InsaneJournal

anecdote

FATHER: Haruto Kunoe - Recently turned 50, the heir to the Kunoe family has expanded the family's wealth and returned the once noble samurai clan to its former glory with his extremely successful soy sauce business that manufactures the immensely popular Kunoe Soy Sauce. An honourable man, Haruto is highly adherent to tradition and the idea of a female heir, regardless of how capable and competent she is, shakes him. [PB: Abe Hiroshi]

MOTHER: Kyouko Ichijo - The 44 year old daughter of the Ichijo Clan, Kyouko has roots similar to her husband's. The union of the Kunoe and Ichijo clans was highly regarded and celebrated and though Kyouko is no longer the Head Wife, she is still respected by all. Kyouko's image of a beautiful, nurturing mother is only a part of her true self -- though she means well, her extremely pushy attitude and high demands for her daughter seems anything but loving. [PB: Hitomi Kuroki]

FATHER'S SECOND-WIFE: Yuka Gojo - Though she is now the Head Wife after bearing Akira, a son, Yuka is undoubtedly threatened by Leila and Kyouka for the Ichijo clan has higher blood than the Gojos. Though of lower birth, her similarities to Kyouko are eerily numerous; both are bossy, demanding women with high expectations for their children. [PB: Koyuki]

HALF-BROTHER: Akira Kunoe -- Like their mothers, Akira and Leila bear eerie resemblances, likely the product of living similar childhoods. Both are quiet and hardworking, always trying to outshine each other. In perhaps a different universe Akira and Leila would have been best of friends; the type of pressure they must withstand daily is something only they can completely understand, but in this world where they must battle for the title of Kunoe heir, they are rivals. [PB: Akanishi Jin or Eiji Wentz]

Black hair, pale face -- everything about Leila is not at all striking and unique. She is pretty, yes, and upon seeing her, a prettiness not easily forgotten, yet in every way she seems inclined to blend in, lessening the features blessed upon her by generations and generations of good breeding.

And good breeding is exactly what makes her all the more noticeable. There is a strange contradiction that occurs in one mind when viewing Leila, one that seems to make even less sense the more one thinks of it. It can only be accepted as true. She is pretty, but she seems inclined to diminish her prettiness into a sort of nondescript, almost haunting sort of beauty, yet it seems almost precisely that which makes her so easily noticeable. There is something about her air that demands ones attention (a definite product of good breeding -- to make a statement and be seen). There is a sort of magnetic attraction about her -- perhaps it is her cold, detached demeanor, or simply because she really is pretty -- whatever the reason, one feels instantly attracted and pulled towards her. However, there is also a wall -- a cold, but most definitely not haughty, just simply cold and unsociable, air that pervades her demeanor builds natural walls and fear of others to get close to her. The result is something rather odd -- many flock around her, but no one is actually close to her.

Distanced, observant, quiet -- those that know Leila can only attest to her being something of an ice queen mixed in a modern day fairytale. Raised to be the perfect heiress, Leila has (mistakenly) applied the skills learned from debutante training to daily life. This, and a natural tendency for seclusion, has lead to what she is now -- a rumoured ice queen.

The truth in the matter is slightly, though not entirely, different. Leila's personality is entrenched in tradition -- the aspiration of being a perfect lady was hardwired into her system since birth. Perfection was a standard, not a goal, and every movement Leila makes is executed with such accurate precision, it is impossible to even fathom that she is anything but a lady. Yet there is one thing Leila has never mastered, nor has she ever bothered to master -- being sociable in a more relaxed setting. Her cold airs and detached manners may be perfectly acceptable in high society, but amongst her peers she is nothing more than an outcast.

And that is a description that doesn't entirely match her either, for in many ways, Leila is not an outcast. She may be considered an ice queen, yet there is something charmingly magnetic about her -- people seem drawn to her. She is always all politeness -- it would be terribly inappropriate to be rude to anyone -- and possesses a masklike quality of politeness, a quality that is so apparent that many seem to believe that there is a deeper sort of pain hidden inside as a cause for her distancing others. That is of course, not the case, only a product of idle fantasy. Leila has always by nature preferred solitude over the company of many -- very rarely does she let anyone in. Of course there are few exceptions to this rule, but those exist few and far inbetween. Those that she keeps in her confidence are utmost and completely trusted; betrayal from them is unfathomable and would be completely destructive. One should never expect verbosity from Leila; even those in her closest confidence cannot boast of hearing her speak much.

Leila's personality, in theory however, should not be as complex as others make her out to be. Rather, she has a simplistic way of thinking: She is entirely rational. Emotions do not overtake her easily, and rarely do they cloud her judgment. Her capacity for rationality is perhaps her greatest asset, and also her greatest weakness. Her mind is extremely lucid -- unsurprisingly so, given by how intelligent she is -- and she seems much wiser beyond her years, the among the youngest of her class. Maturity is an air that seems to accompany her rationality; she is wise and has uncanny judgment, likely a result of her extreme rational way of thinking. In every way Leila is completely down to earth; petty ideals and dreams do not find their way into her mind, nor do they stay in those she associates with. She is a realist through and through; after all, a lady should not be living entirely in the clouds.

Nevertheless, for all the heiress qualities she must portray, Leila seems content to live life on the sidelines, watching and observing everything, intaking the knowledge of others to compartmentalize in her lucid brain. She is a watcher, and her ability to intake and process images is remarkable. Many feel she is omniscient, some sort of reincarnation of God. Others feel that she utilizes her money to spy on everyone. But rumours are the product of idle minds -- Leila is simply extremely observant.

That isn't to say she is a robot, though many may garner that sort of impression. Leila's capability for emotion and love and warmth and everything else others can feel is the same as any other person's; however, emotional outbursts are few, if not rare. Leila possesses the uncanny ability of keeping her emotions in check, undoubtedly a mixture of natural talent and trained mindsets. Even in tough situations emotions will never make little of her; only in solitude do they truly surface. Leila's mask is most certainly not perfected, however; a trained eye can spot the fallacies in her movements (see: her mother and her best friends, though the usage of the plural form of the word is certainly debatable). Others will claim the distinct masklike quality of her expressions regardless -- Leila is all politeness upon being approached, and though she does not seem to be intentionally fake, there is something about her smile that does not seem entirely true.

Perhaps at birth, Leila was considered a failure -- the duty of a mother, especially a woman of the Kunoe family, was to birth a son, and Leila was clearly anything but. The possibility of concealing her birth and bringing her up as a boy was an idea brought up, only to be instantly squashed by the noble and honest (to an extent) Haruto Kunoe, her father and man of the house. His word being law, she would grow to live the first three years of her life relatively normal: as a spoiled, young, pretty daughter of the Kunoe family. Years of trying would eventually reveal the truth, however: Kyouko, Leila's mother, would no longer birth a child, let alone a son. Honest, nobleminded Haruto did the Right Thing -- he got himself a mistress who could bear a son, and within a year his second wife (now the head wife), Yuka Gojo, gave him the son he wanted. Akira Kunoe, her half-brother, was robust, beautiful, and the perfect son.

And this could only spell disaster for both Leila and her mother. Tradition dictated that Yuka be promoted to Head Wife, greatly diminishing the power of Kyouko in the household. A misstep could leave both Kyouko and Leila homeless, and so in an act of desperation to save both herself and her daughter, Kyouko pleaded before the Elders of the Kunoe family, sacrificing herself and her pride for the sake of her daughter. Appealing to their emotions and reminding them of the powerful women that were often driving forces of powerful men though they stayed mostly in the background, Kyouko managed to convince them to advance traditions into the future and consider Leila as a potential heir. The date was set -- on her 21st birthday, she would be evaluated. If she were deemed suitable, the family would recognize her as heir. If not, she would be banished from the family and forced to leave the name Kunoe behind.

It was a drastic agreement, but a do or die situation, for Yuka was already threatening to remove Kyouko from the family entirely. With this agreement intact Yuka was not allowed to touch Kyouko, though she held onto her Head Wife position. This marked the beginning of an avid competition between Akira and Leila -- Leila would strive forward marking a path, one that Akira was not only required to match but to exceed.

Soon Leila's previously happy childhood was transformed; the days of pleasant freedom and laughter turned into hours of slavery under books and a strict governess. Ladylike attitudes and genteel manners were no longer simply encouraged, they were required. When the time came for Leila to entire schooling, she had already been transformed into something like a Japanese doll, perfect manners, perfect etiquette -- but only for high society. She would soon find, upon entering the school system, that her rigid manners and grace would only cause her social suicide and eventual isolation.

Her strange manners marked her as odd, her strange way of speaking marked her as foreign and even arrogant. She born later and she was older; but all in all she was isolated. In her third grade her mother demanded her to skip a grade to prove to the Elders of Leila's intelligence at an early age -- actually Kyouko originally pushed to skip elementary altogether, but she was forced to be satisfied with just one. Skipping grades is never an easy decision for a school to make, but Leila's apparent intelligence and quiet maturity seemed to make her a suitable candidate and they granted her the ability to skip her third grade in its entirety.

And so her childhood continued, a never ending cycle of first places and flower ceremonies and archery lessons and studying and her mother yelling at something or someone particularly undesirable. The flow would never seem to break -- that is, until she met Alex Romano. As the first and second place holders of their middle school in their grade, they were frequently partnered together and tossed together for all sorts of things: projects, lab experiments, debates -- everything. Alex was at first, to Leila, nothing more than another Akira -- someone she had to pull all stops to triumph over. Everything seemed well at first, her marks were often superior to his, until once when he scored first and she second.

The fear of returning back to her household was too much and broke through her mask. In a fit of anger and disappointment Leila was found by none other than Alex himself; only in such a distressed state, coupled with a relatively young mind, could Leila ever be induced to reveal in its entirety the situation of her home. It was then their friendship really began to blossom -- Alex's naturally nurturing personality grew to be a statue of strength for Leila, something to rely on when her mother was just too much to handle. Rivals became best friends, and it was only natural for Leila to begin harboring a crush for Alex.

Soon the two entered college together, though pursuing different paths; Alex went into medical, while Leila, though faced with some opposition from her mother, pursued her love for physics. Physics and engineering were her true passions -- it was clear that her rational mind was suitable for such a job. She was content with her place; she was pursuing a career she loved, her status in the family seemed stable, but most importantly, she had a true friend, or even a crush.

Only a crush. Only a crush. Any thoughts of ever actually having a relationship with Alex would be crushed -- she was required to marry up, and though she may consider marrying Alex the pinnacle, his commoner status would say otherwise. She knew her duty well -- marrying rich and noble would help solidify her place in the family; even if she was not the chosen heir (though the marriage would certainly help her positively in terms of the decision) the likelihood of the Kunoes turning her out would be greatly lowered; they would not shun away such an advantageous connection. And if they did eventually expel her from the family, her husband's income would be enough to rely on.

She could ignore it. She could be content to live life the way life must be lived. Survival was of utmost importance. Dreams are products of an idle mind. Pragmatism would eventually save her.

Perhaps she still held the silly belief of the Little Blue Train that Could -- the more she thought it and repeated it, the more it could actually come true.

Mother delivers insults over the morning tea -- it is very simple, very straightforward, as if she is singing a song and nothing more. It's almost become a ritual now -- every Sunday morning she attempts to convince me to consider another eligible bachelor. "I wish the future would be quite less dim," she would say with refinement not even present in the Queen of England. "If you would only be sensible enough to look around." She is not sensible enough to consider my age, and though I wish to speak I bite a retort -- Father's presence is enough to remind me of the consequences of disobeying his peace.

But all I tell you you already know. There is something much more imminent approaching. Mother has been contented, for Mrs. Leighton -- the lawyer, I am sure you have heard of her -- has agreed to an omiai between her son and me. Mrs. Leighton is everything she wishes for -- white, beautiful, and intelligent, and naturally just because the mother is so the son must be the same.

I know not what to expect.

You will save me?