Alex drew in a deep breath and went to stand beside Takara. “A symbol must be worn by the both of you in an area of your choosing,” he said. “You must concentrate your energy to him and while doing so…” He hesitated and looked off to the side. “Let me just say this, there are several ways to make a contract between two people… As of now, I am only showing you how to make a basic contract with your servant, but as time goes on the contract may either weaken or strengthen depending on how well you two get along.”

Inoue stood watching intently by the doorway. Her eyes still reflected her hostile attitude she revealed to Takara earlier, but it appeared to have sizzled up through the roof as she stiffened her back and glared. It was clear that she was not happy with what was going on.

“With a contract, a symbol that connects you both will appear on both your bodies and will only appear in certain situations. This can change through time,” Alex explained. “A contract is formed by pledging your loyalties and submitting to one another, which then allows you to make the contract, however, in this case Einosuke has not submitted for he doesn’t wish to place you in danger.” When he looked at her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “As much as it may not suit you, you must force a contract with him. A mark will only appear on his body, not yours and it will cause him tremendous pain if he should ever defy you. At least until he submits willingly to your will.”

“Now, repeat after me: I take Einosuke, my destined servant, and bare down the symbol that shall submit him to my will.” The contract was basic, something Einosuke could easily break through, but Alex hadn’t mentioned that part…. He only wanted to establish a contract s Takara could transfer her energy to him in order to save his life.

As Takara spoke the words, Einosuke winced, struggling against the contract that his master was forcing on him. However, due to his weak condition, he was unable to break the contract just yet and fell submission, reluctantly, to Takara’s will. A small, tattoo like marking appeared on his left wrist in the shape of a rose…. The contract had been made.

“Now, concentrate your energy on him. I warn you now that it will be exhausting both mentally and physically. He’ll resist the entire time.” Alex kept a firm hand on her shoulder. “If you feel faint, pull away from him immediately and order the contract to disappear, otherwise, you’ll be placing your own life in jeopardy.”

Einosuke didn’t know what hit him; his mind was so muddled in comprehending anything. His ears barely picked up the panicked murmur of his master, though not a single word got through to him.

A petite woman hurried into the room and slide to her knees beside Einosuke and placed two fingers on his pulse. “He’s barely alive! Get him to his room!” she shouted. Her voice was powerful and well-heard, seeming odd for such a small, fragile looking woman. Her chocolate brown eyes narrowed in concentration as two men went on either side of the bloodied man and lifted him up. “Careful of his wounds! They’re fatal!” Her hand remained near his neck and her eyes bounced back and forth from her watch to Einosuke.

Once they reached his room, they stripped the bed and put his down. The woman pulled away for a moment, allowing the men to rip Einosuke’s shirt from his body, and during that time, she grabbed as much gauze, alcohol, and bandages as possible. There were so many people in the room it was overwhelming; all doing what they could for Einosuke. From the looks of things, they were used to this situation and hardly surprised.

“He’s stable!” a man said. The woman who took charge before nodded her head and turned to Takara, her eyes sharp and narrowed.

“You there,” she said. “You’re his master, aren’t you?” She came to stand beside Takara, yet waves of hostility rolled off of her. “How could you be so reckless, huh!? He could have died!” Her hand raised high in the air and began to come down to hit Takara, however, another hand grabbed hers from behind.

“That’s enough Inoue,” a man’s voice spoke softly, though with a slight accent. The woman’s eyes were wide with shock as she pulled away and turned to look at the man that had just entered the room.

The man standing before Inoue and Takara had blonde hair and blue eyes… A foreigner; American to be exact. Inoue backed off and went to check Einosuke’s vitals, leaving the mysterious man alone with Takara for a moment.

“My name is Alex,” he said. “I’m just like Einosuke, although unlike him I was not destined to anyone, so I have no master.” He glanced at the unconscious Einosuke and sighed heavily. “You haven’t made a contract with him yet, have you?” When she answered, he nodded in understanding. “Once he wakes up, I recommend making a contract with him right away, or he will die. He’s lucky this time, though for how long, I don’t know.”

The room slowly became more and more empty until only Takara, Alex, Inoue, and Einosuke were left.

“He’s stable for now, although it could change at any moment. His pulse changes too much,” Inoue said as she went to stand in the doorway. “Miss Takara, I suggest you hurry up and make that contract with him now,”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “It’s too dangerous, especially when she knows nothing about it.”

“If she doesn’t Einosuke will die! He’s barely alive as it is! Alex, you’ve made a contract before, you know the process, and you can show her!”

Alex shook his head and turned to Takara. “I believe this is a choice only his master can make. What will it be Takara: forcing him into a contract now or waiting until he regains consciousness?”

The driver refused to look her in the eye. “It’s not my place to say…but let me tell you this: there are others out there like Einosuke who are contracted to humans.” He nudged her toward the door. “Please, let us go inside. Einosuke will be home soon.”

But as the sun set, thunder tore through the sky as heavy rain fell. The driver had ushered Takara upstairs to her room, hoping that maybe she wouldn’t have to wait long. Unfortunately, Einosuke hadn’t yet returned and the tension inside the estate was thick enough to cut with a knife.

“It’s been almost four hours,” Hiraie murmured. She was leaned against the window with eyes that searched the darkness endlessly. “Please return safely, Einosuke.” Slowly, she stood to her feet and went to each light, turning them off, and then retreated to her room. She could only pray that he would come home to Takara safely, but knowing that an old ‘friend’ had breezed into town, it was hard to maintain any sort of positive thinking. “At least come back alive….”


Meanwhile, Einosuke lay bleeding against a wall inside an abandoned alley. His body was layered in medium gashes given by a knife, and despite the lack of movement, his breathing was labored. He was much too weak to try moving, but he had to get out of this rain and back to Takara.

Please forgive me, Takara…. His lips curved into a weak, pitiful smile before a hazardous cough shook him and his lips became stained in blood. He could feel his life slipping away and within a matter of time he would die…unless he got to Takara and fast.

But a single thought—and truth—kept him seated against the wall. When he returned, he had absolutely no choice but to make the contract with her. Without it, Takara would be in a constant fight for her life. Especially when he was out lurking around. He would have no choice from here on out but to tell Takara the entire truth whenever she ordered him to. Not that he minded. He already dedicated his existence to her, so why not his free will, too?

Einosuke pried himself up, cringing; desperately attempting to stay quiet. He wasn’t positive as to whether or not the enemy was gone. It didn’t matter. He was desperate to get back to Takara….

The rain blinded and burned his eyes as he stumbled along. He could barely hold himself up and it felt like his lungs couldn’t pull in enough air. A sigh of relief escaped him when the estate came into view and with the last of his strength he pushed through the door and then collapsed.

“Takara…” he said. He couldn’t raise his voice, nor could he keep his eyes open, but when he fell to the floor, it was loud enough to wake the entire household.

((OOC: Sorry for the crappy post..... I didn;t leave you much to go on. Waaaay too many interuptions so I kinda stuck a post together without much effort. Don't worry, I'll explain what happened to Einosuke and such.))

“True as it may be, your father did care about you,” Einosuke said. “He ran a legitimate business, but his so-called ‘private’ life was another story entirely.” It was unlikely that she would notice this small detail so soon, but Einosuke almost always wore long sleeves to cover his arms up. His body bore the marks of her father; ones that released his blood in one cry of silent agony.

He leaned back in his seat and inhaled deeply. His mind raced for the proper words, but he found none that would take the seriousness from the truth. Finally, after a moment, he looked at her and began to speak. “You’re father forced me to become his slave.” Although she knew that already, he lifted one of the sleeves of his jacket and revealed white marking. They were scars carved into his skin by a man he despised greatly. “He would do all that was necessary to keep me by his side, even if it meant forcing me on the brink of death, which he often did.”

Einosuke covered his arm back up and gave a dry laugh. “Despite having me in his command at all times, he took extra precautions. He was convinced that I would find a way to break the contract and destroy him, but I never did. Only his death was able to set me free from him and place me in the hands of another master.” His eyes caught hers; they appeared so cold…but upon closer inspection, it was grief he revealed and loneliness.

“As a slave, I’m not permitted to question your methods or your treatment of me,” he said and took hold of her hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. “But I ask that you please stray from your father’s methods. It was his fear and paranoia that drove him to deaths door so quickly. He couldn’t stop looking over his shoulder, acting as though he were going to lose the power he’d stolen…a power that resulted in his abuse of me.”

Einosuke almost laughed and fought hard to suppress it. He’d grown to enjoy a bit of pain, but he refused to request such a selfish thing like asking Takara to wrap him around her finger; to manipulate him. But at the same time, he wondered how he would have turned out if he had been Takara’s slave rather than her fathers from start to finish. It was something he would never know, but he was alright with that, because now, he was with the person he so desperately wanted to protect and give the world to.

Takara, he thought. Do you have even the slightest idea of how much we are connected already, despite not having a contract made between us? He highly doubted it. There was so much Takara didn’t know and Einosuke began to wonder how much he should tell her now…and later. How would he be able to protect her if he put her in dangers way.

When he opened his mouth to speak, he stopped and looked at the window separating there conversation from the drivers ears. His eyes narrowed in a way that made him look dangerous.

The window rolled down and the driver looked at Einosuke through the rear view mirror. “Einosuke…there’s a man in the middle of the rode.” His words sounded cryptic, as though he was expecting Einosuke to understand.

Without looking in her direction, he said, “Takara, I want you to go home.” Einosuke didn’t allow her to interrupt him; instead, he got out of the limo and shut the door behind him. He went to the driver’s side and whispered something to the driver, which was an order to take Takara home.

“I’ll see you at home soon, Takara,” Einosuke said loudly. The driver turned the limo around and within a matter of seconds they disappeared through the bend in the road.

The driver arrived back at the estate with his hands gripping the wheel tightly. He scanned the area around him often as though he were expecting something to go terribly wrong. Once they were through the gate and parked, he turned around in his seat to face Takara through the window. “I apologize deeply, Miss Miyozuki. I wish Mr. Einosuke hadn’t had to cancel dinner plans.” He tried to sound calm and serene, but his voice quivered. “Quickly, let’s get you inside.”
[center]

“You came.” He stepped from the shadows of the garden in one swift step to stand behind her. His eyes wandered over her as he took in the sight of his master. He couldn’t help but allow a smile to spread across his lips as a flicker of joy warmed him on the inside.

Einosuke came to stand beside her and gave his arm for her to hold. He wore a black pair of dress slacks with a black silken button up with the first two buttons undone. He enjoyed serving his master, it’s what he lived for since he was born, and nothing satisfied him more than seeing her happy. It was his job. His destiny.

“I’ve made reservations at Ristorante Novecento,” he said. Of course, he chose the most elegant, expensive restaurant known in Japan. Not that there were many Italian restaurants to begin with. “The drive will be approximately one hour long, but one of the drivers will take us there.” Now that Takara inherited her fathers estate, every worker he had, now belonged to her—ready to be in her service.

The moon was shining brightly overhead as Einosuke led her to the front of the house where a black limousine was waiting. The driver nodded politely and bowed, a smile on his face. “It’s good to finally meet you, Miss Miyozuki. Mr. Miyozuki—your father—told me you were the spitting image of your mother!”

Einosuke glanced toward Takara then back at the driver. “Yes, she is. Her personality is quite the same as well.” Throughout his years in the household, he’d heard stories of Takara and her mother and instantly he had become infatuated—especially after discovering that he was meant to be Takara’s servant and not her fathers.

“Shall we go?” the servant asked with a smile still plastered to his face. He opened the door for the two, and watched as Einosuke allowed Takara access first before getting in behind her. “You will arrive at your destination on time and safely.”

“Thank you,” Einosuke murmured. When the door shut, his eyes immediately strayed to Takara. “I’m curious as to why you haven’t asked me anything strange, Takara. Do you really have no questions for me to answer?”

Einosuke brought his hands together as his eyes closed; a low laugh escaping his lips. “You appear more like your mother each day,” he murmured and then stood to his feet. His eyes wandered around the room as though searching for answers to an unspoken question, but then his eyes focused on a small, silver box on the other side of the room. He kept his eyes on it until he crossed the room and placed his hands on either side of the box.

“I wish to take you to dinner.” The request was straightforward, but sounded almost like a question. Einosuke’s serene eyes fell upon her when he moved his head to look behind him. “Of course, if you’ll allow me to,” he added with a subtle smile.

He released the box and went to the doorway, hand resting against the wall and without looking at her, he said, “One more thing…” Like a drop on ice, the room became chilly and calm. The next words that came from Einosuke’s lips were powerful and stern, like he was trying to break ice with that single droplet of water. “I will forever be by your side so long as you desire my presence.”

The movement was quick, fluid, and spontaneous; his body practically a blur. He didn’t give her time to react before he crossed the space between them in a matter of a second and planted a soothing kiss upon her lips. “If your answer to my request is what I hope it to be, I will wait for you in the garden this evening at seven,” he whispered before disappearing from the room, leaving Takara alone to ponder her reaction to his sudden actions.

However, it was entirely uncertain as to what nature the kiss held…. Not even Einosuke knew, but it was enough to produce a rare smile as he walked silently down the hall to his room….

(have her wear semi-formal clothing^^)