‘Finally…’, he thought, releasing an exasperated sigh.

 With a grim expression set on his face, he watched with disinterest as the paramedics hurriedly piled out of the vehicle. Stretcher and all, they burst into his front door then headed towards the dinning area where the pained cries of a certain young man can be heard.

 Yare, yare…

 Seconds later, the heavy oak doors burst open once again, revealing the paramedics as they gathered around his 18 year old godson strapped onto the stretcher. To the boy’s left were his hysterical mother and exasperated father. And to his right was a young girl whose hand he clutched like a lifeline.

 Tanaka-san, feeling it is his duty as the head of this household, walked over to comfort the worried couple – Suichiro and Akane Kiyota, the poor boy’s parents and their family’s long time business partners.

 Souchiro met Tanaka’s gaze with his equally worried and exasperated one. The feeling of deja vu sweeping over them as they mentally noted the scenes from these past few months unfold once again right before their eyes. For the fourth time.

 “Well,” Suichiro said, “we’d best be off once again…”

 Tanaka nodded solemnly.

 “Wait, Father!” the injured boy bellowed, wincing in pain as his stomach churned like mad. “I hadn’t properly said my goodbye to Angel yet…”

 Summoning all his will power, Nobunaga struggled to a sitting position and twisted his body to face the young girl to his right, his hand squeezing hers tighter.

 “Angel…,” he called out to the girl, using her family’s favorite pet name for her.

 “Nobu-kun…,”she whispered, her lips trembling with emotion.

 Tanaka, knowing better, rolled his eyes at his daughter’s antics. ‘Get it over with, will you?… The sooner he gets to the hospital, the better…’ Honestly, he didn’t know why they were calling his beloved teenaged daughter Angel…. His forehead wrinkled with a frown as he watched the two young people with trained eyes.

 Well, even he had to admit that his little girl looked angelic in all aspects….. Who would ever suspect that she was capable of such… deviousness?

 As if on cue…

 “Aaaaarrrrrggghhhhh!,” Nobunaga cried, doubling over in pain.

 The young woman’s demeanor immediately changed from worried to commanding as she waved her hand off, signaling the paramedics to make haste. “Hurry, take him away!”

 But the young man refused to be moved. “Angel…,” Nobunaga cried with what was left of his squeaking voice.

 Upon hearing the pleading voice of a childhood friend dying of LBM, different emotions flashed in the young girl’s violet eyes in quick succession… Guilt being one of them. Once again, the young woman’s expression softened. “Yes, Nobu-kun?” she cooed, kneeling beside him

 Nobunaga tried to ignore the pain as he stared into the eyes of the woman he so loved since 4^th grade. “I am terribly sorry that I always seem to get these horrible… stomach aches every time we’re together.” He winced. “And that I always had to leave you behind for the hospital…”

 The young woman tried not to bite her lip in guilt. “Well, that’s perfectly alright, Nobu-kun…” She paused for effect. “I’ll be able to endure anything for your safety…” But underneath the perfectly worried expression she wore, the young woman cringed mentally at the crappiness of her own words. But of course, she’d do anything to achieve her desired results….. And looking down now at how tears formed in the eyes of her target, she knew very well that her acting skills were definitely way beyond average.

 Nobunaga, touched to the core, felt like crying. He held onto his beloved’s warm soft hand, determined more than ever to spend an entire lifetime with her. “Angel, I lov – !”, he cried but was cut off by the overwhelming pain of being eaten alive from the inside.

 In mere seconds he passed out, reduced to a twitching heap.

 Mission accomplished…

 The young woman rose to her feet, breathing a sigh of relief as her childhood friend got wheeled away in the ambulance, his hysterical mother crying all over the place.

 Tanaka and Satomi, his wife, watched grimly as the ambulance sped away then disappeared down their driveway. Another matchmaking scheme down the drain… The Kiyotas would never return after this incident.

 He glared at his daughter as her foul mood seemed to lift. She had even whistled happily as she casually walked inside the house.

 “What did you do this time, young woman?”

 Angel froze. “What do you mean by that, father dear?” she asked him, summoning her most innocent look. Well, from the grim look in her parents’ eyes, she knew very well that the bigger hurdle has yet to be faced. She tried gulping down the surprisingly humungous lump that formed in her throat…. but with the way her voice was coming out in squeaks and croaks, she knew perfectly well that she was failing miserably.

 Tanaka’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about…”

 “Huh?” the young girl squeaked as beads of perspiration started forming on her forehead.

 “What foul concoction did you put in poor Nobunaga’s soup this time?”

 Despite the fix she was obviously in, Angel tried suppressing her laughter as she remembered pouring the green goo into the casserole. Just like she always did when Nobunaga came over for dinner.  Of course, not after she emptied the whole pack of that extra-strong potion she had brewed just for today.

 She put on her most innocent look and stood her ground. “I did no such thing.”

 But suddenly her mother materialized beside her father, waving a vial still containing some of the green gooey stuff she’d utilized.

 “The cook saw you put this in the casserole,” she said flatly.

 Angel’s lip thinned as she eyed the evidence intently, wishing it would vaporize into thin air. Her eyebrows twitched before she grinned sheepishly. No use denying anymore. She was caught red-handed…. She breathed out a deep frustrated sigh, knowing that her plan had been unraveled but the thought of successfully sending the egotistic airhead into the hospital buoyed her spirits. Well, at least she got that over and done with….

 Her and Nobunaga’s father had been good friends and business partners long before she was even born and they had decided to cement their partnership through the marriage of their children.

 She had taken the extra precaution – in the form of one of her scientific experiments – because today was a special day. Today, the two families will be sealing their children’s engagement, making it official. And therefore, she must stop them at all cost. Though it would be detrimental to poor Nobu-kun’s health…

 She didn’t mean for Nobu-kun to pass out though. She only meant to give him the worst case of LBM imaginable. Nothing more.

 “I didn’t know it’d be much worse today!” she protested. At least she’ll try to soften her impending punishment. “Honest!” she added, crossing her fingers behind her back.

 Her parents sighed in unison. They should’ve known and followed their instincts to prepare separate food for poor Nobunaga…. Separate food that would be far from their mischievous daughter’s reach. Unfortunately, they hadn’t…. and that mistake just cost them another failed match-making attempt.  

 “I’ve had enough of this young lady!” her father exploded as migraine took its toll on his poor throbbing head. He gave the cause of all his frustrations a reproachful look before she could utter the long string of rebellious words that she usually uses to get herself out of trouble. Normally, he would let the young woman off the hook. But not this time.

 “But dad - !”

 “No buts! You’re marrying someone from the corporation! Like it or not….” Tanaka rubbed his temple. “It’ll be good for you and the company. Trust me on this one honey… You’ll even thank me in the future…End of discussion.”

 The finality in her father’s voice made the tears of anger and frustration well up in the young woman’s eyes. She had gotten rid of Nobunaga but there will be others to come. Her father was making sure of it.

 It wasn’t fair! Crappy as it may sound, she wanted to marry for love like the heroines in those cheesy romance novels she’d read. No other reason. Well, crappy or not, she just wanted to love and be loved in return like most people…. not for money or any other reason. This wasn’t another one of those business deals her father was used to having. They were talking about her life here! And it was her lifetime happiness that hung on a balance. Why was her father too stubborn to realize that???

 Satomi, sensing the tension between her husband and daughter walked over to comfort the young girl. “Don’t be too harsh on your daughter, Tanaka. She’s still a child for heaven’s sake!”

 Tanaka’s eyes blazed. “You stay out of this woman! It’s your fault that she’s spoiled rotten!”

 I’m not spoiled rotten, Angel tried saying out loud, but stopped as she saw her mother’s shoulders shake with fury.

 “That’s it, isn’t it?” the older woman asked. “It’s always my fault. You’re the one who’s always right…”

 Tanaka’s eyes narrowed. “That has nothing to do with anything - !”

 “Oh, yes it has!” Satomi said, raising her voice. “It has something to do with EVERYTHING!”

 Unlike his daughter who still had not gotten used to their fights, Tanaka stared grimly at his wife, refusing to be ruffled by her sudden outburst. “I am sick and tired of you treating me like this!” she exploded.

 Tanaka gritted his teeth. “I am not listening again to your ranting, woman.”

 “Why? Because the truth hurts?”

 ‘When had her family gotten this unhappy?’ the young woman thought miserably, staring at her father and mother.

 “I don’t want to hear anything from you again…” her father said in a deadly calm voice. “It’s your fault that this whole incident had to happen again.”

 “Fine. I’m leaving as soon as they’d finished processing those divorce papers - !”

 “Those WHAT?!” Angel exclaimed.

 Her mother covered her mouth but it was too late. She’d heard it.

 “You’re getting divorced???” the young girl squeaked. Forgetting all about her personal problems, she focused on the current one that had completely gotten past her keen senses. She faced her parents squarely. “And could you please tell me HOW on earth did that happen?” she asked tersely.

 “Honey, you see, your mother and I have had some problems a long time ago – !”

 “And you never told me!”

 Her parents shifted guiltily on their feet. Well they had planned to tell her. After the process, that is, because she would never agree to it.

 “Angel, honey - !” her mother tried consoling her, deep lines of frustration and despair marring her once beautiful face.

 “Stop! I don’t need your explanations!… I hate you!” With that said, she charged upstairs into her room, burying her face under her satin pillows. She had never cried like this before. They betrayed her. They said they’d be patching things up. But, in reality, they never did…

 She should’ve been way over the moon in happiness tonight. Despite the fact that her parents had discovered it, that stint she’d pulled on Nobunaga turned out successful after all….. But now, she never did feel like celebrating….

 Positive that she had completely ruined the sheet cover with her tears, she lifted her head slightly, catching a glimpse of her nightstand and the cherished pictures she’d placed there. She tried not to look their family picture. Instead she reached out and picked up the one which was dated over 8 years ago.

 It was a picture of her and her second cousins - a little boy and his pudgy little sister. She was in between them, her arms intertwined with theirs. It had been taken during one of their family get-togethers near the beach. She drew the picture closer, examining the youthful faces portrayed there. And instantly, a warm tearful smile came to the young woman’s face. Though it had been a long time since they had last seen each other, the closely knit ties she had formed with them will always take her back to the wonderful memories they’d shared.

 She had missed them terribly and had wanted long ago to visit them. But her studies had gotten in the way. She touched the glass with the tip of her fingers carefully. “If you were in my place….” she whispered to the little boy. “What would you do, oniichan?”

 The little boy smiled up at her just like he always did when she was in a foul mood. And indeed, the little lopsided smile’s magic never failed to do wonders on her. Angel held her chin, deep in thought. Well, there was no use getting depressed or anything…. might as well teach them a lesson instead…..

 Her violet eyes twinkled through the tears as she finally came up with a decision that will entirely change her life…

 Still holding on to the picture, she laid her head down to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was funny how a little shower could change everything and make him feel so much better, Kaede thought, as he let the last drops of water slide off his body. He changed into his comfortable yellow and blue striped pajamas and slipped into bed. Now back to his normal self, he shuddered at the mere thought of lusting over some imaginary girl.

 “Stupid dream.”

 With the heat and the excitement all gone, he concentrated on sleeping. Not that he needed to. It was the next thing he was good at. He will surely need the strength tomorrow.

 His dad had called earlier and he knew that he can no longer elude the inevitable face off with his parents that he’d long dreaded.

To be continued…