Open Your Heart - Chapter Five
“You tricked me!” Kei Inoo hissed, as soon as Miss Mai was out of earshot.
“Not really,” Kota Yabu smiled deviously.
“You didn’t tell me I had to pretend to be a girl to take this job!” Kei countered angrily.
“You didn’t ask,” Kota shrugged nonchalantly. “Plus, you’re the one who was so desperate for a job,” he added, sticking his tongue out at Kei playfully.
“I wouldn’t have even considered it if I had known…” Kei muttered under his breath.
“Well, what are you going to do about it?” Kota inquired.
“I QUIT!” Kei stomped out of the room, but before he could reach the front door, Kota’s voice stopped him.
“Fine, but I’m going to need that paycheck of yours back.”
Kei froze, turning on the spot. His eyes widened as he realized he had been trapped. “But, but, I-”
Kota grinned. “I guess if you’re not going to give it back, you’ll just have to stay.”
Kei groaned and threw himself against a nearby wall, punching his fist at it in frustration. “How am I even supposed to pretend to be a girl?” he protested.
Kota propped himself against the opposite wall, facing Kei. “You’re just going to have to try…”
“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” Kei scowled at him.
Kota laughed. “Just a little. Now enough of your attitude, Missy. Your Young Master is very displeased to see you have already broken one of Miss Mai’s rules. Specifically, Rule Number Two…” he trailed off, leaving Kei to rack his brain, trying to remember what exactly Miss Mai had said.
“What? You want me to report outside your room? But you’re here, aren’t you? What’s the point of me going there, then? I don’t even remember where your room is.” Kei raised an eyebrow.
“Not that part of the rule, the part before that,” Kota answered patiently.
“What? I’m dressed already, aren’t I? I’m not naked, if you can’t tell,” Kei retorted.
Kota strode across the room and briskly took hold of Kei’s hand in his. “Follow me,” he said, softness returning to his voice.
Kei was, again, lost for words, as he felt his chest pounding uncontrollably. In his mind, he screamed at himself to pull away, to run, to try and escape the impending humiliation that he knew he would have to face by working here, as a girl. But apparently, his body was no longer under his command, as he willingly allowed himself to be led up the winding staircase.
Once they reached Kota’s bedroom, Kei couldn’t stop himself from frowning slightly as Kota let go of his hand. Pointing to a neatly-folded stack of clothing on the bed, Kota stated simply, “Your uniform’s waiting for you.”
Kei waited for him to leave before he cautiously walked over to the clothes, suspicious of what Kota was planning now.
~~~
“You ready yet?” Kei heard Kota’s voice call through the door.
“Yes, but I’m not leaving this room!” Kei replied firmly, determined to preserve what was left of his dignity. He winced, imagining a sneering Kota standing right outside, ready to laugh at him as soon as he opened the door.
“I’m not going to make fun of you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Kota stated, seemingly reading Kei’s mind. Besides, you have at least a week to work here, during which you’re going to have to wear that uniform anyway. You might as well start getting used to it.”
Kei sighed, admitting Kota was right. He had to work here for a week; he no longer had the money to return his paycheck… his mom did. Grudgingly, he opened the door and saw a very bored-looking Kota waiting for him.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Kota smiled lightly at the Kei who was now decked out in a cute maid’s outfit, complete with a white lacy headpiece and a white apron layered over a short, poofy black dress. He even had been given black fishnet stockings and black heels to perfect the look.
I can’t believe I have to actually wear this, Kei huffed.
“Fortunately for you, you’re pretty skinny, even for a girl, and your feet are pretty small, otherwise we might not have even had a properly-sized uniform for you to wear,” Kota laughed.
Lucky me… Kei rolled his eyes.
Taking a few wobbly steps forward in his new heels, Kei attempted to stagger past Kota. Just as he was about to reach the winding staircase, however, Kei stumbled, crashing down the stairs and landing on both his wrists and knees. Pain immediately shot up his arms and legs; Kei winced as he tried getting up, but his body refused to budge, due to the immense pain, the excruciation apparent on his face.
Rushing over, Kota hastily asked, “Are you okay?” He gently helped Kei sit up, holding him in his arms, supporting him.
Kei couldn’t help but stare angrily at him, ignoring the warmth slowly creeping onto his cheeks from the shame of tripping, again, and from feeling shy due to the close proximity between him and Kota. “Do you think I’m okay? It’s your stupid fault I have to wear these stupid shoes!” Kei yelled as loudly as he could, his ribs aching.
Kota seemed startled for a second, hearing Kei’s voice raised, but then his expression quickly changed to one of worry.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I’m sorry for making you wear those shoes, I’m sorry for tricking you into taking this job, and I’m sorry for not catching you when you fell the second time around.” Kota’s eyes avoided Kei’s glare. “Here, let me help you, for once,” he offered, lifting Kei up in his arms.
“L-Let me down! What do you think you’re doing?!” Kei protested, trying to wriggle and fight back, his arms and legs flailing wildly in the process. Suddenly, he stopped, feeling his body gently being laid down onto a bed of soft, squishy blankets.
“Why don’t you rest a little, I’ll go find someone to get you some ice,” Kota smiled warmly before stepping out of the room.
Kei looked around, finding himself in Kota’s bedroom, on Kota’s bed. His face began burning red again as his heart began to thump, faster and faster, thunderous in his ears. Why is he being so nice to me? And does he really feel sorry for all that? Kei wondered frantically, closing his eyes to try and calm his heart down, completely ignoring the pain coursing through his body.
“Who are you?”
Kei’s eyes flew open at the sound of a soft, female voice. He struggled to sit himself up, slowly, his body aching all over. His eyes widened as they blurred then came back into focus on the girl standing in the doorway. She, too, was wearing the maid uniform, along with a confused, yet slightly angry, expression on her face. Her large eyes, though not as large as Yuto’s, were now staring at Kei in bewilderment, as she repeated her question, a little more impatiently this time.
“Who are you?”
“Kei…ko, Keiko Inoo,” Kei answered, still unfamiliar with his new name. “I’m a new maid here,” he clarified, trying to make his voice as girly-sounding as possible.
“Well what are you doing here, in Young Master’s bed?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I, um, accidentally tripped and, um, fell down the stairs, so, um, he helped me up and laid me here, to, um, let me rest.” Kei answered awkwardly. He didn’t know why, but the girl’s very presence in the room was making him feel uncomfortable.
She scowled at him.
“Don’t think that just because you’re the new pretty face around here that you can go around stealing the Young Master’s attention,” she muttered bitterly.
“Wh-What?! No, no, I wasn’t trying to, I just-”
“Just what?” Kota stepping into the doorway, a questioning look on his face.
“Oh, nothing, Young Master,” the girl answered quickly, before Kei could speak. “I was just about to introduce myself to Keiko here.” She flashed Kota a cute smile, her tone and attitude completely different from five seconds ago, before Kota had entered the conversation.
“My name’s Ryoko Yamada,” she smiled sweetly at Kei, who was taken aback by her sudden change in behavior. “Nice to meet you, Keiko. I just know we’re going to be great friends!” she greeted excitedly, her eyes shining.
“Nice to meet you, too…” Kei replied slowly, unsure of what was going on with her.
“Ryoko,” Kota cut in.
“Yes, Young Master?” she turned to face Kota, an angelic look on her face.
“Could you go to the kitchen and help get me some ice for Keiko? I’ve asked Yuri, but she’s seriously taking too long.” He winked at Ryoko and she blushed profusely.
“S-Sure, of course,” she stammered, before turning to head downstairs.
As soon as Ryoko had left, Kota chuckled, “She’s so cute.” Kei frowned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “You should’ve seen her before you got here, I swear, she was about to threaten me or something.”
Kota shrugged, “She’s always been sweet to me; maybe she just doesn’t like you.”
Or maybe she just likes you a little too much… Kei thought to himself.
“So are you still…in pain?” Kota asked slowly, sitting beside Kei on the bed. Kei shifted slightly, not wanting to get too close to Kota. He didn’t want his heart to start…doing that, again.
“I’m fine, it’s not actually that bad,” Kei answered, twiddling his thumbs shyly.
Is Kota actually showing he cares about me?
“My head kind of feels jarred, but the pain in my body is kind of just soreness now. See?” Kei tried standing up, staggering slightly, but right away, he felt lightheaded and dizzy, as if the room were spinning around him.
He reached out to try to hold onto something for support, and his hand landed on Kota’s shoulder. Gripping Kota tightly to avoid collapsing, Kei used his other hand to hold his head, trying to steady himself.
“You sure you’re okay?” Kota asked gently, putting his hand over Kei’s.
“Young Master?” Another feminine voice piped up. This one was more girly and high-pitched, and belonged to a cuter, younger-looking girl than Ryoko.
“Yuri!” Kota greeted with a smile. “Here, pass me some of that ice.”
Closing his eyes as he sat back down, Kei felt the coldness immediately penetrate his body when Kota pressed the ice against his forehead, clearing his foggy mind.
“Is she new?” Kei heard the girl ask.
“Yeah, but I think she’ll get used to this house soon enough. At least then she won’t fall down the stairs-”
“She fell down the stairs?!”
“Yup, she landed with a loud boom, too. I was really worried for a second there, but she seems fine, just a little shaky, I guess.”
“Wow, she’s pretty lucky, then,” the girl laughed, her cheerful giggle light, and airy.
Kei slowly blinked open his heavy eyelids just in time to see Kota nod at her, then turn to face him with a gentle smile.
I’ve only known Kota for a couple days now, but whenever I’m with him, my heart starts beating crazily, and I can’t seem to stop myself from blushing… could it be that I’m falling… for Kota?
Kei’s vision was still a little hazy, but Kota’s smile remained clear and fixated in Kei’s thoughts as he slowly closed his eyes and gave in to the luring temptation of sleeping, safe and sound in Kota’s bed.