Chapter 6 – Hiding Scars

After eating his food and getting his bag, Misaki had bid his brother farewell and left with Akihiko. Upon spotting the man's red sports car, Misaki concluded that Akihiko was just as rich as Jeff, which didn't reassure him. By then, he had begun to believe that rich people thought they could do as they pleased, even though he had barely met anyone rich aside from the Honda family.

Misaki wasn't a pessimist by nature, but the rape had made something click in his mind. No matter how kind someone was to him, the brunet wouldn't trust anyone so blindly. He was afraid; if he wasn't careful enough, the same thing was bound to happen. There was no way Misaki could handle going through something so terrible again.

All of the memories came back to haunt him. The sight of Jeff on top of him, looking at him with that sadistic smirk on his face, was already scary enough, but it didn't stop there. Misaki could even feel that man's hands touching his body as though it was happening a second time. Back when it did happen, it made him feel disgusting and terrified, and those feelings hadn't changed one bit.

The thoughts nearly made Misaki throw up, but at the same time his eyes began to sting. Turning his head away, he tried to hide it from Akihiko, not wanting him to see the tears if he was actually going to cry. Most certainly, Misaki felt like letting it all come out.

Akihiko's hold on the steering wheel was loose as he waited for the traffic light to turn green. His eyes darted to Misaki every now and then, studying his movements. The teen was acting rather strange.

"What's bothering you?" Akihiko asked, glancing at the traffic light impatiently, "I can tell you're feeling uneasy."

"I'm fine," came as a short reply.

"You don't look fine. Shouldn't you be happy that you've gotten another offer for a job? Or are you feeling homesick after working for Jeff?"

Misaki scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous," he replied, "I've only worked there for a couple of days. There's no way I'd get homesick so soon. Besides, I wanted to look for a job myself; Nii-chan didn't even know I was looking for a job until I told him I had been hired."

The light turned to a bright green and Akihiko stepped on the gas. The car practically shot forward, causing Misaki to grip the edge of his seat as he was startled by the sudden impact. Nevertheless, he did not look away from the window.

"Why are you so desperate to find yourself a job anyway? What do you need the money for?"

"I'll be in college next year, so I need it for my tuition fees." Misaki finally looked at the other man. "I don't think you'd understand the trouble of having to work hard. In addition, you don't have to help me just because you've got a fat wallet."

"That's not the reason for me to help you," Akihiko argued.

"No, it's because you want to impress Nii-chan, isn't it? You want to look good in front of him so he will like you even more than he already does. That's disgusting."

"Since when do you decide why I'm doing this?"

Although Misaki was angry at Akihiko, he decided to say no more. It probably wasn't a good idea to get into a fight with his new 'master' on the first day. Still, he wouldn't accept Akihiko to use him for strengthening his bond with Takahiro.

Neither of the two spoke until they arrived at their destination. As Misaki looked out of the window, his jaw dropped. They were in one of the best districts in all of Tokyo. It wouldn't surprise him if the houses here were as expensive as the Honda Estate.

"This is where you live?" he asked.

"Yes, it is." Akihiko seemed to have forgotten about their little disagreement. He drove into the parking garage and parked his car. Misaki undid his seatbelt and got out first, but Akihiko soon followed. The man walked to the back and opened the trunk to get Misaki's luggage. He started lifting the suitcases as the younger male came rushing to him.

"I can carry my luggage," Misaki said, "You don't have to do that for me." Despite his protests, Akihiko took one of the suitcases.

"I live on the top floor of this building," Akihiko replied. It was all he said, as though that was all he needed to convince Misaki. Much to the man's satisfaction, the teen didn't reply and picked up the other suitcase before shutting the trunk. With a simple click on the button, Akihiko locked the car.

An elevator brought the men to the right floor. It took a while to get there, given that the building had quite a lot of floors, but the doors finally opened and Akihiko and Misaki got out. There were a couple of doors on the left, which made Misaki wonder where Akihiko lived. He followed the man to the first door on the left and waited for him to unlock the door.

"Usagi-san," Misaki said in a soft voice while Akihiko looked for his key, "Why exactly are you helping me?"

"I don't really know. You sparked my interest back at Jeff's place, so I suppose I want to know more about you. Furthermore, this is the only way for you to earn the money you need, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is…" Although there wasn't a clear meaning behind Akihiko's words, Misaki couldn't help but think back to that one time that Jeff forced him to do something sexual and humiliating while Akihiko was watching them. Was that why he had been offered a new job? Misaki wasn't planning on doing the same for Akihiko; the first time had been bad enough already.

'Maybe he really is a pervert like Honda-san,' Misaki thought, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

The door opened and Akihiko stepped aside, allowing the other to enter. "This is my home," he said, not particularly caring about Misaki's reaction, "As you can see, it's a bit messy here."

Misaki stared in disbelief at the warzone in front of him. "'A bit messy', you say? When's the last time you cleaned this place up?"

"I'm not sure."

All that came to mind was the question how Akihiko managed to live by himself in a house so unstructured and filthy. This man was one of Takahiro's closest friends? How in the world was that even possible?

With a frustrated sigh, Misaki walked in, dropped his luggage, and began picking up the books that were scattered all over the floor. Each one of them was covered in a thick layer of dust, proving that they had been there for a long time. Misaki sneezed as he got up and then turned around to face his new master.

"Do you happen to have a vacuum cleaner?"

"It should be in the room on the right, I think." Akihiko didn't sound too sure of his own answer. "Actually, I haven't used it for a while, so it could be anywhere. Well, it looks like you've already got a task. I've got some errands to run as well, so I won't disturb you while you're working."

"Are you joking? This will take hours!"

"You've got the whole afternoon to yourself. Now then, have fun." With that, Akihiko put the suitcase down and closed the door, leaving his housekeeper behind in the mess he'd made.

Misaki looked around lifelessly, wondering what he had gotten himself into. It was already a tough job to clean the Honda Estate, even though that house was very clean compared to this. What on Earth had Akihiko done to make it look like this anyways?

'Never mind that,' Misaki said to himself, 'I better get started now or I'll be cleaning until midnight.' He began walking around the apartment, looking for something to clean with, and eventually found a vacuum cleaner and a feather duster in what appeared to be a storage room. With a final, deep breath, Misaki began cleaning the lower floor of the condominium.

About three hours later, Misaki collapsed on the sofa, groaning loudly. Having to clean everything so thoroughly was exhausting and he hadn't even done the upper level yet. Too tired to do any more, he decided to stay there and get a bit of rest. He could finish cleaning tomorrow; it wasn't like Akihiko really cared what his house looked like.

Misaki wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and stared at the ceiling. His eyes lazily fixed on the door when the lock clicked. Akihiko walked in with a bag in his hand, approaching the brunet on the couch.

"Are you already slacking off?" Akihiko asked mockingly, dropping the bag on Misaki's stomach.

"No, I'm just tired. Do you have any idea how long it took to get everything clean? How in the world did you make such a mess all by yourself?"

Akihiko seemed to ignore his question. "I bought you something." He dug his hand into the bag and pulled out something black. Misaki couldn't figure out what it was until Akihiko unfolded the fabric and showed him something Misaki didn't want to see.

It was another short, girly maid uniform.

"No way in hell."

Displeased with the response, Akihiko grasped the bag and threw it on the ground. "Why not? You wore one at the Honda Estate as well, so you shouldn't have any problems wearing one again."

"I didn't put it on for fun!" Misaki protested, "Honda-san told me there were no male uniforms, so I was forced to wear it."

"Like I told you before, he was just using that as an excuse. You could have declined if you really didn't want to, but you put it on nonetheless. That must mean that it either didn't bother you or you like embarrassing yourself in front of others. Although, I think the latter is kind of unlikely."

"As if! Why do you want me to put this on in the first place?"

"Because I think it looks good on you," Akihiko admitted.

Misaki gritted his teeth. "So you're just as perverted as him. I should've known. At any rate, I'm not going to wear that damn dress, so you can forget about acting out your perverted fantasies."

The room fell silent for a moment. There was a determined, stubborn look in Misaki's eyes that seemed to pierce Akihiko's soul, but it failed to impress or intimidate the older man. Instead of being surprised, he merely folded his arms and took a step back.

"You sure are judgmental for someone who doesn't know me at all," Akihiko replied, obviously irritated, "I've got work to do. Call me when dinner's ready." With a quick spin, he moved away from the sofa and moved upstairs, disappearing into one of the many rooms.

As he sat up, Misaki glared at the door of the room Akihiko had entered. Who the hell did that guy think he was? He had no right to force Misaki into wearing something feminine, or did he? Honestly, the young brunet wasn't so sure anymore after the things Akihiko had said. It would be a bit unfair to refuse putting on a uniform while he had done so when he worked for the Honda family. On the other hand, Misaki really didn't want to walk around wearing something so humiliating again.

Telling himself to get back to work and prepare dinner, Misaki got up from the couch and dragged himself to the kitchen. There weren't a lot of ingredients in the refrigerator, but there was enough to make karasumi and daikon pasta. Taking everything he needed, he closed the door of the refrigerator with his elbow and opened the kitchen cabinets to get the pots and pans he needed. Once he had everything he needed, Misaki threw on an apron and started cooking, trying to forget about the bad things that had happened in the past few days.

A delicious smell wafted through the penthouse as Misaki turned off the stove. Dinner was all ready and he was quite satisfied with the result. Karasumi and daikon pasta was a dish he hadn't prepared very often, so he was glad to be able to remember the recipe. It looked pretty good too, in his honest opinion. Hopefully his master would think the same.

Misaki took off his apron, a little irritated by his thoughts. His pride had been damaged so much in a matter of days that he was even considering Akihiko his new master already. He glanced at the maid costume, which was lying on the sofa. What did it matter if he put on that dress? It wasn't like he had any reason to be ashamed anymore. After all, hadn't he become a simple, shameless housekeeper already?

In a futile attempt to push these thoughts away, Misaki began to understand that the events back at the Honda Estate had affected him greatly, but not in a good way. He had always blamed himself for his parents' death and recently he had started to blame himself for other things as well. That hardly happened to him.

'I need to forget about it,' Misaki told himself, 'Regardless of what happened, I need to move on. Sulking won't solve anything.' Glancing at the sofa, he glared hatefully at the costume. 'I should give him a chance, but…it's scary. How do I know that he won't molest me too?'

In the end, the brunet decided to take the risk, mainly because he felt guilty for mistrusting Akihiko. It wasn't anything he could change, but if his master could show him how harmless he was, then Misaki would eventually learn to trust him. These thoughts gave Misaki more confidence in what he was about to do. He walked to the couch and began to quickly change into the costume.

As if to sense something was going on, Akihiko suddenly got out of his office, only to see Misaki downstairs in nothing but his underwear. The teen, who was in the middle of changing his clothes, looked up as he heard a door open and tensed when he noticed his master. He quickly stepped back with horror written all over his face. It was official that Akihiko had the worst timing ever.

Misaki didn't know what to do next, so he tried to cover his practically naked appearance by holding the dress against his body. His eyes kept following the man's movements as Akihiko walked down the stairs, approaching him. Their gazes locked, but there was no emotion to be read in those small orbs of violet.

The faint sound of footsteps could be heard as Akihiko kept moving forward, until he had reached the sofa. Misaki had fallen back as he tried to get away. He was trapped between the couch and his master. His eyes were clenched shut as Akihiko's hand moved to Misaki's wrist, tugging it.

"N-no, stop!"

Desperate protests were ignored, which only scared Misaki further. When Akihiko succeeded in snatching the uniform out of Misaki's grasp, the brunet was entirely exposed. No words were spoken while the author leaned closer, his warm breath making Misaki's skin prickle. A large, cold hand was placed on the younger male's chest, moving around very slowly.

Panic began to conquer Misaki's mind once more. He tried to pry Akihiko's hand away, but it only made things worse as the man locked both of his wrists in his free hand, leaving him with no possibility to protect himself. Furthermore, the situation reminded him of the time Jeff raped him. He tried to convince himself that this was different, but the way Akihiko touched him was too similar.

"Stop, please…"

Again, Akihiko said nothing.

"Don't do this," Misaki pleaded, his voice cracking as he spoke. The images of that morning returned, so clearly that it almost seemed real. Misaki saw his old master again, hovering over him, touching his body with that grin on his face. It was disgusting, but most all…it was terrifying.

Soft sobs reached Akihiko's ears, taking him completely by surprise. He drew back and released Misaki's hands, but the latter did not look at him. The sobs grew louder and soon a tear fell caught the author's attention.

"Misaki, what's wrong?" Akihiko asked, sounding confused. When he met a pair of puffy, red eyes, his confusion only grew.

"I-I'll tell you what's wrong!" Misaki yelled in reply, his voice completely broken, "You can't just touch me and expect me to be okay with it. I'm not Nii-chan's replacement, so don't try to use me to satisfy your perverted fantasies, you filthy homo!"

Akihiko's expression turned venomous. "What did you say?" His hands took hold of Misaki's once more, pressing them against the backrest. "Listen, I didn't offer you a job to get yelled at. If you don't work on your attitude, I will kick you out soon enough."

The words didn't seem to get through; Misaki was tossing his head from side to side and struggling to break free. Tears rolled down his face as his cheeks reddened.

"No, stop it!"

Hearing the utter panic in the brunet's voice, Akihiko began to worry. "Misaki, what are you talking about?" he asked, but Misaki didn't answer, "Hey, are you listening to me?"

"Let go!"

Not knowing what to do, Akihiko slowly let go of Misaki's wrists. As soon as he did so, Misaki jumped up and ran away. He climbed the stairs, almost tripping over the steps, and rushed into a random room. The door slammed shut behind him before the condo fell silent again.

Amethyst eyes glanced at the clothes lying on the floor, along with the uniform Misaki was supposed to wear. The response was far from what Akihiko had expected. He didn't think Misaki would freak out because of a few simple touches, but it turned out he was wrong. Still, it was a mystery to him why his housekeeper had reacted in such a way. Misaki didn't seem to be scared of him when they first met.

What bothered Akihiko more were the marks he noticed. Misaki's body appeared to be covered in bite and scratch marks, along with a couple of bruises. He couldn't figure out who did that to him, but a simple question popped up in his mind.

What happened between Jeff and Misaki?

The room Misaki had entered turned out to be a guest room. It relieved Misaki a bit to know that he hadn't accidentally run into Akihiko's bedroom, as he knew he wouldn't be able to stay in there forever. In slow movements, he walked to the bed and sat down.

In the back of his head, Misaki was still thinking about Jeff. The images were lingering there, driving him insane. He should've known better than to change in the middle of the living room. Why had he been so stupid to grant Akihiko another chance? Obviously, that man was just as bad as his previous master. The only difference was that Akihiko didn't pretend to be nice.

'Even so, he stopped when I started crying. What does that mean?'

Misaki was indescribably confused by Akihiko's actions. If the guy really wanted to rape him, he would have continued. That didn't explain why he began touching the poor, defenseless teen in the first place. Was he trying to take his time? Could it be that Akihiko was simply waiting for the right moment to strike?

'Is it…safe for me to stay here?' Misaki wondered. It wasn't too late to return to Takahiro's place, but Misaki wasn't entirely sure if that was the right thing to do. After all, Akihiko had technically not done anything yet.

Hugging his own body, the teen mocked himself for leaving his clothes behind. There was nothing for him to wear, unless Akihiko happened to have any clothes lying around in the guest room. Praying that luck was on his side, Misaki got up from the bed and walked to the wardrobe on his left. He was disappointed to see nothing in there, save for a few clean sheets.

Right when Misaki was dragging his body back to the bed, he was startled by a knock on the door. Feeling vulnerable in his state, he quickly slipped under the sheets and wrapped them protectively around his body.

"Misaki, I'm coming in."

"Don't," Misaki replied, "I don't want you to see me."

The author on the other side of the door emitted a sigh. "I'm worried about you. You're acting very strange."

Misaki couldn't believe that Akihiko was actually worried. He looked to the floor, wondering if his behavior had aroused suspicion. There was no way he could let his new master find out what happened to him. It was far too embarrassing and he was sure Akihiko would tell his brother as well. Either that or the man would take advantage of Misaki incapability to defend himself.

Clutching the fabric tighter, Misaki began to tremble as tears formed in his eyes once more. Since he knew so little about Akihiko, he had no idea whether he could trust him or not. Letting the man in could lead to something terrible, but how much of a choice did he have?

When Misaki didn't answer, Akihiko opened the door and took a single step inside. He stood there, watching Misaki as the latter curled himself up into a ball. Moss green eyes stared at him, the look in them hesitant and anxious. Misaki didn't move as Akihiko walked closer. The author held the teen's clothes and the maid costume in his hand. Standing right in front of Misaki's bed, he laid them down next to the shivering form.

"Misaki," Akihiko spoke, trying to sound a gentle as he could, "You were begging me to stop. What did you mean by that?"

Chewing on his lip, Misaki cast his gaze to the floor again. He couldn't bear looking the other in the eye.

Akihiko waited patiently, not wanting to scare his housekeeper again. Trying to regain eye contact, he kneeled down and looked up at Misaki's face. Unfortunately, brown bangs covered Misaki's eyes. Normally, Akihiko would've simply cupped the younger's face and force him to look up, but he was too shocked by the reaction he'd received earlier.

"I'm not sure what is going on inside your head right now," the novelist admitted, "If you're afraid of me, tell me why."

"It isn't because of you," Misaki whispered.

Although he wasn't sure what Misaki meant by that, it relieved Akihiko a little bit. The questions that had filled his head, however, were left unanswered.

"Usagi—master, please," the brunet continued, "I'm tired. Can I get some rest?"

"Shouldn't you eat something first?" When Misaki shook his head, Akihiko got up from the ground. "All right, go get some sleep then. I'll go downstairs to get your luggage. You can use this room to sleep in." He spun around on his heels and walked out of the room.

The suitcases were still standing by the door. Akihiko descended the staircase, thinking about Misaki's behavior. He needed to find out what was bothering Misaki so much. More importantly, he wanted to know who gave Misaki those marks, because obviously something happened to him.

'Has he been abused by someone? It seems that way. Maybe he was afraid that I would hurt him too.' Akihiko had devised theories in his mind, but didn't want to jump to conclusions too soon. He brought the suitcases to Misaki's room and left just as quietly. Misaki didn't even look up, but he did mutter something before Akihiko left. The author was too consumed with his own thoughts to hear, thinking of the best way to start searching for the answer.

He had a feeling that he knew where to start.