M-married?!

[Hirondelle]

March 22, 2015 (Day 0) – Yamegawa Residence
Afternoon

The Yamegawa Residence, owned by the Yuusei Corporation, will be where our tale will start. Today was a beautiful day in the old city of Kyoto, the contrast with the rain and smog addled American city our two young heroes left a day earlier stark and shocking for the two siblings. The sun was slowly setting, painting the light blue sky in palettes of orange, reds and purples as a gentle breeze brought with its presence the gentle scent of tea leaves and sakura petals. The air was full with the melody of the wind chimes and the soft sounds of artfully orchestrated music coming from the various Okiyas found all over the city.

It was relaxing and tranquil, this scene, but the situation was anything but. Indeed, today would be when the two would learn of their fate, as the two older teens were led to their new home for the next year by their father's business partner's secondary chauffeur, the limousine they were in made of dark leathers and filled with all the luxuries and comfort one could dream of in such an extravagant vehicle. It was half an hour later that they were arrived to their destination and told to unpack and go back into the limousine as soon as they were ready to meet their host for their sojourn in Japan.

The two teen did not know for now, but that meeting would change their whole future irredeemably... for the better of for the worse depended solely on their choices and action.

 

[Caramon Zero]

Drake laid his head on Hannah's shoulder, exhausted from their trip overseas. He never did like his adoptive father's business partner, so living in a place owned by his family made Drake feel uneasy, yet, no matter what was going on, Drake promised himself that he'd protect Hannah with all his might, because she was more than the girl he was raised with as a sister, she was the woman he loved, and nothing he could prevent would ever do her harm. Smiling as he looked up at her, he shifted in the seat and laid his head on her lap, it was warm and comforting, like always, but he still enjoyed being able to be so close to her.

He'd caused her to lose many a friend in their younger years, due to them trying to do things to him, and her fighting them off, which made him become quite attached to her early on, yet, after discovering the truth of his parentage, he'd become distant to her, afraid he may tell her the truth and go too far with the feelings that he'd bottled up for so many years, which he thought would cause her to hate him, the one thing he feared most in all the world.
Being in Japan and away from her parents forced Drake to take on the role of her protector, because he knew that she was easily taken advantage of, and that she always hung around with the wrong kinds of people. Besides, in this entire country, he was all she had, so he decided it best to try and close the gap he'd opened, and become close to her once more, hoping beyond hope that if she ever found out the truth, that she may feel the same about him.

As the limo pulled into the apartment complex, he was both happy and sad, because this marked the day that he'd get to be the one she could depend on for whatever she needed, yet he was still sad that he couldn't stay in her lap just a bit longer.

Upon unloading their luggage, he followed Hannah to her apartment and helped her get her things inside, deciding to help her put them away as well, at least until he could no longer stand the accidentally provacative positions she placed herself in, so he decided to leave to be sure that she wouldn't notice his flustered embarrassment at a problem that had arisen due to seeing such a sight, so he decided to go to his own apartment, which just so happened to be right next door.
After he finished unpacking, he waited outside of Hannah's door, leaning against a pillar holding up the overhang of the porch, hoping that she didn't notice anything from before.

 

[Mistress]

Like Drake, Hannah was exhausted from their trip and it showed with how unusually quiet she was in the limo. This had been her very first international flight so naturally, she felt the whole process daunting. Unaccompanied by their parents, Hannah had no choice but to keep her eyes peeled the whole time for her sake and Drake's. Not that it did much good. Hannah had lost their way three times already in the airport. Imagine her relief when they finally found the representatives of the Yuusei Corporation. Rather, it was the Yuusei who had found them.

She had to admit: she was impressed at the limousine the corporation provided. She rarely had the chance to ride such a luxury though she knew her family could afford to do so. Her mother had made sure they wouldn't grow up too pampered, and unpampered they were. Now, with her parents oceans away, she was ready to take advantage of her family's status. A swig of ice cold strawberry cola on one hand, the surreal view of sunset over cherry blossom trees through the window, her brother safely resting on her lap, she couldn't help but mutter the cliche, "This is the life."

Hannah had not felt the ominous aura that Drake had about their family host. She hadn't met any of the members yet but she believed they must be awfully kind people. After all, they did invite them to live in Japan for a while, plus, offered to take care of everything. How sweet of them! Not suspicious at all!

The apartment complex was just as grand as the limousine but Hannah was just too tired to make a merry fuss at how polished everything looked. She must have looked dead-awful because of the nervous glances from the people who passed them by. Here, too, huh? she sighed gloomily. I guess my bad guy aura is universal, after all.

Inside her apartment, Hannah was grateful for Drake's help in unpacking although she was startled when her brother suddenly bolted off when her underwear came into view within her luggage. "Geez," she called out after him, not caring if the neighbors heard. "They're just my bras!" As usual, she was oblivious to her brother's secret feelings and even more careless with feminine decency. Well, she turned back at her unpacked things, it's not like they're still many left.

It took a while for her to dump her remaining belongings in their proper drawers. The monstrous pile of tangled gadget chargers and wires were a pain to fix but she gave up on them eventually. Satisfied with her clumsy arrangements, she took one glance at the mirror and rubbed her short hair until it was as messy as she liked. Despite the grandeur their family host had shown them up to this point, Hannah still hadn't felt the pressure of dressing up for the meeting later. After all, they must be too nice to care about looks, she thought. So, she left her own apartment wearing the same thing she had on during her flight: a loose black hoodie over a green tank top, tight jeans and a pair of red Converse shoes.

Hannah found her brother right outside her apartment and gave him a carefree grin while locking the door. "Did you wait long?" she asked him while they walked towards the elevator. She had already forgotten the incident with her underwear. "I had to wrestle some of my things," she referred to her wires still tangled on her bed. "Left me quite an appetite, too. I wonder what our hosts would serve us for dinner. I bet it'll be this huge buffet of fancy meat. What do you think?"​

 

[Caramon Zero]

Drake smiled as Hannah opened her door, answering her questions as they stood in the elevator, hoping to take his mind off of the strong sense of uneasiness he felt as they ascended.

"Well, at least you're still the same as ever. Don't you dare ever change who you are, you got that?" he said, turning away from her, blushing. "And you do know that we weren't raised like ordinary rich kids, so if we're dining with his family, we're most likely gonna be dealing with spoiled brats for sure, you know that, right? Over here, we're all we've got, so don't do anything stupid, okay? One last thing, just because our parents were lax with what we wore, doesn't mean other rich families will like having you wear your casuals in front of them. Just because I think- I mean, just because you look good in everything you wear, it doesn't mean that other people will have the same opinions I do."

The redness of his face spread along his ears, appearing almost as if he'd been sunburned, as he looked her in the eyes to confirm that she was listening to him, yet was forced to turn away once more due to how adorable she looked with her 'I'm hungry' face.
"I- I mean- I-...Just be careful, and be sure to stay close to me at all times, alright? This guy may be a friend of your father, but that never means that he's gonna be a nice guy. Just because he's taking us around doesn't mean he's doing it out of the goodness of his heart. Most people don't do these kinds of things unless there's an ulterior motive, so, like I said, stay near me, and everything should be fine."

He gently clasped his hand around her's and looked back down at her, unable to look away, and unaware that the next few lines were said aloud, as a bright smile began stretching across his face as he spoke in a quieter voice than the norm, yet it was still easily heard.

"You've always been there for me, protected me, so it's my turn to return the favor. You're my hero, so I want to become your's. As long as you hold onto me, I'll never let you go, that's one promise I'll never break, even if it kills me."

 

[Mistress]

Hannah had been puffing her cheeks into a childish pout while Drake went on and on about how their family host might be horrible people. "Really, Drake," she playfully pinched his cheek like she always does when he's anxious and assumed a lecturing tone. "You think too much! I'm pretty sure they're nice people. Letting us ride in limos and now treating us dinner, what else could they be?"

The floor numbers above them blinked one by one as they descended to the ground floor. Hannah was softly humming along to the soft elevator music playing in the background when Drake's hand gently found his way into hers. She looked up at her brother and noticed how serious he looked despite the blush that spread across his face, though she assumed it was because of her pinching him earlier.

Drake's words were sweet. Hannah couldn't help but squeeze the hand she held in warm appreciation, still unaware how different his brother had been acting lately. "Idiot," she laughed innocently then stuck out her tongue at him. "It's my job to protect you. Not the other around."

Then, the elevator doors opened revealing the grand lobby they crossed earlier. Their hands were still glued together until they exited the apartment complex and climbed into the already open door of the same limousine they had ridden earlier. She sat at the edge, leaning on the window while watching Kyoto pass them by. For someone who's about to meet powerful strangers, she was completely calm. If she had known what lay ahead, would she have remained her composure?​

 

[Caramon Zero]

Drake sat across from Hannah, hoping to find some way to convince her as to why he had these feelings of unease, and why she should have them as well.

"You're so dense, you know that?
Every time I've warned you about something, you've never listened, then, when I tried to go and help you out of trouble, you always end up pulling my ass out of the fire."

Staring into her eyes, Drake couldn't help what he felt reflect in his own, wishing more than anything that he'd been raised as her attendant rather than her brother, so that she'd understand the true meaning behind his next words.

"You know why I try to look out for you, right?
It's because I love you.
You're so reckless, foolhardy, and downright ignorant to the signs around you, yet despite every I say, you never think anything's wrong until I get into trouble trying to get you out of it.
You remember that time I told you about hanging out with that one group of guys, and then they ganged up on you and tried to hurt you?
Remember what I did?
I followed you, and fought off some of those guys until they started gangin' up on me, which pissed you off, and you beat them bloody.
You never listen to me, despite how much I care about you and how worried I am about you, yet I always try to help you, and you end up saving me in the end.
For once, I wish you'd just trust me on something like this.
If you won't listen to me, then, please, at the very least, stay close to me, grab my hand, and don't let go."

His gaze unwavering, he slowly lifted his hand and gently stroked her cheek, hoping that she at least understood where he was coming from, if not what he was trying to get her to understand.