Chereads / Tachibana Palace / Chapter 9 - "Can we talk?"

Chapter 9 - "Can we talk?"

Yuno wakes up to see Tori watching her sleep. She smiles and pecks his forehead, hugging him tight soaking up the cuddles, playing with him until a knock on her door interrupts their play time. She opens the door and it's someone she did not expect to see at all.

"Hey Yuno, you mind if I come in?"

Yuno steps aside allowing the female to walk into the room.

The unexpected guest's wondering eyes land on Hitori, he's all grown up and she can't believe it's been 9 months.

This year has been flying by for her she wonders what it's been like for Yuno.

She sits next to Tori passing on his stuffed animal to the stranger, "Thank you." She replies, turning to Yuno with a smile on her face only to be met with a hard slap across the face.

"You just waltz in here with that cheesy smile on your face and suddenly I'll welcome you with open arms? Do you have any idea what I've been through? What he ate? What he wore? All of it?

"Now you want to just flash a smile and it's all okay? It's not Ryu, I don't care what you came here for but you will not have Tori. You need money? How much?"

Ryu chuckles and stands up looking around the suite it's one of the luxury rooms, "All of Tachibana's employees get rooms like this, or is it just you?" She looks around ignoring the slap to the face, but her presents makes Yuno's blood boil.

The only thing going through Yuno's mind is that her sister is hopeless. Ryu has always acted a little crazy now she believes that she is.

"This whole floor is for employees you know that's ho Tachibana does things, why are you here?"

Ryu shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know, I saw you and I came to see you, what other reason do I need to be here? I was surprised that he's Tachibana's mystery baby, so I got curious, what you did to my baby?"

Ryu snorts, "How did you coax Tachibana into being a baby daddy to a child that's not his?"

"What do you want?!" Yuno asks glaring at her older sister who just twirls and flops on the bed making herself comfortable.

Tori smacks her on the face and she turns around glaring at him, she raises her hand instantly startling the baby.

Yuno stops her from laying a finger on him.

Tori starts to cry prompting Yuno to toss Ryu out.

"Don't come back. I never want to see you again." 

"Woah, What's going on?" Ackerman looks between the two females. Tachibana behind him holding the travel bag with Tori's stuff.

"She's not welcome here." Yuno points a finger at Ryu shutting her door to pick up Tori and wipes his tears away.

That was a bad move on her part she shouldn't have done that with Tori in the room, he might start thinking violence is the way to solve things.

Ackerman talks to Ryu outside while Tachibana walks towards Tori.

Ryu catches a glimpse of Tachibana scolding Tori and the baby laughs.

Yuno gives him a guilty look.

"What?" Tachibana asks

Yuno shakes her head and he rolls his eyes.

"Fine, I'll ask Hitori what happened." Tori chuckles and swipes his hand at Tachibana and Yuno jumps freaking out. Tori is already showing signs of being surrounded by violence.

"Okay, in my defence Bobo learned through observation." Yuno says looking at Tachibana who's still very clueless about what she's talking about.

He takes Tori from her giving him a lecture about violence, "I'm tired of having this conversation with you Hitori."

Yuno narrows her eyes and looks between the tall male and the baby in his arms.

Tori wiggles out of his hold and Tachibana puts him down, he isn't a fan of being carried around when he can walk on his own anymore.

"You're the one who taught Bobo violence." Yuno points an accusing finger at Tachibana.

"In my defence, he learned through observation." He retorts back and walks out of the room.

Tori already knows that when Tachibana is holding the blue bag they are leaving so he walks behind the tall male jogging to keep up. 

Tachibana stops in his tracks getting a bright idea, "You're tagging along Miss Lin."

Ryu's smile perks up thinking Tachibana is talking to her but when she looks over Ackerman's shoulder looking through the small crack in the slightly opened door Tachibana is helping Yuno wear a coat while she complains about being able to wear it on her own.

Tachibana leads the way out of the room walking past Ackerman and doesn't even acknowledge Ryu and that's just pissing her off.

Ackerman walks Ryu out of the building before getting in the car driving to Nabato City.

"Your sister is a very attractive woman, what happened to you?" Ackerman teases Yuno the whole way, and she sulks in the back seat while Tori and Tachibana are talking about fixed accounts and a fire wall, software and malware.

"Ken you're not seriously teaching him how to be a hacker are you?" Ackerman takes his eyes of the road turning around to glare at Tachibana

"Of course I am he has potential."

"He doesn't even understand what half the crap coming out of your mouth is." Ackerman starts poking fun at Tachibana pissing him off, and the male just tunes him out talking to Tori who's looking at the computer.

Tori starts crying and points at the laptop screen, "No cartoons in the car we talked about this." Tori screams at Tachibana and crawls to Yuno she picks him up and asks Ackerman what Tachibana's password is before playing cartoons for Tori who falls asleep after an hour.

Ackerman clears his throat when there's suddenly some tension in the back seat.

Tachibana is pissed off, and occasionally the two at the back silently glare at each other.

Ackerman pulls over outside the small business office.

Yuno carries Tori walking behind Tachibana. She can tell he's angry but doesn't know, why?

"Tori is one spoiled baby, the dad says no so he goes to the mom and she says yes, with parents so out of sync he's a big brat in the making." Ackerman hints to what the cause of the tension between the two of them is.

Yuno looks at Tachibana and he's just quiet it's evident he doesn't want to have this conversation right now.

They all enter the room and Yuno meets Ai Kasai who is super friendly towards her and Hitori.

"Ackerman mind taking Yuno and Tori out." Tachibana says changing his mind about having Yuno here.

Ackerman nods taking Yuno and Tori for lunch meanwhile Tachibana and Kasai sit in the office in silence until the female breaks the ice.

"You come here to stare at me Tachibana?"

"I'm here to offer you a deal Kasai, step down while you still can."

The woman chuckles, she is used to men coming into her office to undermine her authority, "I really thought you were different from the rest of these men Tachibana."

"I don't care what you think and don't you think that hiring a group of wanted thugs was a bit much, even for you?

"Not only are you stealing government funds that are generated from people's hard earned taxes, giving it away to your family, you're going so far as to blame it on the rise of Supers knowing very well that there's already civil unrest when it comes to those kinds of people, and increasing the tax rate just like that? I'm disappointed in you."

Kasai scowls, "Tachibana are you sure you want to take this road you're walking? You've made enough enemies I think you need to start gaining allies instead."

"Wasn't Eto your ally? Where is he now?"

Her eyes widen and her face expresses shock before it shifts to rage, no one knows about Eto, the only other person who knew about Eto is dead.

She stands up abruptly and sighs in disappointment, "I really liked you Tachibana, too bad it has to end like this."

She slowly and seductively walks over to Tachibana's side cupping his face. They lock eyes her lips crashing into his surprising him with the sweet taste that lingers on her tongue, sliding it across his bottom lip to let her in.

When he doesn't kiss back she takes a step back and gets back to her seat waiting to see Tachibana turn to ash, but instead he's just calm.

"So, that's what you did to Eto, death by a kiss. You know, it's illegal now to have an ability and not have it registered. I mean even I had to register mine, I thought you of all people would've rushed to see what it is."

He gives her the envelope he brought with him and she snatches it, clicking her tongue reading it over, she will be agreeing to step down and give her position to Oyama Eto, the son of Natsuko Eto.

"Tachibana why the hell would I sign this?"

"Because, if you step down willingly all your dirty deals won't come to light, although I am well aware you're a stubborn woman and we are going to do this the hard way I just wanted you to know that the was an easy way out of this mess.

"The main reason I came here was because I wanted to make it very clear what happens when you get in my way, going after Yuno like that was your worst mistake." 

"Tachibana you're playing with fire."

He smirks, "Isn't it obvious I don't burn?"

He stands up and leaves Kasai in her office thought provoked. Her ability is incinerating Kiss, anyone else would be gone without a trace.

He calls Ackerman to come pick him up. The car stops outside in an instant Tori hates being in the car without Tachibana at least in his arms he doesn't feel the car when it swerves around.

Tachibana sits in the car and Tori cries for him.

Yuno lets him go and the baby practically runs to the other side screaming, which is his way of voicing out his complaints.

Tachibana cuddles him till he falls asleep and Yuno looks out the window wondering why he hates kids when he's so good with Tori.

When the car is at a distance Tachibana makes a call, and after a while there's a large explosion with a huge cloud of smoke in the air.

Yuno's heart skips a beat hoping a Super wasn't the cause of all this either wise chaos is rising.

After 2 days Yuno watches on the news as they report that it was Kasai's office that was blown up, all the things she did from stealing government funds to the murder of Prime Minister Eto have been brought to light while she's recovering in the hospital.

Yuno walks into Tachibana's office and they glare at each, "Did you do that?" She's already using an accusatory tone which only further infuriates the male having a crappy day.

"No, someone else did. I needed her to sign this first this isn't how I expected things to go some vigilante has been doing my job for me, but their doing it all wrong.

"I don't like the way this could easily be pinned on me. If someone is planning on framing me for something big they've set the stage pretty well."

Yuno watches Tori playing around with his stuffed animal on the floor she's still not sure what to say about the relationship between Tachibana and Tori, the baby boy is clearly attached, but where Tachibana stands is a mystery she doesn't want him breaking Tori's heart in the end.

It's pretty evident he prefers Tachibana over her and she's more than just a little jealous.

"Do you have anything else you want to accuse me of?" Tachibana asks hurt she would even assume such a thing about him.

She turns to him with a scowl, "No."

They both look at Tori than back at each other.

"Next time I say no, don't say yes." Tachibana doesn't know how else to have this conversation Tori isn't his child, but he still doesn't want his authority being undermined.

"Fine." Yuno walks out of the room. Tachibana forces her to miss the rest of her classes for the week while still being kept out of the loop about when she's going back.

~

"You two just get married already." Ackerman comments walking into Tachibana's office to share snacks with Tori who giggles non-stop.

Tachibana sits in his chair and can't even think straight, "Tch, she sure as hell stresses me like she's my wife." He stands up walking to Yuno's room and swings the door open, "Can we talk?"

She sits up and looks at him, "I'm listening."