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i-need-entertainment · 2 years

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The Count of Aoba Johsai: Chapter 7

Ch. 6 - Ch.8

“Are you sure this is the best idea Akira? You do realize that as we speak they have likely already made their way to the treasure, right?” Kindaichi rubbed the back of his neck, shifting his hold on the paper he held in his hand as his weary eyes looked over to Kunimi.

“I’m sure, in order to lure Yahaba, The Magistrate and Kenjirou into causing their own demise, we have to let the citizens of Paris know that we’ve located the Treasure of Nekoma, and are shipping it through our ports.” Kindaichi sighed, “Yeah, I know that, but wasn’t it risky letting some of the most powerful men in Paris know where the treasure was?!”

Kunimi looked at Kindaichi, raising an eyebrow he asked “You do know I’m not actually shipping it through here, right?” Kindaichi breathed out a sigh of relief “Oh, good.”

Kunimi nodded, then paused, “Wait- you didn’t seriously think I would do something so stupid did you..?” Kindaichi looked away, “Uhm...no” Kunimi squinted his eyes, “That’s your lying face, we’re going to have to discuss trust later my friend.” Shaking his head, Kunimi returned his gaze to the side, gray eyes watching as the scenery passed swiftly by as the carriage they were riding in drew closer and closer to the Shirabu estate.

They were on their way to the Shirabu estate to celebrate Tenya Shirabu’s 15th birthday, which they had been invited to after Kunimi had ‘saved’ the young man’s life. Tonight was the night he’d face his most bitter rivals. The man who betrayed his trust, the man who lied to get his position, and the corrupted official who wrongfully sent him to jail.

But perhaps the worst one of them all, was her. He’d have to face the woman who he thought he’d spend the rest of his life with, the woman he gave his everything to. Only for her to run off with his best friend the minute he was sent to prison.

But even then, could he even consider you a bitter rival of his? Could he ever look at you that way? A large part of him is screaming, ‘yes, I absolutely can’ but the other part of him- the kind, naive young man he used to be, is crying ‘no, I don’t think I can, or ever could’.

“Akira…we’re here.” Kunimi straightened his back, grabbed his cane and his hat and readied himself to face the demons of his past. Kindaichi opened the door to the carriage, and after he had loudly announced the arrival of “The Count of Aoba Johsai”, Kunimi exited the carriage. They walked to the pristine gates of the Shirabu estate, the same pristine gates Kunimi had gone through hundreds of times as a child.

Kindaichi handed the guard the invitation and the two made their way into the large home. Upon noticing the mysterious elegant looking man, Shirabu stepped away from the conversation he had been previously engaged in, Kunimi almost smirked as he noticed the signs of distress he could see on Shirabu’s face .

Earlier in the afternoon, after he had endangered but also saved the young Tenya, he had made it known to the public that the treasure of Nekoma had been shipped through the local ports. He knew for a fact Yahaba would fall for the bait- and was most likely trying to steal the treasure as of this very moment. Kunimi also had Shirabu’s many, many debts called in. He assumed that’s what had Shirabu looking so nervous; that was likely his accountant he was speaking to before Kunimi entered.

And the magistrate…well that’s a story for another time, but for now let us just say…he was properly dealt with and will comfortably sit in a cozy cell just off the coast of Marseilles.

Kunimi smiled, ‘perfect’, things were working out just as he had hoped. “Ah, if it isn’t the Count of Aoba Johsai! Welcome to my home, allow me to introduce you to this city’s finest.” Kunimi nodded, thanked the attendant that took his coat and strided after Shirabu. He kept up his visage during the introductions, standing tall and mighty as a count of his status would. He should stand as proud as he feels- but even this new him, the rich and cunning and shrewd man he was so sure he was, couldn't deny the anxiety he felt creeping through his core as the time for him to face his long lost love grew near.

He nodded along in conversation, now and then he would give a perfectly timed quip or use it as an opportunity to enhance the image he had crafted. But as engaged as he made himself appear, he barely heard a word these men were saying- after all, his eye had been stuck on the woman herself.

Her hair was shorter- or maybe it wasn’t, he couldn’t quite tell with the extravagant hair style she was wearing. She had indeed aged but had done so exceedingly well, she looked like she was still in the early years of her twenties, despite being well into her thirties by now. Her eyes…her eyes were the same captivating jewels they had always been. She had always had this peculiar ability to make Kunimi feel as though she could see directly through him..

He shook himself out of his haze, quickly breaking eye contact with the very woman that broke him, and redirected his focus to the elderly man he had been speaking with. He knew she was staring, deep eyes boring holes into his very soul as he sauntered around the hall, nodding along to the business men and politely greeting their wives.

Admittedly he was the tiniest bit ashamed- after he had faced all of his enemies head on- he had not hesitated to ruin them to the point of no return. But her…there was something about her, or rather, something in him, that prevented him from doing anything to her. So he did what allowed him to carry on his revenge plot- and that was to ignore her.

Shortly after the guests had arrived it came time for the main event- the dinner. The guests flocked over to the long table, taking their seats and quieting their conversations, turning their heads towards the head of the table- where their beloved Shirabu should be. Only he wasn’t there.

Kunimi repressed his smile, knowing full and well he was the reason for Shirabu’s absence, knowing that as they all sat and dined and had a wonderful evening the man who ruined his life was in what was possibly the biggest panic he had ever had.

The table became silent- and not the pleasant kind, while the guests waited for something to happen. Y/n took a breath before she stood. Her posture was that of a woman of status, she moved with practiced grace and elegance- but it didn’t take a genius to know she was stressed.

“Good evening- as you can see, my husband has been called away on important business matters, and since it is customary for the father to give the toast on his sons special day…I am afraid the one left to attempt it is myse-” “Would be me.” Kunimi watched the shock flash in Y/n’s eyes as he abruptly stood at the table, causing the woman to slowly take a seat, eyes harshly studying his person as he cleared his throat.

“Count Shirabu…decided to give this fool the honor of making his son’s birthday toast,” He faked a smile at the haughty laughs he received from the city’s finest, “Let this act of selflessness speak to the great character of the count, as it is by his great intuition and humility I stand before you to speak these words to young Tenya-”

He turned to face the young man, whose face brightened at the acknowledgement of his savior- his newfound idol.

“Now I’m sure you all have heard by now that young Tenya was attacked this afternoon, by thugs. How he was rescued by a mysterious man, that he’s lucky said man arrived when he did…But as the man who came to this young man’s aid, I can assure you- it is not to his benefit I arrived, but to those bandits.” The table once again went silent, and he waited a moment before he continued.

“When I came to his aid, I heard the robbers mention how they were going to torture him, beat him, strip him of his money and wealth, things any man would be terrified to hear. But, what did this fine, courageous young man say in the face of fear? ‘Do your worst’...there’s not much advice I can offer to you Tenya, as I can see you are already a fine young lad. But if there’s one thing I can say to commemorate this milestone, it’s this: you will face challenges in life, you will be backed into corners and face down amnesty and strife- but you must do as you did today, you must look that trouble in the eye and scream out ‘do your worst…for I will do mine,’...to young Tenya, who has entered this stage of life with strength!”

Cheers erupted from the table, congratulations rang out, and Kunimi sat down and let out a breath desperately trying to return his heart to a normal pace. He had become the count- no he WAS the Count of Aoba Johsai, he was smart and brave and strong and callous and everything he’s made himself to be. He was fearless and unstoppable and fueled by the hate he carried for those that sought to ruin him.

And yet in a moment of weakness, a slip up from the past he had vowed to leave behind- he found himself messing with a lock of hair at the base of his neck, a nervous tick he had developed as a child.

A nervous tick ingrained into the memory of a certain countess, who sat almost directly across from him at this banquet.

For you, my lovely bestie, @i-just-like-goats

#kunimi x reader #kunimi akira #shirabu x reader #haikyu au #haikyu angst #haikyu x reader #HI YES IT'S BEEN A YEAR IM SO SORRY BUT ITS HERE #I AM ASHAMED OHMYGOSH ITS BEEN A YEAR SINCE CHAPTER 6 IM SO SORRY BUT HERE IT FINALLY IS😭#I actually do love this story and wanted to finish it FOREVER and now we're so riewngirke CLOSE #I will be going back and re-writing/editing previous chapters so the writing style is cohesive #chapter 1 and the masterlist are edited as we speak!#shirabu kenjirou #count of aoba johsai

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tres-spades-hotel · 4 years

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I am not sure you are taking requests or not, but I got this idea and I really wished you could write something for it, 'about Eisuke falling in love with his secretary and make it a bit dramatic'. I know it may be a lot to ask but all your written works have been so beautiful, I just had to ask you. No problem if you couldn't do it :).

Hi there! I’m so glad you sent a request! Yes my requests are open, I only just realised that I haven’t put it anywhere on my blog that they are open... oops! Anyway, I’ve never written a secretary story before so this was definitely a challenge, thanks to @flatsuke and @leoamber66 for helping me find a solid plot to use. And thanks to @lin-ful for just being amazing! This story is 8000+ words so that’s why it took some time to get this to you. I hope this is what you wanted, if not I hope you at least appreciate the time and effort I took to writing this. Enjoy!

Keep Me By Your Side

They say patience is a fool’s game. Waiting for love will weigh your heart down heavily like an anchor in the ocean. But saying ‘I love you’ to Eisuke Ichinomiya will get you nowhere fast. What does he know about love? Kindness? Happiness?

He was young when he was made CEO of the Ichinomiya Group. He was even younger when he lost his mother to the scythe of death, when he lost his sister to a different, better, whole, and lovable family. When he lost his father to the mist of uncertainty. What could a man filled with emptiness from a traumatic childhood, know about love?

He’s arrogant but he’s suave. A businessman through and through. Ruthless and cunning. Intelligent and sarcastic. Sweet-toothed with hidden compassion. A passionate hater of peas. A wonderful smile when he is genuine. And believe me, I have only ever seen this smile once in my whole career.

He never gets drunk and he spends more time at his auctions than with women. No woman other than me has stayed longer than a night at his penthouse. No other woman knows that Eisuke prefers warm weather to cold. No other woman knows how he likes his coffee: sweet using three sugar cubes and milk. I still remember the first time I made him coffee.

‘It’s adequate.’

‘Really?!’

‘Do it again. It needs more milk.’

‘Okay!’

I remember when he told me about his life. I remember his touch when he wiped away dewy tears. Telling me that it was a long time ago. That he just wants the truth. Closure.

That’s why, as his secretary, I have to be there for him. Because Mr Ichinomiya, founder, and owner of the Tres Spades Hotels around the globe, the mastermind behind the black market auctions and my boss, has brought me down to my knees…

In love.

I am in love with Eisuke Ichinomiya.

I want to shout it out to the world.

Scream it at the top of my lungs as if his name is my breath.

But I can’t.

Because I am only his secretary.

‘Here’s your schedule for today. After lunch, you have a meeting with a potential investor for the new Tres Spades Restaurants. He wants to propose different menus and VIP arrangements plus staff requirements for the restaurant in Sydney, Australia.’ I hand Eisuke his tablet and a folder filled with paperwork.

‘Hm. And the auctions?’

‘All set. Baba is still looking for the specific item that you requested but we have plenty of other materials to sell tonight. Soryu has sent the invitations and Mamoru will get back to you about the increasing police activity here lately. And Ota… well he’s being Ota.’

‘Pfft, of course he is.’ Eisuke looks up at me.

‘And Luke?’

‘He nearly fondled my collarbones… again. But he is ready to proceed with the surgery this week.’

Eisuke narrows his eyes at me.

‘Tell Luke to come see me before then. And you know better than to visit Luke immediately after a surgery.’

I rub the back of my head nervously.

‘Well, you told me to see him right away so… I was just following orders.’ Eisuke sighs in response.

‘Oh! And Luke told me to tell you that he needs another x-ray of your collarbones.’

‘Why? I already gave him one a few months ago.’ The annoyance is written all over his features.

‘Because he left it in the other clinic in New York. Luke doesn’t have an x-ray here in Tokyo.’

He unconsciously pouts at his laptop screen.

‘Isn’t one enough?’

‘Apparently not…’ It takes everything in me not to stroke his head to comfort him.

‘What about your collarbones?’

‘When we got back, while you were still in London, Luke did a medical examination on me so he got an x-ray of mine.’

‘Remind me to ban him from using the x-ray machine.’ I reply with a giggle instead of words.

‘Vivian.’ He says with urgency.

I salute military style.

‘Yes sir!’

‘… You would make a clumsy soldier.’

‘Hey!’

‘If there’s nothing else, get me coffee and leave.’

I bow and attend to my duties. After giving Eisuke his coffee, I head down to the lobby to find Mr Kenzaki. The lobby is busy as always with staff running around attending to the whims of the guests. New guests checking in and old guests leaving satisfied by their stay. The Tres Spades never disappoints.

I spot Mr Kenzaki by the reception. I catch his eye and he walks towards me by the penthouse elevator.

‘Ah Vivian, is there something you need?’

‘Yes, the Boss will need the conference room after lunch. We will need it for a few hours.’

‘Of course, I will have it set up. Do you need the projector?’

I think for a moment.

‘I’m not entirely sure but set it up anyway. Better to have it on and not use it, than need it when it’s off.’

He smiles warmly at me.

‘I understand. I am glad to see that you have become a capable and worthy secretary to Mr Ichinomiya.’ I blush at his teasing words.

‘Thank you. But we both know that Boss would choose you over me any day of the week.’

‘Haha, I’m not quite sure he is that attached.’ I highly doubt that actually, but I don’t tell him that.

‘The guest is Mr Lance and he will be arriving in a few hours. Make sure the lobby is prepared. Boss and I will come down to greet him.’

‘Very well. Make sure to take breaks every now and again Vivian.’

‘Yes, I will.’ Mr Kenzaki has always been obedient and thoughtful. I admire his dedication to Eisuke and the others plus he was a huge help to me when I first started working at the Tres Spades. He’s almost like an uncle or a grandfather (I’m sorry Mr Kenzaki! I promise you’re still young!) to me and the others.

I return to the elevator, swipe my key card, press no. 51 and watch the metal doors close. Turning around, I watch the outside world grow smaller and smaller as the elevator pulls up. There was a time when I was bewildered by the sheer size of this hotel. Over 50 floors of suites and boutiques and shops and the auctions all bundled into one.

Funnily enough, I worked with Eisuke’s adopted father, Akira Ichinomiya before I came to work for Eisuke. Akira took me in when I was first starting out in business and he taught me the ropes. He introduced me to Eisuke a little after Akira retired and, although he retired, he still worked within the Ichinomiya Group to make things a little easier for Eisuke. We met a few times over the years before Akira decided to send me to Japan to work for Eisuke as his secretary instead. I was more than miffed to hear of his decision without consulting me, especially since we had gotten so close with each other. I lost my grandfather when I was young so Akira ended up filling in that void.

Akira assured me that Eisuke would teach me more about how the Ichinomiya Group runs and I couldn’t say more. With my salary increased and bags packed, I got into the private jet and waited to see my new boss.

Looking back, I think I put up a bit too much of a fuss because Eisuke became a wonderful teacher, and a great friend. He listened to me and my problems even though he never needed to.

‘I have to make sure that my employees are at their best. Physically and mentally. Hearing your small problems is nothing to the value you are as my secretary.’

His words back then bring a whole new meaning to me now. I hope he means them in the way that I think they mean. That he cares about me.

A vibration courses through me as my pager goes off. I pluck it out of my belt and answer it.

‘Hello?’

‘Vivian! Where are you? Come to the penthouse! I have something to show you!’ Baba’s excited voice reminds me of a child but I wait to see what he has in store.

‘Ta da!’ Baba’s jazz hands do nothing to appease the sight.

A large statue of Venus towers over us all as we gape at it.

‘How did you get it in here?’ I ask, bewildered.

‘That’s a secret.’

‘Did you break it in half?’ Ota asks next.

‘No! This is priceless!’

‘Then how did you bring it into the lounge?’ Soryu says.

‘That is also a secret!’

‘He used the helicopter and the window.’ Mamoru mumbles from the couch.

‘Oooooohhhhhh’ Ota and I say at the same time. Baba pouts in response.

‘Mamo! Don’t go giving away my secrets!’

‘That’s not my job. That’s Ayase‘s job.’

‘This isn’t what I asked for Baba.’ Eisuke glares at him after inspecting the statue.

‘Ah yes, well. The item belongs to a Mr Jason Taylor Lance. I believe his father is coming to the hotel today.’

‘He is.’ I say.

‘Fine, I’ll get it from him instead.’

‘What is this thing you’re looking for anyway Eisuke?’ Ota asks.

‘It’s a collection of gems found at a temple in Egypt. Rumours of the gems suggest that a whole manner of good things will happen to those who possess them. I figured they would go for a very high price at the auctions.’ Eisuke smirks.

‘They were unearthed a few years ago and have found their way to Japan.’ Eisuke explains. Baba sighs.

‘Well I need more time to find the exact location.’

‘Fine.’

‘Ota can you appraise the statue for me?’

‘Okay.’ He goes back to his room while I prepare coffee and tea. When he comes back, he puts on white rubber gloves and uses a magnifying glass around the statue. I check my emails, replying to some and deleting others when Ota quips:

‘It’s fake.’

‘WHAT! Are you sure!?’

‘Yeah. It was created with cheap materials. An amateur’s work.’ He says it in such a matter-of-fact tone that I don’t comprehend it for a moment.

‘You would never know just looking at it.’

‘Yeah but if you sell it then the person buying it would most likely be an art collector and they appraise everything.’ He sits down and takes out his phone.

‘Unlucky Baba. Just like your sex life.’

‘Hey!’

‘Baba take that thing out.’ Eisuke orders.

‘Alright, alright. Sor help me out.’

‘Why me?’ Soryu and Baba heave the statue out of the penthouse.

Eisuke and I have lunch and then we venture out to the lobby. Just as we exit the elevator, Mr Lance enters the hotel. He is a big man wearing a white suit and a silver chain around his neck. His bald head shines in the glow of the lights and I can hear his shoes squeak against the marbled floor. He spots us and smiles.

‘Mr Lance, I am glad you could make it.’ Eisuke plasters on his signature business smile, holds his hand out for a shake and I bow from beside him.

‘Eisuke, please call me Connor. If we are going to be business partners, we should at least start with first names.’ He wraps both Eisuke and I in a bear hug and I nearly gag from the heavy cologne smell. Mr Lance is overly-friendly and I can already tell that this meeting is going to be a long one.

When he lets us go, Eisuke straightens his suit.

‘Please follow me to the conference room.’ Eisuke walks away while I turn to Mr Lance.

‘Shall I carry your briefcase for you, sir?’ I ask politely.

‘Of course, please.’ He looks at me for a moment. During my time as Eisuke’s secretary, I have met many individuals who have looked at me in inappropriate ways but Eisuke is always there to make it clear my place by his side. Still, I always stand my ground. Even now, as Mr Lance studies my face when he suddenly gestures to the case on the floor and follows Eisuke.

I’m not sure what that look was on his face but something tells me that this meeting will twist horribly.

‘Of course the staff will be perfect in their presentation but I believe that…’

Mr Lance, despite his ‘we-should-use-first-names’ greeting, is actually quite the businessman. He and Eisuke have been discussing the chain of Tres Spade restaurants and how to profit the most without hindering their guest’s experience.

‘The Tres Spades always delivers in high quality standards. Our guests and what they desire are our top priority.’

‘I have no doubt. Reviews of your hotels are 100% which I completely agree with. But if we could…’

Although, they are at a stale-mate right now. Neither is willing to backdown which is making me nervous. Mr Lance is more insistent on getting his way and so is Eisuke.

‘Sir?’ I finally pipe up from my corner in the room.

‘Hm?’ Eisuke looks at me.

‘May I suggest something?’

‘I hope you do not mind.’ Eisuke says to the man opposite him.

‘Please, a second opinion is always valuable.’ Mr Lance says, nodding in my direction.

‘Well, I suggest that the guests are given a form to personally write down any changes they want or need to the menus. This way, waiters will be more efficient obtaining orders and will limit any commotion that may arise.’

‘Paper forms will get lost or damaged very quickly in a kitchen.’ Eisuke says.

‘Hm, electronic tablets? With the entire menu and a writing stylus or Bluetooth keyboard to use.’

‘The keyboard would be too bulky on a table for guests.’

‘Why not use both? Paper and technology alike. Reservations will need specifications on which apparition the guests would like to use. Spontaneous guests first arriving will be asked immediately before seating if they require the keyboard or stylus.’ Mr Lance suggests.

‘That would be agreeable for me.’ Eisuke says.

‘I also.’ Mr Lance responds.

I breath a quiet sigh of relief. Mr Lance looks at me again before turning to Eisuke.

‘Before I sign this contract, I would like to add something to this.’

‘Such as?’

‘You see, I have a son, who I assume is the same age as your secretary?’

I glance at Eisuke briefly before saying hesitantly, ‘I am 28 years old, sir.’

‘Ah perfect! I have a son who could use a woman like you by his side.’ At those words, both Eisuke and I look at each other. He glares at Mr Lance who does not seem to notice.

‘You are an impeccable woman. In just a few hours, I have seen your beauty, your perfect manners and now your incredible intelligence as a woman working in the business sector of society. I believe you would be a wonderful wife to my son and an even better daughter-in-law to my wife and I.’

‘What are you suggesting, Mr Lance?’ Eisuke could be a snake he spat out those words so viciously.

Mr Lance does not break eye contact with Eisuke. Actually, it seems as if he is not intimidated at all by Eisuke, which, despite his words, is impressive.

‘I will sign this contract. Only if your secretary agrees to marry my son.’

‘That is outrageous, as if I would agree to such a thing.’

‘I am not asking you, Mr Ichinomiya. I am asking her.’

There is so much tension in the air that I can see it. Literally. So if I don’t agree, Mr Lance will walk out of the project. But if I do… While there are other investors, Mr Lance has a large influence on the economy, just as much as Eisuke does. He’s too important to deny.

Maybe I should convince him to sign without the marriage?

‘If I may, Mr Lance, I am hardly worthy of being part of your family. I have no wealth which you would consider rich, neither do I have many connections or the reputation to be married into your family. The public and the media would, quite frankly, have a field day about this marriage which could result in backlash on your family and mine. Please, reconsider this.’ I think half way through, my reasoning became a plea.

‘My secretary has never met your son and neither have I. She has worked for me and my company for years. Her well-being is my responsibility.’

Mr Lance thinks over our arguments calmly, as if he has done this a hundred times to other employers and their employees.

‘Very well. Why don’t I have my son stay at the hotel for a week? They can get to know each other and when she agrees to the marriage, then I will sign the contract. Until then,’ he pushes the folder away, ‘I will not sign. This is final.’

He gets up, leaving his business card, and walks out whistling to himself.

* (EISUKE’S POV)

‘That bastard really believes that he can have whatever he wants just because I need him to invest in the project.’

‘Did he really ask you for Vivian’s hand in marriage?’

‘To his son?’

‘…..’ I don’t answer, I only glare at Baba and Ota who hide behind Vivian and Soryu.

Mr Lance has attempted something that I have never seen in my whole career. A marriage proposal during a business deal? Mixing his personal life with his work is extremely amateur for a man who has been in business for over 30 years.

‘That man’s head must have a few screws loose.’ Mamoru says in an exasperated tone.

‘So what did you say Vivian?’ Ota asks.

‘Well, I tried to tell him that I wouldn’t be a good match for his family but he wouldn’t listen to us. His son is going to be staying in the hotel and I have to attend to him.’ She says, clutching her tablet to her chest.

‘Eisuke, what is he planning?’ Soryu is right to be suspicious. Even I believe that there is something amiss here.

‘Soryu, Mamoru, find out everything you can about this man and the Lancer’s Group.’

‘Lancer’s Group?’

‘Mr Lance’s last name turned into-‘

‘A joke.’ Mamoru finishes her sentence. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘Criminal records, illegal activity, anything. Baba see if you can find something in their estates. I want to know what they have in their possession.’

‘Uh, okay Boss…’

‘Ota I want to know what the public think about the Lance family.’

‘Sure.’

I get up from the couch and head to the stairs leading to my penthouse suite.

‘Eisuke, what about the auctions tonight?’

‘The IVC and the auctions will continue as usual. Vivian, coffee.’ I say before turning around and ascending the stairs. I hear Vivian’s high heels against the floor as she rushes to me.

As soon as I get inside, I sit at my office desk and begin researching. If the Lancer Group is as influential as the Ichinomiya Group, they will have more than a few skeletons in their closets. The smell of coffee fills the room as she makes my daily beverage. For a second, I suddenly imagine Vivian making coffee for someone else. Mr Jason Taylor Lance. With his hands on her hips and his lips at her neck, attempting to distract her from leaving. It disgusts me that another man besides me would have Vivian by his side.

I feel myself get up from my chair and wander to Vivian quickly. She pours milk and three sugar cubes into the mug. Her waist feels small in my hands. The hair on her head smells like argan oil. Vivian is actually a small woman, her head is just below my shoulders with high heels on. Her long dark hair is straight with a braided crown around the back of her head. She wears a black suit and a purple blouse plus I notice the thin platinum band around her right ring finger that I gave her when we first met.

I hear her gasp at my touch and she turns around in my arms. Her eyes are wide open with her eyebrows raised.

‘Eisuke?’

Eisuke. She usually says my name when we’re alone. When she’s in work mode, she calls me Boss, like Baba unfortunately, but I still remember how casually she said it the first time.

‘Eisuke, you’ve been working for hours. Take a break for a few minutes, please? What will I do if you faint from exhaustion?’

My hands cup her chubby face. Her trembling fingers hold onto my hands. The only man I see reflecting in her eyes, is me.

I can’t imagine being without Vivian.

Wait. What am I thinking? Or rather what am I doing?!

I let go of her face and turn to leave the room. Her short arms suddenly wrap around my waist as she desperately holds on.

‘Eisuke, I don’t want to leave you.’ Her whisper is enough for me.

But why do I care so much for her? Have I become attached to this woman? This woman who Akira introduced to me? The same shy, bubbly personality who has stuck by my side for more years than I can count? No one has survived as my secretary or assistant ever but Vivian has held on.

What am I feeling inside? This warmth in my chest?

The next day, we prepare for Mr Lance’s son’s appearance at the hotel. Jason Taylor is a famous model and fashion designer who is also known for his… drunk antics.

‘Soryu, make sure your men keep an eye on Taylor and Vivian while they are together. If he dares to make a move on her, I want them to intercept immediately.’

Soryu, sitting in the chair opposite my desk, rubs his head and sighs with exasperation.

‘Eisuke, my men are mobsters, not bodyguards.’

‘Soryu.’

‘I know, I know. I care about her too you know, we all do. She’s the only woman willing to stick by you and your peculiarities.’

‘….’

‘My men will watch out for her and will keep me and you updated on their activities.’

‘Good. Have you found anything incriminating?’

‘There is something. Apparently, the Lance’s have a secret operation in Brazil. It might be money laundering.’

‘Hm, have your men take it. If it is money laundering, the evidence will move the scales in my favour.’ We share a knowing look when Baba’s loud voice booms outside the office door.

‘Boss! He’s here! Come on out!’ I sigh and stand up.

‘Looks like His Highness is in your territory.’

‘We’ll see how long he can stay on his pedestal.’

Vivian meets us in the penthouse lounge. I gave her the morning off to mentally prepare herself for the work that she will have to do. She wears a different outfit that she wears for work which makes me feel better inside.

‘Hey Vivian, why are you wearing that?’ Ota asks. She looks down at her suit then to me.

‘Because I’m still working.’

‘But he’s going to be your fiancé, shouldn’t you greet him looking a little sexier or something appealing?’

‘If you’re so desperate for a fiancée, why don’t you go greet him?’ I spit out at Ota who frowns at me.

‘Baba, Eisuke’s being mean!’

‘You kind of deserved it Ota.’ Baba says.

‘Damn I’m tired. Can we get going now?’ Mamoru yawns.

‘Slacker.’ I hear Soryu mutter under his breath.

‘What you say!?’

‘That’s enough. Vivian.’ I turn to leave and hear Vivian follow. The others grumble along to see who has made an enemy out of me.

Just as the elevator doors open, we hear loud noises and women screaming. In the centre of all attention is JT Lance, a known critic, womaniser, drunkard and an exceptional model and designer. He was already at the top when he was born, but we’ll see how far down to the bottom he falls when I’m done with him.

He seems to be signing autographs on paper and magazines and on women’s bodies as well. Arms, hands, necks, chest, he’ll put his name anywhere. A typical celebrity. He wears a golden chain similar to his father and an open shirt revealing his body.

The lobby quietens down as I step out.

‘Oh, it’s the King!’

‘The King?’

‘Eisuke Ichinomiya?!’

The staff try to handle the guests as much as they can while I stride over to the man receiving his room key.

‘Mr Jason Taylor? It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ I smile at him and shake his hand.

‘Eisuke Ichinomiya, the pleasure is all mine! My dad says good things about you.’

‘Does he now?’ I highly doubt that considering our last encounter.

‘It’s a bit too crowded here to talk. Please follow me to the VIP lounge.’

‘Lead the way.’

In the lounge, JT sits making small talk with Ota and Baba while a female staff member serves drinks. I see her blush as JT winks at her from his spot on the couch.

‘Do you have any tips on how to attract women?’

‘Baba has trouble keeping a woman’s attention for more than a second.’ Ota quips.

‘Haha, the first thing a woman sees in a man is his fashion sense. And yours… is a little less than average.’

‘What?!’

‘You look a tomato with a head, hands and feet. You need to look more manly and dignified.’ He waves his arms around, looking a buffoon. Baba frowns, lost in thoughts.

‘I assume you wear that red… thing daily. Red is a passionate colour and bold to be worn in broad day light. But too much passion turns women off quicker than a light switch. A man should wear blues or purples, like Ota and Eisuke or that scary looking man over there.’ He points to Soryu whose face doesn’t change or move in the slightest.

‘… Um, even that man over there in the grey suit is more manly than you.’ He indicates at Mamoru who smokes at the window.

‘Hmmm, so I need to change my suit? But I love this suit…’ Baba mumbles to himself helplessly as Ota falls over laughing.

I feel Vivian fidget beside me as she gleans the man attempting to take her away from me. JT changes his focus to Vivian.

‘So, this woman is the secretary my dad told me about? What is your name? You are certainly a beautiful gem among the dirt. Have you tried modelling? I’m sure my designs would look stunning on you.’ His insult generates a glare but, like his father, he does not notice.

‘My name is Vivian Grier and I am certain that I am just an average looking woman, sir.’

‘Oh please, you would look divine! And call me JT, it would be plain weird if my future wife calls me so formally.’ I feel my eye twitch at his casual words.

‘She is not your wife yet.’

‘That will be her decision, will it not?’

The tension increases with each passing moment as we size each other up. But Vivian cuts it like a sword slashing in the air.

‘Um, JT why don’t I show you around the hotel? Then you can relax in your suite. I still have work to do unfortunately but we can have dinner tonight in the restaurant if you would like.’ Her suggestion does nothing to quell the fiery rage that is slowly growing inside me.

His smile sickens me to my core.

‘I would be delighted to have that. Ota why don’t you come as well, we can discuss some new designs I’ve created.’

‘Sure. Don’t worry, the old man beside me won’t be coming along.’

‘Hey!’ Baba shouts out as usual. The four of them leave but not before Vivian pats my shoulder and says,

‘I’ll back in the penthouse in a bit, try not to exhaust yourself too much before I arrive.' She smirks and winks at me before rushing to the others.

‘You’re going to do what!?’ The words I didn’t want to hear leave Vivian’s mouth so simply that I shout at her in front of the others in the lounge. She flinches but continues.

‘JT is going to check out of the hotel tomorrow, and I will go with him. I’m going to agree to the marriage and stay with his family at their mansion.’

I can only glare at her, trying to dispel the unshakable resolve in her eyes. But she doesn’t look away nor does she back down.

‘Why?’

‘You and I both know that there is something not quite right here. They’re hiding a corpse underneath all that fame and money and I’m going to find out what.’

‘…..’

‘I know you have been investigating. I’m sure you’ll find the evidence we need but do it before the wedding. I…. One day, I want it to be you and me at the alter Eisuke. Truly.’

My eyes widen. Is she confessing to me? Now?

‘Soryu? Can I take Ryosuke and Samejima with me? For protection and friends to accompany me?’

‘Of course, they will protect with their lives Vivian.’ He takes his phone out and leaves to prepare his puppy and shark.

Vivian turns to me.

‘Eisuke, if I find anything then I will send it to you. And I promise I’ll come back. Come back to you.’

Vivian stands in front of me as the strong woman I know she is. She’s doing what needs to be done.

‘Money laundering.’

‘Huh?’

‘We have evidence that the Lance family is money laundering. Find me something related to it or something else I can use.’ I say. We look at each other for a moment then she smiles at me.

‘Okay.’

‘Good luck Vivian. We’ll be here if you need us.’ Baba pats her shoulder.

‘Don’t get yourself killed.’ Ota says from the couch.

‘Kid, don’t go doing anything stupid now.’ Mamoru puffs on his cigarette.

‘Thank you guys. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.’ She smiles and bows to us before turning around.

‘And Eisuke?’

‘What?’

‘On JT’s phone, I saw a message. It said… the body is ready to be disposed.’

‘A body?’

‘Mamoru get on this.’

‘Murder, huh?’

‘Well, he gives lousy advice on fashion anyway.’ Baba says.

‘He was right about your fashion sense though.’ Ota retorts.

‘Kid, send me that message as soon as you can.’

‘I’ll try.’ Vivian’s heels stride out of the lounge. Strong and confident, she leaves with my heart.

The engagement is called on TV. Mr Lance announces the engagement and we watch as Vivian and JT exchange rings.

‘Such a tacky ring.’ I mumble to myself.

‘Hey, what’s that silver ring on her other finger?’ Ota points to the monitor.

‘Boss, didn’t you give that to her a few years ago?’

‘Obviously. I have more class than he does in style.’ I smirk. So even on TV, she continues to belong to me.

‘Eisuke, Inui and Samejima have dropped Vivian off at the hotel. She’ll be here in a few minutes.’

‘Good.’ My fingers hover over the pager’s call button. It has been confirmed that the wedding will take place tomorrow. JT has booked the ballroom for a party and invited me to attend.

‘So they recorded this and sent it to the media everywhere huh?’ Ota asks.

‘Yes. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 2 weeks since Vivian left us.’

‘She hasn’t left us. As if Eisuke would let the kid go, not with her skills.’ Mamoru, who for once is not asleep, teases me.

‘You’re not snoozing, has the station finally fired you?’ Soryu retorts.

‘Stop it. You all are too noisy.’ I order before Mamoru can fight back.

‘How are the preparations for JT’s party tonight?’

‘Going as well as I can hope. I’ve called the media here to capture JT’s antics on screen.’

‘Seriously? Does he know?’

‘Even if he does he’s not shy to the camera. Everyone knows his drunk habits. I’ve ordered for security to be ready to take action against him if he tries something.’

‘Ota, Mamoru and I will be there as well so you can count on us Boss!’ Baba says with as much enthusiasm as a balloon.

‘Why do I have to be there?!’

‘Because the alcohol is for free. I won’t have to buy you any tonight.’

‘Fine. I guess I’ll go.’ Mamoru grumbles to himself by the window.

‘Hook, line, and sinker. Point 1 to Baba.’ He tips his ridiculous hat and winks at Mamoru who pretends to gag on his cigarette.

‘Sir?’ Kenzaki enters the lounge with the woman I’ve been expecting to see since she left.

‘Miss Vivian has returned.’ His smile tells me that he has been missing Vivian as much as the rest of us.

‘Hey everyo-‘

‘VIVIAN!’

‘THANK GOD!’

‘GET US COFFEE PLEASE!’

Vivian jumps behind Kenzaki as the three men throw themselves at her. It is true that we’ve been miserable without her coffee. We have been living off of room service and Soryu’s tea.

‘I can’t believe you guys really missed me that much. I was gone for 2 weeks!’ She hands out the mugs and I sniff the coffee. It smells wonderful and for once, everyone is quiet in the lounge.

‘Would you like some Mr Kenzaki?’ Vivian asks.

‘No thank you, you can make me some another time. I have some work to do so I will leave you to it.’ He strokes her head like a father and leaves.

‘Vivian, upstairs.’ Still holding my mug and picking up Vivian’s bag, I climb the stairs with her in tow.

We sit beside each other when she looks up and smiles before taking out her tablet.

‘Even though I’ve been away, I’m still your secretary Eisuke. I’ve responded to all your emails and contacted everyone involved with the project. Mr Lance is going to sign the contract tomorrow after the wedding and-‘

‘Are you okay?’ I ask.

‘Hm, what?’

‘Did he do anything to you?’

‘No, not really. Despite the engagement, he hasn’t touched me. I thought he was seeing other women since he keeps going in and out of the mansion but I think it’s something else.’

‘Yes, the coordinates Soryu’s puppy sent is an office. It’s filled with counterfeit money.’ Vivian, Inui and Samejima were able to gain the site of Mr Lance’s operations from JT’s car’s automatic navigation system. The Ice Dragons stormed the place with Soryu and found over $200 million in cash.

‘What do you think it’s for?’

‘It could for a number of things Vivian. People have a way of finding things to buy when they millions to spare. Be it an object or a person.’

‘Did Mamoru find out about… the body?’

‘We’re still looking into it, but I have a hunch.’

‘Which is?’

‘You’ll see.’

‘No fair!’ Vivian pouts at me and I pinch her cheeks.

‘Oww!’ She says it in a more playful tone, letting me know that she’s happy.

‘You’ve gotten thinner since you left.’

‘I guess I was lonely without you Eisuke.’ She takes my hands and wraps my arms around her.

‘I missed you, so much.’ She hugs me tight, listening to my rapid heartbeat.

‘How have you been Eisuke?’

‘Fine. It’s not as if I need you by my side all the time.’ Who am I kidding? Her giggles tell me that she doesn’t believe my lies either.

‘But you will always miss my coffee right?’ Her teasing words make me chuckle.

‘Your coffee has done wonders for me. Even if you didn’t stay as my secretary, I would have made you the penthouse maid.’

‘Haha, I’m sure you would have.’ She raises her head and looks up at me through her long lashes. When did she become so beautiful?

‘Eisuke…’ When did her voice become so enticing when she says my name? And what would she sound like at night, beneath me with her head thrown back in pure bliss?

But before my lips can touch her skin…

‘Boss! Are you ready?’

‘Damn it, that thief always has awful timing.’ I grumble as we untangle our limbs from each other.

‘Don’t worry Eisuke. I’ll still be here when you get back.’ She takes my face into her hands and leaves a kiss on my forehead.

‘You know I will always be here.’ We lean our heads against each other, savouring the feelings that we hold dear. I’ve never felt love for a woman before. It’s not a bad feeling though.

* (VIVIAN’S POV)

I change into my casual clothing and go downstairs to find not only Soryu with Ryosuke and Samejima, but also Luke in the lounge. The TV has been set up for us to watch the party on mute.

‘Hey you guys.’ I sit on the couch next to Luke and see Eisuke, Ota, Baba, and Mamoru at the party, mostly drinking at the bar.

‘Hey princess.’ Ryosuke waves. Samejima and Soryu both give me a nod.

‘Hello Sexy Bones.’ I smile at Luke.

‘Why aren’t you down there Soryu?’ I ask.

‘Too many women.’

‘Oh I see.’ Soryu hates women with a passion. Eisuke was surprised when Soryu said he didn’t mind me being here. Apparently, I’m not the type of women he hates.

‘Where’s JT?’ I ask, trying to spot him on the monitors.

‘Over there, speaking to one of the politicians.’ Luke points to the far corner. For a while we wait and see what happens. Eisuke speaks to various celebrities, all with that sly smile on his face, while Mamoru drinks at the bar. Baba and Ota flirt with the other women at the party.

It all seems pretty calm when I see JT suddenly throw a glass of champagne at a wall.

‘Uh oh.’

‘What the!?’

‘He’s drunk.’ Luke observes.

JT seems to shouting at a staff member. One whom I know as my friend, Sakiko.

‘He’s going to hit her!’ I shout. JT’s large fist is balled up in the air, ready to hit its target when Eisuke grabs his arm and pins it back. He forces JT to the ground and Mamoru cuffs his wrists.

‘Oh thank god!’ I sigh with relief as Sakiko is attended to by the other staff members. Eisuke seems to be addressing the guests as Mamoru and security push JT off the premises.

‘The media will love this.’ I say.

‘Eisuke knew this would happen, that’s why he called them in the first place.’ Soryu says, turning his attention to clean his gun.

‘Mr Ichinomiya looked so cool! Just like you sir!’ Ryosuke says, looking at Soryu with admiration.

‘Indeed, Eisuke’s collarbones looked splendid.’ Luke smiles and Ryosuke gives me a look of bewilderment. I laugh despite the situation we just witnessed.

‘Eisuke did look really cool out there.’

‘Maybe you should make him the new Ice Dragon’s leader.’ Luke says.

‘No.’ Both Luke and I burst out laughing with Samejima trying to hide his smile and Ryosuke looking even more bewildered.

When Eisuke came back to the penthouse, I said good night to the others and followed him upstairs to his bedroom. I hugged him tightly as soon as we entered him room.

‘I saw on the monitors. Thank you for saving Sakiko.’ I nuzzle my face into his chest.

‘Hm.’ I feel the slight vibration course through his body.

‘Eisuke?’

‘What?’

‘Seeing JT be so… violent… made me think. Do you think sacrificing my freedom, despite knowing his flaws, despite knowing that there is always the possibility that he could become violent with me, that he could hurt me and cause me pain and trauma that I might never recover from, if marriage is about accepting the faults of the partner you love, should I accept his flaws no matter how abusive he could be?’

‘No. Because even the slightest possibility could destroy more than just your body, but your heart too. People like JT are not worth more than the dirt under our shoes.’

Suddenly, Eisuke dips down and hooks his arm under my knees.

‘Ah! Eisuke!’ Wrapping my arms tightly around his neck, Eisuke throws me onto the bed and leans over me.

‘You’re still here though.’

‘I am.’

‘Are you going to leave?’ I look into his chocolate brown eyes. I can see my reflection in them so clearly. I feel my love for him bubbling up inside me.

‘Only if you force me to.’

‘Pfft, as if that would ever happen.’ His kiss is sweeter than any candy. It melts me at my core completely. That night, our hearts finally connect with one another. The moment that I have always wanted has been fulfilled. And before I pass out, I hear,

‘I promise, tomorrow, you will walk out as my woman. I will save you.’

Standing at the church doors, I breath in and out. Clutching a bouquet of hydrangeas, I think about last night. Eisuke promised that he would save me.

‘Go to the wedding tomorrow. I will be there and stop this madness.’

Akira comes up and turns me to face him.

‘Do not worry Vivian. Eisuke will give you a wedding surprise you won’t soon forget.’ His smile warms my heart. I asked him to come from London to walk me down the aisle. With my parents gone since I was a child, Akira is the closest thing I have to a father.

‘I know he will. I just hope he hurries up.’ I say. Akira holds out his elbow and my left hand gently clutches his suit. We hear the music begin and the large doors creak open.

With thousands of eyes on me, I look straight ahead just as Eisuke would. Ignore all the stares and look straight forward always no matter what. Cameras and flashes and whispers fill the room as I see JT smirk my way. The wedding dress wasn’t my choice. It was designed by JT and Ota together but it still isn’t the dress I imagined I would wear to my wedding. It’s a backless, pearl white lace dress with a ring of diamonds at my waist. My hair is in a loose bun and a thin hair band with small flowers rests atop my head. The dress trails at the back slightly and I feel it drag the fake flowers those sitting on the benches throw at us. In the corner of my eye, I see the bidders who wave at me. I smile inwardly, knowing that I’m in safe hands.

We finally make it to the priest and JT presses a light kiss to my hand. I gag inside as Akira leaves me to sit down.

The priest begins to speak the formalities and my mind drifts away. Eisuke said he would save me. So where is he? I’ve hoped for years that Eisuke would love me the way that I love him and now that I finally have it, we’ve become entangled in this mess.

‘If there is anyone who would object to this couple’s union, speak now or forever hold your peace.’

The doors behind us creak open once more. Everyone turns to see the silhouette of the man I love the most in this world.

‘I object.’

Eisuke walks forward as gasps and whispers fill the room. All cameras pointed at the King of Spades.

‘JT Lance has no business marrying her.’ He nods to the priest who takes out a remote and presses a button. A projector rises near the back of the church and a picture of a woman appears.

‘Oh that’s Miss Freya Opaline.’ Opaline was a great gem collector who mysteriously died when she tripped and fell into glass which pierced her heart.

‘Miss Opaline was not killed by what we believed was an accident.’ Eisuke’s strong voice echoes in the church.

‘JT and Opaline were both after the same set of gems that were unearthed in Egypt. Opaline got to them first so JT attempted to bribe her for them. When that didn’t work, he killed her and took the gems for himself.’ Moans and groans of the shocked public begin to rise.

‘The next few slides have secret messages between Mr Jason Taylor Lance and his associates who covered up the murder. Let’s also not forget about Mr Lance, who has been making counterfeit money for nearly a decade.’

‘Damn it.’ I hear JT whisper in defeat.

‘If there is anybody else who would like to object…’ As if on cue, Baba and Ota shout out.

‘I object!’ Everyone follows suit and I back away. Suddenly, Mamoru and the police walk in, arresting JT and Mr Lance. Before JT is taken away, I waltz up to him where he is handcuffed. I smile and throw the bouquet at his feet. The sound a slap resonates inside the building, rendering everyone silent. JT stares dumbfounded. Suddenly, I hear cheers for my performance and the police take JT away.

Eisuke comes up to me and I kiss him. I hear many screams and see white flashes behind my closed eyelids but I don’t care. He did it all and I helped him.

‘I love you Eisuke.’

‘I love you Vivian.’ He smiles genuinely and I fall in love again. We lean our foreheads together, knowing our love for each other is true.

‘It was nice of Mrs Lance to sign the contract on behalf of her ex-husband.’ I say.

‘Yes. Now that Miss Felicia is taking over, their business might finally have a chance of being good.’

‘But not as good as the Ichinomiya Group. Right?’ I laugh.

‘Obviously.’ Eisuke smirks at me when we hear a crack.

‘Okay, I think I got it.’ Ota says. The large statue of Venus stands before us once again… in pieces.

‘I guess you finally did something right for once Baba.’ Mamoru says.

‘Yeah! Wait what?!’

‘We were lucky that this was the statue that Miss Felicia was talking about. Who would have thought that Opaline and Felicia were such good childhood friends that Opaline gave the gems to her?’

The gems were never with Opaline to begin with. She sent them to JT’s mother as a way to rekindle their love for each other. Unfortunately, JT killed Opaline before she and Felicia could run away and start life anew. After her death, Felicia hid the gems inside the statue made by an amateur to prevent anyone from taking them.

‘The gems were the beginning of so much sorrow. Whatever stories there are, those gems hold nothing but pain.’

‘It’s a tragic love story but I think Felicia will be happy knowing that she has her own business to run and that her lover’s murderers are in prison.’

‘What I can’t believe is that Mr Lance wanted Vivian in order to blackmail you into selling the counterfeit money at the auctions.’

‘A stupid idea by a coward.’

‘Guys, I think I found it.’ Ota pulls out a golden box from the statue’s chest.

‘Is that it?’

‘Must be.’

‘Open it Eisuke!’

He takes the box and uses the key Felicia gave Eisuke. Inside is one gem, not multiple like the stories. A large diamond the size of a fist sparkles in the light.

‘Now this, will fetch a very good price.’ Eisuke smirks.

‘$20 million! $50 million! $100 million! Do I have any more bids?’

‘It’s going up.’

‘Of course it is.’

‘$150 million! $200 million!’

‘Wow.’

‘Honestly, these people are far too desperate for something good to happen to ‘em. As if a diamond can bring good fortune.’ Mamoru says.

‘$300 million! Any more!’

The diamond sits on a pedestal on top of a purple velvet cushion. I hug Eisuke’s arm and snuggle into his side as I feel him kiss the top of my head.

‘$500 million! Sold!’

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aarspi · 5 years

Text

Project V Update

I hate calling it that lol, but as a working title it worked I guess haha. Anyways, I felt like I should update everyone on the project.

First off, it has a new name and it’s now called Ambrose, so if you see any future posts it will be tagged and titled with that.

Not only is there a major name change, now being Ambrose, which means Immortal, there’s also been a major plot change, and yes it’s a story still based in space, but the concept and experiences these characters go through is nothing similar to VLD, which was the goal.

I’m honestly over the disappointment I had with Voltron. I honest to God mean that. I celebrate the things I liked about it, but I’ll admit unhappiness really just pushed inspiration. So I created these characters and even discussed the possible plot ideas with my brother ( who writes the scripts and stuff) and we actually have a solid story concept.

The plot is actually incorporated into the 4UComics Universe (4U makes Daemons Venatus which can be read on webtoon), and yeah, that’s not the only story we make, we have a shit ton of other ideas that basically creates an entire universe. So that being said I can’t exactly talk about the story plot, because it will give away key points to other major stories and series we hope to make in the future. But what I can discuss is the new names, and the design concepts so far for Ambrose.

Disclaimer: I’m aware these character designs are VERY similar to the character of VLD. They’re still ‘work in progress’, or better as trial’n’error but at least they’ll give you an idea of what they’re going to look like. To be fair too, two of them came along way from being rip-off Leakira, though they kinda look like Leakira wannabe’s still. THEIR DESIGNS WILL CHANGE TO SOMETHING MORE UNIQUE IN THE FUTURE AS WE WANT THIS TO BE AS ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE. I was just experimenting with styles and .. unfortunately my *cough*klance*cough* biases came into play haha.

Without Further adieu, here are the characters of Ambrose!

Keep in Mind: Names have meanings to who the characters are, and I wanted to keep elements incorporated.

Christian Emilio Lee Sanchez: [Christian - follower of christ; Emilio - Industrious: Diligent and hard-working; Lee - “Sheltered Side”; Sanchez - Set apart as or declared holy.]

Nickname: Goes by Lee for short Heritage: Latino/--- Weapon: I wanted to keep the sharpshooter style, but again it’s very Lance/Leandro-Like, but who knows. Personality: Suave, Cunning, Charming to the point where it’s sometimes downright obnoxious.

Bonus Reference Layout Wip:

Akira Clark: [Akira: Sunlight and Moonlight/ Light coming from the sun/ Bright; Clark: A Scribe.]

Nickname: Just goes by Akira. I actually love the name Akira, so please don’t bug me about it. Heritage: Korean Weapon: Staff and Agility Personality: Quiet, Kind, Mysterious, can be snarky/sassy and will talk back. Cynical at times, but protective, and sometimes sarcastic. (Basically I wanna explore, but put emphasis on snarky/sassy but friendly/kind, and quiet and mysterious to others.)

Aurora: [Aurora: Mythical Roman Goddess of the Dawn]

Nickname: Ro; Named after one of the strongest and most beautiful women I know in my life - my mom :3 Heritage: Unnamed Alien Race atm Weapon: Unknown atm Personality: Head strong, Mom-Like, Caring, Determined, Intelligent. Fun Fact: I adore the Tales of Series and my favourite game is Tales of Vesperia. Aurora’s race is mildly inspired by the krityan race within the game.

Lani Kameāloha: [Lani - Hawaiian for Sky; Kameāloha - “The beloved one”]

Nickname: Call him Lani - I’m well aware he legit looks like Black Shiro right now, but that will CHANGE. Also before anyone asks, no he does not die. Nor dies and comes back. Heritage: Hawaiian Weapon: Unknown atm Personality: Cunning, Tactical. Dad-Like. Strong, Courageous. If you hurt his unintentional adopted kids and intentional adopted brother, you should run.

•••

Okay so the Character designs aren’t as thought out as much from here on out, but I do have at least sketches to include with the names.

Terra (Ptera) (Unknown Last Name atm): [Terra - The planet Earth. Famous bearer: mythological Terra, the Roman Earth Goddess of the Greek Gaia.]

Nickname: Ptera, cause she loves Dinosaurs. Gremlin - Love Lee Heritage: Greek Weapon: Unknown atm Personality: Intelligent, cynical, hot-headed. Sarcastic. Her and Akira get along well. Fun fact: She has a little keychain of a Brachiosaurus that she lovingly calls Barry.

Halle Paea: [Halle: “Rock/Little Rock”; Paea: Polynesian/Samoan]

Nickname: Stud Muffin; Thanks Lee; you’re welcome <3 Just goes by Halle. Don’t worry, he’s used to people bringing up the actress. Weapon: Unknown atm/Giant Hammer (wip) Personality: Unsure, worrisome. Cool, logical. Fun fact: His Dad’s a dick.

Not!Coran and unamed main character:

And finally, I do want an equivalent to Coran, but, Coran Coran the Gorgeous man is just so unique already. This version, he would probably go back to his roots, similar to his counter part in the original DotU where he is the primary caregiver to Aurora, almost like a father for her, who keeps her calm, gives wisdom and opinions in ties of crisis and can always be relied on. I also wanted to bring back in the mistress/maid woman that also helped care for Allura as well. Her design may be recycled from a concept drawing for a Helsa fanfic I had been working but never finished, and would have more use for in this.

•••

Anyways! That is it! Thank you so much for supporting me and I hope you enjoy! Also, I’m super open to fanart if anyone wants to draw them, that’d be amazing! So don’t hesitate.

Any questions you have, you are welcome to shoot my way, and I believe that’s it for now! Thank you!

Society6 • Redbubble • Support me with a Ko-fi ! • Check out the comic series called Daemons Venatus that I help work on! I need a lot of support if I ever want to see this created :D

Do not repost ANYWHERE!

#Ambrose #Vld #very long post #representation #there is some I promise #4ucomics #4u #Daemons Venatus #original comics #webseries

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flydotnet · 5 years

Text

Nemesis In Cerberus's Jaws

VRAINS Rarepair Weeks 2018 - Day 9: Favorite Card/Win or Lose

Summary: Ghost Girl goes to Queen's palace-like headquarters for two reasons: stop SOL from interfering in the Ignis Warfare and to avenge a fallen comrade now caught inside the monarch's claws. She knows this may very well be a trap, but may as well try saving the situation and stop a sociopath while she's at it.

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Ships: Hireshipping (Ema/Akira)

Wordcount: 3.6K words

Notes: Happy New Year, I wish you get nice things in life for 2019 while I beg for VRAINS to give us an Akira VS Queen duel. Or just Akira winning a duel with his "Eldritch abominations meet geometry" deck. Please.

This is the last fic of 2019, a year as such filled with way too many sickfics and a lot of fandoms suffering because of your truly's! Can't say I expcted to finish the year on a VRAINS fanfiction of all things, but I'm actually proud of this one. I took a weird approach at this prompt, because I'm a dumbass who doesn't know how words work, but I hope this stays in the theme enough. Anyway, Ema VS Queen would be very nice in canon with actual duel wriitng skills instead of this pathetic excuse of that lmao. I also hope Queen fans don't kill me for this lmao.

Y'all know tomorrow is gonna be Hanahaki AU, don't you? I am, in fact, very predictable.

Event hosted by @vrainsrarepairweeks

AO3 version available here.

Link VRAINS’s SOL Headquarters, approximately time-has-stopped-ticking past I-forgot-what-time-it-was-anyway in the after-morning-noon. There is nobody around, footsteps resonating inside the empty white buildings filled with data diamonds and other unknown fancy digital effects. While the Ignis Warfare is taking place outside, Ema, or rather Ghost Girl, has her own side-mission to accomplish. This is why she is here and not by Aoi, or rather, Blue Maiden’s side. She trusts this girl and her partners, the ever-so-victorious Playmaker and Soulburner along with their pro-humanity Ignes, to win against the hardships waiting for them. She cannot really help them win against Lighting anyway.

She may not be able to do that, but she can do other things to shift the balance around. She has to do something to reverse the tide in the right direction.

Ghost Girl finds herself anxiously walking around the premise, the echo of her footsteps being the only noise around her, white walls and ceiling almost blinding her by their sheer purity that just hides how shady SOL Technologies truly are. There is exactly one sane man in that building and she’s here to prevent his conversion to data by some lunatics with too much incompetence and free time on their hands. Converting him into data won’t be useful for any of them: is she throwing herself into the jaws of that company? Most certainly.

The question would rather be: why does she throw herself into said jaws? She knows they’re a trap waiting to vanquish her. On that the question changes: is it worth knowingly risking herself in an obvious trap? To that she would usually hesitate to answer, but there she was with a bold and confident “yes” to throw at it.

Ghost Girl eventually meets a regal corridor leading to what she can only assume to be a throne room. The fancy palace aspects are quickly wearing down on her: the person waiting at the end, the one who caught her main hirer and ex-teammate, has to have an ego bigger than hers. In a way, that’s better: she’s always preferred crushing pretentious people than winning against fellas with a low self-esteem.

Instead of knocking on the wooden door with golden decorations she eventually finds herself meeting, the huntress kicks it wide open, emergency programs ready to be used against the eventual menace in case it’d get too dangerous. She, however, doesn’t plan on backing down until she has won: if she leaves, it’s to get backup, technical or human.

Plus, Akira would have preferred her to have these with her.

The quite literal queen is sitting in her throne with a smug look Ghost Girl has an unforgettable need to remove from her face. Dressed like a business woman in a regal palace, she matches what little about his boss Akira would tell her: short blue-and-green hair, proud, cunning, fierce and merciless. If she wasn’t meant to smash Queen’s face onto the floor for being a terrible human being, she would have commented on her beauty. Instead, she gets mentally ready to duel her.

“If it isn’t Ghost Girl, Zaizen’s favourite bounty huntress…” Her voice resonates in the empty room as an eerie smile makes her onto her face.

“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you why I’m here,” she simply and drily replies. She doesn’t wait to ask her main question. “What did you do to Zaizen?”

“Perhaps I should tell you would you win over me in a Master Duel, Ms Bessho.”

Goddammit. She still prepares out her Duel Disk and her spirit. This a duel she cannot lose.

“Then Duel it is.”

This may just be the duel of her life.

Queen has a royal-themed deck, because of course she would have one. The issue is to judge what level she is at Duel Monsters: it’s safe to assume she isn’t the first newbie one ca come across in Link VRAINS. It relies on Spell and Trap cards to summon monsters, only to Link Summon what Ema assumes to be her aces. There doesn’t seem to be another summoning method to her deck, but that’s to be seen. Skills are out of the question: this is already something she can put on the side and not worry about. She is willing to trade not being able to use Secret Cure for taking off one factor to take in account.

Ema has to keep it at least a bit safe. Her Altergeists aren’t known for being the safest monsters to play on the field despite how easy her Hexstia and Dragvirion combo feels like to pull off. She needs to be careful and not waste a single opportunity. This may be a Duel with vital stakes at play: she cannot let herself get panicked or else it’ll end terribly for everyone involved, not just her. SOL needs to be slowed down if not stopped if they’re as unreasonable as that woman’s ends and ways to get there: there is always a point where one needs to stop throwing everyone under the bus.

They don’t speak to each other during the duel. Queen seems to do so out of spite and a want not to leak anything out. Ema is doing so as to keep her focus: if she can win this, then she will have a chance at getting her answers and freeing Akira from wherever he’s kept in their real world. If he’s trapped here, then that’s even more of an opportunity not to mess up.

She doesn’t let the questions she could wonder about prevent her from summoning the right monsters and playing the right cards at the right time against the right targets. The situation is too risky and too narrow between them to allow her to do so, to taunt or to show too much pride. She sets her own ego on the side for once: if she wins this Duel, then she will pride herself in it and tease Akira about it for about forever.

Ema gains a momentum by bypassing Queen’s ace Monster, a Link-4 luminous queen thing (doesn’t have the luxury to compliment that one either) and inflecting direct damage to her opponent. Queen herself is a mighty force to reckon with, of course, but she has watched Akira lose to her with all the frustration she could have felt from it. She has, technically, seen how her deck worked, but every duel is different for everyone, thus why she prefers to make sure she doesn’t forget about the cards she could have changed or the optional strategies she may have in store.

Altergeists have to win where Tindangles have lost.

The sudden eerie smile on Queen’s face doesn’t reassure her in the slightest. There is a cold sweat running down her back as she waits in anticipation what is to come. A Flip card gets turned on by her own gestures, as an attempt to destroy it with Hexstia when the monstrous queen on the field can’t be attacked, and there comes the worst. Ema cannot decide herself whether or not this is humiliating or sadistic towards Akira, but in all cases, she doesn’t want to face that monster now.

She doesn’t want to be facing Tindangle Hound here and now.

It’s like fighting against Akira when he isn’t here to control the beast. How much has this “queen” stole from him, to use one of his cards like that?!

“Is… Is this a sick joke of some sort…?” her voice is hesitant but asks anyway.

“I simply took the spolia opima that were to come back to me after my previous victory.”

“You have to know this monster is… This is twisted!”

Ema feels rage boiling in her entire body. This isn’t like her to get upset over a monster in a deck, but this can’t be all there is to it. The smile on Queen’s face, Akira’s unknown whereabouts after his defeat against her and the use of that stupid Latin term all make her rage beyond reason.

Okay, she has to admit, Akira may be more than an ex-teammate for dirty jobs online and her main employer. There is quite obviously something more to it, more to her determination to win than to punish some asshole who put in so much danger someone as young and mentally fragile as Go Onizuka for fucking money, who vivisected and put inside a chip a living being made out of data but with a digital soul, who now uses a card of one of her subordinates to play a duel against someone who came here to, theoretically, save said subordinate.

What it is, she doesn’t have many words to put on, but these feelings are here, they are intense, and she isn’t backing down to determine what they are exactly. She owes him salary, potential blackmail material and maybe other stuff. She came too far to lose, she has her own side-mission and it’s just become uncomfortably personal between that pseudo-monarch corrupted by money and her.

Ema switches perspectives for this duel. There isn’t time to screw around and try to predict what is going to happen next. She has to be careful about Tindangle Hound’s effect to lower her own Monsters’ ATK if they’re Link. A good thing Dragvirion isn’t affected, she thinks, because her methods are about to become stomp-down when her deck isn’t even made for that. She has to destroy that hellish dog before Queen can summon Tindangle Angel and rub salt into the wound on-top of enforcing these two’s lines of defense.

These feelings are very personal, and she won’t let them spill onto the floor for that very reason. She will win against that Queen without a shred of mercy, extract all the information from her even if she has to use her own non-log-out virus against her and then reunite with her fallen partner in crime. She won’t back down. She presses a button on her Duel Disk, hoping its stealthy sides will allow it to go unnoticed, and resumes her turn.

This ends now.

Her plan somewhat works. Queen’s deck has never been made for the Tindangle archetype: her pride will be the loss of her, what an ironic turn of events she cannot not love witnessing. Bypassing a Trap card through Monster effects, using a Spell to break through another barrier, she manages to beat Tindangle Hound without meaning to. She quickly consoles herself by thinking Akira wouldn’t have wanted to see his Monster that way, in that deck, before finishing the duel off by destroying the light monarch on the field.

The palace starts to worsen as the holograms disappear and Ema walks to the fallen queen on the floor, her throne having been destroyed by Hexstia’s final strike. Her virus hasn’t worked, sadly, since all she gets from Queen is a glare and an instant logging-out. Oh well. There is, however, an ironically stereotypical character to how her prison seems to be the room whose door was hidden by the throne. Ema’s instincts never mistake her, but before she goes through the door, she must pick up the Tindangle Hound card which fell to the ground. There are Monsters who don’t deserve to be left behind in a graveyard, and this palace is already becoming one.

Strangely enough, she doesn’t find Acute Cerberus or Tindangle Angel near the Hound. This was, indeed, a twisted joke: separating the siblings figuratively was also rubbing salt into the wound.

The prison part of the palace is as dark as one would expect it to be: the sharp change from overwhelming white to almost complete darkness with neon blue lines hurts her eyes, maybe in a last attempt to blind her and make her go back home, but Ghost Girl doesn’t back down. She never does. She’s so close to freeing her fallen partner in crime, if she was to walk back, she would hold a grudge against herself for the next eternity to come.

All the other “cages”, which look more like cocoons composed of geometrical pieces of metal, are empty. She would have at least expected there to be fallen bounty hunters or previous lovers with dirty on Queen to reveal to the world to be there, but there seems to only be one person and she exactly knows who because, as it stands, he is right in front of her, on the other side of the drawn-out corridor, stuck in a transparent cage. Humiliation really seems to be something Queen is into.

As she arrives in front of it, she brushes her hand against the shell. There has to be a way to open it up, she thinks as she goes past it. It has to be remote-controlled just like everything else in Link VRAINS, probably by a program in Queen’s possession. Nothing she cannot hack: it seems to be less complex than Hanoi’s programming, so she proceeds to open a control panel on her own disk and checks the beast out.

The programming of this thing is far weaker than she could have expected: in minutes, she finds a fatal flaw in the code that allows her to break it from the inside by causing a fatal error, making it vanish in digital fairy powder and its prisoner fall to the ground with a noticeable lack of grace. If they weren’t in a virtual world, he’d have surely scratched his knees on the floor.

Before she knows it Ema has knelt right next to him, deciding whether or not it’s time to truly be earnest and honest or if she should just be smug and mischievous as usual. Her heart, whom she always trusts, tells her not to be such a jackass. Her hands around his shoulders, he feels strangely fragile: he always been slender, perhaps because he has been used to eating little to survive before, but never has she had the feeling he was fragile, as though he was made of glass, before. Maybe it’s not about his frame, then, but if that’s the case, why does it feel that way?

He’s unconscious at first, when she picks him in her arms. She is at first tempted to get him out of that pseudo-palace, hack her avatar some strength to carry him like a bride (and then tease him about it), but she doesn’t have the time to do that: the building threatens to fall on them, breaking a breach at a time, and they need to get out of here fast. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, an arm of hers around his torso right under the armpits and her other hand sustaining his arm in place where it should be. He’s a deadweight, but she’s not going to lose now.

Walking Akira around on her shoulders when he isn’t able to walk is terribly slowing her down and she truly wishes she would have had the time to make herself stronger. On another hand, she can still wish for him to wake up and help himself up. If she isn’t wrong, his own avatar hasn’t been injured in any way: he’ll be fine when he’s going to log off too.

Remind her again why their relationship is “professional”?

The blinding white of the ceilings and walls is slowly fading into an ugly brown, mud covering the walls, moss climbing in every corner, rotting starting to infect the premise. They needed to make it out fast, before anything could break and block their way. Quick, Ghost Girl, run at the speed of sound and don’t look back!

It’s breathless but immensely relieved for herself that Ema eventually makes it out of that place one room at a time, the one she just exited never failing to break right after she’s through with it. When the light of outside virtual sky finally appears in front of her eyes, through a door which isn’t technically far but feel too distant to her own tastes and pace, she secretly hopes very much to make it out alive at that point.

And she actually does: she wins against the clock, manages to get them both out of here with no scratch on their limbs and goes back on her D-Board, sitting on it still out of breath with a man on her lap, trying to recover from the sudden anxiety and pressure to find a safe spot. In theory, she would better off log out and try finding Akira in Den City instead, but she has no idea if he’s even able to log out. She hasn’t detected any external program that could make it so he couldn’t, but with an unconscious avatar, she can’t tell for sure.

They eventually arrive in what she knows to be an empty, desert and hidden spot in New Link VRAINS. That’s only then than Akira chooses to wake up (hah, took him long enough), groggily sitting back up correctly even if his back was already sat against the wall courtesy of his saviour herself. He seems lost for a few minutes as she goes to sit next to him. She doesn’t feel like staying up and he looks too tired to do that. Maybe she can ask him a few questions while they’re here, alone together and sitting on the same level.

“Ema…? Where are we…?” He starts the interrogation station by looking around.

“In a discreet spot in Link VRAINS.”

“Ah, I… I think I see. I don’t remember much from before waking up, but I know I was in SOL’s headquarters and lost a duel against Queen. Wait,” he looks to her with astonishment all over his features but a slight smile nearing, “that means you’ve won against her, right?”

“You called it! I had to escape that crumbling place with your deadweight on my shoulders. You owe me a lot, Akira Zaizen!”

“Oh… I’m sorry for that, then. I’m not sure of what happened, but I’ll make sure to pay you back for this.”

“I trust you on that.”

She then remembers something, and another cheeky smile appears on her lips as she gets it out of her Extra Deck space.

“Ah, right, I almost forgot about that,” she tells him as she gets it out of her disk.

His eyes land on the card in her hands.

“Tindangle Hound?” he wonders out loud as he picks it up again. “What was it doing in your deck?”

“Queen had stolen it from you after your defeat against her, I simply took it back when winning.” She never mentions how Queen also happened to have summoned it against her, maybe another day. “Thought I’d give it back to its rightful owner!”

“Why did she have it in her deck, though? That doesn’t make sense with the archetype and deck type she plays…”

“Well, huh… It really didn’t match her deck to begin with. That’s what caused her defeat against me in a duel where either could have won. I think it was to… intimidate me, or to remind everyone that you had lost against her. That’s pretty messed up if you ask me.”

“I owe you this too now… Thank you very much, Ema.”

Usually, she’d have prided herself in her victory, teased him further, but they’re both tired of fighting for today. Maybe she can allow herself to be honest, just this once…

“I’m sure Aoi and the other two are fighting well as we’re speaking. You don’t have to worry for them.”

“You’re right.”

“By the way… would you happen to be free at some point in the following weeks? I know how you could repay me, and I need to tell you in person.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll make sure to have a free spot for this in my schedule.”

“You’re usually too busy to even tell me that, aren’t you?”

“Well, to be exact… With how damaging this will be to SOL, I don’t expect it to be for a few weeks. I can, however, promise you I’ll think it out, if this is any better.”

“I appreciate the consideration, Akira.”

This doesn’t prevent her from muttering under her breath, “that’s why we never have dates…”; which in turn leads him to abruptly turn his head to her with zero subtlety and an awkward red flashing on his face.

“You said what I heard, right?”

“Yes…” Well, there goes her complete win over today.

“I… suppose we should consider that one day, if you think this is how I can repay you. You’ve done a lot for me these past months. I do, however, not really understand how this could be retribution…”

“…You owe me a date then.”

She cannot tell if he’s either too embarrassed to tell her this is a stupid idea (and it, frankly, would be to her if she hadn’t realized that during her duel) or if he is too awkward to tell her he’s on board. All she’s basing herself from is the timid smile she sees creeping on his face and his suddenly very nervous gestures towards her. It’s as it he forgot he could look at her directly.

“Then so be it…” he eventually spits out, looking in the distance, both of them slipping into a silence which progressively becomes comfortable.

After all, as opposed to him, he has always been more of a thinker than a rusher (except when his sister is involved: in which case, he becomes a furious beast). He needs his time to think this through, to cool down, when she’s always on her feet. Oh wait, so be it. The Blue Oni he represents to her Red is a nice combination too.

As such, she can consider this timid “and so be it” a win, right? This ends in a complete victory for the bounty huntress Ghost Girl, of course: it, however, goes far past this and duels. This is a personal win and nobody can take that back from her.

#vrains #hireshipping #vrainsrarepairweeks #my writing

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tres-spades-hotel · 4 years

Text

Day 2 - Family. Friendship. Camaraderie

Rest

My pager goes off as I am working so I quickly head to the penthouse lounge. Luckily, I was in the process of cleaning the VIP rooms so it took me less than 2 minutes to get there.

‘That was barely 5 minutes! How the heck did you get here?’ Mamoru says.

‘I was cleaning your suite Mamoru.’ He looks away from me since we both know that he has the messiest room out of all the bidders.

I look over to see Eisuke working on his tablet while his laptop was on the coffee table.

‘Coffee?’

‘Oh yes please!’ I take everyone’s orders and go to brew the coffee. When I come back, everyone is busy with something so I hand out the drinks quietly. I go over to Eisuke to give him his coffee. As I stand and hold out his coffee, Eisuke doesn’t take it. I shake his shoulder and he looks up.

‘Just put it on the coffee table.’

‘But there’s no room on the table.’

He sighs and put his tablet down, taking the mug from me.

‘You can go now.’ Is all he says before picking up his tablet again. I frown. I don’t know why but I want more than just ‘you can leave’. So I quickly kiss his cheek. Eisuke smirks and I hear everyone freaking out. Baba even sighs dramatically.

‘If only I had a loving woman like Boss does.’

‘You have to find a woman first who actually wants to be with you. But since you’re so old, that might not happen.’

‘What?!’ While Baba goes into shock, Eisuke gets up and makes a call as he leaves for his suite.

‘He’s really busy,’ Soryu says.

‘Yeah what’s he up to?’ Ota asks.

‘There’s a new business that wants to be a part of the hotel right?’ Baba asks.

I nod in response. ’Yes he’s making a few contracts with them but I think there are some... um, complications.’

‘How long has this been going on for?’ Mamoru asks.

I think for a moment. ’Maybe a few days? I don’t really see him anymore other than when he’s in here. He comes back late and is gone by the time I wake up.’

‘Boss is working too hard.’

‘I know! If I ever find out who that new business is, I’m gonna give them a piece of my mind! Eisuke’s health will... will...’

‘Decline?’

‘Deteriorate?’

‘Worsen?’

‘Yeah! All of those things!’

‘You’re such a doting wife Vivian,’ Baba says.

‘Hey. I’m not his wife… yet.’ I say feeling heat rush to my cheeks.

Eisuke pages me again, this time to our private suite. When I get there, he’s scowling at his tablet. I quickly get his coffee with milk and sugar and put it on the table. I casually sink down into the couch close to Eisuke and stare at him.

His shoulders are tense and he seems tired. I lean over and kiss his cheek again but he doesn’t react this time. I pout and rest my chin on his shoulder but he still doesn’t respond.

I sigh inwardly and pull away. Instead, I thread my fingers through his hair and press my lips to his temple. I feel Eisuke finally relax under my touch. I pull away slowly and see Eisuke’s eyes close. My other hand trails down his arm to his hands and I gently take away the tablet. His shoulders are still quite tense so I stand up and walk behind the couch.

I take his shoulders in my hands and pull him back gently. I start massaging them slowly. Eisuke relaxes even more.

‘Eisuke, are you okay? I hope you’re not working yourself too hard.’ I say, leaning over.

‘I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.’ He says, taking my hands into his.

‘I have to worry Eisuke. I care so much about you that I can’t stand to see you like this. Can you take a break? Even for a few minutes?’ I ask desperately.

‘… Fine. Come here.’ He says, pulling me around the couch to sit on his lap. I thread my fingers through his hair again and pull him to my chest, letting Eisuke hear my heartbeat.

‘It’s beating faster.’ He mumbles.

‘That’s because of you.’ I say, nuzzling his hair with my cheek. Eisuke pulls me closer and relish in his warmth.

The next day, Eisuke comes down with a fever.

‘Eisuke, are you okay?’ Yukari and Eiji come to the hotel when I tell them Eisuke’s come down with a cold.

‘I’m fine. Just… a little under the weather.’ He says, attempting to sit up.

‘Stop. Luke said that you need to rest completely. Which means laying down.’ I push Eisuke back and he frowns at me.

‘Here, let me help Vivian! I’ll get some soup heated up.’ Yukari moves pretty quickly for a pregnant woman as she dashes into the kitchen. Eiji pulls a chair to the bed and sits down, crossing his legs just as elegantly as Eisuke does. He picks up Eisuke’s tablet and starts tapping away at it.

‘Let’s see…’ He mumbles as he looks through Eisuke’s work.

‘What are you doing?’ Eisuke asks.

‘I don’t know if you’ve forgotten Eisuke, but I did run a business before being sent to prison. I’ll handle the contracts, just rest for a few days.’

Eisuke’s frown falls deeper as he watches us fawn over him.

· (EIJI’S POV)

Taking Eisuke’s work has really brought me back to my days when I ran the Kuga family business. It has been quite a long time since then.

I remember when Eisuke was a little boy, I had worked too hard and gotten a fever. Just like Eisuke. My wife would pester me all day about how I needed to take better care of my health. She was pregnant with Yukari at the time too so she became extremely worried. She even chewed my ear off when I laughed at her adorableness. It was her habit to puff out her cheeks whenever I teased her.

Now, with her looking over us, I have much free time. With no business to work for, my condo is my only home. It does feel strange to be out in society again, especially after 20 years of imprisonment. Akira is always beside me though and has given me work in the Ichinomiya Group to do.

That’s why Eisuke’s deal here is nothing but a little run round the park.

Although this particular business is doing my old head in. I arrive at the penthouse lounge to see Eisuke’s friends.

‘Oh, hello Eiji.’ The one in the bright red suit says to me.

‘Hello there everyone. How is my son doing?’ I ask.

‘Vivian said he’s doing better. And his fever went down a little.’ The one called Ota Kisaki says. I’ve heard of him before and Akira has a painting of his in his mansion.

‘That’s good.’ I say, sitting down on the couch and crossing my legs, taking the tablet out and turning it on. I feel eyes on me the moment I do it and look up to see shocked faces.

‘Oh? What is it?’ I ask.

They all look at each other and Soryu, the mobster and Eisuke’s childhood friend (for which I am incredibly grateful for), speaks up.

‘It’s just… you did the exact same thing that Eisuke does.’

‘Oh?’ I ask.

‘Yeah, it’s like seeing Eisuke’s older self or something. Like we’ve gone into the future and Eisuke aged.’ Ota says this with such surprise that I laugh out loud.

‘See! Now it looks like Eisuke’s laughing!’ The young boy points and the detective, Mamoru Kishi, puts out his cigarette.

‘It almost looks creepy.’ He mumbles.

‘I think Eiji looks wonderful laughing!’ Mitsunari Baba says.

‘Thank you Mitsunari. May I ask a favour of you all?’ I ask. They all look at each other briefly before agreeing.

‘From what I can tell, Eisuke has been having trouble and I believe you all would be able to help me in securing this contract.’ I say, looking at each individual in the room.

‘As Eisuke’s father, I’m sure you are just as cunning as he is. I’m in!’ Mitsunari says.

‘Yeah, this’ll be interesting. More blackmail material to use on Eisuke!’ Kisaki agrees; I can tell I’m giving a disapproving look because he clamps his mouth shut.

‘I don’t agree with Ota but I will help Eisuke and his family whenever he needs my support.’ Soryu Oh says, giving me a nod.

‘Man, this is a pain but fine. Whatever.’ Kishi complains.

‘Mamo, we all know you would be the first to come to Eisuke’s rescue.’ Mitsunari teases.

‘Shut up! I would not!’

‘I hope you all continue to work with Eisuke. As a father, it makes me happy to see Eisuke’s friends be so loyal to him.’ I say.

‘Sadly, Boss doesn’t see us as friends.’

‘Neither does Soryu or Kishi.’

‘Only you think we’re all friends Baba.’

‘Damn I’m so tired.’

‘Haha!’ I chuckle upon the realisation that my son has surrounded himself with such colourful characters. I am truly grateful to them for sticking by Eisuke’s side.

· (EISUKE’S POV)

After a few days, I finally recover enough of my energy to come downstairs. And what I see is shocking.

‘Guys! Eiji and I are both old! Eiji’s older than me!’ I hear Baba shriek out more nonsense.

‘Yeah, but he has a better chance at women than you do. I mean look at him! Married with two kids and a successful business.’

‘Are talking about right now?! Cause he ain’t any of that anymore.’ I hear Soryu sigh at the noise Ota, Baba and Mamoru make. But what is so strange, is seeing my own father at the centre of attention.

‘My love life started and ended with my wife. Now, my only love are for my children.’ Eiji says wholeheartedly.

‘Eisuke is lucky to have a loving father.’ Soryu says. In fact, they’re all drinking in the lounge. Without me.

‘What is going on here?’ I demand, nearly stomping down the stairs in frustration.

‘Hey Eisuke! Are you feeling better?’ Ota asks.

‘I’m fine. Answer my question.’ I demand again.

‘Eiji asked us to help you with your problem. And we’ve successfully helped him get a contract ready for you! How amazing is that!?’ Baba says, thrusting a glass of champagne in my face.

‘Eiji. What did you do?’ I go to him, sitting on the couch.

‘I did what I should have done a long time ago. Eisuke, know that you are surrounded by people who love you and care about you. I’ve kept the contract on your office desk.’ He looks at the others.

‘Thank you all for having me here. I feel like a young man again!’ He laughs.

‘Anytime Eiji!’ Baba says.

‘Can we replace Baba with Eiji instead?’ Ota asks.

‘No!’

I can’t believe my own father has been in these clown’s company and actually enjoyed it. What has been happening in my absence?!

And what did he say? I’m surrounded by people who love me? I look at their joyful faces and wonder how such extreme personalities came together. We all had our own reasons for needing the auctions. But that’s all changed. We all crave the thrill it gives us.

But Vivian will always be the one who satisfies all my cravings, physically and emotionally. I look over at her smiling face as she hugs Eiji and Yukari goodbye.

#eisuke #eisuke ichinomiya #kbtbb #kissed by the baddest bidder #kbtbbweek #kbtbbweek2020

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