Reiko barely registered her surroundings as she exited the club. She was seeing red from how angry she was at the Host Club. Aside from Hikaru and Kaoru, not a single member had said a word in her defense when Renge decided to fire her, and it stung.
Her heels clicked loudly against the corridor's marble floors as they carried her out of the school's main entrance and into her private car. She didn't wait for the driver to open the door for her as she usually would and instead slid inside and slammed it shut herself.
"Take me home- and not the estate," she huffed.
"Actually Miss, your father requested that I take you to the residence as soon as you finished your afternoon activities. He seemed to want to discuss something with you," her driver explained flinching at the long sigh she let out.
"Fine. But keep the car out, I'll be leaving as soon as I finish speaking with father."
The driver let out a breath of relief and pulled out of the school's driveway. Reiko was never particularly chatty and hardly spoke to her driver, 'but she was never as quiet as she was that afternoon. The ambiance in the car was tense as he drove them out of the city and towards the suburbs where the ultra-wealthy people built their homes.
Reiko's stiffness didn't leave her even after she'd arrived home. Her expression remained fierce even after the maids had collected her things to bring them up to her room. Not bothering to change her clothes like she usually would when she was going to see her father, Reiko asked Izumi- the head maid- to escort her to his office and announce that she had arrived.
Entering her father's office, the older man could immediately tell that his daughter was upset about something. Even though he hadn't lived with her very long he knew Reiko well enough to know what she looked like when she was angry.
"Please sit, there's something I'd like to discuss with you Reiko," he said gesturing to the chair on the other side of his desk.
Reiko nodded and swiftly sat down.
Jiro looked at the email reminder on his computer screen for a moment, the words vexing him. He had hoped that he wouldn't need to have this conversation with his daughter at least until the end of the summer. "Have you looked at the list of candidates I gave you?" he finally asked.
Reiko raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "I have looked at the names like you asked, but I haven't done any proper research since you mentioned that I wouldn't have to make a decision anytime soon."
The older man nodded. "I had said that, but unfortunately the situation has changed."
"What do you mean?" she asked narrowing her eyes.
"It seems one of the families revealed to a board member that they'd sent a marriage proposal on behalf of their son. He brought it up at the board meeting this morning- likely with the intention of pressuring me into pairing you up with their son."
"Who was it?"
Jiro waved his hand dismissively. "It was the Kusumoto family. I never included them on the list since they have very little influence in the finance sector... Fortunately, the other members agreed with my assessment that Kusumoto would not be an appropriate choice, but it did bring up the conversation of who your future partner will be. They held a meeting to discuss it today and decided that it is in the company's best interest to see you engaged as soon as possible."
The silver-haired teen stared at him with wide eyes. "It hasn't even been a week since I've been announced as the successor, and they already wish for me to find a husband?"
Jiro sighed. "I agree that it's premature to decide this. You still have much to learn about the company, finding a partner is adding an unnecessary responsibility right now, but the board put it to vote and that was the decision they made."
"Did they give any sort of timeline as to when they want the happy news of my upcoming wedding?" she asked her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"They wish for you to be engaged by the year's end. We still have some time before we need to come to a decision. As much as the board wishes to secure the future generation of Ishikawa Investments, they acknowledge that this isn't a decision that can be made hastily... I imagine it's not much of a consolation though," he said noticing his daughter's silence.
Reiko sighed deeply. "I'm not at all pleased by this, but I can understand that the board wanted to arrange a match quickly. If we wait too long before responding to the families who sent proposals, they may withdraw, and it'll lessen our options."
"I'm glad you're being understanding of the situation. Although the board doesn't expect news of a wedding until the end of the year, they do want to see you enter courtships. It'll show that you're taking this seriously and will better your standing with them."
Biting her tongue, she nodded. "I see. Will you be making the arrangements then, father?"
Jiro nodded and pulled his calendar up on his computer. "I've decided to arrange a dinner with the Ootori's next Thursday to discuss things. Yoshio had been quite insistent on having the two of you get to know each other."
"The Ootori's?" she asked flatly.
The older man looked at her with a raised eyebrow. The last time they'd discussed this she seemed open to the idea of marrying the third son. "Yes. Since you and Kyoya seem to get along well I thought you would make a fine pair... do you disagree?"
Reiko opened her mouth but closed it quickly. She couldn't answer, not when she could barely stand to hear his name in conversation. "I'm not sure. As I said before I hadn't given it much thought since I believed there was still time before I had to seriously consider this matter."
He nodded slowly. "I see... well I haven't sent an invitation to them yet, so you do have time to think about it. The situation may not be entirely in your control, but I do still want you to retain ownership of your life, Reiko."
The silver-haired teen nodded. "I will think about it and give you an answer soon... On an unrelated note father, I know it's short notice but I'd like to stay at Isuka's house tonight if you'll allow it."
Jiro furrowed his brows in concern but nodded slowly. "Perhaps the news distressed her more than I thought." "I'll allow it. Instruct the maids to help you pack your bags."
Reiko bowed in gratitude and excused herself after wishing her father a pleasant evening. No sooner than she'd left his office, he pulled out his phone to send a message to Isuka informing him of Reiko's visit with the added note to keep an eye on her.
Of course, when Isuka received Jiro's message telling him that Reiko would be spending the night he was as ecstatic as he was worried. It hadn't been long since her identity and succession were announced to the public and they'd been advised to keep in-person contact to a minimum until the news died down. As happy as he was that he could see her sooner than he'd imagined, he knew that it was likely because something had happened.
Sure enough, the red-haired man's suspicions were confirmed when his daughter all but threw her bag on the ground and kicked her shoes off by the door. As she looked up to face him, he noticed the deep frown etched into her features and that her eyes- although not swollen- were a bit red from trying not to cry. He greeted her with a soft smile and opened his arms inviting her to a hug.
Reiko blinked a couple of times as she registered what he was doing and her expression softened. Silently, she walked towards him and buried her head in his shoulder sighing when she felt her dad's arms wrap around her.
"Bad day huh?" he asked.
She nodded into his shirt. "Men suck."
Isuka chuckled slightly. "That they do, but let's talk about that later. Why don't you shower and change outta those clothes? I ordered a pizza, and it should get here by the time you're done."
The silver-haired teen nodded as she pulled away and after grabbing her bag, she walked up the staircase toward her room.
Although Rieko had spent very few nights in Isuka's house since moving to the estate, he never thought about turning her old bedroom into something else. All her things stayed exactly where she'd left them, so it was ready for her whenever she did stay over. She'd once told him that she wouldn't be hurt if he turned her old bedroom into an office or an at-home gym, but as she looked at her old posters and the slightly faded sky-blue paint, she was glad he never listened to her.
Reiko immediately unzipped her bag and pulled out a pair of gym shorts and an old sweatshirt she'd gotten as a souvenir years ago on a weekend trip to Osaka. After taking a shower that was cut short due to her dad announcing that the pizza had arrived, she changed into her pajamas and joined the older man at the coffee table in the family room. It was the tradition that on pizza nights they ate on the floor.
Now that the silver-haired teen had showered, changed, and had two slices of pizza on her plate, Isuka figured it was as good a time as any to ask her what happened to make her so upset.
"So.. you told me earlier that men suck... that something I should take personally?" has asked lightly.
Reiko frowned at her pizza before looking up at her father. "No, but they do suck."
The red-haired man nodded. "I agree with you, so I won't say you're wrong but I'm feeling like there's a reason you came to that conclusion today."
"Can't we just say I had an epiphany?" she huffed.
Isuka laughed and shook his head. "Not when it looks like you want to beat someone up."
"I don't look like that."
He poked her forehead right between her scrunched-up brows. "Yeah, you do. It's scary, so tell your old man what's wrong."
"Thirty-five isn't old. I've received marriage proposals from men around that age," she told him.
"Those men are sick and you should immediately reject them- but that's beside the point and you're changing the subject. I wanna know what happened today, Rei," he said.
Reiko sighed and set her pizza back down on her plate. "A couple of things I suppose. I was kicked out of the Host Club, then father called me into his office to tell me that I had to be engaged by the end of the year."
Isuka blinked a couple of times. His daughter's recount of the afternoon's events left a lot to unpack.
Noting her father's confusion, Reiko took a deep breath and began explaining everything that happened in more detail. As she told him the story, the red-haired male began to understand why she was so upset.
"You have every right to be upset Rei. What that Ootori kid did was wrong and I'm glad you stood up for yourself."
Reiko nodded. "I know, but that doesn't help me much when father wishes to place us in a courtship."
Isuka thought for a moment. He didn't know much about how arranged marriages and courting worked, but he understood relationships and people very well. If Reiko and Kyoya met he knew things would be awkward and unpleasant no matter how professional either one of them tried to act. He also believed that there was something going on between his daughter and the Ootori boy. Reiko wasn't a girl who got upset easily, her being hurt over this proved that her relationship with Kyoya was more important than she let on. "If there's one thing I've learned about life, Rei, it's that you should let things run their course."
"What do you mean?" she asked taking a bite out of her pizza.
"I mean that it's okay to be angry for now, but don't try to hold onto it. When the time comes, and he apologizes you should try your best to forgive him."
Reiko scoffed. "Forgive him? Why should I?"
"Because feeling bitter every time you see this kid isn't going to make you happy in the long run. As much as I love you, you're not perfect either Rei and the day you mess up and have to apologize you're going to want to be forgiven too."
The silver-haired teen sat back against the foot of the couch. Isuka was right- he usually was- but right now she was still too upset to consider forgiving Kyoya, especially when he hadn't apologized yet.
"Don't worry about forgiveness until he asks for it. For now, just keep doing what you're doing, and don't let this get you down for too long."
She nodded and flashed a half-hearted smile. "I'll be fine. Thanks, Dad.
"Sure thing kid."