Chapter Two. Tea Tiger, Bring Forth The Family Stories

Somehow he knew she and his mother would get along. Though they were certainly not the same person, he sensed they had their similarities.

And of course they were already on good terms, it would seem, since his mother was the one to invite Akari to live with their family.

"Hmmm..." Tora watched through a window in his room that was placed perfectly to see the two figures walking across the snow outside below. His mother was the taller of the two of course- she was a very tall, frail, and skinny woman- and dressed in an elaborate pink petticoat and scarves. Akari was the one to the left side, wearing a less-elaborate, royal blue coat and stumbling the slightest bit in the snow- yet still holding her chin up and keeping her head high.

They were obviously headed to the tea house- it was placed just ahead of them, covered in a frosty layering of snow. He watched as Akari reached for the handle of the door, yanking it open hard and pushing it across the snow so that his mother could enter before her. He smirked, and then his mouth opened slightly and he tensed when his mother tripped and nearly fell into the snow; even after the woman steadied herself, his teeth were still pressing on each other, gritted harshly and grinding.

His mother was really sickly, and lost her balance easily and would often faint. It worried him and thoughts of her never getting better haunted his mind- though he hated to show any weakness in his features, so when anything was mentioned about his mother's health he would act impassive about it and quickly change the topic.

With a glint in his eye he watched as the door to the little glass house closed and the blurred figures behind the not-quite-transparent glass moved to take their seats.

The woman who birthed and raised me is having a private chat with the girl I want to have sex with. What kind of situation is this? Who authorized this anyway? He thought as he kept his eyes trained on the tea house.

He almost tried to turn away, but either thought better of it or simply could not. His curiosity was coming out in his normally collected and uninterested nature.

What could they possibly have to talk about? What were they saying in there?

"Tora did what?"

"He licked me- can you believe that?"

The kind features on Mrs. Igarashi's face twisted for a moment into a scowl that sort of resembled Tora's, except it wasn't as... devilish.

"That boy... he's so troubled. You know, I'm not sure what went wrong. But..." She trailed off, adjusting her scarf on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

The woman's champagne-colored eyes lit up again and she laughed lightly, pouring herself some tea with shaky hands.

"Please don't apologize, Akari. I was going to say, that his personality seemed to slip and evolve around the time I started becoming ill."

"But you don't act very ill."

The woman laughed- it was a pleasant sound, like the sweet natural echoes in a morning forest, but it was slightly tainted with sadness.

"I am an Igarashi. And Igarashi's always stay strong." She takes a sip of tea. "Tora got that from both me and his father."

Akari looked away to stare out the glass windows. It was the type of glass where you could see out of it clearly, but you couldn't look in from the outside because they were tinted weird and blurred on the opposite side. It was around mid-day, the sun was bright and warm despite the chilly weather, the fallen snow had only barely touched the ground in a few small layers, and it was a clear, un-snowy, un-rainy, uninterrupted day. Quiet and endearing, soft and slightly warm. This day must've been the reason she was called to tea time with Tora's mother- they might not get another day like this since it was entering into the early beginnings of winter.

"Why did we come to the tea house?" she asked the woman politely. "Don't you have a tea room inside the house?"

"I like it out here. It's private, there are no maids allowed except when it's cleaning day, and is it not beautiful in here?"

Akari peeled her eyes from the window and gazed around the room. How she had missed the strange beauty of it until now, she did not know.

Three of the walls were a bunny nose pink, with one accent wall that was toffee-colored. Each wall was adorned with shelves upon shelves of knick-knacks and shining things, the shelves holding the objects were placed higher up, nearer the white ceiling. On the shelves, a few of the objects caught her eye: a glinting silver arrangement of beautifully intricate dishes placed on display, tea cups meant for show that were traced with diamonds, twin emerald eggs the size of fists and placed in holders, glimmering dancing figurines that looked to be made mostly from opal stones and alabaster, etc. etc. Akari's eyes rested on a particular area of a shelf on the nearest wall to where she sat, though. Her gaze was glued to the interesting adornment that was placed there. It was a golden-eyed glass tiger, sitting up-right in a regal position, with one paw placed forward on the ground purposefully, it's mouth closed instead of yawning open, closed in a secretly prideful, quiet and watchful sort of way. Underneath the clear glass, veins of black onyx could be seen coursing through it, meant to appear like it's stripes. The gold chunks for it's eyes looked very authentic and were probably real, and they almost resembled... a certain Igarashi boy's eyes.

"That's my favorite, as well."

Apparently, the lady of the Igarashi house was very perceptive and caught Akari's silent, paused stare.

"It's a beautiful figurine." Akari commented, looking back at the tea in front of her and lifting it to her lips.

"I had it made when I found Tora crying in the garden when he was eleven."

The younger girl almost spit her tea from her mouth. She couldn't imagine little Tora... or tears coming out of those sharp, dangerous eyes of his.

"When I caught him, he quieted right up. He thought it wasn't okay to cry, especially in front of others..."

Akari sipped more tea, gradually emptying the cup, glad to have withheld that spit take.

"He eventually told me, after much of my soothing, that he was crying because he was worried. Though he wouldn't tell me what he was so concerned about- he refused to." Mrs. Igarashi frowned for a short moment. Then, she warmed her face into a smile and continued her story. "He was so cute, when he puffed out his chest and put on a brave face, just for me. And to save his pride, as well, that was also important to him. The ways of his father certainly rubbed off on him early..."

Akari cleared her throat- the woman had obviously gotten lost in her own memories and it was making her uncomfortable.

"I apologize, I was losing track of what I'd meant to be an explanation. The tiger represents Tora- the name Tora means Tiger, after all. And when I gave it to him as a present for being so brave; I had continually told him that shedding tears was the brave thing he did, not stopping the tears and holding them in, but he insisted that his crying was the opposite of brave, that it showed weakness," she shook her head and sighed. "Never mind. My point is, I gave him the glass tiger as a gift for the brave act of letting his emotions show. He accepted it and kept it in his room, until one day, I came in here for tea, he was older then... and I found it sitting there, on that shelf, staring at me with his eyes. I realized then that he would probably never shed another tear again, it was like a wake-up call for me, telling me that my child was more like his father, less like me. None of us cry, I really hardly ever do, but I am the one of us who is in touch with and comfortable with my emotions..."

"I don't know Mr. Igarashi all that well. What's he like?"

"Your mother once asked me what he was like as well. She had met him, and hated him, quite honestly, but she knew that there was a reason I loved him. So, I'll tell you what I told her: What's he like? My husband... well, what he acts like to everyone but myself is completely different from what he's like when we're alone. He's regal, powerful, his words are enchanting. He smiles with a glimmer of arrogance, he can be manipulative, he enjoys the rich things in life and is very charismatic, yet one-sided in his thoughts. People see him as strong, respectable, and a bit harsh at times. Your mother thought of him as over-bearing and conceited."

"Okay, but, what's he like to you then?"

The woman smiled and stared into her tea cup.

"I fell in love with that man because of his wealth. In the beginning. Now, before you think anything harsh about me, I was just a couple of years older than you when I met him, and he was the most eligible bachelor at that time, with money and fame and all the glamour a girl my age then could want. Also, I was ignorant back then to what was truly important, I was a frivolous young thing, cruel and, at times, incredibly selfish and full of myself. When I met Tora's father, he greeted me as a perfect gentleman. I don't know what he saw in me then- I was so uninteresting and just like every other rich, spoiled young woman- but he made it his goal to pursue me. He was fruitlessly searching for a deeper part of me, and he would often ask me fairly personal questions, to which I would laugh and avoid his gaze. At some point, he broke my strained personality and brought forth the real me. It took a lot of time and effort and definitely patience on his part. That was around the time your mother became my friend as well. She had known me before in high school, actually, we were rivals then, but she had noticed that sudden change in me and we became the best of friends.

When I had been dating Tora's father for near to two years, exclusively for one, it was very suddenly pushed on him- the issues of his family, the importance of the Igarashi ways, the role he played in being the heir to so much power and wealth and responsibility. He snapped. He started to ignore me and that's when your mother started disliking him. She started noticing how he acted all the time after that- he was turning into that authoritative figure with the fake smiling and the glinting, emotionless eyes and the struggling personality. But I refused to give up on him. He was still so young and beautiful, and I wanted what we had back. I slowly drew out the other half of him again, the part of him that had helped me come out of my wrong-ways before. It was awful to endure, because he was losing his grip and I'd never thought I'd ever have to support him so much before, because he had always been the one to reassure me, it'd never been backwards until then. But, I was too worried to care how much work it took for me to do- I was going to save who he used to be. And I did... to a point.

Obviously, he's still a harsh and unforgiving man on the outside. You don't know him well, but you'll see what I mean once you get to noticing it. But, though he has a rough exterior, I saved what's truly him on the inside, and he leaves that for me and me alone to indulge in- he doesn't even let his own son see what a truly remarkable man he is. So, what is he like to me? He's gentle only with me. His sweet words are only meant for my ears. I am the only person in his life, and I'm sure of this, that he tells his secrets and wishes to, that he opens up and willingly is a true, real, not fake, person with. He treats me like a queen and ravishes me with everything he can- but it doesn't show on the outside, because he doesn't want to look weak. But I truly don't care, because as long as he is mine and I am his and we both stay the way we were at heart when we first fell in love, then that's all that I care about. That, and my son."

Mrs. Igarashi takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, and Akari just stares at this lovely, fair-faced woman, curious as to how she turned out so normal and open while living with her husband and child who were both so... robotic, fake, hidden-hearted. She still didn't get it, even after the lengthy story.

"Do you think that Tora will really end up as your husband is now?"

"He has already. Unless I'm not right about that." She opens her eyes to stare at the younger girl.

Akari nods in slow agreement.

"Yes... it's sad, isn't it? By the way, Akari, I apologize for Tora's actions thus far and for whatever he's planning to do from now on. I know he's not the best company, but what can I say, he's in his teenage years." The woman smirks.

Ah, now I see that Tora in her. Akari can't help but think.

"Although, you love him so much despite whatever he does or will do." The girl comments feebly, setting the tea cup that's been empty for a while now down on the small table they're drawn up to in their plush chairs.

"Of course. He's a wonderful son, with imperfections, yes, but he's still so wonderful."

"Well, I'm glad he has you. I think he's lonely."

Mrs. Igarashi gives her a pointed look.

"You aren't wrong."

A pause. Both are finished with their tea now, they've been in the room for a while.

"Can I change the topic?"

"I don't care. We should leave soon though, so my husband doesn't fret about my well-being."

"Right. I'll be brief- why am I here?"

"...Well... your mother made me swear on my life, and, my husband's life, AND my unborn child's life, when we were both pregnant, to watch over you if anything ever happened to her."

"So why didn't you ever visit when I was younger, if you're supposed to basically be my back-up parent?"

"Godmother. That's what you should call it, I think. And I didn't visit because I'm an Igarashi. We get busy, a bit too much so. Also, I had a little boy of my own to take care of, and in his toddler years, he wasn't just troublesome, but managed to enrage many of the maids, who would quit after a day of babysitting so I could never rest properly. I was too exhausted to worry about you, to be honest. All I could ever do was call your mother, or she'd call me, for our occasional talks whenever either of us could spare time."

"..."

"Something else you want to say before we go back, Akari?" The older woman asks as she carefully stands from her seat and pulls her coat back on.

"Thank you for visiting my mother while she was in the hospital. I always looked forward to your visits as much as she did."

A kind, true smile emitted from Mrs. Igarashi's face, and in that moment, she looked nothing like her son.

"Your mother meant a lot to me. And since Tora is plenty capable now on his own, I had to come because I have not been all that busy... would you like to visit her tomorrow?"

For a moment, as Akari is nearing the door, she pauses.

"My... mother?"

"Of course. I won't be able to come, this cold weather is driving me mad, and I'll most likely feel weaker tomorrow than I do today because my strength comes and goes. I've gotten used to the process after so many years. But I could arrange for a car to drive you. And if you want, I'll make Tora accompany-"

"He can't see her."

A pause. Akari doesn't turn around because she knows the older woman is probably sternly giving her a withheld glare on her back.

"Why's that?"

"Because it's my life and I don't want anyone involved when it comes to my mother. You are an exception, and the only one, and that's that."

"Understandable. Now, let's head back, I can tell it's about to snow."

"Tora."

He spins around, his eyes meeting and, of course, leveling, with the silver-blue gaze below him.

"What?" He sounds irritated. She had snuck up on him in the hall, somehow without him noticing.

"Can I tell you something?"

He scoffed, uncomfortable and aggravated. He couldn't tell if she was acting serious or not, or sad, or cheery, or what- she just looked like she had this mask over her features.

"Fine, if you need to."

"I'll be going out tomorrow on an errand."

Nothing more escaped her lips. Then, she started to turn away again.

"SO?"

"So I was just telling you to quench your curiosity when you realize I'm not here. I figured you get curious sometimes, what with the way you were watching me with your mother. By the way, the window of your room is very noticeable from the ground. I suggest pulling the curtains shut so that the whole world can't see into your privacy, and also finding less noticeable ways to spy on others than staring out a large window at them."

He freezes up, and she stalks away, that walk of hers maddeningly proud and charmingly languid.

"Vexing girl..." He grumbles, growls, clenching his fists and stalking (more like stomping) away in the other direction.

A/N: Oh dear... Akari's throwing snarky remarks right back at the King of Snarkiness, isn't she now?

This is a long Author's Note but I swear if you read it it makes sense with the many extra explanatory things in it and such! It will save your life to read this! well... I wouldn't take it that far, actually. Hrmf. just read me!

I plan to have these two going at it like this continually until they eventually, you know, realize they love each other. But I will definitely drag out their love because [A]~ This story takes place after **SPOILERS!** Tora kisses Misaki (in the Manga- I have not read the whole Manga, but I did read around to the end) and thus, he knows he feels something for Misaki, and so, he cannot love Akari yet until I, the author, find a way for him to struggle past his Misaki affection. and [B]~ I HATE IT WHEN TWO CHARACTERS JUST RANDOMLY FALL FOR EACH OTHER WITH NO STORY BEHIND IT, IT'S JUST LIKE *boom!* they love each other! Just like that! It's like love fell out of the sky. I'm sorry but that bugs me.

I mean, you HAVE GOT to BUILD IT UP! I myself, am going to build up Tora and Akari's relationship and I swear, pinky promise, cross my heart, scout's honor (though I'm not a scout... just roll with it) that it will totally be worth it for when they eventually start having their FLUFF MOMENTS~~! and their other, more *lemony goodness* moments. . . eh-hem.

Okay, I also promise etc. etc. that this story won't be boring because of the prolonged relationship, because the sexual tension will strike in almost every chapter! Obviously this chapter was more of a fill-in-the-blanks chapter, but MOST chapters, there will be sexual tension so thick in the air, you can't even cut through it with Tora's powerful sarcasm.

Lastly, people, I know I JUST put this story up, but R&R, please, those who are holding their tongues, please! Rate and Review! I want to at least get some feedback on how good it is or not, because if I'm not sure my story is a good read for the public, then I'll start to doubt myself, and when I start to doubt myself, things just go downhill from there. :P So I'd much appreciate reviews, but as always, either way, I'm just happy you're reading along! ^_^

Also, another lastly, about Tora's mother: I googled until googling I could do no more of- I can't figure out what her name is, or who she is, for that matter. I tried to get more detail into the Igarashi family, but found close to nothing. I don't even know if she is supposed to be alive or not. So if you can tell me anything about his mom, dad, or other things like family quirks that they have going on, ANYTHING so that I can use it well in my story, I'd be happy that you told me!

For this story, obviously, I decided to go this route with Tora and his mother: she sees who he really is, he loves her for it and cares for her more than he cares for pretty much anyone else, so I basically had them have a close, well-bonded relationship. I also had her be alive, but sick, because I have future plans about that idea. As for Tora and his father- they aren't really close and he's less of a father and more of a business man to Tora, really.

Damn this is a long author's note... SORRRREEEEEE just one more thing I got to do...

BLACKMAILING TIME! ...JUST KIDDING! but next time, bad things will be occurring in the Author's Note... beeewaaarrree I'm slowly losing my normal edge and becoming a... a... a TYRANT! yikes! I may be taking on some serious oppressive nature in the future guys, bewarebewarebeware

P.S- you are all peasants and I find you disruptive to my tyrannical writer's mojo. Go wash up before the next chapter.

Love,

CK :*