Chapter 18 – New Memories & Painful Memories
"I'm sorry, I promise not to do it again…"
"That's okay. Just try to call me before I've figured out you've starved yourself again. On a Friday no less! Ehi! Don't do that. You'll burn yourself" Takumi-kun chastised her as he swatted her hand away from the pan. Ayame retracted back from her failed to dip her finger into the irresistible creamy sauce Takumi-kun was making to taste.
She hoped he wasn't annoyed with her.
Ayame wandered back to her seat in the kitchen bench pondering about when he would finish whipping up his fettuccine. She bent over and rested her head in her elbows. She gingerly peeped through her fringe, watching amazed at how her boyfriend could so easily toss the fettuccine in the pan full of cream and sundried-tomato sauce with one hand over and over until the pasta was coated evenly. He must have super-strong wrists because she, herself, needed to hold an empty pan with two hands just to carry it from destination A to B. She almost felt bad for cornering him into doing this. She honestly didn't mean to! He'd already visited her twice this week since semester began. The first time, which was four days ago, he had brought over some Italian-Mexican fusion enchiladas he called Aldini-style enchiladas for dinner. She was tempted to make a comment about the naming choice, but held her tongue. He was apologetic that he couldn't make it that afternoon for an after school snack around Karakura honchou with her because he was busy with Isami-kun practicing different recipes in one of those study-kitchens. She was totally fine with that, getting a bite to eat after school was just a passing thought. She remembered she'd made sure to send a selfie to let him know that everything was okay. She knew Takumi-kun was bound to feel bad for turning down an opportunity to hang out with each other. She was more than understanding and he needed to know that he didn't have to fret about anything. They each had their priorities.
Ayame thought it was cute he wanted to name everything he made 'Aldini-style'. Aldini-style seared scallops, Aldini-style barbeque duck, Aldini-style black bean soup with poached eggs, she could make a list the size of her arm! However, she thought there could still be some improvement in the naming department no matter how cute it was. When he came over for dinner with that bag of delicious Italian-Mexican enchiladas that evening, she noticed there was something weighing heavily in his heart and she couldn't quite put a finger on it. He looked spaced out and slightly distracted. Totally unlike himself. She thought it was maybe the stress of second year Tootsuki life, but that didn't seem to be it. Every now and again while he was eating with her, he would pick at his food and look at her and look away again with furrowed eyebrows. Then the small talk would begin and nothing was the matter. When she asked if there was something wrong, he paused, as if deciding if he should tell her what was bothering him. But he only smiled and said it was nothing and was sorry for making her worry, thus the small talk would resume.
In the second visit, he was doing it again.
Now, it was the third visit of the week and he was doing the same thing again.
Ayame's anxiety mounted higher and higher.
"Takumi-kun, I know you're stressing about something. What is it? I want to help" she crept behind him whilst he was still tossing the fettuccine in the pan on the stove.
"N-Nothing. Nothing's going on" he said hastily, with an over-exaggerated laughter in his voice.
Ayame inhaled the smell of the tangy sundried-tomatoes infused into his cream sauce. It lingered on the back of her tongue and she couldn't wait to get her fork into it. Even when he was distracted whilst cooking on auto-pilot, his food never failed to over-whet her appetite and be less than perfect. Such mastery he possessed must've become second nature. He's delicious cooking wasn't going to distract her from what's important though.
"I worry anyway…" she pressed her face into his back as she clutched at his shirt. She breathed in the cedar scent she loved that belonged solely to him. Her muscles relaxed and she concentrated on his warmth, comforting her face. She could stay like this with him forever if she wasn't so hungry.
"Has your f-father been home lately?" asked Takumi-kun, his voice reverberating through his back to her cheek.
That was a random question.
"Umm… No, he's been busy. Why?"
Takumi-kun sighed heavily and turned off the stove. He gestured for her to hand over the dinner plates so that he could dish out the fettuccine. Ayame's worry escalated. There was no way Takumi-kun would ask something so casual about Otou-san. Was Takumi-kun feeling anxious about Otou-san? Was he feeling anxious about him all this time? Was this why he'd been distracted the past week? Was he still fearful of him? Was the prospect of Otou-san too much for him?! Oh no… maybe he was having second thoughts about his relationship with her because of Otou-san! Ayame took the filled plates from him wordlessly and laid it out onto the dinner table with the drinks. Her hands shook as she poured the ice tea and they couldn't stop shaking until she had to forcibly put them down before Takumi-kun noticed. Maybe making dinner for her a few nights a week was a set up to break the news that Takumi-kun wanted to break up with her! Whilst the blonde Italian found and placed a lid onto the pan to cover the left over fettuccine, Ayame ran around to grab the cutlery and the tissue box.
"AYA!"
She felt the air knock out of her and her world spun until she collided into a firm chest. It was Takumi-kun. He had whisked her around the middle and pulled her off the floor and into his body in a blink of an eye. Her head continued to spin from the sudden whiplash and she could only stare in shock into his face, silently seeking an explanation.
"I think I'm the one needing to worry. You just grabbed the chopsticks instead of the forks" he chuckled and pried the chopsticks from her grip and swapping them for forks from the cutlery drawer.
'Urgh… I'm worse than usual…'
Ayame pursed her lips in frustration at her total disregard for her surroundings as Takumi-kun took her hand and lead her to the dinner table. His bright, comforting smile and his warm blue eyes melted away some of her anxiety, but it was still present. Maybe she was being silly about everything. Silly. She was being silly again. That was it. She didn't do very well with things not based on logic, like feelings and emotions but she was a great deal better at it than Chizuru-chan. He pulled her chair out for her to Ayame's embarrassment and she quickly took her seat as he slid it forward with a quiet 'thank you'. They quickly settled into having their dinner. Ayame enjoyed the thick and delicate creaminess. The fettuccine was cooked al dente, which was synonymous to perfection in the pasta world, but she would have enjoyed it better if she didn't have the nagging, nervous feeling pulling at her navel.
Meanwhile Takumi expertly twirled the pasta with his fork. "Some police officers visited Tootsuki in the beginning of this week. They wanted to ask some questions about a case they've been working on. For some reason they-".
Ayame stiffened
'Crap! It's true! Otou-san is too much for him to handle!
Takumi-kun's voice began to muffle as her thoughts wildly swirled into dark waters. This was why she never chose to date all her time in middle school and first year high school. Not that she had much of a chance anyway. If regular school boys first avoided talking to her because of her nerdy side, then they should have known they had a better reason to avoid her. Every male nerd who even looked her way always got her hopes up, and then finally they found out about Otou-san. His title was more than enough to send them running for the hills with their tails tucked. Then she would spiral back down into despair with Chizuru-chan to comfort her and declare to her how worthless those boys were in the first place. Those kind and cheerful greetings from her male admirers gradually became forced ones, and eventually she was avoided completely. It didn't help when Okaa-san forced him to go to a parent-teacher meeting one time and pretty much everyone gave them a wide birth. He was supposed to be off-duty and he still carried around his stupid katana! Soon dating became even less of an interest. Until one day Takumi-kun asked her about it in polite conversation, rekindling her curiosity...
Who would have thought she did date one day, to him of all people! She should really be counting herself lucky that she managed to keep Takumi-kun for this long. How long had they been with each other now? A few months she would say. A few very blessed months. Since the beginning of summer holidays she remembered. Perhaps Takumi-kun was starting to crack. When he was distracted those last few visits for dinner, watching and trying to read his thoughts was like trying to scratch an itch she couldn't find. It was excruciating.
"Ayame?... Ayame?"
"Huh?"
"You spaced out. Are you ok?" Takumi-kun placed his fork down and pushed his half-finished plate to the side, tilting his head to the side at her in question.
"Umm… Yes, yes of course" She forced a smile and twirled some of his creamy fettucine with her fork and ate it up. "I'm sorry, you were saying..?" she asked between chews.
"I just asked if your father knows Chief Inspector Shoseki and Special Detective Rii" he said.
Goodness! Had he? She didn't even hear his questions, or probably everything else before that. Her mind must've been in overdrive to the point she filtered out Takumi-kun while being totally engrossed with her thoughts. Ayame quickly backtracked. Oh yes, he was talking about a set of police officers visiting Tootsuki for. Everything else after that was static noise. Takumi-kun leaned back against his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. He had long taken off his Aldini apron and folded it away with his school blazer in his book-bag over by the sofa. That left him in only his school button-up and his tie. His tie was pulled loose and the first few buttons were undone. Ayame loved to see more of that. He looked quite… steamy. He continued to tilt his head at an angle, looking at her closely. Ayame felt the need to wipe her lips with tissue and run her tongue across her teeth, to make sure nothing was stuck. She felt a bit fidgety under his intense stare. Those ice blue eyes made her shiver.
Those names sounded familiar.
"He would know them of course. I don't think I've met his colleagues before, but every high ranking officer or detective comes in direct contact with Otou-san. He oversees every case assigned to them on top of his other duties with running TMPD" she said.
Ayame's thoughts wavered again. This had better not be Otou-san being petty and trying to create unnecessary ruckus by wasting tax payer's money and sending officers down to scare the living daylights out of Takumi-kun. He was going to get it, if that's exactly what's happening! Takumi-kun glanced down at the table and then ruffled his hair while he descended back into deep thought. Ayame quirked her brow at his odd behaviour.
"So this means he's completely in the loop with Eizan-senpai's case… for some time now"
"Uh… What are you talking about? What case?" Ayame spluttered.
"I just told you. That an upperclassman from our school was arrested" he said. He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. He reached out and prodded her with a teasing smile, catching her out for not paying attention.
'Well… staring at your precarious clothing doesn't help…'
"Otou-san doesn't talk about work at home. He believes it's bad to mix business with home-life and all that sort of thing" said Ayame prodding him back. Now that she thought about it, sending officers to tamper with Takumi-kun was mixing business with home-life… if that's what he was really doing…
Takumi-kun sipped his ice-tea. A small smile played across his lips and he started chuckling lightly to himself at an inside joke. Did she miss something?
"I'm relieved" he shook his head and smiled at her.
Ayame couldn't help smiling too and she didn't even know what she was smiling about. There was nothing to smile about! She was sure she had an idiotic smile where her brows were dipped in confusion as well and the corner of her mouths were pulled awkwardly.
"Relieved about what?" she asked as she continued eating her fettuccine to the last strand of pasta.
The creaminess of the sauce and the beautiful balance between the acidity and fruity sweetness of the sundried-tomatoes were addicting. She pointed at his half-finished plate, silently asking if she could have his too since he wasn't touching it anymore. Takumi-kun got up and set his plate before her and took her empty one away to the kitchen sink. He returned with the whole pan! He placed it to the side of the dining table on top of some potholders so it didn't burn the table. The aroma of the still warm, creamy sundried-tomato fettuccine danced through her nostrils. Ayame smiled brightly at him and he smiled back. Her boyfriend certainly knew how to take care of her.
"I'm relieved that he hasn't done anything to split us apart… yet. Eizan-senpai was arrested way before the semester started. I was worried that your father wouldn't want you being associated with me anymore because, you know… my school is caught up in his arrest" said Takumi-kun, resuming his seat and topping up their drinks as she scooped more fettucine onto his plate, which was now hers. He looked a bit flushed in that moment, probably because it had taken him a great deal of courage to talk about this.
Ayame listened carefully this time and went through a whole new revelation.
"Was that the reason why you seemed bothered all week? I thought it was because you were starting to get put off by me because of Otou-san or something~!" Ayame sighed dramatically and threw her head back against the back rest.
"Eh!? Don't say that! What gave you that idea? Why on Earth would I be put off?" spluttered Takumi-kun
He coughed on his ice tea and quickly wiped his mouth with his tissue. He reached forward and grasped her free hand tightly in his, stroking his thumb over her knuckles. His warm and larger hands calmed her down significantly. His eyes were wide with urgency.
"He was being all s-scary, intimidating and s-swearing a lot on our first date when you arrived, trying to frighten you away before we could even l-leave the house. And then when we came back from Ikebukuro, he was there again, trying to s-scare you away once more… I was just worried that you were starting t-to change your mind… when you mentioned the police being at Tootsuki"
Ayame stared down at their intertwined fingers, a lump forming in her throat. She virtually threw up her thoughts and was sure it wasn't making a whole lot of sense. She wasn't usually this over-emotional and she cursed herself for being so right now, but the threat of their relationship being potentially in danger before it could really begin was gnawing at her stomach. Salty tears stung her eyes. She didn't want to lose Takumi-kun because Otou-san was a huge pain in the arse. There was nothing that could change Otou-san. A burst of laughter made her look up in shock. Takumi-kun pulled back his hands and placed them over his stomach and mouth as he tried to hold back another bout of laughter. Ayame could only blink dumbly at what the hell brought this on. He continued to chuckle until he had to wipe tears of laughter from his eyes.
"Oh mio caro. There is nothing on this Earth that would ever stop my love for you. Your father is a man trying to be a good father. He's only been sizing me up and testing to see if I'm worthy enough for his only, beloved daughter. But I admit that I was very concerned that he would want to stop me seeing you, because of this case. But it looks like I can still come and go to your home for dinner as long as you will have me" said Takumi-kun.
He got up and picked up the empty plate and the almost finished pan of fettuccine and went back into the kitchen.
What?
What?
What?
Ayame sat like a vegetable in her seat. Her mouth agape like she was about to ask a question but rethinking.
'Takumi-kun… isn't… scared of Otou-san?'
Brimming exaltation flooding her body and it felt like the angels were singing holy hymns to her. She felt stupid for ever doubting him. There were so many surprises when it came to her magical chef. It wasn't that he was scared of Otou-san in the way that she thought, he was scared of losing her because Otou-san. That was the single most important difference! Also he used the word 'love' just like that! It was clear that Takumi-kun was very unique from those other school boys and she wondered if it had anything to do with his Italian upbringing. So casually, and so ordinarily he dropped the 'L' world. They had never once said 'I love you' to each other, only 'I like you' when he confessed to her on that fateful day. Her face flushed red at the idea of the handsome and talented half-Italian actually loving her. Did she love him back? She thought so. She must have, because she had never felt such happiness in all her life upon hearing those words from his beautiful lips. It surpassed the absolute joy she felt when winning the killer-robot competition. It surpassed the glee she felt when she finished her programming workshop at Toudai. It even surpassed the absolute delight she felt from his eloquent confession on that fateful day. He talked about his 'his love for her'! The tingling in her heart spread to the rest of her body as she sat numbly on her seat feeling fuzzy and warm.
Takumi-kun began washing their dishes and placing them on the drying rack as if padding around the kitchen was natural to him. Like it was his kitchen too. Ayame stared at his back, at the strong muscles of his shoulders as he scrubbed the dishes to absolute perfection.
Ayame got up.
"Do you love me?" she asked.
He turned around as if she had asked a very impertinent question.
"Uh-uh… Umm… W-What?" he stammered, his face fast turning red.
"Do you love me?"
She approached him fast and stood toe to toe as he frantically wiped his hands with the dish cloth. He braced his hands on the sink behind him as she pressed her face closer to his. She wanted to analyse every single iota of his micro-expressions from every strands of muscle fibres in his blue irises to every quiver of his lips.
"O-Of course I-I d-do—Mmmph?!"
That was all she needed to hear.
Ayame pulled him down by his school dress shirt collar, smacking their lips together just short of clashing their teeth. She moved her lips against in earnest, relying on her instincts with all the passion in her body. She kissed him like her life depended on it. She tasted the same fettuccine, the basil and hints of yuzu from his tongue and lips and it drove her mad. She drank him in, unrelenting as Takumi-kun floundered his hands and feet about like an octopus, not knowing what to do. He soon calmed down and kissed her back with equal enthusiasm, wrapping his arm around her and the other clutched the back of her head, holding her close. She felt him urge her to be gentler by taking the helm as he guided her lips into a sensuous dance. He tilted his lips, coaxing her to do so too as he deepened their kiss. Her body sang from the soft tingles he bestowed on her. He stroked her spine soothingly and parted a hairs breadth away. Ayame couldn't bear to be away from him for too long and pulled his face back down to another searing kiss, making sure she was taking back control instead of he. Takumi-kun relinquished his hold on her and pushed back a bit with effort, but still sought to hold her hands. Both their chests heaved up and down, gasping for breath from their sudden burst of romantic need. Ayame's knees buckled from the look in his stormy blue eyes, brewing with some unnamed emotion that made her lips go dry and her chest tighten with anticipation.
"Wh-What, brought… uh… th-this on?" he asked breathlessly, sweeping her hair sticking to her face to the side.
"B-because I love you too?" she replied, almost a whisper.
Takumi-kun groaned and plunked his forehead onto her shoulder. He yanked her forward once more until her body was flushed against his. Ayame ran her fingers through his golden hair, breathing him in feeling utterly relaxed and safe in his hold. Her body was still buzzing from adrenaline.
"Y-You make me want to do things… that no g-gentleman should…" his voice strained, muffled against her shoulder. It tickled her deliciously.
"L-Like what?"
"… Don't make me say it…" he groaned again.
Ayame's body felt hot all over. This moment reminded her of the time where she slept over at his apartment. The way he tried to exiled himself to the sofa to preserve her morality before dragging him back to his room. The way he somehow rolled her into his arms during the night. They way he was dreaming of something that would shock the both of them if he remembered and that dream manifested into the very thing she was sure were what he was talking about right now. He had whispered Italian nothings into her hair and kissed her bare skin in his sleep. He had unknowingly revealed his wanton needs and those 'ungentlemanly' things he wanted to do, but could not say. She wanted them too…
But she was frightened… he was too good to be true. Ayame gently, unraveled herself from him and pushed him back so that he was standing straight again. She looked up and there it was, that unadulterated passion in his clear blue eyes that made her soul weak for him.
"T-Takumi-kun… umm, I understand how you feel…" she said slowly and deliberately.
He blinked rapidly.
"You mean…?"
She nodded shyly.
In a blink of an eye Takumi-kun was a red blubbering mess. "A-Are you sure you're okay with that?! L-Like… L-Like, I d-don't want to push you into something you are u-uncomfortable with! I can take self-disciplining lessons to stop my indecent thoughts- WAAH!"
Ayame grabbed his hand and dragged him mercilessly out the kitchen, through the living room, up the stairs and into her bedroom. She had no idea what she was doing. There was no plan, there was no prior anthropological research and studies she looked up that could explain to her, her actions and feelings. She was just running on instinct and her rational and logical thinking were pushed off the proverbial cliff. Takumi-kun was barely resisting her pulling him along as he was yelling at her for an explanation. They tripped a few times up the stairs, but she didn't stop until she was in the safe haven of her bedroom with Takumi-kun.
Takumi-kun collapsed on his knees beside her bed and face planted onto her blanket, catching his breath with utter exhaustion. He rolled over onto his behind and sat on the floor with his knees pulled slightly up as he leaned against the side of her bed, in front of where her low Japanese table should have been. It looked sprinting after a full stomach wasn't the best idea.
"Ayame—Woah!"
She straddled him.
Takumi-kun had the most distressed looking face, but it slowly morphed into a half serious, half anxious one. Ayame stared into his eyes, thinking of what she wanted to say to him. When she couldn't think of one, she kissed him.
Takumi-kun instantly responded and moved his hands to her waist as she pressed herself to his chest. His grip tightened as he tried to kiss her harder as another side of him took over. He trailed his lips down to her ear until they were behind the shell of her ear. Ayame was sure her love for him was slowly but surely being replaced with a sudden, purposeful, lustful feeling she hadn't felt before. It was strong and burning, and had a hold of her totally. It felt really good. Better than the morning after she slept over his apartment. It seemed like Takumi-kun was over taken with the same feeling as he latched onto a patch of skin on her neck and placed hot open mouth kisses, making her sigh long and hard. Ayame slipped her fingers beneath his dress shirt, feeling the hot and taut skin beneath.
Takumi-kun let out a sharp hiss and his movements stilled and tightened considerably again. Her eyes turned bleary and her thoughts began to disintegrate into the more basic of her brain functions. His teeth anchored onto her neck. His heady scent mixed with his natural cedar smell and the fettuccine they enjoyed together intoxicated her. Ayame pressed the side of her head against the side of his, feeling his building sweat mixing into his hair, intensifying his scent.
She felt something else too.
A swollen bulge in his trousers pressed up into the apex of her thighs. It awoken something in her and it clawed and screeched at her stomach, wanting to escape. She couldn't help it. She grounded herself against it. Takumi-kun threw his head back with a sharp gasp and immediately rolled himself into her, making her see stars. His fingers moved positions, until they were cradling her hips instead of her waist. Ayame whimpered, barely making out Takumi-kun's expression. His face was scrunched up and his mouth slightly opened as he gasped and sucked in his breath. His hair was stuck to his face with sweat and his tie and dress shirt were further disheveled, revealing a tanned expanse of skin from his collar and chest. Ayame couldn't help herself. She twisted her hips just so against his bulge again and she arched her back slightly from the foreign pleasure it brought her. Takumi-kun did the same, his groan coming out guttural and raspy.
"D-Don't" he hissed from between his teeth.
Ayame's movement died down as she wiped her fringe away from her eyes. Her mind was too muddled to think clearly, but she could at least hear her boyfriend's words and couldn't for the life her understand: don't what?
"I c-can't hold myself back… if you k-keep doing this. Please, I don't want you to do something you'll regret…" he panted, his blue eyes boring into her own, beseeching. He lifted his hand to her face and caressed her cheek with shaking fingers.
"I l-love you so much" Ayame manage to choke out. It took her everything to say those three little words but important words, plus two more, before he did. She was brimming with it until she could burst, and somehow that meant she wanted to be even more intimate with Takumi-kun. More.
"And I, you, mio amore" he pulled her forward flat against his chest and gave her a chaste kiss.
Ayame took advantage of the situation and rolled her hips against his.
"Aaauuh!" Takumi-kun was back to turning into a heated mess. His muscles tightened beneath her and she reveled in feeling his abdominal muscles pulling taut.
"I want this… J-Just as much as you do. I h-have nothing to regret" said Ayame. She pulled back, gazing at him. The bulge in his trousers swelled up larger, it was so hard and Ayame could feel it so sharply against her.
Takumi-kun shook his head from side to side desperately. "B-But I don't want to hurt you…" his eyes turned fearful, but it didn't lose the brewing desire behind them and as long as Ayame could still see that burning ardour in his eyes, she was convinced he wanted her just as much as she did for him.
"W-We can… start with umm… j-just this" She grounded herself suggestively against him again.
Panic rose within her but she tried to squelch it down, and she was sure she looked like the ripest tomato. She couldn't believe she was suggesting such as thing, but it was the only way to soothe the aching in her lower half. Takumi-kun also looked like he was in need of some release too. At least whatever they did, they would still have their clothes on. She realised even more that those loving looks, fleeting and causal touches, holding hands and hugging were positively dear to her and she loved it immensely. However, those public and private displays of affections wasn't going to cut it anymore when it came to the more… intimate sides of things and she could tell Takumi-kun knew that too, no matter how much he fought his baser instincts to keep it under control in front of her.
Takumi-kun looked like he was caught between a tiger and a lion. Any decision he would make here and now looked like it would tear him to pieces. His breathing finally steadied and his eyes hardened. He reached up and raked his hair back so that it was out of the way from his eyes. Ayame unconsciously licked her lips and only knew what she was doing when his blue eyes flitted downwards to her mouth, to her embarrassment. She tried to look away from him and concentrate on the algebra pattern of her blankets behind him.
Takumi-kun's body shift behind her as he leaned up and away from the side of her bed so she slid down into his laps whilst still straddling him. His posture was a bit taller in their position and she had to look up slightly. If she thought he was handsome then, he was drop-dead gorgeous now, with his dress shirt and tie disheveled, his hair matted against his scalp and his ice blue bedroom eyes. He pressed his forehead against hers and breathed softly against her lips. His hands slid to her waist, tracing little 'Xs' on her back. Ayame shivered, her fingers slightly clenching on his rumpled school dress shirt. The temperature of the room had sky rocketed from their intensity and the humidity wouldn't let up. His voice came out lower and more restrained.
"If that is what you want… then please allow me to indulge the both of us"
Alice twirled around her bedroom. Life was brilliant, life was good! Her new stick blender arrived. It was the latest model from that Swiss company her father's research facility was in partnership with. It was so much better than the other brands. The RPM was a whopping 20,000! She was going to be pureeing things all over the place with this baby. But 'best quality' was 'best quality' and she wouldn't have it any other way.
Alice danced back to her dressing table, rocking her head to the beat of the newest single from her favourite pop idol. She flounced onto her chair and proceeded to pick out a pretty necklace to wear to the special meeting hosted by the Elite Ten this evening. She received a fancy envelope from Ryou-kun this afternoon after class and he had one addressed specifically for him too. Friday of the week! There was nothing like screwing one's plan for an evening session of invigorating yoga just to be summoned by the Elite Ten for god knows what. According to her trusty aide, a few others had received the fancy letter too. Not much was stated except that it was to an invitation to discuss some important matters about the Elite Ten seats.
If they were trying to be mysterious and subtle about it, it was a horrible job. Any idiot could tell this was obviously about deciding who will fulfill the vacant seats. Tsukasa-senpai, Kobayashi-senpai, Akanegakubo-senpai, Megishima-senpai and Saitou-senpai had graduated already, instantly turning them into the Ninetieth Generation alumni. That left five vacant seats. Oh hell yeah, it was about time. One of those seats had her name written all over it as soon as she had set eyes on it. She looked into the mirror and saw a Cheshire grin looking back at her. She saw a beautiful, confident, smart, talented and ambitious woman in the reflection. Yep, that's who she was. She was born into the Nakiri family; therefore she was born a winner. She wondered who else would have received this letter. She will find out soon. It was a weird time of the day, or evening, as it happened to have this meeting. Who on Earth was still doing school stuff as seven o'clock at night! Only the Japanese, she believed…
"Found you!"
She smirked and pulled out a necklace that her forældre, or parents, had bought for her when they were still in Danmark. It was a tear drop, sapphire pendant and extremely expensive. Well, if she wasn't going to wear her chef's uniform to this meeting, at least she could still attend in another way in style. That would show Erina what a stick in the mud she was. Alice secured the stirling silver chain around her neck and centered the pendant against the top of her sternum. It was perfection. What about a pair of matching earrings too?!
If Alice was getting carried away, she didn't care.
She continued to rifle through her rosewood jewellery box to look for the perfect earrings to match. Through her digging, she accidentally dropped a soft, purple velvet pouch onto the floor.
'Hmm… Maybe I should get Ryou-kun to sort out my jewellery too' she thought.
The silver haired Nakiri princess bent down to retrieve the soft velvet pouch from the plush carpet. She couldn't quite remember what was inside this one. She always kept her earrings inside separate pouches so they were always protected, but she honestly didn't remember this one.
"What have we got here?" she mumbled.
She loosened the lacing and tipped its contents out into her moisturised hand. Her heart stopped. It was a solitary diamond stud earring. Just one earring. She remembered this one now. She had given away the other one a long time ago.
She gave the other one to Byakko.
All of a sudden everything turned grey and dreary. Her happy world was suddenly drowned into a thick suffocating sadness. Her mouth felt dry and her tongue felt thick. A choking feeling seeped into her and her eyes began to sting. She remembered clearly now why she chose this colour for her velvet pouch specifically for this earring. It was similar to the colour of his hair. She remembered why she took it off and buried it underneath all the other velvet pouches containing her earrings, because she didn't want to look at it anymore until she could completely forget about it. She remembered which pairs of earring belonged to which pouch by heart and in her searching, she unearthed up the forgotten one containing not just the lone diamond stud, but all the blissful but now painful memories it contained.
She remembered when she gave it to him, she insisted that he should pierce his ears so that he looked cooler and that they could wear matching earrings. She thought matching keychains were over-rated and matching earrings were more fun and stylish. And so he did, but not in the way that she thought he would. Instead of piercing his lobes, Byakko pierced the top cartilage of his right ear. Cartilage piercings were a big deal, only for the brave and it really was a bold move because it looked intimidating and the first step beyond the world of normal as far as piercings went.
She remembered being furious and stamping her feet at him. She wanted him to pierce his earlobe like her and every other normal person on Earth. At least he got the side right. She wore hers on the left ear and he pierced only his right ear. He refused to have it any other way, and he wore her matching diamond stud through his cartilage piercing ever since.
Well… she didn't know if he still had it. His hair usually covered the tops of his ears in one way or another. One could only see, if the angle was just right. The more she thought about him, the more her wound opened up. She broke up with him ages ago! She was the one who decided that! She shouldn't have to live to regret it! She didn't realise remembering him would be this painful, let alone seeing him. The last time she saw him was during the Summer Solstice Festival, when he was up on stage. He sang that country ballad like an arch angel. She had no idea what he was doing there and she didn't give a damn. She also remembered that Fender with aching nostalgia. She fled with Ryou-kun back into the Nakiri manner and locked herself inside her bedroom. She had a fitful night.
Something wet dripped onto her open palm, over her only diamond stud.
They were tears.
"Mi'lady. Are you ready to go?"
Alice dumped the earring and the velvet pouch back into the jewellery box and slammed it shut. Ryou-kun blinked in confusion from his position by her bedroom door as he looked at her through the reflection of her dressing table mirror.
"Yep! All set. Let's go" she leapt up and smoothed out her clothes and quickly rubbed her tears away.
'Game face'
Alice produced a perfect smile and made sure it was there in the mirror. Beautiful. Confident. Smart. Talented. Ambitious.
Cold-hearted.
Her bedroom plunged into silence as she disconnected her smartphone from her speakers, turning her music app off and slipping it into her pocket. Soon, the two students walked through the corridors of the Nakiri mansion until they reached the Elite Ten offices in the adjacent building. Alice did everything she could to chat about anything and everything to obliterate any thoughts about her ex-boyfriend and Ryou-kun just nodded and said 'Ous' to everything she said. Ryou-kun was harder to read than most people and Alice spent a great deal of her childhood learning to read his mind, but there were some times where her mad-dog assistant's facade of boredom was impenetrable. For all she knew, he could be seeing right through her desperate charade to hide her pain and she couldn't tell.
Soon they finally reached Isshiki-senpai's office.
"Welcome! Thanks for making the journey Alice-san, Kurokiba-kun" said Isshiiki-senpai as he ushered them both in
"Not at all! Hej everyone!" She was welcomed with the sight of the remaining Elite Ten students including Erina, as well more familiar faces. Alice swaggered with as much fanfare as she could manage. She flicked her hair as impressively as possible and gave a hearty wave to all the people in the room who were either polite and greeted her back or just grunted.
Hayama-kun, Arato-san, Isami-kun, Megumi-chan, Mimasaka-san, and of course Yukihira-kun.
"Have a seat, Alice-san, Ryou-kun" Megumi-chan pointed to the two empty seats beside her and Alice gladly took it.
"I'm sorry, I don't think fratello can make it. He went to his girlfriend's place for dinner and I've sent him various texts and left voice-mails. I don't know if he's looked at them yet" said Isami-kun, rubbing his head and bowing at the brunette senpai. He held up the other Aldini's letter in his hand, showing everyone that he wasn't able to give it to his brother.
Alice cackled in her mind. Takumi Aldini was sure getting busy these days.
Isami-kun was dressed in a sweat shirt and cargo pants. Now that she looked around, some people were dressed in casual wear too. Yukihira was in his usual 'QuadStar' jersey and track pants, Megumi-chan was in a nice baby doll shirt and shorts, Hayama was in his usual stripped grandad shirt. He probably had thousands of those, Arato-san was still in school uniform with the other Elite Ten actually, Mimasaka was in a wife beater. The oaf didn't even bother dressing for the occasion. It wasn't hard to slip on a shirt. Honestly!
"That's okay Isami-kun. We couldn't have known he wouldn't be at home with you. We will go on ahead. Just let him know what transpired this evening if he doesn't turn up at some point" said Isshiki-senpai. "Ok, Kinokuni-san, please take over"
The blandest and monotonous looking girl got up. She was the sixth seater, Kinokuni Nene, a third year like Isshiki-senpai. She wore perfectly rounded spectacles and her hair was plated into thin braids on either side of her head and it trailed down the front of her shoulders. Her black eyes were down-casted onto the clipboard in front of her and her lips fixed in a straight line. She might as well be a young widower stepped out of the history books from the Showa period.
"The Elite Ten Council has decided after much deliberation to address the vacant seats left open by our graduated upperclassmen" she began. She couldn't have been droller.
"Yes!" Yukihira-kun punched the air and Erina immediately shushed him. Everyone else leaned forward in their seats in much needed anticipation.
"It's about time" said Hayama, smirking.
"We've decided that Tootsuki will hold an official competition to decide who best qualifies for each seat. All of you invited have fulfilled the criteria satisfactorily and thus have been chosen to compete. However, us remaining Elite Ten have also decided to step down from our positions to participate against you in order to reshuffle the seats into a new ranking"
"You hear that Yukihira-chin! I'll get you for real this time!" Terunori-senpai yelled at the top of his lungs from beside her cousin, shaking his fist at Yukihira-kun, much to Alice's amusement.
"Quiet, imbecile" deadpanned Kinokuni-senpai.
"Bite me!"
"Enough…" Erina growled.
"Anyhow!" Isshiki-senpai continued on. "We will let you know about the details closer to the competition date which will be in two months' time. There are a few issues that we need to look after first"
"Ano… What about Eizan-senpai? How is he going to compete in the reshuffle if he is…" piped up Megumi-chan. He words trailing off as everyone knew what had happened to him.
Alice wondered about that too. How was all that going to work? Fortunately, it sounded like Isshiki-senpai had a confident answer.
"Don't worry, we are working on that. For now, he will remain in the ninth seat. Everyone will reshuffle around him if he isn't back by that time"
"When will he be back? If he's coming back at all" asked Hayama-kun, leaning back into his seat with his arms crossed.
"Unfortunately, we don't know but we're working hard to bring him back to Tootsuki" said Isshiki-senpai, smiling reassuringly at everyone. "Thanks for coming on short notice everyone. Here's a summary package for you to read over. It's about all the benefits of being on the Elite Ten Council. Make sure you understand the terms and conditions of being on the council before you decide you want to participate. Here's one for your brother too, Isami-kun"
"Grazie"
Alice skimmed over the summary package. It was wrapped up in a fancy folder similar to the fancy letter. She already knew most of the ins and outs of the Elite Ten as Erina was on it and they sometimes talked about it. Or more like Alice laughed and pointed while Erina dictated about how important she thought she was. The most attractive part of the deal was the grant money. Every council member had a budget allocated to them for whatever research, cooking equipment and ingredients they wanted to spend on. She had a kitchen she wanted to upgrade. Also the enormous amount of power they had over the school was something lip-smacking. She internally giggled.
She looked around the she saw very determined faces all around. There was a gigantic shift in the atmosphere, like the rising of samurai spirits cascading forth from each student, clashing with each other's aura. The game was on.
Alice couldn't wait for this competition. She will finally have her kingdom.
Oh dear... The mystery thickens around Alice and Kuchiyose's past :( Just in case for anyone who doesn't remember, 'Byakko' is Kuchiyose's given name and only Alice refers him to as Byakko, not even Ayame and Chizuru have that privilege.
Takumi and Ayame have stepped up their game! They are young and running on hormones and probably don't even know what they are doing half the time. They're going through their own sexual awakening. It's their first relationship which is an adventure in its own right :)
The A-Team is finally back together and will be pitting against the remaining Elite Ten for their seats! I've been waiting for this moment. Too bad Eizan can't be here for this, his arse is still in jail.
I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think :) See you soon!
Signing off
- TripWire-dono
