I'll Move Into Your House, I'll Move Into Your Heart Also

by CeruleanKiss

Tora enjoys being his rich, stunning self. Of course he fakes his way through most of what he does, but he's learned to live around the lies, absorb himself in the worst of his ways. But this girl... She's something entirely new to him. Michiyo Akari sees through it all, and surprises herself by falling in love with the guy who's been pissing her off ever since she moved in.

38. Leniency (Or The Lack Thereof)

A/N: Oh my, I changed the cover art! Haha yes, and that's because it looked too similar to the new one I made for my next Tora fic. Also, I like the current one more - it's very simple, but I think it matches the title of the story better than the latter did.

Also, how do I give you guys a preview of my new cover art? I dunno how. That's right. I'm just a silly person who doesn't know these things. .-.

I'm not sure if I've ever made this known to the public, but any of my readers can PM me at any time, so feel free to do so if you have questions or just want to have a simple chat. ^_^ (Or if you know how I can show a preview of my new cover art somewhere... cuz someone asked me to do that, but as stated above, I don't know how...)

Anyway, I hope you find this chapter to your liking. It is the longest chapter yet! I worked on it here and there for like five days cuz I had to find random time to write in between my studies. :/ I would have gotten it done sooner, but, you know. That obviously did not end up happening... and I blame science. No, really, I actually blame science - I had this science test I've been studying for and it's been taking up most of my time. But I like science, so it's not that bad. I don't like it when anything gets in the way of me updating my stories, though. :P

And today's vocab word is~ leniency: the fact or quality of being more permissive, merciful, or tolerant than expected

---

Chapter Thirty-Six. Leniency (Or The Lack Thereof)

"So..."

The three friends were stopped on a corner with a street light, waiting for cars to pass by in front of them on the road. The sky above gave a sort of rumbling sound - a sure sign that rain was on its way.

Akari looked over at Seiji, who had spoken that one word slowly, dragging the syllable out with pursed lips. His eyes settled on her, and she felt uneasy for a moment. She could sense, somehow, that he was about to mention something she didn't want to talk about.

Nonetheless, she answered him with her own, "So?"

Just then, it became safe to cross the street, and they each paused in order to push Aika along the crosswalk with them - since she was too distracted by the music she was listening to to move without some guidance. The music lover had her eyes closed, and was mouthing the lyrics to the song she was listening to while shaking her head back and forth to the beat.

Half-way across the street, Seiji spoke up again. "So, are you really engaged to someone?"

Akari sighed. She knew Aika probably would have told him everything by now. "Well, I don't want to be."

"But you are?"

"I... am."

Seiji wrinkled his nose. "Not to that Igarashi guy though, right?"

Not really thinking before she spoke, Akari looked up at the sky and said in all seriousness, "I'd much rather marry him, than the man I am actually engaged to."

There was the sound of what seemed to be Seiji choking on air, and then no words were spoken for a good few minutes or so. The only thing that could be heard was the occasional rumbling noises that came from the sky above them, the sound of cars passing by on the streets, and the clacking of pedestrian's shoes on pavement.

Eventually, Seiji stopped walking, pulling both Aika and Akari to the corner of the sidewalk with him. Aika frowned at being pulled around like that and took one of her ear plugs out, and Akari blinked up at her male friend, noticing that he looked utterly bewildered.

"Akari." He shook his head, his blonde ponytail bobbing at the motion. "What the hell is going on between you and that bastard, anyway?"

Opening her mouth to argue about it, Akari found herself being cut off as Aika put a hand to her mouth to silence her. Then, the girl slowly reached up and gave Seiji a flick to the forehead. They both looked at Aika, wide-eyed and blinking in confusion.

"Really, you guys are so stupid. This isn't something to fight about, so don't even start with the arguing, cuz' it'll give me a headache." Her brown eyes zeroed in on Seiji. "You're too paranoid, and even though it's cute you are such a good friend who's always showing concern, it makes you look like a wuss." He frowned, and then Aika looked over at her other friend. "And Akari... you need to just stop it with all this boy drama. I mean, I get that it's a big mess for you, but to me, the solution is simple."

Akari wasn't quite sure how to react, and therefore, she didn't really. It's not like she could anyway, with her friend's hand still covering her mouth. She wasn't sure if she should be getting defensive and if her temper should be rising after hearing such words, or if she should be listening and trying to take some advice from this crazy, music-obsessed, bad-mouthing girl she calls a friend. So, she just settled on glaring at her.

"Oh, come on, haven't I told you before?" Aika rolled her eyes, sighing as if this was the most troublesome thing in the world. "If I recall everything the right way, that guy you're engaged to is actually in love with the girl your rich lover is engaged to -"

"Rich lover?" Both Akari and Seiji said simultaneously, each of them scowling.

But their friend only continued with her speech. " - and if said-lover is actually in love with you, and you love him as well, which I'm pretty sure you do -" She gave Akari a sly smile, while Seiji huffed and folded his arms. "- then the only thing you people have to do is simply switch fiancées. I mean, it's just that easy. Call off the engagements and let everyone be happy with the person they love - why should you all be marrying the wrong people anyway? It's all so complicated when it could be so simple!"

She finished with a firm nod of her head, acting like she had just solved the greatest mystery in the world.

Pulling Aika's hand away from her mouth, Akari protested in an annoyed tone. "Well when it's said like that, sure, it does sound like something easy to do. But it just can't be that simple."

"Why can't it be?" Seiji suddenly asked, seeming to be legitimately curious. And then Akari found both of her friends turning to stare at her, waiting for a proper answer.

And when she opened her mouth to explain all the complications, Aika interrupted. "Just think about it, idiot, before you say anything."

Akari paused, long enough to consider things. Mrs. Igarashi had seemed keen to the idea of Tora and Akari being together... so didn't that mean that she was okay with him and Chiyo calling off their engagement? And if she was okay with it, maybe she could make her husband agree with that too. So perhaps, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to the Igarashi's...

But then there was her own family to worry about. She could clearly imagine, her father would be livid. Her brother would be even worse. And then, Orochi...

"But what about Orochi?" She suddenly stated to her friends, looking back and forth between the two of them for answers. "You know, the guy I'm supposed to marry? He doesn't love me, but he wants to steal me away from Tora, and it's his main goal to do just that. It doesn't seem to matter what his feelings are for Tora's fiancée because he's not going to change his mind about getting back at Tora for taking her from him, and I'm sure he will continue to be persistent about the engagement -"

"Me and Ryuunosuke have a kind of bond that is special." Aika suddenly interrupted again, and both her friends sighed as she began to rant. "He loves me, and I love him, and we have a pure kind of love that means neither of us care about anything else besides just that. Well, that, and music. But anyway, we're the perfect couple, nothing could come between our feelings for each other and -"

"And I don't really see what this has to do with Akari and her situation..." Seiji mumbled, to which he ended with a yelp as he received a painful smack from Aika.

"I have a point! And that point is, true love conquers all other things!" She nodded her head aggressively, and her raven locks bounced and curled against her shoulders. "I mean, if - what was his name, Orochi? - really does love Tora's fiancée so much, then stealing her from Tora and making her his own fiancée would be his top priority... not marrying you, Akari. I bet you anything, if given the choice, he would trade you in for that other girl in a heartbeat. His feelings for the girl he loves are probably stronger than his need to get revenge."

Silver-blue eyes filled with a thoughtful sort of light as Akari really considered all of this. But even though her friend sounded convincing, she still couldn't help but be skeptical. "I don't know if you can say that sort of thing, when you haven't even met the guy. I mean, based off of what I've seen, he really wants to make Tora's life miserable, and nothing else seems to matter to him."

Her mouth dropping open, Aika smacked her friend on the arm. "Are you even fucking listening to me?! Love is stronger than revenge, you stupid bitch... That's just the way it is, and I know it's true so don't argue with me on that." She crossed her arms in a 'and that's final!' sort of way, brown eyes narrowing down to slits.

Seiji, deciding it was a good time to intervene before a cat fight broke out, leaned his elbow on top of the music freak's head and sighed dramatically. "Alright, alright. Cool your jets, Akiyama."

Aika shoved him away with a leer. "Shut up."

Meanwhile, Akari was just staring at her friend, her gaze filled with curious surprise. "You know Aika, when I first met you, I would have never have had you pegged as the hopeless romantic type."

"What can I say?" Aika lifted her arms in a 'who cares?' manner. "Love changes who you are! It's a beautiful thing - love and music, those are the two most important things in the universe." She smiled, agreeing with herself with another nod of her head.

"Well, anyway," Seiji sighed, looking over to Akari. "What are you gonna do then? About your engagement and everything?"

I don't even know... Akari thought, and she found that she had no response to that question. She glanced at the ground, trying to come up with an answer that would satisfy her two friends. "I've made it clear before that I don't want to marry Orochi... maybe I'll just have to be more firm with him about it now." She rolled her head to one side, debating things carefully. "I don't know, I just - I'll have to try something else - I should protest more strongly against it... do something more than just throwing his proposal ring back at him, because apparently, that didn't get the message across. But, my family will not be very happy with me if I continue to reject him, that's for sure..." She winced at the thought of her father's explosive yelling, and shivered as she imagined Hayate slapping her across the face, and then kicking her to the floor.

Admittedly, she was too afraid to really do anything about the matter. But maybe, if the Igarashis backed her up, then she could call off the engagement... Tora's mother was one of the people who is allowed the right to take care of her, being her god mother and all, so maybe that would count for something? Maybe Mrs. Igarashi could help her... though she didn't really want to ask such a big favor of the woman.

And then along with all this marriage business, she still had to figure out if it was a smart decision to finally admit her feelings to Tora. She had her moments where she wanted to... and then she had her moments where she doubted that. He said he loves her. She just had to completely believe that in order to openly reciprocate.

"I'm hungry."

Seiji suddenly interrupted her thoughts, grabbing her and Aika's arms and pulling them with him down the street again. He sniffed the air like some sort of bloodhound - as if that would help him to locate a source of food.

"I could eat." Aika agreed, simply allowing herself to be dragged along this time by the boy as she put her ear bud back in and turned up her music again. She turned to look at Akari. "How about you, princess? You hungry at all? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we're probably gonna have to find a cheap restaurant, and if that's not suited to your refined palate, then too fucking bad!"

Akari rolled her eyes at her friend's usual harsh way of speaking, and pulled back to make Seiji slow down. "Actually, I'm really not that hungry. And I should probably be heading back now, anyway."

Seiji stopped walking and turned to look at her with a pout. "Oh c'mon! You've only been with us for an hour or two. Let's go eat!"

She simply shook her head and pulled her arm free of his grasp. "No, you guys go ahead without me. I should get back to my car before it rains."

It looked as if he was about to protest more, but then Aika grabbed his arm. "Just let it be, she's not hungry and we are. Let's go get some takoyaki."

Glancing at Akari, Seiji shook his head. "Let's at least walk with her back to her car first -"

"That bitch will be fine on her own, don't worry about it." Aika tugged on his arm harder. "Now come on, I'm seriously starving, and I want to get to a restaurant before we get rained on!"

As she said that, the sky made another low rumbling sound, causing everyone to shiver as the breeze picked up.

"Just go, guys." Akari nodded to Seiji, who still looked uncertain about just leaving her on her own. "I really will be fine. The worst that can happen is I'll get a little wet."

Sighing, he gave her a nod, and somewhat reluctantly allowed the so-called 'starving' music lover to pull him around, walking back down the sidewalk. Akari watched them go, seeing Aika nodding her head to the music she was listening to again, and watching Seiji tuck a hand in his pocket as he strolled after her, shaking his head back and forth at the other girl and occasionally pulling her out of other passer-by's way.

With a sigh and a small smile, Akari turned around and began to walk back in the direction of where she had left her driver to wait for her. As she walked, she turned her face up towards the overcast sky, and the very first drop of rain fell and landed on her cheek.

---

Tora sat relaxing in his limo, on his way back to his own estate. Although it was a bit annoying that he'd had to empty out the entire contents of his wallet before the stubborn Michiyo man gave in - practically paying for the entirety of the man's retirement - he was pleased about how things had turned out in his favor.

Extremely pleased.

Money, as he had always thought, could buy anything. Everything had a price tag on it - not just material things, but also people's morals, values, opinions and cooperation. It was too easy, with the people in the world being as greedy as they are today, to buy whatever you needed. And a little bit of blackmail also went a long way...

The car slowly began to roll to a stop as they neared a traffic light, and he turned his head to one side in order to glance out the window, a cocky grin teasing at the edge of his lips. It was raining hard outside now, he noticed - the rain had started up just a few minutes after he had left the Michiyo estate, and had quickly drenched every street and every person in sight, coming down in seemingly endless sheets. He peered past the droplets cascading down the window, and blinked when he caught sight of what appeared to be a very familiar figure, and the only person standing on the sidewalk who was without an umbrella.

Tora straightened up in his seat immediately. "What the hell is she doing?" He spoke aloud, in frustration and surprise. He had not expected her to be out in the city, especially not in the middle of a rain storm. Just how daft was she?!

Staring for a minute longer until he had made sure it was her, the bewildered Igarashi turned away from the window and told his driver to find some place to pull over on the next street.

---

"What were you doing, standing out in the rain like that?" Tora growled, pulling off his jacket and throwing it over her shoulders.

"L-looking for my d-driver."

The young man seemed to scoff at that answer, before calling for his own chauffeur to pull away from the side of the road and continue their way back to the estate.

Akari shivered and grit her teeth, tentatively pulling Tora's jacket around so that it covered the front of her. She had not expected him to happen across her, but when he had appeared by her side with an umbrella and a hand for her to take, she had accepted both in a sense of relief. He was incredibly warm compared to the icy rain that had drenched through her clothes, and, though she hadn't told him any 'thank you's' yet, she truly was grateful.

And now, the two of them sat in his car together, herself cold and wet, and Tora stripped of his jacket.

He sat back in his seat, running a hand through the short length of his blonde hair and unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt. It had become unbearably hot in the car, since he had cranked the heat up all the way in order to keep Akari warm.

"You," He fixed her with a sideways glare, his golden eyes narrowed accusingly. "could have been kidnapped, being on your own like that. Or you could have gotten sick from standing in the rain for too long." He shook his head back and forth, his bangs swaying in front of his forehead, and his fingers popped open a third button on his shirt. "For what reason did you come to this part of the city on a day like this?"

"It wasn't raining when I g-got here." Akari argued, albeit weakly. She was still feeling very cold - freezing, in fact - despite the jacket around her and the heating system blasting them both inside the limo. "And anyway, it's n-not as though I've d-done anything wrong. I was j-just m-meeting some friends a-and talking with them, and when they left I w-went to go find my car, and I thought I c-could make it in time b-before i-it rained but -"

"But obviously you didn't." Tora gestured to her shiny face, washed clean from the rain, and her damp hair.

She scowled at the condescending tone that he was taking with her, and attempted to control her chattering teeth. "I assumed that the clouds were going to hold up for a little longer than they a-actually did. And I wanted to walk around outside f-for a w-while. It was a nice change from being cooped up in my room all the t-time." She ended in a tone of accusation, something that Tora happened to take note of.

The tiger turned to her, a smirk clearly pasted onto his features. "And who's fault is that?" His words dripped with sarcasm.

Akari went quiet, and stubbornly looked away. While she might blame him, seeing that he is the very reason she likes to hide away in her room, because she has been trying to avoid him... he doesn't necessarily know that. Well, wait, he's smart enough to know that though. So of course, he's aware of it, of why she does it - he must know that he's the reason. But even so, no matter what the reason is, it's still her own fault for holing herself up in her room the way that she has been recently. She can't blame him for her own actions.

"Sorry." She muttered under her breath. She pulled his jacket more tightly around herself, and added, "And... thanks. For helping me out."

Tora was staring at her now, she knew it, but she was simply going to choose to not look at him.

"You're welcome." He said, in a much softer tone of voice than how he'd been talking to her a few seconds prior to this moment.

The atmosphere in the car went silent after that, filled only with the warmth from the heating system and the sound of the rain outside. Feeling him adjust next to her in his seat, Akari turned and peeked over at him, and sucked in a quick breath at the sight she was met with.

He was leaning back in his seat, his head resting against the fine leather and his eyes closed. There was a light sheen of sweat above his brow, and it made his skin appear to be glistening. His tie was loosened, resting low across his chest, and his white shirt was unbuttoned enough for the smoothness of his skin to be visible from just barely below his collarbone. His body looked relaxed, almost limp, as he sat resting like that... and Akari couldn't help but think he looked like some sort of sleeping prince.

Just as her eyes were tracing the features of his face, his lips turned up into a knowing smile, and without opening his eyes, he said to her in a low, smooth sort of tone, "I can feel your eyes on me, Akari."

Startled, she looked away again, right as he opened his eyes and leaned forward in his seat, laughing the slightest bit, in almost a charming fashion.

In order to create some sort of topic to speak about, to distract from her discomfort caused by being caught while staring at him, Akari cleared her throat and asked him the first thing she could think of. "So, Igarashi, what have you been doing today?"

When she glanced at him, she noticed the little smirk on his lips had stayed there, and she could also see a certain glimmer in his eyes now - a self-satisfied glimmer - it was as if he was very pleased with himself, for some reason.

He said nothing for a few moments though, simply bending over and thinking quietly to himself. And then finally, after she stared at him expectantly for a few minutes, he turned his head and looked over at her, meeting her gaze and holding it.

"I went to see your father." He openly admitted, saying nothing more and simply waiting now for a response from her.

Of course, she was not expecting him to say that - she was not expecting him to say that at all. Akari opened her mouth stupidly in both confusion and shock, and tried to calm her rising temper. Why Tora would go see her father, she did not know, but she intended to find out. Striving for patience, she asked him as calmly as possible, "And what business could you possibly have with him?"

Tora was just about to give his answer, when the sound of a ringtone going off stopped him. The sound seemed to be coming from Akari, and he looked at her, pausing so that she could answer the ringing device, but she simply ignored it and stared back at him.

In no hurry to explain things to her, Tora leaned back and told her calmly. "You should answer that." He smiled a little, as if indulging in his own private inside joke. "Ignoring someone's phone call is very insulting."

Akari was about to say that she wouldn't answer it, because she didn't care if it was insulting and the call wasn't an important one anyway so it could wait for later - but when she took the phone out of her pocket to silence the ringing, the caller ID caught her attention and she paused, visibly paling when she recognized it. With a nervous and puzzled look on her face, she did answer the phone, with a timid 'hello'.

"OH, YOU'VE DONE IT NOW, YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU - JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!"

She tried to formulate a response to that, but then the yelling and angry accusations continued.

"What the hell did you think you were doing, huh?! Sending that Igarashi boy to our estate like that?! Having him make that deal with our father? What the hell have you done?! You stupid little good for nothing bitch!"

"Hayate..." Akari said carefully, glancing at Tora in confusion, who simply sat beside her with his legs crossed, one arm resting on the back of his seat, donning his poker face as he watched her.

On the other end of the line, Hayate's voice reached such high volumes that Akari had to hold the phone away from her ear as she listened.

"How much trouble are you going to keep causing for our family, you stupid girl! You lousy piece of shit! Who the fuck do you think you are? Who the fuck do you think you are, heh?! You are nothing, you got that, nothing!"

"Hayate." She tried to keep her voice as firm as possible. "Just calm down and tell me why you called me. I don't understand -"

"Don't you dare try to order me around! You have a lot of explaining to do, and don't act like you don't know why I fuckin' called you! Where the fuck are you? I'm going to give you the beating of a lifetime, you stupid, worthless brat! Get your ass home or I swear I'll -"

"I have no idea what you're so angry about!" Akari raised her voice in defense, furious with the way she was being talked to, though the thought of how angry he was and him promising to beat her up was making her more and more afraid, as well. "Just tell me what the problem is, or I'm hanging up, alright? I have better things to do than listen to you yell at me like this!"

"DON'T YOU FUCKING ACT THAT WAY, AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT HANGING UP!" Hayate roared into the phone, causing Akari to flinch. "Stop lying, you bitchy little brat, you worthless fucking brat! You know what you did, and it pisses me off! IT PISSES ME THE HELL OFF! You're supposed to marry Orochi, so what the fuck are you trying to do, interfering with that sort of thing, huh? You aren't in charge of any of it, you don't get a say in it, and I swear to god I will drag you down the isle myself and force you to marry him if I have to!"

Akari's eyes widened at the mention of her engagement, and she turned an icy glare on Tora - he had some serious explaining to do. "I don't see why I have to marry him." Akari ground out through clenched teeth, though as she spoke to Hayate, her voice wavered slightly.

"The Fuirutsu family has a lot of wealth and fame, and having ties with them will strongly benefit our father, and myself. The Michiyo company will grow bigger, better, we'll become more powerful -"

"I don't care about any of that." Akari was insisting now, not that it was really possible to reason with her half-brother. "I won't marry him. I don't love him."

"And am I supposed to give a shit about your feelings?" Hayate spat, growling harshly into the phone. "You'll marry him anyway, or else! You got that?"

"What does someone as wealthy as Orochi get out of it, anyway? We can't offer him any more money than he already has. We're getting a better deal than he is. Marrying me isn't something that great, considering who my family is..."

"What the fuck did you just say?!" Hayate raised his voice again, and again, Akari flinched.

"Nothing... but, is he in it just for that stupid idea of revenge that he's obsessed with?" She asked, though she already knew the answer to that.

"Yes. And it's an amazing deal and opportunity for us, since we don't have to give him anything but your hand in marriage in return, so I didn't want you screwing it up like you already have, you damn brat!" Hayate's voice was a hiss now, a menacing, terrible hiss. "Now call Orochi and talk to him about things, and come home and talk to our father about it, NOW, or I swear that I will come find you, I will drag you away from your safe little haven with the Igarashi's and I will -"

Tora took the phone out of Akari's hand, snapped it shut, and ended the call.

Akari's wide eyes met his gaze, and for a moment, she could see behind his mask, see the emotions flit across his face. He looked angry, annoyed, the tiniest bit sympathetic, and... concerned. Concerned about her? And then, just like that, it was all gone and he was simply staring at her with those bright, golden eyes of his, portraying no emotions on his face.

He stated, very plainly; "You're trembling."

It was true that her hand, which was still raised in the air but was now grasping at nothing instead of her phone, was shaking like a leaf in the wind - as was the rest of her body. Of course, she already knew that... and she was about to snap at him, telling him that she knew already and that he didn't have to point it out like that, when he suddenly reached out, wrapped one arm around her, and pulled her closer to him, close enough to be pressed comfortably against his side.

She tried to move away, to turn around and face him, because she wanted to argue about what was going on... she wanted to know what was going on. But Tora wouldn't let her move from his side, and simply made her rest against him, firmly keeping his arm around her shaking form.

His jacket had fallen from around her body, and he leaned over her in order to grab it and pull it back over her again. The action caused Akari to get a whiff of the usual scents associated with him - the strong, musky scent of his skin and the overpowering spritz of his cologne, and that fresh laundry smell. She began to shiver all the more violently, overwhelmed by how cold she felt, her fear of Hayate, and how close in proximity Tora currently was to her. It was nearly too much to bear all at once, and again, she tried to pull away from him.

Tora looked down at her, and pulled her closer to him at the same time she tried to pull away. He spoke to her in reasonable tones; "You are still cold, Akari, it's obvious by your shivering." His words were laced - just barely, barely laced - with his concern. Hard as he tried to mask it, it came through anyway. "You need to keep your body temperature up by being close to me and staying warm." He paused when he noticed she was about to say something, and then cut her off harshly. "And you shouldn't waste anymore of your energy by talking. Be quiet for now, and try to simply calm down and rest."

Akari was going to point out to him that merely speaking doesn't take up a lot of energy. She was also going to say that she didn't need to worry about conserving her energy anyway, because she felt just fine. And, she was going to demand that he explain what had happened when he went to see her father. But she didn't end up saying any of that.

She didn't say anything at all, because she felt a light, warm touch against her cool skin that somehow caused her to refrain from speaking. One of Tora's hands had gone to her face, and he tucked his fingers underneath her chin, turning and lifting her head in his direction in a slow, leisurely sort of way - with enough force behind the movement to portray his control. And before her eyes could even meet his, he leaned forward and forcefully took her lips in a sudden kiss.

Akari's eyes remained open and widened a smidgen - she found herself staring at the way his blonde hair rested against his forehead, and the way his closed eyelids flickered when she made a noise of surprise. His other hand came up from behind and wound its way into her hair, cradling the back of her head and pulling her even closer to him. Outside, the rain pouring around the car turned into hail, bouncing off of the roof and every window, creating a dull and light sort of thudding noise.

The kiss lasted for a few sweet seconds, and in those seconds, the press of his lips and the warmth of his hands, along with the steady rhythm that the sound of the hail had created around them, began to gradually calm her nerves. Although as Tora kissed her, her heart never stopped racing.

When he broke away from her, she noticed him smirking pridefully at the blush that had covered her cheeks due to his actions, and she scowled and forced herself to pull away from that warm touch of his. She knew that kiss had only been to shut her up, to keep her calm, but... the truth was, she wasn't really bothered by it, because she had enjoyed it. So she didn't argue, when he kept his arm around her, and she actually did decide to snuggle in against him as they continued their ride back to the estate.

Trying to show that she couldn't be sedated so easily though, Akari made sure to stubbornly announce; "You are explaining everything to me as soon as we get home, you stupid tiger..."

---

He didn't end up explaining things to her as soon as they got home. Instead, he had several maids take care of her right away - he sent her with them to make sure she got a hot bath, so that she wouldn't catch a cold, and he told one of the maids to inform him when Akari was finished, so that he could speak with her then.

So, finally being told that Akari was free to see him now, after he had patiently been waiting for a little over an hour for her, he made his way to her bedroom and waltzed right inside, either forgetting to knock or not really finding it necessary to.

He had walked in just in time to see his prize pulling a warm long-sleeved t-shirt over her head. She wasn't facing him, but just that glimpse of her bare back that he caught sight of before the shirt covered her pale skin was enough for him to want to grab her and rip the shirt right off her body again... though he carefully withheld the urge.

"If you are still in the process of changing, then you really should lock your bedroom door." He told her, watching her jump and turn around at the sound of his voice filling up the quiet in the room.

Silvery eyes zeroed in on his tall figure. "You could have knocked. And besides, who else, other than you, is going to barge in here?"

Tora shrugged, a roguish grin upturning the corners of his mouth. He sauntered towards her then - in that way of his that always made it appear as if he were an animal stalking his prey - with those smooth, languid and evenly paced steps, and the slight sway of his body. He stopped just in front of her, staring down at her expectantly.

"Shall I begin my explanations now, or would you like to have sex first?" He asked, with a gleam flashing through the gold of his eyes.

She scoffed at his forwardness, but blushed all the same. "We are not having sex, Igarashi."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Ever again?" His tone was playfully smooth and delicious.

It was at this point that she shoved him, and turned to take a seat on the nearest couch. "Baka." When again she looked up at him, her gaze was full of determination - she wanted him to explain, everything, now. Seeing that stubborn look on her face, Tora turned to take a seat in the chair diagonally across from her, resigning himself to being a good boy for once, and deciding he would wait until another time to get his reward for good behavior from her.

"Before you begin interrogating me, I want to take a moment to apologize for causing you that trouble that you had earlier with your half-brother." His golden eyes showed both sincerity and seriousness in their depths at the same time, his mood immediately switching to business-mode; and the intensity of his gaze momentarily startled Akari. "He lashed out at you because what I did made him angry."

Suspicious and curious, Akari leaned forward in her seat. "And what exactly did you do, Tora? It sure sounded bad when he was on the phone with me - I mean, you heard it, didn't you? He sounded like he wanted to kill me... he wasn't just mad, or simply angry. He was livid. Furious. Completely enraged."

Leaning back in his seat, Tora began to wonder what her reaction would be to what he had done. He rested each elbow on an armrest, sitting in the chair more casually than he usually did, with his legs left comfortably uncrossed out in front of him. He became lost in his thoughts for a few minutes, lost in his memory of what he'd done at the Michiyo estate; the way he had used money as a means to gain her father's cooperation, and how he had, at some point near the end, threatened to blackmail the man, should he try to go back on his deal...

Akari stared at the Igarashi heir, who appeared charming and dangerous even while sitting in such a lazy fashion, and she sighed deeply. He was taking a while to answer her back, and she hoped he wasn't thinking up some lie to tell her, or anything like that.

"I deserve to know." She said firmly, and gold eyes flashed in her direction in order to carefully regard her. "If it's about my life, then I have every right to know about it. So tell me what happened when you paid my father a visit."

Unable to help it, the blonde smirked. "Well, a visit wasn't the only thing I paid him..."

It was a hint - no, a sliver of a hint, at most - but it took a total of five seconds for Akari to catch on. Her eyes widened, and she gaped at Tora. "You didn't."

His gaze never left hers, and he cocked his head to one side as he studied her, the smirk still smoothed across his face. "Didn't what?"

Placing a hand to her head, Akari scowled. "You paid my father money? For what? Was it some sort of bribe?"

Tora's eyes had a dark sort of sparkle in their depths. "I wouldn't just hand him money for no good reason, would I?"

Groaning, and expecting the worst, Akari asked him outright. "What was the bribe?"

"Hm." Leaning to one side, the Igarashi heir balanced his cheek on his palm. "I... persuaded him to call off the engagement between you and Fuirutsu." She stared at him unblinkingly, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "And, that's it."

Akari looked as if she was processing. She looked at him with an unreadable expression, and leaned back in her seat, huffing out a breath. She blinked, shook her head, and opened her mouth right before closing it again.

Tora raised his other eyebrow as well, not quite sure what he was expecting, though he imagined her at least reacting a little more than that.

"How much money did you end up giving him?" She finally asked, glancing down at the floor.

"Quite a large sum." He drawled, carefully watching her, though with the way her head was tilted, he couldn't see the look on her face. "I can't really remember the exact amount."

"My father is a greedy man..." Akari attested, letting out a deep breath. She seemed to be trying to steady herself.

Tora sat up straight again in his seat, about to say something, but then he was transfixed by a silvery-blue, icy cold glare. Akari was staring at him suddenly, harshly, and there was an obvious shine of frustration in her eyes. "What made you think you could bribe him so easily, then? And why did you even do it in the first place?"

Again, he was about to speak, but she cut him off angrily. "You didn't even consult me first! You just made this decision about my life on your own, and went straight to my family with it."

Standing up, Akari gazed down at Tora with a new-found, blistering fury in her gaze - her eyes gleaming like newly polished silverware. "That's exactly the same thing my family already did to me! They didn't tell me anything about my engagement to Orochi, even though I should have played a huge part in that decision. And now you've done the same exact thing!" She shook her head, collected each hand into a clenched fist. "I hate not being involved in these sort of important decisions that have to do with my own life! What the hell were you thinking, anyway?! That I'd be okay with you bribing my family like that, and that I'd be alright with you not telling me about it?"

He just continued to sit there, and clasped his hands together, not saying a word and simply staring at her with a steady gaze. This should have angered her more, but she wasn't really paying attention to his reactions. She just wanted to yell at him now.

"You shouldn't interfere with people's lives like that," Akari stepped closer to him, meeting his gaze and leveling it with her own. While hers was a glare showing anger and wild emotion, his was a calm, cool glance in her direction. "at least, not without asking the person that it has to do with first. I mean, I'm happy to not be engaged to that guy anymore, but I am not pleased at all about the way you went about canceling the engagement! I'd be a whole lot happier if you would have involved me in the decision! And why didn't you? I could have gone with you to talk to my father, I could have done something about it too, or maybe helped you persuade him so that he didn't rob you of all your money... God dammit, Tora, you are so infuriating!"

She missed seeing it, but Tora's lips quirked when she said that. Admittedly, he was amused by her ranting, but he wasn't going to say anything or mock her about it... for the time being. He just wanted to watch her have at it - because, like everything else about her, he enjoyed seeing her temper flare. She was just too much fun when she was being this feisty. The entertainment level in it was quite high, by his standards, and he has very high standards for that sort of thing.

"It's not even your life, it has nothing to do with you." She continued to stand there in front of him, making angry gestures and sometimes pointing an accusatory finger. "What's more, you just went over there and handed him a huge amount of money as if it was no big deal! And you're acting so proud of yourself for it!" Drawing nearer to him again after pacing for a few moments, she gave him a sharp glare. "You can't just throw money around like that, alright? You could be using it for far better things than helping me with my problems, you could have used all your extra cash for something like charity! And bribing people is wrong - you can't just use money to use people, Tora, it's -"

"And yet, I did." Tora replied calmly, speaking in truth. "And I've successfully done it many times before now as well."

Akari blinked at him as she paused, only to jump right back into her anger again. "It doesn't matter that you can do it, and that you do it all the time - that doesn't make it right, and you still shouldn't go around manipulating people like that! Even though my father isn't a very good person, he's still a person, not an object that you can just buy and use like that!"

She turned her back on him, trying to steady herself. She couldn't stand staring at him and yelling like a child while he just sat there so comfortably, so calmly. It made her feel silly, even though she knew that there was a lot of sensible meaning in her words.

"And what I hate most of all, is that... it's almost like, you bought me from my family." She shook her head again in all her frustration. "You bribed my father with money in order to get him to call off my engagement with another man... which I'm sure you did more for yourself than me, being the selfish person that you are." Her next words came in a quieter, but just as harsh, tone of voice. "I know you're always saying how much you want me, so it's like you practically bought me from my father... you paid him to get rid of my fiancé so that you can have me all to yourself."

She suddenly spun to face Tora, yelling, "Really, what is wrong with you?! I am not someone you can just buy with all your filthy money, Igarashi! You can't buy people!"

It was expected that she would get some sort of reaction out of him. Anything. Even a flinch of his shoulders, or a flash of emotion in his eyes. However, he remained sitting quietly like he had been this whole time, and just stared at her - those golden eyes of his enchanting, and unwavering, and full of practiced patience.

Panting and red in the face from all of her furious venting, Akari leaned against his chair for support, gathering all of her breath back and trying to calm down now. Occasionally, she muttered words in between each breath, the most recurring words being 'baka' and 'tiger'. Her episode of anger may be over, but she was still very upset.

Tora finally moved, and stood up during this brief intermission, walking around to the other side of the chair she was heavily leaned against in order to face her.

He bent down, resting an arm along the chair's rim, and lowered himself to be eye-level with her. "Akari."

She raised her eyes to him, glowering.

"I've always done business on my own terms and by myself, because I don't like people getting in my way." He told her, carefully explaining himself to her while she was calmed down enough to be willing to listen. "But the main reason for me not telling you was that I didn't want to drag you into trouble with me. However, your brother ended up blaming you for it more than me anyway, so that didn't quite work the way I had wanted it to."

Akari stood up straight again, and turned to the side so that she didn't have to look at him. "You still should have at least told me what you planned to do." She huffed. "You could have at least discussed it with me beforehand."

Tora also straightened up. "I could have. But you would have insisted to come with me, and as I just said, I like to take care of business matters on my own."

There was a pause where he stared at her quietly, and she made a thoughtful humming sound, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, I guess I understand... and it's not like it matters anymore. I mean, what's done is done." She glanced up at him with a leftover trace of anger still burning in her eyes. "I'm still going to be mad at you about it, though."

"Then allow me to try to atone for my sins." Tora, although his words could be taken as mockery, had donned a serious expression as he said this. It seemed he wasn't really finding amusement in her anger with him anymore - more like, he almost felt... guilty. At least slightly so. Well, the tiniest bit. "If I told you I was sorry, would you believe me?"

She gave him a sour look that said 'are you kidding me?' "No, I wouldn't."

He almost laughed, thinking about how she was smart to not believe any apology he would give her, since he truly wasn't worry about what he'd done. Maneuvering around the couch again and standing in front of her, Tora looked down at her with a lowered gaze - and his golden eyes seemed to be the tiniest bit softer than usual. "If you want me to make it up to you, then I will."

Akari looked up at him, amazed and startled at how sincere that had sounded. Right now, his tone was so serious, and his eyes were so honest... Who was this person? This side of Tora was a strange thing to see, though she felt as if she had seen it somewhere before.

"...You almost make me want to say it."

"Say what?"

"I love you."

Akari jolted at the sudden memory, recalling how, when he had said those words to her in the past... he had looked so completely serious. So dedicated to his own words. So, surprisingly open and honest.

"I'm telling you that I care for you, and see you as something more than I did when we first met."

He had looked so serious then too, and his words, they had been so full of conviction. And his eyes... they had portrayed that same sincerity in their depths.

"You belong to me."

"If you really don't believe me, then I mean what I said before about providing proof. I can show you all the answers you need, and prove that my feelings for you are real, and that you feel the same way."

In all these memories, the look on his face had been the same. Just, so honest, so reverent, so different from the way he normally was. Akari met his gaze and looked him over carefully, and, while staring into his eyes, she saw Tora. Or rather, she saw through him - if only just for now, in this small moment where he allowed her to. She saw that strange sincerity he was expressing, and how his words had meaning behind them, and his gaze held that seriousness in it for a reason. He truly wanted to make it up to her.

"...Alright, you can make it up to me."

Tora looked a little surprised about her accepting this much from him, but quickly covered that up with the usual smirk. "Then, what would you have me do?" He wanted to add 'to you' on the end of that sentence, but restrained himself.

Akari took a moment to ponder, thinking of all the ways he could make it up to her. Eventually, she settled on the easiest solution that sounded like the most fun to her. Gazing at him with a small smile on her lips, she told him, "You can accompany me to the Yumesaki Winter Festival this weekend."

His eyes widened considerably at this request, and then Tora had to hold back his own laughter.

Seriously?

That was it?

He was kind of expecting her to be a bit harsher with him, but -

"Oh, and just so you know, my friends will be there with us too." She added on, portraying her own devious smirk. "You remember them, right? Aika and Seiji... and Kai, too, I guess. Remember when you met them?"

Tora's mood immediately dropped, and he found that he couldn't contain his frown, so it showed through onto his features. The obnoxious pretty girl with foul language and the slightly-more-obnoxious, pony-tail blonde with the dual personalities? She was still friends with those people? He should have gotten rid of them when he had the chance.

Noticing the way she was looking at him, expectantly, with a maddening little grin on her face, Tora forcefully turning his frown into a smile and nodded his consent to Akari. "Yes, I remember... and I'm sure that being with them at the Festival will be fun... somehow."

Akari, seemingly happy that she had rattled him a bit, gave him a bright, cheeky smile. "Oh, I'm sure it will, Igarashi." But she may as well have just said 'I hope they make you suffer, Igarashi.'

As Tora sighed heavily and tried to think of how to prepare himself for the worst weekend of his life, Akari turned her thoughts to other things. She recalled the way Hayate had been threatening her over the phone, and a long, continuous shudder of fear ran through her body as she heard that angry, threatening voice of his replay inside her head. She wondered, what were they going to do about him? He was definitely going to try to see her soon, just so that he could beat her up over the whole issue about the engagement being broken off - maybe he actually would come to take her away from the Igarashi estate like he had threatened.

Tora looked carefully at his prize when she shivered. "You can't possibly still be cold, did you actually get sick?" He half-hoped she was sick, because then they didn't have to go to the Festival with her idiotic friends.

Akari put a hand up to and shook her head. "No, no... I'm just..." She tried not to look at him, trying to mask the worry and fear in her eyes, but there was no hiding it from his sharp gaze. His eyes narrowed.

"You're still worried about the things he said to you." He stated, referring to Hayate.

Biting her lip, she nodded. "I mean, did you really think this through? Completely? It's not too miraculous that you managed to sway my father, he'll do anything for money, but Hayate is..." She let out a deep breath, closing her eyes. "He sounded really angry..."

Instinctively, Tora reached forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest in an embrace. Before he met her, he would have never made any sort of affectionate gesture like this, but he knew he was capable of it and she looked like she needed it right now. Akari made a surprised sort of noise, her voice muffled by his shirt, and he spoke to her quietly, "Don't worry."

His voice was low and deep, and it made her feel protected when he held her this way. The words he said only served to further ease her fears. "I'll take care of it."

And that was all he said. He didn't give any other words of reassurance, he didn't say sweet-but-meaningless little things. And yet, just the few words that he said was assurance enough, and his actions were speaking louder than his words, as he held her close to him in a way that made her feel like everything would be okay, because he was there for her.

"So, I guess, because of you..." When he released her, she looked up at him with wide, silver eyes. "I'm no longer engaged to be married."

Tora smirked, looking all prideful once again. "Hn. I guess so." A rapacious type of light filled his gaze, and he pulled her close again, this time tugging her roughly to his taller form. He leaned down, and whispered huskily into her ear. "Though, you were always mine to begin with. You have always been mine," He pulled back enough to look at her fondly, and started trailing a finger along her cheek, over to her jaw, down along her neck, smirking all the while. "My prize..." He bent down, and replaced his finger with his lips, grazing the skin of her shoulder with his teeth. "And my personal belonging."

Even though she rolled her eyes at such a statement, and felt her temper flare at being referred to as a 'belonging' - Akari had gotten used to his possessiveness by now, so she found herself thinking it had become more of an endearing quality than one that annoyed her. Her thoughts were suddenly nagging at her again though, and this time they involved a certain dimpled young man, someone she also had to worry about. Trying to push away from Tora before he really started turning on the charm, the best she could manage was placing her hands on his chest and tilting her chin up in order to meet his gaze.

"What about Orochi?"

At the mention of his rival, the tiger made a low growling sound in the back of his throat. "'Scuse me?"

"We still have him to worry about - I mean, he'll be just as unpleasant as Hayate about the cancellation of our engagement."

"I'll have to speak with him." Tora said curtly, and then tried to dive back down to her neck.

She pulled back even more, leveling him with a glare. "If you're going to speak to him, then I want to accompany you when you do. It is about my engagement to him, so I should be involved in whatever conversations you have with him about it."

Tora sighed, tilting his head slightly to the left, which allowed his bangs to hover gently over one of his eyes. "Really, you're so troublesome."

Raising an eyebrow at him, she countered with, "And you're not?"

He flashed her a dazzling smile, perfectly white teeth flashing. "I didn't," His tone was full of cunning. "say that..."

Choosing to ignore that charming air of his, and those devious golden eyes, Akari stepped further away from him, folding her arms and beginning to think once more. So they still had to deal with Orochi... and Hayate too, because no doubt he was still furious, especially with her and especially after she had hung up on him... well, Tora had been the one to end the call, and he was actually the real reason Hayate should be upset, but still, there was no doubt in her mind that her half-brother wanted to direct all of his rage solely at her.

And then, there was one more person that they probably needed to talk to as well.

Akari sighed, glancing up at Tora, who looked annoyed with her for not allowing him to touch her like he wanted to. "And... what about Chiyo? She's still your fiancée... she's involved in all of this as well. I mean, Orochi only wanted to marry me because you're engaged to Chiyo... it's all quite a mess."

Tora ran a hand through his hair, carefully fixing the strands and pushing his bangs away. "It would be best not to upset her or her family... and my father might not agree with the decision either, but I'm going to call off the engagement." He paused, and then looked as if he was going to say more, but was cut off by the sound of someone knocking on the bedroom door.

They both turned towards the door as a voice called out, "Michiyo-san?"

Walking across the room, Akari opened the door and looked curiously at the maid standing in the hallway. The servant looked to be on edge, as if something had recently spooked her. "Yes?"

"Ahh... there are some visitors here to see you and Tora-san... Is he in here with you?"

Akari's eyes widened at the mention of 'visitors', and Tora had swiftly crossed the room and edged his way to the door, standing directly behind her, peering over her shoulder at the maid. He raised an eyebrow. "Need something?"

The maid bowed respectfully to the Igarashi heir. "There are two men here to see you and Miss Michiyo, sir." When she came up from her bow, she nervously glanced up at him. "They... they were very insistent, but myself and two of the other maids managed to get them to wait in the entry hall for the both of you."

Tora didn't look surprised to hear this - in fact, there was no emotion on his face whatsoever as he just stared down at the maid, absorbing her words. Meanwhile, Akari seemed to be having a hard time maintaining a cool composure. She bit her lip worriedly, and brushed her bangs away from her face, before continuing to play with her hair, fiddling the auburn locks with her fingers.

"Did they give you their names?" She asked, icy blue eyes seeming hopeful, yet doubtful at the same time. She already knew who it had to be, but still, she wished the servant girl would tell her otherwise.

"One of them referred to himself as Orochi Fuirutsu, and the other man claims to be related to you, Miss."

Akari hung her head at those words, clearly not happy about hearing that. With a sigh, she collected herself and looked behind herself and up at Tora, who was watching her carefully with that heated, liquid gold stare of his.

"Well then," She muttered. "I suppose it's better to get this over with sooner rather than later."

"You say that, yet you certainly don't look ready to get it over with." The hint of what appeared to be a teasing little grin crossed over his face, and he leaned down so that he could whisper in her ear softly, his words like a caress; "If you would prefer it, I could go handle things on my own and you could wait for me here, in bed..."

The suggestiveness of that sentence was enough to create a light blush on her face, and though those words had been meant to distract her, it only helped a little. Scowling, since they still had an audience, Akari nudged him away from her and stepped out the door as the maid moved out of the way for her. Tora continued to stand where he was, leaning against the door frame and smirking at her in a tempting sort of way, his eyelids lowered almost hazily.

The scowl remained on Akari's face. Even in this sort of situation, he was thinking about sex! He should be focusing on more important things. "Come on, you perverted romeo." She grabbed him by the tie, surprising him, and his eyes widened as she pulled him out into the hallway and dragged him with her through the estate.

---

The moment that Akari and Tora walked into the entry way, they were greeted by two very angry men. Orochi, for once, was not maintaining his boyishly charming composure - instead, he was glaring at the Igarashi heir, gritting his teeth in all his displeasure. And it was all too obvious that Hayate was furious as well, with his enraged expression and his clenched fists. His eyes zeroed in immediately on Akari, but she somehow managed to remain calm since Tora was standing beside her.

"You!" Hayate was the first to speak up, articulating his words as if they were poison being spat from his lips. "How dare you hang up on me, you little brat!"

Because of the threats underlying the man's tones, Tora took a step in front of prize. He met Hayate's gaze with a certain fire in his eyes. "I'd like to ask you to refrain from shouting. Not only are you making a fool of yourself, but you are not showing the proper respect to me in my own home."

Water-colored eyes narrowed down to slits, and Hayate scoffed. "Why should I show some respect to you in your home, when you showed no respect to me when you visited mine?"

"When have I ever shown you even an ounce of disrespect?" Tora acted oblivious, but there was no hiding the little smirk at play on his lips.

Clenching his fists even more tightly at his sides, Hayate practically howled, "WHY YOU LITTLE -"

Akari took a step around Tora, glancing harshly at both men. "Alright already, that's enough. There's no need to start some sort of brawl, I think a pair of grown men should be able to discuss things in a dignified manner."

"I agree with Akari."

All eyes went to Orochi, who was smoothing back his hair in a motion that was equal parts calm, and casual. His eyes still contained a furious glare, but he seemed to be trying to keep himself in order. He looked from Akari to Tora and then back again, and Akari was taken aback to see that his deep, brown eyes were hard, cold, and as open and truthful as she'd ever seen them. He was always acting as if he were innocent and tame, but on the inside he truly was twisted, and it startled her to see it all coming through at once as he fixated her with his stare.

And then, he looked away from her, and glared at Tora. "Should we take this to the privacy of another room?"

There was a pause as the two stared at each other, the golden depths of the tiger's sharp eyes bravely meeting the ferocity of the dragon's gaze. Turning, Tora kept close to Akari and told everyone to follow him.

They ended up in a cozy little room, with a built-in fireplace, elegant paintings framed on the walls, one couch, and a few recliners. Stiffly, Akari sat down in one of the recliners, crossing her legs and waiting for the three men to take a seat as well. They all remained standing.

Hayate, who was seething, his muscles tense and his jaw locked tight, took a few deep breaths before speaking. "I really only came here to have a talk with my sister." His eyes slid over to where Akari was placed in her chair. "We have some... personal matters to discuss, so perhaps she and I could speak in a separate room -"

Tora supported himself against a wall, folding his arms, hitching his hips to the side and tilting his chin up as he stared at the older man. "Do you take me for a fool, Hayate-kun?" He quipped in a cool tone.

Hayate's eyes widened, he huffed and tried to protest. "I don't know what you mean -"

"Oh, but you do." In a lazy but elegant fashion, the Igarashi heir crossed one leg over the other and leaned his head back against the wall behind him. "I suggest you get any thoughts of violence out of your head, since I do not intend to let you lay so much as a finger on her."

Hayate glanced over at his half-sister, and she looked uneasy, but stared right back at him, as if issuing a challenge. There was a brief pause where she continued to hold his gaze, and this seemed to make him angry all over again. Growling, and paying no heed to what Tora had just said, he took several steps towards her, making her eyes widen, and then she stood up, backing away carefully as he continued to advance.

Tora's voice cut through the air with enough harshness to stop the aggressive man in his tracks. "Were you ignoring what I just told you? Or is your skull so thick that my words can't perpetrate?" He glared at Hayate, who glared menacingly right back.

"Relax, Igarashi." Orochi spoke up, from where he stood in the middle of the room. "Just allow them to handle their own matters, so that you and I can get down to business."

Akari decided to step in at this point, seeing as they were getting no where. "No."

All three men stared at her, Hayate snarling, Orochi with his deep stare, and Tora with a look of interest on his face. Clearing her throat, she leaned back against the window sill she had retreated to, and stared at each man in turn. "We're all here for the same reason, aren't we? It's about the engagement being called off. If we're all here to discuss the same thing, then let's actually get on the topic. I'll start us off."

Her eyes settled on her half-brother, and she tried to ignore the murderous glint in his eyes. "Hayate, you're mad at me for no valid reason. I'm not the one who told Tora to talk to our father - in fact, he did that completely of his own volition. I had nothing to do with it, and I was probably the last to find out about the engagement being called off." She sent Tora a glare for a moment, since she was still mad at him about that, and he met her eyes with a maddening smirk on his face.

"Wait," She switched her gaze over to Orochi, who seemed skeptical as he eyed her. "You had nothing to do with it? Nothing at all? He didn't try to convince you to do it, or -"

"Tora neglected to inform me of his intentions to speak with my father." She affirmed, and then looked back at her half-brother. "And furthermore, it was also him who hung up my phone when you had called me earlier."

"So," One of Tora's sharp canines showed as he grinned. "It seems like I'm the man of the hour. Who wants to have a go at me first?" His gaze matched Akari's, and his grin turned into a heated glance. "Akari already took her turn earlier..."

Hayate sneered in his half-sister's direction. "Tch. Little slut."

Scowling, she whirled to face him with a reddened face. "Nothing happened that was inappropriate! I simply got angry with him for excluding me from such an important decision about my own life! I had every right to be mad about it, after all."

Orochi sounded very tart when he spoke next. "I don't see how it matters, if he included you in making that decision or not. You still would have wanted the engagement to be broken off either way."

She went quiet, as he had just made a good point.

Orochi then spun around to face Tora, and there was something very vicious about the movement. "Tora." His voice was gruff. "I can't say I expected this sort of foul play from you."

The blonde young man didn't make any sort of movement as he remained leaning comfortably against the wall, but he did acknowledge his rival with a glance. "Then I can't say you know me all that well, Orochi."

Dark brown eyes darkened even further, until they were nearly the color of midnight, and it was as if a shadow had covered Orochi's face. "It isn't fair. It just isn't right. You can't call off someone else's wedding engagement, you can't have that sort of power!"

Tora did nothing more than arch an eyebrow. "Can't I?"

Hayate stepped in at this point, also focusing his attentions now on the Igarashi boy instead of his half-sister. "No you can't!" He crossed his arms in agitation, letting his muscles bulge. "I don't even understand it - Orochi has money, loads of it. He could simply pay my father, more than what you paid him, to call the engagement back on, and we would have fixed the problem... and yet, when I suggested this to my father, he declined the idea! He never declines a money offer! What else did you do in order to change my father's mind so thoroughly?!"

Tora began to laugh, startling everyone in the room. He bowed his head and continued to chuckle for quite some time, thoroughly enjoying the confusion that Hayate was voicing aloud. Finally, he ended his chuckling with a low purr of satisfaction, and pushed away from the wall, grinning mischievously at the older man. "You really know nothing about me, huh? Money isn't the only thing I have at my fingertips." His next words were said in a darker tone. "Secrets are just as valuable."

Akari was surprised to see her strong-as-an-ox, tough-as-nails half-brother visibly pale as he heard those words. Tora's statement had seemed vague to her, but she could guess that, given her family's bad history, Tora had planned to take all the nasty stories and dirty secrets about the Michiyo family to the public, if her father hadn't accepted the money offer. So that must be what he was talking about.

"Bribery and blackmail?" She suddenly spoke up, and she almost wanted to be impressed. Meeting Tora's gaze for a split-second, and seeing that taunting glimmer in his eyes, she shook her head at how impossible he was. "Wow, you really are something else, Igarashi..." She muttered under her breath. And there was no way he could have heard her say that from where he was standing at the opposite side of the room, and yet, his smirk seemed to widen after she had said that.

"Hayate is right though," Orochi suddenly spoke up, in a firm, angry tone of voice. "I could still offer Mr. Michiyo even more money. Also, you wouldn't actually leak their families secrets to the public as you claim, because there would be repercussions for Akari as well. And we both know that you don't want to put her in a bad position."

"And you wouldn't actually offer Mr. Michiyo a larger sum of money than I did." Tora countered easily, his own tone just as firm, if not, a little firmer. "You don't care enough to do that. It would be a waste of money, in your opinion, wouldn't it?"

Everyone looked at Orochi now, trying to see what his reaction was, to judge whether or not there was truth in Tora's words. The dimpled young man blinked, and then blinked again, before he lowered his head so that his expression couldn't be seen. "That's... well -"

"You don't care about Akari at all, let alone, enough to use your own company's money to get her back." The blonde sounded so sure of his words, and he took two smooth steps forward as he stared the other man down. "You also don't care about your revenge enough to pay as much money as I offered." Tora turned his attention over to Hayate now, who had been listening with angry eyes and a tightly clenched jaw. "So I think it would really be best if the two of you dropped the issue altogether. There's nothing to be done about it. Akari isn't going to marry into the Fuirutsu family."

"No!" Orochi suddenly exploded, taking swift steps across the room before grabbing Tora by the collar of his shirt and physically trying to shake him, though Tora managed to put a hand between the two of them and so he only ended up jolting at the contact. "That's enough, Igarashi, I've had it with you! If I have to be forced to call off my engagement with Akari, then you should have to do the same with your own fiancée! You don't deserve Chiyo - you don't deserve either of them - but you especially don't deserve Chiyo!"

"Then I'll let you take her off my hands." Tora told him, in all seriousness.

And Orochi looked back at him with widened eyes. He took a step back, releasing the grip he had on Tora's collar, and his features contorted into a look of confusion. "Don't say something like that so lightly. You don't mean that."

"She has never interested me in any way. I don't care for her, so if you want her so badly," Tora leaned in closer, putting emphasis on his next words. "then take her." He smirked. "I'm giving you my blessing."

For a moment, Orochi seemed speechless. But then he spun around, and was pointing a finger at Akari. "It's her I want though, Igarashi. I want to take her from you, not Chiyo. If I succeed in doing that..." His gaze darkened, and his lips turned upwards in a malevolent smile. "Then you'll know the pain I've felt ever since the moment it was announced that you were engaged to Chiyo."

Akari had heard enough. She was done just sitting there and watching this play out, and someone needed to set things straight. Standing up, she stalked over to where the two rivals stood, ignoring the way her half-brother glared at her as she passed him by. She stopped abruptly and stood in the spot directly in front of Orochi, meeting his gaze and taking in every emotion she could see in his eyes. He looked wild, frantic, as if all of his plans were falling apart... which they were. And when Akari felt ready to, she lifted her hand, seeing the way his eyes widened in surprise - and she slapped him across the face so hard that the sound of it was almost deafening in the small room.

"You," She said clearly, her voice low but vehement. "Are a colossal idiot!"

Both boys, Igarashi and Fuirutsu, tiger and dragon, had their eyes on her - golden eyes blinked in shock, and brown eyes widened in equal shock. Neither had expected her to do that or say that, after all she had been so quiet just a few seconds ago.

Since they both remained speechless, Akari began her rant. "I cannot believe I'm going to repeat the words that Aika said to me, but what she said was true. If you love Chiyo, then you should be chasing after her, not this revenge plan you've become obsessed with! Love is more important than revenge."

Orochi just continued to stare at her, his boyish face drained of all color, except for the red blush of a hand print left to sting on his cheek. He opened his mouth the slightest bit, just enough to try to argue. "But I -"

Surprising him yet again, she reached out and grabbed a hold of both his shoulders, looking up at him and staring deeply into his eyes. "Orochi... tell me, do you really love Chiyo?" He barely managed a nod. "Then why the hell are you trying to marry me?! For God's sake man, Tora just offered you exactly what you wanted - and you're not going to take your chance? Forget about revenge! Your feelings for the woman you're in love with are far more meaningful than anything else."

She pulled him down closer to her, speaking with absolute certainty in her voice. "You could extract your revenge on Tora and make him as miserable as possible, but that will never be anywhere near as satisfying and fulfilling as being able to be with the person you love, to kiss her and hold her and call her your own." Her eyes narrowed, and she gave him a burning, stinging, icy glare that looked like it could do more damage than the slap had. "If you just forgot about your stupid jealousy, your petty pride, and your ridiculous idea of revenge, then your life would be so much better. And for once, you'd actually be happy."

Akari released her grip on his shoulders then, but did not move to step away. Instead, she smartly folded one arm over the other, and eyed him with the expectation clear on her face that he would listen to her, he would take her words to heart, and he would change his mind about things. The gaze she was giving him said that she was confident he would see her way, or no other way at all. It was about time for this drama between him and Tora to be put to a stop.

While Akari glared at Orochi, and he remained deathly quiet as he thought over what she had just said to him, Tora stared at Akari with a look of mixed adoration, amazement, and keenness in his eyes.

Admittedly, he was a little turned on by the display she had just shown - even though he wished she was directing her attention on him instead of that damn Fuirutsu, he was able to look past his slight jealously and simply admire her. Her dark cinnamon locks fell, as always, in haphazard waves down her shoulders, and her long bangs brushed messily over her bright, shining eyes. And oh, her eyes - they had that look in them, that ferocity, that flare of heat and emotion that was so fascinating.

In this moment, she looked fiery and strong and beautiful. And had they been alone in the room, he would have immediately acted on the sudden urge he had to kiss her - hard. A submissive Akari was always nice, but whenever she showed this stronger side of herself, it seemed to be all the more enticing to him...

Just then, Orochi let out a long breath, a deep sigh of sorts, and he shook his head as if to clear it. "You're... you make some valid points, Akari. I'm surprised."

"Oh come on, you're not actually buying into this shit, are you?!"

All heads turned to where Hayate had been left standing, his presence momentarily forgotten in the midst of all the arguing between Orochi and Tora, and Akari's meaningful rant. The man looked pissed off, to say the least. Smoke was practically coming out of his ears as he turned his gaze on Akari.

"You're a sneaky little bitch, aren't you?" He hissed. "Thinking you can just bat your eyes and say a few words, act out a little skit, and everyone will fall to your feet and instantly believe you! Well, let me tell you, ya brat, that everything you just said means absolutely nothing! It's just a load of crap!"

"Hayate -" Orochi began, his voice stern, but he was quickly interrupted.

By a very angry Akari. Turning to face her half-brother, she didn't feel afraid like she had earlier. Just staring at his face, and at his large, muscular stature, his aggressive stance, and those pale, squinty eyes - it made her feel so much resentment, all at once. He didn't control her, at least he couldn't anymore, and with that thought came a sudden surge of power. She sent him a look she had never dared to give him before, one of hatred and utter fury, of icy cold poison and fierce intensity.

"Onii-san."

The man flinched. He actually flinched - and all Akari had done was call out to him. Though, she had used a quiet, deadly sort of voice, and she never once, in the entirety of the time they had known each other, had ever called him 'onii-san', so of course it must have startled him. And that was what she was aiming for.

"I think it's time you left now." She continued to stare at him with that intense gaze, never breaking eye contact. "I have nothing to discuss with you, and to put it bluntly, no one wants you around for any longer than you have to be."

From where he stood across the room, Hayate frowned deeply and then growled, "You can't tell me what to do! I've never taken any orders from you, and I sure as hell am not gonna start now!" He turned to face Orochi. "We had a deal! If you go back on that now, then I'll -"

"You'll what?" Orochi asked calmly. "The Fuirutsu company is far larger than your family's business. Are you proposing that you are going to attempt to sue me?"

There was a heavy pause. Hayate looked from his potential business partner, to his half-sister, and then back again. "You can't possibly be going back on our deal, simply because of what that little brat said! Who cares about some woman anyway?"

"Chiyo Sakurai." Orochi spoke harshly. "Is not just 'some woman'." His eyes narrowed, and he folded his arms in a smooth, careful gesture. "It's not as if I'm all that keen about going back on this plan we've been working on for so long, but I am starting to consider it. Your sister has made some valid points. Being married to her won't change the fact that my enemy is married to the woman that I really love. Even if I've stolen the woman Igarashi loves from him, he'll still have the woman I love, so I suppose I'll be just as unhappy as he is."

"How is watching the man you hate be miserable not enjoyable?!" Hayate started to yell, fist clenched once again. "How can you be throwing away this opportunity -"

"I am not throwing it away just yet."

Orochi stepped closer to Akari, slipped one arm around her unexpectedly, and turned them both around in order to face Tora. The blonde glared daggers at the arm that was placed around his prize, and felt jealousy spring up inside his chest. He met his rivals gaze with a look that clearly showed his annoyance. This was a lot like the way he felt when he had been infatuated with Ayuzawa, but the Walker kid was always with her, getting in his way - except it was about a thousand times worse, because he wasn't simply infatuated with Akari. There was much more to it than that.

"Igarashi," Tightening his hold on Akari when she scowled and tried to pull away, Orochi glared at the tiger with a dark, murky sort of sheen to his brown eyes. "I am not going to give up on my efforts to marry Akari, and I will use all the power I have in order to take her from you... unless you immediately call off your engagement to Chiyo. No funny business and no delays. I want to watch you do it."

There was an incredibly tense moment, where Tora and Orochi stared at each other, Akari watched on in curiosity, and Hayate looked angrily frustrated and worried about what was going to happen next. And then, the Igarashi heir sighed - he shook his head, pulled his phone from his pocket, and flipped it open - although he didn't dial any numbers just yet.

"And what would you have me say, hm?" Came the sound of his voice, in a deeply sarcastic tone. "'Mr. Sakurai, I would like to hand your daughter off to another man, if you don't mind, as the idea of marrying her doesn't sit quite well with me.'"

Orochi flashed his usual dimpled, devilish smile. "Well, calling off the engagement between the two of you certainly won't make her father, or your own, very happy." His hold on Akari tightened even more, and she frowned up at him. "But then again, I don't really care if you end up getting into trouble. All I want is for you to break off the engagement. I want Chiyo to finally be free of you."

The look on Tora's face as he watched the way Akari squirmed to get away from Orochi, suggested that he was not happy at all about the current way things were going. He closed his phone, slipping both hands back into the pockets of his pants, and clicked his tongue in distaste.

"It's not exactly going to be easy, considering how fond she is of me." He said lowly. If he was trying to push the other man's buttons, it worked.

"She is not all that fond of you!" Orochi snapped, glaring at his rival. "She and I have discussed it before, and she said that her feelings for you... aren't as strong as they used to be."

Tora raised both eyebrows in a look of slight surprise. "This is news to me. You two are still close, after all these years?"

"We... get together every so often... just for tea or lunch." Orochi murmured, and it was strange, because Akari had never seen him blush before - but she could swear he was doing it right now. "I mean, we're friends, after all." He shook his head, refocusing a glare on Tora. "Anyway, the point is, she told me that she doesn't even love you - not completely, and not the way that a girl should love her future husband."

"But why wouldn't she," Tora grinned in that cunning, teasing little way of his. Pulling one hand out of his pocket, he gestured to himself. "when there is so much to appreciate?"

Scowling, Orochi's grip loosened enough on Akari for her to shimmy free of his arm and step away. He just ignored her now though, as he continued speaking to his rival in very harsh, unforgiving tones. "Huh, well, obviously, there just isn't anything to love. She - she's just a little infatuated with you, but that's all. She thinks you're some sort of prince charming, and yet at the same time, she knows better than that."

"I know she has always understood that we aren't compatible." Tora said, running a hand through his hair and looking up in thought. "Although that has never changed her mind about wanting to marry me. She's always been eager about it, looked forward to it." He locked eyes with Orochi again, his eyes showing clearly that he was trying to get an important point across. "And if I don't go about this carefully, not only will I be in trouble, but, if we are to take her feelings into consideration as well, then she will obviously be very upset. Do you want to see her heartbroken? If so, I can call her right now and tell her that I do not plan on following through with our marriage."

He then began to reach for the phone in his pocket again, and pulled it out carefully, as if waiting to be stopped. Beside Akari, Orochi grit his teeth and took a step towards his rival. "Stop."

"You don't mean that," Tora spoke softly. "Because this is what you really want," He began punching in a few numbers on his phone, taking his time as he continued to talk. "you want for me to look like the bad guy, so that you can comfort her and be her new prince charming." Lifting the phone to his ear, he locked eyes with Orochi. "Isn't that right?"

The Fuirutsu heir's mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't find the words to deny what his rival had so cleverly pointed out.

The phone continued to ring in Tora's hand, and a cruel smile had worked its way onto his face - he knew he was right, he knew what he had just pointed out was the truth. His eyes flickered over to Akari, just for a moment, taking in her shocked and curious expression, and as always she met the golden depth of his gaze and evened it out with her own silver stare.

Tora's eyes flickered away from her, and he spoke to his rival in smooth, rich tones. "Good news for you, Fuirutsu. I'm used to being the bad guy, and I thoroughly enjoy playing the role of the villain." His eyes narrowed. "I actually find... that it suits me perfectly." He smiled, the sharp edges of one of his canines barely showing past the upturn of his lips.

There was a pause as he listened when Chiyo answered on the other end of the line. Everyone in the room stilled, eyes wide and glued to the Igarashi heir. They all seemed to be waiting with bated breath, each person thinking something different - Orochi was on edge because he was unsure if Tora would actually go through with it, but he was already carefully planning his first real date with Chiyo in his head. Hayate wasn't quite sure why any of this was important, and he was still angry, but the way Tora had been speaking so ardently had caused him to keep quiet and simply listen to what was going on.

And Akari was concerned about what consequences there would be for Tora if he went about breaking off his engagement the wrong way, and yet, she didn't try to stop him, because this was really what she wanted - for Tora and Chiyo to not be together.

"Chiyo," Tora finally spoke up, skipping all pleasantries and not even bothering to return the woman's quietly voiced 'hello'. The next words he said were even, smooth, dark, and rich - spoken in a tone that was so very Igarashi. "I'm breaking off our engagement."

---

A/N: Pleh -_- Writing and editing this over 16,000 word chapter all on my own, was a bitch. I should seriously acquire a beta reader...

Sooo, as a writer, you have your easy chapters and your difficult chapters. This chapter was relatively simple in the beginning, and then as it progressed it became a very difficult chapter to write! And it's so long, too... But, it had to be written, so I pulled through in the end! ^.^ Just for you guys. Yes, you are special. Here, have a sticker *stick*

Keep the reviews coming, my greedy side just loves all the attention! *appreciative wink* ;)

Until next time, commoners!

CK:*

[Oh lookee here, a P.S. You should read it, maybe.]

An inside look behind the character of Akari Michiyo~

The reason I made her be the way that she is - carefully balancing between submissiveness and dominance - is because I was trying to create something different, a character that was unique. I didn't want her to be strong and confident all of the time - I really wasn't going for that - because in the other ToraxOC fics that I have read it is very common that the OC is tough, independent, and strongly dislikes Tora, taking forever to warm up to him. So I wanted to change it up a bit, and I did so with Akari's character. And these are the reasonswhy she is the way that she is ^_^ (Oh and by the way, there is no disrespect intended for any of the other ToraxOC fics out there, I actually really do enjoy a well-developed, sassy, independent female character:)

The main thing to understand about Akari is that, she truly, deep down, is a strong individual, but that part of her can become suppressed by her insecurities and fears.

I, personally, as the author of this story and the creator of my OC's, think that this constant inner battle that she has with her strengths and her weaknesses is something about her that makes her more real, and adds a certain type of depth to her character. That said, it can also border on being annoying, I mean, she's a bit of an emotional roller coaster I suppose. But, at least her emotions are raw and come straight from the heart.

We only have a few chapters left, *gasp!* until THE END! And I'm really excited about expressing more of that hidden liveliness that her character has in the rest of the chapters. The more free she begins to feel, the more she'll get in touch with that fiery side of hers, and boy do I have fun writing that! XD