Beginning of the Game (Yuki)

[HIRO JUN MIZUSHIMA]

First weekend of the summer break. Hiro walked down the steps of his mansion in a bit of a bright mood as he walked down stairs in the empty mansion to the kitchen to get started on dinner. Why you may ask? It was because tonight would mark the beginning of a game. A game that Hiro had been looking forward to. An explanation is probably in order. A few weeks ago an acquaintance put him up to a challenge. The challenge being that he could make a certain thunder fall for him. This same thunder has been basically a person that Hiro had not liked very much. His challenge was to get one Yuki Akiyama to fall for him.

Was it a dick thing to do? Absolutely, but the challenge was so enticing to Hiro that the eviler side of him couldn't pass it up and that led to tonight. A small dinner between the two. The opportunity presented itself a few weeks ago when Yuki had the misfortune of spraining her ankle outside the faculty lounge when Hiro happened to be there. Basically in return for helping her out she agreed to the dinner and Hiro was more than pleased because then his game would begin. If he was going to have any chance of making this work he had to play nice and obviously impress her. That didn't showering with gifts because Yuki was not the type of person. It was going to take a bit more than that.

He was lucky to get the house to himself he thought as he prepared the night's meal. Creamy cajun chicken pasta. He also pulled out one of the red wines from the collection to add to the mood. With the food nearly ready, table set, Hiro went to get dressed out. It didn't take long to do that. With a final look in the mirror he sported black pants and jacket with a white dress shirt. His hair in the sort of messy, attractive look that he liked. When he was to his satisfaction he went back downstairs. He finished setting the table and poured the wine. As he finished doing that as if on cue the doorbell rang. A small smirk grew on his face as he put the bottle down. He walked to the main door with a light hop in his step and opened it. "Evening Yuki. You look ravishing. I hope you're hungry."

[YUKI ROZU AKIYAMA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true] ★ I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE WHEN YOU WALKED IN ★ [atrb=style,width: 415px; background-image:URL('http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s445/welshling/nebula_rcw49_04lrg.jpg'); border: dotted 6px #A17FA3; true;] ✯ HIRO ✯ “Thank you for the compliment.” Yuki said, her normally straight hair was up and a few loose strands decorated her neck as she slipped into the house politely wearing a red dress that matched the flower she'd placed in her hair for the occassion. The bracelet she wore in honor of her grandmother gleamed brightly and she rubbed her wrist with a nervous twitch as she looked him over and smiled weakily. Exhaling she moved further into the house feeling further uneasy as she glanced about. She didn't trust him, he'd been so cruel to her how could she? He was known to be a sadistic jerk and she would be unwise to leave a lifetime of fighting for this supposed new leaf he was turning. “So what brings you to this change in personality? Are you dusting it off like people do summer cleaning?” the tone was light but as she made her way to the dinner table she wondered what he had in store. There were no pins in her chair, no spiders or snakes. The food looked decient. This had to be a trick. Why on earth would he bother? This made her very uncomfortable and she resisted the urge to bolt and run the other way. This was not what she wanted to be doing. She should be with her grandmother not wasting her time with a man who hated her. Part of her hated herself for being so cowardly and chicken. She needed to be braver than this. The truth was she was terrified of liking him. It would be like carving part of her soul out of her body. Sitting down she closed her eyes a moment then took a sip of wine to give herself courage. It was very good and if she wasn't careful it would sneak up on her. "What if he drugged the wine?' she ideally thought as she blanched a bit and set the glass down. She was a wreck and only years of training kept it from showing. ★ NOW YOU PUT ME DOWN ★ template by rach

[HIRO JUN MIZUSHIMA]

Well, he wasn't completely lying. She didn't look half bad. A bit more dressed up than what he'd normally see but it didn't matter really. He'd have to play nice regardless of how she was dressed. She probably could have come in jeans and a t-shirt and he would still have to have been on his best behavior regardless if he was going to make this plan work at all. He just let her walk in and into the dining room as he closed the door. He was only a few steps behind her as he went over things in his head. This was merely step one in his plan, of course he couldn't rely on first impressions considering how long they've known each other and the baggage in their pasts. The idea would be to get her to believe that he had turned over a new leaf. That would be the only way for him to actually gain her trust. Of course that wouldn't be easy, far from it. Then again though that was half the challenge and what had made the entire deal so enticing in the first place. If it would for that he'd probably never have bothered in the first place.

He found it very amusing though, how cautious of everything she looked. He wasn't surprised, what would you expect from years of torment when you thought about it. "I just thought that perhaps it was about time that we put the past behind." He said nonchalantly. "It was all a bit childish don't you think, all the bickering. If I learned anything from our kiss it was that perhaps there's to us than endless bantering." He would admit only to himself that there was a light spark that had flown through him that day that he stole a kiss from Yuki. Then again it could have totally been Yuki's thunder power that had caused it or he could have completely been imagining it. That wasn't an impossible notion after all. Since then though they had crossed paths a few times, a few interesting situations, one of which had led them to this evening.

He served them both a plate of pasta, placing one in front of Yuki and the other in front of himself before taking a seat. He was very proud with his meal, not that that was anything new. He was always proud with his work. As he was settling in he observed Yuki. He leaned forward in his chair and couldn't help hold back a smirk. "It may do you good to relax a bit. If I really wanted to do something to you I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble. Trust me." he said before taking a drink from his wine. Wine always helped him feel relaxed, perhaps it would have the same affect on Yuki. "Just think of tonight as you repaying me for my assistance. Nothing more, nothing less." he said before leaning back in his chair. He picked up his fork and didn't waste another second before taking a bit of his food. The taste was fantastic if he did say so himself. "I promise its not poisoned either. Of course I did add a bit of spice to give it an extra kick." he teased before taking another bite from his food then sip from his glass. "Did you tell your family you were dining with me this evening?" he asked curious. Hiro had always been on good terms with Yuki's family, as far as he could tell they liked him very much even if he didn't always get along with Yuki. Okay, scratched he basically never got alone with Yuki but Hiro's charms had earned him their favor. He could only imagine what they could have said if they had know about this evening. "You'll have to give your grandmother's my best wishes. How has she been?"

[YUKI ROZU AKIYAMA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true] ★ LYING IN MY BED I HEAR THE CLOCK TICK AND THINK OF YOU ★ [atrb=style,width: 415px; background-image:URL('http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s445/welshling/nebula_rcw49_04lrg.jpg'); border: dotted 6px #A17FA3; true;] ✯ HIRO ✯ “It was childish but it doesn't mean I trust you. That kiss was probably just due to my powers so don't get too hopeful. We both know you had pissed me off and it bled into my powers.” She wasn't going to see it as anything else. Emotionally the idea that she could be attracted to the guy that treated her like crap was too distressing. It meant she was some kind of messed up desperate masochist if she liked him. She liked to think she had some standards. She turned and looked at him, it was clear from her expression she did not believe him. She'd been played before and didn't want to be hurt again, that memory still stung and she shied away from it, “You're known to be a sadistic jerk when I'm around. Why should I think you'd do anything nice? For all I know you planned on taking photos and uploading them to youtube to humiliate me.” "Of course not. My grandmother is dying and you think I want to get her hopes up? It would kill her to think we had something when we don't. I won't put her through that. I realize you may be a jerk to me but I'll be damned if I let you drag my family into your bs." she got up and turned away, food untasted as she tried to compose herself she stared at something, anything so long as it wasn't him. She closed her eyes and willed calm back into herself. "This was a mistake. I shouldn't be here. My grandmother is sick. The chemo is making it really hard for her. I should be helping her not fighting with you. I'm sorry." her voice broke and she found tears trailing down her face, "I have to go." she said, her voice cracking as she went to blindly grab her purse. ★ TURNING IN CIRCLES, CONFUSION IS NOTHING NEW ★ template by rach

[HIRO JUN MIZUSHIMA]

"Dear Yuki. Always the mood killer aren't we?" he joked. In his eyes it was true. It was one of the things that he always disliked about her. He was always about having fun and disregarding the rules when he wanted and then there was little uptight Yuki that could kill a mood with a single gaze. It irritated the hell out of him and thus his taunting. He just couldn't understand it and it annoyed the hell out of him. "Well, whatever helps you sleep at night my dear." he teased. He knew that she had to have thought about him since that kiss and not in just the hateful way. Not the way they kissed that day.

Her expression screamed that she wasn't biting. Of course this wouldn't be easy. She never made anything easy. He wasn't surprised. It just meant that he would have to continue playing the good boy if he was going to get anywhere. "Now, now. If that had ever been my true intention you would have been quite aware of it by now. So obviously I've been on my best behavior." This was the truth. At least to an extent. He was trying.

Then she brought up her grandmother again. Memories of the few times he had meet the sweet elderly woman. She really was a kind person. Despite Yuki's and his relationship he did hold a high respect for the woman. Of course sadly that respect wasn't exactly doing anything to stop his plans for Yuki at the moment. Should the guilt be kicking in because it was taking a rather long time to do so. If it had perhaps he wouldn't even bother with tonight and would end this entire thing but then that would mean he'd lose. Something he wasn't very fond of doing. Of course Yuki wasn't making things easy. She never did. He just took a drink from his wine as she got up and turned away from him. Next thing he knew she was going to start leaving. Looks like it was time to up the ante. With a sigh he quickly got out of his chair, walked towards her, twirled her around to face, placed one hand on her neck and the other on around her waist to pull her towards. Then without another second he was planting a kiss on her lips just like the last time.

After a few more seconds of this he softly broke the kiss and looked into her eyes while wiping the tears away from her face with his thumb. "Same old Yuki. Taking on all the burden without question and never asking for help." he said with a sigh. "I lost both my parents the same night when I was eighteen. The first thing I decided to do was to raise my sister on my own despite the fact that my relatives said I couldn't. Taking care of the life of another without hesitation and help. The task we both took without a doubt a mind. I guess we're a bit more alike than we care to admit." he said with a light smile before releasing her. "Now, I'm fairly certain that your parents and grandmother would not be pleased to find out that you left without even touching your plate. After all the work I went through. Now sit and eat and if the first thing you want to do is to leave when you're done then by all means."

[YUKI ROZU AKIYAMA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true] ★ SO HERE WE GO ★ [atrb=style,width: 415px; background-image:URL('http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s445/welshling/nebula_rcw49_04lrg.jpg'); border: dotted 6px #A17FA3; true;] ✯ HIRO ✯ “Oh come on, Hiro. There is no way my looks could ever compete with your mirror. I don't see a reason to pretend I would even get a second glance.” there was a bitterness to her tone as she sighed softly and massaged her temples. She ignored his other quip she wasn't in the mood for his attitude. She was too upset to think much about what she expected here. She really just wanted to go home with a book and leftovers. She felt him spin her around and she gasped, her dress swirling around her body as she felt that rush of warmth and heat envelope her again. Her world was in a spin and she didn't know how to right it and didn't know if she wanted to. She leaned into him and clutched his back for support as she felt her legs go to jelly, she'd never experienced anything like this, she thought it was the stuff of books, “There wasn't anyone to tell. My father is torn up about it and mother is trying to help him cope.” She leaned against him and ducked her head as he spoke softly. She wanted to just stay and be comforted. She couldn't remember the last time she'd hugged someone. Eventually she did go back to her seat and sat down at the table, “I'm sorry for being such a drag. Its just...hard. I start to have fun and then I feel guilty. I mean who am I to have fun when my grandmother is sick? Its hard. I want to make my family proud of me. We have so much I don't want to take it for granted. That's why I worked so hard in school." She began to sample her spagetti and after swallowing a bite she smiled genuinely, “This is fantastic. You should have been a chef. she said sincerely. “How are you and your sister doing? I know it might not be my place to ask but I know you took a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. I think its really a great thing you did. Not many folks would." she said as she tried to lighten the mood. She was awkward of course. She wasn't used to letting her guard down around him. ★ WHO KNOWS WHERE? WHO GOES THERE? ★ ♥ I am so loving this thread! ♥ template by rach

[HIRO JUN MIZUSHIMA]

Okay, so maybe the kiss was a little "Gone With the Wind". He may be over doing it some but it seemed like it was working so what could he really complain about. He could feel her melting in his arms as he kissed her, her hand holding onto him to keep herself from falling to the floor he assumed. He may take great care of his looks but she was wrong about her little remark. She stood a pretty good chance. It wasn't like she was hard on the eyes or anything. A light smirk grew on his lips when she wasn't looking and stayed in his arms. Looks like his charm was working after all. The smirk disappeared before he released her and led them back into their seats.

Once he was settled he picked up his glass to take a drink. "I have no doubt that your grandmother is very grateful for all that you do for her but I think I know her well enough to say that I doubt she'd want you sacrifice yourself all the time just for her. Do you honestly think she'd be happy to know that you refuse to let yourself have any fun because you're always worried about her." Her grandmother was such a sweet woman. She only ever complimented Hiro and how could he be anything but kind to the elder woman. Of course he wasn't exactly being all that respectful to her considering his intentions now was he. Hiro was such a devil.

He smiled at her comment. That was probably the first time he could ever remember her giving him a sincere smile and compliment. Maybe he was doing better than he had thought. "You have my mother to thank for that. She always stressed the importance of a good home cooked meal and I always believed that she would come back to haunt me if I didn't see to it that Isabella had a proper meal." he joked. Meal time had always been a good time in the Mizushima household since his parents always made sure that everyone ate at the dinner table. Hiro remembered helping his mother out in the kitchen and her teaching him different things.

He wiped his mouth after taking a bit from his plate. That was when Yuki asked about him and his sister. Hiro normally didn't talk about that with others. He wasn't exactly one to be sharing his feelings all that often but considering things perhaps it would help his plans to do so in this case. "We're managing just like we always have." he said with a soft smile. "If only my relatives would have seen it that way. Even though my parents had left her in custody my relatives were rather adamant about 'how considering my age I was in no position to take care of a child and how it would be in Isabella's best interest to go live with my maternal grandparents.' "he said with a light chuckle as he quoted his uncle's very words as he remembered that night that he basically had to fight them to keep Isabella. "But I figured my parents granted custody to me because they knew I'd keep us together. I mean this place, even though it would be a little emptier, it was our home. The thought of allowing someone to take Isabella away from here was unbearable. I used to debate sometimes if I did the right but Isabella seems to have turned out all right." he joked a bit at the end. Hiro had a hard time talking about the things that made him doubt himself and it was definitely weird talking so openly with Yuki at the moment but if it worked in his favor then so be it.

[YUKI ROZU AKIYAMA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true] ★ I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE WHEN YOU WALKED IN ★ [atrb=style,width: 415px; background-image:URL('http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s445/welshling/nebula_rcw49_04lrg.jpg'); border: dotted 6px #A17FA3; true;] ✯ HIRO ✯ “I just worry that the one time I'm not there she'll need me for something. Or she'll die. I have nightmares about it.” Yuki admitted with a shiver as she exhaled and looked up at him. “I always knew you could be nice to other people. Just not to me.” She said as she looked up at him and blushed. They had always been at cross purposes. She knew she was part of the problem but she didn't know how to fix it. In all honesty she was afraid. He was so different she couldn't see how they could make it work. "I think its hard for anyone to raise a sibling. You seem like you managed it pretty good. I...never knew how to balance things. Every time I tried to let my hair down it was a mess. It never ends well." she murmured softly as she tried to focus on eating her food and enjoying the meal. "I'm sure you did fine. You managed better than I would have. I couldn't even find a guy to date that was decent. Last one was seeing 2 other women and I only found out about it when one of them tried to jump me in the washroom claiming I was the "other woman" turned out he was playing all these women for their money. I was just one in a long line of girls I was stupid." she took a sip of wine to help bolster her courage, figuring if he could confess a few things so could she. "That's why I avoided you. I figured you had found out and would laugh at me." she rubbed the back of her neck shyly and began to focus on her meal in earnest. Not wanting to risk seeing a smirk on his face. This was one meal not a relationship. ★ NOW YOU PUT ME DOWN ★ template by rach

[HIRO JUN MIZUSHIMA]

Hiro couldn't blame her for feeling the way she did. His parents had been taken from him in a single night without any warning or chance to say goodbye to them. It wasn't as if they died of old age. They had been hit by a drunk driver. Neither of them making it to the hospital. "Your grandmother is one of the most stubborn women I know. She wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to you one last time." Her grandmother was a feisty woman. He'd known her as long as he'd known Yuki's family. It came with the territory of being in a wealthy business family. Meeting and knowing people came in with the package. "Well, I guess we never gave each other the chance to see how things may have turned out." He wasn't sure if that sounded more like an excuse. When you thought about he hadn't exactly tried to be Yuki's friend. He had never found her very worth the trouble. "But perhaps it was about time that we actually did.
"

Taking care of Isabella was never a cake walk. Here was this young girl being raised by what many would still consider a child even if he was eighteen at the time. His relatives at least made it seem that way. "Well, it had been no cake walk but we both managed. Patience definitely had a huge part in it." Hiro took a drink from wine. The drink was tasty. He thought about what Yuki had said. "The problem is you think too much. I'm not saying that it's a completely bad thing but if you always over think that something bad will happen you may miss out all the good things that can happen." Basically the reason why Hiro used to be so reckless and carefree. It was because he hardly ever thought or really cared about the consequences of what his actions would bring. It was why he did what he did so willingly.

Now this was interesting. Yuki had a love life? Even if it did sound rather sad and pathetic it was interesting none the less. "Well, you're not the first one to be sought after for your money. Or in my case it was my father's business favor. You just learn to weed them out with experience." he said nonchalantly, with a bit of mischief. Oh how it was fun to be able to figure out if someone was trying to playing you because then you'd be able to play with them and watch their plans backfire. Such joy. His smirk didn't fail to appear. "Well, my dear, I won't lie and say I probably wouldn't. Despite though I'd hate to see you give up on love simply because of some sad, pathetic excuses for men that don't know how to properly treat a woman, especially one as pretty as yourself." the charm was coming out, it was a question of whether she'd take the bait. "No one ever said that the game of love was easy nor simple. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try." he said before taking another bite of his food. He was nearly done with his plate and there was probably another maybe ten or twenty minutes depending on how eager Yuki was to leaving. He'd have to make sure that if she did leave that he left an affect on her to give him a fighting chance to his plans.

[YUKI ROZU AKIYAMA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true] ★ I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE WHEN YOU WALKED IN ★ [atrb=style,width: 415px; background-image:URL('http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s445/welshling/nebula_rcw49_04lrg.jpg'); border: dotted 6px #A17FA3; true;] ✯ HIRO ✯ “I just worry that the one time I'm not there she'll need me for something. Or she'll die. I have nightmares about it.” Yuki admitted with a shiver as she exhaled and looked up at him. “I guess you are right. Its just something I have to work at.”To his comment of getting to know each other better she shrugged, "We will just have to see how it goes." she said cautiously as she regarded him a bit guardedly. "Perhaps you are right." she squirmed a bit awkwardly. Everything in her mind was fighting this and it frightened her. She exhaled softly as she finished her food. There was a lot to process tonight and she still expected him to turn on her. "I'll believe it when it happens. I've seen what "love" got my parents. They both work and barely see each other. I don't want that. I want someone that wants to be with me. I'm no ones trophy wife." she said firmly as she kept her head down and focused on her food. She placed her fork down after she was finished and sipped at the remaining wine. She really was worried but the wine was relaxing her. Slowly she began to let her guard down. ★ NOW YOU PUT ME DOWN ★ template by rach

[HIRO JUN MIZUSHIMA]

"You can't fearing what's going to happen. If you live with nothing but worrying about what's going to happen next you're not really living." Hiro didn't get people that were constantly worried or scared about doing things because of what could happen tomorrow. How can a person live if they were constantly concerned about what would happen next? You couldn't. At least Hiro never thought you could. If he did how could he have manage to raise Isabella. He couldn't think like that. He had to take it a day at a time if they were going to be able to pull through it.

Hiro wasn't expecting her to be throwing herself at him or anything. That would be way too easy and no fun. It would take away the challenge and thus he was okay with the fact that she was still very much on guard. She was probably expecting him to still pull some stunt on her but she'd be disappointed. The point was to stay on his best behavior. "No you are not my dear. A piece of advice though, it could help if you weren't always so guarded. As much as it pains me to say this, allowing yourself a little room to be vulnerable does wonders." Letting people see him being vulnerable was not something that Hiro was very fond of. He completely detested the idea of it but he has found that a few times where he did allow himself to show a bit of vulnerability wasn't completely horrendous.

With both of their plates done Hiro finished up the rest of his wine. "See, dinner wasn't so bad was it. I told you I could play nice when I want to."

[YUKI ROZU AKIYAMA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true] ★ I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE WHEN YOU WALKED IN ★ [atrb=style,width: 415px; background-image:URL('http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s445/welshling/nebula_rcw49_04lrg.jpg'); border: dotted 6px #A17FA3; true;] ✯ HIRO ✯ “I will have to work on it. Changing how I do things is going to take time.” She admitted softly, but with a tenative smile. Offering him an olive branch of a sorts. It was hard not to. “Being vulnerable is not something I excel at. Especially near you. You always make me feel like you're a dragon that's going to set my hair on fire out of spite." Hey it was honest. It might not be the nicest thing to say but it explained part of her reaction to him. She just knew there was something about this man that would change her life and that terrified her in a way nothing else had. She needed to get a handle on that real quick. She did manage a smile to show him she wasn't trying to cut him down but just let him know how she felt. “It was better than I hoped. You are a fantastic cook. Better than I am in any case. I think I can tenatively contemplate staying for a bit." she teased him lightly as she looked up at him. The first steps in a relationship that would go in many directions in their future. “I thought you liked being the big bad wolf, Hiro? Was she flirting? Hell yes but she told herself it was the wine and stress from her life. It wasn't HIM after all. ★ NOW YOU PUT ME DOWN ★ template by rach

[HIRO JUN MIZUSHIMA]

"No one said you could change overnight but it may turn out for the best in the long run." He knew this well. Even after his parents had changed he had done a complete 180 in a day. He had to shape up for Isabella's sake but it hadn't been something that he could change with in a second. It had been a long process and anyone that had known Hiro long enough would know that Hiro has chnaged. He isn't perfect or a saint. He still has the mischievous and bit more meaner side to him but he never claimed to have become an angel.

"Dragon huh? Not the first time I've heard that one before." He could think of someone else that would have thought the same as Yuki, and he didn't like that person all that much. "But to damage such pretty hair. Even I have my limits Yuki." he joked. Even his jokes had their limits and lines that Hiro wouldn't cross. Then again he was probably a bad judge of character considering things at the moment.

Yes, the compliments went to his head but it wouldn't be the first time that that happened. He smirked at her comment. "Don't get me wrong. Being the big bad wolf has it's perks. Much more fun being the hunter rather than the hunted, but sometimes the best way to get what you want is to hide in sheep's clothing."

[YUKI ROZU AKIYAMA]

He was being charming again. Moreso then she was used to. "Well if the shoe fits, Hiro. she said lightly, "I'm too used to being mocked by you to drop it so easily. This, all of it is going to take time. I can't just flip my feelings on and off like a switch. she admitted honestly as she looked up at him and sighed softly.

"Is that what this is? Being a wolf in sheep's clothing to play me, Hiro? she asked him softly as they walked to her car slowly, "Because honestly I don't have time to waste. she said to him as she looked up at him, "Life is too short to play games. If I've learned anything its that much from my grandmother's illness." She sighed softly and regarded him quietly as she looked up at him when she got into her car, "I need to go. Thank you for the food." she said softly as she looked back at him from the open window of her car.