Hope ~Yato x Reader AU~

Chapter 34: Locking Eyes

My eyes lock with YM/N...they lock with that me/c (your mother's eye color) stare, almost instantaneously transporting me back to when I lived under their roof. Memories flood back to me -everything from my somewhat normal childhood to the turbulent years which followed. All those evenings where just my siblings and I would sit alone at the dinner table. All those mornings where my sister would help me style my hair for school. All those afternoons of my brother helping me with my homework. All the little things that both YF/N and YM/N missed. Things they missed because they prioritized work over their own children.

Now, I'm not saying that how they raised us was wrong. In fact, thanks to them hardly being around, my siblings and I all learned how to be self-sufficient early on. Thanks to them, I learned how to cook, clean, and wash laundry long before my peers did, and I learned it all without them hovering over me. Their absence allowed me to grow and develop into who I am today. Responsible. Independent. Self-sufficient. And I learned all those things without any aid from them.

But right now, right here...the heft of my mother's glare is weighing on me, teleporting me back to a much darker time in my life. Pushing me back to three years ago when my life was forever transformed, leaving me burdened with nightmares and horrid memories. And because of that, a lump forms in my throat -a lump that threatens to stir tears...but I swallow them down.

I swallow them down and glance away, taking another sip of my champagne. But I can still feel my mother's eyes remain locked on me. I can only imagine what's going through her mind. Shock? Surprise? Confusion? All three and more? I know she's feeling something, but I doubt it's happiness and enthusiasm. In fact, I'm sure she wishes I wasn't here. After all, why would she want to see the black sheep of the family?

I'm about to turn and go find Mr. Sui when a familiar voice smoothly says, "Hey."

I don't need to look to see who it is, but I still glance up, my gape meeting those starry onyx orbs. Kaito is standing next to me, his back to my parents as he takes a sip of his own champagne. His free hand is shoved into one of his pockets, his gaze scanning the surrounding crowd as if he's searching for someone. But I only have one thing on my mind.

"Kaito," I whisper. "Kaito...what...what are you doing here?"

He peeks down at me, shrugging, "Well, my future in-laws own this hotel, so they're here to oversee the event."

My eyes widen. "You mean the Hara's are here?"

"Yup," he nods, taking another sip of his drink. "And I left my father with them."

I forgot all about Dr. Itchi. Of course, he would be here. He is a surgeon as well. Why wouldn't he be here? He's made his own breakthroughs in science and medicine. He stood alongside my parents during some of those breakthroughs. So, I should've known he was bound to be here.

"So, ya just left him with 'em all on his own?" I snicker.

He scans me before sighing, "Yeah. Honestly, I'm still kinda pissed at him...for what he did...for what he let happen back then. For keeping it from me. It may be childish, but this is the only way I can rebel against his participation."

I feel my eyes soften as I swallow, "I never meant for this...to pin you against him."

"You know that I don't blame you, right?" he presses, those eyes locking onto me. "The day you told me was both the happiest and most painful day of my life, but I never once blamed you. How could I? I know your parents...you had no say. But I could blame them. Them and my father. They were the ones who were in control. They were the ones who made all the choices -not us."

He's right. What he says is the truth. It wasn't just me that didn't have a say; it was both of us. Neither of us ever had a chance to make our own decisions. Dr. Itchi relocated to London, forcing Kaito to start a whole new life there while my parents forced me to abort my child, all the while Kaito was kept in the dark and I was put through hell. That was our tale.