Chapter Twenty-Three. His For The Taking
Teruko was being an absolute pain today.
"And then he took me to dinner, and then we listened to some of his favorite music- oh, did I tell you his mom is a famous singer?! Yeah, right?! Isn't it just- ahh, he's too perfect, and his family is perfect. I mean, his dad's a pro. athlete, and so is his older brother! They're all a bunch of perfect... OH, and the SEX-"
"OKAY, okay, okay okay." Akari quickly stopped her classmate there, hoping that no passing students had heard her. "That's enough for now, thank you."
"Humph." The girl pulled at a strand of her creamy hair in disappointment. "I just love him so much!"
"You love him?"
"Yes, I really do!" Teruko smiled, a dreamy, girl-in-love smile that caught Akari's attention.
"Do you ever tell Shigeo that?"
"'Course I do! I can't hold it in!" The girl laughed, mocking Akari as she wagged a finger at her. "You wouldn't know the feeling. It's like, all of these overbearing emotions are burning inside of your heart, and you just can't hold it in, because it hurts to hold it in, like you're on fire."
Akari frowned, and quickly excused herself from the conversation. This was becoming uncomfortable for her.
"I left something in the classroom," She explained, turning to walk away. "Oh, about Shigeo. Could you get those notes I need from him for me?" That was the reason she had approached the eccentric school girl in the first place, after all.
"Yeah, sure, whatever." The other girl nodded, not noticing Akari's sudden change in mood.
As Akari wandered down the halls, completely lost, (again) but not really caring either way, she thought about the concept of 'love'.
She supposed it did sort of feel like a fire. Like... her heart was trying to become engulfed in all these flames of intense feelings, but her mind was against it, ready with a fire extinguisher in hand, just in case things got out of hand.
The logical side of herself that was stuck up there in her brain said that Tora was obviously not a man of love, was not ready for that type of thing, and that he had too many problems to deal with for her to actually want to fall for him. But then, her heart insisted, she already had fallen for him. She loved how he was... and she really didn't have any particular reason why. It was just... a feeling.
Sighing, she trailed a finger over her lips. When was the last time they had kissed, anyway? A few times at her party, but they were swift and ended too soon. She wanted to kiss him again. To be reminded why it felt so good, why it felt so right. She of course hadn't really forgotten, but even so, it felt as if the feeling was faded now. And so she wanted to be reminded again and again and again. If there was a way she could permanently be stuck to his warm lips, held in his comfortable embrace, she would take it.
Crap, she was turning into some sappy love freak. And, what's worse- the object of her affections was an Igarashi. Lords knows that was dangerous.
...but wasn't the danger part of what she liked about Tora? It kept her on her feet. Made her life less boring.
She sighed. But then again, her life didn't really need any more excitement in it than it already had in it to start with...
"Thinking of me?"
A hand settled on her shoulder, and she was turned around to face a dimpled smile and big brown eyes, her thoughts completely cut off in the process of this action.
"No." She answered honestly, to which he frowned.
"You know, you could be a little less rude to me." He stated, helping to turn her around, and lead her back through the halls.
"Isn't it lunch time? Shouldn't you be eating?" She asked, thankful though, that he was helping her through the maze she'd gotten herself stuck in.
"Yes. Would you like to eat with me?" He asked simply, but she could swear, there was an undertone of some hidden intent there somewhere.
"I'd rather eat by myself." She blurted out, and he shook his head at her words.
"Still don't trust me?"
"Probably."
"Why?"
Akari paused. They had already come to the front of one of the many cafes in the school. Huh, that was quick. She really had to figure out where everything was in this giant school.
"Well, I don't really know." She explained, brushing away from his touch as he tried to usher her into the cafe. "It's just a- feeling."
Orochi raised a hand to his forehead, letting his fingers travel through his hair. "A feeling?"
"Yes." She said slowly, knowing how it all sounded very... excuse-ish. Part of it was though, she knew he liked her, and she liked Tora, so she was not interested in getting mixed up in any sort of love triangle. Which was why she didn't exactly want Orochi around bugging her all of the time. Also, she just felt she shouldn't fully trust him- she couldn't explain it. "Yes... exactly."
"Hum. Okay." He shrugged, and bent down towards her face. "I guess if you already don't trust me, for likely no reason at all, then there's nothing I can do." His voice suddenly took on that of a whisper as he got closer to her ear. "So I guess I don't have to worry about the consequences of my actions anymore."
And with those words, he moved his lips slightly to the left, and gave her cheek a softly-pressed kiss.
Akari jolted backwards, slapping a hand to her cheek where his kiss still lingered, even as he leaned back up to his full height and stared down on her, amused. He held his phone in his hand, though she only glanced at that briefly before glaring back up at his face.
"Expect something better than that next time." He said, with a smile, as he disappeared into the cafe.
Akari opened her mouth, a puzzled look on her face, as if she was about to ask the air a question. But no words came out, and her face was suddenly burning in frustration.
Why was he trying so hard to involve himself in her life?! She had enough to deal with already!
Tora was sitting in the middle of a lecture, bored out of his mind, when the text came in.
Carelessly, he withdrew his phone from his pocket, not bothering to check if the teacher saw him or not.
His eyes widened and his lazy posture completely stiffened, as he stared, shocked, at the picture that had been sent to his phone.
The sight that caused this reaction, was the photo of Orochi kissing Akari. On the cheek, but still, it was a kiss.
And the caption for the picture simply read: 'Mine'
It was after school now, and Akari was still angry about earlier with Orochi. She was so caught up on it, that she had forgotten about her date with Tora.
That is, until he came up to her and very accurately reminded her.
She faltered in her steps as an arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she suppressed a loud yelp as she was pulled through the hall and then into a dark room.
After being taken away so quickly from her last class of the day and the pressing crowd of students in the hall, she was spun around to face her kidnapper, and as she turned she realized that they were in some sort of supply closet- if you could even call it that, with it's elongated size and the endless, (ENDLESS!) rows of school essentials stacked neatly and appropriately. It was too huge to be a 'closet', though that's what it seemed to be.
"Tora-" She gasped when his lips descended onto hers, pulling and tugging with his teeth at her bottom lip until he became overly impatient and just shoved his tongue right in.
Confusion swirled around in her body, at why he was being so urgent like this. But at the same time, of course, she was enjoying herself. Who wouldn't enjoy being kissed by the man they love? But she wouldn't back down just like that, oh, no no no. Not this time. She wouldn't make it this easy for him, just like she didn't back when she first moved into his house and started living with him.
And so, her own tongue pushed back, meaningfully pressing to his as her teeth scraped down a bit too hard and the young man let out a surprised grunt.
Pulling back, Tora was staring down at her with a look that was hard to place- but she could tell, anger was in there somewhere.
"Let me kiss you properly." He demanded, his grip on both her shoulders tightening. His eyes glinted with something close to frustration, as well.
"Tell me what your problem is." She demanded right back, silver-blue eyes sparkling dangerously in the dark.
For a few moments, the two just stared heatedly at each other. Then, sighing, Tora let her go, and leaned back against the door behind him with his arms folded. She almost thought he was pouting, until his eyes glanced over her and she caught the predatory look in them, striking up that fire in her heart.
He was simply watching her, taking his own sweet time to answer. His golden gaze scanned her whole body once more, before flickering back to her eyes to stare with a smirk. "I believe we have a date to attend to."
No sooner had the words been said then he had grabbed her, and he swiftly opened the door and exited with her in close tow.
Before she knew it, they were in a car, and they were driving off somewhere.
"What's the big deal Igarashi?" She barked, staring at him from the seat across from his. She was kind of getting sick of being pulled all over creation by him.
Tora calmly reached to the side of the car, where various refreshments and fancy fruits and what not were always in place there, and grabbed a bottle of sparkling champagne. He offered it to her after skillfully pouring it into a glass without spilling a single drop.
"Champagne?"
She raised her brow, but reached for the drink anyway. "Thanks?"
He studied her skeptical look, before pouring himself his own glass of the drink. A slight, tiny frown crossed his features as he did so. "You forgot."
"The date? Yeah... sort of... but I remember now, although-" She started, but got slightly distracted watching him as he so perfectly took a sip from his glass. He was so... refined. She often forgot that he could be like that. "Although I thought it was at six."
"No." Tora shook his head, switching his gaze to practically glare at her. "The date starts now." His voice was firm and controlling.
She smirked in triumph with her next words. "But we're both still in our uniforms."
A single golden eyebrow arched high. "You should watch that attitude of yours, Akari."
"I can act how I want." She insisted, looking at him over the rim of her glass as she took another swig of the sparkling drink.
"Do you know where we're going right now?"
Her face fell. Knowing him, he had this all planned out. "No..." She tread cautiously when she saw him hide his smirk by taking another sip of champagne. "Where?"
He closed his eyes and continued drinking before swallowing and giving his simple answer, eyes narrowed sharply on her. "Shopping."
Groaning, the girl leaned back in her seat, careful still not to spill her drink.
"Well, as you so clearly pointed out, we need proper date attire." He smirked, finishing up his champagne with a swift flick of his wrist.
"Yes, yes. Keep on pointing out how that backfired for me. That will surely make me like you so much more."
Tora chuckled lowly, his eyes glinting with the promise of all of his hidden plans for the evening. Her sarcasm wasn't his favorite thing about her, but it would surely entertain him until they got to their destination.
And though Akari was kind of mad at him for this abrupt change of plans, she couldn't help the small smile that she hid as she glanced out the window.
"Omigod, do you see him?!"
"My, he's so handsome!"
"Wait, are you both blind? Don't you know who that man is?!"
"Hang on... he does look familiar... and a pretty face like that can't easily be forgotten... Ah! Oh my- NO! Is that-?!"
"It's the Igarashi heir! Don't you see now?!"
"In our store? But- why is he, here?!"
"I don't know, but I'll gladly take advantage of this opportunity..."
"STOP! You BAKA! I did see him walk in with someone..."
"What? NO. No woman could hook a man like that!"
Tora smirked, listening to the conversations coming from the women in the store, who had flocked actually quite close to him, so it's not like he could avoid hearing. He turned his head to one side, towards them, sending a smile that he knew he'd get an amusing (but predictable) reaction from.
"KYAAA~!"
"Did you see that, he smiled at me!"
"He was clearly looking at ME, baka!"
"I don't think so. I'm more attractive than you, after all."
"Why you-!"
"TORA!"
All the women, plus the handsome young man in question, silenced and abruptly turned their attention towards the curtain that housed the dressing rooms in the store.
Tora smirked. Ah, so she had at last tried on the outfit he gave her...
Standing up from his seat, he walked with his usual slow, confident steps towards the curtain that he knew the girl was standing behind, scantily clad and probably fuming.
"Did you call me over? Are you done?" He inquired, once he was standing just outside the curtain.
He could clearly picture her jumping backwards at the sound of his voice so close by.
"No, I didn't call you over! TORA, just WHAT am I wearing?!"
The man smirked. "Oh, I don't know. Let me see."
"Absolutely NOT!"
His hand inched to the wall, by the edge of the curtain. "Eehhh? Aw, but I can't explain what you're wearing if I can't see it." He smiled mischievously. "Maybe I'll allow myself a peak-"
Both sides of the curtain was suddenly pulled tight, a feeble attempt for her to keep him out of her dressing room.
"Go away you lecherous tiger! I'm taking this off!"
"Wow, you think I can leave you alone now? If you're not even going to be wearing anything-"
"Tora, get lost. I know self defense."
The young man smirked, his fingers tickling the curtain, which was still pulled taut against the wall. "No you don't. And if you're referring to what I taught you, well, that will hardly help you when it's me you're up against."
Silence followed behind the other side of the curtain. And then, a very loud, very angry sigh was heard.
"Alright. You better not rip this curtain away, cuz' I'm gonna come out."
Tora's smirk widened, happy he had won. Stepping back, he gazed at the curtain in amusement. "Funny, how you know me so well."
That's when Akari exited, her face flushed all the shades of red and pink and her arms at her sides, hands clenched into tight fists. "Shut up."
Tora's pupils dilated at the sight of her, making his golden gaze almost black for a moment. His jaw slackened as he stared, unsure of why his heart was beating so much more quickly than a few moments before. It was like he was no longer in control of his own reactions.
There she stood, wrapped up in a skin-tight dress that he had picked out with an evil smile on his face as he did so. It was not only the seductive color of passionate red, but it had a short skirt that came to the mere edge of her thighs, and a dip in the valley of her chest that gave almost no hiding place for her bra. Her bra kind of ruined the effect- it was simple and white, and easily covered her breasts, but despite that, he was still turned on by the sight before him.
When he licked his lips, Akari scowled, trying to cover herself as best she could.
"You're sickening, you know?"
His gaze was still settled on anywhere but her face as he spoke up in a clear voice. "And you're stupid. You could have looked at what you were going to wear before you put it on."
Her eyes narrowed. "I was trying to put some trust in you. But I did have my doubts as I was trying to figure out what this was."
Only then did Tora finally meet her glare. "It's a dress."
"I can see that, but for who, strippers? I'm not your whore, Igarashi." She turned around abruptly, giving him a nice view of her barely-covered ass. "Go away, I'm changing out of this, and then you're taking me home."
Tora hadn't meant to put her in a this much of a bad mood, and he was angry himself that she would even think that he thought of her as just another sex toy.
Although, could he really blame her for thinking that? Though he only wanted entertainment, it had obviously been a bad move from the start. What was he thinking, anyway? He knew she'd react this way.
Ah, there goes another failed attempt at expressing himself.
Before she could fully disappear behind the curtain again, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, effectively yanking her to him and pulling her into a tight hug. His lips brushed the top of her head when he whispered to her.
"Don't think that I look at you as I would look at any other woman."
Before she could say anything, he shoved her back behind the curtain, yanked it shut, and walked swiftly back to his seat in the waiting area.
"Get her a dress more appropriate for a first date." He told the women whispering about what had just occurred before them. He also added on a harsh and meaningful glare- something that served as his warning to them to quit their gossiping and listen to his orders.
When the group of women had scurried off in all directions in desperate search for the right dress, Tora leaned back in his seat and sighed.
Really, he had no idea what he was doing.
Akari had insisted that, in return for her embarrassment at the dress store, she would be able to do the same as Tora had, and wait outside the fitting room as he dressed into an outfit she picked out for him.
Tora leaned against the door of a dressing room, waiting for her to return to him with whatever he had to try on. She was such a troublesome girl. But nonetheless, he had accepted this challenge. After all, he looked good in anything. And also, he knew this particular store they were in from front to back, and was positive the only suits she would be able to find were all the finest of the fine, with appropriate patterns and pretty silken fibers.
So imagine his immense surprise, when she returned to him with that blue catastrophe of cloth.
His eyes widened as she approached him with a rather cheeky smile, holding her hand high above her head to keep the tall outfit from dragging along the carpet.
"What." Tora sneered. "Is that?"
"A tuxedo. I would think you would know one when you see one?" She cocked her head to one side, and he grew all the more angry when he realized she actually expected him to put that on!
"Where did you get that? Don't tell me you hurried your way to a different store, just to get the better of me-" He stopped talking when she came over to him and showed him the tag that proved the tux was, indeed, from the very store they were standing in.
"I asked to see all of the old stuff they had, too." Her smile was devilish, as she knew she had, as he had just said, gotten the better of him. "It was in the verrrry back, took a lot of searching, but I know it will be well worth the find."
Tora opened his mouth to argue further, but she quickly stood on the tips of her toes and slapped a hand over his lips. "Nuh-uh, I will not have you making a scene. Do you see how many people are in this store? What if they saw you lose your temper, eh?"
Tora's eyes narrowed. It would be even worse if they saw him in that outfit! Reaching up, he harshly pulled her hand from over his mouth, hissing out his response.
"You stay here. I will try it on quickly, and you can look for no more than ten seconds, maximum. Then we're leaving."
And he snatched the suit from her hands, and turned into the dressing room, banging the door shut behind him.
Meanwhile, Akari couldn't help the shit-eating grin that spread happily across her face. This was so fun- at least for her it was.
Wow. She could not even believe that he had actually tried it on.
"You look..." She started, trying to take it all in and thoroughly enjoy it. Tora was glaring daggers down at her, ready at any moment to rip the cloth from his body.
It was very blue. And very old. It also seemed to be the very epitome of un-stylish.
It must be some tux for a prom, but it would be the outfit worn by someone going without a date. The shirt beneath the baby blue fabric was ruffled and ridiculous looking, and the suit jacket had various pockets that had no need of being there. The lapels were a different shade of blue than the rest of it, which only made it all clash terribly and look even worse. And the pants, they were just as ridiculous ad the rest of it, blue, with a blue belt, too.
Akari couldn't help it. She was turning red trying to hold her laughter in.
"You've had your fun." Tora grabbed her wrist, pulling her very close to him, and she laughed a little at even the smell of the tux. It smelled like old dust and disappointment.
To her surprise, Tora just stood there grabbing her, not really following through with his ten-second rule. He was glaring at her with a burning emotion that was easy to take as shame, or embarrassment, or frustration. All three was plausible. Instead of turning around and heading back into the dressing room, he leaned forwards, and made sure she stopped laughing by whispering dangerous words in her ear.
"I'll be getting back at you for this."
And then he was gone, already behind the door of the dressing room and stripping himself of the atrocious outfit he just was made to endure wearing.
Akari sat in the waiting room of the fine suit shop they were in. Yes, she had had her laugh. And though she was still basking in the enjoyment of seeing Tora in something he so obviously hated and looked ridiculous in, she was worrying about those last words he had spoken to her.
Of course, she knew what to expect when she was picking out the outfit for him. He always had to be on top, he always had to be one step ahead of her.
But she didn't mind for now. At the moment, she was still laughing to herself, the image of him dressed like that would forever be remembered in her mind.
"Hello there."
She was so busy slumping in her seat, giggling to herself, that she hadn't noticed that... several, young men had approached her.
"Oh, was I being too loud?" She immediately put her manners on display, crossing her legs and smiling slightly at them all. There were five in total, and many other men scattered about the store. It would seem things were very busy today.
"No, you're quite fine as you are." One of the men said, smiling at her as he looked her over carefully. She shivered under all of their glances- this was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
"Right. Then, what do you need?"
"We're all headed to a party downtown," Another spoke up, not even hiding the fact that he was staring right at her chest. "Wondering if you wanted to come with us."
"I'll have to decline." She quickly stood up. She should go get Tora. "I'm busy waiting for someone."
"Ah, I was curious as to why you were sitting in a store like this. So, you aren't alone."
"No." She said very firmly, eyes sparking a warning as they stepped closer and she stood back a bit. "I'm here with someone. He's just getting dressed."
"Going out on a date, are we?" One of them said slyly.
"Well yes," She snapped. "That would be why I'm dressed like this."
Akari, being told by Tora after they picked out a dress for her that she should just keep it on, was still in the short, pretty white gown he had found for her.
"Ah, so you have a temper." All of them chuckled at this statement.
"I like girls who are feisty..."
"Who's your guy? I bet he won't mind if we spend some time with you..."
"I think you're wrong about that." Akari insisted, glancing around the store to see if any of the assistants could help her out. Unfortunately, it would seem all the other men were either busy talking, or simply didn't care about her situation.
"Well, if we paid him, things could really work out, ya know?" The men all gave her rather disturbing grins.
And then, one of them moved. He being one of the smaller ones, skinnier than the rest, and younger looking, approached her quickly from the front. He reached out, barely gripping onto her shoulder-
"WHAAAA- oof!"
Before Akari thought, her body reacted. And she found herself blinking down at the man, wondering what she just did, as she watched him look back up at her, sprawled on the carpet on his back, with the breath knocked out of him.
"Oi, ouch." He said, trying to sit up.
The other men were laughing.
"You're even more entertaining than I first thought! Now I'm all excited." One of them grinned.
"Yeah really, where've ya been all my life?" Another joked.
"With me. Who else?"
Akari jumped when she felt a, surprisingly gentle, hand on her shoulder, and turned her head to see none other than Tora standing there, glaring over her head at the men who had been bothering her.
"Y-y-you're that Igarashi brat!" One stuttered, moving back a good ten steps.
"I am." Tora answered, ignoring the insult, probably because he couldn't care any less what these people thought of him.
"We- we weren't actually going to do anything to her-"
Tora cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? You weren't? Though I don't need your money, if you still want her, you can have her. She isn't important to me."
Akari immediately tensed, and tried to move away from Tora. Though his grip on her shoulder suddenly tightened to an inhuman extent, and she became stuck in her spot between him and the men in front of her.
"Ahh, that's right..."
"She's one of your whores, isn't she?"
Akari glared at that word. Whore. She was not his-!
"No," Tora's voice was steady behind her, and she felt his hand on her shoulder relax suddenly, as if to appease her thoughts. "She isn't like that."
"Then... oooh, this is great. She's a virg-"
Tora moved fast. And Akari means it when she says this- it was like a golden flash of lightning before her eyes- it was that fast. And when it was over, all five men were sprawled across the waiting room, looking dazed, a couple with bruises on their cheeks.
Tora completely ignored them after that, also ignoring the stares of a few of the bystanders in the store, and turned back to Akari at once. His hands held both her arms as he faced and looked down at her, his expression quite serious.
And then- he smirked.
"You really looked worried." He commented, brow raised in slight amusement.
Akari blushed, angry that he had tricked her. "You're a terrible person, Igarashi."
"You are too, for being so damn tempting." He told her, stepping back so that she could see him properly. Akari gasped suddenly, at how... well, amazing, he looked.
He had changed out of that god-awful blue thing she gave him, and was now wearing a sleek black tuxedo instead. He even had a little black bow tie around the white collar of his finely pressed shirt, completing the whole look. He looked stunningly attractive. Though, Akari knew that if Aika were here, she would say that 'he looks like a wealthy jack-ass.' Though for Akari, it really appeared as though he wanted to look his best for this date. And she appreciated that he was actually... seeming to care. Maybe this wasn't all a big joke, of scheme of some sort. Would it be possible for it to actually mean something?
Her blush suddenly spread in every direction over her face when he smiled, an almost-genuine sort of smile, though it was still close to a smirk.
"Ehh? You look like you're undressing me with your eyes. I like that." He leaned in close, until their breath mingled heatedly. "I like that a lot."
She was quick to regain her composure and shove him back a step while he chuckled.
"Don't we have reservations somewhere?!" She yelped, trying to get rid of that certain feeling of... want.
"My, aren't we eager?" Tora teased as she ushered him towards the exit.
"Shut up, this all was your idea..."
"No way."
The young Igarashi man smirked at his date, who was standing stubbornly still outside the doors of a massive and expensive-looking restaurant.
"No way what?" He inquired, moving to cross his arms. She could just be so amusing.
"No way am I eating here with you." She said, with the look of some defiant rich kid, what with that fine dress she was in and all. He realized- she was a bit prissy at times, wasn't she? Then again, she did grow up like him. In a nice, big mansion with servants all over the place to do stuff for them. She had every right to be a bit fussy and demanding here and there. He was actually shocked she wasn't any worse than this.
"Oh? And why not?" He uncrossed his arms and approached her, fully prepared to change her mind.
"Because, there's so many people, and I thought this was a first date. First dates should be a bit more intimate-" She stopped when she saw how close he was to her. "What are you doing?"
"Then I'll make it more intimate for you." He said in a low tone, sending her a heart-breaking smile and a tempting look, while his hand reached out and barely touched her lower back, sending a shiver through her body while he pulled her closer. "Is this better?"
"You're-"
"Hungry." Tora suddenly grabbed her and held her close to him while walking towards the entrance of the grand restaurant. "I don't care if you don't want to eat here, as this is the place I picked, and we are already here."
As he pulled her through the doors, Tora was a little surprised when she stopped being temperamental and silently let him lead her about the place. She allowed him to do all the talking, speaking to the greeter at the door about their reservations, and the waiter that assisted them to their table.
When Tora pulled out her chair for her, letting go of her finally, she sat down and scooted her chair in for herself, before staring around at anything but his face.
"You're acting weird." Tora finally mused after a good ten minutes of her attention being directed elsewhere.
"I'm- nervous." She suddenly admitted, shyly greeting him with a wary gaze.
Tora looked taken aback, and reached quickly for his water in order to hide that fact. Once he had calmed himself and swallowed, he glanced at her.
"Hm, yeah? Why?"
Akari's gaze became calm as she composed herself. Sighing, she asked what had been bothering her this whole time: how he felt.
"Well, aren't you?"
Again, Tora had to grab for his water in order to distract her from his heavy surprise. He was taking a long time to think, and therefore practically gulped down the whole glass. When Akari's hand gently touched his, only then was he able to stop himself and set the glass back on the table, swallowing and trying to speak.
However, he couldn't when she was suddenly staring at him in such a strange way.
"What?" He barked, demanding an explanation for the look on her face that he couldn't at all place. It was frustrating him.
"Why are you holding my hand?"
Startled once more, Tora looked down at his hand to see that it had somehow come to be encasing hers. His eyes widened for a moment, as he had to wonder just when he had done that and why.
"Eh-hem." He suddenly cleared his throat, ripping his hand away. He had to admit it, though not aloud to her- he was a bit nervous as well. It was really strange for him- to be nervous. He was so unused to it and didn't know where this unease was stemming from.
"So, Tora."
His head snapped up, watching Akari as she stared at him from across the table. He was glad that she was brushing it of like it was nothing, and just re-started up the conversation. He didn't exactly know how to dwell on that feeling of nervousness, and wanted to forget it and be his usual suave self again.
Again, he cleared his throat, masking his face with the usual slightly bored look in his eyes as he glanced back at her. "Yes?"
"Have you even ever been on a date before?"
'DAMMIT AKARI! CAN'T YOU ASK ME SOMETHING THAT I'M MORE PREPARED TO ANSWER!?'
Tora's features were as calmly collected and unreadable as a brick wall, hinting absolutely nothing at the bubbling emotions that were frustrating him on the inside. You could say, this situation wasn't what he had expected it to be, and finding that he actually had a side to him that could get nervous and not know all the answers was throwing him waaay off course. Nonetheless, he tried his best to answer her unexpected question.
"Of course I have."
Though he kept things as vague as possible. He didn't exactly want to bring up his fiancée... that unwanted topic could make this night turn into something very unpleasant.
"Really?" Akari was the one musing about things this time, taking a liking to this situation, as she felt she had the upper hand. "You don't really act like it."
Tora scoffed, leaning back in his seat to eye her carefully. "That's enough out of you. This is a date, so at least act like you're enjoying yourself."
"Who says I'm not enjoying myself? I love to see you uncomfortable like this. It's never happened before." She smiled a bit, not even bothering to cover it up.
The young man gulped harshly, trying to steady his hand, which was close to forming a fist and pounding against the table. "And it's not happening now, either." He gritted. He couldn't remember a time when she had been so annoying, but she sure was right now.
"You know what I think," Akari said, a plan formulating in her mind. "I think that you're even more nervous than I am."
"Not possible. You've been bright red the whole evening." Tora smirked.
"Hey Tora,"
"Hm."
"You did not deny being nervous."
His eyes widened as he realized what this was. An interrogation. Dammit, now he was remembering all the other reasons she interested him so much. She wasn't just something pretty, she actually had a brain, and a well-working one at that.
Now, how could he turn the tables to his liking?
"Ah, Akari-san. You've caught me." He suddenly held up his hands, grinning. "I am nervous, I'll even admit it."
This time, Akari looked taken aback. She jolted a bit in her seat, though tried to remain stoic. "Right."
"And you know," Tora murmured, leaning forward. This time, he intentionally placed his hand over hers. "I think you're far worse off then I am. I think you're not only nervous, but anticipating something... a kiss, maybe?"
Her cheeks flushed, and his smile grew. That's right, he was just as smart as she was, if not much more.
"What is taking that food so long to get here?" She spoke up a bit more loudly, trying to erase the sudden mood that was set, but when she attempted to pull her hand back, Tora wouldn't let her. His touch was warm and his smile only added to that warmth, even if it wasn't a full smile, and she abruptly re-thought about his last words and accidentally stared at his lips.
"Ah, so I was right. Well, if it's a kiss you want, I'll gladly oblige." He suddenly was leaning forward, across the table, his bangs swaying as he did so.
"Y-your food."
Tora closed his eyes, sighing, and leaned back in his chair, releasing Akari's hand as a blushing male waiter set their food down before them on the table. Before the young stranger could pull away, Akari caught his attention and gave him a gentle smile and a thankful look.
"Thank you, sir."
The waiter blushed, and Akari was slightly surprised she actually had that effect on him, while Tora wasn't in the least bit shocked. He knew perfectly well how lovely his date looked, and therefore, he was now glaring at the waiter, willing him silently with his eyes to go away.
The waiter nodded to the both of them, trying to ignore Tora's angry gaze as he mumbled something unintelligible and walked away.
Scoffing, Tora turned to his plate of food and mumbled under his breath, his words about Akari and her charms. "Lavish temptress..."
Akari herself was taking a drink of water, and abruptly spit it out into the cup and glared at him when she overheard his mumbling. "Jealous tiger."
"Jealously is a stupid emotion that I don't indulge in." Tora said simply, cutting into the perfectly cooked piece of meat on his plate with the air of someone refined and proper. He had obviously eaten like this many times before.
"And yet, you try your best to frighten the waiter when he merely glanced at me." She shrugged and split her salmon down the middle with a fork, prodding it as she talked. "You can at least be a little honest, with both me and yourself."
Tora's fork was half-way to his mouth, and though his mouth was watering from the aroma originating from the tasty-looking food, he slowly lowered it back to his plate and gave her a stern glare. "Would you like for me to say it aloud?"
"I would love that." Akari said plainly, humming as she bit into a steamed carrot. It was sweet and soft and, for a vegetable, delicious! This place was a good choice, after all. She gave Tora props (though she wasn't about to say that to him).
"Alright." Tora unfolded the napkin beside him and casually spoke as he laid it out over his lap. "I am jealous. Very. Of anyone who so much as glances at you, like that waiter did."
This sudden commentary of his caused Akari to look up, and like he was moments before, her fork was only half-way to her mouth as she gaped at him, openly surprised that he had actually spoken his feelings. She didn't even think he was lying.
"Will you shut up and eat your food now?" Tora asked, the two of them only staring at each other, his gaze serious and hers astonished.
Abruptly, she bit down over her fork, closing her eyes to him as she tried to forget that serious look on his face and enjoy the immaculately cooked fish.
What was with him? He seemed so... different, today. And was he being honest? She was just trying to tease him about things, push his buttons a bit like he always did to her. She thought for sure he was jealous, and before that nervous, but she thought that was because he saw her as his possession. He was jealous only because he thought she belonged to him. She had been told he saw her as his prize. So, she figured this date was merely him showing her off, rather than enjoying her company.
He did like to have nice things on his arm, didn't he? She was an accessory, this date was just the stage for his meaningless plans. She had only tagged along because (for one thing, he had pulled her away from school and basically kidnapped her) and also, she couldn't help but stay with him and go along with everything, because being around him made her... well, kind of happy. She had now come to terms with that- regardless of whether he enjoyed her company, she enjoyed his. She didn't really know why. Maybe because they could relate so much to each other's situations in life.
Suddenly, Tora spoke up, causing her thought process to stop as he interrupted it.
"Are you enjoying yourself?"
Her eyes lowered to her plate as they narrowed.
"This is a date. You aren't supposed to be so presumptuous and ask me like that."
"I only asked if you were having a good time." Tora said, sounding amused. "You get so easily offended by the simplest of things."
"It's because," She insisted, putting her fork down for a moment. "You're doing this all wrong."
"Oh am I?" Tora suddenly put down his own fork, leaning over his food to closely examine her, his golden eyes sparkling, as he was so obviously entertained. "Why don't you teach me how you like your dates, then?"
"Well, for starters, instead of asking me if I'm having a good time, ask something normal. Like, 'how's the food'?"
His eyes found hers, and she leaned back, crossing her arms in all seriousness, when he laughed and took on a sarcastic tone.
"How is the food, Akari-san?"
"Why are you being so sarcastic?" She asked, annoyed.
"I find the question ridiculous." He explained, going back to his food and ignoring her offended stare.
"HOW is it ridiculous?"
"Well, since I've been here too many times to count, I know perfectly well that all the food is very appealing. I don't need to ask you how your food is, I know you'll like it already. Also," He looked up suddenly, catching her eye. "You had such a happy look on your face while you were eating it."
She withheld a blush when she realized how much he'd been watching her. "There you go. That's what you do on a real date."
Tora quirked an eyebrow, swallowing his food. "I don't understand what you mean."
"You don't ask your date if they're having a good time," Akari insisted further, trying to make her point clear. "you show them that you're happy to see them having a good time. Have a little confidence- I'm not exactly bored, I mean, it's you we're talking about here." Tora began to smirk, until she added on a last comment. "How could I be bored when I'm in the company of a lecherous, unpleasant, attention-hogging tiger?"
"Unpleasant?" He inquired harshly.
"Okay, you're not entirely unpleasant... I suppose. But you are a lecher, and a self-superior idiot."
"I am also a good kisser, even better in bed, and I'm paying for this entire meal, so you had best shut the hell up."
Akari quickly shoved a forkful of salmon into her mouth, trying to shush herself. She hadn't expected him to get so- offended. Come to think of it, he had been in a strangely bad mood when he had kidnapped her after school.
"By the way," Tora said after a few moments of silence. He was smirking again, back to his usual self, and Akari cautiously met his gaze. "Nice self defense earlier."
"What?"
"You used what I taught you," Tora commented still, dropping his gaze back to his water as he lifted it to his lips. "I saw it as I was approaching you. It wasn't a perfect move, but at least you got him on his back."
Realization struck, and Akari remembered when that one man had reached out to her at the shop and she had flipped him over onto his back, like Tora had demonstrated to her at the party. A bubbling sense of pride and power overwhelmed her, and she smiled. "Hah, that was really fun, actually. Could I try it on you sometime?"
Tora was unfazed by her words as he set his glass down and smiled slightly at his plate. "Absolutely. You can get me on my back. If it's in bed, that is."
Akari rumpled up her napkin and threw it at him, though she was blushing and embarrassed, she was actually smiling a bit. "You're terrible."
"Hn? Am I?" He looked at her, that slight smile still on his face.
"One hundred percent pure evil." She affirmed.
Tora actually laughed, and rumpled her napkin that had landed near his plate, tossing it back at her. His laugh spread to new measures as it landed over her face. "Oh look, a ghost." He said mockingly.
"Tch." Akari pulled the cloth from her face and glared good-naturedly at him. "When I really am a ghost, I am going to haunt you. Consider it payback for all that you've done to me."
Tora shook his head. Was he actually doing this? Flirting and having a good time? And was she actually reciprocating?
Well, this was going... better than he had hoped.
"So," He said, after a small pause in the conversation. He smirked then. "'How's the food'?"
"Alright." Akari glared at him, for real this time. "You want to know why that isn't a ridiculous question? Girls want to know that the guy they like cares about them. So, by asking that, it implies that you're interested in making her happy. By basically saying that you want to know if her food is good, it implies that you want to know if she is enjoying herself. It's a far better approach then your way of abruptly asking it so forwardly."
There was a long, silent pause. Akari happily turned back to her food, indulging in the terrific taste of it and happily thinking Tora was realizing the meaning to her words. However, he was only really interested in one of the things she had said.
"The guy they like?"
She paused her chewing to look at him, practically inhaling the food in her mouth as she gasped after seeing his intense golden gaze so forcefully staring at her.
Tora watched as she took her time swallowing, then taking a drink of water, before addressing him.
"Excuse me?"
"You said 'girls want to know that the guy they like cares about them'. Were you referring to yourself in this case?" Tora's gaze shone dangerously in the dimmed lighting as he watched her for a reaction.
"Are you suggesting that I have feelings for you?" She replied, trying to seem incredulous.
"Are you denying it?"
"Our dessert menu."
Tora clenched his fist as the same waiter from before broke up his and Akari's moment, and placed two menus on the table. The look he sent the man was a murderous one, but the waiter was oblivious to it as he faced Akari.
"The favorite is our Amaretto Apple Streusel."
"Thank you. If it's so popular then I'll just get that." She said, so happy for the distraction as she handed the guy her menu back. Her eyes warily flickered over to Tora, who was emitting a highly toxic aura around himself. "What will you get... Tora?"
"Some privacy would be just charming." He gritted, glaring very pointedly at the waiter.
Akari winced as the guy bowed and left her alone with a temperamental tiger.
"I hope you know, we are not continuing this conversation here." She hurriedly said, before he could restate his question.
To her pleasant surprise, he gave in. But, well, not really. "We'll have plenty of time in the car to discuss this."
After the check had been taken care of and the table cleared of all food save for the dessert Akari ordered, things got pretty quiet between the two teens. Mainly because, they were both pondering about how successful, or unsuccessful, this date had been. Well, at least that was why Tora was quiet. Akari, at the moment, was staring with a mouth full of saliva at the perfection that was the dessert set before her on the table.
Slowly, she broke off a small bit for her fork to handle, and carried the treat to her mouth.
"Mm!"
Tora's head snapped up to watch her as she groaned in delight.
"It's- incredible." She said, diving down with her fork for more of the star dessert.
"Hn... Let me taste."
It was Akari's turn to snap her head up and look at him. "Ah, and now he wants dessert. What makes you think I'll share?"
"What makes you think I'm asking?"
Suddenly, he was leaning forwards over the table, his hand over hers as he gently guided her fork to his mouth. His gaze glanced over her to take note of her reaction as his lips closed over the cupcakey crumble of a dessert, and he found himself happy with both the taste in his mouth and the look on her face.
Pulling back when satisfied, he leaned into his seat and licked his lips. "Oh, it is delicious after all."
Akari glared at him. "You are really bad at dating!"
Tora looked appalled at those words. "How so?" He gritted harshly.
"You're just doing everything wrong." Akari shrugged, calming once the dessert was back in her mouth again. "Hmmm... so good..."
"If you want it to be so perfect, then why don't you just tell me what to do? I'll let you. Just this once." Tora leaned forwards, speaking in all seriousness. He would not be having any girl, even one as complicated as her, saying that a date with him was not to their liking.
"We already tried that earlier." Akari waved it off, still content with enjoying her dessert.
Suddenly, he leaned over and grabbed her plate from her, pulling the half-eaten dessert on his side of the table as he glared at her.
"Hey," She said in a low, warning tone. She leaned over to grab the dessert back, but he covered it with an arm.
"Teach me how you like your dates." He insisted, and she blinked in surprise at his persistence on the matter.
Sighing, she leaned back in her chair. "Alright. Well, like I said earlier, don't ask stupid straight-forward questions."
Tora growled and rolled his eyes.
"And don't have your date feed you." She chided, enjoying bossing him around for once. "If anything, the guy should pamper the girl."
"Oh, and I haven't done enough pampering as it is?"
Akari looked down at her dress, and around at the restaurant, and saw his point. "Well, it's not like I like to be pampered so much anyway. What I mean is, if you're going to do something cute like that, do it for her, don't have her do it for you."
"So then," Tora looked down, taking his own fork and scooping at the dessert. Raising it into the air, he leaned back over the table, and his free hand grabbed her cheeks and puckered her lips for him. He stared at her rather sadistically. "This is what you want then?"
She tried to move her head away, but before that Tora fed her the dessert, smirking when she stopped moving and allowed him to even give her a second helping, still feeding her like he was.
When the dessert was all gone, Akari's face was flushed bright red and she grabbed his hand and yanked it away from her face. "Okay, okay. Enough."
"Ah, but I was really enjoying that." He teased darkly, his eyes taunting her for more.
And she stepped up to the challenge.
"On a proper date, the guy gives the girl his jacket when she's cold." She said, waiting to see if he'd actually listen to her words. She didn't really want him to do that, really, it was such a cliche, he wouldn't possibly-
Abruptly, the young man stood from his seat, pulling each arm out of his suit jacket as he leisurely walked around to her side of the table, and draped the fabric over her shoulders. As he did so, he leaned in towards her ear from behind and whispered; "The last time I did this, you were crying, remember?"
Akari balked, and turned her head to glare. "You never remind a girl of when she cried, baka!"
Tora was of course smart enough to know this already, meaning that he had done that on purpose. Probably as punishment for her making him look foolish.
"Yes, especially you, because if I recall correctly, you don't cry much. Meaning, you don't like to be seen doing it. Maybe because it shows weakness?"
Akari stood up, but kept his jacket around her shoulders. It was still winter, still cold outside, even if the walk from in here to the car would be short... (alright, maybe she wanted to stay in his jacket for other reasons beside the logical ones, too.) She turned and faced him, her cheeks tinted with the hint of her temper.
"You know, I want to ask you about something."
Akari blinked, unsure of why he was suddenly looking off to the side, hands stuffed in his pockets. His golden eyes had a hooded look to them now, and his handsome features were pulled into a serious, almost-frown. What an abrupt change in attitude! Though all of it before could have been an act.
"Yeah, go ahead." She said, unsure of why he had been so moody tonight, even though they had had a moderately good time.
Reaching around in his pocket, Tora's hand suddenly pulled out his phone. He merely glanced at it for a moment, clicking a few buttons before turning to her and turning the screen so that she could see something, a picture.
Akari gasped when she got a closer look. "When did he-?"
"What's this?" Tora asked, voice mature and controlled as he calmly interrogated her.
She looked up at him, and his face was still very serious and that look unwavering. For some reason... she felt as if she had betrayed him. Which was absurd, because first of all, she wasn't even his, they had no commitment to each other. And second of all, she hadn't been the one to make any move on Orochi, he had kissed her.
"It's really nothing," She affirmed for him. "Orochi doesn't like me that way... "
Of course, she said this knowing that the brown-eyed boy did in fact like her. But she knew if she actually said those words it would set off Tora, who was a waiting time bomb. He may be calm now, but who knew how unstable he was underneath it all?
"Read the caption."
Akari leaned in a little, looking closer at the phone in his outstretched hand. Her eyes narrowed at the word 'Mine' typed clearly beneath the picture.
Really, was she just an object to be attained?!
Suddenly, the phone was pulled away, and placed back into Tora's pants pocket. He glanced down at her, that serious look still on his face, though now he almost looked bored as well. He was trying to remain composed.
"We should go to the car. I need to take you home."
Akari was slightly worried about whatever was running through his head, but nonetheless, she decided not to ask and just listen to him without argument for now.
He led her down the long staircase, out of the private box/balcony area that served as their place to eat. Quietly, they slipped out of the fine establishment, and she stood a small distance away from him as they walked towards the car. Whatever had happened between them at dinner, with the flirting and the laughing and happy atmosphere, was so obviously gone now and replaced with a tenseness that she didn't know how to deal with quite yet.
He didn't bother to open the car door for her, he merely walked around to the opposite side and slid into the vehicle on his own.
If this bugged her, she didn't show it on her face as she opened her own door and slid in, now sitting beside him while he told the driver through the divider to head to his estate.
For a moment, this caught her attention. "Your estate? I thought you were taking me home?"
Tora looked down at her, resting beside the window with his cheek in his hand. "I am."
If Akari was slow in understanding things, she would have asked what his intent was. But almost immediately she understood.
He planned to take her home with him tonight. But, she still didn't know why, or how this would all even work.
"Igarashi, what's going on?"
He stared at her intently, his gaze completely unwavering and his words absolutely final.
"I'm taking you back."
A/N: Lemme start off by saying, I love you all! :D I have such amazing reviewers. I'm always flattered after being exposed to your commentary for my fic, so thank you so much! So far, there's been a ton of very constructive criticism, and me likey that! So keep it comin'!
Also, sorry for the very late update, I really have some excuses but mainly, I kinda had writers block and kind of didn't and then I kind of did again. Soo, yeah.
Alright, so I really wanted Tora to start being all romantic-like with Akari (cuz they lllllike each other ;) which is hard to do without making him seem OOC
Can you imagine my frustration? It's such a dilemma! :| Tora has to stay in character or I swear I'll kill him off! (justkiddingIwouldNEVERdothatIloveyouTorapleaseforgivemyrashwords!)
Ennayhoooo, it doesn't matter anymore (for now). He took her on a date, and that's as good as I could do for this chap. I think, as far as romance goes, Tora Igarashi isn't exactly a 'romeo'. But we can fix that... ish... he just needs something- or someone- to help him along with this strange thing occurring in his life called 'love'. He needs to act on his new found feelings, but he can't start without a little assistance- this is TORA we're talking about here!
Our poor love struck tiger, eh?
Tora: You make me sound foolishly co-dependent and tragic
Me: Well that's just too ba- wait, TORA!? You aren't supposed to be in the Author's Note! It's called the AUTHOR'S note for a reason!
Tora: And yet, here I am *smirks*
Me: Yes, here you are. Stupid tiger.
Tora: Idiot author.
Me: Oi, I am not an idiot.
Tora: Would you rather me call you untalented and bland?
Me: ...Yeah, next chapter, don't expect me to be very nice to you...
CK :*
Reviews are gladly accepted and make me happy as a clam!
Tora: They don't review because they want to make you happy, the do it because of me.
Me: Shaddup.
p.s- figurative thumbs up for Amaretto Apple Streusel, Mmm... (I've actually never tried it, but I know my sister would LOVE it! She's the sweet tooth of the family)