A/N: All Bbash prompts this year were kindly betaed by ChezPez88, Casandravus, and princesslunarstarkrystal
Birthday Bash 2020
Prompt One: Free Day
Or
Inheritance
xxXxx
Haru stared at the chain's clasp, a dark dread flooding through her veins as she tried to work the tricky closure.
Too bad that the closure was acting like it had never moved in its life.
"No, no, no, no!" she panicked, looking around the dusty room that served as her new manor's personal museum.
Nothing stared back at her except strange figurines and trinkets that she didn't know the names or uses for.
Haru backed away from the glass case the necklace had been resting in, wishing that she had left it alone.
But she couldn't help it. After growing up with no money for frivolous things like name brand food or even more than one practical birthday or Christmas present per year, she just wanted to wear a nice piece of jewelry that was technically hers now, anyway.
Unfortunately, she hadn't taken a good enough look at the clasp before trying it on to see that there was some hidden trick to opening it again. Although she felt shallow for worrying about looks right now, she still took hesitant steps to a mirror with an ornate silver trim that had to be at least four hundred years old, if her mother's stories were to be believed.
Haru hadn't even taken the time to get a new wardrobe yet. This was her first full day in her new home. She looked like she was still making coffee to squeak by with second-hand clothes and her face still too thin from having to limit herself to one meal a day for the past few months.
In contrast, the gold necklace on her throat looked like it should have been paired with a ball gown. The chain was thick but flat, showcasing a beautifully cut green gem that was too light to be an emerald.
The young woman didn't have to admit as much to anyone else, but just wearing the necklace made her feel a little less like a forgotten heiress and more like a lady. There was something oddly familiar about the way the gem had nestled itself comfortably between her collar bones, though she couldn't remember where she had seen something like that before.
But that didn't mean she was interested in living the rest of her life with this valuable antique on her neck.
"Okay, Haru," she moaned to herself, pacing the museum room nervously. "You shouldn't have done it, but you did. Congratulations, you're an idiot, but how do I get it off?"
A jeweler would be a good idea. But she didn't know anyone in this town, and her estranged grandfather had been cruel enough to burn all possible bridges for her when the family lawyer brought her here.
Wait, that was it! She hurriedly ran out of the museum and up to her grandfather's old office. Her lungs heaved unhappily at the dust hanging in the air, but cleaning would have to come later.
Once inside her office, Haru dove for the trash can next to the desk with enthusiasm.
The letter her lawyer had dismissed so easily was still sitting on the top of random Kleenexes and paper towels that perhaps once held sandwiches.
Haru carefully opened the letter to start scanning for a phone number. Smiling brightly at her findings, she sat in the spinning office chair to comfortably lay out the paper and punch in that phone number before setting it to speaker.
"…Hello, you've reached the Grand Priann Museum. How may I direct your call?" a polite voice asked enthusiastically, like this was the most exciting thing that had happened all week.
"Hi, can I please speak to a…" Haru looked at the paper again, "Toto Biggens? I need his help with something, and I'm willing to make it worth his while."
The speaker seemed startled at such a request. "I'm afraid he's in a meeting right now. May I take a message?"
"Sure. My name's Haru Yoshioka. I inherited Ryuichi Yabuki's estate and- are you all right?!" she asked with alarm.
As soon as her grandfather's name had left her lips, there was a violent-sounding crash, like the man had knocked over a bookshelf.
"Ryuichi Yabuki?" he asked harshly, making the girl wince.
"You know? The more I say that name in front of people, the more I wish Mom punched him before eloping with Dad. When do you think Mr. Biggens will have time for my call?"
"… Whatever you do, don't hang up," the stranger begged before the line switched to elevator music.
The light from behind a dusty curtain was striking the necklace, dazzling Haru's eyes with the many facets that the green gem contained. Making an unhappy sound, Haru reached over to where she had left her outdoor things from the day before and used her threadbare red scarf to cover the necklace completely to save her eyes.
Within a minute, the music switched off to a different man.
"Hello? Miss Yoshina?" an upbeat voice inquired.
"Yoshioka," Haru corrected while setting the phone on the desk and leaning back in the chair to give her arm a break. "Is this Toto Biggens?"
"Yes it is, and may I say it's a pleasure to hear from you?" he nearly begged, but Haru couldn't blame him.
He and his museum have waited over fifty years to get a call from this house.
"Thank you for interrupting your meeting for me, I'll try to be quick," Haru promised, but he tutted in a teasing manner.
"Nonsense. Take your time to say what's on your mind."
She took in a deep breath. "I don't know if you heard, but Ryuichi Yabuki died of a stroke two weeks ago."
"I just learned of it. I take it you are his beneficiary?"
"Only because he was too arrogant to believe he'd need a will," Haru grumbled under her breath.
She had no idea who that monster would have left everything to if he'd been given warning, but it probably wouldn't have been to her.
If she had been able to provide a decent life for herself, the young woman just might have turned her inheritance down.
"Listen, I know my grandfather's lawyer doesn't care much for you or anything you're associated with, but I think this is more my decision than his," Haru decided to move the conversation along. "To get right to the point, my grandfather was a selfish jerk that I'm insanely lucky to have never met. My mom's told me plenty of stories growing up about how he got his hands on what, at the very least, is part of your country's heritage. I completely understand that he did the equivalent of graverobbing to get everything I saw in his private museum."
"Then you will be willing to let us have it back?" Toto pleaded, making the young woman nod even though she knew he couldn't see it.
"Grandfather loved his loot far more than he loved my mother. I think I deserve to make him roll in his grave for never helping Mom and me after Dad died."
Haru was immediately grateful that she wasn't holding the phone to her ear. She still needed to nudge the spinning chair so that her ears weren't so close to the wild cheering coming from her phone.
Whatever that meeting was, it was clear that there was a crowd of people happy with her decision. They must be pretty high up in the country if Toto Biggens had thought they needed to overhear this conversation.
The antiques she had seen must be worth more than she thought if they were willing to raise this big of a deal over it. She waited until the noise died down before speaking again.
"I don't suppose I could get some help in packaging it all up for transport?" she asked hopefully.
"I myself will take a team to your location on the earliest flight," he promised her, gratitude flowing through every syllable. "You have no idea how appreciative we are that you agreed to return our country's heritage to us."
"Will you be appreciative enough not to get angry with me?" she asked in a tiny voice, ready to get the hard part over with now that she had sufficiently buttered him up. "I… touched one of the pieces, and I'm worried that I'll break it if I try anything else."
That cut the remaining revelry short.
"Which piece?" Toto asked with worry.
Haru took in a deep breath before responding. "So, there was this really pretty gold necklace with a green gem in it-"
"Oh no." The museum director sounded like he knew the exact necklace she hadn't been able to resist. "You didn't put it on, did you?!"
Haru made some guilty sounds while trying to think of a polite way to say that was exactly what she did. But they still seemed to get the picture, since there was now some angry groans and shouting running over each other.
"Drat it all!" a gruffer voice fumed as it rapidly became louder, like he was dragging the phone closer to him. "Are you married, Chicky?"
Haru choked on the rapid change of direction. "What does that have to do with anything?!"
"Just answer the question. Married? Fiancé? Heavily committed?"
Haru winced and looked down with shame. "I've been too busy trying to keep food in my mouth and a roof over my head for any of that until Grandfather's lawyer tracked me down."
"Dang it!" Toto seemed to take possession back of the phone. "When did you put it on, Miss Yoshioka?"
She looked up at the grandfather clock. "Not even twenty minutes ago. I was already planning to give you a call, but I freaked out when the clasp automatically did this weird double lock around my neck that I can't figure out how to undo, and I'd really rather not damage the necklace thanks to how old it probably is."
Toto seemed relieved at her answer. "Then there's still time. Listen very carefully to me, Miss Yoshioka. This is important, your own safety depends on it. Whatever you do, do not let any cats in the house."
Haru gave the phone an incredulous look, slowly blinking her eyes in hopes that it was a joke in bad taste.
"Also, beware of any handsome strangers trying to sweep you off your feet," the gruffer voice added.
That surprisingly made her laugh, although it left a bitter taste in her mouth. "I just inherited a fortune, a manor, and a highly coveted artifact collection after a lifetime of being background scenery to men. Believe me¸ I'm going to take any flattery with a grain of salt." 'This is getting oddly specific.'
"Look, I know all this sounds strange," Toto acknowledged almost desperately. "But that necklace… it's dangerous, okay? Please, even if it's just to pacify a bunch of superstitious old men. Don't go outside at night, and don't leave the house at all under the full moon. No cats, no dates until we get there and take the necklace off you."
"Then you know how?" she asked with relief, although her stomach was still churning uncomfortably from the way they were acting.
"I know where to look to find out. Also, can you try not to let anyone see it?"
"I've got a scarf over it right now," Haru reported, deciding that it would be better not to mention how the light from the gem was catching in her eyes.
The poor man sounded at the end of his wits as it is.
"Thank heaven. Will you do these things for us?" Toto begged again.
Haru bit her lower lip somewhat angrily since no one had tried to put restrictions on her since her Mom died. 'Why does he sound like he'll mess his pants if I disobey? "Only if you agree to tell me all about your superstitions when you get here. No cats, boys, full moon, the works."
"Deal," Toto breathed with relief. "Can we get your phone number to keep you updated on the plans?"
Haru happily gave him the information he asked for, although she was still confused at the strange behavior from the other end of the phone call. Since there wasn't much else to talk about, the call ended and the young woman started rocking slightly in her spinning office chair.
'Well. At least I was already planning to hold off on turning this place into a bed and breakfast until after I removed the ridiculously valuable museum contents back to where they belong. Still, what was the big deal about this pretty necklace?' Her hand found its way underneath the scarf to start tracing around the gem, now warm with her body heat.
"What's your story?" she asked the necklace, despite the lack of any expectation for an answer. "Did some bride die while wearing you? It's a bit odd that with how big Grandfather's collection is, Mr. Biggens only needed a vague description to recognize you."
That made her brighten a bit. Haru knew there was other jewelry down in the museum room; what if the director had meant a different gold necklace with a green gem?
Haru couldn't help laughing at the idea of him being super embarrassed and apologetic when he got to see her, and realized he had been sweating and working her up for nothing.
It would be even more embarrassing if she obeyed his desperate requests to the letter. There really was nothing like malicious compliance to make people wake up and realize they were getting worked up over nothing.
Suddenly, she remembered where she had seen a necklace lie against a throat just like hers.
It had been a fancy collar on a cat picture. A bit like some of the figurines in her collection.
From behind her, she could suddenly hear the tiny scratching of a paw against her second-story windowsill.