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 Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:23 pm
 Uzamaki Toshiro's ears still rang with the berating his mother had done at him over the phone the first thing the morning after his. His head still ached with the hangover that lingered as he walked with hurried steps to the home that the girl he was to marry lived in. The funny thing about Toshiro was that he never felt his thoughts were clearer than the day after he'd drunk himself into a stupor.
And he'd continued drinking alright, right until he'd passed out from the level of liquid courage coursing through his blood. Until he'd got the call around noon from his mother, he didn't even remember what he'd done the previous day. But once he'd woke up, he was more than alert and things began to come back to. Toshiro regretted, to the very center of his body the way he'd done to the young, beautiful girl.
After he'd showered, he'd made sure that he looked the best he could. He'd shaved the week's stubble from his face and artfully arranged his hair to look messily sexy. He'd put on a bit of cologne and was ready for the day. And now, here he was already outside of the house with the Unagi and a bouquet of pink roses in his hands. With a steady hand he reached out and rang the doorbell.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:05 pm
After the whole incident at the sushi restaurant with Toshiro, Nishimura Atsuko's day seemed to drag on all the longer. Her father was furious when she explained to him what had happened. No one had touched her like that before. If he ever did it again, her father said, regardless of the fact that he was her fiance, then there would be trouble. Her mother, on the other hand, was not angry at all.
Far from it, in fact. Mrs. Nishimura, who had been a longtime friend of Toshiro's mother, was concerned for the boy. "Poor boy, no wonder he drank so much. He never comes out of his home! He needed something to get him through the ordeal." After a good hour or so of her mother's worryings, Atsuko had to excuse herself up to her room. There was only so much she could take, and that had been more than enough.
Now it was the next day, and the young girl had holed herself up in her room. Both of her parents had pleaded and pleaded for her to come down, but it wasn't enough. She was staying put. Besides, everyone needed some time to themselves once and a while. This way, she'd be free of their ramblings: over Toshiro, over her grades, about her appearance. Nothing (aside from her fiance) was ever really good enough for her parents. They expected a lot out of her.
Since it was the weekend, Atsuko didn't have to worry about school. Thank God! Instead of usual school uniform, she was wearing a yellow sleeveless woven dress featuring floral crochet-lace accents. It was a new dress -- she had just bought it on a recent shopping trip with her mother. She was sitting at her desk off in the corner. In front of her sat various sheets of rice paper, ink, and numerous sized brushes. She had been practicing her calligraphy, which had been a hobby of her's ever since she could remember. Sometimes, she could spend an entire day working on calligraphy, and today was one of them. There was no way she was coming out of her room.
Back down the stairs, the ringing of the doorbell had not gone unnoticed. Atsuko's mother, Nadeshiko, had opened it promptly when it rang. Her face was expressionless when she opened it, but immediately brightened up at the sight of Toshiro. "Ohhh! Toshiro-kun," she chimed, "come in! Come in! What a wonderful surprise!" Always the warm and caring mother. In the back of her mind, she just hoped Atsuko wouldn't mind him showing up. Judged by how Toshiro was looking, however, she probably wouldn't care at all. He was quite handsome today.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:07 pm
Bowing to Mrs. Nishimura he said, "I apologize for stopping by without calling. I feared that if I did you wouldn't let me come. I behaved rather awfully." He dunked his head, waiting for her to scould him as his mother had done. While he might not have seen Atsuko in many years, he'd seen Mrs. Nishimura recently whe he'd gone home to see his mother. The two had been gossiping over a cup of tea, as was their norm. Whenever he went home, it always seemed that aunty Nadeshiko was there. The two had to plan it. "I also apologize for how I acted yesterday and beg you to let me see your daughter." His voice waivered a little as he spoke the last bit.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:14 pm
Atsuko's mother couldn't help but blink in surprise at her future son-in-law's words. She wasn't upset with him at all, not in the way his mother was, at least. To Nadeshiko, Toshiro's actions were understandable, even if they weren't in the best of taste. It must have been frighting for the boy to go out of his apartment and down to the sushi shop to meet Atsuko. It took a lot of courage on his part to be able to do so.
"C'mon in, dear," Nadeshiko said warmly while stepping inside to let the young man in. "You do not need to beg in order to see Atsuko - you are her fiance, after all." A gentle hand reached up and patted him on the shoulder when she said this. "I'm not mad. Masahiro wasn't in the best of moods when my daughter explained what happened, but he is at work right now, so you don't need to worry." With that, the housewife motioned over toward the stairs. "Atsu is in her room, if you'd like to go see her. Last door on the left side of the hall."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:45 pm
Toshiro walked through the door with somewhat nervous feet. He wasn't looking forward to talking with his fiance, but he had to make sure that everything would be okay between the two of them. "Thank you Aunty Nadeshiko-sama. I'll go up to speak with her then. I'll also make an apology to Uncle Mashiro-sama when he gets home." He said before he bowed again to his mother's friend before going up the stairs and stumbling a little on the last step. He was nervous and it threw off his rhythm. When he knocked on the door to her room, his hands were sweating awfully and his heart beat an unsteady rhythm. He clutched the take out bag and roses in his right hand as he waited on his fiance to answer.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:52 pm
The door didn't open right away. On the other side, Atsuko was fumbling to put all of her calligraphy things away and back in their proper places. She frowned, shuffling the various pieces of rice paper together and placing everything on top of her desk before she was finished. If there was one thing her parents didn't like, it was a messy room. There. It was all back to normal, nice, neat and pretty.
"Coming!"
The door handle turned, and then the door was opened. Expecting to see either her mother or her father, the high schooler was surprised to see who was on the other side. It wasn't either of them. Toshiro was standing there with a bag and flowers in his hand. Not someone she thought she'd see at all. Without saying a word, Atsuko stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. The least she could do was hear what he had to say; that was the polite thing. When he was done, then she could kick him out.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:08 pm
Toshiro was surprised that she even opened the door, much less was going to let him in. When he walked into the room, he turned back to offer her the bouquet and the bag. "I brought you your Unagi. . ." He stared into her eyes for a minute before dropping his head in shame. "I- I'm sorry Atsuko. . ." His voice dropped down in pitch as he apologized. "I'm so very sorry."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:15 pm
She didn't want to accept his apology. God knows she didn't. Yet, when she saw the look on his face and all of the things he brought her, how could she not? Her eyes softened at the sight of him, and then she sighed. "It's okay, Toshiro," she said to him.
After she forgave him, Atsuko reached out to gingerly take the flowers. They were beautiful, to say the least. Being interested in ikebana, the young girl had a special love for flowers of all kind. Toshiro certainly didn't have to bring them to her, not at all, but he did anyway. He didn't stop at the flowers, either. He also brought the unagi she never got a chance to eat from the sushi shop.
"All of this is lovely. Thank you. Would you like to sit down?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:27 pm
His heart stopped and Toshiro's head jerked up. "Y-you do?" His heart picked up to a faster beat than the one that had but a few minutes earlier. It was racing! He eagerly let her take the flowers and all but stumbled over his own feet in order to take a sit. "Y-your welcome. And thank you." He stuttered as he blinked up at her happily.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:33 pm
"I'm surprised you showed up, to be perfectly honest," Atsuko told him as she put the roses in a vase next to her window where they could get some sunlight. "I didn't think you would." When she was done with the flowers, she took the plate with the unagi would of the bag and set it on her desk. If she got hungry, she could always eat it later, but for now she would leave it. There were other, more important things to attend to at the moment.
"When I told my father what happened, he was so angry," she went on to say after taking a seat next to him on her bed. "He went on this long, angered rant about how arranged marriages are a thing of the past and how we should call the whole thing off. My mother calmed him down, though, so don't worry."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:54 pm
Toshiro said, "Well, I couldn't leave things as they were yesterday. I screwed up really badly and I had to make things right." When she heard her mention her father, he grimanced. "Yes, I would understand why. I behaved abomonally. And I know no other way to go about marriage. My family has always had arranged marriages."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:59 pm
Did he really not know of any other way? That was sad, considering very few were in arranged marriages anymore. Most found their soulmates on their own, like her parents did. Atsuko shrugged when he said this, and placed a finger underneath his chin. "Don't look so down. I forgive you. It was a mistake. Now we just have to learn from it and move on."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:05 pm
Toshiro raised his head to look into her eyes. "I'll try never to do it again. It's just that I'd looked for you all that day so when I finally found you my nerves were worn thin. I can't stand to be outside. . ." He sighed before continuing, "I know it doesn't make it right, but that and the alcohol is what did it. I'd never hurt anyone. Your arm is okay isn't it?" He took her hand gently to inspect for any bruises before tenderly kissing the inside of her wrist to make it better.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:18 pm
The kiss Toshiro planted on her wrist shouldn't have made her feel uncomfortable, but it did. True, he was her fiance, but still...it didn't feel quite right. Perhaps it was because the two of them hadn't seen each other for twelve years. No communication. Nothing.
As awkward as she felt, Atsuko couldn't be rude, so after he kissed it, she gently laid her hand down at her side and flashed him a light smile. "My arm is fine, Toshiro," the young girl told him. The smile on her face quickly faded, only to be replaced a moment later by a worried frown. "What I should be asking about is your face. It doesn't hurt...does it?" Her fingers brushed gingerly across his cheek when she asked, and she couldn't help but feel concerned.
It was clear what she was referring to. The slap. Atsuko didn't really mean to hit him that hard. It just sort of...happened. Nothing else was coming to her head, and it was the only thing she could think of. Still -- she felt bad for it. Never before had she hit anyone like that, and she never wanted to do it again.
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