After finishing breakfast it was finally time to leave for school. I said my goodbyes and left the villa.
Though I couldn't get near her because of Kat, I could see Joelle was worried about me from the look in her eyes. All day she kept stealing glances at me and I'd do my best to smile to assure her I was okay. That is if you called living with five guys who loved to tease you okay. I cringe at the thought of the possible mischief they could get up to while I'm living with them, 'It is better than being homeless, I guess.'
The time seemed to have just flown by as the end of the school day drew near. I could hardly keep my head focused on class as my thoughts were everywhere but school. 'I hope I can fit in with them. I don't know if I should count myself lucky being able to live with five handsome men. ...Baba and Ota seem intent on teasing me mercilessly.' I slightly shook my head with at smile at the thought when the school bell went off. "Woo! One more day down until graduation!" I cheered and jumped up from my chair excitedly and left the room.
The college was now abuzz with chatter as some kids made plans and others hung out before leaving for home. Looking inside my locker, I put my textbooks inside and closed the door. When I turned around, Joelle was just walking by with Kat besides her. It was only for a second but Joelle made eye contact with me, there was a pensive smile on her face. 'Joelle... I know you want to talk to me. I want to talk to you too... But for now all I can do Is smile and show you I'm okay.' I smiled at her, doing my best to ease her mind.
With classes over I left the building. I headed to the gates that led away from the college grounds. There was couples holding hands and friends chatting away as they walked. 'They look so happy. I hope I can look that happy someday.' I thought about Eisuke as I admired the young couples.
With the college now out of sight I had begun my journey back to the villa where I now dwelled. I only hoped to not run into Kat along the way.
As I strolled along the sidewalk a rather luxurious car pulled up besides me, "Huh. Why did they stop here?" Looking at the car I realized it looked familiar and then it hit me, "Eisuke?!" I was surprised to see him here. I rushed up to the car and the door opened and out stepped Eisuke.
"Why do you look so surprised to see me? I told you I would take you shopping today, didn't I?" With a hand on the car door, Eisuke leaned foward, smirking at me. "Oh right. I forgot." I shyly laughed, scratching my cheek nervously. "You only have one pair of clothes and you already forgot you need more? Did you forget that your apartment only just burnt down yesterday too?" Eisuke's snarky comment made me freeze for a second before puffing up my cheeks, "No!" I exclaimed folding my arms. Eisuke just laughed at me, "Heh, You look like a spoilt little girl." He teased and then gestured me to get in, "Come on. Let's go shopping."
"Okay." I got into the passengers side of the car and we set off to the shopping mall.
I felt a little nervous being trapped in such a confined space with Eisuke, 'There is nowhere to run. I couldn't get away if I wanted to...' Of course I knew he wouldn't do anything to me, I was more worried about making a fool of myself and wanting to hide away.
"Elli." Hearing my name suddenly be said made me straighten up with a jolt and mechanically turn towards him,"Yes?!" I yelped. "Whoa. Calm down. You are going to make me deaf." Eisuke raised an eyebrow, I could see the weird look he was giving while remaining focused on the road. "Sorry." I shyly apologized and Eisuke spoke again, "I wanted to tell you we have a gig coming up." He said. I felt my heart jump in my chest, I couldn't believe it, this would be my first one with Tres Spades. "I know you are probably nervous. It is your first time doing one with us. But don't worry, I know you will do just fine." Eisuke assured me, he must have noticed the uneasiness written all over my face, "Thanks. I will do my best." I nodded with a smile, taking in a deep breath to steady my nerves.
"You really do have a wonderful voice. I just know with you we will make it far. I will prove to my father just how serious I am." There was a serious look in his eyes as he spoke. 'What?!' I was puzzled by his words, I blinked a few times in bewilderment. Eisuke, noticing my confusion seemed to have realized what he had done as his expression turned to one of shock, "Ahh, forget I said anything." Eisuke quickly tried to brush off what just happened but my curiosity got the better of me, "What does your father have to do with this?" I asked. He sighed seeing I wouldn't give up. "Stubborn girl. I should have known better than for you to just drop it. ...I should have kept my mouth shut.' Eisuke's shoulders dropped in resignation, "Fine. You win. I know you will never leave me alone otherwise." I silently smiled in my small victory, who knew Eisuke would have unintentionally let those words slip out of his mouth. 'Eisuke was so focused on the moment that he wasn't even paying attention. I feel like I should feel sorry for him having said something he obviously wanted to keep a secret but...I don't. I finally get to learn more about him!' I cheered to myself inside. I couldn't wait to hear what he had to say. Of course Eisuke had me wait until we reached the mall to begin. My excitement only continued to grow.
...
We finally reached the mall. I eagerly got out of the car, I was bubbling with excitement about learning more about him. However, Eisuke didn't look nearly as energetic, in fact he still looked annoyed about letting those words slip from his mouth.
I lightly walked up to Eisuke, whom had just gotten out of the car, grinning expectantly at him. "Sheesh. You look way too happy about this." He frowned. I clapped my hands together, "Of course. I have a feeling this has to do with what I asked a little while back but you brushed it off then." I replied with a cheeky grin. Eisuke sighed, "Yeah. It does. ...Well, you are one of us now so It would be better if I told you. You'd find out sooner or later anyway." He replied before starting to walk, "Come. I'll tell you as we shop." He gestured for me to follow. "Right." I quickly caught up to him and finally he was going to explain to me what I longed to hear; about his past.
"Where do I start..." Eisuke mumbled, he seemed to be thinking of what to say first, "I guess I will start by saying my father is one of the richest men in the world." 'Whaaat?!' Those words echoed throughout my entire being, I was besides myself in shock hearing that. "Hah. I knew that would surprise you." Eisuke chuckled. "I...I didn't know you were THAT rich. I mean I knew you had money, but that much..." I just couldn't believe it. "My father runs the Ichinomiya corporation. This measly little Kanata division that Kat's family owns is nothing compared to the metropolitan that the Ichinomiya family looks after."
'No way... He belongs to that Ichinomiya family?!' I have heard of them before and their great wealth. To learn that's where Eisuke originated from was mind boggling. "If you came from a family which such a high status then why are you out here in Kanata running a band?" I asked what was on my mind. Eisuke looked amused by my question, like he was expecting it, "You are correct, I am heir to the Ichinomiya corporation but... I never wanted to take over. My father trained me from a young age to be his successor but it wasn't what I wanted." Eisuke sighed, I could see he wasn't happy about his past. Just then, we reached our first clothes shop, "Let's go inside." Eisuke opened the door for me and I entered the shop with him behind me.
Inside I began to look through the clothes when I asked him another question, "I wonder, being so important, just how did you meet the other guys and come to start a band?" I asked, my mouth hung slightly open as curiosity plagued my face. Eisuke chuckled, "You really are nosy." He said and I pouted, "I just want to know more about you." I replied in a cutesy manner with big round eyes and a puckered lip. "Gee, don't look at me like that. I'll tell you." Eisuke rolled his eyes, falling victim to my charms, "I knew them as kids. We grew up together. Everyone but Baba's family is part of the Ichinomiya corporation. They too are meant to work there someday." He explained. 'Hmmm.' I couldn't help but be curious about what he just said, "Why is Baba not part of it?" I asked. "I was waiting for you to ask. Nothing slips by you." He said and I shyly smiled, waiting for him to continue. "Baba doesn't have a family." He replied. I gasped, "What? Is he an orphan?" I asked in surprise. Eisuke nodded, "He is. Back when we were kids, I was out with the guys at one of the parks in Zircon when we found Baba collapsed and covered in burns."
"That's awful!" I couldn't hide the worry on my face after hearing such a thing. "It turned out his home had just gone up in flames. He was the only survivor. Baba lost everything that day but I took him home and took care of him until he was better. After that he felt he was indebted to me even though I didn't want anything in return. I allowed him to stay in my home and he became like part of the family. He worked hard to make sure he wasn't a burden. Though my father would tell me to he wanted him gone I never listened and eventually his talents got recognized by my father and he was finally welcomed in the home." Eisuke stopped and looked at the clothes I was holding, "Did you want that?" He asked and I jumped at his change of tone and glanced at the clothes, "Oh, yes. These are cute." I smiled.
"Heh. So you like cute things." His trademark smirk flashed on his lips. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't." I replied trying to act coy. "Continuing on, we always hung out as kids. I was their leader and they always followed me. It wasn't easy growing up. I just wanted to play as a kid but due to my strict training that wasn't possible... I was declined that privileged. Most times we hung out was at school. But there was days we would run away and do our own things. I guess those days are the most important to me." Eisuke sighed, it really seemed hard on him. 'I didn't know he had that sort of past... Why does everyone have such sad history's? Even myself...' My eyes shook with emotion as I listened to him.
"If it wasn't for everyones constant support I probably wouldn't be here right now. Growing up I took an interest in many different hobbies, most forced on me by my family, saying that the hobbies they recommend was what was befit of the family name but I tossed aside every one of them. ...I started to care less and less about the family name as I grew up. Over time I grew to despise it. I felt like I was trapped from it. By the time I left college and started work at the Ichinomiya corporation, I was finally the cold, heartless man my father wanted me to be. I had given up on everything. Of course the guys had been trained to join the corporation as well but none of them went through what I had to." Eisuke paused, his brows furrowed, it looked like it was difficult for him to talk about.
"They noticed I was no longer the person I use to be. My father took everything away from me. I wasn't allowed to be myself. I wasn't allowed to feel for myself. He controlled my life. It wasn't until one day the guys came up to me in an attempt to cheer me up, after having my life taken from me, they jokingly said we should let out our pent up emotions by playing some instruments. Except Soryu suggested that I tried singing. I wasn't really interested but I went along with their little game... Little did I know that we all would take to playing music. The last thing I expected that day was to start a band. I had enjoyed singing so much it was like I finally found meaning in my life. It was something I wanted to do. I had never felt so strongly about something before...It was like regaining the hope I had lost." A faint smile played on his lips. Eisuke looked to be fond of his memory when he first sang.
"Wow. That is amazing. I didn't realize just how rough you have had it." I said in surprise and he smirked, "Yeah, I guess so. The guys were surprised when I told them I wanted to start a band. We began to play in secret for some time until finally my father found out about it. He tried to take away the only thing that made me happy, he tried to take away my music. For once in my life I wasn't going to back down. It took awhile but finally, after a major argument, my father said this 'You may go play your music. Prove to me just how strongly you feel about it. Show me just how important it is to you. I'll give you three years to make a name for yourself. If you fail, you are to return immediately and take over the corporation.' And so I accepted. I immediately left Zircon after that and that's when I came across Kanata. I thought it would be the perfect place to get a fresh start. I am so thankful for the guys. They have faithfully supported me the whole way. I have so much to thank them for." Eisuke breathed and I giggled.
"You really do like them. I knew you were all close and now I can see why. You all stick together like one big family. I think they are your true family." I said with a smile and Eisuke's eyes went wide for a moment, looking surprised, "You may be right... Now you see why I can't fail. I have to make the most of these three years. I can't allow myself to be holed up in a danky office building for the rest of my life. I need to follow my own dreams and not my father's." Determination filled his voice as he spoke. Everything was so clear now. I understood why this was so important to him. Just like I have my reasons for trying to get my name out there, so does he. 'Eisuke... I will do my best to help you achieve your goal. It looks like we are in this together from here on out.' I smiled to myself. I felt like I had gotten closer to Eisuke after finally learning about his past. Now more than ever I wanted to work hard to make Tres Spades a success. Failure was not an option, too much was at stake.
After that, we made idle chitchat, along with his usual teasing as I finished picking out some new clothes to wear after I lost my previous clothes in the fire. With a warm heart I realized just how lucky I was to have met someone like Eisuke. And knowing how he felt about me really did make me feel special. In time I would tell him how I felt too, but for now I will have to settle with things how they are. There was no time for a relationship with everything going on. No matter how painful it may be, I knew I was doing the right thing. ...Or Am I?
Just a friendly reminder: Anyone who wants to ask the characters a question now is your chance. Any questions will be answered in a group style interview like the last one. You may ask anything you wish. Even parts about the story and how a character may feel and they will answer back! I hope by doing this it will help everyone be more involved with the story and make it more enjoyable.