CHAPTER 7: ICHIRO HAYASHI

Without noticing, the day suddenly passed by and it soon became dark.

“Man, today was so fun!” I said, the ice cream that was starting to drip down the cone. Takashi nodded and Koge pouted. I looked at my watch then froze once I realized it was 6:30.

“What’s wrong?” Takashi asked, noticing the terror on my face.

“It’s six-thirty…It’s six-thirty!!!” I cried, panicking. Takashi raised an eyebrow. “I was supposed to be home at six!” I explained and his eyes widened.

“Then, we’ve got to get you home!” He said and I stuffed my ice cream down my throat, wincing at the cold. “Where do you live?”

“Um…” I said nervously. “I can get there myself…”

“No way.” He said, determinedly as he took hold of my hand. “By this time, it’ll be dangerous to walk around alone! Just tell me where you live.”

I remembered what happened when I ran from Koge and got lost. Closing my eyes, I thought it over for a moment.

“…You won’t tell anyone…right?” I asked him as I opened my eyes back up.

“Amu, no!” Koge protested. “I’ll take you home! You don’t need to do this!”

“Tell anyone…what?” Takashi asked suspiciously. I checked my watch impatiently and he grinned. “Okay, okay. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

“Promise promise?” I pressed and he nodded. I bit my lip nervously then hesitantly told him my address.

“…What…did you just say…?” He asked in astonishment. I took a deep breath and told him again.

“But I mean…” He trailed off in shock. “If that’s true, then…I mean…You’re just messing with me…right? Everyone knows that address belongs to…”

I shook my head and he ran a hand through his hair, exhaling.

“Please don’t tell anyone!” I begged, bowing my head.

“I told you I won’t, so I won’t.” He said and I looked up at him. “But you owe me an explanation…”

“Sure, sure!” I told him, checking my watch again. He grabbed my hand then suddenly started running. After about ten or so minutes, we caught a bus and sat down, both breathing hard.

“Ex…plain.” He said between breaths. I held up a hand, telling him to wait until I caught my breath. After a moment, I cooled down and he asked me to explain.

“Um…well…” I said nervously. “The Tsurugi family, is sort of…”

“…Sort of what?” He pressed and I frowned.

“Well, I’m kind of—“

“Do you work for them?” He asked and I tilted my head at him. “You’re like, their live-in maid or something, right?”

“Maid…oh! Y-yeah!” I said, laughing. “I’m their maid! Right! Yeah, I needed a part-time job for my family! That’s it!”

“Well, that’s nothing you need to hide.” He said and I scratched the back of my head nervously. “Besides…”

“Eh?” I said, turning to look at him. His expression had changed again from normal to dangerous.

“You’d look hot in a maid uniform.” He grinned and I felt my face flush.

“Please let me hit him!” Koge begged. We got off at the last bus stop and quickly made our way to my house’s gates.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow…” Takashi said, smiling at me. “Today was amazing. Thanks, Amu.”

I blushed then nodded in agreement. Takashi looked at the house through the tall iron gate then grinned.

“This is one nice house.” He said. “…Well, I don’t want to make you later for curfew than you already are, so I’ll just go now.”

“Okay.” I said then smiled at him. “I had a lot of fun today. Maybe…we could do it again?”

Koge’s mouth dropped open and Takashi beamed.

“Course!” He said then caught himself before he began jumping up and down. “I-I mean…of course.” He said, more calmly. He saluted me and I waved goodbye as he walked away.

Now for the hard part…

I took a deep breath before unlocking the gates then making my way towards the front door. Before I could reach it though, Tomo opened the door and ripped me inside.

“You’re in trouble, young mistress.” She whispered just loud enough for me to hear as she took off my coat. The thing with Tomo, she was a master at the art of ventriloquism. Whenever I got in serious trouble, she would tell me without anyone hearing or seeing her lips move and tell me what to do to try and get out of my situation.

“It’s seven o’clock.” She said. “Your parents are furious. The Hayashi family has been here for over an hour and—“

“Hayashi family?” I asked quietly as her eyes widened.

“Okay, listen.” She breathed, walking me towards the dining room. “Whatever Master Ichiro says or does, do not. DO NOT. Say anything rude back. It’ll be tempting, but resist it. Be as kind to them as possible or else your parents will KILL you. Understand?”

I hesitantly nodded and she pushed me into the room. My father and mother were sitting at the table along with another man, woman, and a boy about my age. Their eyes all immediately fixed on me and I smiled sheepishly.

“Amu.” My father said coldly. The way he always did when I was in huge trouble but couldn’t start screaming at me because there were people. “Your mother and I were worried. Where in the world have you been?”

“I…I said I was going out today, remember?” I mumbled and my father’s eyes narrowed.

“We told you to back at six, Amu.” My mother said with a fake smile plastered to her face. It was obvious she was furious as well, but wouldn’t show it in front of our guests.

“Kids will be kids, I suppose.” The woman sitting across my mother said with a laugh. She was very elegant-looking with professionally styled black hair, intimidating dark red eyes, and ruby red lips.

“Sit down, Amu.” My father said, gesturing to a chair opposite the boy my age. Right in between my mother and father. I gulped then did as he said. My father turned to the man and woman and frowned.

“Please excuse our daughter.” He said in a low voice.

“No worries.” The elegant-looking woman said again. “It’s quite all right.”

“Yes.” The man said with a no-nonsense look on his face. “We enjoyed chatting with you two.”

“Well, back to business.” My father said then cleared his throat. “Amu, this is Mr. Hayashi, his wife Mrs. Hayashi, and their son, Ichiro.”

“H-hello.” I said nervously, bowing my head slightly in respect. Mr. Hayashi had dark gray hair and stony eyes. He and Mrs. Hayashi were probably in their forties like my own parents, but both only looked to be no older than twenty-five. Much like my own parents.

“So you’re Amu.” The boy, apparently named Ichiro said with a grin on his face. He had the same intimidating red eyes as his mother and dark gray hair like his father’s. Our eyes met and I blushed. He was really good-looking. And I mean REALLY good-looking. Though, something about him made me feel uneasy. I felt my heart begin to beat faster and I looked away from his intense stare.

“So, um…What have we all gathered here for…?” I asked nervously, choosing my words carefully.

“We’re here to talk about an arranged marriage.” Ichiro said bluntly then yawned. My eyes widened. I felt Koge clamp a hand on my shoulder from behind me.

“Arranged…marriage?” I breathed, disbelieving. I looked at my mother who nodded then my father who did as well.

“No way.” Koge said darkly, in that low, calm voice. “No freaking way.”

“B-but wait! Don’t I even get a say in this?!” I cried in astonishment.

“Why?” Ichiro asked, looking at me again with his intense stare. “Am I not good enough?”

“N-no!” I said then shook my head as my mother and father looked at me in shock. “Wait—no! I didn’t mean it like that! I meant—“

I cut myself off as I heard someone begin to laugh. Ichiro. His shoulders bounced as he chuckled in amusement. I blushed.

“Ichiro, please…” Mrs. Hayashi said and Ichiro, for a split second, shot her a look. No one else by Mrs. Hayashi and me saw it and she closed shut. What was up with that?

“Look.” Ichiro said, turning to me with a bored expression on his face. “Your mommy and daddy work for my family.” He said, not even bothering to hide the smug tone in his voice. “Therefore, you technically work for my family as well. And I’m included in my family, so you, when you think about it, technically work for me. Have you even been paying attention, Amu-chan? Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed that your family’s money is running low?” Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw my father shift uncomfortably as my mother flinched. He chuckled then continued.

“So, your parents have decided to hitch you up with me.” He said then took a sip of water, taking his time to get to the point. “To make sure your money doesn’t disappear. Understand?”

I looked at my mother who was twiddling her thumbs nervously while my father refused to make eye contact with me.

“…I…” I began then trailed off.

“Of course, we’re only engaged…” Ichiro continued, slowly running a finger around the rim of his glass. “If you’re also in agreement to this.” He grinned at me challengingly. “So no worries, Amu-chan. You do have a say in this. But understand that your family’s fortune is at stake…”

I looked down at my hands that were shaking slightly.

What am I suppose to do…? I thought, biting my lower lip.

“Never!” Koge yelled, even though it was pointless. “Amu will never be yours! Never! Right, Amu? Tell this freak to get out!...Amu?”

I played with the edge of the table thoughtfully. Everyone’s gaze was on me and the pressure was overwhelming.

“I—“ I began then stopped as Ichiro held up a hand.

“You don’t need to answer right now.” He explained, obviously amused. “We’ve only just met, so I’d like to get to know you better, Amu-chan. But I’ll be expecting you answer as soon as possible.”

“In the mean time,” My father said to me. “Ichiro will be staying here with us for a while.”

How long would a while be…? I wondered, looking at Ichiro who smiled slyly.

“Ah, it’s time to go.” Mr. Hayashi said, standing up. He helped Mrs. Hayashi out of her seat then nodded at us. “It was nice meeting you all. I leave Ichiro in your care.”

“You’ll take care of him, yes?” Mrs. Hayashi asked.

“Of course!” Mother said convincingly. “Just leave him to us.”

Mrs. Hayashi smiled then bowed her head in thanks. A moment later, Tomo saw them to the door.

“Hm.” Ichiro said in a bored tone. “I’m tired.”

“Amu, will you please show Ichiro to his room?” My mother asked me. “The largest guest room.”

“Uh, r-right.” I said, standing up along with Ichiro. I really didn’t want to, but I figured if I said no, I’d just get in bigger trouble. “Come on.”

Ichiro trailed behind me with Koge on my right. Koge looked back at Ichiro, glaring hard.

“I can’t believe this guy is staying here…” He mumbled bitterly.

We arrived in front of one of our many guest rooms and I opened the door for Ichiro. He stepped inside and flicked on the lights.

“Hmm…” He said, examining the room. “This is the largest guest room? Well, I guess it’ll do. After all, your family is on a budget. I get it.”

“Whatever Master Ichiro says or does, do not. DO NOT. Say anything rude back. It’ll be tempting, but resist it. Be as kind to them as possible or else your parents will KILL you. Understand?”

I remembered back on what Tomo had said to me and kept in my comments.

“Um…” I said, forcing back the anger in my tone. “I get that you’re super elite and rich, but…”

“But what?” He pressed, a smile on his face.

“But that doesn’t give you a right to…” I was choosing my words carefully, trying to sound as nice as possible. “well…you know…”

“I truly do not.” He said, obviously amused. “Enlighten me.”

“…Just forget it.” I said with a tired sigh. “Look, I have school tomorrow, so I need to get some rest.”

“Ah, that commoner’s school you go to, right?” He asked as I took a step out of the door. I stopped and turned back to look at him.

“…What about it?” I challenged, furrowing my brow.

“What’s it like, Amu-chan?” He asked as he walked over to the opposite side of the room and sat on the edge of his bed. I followed him and stood only a few feet away, crossing my arms.

“What do you mean?”

“Being part of a commoner’s school.” He scoffed. “Why do you hide your status? Oh, wait. Let me guess. It’s because you think people will treat you differently if they knew who you really were, right? You don’t want them to take advantage of you?”

My face flushed and he grinned.

“What do you know?” I replied, looking away.

“More than you think.” He sighed vaguely. “For instance, your favorite color is navy blue, you play the piano and violin, you hate spiders, and you have a best friend is named ‘Kisa’. Am I right?” I frowned and he smiled, pleased.

“You’re not afraid of heights, but FALLING from so high, you had a stalker back in middle school, and your bust size is—“

“S-s-shut up!!!” I cried as I felt my body get hot all over. “Wh-where did you ever get information like that?!”

“I can kill this guy, right Amu?” Koge asked, obviously as pissed off as I was.

“I was joking about the last thing.” He said with a smirk. “I guess I’ll just have to guess on that one, huh?” He looked at me top to bottom for a moment and I couldn’t help but cross my arms over my chest just a little more.

 Suddenly, he began ing his blazer and loosened his tie. He looked at me then grinned when I blushed a dark red.

“Are you just going to stand there and watch me strip?” He laughed.

“Wha--?!” I cried, feeling light headed. “Y-you are such a--! And I mean, just…UGH!!!” I pivoted on my heels and stormed out of the room. I hated the way he made me feel. So vulnerable, like as if I was just a big joke to him. I slammed my door shut and began grinding my teeth together in frustration.

“I take it this means you’re not going to marry that guy?” Koge asked with a hopeful tone. I clenched my fists and felt my nails bite into the palm of my hands. I looked at him and felt my anger wither away.

“…We’ll see what happens…” I mumbled, exhausted. “We’ll see….” 

 Haha, I don't know why, but I had fun writing this chapter. XDD I always have fun with obnoxious people.

Anyways, who is this Ichiro character? What's his story? Will Amu agree to marry him? Please stay tuned to find out!! As always, thanks soooo much for reading!!!!! Comment, subscribe, and hit me up with a message!!!!!!!!~~ (^0^)/)