Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Was she worth it? ❯ The Smell of Spring ( Chapter 3 )

This damn story won't get out of my head `till it's on paper. I don't want to rush the thing, and I didn't want to shove in a massive chapter when the others have been pretty small.

 

Here's some original art to go with the fic (self-explanatory):
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/47546363/

 

Anyways, this is for everyone that was nice enough to read the story and review =) Plus, I really like writing it XD

Disclaimer: This is an original story, including its characters. The name Artemis Entreri belongs to someone else, but all the other names (Endo Eriko, Shuji etc. are the names of my friends back in Japan) are original.

 

 

*Drumroll*

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------

 

 

 

 

She was laughing.

Her deep emerald eyes sparkled in delight, almost hidden by her thick, long eyelashes, and the smile plastered on her face was nothing short of beautiful. It was a warm spring day on the Ginza in Tokyo and Maruyama Chidori sat at an outdoor café with two fashion-forward friends. The smell of coffee was rich in the air and the hustle and bustle of the huge street almost blocked out the sound of sweet birdsong. Almost. It was a perfect day.

 

“Oh, it was so embarrassing! I had to read it in front of all of father's workmates!” the teen aged Takahashi Miki flushed and covered her round face with her hands.

 

“It couldn't have been that bad… at least Shuji-kun wasn't there!” her friend, Endo Eriko laughed in her face, eyes lit up in mirth.

 

“But he was!” Miki felt like she could almost die. She had been a stuttering fool trying to read an advertisement at her father's work for a project he had given her, all of his peers were there, not to mention Shuji! She had been trying to impress him, not sound like a retard!

 

“Miki, I know he isn't about to change his mind about you, so stop being such a girl.” Chidori showed her friend some sympathy but her eyes still sparkled with laughter.

 

“Bah! Forget it! We're on out school holidays, we should be having fun!” Miki threw her hands in the air for added effect.

 

“We're on school holidays,” said Eriko, indicating herself and her energetic friend, “Chidori doesn't have school, remember?” and earned a scoff from the youngest in the group.

 

“Hey! I do just as much work as everyone else!” the exasperated girl prettily blushed at the accusation, her skin looking even nicer against the white of her cotton sun dress.

 

“Yeah, in the comfort of your own home!”

 

The girls argued lightheartedly, oblivious to the world around them. They were simply enjoying each other's company, enjoying their freedom, enjoying life. It was spring; it was a perfect day.

 

 

The perfect day to die.

 

 

 

*

 

 

The trains of underground Tokyo were still busy at 11:00 pm on a Sunday night, screeching and speeding non-stop. The sounds of announcements echoed in the hectic stations, along with the whooshing of opening and closing train doors.

Maruyama Chidori broke into jog to slip into the stuffed train compartment before the doors closed, mindful of the bottom of her knee-length dress, trailing behind her slightly. She let out a relieved sigh and found a hand hold to grip, ignoring the lingering glances of older men admiring her petite form and the way her dress clung to her upper body and swayed just enough to reveal more of her well-formed legs.

 

Despite the discomfort that always came with standing in a crammed train for twenty minutes, Chidori preferred to use public transport, opting for the more eco-friendly solution to getting home. She rested her forehead on her hand holding the handlebar and let her eyes drift closed, automatically bracing herself every time the train came to a halt.

 

She lived alone. Her parents had died. They had left her a fortune, so the 17 year old lived in her own house. It wasn't a big building, but it wasn't in an apartment block. Only an hour or so from the heart of Tokyo, it was very convenient and a pleasant escape from the hustle and bustle of the colossal city.

 

There were times however, when the calm of her home was cause for loneliness.

 

Maruyama Chidori spent a lot of her time alone. She had grown independent and could take good care of herself, she had to. Chidori had a guardian, one of her father's closest friends, checking in on her all the time and making sure her hectic life didn't get the best of her.

 

She had taken on the family business, being the sole heir to her parents' empire, a prestigious chain of hotels that stretched all across Japan. Chidori had needed to quit school and started learning the ways of construction and commerce from a very young age.

 

Her train ride having ended at the station closest to her block, she walked briskly down the dark alleyways of the quiet suburb, tuning her senses to her surroundings. There were no street lamps. She could predict a pair approaching from around the corner, walking to the nearby Family Mart, she saw a car pulling into a driveway several houses down, she could hear the wind rustling the tall grass tufts that bordered the Kuma family's rice fields close by. She knew very well the dangers of being a young girl walking alone at night, she listened mostly for followers.

 

She reached home safely and with no encounters. She unlocked her front door quickly - she made it a point to never have many keys on her chain. Once inside, she let out a sigh and dropped everything where she stood, not having the energy to put her heels on their shelf in the entrance. The house was dark but she went straight to her room, knowing by heart the walls and benches she needed to avoid.

 

She unzipped her comfortable dress and shrugged it off, stepping out of it after it pooled at her ankles. She walked freely down the narrow, moonlit hall in nothing but skin coloured underwear, polished wood at her feet and paying no mind - for once - to the discarded articles of clothing and accessories she left behind. She'd get them in the morning.

 

Her room wasn't very big; she slept on a comfortable queen sized bed that took up most of the space. There was an adjoining traditional bathroom with no shower; her bedroom was nothing too special. The main feature was the huge glass double doors that lead to a small balcony and took up most of the wall opposite the room's entrance. There were screen doors behind them so she opened the glass to let the breeze in at night. The wind played with the white curtains in an ethereal manner that was very soothing.

She lingered at the view of rice fields for a moment then moved to take a bath. The timer on the water had heated it and steam came from the small bathroom. She took her time, soaking in the relaxing aroma of her bath fragrance, sighing as the water reversed the day's effect on her tired muscles. Shopping all day in Ginza was tough, ne?

 

She stepped out of the bath and into her room, a towel was wrapped securely around her and her semi-dry black hair clung to her face, neck and back. She made her way to her bed and reached out to fluff her pillow. One hand went under the pillow and with impressive speed she snapped out a handgun and pointed it right in his direction across the room.

 

“Mm.” He stepped out of the shadows behind a flowing curtain and brought a hand to his chin, rubbing his fingers along his jaw. His eyes flicked toward hers and he felt her weaken under the pressure of his stare.

 

“Who are you?!” Her hands were shaking, her voice was shaking. She had never been more afraid. Ice cold spread through her body and made her sick to her stomach, she let out a strangled growl and tightened her grip on the gun, “What do you want?!” Her chest rose and fell as she tried to steady her breath, determined not to let her fear show.
Too late.

He leaned his back against the wall and slipped both hands in his coat pockets, never resigning his gaze.

 

“Are you going to kill me?” She swallowed hard and clicked her gun in warning, unnerved by his silence and piercing eyes. He gave her a cryptic response,

 

“Are you willing to die?” His head tilted in question, he pushed off the wall and approached her very slowly.

 

“Just…do you want to kill me?!” She took a deep breath and a step backwards, acutely aware of the increasing looseness of the towel wrapped around her body, her two hands holding the gun.

 

“You would have been dead already.” He answered simply. Why haven't I killed her?!

 

He had been stalling, biding his time while he was still racking his brain for the many answers that eluded him. He hadn't been able to kill her. He had followed her all day, studied her even, and had had many opportunities. She would have been a corpse before her giggling friends at the coffee shop, maybe a lifeless body sitting on a train. Why hadn't he seized them?

 

Do I sound like I fucking know?

He continued his measured advance on her, never once betraying his inner turmoil. Artemis Entreri was a good liar.

 

She took another step back and the back of her knees met her bedside table, taking her by surprise and rattling the lamp. Her hand went down to the table steady herself by reflex. She realized her mistake. The towel loosened at the sudden movement.

 

One side of his lip curled into a smirk at her increasingly obvious predicament, despite his not-so-obvious one. The distance between them was cut with a long stride that brought him to stand at point blank of her outstretched hand. Their eyes were locked in a silent war. She needed both hands to defend herself if need be. She needed one hand to hold her towel up, two hands to properly hold the gun pressed between the intruder's eyes. He just stared, his smirk grew and his eyes dared her. What's next, little bird?

 

She took a deep breath, stood up straight and put both hands on the gun. The towel gave in, sliding over her breasts and caressing her hips on its way to the floor.

 

His eyes trailed down her form to her feet and very slowly back up to her eyes. An electric shock ran through their bodies when their eyes met. His eyes thrilled her; she couldn't keep her mind off them and that strangely sexy malevolent smirk. He couldn't stop thinking about why he still hadn't killed her. His eyes studied her face and fell to her parted lips. So he hadn't been able to claim her life. He would pay dearly for that later. He effortlessly swatted the gun from her loose grip and claimed her lips instead.

 

Her eyes widened as his arms wrapped around her petite waist and she moved her torso back in an effort to get away. Wrong decision. Her legs were trapped between his and the bedside table and her back met the wall behind it. She was almost bent over backwards and would have fallen down had he not been holding her. He had bent over too, molding his body to hers, determined to feel every inch of her small, luscious form.

 

His tongue invaded her mouth at the first opening he found, and he grasped a handful of her posterior. What a cute ass.

 

She unintentionally bucked against him at the assault and earned a muffled growl. He held her flush against his groin with a vice-like grip while she struggled to push him away, her hands gripping his shoulders.

 

In her current position, she had no say in the matter. She was trapped. She tried a different approach, she kissed him back.

 

He was almost taken aback, but enthusiastic nonetheless, he slowly pulled her away from the wall, supporting her with a hand on her smooth back. He broke the kiss slowly, trails of saliva stringing between them. He stared at her lips and then into her eyes, his breath steady, as if he hadn't just molested her. I can't kill her…

 

This was her chance; she ran her hands down the front of his shoulders and rested her palms flat against his chest, ready to push him away. She felt the hard body underneath the black clothes and hesitated when she met his eyes.

 

He couldn't help himself. He pushed her roughly onto her bed and ravished her lips, all the while stripping himself of his clothes. She was practically paralyzed, she couldn't push him away, she just lay there as the realization of what was about to happen hit her.

 

He rid himself of his last article of clothing and pushed himself up to get a better view of his newest victim splayed on a bed before him. He had thrown all caution to the wind, not caring about the consequences, needing her now. He gave a mental shrug in conclusion and covered her body with his once again,

 

Fuck her, and then put a bullet in her head.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

She felt hot. She felt dirty.

 

She lay curled up on her bed, a weak morning wind blew in from her balcony, bringing with it the mixed scents of spring.

 

She was alone.

 

She had woken up during the night, watched him dress.

 

 

 

“Please… stay,” It was almost a question; she had sat up and was looking at him with her emotional eyes, pleading, “Don't leave me…” She was tired of being alone.

 

“You don't know me.” he reluctantly answered as he zipped and buttoned his black pants, refusing to look at her. His tone was resigned; his eyes were dead, hidden under his dark hair as his head hung forward.

 

“I want to know you…” she made a move to get out of bed but curled up in pain, “…please?” she was crying, she didn't understand why she had to go through with all of it.

 

He was silent for some time, looking out the screen doors, closing his eyes to the breeze and taking in the smell of spring.

 

“You…” He didn't know what to say. He was a thief, a murderer, that's all there was to know… “You don't want to know me. You don't want to know the real me.” He terminated the conversation and left, never looking back at her.

 

 

 

She knew she had been raped. She felt the violated feeling girls describe when they talk about their own painful encounters. He had taken her virginity and she didn't even know his name. She winced as she rose to a seating position, the aftermath of feeling like she had been torn in two had settled in. The blood stain between her legs was a harsh contrast to her white sheets. She wiped the drool on the side of her mouth with the back of her hand and got out of bed. She felt like she needed to learn to walk all over again. Stumbling to the bathroom, she filled the bath with the day's water, sitting on the bath stool while she watched it swirl around to fill the deep tub. There had been no pleasure; she had felt nothing but pain.

 

She knew she had been raped, but not once had the words `stop' or `no' crossed her lips.

 

She let out a deep sigh and mentally toughened herself up, intent on learning from the experience. Despite the shame she felt at what had happened, doubling when she saw the sticky mixture of his sperm and her own fluids, she felt proud of herself. She had been attacked, and she had gotten out alive.

 

The sob that had been tugging at her throat escaped and she drew her knees in, wrapping her arms around her chest. She let the tears fall, relishing in the cleansing effect they had. She needed to get them out so she could get on with her life.

 

She was still alive, and she wasn't going to see him again.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

She's still alive.

 

It had been a few days since their encounter, and Entreri hadn't stopped thinking about Maruyama Chidori.

 

What's wrong with me…?

 

He had stopped following her. She plagued his thoughts in return. He was staying in a small dingy apartment meant to accommodate him for the duration of his assignment. He shouldn't have needed it. He should have been done by now.

 

What the fuck is wrong with me?!

 

He sat on the edge of the cheap, springy bed and buried his face in his hands. This had never happened before. She had completely derailed him and his controlled life suddenly went haywire. It was no use, he couldn't go back to that way he was, nothing could go back to the way it was. His mind was reeling, every fibre in his being screamed for him to go to her. He steeled his will and set his jaw firm. He couldn't trust himself to go to her.
He'd wind up fucking her again.

 

He couldn't go back to Montblanc, either. He had failed. They would shame him, his reputation would be ruined and they'd just send someone else after Chidori…

 

Chidori…!

 

She was the heir to a huge empire, the relative who was next in line had handsomely paid Montblanc to get rid of her. He wouldn't just benefit, but the large group of men that backed him and many other companies would make a fortune. It would make a lot of rich men happy if she were dead. Shit.

 

He didn't have much time to think about it; no doubt one of the rich men had gotten impatient and sent someone else already. Shit.

 

He almost flew out the window of the small apartment and broke into a sprint the split-second his toes touched the ground. His teeth were clenched tight and he ran for his life. He ran for her life. He pushed away the slower pedestrians, sprang across busy streets. His body was built for agility, but he still didn't know if he'd make it in time. She could have been killed already. He sucked in volumes of air through his nose and willed himself to last the distance.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

She had run out of tears.

 

She had been on her way to work, oversee her parent's company, and then she was backed into the alleyway right by her house, her eyes were red and puffy and she couldn't help her erratic breathing. She slid down the tall wall and cowered at the ground, her crisp business suit long forgotten and ruined. Chidori looked up at her assailant; he was very tall and cloaked in forest green. He was staring down at her, baring his unusually sharpened teeth, and held her at gun point.

 

She wasn't going to beg for her life. She refused to beg. She curled into a ball, having run out of options when he knocked her weapon-laden handbag out of reach. In true bad-guy style, he asked,

 

“Any last words?”

They were his last words.

 

The assassin's bloodshot eyes were wide as his life escaped him. A thick dagger was lodged through the side of his jugular.

 

It had happened so fast. One blink was between his fingers tightening on the trigger and his corpse on the floor. He lay there dead, blood pooling around his neck. His eyes were still open, fixated on Chidori. She turned a teary face, breathless, to her savior and met his stunning eyes. Her vision blurred, the picture of him standing there, panting, darkened from all corners. Everything went black.

 

 

This is the real me.

 

 

 

Chidori…

 

 

 

Will you take me as I am?

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------

 

 

A/N: They keep getting longer XD
Poor girl, twice in one week.
I'm really trying to keep Artemis in character and I'm trying to figure out a way to make `em fall in love without screwing up <.<

I hate the mushy stuff though >< I don't plan on getting too smutty with the sex scenes though, sorry ^^;;;

 

R&R please ^^