War of the roses...and a lot of other flowers.

Misaki vs. Akihiko

Two weeks have passed since dinner at the Takahashi house and the announcement of the pregnancy. Ever since that night with Akihiko Usami, Misaki has been on her toes, keeping a constant watch for any sign of the author who swore to make her his no matter what. So far, she has seen not a hair of that incubus.

However...

Misaki glared in front of her, her eyebrow twitching and a tic mark throbbing.

Kisa who sat beside her sweatdropped as she watched her coworker death glare at the object on her desk. "Uh, Saki-chan. Those flowers will catch fire if you keep glaring like that."

Misaki clenched her eyes but continued to glared through her eyelids. "That's the idea."

"That's the sixteenth bouquet already." Tori stated, not bothering tp look up at the number of flowers surrounding the poor girl's desk and walling her in.

Everyday since Akihiko dropped her off at her apartment, the smarmy bastard has sent her flowers right at her workplace. Each bouquet bigger than the last one and had a note attached:

"Let the games begin."

"Admit defeat."

"I'm winning."

It is at this point, Misaki snapped. She slammed her fists on her desk, scaring her coworker. 'ALRIGHT ASSHOLE! IF THIS IS HOW YOU WANNA PLAY? I CAME PREPARED TODAY!' Her eyes glinted as she opened her bag and swiftly pulled out two large garbage bags. With determined vengeance, she grabbed every bouquet and stuffed them inside, making sure not one petal or stem escaped her. She tied off the knot and literally ran towards the nearest garbage bin on the floor and threw them inside. For good measure, she stomped on the plastic bags in fury, bouncing on top of them in rage until they were wedged inside the bins.

The people working on that floor watched in fearful amazement as she sent her admirer's gifts to the trash. One, however, was secretly recording her rampage on his phone. He couldn't help the amused smile on his face before he emailed the video to his aniki. While he gave Misaki an 'A' for effort in trying to dissuade Usami's affections, he knew the incubus will just hit back harder.

Later, when Misaki returned from lunch, her jaw dropped at the innumerable amount of flowers framing the entrance, windows, her desk and her chair. Her coworkers looked sheepish, sympathetic, or just got used to it at this point.

Once again, Misaki lost it. "Oh my, would you look at this, another bouquet of flowers. Lucky me." She sarcastically said as she plopped down on the chair. One rose sat at the center of her desk with a note attached to it. She picked up the rose and turned the paper over. A tic mark appeared on her head.

"Nice try love."

'I SHALL KILL THAT BASTARD IF IT IS THE LAST THING I DO!' She seethed to herself as a dark murderous aura emanated from her, scaring her coworkers and any employee that passed by the entrance.

Her phone rang, her aura calmed down but didn't vanish. When she saw the caller ID, her aura came back stronger. "Please excuse me, I need to take this." She said as she left the department and made her way to a vacated area of the floor.

She took a deep breath to compose herself before she answered the call. "Usami-sensei."

"Hello Misaki, do you like the flowers?" She could hear the smirk on the other end of the line.

"No, I do not. They are a nuisance to me and my coworkers in the department. So stop sending them!" Misaki hissed into the phone.

"I'll stop once you admit defeat."

"Forget it. It's not happening."

"Well I've got another bouquet of roses scheduled for tomorrow."

"Are you trying to get me fired?" She exclaimed exasperatedly at how ridiculous and childish this man is.

"If you get fired, money won't be an issue if you live with me. You can settle as my cute little housewife."

Misaki blushed at the very idea of being this perverted man's wife. She shook her head, "Thanks but no thanks. I like to earn my money."

Silence met her statement, causing her to tense up until she heard the man's next words. "I'm coming into Marukawa tomorrow for a meeting. We can discuss the flower situation after I'm done."

Misaki's stomach dropped when he told her that. She hasn't seen him since that night, she can still remember his touch and what it did to her. She blushed as she clenched her legs together. Why did her body heat up at the thought of that perverted demon touching her?

"What time?" She didn't know why she asked that almost immediately, but she wanted to stop dealing with the flower fiasco pronto.

"2pm sharp."

"I have lunch around that time." Misaki said with a sigh of defeat.

"Lovely. I'll see you then."

The call ended, but not Misaki's racing heart. Why did this happen to her? With another sigh, she trudged back to her department.


Misaki looked up at the conference room number with trepidation. Earlier when lunch time came around, she received a text from Usami telling her which room to meet her in. She hasn't told Ritsu about this meeting because the girl was already stressed over another lazy author failing to make the deadline. Since this is her mate problem, she must settle this on her own.

She took a deep breath and knocked. She entered as soon as the door opened and was greeted by a sharply dressed Usami who locked the door behind her. She squared her shoulders when Akihiko turned his gaze at her.

"So, you wanted to discuss your surrender?" Akihiko asked with a smirk as he leaned against the conference table.

Misaki glared, "I'm not surrendering, especially not to you."

Akihiko's smirk didn't falter. "You're fighting a losing battle my dear. It wouldn't be so bad if you just give in to your fate."

"Hmph, I decide my own fate, thank you. And I'm choosing not to be with you. I mean come on, it's not like you chose me. In fact, there are millions of other women who'd give their left ovary to be with you. There's a wide variety out there, so take your pick." Misaki stated, playing on his status and popularity with the female gender.

"I want you." Akihiko said, frowning at the thought of touching other women. Before he would go after any one of them just to scratch that itch. But now, the very idea of having someone who's not Misaki makes him sick to his stomach.

Misaki was surprised by his frown, but didn't back down. "No, you think you want me because of this...supernatural bond your kind feels. See, it's not what you want. You're an incubus, so it's natural for you to go after young women to satisfy your hunger." She said, using his demonic nature against him.

"You honestly believe you know what a supernatural feels about a bond? You're more innocent and naïve than you look." Akihiko smirked, though he was mildly insulted by how she viewed their bond.

"Please, it's not like you want this bond to dictate your life anymore than I do. Why do you even want your choice to be taken from you?" Misaki's question caused his smile to drop. 'Yes, make his question the bond. He'll realize it and leave me alone.'

Usami was deep in thought before he nodded. "It's true that not all of us are fond of the idea of fate deciding who our soul mate should be. Even I did...for a time." He made eye contact with Misaki who listened intently. "However, the moment we find our other half, whether they're human or supernatural, it's impossible to fight the pull without feeling pure agony." He watched Misaki's posture and noted how tense and tired she looked. "Fighting this bond will take a toll on you too."

Misaki's eyes widened at what he just said. "What are you talking about?"

"The more you fight, the harder it will be to resist. You'll feel more drained than you ever felt in your life. It doesn't matter how much you fight against the bond, it will only become stronger." Akihiko explained as he watched Misaki suppress a shiver. "Even now, the bond is getting stronger with us being close to each other."

Misaki glared at him, "You're lying. This can't be right."

"It's the truth Misaki. You can't deny it either because you feel it too." Akihiko said knowingly as Misaki shook her head.

"I don't feel anything. Least of all towards something like you." She felt a sharp pain in her heart when she said those words. She wanted to hurt him, but somehow, it caused her just as much pain if not more.

"Do you truly hate me that much?" He asked with a frown when he felt that painful sting her words brought them.

Misaki was silent when she heard that question. Hatred wasn't what she felt towards this man. Anger, annoyance, fear definitely. But not hate. She wants to hate him, but is unable to no matter how hard she tries. She looked away from him, refusing to answer his question.

Akihiko decided to let that question slide as he let out a long sigh. "You know this will wear you out eventually. Though I will applaud you for putting up a fight, thought you'd crack by now."

Misaki turned to glare at him again. "Well sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not giving in to you."

Akihiko smiled, "We'll see."

Misaki sighed in annoyance, "Will you just stop with the flowers already? It's so annoying having to clean the petals and leaves all the time."

"Sorry love, no can do." Akihiko said, further aggravating her, much to his amusement.

An idea struck the incubus which made his smile widen. "However, I am willing to make a deal with you if you truly want the flowers to stop."

"Forget it." Misaki quickly said, she did not like the smile on this guy's face. Last time she saw it was in that car that night.

"Just hear me out." Akihiko began, "I'll stop sending the flowers in exchange for a kiss." Misaki's eyes widened and a blush stained her cheeks, but he wasn't finished, "...On the lips for a full five minutes."

"F-Five minutes...of kissing?" Misaki said indignantly then shook her head. "Like hell, that's harassment."

"Well then, you can enjoy more flowers come morning."

Misaki's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. She did not want to deal with anymore flowers for fuck's sake. But the only way to get this little madness to stop is to kiss this arrogant, perverted, persistent bastard of an incubus. Gritting her teeth and clenching her hands in grudging silence, she let out a long breath to calm herself. "Just five minutes, is that all?" She really hates her life right now.

Akihiko's smirk widened, "That's right. Five minutes, not one second less."

Misaki fought the urge to flee. "You'll promise to stop sending me flowers?" If she didn't do this, she'll be forced to deal with more bouquets.

"I promise."

"Fine." She said with a resigned sigh after a moment of silence.

Akihiko's eyes gleamed victoriously. "Come here then." He said as he beckoned her closer with his hand.

Misaki blushed and gulped down her saliva. Summoning her courage, she took one step towards him, then another, and another. She stopped when she was staring directly at his necktie, unable to look him in eyes. She flinched slightly when she saw his hand come close to her face. Her eyes clenched shut when his entire hand gently cupped the side of her face and tenderly caressed her cheek. The moment his skin touched hers, her body relaxed almost instantly against her wishes. His fingers hooked under her chin and turned her face to look up at him. Her green eyes were caught in his violet gaze. She was caught off guard by how inhumanly beautiful they were, this creature no doubt seduced thousands of women with his eyes alone.

She was frozen as his face got closer, her mind wanted her to run, but her body refused to obey for a multitude of reasons. The moment his lips came in contact with hers, she felt that same tingling feeling return. Her eyes closed as she lost herself in the sensation Akihiko was creating. Somehow, this kiss felt different compared to the previous ones. Before, it was lust and driven by a passionate desire to stake his claim upon her. But this kiss, while there is indeed passion, there was also some tender reassurance and sweetness. Her hand unconsciously came up and grabbed the sleeve at the elbow of his suit, which he took as permission to deepen the kiss by gently combing his fingers through her hair and wrapping his other arm around her back. She shyly returned his kiss, trying to mimic the sweetness he was conveying to her.

'What's happening to me? Why is my body...?' She tried to form thoughts, but her mind kept blanking out from the kiss. 'Wait, it's the bond! The bond is making me feel this!' She opened her eyes and glanced at the clock and saw only two minutes have passed since the kiss began. 'Damnit, only three minutes left. Okay Misaki, you can do this. Just endure it a little longer, then you're free.' She frantically assured herself as he pulled away to let her breathe a little then dragged her in for another kiss.

She gasped when his hand snuck under her shirt and started caressing the small of her back, teasingly dipping his fingertips into the waistband of her skirt. 'How dare he, this is supposed to be a kiss, not touchy-feely!' Misaki squirmed, but was held firmly in his embrace as he continued their tender lip lock. His touch was too hot for Misaki, it made her insides tingly and ache for more. She desperately wanted to escape before her body gave in to temptation. An idea struck her when her free hand twitched at her side. She stealthily moved her fingers to the skin of her thigh and furiously dug her nails into the surface of her flesh. The stinging sensation of her delicate skin being pricked helped distract her from his touch and quell that burning desire he was invoking within her.

After what felt like an eternity, Akihiko separated from her. His violet gaze softened at the dazed expression on Misaki's face as she blinked her half-lidded eyes at him. "Five minutes. You did quite well." Akihiko said as he stroked her cheek bone with his thumb.

Misaki blushed and turned her face away, "Will you let me go now?"

Akihiko sighed quietly then slowly released her. However, his eyes caught something on her left thigh, which caused him to grab Misaki and sit her on the conference table.

Misaki released a startled gasp when she was suddenly yanked onto the table. She was confused and frightened by Akihiko's actions when she saw him kneel and lift her skirt up. "What are you doing?" Misaki tried to push his hands away, but gasped when she saw his face close to the scratch marks on her thigh. She gasped when his hands gently held her leg as he lowered his mouth to the scratches. She blushed when he kissed her thigh, how can such a perverted incubus such as him be so gentle yet forceful. The way he is holding her right now was almost like he was worshipping her, yet at the same time keeping her hostage.

Akihiko healed the scratches with very little effort then pulled away to see it completely gone. "Don't ever injure yourself on purpose again Misaki." Akihiko warned as he looked up, "If you do, I'll have to punish you." He smirked mischievously as he placed a possessive kiss to her thigh and felt her tense up at his actions and words.

He stood up from his kneeling position and took a step back for Misaki to get off the table. She blushed as she pulled down her skirt and said, "I gave you what you wanted, so stop sending me flowers."

"You have my word. No more flowers." Akihiko swore as Misaki passed by him and made her way to the door.

Her hand touched the handle, but paused and said, "Thank you." She turned the handle and left the conference room, her head face down as she hurriedly made her way back to Emerald. The sooner she went back to work, the sooner she can stop that tingling sensation.

As Akihiko promised, he stopped sending his mate flowers to convey his love, much to Misaki's relief.

However...

Misaki glared at the heart shaped box on her desk and the note attached to the bow, "As promised, no more flowers."

"That bastard." Misaki growled in irritation. She should've known he'd attack her with something other than flowers.

"At least it's food." Kisa said as she eyed the chocolate box her coworker received.

Misaki sighed in exasperation before she undid the bow and opened the box. She grabbed the first chocolate truffle she saw and shoved one in her mouth then offered one to Kisa who took it gladly and ate it with gusto.

'I'm definitely gonna get fat after this.'


This one was a struggle to get out, but I had fun with it. Hard to say who won this round though. All in all, thank you kindly for reading this chapter and I apologize for making you wait. Until then, leave a review.