Heka: Okay, I'm back! My O Levels are over! I'm going to try updating everyday! Well, if possible. Yeah.
Dark: Huh.
Heka: Oh something occurred to me when I was studying. You know how we all say that Dark and Daisuke likes Riku right?
Dark: (Perks up immediately) Yes?
Heka: So technically, if Riku appeared in front of Daisuke, what would happen?
Dark: He'd change into me.
Heka: Yes, then since you like Riku too, you'd change right?
Dark: … yes…
Heka: Into?
Dark: Daisuke.
Heka: Yes, and Daisuke likes Riku too, right?
Dark: Yes… oh dear.
Heka: See my point?
Daisuke: … I think I'm going to be sick.
Heka: And I present you the one other pointless thing I've been thinking about. On with the story!
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Most love stories begin with a protagonist, usually down on his or her luck. Most love stories then have the protagonist meeting, by accident, the love of his or her life, who would amazingly pull the person right out of the deep dark hole that he or she had been in, and smile charmingly, and everything would be wonderful from then on.
Most love stories bank on that, knowing that the beloved public loves them.
Unfortunately, this love story, banks on that catch, knowing that the beloved public loves them to bits. This love story, as we all now know, involves two startlingly different characters who unwittingly complement each other so well that they, sadly, do not see it.
This love story hopes to change that concept.
Title: The Perfect Birthday
Chapter III: The Hangover You Don't Deserve
Riku woke up feeling very warm. Very, very warm. That was good. Riku's bed was the warmest of all the furniture that she had in her cold little apartment, which explained why it took her half an hour to get out of bed during winter, rainy days, before six in the morning (every day then, including weekends) and when she had a hangover.
Speaking of hangovers…
Her eyes weren't even open yet, and Riku felt like the world's biggest Headache Imp had taken the largest hammer that it could find, and smashed it on top of her skull, splintering what remained of her consciousness into a million painful pieces. Ugh. She squeezed her shut eyes closer together.
She was going to find Risa and kill her, that evil scum of which did not even deserve to be given a name and-ooohhh, she groaned in her head as another wave of pain hit her…. the agony of…
Riku shifted slightly. The bed was very, very warm. Unnaturally warm. The covers were also very, very heavy.
With her eyes still closed, Riku wondered why, her muddled brain going through yesterday's program with shaky fingers.
Uh… that bar… the drinks… the twin bartenders… and uhh… drinking…
Riku froze. Not that she was moving much anyway.
As her mind checked itself hastily, she ticked off mentally the parts she could feel… head was aching but fine, shoulders, arms… bit lethargic but still there… chest… heart, breathing… good… body, fine… something thin pressing lightly on her waist… butt, legs… something long and heavy there… stockings… toes… good. All were present and accounted for.
Then her mind turned to more pressing matters- like what was on her waist and on her legs, when her sensitive hairs at her neck suddenly noticed the presence of warm air.
Moving warm air.
Warm air that felt like… like it was being breathed in and out.
Oh. My. God.
Riku's eyes flew open. She regretted that decision immediately, as her already splitting headache seemed to get even worst and she whined slightly. However, she told herself to remain firm against the Headache Imp's onslaught and moved the arm her body wasn't currently laying on, closing her eyes again. She really didn't need the extra pain.
As she slowly moved her arm so that she could feel her waist and that mysterious object, a more pressing matter than moving warm air, her elbow encountered something hard and equally warm.
Shrinking away immediately, Riku didn't move and didn't dare to turn around, for fear of what she would see and unintentionally awake. So she contented herself by moving her hand down her waist, finally touching the long thin object on it. As her hand moved along the length of the object, she became aware that it was extremely smooth… like… that thing made of maggot spit… uhh… silk! Yeah, that was it.
Her exploration of the long object ended with her hand feeling five long thin extensions from the main body of the object. She felt each extension, rubbing her fingers against them, trying to get her head to stop pounding as she guessed what she was feeling.
Uh… soft… knobby thing… soft… another knob…bit of soft… hardness with an edge…
As realization dawned upon her, Riku felt like screaming for the second time ever since she woke up.
OH. MY. GOD.
That was a HAND!
And she bet seventeen Hayden Christensens and her headache that whatever that was on her leg was another LEG!
OH MY GOD!
As Riku readied herself to scream, the hand shifted slightly. That shut her up.
Oh yeah, her brain slowly and viciously remembered at that moment… hands and legs were attached to bodies and bodies were attached to…!
Unable to take the suspense anymore, Riku turned around to face her unfamiliar rapist, took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
'AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'
-/-
Dark had spent a few hours of the previous night, or earlier this morning, thinking about the very strange yet interesting woman who had fallen asleep on his stomach, after listening to the song on his iPod. Risa had contacted him several weeks ago, telling him that her sister's birthday was coming up. Dark had been completely nonplussed, having known Risa only though Satoshi and Risa's sister through Risa. What was her name again, yes, Riku.
Risa had outlined her sister's character to Dark over the phone, knowing that Dark couldn't resist interesting women. Riku had sounded like a spitfire and being Risa's twin sister, as gorgeous as her. Dark had been intrigued from the beginning, after hearing how Risa's sister had single-handedly made a bully tremble with fear when they were in high school by just glaring and slamming her locker exceptionally loud when he was in the vicinity. Add the fact that she was intensively over-protective with her air-headed (okay, Risa didn't say that but Dark knew what she meant anyway) and belle-of-the-ball sister, and completely immune to any male, alien, lesbian, demon or heavenly being, spiked his interest more.
So he had agreed to her devilish plan of a Birthday Surprise, to be Riku Harada's (heavenly) birthday present for twenty-four hours, as a means to meet her and to, if possible, break her immunity to men in general. Both agreed that in order for Dark to come through the process in one piece, Riku had to be drowned in alcohol first, something which she almost never did, with the iron grip she had over her lifestyle. Thus Risa had brought forth reinforcements, her two friends who knew of Riku's immunity to men and wanted, in all good will… and okay, a little evilness, to see Riku finally with a man, after chasing every one away for the past ten years.
He had been waiting in his black car and had seen, in the fading sunlight in the evening, a bunch of women dragging what, he guessed, was his recipient. He had watched with great amusement at the way that his receiver had tried practically all ways and means to escape from the clutches of her friends, resorting to breaking a heel and running madly, culminating with a rude tackle in the midriff from one of her more… violent friends.
He had waited for about half an hour, before his cell phone rang and Risa told him that it was A-Ok for him to enter the building. He had gone in and waited for another hour and a half, watching the four women intently. There was a cute brunette wearing glasses, who seemed to be the only one who was truly worried for the soon-to-be drunk woman. There was also a short woman with black hair, who was the one who ran an impressive flying tackle on Riku and whose fierce glare had chased away many of the men who had tried to hit on her, but he wasn't interested in them. Who he was interested in, was the woman who had been hunched up over at the bar top, talking to the bartender and giggling away like a five year old.
She was redhead, and then not a redhead. He couldn't decipher the colour of her hair. He finally decided with either copper or rust, or as deep red as the sunset that graced the skies every evening. And she had the deepest eyes that he had ever seen. He admitted that they had been dulled slightly by the alcohol but still, they had this power over him, like they were just begging him to go drown in their depths. And her face- Risa was good-looking and her sister had the same charm and features but there was something else to them, something much, much deeper. Taking an eye from Risa and an eye from Riku and switching them wouldn't make much of a difference but when Riku's features came together, Dark was very sure that there was a certain chemistry within her genes, which made her far different from her sister; and he was determined to find out what that was
Meeting her had been easy, he had walked up to her, intent on using one of his more famous and cheesier pick-up lines when she had slipped and spun, a result of a little too much alcohol, and landed up in his arms.
He distinctly heard her greet the floor though, before she had the sense to look up and see who had prevented her from doing some real damage to her nose…
Her very adorable nose, he might add. Heck, everything about her was cute. The way she laughed, the way she got angry and then finally the way she so blatantly pleaded for him not to leave…
Dark winced, not only because of the memory but also because of someone's voice.
'AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'
Dark jerked out of whatever dream or thought process he had been experiencing, and tried to focus on the situation at hand with the most amount of energy he could muster after being so rudely woken up.
As he sat up hurriedly on the bed, all he was aware of was a solid wall of sound coming from the very much awake and frightened Riku. His movements to placate her were met with pillows and even more sound, something which he didn't really like in the morning, even though it was from a very intriguing woman.
'Riku! Riku! RIKU! SHUT UP!' he yelled. 'Riku! Shhh! What will the neighbours think!'
Riku's screaming didn't stop. She had retreated to the corner of the bed, pulling most of the blankets with her and pummeling her serial rapist with pillows (not a very effective method but apparently her screaming was working) before he knew what was happening and started shouting coherent sentences. She didn't care that he was speaking coherently now; all she wanted was for him to go away.
Dark was beginning to get slightly irritated with the woman. Okay, he understood the initial shock (not every girl got to wake up with the gorgeous Dark Mousy cuddling her), and he understood that she had just woken up and was probably suffering from the effects of a hangover but that did not give her the right to scream her head off first thing in the morning and attempt to kill him with pillows.
Fighting through the flurry of pillows, he pushed one smooth arm holding a pillow down and another, successfully but there was still the problem of her voice, which was starting to form words, words that he didn't particularly like.
'YOU PERVERT! GET YOUR STINKING HANDS OFF ME, YOU SON OF A-' Riku was bellowing at the top of her voice. However, before she could finish her sentence, Dark had suddenly remembered that he had one more appendage on his body that he could use to silence her and covered her mouth with his.
(A/N: Ah hahahahaha just like the manga! –Does a boogie dance!)
-/-
A few hours later, Risa was sitting on a plush chair by her dresser; happily painting her toe nails a new shade of fuchsia after finishing her finger nails. Unlike Riku, she had not been rudely awakened in the morning and was naturally in a very good mood. As she finished the last nail on her right foot, she perked up suddenly, having heard a car driving past and pulling over. Smiling even more widely, she capped her bottle of nail varnish and placed it on the dressing table. Glancing at the reflection in the mirror and satisfied with what she saw, she turned and beckoned her maid over.
The timid woman scuttled over, her head bowed.
'Yes m'm?'
Risa laughed. 'There's no need to be so polite. Call me Risa, like I've told you before. Okay?'
'Yes m'm.'
Risa sighed then continued, 'My sister will be coming in soon. Please get a cool drink ready… or any hangover cure you might have at hand. Thank you so much.'
The maid vanished. Risa turned back to the mirror and smiled at her reflection again when she distinctively heard a car door slam shut.
She held out her right hand to check her nails and put down two fingers.
Three… she put down one expertly manicured finger.
Two… she smiled and put down another finger.
One.
'RIIIISSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAA!'
Risa smiled and looked towards the ceiling, flourishing both her hands dramatically. Her sister was so predictable and accurate. It was almost starting to get boring, predicting all her moves before hand. Still, Riku was Riku and there was no telling what she would do now, now that she was so angry.
Quickly, she turned herself so that her back was to the door of her room. As she arranged her face in what she hoped was an innocent look, the door slammed open. Turning around slowly, Risa's smooth face assumed a look of slight surprise, a complete contrast to her twin sister's thunderous expression.
'You rang?' she said mildly, smiling at her furious sister. 'What a surprise, Riku! I never thought you'd visit me-'
It was then she noticed her sister's attire. Riku looked absolutely disheveled and uncomfortable; she was still in her business suit from yesterday, and her right hand was clasping a rather messy-looking briefcase and in her left, a pair of pink-
Oh dear.
Risa tittered slightly. Her sister was walking around only in black stockings, her strict business suit and an angry expression. This would not do. Taking a deep breath, she rose from her chair and smiled widely.
'Riku darling, you look terrible!' she announced, putting one arm around her furious sister's shoulder and gently steering Riku out of her own room. 'This cannot do! No buts dearie,' she added when she saw Riku getting ready a comeback. 'You need a bath. My goodness! Into the bathroom you go,' Risa continued gleefully, pushing her now bewildered sister into the luxurious bathroom located on the same floor. 'And you're not allowed to come out until at least an hour has passed and I know you've been happily seda- I mean, relaxed by all the wonderful perfumes I've got in there!'
She subsequently shut the door in Riku's scowling face and sang,
'And you've got everything in there that's possibly related to bathing so don't come out till you're completely relaxed!'
Riku made a face when she heard what her sister said. Turning from the door, she still felt her breath slip away when she saw the bathroom.
It was, there was no other word for it, huge. The floor and walls were tiled with beautiful white… things… not marble, for sure, as it was too warm to be marble and geology wasn't one of her strong points … and the bath itself was huge enough to two people. Riku blanched as soon as she thought that. She did not want to know what her sister did here. There were several fluffy white towels and bathrobes hanging from a metal towel rack just beside the bath itself. The light was reflecting off everything, the large mirror above the sink, the smooth ceramic water closet at the left of the room, and suddenly appearing like a black dot in a sea of white, of all things- a compact-disc player.
Truth was that this was the guest bathroom, and anything that Satoshi and Risa did was, in fact in another bathroom, connected to the master bedroom. But Riku wasn't to know that.
Sighing deeply, Riku began to do as her sister said, knowing that no matter how airy or floaty Risa was, once she had dictated something, she would annoy the person until the task had been done. Thus with this in mind, Riku turned the faucet on, and waited as the bath filled with steaming warm water.
While waiting, Riku started fingering the many bottles of soaps that her sister had placed by the side of the bath absentmindedly. Sensuous…Aromatic…Supple…Smooth as silk… Warm… Riku winced mentally as she read the labels. Man, her sister must have worked really hard to get the spotless complexion she had today…
Inching out of her black stockings –God knows how much she hated the evil nylon things- she put her toes in the warm water, and immediately felt the tension in her body slip away. The headache that had bothered her since the morning even began to fade away slightly. Emboldened by that, Riku selected a random bubble bath, and she watched in slight amusement as she squeezed the bottle for what it was worth into the warm water. Taking off the rest of her clothes, she left them in a neat bundle by the bath and sunk into the welcoming warm water, feeling the rest of her knotted nerves loosening and just soaking in the warmth.
'Aaaahhhhh…' she sighed, closing her eyes. Looks like Risa was right on that count, she admitted to herself grudgingly; she'd have to kill that sneaky sister of hers later, after soaking for just a little longer…
-/-
Smiling to herself, Risa had tea, the hangover cure and scones ready by the time her sister emerged from the bathroom in a fluffy white bathrobe and a relaxed expression. Then she sat and waited patiently while her sister changed into something more comfortable, before their very long, overdue talk.
When Riku entered the sitting room in her sister's huge house in a shirt and some slacks, having followed a very demure-looking maid, to see her sister sitting- no, lounging on the couch like an ancient Egyptian queen, she understandably lost her temper.
'You-' she began before Risa held out a hand imperiously to stop her.
'Sit,' Risa pointed. Riku sat down in a huff and attempted to start again. 'You-'
Risa held out her hand again. Riku held her tongue, something which even she was surprised she did.
'Drink,' Risa continued, pointing at the glutinous-looking glass of hangover cure on the coffee table between them. Riku glanced at the cup then turned back to Risa. She was furious. Hangover cures and headaches were only secondary, compared to what she wanted to say to her conniving sister.
'Risa!' Riku exclaimed accusingly. 'You set me up!'
Risa treated her to a long stare as she slipped a cup of tea, completely ignoring the ringing accusation. 'So? How was he? Wasn't he nice?'
Riku's thermometer of tolerance, which was nearing boiling point, exploded in her head.
'Nice? Risa if you weren't my sister I'd have killed you by now… Nice? He was a stinking pervert! He was an irritating, sick serial rapist who-'
Risa stood up, surprised by her sister's burst of outrage. 'I beg your pardon? Dark Mousy, a serial rapist?'
Riku rounded on her sister like a hawk that had just spotted its prey. 'You KNOW HIM?'
'Yes, he's- '
'He! Kissed! Me!' Riku screeched, jabbing every word she yelled onto her sister's shoulder with a long finger. 'I woke up this morning to find that- that- jerk wrapped around me like I was his- his- pillow or something!'
Risa laughed a long, melodious laugh, something which annoyed Riku to no end. She could still laugh?
'Wow, Riku! I didn't know you were this fast! I mean, it took Satoshi-kun and I three months before we got to where you were this morning!'
'Aarrghhhh!' Riku exclaimed, throwing her hands up in fury, completely forgetting her hangover cure. 'You- you… we are NOT talking about this again! This ends here and now! I'll never understand you… you stupid married women!'
And with that, she stormed out of the room, took her clothes and left the house, slamming the door so hard that a framed picture of Satoshi and Risa dropped and crashed onto the floor. A maid appeared and began to clean the mess up quickly.
Risa sighed and chuckled to herself, as she replayed the conversation in her head.
'Riku… don't you understand? This doesn't end today you know… in fact, it's just begun.'
Subsequently, she picked up her ever-convenient cell phone and dialed a very familiar number on it.
'Hello… Dark? I trust Part One went well…?'
-/-
Dark grinned as he finished his conversation with Risa. After he had kissed her, Riku had exploded even more, something he was honestly surprised about, thinking that she had exploded already when she woke up. Riku had pushed him off; given him a punch on his left cheek that he was sure he wouldn't be forgetting in a hurry and left the room, exclaiming something about 'killing that damn conniving witch'.
He had sat there, slightly stunned, as he felt Riku's rage spilling throughout the hotel, even through the soundproofed door which he knew Hilton installed in every one of their rooms. Then he had gotten up with a smile, dusted his black shirt and pants easily, checked himself in the mirror for any lasting effects of the punch and breezed out of the hotel as if nothing had happened.
Still, he made sure to leave a little… something for that sneaky receptionist.
He hadn't seen Riku at the entrance of the hotel when he exited just as a valet pulled over directly in front of him with his car; which meant that she had successfully found a cab and was on her way to send that lovely sister of hers into the lowest level in hell.
Apparently, according to Risa, that conversation between the sisters had gone really well.
Now he shrugged to himself and pulled into his office. Treating the female receptionist to a dazzling smile, he got into the lift and pressed the button to the highest floor.
A blonde man leaning on the wall of the lift cracked into a knowing smile.
'Morning, Dark. Never thought I'd see you checking in on a weekend.'
'Morning, Krad. As they say, when you want something done, you've got to do it yourself,' Dark winked. Krad was his assistant and best friend. In fact, he was the one who introduced Satoshi to Dark.
'I trust your morning went well? You seem to be in an especially good mood today. What do you need to do anyway?'
'It was simply delicious. Oh yes, can you help me get Daisuke on the line? I need to speak to him.'
'Whatever for? He's your cousin. You don't have to sound so serious with him.'
'Oh,' Dark mused, rubbing his chin, as a faint memory of hands around his neck and the whiff of alcohol appeared in his head, 'It's about a promise I made to someone…'
-/-
Two weeks flew by. Riku was currently engaging in a sort of mental cold war with her sister: she was refusing to communicate with her, by words or otherwise. Today was one of the few days were she could actually sit down on her table and not collapse in exhaustion. That was an event monumental in its own right; Riku had been so busy designing and re-designing interiors that she actually felt that she was getting sick of drawing, pencils and paper for once. Stretching herself, Riku yawned and looked out of the window.
It was raining today but the rain was stopping, and the sun was peeking out slightly. Riku smiled. She loved the way the world looked right after a shower. It felt fresh, cool and still, as though it hadn't gotten over the fact that the rain had stopped. Then the people would slowly but surely appear on the streets again, filling it up with bustle, breaking the silence.
She looked at the pieces of paper on her table, all filled with plans and blueprints of buildings. For once, she felt bored with them, and besides she was only practicing, as no one had hired her company for any designing yet.
She laughed to herself. Why would anyone call themselves a company when they were the only ones in it?
She had big dreams for her company, the days when people would consider it a fashion to be 'H&H-ed'. However, they seemed really far-fetched now, and Riku sighed in defeat.
Bummer.
Chucking the papers aside, she now smiled in anticipation as she pulled out another pile of papers hidden under her table, these all covered with pictures and sketches of clothes and designs. Taking up her pencil, she was going to continue on a particularly difficult part of one of her favourite designs when the doorbell rang.
Riku frowned.
It rang again and Riku stood up reluctantly. Damn all evil door people who didn't know when to ring the door properly…
Checking herself in the mirror beside the door, she noticed that her clothes were slightly creased and straightened them out. Evil door people had to be entertained decently, even if she was going to yell at them for annoying her.
Pulling the door open, she was going to ground out one of the most frightening versions of the word 'What' to the unfortunate person who stood on the other side of the door when her mouth went slack.
Standing in the corridor was a man, no older than her she hazarded, with a pair of warmest red eyes she had ever seen. Her eyes slowly traveled to the rest of his boyish face, and she saw that he had a most outstanding crop of crimson hair. He was wearing a simple white polo shirt and a pair of beige pants. He was, there was no other word for it-
'So cute…' she murmured as though in a dream. The man flushed.
'Ah… err…' he managed, scratching his red hair in such an adorable manner that Riku felt that if she wasn't already twenty-three and a woman who held on extremely firmly to her values, she would be squealing her head off and hugging him. Remembering what she had said, she flushed in a similar manner and laughed sheepishly.
'Ah… err…' she echoed and then laughed. 'I'm sorry about that…'
'Err… it's perfectly fine… I get that a lot…' he laughed as well. 'Well… my name's Daisuke Niwa…'
'Ah… I'm Riku Harada...' Riku managed, flushing brilliantly. A smaller more sensible side of her was yelling at her about what the heck she was doing, giggling like a cow on cocaine- when she remembered her manners. 'Err… come in Mr. Niwa… make yourself at home…'
She stood aside so that he could enter her flat. Her sensible side was yelling at her again about how she could just let a complete stranger enter her house like that, and she was seriously debating with herself that he was such an adorable man and there was no way that he could-
'Err… I'm sorry to barge in like this… but something happened to my car just now… and I found out I didn't bring my cellphone with me…' Daisuke was saying hesitantly, sitting gingerly on her sofa. Riku ended her debate with herself and stared at him, once again getting lost in his oh-so-dreamy- looking eyes. What an adorable…
'…What?' she said. Once again, her sober side rose up and for the third time in five minutes, began yelling at her again about how stupid she could be, taking in his oh-so-obvious lies… and she clamped down on that side of her. 'I'm sorry… your car malfunctioned?'
'Ah err… yes…' he admitted softly, as though that was something to be shy about and flushed again. Riku was currently wondering about how incredibly lithe he looked. He was thin but there was some sort of hidden energy in that thinness… it wasn't the thinness or not eating well, it was the thinness of a person who ate well, exercised regularly and had absolutely… gorgeous looking eyes…
'Err… Miss Harada? Are you alright?' Daisuke asked, now slightly concerned about how the woman was looking at him with a faraway look in her eyes.
Riku mentally shook herself. He was just a guy she told herself. He was in trouble, she reminded herself. He probably needed help, she told herself again, and he… he was just so cute…
Stop it Riku! You look like a complete prat! She yelled at herself.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled and said, 'Err… I'm okay. So, err… your car malfunctioned, and you don't have your hand phone. Exactly how did you find my house?'
Daisuke jerked his head back slightly and flushed again. 'I… I just pressed any number on the lift and stopped at the first door I liked…?'
Riku peered at him suspiciously, her sensible side finally taking root, though her dreamy side was still gushing about his amazingly innocent-looking eyes. 'Uh huh. So you came up here to ask for?'
Daisuke scratched his head again. 'Err. I needed a phone… and there wasn't a public phone in sight… and it was raining, and… I needed the bathroom.'
At his words, Riku suddenly noticed that he was slightly damp, and she had to look at something else before her mind began to wonder what he looked like underneath without his polo shirt.
Riku-riku-riku-riku… guy needs… help… she reminded herself forcefully again. However she knew she couldn't stay in the same room as him for any longer or she was going to go mad.
Breaking into a huge smile, she said cheerfully, 'Well, the phone's right beside you and the washroom's right over there beside the kitchen and I'll bring you something to drink too, okay?'
Without waiting for an answer, she turned quickly and hurried into the kitchen, mentally kicking herself.
The guy wanted the bathroom! Duh, he didn't want a drink! She yelled again at herself. Riku, you stupid woman!
In the kitchen, she leaned over the counter and took a deep breath. Okay, she told herself, this guy just needed help, he was okay and he was nice, that's all, that's no reason to go around screaming and exclaiming what an adorable guy he was, he had good genes, that's all… and where'd his eyes get so red... and where did that thought come from…
She clutched her head in agony. Nononononono, that was a bad thought, a baaaad thought!
Letting her breath out with a hiss, Riku steeled herself and began to prepare a drink for him.
-/-
Sitting on the sofa in her living room, Daisuke looked around curiously. Dark had called him a couple of weeks ago, admitting that he had met some girl that he liked, and that he was going to help that girl achieve her dream or something, and that needed his help. That was a surprise, Dark had been mentioning about all the women of his life, and this was the first time that Daisuke had heard of a woman Dark actually liked. Forever the helpful guy (and a little curious as to what kind of woman she was), Daisuke had agreed to help him help her break into the fashion industry, which was kind of difficult, unless you had the right strings to pull.
Daisuke was currently the next CEO of Niwa.Inc, a clothing company so large that it had at least five outlets in practically every continent on Earth, except for the two extreme ends. His mother was the current chairwoman with a grip like iron on her company under all her giggling and mad ideas about how adorable Daisuke looked and laughing at her nephew.
Funny, the woman didn't even make the connection at the mention of his name. She had a long way to go then…
The woman was actually not unattractive. She had deep chocolate eyes and a wonderful smile, and was unerringly blunt. Something, Daisuke felt personally, that Dark really needed in his life, what with everyone fawning over him. At least she wouldn't be afraid to point out that she didn't like something, just like how she pointed out he was adorable…
Daisuke blushed at that thought. Damn, he told himself angrily, he mustn't fall for the woman his cousin had fallen for! Wanting something else to think about, he looked around again and his eye caught sight of a pile of papers on the table. That must be what she was working on before he barged into her house.
Standing up, he leant over and looked at the many pieces of paper, the designs all jumping out at him. They were good… they were very fresh, he had to admit. There were little parts on her sketches where he knew technology hadn't been able to reproduce yet but overall, they were excellent.
No wonder Dark wanted to help her…
This woman was a hidden gem.
Remembering himself in time, he bounced back onto the sofa and picked the phone up just as the woman re-entered the living room, looking very uncomfortable, with two glasses in her hands.
'Sorry… couldn't think of anything…' she apologized as she handed the glass of water to him. Daisuke smiled gently.
'It's alright…'
Clutching her glass as though it was her lifeline, Riku took a drink, and predictably choked on it. Alarmed, Daisuke was immediately beside her, patting her back and asking if she was alright. Riku, now red in the face with her exertion and embarrassment, squeaked out a 'perfectly fine' before collapsing into a fit of coughing again.
As Riku's coughing slowly subsided, Daisuke decided to make a stab for it.
'Err… Miss Harada, I'm sorry, I saw your sketches on the table… and…' he began slowly, watching her expression change from embarrassment to surprise then to anger, faster than a set of traffic lights.
'You…' Riku began. Her sketches were sacred. No one touched them. Not even the cutest guy in the world could touch them… 'You-' she continued, her voice growing in anger and rage, 'you…'
Daisuke's eyes grew wide as she stood up and towered over him. Bad move, he thought. As she moved closely to do him some real damage, he squeezed his eyes shut and exclaimed,
'TheywerereallyniceandIwantedtohireyoutodesignforussomenewclothes!'
Nothing happened. Daisuke opened one eye cautiously. Riku was standing over him, her face caught between an expression of anger and surprise.
'You- what?' she managed.
Daisuke opened both of his eyes and stared up at her shyly.
'They were really good… and I want to hire you!'
He closed his eyes swiftly for the explosion again.
Nothing happened.
He flinched then opened them again, and saw to his surprise, that Riku was sitting beside him with her face in her hands.
'Err… Miss Harada?'
'I'm okay… I am, really…' Riku's voice came out muffled from her hands. She wasn't crying- she was so embarrassed that she had tried to kill the man who was going to offer her the job of her dreams.
Inside however, she was screaming.
Oh my God, this man wants to hire me!
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Heka: Err yes. I end here! I've only got 3 reviews for this… I'm so sad!
Shigure: You're expecting too much. How can you expect people to read your story when it only has three chapters?
Heka: Well they could bloody well-
Dark: Now, now, be nice.
Heka: Hmph. Oh yes, I've forgotten to add my disclaimer and all, Shigure and Dark don't belong to me, neither do Riku, Risa or Satoshi or anyone else I put here, except the idea and the story…
Shigure: You stole me from Fruits Basket right?
Heka: Borrowed, Shigure, borrowed.
Shigure: Yeah, right.
Heka: Now, please review! Ask for pairings! Lol. Yes. Here are the two stories I said I'd recommend to you… I forgot the other time round, sorry!
1. Don't Tell Anyone, But by Sakura-Angel2 2472157 (One of my biggest, biggest favourites! So cute and everything! I love this one!)
2. La Fraise by Komiko 1912191 (Also another one of my favourites! It's really funny and all, the way she writes! And she's a veteran too, in DarkxRiku pairings! Yay!)