Chapter Thirty-eight: Confessions, Love, and Solo Practice

Date: May 14th, 2012

Location: Hijirikawa household

Time: 9:30 AM

Masato entered the main entrance of the courtyard, finding his grandfather by the pond already feeding the koi fish. Jii, his personal butler was standing nearby taking care of the flowers in the garden. The pianist took a seat on a Japanese lacquered bench beside his grandfather. Right away his grandfather eyed the choice of accessories and clothing that Masato was currently wearing. A white t – shirt, black jeans, knee length combat boots, an onyx ring on his right index finger, and a braided white leather bracelet that was hanging around his left wrist. Surprise. Surprise. The pianist had gone through a complete new wardrobe transformation.

Grandfather Hijirikawa smiled, "I can see that Asami has influenced your taste in clothes."

"She personally chose this outfit…- yesterday," Blushed Masato.

"The young lady is full of surprises," The old man handed the white porcelain bowl to Jii, before standing up from the bench, "Mai already likes her."

"Even a few of the servants have grown quite fond of the young lady," Stated Jii.

Masato smiled, "Asami does have the ability to make friends with everyone. She is full of surprises. Sometimes I don't know what she's thinking…- but she can be energetic and a bit wild."

Grandfather Hijirikawa could tell that from the way his grandson described the young lady, for sure the pianist was in love with her. Jii left the courtyard to help the servants in the main kitchen. The old man walked over to a rose bush, taking out a black ring box from the sleeve of his gray yukata, he handed the ring box over to Masato. Oh. Wow. The ring inside the box was gold with a red circular gemstone embedded in the center. Masato didn't know what to say to his grandfather. For sure, the ring had once belonged to his deceased grandmother. The old man smiled, plucking off one of the roses before bringing it up under his nose. Lovely scent.

"If you're father and mother were still alive…- you would have been chained into a marriage without love," Grandfather Hijirikawa sighed, "An old man like myself is racing against time. I don't want you to go through the rest of your life alone."

"Grandfather, I won't be alone. I have Mai…-"

"I'm not referring to Mai," The old man placed a hand upon Masato's shoulder, "You love the young siren. I can tell that she loves you back. Truthfully, I don't want the two of you going through all the drama, in which your parents went through."

"Grandfather, the ring…- I can't accept…-"

"Enough. I've decided that it should be handed down to you," The old man smiled, "Present it to the young siren when the time is right."

EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS

Time: 10:05 AM

The clear, deep, and rich melody of Asami's Erhu filled the main room of the Hijirikawa household. Using her left hand, she gracefully moved the bow gently against the strings of her Erhu. The base of the Erhu rested on top of her right knee. The fingers on her right hand hovered over the strings, only to select the right ones at the right time. Even though she was seated comfortably on a red stool, she made sure that her posture was straight. Grace. Beauty. She allowed herself to flow with the melody. Asami stopped playing once she realized that she wasn't alone in the room anymore.

Asami smiled, "The outfit looks good on you."

"Sorry…- did I interrupt your practice?" Masato took a seat on a cushion.

"Not really," Asami placed her Erhu and bow into her nylon case, "I was just improvising a tune. Did everything go alright, when you dropped Mai off at her school?"

Masato sweat dropped, "It seems that she is receiving a lot of…- love letters."

Asami giggled slightly, "Sounds like she has a large list of lovely suitors."

EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS

Location: Somewhere in Central Tokyo

Time: 1:00 PM

Temptations café was popular as ever to its customers in serving the most decadent sweets, drinks, and beverages. The café was also a favorite location to hangout for professional idols, those who were currently contracted under the CRIMSONxRUBY and Tokyo STARDOM Agency. Tomochika entered the café; right away she spotted Alexander sitting at one of the corner booths. She took a seat in the corner booth. Alexander slid a plate of a slice of Raspberry – chocolate cheesecake across the table.

Tomochika eyed the cheesecake suspiciously, "Unexpected…- but very tempting."

"I heard from Nanami-chan that you didn't have anything to eat this morning," Alexander slightly yawned.

"Oh…- that's because I had a photo shoot to attend too," Tomochika twirled the fork between her fingers casually, "In the mass of three hours I didn't have anything to eat or drink."

Alexander smiled, "You've worked hard. Now you can drink and eat to your hearts desire."

"It's not that easy as you think," Tomochika frowned, "I still need to watch my weight. As a professional model, you should know that well enough."

"Relax, Tomo-chan," Alexander placed an elaborate rectangular gift box on the seat between them, "Here…- this is for you."

"Seriously Alex, you surprise me at every twist," Blushed Tomochika.

EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS

Location: Hijirikawa household

Time: 6:30 PM

The warm bath was already set by the time Asami had finished undressing. She placed her clothes upon the bathroom counter next to a bag, which contained her bathroom necessities. When she looked at her own reflection in the bathroom mirror, she noticed that her bangs had grown a few inches longer. Her hair was back to its normal color since the scarlet dye was washed away the previous night.

"Coconut and Green tea shampoo, Strawberry cheesecake, or Citrus and Roses," Asami uncapped the first bottle, pouring a small amount into her hand, lathering it into her hair.

The bittersweet scent relaxed Asami. She used the shower nozzle, which was attached to the wall to wash out the shampoo, before she allowed herself to soak in the white marble bathtub.

"Strawberry cheesecake shampoo…- Yuudai, I question your tastes in beauty products," Asami mumbled before stretching her legs.

There was a knock upon the bathroom door, before Mai entered holding her own bath towel and yukata. Asami smiled at the young girl. Adorable. Mai's bath towel had panda characters embroidered around the edges.

"O-onee-chan…- could I take a bath with y-you?"

"Of course," Asami replied calmly, knowing that there shouldn't be any problem when it came down to bathing with the same gender.

Mai smiled, setting her bath towel and yukata upon a vanity chair.

"Oh…- I forgot…-," The young girls sentence trailed off quickly, before she left the bathroom.

Asami was stumped. What did Mai forget? Did she forget to bring her own shampoo? Asami chuckled slightly; the young girl could've asked to use some of Asami's shampoo. There wasn't any need to exit the bathroom in a rush. Asami stepped out of the bathtub, wrapping a red towel around her body, before searching for a bobby pin to keep her bangs from annoying her. No luck. Maybe she had left her bobby pins in her travel bag, which was back in the main guest room. Familiar voices were heard along with rushed footsteps. Oh. Dear. God. Asami felt embarrassed once Masato entered the bathroom with Mai standing behind him. Oh. Boy. The pianist stuttered a quick apology before averting his eyes he quickly left the bathroom. Sure enough, a shade of crimson had dusted his cheeks. Mai wondered if she was wrong about her older brother in wanting to take a bath together. Oh. So. Innocent.

EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS

Location: OMEGA nightclub, Central Tokyo

Time: 7:10 PM

The nightclub was completely crowded. Black, red, and white flashing lights lite up the dancefloor. Upbeat dance music blared out from the stereos, which were embedded in the ceiling. A male DJ worked his magic on the turntable. Yoshio and Tokiya were dancing among the crowd, having fun to the beat of the music. Yoshi and Ren were sitting at a booth nearby. The two had finished sharing a bottle of vodka. So far the two were still sober. Ren sighed. The nightclub atmosphere wasn't really helping him in getting his mind off Asami.

Yoshi smirked, "No fun? You know you could mingle with a few of the females on the dancefloor. Maybe that will cheer you up."

"I wouldn't go that far," Ren sighed once more, "Truthfully at the moment…- I have something else on my mind."

EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS ~ EKSTASIS

Location: Hijirikawa household

Time: 8:02 PM

Mai was already fast asleep in her own room, which was five doors down from the guest room in which Asami was residing in. Asami walked down the long hallway before entering Masato's room. The young pianist was seated on a cushion in front of a Japanese calligraphy table, reviewing a few of his English notes. She took a seat on a separate cushion beside him, before placing her 'Ren' plushie on her lap. Masato's eyes darkened with jealousy. Why did Asami own a plushie in form of his skirt – chasing rival?!

"Ah…- you've misspelled two words in the second paragraph," Asami said, looking over one of his review notes, "Secrets doesn't have an 'A' between the 'E' and the 'C'. You should omit one of the 'F's' in difference."

"I see what you mean," Masato corrected his mistakes, before turning his attention back to the plushie, "Did you purchase that 'thing' from a store this morning?"

"Yes," Asami smiled, "Once I saw it in the store window I just had to buy it. Don't you think that it's like a Chibi version of Ren?"

Masato frowned, "So you think that Jinguji is cute?!"

"Ren…- cute?" Asami slightly raised her eyebrows, "I didn't say that Ren is cute. Oh my…- could it…- Masato, are you jealous?"

"…" A shade of crimson dusted Masato's cheeks.

Asami smirked, "You are totally jealous. How silly, all because of a plushie. J – e – a – l – o …- umph!"

Words were cut off. Masato had his lips upon hers. Asami's mind went blank. Tongues intertwined. Soon enough, she felt her body heat up. Excitement. Passion. Oh. God. She desired more. The 'Ren' plushie rolled off her lap onto the floor, as soon as Asami had Masato on his back. Her legs were already touching the side of his hips. The two broke apart for a moment, to catch their breath. Dark. Dominating. Seductive. Asami loosened the belt around Masato's blue yukata, before tracing her finger across his abdomen. Masato instinctively moaned, a shade of crimson dusted his cheeks. He placed his lips upon hers once more. Asami allowed herself to be embraced. Tongues intertwined in the moment of passion. Asami sighed in pleasure when she felt Masato's hands upon her waist, just underneath her white t – shirt. His hands edged towards the top of her red pajama pants, before pulling at the cotton strings, completely unraveling the bow. Asami instantly broke the kiss. Masato froze realizing that there was nothing 'oh – so – innocent' about the situation, which they were in now. Stupid. Hormones. Asami released herself from Masato's embrace, before sitting up she straightened out her t – shirt. It was clear to both of them that the situation had gotten a little out of control. Masato sighed. He could tell that Asami was embarrassed since she couldn't make eye contact with him. Damn. It. The situation wasn't supposed to turn out like this. Masato embraced Asami once more, not wanting to scare her off.

"I apologize for taking advantage of you…- in the beginning," Masato said.

"It's…- alright," Asami sighed, "I'm partially to blame for my lack of self – control."

Masato slightly chuckled, "I guess we're both to blame."

"Baby steps," Asami smiled, "We'll take our relationship one day at a time."