Chapter Text
As the limo pulled up in front of the newly built building, two pairs of golden eyes stared at each other. One younger and scared while the other was older, patient, and amused.
“You must at least try this, Tatsu-chan. If after two weeks, you don’t like it, we’ll make other arrangements.” Asami Ryuichi told his young daughter before gazing out the window at the building.
“You promise?” her small voice asked. Glancing back down at her, an indulgent smile came to his lips. She was so adorable.
“I promise and we never break our promises, right?”
“Yes, Papa.”
“Good girl, now let’s go introduce ourselves, shall we?” With a tap to the window, the door was opened and he stepped out while a hand from his bodyguard, Suoh, reached to help out the small girl.
Takaba Akihito also known as Aki-sensei or Aki-chan gasped as he watched the man exit the limo which had been parked at the curb for the last ten minutes. He was gorgeous. The epitome of tall, dark, and handsome fit him to a tee. He was wearing a black three-piece suit that seemed to caress his body and Aki’s mouth watered. He wouldn’t mind being allowed to do that himself.
Pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, he opened the door to the pre-school and smiled welcoming to the man and his daughter.
“Welcome to Happy Faces Pre-school.” Bending down to the little girl, he introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Aki-sensei, and who’re you?”
“Asami Tatsu,” she hid her little body behind a long leg and Akihito grinned at her. Glancing out at him, she smiled shyly back.
“Well, Tatsu-chan, how about we go see your room?” He asked while holding out his hand to her. Little golden eyes met his and studied him for a moment while from above another pair did the same.
Asami Ryuichi was watching the interaction with a smirk. The young man was beautiful. He came up a little above his shoulder, a perfect height in his opinion. Dark blond hair with blue eyes that had made him think of what they would look like in other settings. The smirk grew.
Tatsu saw kindness in the eyes of the sensei who was talking to her. She was intrigued by him, plus he was kind of pretty and she loved pretty things. She looked up at her father and smiled. “Papa, can I have him?”
The surprise on Akihito’s face caused the father to laugh out loud. He crouched down to her level, still chuckling and patted her hair. “No Tatsu, you cannot have him.” His eyes swept over the young man heatedly, “He is his own person, we do not own others.”
“But Papa, you have Uncle Kazumi and Uncle Kei and all the others. I want someone too.” Her bottom lip stuck out petulantly. Uncle Suoh’s usually stoic face grinned as he waited for his boss to explain that one.
“Ahh, but I don’t own them, they work for me, there is a big difference that you will come to understand later.” He smiled indulgently at her. His eyes met the teacher’s and he said, “I don’t blame you though, he is rather pretty, isn’t he?” He smirked as the other man turned a becoming shade of pink under his gaze.
“Yeah, but he’s not pretty like a girl, Papa.” She reached over and grabbed Aki-sensei’s hand. “Okay, I’ll come with you. I like you.”
The red faced man just stood there, gaping at the pair. They were absolutely shameless. He wasn’t sure if he should be scared or flattered. To tell the truth, he was feeling a bit of both.
“Asami-san,” He bowed slightly as he led the little girl away, trying not to dwell on the knowing glint in the man’s eyes or the sexy smirk on his face. This pair was going to give him hell, he was quite sure of it.
Asami watched the two walk away. Looking over to his friend and bodyguard, he grinned. “I think I’m going to have fun.” He then turned and made his way back to the car. It was time to concentrate on business.
Suoh groaned inwardly. When Ryuichi decided something was going to be fun, it usually caused a headache for him and Kirishima. He was sure that his partner would want to be informed about this new tidbit. It wasn’t completely unwanted though. The boss hadn’t shown interest in anyone, male or female, since his divorce and they had been worried that the cheating bitch had made him give up on any type of relationship. So, maybe his boss was right, he thought as he slid behind the wheel to steer them towards Sion, Inc. It could become fun. Hopefully, anyway.
Kirishima Kei wasn’t sure what to think about the look on his friend’s face when he entered the office to give the daily schedule to his boss. Asami was leaned back in his chair with a slight smile on his face. His fingers were steepled in front of him and he looked deep in thought. Laying the stack of papers he had for him to sign in front of him and straightening up, Kei studied him. Perhaps something had happened?
“Asami-sama, is there something wrong?”
“Mnn, no, not a thing, Kei.” He looked up at his secretary/first assistant and smiled. “Have Suoh run a background check on a Takaba Akihito after our meeting. I want it by the end of the day.”
“Of course, Asami-sama. If I may inquire?”
“Tatsu wants me to give her new sensei to her.” That almost made Kei chuckle even as it confused him.
“I don’t believe she has ever asked for a person before, has she?” There must be something about the sensei if she wanted him for herself.
“I believe it’s because she thinks he’s pretty.” Asami chuckled at the thought. “Although she did say that he’s not pretty like a girl would be.”
“So, you want a check because you’re going to gift this person to her? I’m not sure we can do that sir.” Kei was now even more confused. He was quite sure that the man abhorred human trafficking and slavery.
Asami stared at him bewildered. Shaking his head, he answered drily, “No Kei. I want to know about him because I’m interested in him.”
Kirishima Kei stared at his boss and friend of the last fifteen years blankly. Blinking a couple times as the words started to make sense, he flushed. “Oh.” Years ago, he may have expected an answer like that but now it came more as a surprise than anything. The fact that the person was a male wasn’t surprising at all. No, the surprise was him admitting his interest at all. He needed to talk to Suoh and find out what had happened that morning.
Clearing his throat, he motioned toward the stack of files in front of Asami. “These need to be looked through and signed sir. Also at 10:30 you have a meeting with…”
That evening found Akihito looking through photos he had developed the night before. Coming to a single picture of a tall man with black hair and piercing golden eyes, he stopped. It was one he’d taken over the weekend while doing a favor for a friend. He knew exactly who the man was now and also knew that he was probably one of the very few who actually had a photo of him. He could easily make a small fortune if he was willing to part with it. He’d not taken it for that reason though. No, his reason was for something much different; the appreciation of art.
Asami Ryuichi, the most feared crime lord in Tokyo and Akihito had his precious daughter in his preschool. He chuckled at the thought. Well, everyone had secrets, didn’t they? He, himself, had a pretty big one that he didn’t need others to find out. It was the entire reason behind the opening of the preschool that catered to certain people. There were no ‘normal’ children at the school. All of them were children of people in the underworld who needed a safe place for their little ones and he knew that quite well. His security was top notch.
His fingertip traced the jawline of the man in the picture and smiled. He was gorgeous, too bad really. He hadn’t known that Asami was married but obviously he would be. Probably to a beauty who was a perfect match. Oh well, he thought, tossing the picture back on the table and laying his head back against the couch arm. It’d been a while, perhaps this weekend he’d go out dancing with the guys and see if he could find someone to play with for a bit.