A/n This work is dedicated to our dear friend Kristinochka, who always supports us and believes in us!

It's not beta-read yet, so we are sorry for the errors. We will correct them later. Please, enjoy reading! 3

Fate can be neither passed by, nor driven round.

Chapter 3

When Sumi woke up, it was already far past midnight. She didn't remember how she ended up in her bed, since the last thing her memory was able to recall was the elegance of the host club they had been celebrating the "happy marriage" at and the flavor of the sweet champagne on her lips.

Ah, so that was the reason why she blacked out. Jinguji family had never been good friends with alcohol, and she knew it from the start, but… Okay, there were two reasons why she decided to try it today: it was the finest champagne she had ever laid her eyes on (of course there was great temptation to have a little sip and taste it) and also there was other reason. That entire story with the fake marriage and the pressure of the responsibility for causing so much trouble to a group of people she barely knew was pretty much getting on her nervous system. Well, from the three men that agreed to help her out with her crazy idea of achieving her dream of becoming a History teacher in St. Rudolf, she knew only her Uncle Jakurai. The other two guys were complete strangers to her. Unfortunately, she had always been a nerd since elementary school and that skill of hers didn't vanish during her studying in Todai. Maybe that was why she didn't pay much attention to her Uncle's rapping life. She just knew that he was a successful rapper and organized his own team in Shinjuku Division. And Sumi admired him for his ability of being a talented doctor and a respectful leader of Matenrou in one bottle. There had been several times when she spotted his performances on TV. Bust frankly admitting, she had never paid much attention to his teammates on the screen. She just knew that there were two other guys who held the same goal as her Uncle. And one of those guys was blond and the other had red hair. That was pretty much everything she knew about them back then.

Maybe that was why her first impression on Kannonzaka-san was of that he looked somehow familiar. She had definitely seen him next to her Uncle and that other blond guy (whose name was Hifumi, as she found out later) on TV and on tabloids in the city, but never really cared about his person. For some reason, now she felt guilty for been so inactive in her Uncle's rapping life. In the moment of great need who held his hand out to her, after all?

Sumi sighed and rolled out of her bed into a sitting position. A glint of something sparkling on her hand caught her attention. It was a wedding ring with a small diamond, the very ring she chose for herself in a jewelry store two days ago. This ring was guaranteeing her with protection from scandals and suspicions regarding her status at the new place of work. And also this ring was the proof that she had tied her life with a stranger for the upcoming year. A cold feeling of uncertainty crept up her heart, when the comprehension of her situation started to dwell on her mind. Was her dream really that important and worth of offering such sacrifices as her and Kannonzaka-san's freedom?

Ah, she needed to get a grip of herself. There is no time and place to think about it anymore. What had been done was done. He gave her a helping hand in her difficult situation and she needed to be grateful. And she was, really.

But there was a little aspect that she couldn't come in terms with yet. When she was telling Uncle Jakurai about a pretending marriage, she didn't think of an actual marriage, nor did she predict of living with the man who would agree to be the "lucky husband". To her amusement Uncle just told her strictly that it was for her own sake. Well, she didn't know if it was really good for her to share her apartment with a man, but now she had no other choice. Uncle Jakurai was very persuasive when he told her about the responsibility of her decisions and awareness of any outcomes.

"You will live together and play a happy newlywed couple in love in public and in front of your families – both his and yours."

She could have never predicted that her own reasonable and aloof Uncle would tell her something like that. And now all she could do was entrusting her faith in her Uncle's judgment and her life in Kannonzaka-san's hands.

At first glance, he didn't look like a bad person. Sadly, they didn't have much time to talk to each other before the marriage registration. Each of them needed to make preparations and there was no chance of communicating properly. The next time they saw each other after that fateful day in Uncle's cabinet was at the doors of the municipal government office, where they agreed to meet up beforehand. And an hour later they walked out of that building being officially married.

There was long silence between them as they just stood near the entrance, both looking in the distance. And then she heard him saying something she wasn't prepared of hearing.

"It's a strange feeling," he said and then paused for a moment.

"Yeah," it was everything she could master for an answer.

"Jinguji-san," the red haired young man turned to her and looked down to catch her gaze. His next words caught her off guard, while his earnest blue eyes made her cheeks flush for some unknown reason. "I have no intention to interfere in your life. You know that this is something we have to live through and please, bear with me for this period of time. And if you ever need anything I can help you with, just know I am here for you. I promised Sensei to protect you and I will."

Those words were still ringing in her ears and bringing warm sensation on her heart. For someone, who was utterly exhausted, with dark bags under his eyes, he looked serious and sincere, and she couldn't but sense it.

Well, this Kannonzaka-san didn't bring a feeling of fear or insecure to her, so maybe it wouldn't be so awful to share an apartment with him. She had nothing much to do about it anyway. But playing a couple in love with this man was another problem. How did Uncle think she would do it if she had never been in love before? Moreover, she had never even dated anyone!

Ah, she needed to clear her mind from those thoughts. There was nothing she could come up with in that state of mind.

Sumi got up and walked out into the living room and headed to the kitchen, but stopped on her tracks the moment she noticed something unusual. In the semi-darkness of the living-room she could see a silhouette of a man sitting on her couch. There was a moment of panic in her mind as she was sure that she was alone at home. With an uneasy gulp the girl stepped closer to the intruder, trying her best not to make a sound. Her heart was pounding in fear like crazy, but as soon as she recognized the person, she let out a sigh of relief.

It was just Kannonzaka-san sleeping on her couch in a sitting position, with his head lying on the headrest. By looking at him, she could tell that it was not the most comfortable position. He was still dressed in his suit (though, he was using his jacket as a blanket) – the very suit she saw on him during the marriage registration and celebration in the host club, where his friend worked.

Plus and plus started to come together in Sumi's head as she had finally realized why her newlywed husband had been sleeping on her sofa in her apartment at night.

"I can't believe he carried me here when I was unconscious," the girl covered her face in her hands in shame.

As guilty and shy as she felt right now, there was also a hint of curiosity in her eyes, as she looked at the man's sleeping face a little longer than it was necessary. The moonlight eliminated his pale skin and made it look almost porcelain-like. The red strands of his hair fell on his closed eyes and it made him look carefree and boyish. And also he looked relaxed, and maybe it was the main reason why Sumi's mind worked in perfect sync with her heart and gave out a thought that slipped out her mouth in a shape of a word.

"H-handsome."

Two seconds later her eyes widened in panic as she comprehended what she had just said.

No! No-no-no! It wasn't right at all! Since when did she gain a habit of drooling over handsome guys? Well, she must admit, Kannonzaka-san was indeed a good-looking young man, but he was much older than her! He was turning thirty years old on May,15! That very paragraph of "Age" in their marriage registration form was well imprinted in her brain. She, herself, had just reached the age of twenty-three. It was on February,25. They were almost seven years apart in age difference. There could be nothing happening between then!

Stop! Why was she even thinking that there could be anything between them at all?! They were strangers to each other – just two people bound together by fictitious marriage for a year. Nothing more, nothing less.

She needed to cool down. It was beyond her understand why she reacted to his presence and handsome appearance that way that it made her so worked up.

A glass of water would be nice.

With a quick resolve, Sumi was about to hide herself in the kitchen, when she heard the man stirring in his sleep and putting his left hand on his forehead, as if he was in a process of waking up. The moonlight played upon something shiny on his hand and Sumi recognized a ring on his wedding finger. Just as she had bought a ring for herself, he had done the same. Uncle Jakurai insisted that everything regarding their marriage must look natural. And even if they didn't exchange their vows and rings at the wedding ceremony in church, they were still married by the law of their country from now on.

Sumi unconsciously touched her own ring, never leaving her eyes from the man that had hold out his helping hand towards her in her moment of desperate need. He agreed to be her husband and gave her a chance to achieve her dream without asking anything in return. Uncle Jakurai had told her so, that Kannonzaka-san didn't want anything for a reward. And that made him the man that he was. Looking at him right now, Sumi still couldn't believe that such person could exist in the imperfect world they lived in.

But judging by the groans he was emitting, she could say that he was one hundred per cent real.

When he finally opened his eyes, it was obvious that he didn't know where he was. He was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling and muttering something under his nose. Then he slowly stretched out his sore muscles and straightened up in a sitting position, and only then did he notice that he wasn't the only one present in the room.

An unexpected cry of surprise was heard from both sides.

"Ah! Jinguji-san!"

"You scared me, Kannonzaka-san!"

There was a pregnant pause before the young man brushed away the strands away from his eyes and stood up hurriedly only to fold in a half in a deep bow.

"I am sorry for intruding. I needed to get into your apartment to carry you in, but I didn't have a key and I am very sorry, but I had to look for it in your purse. And then I couldn't leave without locking the door, and your door can be locked only with the key. So I had no other option but to lock it from inside and stay here for the night. It wasn't my intention, so I really very sorry that I stayed at your home without your permission."

His speech was so fast that she needed time to comprehend what exactly he was apologizing for. Now she knew why Uncle Jakurai was fond of this guy's rapping skills. The image he was giving her right now didn't help much. The same old moonlight did its best to make Kannonzaka-san look charming even in that bowing position. The pale light of the moon illuminated his white shirt and unruly red hair, making an eye-catching contrast. She could notice his shoulder blades under the thin fabric of his crystal-white shirt. Sumi had a feeling that he was glowing under the mysterious light.

"Please, you don't have to apologize, Kannonzaka-san!" she had finally come to her senses when she noticed his frozen posture in that deep bow. "The one who should be saying sorry is me. I fell asleep during the celebration and forced you to take me home. Sorry for that."

"You didn't force me to do anything," he straightened up and looked down at her with a small smile, that caught her off guard. "I did it on my free will."

Actually, it was unusual. Well, she couldn't recall looking into someone else's eyes for so long, but also, she didn't know anyone with such a rare eye colour. Crystal blue, glowing in the moonlight.

Sumi! Stop! Was it even legal to stare at the man's face and admire the perfect combination it made with the light of that almost full moon?

"I…I…" she found a huge gap in her vocabulary for some reason. "Well, thanks then," she even mastered a smile. "And it's alright if you stayed here for the night. We are going to live together after all. It's a good chance to get used to the surroundings."

She thought that it was strange to talk about moving in in the middle of the night, but her pounding heart didn't give her logical brain to act normally and share a more professional conversation.

"If you say so," the guy uttered and ran his gaze around the room. "You have a nice apartment. I'd rather not limited your space and stayed with Hifumi, but Sensei said that it's important to live together. So, sorry for causing you troubles."

Sumi let out a chuckle.

"Kannonzaka-san, are you really apologizing for causing me troubles? Don't you think it should be pretty much vice versa? I'm sure that marrying a complete stranger wasn't your plan for the weekend. But I have to thank you for your generosity again. You really saved me and my dream."

And she bowed to him slowly and elegantly. The moonlight played upon the skin on her neck and the sight made the guy's pulse quicken.

What was with the moon and its tricks tonight?

He didn't know how to respond as he wasn't used to be thanked.

"I-I just hope, i-it will work out. Somehow," he stuttered a little, averting his eyes from her petite form. She was a perfect representative of females. So elegant and fragile. And she was much shorter than him, so if he wanted to look into her face he needed to shift his gaze downwards. Her height barely reached his shoulder line.

"Me too," she supported with a small smile. "By the way, I was going to drink some water, but since we are both awake, maybe I could treat you to something? What do you like, tea or coffee?"

The third rapper of Matenrou didn't know how to react to such kind offer. He had never been asked of his preferences by a girl. It was always him and Hifumi sharing meals together. The changes in his life were drastic, but maybe not all of them were that intimidating.

"Emm, hot milk would be great at this hour, but if it's too troublesome, please ignore me," he answered shyly, hiding his gaze under his forehair.

"Two hot milks, got it," Sumi let out a melodic laugh, catching his attention. He looked up to see her smiling face.

The moonlight played upon her skin, making it glow beautifully. The two strands of her long hair on both sides of her face cupped it perfectly. Her navy blue eyes looked similar to Sensei's but held gentler attractiveness. The guy didn't know anyone from Jinguji family other than Sensei and his niece, but he was sure that all of them were charismatic people.

And thanks to the already well-known moonlight, her white blouse was glowing with mystery, making the girl look like some kind of unreachable deity.

Thirty minutes later they were sitting at the table and drinking their late treat. They shared a little light chat about daily life, work, hobbies. He would answer her frankly, and she was getting used to the sound of his sincere voice. He was starting to catch himself on a thought that she had a nice smile, when she was telling about her dream work.

But soon they reached the topic about their families and the atmosphere got heavier, when she recalled about telling their parents about the marriage.

"And Sensei told us to have a special wedding photo shoot," Kannozaka added with paling lips.

"And the photo shoot is tomorrow," Sumi voiced out the inevitable, her eyes widening in panic.

They didn't know how they could forget about one more importance event. Uncle Jakurai had told them at the celebration party that he had already arranged the photo shoot for them, where they were going to rent wedding suits and have a special photo shoot for the newlyweds. It was his wedding gift for them, and the result of the event, which would come out as a hundred of beautiful pictures of the happy couple in love, would be the very gifts from the newlyweds to their families.

With shocked eyes they stared at each other in silence. Tomorrow they were going to pretend being really happy and married for the camera. Perhaps, they would be told to hug each other for a good shot. And look being in love.

"W-we will be alright," Sumi tried to sound confident, but her voice was wavering.

"It's only for tomorrow. We have no choice," the guy added in a dull voice, but in reality he was scared.

The girl took a sip of her hot milk and closed her eyes for a second.

He repeated her actions, trying to concentrate on a sweet flavor of milk and honey he had in his mug.

"There is one more thing we need to discuss," her words were so serious, that he barely stopped himself from choking.

"W-what is it?"

Her confident eyes met his unsure ones.

"Since we are going to play these roles, we should think about calling each other by our first names. As your wife, I can't keep calling you Kannonzaka-san anymore, since it's my last name too from now on."

The young man pursed his lips in a deep thought, but she could notice a merely visible shade of pink on his pale cheeks.

"Yes, you are right. It might be hard to adapt at first, but we need to do it in order to avoid any suspicions. Sensei told us to act and look natural," he added with resolve.

"Indeed," she nodded, thoughtfully, trying to understand Uncle's motives. "So, emm… should I call you… emm… Doppo from now on?" for some reason it was embarrassing to pronounce his name while looking in his face, which gained even deeper shade of pink the moment she called his name.

"I-I guess," the guy reached out to ease his tie automatically, but it was already loose on his neck. Awkwardness and shyness were tickling his nerves in a pretty obvious way. "Then I'll start calling you Sumi, if it's alright with you."

They locked their gazes in silence, sensing each other's discomfort about the entire situation. The next moment both of them covered their reddened faces with their hands with the words "I can't do this!"

But exactly the very phrase, said in sync, brought easiness to the atmosphere, as the newlywed couple looked at each other between the cracks in their fingers and let out a laugh.

In sync.

And this time the moonlight didn't have anything to do with it.