Hope ~Yato x Reader AU~

Chapter 39: Mr. Hara

"M-Mr. Hara," Kaito stammers. "I-I, uh...I didn't see you there, sir."

Mr. Hara doesn't seem impressed as he grumbles, "Care to explain why you left my daughter unaccompanied?"

"Father, please. You'll make a scene," Rei pleads quietly, glancing around. I hadn't even noticed her until she spoke, but she continues, "Come on, Father. Kaito is just talking to a friend, is all."

Mr. Hara's steel orbs drop to me, making me feel small and not in a good way. If I hadn't felt out of place earlier, then now I do. This...mammoth of a man is glaring at me. Glaring, which causes chills to dart the length of my spine. This man is definitely not one to test.

He narrows his eyes, snorting, "The only woman you need to be accompanying at the moment is my daughter."

"Father," Rei begs.

Mr. Hara turns to his daughter and spits, "Silence Rei. Did I talk to you? I don't think so."

Rei cowers at that, dropping her stare to her feet as she collapses her hands together. It's at this moment that I feel pity for her. Pity because she has just been silenced, her voice ripped from herself by the man who's supposed to love and protect her. The man who is supposed to care most about her happiness. And that's when a sense of rage overtakes me. How dare he? How dare he do that to her? To his daughter.

Any fear I held earlier evaporates, that anger bubbling through my veins as I stand tall and approach the man, saying confidentially, "Hello, sir. My name is L/N Y/N."

He lifts a brow. "L/N Y/N? I don't recall asking for your name, Miss L/N. In fact, I don't recall ever speaking to you."

"I thought I'd introduce myself, anyway," I shrug.

"Y/N," Kaito swallows under his breath.

Mr. Hara must take notice because he orders, "No, let her talk, Mr. Itchi. I'm curious, now."

The man shifts his weight, his stance attempting to pose even more authority than before, but I won't let him get to me. I'm not afraid of him -I have no reason to be. So, I create my own pose, standing tall as to present myself to be more confident.

"Tell me, Miss L/N, what brings you to this ceremony?" Mr. Hara questions, his focus locked on me.

I motion to the stage, answering, "I'm here with Dr. Sui as his guest in support of my mother, Dr. L/N YM/N." Please buy that.

Mr. Hara glances from me and to the stage then back again. "I see. So, you are Dr. L/N's daughter?"

"Yes," I reply. "Is there a problem with that?"

Once again, Mr. Hara glances up at the stage, but returns his gaze to Kaito, bouncing his stare between the two of us. Honestly, I don't know what he's searching for, but he's digging for something.

"Mr. Itchi," he says, a sly smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "What would your father say if I summoned him over here? Would he approve of your actions? Would he condone?"

Kaito keeps his features smooth, but I can see the slight anger floating at the surface of his eyes. "Honestly, Mr. Hara...I doubt he'd be okay with it. He would most likely prefer I stayed by Rei, but if I may be frank –"

"Dr. Itchi," Mr. Hara calls, his deep voice booming through the air, the crowd surrounding us suddenly grow silent.

My cheeks flush red at that. All eyes are on us -I can feel them. I can feel their stares burn into my flesh as my heart races against my ribs. The confidence I have been attempting to exude suddenly falls into a weak trickle.