(Sophia's POV)
"Dad, dad calm down!" I state, pacing in the kitchen. Kinuyo was a few steps from me, silently listening on a third line.
"Calm down? Calm down?!" he snaps "You promised me no funny business! You said you'd be smart and I get a call from the police saying my daughter was involved in a school shooting?!"
"It wasn't a school shooting and I wasn't involved like that!" I snap back "Imori, the geeky little brat that lived next to us with his grandma, remember him? Well, he did what he always does and got way in over his head."
"So he brought a gun to school and you thought it was a good idea to get involved?!"
"It was a high powered crossbow meant to take down one of my classmates and yes, I wasn't going to let him kill someone."
"I don't care if it was a knife, gun or crossbow; you had no right to be there Sophia!"
"Come on dad, he didn't shoot me."
"That is not the point young lady!" I turn, leaning against the countertop "You broke your promise and now I have to punish you."
"Punish me?" I gawk
"Yes, I've made a few calls and I've gotten you a roommate."
"A roommate?!"
"Yes, someone that will watch over you and make sure you're following the rules."
"Dad!"
"No buts young lady! I own the house, I pay the bills and I will invite whoever I feel I need. I will not lose you too, do you hear me?" I turn away feeling tears rim my eyes. Of course, he'd throw that card at me. "He will be arriving tonight and will be staying in the spare room on the first floor. I want you to be nice. He will be reporting to me daily."
"Fine."
I hang up the call, tossing my phone on the counter and glare out the window. God, he was being unbelievable... Kinuyo sets her phone down nicer and looks at me. Kozue walks into the kitchen standing beside her mom.
'He's pissed?"
I roll my eyes "The understatement of the century..."
"Marcus hired a bodyguard for Sophia, he's moving in tonight."
"He's unbelievable..." I could feel the beginnings of a headache.
"He's just scared. I'm sure you can drop the house guest in a few months."
"Months?!" This time the headache comes.
..
..
I was washing the dishes when the doorbell rang. I wanted to ignore it. To pretend like I wasn't home in hopes that they would leave but I also knew they'd call my dad and that would be another conversation. I glanced at the clock as I dried my hands. Eight thirty-five stared back at me.
The doorbell rang again as I walked towards the door. Three heavy knocks followed after and I sigh "One moment!" my fingers hesitate on the lock and after three seconds I slide it to the left, turn the handle and open the door.
A familiar face looks at me "Takeda Sensei?"
Standing in front of me was my kendo, Captain Monma Takeda. He taught me everything I knew in school and after he graduated two years ago we continued my training at his dojo. After winning the national kendo competition four times he had quite a large class.
Takeda rushes forwards, enveloping me in a tight hug. I gasp, awkwardly hugging him back "Takeda Sensei what's going on? Are you alright?"
His hug doesn't loosen and soon my backs against the wall. I wrap my arms around him slowly returning the hug. His head rests on top of mine like I was some kind of doll.
"What were you thinking..." he whispers brokenly.
I felt my throat tighten at his words, my grip tightening slightly and for the first time today, I felt tears rolling down my face. This dam broke loose as pain, fear and sadness fill me. I hated the fact that Takeda could bring out my feelings with a simple sentence. He was one of the few people I could open up too. My father never talked about my mother and brother's accident or the passing of our neighbor. Takeda had saved me from three thugs a few years ago. I was new to japan, trying to learn my route to school when I came across them.
Takeda had taken them out with a retractable police baton. Whack, crack, smash. All three went down in a bloody mess and I turn to my savior. Takeda had never been very expressive. He was quiet, somber and focused. A large hat was pulled over his ears. Takeda had a thin face with a very prominent bone structure; sunken cheeks, giving him a sickly appearance and paper-thin lips. Small Japanese eyes, thin eyebrows and a flawless complexion tied the whole look together. I felt captivated by him. Powerless under his gaze.
Takeda had done what he did now, stepped forwards to embrace me and whispered in my ear, causing the seven years of pain to come flooding to the surface. I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that, eventually, I passed out from exhaustion, falling asleep on his shoulder and woke up in the school's kendo room. Takeda was in his uniform, striking the air with fast, sharp hits. When I asked him why he simply said 'he could feel it. The pain buried deep within my soul and he wanted to set me free.'
Despite his lanky appearance Takeda was anything but weak. I felt his strong arms lift me with ease. Felt his toned abdomen against my stomach and the strength of his legs as he confidently walks into the house. I glance back, seeing the door had been shut sometime during our meeting and squeeze my arms tighter. Takeda's hands rub comforting circles into my thighs as he sits on the couch, arms pulling me against his skin.
..
..
"So you got in the middle of the fight?"
I rub my eyes with my sleeve, wiping away some tears "I had too." I sigh "I'm not sure why Imori was doing this but I was certain he wouldn't shoot me."
Takeda hums, rubbing my back softly "I met Hanayama Kaoru once. A few months before I met you." Takeda chuckles, or the best laugh he could manage "He shattered a piece of bamboo with a single swing. It was a feat my father was sure I'd never see in my lifetime." I wipe my nose "I knew he was stronger than me, yet he told me that he entrusted the schools' safety to me and walked away."
I cuddled into him more "Yeah, that's how I felt too. Hanayama isn't like anyone I've ever met. He made everything worse but when he pulled me against his chest I didn't feel scared. Well yeah, I was scared of the situation but I had a feeling that he would have won no matter the outcome."
"I'm sure Imori-san could feel it too. That overwhelming presence that is Hanayama Kaoru."
I nod, wiping my face again and sit back, looking him straight "Not that I'm unhappy for the sudden visit but why are you here Takeda?"
For the first time in four years, the stoic Takeda Monma laughs at me "You haven't figured it out?" at my silence his smile grows "I'm your new roommate."
"... WHAT?!"