96. Flying Colours
453Words
Narita Ken knew that he had won the moment Satsuki had walked up to him and presented her 'challenge'. He had recognised immediately what it truly was – a permission for him to pursue her in earnest. Ken was glad that his long, patient wait had finally paid off. He had hoped that the woman would have a change of heart sooner or later – much, much later knowing Satsuki. But at long last she had decided to give him a chance, and that was all he needed.
He was certain that he would be able to win her over, after all, he had managed to get this far. He had prevailed in the face of her prejudice; he had won against her doubts. He finally had her exactly where he wanted, he had been dealt the winning hand and all that was left now was to finish the game.
Yukino Satsuki was absolutely alluring, and her naïve innocence just added to her charm. She appeared to be completely oblivious to how attractive she was. It was one of the features he liked best about her.
Ken had been an actor since he had been 15 or so. In his career he had met plenty of women who were very aware of their looks, and who appeared to take their fair appearance as a permission to behave like horribly shallow, conniving and attention seeking drama queens. Of course not all attractive women were like that. And while Satsuki's innocence was charming, it did have a setback: her lack of confidence. It frustrated Ken sometimes; he couldn't fathom why she thought so little of herself at times.
Ken knew what a remarkable woman she was. Despite her vulnerability she had this amazing strength to her. Like she had just marched right up to him, telling him to prove how serious he was about her. It could not have been easy for her to do something like that, yet she had gathered her courage and taken that step forward. And confidence could be built up over time; he would have all the time in the world to gently coax it to grow, once Satsuki was his.
He could not wait for the day when he could finally claim her. The wait was agonising, but he knew he would have to proceed slowly. It had worked for him so well this far, and the last thing he wanted was to scare her away now when he had finally got her so close. Ken was well aware that Satsuki still had her doubts about his motives, and he was all set to prove her wrong.
He accepted her challenge, and he was going to pass it with flying colours.