Follow Orders Or Follow My Heart? (Kyoya Otori Story)

The Arrangement

My father had been talking with Mr. Ootori for a while now. Dad owed him a lot of money, and we didn't really have a way of paying it all back.

In my family, it was just me and dad. Mom ran off and abandoned us when I was five. Haven't seen or heard anything about her since. It wasn't that bad though. I'd like to think that mom running off had strengthened the bond between me and dad.

Sorry, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. My name is Rin Sayoki and I'm a high school first year. I usually help out around my father's business, so I don't really have a lot of time for friends. But I don't really mind as long as it's helping dad.

"There must be some way!" my father had been saying. That was when one of Mr. Ootori's sons walked in.

As he approached his father's desk where our fathers sat, the boy tripped and his glasses flew off. Acting on instinct, I rushed forward from the corner of the room and caught them before they could hit the floor.

I held them out to the boy. My guess was that he was the youngest, but still at least a year older than me. "I believe these are yours, sir," I said as respectfully as I could. I looked him over quickly, trying to remember what my father had said about the three Otori boys. "You seem to have missed a button," I informed him, nodding towards the shirt he was wearing. As he looked down at it, he found that I had been right.

"Quite an impressive little assistant you have, Sayoki," Mr. Otori said to my father. "What did you say her name is?"

"Rin is my daughter, sir. She's a wonderful girl. And very helpful too, sir."

He thought a moment before speaking again. "Perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement after all..."

My father, seemingly picking up on what he meant, shot me a concerned look. I put on a fake smile, trying to show that I wasn't worried.

"Kyoya," Mr. Otori said to the boy standing near me. "Why don't you show Miss Rin around? I'm sure she'd prefer that over listening to two old men talking business."

After we'd left the room, I had to ask the son the one question I had on my mind. "Mr. Otori?"

"You don't need to be so polite. You can just call me Kyoya," the boy said with a faked smile. One of those businessy types for sure. No doubt he was only acting this kind because of the business between our fathers.

"Forgive me, Kyoya," I apologized, bowing slightly. "I was hoping you might be able to tell me what kind of arrangement it is that your father might have in mind."

"I'm afraid I don't have the slightest idea."

That was how this started. This was how I'd ended up working for the Otori family. From that point on, I would live with the Otori family, assisting them in any way they ask of me.

Thanks to their kindness, I would also begin attending Ouran Academy alongside Kyoya, who I would assist during school hours if needed or desired.

The one thing I didn't realize until later was that my life was no longer mine.