and after giving the office Watase's case number, they confirmed that Watase, case # 330013 was available.
"Good news, Mr. Yuy, she is available." The woman smiled, pleased. "Let's fill out the necessary papers, shall we?" Moments later, the small pile of documents of privacy and policies where filled out and signed. When the issue of cost came up, Heero asked, "Is the check made out to Cherry Blossom Organization?"
"That's correct," she nodded.
"How much?"
"30,000" She told him, showing him the fee page from the documents. Heero didn't even blink but just nodded. He took out his checkbook and wrote up the check and signed it. The woman smiled once again and thanked him.
"Thank you, Mr. Yuy. I'll take this contract and process it. You'll receive a call from me in the next couple of days to confirm your bride. Have a nice day." The woman left and Heero returned to his couch, calm and silent as usual.
--------Monday
Ring! Ring! Heero flipped open his cell phone.
"Yuy."
"Mr. Yuy! Good afternoon," a man said, "I was calling to let you know that the process has been approved. Ayako Watase will arrive by airplane at 9pm on Thursday at the international airport. Her flight number is 1173. She will be told that you would be holding a rose. If she cannot find you, there will be a sign around her neck that reads 'Please Direct to Heero Yuy'. Cherry Blossom hopes you enjoy your Bride. If you have any questions or comments about us or your Bride, please call the number in our magazine and we would be glad to help you out. Have a good day!" The man said and hung up.
Heero looked at his cell phone, something was weird, and he closed his phone.
The intercom on his desk phone beeped. "Yes?" He answered, putting his glasses on and continued to look at the blue prints for his latest project.
"Mr. Yuy, please don't forget you have a press conference about the latest restaurant at 4:30pm today," his secretary, Dorothy, told him. Heero glance at the clock on the wall which read 3pm and thanked his her. She clicked off and he resumed his actions.
--------
It was 4:30pm. Heero stood outside the newly built 2-story restaurant he was opening. The Mayor and a few other well-known city officials stood by him. Every news station was there and they were keen on getting information to feed to the public. Flashes from cameras blinded him and video cameras with mics were aimed at his face as he made his way up to the podium which was already covered with microphones of all shapes and sizes. He despised the press, but this was a necessary evil that he had to put up with in his line of work. With a grim look, he began, thinking only to answer quickly so he could leave.
"Good afternoon. The restaurant is almost finished. I am pleased with the work so far. I thank those that had a hand in it," Heero said sternly. "I will answer some questions now," he said, cutting the bullshit and getting straight to the point.
Half a dozen hands rose up into the air. One question happened to be louder than the others and was worth answering:
"Mr. Yuy, you haven't indicated what kind of cuisine your restaurant will serve!"
"I will announce it at the opening ceremony," Heero told him without telling him anything at all.
"When do you plan on opening its doors?" another reporter asked.
"In about 4 to 5 months," He answered curtly, wishing instant death for the next person who dared to ask him a question.
"Mr. Yuy! There have been rumors of you getting married. Any truth to that?" a reporter yelled out.
Instead of secretly wishing the reporter a slow, hideous death for asking an irrelevant question, Heero just smirked. He knew full well who should be the victim of his mental torture. He turned to the Mayor, said something in his ear and walked off stage and away from the ever-loud and annoying press.
The Mayor stood up to the podium, "Thank you for all your questions, everyone have a good day," He said, leaving the media frantic with more questions and speculations about the millionaire's love life.
TBC