Upside Down

I spend the first part of the ride home thinking about Ryuichi. It"s obvious I"m attracted to him and I think, hope, he is to me. I never even noticed how close I was to him while we were dancing until he began blushing. I noticed then that I was pressed up against him. Clearly, if I get to see him again, I"ll have to be more careful. When I imagined him touching me with those gentle hands of his, in ways I"ve only allowed Chinatsu to touch me, it sent shivers up my spine.

Tucked in between my sisters with Chinatsu holding my hand and resting her head on my shoulder, all I can do is smile.

When we arrive home, Chinatsu and I tell everyone goodnight and head to my room.

After she locks the door, she rounds on me with her eyes flashing and says, "You couldn"t take your eyes off of him all night! I could see just how aroused you were by him!"

"Chinatsu, you don"t have anything to worry about."

"Oh? I don"t? You exchanged numbers with him!"

Taking her in my arms and holding her tightly, I quietly tell her, "That"s right I did, but you still have nothing to worry about. Even if something happens between us, you already own my heart. That"ll never change."

"...But, you like him, don"t you?"

"Do I like him? Yes. Do I want to see him again? Yes, very much so, but I"m not going to chase him. He"ll either call me or there was never any spark to begin with. I was comfortable being with him. I didn"t feel as if he were undressing me with his eyes or wanting to do me right there on the dance floor. That"s far more than I can say about most of those other boys. He didn"t try to grab my b.u.t.t either like the others did."

I sigh. "I thought we could become friends again, but the longer I was with him and the more we talked, I realized, I"m attracted to him. I don"t want him as merely a friend. There"s something about him, I don"t know what, but honestly, he literally got my panties wet."

I lean back to look in her eyes. "Anyway, I meant what I told you, I love you and I"ll find a way to marry you, no matter what. Even if I fall for him, I"m still going to marry you or I won"t be marrying anyone."

She sighs and pulls me back against her. "I told you, I"m a clingy b.i.t.c.h. I suppose this proves it. I"m jealous because you spent more time with him than me. You were glowing and so happy. My G.o.d, you were so beautiful tonight and you were oblivious to all of the attention you were getting."

"Chinatsu, there are very few people in this world I actually want to look at me. You"ll always be number one on that short list." I pause while thinking for a few moments. "Did you understand the meaning behind the pendant I gave you?"

She shrugs slightly. "Other than you love me, I suppose not."

"That pendant was my way of telling you our hearts are connected and that connection is as timeless as that diamond. Like you said, room might be made in our hearts for others, but no one will touch mine like you do. You own it lock, stock, and barrel. It"s yours now and forever."

[Monday, June 1st]

Today was a busy, tiring day. I saw Airi and my s.a.d.i.s.t, I mean physical therapist. Chinatsu still has to help me clean up and change clothes, but at least this time I didn"t have to be carried out like a baby. Lifting my arms isn"t going to be happening for a little while. That"s right, today was upper body. I"m telling you right now, I really do think I"m going to eventually smack that perky little s.a.d.i.s.t.

Chinatsu graciously ma.s.sages me for a couple of hours after we get home. I fall asleep while she was doing it. Thankfully, when I woke up later with her sprawled across me, I wasn"t sore.

Mitty called before dinner to say he wouldn"t be able to make it that evening. So, after dinner and cleaning up, we spent the evening immersed in each other. Barely taking time to breathe until we were exhausted and fell asleep in each other"s arms.

[Tuesday, June 2nd]

I wake up at 5:30, kiss Chinatsu awake, and we dress. Dropping by Honoka"s room I wake her as well. Lately, she"s been bathing with us in the morning since she helps me cook and clean.

She"s really enjoying her role as big sister and Chinatsu and I enjoy her being our sister as well. I realize that at first Chinatsu said she could be our sister simply to make me happy, but that"s quickly changing.

Thankfully, the bathtub in our house is far from small. You could fit all five of us at once and still have room to spare.

As kind of an aside, Dad wants to hire a person to cook, clean and do the laundry. I was aghast that he would even think of bringing someone we know nothing about into our home. I pull a Mama and put my cute little foot down saying, "No." Chinatsu follows up by agreeing with me and Honoka says, "That"s not a good idea." Finally, even Mama backs us up.

First off, Mama"s pregnant, I"ll never take a chance of her and my little sisters being hurt. Second would be privacy, at home is the only place Chinatsu and I can be together. Third, information leaks about us. We discuss everything here in the house and it would be far too easy for us to say something we shouldn"t without thinking. And fourth, we three girls are enough to do what needs to be done around the house.

Anyway, after bathing and dressing. The three of us head into the kitchen. Chinatsu sets the table and starts the water heating for tea. Honoka tackles making the rice and warming the Miso while I cook the rest of this since I"m the best cook amongst us girls.

Honoka comes up behind me as I"m braising the meat and hugs me.

I smile when I look over my shoulder at her. "Nee-chan, can I help you?"

"Yes."

"Yes? Yes, what?" I ask confused.

"Yes, I want to be able to have babies." She says and pulls me a little tighter against her. I"m pretty sure I know why she"s saying this.

"Okay. You remember it"s not a surefire thing, right?"

"I remember Sora. No matter what, thank you for trying."

I pat her arm. "Nee-chan, you should know by now that making the people I love happy makes me happy... Now, please go wake Mama and Dad, this will be ready soon."

Giving me one final squeeze, she heads off to wake them, leaving me to stand there smiling.

I"m setting the last serving dish on the table while Chinatsu pours tea for everyone, as the three of them walk into the dining room.

"Good morning girls. Everything smells great."

Mama"s still slightly pale as she yawns and says, "Good morning everyone."

"Morning Dad, Mama." We tell them.

After we sit down and begin eating, I bring up a subject.

"Dad, can you add two more people to the security detail?"

"Sweetheart, if you"re scared to go you don"t have to do it."

"No, that"s not it. I"m not scared, nervous yes, but not scared. Chinatsu wants to go with me and I don"t think three people is enough to watch over both of us."

Dad nods. "I should have a.s.sumed she would want to go along. Okay, I"ll make the arrangements after breakfast. Don"t forget to take Hestia along with you. Oh, yes, two of the board members will meet you there to escort you in. It should reduce any issues you might encounter."

"Thank you Daddy. I won"t forget Hestia, since I somehow doubt they would willingly give me the network keys. I don"t know if they"ll help or what, but it can"t hurt."

After we eat and clean up, we head upstairs to put on our makeup and do something with my hair. Chinatsu amazes me with all the ways she knows to style my hair. Today she makes a seven-strand french braid sidetail. I suppose she"s going for a slightly more mature look for me.

Dad calls through the door, "Girls?" and Chinatsu tells him, "Come in."

"Alright, you"ll have extra security now. Each of you will have three people detailed to you. Two women and a man each. Remember, you"re not to shake hands, don"t directly accept anything from anyone there, and don"t let anyone get within arm"s reach of you."

"We understand Dad, thank you." I reply and Chinatsu nods in agreement.

"You"re welcome girls. I mean it, take no chances with those people. I simply want you girls to be safe. Oh, one other thing, Hestia will be looking for others that knowingly worked with Akiyama."

Once we complete our preparations, we collect Honoka and go pick up the drive with Hestia on it.

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

[TGR main entrance, 10:00]

"h.e.l.lo ladies. Which of you is Sora Kobayashi?"

I step forward while smiling. "h.e.l.lo, I"m Sora Kobayashi. This is my sister, Chinatsu, and our older sister, Honoka." I gesture to each as I introduce them. When I don"t take his extended hand, his smile fades and expression tightens. "I apologize, but I was told by my father to not shake hands with anyone."

After I explain, his expression lightens and he nods. "Of course Ms. Kobayashi. I"m Akihito Kawaguchi, vice president of the board, and this is Banri Maeda, the treasurer."

He clears his throat before he continues. "We informed the department heads of the change in leadership, but several, well, refuse to be lead by a teenage girl."

I smile brightly. "No problem. First things first, why don"t you take me to my office. Once you"ve done that, call a meeting of the department heads. I"ll introduce myself and we can go from there."

"Ms. Kobayashi, that"s not really a good idea."

I tilt my head and look at him. "Good idea or not, that"s what we"ll be doing. If I have to fire every department head here that"s what will happen. Anyone not there within fifteen minutes will be without a job immediately thereafter. I would much rather maintain a pleasant working relationship with my employees, but if it takes me being an utter b.i.t.c.h, I can and will do that too. This isn"t a game to me, and regardless of my age, I will be shown the respect due. Now, Mr. Kawaguchi, would you be so kind as to do as I"ve asked?" I ask him with a pleasant smile.

"Certainly, Ms. Kobayashi. If you"ll follow us." He says stiffly.

I could care less if he"s happy or not. I don"t trust either of them. After all, they worked with Akiyama. Simply because evidence wasn"t found implicating them, yet, doesn"t mean they aren"t guilty. We"ll see what comes to light when I set Hestia loose in the network.

We follow him into the building and every eye in the place follows us as we make our way to the elevator. My sisters and I enter first, followed by our security, who place themselves between us and them. Once we arrive at the top floor, they lead us down the hallway through some double doors into a very large waiting room with three ladies behind desks, who stand as we enter.

I call out to them, "Relax ladies, we"ll get to know each other soon. For now, just continue what you were doing." as we make our way through another set of double doors into the inner office.

I head straight to my desk and set Hestia down for the moment, then turn to face Kawaguchi and Maeda. "Thank you. Would you two be so kind as to call the department heads as I asked?"

When Maeda steps toward the desk, and me, one of the male guards grabs him.

"Mr. Maeda, you"re not allowed near Ms. Kobayashi." He tells him.

"I was going to use the phone, now let me go." Maeda responds.

"Mr. Maeda, I"m quite sure the a.s.sistants outside have phones. Why don"t you and Mr. Kawaguchi use them to do as I asked."

Maeda says, "We can"t leave you alone in this office."

I look at him and smile sweetly. "Why not? After all, it"s my office."

"This is Mr. Akiyama"s office! You have no right to be here!"

I shake my head and ask the guard holding Maeda, "Sorry, but what"s your name?"

"Daniels, Ms. Kobayashi."

"Right. Thank you. Mr. Daniels, would you escort these gentlemen to the outer office and watch the door afterward? I don"t wish to be disturbed. Mr. Kawaguchi, Mr. Maeda, are you going to do as I asked, or?"

Maeda"s face turns red and states, "We are members of the board, you have no authority over us!"

I fake a surprised expression. "Really? Mr. Maeda, I suggest you read the bylaws again. The board serves in an advisory capacity and only does so as long as I wish or did you hope I wouldn"t know that?"

He glances at Kawaguchi, who nods at him. Of course he would, I"m right.

"Please, do as I ask. I"ll finish here soon and if you haven"t done as I ask by that time, there"ll be two empty board seats. Mr. Daniels, if you would be so kind."

Dismissing them, I turn on the computer on my desk. A short time later, it"s booted up. What kind of moron does nothing to secure their computer? Oh well, it makes it easier on me. I hook up the drive containing Hestia, activate her, and release her into the network, it shouldn"t be too long before she controls the network.

I turn around and suddenly find myself with my face buried in Honoka"s b.o.o.bs while she hugs me. "Calm down Sora. I know you"re nervous. You"re doing well. I"m very proud of you. You haven"t raised your voice once and are projecting a calm, cool demeanor."

Yep, I definitely like being hugged like this by her. It"s quite nice and d.a.m.n sure habit forming. I reach over and pull Chinatsu into our embrace as well. Standing there soaking in the calming atmosphere of my sisters, my stress begins to dissipate.

Ten minutes later, I sigh and step back. Smiling, I tell them, "Thank you, that helped a lot… Okay, let"s do this."

I take their hands and walk to the door while our security follows us. Once we reach the waiting room, I see Kawaguchi and Maeda waiting.

"All set?" I ask.

Kawaguchi nods. "Yes, they"ve all been told, but a couple of them refused your invitation."

"What invitation? That was an order. Who refused?" I ask in a sharp tone.

"Katsuki and Morimoto."

"Okay, just a moment." I turn around to enter my office. Closing the door behind me. "Hestia?"

"Yes, Ms. Kobayashi?"

"Have you taken over access yet?"

"Yes, Ms. Kobayashi."

"Please call me Sora, and I need you to revoke all access for the department heads Katsuki and Morimoto."

"Certainly, Sora."

Taking out my phone, I dial Dad. When he answers, I explain what"s happened so far and the two refusals to attend the meeting I called. Dad"s answer was short and to the point.

"Fire them. Do you know what departments?"

"No, I can have Hestia send you the information on them if you want."

"Please do. Anything else?"

"Nope, that"s all for now. Let"s hope this is all of them we have to fire."

"We"ll see. Okay, talk to you later sweetheart. Love you."

"Love you too, Daddy."

Ending the call, I pocket my phone. "Hestia, please send my father the information on those two and have security head to Katsuki"s and Morimoto"s location. Four officers each. They are not to allow them to touch or do anything until I get there."

"Certainly Sora."

Leaving my office, I speak to the a.s.sistant closest to me. "No one is allowed into my office without my permission." She nods. Turning to Kawaguchi and Maeda, I gesture down to the door. "Please, lead the way."

We take the elevator down to the second floor and walk a short distance to a conference room. Inside are eight men and women talking amongst themselves until the notice us.

"h.e.l.lo everyone. Please take a seat and we can get started." I tell them while smiling pleasantly. All but one sits.

"Is there a problem?" I ask.

"Who are you?"

"Please, take a seat and you"ll find out shortly." I say gesturing to a chair and, thankfully, he sits. I really don"t want to fire anyone else today.

"Thank you… h.e.l.lo, I"m Sora Kobayashi, as of a couple of days ago I took over as CEO. I won"t be making any huge changes to how things are done, yet. I need to get a handle on the projects currently underway and gain a better understanding of the procedures around here. So, for now I"ll be learning about all of this and you"ll see me here and there asking questions… Now you might have noticed that Mr. Katsuki and Mr. Morimoto aren"t here. They refused to attend, and, consequently, they no longer work here."

One of them begins to say something and I hold my hand up to stop him. "Look, I know you have concerns about my age. Had I been an adult and fired them for refusing to attend this meeting, none of you would have any qualms about it. They refused to comply with a legitimate order. That"s the end all, be all of this. That being said, if you"ll give it some time you"ll find out I"m not your average cute little girl." They chuckle. "I won"t fire people over telling me their opinion. You"ll find I"m open-minded and quite fair in how I deal with people. One thing I will not tolerate is being lied to. I don"t lie and expect the same courtesy. Lie to me or one of my representatives and you"ll be out of a job so fast you"ll wonder what happened."

I pause to smile at them. "I"m here, and I won"t be going anywhere. My door will always be open to you if you want or need to talk to me. Final item and then you can ask the questions I know you"re holding on to, I would like a summary and status report on all projects by the end of the week. That"s all for now. The floor"s yours."

The man who started to interrupt me speaks first. "How old are you?"

I chuckle. "I"m thirteen."

He speaks up again, "I don"t see how a thirteen year old can run this company."

I smile. "Easily. I have all of you to help. I"m not into micromanagement, so I"m not going to breathe down your necks and second guess every decision you make. If I can"t trust you to do your jobs, then I"ll replace you. I"m not much different than any other boss you might have, simply younger, much cuter, and probably a lot easier to talk to." I smile and wink at them causing them to chuckle.

This carries on for another forty minutes as they ask questions and I answer them. It might be just my imagination, but by the time I close the meeting they seem to be a little more at ease. The rest of it is simply going to take some time.

Next we go to take care of firing those two. Katsuki chose to scream and yell at me saying I couldn"t fire him. This keeps up until I tell security to escort him out or drag him if necessary. Then I go to Morimoto to tell him he was fired. I know I can do it by proxy, but I feel if you fire someone you should be the one to inform them. Any other way is cowardly. Morimoto took it better and explained he just couldn"t take orders from someone my age. It"s his choice, but I told him I"d give him a good recommendation and three months severance. Katsuki will be getting none of that.

After that we head back up to my office. I call the three a.s.sistants in as we come through. I tell them to take a seat and introduce myself. Akari is the senior a.s.sistant, Mai is my appointments a.s.sistant, and Sanae is my public affairs a.s.sistant.

We chat for about twenty minutes. I ask them how they felt about working for Akiyama. The unanimous consensus is they intensely disliked him. He treats women as objects to be used and discarded. I have to say, I"m not the least bit surprised. So far, I have a good feeling about these three. I thank them and let them get back to work.

"Hestia, would you please find and make a copy of Daiki and Ai Itos" last report. I need the summary as well. After you do that, lock the files. The only ones with access are to be me, my mother and father."

"Certainly, Sora. Would you like a digital or printed copy?"

"Digital please. Thank you."

"Oh, Hestia, please inform Morimoto"s and Katsuki"s a.s.sistant chiefs that they"re the interim department heads until I either find a replacement or make the position permanent."

"Certainly, Sora."

Which reminds me I need to call Dad again.

Taking out my phone, I dial him again. When he picks up, "Another problem?"

"No, Dad. I need a favor."

"Okay…"

"I need someone trustworthy to fill in for me when I can"t be here. Can you find me someone like that?"

"I imagine I can. I"ll start looking for someone."

"Thanks Dad. Love you."

"Love you too. See you this evening. Bye."

"Hestia?"

"Yes, Sora?"

"Can you access the information databases to perform in-depth background checks?"

"If you give me permission to do so, I can."

"You have it. Would you please run a check on all employees? Please let me know if you find anything I should know about or any discrepancies."

"Certainly, Sora. Would you like me to check for financial discrepancies as well?"

"Yes, please do."

I really hate to do this, but I have little choice. I have no idea who here could have been working with Akiyama or are working for other people like him. As they say, information wins the battle and I have no intention of losing.