A/N: I step away from my laptop for admittedly longer than usual, (okay so it's been like a whole month._.) and when I come back the reviews say that everybody's MELTING?! Into piles of GOOP?! (What a peculiar way to threaten me into updating...) I don't know how that's even physically possible but if my readers claim that they are melting due to my lack of updating than I definitely gotta do something about it asap! Uhhhhh it's okay guys, it's fine it's okay I'll save you we just have to- *grabs several buckets* okay okay so- we just gotta- um-... maybe I should just go get a mop... or is it possible to reverse the melting process by updating my story?
In other news, (hehe I sound so professional when I say that) I have the last two chapters planned out already, (SQUEE~! ...okay that definitely wasn't very professional of me) and I realize... I'm only going to have 39 chapters total. It almost bothers me that it's an odd number and on top of that sooo very close to 40, buuut... I can't come up with another chapter to add in. The story only needs two more after this one, and if I did add in a spare chapter just to make the story have an even amount of them, the chapter would be totally useless filler stuff that didn't need to be there at all and might not even make sense. I don't even know what I'd write.
So I'm hoping that any readers out there who can't stand the fact that this story has an odd number of chapters, can rein in their OCD and just let it slide...?
Just please don't melt anymore! It's very awkward to have to mop up your reviewers... also, it creates quite the mess, you know? Not to mention it kinda gives me a bad image as an author... if word gets out that my readers are all melting into puddles, they might kick me off this site...
Chapter Thirty-Seven. Tying Up Loose Ends
The phone call had been relatively short. The conversation on the phone, suspiciously brief, and everyone thought it extremely peculiar that Tora was sort of... smiling by the time the call was dropped and the deed done. He had this grin on his face, as if he had been pleasantly surprised about something.
Akari was the first to ask anything. "Did you really just do that?" She had her doubts at first, but seeing Tora smile like that... maybe it had actually gone well? He had to have some sort of reason behind that grin. Otherwise it would just be weird. And Tora didn't do weird - frustrating, manipulative, perverted and confusing, yes, but never straight out weird - because he never did things without reason.
"Yes. You were standing right there watching me, after all. You saw and heard everything." His eyes landed on her in an almost lazy fashion, he appeared so calm, relaxed... maybe it really had gone well.
Then again, he could just be acting.
Orochi quickly followed up Akari's question with two of his own, "What did she say, Igarashi, how did she sound?"
"While I'm sure only being able to hear my side of the conversation was hard for you, I suggest you go to find that answer out for yourself." Tora was addressing his rival, though he wasn't really looking at any one person in general. His gaze seemed to wander into space for the time being as he continued to speak, his smile far from him now, already faded. "And you can take Hayate-kun with you. His presence in my home is annoying."
"EH?" For the first time in a long while, Hayate spoke up, his tone as threatening as ever. "I'm not leaving until -"
He continued to blabber and grunt and point angrily at Akari every so often, but Tora was hearing none of it. He was too busy dialing in another number on his phone, and once he had the device pressed up against his ear again, he made sure to speak much louder than was necessary as to be clearly heard; "Hello, this is Tora Igarashi. There is a bothersome man who refuses to leave my home and I would like to have him expelled from the property as soon as possible." He caught Hayate's eye as the man dared to sneer at him, and his own par of golden eyes flashed in a ruthless, taunting sort of way. "No, politely asking him to leave doesn't seem to be working - what reason would I have for calling if it had?"
"Hayate." Orochi looked ready to leave, already at the door. It seemed he was taking note of Tora's suggestion, and was going to see Chiyo himself right away. He turned back for a moment and addressed the Michiyo man with a certain edge in his tone. "My business is done here, and I suggest you leave as well before the authorities get here."
For the first time in her entire life, Akari saw that her brother was actually placed in a helpless situation, where he could do nothing. He glared at her when he caught her staring, and in that one look he sent her as he was begrudgingly walking past her and towards the door, she swore she could see murderous intent in his gaze.
He stopped beside her for a split-second, grabbing her arm with enough force to bruise and hissing in her ear- "This isn't over, brat." The tone he used was so lethal that it would be foolish for anyone to not at least be a little scared.
However scared she was though, before her brother could make it to the door she grabbed his arm and made sure to catch his eye as she jutted out her chin defiantly. "The engagement is canceled, so you've lost your potential business partner. And Tora knows all your secrets and could easily expose them to the public should he feel the need to." As she said that, Hayate uneasily shot a glance in Tora's direction, who was still on the phone, but regarded him with a smirk. "So actually, yes, Hayate," Akari's voice was light and airy, almost as if she hadn't a care in the world. "It's over."
Hayate opened his mouth to argue, and then audibly snapped it shut, teeth gnashing. She could see it in his eyes, a white-hot rage... just how much did he hate her? She wasn't sure, but she was certain he had never loved her. It was almost... sad. They may have different mothers, but they were still related. Yet they both hated each other.
What if they had grown up happy together? What if he had been a better older brother to her, what if they had actually acted like real siblings? Then, this would all be so different now, her life would be completely altered, she might not have even moved in with the Igarashis in the first place.
So... what if... she could go back and change it all? What if she could go back to her younger years and live a different life, one where her father wasn't so unstable and her brother wasn't abusive? If she could, would she take a happy childhood instead of the painful one she grew up with?
"Shut up." As Hayate shook himself free of her grip and marched angrily towards the door, Akari's eyes landed on where Tora was standing. Tora Igarashi- that idiotic and perverse tiger, with his golden hair and eyes, that infuriating smirk often visible on his handsome face, the self-superior, prideful air about him. Would she trade him in for a healthier childhood with a better-functioning family?
The answer to that question shocked her so much that she found herself leaning against a nearby chair for support. He didn't actually mean that much to her... did he? She - cared for him - even loved him enough that she wouldn't go back and change the past, no matter how awful things had been for her? Really... Really.
She wasn't fully aware until now what the depth of her emotions were for him, but apparently...
Tora quickly reassured the man on the other line of his phone that he didn't need assistance after all, and hung up as he watched Hayate stomp out the door. His eyes then met with Orochi's, and some sort of silent understanding seemed to pass between the two of them. Tora turned away from his rival as the man walked out the door, following after a fuming Hayate.
"Akari." He called out her name casually, and when his eyes landed on his prize he raised an eyebrow at the state she was in. She was leaning against a chair across the room, a petulant frown on her face as she seemed to be lost deep in thought. What could be troubling her now, when everything was turning out in her favor? Honestly, he just didn't understand this woman...
He was by her side in a few steps, not that she seemed to really notice, she was so busy being stuck in her mind. With a sly smirk on his face, the Igarashi heir leaned down, close enough to her face to have his breath mingling with her own in the air, and used his fingers to lift her chin. She blinked repeatedly when their gazes locked and she realized how close he'd gotten to her.
Tora's voice was as smooth and fine as silk as he said, "Shouldn't you be showing me some form of gratitude? Not only did I get Orochi to leave you alone now, I also managed to get rid of your brother as well. The way I see it, I just made all your problems go away."
The girl said nothing, her eyes wide as she sucked in a breath because of their extremely close proximity. Her eyes were hard to read, but something seemed strange about her in this moment. It made him wonder, just what had she been thinking about a few seconds ago? She looked... perplexed, disoriented. Off balance.
Akari had started to lean back, trying to regain the personal space Tora had breached. She wobbled slightly, forgetting about the chair beside her and backing into it with a misplaced step. Not knowing if she would really fall over onto the floor or into the chair, Tora reached out and steadied her with a firm hand placed just around the curve of her waist. She seemed to jolt at the contact he made with her, and her eyes shot up to meet his with an intensity that he couldn't quite place.
Before he could even open his mouth to draw any sort of information out of her about why she was acting so strangely, Akari seemed to snap back to normal and she surprised him by smacking him - non too gently - in the chest. The action caused instant amusement to cover his features, and he stepped back and gave her some space, judging by the look in her eyes that she was about to start ranting at him for some unknown reason.
"You -" Her voice came out louder than she had meant for it to, and she tried to correct it by clearing her throat. "what you just did, how you went about breaking off your engagement to Chiyo... you just set yourself up for a lot of trouble, Igarashi."
"Strange, you act as if I am not already aware of that." He drawled, for the most part ignoring her eyes on him as he began to uselessly fiddle with smoothing a specific lock of his bangs between his thumb and forefinger. It was obvious what he was doing- trying to frustrate her, just so he could watch her lose her temper. It was always fun when that happened, he enjoyed seeing her cheeks flush with heat and her eyes sparkle with emotion. It was sexy, and humorous at the same time - and he enjoyed it.
However, silver eyes gave him a peculiar sort of look instead of the heated stare he was expecting. "No, I actually think you know perfectly well what you just did. You made yourself the bad guy, turning everyone and all odds against you. You sent Chiyo running into Orochi's arms, most likely. You may or may not have screwed up the ties your family has with the Sakurai family. You've made your father furious with you, even if he doesn't know of it yet. Basically, you knowingly put yourself in a very compromising position - the question is, why?"
"Even more strange," He drawled again, this time forgetting about his hair and instead meeting her insistent gaze. He realized she wasn't going to lose her temper this time around- she seemed too worried about him to be mad at him. "you seem to think I have any obligation to tell you what my reasoning behind my actions are."
Akari frowned. "I'm just confused. I thought you were supposed to be selfish. It's been my understanding that everything you do always benefits you in some way, but none of this benefits you at all."
"It does," He lulled, his voice lowering as he gave her a very intimate look. "benefit me."
She didn't seem to get the message, but he could swear he saw some sort of unspoken emotion flash behind her eyes. "No. Any way you look at it, this situation does not."
"Then you're just not looking at it the right way."
Tora turned away from her then, leaving her to think about things. Obviously, it benefited him that he was a free man now, released of his commitment to Chiyo. And he wasn't the only one free of a fiancée- Akari was as well. So how could that not be beneficial for him? For them both? He was free to be with the girl he actually wanted to be with. Everything had fallen into place just the way he wanted it to, in the end, despite some minor complications that he was actually on his way to deal with right now, as soon as he finished this conversation with her.
"But..."
He paused in the doorway when he heard her call out to him again. Akari spoke urgently, the concern for him coming through in her voice. "Your father... and Chiyo's family... aren't you at least a little worried about the consequences you'll have to face?"
You're worth those consequences. He thought meaningfully for a split-second. "You shouldn't doubt my abilities so much." He sent her a devilish smile that was all perfect teeth and smoothly parted lips. "I am, after all, an Igarashi."
Akari couldn't believe how confident this man could be, in any situation. But maybe it was a good quality, if the other option was to be panicking or worrying. "Wait!"
He stopped abruptly with one foot out the door, but didn't turn back to face her. "Hn?"
"I was wondering... what did Chiyo say to you, that had you smiling so much when you got off that phone call?" Akari's eyes narrowed. "She wasn't crying, was she? Because if she was and that caused you to smile, then you really are sadistic."
Tora started to smile, just a little bit, once more. "Actually, it was quite interesting. She... agreed with my decision."
Akari couldn't help but mumble in confusion. "She, what?"
As if it didn't really matter, Tora simply shrugged. A hand ran skillfully through the soft locks of his hair as he contemplated it for a moment. "I think she might have only done so because she knew it would make things easier on me." He shook his head, smirking. "That woman's too kind-hearted for her own good."
Before Akari could speak to him again, he exited the room and disappeared down the hallway.
Left alone in one of the many well-designed rooms in the Igarashi estate, Akari stood there blinking at the place Tora had been standing a few seconds ago, and scowled at the tight feeling she felt pricking her heart. It wasn't jealousy again, was it? Maybe it was just frustration. He was an idiot, yet knew what he was doing, but she still worried about him anyway. She couldn't stand how much he made her worry even when it always seemed like he had everything under control.
And another thing she couldn't stand - each day that went by, he was somehow slowly, artfully digging himself even deeper into the crevice of her heart, and she seemed to just be allowing it to happen because it's not like she could say no to him. He was too... involved in her life, at this point. She couldn't shut him out and ignore him anymore because he had implanted himself in the middle of everything - her thoughts, her emotions, her problems, her life.
"...God dammit." She walked towards the door, muttering a curse under her breath and heading for anywhere she could find an aspirin in this house.
It was not a surprise, seeing Mr. and Mrs. Igarashi arguing in the center of the man's study. The way they both sharply looked up as their son entered the room and wordlessly interrupted them was no surprise either, and the silence that followed his sudden appearance in the room certainly came as no surprise as well.
Tora knew exactly what to expect, after the stunt he had just pulled. He knew that by now Chiyo had told her father, who in turn must have told Tora's father, and of course his mother had been informed as well. What he had done was a big deal, so it only seemed necessary that both parents were to be involved.
"Son..." Mr. Igarashi looked like one of those toys you carefully wind up until it just won't wind any further, and that at any moment, he could just snap. He was breathing heavily, a single eyebrow twitching as he tried to keep himself calm and gradually unwind himself.
"Father." Golden eyes were focused, yet the look in them seemed lazy and uncaring. And as he looked his father up and down, he said (all too smoothly and lightly), "You look awful. Something eating at your nerves?"
"Tora." His mother caught his eye and he stared at her blankly. In one word, the woman halted all of his unspoken taunts to come. "Behave."
Had anyone else said such a thing to him, Tora would blatantly ignore such a request, mock the person for being foolish enough to try to have some control over him, and perhaps even laugh a bit because he would find humor in the fact that anyone assumed they could tell him what to do.
No one could speak to him that way. Except, of course, his own mother.
Silly, how women seemed to be his downfall lately, his one weakness. He had never quite realized what trouble the female species was - after all, before Akari, the only women he was associated with were ones he had complete control over, ones who were drawn to him and admired him and didn't even so much as lift a finger or attempt to cause any sort of trouble for him.
Releasing a quiet breath from between his lips, Tora closed the door behind him and turned to lean against the wall beside it, casually pocketing his hands and crossing an ankle over one of his long legs. His golden eyes rested on his father, waiting for the man to speak.
"I have certain - words - to say to you." Mr. Igarashi obviously was not even close to 'unwinding' himself, not now that the person who had caused him to wind up so tightly in the first place was in the room acting as maddening as ever.
"I can only imagine that you do." Tora could be patient. He said nothing more.
"Well, let's get right to it then." His mother's tone was more even and calm than Tora's own - a feat that was hard to accomplish. "Mr. Sakurai, Chiyo's father, just called us over the phone. And what he had to tell us... was very unexpected."
The room was full of silence as soon as she stopped speaking. She willed her husband to say something by sending him a sharp look, but he simply stared at the carpet, arms folded across his chest tightly, leg jiggling as if to let off some of the pent up rage going on inside of him.
Their son raised both eyebrows. "And what did he tell you?"
Sighing, Mrs. Igarashi looked back over at her son and each word she spoke next was said very carefully. "He told us that Chiyo wants to break off the engagement."
"If that's what she wants," Tora didn't even miss a beat. "then alright."
More silence.
Mr. Igarashi's leg stopped jiggling.
Everyone in the room was very still, and very quiet. It was like the room itself was holding its breath.
"Alright?" When the man broke the silence suddenly, his voice was deep and his tones sour. "Is that really all you have to say on the matter?"
Tora would be amused, if he wasn't receiving a glare from his mother that told him he needed to remain serious about this. Nodding his head, he looked at his father with intense gold eyes. "Yes. Unless you have something more to say about it? You do seem a little... uptight."
Snap.
And there went the last bit of control Mr. Igarashi had over his temper.
"Honestly boy, do you not know how shameful this is?! What did you do to that poor girl, that made her so desperate to get rid of you?! Our family will never live this down! If anyone found out why your engagement was called off - that she didn't want you - that an Igarashi was undesirable -"
"Undesirable." Tora remained expressionless. "Because of what one girl thinks? What does her opinion matter, when compared to the countless other -"
His father ignored him as if it was the easiest thing to do in the world. He had begun to pace his office as he threw insults at the Sakurai girl. "How dare she?! She has no right to do such a thing! Who does she think she is, messing up all our plans for the future?! She should be thanking us for all the kindness we've treated her with, the ungrateful little..." His wife shot him a stern look, and he withheld his fowl language. "...I don't see how she thinks she can do this, it's simply unacceptable! UNACCEPTABLE!"
Tora shrugged. "I accept it."
If there was ever a time for Tora to feel guilty about Chiyo taking the blame for their canceled engagement, it was now. But he couldn't feel guilty when he knew that she knew what she had been getting herself into - Chiyo was a smart girl, she knew what her actions meant for her and how to deal with any trouble afterward. She had done the same thing he'd done - and they had both known the consequences before-hand.
So he didn't feel guilty, not even slightly. His father was being harsh as always, this was nothing different from any of the other times the man became upset over something.
However, there was only so much Tora could listen to before starting to feel annoyed. His mother was standing there, trying and failing to calm her husband with soothing words and a light touch, and the man just continued to ignore her and get even angrier. It wasn't something Tora liked to see.
"Father," He said it loud enough to grab both his parent's attention. "if it's what she wants, then who am I to deny her? After all, I have no control over other people." His tone was full of mockery, his words being ironic since he lived out his life by always having control over other people. And his parents knew.
The sound that escaped Mr. Igarashi's lips could only be described as a grumble. "Fix this, Tora. I don't care how you go about it. Just. Fix. It."
Raising a hand in front of his face, Tora carelessly inspected his cuticles. He decided to ignore the fact that his father had just called him by name - something that rarely happened. "Would you be terribly disappointed if I said that I didn't want to?"
In that moment, Tora's father looked like he really wanted a table placed in front of him, just so he could flip it over in his fit of rage.
Akari sat in the large, empty kitchen in the estate, wondering about everything and nothing.
Tora hadn't told her where he was going after he left the room, but she could guess he had probably gone to explain things to his parents. Mrs. Igarashi seemed like the type who would be very understanding and reasonable about his decision, but his father... she didn't know the man well enough to guess what he would do. Maybe he was furious. Maybe he was just frustrated. Hopefully though, he wasn't in such a fowl mood that Tora would suffer from it.
Not that that stupid tiger could suffer much. Could he?
Images of him bent over, sitting outside his mother's room flashed through her mind, images of the cut across his hand, of him pulling her into a warm embrace that almost felt like he needed it more than she did...
She placed her elbows on the table in front of her, resting her chin in her hands in a thoughtful position. Of course he could suffer. Not outwardly, but, on the inside at least. He was only human, after all. Everyone suffered in some form or another.
Without it meaning to, her brain traveled back through all the memories she'd had with him. Her mind backtracked through every moment, touch, feeling, and facial expression - she could picture each moment with him perfectly for some reason - and then, she found herself backtracking all the way to her first memory of him, their very first meeting.
It had been about a few weeks before she came to live with the Igarashis. Mr. Igarashi was going to an open house for some sort of museum and of course he was taking his wife with him, and Tora only came with to socialize and talk up the family business. Mrs. Igarashi had invited Akari to accompany them, and though she had wanted to decline the offer, Akari went anyway. She had sort of talked herself into it, thinking that since the Igarashi woman had been so kind to her mother, then she should repay the kindness and try to stay on the woman's good side.
At the open house, there were countless numbers of people, and all she could think to do was search for Mrs. Igarashi since she was the one who invited her. Akari had happened upon the woman after over half an hour of searching, and then from there... the woman had introduced Akari to her son.
Her first initial thought of him was that it was unfair how attractive he was. He looked like a sex bomb, even while fully dressed in a business suit. Some might say it was the blonde hair, or the golden eyes, or the chiseled jawline; but to her it was simply the way he spoke and the way he held himself, that made him really stand out and appear to be... perfection itself. He just had something about him that made you stop, hold your breath, and stare.
Yes, Tora had been nothing but perfect that first evening that they met. A little too perfect, she had immediately warned herself. Someone that handsome, wealthy, and polite just had to have something wrong with them, so all the while he had spoken with her, she had inspected him carefully; analyzing him like a science experiment, taking note of his every move even when he wasn't speaking to her directly. She couldn't help but become intrigued by the young man, there was just something unmistakably impressive about him.
Nothing seemed to be wrong. She could never once find a flaw in his perfection. He greeted her appropriately, acting impressively gentlemanly and striking up polite conversation with her. When others approached him, he was the exact same way with them. Anyone who came up to him, he would greet with grace and elegance and charm... and that was when she realized it. Realized his flaw.
He was fake. The way he treated everyone was the same, it was like he had it all rehearsed in his head. He knew the perfect way to act.
Perfection itself was an impossible concept, so it was only logical to assume that all his flawless glory was just an act. It wasn't real. He was simply acting, playing the same perfect part over and over again. He was living a lie, showing all these people a side of him that didn't actually exist. And she felt stupid for having fallen for it, if only for a short time.
Akari had also felt a sickening twist in her stomach when he had turned his head to see her watching him. He had been conversing with a group of people, having stopped speaking with her quite some time ago, and still, she watched him. And he had finally noticed it - or maybe he had known all along. All she knew was that the smirk on his face made her want to crawl into a hole and stay there, hidden away safely. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was off about the way he was looking at her. It was almost like, well the only comparison she could think of is when a hawk spots its prey from the sky, and is about to dive down and capture it. He looked ready to take that dive, ready for anything, really. It was... daunting.
And that's when she knew that that was who he really was. The smirk wasn't a part of the act, the smirk was real. And that was when she knew she had to leave, before she ended up speaking with him again. She didn't think she could handle someone with a smirk like that - a smirk that was nothing but trouble.
But then of course, the second she turned to leave he had walked up to her again. He had smiled and asked her where she was going, she had told him she should be leaving, and he had told her to stay for a bit longer. She had expressed that she didn't want to stay longer, and he had leaned forward and claimed that he might be able to convince her otherwise. Something was mentioned about him being able to show her a good time, and she had found herself put in a very uncomfortable position as the conversation dragged on.
"I noticed you watching me all evening," He had told her, stepping too close and making her crinkle her nose at the breech of privacy. His grin was one she did not trust, not even slightly now. "and, I've been keeping an eye on you as well. My reason is that, I happen to find you distractedly appealing." He had leaned in unnaturally close and she had leaned back. "Tell me, what's your reason?" And then came a taunting, charming smile that she nearly couldn't resist.
"I... really should go now, Igarashi, but it was... a pleasure to meet you..." She had tried to make her exit again, but he had grabbed her arm.
The look on his face was sly and playful. "Playing hard to get?" He had mused.
"No." She firmly stated, becoming frustrated with him. She had pulled her arm out of his grasp a bit too harshly, and squared her shoulders as she faced him. "I'm not playing anything. In fact, like I've said, I'd like to leave now. I'm not interested in you, so please go enjoy the rest of the evening without my company -"
He had interrupted her with sarcasm in his voice and a raised brow. "Not interested, why?" It was clear by the way he was speaking that he didn't believe anyone could not be interested in him.
So, she told him just what it was she was thinking.
"You're just not worth my time. I don't want to have to put all my effort into anything about you, like everyone else does, because... you won't reciprocate. At least, not loyally or sincerely."
It was only obvious (at least to her it was) that he didn't believe it was possible he could not be worth anyone's time or effort. He saw himself as someone worth everyone's time, and everyone's effort, and a lot of people probably sucked up to him in hopeful ways to get him to notice them, to get him to allow them the honor of just conversing with him... and quite frankly, all of those things bothered her. She didn't wish to be a part of it.
It was also clear to her that Tora Igarashi was not someone you should mess with, or talk back to; it was close to impossible for his intelligence, charm, and power to be matched or apprehended. She hardly knew him but she could tell that much already. And yet, she couldn't seem to stop herself from speaking her mind about him, right to his face. He was just being too cocky for her taste, so she had set him straight.
And after she had said what she did, Tora had blinked at her as if she had just started speaking to him in Latin. She wasn't sure, but she thought he was surprised, at most. Surprised she had seen through him so easily. Surprised she was being serious and legitimately thought he wasn't worth her time. And perhaps he was also offended, but she couldn't really get a good read on him because he was covering his reaction up quite splendidly. He truly was good at that. At faking things, and hiding the truth.
After the two of them just stood there staring at each other for who knows how long, he straightened up and gave her this look - his golden eyes seemed to pierce right through her, and he was smiling - a devious, threatening grin that set her on edge - and it all made her very nervous and she started to even regret saying what she'd said. She wanted to leave as soon as possible, get out of his sight for good, get out of the trouble she knew would come from him.
However, before she could move or think to act out an apology, he had nodded his head to her and bid her goodbye. Then he turned around and disappeared into the crowd. A simple exit. And less than she had expected from him. Maybe she had really gotten on his nerves, and he was done with her after that, or maybe he was planning something terrible. She hadn't know, and she hadn't cared to find out.
After that, she had hoped to never see him again. It was a foolish thing to hope for, considering she would be moving into his home and living there, and going to the same school as him. So of course she eventually saw him again... and the second time she saw him was far worse than the first. She had walked in on him ravishing a maid in a very inappropriate way, and all she could remember thinking was how incredibly strange it was that he had simply stopped, told the maid to show Akari to her room, and acted as if he hadn't just been kissing one of his house servants. He was totally cool about it, as if it hadn't even happened, and if she hadn't walked in on him and seen it she wouldn't have believed it had. It was almost as if it was completely normal which she guessed, for him, it was.
He was so god-damn strange. So completely different and set apart from other people. But she began to understand him more and more as the days went by, and now, presently, she felt like she knew him a little too well, she felt that she was too involved in his life and he was even more so involved in hers.
How had that even happened? Ugh, if she thought about that it would bring back her headache again.
Sighing, Akari reached across the table to the glass of water she had gotten for herself earlier. All of that seemed like so long ago - her first and second meetings with him, the day she moved into the Igarashi estate - and in fact, she had lost track of how long she had known Tora now. But as time passed he showed her more and more sides of himself, different mannerisms, habits, simply the way he is and things like that. Little things like the way he could run his fingers through his hair and make it look even more stylish than before instead of messing it up, and the way his gaze would change and she knew exactly what it meant, and the way he so perfectly articulated his words; she noticed it all now that she knew him so well, and the fact that she had gotten to know him so well helped her to notice even more.
She took a contemplative sip of water. Like now, today, she had noticed that he always played the bad guy. He let himself play that role, he even claimed that he enjoyed it and that it suited him perfectly. And what she wanted to know now was, why did he always have to play the bad guy?
Why couldn't he be the good guy for once, at least one time?
Maybe because, that's just what was expected of him at this point. He had played the villain for too long, and was too accustomed to the roll - he didn't become the villain anymore, it became him. It's apart of him. And so he embraces it, rather than pushing that side of him away.
But it was still only a part of him. Not all of him. He wasn't completely villainous, she had to admit that he had his good points.
It really was bothering her though, the way he had gone about things. He didn't have to do any of that for her. He didn't have to break off either of their engagements, and he certainly didn't have to do it and then take the fall for it. He didn't have to - didn't he see that? He didn't have to play that role, and make everyone see him as the bad guy.
He didn't have to... so why did he?
Setting the glass of water back down on the table, Akari huffed out a long breath of air in silent frustration. She raised her fingers to her hair and fiddled with her bangs for a moment. Quietly, she noted that they really were getting much too long... but maybe she should grow them out? She closed her eyes, thinking.
...Well, if Tora was fine with getting in trouble for her sake, then she should just stop worrying, because he obviously knew what he was getting himself into before he even did anything. He could handle it, he wouldn't have done what he did if he knew he couldn't handle it.
So she should do something to stop herself from sitting around bored and worried, then, right? She should keep herself busy to pass the time. Something. Anything. But what? Lost in thought, she began to fiddle with her bangs again, untangling the waves and brushing them away from her eyes.
Sitting up straight suddenly, Akari fished around in her pocket for her cell phone. Tora had said that Maki would take her to get a haircut, hadn't he?
"All he had to do was convince his parents, and even if they said no, he would go against them regardless and simply hand off Chiyo to Orochi. Then, he could deal with the repercussions of that- all the family issues- he'd probably blackmail the Michiyo men so they wouldn't do anything to Akari or make a big scene, and sweet-talk Chiyo's parents with an incredibly charming apology, and give his blessing and respects to Orochi and his family. Easy, for someone like Tora.
And after all that, after the complications were through with, after the trouble was out of the way, then he would take Akari back- for real that time."
The plan was experiencing some... changes. But nonetheless, it was still intact and Tora knew he'd have everything settled before the end of the day.
So far, he had blackmailed and bribed Akari's father, and gotten rid of her brother (though he may have to blackmail Hayate later on once more just to really get the message across). He had contacted Chiyo and called off the engagement - at the same time urging Orochi (with some help from Akari) to give up on his plans of revenge and simply go after Chiyo instead. So he had basically given his 'blessing' to Orochi, and Tora suspected that right about now, his rival was giving his ex-fiancée a shoulder to cry on and playing the part of the hero.
He had never really gotten around to convincing his parents, with the way things had worked ou, it turned out to be a last-minute detail. So that left him with the current situation he was in - trying to explain to his father that breaking off the engagement wasn't as bad as it seems, while trying not to let it be known that it wasn't actually Chiyo who broke it off.
"...and on top of everything else, it looks as if Fuirutsu's son is going to step right in and take Chiyo for himself?!" Tora's father exclaimed, having just found out the news about Orochi stepping in to take Tora's place. If the man looked angry before, he was practically tearing his hair out now. "No, no I cannot allow this, send her flowers, roses, apologize, take her shopping, promise to go on more dates with her -" He sent his son a desperate glare. "Are you hearing me, boy?! Do something about this!"
"I've already made my position clear." Tora sighed, trying to have as much patience as it took when it came to his father - which was a lot. "I've accepted the situation for what it is. I don't wish to do anything about it."
"And why's that?" Mr. Igarashi snapped.
Tora shrugged, waving a hand dismissively. "I never quite felt that Chiyo and I had a... connection." His eyes zoned in carefully on his father. "Did you?"
There was a short pause before his father answered.
"None of that matters, you and her were to be married for business purposes, you both knew that in the beginning and agreed to it."
"We both agreed to it only because we assumed we could eventually make things work between the two of us. But obviously, that didn't end up happening..."
Mr. Igarashi glared at his son, who returned the look very calmly.
"You'll have to apologize to her father." Tora's mother suddenly spoke up, momentarily taking her eyes off of her fuming husband. "He was looking forward to having you as a son-in-law. Also, even if you don't know what happened, you should also apologize to Chiyo as well. I'm sure however this happened, it's gotten her very upset."
Her eyes stayed on him for longer than necessary, as if to send across a message. And that's when Tora knew she'd figured it out. The woman was his mother, after all, and an Igarashi. She was smart enough to piece it together.
However, his father didn't know him well enough to piece it together, like his mother had. Mr. Igarashi may be a smart man, brilliant, in fact. But he wasn't fully aware of Tora's feelings, or why he would break off the engagement, or what intentions he would have for doing so. He just didn't know his son that well, and didn't care to ever get to know him. But Tora also tried not to be too involved in his father's life as well, so it all worked out for both of them just fine.
Nodding to his mother, Tora met her knowing gaze. "I'm well aware. I'll head over to the Sakurai residence right now, if I could be excused..." He began to lean towards the door a bit more.
Mr. Igarashi's eyes narrowed. "You're staying right here in this room until we figure out a way to fix all of this - this mess."
Tora's eyes narrowed as well. "The only reason you want me to try to fix things, is because you're afraid of the Fuirutsu family having something that you don't."
"Tora," His mother warned clearly, but it was too late.
"That damn Fuirutsu can't have anything of ours!" Mr. Igarashi's voice was nothing but loud, heavy noise. "And his boy certainly can't take your fiancée from you, as if she always belonged to him in the first place -" He heaved a great breath. "This is something I simply will not allow. I bet they planned this, you know... they're planning to steal everything from us sooner or later, mark my words -"
"Then that's something you can spend all of your own time worrying about, father, but I think I'll chose to try to move on from this." Tora smirked. "We're all well aware that you hate the Fuirutsu family, as they've always managed to stay one step behind us, somehow competing with our company. But I am not going to let that concern me."
"It has always concerned you before." His father ventured into territory that often went unspoken of. "You and that boy, Orochi, you two were supposed to become friends so that both our companies could -"
"Do I really look like the type," Golden eyes shone brightly as Tora sneered. "who ever cared to make any sort of friends? I am your son, after all."
More than frustrated now, Mr. Igarashi turned to his wife. "He's your son too, don't you have anything to say to him on this matter? You know as well as I do that we can't just allow this!"
"What can't we allow?" Mrs. Igarashi's voice was quiet, but had meaning behind it. "Tora and Chiyo's engagement to be canceled, or the possible engagement between Chiyo and a member of the Fuirutsu family, whom you despise?"
The man looked at his wife helplessly for a moment, and she reached out and gently touched his arm. "Let's put whatever rivalry we have with that family behind us, and focus on what our son wants."
There was a very long pause after she said that, but from that moment and on Mr. Igarashi seemed to have calmed himself to the point of actually reasoning with his son.
"Boy," The man sighed, leaning back against his desk. He tapped his foot on the ground for a moment, as if contemplating what to do next. Then, with another sigh, he met his son's gaze. "Explain to me how this happened. For too long, we planned to have you marry Chiyo. You have been engaged to her for quite some time now. Explain to me... why I should simply be okay with the fact that all of that has changed."
It was very surprising to Tora, that his father had managed to calm himself and try to discuss things in a fair way. Guess that was just the perks of having his mother in the room with them - a woman's touch really was a peculiar, powerful thing.
"The reason you should let things be, is because I've devised the perfect scenario where everyone gets what they want. If I allow Orochi to have Chiyo for himself, then that clears up the problem with him wanting to cause all sorts of trouble for me and our family. And since he was the main reason the Michiyo family was causing trouble for us, I've cleared up that problem as well by simply giving him what he wants." He paused, as if wondering what he should say next. "I never wanted Chiyo as my wife in the first place, so it's not a loss in my opinion. And I've already set my sights on someone far more... intriguing."
Mr. Igarashi straightened up, his eyebrows skyrocketing. "You've chosen another fiancée already?"
"Not quite that." Tora wasn't sure if he should take his attraction to Akari that far yet.
"And you are the one who carefully planned all of this?" His father's voice was both bewildered and angry.
"That's what I said, wasn't it?" Tora challenged, knowing he may get in trouble for letting it be known that he was behind this instead of Chiyo, but he was willing to take the risk. "I devised the perfect scenario, and you know that it's true." He smiled, though not very kindly. "Breaking off my engagement with Chiyo keeps the Fuirutsu family and the Michiyo family from trying to cause anymore trouble for us. And isn't that what you wanted the last time I spoke with you, father? Less trouble, less annoyances to have to deal with?"
"If we let things be," His father's tone had suddenly gone very dark, causing Tora's mother to glance uneasily between the two of them. "Then we'll be letting the Fuirutsus win. You'll simply give up Chiyo to them, just like that? You'll allow them a victory over us?"
"In order for them to be victorious, we would have to feel as if we've failed at something." Tora smiled again, and this time it had less of an edge to it. "And I've done nothing but succeed in following through with my plans. I don't feel as if I've lost anything of any importance by giving up Chiyo, so I don't see how they've had a victory over us when everyone happens to be pleased with the outcome."
Tora watched his father grate his teeth together, and he knew he'd made a good point. Careful not to upset him further, Mrs. Igarashi tried to reason with her husband as well. "I don't see how there's been any harm done, Tora obviously thought this through." When her husband said nothing, she turned to look at Tora. Her gaze was stern. "However, he still went about breaking off the engagement the wrong way."
Mr. Igarashi nodded, looking up at his son as well. "I highly suggest that you go speak to Chiyo's father and properly apologize and explain yourself."
"And I also want you to speak with Chiyo directly." Mrs. Igarashi added in. "Having you call off the engagement without warning must have taken some sort of emotional toll on her. Also, you should explain to her family that it was your idea to break off the engagement, not hers. She's probably very stressed out at the moment with trying to explain herself."
"I can't guarantee that she'll want to see me." Tora was already turning towards the door. "But I will speak with her if I get the chance."
"Make sure you apologize to her father and take the full blame for everything you did." His father insisted, to which Tora simply waved a hand in understanding, and opened the door to leave the room.
"You don't have to remind me." He said, turning to glance back at his parents for a moment. "I know perfectly well what to do."
The congenial laughter ceased for a moment, both men trying to take in a good breath of air after having a good talk and joking about a few unimportant matters.
"- I do have to say though Tora, I truly am disappointed. I knew you'd make such a good son-in-law..." Mr. Sakurai suddenly sighed, getting back to being serious.
"You know who would make an even better one?" Tora mused, as if having just come up with this now. "The heir to the Fuirutsu Company."
The man blinked. "Do you mean Orochi Fuirutsu?"
Tora nodded, standing up from the seat he had taken across from the man around twenty minutes ago. "I believe he is far better suited for your daughter than I ever could be." He then turned towards the door. "By the way, where might I find Chiyo? I really should speak with her before I leave."
The man stood up as well, walking over to accompany Tora to the door of the spacey office room. "She's just down the hall. When she heard you were here, she wanted to see you and said she would wait until we finished speaking."
Again, Tora nodded, and he allowed the man to open the door for him. Mr. Sakurai posed a question that made him pause, however, right before he could make his exit.
"Can I ask you why you decided to call off the engagement with my daughter?"
There was a still pause between the question, and the answer that came afterwards.
"I'll be frank with you," Tora met the man's gaze evenly, and gave a very generic smile. "your daughter would have never been happy with me, Sir."
Those words were the truth, and it seemed the other man could sense it, because after that things went quiet again and he merely nodded in understanding, backing back into his office. Right before he closed the door behind him, he paused and asked another question. "All I want at this point is for her to be happy, and marry into a good family. The Fuirutsus are a family of very high rank, much like yours - and I would like your advice on this matter, since I value your opinion. I have no doubt that he could provide for her, but would Orochi be able to make my daughter happy?"
Tora eyed the man, wondering how a father could be so caring, could worry so much about his child. His own father was nothing like that, and Akari's father was just what every father shouldn't be. So, how could Chiyo's father be so different? To him, it seemed so strange. Foreign.
"I can't speak for Chiyo, but I can for Orochi." Tora said at last. "I'm certain that he cares a great deal for your daughter, and if those feelings are anything to go off of, then I'd say he'd do anything in his power to bring her happiness."
Mr. Sakurai smiled slightly, nodded his head, and retreated back into his office. "Thank you, I'll take that into mind then..."
Releasing a deep sigh from within his lungs, Tora began a slow, leisurely walk down the hallway. That had gone directly as planned, so good. After all, he knew Chiyo's father wouldn't be too angry with him. Tora had sustained a rather pleasant relationship with the man throughout the time he'd known him, and so things weren't too uncomfortable about the talk the two had just had. Explaining to the man that he had been the one to call off the engagement rather than Chiyo had proven to be quite the painless task, thankfully.
Now, he just had one last loose end to tie up.
He saw her at the left end of the hallway that lead back to the front of the house. Standing with her back to him, she was looking out a large bay window. From the view of her had of her from the back, she appeared the same as ever - long, silken black hair, a lovely stance, both hands clasped behind her back in an elegant manner. Pleasant, simple Chiyo.
"Chiyo." He called her name sweetly, almost as if he were trying to apologize with his tone of voice alone.
She turned around suddenly, sporting a polite smile that was a bit more crooked than usual. He noted that she didn't look angry, sad, or dejected - she simply had the appearance of someone who had accepted the way things were going to be. She looked calm, and peaceful, and he was somewhat glad to see that there was no trace of tears in her eyes, although her shoulders did sag ever so slightly.
"Tora-san." She greeted him with nothing more than that.
He reached her, and stood beside her next to the window. Bowing with an air about him that was all gentleman, Tora gave her a look that was both serious and the slightest bit kind. "I'm deeply sorry that things turned out this way."
She sighed. "You are not sorry, not really, since this is what you wanted to happen." Her grey eyes met his with uncertainty. "This is what you wanted, wasn't it?"
He stared at her blankly, shifting his weight as he stood beside her. "I want us both to be free of each other, so that you can accept someone else into your life who actually cares for you in the way you want them to."
"...And, you? What about you?"
He shrugged, gazing out the window. The day would end soon, he knew. The sun wasn't setting quite yet, but it was placed lower in the sky than usual. "I don't understand your question."
"You want us both to be free. If we are each to choose whatever we'd like to do with that freedom, what will you choose?"
He went very quiet for a moment. It would probably be best not to mention another woman in this type of fragile scenario.
So he chose not to give an answer. "Did Orochi come to visit you yet?"
Chiyo nodded, her lips curving up into a small grin. She seemed to be alright with him avoiding her question, perhaps because avoiding it was an answer in and of itself. "He did. Did you send him to see me?"
"Even if I hadn't, he would have come anyway."
Her soft laughter surprised him, and he glanced at her. She was smiling, and it was beautiful... yet he felt no urge to hold her and kiss her like he did whenever Akari smiled or laughed.
She turned her face to look at him as well, and blushed prettily when she caught sight of his intense stare. "Excuse my laughter, it's just that, that's very true. Orochi has always been there for me, since we were young. In all honesty, I've never thought of him romantically..." She frowned, but it wasn't an unhappy frown - more like, she was puzzled by something. "But then something strange happened today, when he came to see if I was alright." She quickly looked away from Tora, staring back out the window. Her gentle hand rose to her face, and her fingers lightly pressed into her lips. "He kissed me."
"How interesting." Tora commented, having nothing else to say on that particular matter. He noticed, though, that underneath her puzzled expression Chiyo seemed to appear happy, in some way.
She nodded her head. "It really was quite interesting. I mean, it was nice, and all... I wasn't expecting it to be so nice."
The comment made Tora arch an eyebrow. "Haven't you kissed someone before?"
She was laughing again, shaking her head at him. "If you mean outside of familial pecks, or friendly kisses on the cheek, then no."
He couldn't withhold his smirk. Orochi certainly owed him one. He got to be Chiyo's first kiss because of everything Tora had done, after all.
"Tora-san?"
He glanced down at Chiyo, wondering why she suddenly looked sad.
"I'm sorry that you took the blame for me at first, about the cancellation of our engagement." He apologized, as sincerely as he could muster.
The young woman only shook her head at him. "No, that's not it. I just wanted to say, I know you need to go soon before it gets late, but I just wanted to make sure..." She glanced at the floor, and he tilted his head slightly, wondering what she was so upset about.
When Chiyo looked back up at him and met his eyes again, she was giving him a look akin to... pity? Regret? Sorrow? He couldn't place the emotion. No, maybe it was just pure sadness. She felt bad about something? Perhaps even, felt bad for him? "If you feel guilty, for breaking off the engagement, then please know that I forgive you." He blinked at her in surprise, and she smiled a very small, considerate smile. "I know that you don't love me, and I know it's not as if you can help who you love and don't love. So please don't feel guilty or sorry about any of this."
He stepped back, turning his whole body to face the window and staring quietly ahead. Matters of the heart, feelings, emotions - he was still working on embracing those things, and when she looked at him like that with such sad, yet forgiving, eyes, he really did feel something like guilt.
Orochi had been right when he said that Tora didn't deserve Chiyo. She was much too gentle with him, and she deserved the same treatment of gentleness. But Tora, though he had his good moments, was probably the least most gentle person on the planet.
"I always did know things wouldn't work out, anyway." She sighed, and he refused to look at her for fear of the guilt inside his chest growing bigger. "I knew about all the girls you'd see, I knew you weren't a very loyal fiancé." She glanced at him, yet he still refused to meet her gaze. "Orochi warned me all too often. But I didn't ever care much, I suppose. Because I kept thinking that maybe at some point, you would change."
Tora froze and stiffened when he felt her hand on his arm. He gave her a sideways glance, and noticed that she wasn't trying to look him in the eye anymore, but was rather focused on her words now.
"But that was selfish of me to think. It was unfair for me to be hoping that you would change yourself on my account." She placed her other hand on his chest, and stepped closer to him. Her gaze was on the floor, but he thought he heard a quiver in her voice and wondered if she was going to cry. "If you are ever going to change yourself for the better for someone, it should be for someone you love, it should be because you love that person. And I know you don't love me, yet you seem so different now, somehow."
Suddenly, she rested against his chest and was taking deep breaths against his shirt, trying not to cry. He stood there, without wrapping his arms around her, simply allowing her to cling to him as if she were sorry, when he really should be the one apologizing over and over again. But he was silent. He wasn't sure how to console her, so he continued to let her talk as he listened.
"I should have realized it sooner, but after you broke off the engagement I figured it out very suddenly." She stopped breathing so heavily, and regained some control over her emotions. "You love her, don't you? That girl I met - the one who doesn't like to use honorifics -"
"Akari." Tora murmured lowly. "...Yes, I do love her. And I don't love you. I think we both know that I never loved you. And you never loved me either."
Her grip on him loosened a bit. "I know... I know that you're right about that. I admired you, and wished we could be in love, but I don't think I ever fell for you the way someone falls in love..." Suddenly, Tora wrapped both his arms around her, making her eyes widen as she looked up at him in shock. "...What on earth are you doing?"
"Exactly what it looks like. I'm comforting you." He told her simply, reaching up and resting a hand on her head lightly. "Since I've never been affectionate with you before, I suppose that it is strange... not to mention out of character for me. But consider it my form of an apology."
"But you already told me your apologies."
Tora sighed, looking up out the window. "I did, but we both know those words meant nothing."
Chiyo nodded, smiled politely as usual, and rested her head very carefully against his chest as he held her. The situation was a bit awkward, but she was grateful for this unexpected kindness. "You really must be in love, Tora-san, for you to have changed this much."
By the end of the evening, as the sun was going down and outside the temperature began to drop, Akari found herself curled up on a chair in the library with her head buried in a book. She had to have re-read the same paragraph three or four times by now, but she couldn't keep focused on the story. She was waiting for him to show up, and he seemed to be taking all the damn time in the world to get here. Sighing, she allowed the book to fall into her lap and turned her head to gaze outside the window. The sunset was clearly visible from this side of the house, resting lazily on the horizon and lowering inch by inch.
The sound of the door opening and closing caught her attention, and she looked up to see Tora approaching her.
"What took you so long, huh?" She mumbled, eyes locking on him and filled with slight annoyance.
He regarded her with a scrutinizing gaze. And, believe it or not, the first words out of his mouth were: "You cut your hair."
She brushed her fingers past her bangs. "Just the bangs. They were getting in my face all of the time." She smirked, just the slightest bit. "I wouldn't want to be walking into any walls, you know?"
Tora smirked as well, recalling when he had said the same thing to her, and walked over to where she sat. Bending down, he brushed his own hand up along the planes of her face, his fingers moving lightly through her bangs. "They're cut well, so I assume you didn't do them."
Scowling, she withdrew from his touch and gestured to the seat beside her on the sofa. "Sit down already and stop bending over me like that. And you don't know if I'm good at cutting hair or not, so don't be so judgmental."
Tora turned and elegantly crashed on the sofa beside her. He extended both his arms behind him on the rim of the piece of furniture, leaning back in a lazy fashion. "Well, did you cut them then?"
"No, of course I didn't. I don't have any idea how to cut and style hair." Her derogatory remark caused him to roll his eyes at her. "Maki accompanied me to a hair salon."
"How interesting. You two get along well then?"
"We both have something in common, and it's you." She shrugged, placing the book she had been reading on the small table resting in front of them. "And he's nice to me, if that's what you're wondering."
"Hm." Reaching forward, he grabbed the book from where she'd set it down and held it up before his face. He must have found the cover interesting enough, and, arching an eyebrow, he opened it to a random page and began reading silently.
The room was completely quiet then, save for the sound of the clock ticking away over the large fireplace in the corner. Akari couldn't take her eyes off of him for a moment, Tora looked so peaceful in this lighting. The sun setting outside cast a lovely glow through the large window, and orange hues spread throughout the room in different patterns, lighting up Tora's handsome face. The way he sat so relaxed, with a book in his hands, made her feel relaxed as well, and she felt the strongest urge to just cuddle up next to him and fall asleep.
"Can I ask the burning question now?" He suddenly asked, catching her off-guard.
Snapping out of her warm and fuzzy thoughts, Akari averted her eyes from him and stared back out the window on her opposite side. "Uh, yes. Go ahead."
She heard the sound of a page turning. "Why did you ask me to meet you here?"
Akari crossed one leg over the other, leaning away from him as she continued to stare out the window. "I was worried. I wanted to know how things went, and... all that."
She knew he was looking at her. She could always feel it - it had become easy to sense the heat from his golden-eyed gaze. "How things went?" He restated curiously. "And all that?"
"You know what I mean." Sighing, she leaned back into the cushions more, still not looking over at him. He looked too perfect at the moment, she would only get distracted again. "How did your parents react?"
"My mother seemed perfectly fine to let me do as I please, as long as I went about it politely." She heard the sound of another page turning. "And my father was, shall we say, unsettled by the news. But you could have figured that out on your own."
"Yes, but... so, you didn't get in trouble?" She stated, simply trying to double check.
There was the sound of the book being closed and placed back down on the table, a shift in weight on her side of the couch, and then his lips were directly behind the shell of her ear. "I could get you into some trouble, if you wanted me to..."
With a shiver running down her spine, Akari turned to face him and found that he was bending over her, sitting much too close. He smiled, a single pointed canine glimmering along with the rest of his teeth, and she pushed against his shoulders, trying to regain some space.
"Don't be idiotic right now, I was trying to have a serious conversation with you for once!" She grit her teeth, realizing that getting him to move back wasn't exactly an easy thing to do.
Tora reached up and grabbed both her arms, pushing her back until she was lying back against the arm of the sofa. "I could see that. And the fact that you've been so concerned about me just so happens to turn me on."
She suddenly deadpanned, gazing up at him blankly. "You're an imbecile."
He smirked and raised an eyebrow while hovering over her. "Isn't that simply another way of calling me a 'stupid tiger'?"
"Yes, but I've got to switch it up a bit, you know?" She began to rant. "Imbecile, stupid, idiotic, foolish, dense, moronic -"
He placed a hand over her mouth and his smirk grew wider. "It's not switching it up if you just keep listing synonyms."
She reached up with her now-freed hand and removed his from her mouth. "I wasn't finished yet. Don't you know that interrupting people is rude?"
Tora leaned down further, until his chin grazed along the side of her face, and then his nose. He said, in a silken, sultry sort of voice, "Interruptions don't always have to be rude. They can be pleasant as well."
She made a face at him, obviously done with their playful conversation. "You do realize that doesn't make sense, right? And could you possible get off of me now? You're heav -"
He pressed his lips to hers, smirking when she made that cute sound of surprise in the back of her throat. His tongue slipped along her lower lip, obviously to tease, and then he pulled away just as quickly as he had kissed her, enjoying the way her face was now lit up in color.
"See?" He explained with a grin. "Interruptions can be pleasant."
"You just think you're so sly, don't you?" She muttered, pushing herself back up into a sitting position as he moved away.
"I think I am many things, but I figure that's not what you wished to talk with me about right now." He watched in amusement as she tried to get settled back comfortably on the couch again, keeping her distance from him still. It was her own damn fault for asking him to come meet her alone like this. She was a fool if she didn't think he'd try anything.
Finally meeting his eyes again, Akari got back down to business. "So you didn't get into any trouble because of me, right?"
He practically laughed at her. "Of course not. I can handle myself quite well, if you haven't already noticed." He raised an eyebrow at her as the room grew darker. The sun was almost gone now, daylight quickly fading into night outside. "Was that really all you had to ask me about?"
"No." She glanced at him in a peculiar way. "I was wondering - you went and acted like the bad guy for no apparent reason. That... that bothers me. I mean, you didn't have to do that, but for whatever reason, you did."
Tora blinked at her and said nothing for a few short minutes. And then, he was grinning. "No apparent reason? I am a very selfish man, Akari, we both know that. Of course I had a reason. Like I told you earlier, there are benefits in this arrangement for me as well as everyone else." And then he gave her a highly suggestive look.
Akari glared at him suddenly. "If you say that the benefit is me, I will punch you in the nose."
He shook his head at her, waving off her insult. "You can't punch me in the nose."
She sat up straighter. "I can and I will, alright?"
Tora was smiling openly at her now. "No. You wouldn't know how to."
She blanched, looking quite offended. "I'm pretty positive anyone knows how to throw a decent punch, Igarashi, despite having small fists all you need is aim and force."
"Yes, but the force of your fist hitting my face would be practically nothing."
Scowling, she turned away from him again while he chuckled at her. His laughter began to fill up the quiet of the library, and even though he made her so frustrated, she had to admit that whenever he laughed and let loose like that around her she felt ten times more comfortable around him than when he was being serious.
Things were quiet after that, once he had leaned back on the couch again and sighed, seemingly content after having had a good laugh like that. She bet he needed it, what with all the stress and drama that he'd been having to deal with lately. He needed some time to have fun, let loose, and just enjoy himself... oh! That reminded her.
"The Yumesaki Winter Festival is tomorrow." Akari casually stated, though her smile gave away her excitement. "It's going to be really fun."
Tora grunted unintelligibly in response.
Peeking over at him, she sighed in frustration. "At least, it'll be fun as long as you don't get into it with my friends. Promise me you won't fight with them."
He held up a hand, showing that one of his fingers was crossed over the other. With a smirk, he declared in a very fake tone of voice. "I promise."
She stood from the couch. The sun had set outside, the room was dark now, and she was ready to leave. But really, he could be so childish sometimes! "Uncross your fingers and make a real promise you baka!"
Closing his eyes for a second, he stretched out his limbs and got even more comfortable on the couch. His smile was teasing as he told her a very defiant, "No."
Exasperated, she tried threatening him again. "Do you want to have me punch you in the face, Tora?"
He sent her a rather roguish grin, practically drinking in her image with his eyes, and drowning in it. "Do you want to have sex with me on this couch, Akari?"
After flushing a bright red, she turned around quickly and marched towards the door. Hastily, she replied. "I repeat: you're an imbecile!"
The door swung shut rather ungracefully behind her, and Tora was left smiling like an idiot in the dark.
A/N: Look for the next updates soon! :D You can thank the Halloween season for that. I get free time! YUS! (btw sorry this chapter took so long. Lotsa stuff got in my way.)
Thanks for the many compliments in the reviews guys! And other things you say. You guys are freaking awesome ^-^ remember that. It's a legitimate compliment that you might not receive again from me since this story is ending soon and I'm in a freakishly happy mood lately cuz I love Halloween :3 I think I'm gonna try to put a tie or a cape or something on my cat this year. She's totally gonna hate me for it, but at least she'll look adorable while scratching my eyes out!
Halloween is awesome for four reasons: 1) The spooks. 2) The candy. 4) The art of pumpkin carving 3) The perfect excuse/reason to dress your pets up in silly costumes. *insert evil maniacal laughter here*
CK :*
p.s (with my tyrannical side)~ *throws out gold coins* your reward for reviewing, peasants. Spend them wisely, this isn't a Super Mario game, so gold coins are a rarity and a luxury.
~~~ FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CELEBRATE IT, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! ~~~ *insert happy jack-o'-lantern face here* :}