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Chapter 16

The Arrival of the Lioness

That night Kahoko ate her dinner with a smile on her face, still feeling the tingling sensation she had while she played the violin. Though she was alone and the house was so quiet, she never felt lonely and she did not even think of her problems. For all she knew, she was happy to be able to play again.

"Honto Ni Arigatou." She thought aloud as she took a bite of her buttered chicken. The image that was flashed in her thoughts was that of her cold hearted violinist, who once again helped her up. Then there came a knock on the door.

"Where is Azuma?" An angry lady marched into the Yunoki manor, her aura authorative, strict and scary. "Where is he?"

"Welcome home!" The servants bowed down, respecting their mistress.

"I'm asking for my grandson! Where is he?" She was raged.

"Grandma, why are you here?" Miyabi ran to her grandmother, surprised.

"Is that the proper way of greeting your grandmother?" She scolded her, crossing her arms and raising her right brow.

"I'm sorry, grandma." She bowed down right away as a sign of respect. "Welcome back!" She stood straight and gave the old woman a hug and a kiss.

"Now, where's your brother?" She asked Miyabi.

"Onii-sama has not come home from the office." Miyabi informed, unsure of the whereabouts of his brother.

"I'll just be at the library, tell me when he comes." The old woman ordered as she walked towards her library.

"Hai, oba-sama!" She obediently uttered.

"Kaji-san, what brought you here?" Kahoko giddily opened the door for him as she beamed a welcoming smile. "Why didn't you contact me?"

"I was scared…" He informed, looking at the floor, avoiding her golden eyes. He was too embarrassed with what he did the other night.

"Why should you be?" She asked.

"You're not angry? Upset? Or what?" He uttered, smiling sheepishly.

"Not at all… but I was disappointed… However, let's not mind that now. Would you care to come in?" Kahoko was shocked.

"Never mind… I just came here to say goodbye." He said.

"What? Why? What for?" Kahoko was shocked.

"I'm glad that I've met you even if our meeting was planned. I'm sorry to have used you…" Kahoko was confused; she did not get what he's saying.

"I do not get you." She uttered.

"I set you up; being thrown into the water and I saving you was all part of the plan. Even Len's existence there was no coincidence." He explained. "I used you to get back at Len and to save my company. I also connived with Azuma Yunoki… I purposely brought you and left you at the party."

Kahoko's eyes widened, her jaw dropped. She could not believe what she just heard. "Are you serious? This is no joke?" She asked. Kaji looked through her eyes this time and nodded. "Kaji-san, please stop this now. It's no funny joke." She scrutinized him, trying to find any hint of hilarity on his face but found nothing. "You're a good actor; you could win an Emmy for this."

"Look at me through my eyes; do you think I'm kidding right now?" He cupped her chin. And all Kahoko could do was shrug. She can't accept it. He was her friend after all.

"Everything's a deception. I was just one of the tiny pawns on the chessboard and I did not realize it. How stupid of me!" Kahoko uttered, giggling and feeling so crazy.

"Kaho, slap me now." Kaji uttered, guilty.

"Is this still part of the game?" Kahoko asked.

"No… I understand if you're angry right now. I know you feel betrayed but I hope you'll still believe me if I tell you that the friendship is real and more than that, I LOVE YOU… It's no lie." He pulled her closer to him and crushed his lips to her. He gave her a kiss and slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, making sure she was perfectly locked. Kahoko tried to resist but she could not understand why she can't refuse him. She kissed him back.

Then their lips parted; Kahoko's tears flooded from her eyes. They rested their foreheads on each other, never looking away. "I am not worthy of those precious tears… Keep them." He ordered, "And smile for me so that I'll be able to bring with me that one genuine smile in my deceptive world."

"Kaji…" Kaho sighed.

"Hate me but Kahoko remember that I'll be coming back for you once I've become the best… If your heart is still undecided by the time of my return, whether you like it or not, I'm going to claim you as mine." He kissed her right hand, as a sign of goodbye. Then he continued, "I'll see you again, Kaho." Then he hovered away.

"Mata Ashita, Kaji-san..." She uttered silently as she gazed at the dark empty street. No matter what was revealed, Kaji was still her friend and that would not change.

Len was also visited by Kaji earlier that afternoon before he went to Kahoko. He came to give him a letter which reads:

Tsukimori-san,

First and foremost I hate you. Well, you have stolen everything from me ever since we were children. First, you stole my grandfather. He liked you better than he liked me. He even wanted you to become his own grandson but what can he do? You're no Aoi, you're a Tsukimori. Second, you stole my sister away from me. When she met you, she totally forgot that she idolizes her brother. She keeps blabbing about you. And now, Kaho… I just don't get why you steal every single thing I have and loved. You already have everything but I do not get why you neglect all of them. You should be thankful. I do not get why you defeat me in everything and I really hate that.

I hate you the most because you make the women in my life cry. My sister loved you, but you never cared about her feelings. And now you're doing the same thing to Hino-san. Are you just an idiot? Or what? Don't let her end up like my sister. Don't force her to enter a marriage she wouldn't be happy.

I know we've been enemies and that still remains a fact but take care of Kaho or else I'll snatch her away from you for real this time.

-Kaji Aoi-

Tsukimori sighed. "Bakaero… [Stupid]" He thought coldly as he placed the letter back to its envelope.

Kaho? Not happy with her wedding with Yunoki? That's a preposterousthought, Kaji-san. You never changed, you really are stupid… He uttered monotonically in his thoughts. Then he went up to his room to rest.

Azuma finally came home from the office. "Onii-sama, oba-sama is waiting for you at the library. She's been wanting to speak to you." Miyabi informed, her tone sounding more of a warning.

"She's here?" The thought made Azuma's heart jump higher than usual.

"Hai, Azuma-sama. The mistress would like to see you now… It's really important." Sansou, their butler informed as he got Azuma's briefcase.

He knocked at the door of the library and entered after she affirmed his entrance. "Welcome home, oba-sama." Yunoki bowed down as a sign of respect to the old lady.

She moved closer to him after Azuma had sat down. Then she gave him a hard sounding slap on his right cheek. "What is this?" A newspaper whose headline was about his wedding engagement with Kahoko was thrown before him.

"Oba-sama…"

"Listen young man! I've had enough of your crazy little antics! A wedding with Hino Kahoko? Are you stupid? Or you really have gone mad!" She nagged.

"Oba-sama, all my life I've followed your orders, could I not decide on this?" He asked politely. But all he got was another slap.

"Does that give you the right to do this? I'm still your grandmother and you have no right to talk back! Where have I gone wrong, Azuma? What did I lack? I gave you everything you needed and wanted. You have all the things I never gave your older brother…" She furiously uttered. Then a knock came from the door. It was the butler.

"Your visitor has arrived, madam." The butler informed.

"I'll deal with you some other time but fix this as soon as possible." She ordered. Then she turned and nodded to the butler, telling him that they're leaving now.

Yunoki Azuma, the heralded became the prey of the lioness.

She walked down the aisle in a white wedding dress, so beautiful and elegant. This was every girl's dream and now she's experiencing it. She was smiling but was she really happy? No one could say what emotions really lies behind those veil.

At the end of the aisle two figures waited for her. One stood at the right and the other at the left. The one at the right side had a long purple hair and he was smiling, spreading a positive aura, an aura of deception. The one at the left had an electric-blue hair, his eyes looking stern and strict and his features remained stoic and expressionless.

Finally, the bride came before the altar. She looked to her right and then to her left. Who is the groom? She sighed heavily.

Suddenly, a black stallion with a knight on it came and snatched the bride away. The two grooms raced after the black horse, trying to catch him but were not able to.

The rows of Church benches were replaced with endless forest trees. The road became rougher and rougher as the journey progressed. The bride noticed a figure standing a few kilometers from them. And as they got nearer, she realized it was the guy in oni-mask. She suddenly grew scared. She wanted to turn the horse back to the church but before she could do, a gun was pointed towards them.

The bride's heart fluctuated abnormally, her eyes wide-open with terror but had become blind ad she was pale, sweating coldly.

"You will forever be mine, Kahoko…" The guy in oni-mask laughed evilly as he pulled the trigger.

"Bang!" The sound of the gun was deafening and the smell of blood and gun powder mixed was spreading all over the place, disgusting and horrific. Blood tainted the pure white gown she was wearing. She looked back; the knight fell from the horse. He was shot dead at point zero.

"Aah…" Kahoko shrieked painfully.

Kahoko was swimming in a pool of her sweat when she woke up 3:00 am. "It was just a nightmare." She sighed in relief as she panted heavily. Then she went back to sleep.

"You're going to suffer here in my kingdom…" A lioness came out of the woods growling at her. The lioness circled Kahoko after devouring the guy in oni mask.

That's Chapter 16 for you and I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to Rose and Catstop for the reviews. And to all those who added this to their favorite and alert list, thank you for your support. Please flood me with reviews, comments and fan girl messages. I would really love to hear from you guys

Finally, the grandmother has arrived, how do you find the slaps? Was it fine? What should happen to Kahoko now? Would Len remain so passive? Would he let Kahoko end up with Yunoki? And what's Yunoki's next move?