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Summer break agreed with Kyoya Ootori.
Yawning as sunrise approached, Kyoya typed away on his laptop in the dark, researching future colleges and universities with his majors and minors. His father had it all planned out already, but Kyoya wanted - no, needed - to find just the right school to help him graduate early with all of the same credentials. To do it his own way while still following the rules. It was the weekend, so he had all the time in the world to spend his free time how he saw fit. And he wanted to select his future university himself.
His phone vibrated beside him, illuminating the white down comforter below. Kyoya didn't bother to check it until it buzzed again. And again.
A phone call? At this hour?
Flipping his screen right-side up, Kyoya squinted through the blinding glare to read the caller ID before answering. "Michiyo? What-?"
"Kyoya, thank god." Her voice came out high and thready, a wild edge to it that scared him. "I was out on a run with Mochi and... and someone's following me."
Kyoya sat up straight, throwing off his covers. "The stalker? Paparazzi?" He swung himself out of bed, rapidly pulling on clothes without paying much attention to color or fabric. "Are you safe?"
"I don't know, but I'm fine for now," Michiyo answered, voice wavering, "They were taking pictures... I'm hiding in a convenience store on the corner of Sakura and Ichigo."
"Good," Kyoya nodded, his phone wedged between his shoulder and ear as he yanked socks on, "I'll be there in five minutes. You... you're doing great, Michiyo. Stay calm and stay where you are. If you want, you can stay on the other line while I call my family's security team. Just... just pretend you're talking to Mei or your fake boyfriend or whoever." He threaded a belt through his pants haphazardly and broke out of his room, slippers slapping on the hardwood floors.
"Sure..." She paused, silence emphasizing his heavy breathing as he tore through his cavernous mansion. "Kyoya?"
"Hm?"
"Thank you. And I'm sorry."
Kyoya didn't know how to respond, his feet slowing to a stop at his front door. He cleared his throat, shaking his mind loose from its clouded thoughts, and answered, "Don't." He flew across his driveway, throwing himself into the backseat of the waiting car. The driver yawned as they sped away, Kyoya's fingers already dancing across his phone, dialing the Black Onion Squad. His heart slammed around in his chest like a pinball, ricocheting off of his lungs and ribs and diaphragm. She had to be safe. She'd be safe for a few more minutes.
She had to be okay.
His words came out venomous and hot, spitting instructions to the first person who answered the security line. They deployed a small team to the convenience store and said they'd be there in minutes.
It wasn't fast enough.
Kyoya slid an exasperated hand through his hair and let his eyes flutter closed for a moment before hanging up.
"...and then he said to me 'sounds fake' in that deep, grumbly voice he has. I can't believe he called me a liar like that!"
Kyoya stifled a laugh, relaxing in the back seat. Michiyo was monologuing, pretending to talk to someone as he patched back into her call. "So then what did you do?" he answered, the heat leaching from his voice as he listened to her. He was only a minute out from the convenience store, and if he craned his neck just right he could see it down the block.
Michiyo laughed, the tone all wrong. "I provided evidence of course. How else do you persuade someone of your honesty?"
"Evidence sounds like the right course of action to me," Kyoya nodded. Despite his cheerful pitch, his emotions stormed on the inside, his brain consumed with questions. Was she alright? Was the person gone? How long had she been there? Why was she running at this hour?
And why did she call him of all people?
Michiyo continued nervous talking, a strange backdrop to the intense scene. Kyoya jumped out of the car the instant they pulled up, his heart and his head at war; his heart told him to run to her, make sure she was alright that very instant, while his brain told him to keep his cool, walk in like nothing was wrong, keep the act up and be the voice of reason. His mind won out.
He found Michiyo and Mochi in the back near the beverage cases, her phone still held up to her ear, even though Kyoya had stopped responding a while ago, his phone forgotten in his clammy palm at his side. Mochi noticed him first, bounding up to him with a wagging tail and bright eyes. "Hello again, Mochi," Kyoya muttered, scratching that spot just between Mochi's ears, how she liked.
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I heard a voice, much lower and closer than I anticipated.
My sneaker squeaked on the linoleum as I turned, finding Kyoya knelt on the floor, scratching Mochi between the ears. Despite how scared I was, a smile found its way to my face. He was more disheveled than I'd ever seen him - his dark hair ruffled, his clothes rumpled, even his shoes mismatched. If I didn't know better, I'd say he looked like my knight in shining armor... and I loved everything about him.
I couldn't appreciate him more.
"You found me," I whispered.
Kyoya's head popped up, squinting at me in the harsh glare of the refrigerator cases. The smallest smile tilted his lips and he stood, immediately towering over me. "Of course," he nodded, his sharp gray eyes unwavering. Feeling exposed in my black yoga pants and neon yellow sports bra under his watchful gaze, I crossed my arms over my chest. Kyoya noticed and shrugged out of his hoodie, passing it to me in one fluid movement. "Here."
As I pulled his sweatshirt on, trying to ignore the smell of his peppery cologne, he took Mochi from me, and laced his hand into mine. "We're going now," Kyoya said, tilting his head toward the door, "The car is out front."
My heart climbed to my throat, choking off my words and air. All I could manage was a nod, fearing that he could feel my hand trembling in his. He led me and Mochi out of the convenience store, only slowing to stink-eye the sleepy teen at the checkout counter and yank his hood up over my head before heading into the parking lot.
We were instantly bombarded by people, cameras flashing. A handful of curious bystanders mixed into a swarm of paparazzi, straining against helmeted officers in all black. Kyoya pulled me through the crowd, ushering me into the town car waiting for us. "Stay here," he instructed, passing me Mochi with careful hands, "I'll be right back."
I nodded, overwhelmed, and watched him shut the door with a heavy heart. He turned, immediately overtaken by officers, and kept his cool as he spoke with them. Photographers continued to take pictures, even without me outside, their bulbs flashing and reflecting off of the wet pavement.
Mochi wiggled out of my grasp, stomping around the back seat before curling up in a fluffy poof and falling asleep. I envied her naivety.
With an exhale that felt like it deflated me entirely, I rested my head against the icy car window and watched Kyoya. The billboard above the convenience store painted the planes of his face in shimmering pastels, his furrowed brow and intelligent eyes thrown into sharp contrast by shadow and neon. As if he knew I was looking, Kyoya paused and flicked his gaze to the car. I slammed my eyes shut and prayed that the windows were tinted.
But as the seconds ticked by, I inched closer to sleep the longer I had my eyes closed. The emotional turmoil of the night overtook me like a wave and pulled me down deep.
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Kyoya sighed and collapsed into the car beside Michiyo, slamming the door behind him with finality. Paparazzi surged forward, trying to snap pictures of the inside of the car, but the driver was already peeling out of the parking lot, leaving them all in their wake.
"Where to, sir?" the driver asked, glancing at Kyoya in the rearview mirror.
He hadn't thought that far ahead. Kyoya glanced at the sleeping Michiyo beside him, the snoozing Mochi curled up between them, and considered the knotting in his stomach. Emotions aside, he would drive her home; but... something didn't feel right.
Logic be damned.
"Home," Kyoya said finally, letting himself relax into the backseat with an arm over his tired eyes.
"Let's go home."
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A/N: made some minor changes to Kyoya's dialogue, but it shouldn't change the essence of the chapter or of his tone/dialogue in general. I wrote this chapter a few months ago, and forgot to proofread for consistency before posting last week, so it was bothering me. He should sound more like himself now lol