Rabid Pair

2.4

He placed his index finger over his lips and winked. A smile crept up on my face.

"Aliceina." Higuchi nudged me.

"Huh?"

"Why don't you want the throne?" Higuchi stated.

"Oh! My apologies I was trying to translate that in my head..." I trailed, embarrassed. "I don't want the throne because I don't want to be royalty. You guys have to realize that I am a smuggler's daughter. I was never introduced to this lifestyle and it doesn't appeal to me. I'm happy with where I am."

"In the Japanese Mafia?" The person tried to clarify.

"I said what I said my good sir."

Akutagawa kicked my chair again.

"So, are you really not engaged?" The next person asked.

"Correct. I am not engaged. Listen, guys, I'm going to go back to Japan after this and you'll never hear a peep from me again. We all make mistakes when we were young, trying to justify them now is pointless. Everyone is human and no human is perfect. Can't we just leave it at that and call it a day?"

The press looked around and talked to each other for a single moment.

"Question for Alice. Who are those people with you?"

I furrowed my brow. "My coworkers."

"Alice, what do you do in Japan?"

"Well, everything. I get groceries, brush my teeth, go to work, hang out with my friends-"

"Are you or are you not Aliceina Kingsley of Port Mafia?"

I slammed my hands down and the table and stood. "Cut me off and-" Someone grabbed me from behind as people gasped. "I'll fucking k-" Akutagawa turned me around. "Let me go!"

"You need to calm down. There are many people watching. Including Mori." He warned me.

"What exactly is her mental state?" Someone asked my mother.

"Aku, I just want to crawl under a rock..." I went to rest my head on his chest, but he stopped me.

"Ali, not here." He stated softly.

"When this is over we're cuddling and you're not getting up for any reason whatsoever." I threatened before sitting back down.

"I will not tolerate you people insulting my daughter. I have had no contact or control over hear since birth. I've just only met her three days ago. But the amount of refusal to even try to understand her situation in this room is overwhelming and this press conference is over." Annabelle demanded that everyone leave right away.

The guards ushered everyone out of the room in a rushed fashion. People were still shouting questions and less than polite things at us. Finally the grand doors shut and I got up and basically fell into Akutagawa's arms.

"I said let me in, dammit! Will you understand better if I said it in French?! Laisse moi dans la chambre!"

I turned, but kept my back against Akutagawa's chest. "Oi! Let the angry man in. That's my brother."

Annabelle gasped and turned to me. "Charles had another kid?"

"Ali!" Chuuya ran up to the stage.

Akutagawa tried to back away from me, but I grabbed onto his coat and encased myself in it as well.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Chuuya asked.

"No. I want to go home and never move for five months." I stated. "I'm sick of this. It's too much. Why were you hiding in the crowd anyway? What's going on?"

Chuuya gave my a sympathetic look. "It's nothing, Aliceina."

"Alice, did Charles have another child?" Annabelle repeated more stern this time.

"For the love of- No mother! This is Chuuya Nakahara: Port Mafia executive." I gestured to the hat rack with my head. "I called him my brother because that's what he is to me. He took care of me after joining Port Mafia."

I translated the greetings between Chuuya and my mother while still in the comfort of Akutagawa's jacket.

"What's going on?" I asked Chuuya after all of the formalities were over with.

"We got a tip that someone from Rats in the house of the Dead might be here. I was just here to double check." Chuuya explained. "I couldn't find him. Either he's better at espionage than me or they didn't show up."

"Rats in the house of the Dead?" I questioned.

"They're the reason the Moby Dick actually crashed into the ocean." Akutagawa stated. "Jinko actually stopped the fall until the entire system was hacked."

"Why am I just learning about this now?"

"It's my first time hearing about that as well." Higuchi stated quietly.

"Yeah! Me too!" Tachihara said.

Chuuya put up his hand. "Hold on, Mori and I had just learned of the organization. I called Akutagawa before I got here to let him know those were the people that hacked the Moby Dick." He glared at us. "I didn't know that someone from there could potentially be here. That's why I rushed over. Plus, it's always good to be a witness when Ali has public performances." He smirked at me.

I punched Chuuya's shoulder, coming out from the comfort of Akutagawa's jacket. "Fuck off, I did fine."

"Alice."

"What mother?" I snapped.

She stared at me blankly.

I cleared my throat and tried again. "Yes, Mum?"

"I would say we should talk in private, but your friends don't speak English well..." She chuckled awkwardly. "Just, thank you. Thank you for coming out here to try and fix what Francis did. I know none of this was your fault. Go home, Alice. Live your life the way you want to." She took a step forward and grabbed my hand. "I wish you the best of luck. Congratulations on the engagement. You two seem to suit each other well." Annabelle patted the back of my hand and gave me a soft smile before leaving the room.

I turned. "She said we could go home." My tone never changed. I stared blankly at them waiting for someone to take the lead to start back. I sighed when I realized that only I spoke English enough to ask the gentleman to escort us back to our rooms.

Akutagawa slid my ring back on my finger when we got back to the room to pack. All of the Port Mafia members, including Chuuya, boarded the plane. I sat in a seat next to Akutagawa and cuddled into his side. My peace didn't last long.

"Is that an engagement ring?!" Chuuya shouted. "When the hell did that happen?"

"Hey, hat rack!" I didn't even open my eyes or move for that matter. "Disturb my sleep one more time and I'll mmph-!" Akutagawa covered my mouth and told everyone what they wanted to know about the proposal as I drifted off into an unsettling slumber. 

A/N: Question for you lovely people! Do you want a wedding chapter or would that be boring to you?