A/N: Fast update is fast. HEHEHE. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed – really, reviews do mean a lot! At the bottom, I'll be replying to the reviews. Ohoho. And, again, please review this chapter, too, and tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own PoT.
KL93: Oh, gosh, thanks a lot – and hahaha thanks for being the first reviewer of this fic! Hehe.
BloodyRose021: Oh, I know her reaction was surprisingly easily won – but there's a reason as to why she was so complacent, that will be explained later on in the story. Hehe. And yes, I grew rather attached to Ayaka, but I wanted to explore Atobe's character a little more, and pair him with a character who wasn't as volatile as Atobe. BAHAHA. And, oh god, I love Oshitari too. As you read more, I hope you'll tell me what you think of this new OC – Nanao. Hehe.
Shubhs: Ah, I'm glad – I'm really working hard on making this terribly cliché sound realistic. HAHA. And thanks so much for reviewing and reading!
Guest: Ah, ah, as the summary says, this is completely an AtobeOC fic – though Oshitari will play a large part. Hehe. And thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
Coco96: Awwww you're so sweet. I hope to make this cliché out to be enjoyable! Tell me what you think as the fic progresses, ohoho.
Divine Psyche: EEEE, ask and you shall receive! I shall let Noriko and Yukimura wait a little in favor of this fic. BAHA. And thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
A Midsummer: Yes, yes, there are some strange oddities to her personality that will be explained later on, hehehe. And, ooh, you've read MKYK too? Haha, oh gosh – do tell me how you think this measures up as the story progresses, yes? And thanks for reading and reviewing!
Symbalin: Well, they are quite elegant men, no? BAHAHA. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
SunnyDorangeJuice: Ahahaha, Nanao's actually a bit stronger-willed than she lets on – there's a reason she got so easily bullied into the whole thing. Ohoho. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.
Night Neko-Jin: I absolutely adore your reviews – they're honestly so sweet and make me smile. Ehehe. And I'm really glad Nanao came across as likeable; I do work to make my OCs as relatable and likeable as possible. Hehe. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! They make me giggle. Hehe.
Magicalnana: I'm really glad you find it realistic and nicely developed, baha. I do hope you'll continue to read and review. –Heart-
Fierce Naga: Haha I'll keep that in mind! And aww, thanks. Thanks for reading and reviewing, too. Hehe.
Lahdolphin: Eek. I lub you bbgurl. You mai homie 5ever. HAHAHAHAHA.
Nanao didn't know what kind of a person Atobe was – she'd heard rumors, to be sure, but how many people ever got to really meet Atobe? He was like a celebrity on the grounds of the campus; a figure comparable to that of a king, and they, the student body, were simply members of his kingdom. Commoners, after all, didn't much often meet royalty.
Nanao hadn't really held many expectations, other than something grand and fierce and to be reckoned with, when she'd first known that she'd be paired up with Atobe Keigo for the Greek project. She hadn't known, either, that Atobe and Oshitari were a package sort of deal. And she definitely hadn't known that she'd end up being Atobe's excuse to delay an arranged marriage-
-in fact, even as she thought of it now, it seemed ridiculous. Arranged marriages, for one, weren't so rare in a school such as theirs, where one was usually not simply themselves, but also the heir to large corporation. Children were, as their parents saw, ways to establish firm connections in an ever-changing, fickle society; Atobe Keigo was no exception. In fact, it would have been strange for him not to marry someone of his parents' choosing, given his impossibly high standards and position in society.
But- Really? A fake girlfriend? Nanao was no stranger to dramas and mangas and books, but even she had hardly encountered such drastic plots.
Nanao had only ever dated a boy once, back in first year – and that hadn't exactly ended well. She simply wasn't cut out for dating, it seemed, with far more interest in her next exam results than the latest kissing technique in the magazines, and the boy had been more interested in the prospect of having a girlfriend than in her.
And now she was to be the fake girlfriend of Atobe bleeding Keigo.
Oh, for the love of-
Atobe wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation his life had entered as of late. When Oshitari had brought up such a half-cooked plan from one of his frivolous novels, Atobe had hardly spared the idea a second thought; because, simply put, it was insane. He wasn't sure if it was the 'genius' thing talking, or simply Oshitari's manic tendencies alone, but as of late, Oshitari's ideas of 'fun' had been getting stranger and stranger.
And, he added with a sniff – Atobe was quite sure that he was bordering on genius, as well, and he didn't suffer from random bouts of crazy ideas. His idea of fun was a German novel, or playing with his dog, or enjoying tea in his new garden, or playing tennis-
-though tennis brought up other stressful thoughts.
Since the well-known tennis players in their generation had moved up to high school, Atobe had reveled in the absence of one snarky brat from the deepest level of hell – he was busy making a ruckus in the middle school league, still, and Atobe pitied those who had the misfortune of handling him. But now, as they all advanced to their third year, that brat would be climbing up to the first year of high school-
-and no doubt, with his strange obsession for Tezuka, and his dysfunctional relationship with that Fuji, he'd be entering Seigaku High.
What was it, Atobe huffed irately, with Seigaku and strange freaks? It seemed to be a magnet for odd characters with irritatingly-powerful tennis techniques.
Look at his hair. It was growing even grayer. And every time Mukahi delighted in pointing it out, he had to go through the trouble of reminding those subservient morons that it was a regal silver, not gray, because Atobe's didn't do gray.
"Keigo – you wished to speak with me?"
At that, Atobe snapped from his reverie, eyes sharpening into focus onto the figure seated behind the majestic oak table. His father's office had always had the strange ability to make him feel rather small, with the expansive paintings and somber colorings. He had always suspected that his father had done this all on purpose – the old man was strangely fond of asserting his position above others.' "Yes, father."
Atobe Senior hardly spared him a glance from the paperwork on his desk, hand signing precise lines into various documents. Atobe felt the momentary irritation, because when had his father ever spared him his full, undivided attention, unless it was that he wanted Atobe to do something? "Time is money, Keigo – I believe I've taught you not to dawdle."
The tone in his father's voice was unmistakable.
"I wanted to make a request, father," Atobe began slowly, mulling over the thoughts in his head so as not to blunder. "I've long-since been prepared to engage to a girl of you and mother's choosing-" at this, his father spared him a cursory, approving glance. "-but I'd like to request that the engagement be delayed."
At that, his father finally put his pen to rest and glanced upwards, a brow raised. Interest and attention had entered his gaze. Atobe found himself oddly satisfied.
It wasn't as though his father was negligent of him, or anything remotely so dramatic – no, it was simply that his father was as busy as a man could possibly get, balancing between the Atobe corporation and societal duties and his duties as a husband and father. He'd never failed to be a caring, if indulgent, father figure, but it wasn't exactly easy to gain his father's approval, nor his full attention.
"Explain." Ah. His father had such the affinity for eloquence, no?
"I won't be as foolish as to claim to love her, nor to have the intention of marrying this girl, father, but I do have, ah, a girlfriend."
His father's brow rose further. The bushy mustache twitched.
"And I'm quite fond of the girl, and it'd break her heart terribly if I broke things off so abruptly. So I'd like to ask for just a delay in the engagement, as we'd originally planned."
His father stared, and for a moment, Atobe wondered if he was insane to have gone along with Oshitari's crazy ramblings.
"You have a girlfriend." It was a statement, more than a question, as his father was oft to say, but Atobe nodded anyway.
"Who is she?"
"Suzuki Nanao."
At the name, his father stilled. "Of the Suzuki Corporations?"
"Yes, sir."
Ah. The Suzukis. To be sure, they hadn't been a match Atobe Senior would have ever considered for Keigo – after all, the Atobes were looking into a girl that would have brought their company certain leverages into new fields. The Suzuki's were vastly wealthy, yes, but not exactly what they'd been looking for.
But whatever they may have lacked in economic efficiency, they made up for in sheer prestige in their name, Atobe Senior amended. In such a modern world, it was hard to find any respectable, traditional families of old money – many of their current peers stood as members of the noveau rich community, whom had only just recently come into their fortune in the past generation or two. They didn't know the importance of tradition, of honor, of the true value of generations of high-class upbringing.
Their corporation was moderate, but oddly powerful in a way that many of their gargantuan peers could never hope to match – a reputation and honor that had come with generations deeply rooted in the very foundings of Japan, after all, weren't easily acquired.
Atobe Senior had been meaning to establish a closer connection with the Suzuki's – perhaps this would be a natural segue into such a relationship. Of course, they could well have done so without the two children dating, but-
And if his son, Keigo, had actually taken the time to request of him to push back the engagement, the girl obviously meant quite a bit more than he was letting on, to him.
His peers often called him – Atobe Akihiko – a ruthless, coldhearted business man, whom had a calculator where he should have had a heart. But he honestly wasn't that bad – taking over a failing company to produce it into one of the hundreds of money-producing chains worldwide wasn't heartless, for god's sake. And he did have a soft spot for his family; especially if something like this meant something that could benefit the corporation in some way.
A connection with the Suzuki's could be quite desired later on.
Besides, who cared if the Hanazono's son got engaged to one of the girls they'd been perusing for Atobe's engagement? That sly old dog Hanazono still lost terribly to him in poker (in fact, he lost that lovely summer villa Keigo had quite liked one summer), and the Atobe Corporation was still number one.
The engagement, Akihiko supposed, could wait.
"…See to it that when you end this relationship, it is not on bad terms; or better yet, make it so that it is her decision to break it off, in the end."
Atobe paused. And then-
"Keigo, do be quicker about catching on to these things. Time is money, son. Must I say everything aloud?" A sigh, a brush of the mustache.
But Atobe was already gone, a triumphant gleam in his eyes.
"So he spoke in prayer, and Phoebus Apollo heard him. Down from the peaks of Olympus he strode, angered at heart, bearing on his shoulders his bow and covered quiver. The arrows rattled on the shoulders of the angry god as he moved, and his coming was like the night. Then he sat down apart from the ships and let fly an arrow: terrible was the twang of the silver bow. The mules he assailed first and the swift dogs, but then on the men themselves he let fly his stinging shafts, and struck; and constantly the pyres of the dead burned thick."
Atobe looked up from the book – and Nanao promptly burst into sufficiently impressed applause, a smile on her lips. Nanao had quickly come to learn that Atobe Keigo was not someone that one could simply sit around and be content – no, one had to be at the ready, to burst into claps whenever he did something that could be deemed as glorious.
It was a little funny, a little amusing, a little terrifying, but Nanao could get used to it.
"Amazing, Atobe-kun! Did you ever live in Greece?"
Atobe promptly gave her an aghast expression, as though the mere suggestion of the idea were absurd. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
Nanao faltered. "Well I just- you were so good at Greek that I thought you lived there, or something-"
"Ore-sama is quite good at it, no?"
Nanao laughed quietly into her hand; she wasn't quite sure if Atobe's arrogance was an act, simply because it was just that outrageous. To be honest, she hadn't decided if she was terrified or hilariously amused by Atobe's grand presence yet, but it seemed to be hovering somewhere in the middle.
"You laugh too much," Atobe announced, tone as imperious as ever.
"And you preen too much," Nanao responded off-handedly, eyes concentrated on the words in her textbook.
Pause.
She realized what she'd just said, and looked up, eyes wide. Her heart fluttered somewhere in her throat. Oh, her father always did say that she wasn't careful enough about what she said-
-she found such an affronted expression on Atobe's expression, that she couldn't help but to burst into laughter again.
"Like Ore-sama said. You, girl, laugh far too much for it to be healthy." Sniff.
Nanao smiled even as she continued to read upon the industrialization of Japan, one hand taking notes on her notebook. The two had met to work on their Greek project, but somehow, it had morphed into more of a 'homework study session.'
"Ah – hey, Atobe-kun?" Nanao dared a question, eyes peeking up at Atobe momentarily.
"Ahn?" His own eyes were concentrating on the literature book handed out in Japanese today.
"I just wanted to ask – um. Ah. Well- Why was it so important that you delay the arranged marriage?"
Atobe's eyes paused from flitting across the text, to glance up at Nanao's inquiring gaze. Nanao stilled, wondering if she'd made a mistake in asking him such an invasive question, because Atobe was Atobe, and she still didn't know what was okay and what wasn't-
"Just because," he responded. A smirk spread on his features. "It would be a shame to allow the lovely ladies of Hyotei to fall into despair with Ore-sama being taken off the market, no?"
Nanao pondered whether or not to point out the fact that even if he had been on the market, it wasn't as though he'd have dated any of them, to begin with. That, and: "Well, if it's under the ruse that you and I are dating, doesn't that take you off the market, too?"
Atobe gave her a pointed stare – one that clearly conveyed that her contradictions were not appreciated. Nanao immediately quelled, though not without amusement. "But what's it like? You know, having girls literally scream your name?"
It was such a common thing at Hyotei that it had ceased to be a wonder – but Nanao still remembered their first year of middle school as though it had been yesterday. That sunny, bright day, where Atobe had waltzed into the courts, snapped his fingers, and defeated all the senior regulars in the club. He'd taken over the school since then, and now-
-whenever he entered an area, silence hushed the crowds, and eyes were attracted to him like bees to honey. And when he was in the tennis courts, he was a king before his people, in a kingdom that adored his person.
Terrifying, no?
Nanao had always wondered what it was like for the boys of the tennis team, to be so devastatingly popular that girls abandoned their pride and assumed shrieking out their names as though they were actual celebrities. After all, that wasn't so normal, was it? Nanao was rather sure it wasn't.
Perhaps tennis players emitted some natural kind of pheromone?
Nanao chanced another peek at Atobe, and was surprised to find a surprisingly subdued expression upon his features. "What can Ore-sama say? Ore-sama is quite attractive; it's only normal," he explained, then, voice airy, hand swiveling in the air.
But Nanao persisted. "But how does it feel? Certainly, it's not, you know, boring, standing up there with a literal sea of girls at the tennis gates."
Atobe paused. "If you must insist on knowing, the novelty wears off after five years," he finally said, directing her a gaze through cobalt blue eyes. Nanao felt her heart skip a beat at the sheer magnitude behind a single look, and wondered, in the back of her mind, how it was possible for a single person to have so much charisma.
"The flattery is nothing of surprise," he added. "Ore-sama is quite divine – but at the same time, those girls hardly know anything about me. They've seen my tennis, my face, my hair, but is that really such a reason to worship me as they do? They are, after all, not watching me for the tennis."
Nanao stared at him, eyes impossibly wide, lips slightly parted. Well, to be sure, she hadn't thought him an idiot, or anything; she knew him to be extremely smart, if his school ranking as number one in their grade had anything to do with it. Still, it was easy to get lost behind his acts of narcissism and hair flips and smirks, to ever see that he thought about things more than it seemed.
Atobe really did reflect on these things, Nanao realized, and found herself marveling at Atobe's character. There really was more than met the eye, wasn't there? And it wasn't even as though there was little that met the eye, to begin with – in fact, Atobe's presence was so grand that one had to remind oneself to breathe when in the company of such a larger-than-life persona.
"Are you sad about that?" flew from her lips before she could stop herself.
A sharp glance from Atobe. "About what?"
Nanao faltered. "Well, I mean – just that, the people who adore you so much don't really have a reason to."
Atobe raised a brow at her.
"Wait-! That came out wrong – I didn't mean it in that way. I just meant, you know, they don't really know you that well, but they kind of- well. I don't know if you hear the conversations around class, but you're a common topic, you know; it sounds as though the entire world knows everything about your life, about who you are, but – that's not very true at all, is it?" Nanao attempted to explain, hands flailing at her sides. "I just meant that- I don't know, it's a little estranging, isn't it? To have so many people cheering your name, but to know that none of them really know you."
Atobe's lips twitched in amusement, though he managed to keep his expression firm. "You certainly have a depressing way with words."
Nanao's expression grew so sorry and regretful that Atobe laughed. Nanao's gaze snapped up at the sound.
"But it's not entirely wrong."
A faint smile.
"But there is always a reason to worship Ore-sama," Atobe finished, flicking a hand through his hair.
Nanao broke out into a smile of her own. "Of course there is."
"Don't you think it's time to drop the 'Ore-sama' in front of your girlfriend, Keigo?" was Oshitari's entry into the room, voice floating over their heads.
Both Nanao and Atobe looked up to find Oshitari walk into the room with an arm full of new romance novels he'd found in the Atobe library, a quiet excited gleam to his glasses. "And perhaps a first-name basis would be wise, too."
Atobe gave a dismissive glance. "Nonsense. Ore-sama is Ore-sama."
Oshitari rolled his eyes. "Right."
"I can hear the sarcasm in your tone, Yuushi. It's rather unbecoming."
"So is calling oneself 'Ore-sama,' but you don't hear me complaining."
"Don't be so belligerent. And you call yourself a gentleman."
"Why, Keigo dear, it's because I am."
"If you're a gentleman, I'm a plebeian."
"Perhaps you are."
"You've irrevocably wounded me. Leave my estate – and leave those damn romance novels behind."
"Oh, quit with the exaggerations. You should have joined the drama club, not the tennis team."
"And parade around with those freaks? Ore-sama would die of sheer repulsion."
"You have such a lovely way with words."
"Don't I?"
"See? So much better when you don't use the 'Ore-sama.' It's awkward, Keigo, when you use it in everyday conversation."
"It cannot be helped that plebeian language cannot fully convey the glory of Ore-sama's presence."
"I'm going to refrain from deigning that with a response."
"Stop being so grouchy – what, did your two precious characters not make kissy kissy, yet?"
"No, they didn't. And don't make it sound so vulgar. Kissy-kissy. Pah."
"It's silly, is what it is."
"Like you can talk – you're the one with the fake girlfriend."
"…That was your suggestion."
"I really have no idea what you're talking about, Keigo."
"Ore-sama would kick you off the team for your irritation if it weren't for the fact that Gakuto would have Ore-sama's ass."
"Frightened of a little redhead, now?"
"That boy has an unholy capability to jump and maim others, and you know it."
"Does he, now?"
"Don't feign innocence, you're the one who showed him how."
"Was I?"
"You disgust me."
"I love you too, Keigo-dear."
Nanao watched all of this with half-fascination and half-amusement.
"Shall we make it a grand announcement?"
Nanao hardly spared him a glance from her textbook, though, eyes devouring the text. For a moment, Atobe wondered if the girl was possessed by some studying ghost; even he didn't study half as hard. "Nanao."
Oshitari, for all his nagging, had succeeded in getting the two to use a first-name basis. It wasn't that strange, not really; the past few weeks had been spent with Nanao and Atobe conversing lightly and doing homework together for hours in the Atobe library. By now, they were rather familiar with each other – almost like old friends, but not really, because they'd really only met a bit ago, but-
"Yes?" Nanao answered, and tore away from her book at last.
"What in the world is wrong with you?"
Nanao offered a sheepish smile. "I have a test tomorrow."
An exasperated sigh, with all the disappointment of a general who had lost his army. "Your obsessive need to study is disturbing."
"Well, we can't all be Atobe Keigo's," she murmured with a dry look, and resumed reading the text. "And what announcement?" she asked, though she didn't look up from the book.
Atobe allowed himself to smirk at the unintended compliment. "Of course – only Ore-sama possesses the natural talent that he has." And then: "It's time to make it known that we are dating. Ore-sama thinks it should be done in a grand fashion, befitting of his status."
"Why do we have to make it public? It's not like your dad goes to Hyotei."
"No, but father's friends have children that go to Hyotei, and these incorrigible teenagers insist upon gossiping with their parents."
"Oh, right."
The members of the upper crust, after all – particularly the women – found much time for idle chatter and gossip.
"Um. I don't know. Is it normal to announce that people are dating?" Nanao flipped a page.
"Of course it is."
"I think that's just you, Atobe-kun."
"Keigo."
"Ah, right. Keigo-kun."
"For a studious girl, you're rather forgetful."
"That's why I have to study so hard."
"In any case, it's Ore-sama. I'm Atobe Keigo. It's simply not right not to make it an announcement – everyone should know."
"Why don't you just pass out fliers, then? Or better yet, announce it in the PA system for the morning announcements."
"I can hear the sarcasm in your voice – you've been listening to Oshitari's dry humor for too long. It's terribly unbecoming."
A laugh. "Right. Sorry."
"You don't sound sorry at all."
"Sorry about that."
A twitch of a brow. "Since you seem to lack such interest, Ore-sama shall simply take it into his own hands."
Nanao was far too absorbed in her book to really understand what was being said. "Whatever you want, Keigo-kun."
She really should have paid more attention.
"Nana-chan, Nana-chan!"
Nanao looked up from her cell-phone, momentarily distracted from checking the message that had just arrived. In fact, she didn't have a chance to read it at all, for her friend pulled her to her feet, and Nanao's phone clattered onto her desk. "What? What's going on?"
Minami Rina continued to pull Nanao towards the door of their classroom, where she'd been spending that day's lunch. "I heard Atobe-kun had an announcement to make during lunch today in the tennis courts! Everyone's gathering there now."
For a moment, Nanao paused. Rina made it sound as if it were normal that Atobe declared he had an announcement, and the students of the school gathered faster than it took them to gather for their principal's announcements. "What announcement?"
Rina shrugged. "I don't know, but rumors have it that it's something big!"
Nanao sighed laboriously. "Is it going to take a long time?" She received a firm swat to her arm, and squealed in pain.
"Who cares? It's Atobe-kun!"
Oh, if only she knew Keigo's real personality, Nanao thought drily.
For some reason, her mind evaded the one thing that she probably should have been able to guess on her own – the content of Atobe's announcement.
When they reached the tennis courts, Nanao saw Atobe perched, as usual, at the very top of the strangely high bleachers. The rest of the tennis regulars lounged coolly about him, like the members of his court, and Kabaji held a sun-umbrella over Atobe's head.
And everywhere, everywhere, Hyotei students stood milling about, quiet as they awaited Atobe's words.
"Ore-sama would like to make an announcement," he said at last, into the small microphone which remained hooked about his ear and to his lips.
The sound boomed through the courts in pre-set up speakers.
Nanao wasn't sure whether she should be impressed or frightened at the magnitude of how Atobe carried things out.
"Ore-sama has received many gifts daily from his most wonderful fans," he acknowledged, and the girls in the crowd erupted into appreciative cheers. Atobe silenced them with but a look. "However, he must stop accepting these gifts-"
An aching anticipation filled the crowd.
"-for he has decided to date one girl."
Silence.
And then-
-massive, terrible shrieks, from shouted questions, to simply garbling wail, and Nanao's eyes enlarged as she realized with a pause in heartbeat exactly who he was referring to. From beside her, a girl fainted, collapsing onto the floor.
Rina turned to whisper furiously to her, eyes just as wide as Nanao's – though for an entirely different reason. "Oh my god – Atobe got a girlfriend? Oh, my, god!" Rina, too, squealed. "Who the hell is it? How could we not have known? Oh my god, oh my god, this is huge," she gushed.
Nanao couldn't muster up a reply.
"It would be unfair of Ore-sama to make an announcement, and not tell you who it is."
Nanao's heart dropped into the pits of her stomach.
No – he couldn't.
He wouldn't.
"Suzuki Nanao, year III, class 3-A – where is that girl? Ah, there."
And at that point, Nanao's heart came to a complete stop as Atobe pointed a sharp finger at her in the crowd. How in the hell, she wondered in the very back of her mind, rather numb as of now, had he managed to locate her in such a crowd?
Over five hundred pairs of eyes came to rest on her.
Nanao wished she had the same fainting capabilities as that other girl.
And then: "Um. Hi," she managed to whisper.
At that, the girls erupted into shrieks and wails again, and Nanao's wide fearful eyes shot up to Atobe-
-who smiled divinely upon her.
From beside him, Oshitari snorted in amusement into his book once, before flippantly turning to the next page.
A/N:So, how was it? Good, bad, ugly? Please leave me a review and tell me what you think, because I do think reader feedback is super important. And I really appreciate it. So. Hit dat review button- /shot. HAHAHAHA.