Just Look into It

17. Devious Idea

Ryo felt like she was getting stir-crazy. 

After being examined by one of the many Ootori family doctors, it was not only confirmed that she had a concussion, but that she wasn't getting enough sleep and needed to cut back on anything that could be considered stressful until she no longer felt any symptoms from the concussion. 

She wasn't sure how much of that was an actual diagnosis and how much was something Kyouya had paid the man to say. 

Her biggest issue was that the shadow king himself had gone behind her back to get her own brother to turn against her. 

"Yuu, I don't care what he promised you, I need my laptop now," she growled, glaring at her younger brother. 

The younger boy glared back. "He didn't promise me anything!" 

She blinked, surprised. It was hard to believe, but then again she was aware that her brother already had a soft spot for her classmate. "I need to get on my laptop," she repeated regardless. 

"No."

When had she taught him to be so stubborn?

"Why not-"

Ryo knew she was being stubborn. It was where he had gotten it from if she was honest with herself. Part of her issue was that it had been so long since she wasn't able to do something. Almost every day she had kept herself busy with some task or another. 

Whether that was watching the cameras, adjusting her system, school work, work for Kyouya, helping Yuu, dealing with paperwork for her family, or making sure they had enough food for the week, she always had something to focus on. Yes, it got stressful, but she didn't know what to do otherwise.

"Ryo," he sighed, cutting off her train of thought. She knew he was right, and he knew that as well. 

"I'm sorry," she sighed, moving her glasses to rub at her eyes. "I just really need something to focus on right now."

There was a very conflicted expression on her brother's face as she watched him walk into the kitchen and open the cabinet where all of the pots and pans were stored. With wide eyes, she watched as he grabbed one of the cookie sheets, lifted it up, and pulled out her laptop from in-between the pans. 

"Wha-" she started, shaking her head when she realized that there were likely a large number of spots that he had figured out he could hide her laptop in. A sense of guilt hit her as she realized that she was probably making him feel bad about hiding it from her, even if it was what the doctor had ordered. 

She still didn't believe that second half. 

"If Kyouya asks, I didn't give it to you. You found it while I wasn't paying attention," he insisted, reluctantly handing it over. 

Brushing her hair from her face, she nodded with a small sigh. "Thank you."

"You owe me."

A shocked laugh came from her, and she quickly reached out to ruffle his hair before he could dart away. "Oh hush."

Knowing that Kyouya wouldn't approve, she sat down at the table with her laptop and some notes and only a little bit of smugness. It didn't take her long to get back into the swing of things, doing a run-through of the system updates to see if anything was amiss before turning her attention to the emails and updates concerning their parents. 

Luckily or unluckily, there wasn't anything new. 

Her next task was the last information request she had gotten before everything had gone down. Every once in a while she had to stop and rub her eyes, the harsh lighting of the screen irritating her head slightly, but it wasn't too big of an issue as she had dealt with worse before. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, easily typing up a report that she had done many times before. 

She didn't consider this too stressful. 

Ryo could faintly hear the sounds of Yuu walking around the house, likely gathering his art materials and setting up in the living room. Settling back into the familiar rhythm she was used to, the pain felt more manageable with something to focus on. A small sigh left her lip as she hit yet another roadblock, pushing her glasses onto the top of her head to rub her eyes. 

Suddenly they were pulled from her head. 

"I believe you were advised to avoid work, Miss Ryo."

Startled, she looked up to see Kyouya leaning over her, casually twirling her glasses with his hand. The expression on his face was a mixture of sternness and smugness, causing her to frown at him. The main thought racing through her head was how he had gotten into the house. 

"YUU!" she loudly called, warning clear in her voice. Her eyes never left his, the two lightly glaring at each other to see who would break first. 

His voice called back with ease. "You didn't tell me he couldn't come in!"

"You didn't ask!" she responded. The subtle smirk that he had on his face was slowly shifting into more of a grin. 

"Would you have said yes?" Kyouya questioned. 

Ryo sighed, knowing that she was backed into a corner between the two. "Yes, but I would have stopped working."

"Honesty is important to keep relationships working," he mused, holding her glasses out for her to take. 

"It is important, but there is no harm in white lies," the brunette shot back, grabbing her glasses. "The Shadow King didn't gain his title through pure honesty."

"I suppose that is true," he mused, leaning against the table. Still looking down at her, his smirk faded slightly. "I figured that you wouldn't follow the medical advice given to you. How are you feeling?"

"Fine I suppose," she sighed, closing her computer. "I still have symptoms, but on a much weaker scale. Having something to focus on was helping."

A slight hum left him as he stared down at her. He quickly pulled out his phone and typed something up, but it was back in his pocket before she could think to much about it. 

"I'm assuming that means I'll have to keep you distracted in order to keep you off of work?" he asked, pushing his glasses up. 

Ryo stared at him for a moment. She had never expected to get on such casual terms with Kyouya. Yet here he was, in her house, offering to keep her company and keep her mind somewhat active so her health could improve. At best she had assumed that she would one day receive a package with medicine so she could get back to work faster. 

She was glad. This was something she didn't want to go to waste. 

A small smile grew on her face as she stared into his eyes. "Alright, what do you propose?"

He smiled back. "Is there something you wish to do? I could always provide company or conversation."

A devious idea quickly snuck into her mind. She wondered if he would even agree. 

"I had planned on doing some baking before any ingredients went bad. Do you mind helping me out just a bit?" she proposed, pushing her chair back to stand. With a single step, she moved in front of the boy and blocked him against the table. "It would mainly be conversation and not much work on your end. Could you stand to dump a measured cup into a mixing bowl here and there?"

"Are you mocking me, Miss Ryo?" he inquired, leaning closer to her face. 

"Does it seem that way?"