Upside Down

I return her smile and reply, "Oh yes. I"m looking forward to tonight. Let"s get everyone and head down."

She holds out her hand to me. "Sora, you really have no idea how gorgeous you are, do you?"

I take her hand and take a step toward her as I reply, "I have a fairly good idea these days, but I think you"re just as gorgeous." I lead the way out of our room and we collect the other three and make our way downstairs to find Ryu, Ryo, Mama and Daddy waiting on us.

The look I get from Ryu is everything I could have hoped for since Dad reaches over and closes his mouth for him with a grin.

Ryu says, "Oh my G.o.d Sora! You weren"t kidding! I don"t have the words to describe how beautiful you are! No offense to anyone here, but I"m so lucky to be escorting the most gorgeous girl that will be attending this dance tonight."

I give him a dazzling smile, curtsy, and tell him, "Thank you very much. I"d give you a kiss for that, but I don"t think this shade of lipstick would work for you."

Ryo seems to be in a daze until Mama pats his cheek and calls out, "Earth to Ryo?"

"Eh? Oh, yeah. Ahem~ Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts there. Chinatsu, you look very nice."

She gives him small, strained smile, curtsies slightly and tells him, "Thanks."

She says that, but I can tell she"s very upset. She was wanting/expecting a better reaction from him than that. I can"t say as I blame her one single bit. I lightly squeeze her hand and she looks at me and I can easily see how hurt she is. I use my eyes to tell her to stay there. Honestly, as much as I abhor violence, all I want to do is kick his idiotic a.s.s for hurting her.

Releasing her hand, I take the two steps to Ryo, grab his forearm and drag him with me into the living room and shut the door behind us.

Turning back to him I see his confused look and I quietly snap at him, "Ryo, I have no idea what they h.e.l.l you were thinking! Whether you know it or not you just hurt Chinatsu"s feelings rather badly. She went to a lot of trouble to look this beautiful for you tonight. I realize you"re a self-centered jerk by nature, but Chinatsu, for some odd reason, really likes you. I have a like/hate thing with you, but I love Chinatsu very much and I won"t stand for you hurting her."

The whole time I"ve been talking to him he"s been staring at one place on me and it isn"t my face, which only serves to make me angrier. The loud smack from my slap echoes in the room for a moment while he takes a step back in surprise. "Stop staring at my b.o.o.bs and pay attention to what I"m saying you moron!"

I take a deep breath to calm myself and then continue, "Get your priorities straightened out, or I"ll kick your a.s.s if you even think about hurting Chinatsu like this again, do you understand me? I"ll say one other thing and then we are going to the dance. You had best pull your head out of your a.s.s and pay attention, or you"re quite likely to lose her and I won"t do anything except support her decision to break up with your insensitive a.s.s when it happens."

Without another word or look at him, I turn on my heel, yank the door open angrily, and walk over to Chinatsu to take her hand again. I hold out my other hand to Ryu and he takes it. I take a deep breath and slowly let it out my, and look at Mama and Dad to ask, "Shall we?"

Mama and Dad lead the way out the door with Ryu, Chinatsu and me right behind them. As we cross the threshold, I hear Honoka say, "Why are you still standing there? Get a move on dumba.s.s, unless you"re wanting Chinatsu to break up with you right this minute. Personally, I think she should. Do you know how many hours she spent deciding on her dress for today? How many hours she spent at the salon getting her hair and makeup done? All of that was because she wanted to be gorgeous for you and you can only say, "you look very nice?" Sora"s right, you"re an insensitive, self-centered a.s.s. As it stands you don"t deserve my little sister."

I find Maki waiting at the front gate, camera in hand, for us.

Smiling, I ask, "Hi Maki. What"s up?"

"Nothing much. I just want some pictures of you kids all dressed up."

"I don"t have a problem with you taking Ryu and my picture, but we just had an incident in the house with Ryo."

She quirks an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Ryu steps in and explains what happened. Apparently, everyone could hear my talk with Ryo in the living room because he tells her about that too. The more he explains the angrier Maki becomes.

When he finally finishes, Maki says, "Excuse me for a few moments while I have a talk with my idiotic son."

She marches up to him, grabs his arm, and drags him over to the side. "What the h.e.l.l? I raised you better than this! Do you really think you can take a girl like Chinatsu for granted with no repercussions? Relationships take effort, didn"t you tell me just last night that you really like her?"

He mutters a reply low enough that we can"t hear.

"A slap? Really? That"s all? You"re lucky your brother doesn"t beat you senseless!" She sighs. "If you really want to be with her, you had best apologize for your thoughtlessness as a start."

He mutters a reply.

"What?! You had better get over that, or you"ll end up just like your father... Let me ask you this, if Ryu hurt Sora"s feelings do you believe for one microsecond he would let his pride get in the way and not apologize for it?"

He mutters another reply.

"Did I ever say you were him? Have I ever compared you two? I"m asking a question is all."

He mutters something else.

"Fine, your pride got a little wounded. Are you really willing to lose Chinatsu over that? How long do you think someone as cla.s.sy and gorgeous as her will go without someone else asking her out?"

His head pops up with a surprised expression.

"What? Did you think that she would simply sit in the house and pine away for you? Hardly. Girls like the Kobayashis are few and far between. Chinatsu deigned to give you a chance and you are blowing it big time."

He mutters something again.

"You know what. I don"t really care at this point because you"ve apparently made the decision to let Chinatsu go. I think you"re an idiot to do so, but that"s your choice. Alright, let"s go home. I"ll have to figure out a way to repay Sora for everything she bought for you, but that"s on me since you"re my son. Let"s go."

She grabs his arm and drags him toward the front gate where we are. "Chinatsu, I apologize for Ryo, but he won"t be attending the dance with you. Apparently, his pride is more important than his relationship with you and he"s too big of a coward to say as much."

"I never said that Mom!"

"I told her she looked nice. I did nothing wrong. I have nothing to apologize for. That"s saying your pride is worth more than your girlfriend."

Ryu speaks up to say, "Ryo, honestly, I"m a bit disappointed and angry at you right now. I know you"re basically a good person, but you"ve made the mistake of picking up some of Dad"s bad habits. You have to know what you have right in front of you. Are you really willing to let Chinatsu find some other guy, fall in love with him, marry him, and have his children, all because your ego won"t let you apologize for something that you know you did wrong?"

He pauses for a few moments while thinking, then says, "Okay, let"s try it this way. You play basketball and ask her to attend a game. You have a phenomenal game and score 30 points all by yourself and all Chinatsu tells you is, "You did okay." How would that make you feel?"

"I"d be hurt and upset."

"Uh huh, as you should be because that shows that she has little interest in you by saying that. Now, look at this from Chinatsu"s point of view. She was excited that you were coming with her tonight and she went all out to look this beautiful. She did this to make you happy and it takes a lot of effort for a girl to look this gorgeous. How do you think, after all that effort, your comment, `You look nice" makes her feel?" He shakes his head and continues, "Me? I told Sora exactly how I feel. She"s the most gorgeous girl I"ve ever seen in my life and I"m honored that she chose me to take her to this dance."

"I am glad she asked me. I am happy with the way she looks. I like being with her."

Maki jumps back into the conversation. "Ryo, we girls are emotional creatures. We do best when the people we care about appreciate the efforts we go to for them. That means you have to give us more than a few words to show that, and it isn"t just words, it"s actions as well. Otherwise it hurts us and we feel taken for granted."

Ryo looks at me questioningly and I snap at him, "Don"t look at me! You"ve already made me mad enough this evening! I"m not eye candy for you to stare at my b.o.o.bs, I dress this way for myself and for Ryu, who appreciates it... Ugh! Whatever, I"ll do this for Chinatsu. Think back to what Ryu told me when he saw me come downstairs and how I reacted to it. Compare that with what you told Chinatsu. That should tell you all you need to know."

Dad calls out from behind us at the car, "Girls, we need to go."

Maki asks, "So, Ryo, what are you going to do?"

"Umm… Chinatsu, I didn"t mean to hurt your feelings like that. I"m sorry. I know I"m not the best there is when it comes to saying things, but I"ll try to do better. I actually think you"re drop dead gorgeous this evening and I"d feel so lucky if you"d allow me to escort you tonight."

"Much better," I think. I look over at Chinatsu and she looks at me as if asking, "what should I do?"

"Chinatsu, it"s up to you." I look at Ryo. "Ryo, listen to me and you had best take it to heart. If she takes you back and you pull something like this again, I promise you that I"ll literally castrate you, do you understand me? My family means everything to me and I"ll do anything to protect them." He swallows hard and nods. I look back at Chinatsu to see what she"ll tell him.

Chinatsu smiles at me and then looks at Ryo. "Alright Ryo. We"ll write this off as a lapse in judgement, but this is only going to happen this once. If you ever do something like this to me again I"ll break up with you so fast your head will spin. Do we understand one another?"

"I understand."

She nods. "Good. Now, that"s settled. Maki, I believe you said you wanted to take some pictures of us? Ryo, what are you standing there for, get over here."

He quickly moves to her side and she takes his elbow moving closer to him while Maki takes several pictures of them. No matter what, they do make a very cute couple.

Of course, I might be a little biased, but I think Ryu and I are a much better couple. I look up at Ryu and give him a dazzling smile. He smiles back, pulls me against him and whispers to me, "Remind me never to p.i.s.s you off," which makes me giggle. Maki suddenly announces, "Okay, you two now."

The ~kasha~ of the shutter startles me and I look at Maki, who tells us, "That"s a definite keeper." I release him and take his elbow and she takes several more pictures of us.

"Sorry Maki, but there will be a lot more chances for picture taking. We really need to leave or we"ll be late." I glance at my watch. "Actually, we already are."

Maki nods and says, "Alright, have fun. Ryo, you had best mind your P"s and Q"s."

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

As our little convoy pulls up in front of The Okura Tokyo, several doormen come running out and open our doors for us. I see a lot of people with cameras lining the sides of the walkway behind the ropes. I wonder, "Are there going to be celebrities here tonight?" Ryu steps out first and offers his hand to me. Keeping my knees together, I slide my legs out of the car and stand with his help. Ryo surprises me by following suit with Chinatsu. Mayumi, Honoka, and Sofi then get out as well. I look to the other car to see Mama and Dad are already out and walking over to us.

When they reach us, I ask, "Dad, what"s with all this?" I"ve kept a pleasant smile on my face since I got out of the car because pictures of us are being taken incessantly.

He explains. "Tonight"s event has a lot of very high profile business people, so the business and society reporters are covering the event. Everyone be sure to be on your best behavior." He leans closer to me. "You, as CEO of TGR, were supposed to attend this as well since TGR is an industry leader in Genetic Therapy and Engineering, and Nanotechnology."

"Really?"

He nods. "Yes, really. Everyone wants to know who the anonymous CEO of TGR is and get to know them. I sent an apology note saying that you wouldn"t be able to attend."

I feel as if I"ve almost been rescued and I breathe a sigh of relief. I thought for sure my night with Ryu was ruined when Dad first said that. I don"t want to spend my evening listening to a bunch of old men and women probably tell me everything I should be doing to run TGR better. I think I"m doing quite well with the help I have already. TGR"s stock price has tripled since I"ve taken over. Ugh… Enough.

"Thank you Daddy. I appreciate that. I don"t really want it to get out and I"d much rather it be kept under wraps if possible."

"Tonight, I simply want you to be my cute little girl and enjoy yourself, alright?" He tells me. Any of you still wondering why I"m such a Daddy"s girl? Yeah, I thought not.

"I will, thank you for thinking about me." I tell him. He simply smiles at me and nods.

He stands back up and says, "Alright folks, everyone smile for the cameras and follow us."

Mama takes Dad"s left elbow and smiles dazzlingly for the cameras as he leads our entourage into the hotel. I"ll be happy if I can become half the woman Mama is since she is so poised and elegant.

They are followed by Ryo with Chinatsu holding onto his left elbow and Sofi half a step behind Chinatsu"s left shoulder.

Ryu follows up behind Ryo with me holding his left elbow. Honoka"s half a step behind my left shoulder with Mayumi right beside her.

The camera flashes are almost blinding as we head into the hotel, so I hold Ryu"s left elbow a little tighter. Remember, I"m in 10 centimeter heels tonight and this is the first time I"ve ever worn this tall of a heel. I don"t want to fall and embarra.s.s myself and my family.

I hear an announcer on my left talking, "And here with have Eiji Kobayashi and his family entering the venue. You may have heard from some of the society papers and programs that not only is his wife, Haruka, pregnant with twins, but the couple has also recently adopted three girls into their family. Honoka, the blonde girl beside her younger sister Sora, the redhead, when their mother was killed in a house fire. Sofia, the smaller blonde girl beside his daughter Chinatsu, is originally from America. The two boys with them seem to be dates for two of them and they also seem to have a friend with…"

I lose his voice as we enter the building. Just how do these people know so much about what I thought was our ordinary family? Yes, I know that Daddy is wealthy and a very prominent attorney, but I had no idea that our family is followed so closely by society papers and programs. I wish Mama and Daddy had told me about this. I"ll definitely need to mind my image and manners a lot more when I"m out in public. Sheesh… Even more things to worry about now.

We follow Mama and Dad through the lobby then down a hallway to the entrance of the venue for this event. First thing that comes into view is the greeting line where the host is greeting guests as they arrive. Dad leads us up to an older couple at the head of the line.

"h.e.l.lo Eiji, we"re so happy you and your family could make it this evening."

"It"s our pleasure Hayato."

"Well, we know Haruka. It"s a pleasure to see you again and congratulations. We heard the good news."

Mama smiles at him. "Which good news? That we are expecting or adopting our lovely daughters?"

He laughs good naturedly, "Both I suppose. How about introducing your family and friends?"

Mama waves us to come forward. She places her hand on Honoka. "This is our oldest, Honoka."

He smiles. "Pleased to meet you Honoka. I"m Hayato Takeda and this is my wife, Maaya."

Honoka curtsies and says, "Pleased to meet you."

Mama comes over to me and places her hand on my shoulder. "This is our second oldest, Sora."

I curtsy and say, "Pleased to meet you."

He nods. "Pleased to meet you Sora."

Mama goes over to Chinatsu and places her hand on her shoulder. "This is our third oldest, Chinatsu."

She curtsies and says, "Pleased to meet you."

He nods. "Pleased to meet you Chinatsu."

Mama goes over to Sofi and places her hand on her shoulder. "This is our youngest for the moment, Sofi."

She curtsies and says, "Pleased to meet you."

He nods. "Pleased to meet you Sofi."

Mama gestures to Ryu. "This is Sora"s boyfriend Ryuichi Ueno."

Ryu bows and says, "Pleased to meet you."

He nods. "Pleased to meet you Ryuichi."

Mama gestures to Ryu. "This is Chinatsu"s boyfriend, and Ryu"s older brother, Ryota Ueno."

Ryo bows and says, "Pleased to meet you."

He nods. "Pleased to meet you Ryota."

Mama gestures to Mayumi. "This is our daughters" friend Mayumi."

Mayumi curtsies and says, "Pleased to meet you."

He nods. "Pleased to meet you Mayumi."

Mama smiles and places her hand on her abdomen, "The twins you will have to wait a little longer to meet."

Mr. Takeda laughs. "I look forward to meeting them. Why don"t you all go on in and enjoy yourselves." He looks at Dad. "Eiji, please come find me a little later."

Dad nods and says, "Certainly."

We follow Mama and Dad as they wind their way through the venue to an empty table, and we sit down.

Ryu comes up behind me, bends down, and asks, "Would you like something to drink?"

"I do, but I want to go with you to get it." I stand up and announce, "We"ll be right back, we"re going to get something to drink."

I take Ryu"s elbow as he leads us over to the drink bar.

"Honey?"

He looks at me. "Yes?"

"With everything that happened earlier I didn"t get a chance to tell you how handsome you look this evening."

He smiles and pats my hand lightly. "Thank you babe."

"I"m going to have to think of something nice to do for you for coming with me tonight."

"Don"t you think unb.u.t.toning your top for me to play with your b.o.o.bs this morning is good enough?"

I turn to him, pulling his arm in between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and smile mischievously at him. "Oh no. That was mostly for my benefit, but I"m happy you liked it too. Umm… Honey, do you think if I signed Ryo up for etiquette lessons he would go to them? For that matter, maybe we all ought to go to them."

"I"m not sure, but I"m sure if you talked to Mom she would make him go. Honestly, he could use them. As for me, if you want me to, I will."

"I know, that"s why I mentioned it for him and thank you for that. I just learned about all the eyes on my family tonight. I never knew it before and if he"s going to be Chinatsu"s boyfriend those rough edges of his need to be honed or he"ll embarra.s.s my family and we can"t have that happen."

"Why don"t we talk about this tomorrow? We"re here to dance and have fun, so let"s do that."

I smile coquettishly. "Aww… Does my handsome boyfriend want to dance with lil" ol" me?"

He chuckles. "You know I love dancing with you."

I look up at him through my eyelashes with a coy smile. "And here I thought you just came to look at my b.o.o.bs in this dress."

He laughs. "Well, there"s that too. Babe, I hate to tell you this, but you"re drop dead gorgeous and have a killer body. Anyone would love to look at you."

I giggle happily. "You"re just biased because you love me." Sighing loudly, I tell him, "I want to kiss you so badly right now."

He grins at me. "I"m right there with you babe. I want to kiss you too, but it"ll just have to wait until later when we get home."

"I know, I know, it doesn"t mean I can"t want a kiss from you. Alright, let"s drop this before we get all frustrated and get our drinks. I want a ginger ale."

"Sounds good to me."

He leads me over to a server. "Two ginger ales please."

"Of course, just a moment." A couple of minutes later she brings our drinks over and hands them to us.

We take our drinks, tell her, "Thank you," and head back to our table. When we get back Mayumi isn"t at the table.

I set my drink down and look at Mama. "Mama, where"s Mayumi?"

"Look at the dance floor."

After searching the dance floor, I finally spot her. She"s dancing with a rather handsome man, who looks to be in his mid-twenties or so. I think, "Well good for you!" I sit down in my seat next to Ryu, lean against his shoulder, slip my small hand into his and watch a smiling Mayumi dance and talk.