#eisuke ichinomiya fan fiction

[truelovevoltage]

Car Accident - Eisuke Ichinomiya

“bat-yo-us said: If you're up for it how about a scenario where eisuke is at work and having a conversation with mc via phone but something terrible happens when suddenly mc was involved in a car accident. The line didn't cut off and eisuke demand desperately that mc to stay conscious until he gets there. Can you make this really really angsty and ends it with a fluff pretty please. I really love a desperate eisuke”

Today was a very rare day that Eisuke asked Y/N to cook his favourite meal. Usually, Eisuke didn’t mind having chefs cook for him or going out to eat because he had the money for it but, he wanted her cooking. He doesn’t know why but the way she cooks his favourite meal, is tastier than the restaurants. There was a time where Y/N cooked his favourite meal for his birthday and when they celebrated out and ordered his food, he questioned the waiter if the chef changed the recipe. He’s been going to that restaurant for a long time but his favourite food disappointed him that day. Since then, he never asked anyone but Y/N to cook his favourite meal. Maybe he was just being biased but it’s the truth.

Upon hearing Eisuke’s request, Y/N happily accepted it. After her work, she went to the grocery store to buy ingredients. Y/N already checked the fridge this morning and there was a lot that she needed to buy. It wasn’t that hard for her to memorize what she needed to buy because as she thought about cooking for Eisuke she had lots of different ways of cooking his favourite meal.

On her way back Eisuke called her. “Hey, where are you right now?” He asked. “I just finished shopping! I’m on my way back.”

“I can’t wait tonight Y/N. I’ll just be finishing a couple of more paperwork then I’ll be done for the night.”

“Sounds like a plan. Don’t overwork yourself Eisuke.”

The two of them stayed on the phone. As Y/N was waiting for the light to change, people started to shove each other and it caused her to lose her balance. She was pushed towards the intersection when a car came speeding by. The car honked at Y/N but she couldn’t balance herself on time to avoid the car.

“Y/N?!?!? WHAT HAPPENED? HELLO?” Eisuke yelled. He started to panic, he had a bad feeling about this.

He kept screaming for her name but there was no answer. He could only listen to the commotion that just happened, he even heard them say to call the ambulance. One lady mentioned how heartbreaking it is to see a young woman covered in blood.

Eisuke couldn’t handle listening to those comments anymore and rushed to the scene. He dropped everything, he knew that he needed to be there for Y/N. He didn’t know where to start looking but he’ll find another way. But before he could even think where to start there was a phone call coming from Y/N. He picked up right away hoping that she was okay, but to his dismay, she was not.

Eisuke was able to find out which hospital she was in. He tried to calm himself down and hope that this is just a nightmare. The receptionist told Eisuke where to go and he just waited outside the emergency room.

It took hours until the Doctor came out from the emergency room. Eisuke walked up to the Doctor. “How is she?”

“Miss Y/N is stable for now, however, she suffered a few broken bones such as a few broken ribs, fractured elbow and head trauma. We need to do surgery as soon as possible. We’re not sure when she’ll wake up, but-”

A nurse ran out of the emergency room. “DOCTOR WE NEED YOU BACK IN THE ROOM.” Eisuke couldn’t help himself but run towards the room. Y/N was in danger and he knew that. “What’s going on here? Y/N don’t leave me, please! Promise me you’ll fight!” He yelled as the Nurses and Doctors tried to save Y/N. “I’m sorry Sir but you need to leave the room. We need to do our job.” Stated one of the Doctors. “You better do your job right then and save her!”

Eisuke could stay still, not knowing how Y/N was doing in there. He couldn’t help but cry, he prayed for Y/N’s safety cause he didn’t know what to do without her. She was the light and happiness in his dark and lonely life.

Nurses came in and out of the emergency room where Y/N was confined. As much as Eisuke wanted to ask what was going on he didn’t want to interrupt anything. The doctor did mention that she needed surgery and lost a lot of blood during the accident. He connected the dots with a matter of time, it wasn’t that hard but it’s hard for him to think straight when Y/N is involved.

After another three hours of waiting the Doctor once again approached Eisuke. “I apologize for the wait, Sir. We did everything and -”

“No...” He whispered. “This isn’t happening.” More tears rolled down his face. His worst nightmare is about to come true. Eisuke grabbed the Doctors collar, “I thought you were going to save her!”

“Sir if you’d let me finish my sentence before you assume anything that would be great.” Eisuke released the Doctor. “As I was saying, We did everything and the surgery is a success. The patient just needs to get enough rest for a faster recovery and you’ll need to be there for her when she wakes up.”

Eisuke planned on doing that in the first place but right now he wanted to see her as soon as possible. He couldn’t believe that the Doctor had the audacity to give him a scare like that. He really thought he was going to lose Y/N.

Days have passed and Y/N was still lying on the bed, Eisuke couldn’t wait until she opens her eyes. He would bring his work to the hospital and would ask Soryu every now and then if he could look after her for a while.

Eisuke rushed to the hospital and cancelled all his meetings when he got a call from Soryu saying that Y/N is finally awake. Upon his arrival, he tried not to hug her because he knows that she had a few broken bones. It was hard for him to restrain himself but he had to do what he needed to do during that time to help her recover. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you Y/N. I was worried sick after the accident.” He caressed her hair. “Sorry Eisuke, I wasn’t able to cook your favourite meal and I was being clumsy as usual on the way back. I didn’t mean to have you waste your time taking care of me in the hospital.” She smiled weakly at him. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Focus on your fast recovery and then once you’re better we can cook together. How does that sound?”

“That sounds perfect.”

Eisuke took care of Y/N until she was discharged from the hospital and he kept his promise of cooking together once she was better. Ever since the accident, he would ask her to wait for him so that the two of them can go grocery shopping together. He didn’t want Y/N to end up in the hospital again and at least then, he gets to spend time with her. 

[aichu-ojo]

FANFIC: Before I go... (KBTBB) -

REQUEST by b________s: 

“Do you know about the hanahaki disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings (romantic love only; strong friendship is not enough), or when the victim dies. How about mc having this condition because she thought that it was a one sided love from her to eisuke. Can you make this angsty please because I love to see a desperate eisuke”

I am really sorry for the late story..!!

Yes, I have heard of it and the story idea, sounds so Eisuke!! No lie- I actually enjoyed writing this one a little too much. I haven’t been this excited for a fanfic for a while so, Yippy!! Plus, I got to build off the MC a little more to be brave and dramatic more.

MAIN: Eisuke = Doctor | MC = Middle Class Family Wealth 

TIMELINE: Edo Era in Japan - 1800′s

CONTAINS SMUT** Please read with Caution.

ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ

Another day has come.

I hear the birds chirping as I open my eyes.

“I’m still alive,” with a low voice.

Turning my head towards the window to see birds outside flying. I finally sit up on my bed and see that Spring is almost here. The buds on the sakura’s are finally blooming and it makes me wonder if I will last that long. I suffer from special disease called, “Hanahaki,” which has been said to curse victims in this town randomly and I happen to be a long term victim of this curse. It started when I noticed my feelings for a particular man in the town which I didn’t even know I had feelings for. I thought that I have been in love before but apparently, I have not like this.

**Knock knock**

“Yes,” I sit up straight.

“______,” mother calls, “Doctor Eisuke is here to check up on you this morning.”

ALREADY?! It’s barely noon?! I start to feel the heat rise in my body and look at my hands to see sakura petals on my skin. Another attack? Already..?! I start to feel my chest tightening and before I can reply, the door slams open.

“_____!!!” Eisuke calls out to me.

“Ei-,” before I can finish his name, he pushes me down and frantically looks for the medicine. 

“_____...!”

I look over to see my mother’s panicked face. I smile trying to ease her but I feel like I’m just making her feel worse with my attack happening.

“Here,” Eisuke leans over and gives me the pill to eat.

I try my hardest to take it but I can feel my throat swelling and I cough it right out of my mouth.

Hearing my mother weep, I try to sit up but before I could, Eisuke leans in and kisses me. I can feel his tongue opening my mouth and as I did, a gush of liquid came rushing in that tasted bitter. I gulped it down as his tongue wandered inside my mouth playing with my tongue. As I slowly reciprocate the feeling of his tongue inside my mouth, I can feel the medicine working and my attack is slowly going away.

Eisuke pulls away slowly from out mouth to mouth contact, the tip of our tongues pull away, and I can feel the heat in my cheeks rising.

“Feel better,” as his hand reaches to touch my cheeks.

Nodding in confirmation, I lean my head into his hand, closing my eyes wishing this moment never ends. This is the man I long for. This feeling inside me keeps growing as we spend more time together even if it is just these simple and normal check ups. I start to doze off from this feeling and fell asleep. Hours Later, I finally wake again.

I didn’t even get to spend time with Eisuke today.

I make my way down the hall and hear my mother and father laughing. I rush over wondering if we had company or relatives visiting. As soon as I turn the corning, I see Eisuke sitting across from my parents at the table.

“Eisuke,” I exclaimed surprise and happy.

“_____,” gesturing me over to her side.

As I walk over, my father starts to speak.

“_____, after talking to Doctor Ichinomiya about your condition and how it is worsening, we thought it might be best if you went to stay with him for the time being.”

I cannot help but be shocked at what my father proposed.

“To be honest,” Eisuke says as I turn my head his way, “I am the one who offered them the idea since your attacks are happening more frequently nowadays.”

“_____,” my mother grabs my hand, “What do you say?”

I look down and start to think.

It’s not like I want to die and to think that Eisuke is willing to go this far to try to save my life. We all know it is only a matter of time before I subcome to this disease knowing that my love will never be returned as the man before probably doesn’t have any romantic feelings towards me. To make my parents not worry, I agree to these terms and start to pack few of my things to take with me. It’s been 2 weeks living at the Ichinomiya House and my attacks have reduced to happening only once every 2-3 days. From what Eisuke said, the only known way to cure this disease is if I get the one I desire romantically to return my feelings for me. Of course, he asked me who it was and I couldn’t tell him that it was him. We have been arguing about this personal matter since the day I came because I started to feel more of an experiment now than a patient for him.

But as the days passed these past couple of weeks, I came to understand a little more about Eisuke. Wither every small bicker, we tend to learn more about each other and I cannot help but fall for him more a little everyday. I was okay with him not returning my feelings since I got to spend these past 2 weeks in bliss. Even the smallest interaction made me happy.

It was the afternoon of week 3 and I finished cleaning the dishes.

“_____,” Eisuke calls me from his office, “Coffee.”

I rush over to the kitchen and make him his coffee. This is the only task I get from him throughout the day. Apparently, I make very good coffee? I never made this ‘coffee’ until I came to this house. I wonder if it is ‘good’ coffee as he claims?

As I finish, I slowly grab the cup and walk carefully to his office.

Knocking on his door, he gestures me to come in.

“Here you are Eisuke,” Happily.

“You need to be more efficient next time,” taking the cup out of my hand, “Still too slowly at making coffee.”

“Well,” pouting, “I am still new at this ‘coffee’ making so you will have to make due with whatever time I bring you coffee.”

As I turn away, Eisuke grabs me by the waist pulling me in. Unbalanced, I fall back and land on his lap.

I feel the heat in my face rise as I sit on Eisuke’s Lap.

“_____.”

I dare not to look at him.

“Daily check up.”

Turning my head, I finally make eye contact with Eisuke, and I feel nothing but embarrassed. I was way over my head thinking something else. “Hey Mr. Doctor~!”

I try to get up and leave but Eisuke has me held down with one arm. How strong can this man be with one arm?

“Get out Baba,” Eisuke scolds.

“Come on,” as he walks in from the terrace, “I was just coming by to check on the little princess you hold captive in your castle.”

“You cannot be mad at anyone but yourself for this Eisuke,” Soryou proclaims as he makes his was inside as well.

“Good Afternoon everyone,” I say shyly as I am held against my will on Eisuke’s Lap.

“Aww,” Ota says sarcastically, “Showing affection so early in the day are we Eisuke?”

“Can you please stop,” Officer Mamoru says, “It’s weird.”

Eisuke gets up with me in his arm carrying me as he walks away.

“Dare to follow me and you’ll know the consequences,” he announces. As he walks carrying me, I start to tell Eisuke to put me down.

“Your request has been denied.”

As we make it to Eisuke’s Bedroom, He closes the door behind him and puts me down on the bed.

“Wha-,” before I could finish.

“Check up,” as he takes out an extra pair of stethoscope from his night stand.

“Oh,” looking down at the floor, “Right.”

As I start to undo my obi a bit, I can feel Eisuke’s eyes staring at me. I’ve never been more embarrassed and shy doing a check yet until today. Knowing that we are in his bedroom just makes the blood rush to my head. As I start to dwell on this feeling, my breathing becomes irregular and my chest starts to tighten.

“An attack,” as Eisuke grabs a hold of me.

“I’m... sorry,” I try to hold myself up.

Eisuke lays me down on the bed and I start to grab my chest as I feel the pain swelling up. Something’s different about this attack. I can feel it. It feels deeper like someone stabbed me in the lungs as I gasp for air.

I see Eisuke above me as he leans in and kisses me. This is only the second time we’ve done this since the day I left home. I can feel the liquid flowing in as his tongue dives into my mouth. I shyly pull back but it doesn’t stop Eisuke from forcing himself gently down on me.

As our tongue start to slowly dance and feel each other, I start to feel a little bit of weight off my chest but it still hurts. No sooner does Eisuker pull away from my lips to see that the sakura markings are still on my skin.

“Are you still having an attack?”

“I don’t know,” as I look at my hands, “What’s happening to me?”

“Maybe,” as he slowly leans in towards me.

I have no idea what is going on but before I could speak, Eisuke’s hands start to caress the sides of my body, completely taking apart my obi while placing his head in-between my neck. I start to arch my back when I feel Eisuke’s lips kissing my neck gently at the same time as his hands make contact with my skin on my chest. I can feel the bottom of my stomach throbbing he slowly starts to caress my breast with his large hands. I can’t take this anymore so I try to wiggle my way out and Eisuke starts to chuckle lifting his head out of my neck.

“Where are you going?” Smirking down on me.

Frantically panting, I answer panically, “I don’t know,” as my eyes start to water, “But this is too much for me..!”

As I start to close my eyes, I hear Eisuke say, “Not enough you mean?”

No sooner, does his lips meet mines. Our kiss deepens as our tongues dancing violently with each other like we have never done this before. His hands slowly cups my breast, gently massaging, making me yelp.

“Ah,” moaning inside our breathe from all the kissing, “...Eisu-,” cutting me off with a forcefully kiss covering my mouth.

My legs start to twist as the throbbing gets deeper.

Pulling away from the kiss, I yelp, “No more” trying to push him away, “Please..!”

I feel Eisuke’s stop, pulling away from every inch of my body.

“You marks are gone,” he says walking towards the doors and out.

I lay their wondering what was happening to me before making my way out the bedroom joining the guys out on the terrace. 

The next days, I wake up to find Eisuke missing. He left me note on the dining table stating that he went to go find the special herb for my disease with the guys in the mountain and won’t be back until the late evening. With that said, I decided to do some cleaning in the house.

It’s been 4 days since he left and I only had on attack since his trip. It wasn’t crazy and very mild. My medicine is almost out so I pray for their soft return soon since I do not know when my next attack will be.

I hear ruckus outside the terrace and I see the guys coming.

“Welcome back,” I exclaimed.

Overjoyed, Baba says, “I’m back my wife,” while running towards me.

Before I jumped back, someone from behind says, “Don’t touch what’s mines.”

Baba immediately stops in his tracks and I see Eisuke standing behind him with a frown. Baba tells Eisuke that it was just a joke and that he should lighten up. I start to laugh as this goes on. Slowly, everyone starts to go home for the night as I finish cleaning and I hear Eisuke call for me.

“_____. Come to my office.”

I stop in my tracks and start heading to his office.

“Yes Eisuke,” peeking in questioning him.

“We didn’t find anymore of the herb to make more of your medicine with to suppress the effects of the hanahaki. Whatever we have is the last of it,” he says in a low grunge voice.

I don’t dwell too much as I knew that it was a long shot to begin with. I march over to EIsuke, answering with a smile, “Thank you for trying to find more and for everything.”

Eisuke looks at me confused and angry, “Why are you not mad?”

“There is nothing to be mad about,” I calmly try to say.

While Eisuke gets frustrated, I grab his hand and tell him, “I knew it was wishful thinking that this medicine was going to last me a lifetime,” trying to hold back my tears, “But I’m glad that I got to meet you and the guys before I go.”

“DON’T MESS WITH ME!!”

Grabbing my hand in return, Eisuke stands up and starts dragging me to his bedroom. Once we enter, he tosses me on the bed. Confused, I try to sit up but I was too slow as Eisuke is on top of me in bed.

“Eisuke...?” I can see the irritation in his facial expression.

His eyes are narrow and his mouth is not frowning but his glare is so intimidating that I just lay there, motionless.

“You,” sighing, “Really think I don’t know who you like?”

I look at him confused as I never really told him since all we did was bicker.

“Just say you love me....”as he glares at me.

My cheeks start to burn as I look dumbfounded. HE KNOWS?! How?! With all my might, I deny it in all possible ways I can by words and action. As I slowly begin to lash out, Eisuke pins one on my arms down by the wrist.

With this sudden action, I stare at him as he leans.

“Just tell me,” he says with a lower husky voice.

Closing my eyes tightly, I shut my mouth as I fear the rejection but then I feel the aching in my chest and then suddenly, I start heaving.

Another attack? Already?! I just had one yesterday and it wasn’t even this strong..!

I grab my chest with my free hand and Eisuke takes no chance. Gettin off, He rushes to grab the medicine and starts to open the bottle. Looking at my hands, the sakura markings are there but darker. They are not the bright pink but a dark dusty pink. The pain starts to build up as it gets harder to gasp for air.

“_____!!!” Eisuke starts to panic.

Staring back at him with whatever conscious I have left, his facial starts to become blurry and then I felt his warmth on my lips.

With little strength I have left, all I feel is Eisuke’s tongue pushing all the liquid inside my mouth. Pulling away, I start to feel light headed but the pain in my chest is still there. Is this the end?

I can breathe but I can also tell my Eisuke’s expression that the markings still haven’t gone away.

“....it’s....okay....” As I try saying with any strength I have left. I can tell he isn’t satisfied with my response so I ask him, “...could I...ask...for....one last... memory...if I...can?”

Grabbing my hand, he just stares at me.

“...please...make me...yo-,” before finishing, I feel Eisuke’s lips on mines give me nothing more than a long kiss with all his warmth.

Slowly, our lips separate and I stare long at Eisuke.

Reaching for my cheek with his hand, I lean towards is hand and place my face into his palm as he caresses my cheek.

“Shut up,” mumbling under his breath as I enjoy the moment. Sitting me up, Eisuke starts to slowly loosen my obi to my kimono from the back. His cool hands brush against my hot shoulders while pulling down my kimono off which makes me moan unconsciously under my breath.

“Look up at me _____.” His voice is lower than usual.

I lift my head up and our eyes meet. Lowering his head down, I start to close my eyes and I feel our lips touch gently repetitively before Eisuke begins eating me whole. As this goes on, my kimono starts to fall off my shoulder. Just the thought of being completely naked in front of Eisuke get the heat rising inside of me. I start to feel the throbbing in-between my legs.

His hands slowly explores my backside up and down making me shiver and moan.

“Ahh,” I cry without holding back.

“I like that sound,” he proclaims as I catch my breath in-between our kisses.

Slowly, I lean back, falling as Eisuke leans on top of me.

“....EIsuke...” Catching my breath.

Climbing on top of me, he steals my breath more kissing me deeply and I wrap my arms around Eisuke’s neck. Pulling away from out deep kiss, Eisuke sits up and stares at my body. Embarrassed, I use my hands and arms to cover my body.

“What are you embarrassed about?” As he starts to take off his top.

“...um, I...” Flustered, “...I know...my body isn’t...”

Eisuke’s hand reaches down grabbing my hand pulling it to his face, kissing the palm, “It’s beautiful,” he says as we both make eye contact.

The heat starts to rise in me and my eyes start to water.

Releasing my hand, “This is not going to be the last time I see your beautiful body.”

I stare up with my blurry eyes, respond, “I don’t even know if I’ll make it after today so maybe it will be.”

Feeling Eisuke’s hands touching my bare body, I freeze from the embarrassment and shyness. Suddenly, my waist up in the air, I screech from my voice.

“Don’t worry,” He says as I feel his breath near my honey pot, “This isn’t going to be the last time.”

As I shyly protest for him to stop, suddenly, I feel his tongue gently gliding along my honey pot, rounding my clit, and making it’s way inside. I can’t hold my voice back anymore as he continues to make me cry in pleasure from his tongue teasing me.

“Eisuke...!! Ahhh,” I try to push his head away from me bottom, “Nmmh... I can’t....!! Ahhhh~!!”

As I keep protesting, He goes deeper inside me with his tongue while teasing my clit with his finger. As I feel the tension rise inside me, I beg him even more to stop.

“Cum for me,” he mumbles as he continues to satisfy me below.

Before long, I submit to the feeling and cum in front of Eisuke’s Face.

Embarrassed and out of breath, I cover my face.

“Are you not going to tell me?’

I uncover my eyes and see that Eisuke is staring back at me. I guess he must be talking about me liking him. I shake my head in response. 

Riling Eisuke up, he gets frustrated with by spouting, “If you won’t tell me, then I’ll have your body tell me instead.”

I feel Eisuke’s shaft rubbing me below as it starts to hit my clit as well and I start to arch my back as I can feel my body craving his cock inside me. 

“Tell me,” he groans, “that you love me.”

I start to get frustrated as I begin to cave in slowly. I want to tell him but I’m afraid of getting rejected so I bite my tongue and turn my head away.

“Fine,” as he adjusts himself at my entrance, “I’ll force it out of you.”

I feel him spreading me inside and lunges himself deep within me. Gasping for air, I feel the heat of his cock spreading inside of me. It feels so good, it makes me give in to all the pleasure.

“Not yet,” as he thrust me once.

“AHH~!!” I yelp loudly.

“_____,” he says while reaching to my face with his hand.

“Eisuke...”

He leans forward being on top of me while connected. He stares at me while my eyes start to water a bit.

“Just, please... Just tell me...”

I smile back and he just bites his lips and starts thrusting inside me. With each thrust, my mind slowly begins to go blank from all the pleasure. Then, his thrust started getting rougher slowly like he was trying to tell me something. Slowly lifting my waist up, I feel him going deeper inside me and I couldn’t contain my moans anymore.

“Wa-WAIT...! Ahh~, Eisuke!!!”

“......no....”

“Pl-Please..! I’m, I’m begging you...! Ahhhh~!! Mnhhm....!!”

As I feel myself loosing to this feeling, I just bask in it the pleasure.

“I’m cumming...!”

Thrusting inside me aggressively, a big wave of satisfying pleasure comes over me.

“...I...Love you...Eisuke...” I say before I faint.

If this was my last moment, I don’t mind it being with Eisuke, the man I love. I hear birds chirping.

Opening my eyes, “It’s..morning..?”

I feel someone next to me and turn to see Eisuke, Laying there, sleeping. A rush of memories start to flood in my brain as I start to remember what happened last night. I confessed my love to Eisuke.

But if I didn’t die, How am I alive?

Then I start to remember what Eisuke said about the cure... Does he love me?

Slowly, as I try to get off the bed, Eisuke grabs me by the waist pulling me back in bed.

“Ei-Eisuke?!”

“Be quite. I’m still tired.” says pulling me in to cuddle.

“Um, Eisuke...”

Giving me the silent treatment.

“Um,” I try asking nicely, “Do you... Do you love me..?”

I lay there waiting to hear a reply but I get nothing. Then suddenly, he pulls me under him while he is on top. Staring down at me, I stare back.

“You’re alive are you not?”

Wait- is this a trick question? I want to hear him say it... I did last night.

“Do you Eisuke? Do you love me?” I start to doubt it now.

“Ugh...” He starts to sigh. “Really?”

Reaching my hands to hold his face, “Eisuke,” as we stare at each others eyes, “I love you. I love you so much I can di-..!”

Eisuke kisses me to shut me up. I can feel his tongue dancing with mines, ravaging my mouth of any words that may come out. I start gasping for air and push his face off of mines.

“Wa-wait..!”

“_____,” as I stop pushing his face off of mines, “I love you. Don’t go dying without my permission now okay.”

Stunned at his answer, I barely fight back anymore as we lock lips again giving into the wave of pleasure to this love. ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ

Thank you for reading.

Slowly getting the hang of this FANFIC but if you have any suggestions or tips about these stories, comment please.

[voltagefangirl19]

Masterpost

So I’m trying to do a master post that can be seen on smartphones, iPods, and iPads so here’s the first try :v  ® means request ^^

KBTBB

Headcannons

1.- MC as a hitwoman hired to kill the bidders part 1, 2  POV: Eisuke, Soryu

2.- Having a bad day 

3.- Halloween costume (drawing)

4.- Jealous ®

5.-Betting on the Oscars (Academy Awards) 

6.- Mc kills herself (trigger warning)

7.- Valentine’s day- Highschool Au

One shot/Fics

1.- Perfect day- Eisuke Ichinomiya  

2.- A moonlight lake- Soryu Oh

3.- Too late: prelude  ch.1  ch.2  ch.3  ch.4 ch.5 

4.- Cheating (guys POV) ®

5.- Five surprises (Eisuke POV)

6.- The disappearance of the bluebird- Ota Kisaki

7.- A sweet nightmare- Eisuke Ichinomiya (NSFW) ®

8.- Mc almost dying- Soryu Oh ®  Eisuke version ®

EITM

One shot/fanfic

1.- Miyabi- a smile… ®

2.- Hymn for the missing - Yukinojo (angst)

Headcannons

1.- High school AU.

2.- HS AU Valentine’s day

3.- HS AU College ®

SCM

One shot/fics

1.- Just friends?- Dui, Leon  Hue

[nikki-romero]

The Assassins [Hikaru Aihara] ~ Chapter 10

“Good morning, Hikaru,” I greeted.

“Yeah.”

It was the morning after Hikaru hurt his arm. Although I spent the night in my apartment in the Wings of Freedom HQ building, I was back in “wonderland” for breakfast.

“Good morning, Master. Good morning, Alice. This morning’s tea is a special recipe from Germany...” While the Mad Hatter chattered away cheerily about the tea, Hikaru and I looked away from each other.

“How’s your arm?” I asked.

“Fine. I can use my left arm just fine. And I can still move my right arm,” he said with a reluctant sigh as he picked up his cup with his left hand.

“If it hurts, you should take some time off from the hotel...”

“It’s none of your business.”

I frowned dejectedly. “I’m your boss. It is my business.” Hikaru didn’t respond.

Later that morning I was lying on my bed in my apartment, my forearm resting over my eyes, when my phone rang.

“Hello?” I answered softly.

“You sound awful.”

“Hello, Eisuke. What is it?”

“I’m running out of patience. Since when does an investigation take you this long?” I sighed. “Where are you?”

“In my apartment.”

“Have you left the Mad Hatter?”

“Yeah... I’m done with it. Can you come over for dinner tonight? You can bring Ran and Lauren, too.”

“Fine.”

“I just have some loose ends to take care of today. You guys can come over at seven.” I didn’t wait for a reply before hanging up.

 Later that afternoon I went back to the basement tea room to tell Hikaru I’m leaving.

“Alice, are you looking at the flowers on the wall?” the Mad Hatter asked when he saw me.

“Mm. We painted those together, didn’t we, Maddy?”

“Yes. Doesn’t it make you feel better when the flowers on the wall are beautiful?”

“I prefer real flowers. But these are nice too.” As we talked, the hidden swung out. “Welcome back, Hikaru.” I slowly turned towards him.

“I have something to...” we both started in unison.

“Hey.”

“I knew it! You two are very close, after all!” Maddy smiled pleasantly at us and silence filled the room.

“You start,” Hikaru said.

“Okay. I’m leaving.”

“Fine.” I looked at him sadly. “It’s time for our contract to be over.”

I smiled self-deprecatingly. “There was never a contract. I signed a fake name, remember? All the information I gave you; it was only what I knew I could afford to have you know. I’m an Ichinomiya, and your employer is after my brother. I can’t help you.”

“I know.” He took out the contract. “I had the Mad Hatter go to the trouble of writing this and it never even came in handy.” He tore it in half. “Get your things and be out of here by the end of the day.”

“Hikaru...”

“Although I doubt you have many things here.”

“I already did.”

“Then hurry up and go!” I flinched. Hikaru sighed and rested a hand on my head. “I just want to forget about you.”

If you want to forget about me, then why do your eyes look so sad? Hikaru made to leave through the hidden door, but I lightly rammed my body into his back, embracing him from behind. He stiffened.

“Just for a little while.” I squeezed him tightly, resting my cheek against his back. Hikaru didn’t turn around when I let go; he simply left through the hidden door. “Well,” I turned to Maddy with a strained smile. “I better get going.”

“Alice, when I see you at the auctions, I won’t be able to talk to you like I can here. But I shall never forget you, Alice.”

“Thanks, Maddy. I’ll miss you, too.” I hugged him. I then slung my bag over my shoulder and left the fake wonderland.

 “Hotaru-onee-chan!” Lauren hugged me as she and her parents stepped through my door that night.

“Hey, Lauren. I have a surprise for you. Follow Yukino.” I nodded my head towards my friend behind me.

“And what would the surprise be?” Ran asked.

“I’ll show you.” I led them to the living room where a large dollhouse stood. Lauren’s eyes sparkled when she saw it.

“Is that the hotel?” Eisuke asked.

“An exact replica. Custom made. Lauren can come play with it whenever she wants,” I told him.

“Look, look, daddy! It’s you and Mom!” Lauren called, holding up two small dolls.

Eisuke and Ran went to take a closer look.

“This is incredible. When did you have this made?”  Ran asked.

“When we first came to London. Things were just a bit hectic and I didn’t get a chance to show you.”

 A little while later Lauren was playing with the dollhouse while the rest of us stood around the kitchen counter, drinking wine.

“You aren’t worried about being bugged anymore?” Eisuke asked.

“Even if I was, we have technology installed here that interferes with any external bugs. It’s impenetrable,” I replied.  

“Just like the Wings of Freedom to install something like that,” he said.

I smiled. “Emilia installed it.”

“My patience is wearing thin, Hotaru. Start talking.”

Normally I’d have snapped at him to say please before asking for favours if he talked to me like that, but honestly I just didn’t have the energy. I downed my glass and refilled it with more wine as I began to talk. I told them everything from start to finish.

“I suppose it’s about time we wrap it up, huh...”

“Why did you drag it out?” Ran asked. 

“I spent all that time investigating him and before I knew it, he became someone important to me.” I smiled self-deprecatingly as I leaned against the counter.

  To be continued...

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[kitsunetypo]

Kissed by the Baddest Bidder pre-review

*This post is written after finishing the prologue, reviews on stories are to come separately* It would be only fair to start with the highest rated Voltage Inc. story. I should admit it wasn't my first choice to read as story plot sounds like a cheap fan fiction cliché. But I just had to give it a try since it's currently ranked as the most popular story on the app. So is it worth the hype?

Plot: MC works as a maid in a hotel and one day she discovers that this hotel is used as a black market. Driven by a stupid circumstances she becomes first human to be sold on a black market auction.

Personal opinion: Well, the story plot so far is beyond realistic type of fiction. Would make more sense to say it was her first day at work. Because MC doesn't give an impression of stupid person. But I can't imagine you don't see something that big happening if you work involves going to storage which is literally next door. *mild_spoiler* The fact that FOUR guys buy you at auction also doesn't make any sense. Do you know how biding work? You can't share a bill, it's not a dinner at a restaurant with your pals. */mild_spoiler* But either way, MC is being kicky and have sharp tongue, so kudos for that.

Pre-review of prologue: MC rating: ★★★★✩ Plot rating: ★★★✩✩

And now lets jump to the characters:

Oof, where should I start. There is 9 characters. And it may be just my opinion, but I find it a bit too much. I can see how they are trying to make more types of characters and all, but is it THAT necessary? I personally find it confusing, as I'm the type of person that struggles to make a choice. But to be completely clear, 4 of them are somewhat advanced and not for a first time readers, as their stories start from season 2 and 3 and you won't meet them in first prologue. That brings us to 5 characters for now. So lets have a preview of first 5 of them based on a prologue. I will focus on a personalities rather than bio of characters, as it's already written both in app and wikis.

▸Eisuke Ichinomiya "The King from your fantasies" Not first just by the line but also by popularity, both in game and by players. Have a look of typical ikeman that don't care about hoard of women that surrounds him. Is a go-go for you if you like sassy men, bossy attitude and love/hate relationships. Conclusion: Very likable character. Sounds fun, ticks all my kinks and I just can't say no to a love/hate story. Excited to play: ★★★★★

▸Soryu Oh "Tsundere mafia leader" Classic mafia leader character, who cool and calm from the outside, but is shy and soft on the inside. Conclusion: You can't go wrong with classics, especially nostalgic for all manga readers in 2000s. I will pray for him to have a pervy side too. Excited to play: ★★★★✩

▸Mitsunari Baba "Thief that will steal your heart" A typical womanizer. If you like to hear all that sweet cheesy talk, then it may be your good to go. Conclusion: Not a fan of sweet talks, not a fan of womanizers, so it's just a personal no. Also, Calling someone Baba is a bit... Excited to play: ★★✩✩✩

▸Ota Kisaki "Your angelic kinky owner" Most interesting character so far, as it is not any typical cliché type. Young artist that have lovable face, but he actually into some kinky owner/pet stuff. Yum. Conclusion: Probably not for everyone, but so far sounds like the most unique story to read. Excited to play: ★★★★★

▸Mamoru Kishi "Careless detective daddy" Are you into careless older men? Well, then that's your perfect match. Conclusion: It just doesn't sound exciting at all, sorry. I'm tired of life on my own, not into experience it in fiction stories too. Excited to play: ★★✩✩✩ (personal -★ for beard, it's just a no for me) In conclusion, I will definitely going to finish at least some of the stories and write a more clear reviews. First ones are probably going to be Eisuke and Ota’s stories. As for now, farewell~

[nitelotus]

When doves cry (Complete)

Author warning: This was whatI do best. Angst. Read at your own risk. Muse likes my depression. The only benefit I have.

Tagging: @suzunesays and @smile-smile-ichthys because you both like angst.

“Please, Mamo. If this is the last thing that you can do for me,” Selina pleaded. There were no large bags with her. Only a small handbag slung over one shoulder. The only thing left that she brought with her from the old into the new.

Kishi looked at his previous lover. A long time ago when they were both young and foolish, he got involved with her. Crush her heart after a year of innocent love’s bliss. But reality had such cruel plans. Even with that behind them, she still came to him for help.  Asked him to help someone else’s heart and hers, all over again. “Are you sure about this, Selina? Have you talked to him?”

She shook her head and smiled at him. “What is left to talk about? This is my life. This is how I want to live. We are not on the same path anymore.” Her tone broke his heart. “It’s all for the best.”

He’d never seen any kind of pain show through from her. He even thought that she was a robot on the inside. She was always so kind and supportive when he told her that he needed to leave for the academy. That being in a relationship was a distraction he did not need. One time he returned to check up on her. She lost weight, her smile a bit dim but she survived. She lived on without him. She loved again.

Now, she’s breaking her own heart all over again.

Because Kishi had seen them both together. The deep love that they had for each other. He was relieved that she found some happiness. Whatever reason it was, it didn’t last too long.

With a sigh, he handed her one folded note. “Ya know, ya can change your mind at any point?” That was his own guilt talking.

She nodded, reached out to squeeze his arm gently and was gone.

Gone but not forgotten.

The women. The never ending parade of women. All for him. Two of them tonight for the world’s most charming and loveable thief.

Mitsunari Baba.

Well, loveable might be a point for discussion. He thought she loved him but wasn’t so.

“Baba-kins, why are you so distracted tonight?” the blonde on his right asked. What was her name again?

The brunette on his left laughed. “He needs more alcohol. And you know, a lil’ something-something.” She laughed again.

Baba was getting annoyed but didn’t want to spend another night alone. Ever since Selina left, he had one cardinal rule: the bed must NEVER be empty. That night when he got back from the job, the house appeared exactly the same. Except, she was gone. No note. No money. No cellphone. She took nothing except for the one bag that she always had with her. He waited. Day after day. Night after night. He first thought she was kidnapped for ransom. But the ransom never came and she never returned. After that, he got rid of all the things that reminded him of her. Sheets, colognes, soaps, perfumes, clothing, tea. There was one thing that he did keep. That keychain of a lion that she first bought for him. The one that had the key to her old apartment. He even went there just in case. That night, he gave up. That cardinal rule was born.

He gave both their waists a squeeze. “I’m sorry for neglecting you, my princesses! Don’t worry! The party’s just getting started!” he replied in assurance.

The cold wind blew in as the group emerged from the main entrance of Tres Spades. Winter was going to be harsh this year. He could have just gone up the penthouse and partied there but he grew weary of the same old. Maybe tonight, they could find a new place to party. Anywhere but here.

The ladies were busy chatting while they waited for a cab to take to the club. Shouts of a commotion drew Baba’s attention. A group of male employees formed a circle around something or someone. Did they have a pest infestation? Eisuke would surely raise hell for this. This can’t happen in Tres Spades. Always the curious cat, he walked silently towards the group. The men shouted warnings at the center of their attention. Some backed away while the others lunged at something. What was it? As he inched closer, Baba finally got some visual on what caught the men’s attention.

It was a human being.

Or that looked like a human being. It might be a vagrant to be more precise. It was clothed in black tattered dress that was gathered at the waist with some red rope. The hair was more like a black nest for all sorts of things to live in. They wore no gloves or shoes. They leaned heavily on their right leg as the left one limped a bit. On the person’s hand was something wrapped in aluminum foil that they held close to their person. Judging from where they were, it must have been left over food that they have scavenged from the hotel’s garbage bin. Baba couldn’t see the person’s face as they tried to thwart the men that tried to capture it.

“Men, please.” Their attention went towards Baba. They all knew who he was and made way for him.

“No need to concern yourself, Mr. Baba,” one of the reacted. “It’s just one of those scummies that goes dumpster diving. Mr. Ichinomiya warned us that having them hover around the trash bins was bad for business.”

Baba’s eyes went flat. The man who just addressed him gave the impression that he was a diligent employee of Tres Spades. Probably eager to please the boss. But these ‘scummies’ as he just labeled them, were once people too. Just down on their luck. This did not mean they lose the dignity to be treated as people.

A hiss was heard from the person as one of the men came close to it.

Baba really could have been spending a lovely evening being sandwiched by two ladies but for some reason, this one caught his attention. As he stepped closer, the person in the middle grew agitated. They drew back their lips to present teeth, a warning to anyone that might get too close to them. This person would fight. He really didn’t want to hurt this person. He might want them fed, clothed properly for this harsh weather and then maybe a job somewhere. But they needed to restrain this person first. With a signal to two men behind, he took another step. As expected, the focus was on him. He encroached on their space. He held up his hands.

“Easy now. We just want to help,” he explained in a soothing manner.

At the exact same time, the two men grabbed each arm of the person. The aluminum foil went down on the ground. The person emitted a howl like a wounded animal. It thrashed between the two men, almost overpowering them but they held firm. Baba took another step closer.

“Sir...be careful,” someone warned behind him. They should have said that a bit earlier.

He only wanted a look. With a hand, he reached out to move the knotted hair from the person’s face. Turbulent and frightened blue eyes stared back at him. Half of the person’s face was marked with scars.

No! It can’t be!

The person in front of him whimpered and struggled against the men that held her. In this constant movement, the ripped collar revealed a gold chain with an amber pendant.

Baba clearly remembered the day he gave that to her, put it around her neck, kissed her beautiful nape before he continued on to making love to the only woman that mattered in his life. Amber to ward off the negative things and people from her. Promised to love, protect and cherish her. The same woman that disappeared from his life three years ago with no explanation. That same woman now stood before him. No, not the same. The woman before him acted like a strange animal. She made sounds and gnashed her teeth. She smelled horrible and wore dirty, torn clothing. She ate from the garbage!

“Selina…” Baba whispered her name in pain. My god! What happened to you?

Before he could ask that question, her body shook, went rigid and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She slumped unconscious between the men that held her.  

“WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE!”

Instinct took over Baba as he punched the guy who tasered Selina. The men backed away including the ones that currently held her.

“Release her,” he ordered in a more controlled manner. He should have been more specific as they both let go. If he wasn’t there, she would have met the cold pavement. As Baba gathered her in his arms, the sensations of holding her close came back. It was familiar and yet foreign. She was so much lighter now. Her fingers were bony. Upon closer inspection, her face was taught. The scars troubled him the most. Finally, one realization shook him to the core.

He knew she saw him and yet, Selina gave no recognition that she knew him. At all.

“Why does the penthouse smell like garbage lived here?” Eisuke complained. “Don’t I pay that maid enough to clean after you pigs?”

Ota held his nose as well. The smell traveled from the elevator all the way into the lounge. It was a mix of some sort of body odor and something that died. Even the stoic Soryu had trouble keeping a straight face.

“Call Kenzaki! I’m going to fire that maid!” Eisuke shouted once more.

“Everybody! Hush!”  Baba came from his room. Once that door opened, the smell intensified a hundredfold. Apparently, his room was the source of the offending odor. Ota started to make retching sounds.

“Ota, if you puke now, you’ll never stop,” Soryu warned. That could also trigger his own vomiting episode. Then maybe at least the place would smell of regurgitated food.

“No one’s going to vomit but I need to contact Luke,” Baba said urgently. The smell clung to his clothes. They probably need to be burned along anyways. Along with hers. That gave him pause. Was it coincidence that she wandered over here? Back to this hotel for food? That eventually their paths would cross? But even then, why hadn’t she called out for him. Their eyes met. He knew her. She didn’t know him. So many questions that only she had the answers. But first, her safety was his main priority.

Before Baba could contact Luke, the door to his suite opened. A black mass suddenly came out even with the limp in its gait. It kept low to the ground and sniffed.

“What the hell is that?” Eisuke exclaimed in disgust.

Crap! Baba didn’t expect for her to wake up early.

Selina’s gaze turned to the sound of Eisuke’s voice. She growled to ward off the predator while still sniffing the floor. Probably for food. Food that was in a form of mini sandwiches that was left earlier. Having found the source of food, it hurriedly scampered towards the table. It tried to avoid Eisuke and Ota. She hadn’t seen Baba. She has been in the penthouse numerous times before. But there was no greeting for either one of them as her only focus was to get the food. The food that looked cleaned and tasty.

“No!” Baba stepped in front of Soryu that already had his gun out.

Sensing danger that brewed, she hurried her steps and grabbed whatever food she could. Some of them got squished between her hands but the children wouldn’t care. It was food. That was all that mattered. Now to get out of here. 4 men blocked her way. A massive door across must be the exit. Haste was what she needed. So she tried. Hobbled, hopped, scurried towards freedom.

Until the door opened and another man blocked her path. No!

“What the hell is…” The man before her was scraggly, in a suit and smoke a cigarette.

That small nub of light was the only trigger she needed to move once more. She tried to dodge and make her way in the small space by his side.

“Catch her, Kishi!” Baba called out.

He caught her by the collar. She tried to bite him. He released her. Too disoriented at this point, she headed back towards where she came from. She snarled like a cornered dog.

“Selina,” Baba tried a step towards her. He was rewarded with more hostility.

Ota sighed. His friend would surely either kill or thank him later. But this was getting ridiculous. Prolonging this any further might just hurt her more or make him puke for real. There was only one way to treat a rabid animal. He whistled loudly. That got everyone’s attention including hers.

“Heal!” Ota directed in a clear voice. He felt Baba stiffen behind him but he held a hand to ward him off. She was now entirely focused on Ota. He took a step towards her while she still cowered in her corner. He needed to gain her trust. Reward. Food.

“Hand me that apple, Baba. Hurry!” Ota asked. Soon enough, the apple was at hand. Next, he showed that to her. Each time that his hand with the apple moved, her attention followed. As he sensed her trust, he urged her to come closer. He actually kneeled before her to be on the same level with her. Everyone in the room was quiet, almost mesmerized the silent communication between Ota and the figure before them.

“Do you want this?” Ota asked gently.

A nod from her.

“Then would you promise to behave? No more biting?” She could, of course, go a different route once she had the apple. She was unpredictable at this point.  “Come on now. You have to take it from me. I mean no harm.”

Selina looked at the apple and then back to the blonde person. Was the apple poisoned? Why did he offer it freely? He asked not to bitten. But what did he want? One hesitant step. Then another. Until she was before him. Her hand reached out slowly and then pulled back.

“If you’re good, Koro, you can have the apple. Are you good?” the man asked her.

Was that her name? But then she’d been called lots of names. She nodded once.

“Good. Take it then,” he urged gently.

Her hand reached out. Slowly. One more inch. Then, success! The apple disappeared within her grimy hands but she took no bite. She did the unthinkable.

She smiled.

Ota patted her head. She was calm. For now. He had her trust. “She’ll be ok for now. Until she’s hungry once more. Or threatened. ”

Baba gasped. This can’t be happening! Selina hated Ota for what he did to her the first time they met. And now, she acted like his pet! His willing pet. However much he hated that fact, it was the only way she cooperated. She almost curled against Ota’s leg as they waited for Luke to come and examine her. She started to get agitated once more when the doctor appeared. Ota had to reinforce his trust and eventually, Luke had to sedate her so she wouldn’t hurt herself or him during the examination. Baba had to bribe Luke extra due to the smell hazard. As Luke examined Selina, Baba’s thoughts churned inside his head.

Luke sighed as he finished the examination. Baba waited anxiously.

“She needs a bath. Desperately,” he started.

“That’s obvious,” Baba harshly stated.

Luke washed his hands thoroughly. “The marks on her face were burn marks. From something small. Looked like someone used her as an ashtray.” He paused then continued. “She’s malnourished. Have lice. I’ll give you a prescription for that. As for her right leg, it’s nothing too serious as the marks. A muscle strain. She needs rest. Plenty of vitamins and good food.”

Baba made a mental note. Never again would she be out of his sight. “How about her actions? It also appears that...she doesn’t recognize her surroundings.” Or us. Or me.

Luke shrugged. “It could be a number of factors. Trauma perhaps, is my guess. But I’m no psychologist. You’d have better luck finding answers there.” Satisfied that his hands were as clean as they could get, he took out a pen and paper, scribbled instructions and maybe a prescription too. “Bath first. We all need oxygen.”

“Yeah. I’ll wire you the money. Thanks,” Baba distractedly replied as he tried to make sense of his handwriting. Soon enough, it was quiet. The smell didn’t bother him too much anymore. His gaze fell on her sleeping figure. Did she get used to this? Not being able to take a shower? Wear clean clothes? Be warm and have a full belly? Sleep knowing that she was safe from danger? His finger traced her face from her forehead to her lips. Her body might be malnourished and her heart battered. But they were together. They can start over. Anything can start if they are together.

With the help of the penthouse maid, they were able to bathe her while she was groggy from being sedated. There were, even more, marks on her back that was unexplained and worried him. The maid, being paid as so, knew to keep everything she saw in utmost secrecy. Her heart broke for Selina and for Baba.

After hours of washing, finally, she looked human again. They braided her hair to keep it tidy. They have found a long gown for her to wear. Selina looked like herself once more, even with the marks and scars. His instinct was to make her his once more. Remind her who she belonged to. She was someone attractive, inside and out. As a thief, Baba only knew treasure. She was one to him.

The next few weeks were a real challenge. As soon as Selina was coherent, she reverted back to that person he witnessed by the alley. She was distrustful of him, often times clawing at the air with her hands or showing teeth. It was hard to see his love like that.

Yes, love.

He still loved her. Even all these three years that he tried to forget, the love never faded. Baba promised that she will get better. This didn’t guarantee she will love him back. There was a reason why she left him. This, at least, gave him a chance to rekindle that love. He needed to earn her trust back. But how can he do that when she apparently had lost all reason to use words? She never answered anyone with any words. Gestures sufficed. Her voice was still there. She used one syllable as she relied heavily on Ota to be rewarded with treats and food. At first, Ota was delighted to have the sole monopoly of her attention. It made Baba jealous from the start. He kept patient and only thought of her well-being even if the progress was slow. Days passed. Weeks. Months. When Ota realized that she wouldn’t leave him alone anymore, he got annoyed. He eventually shared that spotlight with Baba. Little steps to earn her trust. When Ota believed Selina was ready, he didn’t show up for days.

Selina cried and howled and was lost without Ota. Had she done something bad?

It was during these days that Baba slowly unveiled what happened to his love. It all started when Mamoru approached him one afternoon while Selina napped. Like a cat, she slept on the couch nearest to the wide windows in the lounge. She trusted Baba enough to put her head on his lap while she basked in the sunlight. This was the only time in the day that she was at peace.

“Had she told you anything?” Kishi probed lightly.

Baba sighed and shook his head. He was afraid to interrupt her sleep.

Kishi took this chance to come clean with Baba.

“I...I didn’t know it would turn out like this. I should have…” He took out a stick of cigarette, tried to light it, hesitated, removed it from his mouth and scratched the back of his neck.

Baba, big on observing people, just let Kishi reveal things at his own pace. The man didn’t need to be interrogated. Kishi needed to be heard. He will speak when the timing was right.

Kishi sighed and continued on. “She begged me. There were tears in her eyes. I...We might not be together but I still care for her.”

With utmost care, Baba slipped her head away and unto a pillow. He needed to hear what Kishi had to say but won’t sacrifice her sleep. He tilted his head to the left, an indication that he wanted to hear this somewhere else. Both men went to Baba’s suite. The door was closed and Baba waited.

It was Kishi’s turn to be angry. “You broke her heart! Damn you, Baba!” The detective swung a fist that connected with Baba’s jaw.

He staggered back.

Kishi grabbed his shirt and pushed him hard against a wall. “You swore you'd never break her heart. So why did she cry that day? What the fuck happened, Baba?”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing!” Baba almost spat the words back. “I have no idea wha..”

Kishi shook him once more. “Think, you thief! What happened on that day that made her cry! What did you do?”

This was the first chance ever since she’d been back that Baba permitted himself to reflect on that day.

It was their anniversary. He’d forgotten. They’ve been tense around each other. There were her health concerns and Eisuke’s demands for new items for the auction. Selina had always been super patient and understanding but something must have happened that day. Because of their often conflicting schedules, they rarely saw each other but made time when they can. So what did happen?

Baba continued to think from the moment he woke up to a hearty breakfast but a missing Selina. Must have been off to work. There were love notes about a special surprise for tonight. He made sure there were no jobs so he could be there for her. He looked forward to that night until an old fuck buddy of his resurfaced. She drunk dialed him even though it was only afternoon. What’s worse was that she could not take care of herself. So the gentleman that he was, he went to her with the only intent of getting her safely back home. At the front of her high-rise apartment, she rewarded him with a kiss. A kiss that should have never happened. He wasn’t there to rekindle anything. She offered an apology. That was that.

Baba returned home but it was dark. There was no Selina after that.

“Had she...Did Selina see….Oh god...no…Why didn’t she...”

Knowing that Baba realized where it went wrong, Kishi finally released him. He finally lit the cigarette. He inhaled deeply and let the nicotine fill his lungs.

“She never blamed you when she came to me. All she said was that you were on different paths now. She took nothing except a small bag,” Kishi explained. “My regret was not making sure she got to the place. She might have thought I would take pity and tell on her eventually. She was always a clever girl.” His eyes hardened. “She didn’t deserve this.” Those were his last words as he left the thief in his pain. Kishi needed his own redemption which he will not find here.

That night was when Selina started to tell her side of the story. Not directly to him of course. It was through the stuttered ramblings that he heard when she dreamed. Or had nightmares. She never shouted, never cried out for help. As if she had reached the point where asking for help was a useless effort. Saying them was almost like a mantra for her. That they lost the power to hurt or be real if they were said.

“Please….hurts….not...a person anymore….only...pet….thing….name..forgotten...save...children…”

Baba’s heart could not break any further. Selina continued on.

“Be...useful...dark room….hungry...bad girl….punish the bad...BAD...SO BAD...BAD….thing….please...hurts...not a person..any...more...forget….name…..save….children…”

Baba reached out to her, unable to stop himself.

She smiled when his fingers caressed her cheek.

“Thank….master….kind...master….not...worthy….of scraps...thank…you…”

His damp cheeks went unnoticed.

There were good days and there were bad days. A psychologist was brought in to examine her. Severe trauma he said. Unable to determine if Selina would come back to her old self. Positive reinforcements helped. Maybe they could re-introduce little things, good things from her past. Baba was willing to try anything, ANYTHING to bring her back.

She rarely used words. Mostly smiles, odd stares, blank looks or snapping jaws when she was agitated or in fear. Baba introduced photo albums, little tokens that he bought for her, took her to places where they met and date. Even took her to the ocean. She enjoyed most of them except she acted as she never had these experiences before. There was no recognition. It did seem to get better at night. There were still muttered words at night. Some very graphic and violent. Others, pleas for forgiveness and mercy.

Baba did not know how much more he could take.

But he couldn’t give up now. Not now. He rather have this Selina than none at all.

A miracle happened one day.

Baba jolted to consciousness as he realized that the weight of her head was gone from his lap. He must have fallen asleep with her during their daily afternoon naps. He stood up and hurriedly went in search of her. She wasn’t in the lounge. He checked his suite. Not there either. She wasn’t in the penthouse. Where could she be?

The same maid who help clean Selina up and the penthouse came rushing in. She gasped and recounted in between gasps for air where she had seen Selina last.

Alarmed, Baba rushed past her and headed towards the roof top. The first place where they exchanged kisses in Tres Spades. The small garden has been their haven.

“Selina!” he shouted.

Selina balanced herself on the metal railing that prevented people from falling into their demise. There was a wide smile on her face as she bravely put one front of the other.

Right now, there was no breeze but Baba wouldn’t wait for that. He took slow steps to her.

“Love. Princess, it’s me, Baba,” he softly introduced himself.

She finally heard him and turned her head around. In doing so, she lost her balance momentarily. Her arms flailed at her sides as she tried to regain her center.

Baba’s heart stopped.

Both of her feet landed on the railing again.

“Please, love. Please, Selina. Come down. Please.” Baba never pleaded and begged so hard in his life before.

She gave out a soft giggle.

A memory from their past flashed before him. Their first meeting. Like a wiry cat, Selina was hunched and perfectly balanced on the ledge of the window sill. Her smile was wide and boastful. She did just steal the jewelry from him. And maybe his heart. Instead of being upset, Baba was intrigued.

“Catch me if you can!”

How different it was from back then. But the giggle was genuine. It was her. Selina was having fun.

But this was a situation that Baba did not like anymore. Especially when the woman was unaware of the deadly risk she took. One blow of the wind and she could topple to her death. Was that what she finally wanted? To die?

“Please,” he asked once more.

A gust of wind graced the roof top.

Like a cat coming home to its owner, Selina leaped gracefully to his outstretched arms. Her arms wound around his neck while both legs wrapped around his torso. With another giggle, she finally spoke.

“Ba….ba….”

Baba closed his eyes and hugged her tight.

Everything was going to be alright.

[eisukeskitchenknife]

The Other Women

-This is a fan fiction in which Eisuke Ichinomiya falls in love with another women- and mc sees thier love develop right before her eyes.

MC name: Blair Hansen

“Blair, are you okay?” Baba asked Blair, who was quietly cleaning the penthouse while all the bidders- except Eisuke sat around, discussing importent matters.

She quickly brushed her bangs aside and stood up straighter, “Why? Is there anything on my face?” Her voice slightly trembled, hoping the bidders wouldn’t catch on.

But of course the men did- they weren’t stupid. If they were, they wouldn’t be where they were they are today.

Ota spoke out first. “Eisuke is barely here anymore, know any reason why?” There was an underlying smirk to his face, and Blair could feel herself tense up at its sight.

“No,” she said- rather quickly. “He might just be busy, you know with the new hotel plans and all.”

“Gracie,” Mamuro says. “I’ve seen her around Eisuke a lot nowadays, even the tabloid caught some pictures.”

The lump in Blair’s throat grew larger by the second. They were intimidating her at this point. Everyone- even she- knew that Eisuke was probably with Gracie. It started out a few months ago, a women named Gracie Powell showed up at the Tres Spade New York hotel.

She was young- in her mid twenties, with gorgeous blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was a refined woman too, being the youngest daughter of one of Eisuke’s wealthy investor. It started her staying a few nights at the hotel when she abruptly had to leave California. Eisuke recognized her immediately, and began talking business.

Back then, there was a void in his eyes everytime they talked- and Gracie knew her boundaries well. But soon Gracie became a helpful asset to Eisuke’s crew, making the perfect storybook secretary. On weekdays while Eisuke was gone, Gracie would often go shopping with Blair, and they became good friends. But slowly things began to change.

Was it Eisuke or Gracie who pounced first? Nobody knows. But the smile he reserved for Blair played on his face in front of Gracie. And the first became expensive too- from rings to necklaces and private holidays together. At a point, Blair wasn’t invited anymore. He began comming home much later than usual, and some nights not at all. He was grumpy now, grumpy around Blair. Constantly bickering about how the coffee became too sweet. And the life at night was sensual anymore. It was lonely. There wasn’t any emotion to his pleasures, it was all gone.

Blair knew it was because of Gracie. Gracie was Eisuke’s ideal. She was confident, and funny, and beautiful, and proper. She pleased every single one of Eisuke’s guest, and even knew Japanese. She was daring and bold, wearing clothes like it was a diamond ring. She wasn’t afraid to be in charge either, she was the perfect women. And it started to show when Eisuke began bringing Gracie to parties instead of Blair- saying she was better for business as an excuse.

“Sexybone, you look pale.” Luke says.

Blair quickly snapped out her daze and focused back on cleaning. She’ll ask Eisuke, she decided. They have a bond, she’s been with him through thick and thin. There must be a misunderstanding somewhere between the lines.

It wasn’t till one in the morning, when Eisuke finally came home. He was surprised to see Blair up, waiting for him. He told her to stop doing so, because he would be home so late nowadays.

“You’re up?” He asks.

“Eisuke.” There was sadness in Blair’s voice, which Eisuke heard clearly. If it were a few months ago, his heart would hurt slightly more than it did now.

“Go to sleep.” He commanded. “You have work early tomorrow, don’t tire yourself out.”

Blair balled up her fist and took a deep breath. If she didn’t ask now, would she ever later? “Eisuke, is Gracie your girlfriend?”

There was a split second in which Eisuke’s poker face went pale. But he didn’t answer. “Go to sleep, Blair.”

That was enough to bring tears to her eyes. Blair desperately grasped onto Eisuke’s suit. “Eisuke, I love you.”

He yanked his suit out of her hands and turned his back around.

Blair didn’t bother anymore. She can’t change him. The Eisuke she loved had been long gone, replaced by a Eisuke that Gracie loved. She returned to the bedroom and quickly packed her bags. She took off her engagement ring and placed it on the nightstand, next to the bird cage figurine. But she couldn’t leave without saying a thing.

She quickly scribbled down on a note. ‘Eisuke, please give this to the Eisuke I love. I’m sorry for leaving. I’m only worth twenty million- but you’ll find a women worth more. The ring is too pretty to discard, maybe give it to the other women. I’m sorry this ain’t the proper two week resignation paper but I’m leaving the hotel too. I’m going back to Japan, and still a part of me hopes you chase after me. Good luck, Blair.’

With the money remaining in her banking account, she bought a speedy ticker to Japan- one way. Her flight let at ten in the morning- and Eisuke must’ve seen the note by now. But she waited at the gates, till it was almost too late to enter the plane. No one.

Except everyone else. Soryu, Ota, Baba, Mamoru, Luke, Shuichi, and even Hikaru showed up, begging her to stay. But her vision went passed them.

As the plane flew high into the sky, she counted her worth to twenty million.

The end. Leave requests for any other Kbtbb stories or any other voltage based stories.

[sassasquashedgrapes]

Another Story: A Glee x Kissed by the Baddest Bidder Cross-over

It’s me again! Your friendly neighborhood, Squashed Grape.  

It’s been a while since I got into the fanfic (or any literal stuff) and decided to do some fan service today.  This is an old post but a goodie.  You see, I’ve been a fan of Glee during the early days and was also a huge Otome player (lol. the closest to player I’ll ever be).  And made this fanfic cross-over of sorts inspired from the Voltage Inc story, Kissed by the Baddest Bidder.  Actually I *might* have switched the names a bit and the plot line is from the intro except for a few tweaks.  Anyway, I just wanna lay it all down there so nobody starts yelling bloody murder.  

After all, wasn’t 50 Shades like some fan service to Twilight, so haters can just move along now, Nothing to see.  

So without much further ado, a short story cross-over for y’all!!

By the way, be prepared for a series of long fanfics of Glee coming at your way. This is only just the beginning of the Hargreave brothers.

click below

Another Story: Kissed By The Baddest Bidder/Glee Fanfic.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the otome game and the delicious notion of having someone used up for bidding, using the Glee characters seemed absolutely too good to resist.  How could I? So shall we? Elian “Ian” Hargreave – Eisuke Ichinomiya Mike Chang – Soryu Oh, the cool mobster Noah Puckerman – Mitsunari Baba, the philandering theif Kurt Hummel – Ota Kisaki , the artist. Lol I know, Ota doesn’t swing that way but I always pegged Ota as a closet anyway. Cooper Anderson – Mamuro Kishi, the lazy detective and of course: Lucy Quinn Fabray – MC

Quinn Fabray is different in this storyline.  I made a parallel universe of sorts, changing a bit of her past to make her come to her present future.  So instead of moving to McKinley High, Lucy Q. Fabray’s father, Russel, dies of a heart attack and thus her mother remarries another man who worked as a hotel concierge manager in one of the most prestigious hotels in New York, the fictional hotel/casino Wyndham, (loosely based on the Waldorf Astoria) which is owned by then the family of Elian Hargreave’s grandfather who eventually takes over the hotel after graduating from high school.  Quinn has grown up in the hotel, pretty much understanding and loving every detail and aspect of it, treating it as if it were her own family since she pretty much lead a lonely life in New York, being a small town girl from Ohio who turned out to grow into a beautiful young woman.  This storyline is inspired by the Otome route of Eisuke Ichinomiya, whom I think was the best storyline for someone like her.  I’m way too biased that I don’t think I want to share Soryu Oh with her, hahaha.  Fast forward to the present, Quinn just graduated from Yale, but is now working he as a chambermaid in the hotel to earn extra cash at the same time pay for her college loans while she looks for a job.  

Prologue: As I feel a trickle of sweat behind my back while being in the middle of the spotlight, I start to wonder as I stare into the crowd facing me “how on earth did I ever come to this?”

12 hours earlier

“Good morning,” I greet cheerfully as I swing open the door in locker room of the female changing hall as if I’ve done so many times over.  I’m working during the summer as a maid at a hotel owned by the Hargreave Group, which is a large company that owns banks, trading companies, locally and overseas.  

“Good morning, Lucy,” greets Marley, one of the maids who also works part-time in the hotel.  I know for a fact that she looks old enough to still be in highschool, but I’ve never bothered to pry into matters like gossip. As long as they keep to their business, I keep to mine.  But despite it, I feel like I could confide in her because she seems so open and nice.

“The VIP convention starts today.  I am super excited,” Marley grins as she mentions one of the annual big events the hotel/casino throws.  

“I’ll bet you’d be way too busy to get excited since you’ll be working at the casino floor,” I grin back thinking how exhausted I’m going to be once this convention is over.  I’ve been living in the Wyndham since I was 15 after my dad died and my mother remarried.  I’d come to love it as if it were my own family and was familiar with its daily routine until 4 years ago when it underwent a massive renovation into becoming the first hotel/casino in New York.  It had been quite a scandal at first, with government officials opposing the idea of bringing “Las Vegas” to the metropolis, but the whole issue died down after a while and for the last two years, the Wyndham, became New York’s first legal casino and hotel.

“Don’t you wish you could work at the IVC?” Marley was referring to the International VIP Convention, one of the newly annual conventions frequented by Hollywood A-list stars, World leaders, socialites and big time businessmen who gathered once a year to play at the casinos and have a go into dabbling in a world of glamour

“Yeah, that would be great.” I agreed quietly.

“Well, that’s the goal of everyone who works here.” Marley sighed as she hunkered on the bench and rested her elbow on her knee as she propped her head on her hand.  “I’ve been dreaming about it ever since I saw it on TV. Seeing movie stars, top athletes, and other super famous people all over the world gathered here in this party.  I even heard Perez Hilton was so pissed that he didn’t get an invite.”  She pursed her lips conspiratorially.

“You know, when I applied for this job a few months ago, I didn’t think I was going to be hired that I thought I was dreaming when I actually did.” Marley grinned happily.  I smiled feeling how infectious her mood was, she was so upbeat by the whole thing, I didn’t want to look like a kill joy so I agreed.

“Oh my god.” She stopped suddenly as if she had thought of something of real importance.  “What if some rich, famous guy falls in love with me at first sight?” I hope he knows you’re barely 18, I mentally think and almost utter it out loud but I stop myself and….

“Haha, keep dreaming.” I just say instead.  

Whew, that was close. Our VIP guests are important, but I also value working for our regular guests, too.  I had just graduated in a Marketing degree at Yale, but with the recession, jobs were scarcely handed and I didn’t feel the need to dabble in doing freebies as an Intern in a big corporation, when I could be earning much more doing it here in Wyndham.  It really isn’t so bad.  I really didn’t care that much about image anyway since moving to New York.  Somehow the anonymity of it all had liberated me from the confines of the shallowness that I had experienced living in Lima, Ohio that I didn’t give a damn anymore.

I thought about the IVC, the International VIP Convention, Wyndham’s largest annual event is today and the international publicity with the media hanging around the area was totally insane. Unlike Marley, I had actually dreaded this more because I knew things were busier and a lot more tense than usual.  My step-father, Charlie was one of the managers of the hotel and was in charge of the VIP guests lounge and had direct connections to the owner, Mr. Elian Hargreave.  I heard a lot about the new owner, how accomplished he was despite his young age. He was featured in Forbes magazine as the most successful businessman under 40 years of age (rumors had it that he couldn’t be more than 30 years old.)  He reminded me of a true-to-life Bruce Wayne, ridiculously handsome in a dark, mysterious way and was always surrounded by beautiful women.  I knew my sister, Fran was crushing on him big time that she even begged Charlie for an introduction, but to no avail.

As we left the locker room and head to the hotel lobby, where a crowd of reporters and onlookers gathered, people whom I’ve only seen on TV or on a movie screen started appearing, strutting as if they were meant to walk down the red carpet and enter the magnificent lobby as if it were from a Hollywood movie scene.

“Oh. My God.” Marley’s mouth literally hung wide open.  “Look who just got out of that limo.”

I crane my neck and look around thinking that she just saw the famous TV actress who was in a popular teen show.  What was her name again?  Elena Davenport?  She was famous for being in this TV show about a love triangle between a vampire and a cyborg.  It was insane how people were shouting her name as if it were part of her entourage. She looked stunning with her black hair and her golden skin that had obviously seen the tropics recently.  She was then accompanied by an equally handsome young man who stood well over six feet tall and had a shock of black brown hair.

“That guy’s always on the VIP list.  They call him the King,” Marley whispers as if we’re in church.

“I thought that was Elvis,” I quipped chuckling at her disgruntled look.  I knew what she meant.  I wasn’t one to get caught up in celebrity gossip, but that King she was referring to was no other than the owner of the Wyndham, Mr. Hargreave.  He gallantly bowed offering his arm to Elena who gave him a dazzling smile as she took his arm.  Hanging on the other side of his arm was also someone famous.  I heard she was the new Broadway superstar and her name was Rachel Berry.  Behind him was another famous model who often graced those ads in Vogue and a famous British reality show actress.  

All the women around him are famous, I think dully as I look down in my frumpy uniform.  For some odd feeling I felt a pang of something that I couldn’t understand wash over me.  Before I had time to even think about it, Marley again interrupted my thoughts by whispering again on my ear.

“He’s been living in the penthouse suite for a while now.” “Of course he does, he owns the hotel.”

“But it costs tens and thousands of dollars to stay there for the night.” Marley argued.

“Maybe it’s a lot more convenient to keep tabs of work here than living on Park Avenue or at the East Side.” I shrugged watching as Mr. Hargreave pays no attention to the huge crowd and walks straight ahead.

I realize that I can’t take my eyes off him.  I’ve heard the how the female hotel staff would gush about how hot he was, but seeing him in the flesh just took my breath away.

“Aaaah!!!  Over here, Elian!!!” one of the women from the mass crowd screams holding a phone camera hoping to get a picture of him.

Suddenly, a group of women, thinking about doing the same thing start running towards him and bump into me and I feel myself being pushed right into the crowd and on to the red carpet.

SMACK!

I feel like I just hit a wall and close my eyes bracing myself for the pain to follow after the impact. Instead I feel a band of steel arms hold me close, as if to steady me from the madness.  I then pry my eyes open and find myself staring into a pair of steel gray blue eyes that were placed like jewels on a handsome chiseled face.

Mr. Hargreave!!

“Aah, I- I’m so sorry,” I stammered, feeling the rush of blood flow straight at my face and into my brain as I continue to look at him, almost mesmerized yet horrified by what had just transpired.  I still feel his arms around me and I could just tell that this multibillionaire really does work out because he’s practically hugging me right now.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a haughty voice belonging to the new Broadway ingénue pipes up beside Mr. Hargreave.  She sounds almost disgusted by the sight of me.  I can see from the corner of my peripheral vision that Elena Davenport was smirking as if amused by what was happening.  God, I didn’t think she was such a bitch until now.

But instead of voicing that sentiment out, I knew I had a job at stake and right now it was totally hanging in the balance.  I had just publicly humiliated myself in front of the owner of the hotel and his guests and was drawing unnecessary attention right now and it was more than I could honestly bear. I swallow and gather myself before bitchy Quinn Fabray comes out and try to mutter an apology again but am cut short by a curt, masculine and surprisingly sexy voice.

“Get out of the way,” Mr. Hargreave says as he suddenly pulls away from me, and pushes me not quite gently aside.

“What?” I mutter in disbelief as I lose my balance and fall flat on my butt to the ground.

Owwwww..

I look at slight disdain at the man who apparently was also my boss, but his muscular, tapered back was the only thing that could see that look on my face as I watch walk further away. He brushes off his suit as if he had just encountered a speck of dust and before I thought he had finally dismissed me, turns his head and shoots me a glare and then suddenly disappears into the casino hall.

I suddenly realize with a shock that I still had that look of displeasure on my face and grimaced as I rubbed my lower back, trying yet again to stead myself as the crowd disappeared into where Mr. Hargreave and his entourage were headed.  Marley quickly comes rushing over to my side.

“Are you okay, Luce?” She asks me, totally concerned as she called me by my nickname.  I haven’t been called Lucy for a while, I had been using Quinn since I had come to New York, but somehow there was a comfort in still being known as Lucy while here in the confines of the Wyndham.

“Yeah, my butt and my pride are fine,” I say.  

“Oh my God.  Mr. Hargreave caught you in his arms.  I am so totally jealous!  Did he smell nice?  Was he really as buff underneath that suit as they say?” Marley was acting like a puppy dog fawning over that jerk.

“I don’t know, I don’t even r-remember,” I lied because I had just mentally scratched Elian Hargreave off as a completely cold, aloof, unfeeling human being.  The nerve of that man!  He didn’t even bother to defend me while I, one of his staff members, was berated by that Broadway bitch Berry.

Hmm.  That had a nice ring to it.  I feel tons better knowing that the girl could have used a plastic surgeon as good as the one who did my nose.  

Come to think of it, Elian Hargreave was actually pretty frightening.  I’ve seen how New Yorkers glare sometimes, but that cold look was totally at subzero levels worthy of the Artic.

I smooth out my clothes and hear the click clack of high heels behind me.

“Just what were you thinking, making a fool out of yourself?” a cold, voice tinged with an Italian accent snapped me back to reality.  “And in front of such important guests and even the owner of this hotel?”

“Miss Thelma, “ I say coolly plastering a smile at one of the hotel managers.  Thelma Caparano has been on my ass since the day I started working at the Wyndham when she found out I graduated with honors on my Marketing degree from Yale.  Perhaps it was that and because I’m Charlie’s kid that she thinks I deserve to be more ill-treated than a worn-out mule from a third world country.  She stands imposingly before me, all dressed up in her expertly tailored uniform as she clacked impatiently on her Prada heels waiting for me to answer her.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am.  It was an accident…”

“You are at fault for not paying attention to what’s going on around you,” she clucked her tongue at me, looking at me disapprovingly under those heavy glasses that framed her would-have-been pretty-if-she-wasn’t-such-a-bitch face.  She was probably a few years older than me, but the harshness of her demeanor just made her look like petulant and almost bratty for a woman in her mid-thirties.

“Aren’t you in charge of the regular guests, Fabray?” She asks with a smirk on her face.  

Oh boy, she does enjoy torturing me.  

“You have no business even being here in the lobby.  Not unless you get promoted to handling the VIP guests.  But you won’t get that chance, would you?  Not even if you begged your stepfather.” She laughed as if she had just thought of that joke and it was funny.

Ugh.  I am totally so close to slapping her but instead I reply setting my gaze downcast hoping that she won’t see me seething as I meekly reply “Yes, Miss Thelma.”

“Well, since you’re here,” she motions to one of her hotel assistants who was following her like a dog who hands over a box as she shoves it towards me. “Go to every floor and drop off these announcement letters while you’re at it.  These are for the guests who wish to avail of the spa promo package we are having in honor of the IVC.”

“Okay,” I say since arguing about doing a herculean task is going to go nowhere anyway since this angry vampire is out for my blood.  She’s always been a bully and since I would never dared complain of this to Charlie even though I could have, I decide I might as well just shut up and deal with it. I turn and nod to Marley, saying my goodbyes and head towards the elevators.  

As I walk by, I see a man, about my age arguing with a young woman about something in front of the elevator. The woman is wearing a dress that looks like something from the recent Fashion Week runway as she throws a mask at the man at the same time spewing a litany of curses in fluent French.

“Connard!!  Baise toi!” she screamed as the man looked back in her as if in shock.  “You lying, cheating scum!  I never want to see you again.”  With that, she gave him a resonant slap in the face for added effect before she walked out of the hotel.

This is awkward.  I turn my attention instead to the mask that looked as if it were something one wore to a masquerade ball.  I suddenly got an image of 50 shades of Grey and find myself  staring at the mask lying on the floor.  I was about to pick it up when the man who was slapped earlier moves quicker than I could and in a blink of an eye was brushing it off as if were the only precious thing that mattered to him.

Wow, his hands were fast like those of a magician.  I turn to look at him and realize that he wasn’t bad looking either.  He was of above average height and was muscularly built, but a bit thicker than Mr. Hargreave.  He also had dark hair and had the most dazzling pair of emerald green eyes I’ve ever seen.  I couldn’t tell what his hair was like underneath that Fedora hat that just made him look like the epitome of 1920’s gangster cool in a modern way.

Fedora Hat sighs dramatically.  “Great, now I don’t have a date.”  He says as if talking to himself then realizes I’m watching him.  When our eyes meet, I quickly look away self-consciously because I didn’t want him to know that I had been caught staring at him.  I try to act cool despite the awkward tension but know that he saw me witness the whole thing.

“You saw that, didn’t you?” He smirks, as if reading my mind.

“Yeah.  I-I’m really sorry.”  I backed away slowly as if avoiding being pounced by some agitated animal.

“Aw, come on. Don’t run away,” Fedora Hat laughs as he gently takes my arm as he leads me towards the elevator, completely ignoring the fact that I’m in the hotel maid’s uniform with a box of undelivered fliers on the other arm. “I’ll explain everything when we get there.”

“S-Sir?”

Before I know it, the man ignores my protests and continues to guide me, half-dragging me into the elevator with him.  We’re alone in the elevator and to be honest, this is the first time I’ve been to the basement area.  I’m surprised that the basment’s elevator looks just as elegant as the regular floor elevators.  It sort of reminded me of going into a secret lair of some evil villain but at the same time being cooped inside a glass bird cage of sorts.  I tried to avert my attention to the man beside me and look instead at the buttons of the elevator as the blinking lights affirmed our descent to the unknown.

“Whew!  I’m lucky I found you,” Fedora Hat grins at me, still holding onto my arm having no intention of letting me go.  His grip isn’t painful nor in any way gentle, but it’s firm enough to hold me into place.  As if wanting to distract me from thinking of it, he adds “coz there’s no way I could go to the party without a beautiful woman on my arm.  That would be a total buzzkill.”

Buzzkill?  Who says that sort of thing these days?

“Party?  You mean, the IVC?”

“The One and Only. Isn’t it obvious how I’m dressed?” He opens one free arm to show his expensive Italian cut suit.  Definitely Armani now that I got a closer look. And definitely custom made as it fits him perfectly.

“I-I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean that you—“

“Hahaha.  I’m kidding, babe. Man, you’re kinda uptight for a pretty thing.  Were you raised in some Christian Bible thumping school or something?”

“Uh, that’s because I work at this hotel,” I say slowly almost as if trying to hint that I’m still in my maid’s uniform, completely ignoring the fact that he’s actually right about me being Christian.  “So technically, I can’t go with you to the party as your date, sir.”

“What are you talking about? The reason why that woman earlier left was so you could be my date, Lucy.” He smiles in the most seductive, sexiest way possible as he finally noticed the name plate on my uniform.

Whoa, this one’s pretty dangerous.  And a hopeless flirt as well.  I try not to show my fear when grabs my chin and lifts it up to meet his face as he peers down, bringing it closer to mine.  I can feel his breath grazing against me as he looks into my eyes.

“Definitely my type. Angel blonde hair, mesmerizing green eyes, and luscious lips…” he trails on softly as I sort of feel his face coming closer.  He moves way to fast and I try to squirm away, backing off thinking now I understood perfectly why he got dumped in the first place.

DING! Saved by the bell of the basement floor. The elevator arrives at a full stop at the ballroom and Fedora Hat quickly backs off  and casually straightens himself as if nothing of importance was about to take place.  He could even care less whether he kissed me or not.  Jeez.

“Let’s rock and roll, Princess.” He  announces and gives off a broad smile as if putting on a game face.  And contrary to his calm demeanor, he drags me out into the ballroom before I can protest as I’m lead into the glamorous ballroom that reminded me from a scene of a Hollywood movie.

I gaped in awestruck fascination, marveling how I could have possibly missed out the new renovations at the Wyndham.  The renovations had still managed to maintain some of the old architecture, paying detail to preserving its original Art Deco state, but added with contemporary minimalist design, it’s mixture was astounding and beyond words.  I had no means of any background in architecture, but this was like walking into the Hall of Fame on architectural immortality. I was shocked that everyone present were almost nonchalant of the genius behind the design and how lavishly decorated the ballroom was to the point that even the catering was handled in the most A-list of ways.  I turn my attention to the gorgeous Swarovski crystals that were adorning the chandeliers that were hanging from the high ceiling.  

The entire floor was jam-packed with the rich and famous that I wasn’t even sure if I was hallucinating because it was too much sensory overload to be true.  I turn my head and notice Cristian Renaldi, the famous World cup soccer player from Spain to my right.  And that’s the famous Hollywood actress, Julie Moore.  And even the former President of the United States is over there?  I feel like Alice in Wonderland being wrapped around the surrealness of it all being around these celebrities that it takes me a moment to get back to earth and finally notice that Fedora Hat who had dragged me here in the first place was gone.

Huh?  Where’d he go?

Suddenly, I hear a womanly voice from behind me.

“Hey, do you have any champagne?” I turn around and am surprised that it wasn’t a woman, but a young man with an angelic face whose skin was as flawless as fine bone china. He had soft, brown hair and bright blue eyes.  He looked so familiar because his face was on the cover of this month’s issue of People Magazine being tagged as one of the 25the most beautiful People of the World of this year.

“K-Kurt Hummel!!!” I gasp, recognizing the mega hyphenate National artist/ Pulitizer prize winning Children’s Novelist/ Socialite.

“Oh, you know who I am.” He smiles brightly, happy to have been recognized in a sea of famous faces. “Thanks!”

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll look for the champagne now.” I mumble apolitically frantically looking for a bottle of Dom Perignon and Mr. Hummel chuckles behind me, as if thoroughly amused.

“You sure you work here, Alice?”

“P-Pardon?”

“You remind me of Alice in Wonderland when she fell down the rabbit hole and stumbled into the Mad Hatter’s party.” He moves away from me and reaches over the table behind me and lifts a bottle of Moet et Chandon and pours himself a glass.  He then thrusts his newly refilled glass towards me nudging me to take a drink.

“Here. You could use one more than me,” he grins.  I was about to protest but there was something harsh in his eyes telling me not to defy him as I emptied my glass.

“T-Thanks,” I was about to take the bottle and refill his glass for him when he shakes his head and takes the glass from my hands and pours himself another.

“Now, go on to doing whatever it was and I hope you get back home safely, Alice,” was all he says as he raises his champagne glass, giving me a wink of good luck for whatever it was I was about to partake.  He leaves with a wave.

He definitely was spot on about what I was feeling right at that moment.

I should definitely get out of here before I cause any more trouble.

But before I do, another man stops me from my tracks.  He’s over fifty, overweight, and perhaps a bit slightly drunk as he grins at me and grabs my hand. Ugh, he also seems really sleazy. “Aren’t you a pretty one?” He slurs and I inwardly flinch from the smell of alcohol and sweat coming from him.  “You wanna come with me and give me room service? I’ll make it worth your while and give you a big tip afterwards.

Ewww.  His head is shaped like an egg and his pock-marked face is flushed as he looks me up and down.

“I’m sorry, sir but we don’t offer that kind of service here.” I answer politely, knowing that we had been trained beforehand on how to deal with rude perverts like this guest.

He completely ignores me and starts going on how rich he is and how much is net worth is.

To be honest, it wasn’t really much.

He then slips his arm around my waist and is about to pull me towards him when…

“This party just got really trashy.” A familiar masculine voice announced icily.  I turn my head towards my savoir and realize that it’s Mr. Hargreave.  He ignores my gasp of surprise and scowls at the sleaze holding me.

“I’d rather appreciate it, sir, if you kept your attention from the hotel staff and settle instead for the bevy of beauties surrounding you,” Elian Hargreave  grinned sardonically nodding his head towards a group of runway models who flirtly waved back.  And just when I thought he couldn’t intimidate the sleazebag, he looked at me as if I were a piece of trash marring the ambience and added cruelly. “Besides, you could totally do better than THAT.  This one’s hardly a raving beauty.”  

“I-I’m really sorry, Mr. Hargreave, sir!  Pardon me!!!” Sleazebag bows apologetically quickly letting go of me as if he had been burned and kept his distance from me like I was infected with Ebola or something. He furiously wipes away his sweat and runs off.

“T-Thank you, Mr. Hargreave,” I say, totally ignoring the pain that he had brushed me off as a ugly and unattractive.  But then again, men like him are probably used to just dating models that even ingénues were all blasé for him.  

“Let’s go, Elian,” one of the pretty models whom he nodded to a while back approached him and casually hooked her arm around his, totally ignoring me.

“I can’t stand people who don’t know their place,” another one of those long legged giraffes piped in hooking her arm around his other free one as if she were about to die in a desert and he was her oasis.

As if he didn’t even acknowledge my existence and hadn’t even heard me, he turned his back as if nothing had ever happened a few minutes ago before being led away by the Amazonian Brazilian bimbos.  He starts walking still surrounded by women and I’m completely overwhelmed as I watch him walk away.  I suddenly notice a purple handkerchief on the floor behind him.  I remember this being a part of his suit and realize that he dropped it.

Almost without thinking, I picked it up and started going after him.

“Uhm, sir! Excuse me, I think you dropped this—“  I try to chase after Mr. Hargreave but he gets lost in the crowd and I can’t seem to find him.

Oh, wait!  There he is!!

I make my way through the crowd and follow him as he makes an exit to the far end of the ballroom.  

A long, deserted hallway stretches out behind the door that Mr. Hargreave enters.

“Wait.  Where did he go?”

There are several doors on either side of the hallway and I didn’t catch up with him in time to even know which doors did he enter.  However, I hear voices coming from the far end.  But somehow, as I strain to hear from the distance I get the feeling the conversation wasn’t even in English.  I shake my head, thinking that I really have to return this handkerchief back to Mr. Hargreave, I strengthen my resolve and make my way towards the door where the voices were coming from.  I note the door is slightly ajar, which explains why I could hear them.  I peek through the gap and see several briefcases lying on a table surrounded with guns and large sums of money being packed by three Asian looking men dressed in all black discussing where to put the money in perfect Cantonese and before I could see more, I feel a large hand grab me by the shoulder and roughly pulls me away, swinging me around and forces me up against a wall…

Fear and surprise of being caught seeing something I shouldn’t have take over that I feel like I just might have suffered my first heart attack.

But unfortunately, that doesn’t happen.

Instead, my heart starts pounding again in fear as I’m facing a tall, Asian man of slim, yet muscular build with broad shoulders and powerful muscles who is now glaring at me and asks in in slightly cold, yet scarily threatening voice.  His hair is slicked back and even though I know he’s actually quite good looking, I’m paralyzed with fear to hardly even notice.

“What are you doing here?” He demands as he pins me against the wall as his sharp eyes look at me.  

Oh dear, God.

It happened so suddenly my body starts to tremble as I start to realize that maybe he is one of those gun men and those men aren’t just hotel guests.  But Mafia?  Triad?

What on earth should I do?

I breathe and swallow but it’s way too hard to even do so.  Instead I focus on his face and answer.

“I-I- w-w-ork h-he---“ He completely ignores me and says instead, “you’ve got give seconds to walk away, disappear and forget everything you just saw. Got it?  Otherwise, I’d hate to think what would happen to you after.” He also said it in a way that sounded like he was talking to a five-year old.  A not very bright one at that too.

I nod wordlessly over and over, desperate to get away and he immediately lets me go.  I run so fast my legs get tangled up with each other at first and don’t even think of where I’m headed.  I just run to the point of exhaustion and find myself at the basement storage room. I close the door behind me and try to catch my breath, relieved with the fact that I have just barely escaped with my life as I offer a silent prayer and make the sign of the cross in complete gratitude that the scary Asian Mafia guy just let me go.

I ruminate over the thought of how it was possible for the Triad, one of the notorious Asian Mafias could be tied up to an event like the IVC? Were those guys even part of the Triad? Maybe they weren’t even mafia.

Get a hold of yourself, Fabray.  Keep it together.   I have just realized right at this moment I had actually lost the box of flyers I was holding earlier.  I wasn’t sure if I had lost somewhere from that struggle between me and Fedora Hat, or that Mad Hatter encounter with Kurt Hummel, or even with the Middle Aged Sleazebag .  I try again to get my body to function properly as I compose myself thinking over again where I had last left it and realized that it was on the table where I had been with Mr. Hummel.  

Just as I swing the door open, I hear a loud crashing THUD.

The door I just swung had collided into something and I could hear a group of men scream “Watch out!!!”

I see two mean-looking men peeking at the other end of the door looking helplessly as the box they were carrying drops to the ground.

“Shit!  That was the Winged Victorian Angel!”

Oh no.  I remember from the news that this 300 year old museum artifact was meant to be raffled off as the grand prize at the IVC.  It had been shipped all the way from the Louvre in Paris as a gift from the newly elected French President to the United States. The proceeds of the IVC’s funding and the raffle were meant to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan somewhere in the Philippines.

I quickly open the crate box and find the statue was broken in half and my heart just drops to my stomach in nameless shock.

I am way too shocked to even mutter an apology.  Not only did I just destroy what might have been a National Treasure, millions of homeless Filipino children were going to starve and suffer.

“Hey, this was a very important piece that was going to be auctioned off.”  The slim mean-looking guy barks at me, ignoring my shocked state. Did he just say auctioned?  Didn’t he mean it was going to be raffled?

“How are you gonna pay for this?” Asks the Fat Meanie beside him.

“Uh…..Sorry?”

“You think an apology is gonna cut it?  You owe us, bitch!”  

The men reach out to me and….

 ……………..

 And I find myself being auctioned off.  The host of the eveing had just announce d that the next bid was me, a healthy fit young Caucasian American.

 Is this even legal?  I think as I swallow in fear hearing the bids knock from $2 million to higher.  I got put up in place of that Winged Victory Angel.

The mere fact that someone just started the bid off at $2 million was unreal.

I could barely make through the crowd as everyone was wearing masks similar to the masquerade mask Fedora Hat had with him when his date dumped him.  But somehow I felt with a sinking dread that the person who placed the initial bid was the Middle Aged Creep from before.  Oh crap, is he really going to buy me?  I definitely do NOT want that at all.

“$2 million, going once……going twice……”

I heard the announcer say that I’d be a slave, or a toy, or……God knows.  This is horrible.  I try to shake myself off this nightmare, but I know what I’m going through right now was just as real as everything that partook 12 hours ago.

Oh God, how did I get to this?  I fall to my knees, hang my head in shame as I feel the tears well in my eyes start to overflow.

I start praying hoping that Charlie, or my Mom or Fran could find me before it’s too late…..

Just then….

The auction hall suddenly buzzes with commotion as the announcer stops from closing the deal.

“Seat number 100 with a bid for $20 million cash.”

The crowd is drawn into complete silence.  

I peer through the gates to look for 100, but whoever was bidding was not in the crowd.  All I could do was stare up at the sum of the winning bid, completely dumbfounded as a  bell sounds, calling the auction to a close.

“Sold to Seat Number 100 for $20 million.  Thank you!!”

Someone bought me for twenty million US dollars?

My cage is carried over to the edge of the stage.  As I get off, I’m greeted by two masked men.  They weren’t the mean jerks from earlier but something about them looks vaguely familiar.  One of them looked to be wearing a Fedora Hat.

Fedora Hat bought me? Before I even get the chance to ask, Fedora Hat in the mask grabs my arm and says” This way….”

Wait, what the heck am I being so nervous for?  At least it’s Fedora Hat who bought me and not that Middle Aged Creep.  But where are they going to take me now?

And who bought me?

I feel totally numb from this crazy situation that I don’t even notice that I’m brought up into the penthouse.

I gasp in marvel looking at my surroundings, knowing that out of all the hotel employees, only Charlie and a few other managers were ever allowed to come up here.

Wait, speaking of Charlie, does he even know about those weird auctions happening at the basement?

“We brought her, boss.” Fedora Hat announces to the man in the immaculate tux seated on one of the elegant sofas.  Like Fedora Hat and the other man,  he was also wearing a mask, but something about him looked made me sense that I’ve also encountered this man before.  Even the other man seated beside him also with a shock of black hair was also wearing a mask also seemed vaguely familiar.

“Wait.  You’re----“

“We bought you,” Mr. Hargreave says indifferently, removing his mask as if he didn’t even hear what I was about to say.  The other man beside him followed suit.

“Guess we did end up seeing each other again,” the Asian Mafia guy remarks in the same casual, yet cold tone.

“You know this woman, Mike?” Hargreave raises his eyebrow almost as if in disbelief.

“You can say that.” He shrugs, not really giving a toss.

“Wait.  You bought me?  In that auction”  I stammer, trying to still make sense of it all.

“He means WE won you, Alice.” Kurt Hummel corrects as I turn around in disbelief as he removes his mask as well.

“For $20 million, Princess. The boss must have it bad.” Fedora Hat grins as he casually throws his mask and lays it on the next empty sofa.

“M-Mr. Hummel?” I squeak, not sure if I was asking if Fedora Hat was referring him as ‘the boss’ or if I was just asking a reaffirmation that I knew at least another familiar but friendly face.

“Pffft!!! She doesn’t even know you’re name, Puck.”  Kurt laughs.

“That because I didn’t have the time to tell her,” the man named Puck crosses his arms as if he were a pouting kid who wasn’t included in a game of tag.

“Isn’t this some form of human trafficking?  I shouldn’t have even been up for that stupid auction in the first place.”

“Hey, anything and everything’s for sale at that auction.” Puck grins matter-of-factly, completely oblivious to the fact that I had stated it being against my own free will.

“Absolutely,” Kurt agrees. “You can buy almost anything there. Like stolen art, government secrets, and even hire a hitman!”

“That was last year, wasn’t it?” Puck asked as I noticed that he and Kurt were the only chatty ones in the group while the other two men watched silently.

“Anyway, this was the first time anyone was sold off in the manner of fashion you had earlier,” Kurt says tilting his head as if trying to understand what was really going on. “You must have done something really bad to put yourself up there, huh?”

“Well…….I accidentally broke the Winged Victory Angel….” My voice trails off and I realized that something wasn’t right here.  Wait a minute, weren’t they just talking about selling black market things in a legal casino that by the way just happens to be in a highly publicized area? Was this even legal at all?  “Who in the world would approve of these things?   Do the police even know?”

“Well, to answer question number one.  I did approve of it.” Mr. Hargreave says as if bored by this whole conversation.

“What?”

“If it’s worth anything, it’s here.” Hargreave scoffs and laughs coldly.

“Reckless as always,” Mike shakes his head.  “This woman isn’t even worth anything.”

“Think about it for a moment,” Hargreave looks at me up and down as he folds his arms looking at me as if he were the predator toying with his prey.  “Won’t it be fun coming up with ways to use her?”

“What gives you the right to decide that?”  I ask exasperated.

“Who gave you permission to speak?” Hargreave asks coldly, merely raising an eyebrow.

“Huh?”

“Not another word unless I. SAY. SO.” Hargreave says, savoring the last three words, enunciating them slowly as if threatening me to not disobey him.

“If you’ve got a problem, we could always send you back to be auctioned off.” Mike sneers as if finding this even more amusing.

These guys are so scary. I’d rather die first than be sold off again.

I shake my head looking at both men, pleading them that I won’t disobey.

“Come on Boss……Mike……You two should be nice to the girls,” Puck quips, trying to lighten the mood, but honestly it fell a bit flat.  Not that I’d feel better either way.

“We need to figure out who gets to keep her,” Kurt says, as if now he’s the one who was bored by the whole turn of the conversation.  Though he acts as if he wants everything finalized, I get the feeling that he’s not entirely happy with the idea of having me for a slave.  In fact, he looks rather…….reluctant.   I’ve heard rumors that Mr. Hummel was gay, but I didn’t think now would have been the best times to actually confirm that.  So instead I ask the second question that’s been nagging me.

“What do you mean, who gets to keep me?  Didn’t you all buy me?”

“Yes, that’s true. But that’s really not your concern now.” Puck says.  “If I were you, I’d choose me.  I’m the only good guy here, so you can rest easy.”

“Says the world-famous thief and con-artist,” Elian Hargreave snorts derisively.

“Now, now Elian, you’re just trying to make Puck look bad.” Kurt says as if coming to his friends defense. “You’ve already got tons of groupies, why don’t you just play with one of them and let the rest of us have our fun?”

And to think I thought Kurt Hummel was safe because I assumed he was gay.

Guess again, batman.

“Mike Chang’s the one who could have his pick,” Hargreave threw a smirk towards the cool Asian mobster guy’s direction.  “Women would do anything to be the lover of a Hong Kong mobster.”

So he really was part of the Mafia.

Who ARE these people? I’m speechless but I try to pull myself together and try to shake some last-minute common sense in them.

“Human trafficking IS illegal, you know.  I’m going to report this to the police and I don’t care who you are.”

“You see a cop anywhere?” Elian Hargreave throws his head as if calling out to no one in particular. I follow his gaze and see a worn-out looking man standing by the window smoking a cigarette.  He looks to be the older of the bunch, probably around 35 in age. Rather good-looking, in fact he sort of reminds me of that guy who plays a thief on TV except that he looks disheveled and hasn’t shaved in a week.

“Damn it, don’t just blow my cover like that,” he groans as if he didn’t even want to be a part of this conversation.

“Better now than later, right Detective Cooper?” Kurt giggles as if enjoying himself.

“Shut up, Hummel.”

“Oh, don’t be so mean. Just because I’m dating your brother doesn’t mean you have to be so rude.”

“Wait, you’re a cop?” I ask incredulously, ignoring the fact that Kurt Hummel just confirmed he was openly gay.

“Yup.”  Apparently, the Detective spoke the fewest words possible.

I seriously CAN NOT believe that even the police are in on this.

“Well, it looks like we’re not going to reach a decision any time soon.” Kurt announces, really emphasizing on the obvious.

“Well Boss, at times like these….” Puck begins but Elian Hargreave cuts him off immediately.

“Right. I don’t want to waste anymore time.” Hargreave nods and stands up with Mike Chang following suit. All the men except for the Detective stand up and saunter over to me with Mr. Hargreave standing in the center of the group with his arms crossed looking down at me with cold eyes.

“Make a decision,” he says. “I’ll let you choose who buys you.”

---END---

Elian Hargreave.  Be ready to hear more of another Hargreave, Elian was just the prototype of my OC in the next series of fanfics.

[clr1473-blog]

Kissed by the Baddest Bidder - Heartbreak by Business (1st Story) - Chapter 1- The Hospital (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/UiNb/vF3xolQm0H Hello everyone! This is my very first fan fiction that I've published so I will look forward to seeing what you think:) Eisuke Ichinomiya and Violent are married, and life couldn't be better. The guys think of you as a little sister and have become protective of you. What will happen when things start to fall apart? Feel free to add me, chat, comment and favourite. :D

[truelovevoltage]

Argument And Amends - Eisuke Ichinomiya

“bat-yo-us said: How about a scenario where mc and eisuke are having an argument because eisuke constantly overworked himself and not getting any real rest and he went back to work with bitterness. Feeling worried, mc decides to make ammend but something terrible happens when someone tries to kill eisuke but at the last minute mc turn the table around and takes the blow instead. Can you make this angsty please and ends it with a fluff”

A/N: I wrote a similar headcanon to this and if you want to read it, it’s called “KBTBB: Fight and Make Up”

“Eisuke, how many times do I have to tell you that you need to take care of yourself? Take a break sometimes will you?” Y/N was full of worries. She just wanted Eisuke to take a break from his work from time to time or else it’ll affect his health. Y/N hated it when Eisuke would refuse to take a break and he hated how she’d nag him about it. 

“Are we seriously going to argue about this again Y/N? For the last time just leave me alone, I can take care of myself. Now stop nagging me, will you? You’re giving me a headache.” He rubbed his temples and walked towards his office leaving Y/N in the lounge. 

Y/N was annoyed that Eisuke would say hurtful words like that, is it that bad to care and worry about the one you love? Y/N was angry at him and stomped away from the lounge to go back to work. 

Eisuke, on the other hand, was also annoyed that his significant other cared too much. He’s been doing this for a long time even when you two weren’t together, so what’s the difference? He’ll be fine. 

A few hours have passed and the two of them continued to focus on their work. Eisuke had a guest coming in to make a business deal with him. He paged Y/N up to attend to him and his guest. Although Y/N didn’t want to do it due to their fight, she needed to do this for her work, no personal feelings. 

Y/N made coffee for Eisuke and his guest. She stood near Eisuke as if she was his secretary. She had no choice but listen to the deal happening between two businessmen. Y/N could tell that the man didn’t like Eisuke’s condition. “Mister Ichinomiya don’t you think that’s a bit unfair?”

“With all your respect, you’re the one who came to me for this business deal and I’m not happy with it. I managed to think about how your company will be beneficial for mine and you’re telling me that it’s unfair?” Eisuke smirked. “Look, if you don't want the deal then that’s fine, I have other offers from different companies that would love to collaborate with mine.” Eisuke stood up from his seat and walked away from the businessman. 

“Typical Eisuke Ichinomiya. If that’s what you think then I might as well kill you now!” The man pulled a gun out from his pocket and pointed at Eisuke. Just before the man pulled the trigger Y/N went in front of Eisuke and became his shield. 

The gunshot was deafening in the penthouse. Eisuke turned around to see his significant other on the ground bleeding. “Y/N!” He turned towards the man. “You have no idea what you’ve done. If something happens to her, you’re going to pay it with your own life.” 

The man shivered in fear and couldn’t move from his spot. Luckily Mamoru was scheduled to meet with Eisuke today and was able to arrest the man who shot Y/N. 

Eisuke rushed Y/N to the hospital and he wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t understand why Y/N protected him like that even after arguing with him in the morning. He ruffled his hair with frustration, how could he let something like this happen to you? He should be the one protecting you and not the other way around. 

The operation went well. They were able to take the bullet out and the Doctor mentioned that Y/N will be fine. Eisuke let out a relieved sigh upon hearing the good news. He knew then that he needed to apologize to Y/N the moment she woke up. He stayed with her until she opened her eyes. 

Y/N groggily opened her eyes and saw Eisuke sleeping. “So now you’ve decided to take a rest huh.” She whispered. She was about to stroke his head when Eisuke woke up. “Sorry did I wake you up? I’m sorry about this morning.” She apologized. Before she could even continue to apologize about what happened in the morning, there was a rush of adrenaline that circulated through Eisuke.

“Y/N!” He stood up and crashed his lips on hers. “Thank goodness you’re awake. The Doctors said you’ll be fine if you rest and I just want to apologize for this morning. I know how worried you must feel about me not getting enough rest and I promise you, next time I’ll listen. I don’t want to fight with you ever again, will you forgive me?” 

“Hmmm... I’ll think about it.” She smiled. “I’ll only forgive you if you get plenty of rest now.” She teased. 

Within moments Eisuke climbed into the bed with Y/N, “Eisuke what are you doing?” 

“What? You told me to get some rest and that’s what I’m doing. Do you really think I’ll be able to sleep without you by my side?” 

“Smooth one Eisuke. Whatever do what you want but if the Doctor or Nurses kicks you out, you’ll have to go home.” 

“Tsk. I’d like to see them try and kick me out.” Eisuke mumbled causing Y/N to laugh.

[emilyplaysotome]

Searching - Chapter 1

The last time I wrote about Eisuke, I’d met someone in my travels who inspired the story. This one comes from a similar place, and I hope you’ll enjoy. Should be the first part of something short again. Let me know if you want to be tagged.

I’d woken up extra early and made my way downstairs to the cafe, in order to grab a coffee and emotionally regroup before my day started. I brought my small bag with my planner, pen, and of course camera, as I found a cozy corner to sit in.

The hotel cafe was sparsely populated, and I figured it wouldn’t be long until a waiter brought over my drink. In the meantime, I took out my things and leafed through my schedule as I examined what was on the docket today, not to mention the month to come.

I wasn’t an alcoholic, but looking at my calendar I found myself whispering, “one day at a time,” incredibly overwhelmed by the amount I needed to do in the weeks to come.

This current week in Tokyo was jam packed with planning and photoshoots with well known models before I was set to head north and do a few shoots before returning for another two weeks before ultimately flying home to the states. For years I’d hoped for this kind of opportunity and this kind of life, but now that it was happening I found myself having second thoughts.

Being on the move made it hard to put down roots.

I’d been single for almost 3 years and I’d always figured I’d start dating once my life calmed down. What I hadn’t anticipated was that the opposite would happen. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, my career seemed to grow exponentially with every job and pick up speed until I had the choice to either quit completely or accept that this was my life.

I was grateful for the fact that success in this area of my life had allowed me to transform my hobby of snapping photos with friends to traveling the world on someone else’s dime. I currently lived a life full of expensing fancy dinners and making more money than I’d ever dreamed. I wasn’t a billionaire by any means, but I had more money in the bank than my grandmother who immigrated to the states could have ever wrapped her head around.

People say that money can’t solve your problems, but I figured that money could help with the quest to find me a steady boyfriend.

I employed a matchmaking service back in New York for almost ten thousand dollars with the hope that would understand my criteria and find me the perfect husband without much work on my end. I simply didn’t have the time to go on first date after first date that didn’t go anywhere and I did want to be married one day.

Though I knew I was not nearly as attractive as the models I was paid to capture, I believed myself to be more attractive than the matches they sent my way. Before I’d left New York for my one month tour of Japan, I’d demanded that they do better as they tried to persuade me I’d set the bar impossibly high.

“That’s absurd,” I’d snapped back. “You’ve seen the pictures of my exes and the guys I date. I’m sure these guys are lovely but I can’t help the fact I am completely unattracted to them.”

My matchmaker protested gently, “I’ve been doing this for a long time - sometimes someone isn’t attractive at the start but they grow on you…”

“No. I know myself well enough to know that won’t happen here. Even when I’ve had that experience they haven’t necessarily been my type or what I’m used to but they’re still attractive and there’s still SOMETHING that drew me to them…not like this.”

I felt awful having to admit how superficial I was at the end of the day but I also knew that I didn’t have the time to waste on a lackluster first date with a man whose appearance I found slovenly and unappealing.

I didn’t care that he was a business owner and had a penthouse - I wasn’t trying to be his trophy wife.

I was becoming my own rich man, as Cher would say.

“But if you just gave him a try…”

“No. I’m sorry but no. It’s not nice for me to go feeling this way and I’m leaving for a month as is. I’m not wasting his time or mine and I hope when I return you have someone that’s more in line with my preferences.”

I felt like a diva but I was too busy to mask my annoyance. I was in the business of always delivering for my clients.

I was theirs and they owed it to me.

I rubbed my eyes, still feeling the jet lag from when I’d arrived and made a few notes in my planner. Scout today. Shoot tomorrow and Wednesday. Review retouching Thursday and Friday. Fly out Saturday.

Rinse.

Repeat.

I sighed, knowing full well that I craved a vacation where I could actually enjoy Tokyo instead of being shuttled around in town-cars for work.

“Everything alright?”

I looked up and saw the smiling face of a middle aged man who worked for the hotel.

“Yes, everything’s fine - there’s just a lot to do.”

“Should I arrange for any of the hotel’s spa services for you?”

“No, that’s alright. Thank you…Mr. Kenzaki,” I said, taking note of his employee name-tag.

“Of course. Just let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your stay here more enjoyable.”

“May I take your photo?”

He’d started to walk away when I’d asked, and at first he appeared shy, almost apprehensive as if I were asking him to tell me something incredibly personal. I suppose taking a photograph of someone is incredibly personal, at least, someone once said that about my work long ago.

“You don’t have to,” I quickly added. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“No, that’s quite alright. Go ahead.”

I took out my small point and shoot that I used for fun, and framed him up dead center with the cafe’s arch creating a sense of symmetry around him as identically set tables almost created a look as if there were a mirror effect taking place in the image.

He looked stiff and uncomfortable and to get what I wanted I asked, “Mr. Kenzaki, have you always had that haircut?”

For an instant he looked vulnerable and I snapped the photo before he replied.

“Yes. For some time now at least - why do you ask?”

“It suits you. You appear to be a very capable, organized individual and your appearance reflects this. Thank you for letting me take your photo.”

He nodded but I could see that he was slightly unsettled as he walked away and once out of sight I looked at the image on my screen. There was something incredibly boyish in his face that captured who he once was in a moment of who he’d become.

“You’re as good as they say you are,” said a voice behind me, and I looked up to see a man looking at the camera’s digital screen over my shoulder.

I found it odd that someone would recognize me, but having worked at this level for the past few years with several international showcases it wasn’t implausible enough to alarm me.

“Thanks I guess.”

“I thought you’d have a much more professional setup though…”

“I do. This is just when I am trying to enjoy the process - when it’s not work. There’s something freeing about not having so much equipment.”

The man scowled and I was uncertain as to what in my statement had rubbed him the wrong way.

“Work is work, not play. There is only joy in the capital gained from it.”

“Perhaps for you, but there was once joy in what I did and I’m trying to find it again. Have a good day.”

With that, I started to leave. I’d drained my coffee and a car would be here soon enough to take me to scout several outdoor locations where we’d be working tomorrow.

“Won’t you take my photo?”

I turned around and looked at him. It was obvious that whoever he was, he’d built up so many walls that getting him to expose who he really was would take more time than I had. An offhanded comment would not crack this man as it had Mr. Kenzaki.

“I do, but right now I don’t have the time.”

“Later then? When you return?”

Puzzled, I raised an eyebrow and said, “I don’t know - I’ll see how I feel. It’s not just snapping a photo for me you know. It’s more than that.”

He started to say something but then pursed his lips and nodded.

“Okay.”

I thought about the oddity of that interaction for most of the day.

I had a translator, 2 assistants, and a creative director with me at all times for the bulk of the scout and it took us most of the day to finalize the schedule for the following 2 days. They took me around and to places most Americans would never get to visit but I still felt as if I had to be my professional self versus my real one.

I had to remain upbeat and excited, grateful for the opportunity, and impressed by all the city had to offer while simultaneously creating shot lists in my head that I’d frantically jot down in notebooks while their backs were turned.

My phone informed me that I’d done about 10 miles of walking by the time the day was over and after a fairly luxurious dinner with the creative team and translator in which I walked everyone through the plan for the following days I found myself spent.

There was a sense of relief as I kicked off my shoes and walked into my hotel suite, prepared to order some late night dessert from room service and soak in the tub before I turned in on the early side. I chucked once more thinking about the man I’d met who wanted his photo taken, and wondered if he was going to be in the cafe tomorrow morning with the hope I’d photograph him.

As I waited for my cake, I lay on the couch in my suite and connected my phone to wifi, allowing for iMessages and WhatsApp notifications to flood my phone from the states.

My friend was getting married.

My other friend had given birth.

People missed me.

My mom wanted to know if I was doing ok.

And my manager had put me up for a few additional jobs in Asia that could potentially extend my stay up to two months and I felt annoyed at the fact that he hadn’t run the idea by me first, seeing as how I was already tired and wanting to go home.

I felt too tired to reply and lazily tossed my phone onto the table next to me before I closed my eyes to rest.

I hoped to quiet the thoughts swirling in my head, but all that I could think about was how lonely this new life of mine felt. I managed to be around people all the time and yet I was close to no one these days. My friends had all moved forward into new chapters of their lives and I felt as if I were being left behind.

No one pitied me or had any idea I felt this way. To them I was their fabulous photo friend who rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous and updated my instagram with a steady stream of exotic photos. On paper it looked as if I had it all, but in my heart there was a hole.

The longer I sat with these feelings, the more confused and hopeless I felt. It wasn’t long before the mix of melancholy and exhaustion had silent tears streaming town my cheeks.

I felt as if I had one foot in my old life and one foot in the new one - resisting the fact that I was someone who would be gone for months at a time and who would be unable as a result to cultivate new relationships. And to add insult to injury, what was once fun had started to feel like work in all areas.

I couldn’t just snap a picture anymore for fun. My pictures were scrutinized. They were shared. They were representing my brand and therefore they couldn’t be flawed.

I missed being able to shoot freely and make mistakes and not have this reputation - albeit a good one.

Too good in fact.

The bar kept getting set higher and higher and all I wanted was the freedom to make art the way I did when I was first starting.

A knock on my door interrupted my stormy thoughts and I hastily wiped my tears before asking, “Who is it?”

“Room service.”

I’d forgotten about the cake.

I made my way to the door, unconcerned with my appearance and opened it to discover the man from the morning awkwardly holding a piece of cake.

“You…don’t usually do this, do you?” I found myself asking.

“I do not.”

I chuckled and took the cake, hanging my head a bit in the hopes I could extricate myself from the conversation without having to acknowledge the feelings that had come before.

“Do I have to sign anything?”

“No. I…Are you alright?”

There was something clumsy about the way he asked me.

“Just an off day. Thanks for the cake,” I said scanning for his employee badge.

“Eisuke Ichinomiya. I own the hotel.”

“Well, thank you for personally delivering it.”

“I have ulterior motives. I want you to take my picture.”

“Yeah, I kind of got that earlier. Why?”

“Because they say you capture the essence of who someone is.”

“Thank you. But if you want a professional shoot contact my agent and they’ll…”

“I need you to help me understand who I am.”

His voice was quiet when he said it, but there was a humility behind those words that I hadn’t seen before in him. Now that I was looking at him, it was fair to say he quite handsome. Though guarded, there was an elegance and masculinity about him that would make for a good subject and knowing that he was a powerful man I suddenly shifted in what this photograph could do for me.

If I could capture a king looking as lost as he did now, I could take my career somewhere else perhaps.

I could maybe even afford to be more selective with my jobs.

The universe had brought me a gift, but I would soon see that it was not going to be what I initially thought.

Please like/share/comment if you enjoyed the story or buy me a kofi!

READ CHAPTER 2

[truelovevoltage]

She’s Mine - Eisuke Ichinomiya

“ashleysmith28 said: Can you do kbtbb eisuke fanfic where he is on trip with mc and some guy flirts with her fluffly moment at the end plese. Love you and love your writing 😘❤” 

A short business trip to London was all it took for Eisuke to have Y/N all to himself. Thinking about getting some alone time with Y/N at this time of the years which is Christmas season. There was a smile forming on his ever so expressionless face but quickly covered it up and tried to hide it because he knew that if the other bidders caught him, he would not hear the end of it. He knew from the past to never ever smile when he’s around the other bidders. Eisuke would only smile for one person, and that is Y/N. The flight from Japan to London was long but it wasn’t bad. However ever since Y/N and Eisuke landed, he was in a sour mood. Eisuke’s business partner ordered one of his trusted employees to accompany the two of you in your travel to London. Eisuke didn’t like the matter of the man getting close to you even though Eisuke knew that he was just doing his job. Eisuke let out a hiss under his breath and hoped that this trip would soon be done. Y/N was overjoyed at the scenery that she was seeing. As Y/N was gawking at their surroundings that man was acting as a tour guide telling Y/N the landmarks or statues that they pass by. He even suggested the best places to visit here as a tourist. “How far are we from the company? Your Boss and I are busy men and I’m sure he’d like to get this meeting over with.” Eisuke snarled. Y/N nudged him, “Eisuke don’t be rude.” Y/N whispered. Eisuke ignored Y/N’s warning and glanced at the window. He thought about where he would take her in London after the business meeting. The meeting shouldn’t take that long considering they were just going over the proposal that they’ve agreed upon and after that, he would have Y/N all to himself. It only took a few minutes for them to arrive at the company. Eisuke didn’t waste any time and got out of the car the moment that the car stopped. He walked towards the elevator but walking was an understatement when Y/N had to run just to catch up with Eisuke. “Eisuke wait up!” Y/N ran towards her boyfriend and almost tripped when Makoto, the trusted employee caught her before she fell. This only angered Eisuke more, he just wanted to get this meeting over with so he could spend time with Y/N. 

“Thanks, but I can take care of my own girlfriend.” Eisuke pulled Y/N away from Makoto’s grasp. 

On the way up from the elevator Eisuke held her hand not letting her out of his sight. Eisuke’s been really good at opening his feelings to Y/N lately and he even told her what was bothering him. “I really don’t like it when other guys look at you or flirt with you. I even made it clear that you’re my girlfriend and not just someone to accompany from this business trip.” He was really frustrated and he couldn’t help but kiss Y/N in the elevator. He didn’t care if there were other employees staring at them.

The meeting went according to plan. Everything went smooth, the pitch of the company was strong. It was strong enough to impress Eisuke and that says a lot. Despite the fact that Makoto was basically flirting with Y/N during the meeting, he kept his cool. “Thank you for this meeting but in case no one got the memo...” He looked over at Y/N and kissed her in front of many board members. “This woman is mine. Got it Makoto.” There was a triumphant smile on his face. Y/N felt so embarrassed after. In the car, Eisuke acted like a spoiled child wanting your attention. 

“You owe it all to me for flirting with that guy. Plus I have something for you when we get to your hotel. Let’s just say you’ll be mine tonight and no one will bother us.” The look he gave Y/N was quite dangerous as if she knew what was going to happen tonight. 

[emilyplaysotome]

Chapter 16 - Surprise, Surprise

Catch up on all Chapters here: http://emilyplaysotome.tumblr.com/post/173554646607/down-the-voltage-rabbit-hole-the-sequel-master

“Well he’s mucked it all up, hasn’t he?” The king asked, staring down at Eisuke with disdain.

The normally bustling restaurant was now completely still in a way that felt unsettling. Waiters placed food down on tables and poured water suspended in time and space as the king and I continued to live our lives in regular time.

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused as to what the king was getting at.

“He wasn’t supposed to be the sixth man, but…I’ll admit in a way he is.”

“What?”

“You had one guess and he wasn’t the one.”

I could feel my heart sink at those words, but watching the king I could tell that there was more going on to this situation than met the eye.

“I lost?”

“You were supposed to lose if you guessed him but I realize now that you’re correct in a way, and a deal’s a deal.”

“Wait…I’m sorry. I’m confused. Have I won Meg back or not?”

“Yes,” he said begrudgingly. “I’ll allow it. I know you think I’m a cheat, but I assure you that’s not the case.”

I was still uncertain as to what was happening when the king sighed and with a groan snapped again, producing Meg in front of me out of thin air.

“Naomi!”

“Meg!”

We hugged and even though we were ecstatic to be reunited once more, the king didn’t care much for what was happening with the two of us.

“You’re lucky I decided to read his mind when I did Goldfish or I might not have been as generous,” he droned on in the background.

His general attitude made me worry that my seeing Meg might be short lived, and I pulled away from her in order to figure out if I had her back for good this time.

“So I no longer have to guess the sixth man, right?”

The king let out another annoyed growl, almost was as if he was angry at me for not being the mind reader that he was.

“No. I will accept Eisuke even though the correct answer was Toma though.”

“But…”

“It’s my fault for not seeing it sooner. I had hoped that he would help me trick you, but it never occurred to me that his desire to come to this realm was more about being able to be there for you. I should have done more research before I approached him with my plan.”

“Research?”

“Good heavens you’re an infuriating one today! Yes. Research. You weren’t really on my radar when you first arrived, remember? Leon was the one keeping an eye on you and it was only when he started reporting to me that you were making eyes at Zyglavis that I began to check in.”

“Oh.”

“I witnessed him go to bat for his friend but it never occurred to me…not once…that he might be pining away for you while still supporting his friend.”

I felt lucky that the king was being generous, but I was surprised that he’d failed to fully understand who he brought to this world. I had it in my head that the whole time this had been a David vs. Goliath story and that most of the events that happened around me were his doing - managed by a mastermind of mischief. It had never occurred to me that he was rolling the dice as much as I was during this process, though maybe thinking that way about him was a bit too liberal in regards of his abilities to see how things would play out.

It was odd seeing someone like the king as fallible and naturally it was the moment I thought such a thing that the king let out a caustic chuckle and added, “I forgot how strange and sentimental you goldfish are. I’ve watched you for my entire life, over so many periods in human history and yet I often forget about your capacity for complexity.”

He looked at Eisuke somewhat wistfully and with a gloved hand gently touched his frozen cheek. Meg and I glanced at each other unsure as to what was happening until the king looked at us with a bright smile.

“Should I take this one back to my world too?”

“Actually…and I can’t believe I’m saying this but…can I keep him here for now?”

“Have a change of heart are we?”

“Mmm doubtful, but I think he might come in handy if you’re willing to give me that small advantage.”

The king clicked his tongue and with a wry, teasing smiled noted, “You seem to be doing far too well all things considered. And now that you have her I worry that I might be the underdog in this game I’ve orchestrated.”

“I’m sure you’ve still got a few tricks up your sleeve,” I said cautiously.

To that he grinned at me like the Cheshire Cat and nodded before snapping his fingers and restarting time.

Eisuke’s steak should have gone cold considering how long the king and I had talked, but true to the magic the king’s presence injected into this world I watched as he brought the steak to his lips and chewed, as if this second bite 15 minutes later was identical to the first. It took him a few seconds to register Meg’s presence and when he did he raised an eyebrow before giving her a small nod and taking another bite.

“Pull up a chair if you want to order something,” he said, gesturing to a waiter who pulled up a chair for her.

“Nice to finally meet you,” Meg said. “I feel like I’ve heard far too much from your annoying friends.”

“Oh?” Eisuke asked despite his tone hinting at his disinterest.

“Fuck! I’m glad to be back,” Meg said chuckling before waving over a waiter and pointing at Eisuke’s steak. “Hey - I’ll get what he’s eating.”

I couldn’t help but smirk at Meg’s attitude. I remembered vividly all the emotions I’d felt upon my return and there she was looking at her time away almost as if it was merely a nuisance. She looked great - slightly more fit and was wearing a cool and very fashionable bizarro Tokyo outfit.

Her hair was styled in beachy waves and she wore a fitted shirt that hugged her curves and left her shoulders and clavicle bare with dark jeans and cute ballet flats. Her makeup was done differently than her usual look (when she chose to wear makeup) and instead of a natural look her eyes really popped thanks to her dark winged eye liner.

“Naomi - I have to say...I’m glad the only person on the planet who understands what happened is you because fuck!”

“Must you keep cursing?” Eisuke asked in a slightly perturbed tone.

Meg turned towards him and looking him directly in the eyes smiled and said, “Fuck you and fuck your criminal friends.”

It was then that the relief of having her back for good combined with the scene playing out before me caused me to belly laugh in a way I hadn’t done since her disappearance. My laugh made Naomi start to laugh and in a matter of moments we were reduced to two giggling schoolgirls. 

In fact, we laughed so hard and for so long that by the time our laughter finally subsided, Meg’s steak had arrived and Eisuke grumbled, “It’s not that funny,” in protest of being completely out of control for once.

“How bad was it?” I asked.

“I mean...you’ve met me. And you’ve met Baba...”

“Oh boy.”

“I don’t know what it is about guys like him that make me want to knock them down a peg...”

“God I want to know everything...”

“So much happened. I think I broke the romance world you love so much.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. I don’t think there’s a single trope in that world I came to appreciate. For sure not the ones that are friends with him, but even outside of the hotel.”

“Really? You weren’t tempted by any of them? Not one?”

Meg hesitated for a second and in that second I knew that she’d met someone who had stirred something in her heart, despite the broken state it might currently be in. She lied in that moment though, shaking her head no and said, “Not really. And what about you?”

“I’m just happy to have you back, and I’m surprised that the king allowed it.”

“Why wouldn’t he have allowed it?” Eisuke asked curtly.

“Because the sixth man wasn’t you. But apparently you like me sooooo...”

Never in my life did I think I’d have the chance to tease Eisuke and I was not about to let this one pass me by. 

His cheeks immediately flushed and he defensively lowered his eyes to his food and both Meg and I cackled. It was a bit mean of us but we were back to being two peas in a pod and as insensitive as it was it couldn’t be helped.

“I’m certain I don’t know why,” he said gruffly, desperately trying to regain the upper hand. 

It was obvious that a man with such ego was not used to being at a disadvantage, and he continued to go about his business eating as the red hue in his face continued to deepen.

“Because Naomi is great - don’t give me that shit,” Meg quipped, eating her steak in a voracious manner. “And all of you have a complex where no one sees you for who you are and once they do you all fall fucking hard.”

Eisuke’s silverware clattered against his plate as he dramatically let them fall out of frustration.

“Must you curse like a sailor? We are in a nice steakhouse trying to enjoy a nice lunch...”

“I’m enjoying my lunch just fine and after being kidnapped for a month or two I’m just happy to be back in a world where people curse and aren’t incredibly reserved. The cultural differences between here and fake Tokyo were really starting to wear on my dumb American spirit.”

“I see,” he said, his words reeking of judgement. “I can’t imagine your charm did much for you in my world, unlike Naomi who somehow walks that perfect line between empowered and ladylike.”

“Ahaha hear that Omi?”

“Shut it.”

“And I’ll have you know Mister Ichinomiya,” Meg said, mouth full dragging out his name for effect, “Your buddies were pretty taken with me. Seems like my honey badger spirit was quite refreshing when compared with the meek women at the Tres Spades who just follow you and your boys around like dumb groupies.”

“Excuse me?”

Meg nodded, cheeks full of steak and a happy, slightly messy smirk. She chewed a bit more and swallowed the hunk of meat she’d been working on before replying triumphantly, “Yeah dude. Baba thought I was hilarious and told me I managed to ‘breathe life into the stalest of chases’, Mamoru felt as if I could just be one of the guys, and Ota kept saying he wanted me to be his pet or some shit, but by the end he was all blushy and asking me if I’d dom him.”

“I really didn’t need to know that,” Eisuke said with a disgusted look on his face.

Meg shrugged unfettered by Eisuke’s discomfort, and took another swing of water before flippantly replying, “You asked.”

“Yeah you kind of did...” I echoed.

“Naomi, do you think you could catch up with your friend some other time?” Eisuke asked more forcefully than usual.

Meg let out a chuckle and popped the last piece of steak in her mouth before getting up.

“Sure Romeo. I’d like to catch up on email before everyone realizes I’ve gone missing. How long has it been?”

“Not long,” I reassured Meg. “Like...4? 5 days?”

Meg scoffed and shook her head, “That’s crazy. It was almost a month in that world.”

“Believe me I understand.”

She picked up her bag, which had made it to and from the otome realm with her and told me to text her when I was done with work and left, not even bothering to say goodbye to Eisuke.

Meg had come in her usual loud, boisterous self and her absence left us in silence. Eisuke motioned to the waiter for the check, and once it had been delivered he put down cash.

“That friend of yours is...quite crass.”

“Meg is always herself no matter the company.”

“She’s your best friend?”

“One of them.”

“You can’t have more than one best friend. That negates the title.”

I could feel myself about to get into an argument but stopped myself and instead looked him square in the eyes and asked, “What is it that you really want to say?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

Eisuke paused momentarily, pursed his lips and said, “If you think I’m about to confess my love you’re sorely mistaken.”

“So you didn’t come here to win my heart then?”

“I came here for Soryu. But...then I saw you and we started arguing and I felt a strange affection for you. I wouldn’t say I want to win your heart...more that I’m irritated you can’t see that I’m better than any man you could ever hope to date. I shouldn’t have to win you. You should be trying to win me. And you don’t. And that infuriates me.”

The scene felt reminiscent of a therapy session if I’m being honest and I watched him unpack the things he was feeling, his expression twisting with discomfort as he realized how hard it was to not always get what you want.

The waiter returned with his changed and he left a nice tip, stuffing the rest into his wallet quite carelessly which was unlike him. I could tell he was agitated, not to mention frustrated by how his true intentions had come to light and when he stood to leave the table I grabbed ahold of his sleeve.

“No. Let’s finish this.”

“What?”

“Sit - I want to talk this out. I don’t want you to run away from me…”

“What do you really care Naomi? You got Meg back after all…it’s not like you actually like me. I can tell. That’s why this is all so maddening.”

“I don’t not like you.”

“Wow. Thank you. That’s basically what every man longs to hear,” he said sarcastically. He pulled his arm away from me, and I found myself reaching out once more.

“Eisuke, stop. Let’s not do this. Let’s talk like grown ups.”

“There’s nothing to say. You know how I feel now…and…and…”

I could feel someone’s eyes on me but didn’t dare look over for fear that if I shifted my attention nothing would be resolved. I pulled him back down into our seats and just as I was forming my rebuttal, I felt his lips on mine. I was stunned to be honest - I never expected him to just kiss me out of the blue, especially considering I was convinced that the remnants of my lunch might be present on my face.

I don’t know if it was the shock or the inner monologue but I found myself allowing it to go on longer than I ever would have thought. It was strange kissing a man that I didn’t even particularly like and even stranger that I sort of enjoyed it.

He was my client…a thorn in my side…and yet I started to relax into his arms, and his kiss…

…and then as quickly as he’d moved in, he pulled back and I was left panting and docile with a curious expression on my face.

“I have to go,” he muttered and I was so caught off guard I did nothing to stop him from running away from me.

I brought my hand to my lips and with my thumb wiped away a trace of wetness the kiss left behind. I started to compose myself and it was then that I turned to see Jin at the window, looking in at me past the client he was speaking with outside the steakhouse and I realized that his being there was not mere coincidence.

This was the king fighting back after I’d had too many wins, too quickly.

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[emilyplaysotome]

Chapter 15 - All the King’s Men

Catch up on all Chapters here:  http://emilyplaysotome.tumblr.com/post/173554646607/down-the-voltage-rabbit-hole-the-sequel-master

I arrived at the office on time but very much in my head.

To be totally honest, I can’t remember how I got to the office that day. I knew that I dropped my things off at home, went to the subway, and took my usual route to work but I was in that type of headspace where you’re so busy thinking that somehow the present just happens and you’re left with this inability to describe exactly how it is that you got from point a to point b.

I dropped my bag off in my office and composed myself before sneaking out behind the building to grab a coffee at La Colombe. As I stood in line, for some reason a memory flashed in the recesses of my mind that caught me off guard.

It was from my early days with Zyglavis, before things had gotten complicated in the slightest.

At the time, I’d wanted to show him what my life here was like and I had dragged him down to TriBeCa by my office to give him a sense of my daily routine, including the black and tan (draft latte + cold brew) I started my day with. I remember ordering two and us sitting at one of the small tables in the cafe as he hesitantly leaned forward and took a sip.

“That’s delicious!”

“I thought you’d like it…even though it’s not chocolate.”

“Not everything I like is chocolate,” he’d said with a cute pout.

I’d laughed, and reached across the table taking his hand in mine. I brought his fingers to my lips and kissed them gently since he was too far away, and I loved him too much to ignore the impulse to be close to him.

Now I was here alone, waiting in line and wondering if I’d ever find that kind of happiness again - be it with him or with someone else.

I missed him of course, but I wondered if I missed the idea of him more.

This whole thing, our “breakup”, the king’s games - all of it had left me with little time for reflection. I was aware of the fact that I only had 3 weeks left, but I needed to find real answers in that time in order to feel good about how I was going to move forward from here on out.

Truthfully, out of everyone I’d lost I missed Meg the most.

She would have been the person who would have pushed me to think about Naomi. She’d been there long enough to see me with Zyglavis and to see me before him to gently guide me in the right direction. She had an uncanny ability to ask the kinds of questions that actually helped me think and not get distracted by fleeting feelings of lust or like or a desire to avoid my own baggage by fantasizing about a man.

To find real happiness I needed her back sooner rather than later, and in order to do that I had to get to the bottom of this sixth man situation asap.

I was thinking about all this when I turned the corner back at my office and smacked into someone. I almost spilled my black and tan but thankfully between the amount of it that I’d already consumed and the lid, disaster was narrowly avoided as I bent down to pick up my cup.

“I’m so sorry!”

“Oh Naomi, there you are.”

It all happened so fast, and because I’d been so in my head I wasn’t paying attention to who I’d actually run into. When my eyes settled back on the people before me I saw a smiling Anita with her hand on the shoulder of someone very familiar.

“This is Toma. I was just about to bring him by to your office for an introduction. He’s a freelance copywriter that’s going to be helping us out on the LT Hotel pitch.”

This version of Toma Kirya was far more accessible than the overly confident man I’d met back at Addison & Rhodes. It made sense to some degree as in this scenario Anita and I were executive level and so he looked at me with the same sort of respect that he’d look at Shunichiro with back then.

He wore a plaid collared shirt, like most of the men in our office and his jeans were a bit tighter than the slacks he’d worn in bizzaro Toyko giving this version of him a bit of a hipster vibe. As a few of my younger female employees walked by him I noticed that they were checking him out on the DL and I had to admit that this new look, including his new hipster-style horn rimmed glasses, was really working for him.

He smiled politely, and somewhat bashfully, pushing his chestnut hair back out of his eyes and said, “It’s nice to meet you. Sorry about before…I’ll buy you another coffee sometime to make up for it.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” I said cautiously. “When did you start?”

“Friday,” Anita said without hesitation, “He was in the meeting and I’d hoped to introduce you before but you were ill…”

“I took notes though, and I have some ideas,” Toma said eagerly.

“I’ll look forward to hearing them,” I said, still on guard.

“That reminds me,” Anita said. “One of our clients wants to come by today for a smaller strategy session with just you and Toma. I checked your calendars and it seemed that 11 was open for both of you.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. “That only gives me an hour for prep…”

Anita shook her head dismissively, “You don’t need to prep. He just wanted face time with you both leading in to our first presentation on Wednesday. For some reason he seems really stoked about 360i getting awarded the job and who am I rock that boat? Just be your usual charming selves and it’ll be fine.”

It was typical of Anita to improvise a bit.

As talented as she was as a creative director, her strength was being able to spitball and brainstorm whereas I thrived in an environment full of calculated planning. Despite the fact that last night I’d taken a few cues from her style of doing things and it had miraculously worked out, I wasn’t prepared to bring that kind attitude to the workplace.

Furthermore, I now knew that Shin, Toma, and Eisuke were all in this world. One of them was most likely the sixth man but I was unclear as to who. There was a small detail about one the three that stuck out to me, but I wasn’t ready to read into it enough to determine if that meant he was the one.

I decided to keep my wits about me, and suggested that Toma follow me back to my office in order to do a bit of prep before our client’s arrival.

“So where did you work before this?” I asked, my eyes never leaving my computer.

“Oh…here and there.”

“What does that mean?”

Toma looked uncomfortable in my peripheral vision and I watched him squirm a bit before he said, “To be honest, I don’t remember. I know this will sound crazy but I woke up in a hospital room and couldn’t remember anything about my life. I pieced together some information about myself thanks to the smartphone they gave me which was mine but…I’m hoping my memories will come back soon.”

“Really? You’re serious - you’re not messing with me?”

“No! I know it sounds farfetched but it’s the truth. I had an email from Anita booking me for Friday and I showed up ready to work. You don’t have to worry - I know what I’m doing it’s just…the personal stuff is muddied.”

“That’s quite a story.”

“Please don’t say anything. Please. I promise I’ll knock this out of the park for you just…believe me when I say I will be an asset to your team and you won’t regret working with me.”

“Relax. Even if you blow it horribly between me and Anita, well…it’ll be fine.”

There was a brief silence and when it started to make me uncomfortable I glanced over to see Toma with a warm smile pointed in my direction.

“You’re really confident huh?”

“And you’re not?”

“No, I am but still. I like being around confident people.”

The way he said it I could tell that he was cautiously flirting. It was the kind of statement that wouldn’t get him in trouble with HR but still implied something more than merely respecting confident coworkers.

We spent the rest of our time together combining our notes from the Friday meeting in anticipation of the upcoming one. As he’d been in the otome realm, Toma was excellent at his job. He had several slogans, hashtag activations, and overarching themes for LT Hotels and when I told him my idea of opening up the luxe offerings to a few New York City influencers, he quickly worked that into all of his preliminary ones.

Our hour together flew by and before we knew it we were heading to the front to greet our client.

“What are you doing here?” I gaped. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you in the flesh,” Eisuke said with a smirk. “Toma, nice to see you again.”

“Same Mr. Ichinomiya.”

“Please, call me Eisuke.”

“Right this way Eisuke.”

In an instant it all started to click - the luxury hotel brand, the consulting, not to mention the fact that two men had been present in that shitty video conference and I hadn’t noticed. I bit my tongue and saw Eisuke smirking at me out of the corner of my eye as an unaware Toma led us to one of our nicer small conference rooms.

“Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?”

“Coffee would be great. Naomi, would you be a dear and make it the way I like?”

I stared daggers and him and watched as a horrified Toma assumed our client was being horribly sexist towards me.

“I’ll have our receptionist-“

“That’s quite alright, Naomi will do it. I just have a hunch that no one makes a cup quite like her.”

“It’s fine Toma,” I said swallowing my annoyance. “Do you want one too?”

“No, I’m fine. Thanks though,” he said, unable to hide his horrified expression.

I left the men in the conference room and headed to our kitchen, cursing Eisuke and the king under my breath. I should have added a stipulation at the start of our game that my work would be off limits but as per usual I could feel the King’s presence reminding me that I was not as in control of this game as I wanted to think.

When I returned and placed the coffee in front of Eisuke, his face lit up with a pleased expression.

“I knew it,” he said after taking a sip. “You really have a knack for making my coffee.”

“It’s the extra half spoonful of sugar,” I said without thinking and watched as Toma curiously studied us.

“Do you two know each other?”

“In a past life perhaps,” Eisuke said, back to his unreadable poker face.

“Toma, do you want to share our initial campaign ideas?” I asked, hoping to limit the amount of damage either otome king might be doing in my professional life.

From there the meeting got back on track and we learned that LT Hotels was planning to build out their fitness center on one portion of their roof. They were building an outdoor track so guests could “run in the clouds” and also were constructing an indoor area surrounded in glass, which would be open 24 hours so guests could work out in the midst of the city lights and stars.

Eisuke thought opening the fitness club and hotel spa to an elite group of New Yorkers was a great idea and he pushed us to move forward with “not just a hotel” as our brand anthem. With Toma and I kicked off in the right direction, Eisuke made his way out of the office extending an invitation to join him for lunch.

I hesitated, having thought my lunch hour would be the perfect time to follow up with Jin, but seeing as how Eisuke was a client (and a suspect for the sixth man) I graciously agreed.

We walked over to Wolfgang’s Steakhouse a few blocks away from the office. I passed Wolfgang’s all the time on my way to sweetgreen where I got my salads and marveled at the patrons who had the time and money to go to a steakhouse on their lunch break.

It made sense that Eisuke would take me here, and as the hostess quickly sat us by the window I noticed that the wait staff seemed to be extra aware of his presence. I couldn’t figure out if he’d been here before or if Eisuke Ichinomiya simply had that kind of demeanor no matter what universe he was in that caused people to bend over backwards to serve him.

Most of the items on the menu were far too rich for lunch, but Eisuke didn’t care and when our waiter returned he ordered the petit filet mignon and I settled on the burger. I still felt that my order was a bit heavy for the middle of the day but it seemed like a good compromise between a salad and a steak. Eisuke also ordered a bottle of wine for us, despite my protest that it was the middle of the day and I had to get back to work after this.

Naturally, he refused to bend to my pleas and I found myself enjoying an expensive red while I waited for my juicy medium-rare burger.

“So do you miss Soryu?” I asked in an attempt to make small talk as I took a sip of the wine.

“Yes, but that’s not why I came to this world.”

“Are you going to try and convince me that you came for me?”

“Hmm. Who knows.”

He looked disinterested, and his face was unreadable but I couldn’t shake the nagging suspicion I had about him.

“You know,” I said watching his reactions closely. “It strikes me as odd that out of the three men I’ve met you’re the only one who seems to have his memories intact.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Toma and Shin are a clean slate but you aren’t. You seem to be in cahoots with the king.”

To that Eisuke scoffed dismissively, “And what significance does that have to you?”

“Hmm. I wonder,” I said, throwing the same attitude back in his face.

A comfortable silence descended on the table and through the window I watched the people outside mill about. I took a moment and thought about everything that had happened up until this point. I thought about the fact that this one detail had been eating away at me, nagging at me to be noticed, and how I’d found it strange that Eisuke would stay here without Soryu if there wasn’t something more at play.

There were two possible explanations, and it seemed like a gamble to accuse him when Meg’s life theoretically hung in the balance…but I just couldn’t shake that nagging feeling I had.

Our food came out and Eisuke carefully cut his steak. The rare meat oozed blood and juices and like the carnivore he was, he tore off a small piece and popped it in his mouth, nodding in approval and muttering, “Delicious.”

“It’s you,” I said, unable to hold back.

“What’s me?”

“You’re the sixth man.”

Eisuke paused, and put his utensils down for a moment.

“Is that your final answer?”

He looked at me with his cold, incomprehensible eyes. The face of a ruthless businessman, great at deception yet deeply insecure and for some reason I found myself grinning in response to his stoicism.

The more I thought about it, the more certain I was. It had been over a year since I played the IOS version of his life, but I remember how the fans of the game had discussed at length his love for the MC no matter what route you were in. As a result I had played Soryu, Mamoru, and Baba’s routes (Ota had never interested me in the slightest), and sure enough in each story there was a hint of Eisuke’s presence and affection for the MC.

He never crossed the line and always hung back, taking second place to his friend but he was there trying to make you happy in the shadows of the story.

I thought about the fact that he had taken me to this expensive lunch and how he wanted my company to win the LT account - not for him as he knew he may not be in this world for long but for me. 

To make me happy. To help me.

I thought about how cranky he’d been when I’d stopped replying and how he facilitated reuniting me with Soryu even though he’d been slightly sour about the whole thing. Sure, he’d hid his feelings behind sarcasm and smirks, but I remember from his stories in the game how needy and insecure he was deep down and here I was suddenly realizing that I’d taken all these interactions at face value when there was so much more beneath the surface.

He continued to look at me expressionless, despite my smile and I nodded in answer to his question.

“Yes. Yes it is.”

I heard a snap, and time froze leaving the only two people able to converse myself and the king who now loomed over our table.

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[emilyplaysotome]

Chapter 17 - Two Truths and a Lie

Catch up on all Chapters here: http://emilyplaysotome.tumblr.com/post/173554646607/down-the-voltage-rabbit-hole-the-sequel-master

“Fancy meeting a Little Bird like yourself at a place like this,” Jin said with his usual cheeky grin.

“I was planning on coming to see you after lunch…well, now actually but I guess you’re here so I’ll plan to stop by your office another time.”

The man I’d seen Jin outside with had gone inside and met a glamorous looking woman who wore a fitted cocktail dress despite the fact that lunch tended to veer more casual in this city. He had gone in wearing a wrinkled suit which starkly contrasted how put together she was, and Jin held his hand up at me as he stared past, signaling me to hold my thoughts and wait with him as he watched through the window as his client slid an innocuous looking envelope towards the woman.

I turned and followed his line of sight to see her open the envelope, wherein a nasty expression flashed across her face before she slid whatever was in there back, closed the envelope, threw it on the table, and stormed out. The man hung his head for a moment in silence, and as the woman’s dramatic exit crossed paths with where I’d chosen to stand Jin pulled me towards him and out of her war path.

“Sorry Little Bird. You gotta be careful in my line of work.”

“What just…?”

“Thanks Jin.”

I turned behind me to see the man in the rumpled suit clutching the envelope with a sad expression on his face. He was painfully ordinary looking - brown hair that was receding, brown eyes, slightly overweight, and his obvious lack of confidence made him come across a bit nebbish.

“I’m sorry it turned out this way Bill,” Jin said to him with a sympathetic expression.

The man named Bill shook his head and said, “I was foolish to think that she ever loved me.”

“No - take my word for it. This happens more than you’d think and to every kind of person you can think of. As foolish as you might feel, the world will judge her harder for toying with the trust of a good man.”

I felt my heart sink into my stomach as Jin earnestly consoled the man who held an envelope filled with what I had to assume was evidence involving an affair. 

When it came to how I was carrying myself these days, I wanted to believe that I was a victim of circumstance, but I questioned if the world would judge me just as hard for using deceit to win the king’s game. Without realizing it, lying had become second nature to me. With Hiroshi and Soryu and Thea, the lies just seemed to flow as truths and that was beginning to bother me more than what I was about to do.

I’d concocted a story about Eisuke before my exit, and had planned to lie to Jin about what had happened but those words he’d said were starting to get to me. I wondered silently if there was a way to win this game in an honest fashion but I questioned how possible that would be.

Jin patted Bill’s shoulder in a comforting manner and Bill gave me a small nod in acknowledgment before thanking Jin for his work and leaving us alone together in front of the restaurant. 

“So...what were you saying before Little Bird? You were on your way to my office?”

“Yeah, but it’s fine - you probably want to get lunch.”

“My motto is work, then play. Lunch can wait - you’re here now and I’d hate to keep you waiting...”

I laughed, “Your boy Fitzgerald didn’t tell me you were such a smooth talker. You’re going to give a lady the wrong idea if you keep talking like that.”

“Not my intention at all! I wouldn’t want to upset that boyfriend of yours.”

“Oh he’s not…that’s…it’s not what it looked like.”

“No need to clam up - it’s none of my business.”

“I know that, but I want you to know it’s not like that. Really. I was very caught off guard by what just happened.”

Jin smiled kindly and tousled my hair like he used to way back when, “I’m not a therapist kid, you know that right?”

“Sorry I…”

“I’m just teasing. You can talk on the way back to the office and I’ll listen. Can’t promise I’ll be of much help though.”

It was a kind offer in addition to being an opportunity to get closer to Jin. I wanted to try and do things in a way that wasn’t entirely a lie, so we walked and I talked. As promised, he listened for the most part adding the occasional head nod or grunt to express that he was following what it was that I was saying.

I told him what was mostly the truth, explaining that Eisuke was a client of mine and that he’d invited me to lunch after our brainstorm meeting. I admitted that our paths had crossed a few times before, but for the most part we were work acquaintances at most. That fact made it all the more surprising when he admitted having feelings for me, and I was so caught off guard that I impulsively tried to keep him from leaving as I didn’t want to leave the issue open ended.

I told him that I’d hoped Eisuke and I would have talked things out, but instead I found that he impulsively kissed me and I was so stunned by all of it that I just froze, to which he stormed off. I pretended to be worried about the awkwardness that would most likely arise upon seeing him next at my office, and as we headed into the elevator in Jin’s office, he finally scratched at his stubbly chin and said, “Boy, that’s a real pickle.”

“Don’t worry,” I said jokingly, “I promise not to pull the same move on you.”

“Didn’t realize you were such a small talker Little Bird,” Jin said, throwing my words back at me.

“No, I didn’t mean it seriously I…”

“You make it too easy to tease you, you know?”

The elevator doors opened and without looking back he exited first and I followed into his small office, where he took a seat and I sat myself across from him.

“I charge by the hour,” he said motioning at the clock. “So I’ll give you some advice pro-bono even though I made it clear I’m no therapist. When it comes to love and life, as much as we might want to resist, honesty is the best policy. Now…don’t go tellin’ folks that or my line of work would dry up real fast but truly, that’s the thing that makes it go tits up time and time again.”

I giggled at Jin saying “tits up” but he continued, with a more serious expression than I would have thought.

“Being honest means being vulnerable and most people are too chicken shit to handle that. It’s scary to say things that you have to be accountable for. Hell, even hurting someone - having to say, ‘I don’t think this is working’ means being real to a point that some people can’t seem to handle.”

Jin opened his desk and pulled out a vape pen. He breathed in and the device lit up for a moment before he breathed out what smelled to me like blueberry smoke.

“Anyway, you seem like a sweet woman. Just find a way to be honest with yourself and with him as far as how you feel and what you think is appropriate. If he doesn’t respect that he’s an asshole, and if he tries to do something shady just let me know and I’ll handle it for ya on the house, ok?”

“Mr. Namba…that’s incredibly sweet of you to say.”

Jin’s face twisted up at the sound of his name, almost as if he’d tasted the most sour of lemons.

“Mr. Namba? Jin. Just call me Jin.”

“Sorry, that bit you just said felt really serious and it was nice and I felt weird being so informal with you as a result.”

He grinned at my awkward reply and said, “You’ll be fine Naomi. You don’t have the disposition to hurt someone the way a lot of people do. Don’t lose that, ok? It’s incredibly endearing.”

I nodded but felt terribly guilty once more, full well knowing that everything about having to win him over meant more lying and by proxy, hurting…including what I was about to do.

I’d figured out the perfect missing person Jin would need to find. He was real, had mysteriously disappeared, and I knew exactly why I was looking for him too.

“So, what did you need to follow up with me about? Did you figure out a name for me?”

I nodded and said, “I’m looking for Soryu Oh. He’s the one I need your help to find.”

“Ok,” Jin said taking another puff on his vape and jotting down the name. “Tell me more.”

“He’s pretty tall - maybe 6 feet? Dark black hair, dark eyes, very intimidating. He’s muscular with broad shoulders and looks like the kind of guy who works out. He’s also a criminal. I met him on the subway one day when he tried to mug me…”

Jin grunted in acknowledgement, “Tried to? So he failed?”

“Yes. An officer by the name of Terek Bishop saved me. I have his contact info. Soryu was arrested but made bail and then I saw he didn’t go to his court date.”

“How’d a guy who’s mugging women on the subway for spare change make bail?”

“I tried to get more information this weekend but couldn’t figure it out. My guess is that he might have some ties to the mob or something? I have no idea.”

“Ok, I’ll figure that out. So…why are you trying to find him?”

I squirmed in my seat, “This is going to sound silly, but…I think he used to be my crossfit instructor.”

“What?”

“Yeah…it’s really strange. He used to run a class with another guy and one day they both just vanished, seemingly overnight. I was bummed because I really liked that class but I forgot about it, until he mugged me. When I first came here I couldn’t remember his name but I just…I can’t shake the feeling something bad happened to him and he’s in a desperate situation. I was hoping I might be able to talk to him and help, but I can’t do that if I can’t get in touch with him.”

Jin stopped scribbling notes when I said that and looked at me completely shocked. He snickered and asked, “Lemme get this straight - you are paying me, to find someone who mugged you and put you in danger - someone who went to jail but you want me to find him…because you are worried about him?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ve heard a lot of crazy stories in my life, but this one might take the cake.”

“Why is it so strange?”

“Are you hung up on this guy or something?”

“No! It’s just - wouldn’t you worry? You meet someone and they’re really kind and you see them a few days a week for many weeks in this superficial capacity but still! You have a relationship with them in a sense and then one day they just vanish only to show up in a clearly desperate state!”

“You’re either the kindest woman I’ve ever met or the most naive.”

“Well…either way. Will you help me find him?”

Jin sighed thinking it over before finally giving me a small nod, “Sure. I can’t give you a discount for being sweet and naive though, ok?”

I smiled my brightest, sweetest smile in response, “That’s fine. I can pay full price.”

Jin groaned again, but his eyes looked at me differently than he had when we’d first met up. I saw that familiar gentle gaze once more, and it brought me back to our night at the onsen all those months ago in otome-ville.

“Oh Naomi. Get outta here before you give me a toothache from being so sweet.”

The rest of my day back at the office was uneventful.

Now that I knew the sixth man was meant to be Toma, I was a little cautious around him in our working sessions. Anita had joined us as well as a few other creatives, copywriters, and account people, and I was happy to have a natural buffer between us.

The brainstorming session with Eisuke had actually been a great help, and it didn’t take long before preliminary designs were being drafted, storyboards were being drawn, and copy was being written for social, web, and traditional television commercial (tvc). Furthermore, throwing myself into my work was a welcome change compared with lying and tiptoing around otome men.

I found myself in a flow state that afternoon. Time just seemed to fly by and before I knew it I glanced at the clock in my office to discover it was almost 7:30 and most of my staff had gone home. On top of that I’d neglected my emails and text messages, and when I checked I had several from Meg who wanted me to confirm that I could come over and catch up after work.

“Sorry,” I quickly wrote back. “Lost track of time working. Is it cool if I walk to you now?”

She hit me with a thumbs up emoji and I sent one back, grabbing my purse and heading out.

Her apartment was a bit of a walk, but it was one of those amazing New York City nights and after being cooped up in my office for the latter part of the day I enjoyed strolling down the streets and taking a moment for me as I shot off emails and replied to Thea’s text making sure we were still on for dinner tomorrow evening.

I couldn’t help but smile at the realization that tomorrow at this time I’d be reunited with a man I still loved. I’d been so busy the past couple of days that I hadn’t really thought about what it would mean to be near him again. I missed so much of the comfort he provided me, and without him I struggled to stay calm save for the distractions the game and my work provided.

I was scared to see him too though - worried that I might fall even harder this time around and knew that I had no room for uncertainty. I owed it to what we once had to find clarity with myself and him, and I so wanted to believe that things would work out.

I wanted to believe that the happily ever after I’d found those months ago was truly forever.

Meg was sprawled out on her couch when I arrived, drinking a hot cup of tea and catching up on The Real Housewives of NYC. I still had her keys, so I buzzed as a courtesy to let her know I was coming up and let myself in.

I didn’t dare interrupt her precious show, and based on the state of her apartment and appearance it was clear that she’d been basking in the comforts of home. Food delivery containers littered her coffee table, and she wore a baggy t-shirt and shorts. Her hair, that had looked so lovely earlier in the day, was now a scraggly mess as she used a wire head massager on herself.

A scene with Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan behaving badly concluded the episode, and after a quick preview of the next episode Meg finally paused the tv and looked at me.

“I don’t wanna wear a bra right now.”

“Well I’m certainly not going to make you put one on,” I said with a chuckle.

“I’m just saying. It’s late and I’m so happy to be back.”

“I’m sure.”

“You know I wore a bra practically the whole time I was gone? It was torture for me.”

“I know. You hate bras.”

“I do. And my boobs are small and don’t really need it but I wear it as a buffer so men can’t really get a sense of my nakedness, you know?”

“I’ve really missed you.”

“The king told me what you did for me - that you’d lose if it meant getting me back for good.”

“Of course. I could never lose you.”

Meg grinned, “That place is fucked up, you know?”

“I do. But I also want to know everything.”

“Oh, I’ll tell you for sure...but Naomi, there’s something I have to say. As your friend and the only other person who understands.”

“Ok...”

“This is going to maybe sound a bit harsh, but I want you to know that I’ll support you no matter what.”

“Jesus Meg you’re scaring me...”

“I love you Naomi, but you shouldn’t play this game anymore. I’m not rooting for you to get any of them back - you need to wake up.”

“What?”

“It’s not real Omi. None of it. They’re not real. And I love you too much to see you spend your life with someone who isn’t capable of choosing to love you.”

“But...the list you gave me...and...”

Meg shook her head with a serious expression on her face.

“I’ll always be in your corner, but I spent the last week thinking about what I’d say if I ever saw you again and it’s just that. Zyglavis is not your person. None of them are. Your person is here and you’ve been too scared to find him. You’ve been too scared to see what would happen when you’re not the one with the power to walk away. You’ve forgotten what it’s like to live outside of a fantasy and I’m worried about you...about that.”

It was the last thing I ever thought Meg would say to me. 

I thought about how much progress I’d made in her absence and how nervous and excited I’d been on my walk over when thinking about what it’d mean to be near Zyglavis again. Her statement felt like a punch in the gut, and I found myself unable to control the sobs that bubbled up from the nerve it hit - a similar worry that I’d buried whilst in the otome world.

A worry that had been tucked away somewhere deep within my heart...until now.

Didn’t have time to proof this one >,< so sorry for the mistakes! Hopefully there’s not too many...it’s been a week but I didn’t want to delay the next chapter.

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[emilyplaysotome]

Chapter 14 - Goodbye and Hello

Catch up on all Chapters here:  http://emilyplaysotome.tumblr.com/post/173554646607/down-the-voltage-rabbit-hole-the-sequel-master

“There’s no way it’s him!” Soryu exclaimed, holding the icepack to his cheek.

He was sitting on my couch and had hit the side of his face on the sidewalk when he’d collapsed as his old memories flooded back. Not wanting to make more of a scene than I already had in front of my building I dragged him upstairs and patched him up.

Similarly as I’d done with Hiroshi, I explained everything that had happened, including the fact that he’d tried to mug me on the train. 

He apologized profusely, cursing the king and what had happened as well as reiterating once more that he was, “not the man he once was” despite the fact that it seemed his true nature was destined to be that of a criminal. When I explained that things would be complicated from here on out seeing as how he was now involved with the New York City mafia scene, his eyes drifted down and I saw actual tears start to well up in the gangster’s eyes.

“Seriously? I…I…”

“I know you worked hard to change. I have an idea that’ll fix this but I don’t know how you’ll feel about it.”

“I’ll do anything to avoid sliding back into the man I once was!”

“Then we’ll ask the king to send you home. Back to the Tres Spades and we’ll say goodbye right now.”

“Goodbye? But…Naomi.”

I could feel myself getting choked up too but I nodded, “I want you to be happy Soryu and I know that’s not going to be here…with me.”

What Soryu didn’t know was that the king had already decided that he would be going back. Like me, he knew that Soryu would never be the man I’d choose and that this “second chance” was only a byproduct of the game I was currently playing. Of course Soryu was hot, and of course I was fond of him and proud of him for turning his life around. It was especially because of that last fact that I knew the king was right when I read the message, “2/6 - time to send this one back to my realm for his own good.”

The mob here was not some otome fairy tale that ended with Inui being sweet and clumsy. The mob here was ruthless and if we weren’t careful the reformed Soryu would quickly get snuffed out for fear that he might rat on his previously illicit activities.

“I want you to know that I still love you,” he said. “I’ve always loved you. And I’ve worked to become the man that you deserve - one who will never make you scared…ever again.”

“Thank you,” I said, gently taking the ice pack from him before I wiped the dirt from his scraped face with a warm cloth. “But I hope that you realize that as you are now you’re a better man than you once were. I might have been the catalyst for you to change, but I sincerely hope that you continue to live this way...for your own happiness. And for a future you can be proud of.”

It was then that my ex-boyfriend, ex-mobster, cold-as-ice Soryu cried like a baby, and I held him in my arms for a good fifteen minutes until he regained his composure. 

When he did, we agreed to spend our last few hours together in good spirits and seeing as how he was Eisuke’s best friend, I figured that I might as well get his take on whether or not he thought it possible that the other king from his realm might be part of my game.

“There’s no way it’s him!”

“You’re positive?”

“I just…Eisuke knows how I feel about you. He’s my best friend and despite what people say about him, he really is a good person.”

I understood what Soryu was saying and I didn’t want to push the idea any further with him. I agreed that it would certainly be surprising if Eisuke was in fact the sixth man, but the way Soryu was dismissing the idea had far more to do with his feelings about me and Eisuke than it did as an objective third party to the situation.

“Just like his best friend,” I replied with a smile as I returned the ice pack to the freezer.

“How does it look?”

“You’ll probably have a bit of a bruise but you always look handsome when you’re a bit roughed up. I’m sure once you’re home the women of the Tres Spades will be falling all over themselves to try and land a date with you.”

A disgusted expression passed over Soryu’s features and I laughed, “You could stand to give more women a try you know…”

“No. You were different.”

“The only thing that was different about me was that you got to know me...as a person.”

He started to reply, then pursed his lips with a slightly confused expression and said, “Explain.”

“You had to get to know me because I was living with you. You initially saw me as a woman and then started to see me as Naomi as time went on…you have to do that with women.”

“But they all like perfume, and dresses, and they only want me for my money and connections!”

“Maybe some, but not all. And you won’t know until you actually have a real conversation with them. Just talk to them like you talk to your friends.”

“But they’re women!” He insisted.

I laughed, “I got news for you Sor, women are people - even in your realm. I know that because I’ve played a teacher, a baker, a police officer…you name it. They had hopes and dreams and opinions and you’d be happy with any of them. Maybe even a maid at the Tres Spades...someone you never noticed before but who is capable of loving you more than I ever could. And you deserve that. This man who worked so hard to better himself…he deserves it.”

His dark eyes looked back at me with a melancholy expression, but he forced a smile and quietly said, “I understand.”

“I’m glad. Be happy Soryu.”

It felt like a natural goodbye and I was unsurprised when a flash of light filled my apartment, revealing the king who nodded at Soryu with a polite smile. It was obvious that since he’d sent that message, the king had been watching me and he looked pleased at how entertaining our goodbye scene had been.

Neither of us fought was about to happen, and Soryu gave me a hug before stoically walking over to the king.

“Are you ready?” The king asked.

Soryu glanced back and I smiled despite the fact that I was crying. When he turned to face the king I caught one last glimpse of those broad shoulders and large back before he was gone.

“I have to say Naomi,” the king said with a smile, “you’re starting to make me sweat a little. Good luck this week.”

The king didn’t wait for a reply from me - he was someone who thrived on the dramatic and that last remark was enough to make me question if he was about to throw a massive curveball my way. Regardless, the day had taken its toll and I was ready for bed.

Seeing as how I had to work out with Hijikata tomorrow before I went into the office, I figured I might as well call it a night despite the fact that it was only 10 pm.

I woke the next day refreshed after a solid eight and a half hours of sleep. I had closed a chapter with not one, but two of the men in this realm and it was time to see how I felt about a third who was a bit of a mystery.

I threw on some workout clothes and ate half of a protein cookie at home and the other half during my walk to the gym, in the hopes of not passing out during what was about to be a strenuous hour. When I entered Edge Fitness, I saw Hijikata waiting for me with a smirk and he nodded in approval seeing as how I’d arrived 5 minutes early to my 8 A.M. workout.

“We’ll warm up with a light 2 mile run today,” he said, leading me to the treadmills after I’d dropped my bags into a locker.

“Ok!”

“Someone’s energetic this morning,” he said with a sneer, “I guess that means I can really go hard on you today.”

“Do your worst!” I said with a smile, though not meaning a word of it.

Hijikata let out a laugh and the second he did I saw this world’s iteration of Shinsaku Takasugi antagonistically drape his arm around Hijikata.

His light brown hair clung to his skin, which was covered in a even sheen of sweat. Standing side by side the two were built very similarly, and their tight attire made that all the more obvious. They both wore shorts that hugged their muscular backsides with Edge Fitness tank tops that left little to the imagination when it came to their impressive chest and arms.

The image felt as if it were something out of a Boy Love manga - a smooth looking, well built man covered in sweat as a slightly grumpier one wore an expression of protest beside him.

“The demon trainer laughs? Who knew.”

Hijikata immediately shook Shin’s arm off of him and snapped, “Get outta here Taka, I’m working.”

Shin didn’t seem to care, and instead he chuckled and used the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead purposely giving me a peek at his perfectly defined abdominal muscles. I was feeling painfully thirsty that morning and though he and I didn’t have the best history together (not that he seemed to remember anything from Otento), seeing his abs first thing in the morning left me with a little grin on my face.

“Hey, we haven’t met before - everyone calls me Taka. I’m going to be training you after I retire Tosh,” he said to me with a confident grin.

“Don’t call me that!”

“Naomi,” I quickly said, which only seemed to make Shin smile wider and Hijikata look angrier.

“I’m jealous that Tosh is allowed to train such lovely clients. A demon like him should never be allowed near someone as delicate as yourself.”

“Oh but that’s where you’re wrong,” I said with my head held high, “I’m quite strong and you’d be quite foolish to underestimate me based on my appearance.”

The comment caught both men off guard in the best possible way, and I watched as their attention stayed on me and their eyes filled with something in between lust and admiration.

“With that said, it’s already been five minutes into my warm up and I haven’t started so…it was nice meeting you.”

Hijikata smiled triumphantly and stepped up onto the treadmill beside me, away from Shin. 

He hit a few buttons and before I knew it I was running 2 miles at a ten minute pace, which doesn’t sound too difficult but proved to have me panting after a minute or so. Shin left us to it after I started running, though he did say something about looking forward to seeing me around the gym.

I could tell that his comments irked Hijikata and I hoped it was because I was making progress in getting him to see me as more than just a client. That day however, his workout kept me moving at a pace that had me out of breath and barely able to think, let alone seduce.

By the end of our hour, sweat was pouring off of me and I felt incredibly smelly and unsexy as Hijikata used our last few minutes together to help me stretch. I didn’t particularly want him touching me in such a state, but I tried to keep my cool as his hands ran over my calf as he extended my leg.

“Have you been meditating?” he asked.

“Yes,” I lied, “I’m really trying to make it part of my routine.”

Hijikata smiled triumphantly, “Checking in with your body only leads to having a healthier one.”

I gave a little nod and Hijikata pushed my leg a bit further, causing me to let out a little yelp.

He chuckled and when I asked why he was laughing he cooly lowered my leg back to the ground and said, “That was cute. Good job today. I’ll see you tomorrow at 7.”

I smiled and nodded, happy that he had remembered that Mondays the company lets us roll in closer to 10/10:30 whereas the rest of the week I try to get in by 9/9:30. It was a small detail that showed he was thinking of me enough to remember something like that, and I made my way to the showers.

Seeing as how I lived a few blocks away, I could have easily gotten ready at home. However, that wouldn’t have let me show Hijikata how cute I looked in my work clothes and so I made the plan to get ready and dressed and say goodbye looking my best if only to put in his head what it was that he might be missing.

The past few workouts he’d seen me looking like a total scrub, and in order to undo that image, I gave myself a sleek blowout and donned a tight black dress that was still office appropriate. 

I was feeling pretty good about myself as I applied a bit of tinted moisturizer to my face and a light coat of mascara on my lashes. Once I felt completely confident that this was going to be the best I was look, I jammed my belongings into their appropriate bag and attempted to walk in the wedges that would soon be exchanged with a pair of flats once I was back home. I planned to drop off my belongings and make the quick swap before heading into work, but I wanted Hijikata to think that I was the kind of confident woman who could rock some wedges that made her legs look amazing.

The second I exited the locker room, I saw Shin and Hijikata arguing about something at the front desk. They were so focused on each other that I worried my hard work would be in vain, so I tried to be as breezy as possible in my approach.

“Thanks for today - I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said to Hijikata with a smile, hoping that he would be so awed by my beauty that he’d feel compelled to ask me out then and there.

As if my mind had been read I heard a voice call out and say, “Hey - we should go out sometime.” 

I froze at the stairwell hoping that it belonged to the right otome man in the game I was playing but when I turned back, and saw Shin smiling at me as Hijikata stared daggers at him.

“You’re not my client, so I don’t see a problem with it. We can talk about it tomorrow,” Shin said and before I could shoot him down, he walked away.

I stood frozen on the spot, my plan having backfired slightly and to make matters worse I had no idea if Shin was asking me out because he was indeed the sixth man or if it was merely to get a rise out of his rival.

Posting this guy early because I’m prepping for a busy work week! Hope you guys like it :)

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