cashew (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} cashew) wrote,@ 2005-08-12 02:52:00 |
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Engagement - Chapter 04
Title: Engagement
Chapter: 04 – The Introduction
Series: WIP
Rating: Mostly G, with one "bad" word, maybe.
Pairings: None! Absolutely none! Not a romance story!
Summary: Tezuka introduces Atobe as his girlfriend to his grandfather. Atobe plays the part fairly well.
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine. Even the story idea isn't mine.
Author's Notes: Remember this series? No? Okay, I was on hiatus, but this series is now continuing and very close to finishing. Yay! Now read on.
===
Tezuka stared at the biography of “Keiko” that Atobe sent to him earlier. It read:
Atobe Keiko, twin sibling of Atobe Keigo. Her birth was hidden from the media to shield her existence from probing journalists and the world in general. Although she lives a life of seclusion, her parents provided her with the most elite education money can buy. She is well versed in twelve different languages, excels in all musical instruments, calligraphy, and a special talent for singing. Her hobbies include horseback riding, croquet, tennis, tea ceremonies, and embroidering.
The biography goes on to give specific statistics regarding Keiko-chan’s existence, including things such as favorite foods, color, pet peeves, and preferred hair length (15cm, because short hair is the sign of a modernized, yet fashionable, woman). Tezuka groaned and wondered why the biography read like a badly designed character from Urusei Yatsura.
Nonetheless, Atobe had clearly put a great amount of energy into his design of the character for the masquerade, a point that Atobe did not fail to repeatedly emphasize, and Tezuka would do well to put effort into remembering the biography word for word.
Closing the document, Tezuka stood up and prepared for the debut of the long rehearsed introduction of his fictional girlfriend, Atobe Keiko.
Tezuka bid his family goodbye as he walked out to meet Atobe at the previously decided corner of a nearby park, from where the two planned to walk to Tezuka Kunikazu’s dojo, where the introduction will take place. It had taken Tezuka hours of convincing before Atobe had conceded to walking to the dojo instead of being chauffeured as Atobe believed was dignified of his stature.
When Tezuka arrived at the agreed meeting place, he stared a bit blankly at the person standing under the shade of the tree, dressed in a long flowing purple sundress and sensuously sipping a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Upon closer inspection, Tezuka made out the familiar arrogant sparkle amongst the thick mascara.
“Atobe,” Tezuka addressed the figure.
“About time, Tezuka. Ore-sama was well on my way to heatstroke,” Atobe snapped as he fanned himself with a laced fan. “You have no idea what a horrible contraption the corset is, nor the pain that is known as high heels.”
“Spare me,” Tezuka begged and held out his arm, waiting for Atobe to take on his character.
Huffing, Atobe snapped the fingers of his free hand and the ever-present Kabaji emerged from the shadows holding a small tray. Atobe carelessly placed the glass onto the tray then threaded his arm through Tezuka’s.
“Lead the way then, anata (1),” Atobe adopted a high-pitched voice and smiled sweetly.
It wasn’t long before the two boys arrived at the Tezuka dojo, with only small mishap involving a grate and Atobe’s heels. Tezuka had suggested that Atobe should consider switching to flats, which Atobe had turned down with a disdainful sniff and informed Tezuka that “Ore-sama did not practice 15 hours balancing a book on ore-sama’s head while in three-inch heels just to switch to flats.” Tezuka wisely did not make any further suggestions.
Helping Atobe through the door, Tezuka announced loudly into the dojo, “Tadaima!” (2)
“Kunimitsu!” Tezuka Kunikazu greeted his grandson.
“Grandfather,” Tezuka bowed, dragging Atobe with him. He could feel Atobe bowing stiffly beside him, clearly not used to showing deference to anyone.
“Who is this lovely lady?” Kunikazu asked, his voice welcoming and eyes wary.
“Grandfather, I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Atobe Keiko.” Turning to Atobe, Tezuka made a show of the introduction, “Keiko-chan, my grandfather.”
“Hajimemashite,” Atobe demurred softly, keeping his eyes down.
“I see.” Kunikazu didn’t elaborate further, but lead the two into the dojo’s resting room and began preparing tea in silence.
Settling down, Tezuka surreptitiously glanced toward Atobe, who was preparing to seat himself cross-legged. Before Atobe could make a move to lower himself, Tezuka tugged unobtrusively at the hem of Atobe’s skirt. Atobe glowered at Tezuka but took the hint and shuffled his legs underneath him instead.
Finally, as Kunikazu deemed the tea ready for consumption, he slowly poured for his grandson and guest and asked, “Atobe Keiko ka? I don’t remember the Atobe family having another daughter.”
“My father decided to keep my birth a secret, to avoid media exposure or putting my existence into unnecessary danger,” Atobe answered matter-of-factly, the lie rolling smoothly off his tongue.
“That would make sense,” Kunikazu, with nearly 50 years of police experience dealing with abduction cases under his belt, agreed. “But how was it you met my grandson?”
“I saw him during a private interschool practice that my brother, Keigo, hosted,” Atobe began, weaving the story while slowly nursing the hot tea between his hands. “It was by accident that we saw each other and I hadn’t any contact with people other than my brother. It was…refreshing to talk to someone new.” At this, Atobe turned his head and fluttered his eyes needlessly obvious at Tezuka, making Tezuka groan internally.
“Is that so? And why did my useless grandson keep this a secret?” Kunikazu turned to Tezuka for an answer.
“It was at her bidding, Grandfather. Atobe insisted.” Then sensing his slip, Tezuka quickly added, “her brother insisted.”
Kunikazu nodded, looking slowly from one to the other as Atobe glared under his lashes at his companion. Breaking the tension, Kunikazu ventured, “I suppose this is why you were opposed to the engagement then, Kunimitsu?”
“Hai.”
“And I suppose you are going to say you prefer Keiko-chan?” Kunikazu continued with his interrogation.
“Hai.”
“Since you clearly are not satisfied with my choice, then you wouldn’t oppose to agreeing to allow me evaluate yours?”
“Of course not, Grandfather.”
Smiling triumphantly, Kunikazu declared, “Very well, then I shall insist on chaperoning your date, starting now.”
“May I have a minute?” Atobe excused himself with a slight bow and tugged on Tezuka’s sleeve, indicating he should follow, then stood fluidly to walk out.
Tezuka, excusing himself from his grandfather’s presence, exited the room and muttered, “What?”
“You didn’t tell ore-sama that the date was planned for today,” Atobe hissed under his breath while throwing glances toward the door.
“You have the plans, just follow them,” Tezuka hissed right back.
“My people aren’t ready,” Atobe whispered furiously.
“That’s what cell phones are for.”
“Distract your grandfather,” Atobe replied as he turned away to pull out his cell phone. As he walked off, Tezuka could hear the faint crackling of the ear piece and a tiny voice yelling “What the hell do you want now, Atobe?”
~*tsuduku*~
1 – Flattering form of “you” or used by wives to address their husbands. Indicates Atobe over playing his role.
2 – Announcement of “I’m home.”
Title: Engagement
Chapter: 04 – The Introduction
Series: WIP
Rating: Mostly G, with one "bad" word, maybe.
Pairings: None! Absolutely none! Not a romance story!
Summary: Tezuka introduces Atobe as his girlfriend to his grandfather. Atobe plays the part fairly well.
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine. Even the story idea isn't mine.
Author's Notes: Remember this series? No? Okay, I was on hiatus, but this series is now continuing and very close to finishing. Yay! Now read on.
===
Tezuka stared at the biography of “Keiko” that Atobe sent to him earlier. It read:
Atobe Keiko, twin sibling of Atobe Keigo. Her birth was hidden from the media to shield her existence from probing journalists and the world in general. Although she lives a life of seclusion, her parents provided her with the most elite education money can buy. She is well versed in twelve different languages, excels in all musical instruments, calligraphy, and a special talent for singing. Her hobbies include horseback riding, croquet, tennis, tea ceremonies, and embroidering.
The biography goes on to give specific statistics regarding Keiko-chan’s existence, including things such as favorite foods, color, pet peeves, and preferred hair length (15cm, because short hair is the sign of a modernized, yet fashionable, woman). Tezuka groaned and wondered why the biography read like a badly designed character from Urusei Yatsura.
Nonetheless, Atobe had clearly put a great amount of energy into his design of the character for the masquerade, a point that Atobe did not fail to repeatedly emphasize, and Tezuka would do well to put effort into remembering the biography word for word.
Closing the document, Tezuka stood up and prepared for the debut of the long rehearsed introduction of his fictional girlfriend, Atobe Keiko.
Tezuka bid his family goodbye as he walked out to meet Atobe at the previously decided corner of a nearby park, from where the two planned to walk to Tezuka Kunikazu’s dojo, where the introduction will take place. It had taken Tezuka hours of convincing before Atobe had conceded to walking to the dojo instead of being chauffeured as Atobe believed was dignified of his stature.
When Tezuka arrived at the agreed meeting place, he stared a bit blankly at the person standing under the shade of the tree, dressed in a long flowing purple sundress and sensuously sipping a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Upon closer inspection, Tezuka made out the familiar arrogant sparkle amongst the thick mascara.
“Atobe,” Tezuka addressed the figure.
“About time, Tezuka. Ore-sama was well on my way to heatstroke,” Atobe snapped as he fanned himself with a laced fan. “You have no idea what a horrible contraption the corset is, nor the pain that is known as high heels.”
“Spare me,” Tezuka begged and held out his arm, waiting for Atobe to take on his character.
Huffing, Atobe snapped the fingers of his free hand and the ever-present Kabaji emerged from the shadows holding a small tray. Atobe carelessly placed the glass onto the tray then threaded his arm through Tezuka’s.
“Lead the way then, anata (1),” Atobe adopted a high-pitched voice and smiled sweetly.
It wasn’t long before the two boys arrived at the Tezuka dojo, with only small mishap involving a grate and Atobe’s heels. Tezuka had suggested that Atobe should consider switching to flats, which Atobe had turned down with a disdainful sniff and informed Tezuka that “Ore-sama did not practice 15 hours balancing a book on ore-sama’s head while in three-inch heels just to switch to flats.” Tezuka wisely did not make any further suggestions.
Helping Atobe through the door, Tezuka announced loudly into the dojo, “Tadaima!” (2)
“Kunimitsu!” Tezuka Kunikazu greeted his grandson.
“Grandfather,” Tezuka bowed, dragging Atobe with him. He could feel Atobe bowing stiffly beside him, clearly not used to showing deference to anyone.
“Who is this lovely lady?” Kunikazu asked, his voice welcoming and eyes wary.
“Grandfather, I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Atobe Keiko.” Turning to Atobe, Tezuka made a show of the introduction, “Keiko-chan, my grandfather.”
“Hajimemashite,” Atobe demurred softly, keeping his eyes down.
“I see.” Kunikazu didn’t elaborate further, but lead the two into the dojo’s resting room and began preparing tea in silence.
Settling down, Tezuka surreptitiously glanced toward Atobe, who was preparing to seat himself cross-legged. Before Atobe could make a move to lower himself, Tezuka tugged unobtrusively at the hem of Atobe’s skirt. Atobe glowered at Tezuka but took the hint and shuffled his legs underneath him instead.
Finally, as Kunikazu deemed the tea ready for consumption, he slowly poured for his grandson and guest and asked, “Atobe Keiko ka? I don’t remember the Atobe family having another daughter.”
“My father decided to keep my birth a secret, to avoid media exposure or putting my existence into unnecessary danger,” Atobe answered matter-of-factly, the lie rolling smoothly off his tongue.
“That would make sense,” Kunikazu, with nearly 50 years of police experience dealing with abduction cases under his belt, agreed. “But how was it you met my grandson?”
“I saw him during a private interschool practice that my brother, Keigo, hosted,” Atobe began, weaving the story while slowly nursing the hot tea between his hands. “It was by accident that we saw each other and I hadn’t any contact with people other than my brother. It was…refreshing to talk to someone new.” At this, Atobe turned his head and fluttered his eyes needlessly obvious at Tezuka, making Tezuka groan internally.
“Is that so? And why did my useless grandson keep this a secret?” Kunikazu turned to Tezuka for an answer.
“It was at her bidding, Grandfather. Atobe insisted.” Then sensing his slip, Tezuka quickly added, “her brother insisted.”
Kunikazu nodded, looking slowly from one to the other as Atobe glared under his lashes at his companion. Breaking the tension, Kunikazu ventured, “I suppose this is why you were opposed to the engagement then, Kunimitsu?”
“Hai.”
“And I suppose you are going to say you prefer Keiko-chan?” Kunikazu continued with his interrogation.
“Hai.”
“Since you clearly are not satisfied with my choice, then you wouldn’t oppose to agreeing to allow me evaluate yours?”
“Of course not, Grandfather.”
Smiling triumphantly, Kunikazu declared, “Very well, then I shall insist on chaperoning your date, starting now.”
“May I have a minute?” Atobe excused himself with a slight bow and tugged on Tezuka’s sleeve, indicating he should follow, then stood fluidly to walk out.
Tezuka, excusing himself from his grandfather’s presence, exited the room and muttered, “What?”
“You didn’t tell ore-sama that the date was planned for today,” Atobe hissed under his breath while throwing glances toward the door.
“You have the plans, just follow them,” Tezuka hissed right back.
“My people aren’t ready,” Atobe whispered furiously.
“That’s what cell phones are for.”
“Distract your grandfather,” Atobe replied as he turned away to pull out his cell phone. As he walked off, Tezuka could hear the faint crackling of the ear piece and a tiny voice yelling “What the hell do you want now, Atobe?”
1 – Flattering form of “you” or used by wives to address their husbands. Indicates Atobe over playing his role.
2 – Announcement of “I’m home.”