Open Your Heart - Chapter Seven
“So Keiko…” Yuri Chinen smiled innocently as she skipped over to where Kei Inoo, who was still in the kitchen, was now preparing Kota’s breakfast. Yuto had just left, however, meaning that Yuri and Kei were alone. “Who was that guy? Did you know him?” she asked curiously.
“Uh…yeah. His name’s Yuto. I’ll introduce you to him next time he comes, if you want,” Kei replied casually.
“Yuto…” Yuri repeated, savoring the name. “Wait, are you his girlfriend?” Kei dropped the plate in his hand. It landed with a loud clatter, but luckily remained in one piece.
“Um…uh…no?” he squeaked hesitantly. Why didn’t I just say “Yes”? Kei wondered, mentally slapping himself on the head.
“Oh good,” Yuri’s smile brightened even more.
But before Kei could say anything more, she skipped away, giggling to herself. Shrugging his shoulders, Kei concentrated on the task at hand. Once he had successfully drizzled a ribbon of melted chocolate sauce on the crêpes and sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top, he let out a content sigh, admiring his work. I’m surprised I can still remember my mom’s old recipe, after all these years. I don’t know why, but I just wanted to make a special breakfast for Kota… I haven’t had crêpes ever since my mom left. This is exactly how she used to make breakfast for me… Pouring a cup of freshly-brewed green tea, to contrast with the French-style crêpes, just as his mom would have, Kei gently set the meal on a tray before carefully taking it upstairs to Kota’s room.
“Kota…” Kei called, knocking lightly on the door. “I’m coming in,” he said, opening the door to find Kota still sleeping peacefully on his bed.
Darn, I forgot to wake him up first! Kei mentally hit himself again.
Setting the tray on a nearby table, Kei went over to the bed, cautious not to wake him startlingly. He noted that Kota apparently enjoyed sleeping naked, as his clothes had been thrown all over the ground, littering the carpet. “Kota…” he repeated, slowly tiptoeing closer. As he was about to take another step, he accidentally slipped on Kota’s T-shirt, one of the many articles of clothing strewn across the floor, causing him to fall forward, his upper body landing right onto Kota’s nude torso.
Kei’s eyes widened, his head lying on Kota’s bare chest. He could hear Kota’s heart beating steadily as his own heart accelerated. Blood rushed to his cheeks, and his hands were trembling as Kei started to lift himself off of Kota, careful not to touch or move the sleeping boy any more than he already had.
Kota grumbled in his sleep, and he turned onto his side, towards Kei, swinging his arms around to hold Kei in a sort of awkward hug. Kei’s breath hitched, he definitely did not want Kota to wake up and find him like this. Struggling to escape from Kota’s grasp, Kei finally freed himself, stood up, and recomposed himself before turning back to face the still-slumbering Kota.
Kei heaved a great sigh of relief. He slowly walked over to Kota’s bed, even more carefully this time, and he shook the sleeping figure gently.
“Young Master Kota, it’s time for you to wake up,” Kei called softly. Soon, Kota stirred in his sleep, eyes blinking open slowly, taking in the sunlight streaming through the windows.
“Good morning, Kei…ko,” Kota whispered, smiling as he remembered Kei’s cover name.
Kei flushed a little, hearing Kota almost say his real name. “Good morning, Young Master,” he replied politely, bowing his head.
Kota sighed, sitting up in bed. He threw off his covers, and Kei averted his eyes, afraid to see Kota nude. Kota laughed, seeing Kei’s shyness.
“I’m wearing boxers, so it’s okay,” he paused, looking around to make sure they were alone before whispering. “Especially since we’re both, you know,” he nodded toward Kei, who shifted uncomfortably in his dress.
Kota continued, not reacting to Kei’s silence. “I’m going to go take a shower.” He said quickly, getting up and walking away.
“Oh wait,” Kei remembered as Kota closed the bathroom door behind him. His breakfast is going to get cold… I guess I could put it in the microwave to try to keep it warm until he finishes. Kei hoped that his idea would work, and brought the tray back downstairs.
“How did you do that?” Yuri giggled as she skipped over happily. “I’ve never seen him wake up so quickly. He’s usually all groggy and tells us to wait ‘five more minutes!’ for him,” Yuri said, using a mocking tone as she made a face to show her annoyance.
Kei laughed, pleasantly surprised to hear such news. “I didn’t do anything in particular…” except fall on him… but he didn’t even wake up! Maybe because when I shook him awake, he noticed it was me, so he got up more obediently, Kei thought hopefully.
“I guess that means you must be doing something right, though.” Yuri grinned. “Keep it up, and you’ll be able to be a full-time on-site maid by the end of the week!” Yuri exclaimed, giving Kei an encouraging thumbs up.
“Thanks Yuri,” he replied cheerily. Kota’s never told me there were different levels of maids… What does that make me, then? Right at the bottom, I guess. Kei sighed. It doesn’t matter, I suppose, since I’ll hopefully be able to leave this job by the end of the week.
“Hey, Keiko!”
Kei and Yuri both turned to see an unhappy Ryoko Yamada standing behind them. “Miss Mai’s looking for you; come with me,” she ordered before turning to leave. “Well, you coming, or what?” she shot at Kei, before he had a chance to reply. Nodding, he quickly followed her out of the room, leaving a confused Yuri wondering. But I thought Miss Mai was busy making that phone call to report to the Master and Mistress how Young Master’s been. Shouldn’t Ryoko know she does that every Tuesday morning? Yuri pursed her lips. Something was wrong.
~~~
“Why is Miss Mai looking for me in here?” Kei asked as Ryoko led him into a small broom closet at the back of the mansion. Gesturing for him to walk inside, Ryoko stood by the doorway.
“She’s not,” she smirked, slamming the door, shutting Kei in darkness.
“Hey! Wait!” Kei shouted, throwing himself against the door just as he heard the lock click. “Ryoko!” Kei yelled, but to no avail.
Kei tried feeling around in the darkness for the light switch, but he tripped and fell into what felt like a shelf. Kei gasped as water splashed down, soaking him through. He then jumped, hearing the thud of what sounded like an empty bucket hit the floor beside him. Where did this water come from? Kei asked incredulously, looking up into the dark, seeing nothing but blackness.
Shivering from the wet clothes now clinging to his body, Kei pounded desperately on the door. “Help! Help! Somebody!” he cried. No one answered. Why would Ryoko do this to me? Kei wondered. In the back of his mind, Kei had a sinking feeling that he knew the answer to his own question.
Kota.
~~~
“Help~ Help~ Somebody~” Kei Inoo called wearily. It must’ve been one, maybe two hours now, and still nobody had come to his rescue.
Click. Kei stood up quickly at the sound of the lock turning. The door swung open, revealing a flustered-looking friend.
“Yuri!” Kei exclaimed as relief washed over him. He embraced the small girl gratefully before she pulled away, surprise evident on her face.
“Keiko? What are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you everywhere! And why are you all wet?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“I… was trapped in there… by Ryoko,” Kei admitted quietly. “I think she even set a bucket of water on the top of that shelf, knowing that I’d bump into it in the dark, and drench myself.”
Shaking her head, Yuri frowned. “But why? Why would she do that?”
“I have no idea,” Kei lied.
“We should tell somebody about this, she can’t go around doing something like this to people and get away with it!” Yuri stated defiantly. “Just look at you; you’ll catch a cold or something in this condition!”
“Well… maybe I should confront her first, and tell her I don’t appreciate what she’s done…” Kei trailed off as his eyes flickered back to a Yuri with a look of sheer disbelief on her face.
“You really think that after she’s taken such rash action, like locking you in a closet and dumping water all over you she doesn’t realize you won’t appreciate it? Do you really think she cares about what you think at this point?” Yuri stated bluntly, her words shaking Kei.
“I guess not…” he stared at the floor uncomfortably. “Maybe we should go tell Miss Mai then,” Kei suggested.
“No, that’s not going to work,” Yuri answered, shaking her head.
“How come?” Kei inquired.
“Because Ryoko… Ryoko Yamada is Miss Mai’s daughter. That’s why she’s the highest ranked on-site maid, the highest position available after Miss Mai. That’s why we all have to listen to Ryoko and obey her orders. That’s why she’s been here her whole life, tending to Young Master Kota… That’s it!” Yuri snapped her fingers in revelation. “She must’ve known Young Master Kota all her life, so when you came along on your first day, and she finds you in his bed, with him taking care of you so considerately, she must’ve been pretty angry and jealous.” Yuri deduced.
“What?!” Kei stared at her in disbelief. Did she really just verify my suspicions as well?
“Just think about it, Keiko,” Yuri continued. “You haven’t even been here that long, all that you’ve done in front of her is sleep on Young Master’s bed, so it has to be the reason why she would do this to you.” she concluded. “Ah, love, it makes us do the craziest things,” Yuri smiled absentmindedly, twirling dreamily on her feet before returning to Kei.
“Right…” Kei replied, raising an eyebrow. “So if we can’t talk to Miss Mai, who do we talk to?” he asked, trying to change the subject back.
“Hmm… why don’t we just tell Young Master? I mean, technically, if I’m right, it’s all his fault,” Yuri suggested.
“I-I don’t think so,” Kei stammered, the thought of going to Kota for this would make him too embarrassed. “He’ll just laugh,” Kei added.
“Well, who else do we go to? Master and Mistress are both out of the country again,” Yuri whined. “And we can’t just let this be!” she stomped her foot angrily.
Why can’t we just let this be? Kei groaned, bringing his hands up to cover his face. Smelling the chocolate on his fingers, Kei’s eyes widened as he remembered what he had been doing before he had gotten locked in the closet.
“Hold that thought, Yuri. I’d better go check on Young Master first, I hope he’s gotten some breakfast by now,” he said worriedly.
“Yeah, but let’s get you changed first, you shouldn’t go report to Young Master in this condition,” Yuri laughed lightly.