“She’s not going to disappear if you let go of her hand, Kaoru.” Iori’s father said with a smile as her little brother sat beside her on the bed snuggled at her side.
Iori smiled and her brother’s arm tightened around hers,
“Whenever I get to see Iori it has got to be in a hospital bed! I’m not leaving her again, from now on I’m going to live with her!” Kaoru declared and she heard a caught coming from the general vicinity where Jun and Haruki stood.
“You know you can’t live with your sister whenever you’re back in town anymore. I heard about you imposing on her and this can’t work out anymore, she doesn’t live alone after all…” Her father said reprimanding her brother.
Out of the three of them, Kaoru is the only one whose relationship with their father didn’t suffer a lot. Probably because he was mostly out of town so Kazuma didn’t have many inter
Leaning down toward the small waterway, he scooped some of it and was about to splash his face when he heard his daughter’s voice behind him.“Good morning, dad,” she called out and he turned to see her approaching him with her wide beautiful smile in her red and white kimono that all the temple’s priestesses wear when on duty…She was carrying a towel in her hand and she handed it down to him when she reached him.“Isn’t the water too cold for you? It’s winter after all, you can use the indoors bathroom instead of the stream,” she complained and he gave her a smile after splashing himself with the cold water the shock effectively pitting his brain back into work and waking him up.“I like the cold stream. It wakes me up…&r
The silence that followed Kazuma’s explanation was unbearable. His daughter was looking down at the table her hands clasped together as they had been the whole duration of his tale and he couldn’t decipher her expression from across the table. She wasn’t looking up at him nor was she making any movement other than her breathing that reassured him of her presence. He had expected her to thank him, to cry for this was supposed to be her salvation. But there was none of that… She took a deep breath and sighed out looking up at him her eyes cool as the cold winter air that froze his bones waking him up that morning. She looked at him with a mixture of pitty and anger as she said, “What have you done?” She croaked out as if her throat was parched from hours and hours of screams and wails. “I did everything I could to provide you a better life.” He responded not understanding why his own daughter couldn’t understand what he had done for her.
Another peaceful day in the hospital, Iori was sitting there staring at her laptop stupidly. There just was something about a deadline that made even sickness and injury pale in comparison. Kimiko had insisted that they could extend the deadline until she was recovered. Apparently, the president was ready to delay their book release but Iori couldn’t let that happen.The release date was already too far away and she knew that the sales would be taking a hit if they delayed it anymore. Somehow, thanks to Haruki, they managed to keep her accident from the media, and anyone concerned would be told that she was hospitalized due to overwork.Seriously, she missed living in seclusion. Living under the spotlight was getting to her, it was too tiring and stressful. She missed living in the mountains. Where she was free to roam and no one seemed too concerned about what she did and who she was with…That is if she was still welcomed there…Sinc
Iori stood there rooted to her place. Sometimes her aunt could be too much, she wasn’t easy to understand and Iori had learned over the years to wait for things to unfold before her aunt revealed her intentions.“Iori-sama, you should go back to your bed,” Genta said gently after whispering something to his subordinate who was guarding her along with him, Probably to escort her aunt and Kurumi outside.Sometimes her family could be too overprotective…“you’re right… What am I thinking swinging out of the bed like that,” Iori chuckled and winced when the pain was too much.Genta took her arm and gently guided her back to the bed propping the pillow behind her and covering her. Iori gave him a grateful smile.Seriously, the man was a sweetheart…Iori found herself finding out that she missed some people and small things from back when she was on good terms with her family. As if a veil w
Jun was starting to miss his apartment. Not the apartment he had when he was still living alone, the one he and Iori shared for around two months now.Since Iori had been admitted to the hospital, he hadn’t been back to the apartment except for a few hours at a time. Somehow, the place looked too empty without her. He couldn’t bring himself to stay there while she wasn’t there.He found that he would rather sleep with her at the hospital or back at his old apartment rather than anywhere else. Now, Jun sat at the garden adjacent to the hospital and watched as Iori and Rina took a stroll around talking and laughing.She looked so beautiful with her hair in that long braid that slid over her shoulders. Her bright smile that seemed to shine brighter than ever and the gentle and relaxed look in her eyes as she watched Rina say something, probably recounting a funny story about Haruki. A favorite pastime for both women.Despite the displeasure
“Welcome home,” Jun said as he typed the code into their apartment and opened the door.Iori smiled at him, when did this place start to feel like home? Since when did she start to feel more at ease with Jun than with anyone else.Jun picked her up and she circled her arms around his neck reflexively, It had become a habit for them. After Jun had insisted for the first times and she relented, she had grown used to him carrying her around.Now that she was discharged of the hospital she was okay enough to walk on her own, but, she didn’t find it in her to tell him that. Not that she disliked being held in his arms,Jun carried her to the couch setting her down there and went in search of a blanket for her. He was going to make her into a spoiled plump at this rate.She had refused going back with either one of her brothers or her father to the main house for this very reason. They were all overprotective and she knew that they were
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you there?” Jun asked and she gave him one last glare before picking up her hand bad.Seriously, he was heading toward the danger zone.Before she could swing it over her shoulder Jun grabbed it and opened the door for her.“You’re not supposed to carry anything for a while. You heard the doctor,” He said“Jun. it’s a handbag, not weight lifting tools…”“Still, I will take you downstairs.” He said and Iori followed him with a sigh.He was probably thinking about carrying her all the way downstairs but knew that if he suggested it she would lash out at him. The man was being way too overprotective and it was driving her crazy…“You could have accepted when your father offered to come to the apartment to have a talk. I would have left for a while to let you have your privacy,” Jun said as the elevator door
“She’s the real deal…” Shou said with a wry smile as he spun his mug from the other side of the bar,“She had always been different…” Jun said, “Special even…” Jun said thoughtfully…The café was empty because this was the day that Shun closed it. He had been hounding him to come for a talk since he had heard about Iori’s accident.Since Iori went to talk with her father, Jun decided to take that rare free time and meet with his friend.Jun had been too anxious to leave Iori alone. He knew that he was probably being too paranoid but the thought of her being out of his sight for too long while she was still not recovered didn’t sit well with him at all.Even now, he couldn’t help but fidget. If he didn’t know how Important Iori’s talk with her father was, he would be texting her by now…“Man, she took a bullet for you&hellip