A little warning in advance… there will be two of my own characters that I'm introducing into the story from this chapter. I'm sorry to anybody who doesn't like OCs but I did try my hardest at making them believable and not flimsy and weak as though made of cardboard. Any character has good and bad traits and nobody's totally evil or totally perfect; I try to stick to that principle.
As for last chapter being a bit of a filler and breathing space… yeah, this chapter pretty much makes up for it. Enjoy ^_^
Title: Logging off Life (Chapter 6)
Author: MeteorLeopard (HoneyBadger)
Yori sighed, closing her eyes. Her shoulders slumped and her hands fisted in her black uniform skirt. She tried to ignore the opened letter lying on the desk in front of her. She really should have been paying attention to the teacher right now but she couldn't.
Her father's letter had been more than harsh. Yes, she'd known that he would not approve of her subject choices that she'd made a few weeks back but she'd really hoped for him to just give her space for once. Apparently though he'd had other thoughts on the matter.
Yori remembered how long it had taken for her to convince him that going to boarding school was a good idea. She'd argued it for weeks with him and, had her big brother not intervened, she was sure that she never would have managed it. Her big brother was not exactly the perfect example of a supportive sibling role but he did care for her in his own roundabout way, which was more than her father showed her.
Her father was… impartial. Yes, that was a good way to put it. He was not cruel to her, nor did he turn her life into a Cinderella-story.
No, Yori thought cynically, for that I'd need a happy ending and a prince charming. Her father was simply very ambitious and overbearing.
Yori supposed that being the owner and manager of one of the largest corporate insurance companies did that to a person. Naturally he would want the business to stay in the family. It was only too bad that her older brother had zero interest in it. But then her big brother didn't have much of an interest in anything aside from the few odd things which he pursued passionately.
And now, having received the notification from the school about what she'd chosen as her elective subjects, Yori was not surprised that her father didn't like her choices. It was inevitable for him to have replied but she'd hoped that he'd have been a little less harsh. He didn't exactly do it on purpose… he was just naturally a very straightforward person.
Opening her eyes once more Yori stared at the unimposing white envelope in which she'd hidden his letter again. Frowning, she gingerly took it and folded it in half, slipping it into her black jacket pocket. She'd have to figure out a reply to it later that night.
She was relieved when the bell sounded for lunch break. Shaking Yuuki's shoulder gently to wake her best friend from her nap, she waited until the prefect was awake. "Yuuki?"
"Hm?" Yuuki asked, rubbing her eye a little sleepily.
"I'll meet you outside in a little bit, alright? I have to check something first."
"Really? What is it?" Yuuki questioned as she stretched out her stiff muscles.
"Nothing much," Yori tried to answer vaguely.
"I'll come with you!" Yuuki offered cheerily.
"Oh, no, that's okay Yuuki. You and Zero go ahead. I'll just be a minute," Yori tried to dissuade her friend who obviously wasn't getting the message.
"But-"
"Yuuki," Zero interrupted then, appearing beside them. "She wants to go alone, idiot."
Yori bit her lower lip. She didn't want to push Yuuki away but she honestly didn't know how she'd explain to her best friend where she was going without arousing at least a hundred very difficult to answer questions.
"Oh." Yuuki sounded a little put-off.
"Sorry, Yuuki." Yori hung her head a little lower. "But I really will only be a moment. Nothing to worry about."
Yuuki studied her friend for a moment longer before drawing her shoulders up and putting on a smile. "It's alright, it's alright, no worries Yori-chan! We'll wait for you outside under our tree, okay?"
Yori nodded once and smiled at her friend as she left the room, heading towards the school's infirmary. The letter in her pocket still weighed down heavily on her thoughts but she tried to ignore it. It would do no good to worry about it right now. She'd break her head about how to answer it later.
She arrived before the two large wooden doors of the school infirmary. Taking a deep breath, Yori carefully pushed it open and stepped inside. It wasn't very large and all of the beds were unoccupied, the white curtains pulled aside to reveal all of the empty beds. So he wasn't here…
"May I help you, dear?" Yori turned her head to catch sight of the elderly nurse standing on the other side of the room, sorting the medicine cabinet.
"Oh, yes," Yori said, thinking quickly. "I have a bit of a headache, that's all." It wasn't a complete lie. The stress that the letter was causing her had made her neck tense up and begun the first symptoms of a headache. She couldn't ask the nurse outright that she was looking for Aidou to see if he was alright or if he was suffering from some sort of electric shock induced from the metal bracelets on her wrists that were currently covered by slim fingerless black gloves. She hadn't been able to remove them the previous night and had resolved to hide them until she could ask the Chairman about removing them. She was just being careful about touching people with her hands and, if she did, that the metal didn't touch them in any way.
"That so?" asked the woman, turning from the cabinet and picking up a small white box, popping the lid and shaking two small white pills into her palm. "Then these ought to do. There's a glass of water over on that table dear."
"Thank you," Yori said, taking the pills quietly. Stepping over to the glass Yori raised it to her lips along with the pills but instead of swallowing them Yori let them slide into her sleeve. She wasn't one to take medicine unless it was really necessary. Maybe she'd take the pills later if her headache became worse.
Yori turned to leave, giving the older woman a grateful nod. "Thank you ma'am."
"Not a problem dear. On your way then."
"Yes ma'am," Yori said docilely, closing the door behind her quietly.
So Aidou wasn't in the infirmary. That meant that he was alright, right? Worry still nagged at her mind though and Yori frowned. She really shouldn't be worried about him. He'd snuck into her room last night, surprising her and subsequently suffering a shocking from the strange bracelets that the Chairman had given her. It was his own fault anyway for trying to sneak up on her in her room; she shouldn't have to be worried about him.
She knew she shouldn't have come. The screaming and squealing of all the Day Class girls was almost too much for any sane person to handle. Yori mostly hated anything that affected large crowds of people and turned them into fanatics. It took away a person's individual traits and made them just one more of the mob. It was degrading in a way, to act in that manner. It was no wonder that Yuuki always complained about the Day Class girls... If she strained her eyes Yori could make out her friend trying to push the large crowd back. Zero was easier to spot. Wherever he walked the fangirls scattered, shying away from the intimidating prefect. Yori almost smiled.
The gates to the dorms opened then and Yori was reminded of how she'd scaled the wall the one time a while back. She quickly dismissed the thought as her eyes focused on the Night Class students filing out of the gate.
She quickly caught sight of the blonde head and a cheery wave from his arm. Yes, that was Aidou-senpai and he was acting jubilant as usual. Apparently the shocking wore off quickly. Yori was glad.
But then his arm froze in mid-wave, his head snapping around and his eyes training onto her. Yori stiffened as she sensed the intensity of his stare even from so far away. She'd thought that standing under the tree in the shade would make her near invisible but apparently he'd spotted her easily. Somehow she wasn't very surprised.
She watched him lower his arm and quickly gave him a nod before turning and hurrying away through the trees. He was alright; she'd seen what she'd come to see so there was no reason for her to stay. Besides, she still had work to do in the library.
Aidou had been stunned upon catching a trace of her scent on the air, making him stop his half-hearted waving at the fangirls. He was lucky that they weren't very observant or else they would have noticed that he wasn't putting much effort into his antics. He'd quickly found her standing in the shade of a far-off tree. She'd remained still for a moment before giving him an acknowledging nod before disappearing between the trees like a specter.
A hand landed on his shoulder and Aidou turned to face his cousin who was likewise staring at the tree line.
"Akasuki?" the blonde asked.
"She probably came to check up on you."
Aidou stared disbelievingly at his cousin. Yori had been worried about him? He couldn't imagine that she'd come to crossover just to check on him; she'd told him numerous times how much she hated loud and noisy places. But then again, going outside her own comfort zone to make sure that someone else was alright sounded exactly like something Yori would do. Despite her hard talk she was a soft soul inside and Aidou had gotten a few glimpses of it so far. He liked that side of her and wanted to see more of it; preferably directed at him.
He fought to keep the smirk off his face as they continued down the path towards the classrooms. The thought that Yori had gone out of her own way for him was enormously flattering for some reason.
When they entered the building and her scent hit him once again his smile only grew and he gave up trying to hide it. Since he and Akatsuki were already lagging behind the rest it was an easy task to speak with his cousin without the others overhearing. "Akasuki, I'll be late for class again."
Kain shot his cousin a warning look. He half wanted to tell Aidou to give up on his foolish endeavor but stopped himself in time. If he told the blonde to give up on chasing a girl that was out of his reach he'd be branded the biggest hypocrite on the face of the planet. So instead he simply sighed and turned away, raising a hand in farewell over his shoulder. "Take care," were his only words as he headed towards the classroom.
Aidou sent his cousin a puzzled look. It was new for Akatsuki not to reprimand him about Yori but he simply shrugged. Perhaps his cousin was in a good mood. Smiling in anticipation, Aidou headed down the passage towards the library where her scent was emanating from. Reaching for the handle, he half wanted to slip through silently again but decided against it at the last minute. Instead he made sure to let the hinges creak as he entered, letting her know that he was there.
He stepped inside, catching sight of Yori's shortly cut hair whipping around as she turned her head towards him. "Evening, Aidou-senpai."
He allowed himself a smile as he walked over to her. "Yo."
"Not sneaking up on me today?" she enquired pleasantly.
"Nah. Last time you attacked me and the time before that you fell. Seems like it's a bad idea."
He caught sight of a slight twitching of her lips as she fought down a smile. "Yes," she said before turning to face him fully. "Are you alright?"
He raised a skeptical brow. The purple sparks had hurt like hell for a while afterwards but the effects had worn off after about two hours. She'd shocked him well last night. "Obviously."
"Good," she said before turning towards a huge pile of books and gathering a stack up in her arms. "Did you need something, Aidou-senpai?"
"Not really," he said, shrugging. "Just came to see you."
Yori didn't reply, dipping her head a little lower and proceeding to walk down an aisle of shelves. Aidou easily fell into step beside her.
Yori didn't meet his eyes as she walked. Of course she'd known that, should she come into the library, he would too. But she really had needed to finish up organizing the books and shelves again. Not going in yesterday had taken its toll on the load of books she'd had to organize and she hadn't gotten all of them done on time. Also, should he try something, she was still wearing the silver bracelets under her fingerless gloves. She didn't know if they worked through the fabric but so far she'd avoided shocking anybody.
Well, she decided, if he wanted to stay then he could at least help her. So she turned to him and held out the stack of books to him, causing him to give her an enquiring look.
"If you want to stay then please help me a little, Aidou-senpai."
Understanding flashed in his eyes and he reached for them. Yori was careful to avoid brushing against his hands with her own. When he had them securely in his arms Yori strode to the end of the one shelf and pulled the ladder towards her. It was handy in the library, to have a ladder that was fastened to she shelves and rolled along since the shelves were so tall it would be nigh impossible for anyone to access the books at the top without it.
Stepping up onto it, Yori climbed onto the fifth rung and held onto the side of the ladder while reaching back with the other hand. "Please pass me the books one at a time, Aidou-senpai."
He handed one to her, being careful not to let his eyes stray to inappropriate places. Like up her short uniform skirt. He cleared his throat. "You know, it's alright if you drop the honorific or something. Hanabusa doesn't sound too bad either."
Yori made sure to take her time looking for where the book was supposed to go. He wanted her to call him by his first name… Since he was calling her by first name she supposed it only seemed fair. "Thank you, but…" she trailed off, not quite comfortable with the concept just yet. "I don't think I know you well enough for that."
"And yet you don't mind me calling you by your nickname?"
At least she could answer that question easily. "Older and more important people call me by my surname and only my father uses my full first name."
Aidou raised a questioning brow, handing her another book. "Your father?"
Yori nodded, slipping the book onto the shelf. "Yes. I prefer my nickname though. My brother called me that first and its kind of stuck." It was true. Whenever she introduced herself she preferred to let others believe that her actual name was 'Yori' instead of her full name 'Sayori'.
"Still," Aidou insisted, "It's still like me calling you by your first name. I see no problem with you doing the same to me." In truth he just wanted to hear her say his name. He wondered what it sounded like from her tongue.
Yori reached for another book and searched for the space in which it belonged. "But…" she trailed off.
Aidou sighed softly. "How about a compromise?" He held a book out.
"Compromise?" Yori asked, reaching back for the book and being surprised when he didn't let go of it. She met his eyes and was stunned to find hard determination in them.
"Yes. Drop the honorific and I'll stop nagging you about calling me by my first name."
Yori stared into his eyes whilst still holding onto the book that he wasn't relinquishing. She opened her mouth slightly to reply but shut it again upon realizing that she didn't know what to say. So instead she nodded.
A grin spread over his face and he let go of the book, allowing Yori to turn towards the shelf and slip the book between two others. The short time span gave Yori enough time to fight down the slight blush covering her cheeks.
She pushed the last two books back onto the shelf and then descended the creaking ladder again. "There's more books on the silver trolley," she told him. Nodding, he went off to fetch it, giving Yori time to sort her thoughts.
What the heck was she doing? By spending time with him she was obviously attaching herself, something she'd sworn she wouldn't do. And now…
Aidou returned just then, stopping the trolley beside her and hefting up a stack of books into his arms, flipping through them with half-hearted interest. Yori pushed the ladder along the tall shelf and stepped up on it, reaching back for another book which he handed her, his fingers brushing against hers. Yori jumped, whipping her head around to check on him. He merely gave her a puzzled look.
"Oh," she breathed upon finding him alright.
"What?"
"I… didn't manage to get the metal things off my wrists last night. I thought I'd shocked you again."
His eyebrows rose and his hand involuntarily twitched as his eyes flicked to her hands. "Is that why you're wearing black gloves?"
She nodded, pulling the one from her hand and showing him the gleaming metal. "I don't know if it'll help but I don't want to shock every person that I touch. I have to get Chairman Cross to show me how to remove them soon."
Aidou nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. Damn it, he'd have to be careful about how he touched her now. He did not want a repeat of last night's migraine. He waited until she had filed the book onto the shelf before handing her another one, careful to avoid her fingers this time.
Just then he caught sight of a slight bit of white sticking from her black jacket pocket. "What's that?"
Yori glanced down to where he was pointing and went silent as she spotted her father's letter poking from her pocket. "Nothing," she answered curtly.
Aidou wanted to slap himself. Great, now he'd overstepped his boundaries and made her shut tightly like a clam again. He sighed in frustration. "Right. Personal business, my mistake." He hadn't meant for it to sound quite as snarky as it had but it was out now.
Yori cringed slightly at his tone. Her continued silence was probably getting irritating to him. And her father's letter wasn't really that personal, was it? It wouldn't hurt too much to tell him, right? Besides, she rationalized, she really had to tell somebody about this.
"A letter from my father."
Aidou snapped his head up in surprise. She was telling him?
"He… wasn't exactly happy with my elective subject choices," she told him quietly.
Aidou watched her shoulders tense. Choosing another book from the pile, he handed it to her again, watching her fingers fumble for a moment.
"What subjects did you choose?" he asked her, trying to sound casual.
"English, Politics and Literature."
His paused as he was reaching for another book. "Those are all the subjects that are a good base for becoming a writer," he said.
Yori stiffened further but gave a curt nod. "Yes," she answered, taking a deep breath. So much for not personal… "I want to be a writer."
He noted the touch of pride in her voice as she spoke of her dream. "It's a good career," he said. "Lots of money if you get the right jobs, tons of different routes you can take with it too. Besides, it just seems to suit you."
Yori turned her head towards him then to give him a curious glance. She'd been sure he'd give a disinterested shrug and move the topic along. But he'd said… it suited her…
Never had she confided her dream with anyone. Her brother lived too far away to talk with regularly and Yuuki was a sweet person and someone that Yori trusted inexplicably but somehow the topic of their futures had never arisen between them.
A dusting of red made its way onto her cheeks and Aidou noticed. She looked very cute with that disarmed look on her face. He decided he wanted to see it more often, so he continued with the topic. "What do you want to write? Magazines, newspapers, speeches, scripts…?" he trailed off, wanting to know more.
"Books," she admitted quietly. "I want to write books."
Aidou studied her faraway gaze. This dream was probably incredibly dear to her, for her to have that sort of tone when speaking about it. The strong current of passion belying her words almost made him envious of her. She was so sure of what she wanted to do with her life whereas he… "Have you written anything before?" he asked, ignoring the stacks of books beside him.
"Y-yes," Yori gathered her wits. "I've tried writing a book once or twice."
"Did you finish them?"
Yori licked her lips then from nerves but Aidou found his eyes flickering to them anyway.
"Um, no. Not really…"
"Can I read them?" he asked, repressing the smirk upon seeing her horrified expression cross her face.
"N-no! I mean, they're not finished…" Yori trailed off, terrified at the thought of having him read her book.
"So?" He decided to push her just a little further. He really did want to read her work but more than that he wanted to see her blush again.
"It's unfinished work," she insisted. "I can't have someone read anything that isn't finished."
Aidou's eyes widened then as he realized something. "Yori… have you ever showed your writing to anyone?"
He was expecting her answer but her headshake nonetheless threw him slightly. He knew firsthand that she possessed a huge vocabulary and was exceedingly talented at twisting words the way she needed to in order to form whatever meaning she needed from them. Her imagination could only be huge after reading for her whole life, as she'd told him before.
He was incredulous as to why she hadn't revealed to anyone what she'd been writing. "Why?"
Yori bit her lip and bowed her head, tightening her grip on the ladder. "I… My father. He… doesn't exactly approve of… anything really except… He… He wouldn't like it."
The normally soothing silence of the library became tensed between them as Aidou's astonishment grew. He'd had no idea that she possessed a father domineering enough to squash his own daughter's dreams. Strange anger welled in Aidou's chest for the man but he pushed it down. Now was not the time. So instead he frowned and dropped the books back onto the trolley, crossing his arms. "That's stupid."
Yori's head snapped up.
"If you want to write then you should write. You're not living his life, he must just butt out."
Aidou kept his eyes focused stubbornly away from her and therefore missed the stunned look pass over Yori's face at his blunt words. Something swelled inside her and she had to take a deep breath to compose herself again. Perhaps it hadn't been very eloquent but his words had taken a deep effect inside her. "Aidou-sen-"
"Aidou," he snapped. "Compromise, remember?"
"Aidou," she said slowly, testing his name in her mouth. The silence stretched on, though the tension dissolved from them gradually and he turned back to face her, doing a double-take upon catching sight of her face. A slight, gentle smile was settled upon her lips and her eyes had melted. He took a shallow breath.
She averted her eyes then and brushed her hair back behind her hear with her free hand. "Could you please pass me the next book?"
Recovering, Aidou turned just a little to snatch the nearest book from the pile.
An ominouos, warning creak sounded then and not a second later a frightening crack of splintering wood made him spin back around, seeing the rung that Yori was standing upon break beneath her, making her lose her footing upon the high rung and topple backwards, her hands slipping from the sides of the ladder.
It only took a heartbeat for Aidou to fling the book away and dash forward, his arms outstretched and curling instinctively around her fragile frame as she fell. Relief washed over him for an instant as he registered that she was safe – until her glove covered hand brushed against his chest.
Electricity raced down his spine and his head tossed back, teeth clenched but arms unwilling to let go of Yori just yet. He refused to drop her.
Yori gasped as she felt him stiffen like a plank around her and she hurriedly jerked her hands away from him, stopping the purple sparks from coursing through his body. He was still for a while, his eyes pressed tightly together. Then his knees gave way and his arms jostled her a little, loosening their grip around her and dropping her gently from his grasp.
She disregarded her awkward positioning to turn to him worriedly, cursing the stupid bracelets that the Chairman had given her to wear. "Aidou?"
The door to the library chose that specific moment to open and Yori whipped her head around to face it. She saw it open easily from where she was and froze in horror upon catching sight of the three men walking through it and stop, shocked, just inside it.
Suddenly her position, sitting on Aidou's lap, seemed highly inappropriate and she jumped from him as though shocked herself.
"Ow…" Aidou raised his hand to his head, massaging his temples, glancing up towards the door as well.
All three men there wore very different facial expressions, though none were offering any form of comfort or support in Yori's current predicament.
The Chairman was staring at her intrigued, his curiosity carefully guarded to be shown later in more proper company.
The other two men were more familiar to Yori. One was a mere three years older than her, his dark brown hair bouncing happily upon his smirking, knowing face and his caramel coloured eyes glinting mischievously at her.
But the last face was frightening to her. It was stoic, showing no emotion, but the tensed position of his jaw gave away his reeking displeasure. His eyes, dark and unlike those of his two children, were harsh and small, calculating and analytical. And in this moment, reeling with suppressed anger.
Yori gulped. "Father," she greeted.
"Sayori," came the clipped reply.
"Onii-san," Yori turned towards the older boy in the room and Aidou's interest was perked. This was her brother that she'd mentioned once in passing to him?
"Yori," the older boy grinned, his eyes twinkling and then flashing over to land on Aidou, who stood up from the floor, dusting his jacket off and then meeting the brother's amused gaze. Aidou, sensing the challenge, refused to back down and met the young man's stare with his own.
Suddenly the brother smirked, nodded once approvingly at Aidou and looked back at Yori. "I like him," he told her, causing her cheeks to heat up. Aidou almost spluttered in surprise. What?
"Sayori," her father called for her attention again and she cringed slightly as she turned her eyes up to his thunderous expression. "You have not replied to my letter, thus I have come in person to discuss matters with both you and your Chairman."
Yori carefully controlled her voice. "I received your letter this morning, Father. I had intended replying to you this evening."
Her father frowned. "I see." His eyes turned on Aidou then. "We had an agreement, Sayori," he said, his eyes never leaving Aidou, making the blonde shift a little under the intimidating man's gaze. Aidou reminded himself that the man before him was a measly human and immediately felt better, matching the older man's harsh stare.
"Yes, Father." Yori replied, pressing her lips together. She was obviously still rattled from her fall and the sudden pressure of having to answer to obvious displeasure was making her nervous.
"What were the terms of the agreement, Sayori?" he questioned.
"No distractions whatsoever. Focus entirely on your future," she recited, staring off at a spot beside her father's head. He nodded, satisfied at her answer.
"And he is…?" he asked, expecting Yori to finish his sentence. Aidou turned his head towards her, dreading her saying the words.
"A distraction," Yori whispered, her voice sticking in her throat.
Aidou felt something stab his chest. Her words shouldn't have hurt so much.
"Precisely," her father continued.
Yori fought to keep her face blank but a tremor of something broke through and her brother suddenly stepped forward, preventing her father from continuing. The young man strode forward, clapping Aidou on the shoulder jubilantly and steering him carefully away from Yori, towards the door. "Why don't you show me around the school, huh? I'd be totally lost around here without a guide and I'm dying to check out the girls!"
Aidou was about to protest when the grip on his shoulder tightened a little. Irritated, Aidou turned his head to protest but caught sight of the tensed expression on Yori's brother's face. A warning glance was shot to Aidou and he didn't protest then, letting himself be steered from the room.
"Goodbye then! I'll be back later; Father, Yori!" And the door slammed shut far too loudly, the older boy striding outside hurriedly and into the cool night air, Aidou following somewhat puzzled. What kind of complicated family was Yori from?
When her brother didn't stop walking Aidou got irritated, grabbing the boy's shoulder and stopping him. "Oi, that's enough. What in the world is going on here?"
The older boy stayed still for a moment before turning back to face Aidou, holding his hand out. "Introductions first. I'm Wakaba Sora, Yori's older brother. Nice to meet you."
Aidou reigned his frustrations in and reached out, shortly shaking hands with the human boy. "Aidou Hanabusa."
"Pleasure," Sora said. Then he sighed. "Just how much do you know about my little sister?"
Aidou shrugged once, turning his head away. "Not much."
"I thought so. She doesn't open up to many people."
Aidou nodded once, silently agreeing. It had taken him ages over cyberspace and an eternity in the real world to gain even an inkling of her trust. Mentally he cursed, thinking that if that stupid ladder hadn't broken, he might have found out more about her.
Sora sighed, running his hand through his hair and frowning. "Our Father… is not exactly the supportive figure." Aidou snorted at the obvious statement but Sora overlooked it. "He's a big-shot in the business world and wanted me to take over the company. But, quite frankly, I'm not interested in handling a company. It's boring work and absolutely dull. I'd die in that job. So when he couldn't convince me to take over the company…" he trailed off.
"He turned on Yori instead," Aidou finished Sora's sentence with a hint of bitterness in his voice. He was liking Yori's father less and less the more he heard of him.
"Yeah," Sora sighed. "Yori was too young and too shy to stand up for herself and got shoved into the role of taking over the company, even though she didn't really want to. I'd hoped that sending her off to boarding school would have opened her up a little and built her confidence but… it seems she's just as timid and withdrawn as ever-"
"She's not."
Sora looked up, a little surprised at the interruption. "Pardon?"
Aidou was scowling, his arms crossed. "Yori's not as timid as you think. Give her a little credit, huh?"
A frown passed over Sora's face. "And what makes you so sure of that? She's my sister; I think I'd know her better than you." Aidou bit his tongue to stop his retort. "She's shy, docile and entirely too obedient for her own good. She's never done anything against the rules and always follows Father's wishes-"
"She does not!" Aidou fisted his hands to keep himself calm. "She does not," he repeated more softly.
Sora stared at the shaking blonde in interest. The boy seemed unusually obstinate about his sister's character, though for what reason he didn't know. Frowning, Sora took a step closer to the vampire. "Tell me, Aidou-san, what relation do you have to my sister?"
Aidou froze, thinking over the question. What sort of relation? None, really. Friends was far too loose of a term to group her into; besides, he certainly wasn't interested in her as only a friend. Acquaintance? No, he was too close to her for that; at least he liked to think he was. Boyfriend? Hah, he wished.
Instead he settled for a vague answer. "Dunno."
A smirk crept onto Sora's face and Aidou glared at him. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," Sora spoke airily, his earlier seriousness completely vanished and replaced instead with an irritating air of innocence. "Nothing at all."
"Just spit it out, dammit," Aidou nearly growled.
Sora sent another large grin his way. "You liiiiike her!"
"So?" Aidou spat.
Sora seemed absolutely elated at that and brought a hand to his chin, studying Aidou more closely. "You're in the Night Class, right? White uniform and all."
"Yes, what's your point?"
"Nothing really. Yori just always said that she thought all the Night Class students were show-offs in her letters."
Aidou stilled.
"In fact," Sora continued, looking intrigued. "She told me that there was this one playboy type that reminded her of me… That wouldn't be you, would it?"
Aidou's jaw dropped. He reminded Yori of her brother? "Uh-"
"Hah! Awesome!" Sora clapped Aidou on the back again, laughing jovially. "We'll get along fabulously! Let's go check out the girls!"
Aidou stood stock-still as he watched Sora strut off ahead. He couldn't quite process everything. When Yori thought of him she compared him to her brother? Aidou stared at the cocky human and suddenly felt very, very ill.
"It is imperative for her to take Business and Entrepreneurial Studies as an elective subject in order to successfully take control of my company. Politics is a fine elective if she wishes to pursue that path further but Literature is utterly and completely useless if she is to focus on insurance and finances. Accounting seems a suitable substitute in exchange for that while Business and Entrepreneurial Studies can replace the English elective," the tall man said in a firm voice.
Yori sat in her armchair in the Chairman's office, her father standing beside the chair whilst the Chairman studied them both from the other side of his desk.
Yori tentatively glanced up at the Chairman who shot her a sympathetic glance before clearing his throat. "Wakaba-san," he said, addressing her father, "changing even one elective subject is a huge procedure with many forms and formalities to go through. Changing two at the same time is-"
"Doable," her father interrupted. "Sayori will not be wasting her time in class studying something as useless as Literature."
"It's not useless," Yori whispered towards her clasped hands. Her father always intimidated her simply by being in the same room.
He continued as though she hadn't spoken, "You will see to it that the switch is made, I presume."
Cross looked back at Yori, sitting slightly hunched in her chair. "Wakaba-san," he said, speaking to the tall man, "It is not recommended for the parent to change their child's subject choices for them unless there is a very valid reason-"
"There is."
The two men stared each other down, seemingly at a stalemate. Yori furrowed her brows. She didn't want to change her subjects. She liked studying writing and the finer details and works of some great authors. She always looked forward to her lessons when she went to class in the mornings. She didn't want to change to others. When she had chosen her subjects her father had sent her a list of the subjects that he 'recommended' for her. For two nights she'd worried over them, having little sleep and waking exhausted from fitful dreams. And when she'd finally made up her mind and handed in her form, she'd never felt so free.
And now her cage was back.
She clenched her hands as her father stepped forward towards the Chairman. "Sayori is the successor to my multi-million company. It is imperative that-"
"No." Her whisper sounded oddly loud in the now-silent room.
"Excuse me," Wakaba spoke, turning towards his daughter.
"No," she said, a little more loudly, fisting her hands in her uniform skirt. Her father had come in and brought along the metaphorical shackles. But she'd had her taste of freedom and she wasn't letting go of it that easily. "I don't want to."
"Sayori," her father warned but she pressed her lips together tightly.
"I want to keep my subjects." Her voice was shaky but she meant every word. She truly meant every word that she spoke.
She could almost feel the shock and disbelief radiating from her father. His voice betrayed the slowly bubbling anger now creeping to the surface. Yori steeled herself. "Sayori… what is the meaning of this?"
She swallowed. There seemed to be a lump lodged there that she couldn't get rid of.
"Sayori. Explain yourself."
Yori was wound tighter than a bowstring and she cleared her throat. "I… I don't want to… I don't…"
'If you want to write then you should write. You're not living his life, he must just butt out.'
She took a steadying breath and lifted her head to face her father. "I don't want to run the company."
The silence ringing in the room was audible.
"You-" her father stuttered, speechless. "You-, you-" His hands twitched and eyes flicked about the room, settling on no particular object, his face turning red. Finally he rounded back on Yori, his eyes livid. "Fine!" he spat viciously.
"Fine!" he repeated, turning on his heel and striding towards the door, wrenching it open and stopping in the frame, shooting a raging glare at his daughter. "I'll pay for your tuition; after that you're on your own." And he slammed the door in her face.
Yori could only stare at the closed door. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She'd defied her father. She'd actually defied her father.
And he'd practically disowned her.
A warm hand landed comfortingly on her shoulder, making her look up. "Chairman…"
He smiled down warmly at her. "Call me 'Uncle' from now on, alright?"
A/N: And… STOP! Phew, that was long! I was kinda contemplating cutting this chapter in half at the point where the library door was opening and leave it at a cliffhanger but… I decided against it! Hah! Aren't I nice?
So? What did you think of Yori's family? I really hope that I didn't botch them up completely.
In other words…
REVIEW! (please)