Chapter 5: Focus
"How was the meeting?" Tora asked casually as they both slipped into his car. He gave a curt nod at the valet as he closed the door.
Misaki placed her bag next to her feet, buckling in her seatbelt, "It's going well. We're going to have weekly meetings just to update each other on the progress we've been making."
The man hummed as his eyes didn't leave the road. During the day as he was attending to his own business, he just couldn't keep his mind off of the woman sitting next to him. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Misaki is able to calmly sit in the same room as the man who basically abandoned her. He stole a quick glance at the brunette next to him, letting out a heavy sigh.
"I'm fine," Misaki said, looking at the blonde next to her. "It's the past, and I've already let it go."
Tora furrowed his brows, throwing her a worried look. He reached out his hand for Misaki to take, "Misaki, I'm worried. You know that right?"
The brunette slid her fingers between his delicately. "I know," She said in a half-whisper. "Thank you, Tora." She tilted her head back, closing her eyes. She could feel an upcoming headache heading her way. She felt so suffocated- she had promised Tora, and herself, to forget about the past and let go. She spent so long trying to stop thinking about the golden-haired boy from high school and just focus on what she had in front of her.
"You seem pretty tired," Misaki said, rubbing Tora's back as they entered the house. "Something heavy gets placed in your work pile today?"
A groan escaped the male's lips as he rolled his eyes, "Sometimes I wish I could just fire these useless people." Misaki raised a brow at his harsh words. "The planners messed up the guest list for that five hundred attendee banquet for the company's 20th anniversary."
"Oh no." the brunette couldn't help but cringe at the heavy mistake. It was definitely going to be a hassle to clean up and couldn't even imagine how many phone calls Tora had to make to each department to fix and reorganize the mess. "But you fixed it?" She asked, hopeful for him. She was returned with a quiet nod. "Thank goodness," she sighed, giving his hair a good ruffle.
"Not the hair!" Tora scowled, fixing his hair and sweeping it to the side again to where it was supposed to be.
Misaki chuckled at his childish attitude, "Oh come on, no one cares about your hair. You look fine."
"I have an image!" Tora rolled his eyes as he opened the door to his room.
"Yeah?" the brunette raised a questioning brow as she crossed her arms, leaning on the doorframe.
"Yeah," he replied pointedly, taking off his black blazer and setting it down on his bed. "Join me for a glass?" Tora picked up a couple of wine glasses and offered one to Misaki.
The woman sighed, pushing herself off the door frame and walked towards him, "Sure. I could use one." She took a glass from Tora's hand and held it out to him as he poured some red into it. Misaki rarely drank outside of business obligations. However, given the current circumstance she is in, she would take almost anything to ease the edge off her shoulders.
Tora led them over to his white leather couch, "We haven't had a real break in a while. Let's call a day off tomorrow."
Misaki sat down next to Tora, "Are you sure? We just signed a lot of large contracts recently."
"If we don't take a break now, we definitely won't get a chance later on," Tora took a sip of his win and tilted his head back, resting it on the couch. His golden eyes fixated on the tall ceiling, "Besides, I think we need some time to ourselves." He turned his head and gave Misaki a weak smile.
He's right. So much has happened in this short week and it has gotten Misaki distracted. She returned the smile, placing her hand on top of his, "Yeah, I think so too. Maybe we can go horseriding at the beach?" She knew Tora enjoyed horseback riding and it helped him ease some stress.
The man gave her hand a small squeeze, "I'd like that."
Misaki slowly opened her eyes. It was rare for her to not have to wake up to an alarm; sleeping in was somewhat of a luxury at the moment. She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand– 9:56. A sigh escaped from her lips; she did not want to get out of bed. The world is too complicated and just thinking about the things and people she had to face made her head hurt. Misaki closed her eyes again, wishing to escape her own reality.
Another sigh left her body; she should get up soon. She did promise to spend her day with Tora. With a groan, she picked herself up from the bed and trudged to the bathroom. She started running the bath as she undressed. Her hand hovered over the different scented bath oils on the counter before picking up the lavender bottle. She added a couple of drops of the oil and a little bit of bath salt. Her hands ran through the water, testing the temperature, before stepping in herself.
"What a life," Misaki muttered to herself. Who would have thought that she would eventually move in under the same roof as Tora Igarashi, the arrogant high school boy who she despised so much? But then again, he was the one who stood by her side when she needed someone most.
Misaki Ayuzawa fell in love with the boy Takumi Usui. Takumi has whisked away to England during their second year of high school, only weeks after they had started dating. Misaki knew that she had no power to get him back. She was a nobody; a girl born to a common household, holding a secret part-time job at a maid cafe, and had nothing but her determination and hard work. All she could do at the time was blindly believe in Takumi Usui and keep her head down, working as hard as she can to catch up to him– to show the world, his world, that no one matched him better than herself. She had promised to wait for him, just as he promised that he would come back to her. He didn't keep that promise. Her emails, calls, and letters were never returned. It had been almost three years since Takumi left and she hadn't heard a word from him.
She was in her first year of college when Sakura sent her an article for an English paper. It read: Grand Duke Walker formally introduces second grandson, Takumi Walker, to the world with a lavish party. Many speculate Takumi is to inherit a large portion of the Walker Corporations and run the enterprise alongside his brother, Gerard Walker. "I hope to be a great asset to the Walker Corporations," Mr. Walker stated. There was also a photo attached: it was Takumi standing on a small platform stage in a well-tailored suit, surrounded by a number of well-dressed people. It seemed like they were from two different worlds. As Misaki was a regular university student on a scholarship, Takumi had already secured a high position in one of the largest enterprises in the world.
As much as she tried to fight it, she couldn't help but feel more and more distant from the boy she fell in love with. But Takumi Usui wasn't someone who would let something superficial like appearances and status interfere with their relationship… at least that's what Misaki had been telling herself. It was getting harder and harder to convince herself of this as time went on. She hadn't received a single letter, phone call, or email from Takumi. She learned more about his life through the media rather than hearing it from him. The media just seemed to be infatuated by the new grandson and many rumors and speculations surfaced. "England's Hottest Bachelor, Takumi Walker, rising in power!" "Prince Charming, Takumi Walker, spotted on a date!" This person was not the Takumi Usui she fell in love with. She doesn't know of a Takumi Walker in her life.
"...isaki! Misaki!" A voice called out to her from outside her bathroom door.
"I'm almost done!" She called back, snapping out of her trance. Misaki quickly stepped out and dried herself off.
"I'll wait in the living room," Tora replied. He paused for a moment, listening to the woman shuffle around. He noticed Misaki becoming more distracted and spacing out recently. Though he knew that she had never been the same since Takumi left. No one could ever fill that hole in her heart. Tora was very much aware that he used to be a background character to Misaki: someone who comes and goes. However, he started to appear more and more in her life. They both attended the University of Tokyo: Tora in business while Misaki was in Political Science. When he saw her again in university, she didn't have the same aura around her as she did in high school. She was still very diligent and full of drive, but her eyes seemed dimmer. He would try to poke fun at her like he used to, but her reactions were much duller. The girl who would use to go red and start yelling at his suggestive jokes would just roll her eyes and look away; she just seemed so tired of life. From that moment on, he swore that he will be the one to mend this girl's heart.
"It's a nice breeze today," Misaki observed. Her white mare slowly trotted next to Tora's dark brown stallion.
Tora hummed in agreement. He glanced over at the woman beside him, "You've gotten a lot better at riding." When Tora first brought her out to horse ride, she was falling off every minute or so. However, through much determination and bruises, Misaki is now able to have free reign of the horse.
"I used to never understand why you liked riding horses so much," the woman mused, looking towards the ocean waves crashing onto the shore. "But I think I can understand now." The cool ocean breeze paired with the soft splashes of waves really helped calm her down. Tora reached over to her, taking her hand into his. Miksai looked down at their linked hands, "Thanks, Tora."
The blonde raised his eyebrows in surprise. After a slight pause he asked, "For what?"
"For everything," She gave him a weak smile.