Two
"Are you done yet?" Mrs. Souma asked her son as she peered over his broad shoulders and into a complicated looking chart.
"No."
The older woman rolled her eyes a bit but smiled widely, "you're nervous about tonight, aren't you?"
"No."
"Excited, maybe?"
"That will be a definite no," Hatori grunted, trying to shrug off his annoying mother.
The older woman chuckled lightly as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Oh, he could be so hard to manage sometimes but she just loved him so much. Even as a child, he would rather associate with his books rather than people- particularly children.
"Ha'ri, you do know that your special guest is coming in a half hour, right?"
"Yes. And?"
"And it would be polite if you were to wash up and present yourself respectfully when she arrives. I don't want to hear that you were treating her unkindly when I speak to her over the phone tomorrow."
Hatori grumbled irritably as he watched his mother exit his office door and shut it quietly behind her. He really hated being interrupted, especially when he was concentrating intently on something incredibly important. Who invited that girl anyway? And why did it have to be in his house? Annoyed, he thrust his pen across the large wooden desk and brought his large hands over his face; rubbing itvigorously.
What am I getting myself into?
In the past few years he had grown increasingly tired of being set up in blind dates with strange women who left him either completely uninterested or disgusted. He had grown tired of recieving unwelcoming gifts at the hospital he once worked at by annoying, giggly co-workers, and he had grown especially tired of women's inviting stares. He was just tired of women, really. Yet, why did he agree to his mother's suggestion of marriage? Perhaps he wished to dissolve his mother's nagging of his precious bachelorhood...he didn't know.
In all honestly, he could care less about the girl...he didn't even want to marry her in the first place, nor anyone else for that matter. Marriage in itself is a joke...and theirs will be the biggest joke of them all. As long as he brought home a steady income to please his so-called wife and he was left alone to do his business, then he saw no real problem in the matter. If his wife wasn't satisfied in the least, then she could simply take a lover or two if she pleased. He nodded to himself as he thought it over, not hating the idea all together.
Sighing loudly, he lingered in his chair for a moment longer before getting up to get ready for this special guest of his.
"I have nothing to wear..." Tooru finally said at last as she threw yet another garment onto her bed room floor.
"Noting the piles of clothing scattered everywhere, I find that very hard to believe," said an ebony-haired beauty who was sitting lazily on her bed.
The small brunette smiled slightly as she bit her lips. She didn't know why she was making such a fuss over her apperance when she was only going to have dinner with a man she didn't know...a man that she will be wedded to in a few months...maybe. They had only met three more times after their first encounter, yet they never spoke to each other. Mrs. Souma- or rather Auntie as she liked to be called, was always there to ease their tension, which Tooru was grateful for. Tonight, however, would be entirely diffferent. There will be no Auntie, no friendly conversations, and no possible way to avoid Mr. Hatori Souma.
"What's the fellow's name again?" Her friend asks suddenly, capturing Tooru's attention once again.
"Erm, Souma...Hatori Souma," Tooru replied as she continued on with her great search for a decent outfit.
"Hmm...I don't like him."
The young girl laughed brightly, "How mean! You don't even know him, Hana!" And neither do I.
"It's his name, I suppose," Saki remarked, sniffing. "I find it hostile and manly. On top of that, I find it rather fishy that he would propose to you now when you have only known each other for a month!"
"I find his name rather cute, actually. And besides, we're...head over heels for each other...heh heh..." She could nearly feel the word 'liar' imprinted all over her face.
"Hmmm...are you pregnant!" Hana asked suddenly, realizing the answer only seconds later when her beloved friend gave her a look of pure horror. "Hm, that's good. Most couples marry early when they're going to have a baby, you know?"
Pregnant? Hah! That was a laugh! How could she ever get pregnant with a man that refused to even acknowledge her very existence? Tooru laughed nervously, knowing that Hana would have gone absolutely ballistic if she were to find out that she was in the middle of an omiai...
The dreaded hour had come at last.
Tooru Honda was standing in front of his door...for the past ten minutes. Biting her lips, she turned away from the door and focused her attention on the mailbox while trying to gather enough courage to ring the doorbell.
Standing in front of such an extravagent home made her think twice of going back to her apartment so that she could change into something more...elegant. In other words, she felt completely underdressed. Her hair was down as it laid about freely on her shoulders, her short bangs framing her slender face innocently. She had worn a jean skirt that showed her pale, slender legs, and a white T-shirt with black english words written all over. It wasn't anything fancy nor was it completely plain, yet she still felt as though she didn't belong.
Groaning inwardly she finally turned around, only to face a tall man with piercing hazel eyes. Her own eyes widened as she caught sight of him and simply could not tear her eyes away from such dauntless beauty. How long had he been standing there?
"M-Mr. Souma..." She stammered, her cheeks aflame as she tried desperately to think of what to say next.
"Yes, Ms. Honda?" Hatori asked politely, trying to keep eye contact with her now wavering eyes.
"Uh...nothing. I just...er...wanted to say your name?"
"Why don't you come in and have a seat, Ms. Honda," Hatori asked quickly, as though forgetting what was said only moments ago. "I'll go check on our dinner in the meantime."
When he wandered inside the cavernous house, Tooru felt like screaming and slapping herself for making herself seem like a complete fool. He probably thought she was an idiot, which could be a good thing for who would want to marry an idiot, anyway? Ah, but she didn't know what to say when he was there. She was completely tongue-tied and her heart beated faster and faster with each passing second whenever he looked at her. She couldn't bear this...not this type of humiliation and embarassment. Haunching her shoulders in shame, she slowly entered the dining room, surprised to see that it was already set up.
"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting," Hatori said as he entered the room with a few dishes.
"O-oh, there's no need to be sorry. Would you like some help?"
"If you wish."
Tooru smiled fakely as she nodded. It is going to be a very long dinner.
They ate in uncomfortable silence, the grandfather clock that stood nearby ticked the time away as though trying desperately to save this failed dinner.
"Um, so..."
"Would you like to see a movie?"
Where the did THAT come from, Tooru asked herself, bewildered at her boldness. Hatori stopped eating for a second to glance at the girl who sat across from him as though remebering that she was still there.
"I haven't seen a film in years, actually."
"Oh really?" Tooru asked, not surprised for some odd reason. "Would you like to see one? I hear there's a good war movie going on..."
Hatori lifted a slender brow at her as he guietly put down his fork on his plate. "Do you like war movies, Ms. Honda?"
"Um, well...some of them are kind of interesting, I guess. I usually cover my eyes when disturbing scenes come out, though. But, I especially love a romantic love story in a war movie, but they usually end sadly so I usually find myself crying in the middle or in the end of it."
"You really are an ordinary woman."
Tooru looked at him questioningly, not quite understanding his statement and quickly dismissed it when she saw him return to his food. Did he not want to go with her to the movies? Was he disappointed in her answer? Did he find her annoying? Why did she even care?
She breathed in an exhausted sigh as she felt her appetite begin to dwindle each time she heard the ticking of the clock. If they are to be married in several months time, surely he would make the effort to get to know her. Yet, she only felt distance and tension between them. It was nearly driving her insane! And what's worse, she was starting to get use to the idea of thinking him as her fiance!
"Thank you for the meal, Mr. Souma," Tooru finally said at last after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "It was very delicious but I fear that I must return home."
"All right, I'll walk you home," Hatori said tonelessly as he managed to get out of his chair.
"Please don't trouble yourself. I'll show myself out." Tooru quickly gathered herself up as she walked steadily out of the room after giving the quiet man a quick bow. She opened the massive doors of doom and quickly let herself out as she heaved a sigh of great relief.
I don't think I'll see him again, Tooru concluded as she walked home. I'll just have to tell Aun- Mrs. Souma how I really feel. This honestly can't go any further.
My computer has been dead for months already and my father finally ordered these recovery CDs...so now my computer is completely recovered while everything that was in it...is gone forever ;/ Ah, well...as long as I have my baby back! I wasn't very satsified in where my story was going while I wrote in my school notebooks so I decided to write it all over again. I worked on this chapter extremely quickly (which I feel is rather evident) today because I was just itching to write something! So, I doubt it will be as appealing but we'll see :) Next chapter will be up by next week, hopefully, but I can't make anypromises! Please R&R! Thank you!
. Hae-jang Lee .
Ice Goddess of Doomy Doom- Thanks, darling :) I like this pairing also!
Wild Wolf Princess- I hope you enjoyed this chapter too :) Thanks!
Michelle- Thank you for your advise. As you can see, I used it XD hee hee. And thank you!
LiquidFlame- Thank you so much :) I tried hard to keep the characters in character, but I fear that I made Hatori a bit uptight in this chapter T.T; Please let me know what you think!
Taiyo- Thank you :) I hope you liked the 2nd Chapter as well!
Haritori- I hope I fixed the grammatical errors! Don't you hate it when the characters are COMPLETELY out of character? It makes me so sad when I see them that way :( Thank you for compliments by the way! Oh, and yes I'm Korean :D
ZSAngel- Isn't Tooru x Hatori pairing wonderful :D They are indeed my favorite pairing.
Yuki KIKI- Awww your review left me with a warm fuzzy feeling inside XD Thank you for your sweet compliments!
Kim- Thank you!
Jaded Sakuya- It's so hard to find this pairing ;.; I really do hope authors will start writing more on this couple since it seems so rare /
Koeerreean- Ah! I'm sorry for taking so long to update T.T! Please accept my apology!
Slow Motion Runner- Thank you so much :D!
Mcblueangel- Thank you for your review. I hope you like this chapter as well :)!
Lucy- I have no idea what you said o.O?
WingedChibiWarriorGirl- I'm so sorry T.T; My parents are lazy and cheap and didn't want to fix my 'puter ;.; But now that I have a computer again, I hope that I can update more often now :)
Suzie- Thanks :D!
Just call me Blue- Heehee no problem :) I really enjoyed your story! Umm, I was thinking about putting the curse into the story but then I figured that the others would go crazy if there were to be put in an arranged marriage since their suitor would find out their secret sooner or later. ; I didn't want it to get even more complicated because the story is going to get VERY complicated later on x.x