Going Back to Tokyo

[This is a flashback chappy that was taken out of the context because the author was too sick to think of a continuation to the main plot. Lols]

***

Waking up every morning has never been a pleasure for Mori Ken knowing that someone is in total control of your life.

Every move and every word he says all do reflect on the social status that he needs to uphold if Ken wants to stay off from his father's radar.

Fluttering his eyes slowly, his vision was still clouded with sleep when Mori Ken heard a loud knock on the other side of the door.

"Young master! Are you awake?" 

Almost instantly, the sleep that has clouded his thoughts for a while immediately departed from him as irritation takes place.

Eyeing at the door annoyingly, Ken snapped, "What is it?"

A few seconds later, the door to his bedroom slowly opened and in it revealed the figure of their old butler, Mr. Imai, who served his father since Ken was still a baby.

Now, even without proof, Ken deemed Mr. Imai to be his father's accomplice to monitor his every move-- that is why he was sent here in the first place. 

"I'm sorry to disturb your peace, young master, but your father just called earlier to remind you of the charity function that you need to attend later on at ten in the morning"

Mori Ken silently cursed under his breath. For all he knows, this would be the third time he is being forced to attend such boring gatherings as the representative of Mori Corporation.

Since his so-called father, Mori Kaito, is a very busy man, he cannot attend these parties himself and would rather send his second child away to fill in his absence. 

"Okay." Ken replied distastefully. "Anything else?"

"That would be all."

After that brief discussion with the young master, Mr. Imai slightly bows his head and takes his leave right away, leaving Ken sighing in frustration.

Whenever he is this aggravated, Ken would just simply pull out the picture frame of her lovely mother, Mori Ayaka, that was placed on his nightstand and hug it until he gets better.

And that's what he actually did at this point.

Holding the frame now with both his hands, Ken took his time to stare at his mother's delicate facial features. The last time he saw his mom this radiant was when they both moved and settled in Kyoto-- ten years ago.

***

-FLASHBACK-

"Is our house okay for you, sweetie?"

Ms. Mori Ayaka smiled at his son vibrantly as she carried her eight-year-old son to her arms. 

Ken, on the other hand, actually didn't mind if he would be staying at a small house like this one in front of them.

What really matters to him now is the fact that he will have his mother stay with him for as long as he wants now.

Way back when they were still staying under their mansion in Tokyo, Ken only saw his mother less as his father continued to make his life even more miserable after the death of his older brother, Mori Kai. 

Ms. Mori would then be allowed to see Ken either every after his homeschool lessons or after her husband gave the poor child a hard beating for having a lousy performance in school.

With a timid smile painted across his lips, Ken replied to his mom's question, "Yes! As long we're together, mom!"

When Ken thought that everything would turn out well for both him and his mother now that they are staying peacefully in Kyoto, everything takes a drastic change the moment Ms. Mori died in a chronic illness.

Ken watches in horror and remorse while his mother withers away year after year, just like a flower in vase. 

From the time they discovered her illness when Ken was still in sixth grade, it was hard for the poor kid to deal with his kind of situation at such a young age.

Two days after his mother died, Ken surprisingly receives a letter from his father himself, stating about letting him back to live with him in Tokyo if he can pass the national universal test with flying colors, which he did eventually after being the highest scorer on the said test.

It did not really took long for him to realize that the letter was actually a reply from the first one that his mother sent to his father before she died. 

Ms. Mori wanted him to return to Tokyo with his dad in fear that he might suffer in his adolescent life.

After realizing it was his mother's dying wish, Ken then knew that it's not his place to question it. Reluctantly, he did what his mother would have wanted him to do.

A few weeks after the national universal test results were announced, Ken finally decided to return to their old house back in Tokyo… only to find out that his father has yet another woman that is getting ready to be his wife as soon as his mother passes away.

How dare he do this when his mother just recently died!

Ignoring his son's angry reaction, Mr. Mori points one hand over to the elegant young woman standing beside him.

"Ken, I'd like you to meet Ms. Miyazaki Hana-- you're new mom."

-FLASHBACK ENDS-

***

The way Ken holds on to his mother's picture frame tightens as those memories flashed in his head all of a sudden.

"Mother… if only you're here."

Seeing that the time in his wall clock says eight thirty, Ken now puts on a straight face as he returns the frame from where it was placed earlier.

His mother had once taught him that everything in this life has a brighter side. We just need to look a bit closely and pay careful attention in order for us to see it.

Now that Ken thinks of it carefully, his mother was right all along.

Ken thought that by going back to Tokyo, he would also have to leave everything behind in Kyoto.

But as he looked at his situation a bit closely, there is, without a doubt, a brighter side to his return in this city that was once a curse to him.

First, he gets to live at a house separate from his father and his so-called stepmother… who were married just recently.

But most importantly, Ken has now the opportunity to see that someone who holds a great place inside his heart.

Someone that happens to be none other than Hayashi Sakura...