Ripples in Red Water
Chapter 7: Flowers in the Garden
Part 2
Autumn and Summer
By: Empathic Soul
Disclaimer: Gravitation is a wonderful anime. It is sadly not mine. Oh, and excuse the grammar and some of the mishaps, there might be some typos here and there, since I'm on vacation mode, my mind seems to have left me too! hehe!
PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
Thank you once again to those who reviewed! I really love the reviews! Hehe! Helps me and makes me inspired to write the story again!
Thank you once again! Please read and review and as Ruruouni Sesshouhen remarked: Read with you heart!
Thank you! And please do try and read Education by Professor Tohma and One single action. It was meant to be a refresher for this story!
BE FOREWARNED: This chapter includes angst, drama, and a LOT as in a LOT of violence! Please do read this with care and understanding. Absorb it so that you would get some of the subtle hints for the plot and do so understand the characters as well. Thank you so much!
Tohma yawned, still feeling a whole lot sleepy after the ordeal with Shuichi last night, or rather early this morning. Shuichi was raving and it was a very disturbing kind of raving. Tohma shook his head to remove the thoughts that plagued his mind as of the moment and concentrated his thinking into the upcoming board meeting at Musica Studios. It's the first time a board meeting was actually going to be done in the president-less company.
It was an issue before that the meetings cannot be held in a company that does not have a leader to present, particularly Musica Studios, only the vice-president was always in the meetings and some of the other companies refuse this kind of pattern. But as the company grew and the only competition that it has now is NG, which only happens to be sister company, the people reconsidered the idea. It took a whole 3 years for them to agree.
Tohma sighed. Currently he's in the elevator pressing the button towards the topmost floor where the meeting would be held. For once though, knowing that Sakuya is related to Shuichi's problems, he's looking forward to a board meeting, particularly this encounter with the vice-president. He had a lot of questions that he reserved and wanted answers to as soon as possible.
He dusted his black suit designed with a white inner button down shirt and black slacks. He also had his hat to match and a pair of white gloves. Plus, he is also wearing a black coat because of the cold autumn wind.
The elevator stopped with a loud ting sound. Tohma looked at the door and prepared himself as it revealed him to the people preparing for the board meeting. The people were huddled in the hallway towards the conference room. Tohma placed on his formal smile and took a step forward.
"Good morning sir." A lady wearing a red mini-skirt with a matching red top greeted him.
"Good morning, has Mr. Hale arrived?" Tohma smiled at the woman in front of him, also known as the assistant secretary of Sakuya.
"Yes sir, he's already inside the conference room." The woman answered pleasantly with a matching smile. "You may come in if you want."
"Thank you." Tohma gratefully nodded and walked through the conference room. "I will go ahead now, please excuse me."
Tohma strode towards the large door and pulled it open so he could enter. He was surprised to see a pink haired woman wearing a royal blue mini skirt and a white button down blouse. She sat on the right of the man Tohma wanted to see for the questions that he particularly reserved.
Sakuya sat there quietly with his arms on top of his chest, in his pride and glory. His black suit and tie highlighted his pale complexion and red hair. His sharp green eyes stared at those that just entered and then smiled.
"You're late Tohma…had a good night?" Sakuya smirked and Tohma simply snorted at him in return.
"Good morning to you too, Sakuya." Tohma removed his coat and sat on the chair right across the redhead. "And your perverted mind does not help in making my day any better."
"You seem to have sharpened your tongue in a few days time, Excellent! Can I ask who your beloved blacksmith is, perhaps he might aid me with sharpening my tongue to match yours." Sakuya smirked at the person in front of him.
"I believe your brain needs more sharpening than your tongue." Tohma countered relaxing on the chair while twining his fingers and leaning on the table to face the opponent.
"Ooh, manly talk for a man with a female face." Sakuya laughed mockingly to earn a vein popping view on Tohma's face. 'Not to mention dresses and acts more feminine than any woman I know of—which is a lot."
Rule number 1: Never call Tohma feminine.
"So because you cannot think of anything wiser to say, you result to such tactics. How low can you get, Sakuya?" Tohma shook his head while shrugging his shoulders.
"Its you who do the underground things, Tohma. I don't back stab. I stab them in front." Sakuya replied looking smug to the blonde businessman who seems to have felt a sudden increase in vein popping incidents.
As usual, Sakuya had been so good in getting the usually calm man to pop his veins in record breaking time, almost ready to explode and then suddenly break the wooden table in front of them. And every time Tohma loses his cool, Sakuya always wanted to get a camera and take his picture. It's definitely worth placing in the front page of every newspaper, so Sakuya cannot help but snicker in his place.
"You can't stop talking, can't you?" Tohma raised an eyebrow and Sakuya looked at him with an innocent smile plastered on his face.
"Because you look so cute when you lose your cool!" It was a sarcastic statement with fake enthusiasm and a huge ounce of teasing.
But Tohma smiled shrewdly this time, causing Sakuya to suddenly stop smiling and raise his brow in worry that the man finally lost his loose screw. What will he do?
Tohma on the other hand, faced his opponent with renewed spirits.
"I guess I can't help it. Men like you dig me so much. I always knew you had perverted ideas about me. But sorry Sakuya, I'm happily married. I know you're not married yet, but I just can't betray Mika and I'm sorry, I don't dig guys like you. I hope we can still be best friends even after this little setback." Tohma this time faked an apologetic look with a sad and compassionate smile on his face.
Seeing Sakuya's face turn into incredible rainbow shades, from beet red because of a blush, then to green because he looked like he was ready to vomit. It then transformed into blue because he looked so pale almost like a ghost, and then to purple since he looked like he was utterly terrified about the idea.
"FOUL!" Sakuya stood up pointing at the man in front of him who now smirked at his panicky form.
"No way! It's a strike out, Hale and you know it!" Tohma actually enjoyed this mentally challenging game this time, especially now that he's winning.
"You are so evil! I have absolutely no interest in men, and particularly blonde men!" Then an evil thought passed Sakuya's sneaky mind. His previously held scowl miraculously transformed into a smirk. "But then again, you might be relieved. At least you know that I have no interest in Y.U.K.I. E.I.R.I."
This time, it's Tohma's turn to glare at the boy who is smirking at him again. There are three dangerous rules in Tohma's rulebook and Sakuya Hale deliberately stepped on those rules and violated them, in front of him.
"You're trying my patience." Tohma glared steadily at the man, trying his best to intimidate him. If it were any other person, then they would have cowered in fear, and raced to their mother's side.
But Sakuya wasn't about to do any of that.
"I have been trying and succeeding for a LOOONG time, Tohma, or was your brain too slow to register such a comment." Sakuya made a widening motion from his arms to emphasize his statement.
Tohma gritted his teeth to try and hold his patience, but he's getting redder and redder on the face every passing minute. Sakuya took this as a sign to cut the 'mentally challenging' duel between the two of them, otherwise known as their greeting session.
"But, it seems to me that you're a bit cranky, and I mean crankier than usual." Sakuya leaned on his hand as he eyed the blonde man who is massaging his temple, feeling a migraine coming. "What happened? Didn't get enough sleep or is there anything else wrong?"
Sakuya suddenly turned serious as his eyes gained its frequent amber glares while looking at the blonde owner of NG studios. For a while there, Tohma had to gather all his energy to calm down his raging nerves. He sighed and then looked at the two people in front of him. The girl beside him sat silently observing the situation that developed between the two powerful businessmen. To Tohma's eyes, the girl seemed to be very interested with the situation and those brief flashes of anger in her eyes, seems to be a bit disturbing. Although, if you're not as keen as Tohma, you wouldn't notice at all…
Tohma chose to ignore it for a while as he smiled towards the so-called best friend. Sakuya looked at him intensely as Tohma's smile in his face faded with one that was completely covered with worry and fatigue. Sakuya took note of that posterior and became even more alert this time and thus he initiated the conversation in fear that what he is thinking would have come true.
"Okay, to get this over with, and the suspense is killing me, let's do it the old fashioned way. Good news first then bad news…" Sakuya made a gesture to signal that he is waiting for Tohma's response. It made him appear both impatient and nervous at the same time.
Tohma did not bother to prolong the suspense and finally wanted to shed some light in this utterly bewildering conversation.
"Its Shuichi, he's been in a terrible condition since last Friday. He came down with a severe fever and started to rave like there was no tomorrow." Tohma placed a hand over his forehead to calm his throbbing migraine. He then looked at Sakuya with a serious expression and took a side-glance to Suzu who simply stared at him quietly, listening to his narration.
"Oh god how is he? I never thought he'd be in such a bad condition." Sakuya leaned back to his chair and placed a hand on his collar to loosen it up a bit, he felt like he was being choked. "Tohma, is Shuichi?"
"No. Don't go that way. Shuichi is alive and Eiri-san took really good care of him." Tohma smiled towards the redhead. "And that's the good news."
Sakuya breathed out freely with a smile on his face. He took a big gulp of water and smiled towards Seguchi Tohma who smiled back courteously. He was about to breathe in his relief when Suzu spoke for the first time since Tohma entered the room, or more accurately, since she entered the room, about 15 minutes before the blonde businessman arrived.
"Eiri-san? Does that mean Yuki Eiri? The romance novelist?" Suzu asked giving Tohma a demanding look.
"Yes, ma'am." Tohma replied grudgingly and yet in a gentlemanly manner.
"I see. I thought they already broke up." Suzu shrugged. "I mean, I thought Shuichi finally realized that he would not have any future if he stayed with Yuki Eiri."
"Suzu." Sakuya's tone got deeper as he warned Suzu to continuing the conversation. Tohma merely stared at her in almost a very serious manner, like he was about to explode in anger.
"But Sakuya, I'm merely stressing a point. If Shuichi had stayed…well…straight, then he would not have problems taking care of the blonde…what's his name, ah yes, Yuki Eiri." Suzu crossed her arms over her chest to signal that she's closed to the idea.
"It is none of your business to but in to anyone's relationship, that's private." Sakuya calmly countered.
"It is their business, ms. I believe we do not have any…" Tohma explained when Suzu cut him mid-sentence.
"Oh really, and that justifies the manner how you wanted to separate them two years ago? If I remember it right, you initiated that this…Yuki Eiri leave to New York and leave my POOR brother alone crying like some broken hearted idiot, that he is." Suzu argued and Tohma was taken aback.
"It was a mistake and…" Tohma was about to explain when Suzu raised her palm to meet him as a form a 'stop'.
"I'm not through yet. And you have the guts and the right to actually tell me that I, Shuichi's sister do not have any say in this, when you yourself isn't even related to Yuki Eiri." Suzu looked at Tohma challenging him.
Tohma had to stop himself from hurting her.
"I am Eiri-san's brother in law and that is almost the same as being a…"
"Brother? Surely you jest, Seguchi-san. There is no relationship between the two." Suzu raised a brow and Tohma was about to answer something when Sakuya intervened.
"Related or not related, past is past. We or anyone else can do nothing of it except learn from out previous mistakes. No one is perfect." Sakuya looked at the two.
Suzu merely glared at him and almost spoke when Sakuya smiled at her.
"Suzu, we have made our own mistakes. We have to understand that there are consequences to that and we should be ready." Sakuya saw her look away and then he looked to Tohma.
Sakuya did not want to argue with her. He merely looked at Tohma and smiled as courteously as possible.
"I apologize Tohma, Suzu's just a bit…um…" Sakuya paused to think of the proper word, "Traditional…or conservative. Which of the two you want with regards to relationships, although I must admit, there is some content in what she spoke of."
"It's alright, Sakuya. I don't mind." Tohma nodded. "And yes, I do admit my fault and it is my bad to try and separate them at all. I apologize, and I did apologize to them as well."
"It is not necessary to apologize to us at all. It is their relationship, and we are in no position, blood-related or not, to intervene. We are merely guardians, not dictators." Sakuya instated.
Guardians…Dictators…
Tohma had to smile. Sakuya really made sense. It was no wonder the man was a very powerful businessman, and no wonder he managed to get Tohma's respect. It was also no doubt that there is a long line of women trying to be his wife, or even to be his…
Oh well…
But about Suzu…
To be honest, Tohma never did like the girl very much. With the limited time they got to know each other, he already arrived with such a conclusion. Call it selfish, but Tohma trusts his instincts, since to him, they never did go wrong.
"Hmph, I see what you're trying to prove here, Hale." Suzu glared and simply nodded to herself. Sakuya rolled his eyes and Tohma watched the scene in front of him.
Suzu noticed that the men are currently eyeing her. She poised herself and merely smiled at her two companions, it was as if nothing happened.
"Don't mind me." Suzu waved her hand to dismiss the two of them from staring at her. "It's just the monthly visitor."
The reason she gave was quite successful in making the two understand her mood swings. After spending months and years with Mika at school and to Tohma at home, they are bound to know the wonders of the female system.
Suzu observed Sakuya. To her, Sakuya seems to be more interested in knowing about Shuichi rather than knowing about her interest in the relationship between Yuki Eiri and Shuichi. It was as if Sakuya valued Shuichi more than her, and to think she was with him for the longest time.
Suzu felt like she was about to burst in utter annoyance with the manner Seguchi Tohma argued with her. She's always annoyed with people who do not give her what she wants. If she wants something, she should get it.
And even Sakuya seems to be forgetting her.
That in itself was already annoying, and now Seguchi Tohma is trying her patience, her very short patience.
And this was like the last time…
She was being ignored…
They thought she did not exist at all
They merely looked at themselves and did not even bother to look at her…
And you know what Suzu does to people who ignore her?
Suzu smiled.
Suzu's thoughts were interrupted when Sakuya spoke once again.
"So, where were we? Ah, yes, how is Shuichi now then?" Sakuya smiled at Tohma, finally establishing a decent start with their conversation.
"Well, when I left their apartment, he seems to be eating fairly well not. He's already awake after four nights of raving, and I am certainly glad that the meeting was postponed." Tohma regarded.
"Ah yes, it's because Taoka-san had an urgent meeting in Yokohama and he had to cancel his arrangement with us. Even Fukioda-san had to cancel." Sakuya nodded with a smile. "So continue about Shuichi…"
"We were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when we saw him awake and eating just this morning." Tohma explained feeling relaxed at this conversation. Tohma thought, Sakuya can be very serious in circumstances like this and its quite admirable. But still, I cannot and most certainly not withstand his insults. They go way beyond the boundaries of my sensitive temper.
"And I presume that you didn't let him go to work?" Sakuya looked at the man through the side of his eyes as he twisted his chair to face the left side of the room. It made his appear sneaky and treacherous.
"I told BAD LUCK to postpone practice, but I didn't need to do that. Their manager K-san already threatened me with his M-16 for a two-day break." Tohma remembered the incident. He could still feel the cold steel meeting his temple. He actually felt pity for the band members that the man is currently managing. No wonder he was able to tame Ryuichi, the man with a 30-year-old body and a 4-year old mind.
"And may I guess that Yuki-san also took his own way into assuring that his lover be given a break?" Sakuya beamed towards the man. "Protective instincts perhaps?"
"Exactly. He glared at me. But mostly, since Shuichi already wanted to go back to practice, he locked him up in a room and then threw the key to his room. Shuichi was shouting loudly while slamming his fists on the closed door." Tohma narrated even acting some bits of the experience, though not in an over-acting sense. "I pity, Shuichi-kun for that experience though."
"I would have done much worse." Sakuya laughed loosely this time and once again focused on the person in front of him. He looked at the clock and then turned to his respondent. "It's 10:00 in the morning and the meeting's about to start. I'm glad you informed me about the turn of events, Tohma. I'm sure Suzu's also glad to hear that her brother is safe and sound, right Suzu?"
Sakuya focused on the woman beside him who seems to have zoned out, barely listening to their conversation. Sakuya placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her gently.
"It's alright, I know you're worried about him. Don't worry; we'll visit him today after the meeting. That's what you want, right? And I'm sure, Shuichi would like it that he would be able to see and talk to you again, right?" Sakuya comforted her and took her hands in a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure Tohma would direct us to the manor."
'I don't need to. Eiri-san, Shuichi-kun, Ryuichi-san, and Mika-san would be coming over after the meeting. We are planning to eat out. You'll see him there." Tohma answered but took regard to the sudden glint in Suzu's eyes. That girl…girl…what…what could be on her mind?
"Really? Shuichi? But I thought he was sick?" Sakuya gaped towards Tohma with an incredulous expression.
"But he's also a fast recovering person. Imagine he could already break the door down with a single kick." Tohma shook his head as memories when the door that was supposed to be locked broke into pieces. Yuki was overwhelmed with anger at that moment that he almost resorted to grabbing a rope to tie the pink-haired bundle of energy and to add cherry on top, Ryuichi was cheering him on.
Tohma could remember the scene clearly.
"Why you brat!! How dare you break the door! Do you know how much it costs to repair these!" Yuki growled looking at the pieces of shredded wood lying helplessly on the ground.
"But you were locking me up!" Shuichi pouted grabbing his kumagoro and looking at Yuki in a puppy-dog expression, pleading for apology.
"Waaaaiii! That was great Shuichi! Do it again!" Ryuichi cheered.
Yuki took the Kumagoro from Shuichi and tossed it straight to Ryuichi hitting him squarely on the face.
"You! Shut up!" Yuki threatened.
And of course this resulted to a tantrum…
"Waaaaahhhh! Yuki-san is so mean! He his Ryu-chan!!! Waaaaaaahhh!" Ryuichi wailed and soon enough Shuichi wailed with him.
"Waaaaahhh! Yuki's so mean! Waaaaah, he wanted to lock me up!!!" Shuichi joined in the brawling session.
"Someone stop me or I'll shoot them." K grunted almost itching to grab his gun and start shooting wildly in the room.
"You do that and I'll make sure you see a hole on your head! Imagine how much damage gun shots may inflict in MY apartment!" Yuki gritted his teeth while glaring at K.
"See, I told you he cared about Shuichi." Hiro sighed. He already memorized the manner Yuki expresses his feelings. And for that Yuki blushed.
"Who said anything about caring?" Yuki countered and looked at the two wailing 'brats'. "And when are the two of you gonna stop crying there! You're flooding my house!"
"It's our home, Yuuuukii!" Shuichi pouted and looked at his lover in an almost irresistible way. Yuki kneeled down and whispered something to Shuichi.
Shuichi suddenly tensed up and then stood up brushing his tears away from his face and proceeded to lock himself in his own room. Everyone looked at his sudden disappearance not noticing the visible smirk on Yuki Eiri's face.
Who knows what the blonde novelist told him?
"I heard about him being a bottomless pit of energy." Sakuya responded cutting Tohma's recollection. "Well then I guess, I'll be looking forward to the end of this boring meeting."
"I agree. So let's get this over with as soon as possible." Tohma motioned for Sakuya to make the signal for the meeting to start. "I don't think it's polite to make our elders wait."
"Yeah, they might hurt their backs." Sakuya nodded with fake worry.
"You are mean not to mention rude." Tohma shook his head with a chuckle.
Sakuya merely scrutinized the man in front of him and then ended up smirking before pressing the button for the start of the meeting. The buzzer finally sounded.
"I learned a lot from you." Sakuya sneered only to see the look of anger cross the face of the man opposite him as he directed his attention to the other and older businessman enter the room and take their seats around the conference table.
TBC
Please read and review!
Thank you so much once again!
First of, I would like to apologize for the late update. It was my finals week and I had to finish up a lot of schoolwork, hope you didn't lose interest in this fanfiction!
Hehe, well please do continue to read and I really am expecting your reviews! Please do help me in the next sections. It's almost done and I'll try to update as regularly as possible. Thank you so much again!
Strawberry noodle bunny: Really, you knew that Shun wasn't an evil murderer? Hehe, that's good!
Silverhaze2: well I learned hajimemashite from the movie three ninja's kickback and it kinda meant it's nice to meet you! hehe, since it was your first review in my fic, then I guessed it was just apt to say that! And about my plot, well I am glad I was able to give you a bit of a surprise, but the ending is getting near, wanna guess what happens? hehe! WEll, don't worry, since I already finished this fic, I'm not changing the ending. So try and guess, you may never know (unless you continuously read my fic of course, which I hope and wish you do) what the ending is. See you and hope to read your next review!
Tangerine-asuka: hehe, yeah, I ought yo give a little fluff here and there or else it would be too dramatic. it's not real life anymore or at least a semblance of! hehe
Taijiya-sango88: Hajimemashite! Dozo Yoroshiku! Hehe, this is the first time I have seen you review my fic and I am honored! Sorry that my update wasn't ASAP! it was finals weeks and I had to do a lot of stuff! Gomenasai! hope to hear from you again, and I am grateful with your compliments! thank you!
ddz008: hi! well don't worry, the truth would come out in about 5-6 chapters more! hehe, that's a few more weeks of rewriting! Hope you continue to support me as you always do! thank you again!
deppfan1016: true, it's another break before I try to pile it up again. It's going to be a long pile because it's gonna take until the ending or rather the epilogue if you want to read it...hint hint...well anyway, the questions, if only I could answer them, but that would be spoiling everything right? hehe, so please do continue to read and review! Thank you!
Reiannah: Its unusual hehe, thats good, I don't like being too redundant! I'm happy you liked it though! WEll, I've been so busy these past few days that I really was not able to write anything. I couldn't update or anything,not even log at times. But I thank you for the reviews! And your consistent support! Wow! You're really one of my best reviewers and I am flattered with your compliments! Hope that you like this one too, although again this is Tohma and Sakuya centric with a dash of Suzu to come along with it. Hehe, I just added a few more character developments. Hope you really continue to review! Thanks a bunch!
Kanilla: haha! wow, made you sing love songs? hehe! thank you for the hundred percent support! I appreciate it a lot, especially since this is my first finished fiction, and I still got a lot or a pile to finish! Hope I do though, some of them are already going to hang me for not writing anything. hehe, but this is my first priority first, have to finish this!
Clari-chan: took a whole two weeks to update, and I am ashamed that I failed to update sooner. I apologize though! Please continue to read my fic! hehe!
Mistress of Anime: Hey! How's school? WEll, I'm back and able to update once again! hehe, though it's been a while since my last update! It's funny isn't it, I really thought about what do those popular actors and actresses look like without make up and how are they gonna react when they see themselves on the newspaper with that? hehe, funny though! but anyway, thank you for the review! Please continue to review my fic okay? I really appreciate it! Good luck also with your studies!
Silver on the tree: MEEE!!! Mistress of Gravi...uhm...wow! You flatter me that I'm flatter than a pancake now! Oh my gosh! That's really the ultimate compliment! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you (repeats 100x with a bow each). Gosh, that's really really (100x) amazing to see in my reviews! I am so thankful to you too! (waaaahh, you made me cry....waaaahhh)
Ancient-Legend: Shun's going to be in the last chapters very often especially since he's going to be a part of the main characters now. I'll explain the rest as the chapter goes. Thank you and hajimemashite! It's my first time to see your review and I am happy to see a new reviewer! Thank you so much!
i love athrun: hehe, thank you for consistently reviewing my fiction!
cetsunai: ooh, sorry I wasn't able to see your review the last time! I apologize! But thank you for returning to review and read my story! Please do continue to support RIRW!
Once again, thank you so much!