Book 2: Kaede Oda

***** Book 2, Chapter Six: A Paradox ****

I smiled bitterly as I remembered the first time he gave me one of his candies.

I was crying then.

It was my 5th birthday and Uncle Daisuke failed to show up. Uncle Daisuke is my father and Uncle Lucifer's other best friend. He is the leader of the world's top mafia group. Like my father and Uncle Lucifer, Uncle Daisuke is treated like a god in Belmore.

But I had never had the opportunity to meet him. He constantly wrote me amazing letters detailing his adventures and the members of the mafia, and he never neglected to send me the best kind of gifts that one can buy from the store.

I cried because Uncle Daisuke said he still can't meet with everyone.

That he needs more time to heal.

I couldn't understand then the sentiment behind that. I had yet to learn the depth of love, after all.

All that I knew then was I was sad because Uncle Daisuke wouldn't see me after all.

I had waited for him to arrive but he didn't come. This was all a five-year-old could understand.

My father had even cooked special meals for everyone, hoping Daisuke might show up this time.

I didn't comprehend how someone everyone missed dearly never showed himself to anyone anymore?

Uncle Lucifer tried to comfort me with his extravagant gifts. My father and my mom tried to console me with their words. But I locked myself inside my room, not wanting to see anyone else.

Then, Jiro entered my room through the window. I remembered shooing him away, telling him to leave me alone.

That's when he gave me his candies. The special candies he never shared with anyone.

I felt so special then, that he would give me those. I stared at the raven-haired teenage boy whose eyes reminded me of the vast ocean I loved so much.

That's when I first felt my heart beat fast and loud in my ears.

The teenage boy who convinced me to go outside and have fun on my birthday.

The teenage boy called me baka and pushed me out of my room.

That boy saved me from a ruined birthday. That boy saved my heart from breaking into a million pieces.

Only to cause me heartbreak worse than that.

I took out the candy wrappers and cut them all up. The memories I treasured with him were now a constant reminder of the indescribable pain I felt inside.

I wanted to cry out but I stifled my voice. I couldn't have my parents worrying over anything.

For that is what I am, the man I love told me so. Nothing but a little child.

His words wounded me so badly that I felt like I would never recover.

I smiled as tears ran down my cheeks. I smiled and swore that I was done loving him.

The silly child who followed him around was no more.

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***** Book 2, Chapter Seven: Kaede Oda of Belmore ****

I was in senior high school when I met him.

Kaede Oda. The high school genius who transferred to our school.

The most gorgeous student council president our school ever had.

He had beautiful azure-colored eyes and long, vibrant golden hair that framed his delicate features perfectly.

Despite his delicate features, he had a lean body and towered above the other students. He was at least 6 feet tall.

He always looked calm and composed. And everyone in our school simply fawned over him.

I was still the fat girl in class then. I guess I always had been and maybe I always will be. But when Kaede looked at me, I didn't feel like he saw me like that at all.

Kaede was the sweetest friend in the world. And I don't understand why out of all the girls in our school, the cheerleaders, the popular kids, and the socialites, he chose to bond with me, the daughter of a famous sociopath.

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**** Book 2, Chapter Eight: An Introduction ****

It was the first summer I hadn't seen Jiro.

Jiro just never came back after that night.

I was staring right into the window when the famous Kaede sat beside me and initiated our first conversation.

"You look so sad." He sat beside me and looked at me intently.

"I'm sorry. I, I, I didn't want it to be so obvious," I said, not knowing what else to say.

At this point, we had been classmates for three weeks. We still hadn’t ever spoken directly to each other.

"Being sad is not something to apologize for." Kaede offered his gentle smile, that smile that calmed the terrible emotions and that that tore at my soul.

He just sat there beside me, not saying anything. Not asking anything at all. He just simply read quietly beside me.

In that stillness, he did not leave me.

After that day, it became a hobby of ours to sit beside each other and not talk about anything.

Until one day I finally acknowledged him by turning my head and smiling as those cool blue eyes meet mine.

"Would you like to attend my birthday?" I asked him with such hope in my heart.

I was afraid I would be rejected once again, like how Jiro had shunned me after my confession.

He turned to face me. And for a while his eyes completely focused on me, unable to say anything.

"It's okay, I'm sorry I asked. I just thought that… I mean, seeing that we always sat beside each other and... I mean, please forget what I said. I just have no one else to invite." I didn't know what to say and I avoided his gaze.

Kaede tilted my chin to meet his soft cerulean eyes and said, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

My heart skipped a beat as I stared at him, completely lost in that beautiful face.

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**** Book 2, Chapter Nine: My Birthday Wish ****

"Why do you keep fidgeting, is there something you want to say to me, my dear angel?" Ulysses Sora, unbiasedly the best father in the world, asked me.

I kept on holding the sleeves of my pink dress, tugging on the ribbons and lace. By the way, pink was my father's favorite color, so I had decided it would be mine too.

I wanted to say I'm having anxiety about inviting an outsider, especially a guy on my birthday. But how do I say that to a very protective father?

I never had many friends growing up. Except for Jiro, if Jiro could count as one.

My classmates, or rather the whole school, had always been afraid to be close to me.

They knew my father as the notorious sociopath who used to kill for pleasure. His fame as an undefeated fighter in Demon's Lair, the most prestigious fighting arena in the city of Belmore, did not help at all to ease their worries.

So I had contented myself to stay within the smallest social group possible. Which meant I had no friends in school. I sat alone during lunchtime and had stopped trying to join school clubs as well.

That is probably why it was a big shock to everyone that Kaede Oda, the most popular guy in school, chose to enjoy my company. Fellow students kept talking behind my back, saying that I must have used a love potion or something to lure Kaede.

Of course, they never dared to say such things on my face for fear of my father's wrath falling on them and their families.

Nevertheless, I had heard them sometimes, when they didn't notice me passing by. And I had seen the horrible graffiti written on the comfort room cubicles calling me a whore, a stupid bitch, and an absolute fatty.

My thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on the front door. Immediately, my kindhearted mother opened it. She turned around and a wide smile appeared on her lips.

"A handsome golden-haired visitor for our unica hija!" Her excited voice rang through the house.

I didn't even blink but my dad was already in front of the porch, sizing up Kaede, eyeing him closely. I ran towards them, trying to intervene in the awkward situation. "Dad, Mom, this is my friend, Kaede Oda."

My face was flushed. I mean, my parents were looking at Kaede as if he was to be my husband, asking for my hand in marriage, who wouldn't blush in this situation?

"Look what we have here, interesting gold hair! Tell me, are you courting our baby girl?" My dad's voice sounded seriously menacing.

I tugged on my mom's blouse, trying to get her to intervene. It was a known fact that it was only my mom who could calm my dad and prevent him from one of his outbursts.

"Love, please don't scare the handsome young man. He looks really good for our daughter." My mom took my hint and embraced my dad's waist.

Immediately, my father's bloodlust calmed down and his tense body relaxed. Then, my dad halfheartedly attempted to smile. "Just be sure not to hurt my child, or I will surely hunt you down, young man."

"Sir, I will never hurt Yuki. That I can assure you. You have my word, sir."

Satisfied with Kaede's answer, my father opened the door wide and allowed Kaede to enter the house.