“WHAT?” Mikado shouts at the top of her lungs, eyes bulging like wide saucers. Her chair lies toppled over onto the cold tiled floor. “What?” she repeats, staring at her father. “Y-you…you, you w-w-want me t-to m-m-m-m-marry?” she stutters, slowly descending onto the cold tiled floor. The man remains seated, a silent sigh escaping him. “W-Why? I am just the spare for the spare for the spare. Why the hell do I need to marry now”? Mikado is back in her seat now, gazing at her father. His only reaction is to glare at his daughter. “Please…a-answer me.” she begs, clasping his large hands. “Please”.

Silence descends the room. The few bodyguards that stand around beg to God for this moment to end. “Why is he not saying anything?” Mikado wonders as she clasps her father’s hands even tighter. “W-Why will he not speak”? He takes in a deep breath, Mikado smiles hopefully but after a few seconds she realises that he will remain silent, unmoving, still.

“Please! I need to understand! Why do I need to go find some stupid fiancé when i am only still a teenager? I haven't even finished secondary school let alone uni and you want me to go and marry already? What is wrong with you”? Still no answer except for a more intense and irritated glare.

“WHY WON’T YOU SAY ANYTHING?” she screams, the chair toppling over once more. “WHY WON’T YOU EXPLAIN? WHEN DID YOU EVEN DECIDE THIS? WHO EVEN SUGGESTED THIS? DO YOU SO BADLY WANT TO GET RID OF ME? DO YOU HATE ME THAT MUCH”? Tears are streaming down Mikado’s beautiful face in large rivers, her hands clenched into fists so tightly that her knuckles are snow white. “OR ARE WE IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE? SOMEBODY IS FORCING YOU TO, THREATENING YOU TO MARRY OFF YOUR ONLY DAUGHTER”?

“Silence!” her father orders and she instantly backs down. He is tall, powerfully built, a sharp face matched with a baritone, dominant voice. Although reaching his 60s he looks healthier than some young 20 year olds out in the vast world. It does not take him much to ensure order and control over anybody no matter who it is.

“I will not tolerate such behaviour of my daughter!” he barks. “You dare speak back to me after I have provided you with food, clothes, a roof to live under, education! I suggested this and you will go through with it”! Mikado just stares at her father, mouth open wide for flies to buzz in. “I do not want our business to be overtaken by anybody else or destroyed. Having you marry into one of the other grand families ensures lifelong peace and prosperity for you and future generations of our family to come!” he explains, articulating every word. “Do not say you will not do it. You are ensuring that the Shibuyas remain at the top and that nobody will ever try to take our family down once that powerful tie is made by you”.

After a moment of silence, Mikado dared to ask “So, you…you decided this without my consent right”?

“You don’t need to worry yourself about the little details Mikado. Just do it for the sake of your future children. For the sake of the company your grandfather built up all on his own. For my sake to see you happy with a child and loving husband”. Once again, there is silence. The chair lies on the ground, forgotten. Mikado has her head bowed down to hide her expression, her father is gazing at her with hope. This time he is the one clasping the other's hands.

“No. I won’t do it.” she mutters weakly, slowly loosening her father’s grip on her small hands. “Why should i? I didn’t agree to this.” she says softly. “Tell the other members of whatever group you're in that I, I won’t take part”. As if in a trance she shuffles towards the office door, however, Mikado does not open it and remains facing the black door. Cold fury. Blazing fury so hot that it would burn a building down in seconds! Fury so strong that if it were a force, it could punch a hold directly to the earth’s core. She thought it was all fake, a ruse, some stupid joke her dad was playing on her (he has a very bad sense of humour). She did not think that it was all true, that her father had forced her into some ridiculous agreement like that. What about the other children forced into this or maybe, they had a say in this. Maybe she was the only one that was nothing more than a dog in her father’s cold, unsympathetic mind.

“I won’t do it.” Mikado repeats with more vigour though still not facing her father’s deathly still figure. He watches her with narrowed eyes and his mouth pulled into a thin line. “I WON’T DO IT!” and she whips round to face her expressionless father.

“How dare you sign me up for this without my consent? How dare you do this behind my back! How dare you even say that you are even doing this with your best interests in mind for me! THIS IS ALL FOR YOU! ALL TO SATISFY YOUR PRIDE! So what if you provided me with food. So what if you gave me clothes. So what if you let me live in your house, provide me with the best education. THAT IS EVERYTHING THAT A NORMAL PARENT WOULD DO! Any parent would do that for their children if they can!” Mikado screams, mouth curled into an ugly snarl. “I will not tolerate such behaviour!” her father roars but she doesn’t back down this time, glowering at her father as if to burn him to crisp at that very moment.

“After everything you have done to me, which is nothing, you expect me to just agree with you like it’s nothing?”she asks in bewilderment, her eyes burning with nothing but pain. “I. Won’t. Do. It.''she spits, articulating every word. Hurt, anger, rage, disbelief, hurt. “I was always on my own! When others won a prize, their parents were there, praising them, hugging them but you! You were never there!”she growls, pointing at him. “Do you know that I tried everything in my power to make you notice me? I got the highest grades, I was always the best in the class, in the year and you just gave me cold glares! I took part in so many sports clubs! I took part in so many competitions and tournaments! I learned to sing, to dance, to play violin, harp, trumpet, piano! And all you did was…you never glanced in my way at all! You never praised me! You never even gave me a small, effortless pat on the head! And now, when you suddenly need me to fulfill your little idiotic bet, prevent you from loosing face, you come to me”she shrieks, a sob escaping her.

Her father just watches in silence. No expression whatsoever escapes his face. Not even a blink when Mikado bellows “I HATE YOU” and runs off with a tear stricken face, slamming the office door with a loud bang that fills the silence. He just sits there, unmoving, still, silent. The guards glance at each other, wondering whether to ask if they should do something. The only noise comes from the rustling of clothes as the man stands up slowly and moves to sit in his office chair, swivelling it around so it faces the massive glass window. “Leave” he orders weakly and so the guards leave as quietly as they can, the last one softly closing the door.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi! Welcome to SIX-TEEN-S. My name is Fu Nasheng and this is my first novel. I wrote this back all the way in 2018-2019 and gave it a lousy finished :( but now, with the encouraging of my friends i decided to re-write this. So, why not post it online? I want to give this a try and see how it works and if other people apat from my firneds enjoy my writing so please don't hesitate to post feedback in the comments. Not things like "Your writing sucks" or "This story is trash". Just constructive criticism.

Thank you! :) Enjoy this novel and have a nice day!

"Mikado! What do you think of your father's proposal? Will you take part in it"?

She ignores the reporter and walks onwards, the security guards struggling to hold back the mob of camera men, journalists, and reporters.

"Mikado! Do you believe that such an action like this is righteous"?

"Mikado! Explain your thoughts about this"?

"Mikado! Why did your father arrange this"?

"Mikado? Does that truly mean that you and the Fabrizios, the La-Blancs, the Wallace-Brooks family, the Chuns and Whitehorns will all need to date each other"?

"Mikado"!

"Mikado"!

Voice after voice, scream after scream, shout after shout, bombarding the city air with all sorts of questions. "Keep walking. Keep walking. Ignore them. I-I-Ignore them." Mikado mumbles.

"What do you think about the other children"?

"It is rumoured you used to have an innocent relationship with one of the other 5, is that true"?

"Ignore them." she whispers but her courage, her strength.... Her steps once powerful and strong falter and become smaller, slower. Her head once held high with a determined expression now hangs low to hide her eyes that are welling up with tears. "Ignore them." she whispers. "Ignore them". She takes in deep breaths, stifles the sobs that want to escape and keeps walking away from the obscene crowd. "IGNORE THEM"!

"LEAVE!" she cries "LEAVE"! Fat tears stain Mikado's beautiful face. She is curled up on the floor, hands covering her ears to try and block out that irritating noise of the press, the warnings of the security, the screeching of tires as vehicles zoom across the road. "STOP IT! LEAVE! STOP TREATING ME LIKE AN ANIMAL!" she bawls. A small puddle of tears has formed on the dirty street floor.

"GO AWAY! G-go a-away." but the press stay, pushing against the wall of strong security guards. They remain shouting, screaming questions. They ask why she is crying, why she is upset, not taking into account what she had just screamed at them. A large crowd of civilians has formed in Shibuya square, phones out, snapping pictures; all the while muttering and whispering bad things about the press when they themselves are no better. She is the animal that is held behind the bars for the public to snap pictures of no matter the state.

Suddenly a car horn blares. The people cry out in panic and hurry into the square to line the walls, making way for the sleek black BMWX7. Even the news reporters, journalists and camera men pause their struggling to watch the car slowly roll into the square and stop right before the sobbing girl. Everybody is watching silently with bated breaths. The 4 doors open and out step 5 people that the world knows very well. Bennet fabrizio with his snow white hair and periwinkle eyes. Phoebe Whitehorn with her infamous lion mane hair that is a striking red colour like that of the setting sun in the Savanna. Adrian La-Blanc with his signature smirk and seductive blue eyes that make all the girls sigh. Noah Wallace-Brooks with that sweet, innocent smile and baby-like face. Kosuke chun with skin as smooth as silk and hair as soft cotton. All 5 of them are here, completed with the 6th; the children of the 6 most powerful families in the business world reunite once again..

"Bennet Fabrizio " a reporter dares to call out. "Is it true you used to have a relationship with Mikado Shibuya". Silence follows and then a bombardment of shouts and yells of questions once again.

"Phoebe Whitehorn, what do you think of the situation"?

"Adrian La-Blanc, how do you feel about needing to turn against your lifelong friends"?

"Noah Wallace-Brooks! Please say some words for your large fanbase"!

"Kosuke chun! Is it true that your family is going to return to South Korea"?

Without a word, or a single nod to acknowledge the press' existence. With quick, smooth, efficient moves they block Mikado from view. Bennet, Noah, Adrian, Kosuke form a protective shield, not a hint of a smile on their beautiful faces. Phoebe tries to quiet down Mikado and leads her to the back doors of the BMW and gently straps her in. A small thumbs up and the others climb into their seats with Phoebe on Mikado's right (the left side is the car door so Mikado is sitting on the leftmost seat in the back of the car). Then, the car rolls out just like it had rolled in: slow, silent, smooth; like a snake slithering across the forest floor. The reporters continue to spit out personal and disrespectful questions. The camera men hurriedly snap thousands and thousands of pictures, hoping for one to at least be usable for the morning news the next day. The security guards remain standing strong withholding the mass of crazy people. The civilians gradually disperse though not before muttering an insult about the inhumane press when in truth all that are gathered here are just here for the dog food (though there was no food).

"How disappointing".

"What is wrong with the press"?

"They have no sense of respect or boundaries".

"How stupid of them"!

Yet how were those civilians better than the press when just like them, they crowded around. They snapped photos, posted some online with small little messages. What is really the difference between the news agencies and normal people now that social media has made it so incredibly big?

Nothing. There is no difference and it is disgusting.