Sakamo faced the young boy, that gulped when he noticed the serious way that Sakamo was staring at him.
Hangaku Tokimasa disguised his worries because he already had plans to use his son to get close to the Imperial family:
“Why you say it was my son? It could be anyone else.”
“Actually, it couldn’t. Only the Emperor and the Empress knows how the Princess addresses me in private. She is very careful not to call me big brother even when one of her most loyal servants is present. No, she told him, because she thought he could be trusted. It seems he can’t.”
Hangaku Tokimasa gave a serious look to Sakamo:
“It is very rude to come to my house and accuse my son of not being trustworthy.”
“I am not accusing him of anything, I am merely stating a fact. You don’t need to pretend to be so insulted, because I was warned that you only respect people that faced you and didn’t show any sign of weakness.”
Hangaku Tokimasa raised one eyebrow:
“It seems you are indeed very well informed. I may have underestimated you.”
“People often does that, and then they see how wrong they were.”
“You intrigue me, Sakamo Ryu. That’s a good thing because, for someone like me that is used to all sort of surprises and unexpected events, that’s something that doesn’t happen very often.”
Sakamo made a slight smile while cleaning the corners of his mouth with his napkin.
“Let me be around more often, and I will probably surprise you even more.”
Hangaku no Maki spoke while trying to hold her anger:
“For someone so young and that was supposed to come to meet us to reassure us that you are worthy of dating our daughter, I could almost believe you don’t care about our opinion, considering that every sentence that comes from your mouth is either a mockery disguised as casual talk or an insult, disguised as a youngsters daydream.”
Sakamo made a slight frown:
“If you and your husband were normal parents, I would for sure do that, but I can perfectly see that both of you already made up your mind about me, so it really doesn’t matter what I say. It is a pity because I could be an amazing son-in-law, but while you think that I am unworthy of dating your daughter, your husband is wondering how he could kill me without anyone finding out. He just doesn’t do that right now, because he discovered that I am a close friend of the Imperial Family, and he is thinking how my relationship with your daughter could work in his favour, because of your family business.”
Hangaku no Maki went silent and glanced at her husband that was staring at Sakamo with an inscrutable face. He then cleared his throat and said:
“Aham! Hypothetically, let’s say that you are right. Let’s imagine that we already made up our mind, and we do intend to do everything in our grasp, to keep both of you apart. What will you do if I tell you that you can’t see Mae again?”
“Father, you have no right of saying that!”
“Quiet Mae, I was just explaining a hypothetical scenario. I am rather curious about Sakamo-kun’s answer, as should you.”
Sakamo shrugged:
“I would say that not even all your money or men would be able to force me to be away from Hangaku-chan. Not to mention that you are not my owner, my father, or my boss, to tell me something like that and expect that I would blindly obey.”
“So true, but I can order my daughter to never see you again.”
Hangaku Mae crossed her arms over her chest and grinned:
“Good luck with that! The last time you ordered me to do something, I was three years old, and I almost burned this house down during a tantrum. We both know that you can’t order me around, father. You can ask me, I will think, and I will compromise if it’s beneficial for me. Keeping me away from Sakamo-kun is not beneficial for me, so I won’t do it.”
Hangaku Tokimasa made a slight smile:
“I can always disinherit you, you know? Life can be hard without all the money that our family has at your disposal.”
Hangaku smiled at Sakamo and asked:
“Can I move in with you? I think things will be a bit boring around here for me.”
“If you want to, of course, I don’t see a problem. You can have the guests room because it won’t be proper for us to sleep together without being married. I was raised in a very traditional environment, remember?”
Hangaku Tokimasa frowned:
“That wasn’t funny, Mae. I know that you are trying to become a singer, and you are expecting that it can be profitable so that you can make a living from that. I already told you that it’s not proper for the heir of the Hangaku family to be a singer, instead of inheriting our family business. Your brother is still young to face the administration board, so it’s up to you to occupy my seat when I step down until your brother is ready.”
“Relax father, I am perfectly capable of doing both things. If I need help, I am sure I can count on Sakamo-kun to give me a hand.”
Before Hangaku Tokimasa could say anything, Sakamo raised his open right palm:
“If I may, probably it would be better if you both continued that discussion when I am not around because this is a family matter and I shouldn’t be present.”
Hangaku Tokimasa raised one eyebrow:
“I beg to differ, Sakamo-kun. You are dating my daughter, so that means our family matters also concern you, especially if you are the reason for our disagreement.”
“That is even stranger, considering that you don’t approve of me. Unless, you suddenly changed your mind about me, which I don’t believe. I am more leaned to think that you are using me to annoy Hangaku-chan or to test her, and at the same time, to evaluate my reaction. You were probably thinking that I would bail out the moment Hangaku lost access to your family’s money. That would be an error because you are perfectly aware of where I was raised, and I already told you that money means nothing to me.”
Hangaku Tokimasa leaned back on his chair and slowly nodded:
“You are very wise, Sakamo-kun, and you have all the perfect answers to anything I may say. I keep on underestimating you because of your age, and I am starting to think that I should treat you as if you were one of my business rivals.”
“I am not on the same business as you are, Tokimasa-san, but it seems we are indeed rivals. Let’s see who will win this predicament where we are.”
Hangaku Tokimasa made a slight smile while noticing the warning in Sakamo’s tone:
“Yes, let’s see. It will be fun, I believe. It has been a while since the last time I faced a worthy opponent.”
“I am glad that you see me as a worthy opponent, considering that I don’t see you as one. A mere bother, perhaps, one that I shall dispose of on the best opportunity.”
“Let’s see who will dispose of whom, shall we?”
Sakamo leaned forward on the table:
“The last one that said something like that to me, was a Chinese monk in the Kumite that I attended in Shaolin last year, right before I split his head open. I wonder what will happen if we face each other like that.”
“Yes, I also wonder.”
Hangaku Mae kept on looking at her father and at Sakamo, wondering why they kept on shooting threats at each other. Hangaku Tokimasa noticed the puzzled stares from his family, and he waved one hand while smiling:
“Worry not, daughter of mine, we are only exchanging pleasantries. You should be happy I am acting like this because you know very well that I never had such pleasant conversations with any of your previous boyfriends. Many of them I didn’t even bother meeting. As for you, Sakamo-kun, you say that money means nothing to you, but I am yet to meet a man that doesn’t have a price, it’s always a matter of zeros.”
Hangaku Tokimasa went to the inner pocket of the jacket he had placed on the back of his chair the moment he sat at the table, and Sakamo disguisedly put one hand inside the right pocket of his trousers and grabbed a small Magical Orb, getting ready for the worst. Tokimasa took a pen and a chequebook from his jacket and faced the table again. He looked at Sakamo with a grin, and he then wrote something on a cheque. He ripped it from the book and handed it over to Sakamo, saying:
“This is how much I am offering for you to go away and to never see my daughter again. A similar cheque will be delivered to you, six months from now, when I am sure you did as I said. This cheque is to the bearer, you may deposit in your bank account immediately and get the money.”
Hangaku Mae became red in anger, and she was about to explode when she heard the most surprising words from the boy she loved:
“So many zeros! Alright, I will accept your kind offer. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”
Sakamo got up and smiled at Hangaku that was about to cry, and asked:
“Are you coming or what? Your father gave us enough money to pay for our food and clothes for the next five years if we are careful and don’t spend it wildly. With my part-time jobs and yours, I may not be able to give you the Princess life you are used around here, but I am sure you can have a good life at my side.”
Hangaku Mae looked at him, and then at her father, that was completely blown away by what Sakamo implied with his shameful invitation. Hangaku no Maki suddenly got up and slapped the table:
“Enough! She will not go with you anywhere! Get out from my house this instant, you are not welcome here anymore!”
Sakamo continued smiling to Hangaku Mae:
“Well? I am waiting for your answer. Are you coming or not?”
Hangaku got up with the biggest smile that Sakamo saw her doing, and she almost shouted:
“Of course I am going! No way I am staying in this madhouse any longer!”
Hangaku Tokimasa recovered his usual posture as the calm and cold-blooded businessman he was and took his phone from his jacket. He pressed a key, and two men entered the dining room, and they stood in front of it, staring at Sakamo. Tokimasa spoke without batting an eye, and his voice was cold as ice:
“Sit down this instant, Mae! As for you, young man, I got enough of you. Hand over my cheque, and maybe those guys don’t hurt you too much.”
Sakamo made a slight smile and grabbed his cell phone as well. He pressed a button and put it in his pocket again. In a matter of seconds, a commotion was heard in the hall that led to the dining room. When the two security men were going for the door, Sakamo’s driver kicked the door open with a gun on each hand, aiming one to the security guys, and another to Hangaku Tokimasa. He shouted, and his voice resonated on the walls:
“Are you alright, Sakamo-san? I already called for reinforcements, and they will arrive in minutes. We need to hold on until they arrive. I may need your assistance!”
Sakamo immediately grabbed two knives from the table and threw them, hitting both security guys on their shoulder blades. As they were screaming in pain, Sakamo grabbed another knife and faced the dumbfounded Hangaku Tokimasa:
“I also got enough of you, Tokimasa-san. You shouldn’t have underestimated me so much. I tried to warn you, but you failed to believe in me. I am not someone you should mess with. I am going, and Hangaku-chan is going with me. If you do anything foolish, you may find yourself in a worse situation than you already are.”
Sakamo’s phone rang, and he glanced at the screen, facing again the surprised and worried father-in-law:
“Now this is bad. I wonder which of us will be in a worse situation.”