Battle of Wills

Chapter Six

(Note) :Nioh is portrayed after Kyoh-sama's "Lu:na" dream novel from the Gackt theme. I loved the bad boy Nioh in that dream and I thank her for allowing me to use the personality she created for him. You can access the dream novel "Lu:na" by going to Minus Zero.

Nioh's slowly starting to change in your mind~

~*~*~

In the morning, Yuushi had come to my place. I tried not to show what a grouch I was as I helped make his sandwich. Nioh kept visiting in my dreams and I was annoyed as hell. I tried keeping him out by not sleeping, but it didn’t work. "Oh, I forgot," he said, suddenly remembering. " called and invited us to go over next weekend."

"Jirou-kun's house?!" asked excitedly, almost dropping her sandwich. "It's fun! They have ponies! Jumping castles!" she exclaimed with a huge smile on her face.

looked at . "Can I come?"

Oshitari placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your father is invited as well," he told the boy. "If he can't come, we'll take you," he said sincerely. smiled happily. "What about you, ?"

I frowned. "I'm invited to a wedding that day," I answered as I remembered Kaho's wedding and it was a celebration I wanted to go to. "I'll drive with my own car after the wedding."

"Drive carefully," he advised me. "It will be late by the time you finish. If you want, I'll come back and pick you up."

I thanked him, but said no. There was no way I was going make him drive back and forth like that. It was a three-hour drive. They stayed for a while and finally left. I looked around and let out a sigh. I was bored. I tried to think of what to do when I suddenly decided that I might as well shop for a dress for the wedding and spoil myself by getting a new phone. I also decided that I could use some company for lunch. I looked at my cell phone and began text-ing.

"Fuji, want to have lunch?"

I found myself at the mall. I was browsing through some boutiques when I heard my cell phone beep.

"Sure. And do you want me to forward the message to your Fuji-kun as well? Nioh XD"

I froze. No, I felt like my knees were going to give in. I felt the color drain from my cheeks. Did I… Did I send that message to Nioh? No, please tell me I sent it to someone else, please tell me I sent it to someone else, I thought, repeatedly checking the number over and over again and found it to be Nioh's. Damnit, why did I save it in the first place? I need to sit down. I need to sit down... I walked out of the boutique and sat on one of the benches.

<Beep>

"So, where is my princess now? I'll meet you in an hour. And no I'm not going to ignore this message and save you from embarrassment."

I stared at it, horrified. He really liked playing with my mind. I held back my resentment so I would not text back something rude. I was in a predicament now and there was no way out of it. I hated myself as I replied with my whereabouts, but that's all I wrote. I wasn't going to apologize or explain to myself why I did it. I looked around and regretted being at the mall. I was upset and when I was displeased, I tended to spend whatever was in my wallet. I knew I was doomed.

A good hour had passed and I already had six shopping bags with me. I didn’t buy one evening gown, but two and now was trying to decide which one to wear to the wedding. I even had my nails done simply because I felt like it. Finally, I found myself in the mobile phone store. I wanted to get a new phone, but there were so many things to choose from. I wasn't one to really care for specifications either, so I was really clueless. Just about then, my cell phone beeped again.

"Where are you? Nioh XD"

I scowled and text-ed him my location as the sales representative showed me the different models and selection. He was babbling about the different features non-stop when I felt an arm around me. "What are we looking at?"

I moved his arm away and glared at him. "You should be ashamed of yourself," I muttered, picking up the Motorola A1200. It looked sleek and professional to me and the man explained to me that it was more of a business tool. "I don't recommend this one; it won't last with your temper," Nioh said as I gave it back to the sales representative.

"Nioh!" I hissed, not liking that comment one bit.

"Try this one,"' he said, ignoring my displeasure as he pulled out a Samsung from the display. He placed it in my hand and I studied it. It was nice and different. Actually it was beautiful. I didn’t think I'd ever seen a phone this sleek; it was almost as thin as my credit card. "Well?"

I looked at him. "I hate you, but I actually like this."

"It comes in black, silver, and pink," he explained as he read the brochure. I ignored him and spoke to the salesman asking some basics and how much it would cost me. I finally made up my mind and decided to get the black one. I was at the counter to pay for my purchase when I saw Nioh pull out his wallet to pay for it. "Don't you dare…" I warned, grabbing his wrist.  

He moved my hand away and ignored me.

"Nioh…" I said his name angrily, pinching his arm, and he yelped a bit and narrowed his eyes. "If you don't let me pay for this, I'm going to kiss you right here," he threatened seriously.

I grabbed his shirt and gave him a light peck on the cheek. I was not going to let him pay for it. I did not want to feel like I owed him something. I was not going to let him pay for it. He laughed and moved away. "Not that kind of kiss," he winked as he paid for it anyway.

Nioh picked up the bag, grabbed my hand, and dragged me out of the store. I was horrified. "Here," Nioh said, handing me the shopping bag. I looked at him and shook my head. "It is insulting if you return my gift."

Insulting? He's been crude to me and I have been openly rude to him. Why is it offensive now? "Why did you buy it for me?"

He shrugged. "Why not spend a bit on a lady I like?" he asked, taking my hand and placing the shopping bag in it. "Now, let's go and have lunch," he commanded as he took my hand again and dragged me to the parking lot. "Where's your car?" he asked me.

"Where's yours?"

He lit a cigarette and exhaled. "Marui dropped me."

I looked confused because the name did not sound familiar. "Do I know him?" I asked, curiously. He shook his head as he placed a hand in his pocket. I let out a sigh. Why do I always get myself into these situations? I walked towards my car. All that time, not once did he offer to carry my shopping bags.

"Do you mind if I drive?" he asked. "There's someplace I want to take you."

Drive? Drive my baby? Allow him to drive my precious car that I never let even Keigo to drive? "Errr…" I began, but he grabbed my waist and kissed me. My bags dropped out of my hands. I was fighting him when he suddenly let go of me and grinned. "Thanks," he said dangling my keys in front of me.

"Give it back to me!" I yelled as I tried to take it out of his grasp. "I never let my ex-husband to touch my car either," I said, referring to my Range Rover Sports.

He leaned forward and kissed me again. "I am not your ex-husband," he answered seriously, getting into the car.

"And stop kissing me!" I said annoyed, grumpily sitting in the passenger seat.

He ignored my tantrum as he adjusted the mirrors and reclined the seat to get comfortable. He was taller than me so he had to move it back a bit. Nioh checked everything and seemed pleased with his seat. He started my car and started driving.

As he drove, I snatched the cigarette out of his mouth and put it out. "There will be no smoking in my car, thank you."

"You really don't like me," he stated flatly, not looking at me.

I was fuming. I wanted to spend a nice and quiet afternoon with Fuji, not go off somewhere with Nioh. I was going to say something really rude when my cell phone rang. "Hello."

"Want to have lunch?"

I groaned inwardly as I heard Fuji's voice. The fates were in a teasing mood again. "Fuji, I would have love to have lunch with you, but I'm sort of stuck at the moment," I said, seeing Nioh smirking. "Do you want to have dinner instead?"

"I'm having dinner with Saeki and Tachibana," he told me. "Would you like to join us?"

"Are these the two guys I met on the beach?" I asked. He replied yes and I agreed. We chatted for a few more minutes and I finally hung up.

"I didn't know my lady was a busy woman," Nioh remarked casually.

I looked at him sharply. "First of all, I am not your lady," I said harshly. "And second, what I do with my time is my business."

It was his turn to say something, but my cell phone interrupted us again. "Will you throw that thing away?" he said, annoyed at being cut off.

I ignored him and answered my phone. “Hello.”

", Atobe here."

I stiffened. Why was Keigo calling me? For a second, I panicked. Did something happen to ? I was thinking of all of bad things that could've happened when he spoke first. "Are you free for dinner? We need to talk about something."

Dinner? With him? Did I have the nerve or the temper to have dinner with him? "I made…" I began, remembering Fuji's invitation, but then stopped as I changed my mind. "You sound serious," I remarked softly. "I'm free. When do you want to meet?"

"I have a meeting in the evening and I'm not sure how early I'll be done," he answered. "Be ready around seven and I'll pick you up once I'm done."

I agreed and hung up. After that, I fell silent as my mind began torturing me. What did he want? What was so serious? Is it about ? Why couldn’t he just tell me on the phone?

"Everything okay?"

I looked at Nioh and let out a sigh. "It's fine," I said without really caring. I picked up my cell phone again and dialed Fuji's number. When he picked up the phone, I apologized and said that I couldn’t make it after all.

"Nioh, can we just go home?"

"We're already here," he announced as he parked the car. When I got down, I realized it was the same restaurant that Fuji had brought me to for dinner. As we ate, he made light conversation - I'd call it teasing rather than conversation. I gazed up from my plate and it hit me that this was a Nioh I hadn’t seen before. We'd never really been out in a formal restaurant until now. This Nioh was serious, but I felt vulnerable as he watched me. Those eyes were studying me dangerously and I wondered what was going through his mind.

After lunch, nothing was really said. I offered to drop him home, but he refused and said that he'd manage. I even argued with him, but he was more stubborn than I was. As I left him, he hugged me from behind and kissed my cheek. "If that arrogant bastard hurts you tonight, you can always come to me. I'll listen to you if you need an ear."

After he said those words, he left. I was even more confused now.

~~~

It was seven thirty and I was nervous. I kept tapping my foot as I waited for Keigo. I had dressed up. Blame my ex-husband for it, but I knew when he said dinner, he meant somewhere fancy. I picked up my evening purse and left my apartment. I might as well kill some time with Yuushi.

When I walked into the apartment, I was surprised to see opening the door. "Hey, sweetie," I greeted smiling at him.

looked at me and his eyes widened. "You look very pretty, -chan."

"Thank you," I said sincerely walking in and looked around. I found Yuushi on the floor with sitting on his stomach.

"You promised, daddy," she whined softly.

"Promised what?" I asked curiously making them both look at me.

jumped off her father and ran towards me. "I saw a Bratz doll and he won’t buy it for me," she complained as she tugged at the hem of my dress. "-chan!"

" already bought two dolls for you the other day," Oshitari said, frustrated, sitting up and crossing his legs. ", you're spoiling her," he accused me gently.

I chuckled lightly as I moved 's hair behind her ear. "Daddy's right," I agreed. "You got two last week."

She pouted and ran to the TV room. let out a sigh and followed her. "She is getting spoiled," I remarked, helping Yuushi stand up.

"You look nice," he complimented me. "Date?"

I frowned. "I'm not sure if having dinner with your ex-husband is classified as a date," I said sarcastically as I walked to the sofa and sat down.

He looked surprised. "You're having dinner with Atobe?"

I nodded quietly and was going to say something when my cell phone rang. It was Keigo. I picked up and he said that he was downstairs. "I'm going," I told Yuushi. "Good night."

"," he said stopping me. "Whatever he says, don't let him get to you."

I didn’t say anything. I walked out of his apartment and made my way to Keigo's car as I came out of the elevator. For tonight I had chosen an open back matte jersey dress⁽¹⁾. It was dark red and I simply love how it flowed over my knees. An ankle strap sandal adorned my feet as I got into his car.

"Hey," he greeted softly as he moved the hand brake. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Keigo? Apologizing to me? I was stunned. However, I wasn't in the mood to goad him, so I played dumb. "It's alright," I said. "You said you didn't know when you were going to finish."  

He drove in silence. I was starting to feel a bit nervous. I had always tried to avoid being in the same room alone with him, but now we were having dinner together and it was starting to freak me out.

He drove into the valet parking of a hotel and I immediately knew it was serious. This hotel had a restaurant on the top floor with a city view, and we had frequented this place a lot - I felt uncomfortable at the memory. I hesitated as he placed his hand on my back and led me inside. It was not that this place was not a good one, but it held a lot of beautiful memories for me and I did not want them tainted. It's true that I am divorced now, but I did not want to create a bad memory of where Keigo had proposed to me. I did not want to fight here with him.

I stopped. "Ke…Atobe, why did you bring me here?" I asked looking at him as we stood at the doorway. "I don't want to fight with you here."

"We're not going to fight," he assured me as we walked to the elevator. He hit the last button and we were taken to the famous Chinese Restaurant. The minute we walked in, I bumped into...

"Fuji!"

He blinked as he heard his name. "," he said with a smile. "I didn't know that you dumped me for your ex-husband," he stated, nodding a greeting at Atobe.

I looked at him annoyed. "I told you I was having dinner with Keigo."

Fuji laughed and conversed a bit with us. We waited for a minute and the waiter came and showed us to our table. Fuji had already left to their table with Tachibana and Saeki.

The waiter seated me and poured a drink for me. I looked up and saw my ex-husband talking to the waiter. The waiter finally left and he turned to look at me. I also noticed that Fuji and co were sitting rather closely to our table. He conversed lightly with me a bit, but I went straight to the point. "Why did you bring me here?"

He looked at me and smiled slightly. "Always straight to the point, I see," he remarked. "Well, if you must know. It's about ."

My heart started beating faster. I wanted him to continue, but the stupid waiter had chosen that time to interrupt and ask us for our orders. "Still like the same thing, ?" he asked me casually.

"Yes," I answered not even caring about the food.

Finally the waiter left. He looked at me again, "'s in the stage where he is constantly asking about his mother," he explained. "I am willing to revoke the court order…"

My breath caught in my chest.

"But…" he began. ", I want to raise in the best way possible. Therefore, if I am to have you interfering in his life; I want to make sure the people that you are with do not get in the way of his upbringing."

I narrowed my eyes. "Explain your statement," I said flatly.

"Nioh Masaharu. Fuji Syuusuke. All those people are not…"

"You really are a jerk, Keigo!" I exclaimed. "I really thought you were going to have a civil conversation with me. We are divorced! It shouldn't matter to you who my friends are. You know me well enough to make sure that my son will be well brought up," I said, heatedly.

"You're the one who's being difficult…" he began, but again I cut him off.

"You bring me here to the place where you proposed to me, you cut my son out of my life, and now you’re judging my friends?" I asked as I felt tears in my eyes. I promised myself that I would never show him my tears, but he was pushing it. Without even thinking, I stood up. I threw the napkin that was on my lap on the table and walked out in a rush trying to cover my face. I almost smashed the elevator button wanting the damn thing to open fast.

"," Atobe said, reaching me. He grasped my upper arm, but I pushed him away. "Stop making a scene," he hissed as the elevator door opened and he pushed me inside.

I ignored him. What did he want from me? Am I making a big fuss over this? He wants me to stop befriending the people I know for my son? I was trembling from anger waiting for the elevator to descend. As soon as it opened, I wanted to dash out, but he caught my wrist. "Don't…" he murmured as he pulled me out and led me to the hotel entrance.

The minute he led me into his car, I lost it. I knew I was going to regret this forever as I started crying. He had finally broken me. It was bad enough that I was having issues with him concerning my son, but now it seemed like was going to be taken away from me again.

"."

"Shut up," I said through my tears as I tried rubbing them away. "I extremely dislike you."

He stopped the car somewhere quiet. Before I could even react, he pulled me onto his lap. How he managed to do that in his car, I was clueless. "How dare you," I snapped trying to hit him. He dodged my attacks and held both of my wrists. "Stop it."

I tried struggling out of his grasp. "I hate you! I really you do!" I screamed. "All you do is hurt me! All you do is torture me! You're not the same man I married! You're a bastard! You're…" I kept shouting and then suddenly went quiet as I hugged him. I was crying silently in his shirt as I sat on his lap. All the emotions that I had blocked in me burst and the farce of a smile that I had vanished.

I felt his arms around me as he held me closely. I knew he could feel my hot tears against his chest. I finally moved away from him. "I'm walking home," I told him quietly as I got off his lap and opened the door on his side.

"…"

"I am walking home!" I repeated flatly. "Goodbye."

Somehow that word seemed so final.

~~~

I walked home with the feeling of emptiness. My heart ached. My head hurt. My legs were killing me. Somehow I knew that the evening was not going to end happily when I agreed to have dinner with him. As I walked quietly, I felt a car stop by. I ignored it and didn’t bother looking at the driver. However, it was when the car stopped and the driver stood in front of me that I stopped walking as well. "Fuji."

"Get in the car," he told me quietly placing his jacket on my shoulders. I didn’t even say anything as I walked with him to the car. I saw Saeki and Tachibana in as well, but they were decent enough not to comment. Fuji asked Tachibana to drive while he sat next to me. "Home?' he asked me.

I looked at him and suddenly realized that I did not want to go home. If I went home then Yuushi will be there. Also, …immediately thinking of my son pained me.

< If that arrogant bastard hurts you tonight, you can always come to me. I'll listen to you if you need an ear.>

I shook my thought as I remembered Nioh's words. I didn’t want to give him that. I was going to ask Fuji if I could stay with him, but I overheard him telling Saeki that Tezuka was waiting for him at his apartment. I let out a sigh. "I'm fine," I lied. "You can drop me at this address. I'm staying with a friend," I said giving him a false address.

They dropped me and Fuji walked out with me. "I didn't know you were having problems," he admitted. "Do you want to talk one day?"

I hugged him impulsively. "Thank you, Fuji," I said sincerely. "I appreciate your friendship."

He nodded and bid me well. At first, he was hesitant but he finally left.

I pulled out my cell phone and hesitated. Did I want to do this? Did I want to call him? He's been nothing but pushy and annoying to me. Why do I want to call him? I looked for his number and called, but after the first ring I immediately hung up.

I let out a sigh and sat on a bench. Although it was pretty late at night, the street was crowded. There was a homeless man ranting about something loudly. Some coupled enjoying a night stroll and people walking. I was almost lost in thought when my cell phone rang. I looked at my new phone in my hand and knew it was Nioh. I picked it up, "Hello."

"Nice surprise!" he greeted. "I was in the shower. I'm sorry I missed your call."

I hesitated. I needed an excuse. "I kind of lost my bracelet," I lied. "I was wondering if it's with you by any chance or if you have seen it?"

"Nope," he answered.

"Oh alright," I said. "I… I need to go Nioh. I'm sorry to have bothered you at this hour."

He agreed and bid me a good night. I leaned on the bench and played with my phone strap. I was there for a good half hour thinking horrible thoughts. I was a fool. I was a stupid woman. I actually believed my dinner would result in something good today, but I knew deep down inside I knew as well that I'll end up hurting. I am never going to look at Kei… No. It is Atobe from now on. I am never going to look his way again. I'll never…

"Nioh?!" I exclaimed as my thoughts were interrupted. I found him standing in front of me. "What… What are you doing here?"

"You're a lousy liar, ," he stated, taking a seat next to me. "You think I don't know that homeless guy's rants by now? I could hear him in your background," he explained as he crossed his arms behind his head. "Which made me think, why would call me about a bracelet late at night while she's on the streets?"

I didn’t say anything. What was I supposed to tell him? I thought of you while I was upset? I wanted to spend the night somewhere where no one can give me the third degree about my ex-husband? I hugged myself and closed my eyes. "I'm sorry," I apologized.

"Also, would never apologize to me unless she's upset," he added.

I held a fistful of my dress in anger and bit my lip. Actually, I was more upset than angry at the moment. "I'm really sorry," I repeated sensitively. "I don't like you, Nioh," I admitted. "I don't why I called you when I was distressed. I don't know why I did that?" I sighed as I covered my face with both of my hands.

I felt him rub the back of my head gently. He didn't make any move to hold me, but just moved his hand through my hair and pushed it aside. "Let me drop you home," he offered as he stood up.

I shook my head. "I'm not going home tonight."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

I stood up. "If I go home, I'm going to be bothered all the time by people who will ask me what happened," I explained. "I just don't want to go home tonight."

"And what makes you think I won't ask?"

I leveled my eyes with his. "I know if I said don't, then you'll stop. I don't know you that long, but that much I know about you," I said as I looked at the cell phone that he gave me and switched it off. I was serious about not being disturbed tonight.

He took my hand and started walking. "So where are you going to go?"

I hesitated. "Honestly, I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I think I'll check into a hotel."

He stopped and turned to look at me. "You can stay with me if you want," he invited.

"I…"

"But ," he interrupted as he raised my chin so I was looking right into his eyes. "I’m no gentleman." He watched me. "If you stay at my place, you won't be sleeping alone."

~~~

DeVeliCious

Edited by Elenniel & Kashii

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Note:

(1) Dress from Victorias Secret [online]