Mika
was to say the least, shocked at her encounter with Takendo.
And so, in the midst of her daze, she stood there with her mouth wide
open and eyes falling out of her head. She
stared at his concerned expression and his moving mouth and in her trance
thought that this had to be a dream. However,
it was only after some minutes had passed when she realized that he was talking
to her.
“…all
right?” Mika heard Takendo say.
“Wha?”
was her reply as she shook her head, trying to get out of the stupor she was in.
“Are
you all right?” he repeated. His
eyes shone orange in the dimmed light of the hallway, and were looking straight
into her own blue ones.
“I-eh-um
why shouldn’t I be all right?”
“Well,
you looked as if you swallowed a fly,” he said with an easy smile.
“Hmm. I seem to be always asking you that question, aren’t I?”
“What
do you mean?” this was the first time she had ever said anything to him that
seemed a bit more substantial compared to her dazed remarks.
However, her usual defiant attitude was embarrassing her at this point in
time, and in turn, she looked down at the red plush carpet, feeling that her
cheeks were on fire.
“Oh,
you know, ‘are you all right?’ ” he laughed, “Just earlier this morning
you were in a bit of a situation. Are
you better now?”
“…yeah.”
There
was a pause. What should I say?
Mika thought. Hmm. What would Doria
or Okenei say now? Most likely, it would be charming, witty and funny. And that
would be…um…ah… I cant think
of anything! Wait…no, it’s
gone. Well, what about Kisami? What
would she do in my position? Mika pondered on what her best friend actions would
be, but again, was stumped. Kisami
had a quiet temperament was quite a good listener, quite the opposite from Mika
herself. She was a truly
kindhearted person, and already was known for her artistic ability, especially
in the field of sculpture. However,
Mika had no clue what she would say or do.
So,
Mika was utterly defeated. Nothing
she could come up with would impress Takendo, so instead of saying anything, she
sighed.
Takendo,
ever observant, noticed Mika’s sigh and was confused.
Maybe he should say something to break the ice between them.
“So,
what are you doing here?” he inquired.
“Hmm?”
Mika piped. “Oh, just here
because of the family. You know,
when your part of such a prestigious family, you are expected to attend these
absurd and extravagant functions to please the public.
Really though, it would be so much better if I stayed at home.
I would just shame the fa-“ Mika halted, dismayed that she actually
revealed her thoughts to Takendo. She
put a hand over her mouth and felt the heat from her cheek rising.
“I-I
didn’t mean to say-” she started.
“Oh,”
interrupted Takendo slightly uncomfortable but entirely worried. “Eh…you
needn’t be so formal around me. Please,
just say whatever is on your mind.” He looked earnestly into her eyes, and
then suddenly, started to rummage through the black tuxedo he was attired in.
“I-eh-I
have…” he mumbled while he was searching through his pockets.
Mika stared at him in confusion. Finally,
in the inside pocket of his jacket, Takendo produced a pair of sweets wrapped in
a shiny plastic. Putting his palm
with the candy under Mika’s nose, Mika looked up at Takendo, clueless.
“Here,”
he said. “Have one.”
“OK.”
she replies, hesitantly taking one of the wrapped sweets from Takendo’s palm.
Takendo unwrapped the other and put it into his mouth.
Mika copied him.
“Wow!”
she cried. “This is really
nice!”
Takendo
looked happy. “Well, since I had
to attend this dinner party, I decided to bring some sweets to keep me occupied.
I mean, these functions are really boring aren’t they? And the food is
awful.”
“I
know what you mean!” Mika laughed.
“Yep!”
Takendo answered, laughing as well.
“Oh,
that reminds me, what are you doing
here?”
“Who,
me?”
“Well, is there anyone else here?”
Looking
around, pretending to search for someone else, Takendo replied, “Oh, you were
talking to me.”
“Yes!”
“Well,”
Takendo began with a sparkle in his orange eyes, “I’m also here because of
family.”
Mika
frowned. She had not known that the
Hiramoto group was in the same league as the Imonoyamas and so on. Mika was not conceited or haughty about the rank of her
family in society, it was just that she had never seen Takendo at any of the
functions she had attended, and well, she had never heard of the Hiramoto Group
at all until she had known Takendo.
“Why
are you frowning?” asked Takendo.
“Eh? Um, well, it’s just that…”
“Oh,
I see. You have never heard of the Hiramotos at all, have you?” he grinned.
“No!”
she disagreed. “Well, actually…”
“Ah
ha! I caught you out.”
“Um,
well, ah…”
“Sorry.”
he suddenly said. Mika looked up at
him, even more confused then before.
“Why
are you sorry?” she blatantly asked.
“I
embarrassed you.” he said quietly. “No,
the Hiramotos aren’t a prominent or even a wealthy family such as the
Imonoyamas or the Yudaijis. No, we
are just an average family in Tokyo, a working class one.
Nothing like you I guess.”
Turning away from Mika, Takendo began to stare out of
the wall-sized window, looking at the magnificent view below them.
Mika did not know what to do. For
the first time in her life, she felt ashamed of her family, and not ashamed of
herself actually being in the Imonoyama Group.
Running his fingers through his soft black hair,
Takendo faced Mika again, and said, “Well, I guess you’re wondering why I am
here, aren’t you?”
Mika blinked in reply, not trusting her voice to say
anything.
“My father is a reporter and was asked to come here
tonight to do an article on the splendours of the rich and famous.
He asked me to come along and maybe have a taste of the upper-class
society.” Takendo did not say this with any bitterness or resentment.
Instead, it was just a matter of fact for him, and it was this that made
Mika feel for him.
“In CLAMP School,” he continued, “it doesn’t
matter which path you came from, and where your family is in society.
It is your talent that matters. I
guess that is why I like it there, and it was such an honour for me to attend
CLAMP School. My whole family was so happy and proud that I got into the
school, but certain expectations had set in place for me to do well.
I don’t mind it at all, since I have certain expectations for myself.
Hmm, but then there is you, who probably didn’t have any problems with
getting into the school, and it doesn’t matter what you do or how well you go,
since you come from such a prestigious group.”
“No!” Mika cried.
“That’s not true at all!” Surprised at her outburst, Mika took a
couple of deep breaths to clam herself.
“It’s not true at all,” she repeated.
“When you come from my family, there are so many expectations it’s
oppressive. All of my older
brothers and sisters have already made a name for themselves, and most of them
did that when they were my age or even younger.
But me? I have nothing of
any worth. They are all respected
in their field and are in awe of. I
mean, Doria is musician and a protegee. Whatever
instrument she picks up, she can play with perfection.
Also Okenei has already written five best-seller books and the whole
literary world is waiting for her next one.
Reiichirou is the Imonoyama heir, and he has a heap of expectations
placed upon him. But he is fine
with it because he has the brains and the knowledge of the business.
It’s a breeze for him. Then
there is Hiroshii, and he is already a professor in the field of history at the
age of 23. And Nokoru, well, you
already know about him. He owns our
electronic industry and is even head hunted by NASA because of his brains.
And that is just some of my family.
And then there is me. I lack
what they call talent. I am so
average and normal. There is
nothing I am really good at, and I don’t surpass everyone in anything.
I shouldn’t be an Imonoyama. You
know, I was even afraid that I wasn’t going to get into CLAMP School.”
Catching her breath, she noticed that Takendo was
surprised. Smiling in spite of
herself, she said, “So, I do know how you feel.
I may even have it worse then you.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Takendo murmured.
“Still, you shouldn’t be too worried.
I am sure that there is some talent locked away behind your cute face.”
“Eh?” cried Mika as a blush rapidly spread across
her cheeks. However, before an
answer could be made from either of them, the sound of applause interrupted
their conversation.
“We should go back inside, shouldn’t we?” asked
Takendo with reluctance.
“I guess so.”
“Shall we?”
“Hmm, you go on in first. I just need to go to the ladies room.”
“Oh, OK then.” he gave her a last charming smile
and began to walk back into the ballroom. Mika,
biting her lip is excitement couldn’t believe what just had happened.
And as he disappeared into the room, Mika started jumping up and down,
too happy to control her emotions. Clapping
her hands and feeling all bubbly and on top of the world, she looked out at the
scene below her of the lighted streets of Tokyo.
The lights looked like fireflies in the night sky, and the cars reminded
her of miniature toy ones.
Sighing in happiness, Mika started to walk back to
the ballroom. Really, she did not
need to go to the bathroom. She
just needed to calm herself down before she was again on display as an Imonoyama
child. However, she suddenly heard
a noise behind her, and stopping to look around, she saw that a group of men in
black suits were approaching her. I
wonder who they are? she thought.