We Are the Sons and Daughters - Kyoya x OC

Chapter 35

     "Your father thanked the Sakamoto family... though I haven't met anyone by the name in attendance at the party," Kyoya mentioned. The pair had been standing in comfortable silence when he remembered that Reiko had said she would tell him about her past if he asked her at the party. Though he'd promised not to conduct his own investigations, he wasn't above trying to steer the conversation in a way that would get her to share her story.

     "They weren't invited, Kaori told us it might cause a scandal if he were to come given everything that happened. This was too important a night to have it tainted by old stories."

     "If the Sakamoto's raised you wouldn't that be an indication that they had a positive relationship with your family?"

     "Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple."

     "Explain it then."

     Reiko sighed, her shoulders falling slightly as she leaned on the railing. "It wasn't a family that raised me, it was just one man. Isuka Sakamoto," she stared.

     The dark-haired male shuffled ever so slightly closer though his eyes never strayed from the gardens below them.

     "He was my mother's lover."

     Kyoya's eyes widened for a moment before he reigned in his expression. Complicated wouldn't even begin to describe Reiko's situation. If her mother had an affair at the same time, she was pregnant, all sorts of claims could be made of paternal uncertainty. From what he knew her mother was from a family equally as powerful as the Ishikawa's in Russia. With that level of influence, it could've taken years for anyone to verify that Jiro Ishikawa was her biological father.

     "I don't know the whole story; just what Isuka has told me since father refuses to mention her."

     Kyoya nodded understandingly. "I imagine it was a painful memory."

     "Apparently my mother met Isuka at an event while my father was on an extended business trip through Asia and Europe. Isuka was much younger than my father, closer to her age, and she liked that he doted on her. Dad- I mean Isuka- didn't mind that she was with a child. He was willing to help her raise me. Their relationship grew more serious without my father's knowledge, and it reached a point where they were living together, and she was going to leave my father. Shortly after I was born, however, she changed her mind and left both of them. She just packed up all her things and only left a note saying she wasn't ready to be a mother and was going to France. I was left in my cradle- the only thing she didn't take with her."

     Kyoya paused as he listened to her tone. She spoke flatly, as though the memory were more annoying than painful. "He didn't try to look for her?"

     The silver-haired teen shrugged. "There wasn't a lot he could do. He was poor even by commoner's standards back then. He didn't have the resources or connections to find her. She'd only ever given him her given name and she'd never spoken a word of my biological father. He had no way of contacting her."

     "And he decided to keep you."

     "Yes... I suppose he wanted to give me the guardian that he himself never had. He never hid the fact that I was adopted, but he called me his daughter and did his best to raise me. For most of my life, he's the only father figure I'd known. I didn't mind, we were family and that was as far as I thought on the subject. When I was twelve, however, I went on a school trip to Kyoto. It was a complete coincidence, but my father was there. He recognized me instantly and got my contact details from the school. He came to the house and announced he was my father. The paternity test confirmed it. Isuka... didn't want to burden me with a custody battle that would've surely made the news... so he sent me off with father."

     "And that's when you went to Switzerland?" he asked.

     Reiko hummed in acknowledgment. "Having been raised outside of society's upper echelon, my mannerisms and abilities would've been a stain for the Ishikawas. There was no way I could debut in high society the way I was, so I studied for six years until I became worthy of the name I'd been born to but only recently acquired. Everything had to be perfect so that tonight, no one would doubt what family I belonged to."

     Kyoya stared at her for a moment. Better than most he understood the pressure that came with being a child of the wealthy and influential. He understood the pressure, and the need for approval, but even he knew that Reiko overcame many more obstacles than he ever encountered to stand here tonight. It wasn't over, either. Everything was fine tonight, but in the coming days, more people will wonder about the mysterious new heir of Ishikawa Investments. They would ask why she was making her social debut in her second year of high school, and why she hadn't been living with her biological family until recently. It would only be a matter of time before they found answers that would incite doubt on whether the girl standing next to him was capable of the position she would inherit, and she would have to prove herself once again.

     "I'm certain you achieved your girl. Your performance tonight was impeccable Reiko. Ishikawa Investments is fortunate to have you as its successor."

     The bitter smile that had been marring her expression faded and the mischievous glitter her eyes got whenever she was going to say something snarky made its way back to her irises. "It's unnatural for you to praise me so much in one day... are you feeling alright?"

     He rolled his eyes and slid his hand to the base of her spine to steer her back into the ballroom. "I'll make sure to do so less often if it will ease your worries about my health."

     "No need to be so considerate. Please, continue," she laughed.

     The somber air that had fallen over them from their conversation completely vanished once they reintegrated themselves into the group. Kyoya watched with a minuscule smile as Reiko danced with Hikaru and Kaoru simultaneously; the twins passing her between themselves with every twirl and dip.

     "You two were gone for a while. Was everything okay?" Tamaki asked as he stood next to him and handed him another glass of champagne.

     Kyoya's eyes met hers for the briefest moment before Hikaru spun her around making her laugh in delight. "Yes, everything was perfectly fine."