CHAPTER 4
A man in butler suit hastily makes his way down the dark hallway when the news of the daughter of his master ran away from home spread throughout the household. Without stopping for a breather, he knocked three times on the reddish wooden door and stepped inside without waiting for the owner’s permission.
“You call for me, master?”
“Gakuran…” The president said his butler’s name in a slow and gentle voice, unlike the other men working for him. “Do you know where she went?”
“I do not know, master.”
“I see…” The president nod his head slowly before reaching for his cane. He stood up and walked towards Gakuran. Even if his steps were slow and calm, no one can escape the intimidating feeling of the man’s power and authority shown in his every action. The butler ducked his head low, a natural habit he always does whenever the man of power and dignity stands in front of him.
A hand falls on his shoulder. “Look at me, Gakuran.”
As if all his life is dedicated to this man, Gakuran immediately raised his head and faced his master without any objection.
“You know I trusted you more than anyone else, don’t you Gakuran?”
Gakuran wanted to avert his eyes, but the strong stare from his master prevents him from making any movement. He can feel the president’s eyes showing sincerity for that question. Not wanting to disappoint him, Gakuran firmly nods his head.
“Yes, master.”
“Good.” He pats Gakuran on his shoulder before turning around. “Make sure she is safe, Gakuran.”
“Of course, master.”
He took his leave out of the door silently. Closing his eyes tightly, Gakuran inhales a deep breath. He was glad he can hide his emotions well enough in front of the president, but the guilt is slowly killing him.
“Did he catch you?”
Gakuran glanced to his left, a tall and slender woman in a slightly different design of butler suit is leaning on the wall just beside the door.
“No, unfortunately.”
The other butler nods her head, her long hair tied in a pony-tail swayed along. She followed Gakuran closely behind him as they make their way through the silent hallway.
“I’m surprised you managed to get away with that, Gaku-san.”
Gakuran could only managed a nod. His mind is filled with so many things, he didn't feel like he can ever escaped from the master's wrath once he finds out what his personal butler was doing behind his back.
“I wonder if the president was just too oblivious that he trusted you too much… or he’s planning something else ahead.”
The questions had made Gakuran startled. The thought had always been playing in his head, whether the president knew what he was doing. Indeed, he himself knows he is the most loyal out of the others. But he can’t help it when the beautiful daughter of the president, Yuki herself asked him for favors. Even if the president forbids them.
Flashback…The dinner that night went smoothly as both families were anticipating the outcomes of having family and business relations with each other. However, the daughter of Kashiwagi was still oblivious of the purpose of the grand dinner. Her father had never intended to explain to Yuki as he knows his daughter will oppose his suggestion right away. He didn’t want to put his family’s name into shame if his daughter rejected the proposal that determines the ups and downs of his family business, the supposed arranged marriage. Much to his chagrin, he didn’t think Yuki dared to sneak out during the dinner. She had excused herself to the toilet, when she actually intended to run away from the house.
Gakuran who was on watch outside the dining room caught sight of Yuki going the other way instead of the toilet. Out of curiosity, he silently followed the young mistress. Putting the pieces together, Gakuran finally realized the mistress’ real intention.
“Where do you think you’re going, Ojou-sama?”
“Gaku-san!” Yuki turned around in shocked, but calm herself when she found out it was Gakuran. “You surprised me…”
“I’m sorry for that.” Gakuran gave a small bow to Yuki, “But you can’t sneak around like this, Ojou-sama. You’re a grown up now… It’s not a plaything anymore.”
Gakuran remembered the days when they were still kids. The young mistress always had a mischievous side on her, always running and hiding in the hallways and rooms while Gakuran and the other maids worriedly search for her. But due to Gakuran’s closeness with the young mistress, he always knew where to look for the young mistress. However, as they grow, they started to distant themselves from each other; Yuki having loss her mother and Gakuran having been told to treat the young mistress as he was supposed to.
“Gaku-san, please help me!”
Gakuran regretted raising his head as he was rendered speechless from seeing the sadness and desperation in Yuki’s eyes. The young mistress was in the verge of crying, her eyes red and wet with tears brimming. Gakuran remembered this scene, the same thing happened when Yuki just got informed of the news that Haru-san, Yuki’s mother, just died in an accident. The young mistress didn’t cry, nor did she do anything. She just stayed in her room, looking out the window expecting for Haru-san to walk through the large gate. After a few days did Yuki came out of her room, only to hide herself in one of the rooms. They quickly asked for Gakuran’s help to search for her. But what he found was devastating. Yuki was asking for his help to find Haru-san together because she believed her mother is still out there, hiding in a place no one can find. Yuki didn’t cry, only her eyes were red and filled with tears.
“What are you saying, Ojou-sama?”
“Please, Gaku-san… Help me escape from this place!”
“But, Ojou-sama… What about your father? You know what he’s capable of once he finds out about this.”
“I don’t care! I can’t stand it anymore… He can’t decide my future. I have my own life to live!”
“Ojou-sama, I can’t do-…”
“Please! I’m begging you, Gaku-san! You’re my only hope.”
Gakuran closed his eyes for a while before slumping in defeat.
“Fine… I’ll get Cho-san to help you.”
“R-really? Thank you, Gaku-san! I don’t know how to repay you…”
“Don’t worry. I’m obliged to serve the Kashiwagi in any way I can.”
A smile appeared on Yuki’s face as she grasped Gakuran’s hand in thanks, the butler’s heart fluttering from the small gesture of the young mistress. However, Gakuran can already heard the commotion going on from the dining room about the disappearance of the President’s daughter.
“Go to the garden at the backyard. I’ll tell Cho-san to meet you there.”
Yuki nod as she makes her way down the hallway, but not before turning around to give another smile to the kind butler.
“Thank you again, Gaku-san.”End of Flashbacks…“I guess he is indeed oblivious.”
Just like his daughter… Gakuran smiled a bit as his mind played back on what happened last night. It might cost Gakuran her job, her life even. But it was worth everything to see the smile of the young mistress.
“Bet because he’s too old anyway.”
“Hey! Don’t talk like that about master.”
“Hah! Admit it! You’re thinking the same thing… right?”
“Well…” Gakuran rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, agreeing that his master is truly old enough to be a senile old man. The woman snickers from Gakuran’s action, which makes her receive a smack on her head.
“Ouch! What was that for?”
“A reminder to never speak about that again. Seriously, Cho-san… Can’t you be serious once in a while?”
“Tch. I think I’m the one who should tell you to stop being so uptight all the time.”
“Fine, fine…”
“But I’m curious, though… Why did Ojou-sama dared to leave this house? She just needs to marry that guy and that’s it! They can even divorce after a year or after the president is dead, sorry to say that… It’s not such a big deal anyway, isn’t it?”
Gakuran let out a deep sigh, “It is.”
“Eh? Hold on. Don’t tell me… Are you serious?!”
“Yes, you are right.” Gakuran let out a small smile, one can say it was filled with bitterness from first glance. “She’s in love with someone else.”
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Rena watches tentatively from the living room as Yuki prepares their breakfast. She tilted her head in confusion. It’s normal for her to see Yuki cooking while humming some tunes cheerily. But after last night, she didn’t know what to think of it.
“Was it a dream?” Rena thought to herself. Lately, she can’t seem to differentiate dreams and reality since her mind is in a boggle. Some of her forgotten memories had seemed to resurfaced a few times. She’s happy about it but the scenes were still in a fog so she kept it to herself and decided to tell Mayu some other times.
“What are you thinking about, princess?”
Rena was caught startled when Yuki’s face suddenly appeared beside her. In fact, Yuki had already wrap the girl in a back hug but apparently Rena was too engrossed in her own thoughts to realised their position.
“About you.”
“Did you miss me that much?” Yuki smirked as she teasingly poke Rena’s cheek.
“Hmm…” Rena makes a pondering face, “I miss your cooking more.” She pulls out her tongue at Yuki, causing the latter to laugh.
“Good for you then since the feast is already served,
mademoiselle.” Yuki pecked Rena’s cheek lovingly before they shared a smile. Gesturing to her back, Rena quickly stood to her feet to follow Yuki to the table.
“Yukirin…” Rena pulled the taller girl, making her halt her step as she turns to Rena.
“Yes?”
“How… how are you feeling today?”
It was just a question. But the question had made the sunny morning turned gloomy. Yuki averts her stare to the ground, trying to compose herself from remembering what caused her to ran back home through the heavy rains. She gripped her fists tightly, her anger starting to build up again. Rena was terrified when Yuki raised her head and look at her straight in the eyes. It wasn’t the same happy and bubbly Yuki. She was different.
“Y-Yuki? I’m sorry… I d-didn’t mean to-...”
But the dark Yuki had grabbed the poor girl’s hand. Rena was surprised to see the silent Yuki looking at her with the blank face. She tried to release her hand from the tight grip but Yuki wasn’t even budging. Tears were already pooling in her eyes from pain but Yuki keep looking at her like a statue.
“Y-Yukirin? Y-you’re hurting m-me…”
As if a button was pushed, Yuki immediately released her grip. Her blank face quickly turned into a smile, frightening Rena even more. “We should eat before the food gets cold.”
And just like that, Yuki left Rena hanging by herself as she watched the weird girl scooped some food into their plates with a smile plastered on her face.
“Hurry up, Rena. The food’s not gonna come to you if you keep on standing there, you know?”
It was a joke. A deliberate joke that Rena can’t seem to laugh at. However, she faked a smile and slowly made her way to her seat. She had expected the breakfast to be awkward, but it wasn’t. Yuki had turned back into her usual self, making jokes and and telling funny stories that made Rena thought she was just imagining things. There’s not even a slightest sign that Yuki had the intention of hurting her. The girl is too innocent to even kill a fly, let alone to hurt her lover. Rena had wondered whether what happened last night and earlier was just her mind playing imaginary games on her or there’s something definitely wrong with Yuki. But she thought of the former.
I think I need Mayu to do some mental checkups on me.Yuki on the other hand, was trying to fight with her inner turmoil. To say she wasn’t the least affected by the pain she caused Rena was a lie. She knew Rena has all these questions about herself that she can’t seemed to answer, not when she can’t control her emotions. She owed an apology to Rena. She turned to the girl silently washing the plates beside her. She can’t keep doing this to Rena if she wants the latter to love her.
“I’m sorry, Rena.”
“What for?” Rena knew why, but she didn’t want to pressured Yuki. Especially when her head is not in the right mind.
“For everything.”
“I should be the one apologizing to you.” Rena wiped her hands and softly pulled Yuki to face her. She cupped the frowning face, their stares locked into each other. “If it wasn’t for me, you would have been living a peaceful and pleasant life out there. Not running around and hiding like this.”
“You know I couldn’t live without you, Rena.”
“Then stop feeling sorry.” Rena gave her a smile, a smile that never failed to make her filled love and trusted. Yuki is truly grateful to have a wonderful and understanding friend like Rena. Yes, they are friends and it wouldn’t be too long for them to become official lovers soon. Yuki decided to close the gaps between them as she brought her face closer to seal Rena’s lips with her own. However, a sudden vibration from Yuki’s backpocket surprised both of them.
They pulled away abruptly, Rena trying to hide her red cheeks with her hands while Yuki sheepishly looking everywhere except Rena. The annoying vibration of her phone made Yuki groaned. She grabbed her phone and looked at the caller with a glare. She inwardly cursed when the name she least wanted to see appeared on the screen.
“Sorry. Got to answer this.”
Yuki slammed the front door shut to prevent Rena from hearing her conversation as she stood outside of the house. She quickly answered the phone, again with a groan.
“What?”
“Good morning to you too, sunshine!”Yuki rolled her eyes from the familiar loud voice, “What do you want?”
“Oh? I think someone’s in a bad mood. Did I disturbed something?”
Hell yeah you did, was what Yuki was about to yell but she opted to keep it to herself. “We just finished having a wonderful breakfast together. Too bad you’re not with us, Mayu.”
Yuki smirked after she said that. She knows Mayu would at least can affected if she includes Rena in the conversation.
“What? Wait… you’re already home?!”“Yeah. Just got back last night.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? No, wait… I thought the family dinner was last night?”“Well… long story short, I ran away.”
“YOU WHAT?!”Yuki quickly pull the phone away from the high pitched scream, “Don’t make me repeat it again, Mayu. And thank you for making me deaf!”
“Why would you do that?! You know you’re in serious trouble now, Yuki!”“I know, I know. Look, can we save the nagging for later? I don’t want to talk about it here. Not when Rena is around.”
“Oh, speaking of Rena... Is she alright?” “Just the usual.”
“Is she acting strange or different? Like… something’s amiss?”“Nothing out of the norms.”
“Is that so…”“Why with the sudden interest of her?”
“What? Afraid I might steal your girl away?” Mayu laughed but hearing the other line is silent, she cleared her throat.
“I think she’s meet-...”But before Mayu could finished her words, someone bumped into Yuki hard causing her to dropped her phone on the ground.
“Oh! Oh gosh... I’m really sorry!”
Yuki was about to retaliate, perhaps giving a piece of her mind to the guy who can’t seem to mind his eyes on the road. She turned around to shout, but the face of a guilty, innocent girl made her stop from making unnecessary ruckus.
“Oh no… is your phone okay? I’m sorry! I’ll pay for it!”
Yuki picked her phone. She let out a relieved sigh. Nothing serious except for some scratches. Thankfully her phone has a cover.
“It’s fine. No damage done.”
“Thank goodness! I’m really sorry! Usually there’s no one lounging around here.”
Yuki was seriously trying to keep her cool despite the loud voice of this girl trying to apologize. “No, it was my fault. I didn’t see you there.”
“I know.”
The voice was small but she clearly heard it. Yuki thought she caught a small smirk appeared on the girl’s face for a second there but the cap she wear is hiding half of her face. Yuki's eyes followed the girl’s figure as she walked further into the building.
“Hold it!”
The person slowly turns around, a cat-like smile appeared on her face. Yuki reached out her hand with a packet of melon pan she picked up from the ground.
“You dropped this.”
“Oh, did I? I was about to give this to someone... Thanks!”
“No problem.”
“See you around!”
Again, the small smirk appeared on the stranger’s face. It caught Yuki startled with the last words. See you around? Yuki surely didn’t know this person much to see her again. Perhaps it was out of courtesy. Maybe she just moved in the building, that answered the unfamiliar face. However, Yuki can’t help but think that something was really strange about this girl… something that made her feels like she should be on guard all the time.
Her phone rings again, must be Mayu.
“Yeah?”
“What happened? You got cut off.”“I dropped the phone. So what was it you want to talk about?”
“How about we meet later? Just the both of us.”Yuki was always reluctant to leave Rena alone in the house but the grave sound of Mayu’s voice made her think twice. It must be so important and discreet that Mayu wanted to meet her in person to talk about it.
“Sure.”
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The girl stepped out of the shadow once Yuki got into a car that late evening. She pops a mint into her mouth, her eyes following the car until it disappeared into a corner. She runs a hand through her straight, middle-parted short hair.
“Yeah. She just got out.”
One could say she was crazy to be talking to herself. But they didn’t see the concealed wireless set of headset attached to her left ear. She keep on talking with the person on the other line while approaching the front door.
“I’m already there.”
She digs a hand into the pocket of her jacket, the content inside made a smile appeared on her beautiful face.
“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna get caught or anything. You know me that well, Mariko.”
The girl in black leather jacket looked left and right. Noticing an open slit of the curtain on one of the windows, she took a peek inside. Her smile turns into a grin as she observe the person watching the television while clutching a pillow tightly.
Cute.“I mean no harm. For now, at least.” She pushed the doorbell and waited at the doorstep. She can hear the rushing footsteps of someone running inside with a faint voice saying “coming”. The door flung open, revealing a fair-looking Rena looking all glorious even with normal clothes. A bright smile appeared on both faces as they greet each other. If only Rena was a tad bit earlier, she would have heard what the visitor said to the person in the other line.
“Just… wanted to make her life a living hell for a while.”
A/N: Yep, this fic is on hiatus. Trust me. I won't update again until next year. Uh huh.
See ya guys later~ Thanks for reading
REPLIES:@RenshuChan: Ehehehe can I make u suffer into a hobby? Hahaha just kidding~
@Kirozoro: She just ran away from her cold-hearted father, that's why.
@sophcaro: Thank you!!
I'll try to update more...
@kcard: I MISS YOU TOOOOO KCARD-SAAAN
pls don't keep waiting for me I'm an unfaithful person to this forum
So here's your update for this year. See ya another year!
just kidding~
Topic: Wait For Me (RenaYuki/MaYuki/WMatsui) - Chapter 4 [150316] (Read 26538 times)