Chapter 10

Mari came back home later that evening from her lab office. She was exhausted like any other day. All she wanted to do was to eat the leftover food she had made two days ago. When she stuck the key through her door, a familiar voice greeted her from the elevator.

Bright and cheery, it was in her native tongue.

"Mari! Mari, wait!"

She was so close. All she had to do was push open the door as the key had already been turned. Mari sighed to herself. She was really hoping that Tamaki wouldn't remember her, or even better: she would avoid them all and hide in her apartment.

"It's me! Tamaki!" He ran up to her while Haruhi and Kyouya had trailed behind. Mari could already see Kyouya face palming from the end of the hallway.

Mari gave a small wave. "Hello," she greeted with a polite bow and switched over to her native tongue with ease. She usually only spoke Japanese with Kyouya. It was odd now that there were more people who could understand them.

"It's so wonderful to see you again!" It was 9 PM. Mari wondered how he managed to still have the same energy that he exerted early in the morning, almost 12 hours ago.

"We just came back from dinner! And lunch. But dinner more recently!"
"I see," she nodded.
"It would have been such a great reunion if you had come, Mari! Join us next time! We can go for brunch now that we are all here!"
"I'm um, really busy," the grad student tried to make an excuse. "I have my thesis defense soon and," she sighed. "it's a bad time for anything."

The other two made their way down to the end of the hallway. Kyouya nodded to her out of acknowledgement. Mari turned to Haruhi and smiled. She still sported the short hair. It must have been easier to maintain than the long mane that Mari had grown.

Haruhi reciprocated the gesture. "It's nice to see you again, Mari." They shook hands.

"Well, I'm going to retire for the night," Mari politely excused herself when she reached for the door handle.
"Wait, Mari! Kyouya still has your plaque!"

Mari blinked. "What plaque?"
Kyouya coughed. "Your award for distinction in research and in teaching."

"Oh," she sheepishly responded. She forgot about that. Mari wondered how Kyouya explained that to Tamaki without raising any suspicion about the two. "I can get that any time when you aren't busy," Mari tilted her head towards his guests.

Tamaki laughed. "No, Kyouya isn't busy at all! Come on, Mari. We can all catch up. It'll be a great reunion!"
"It would be wonderful to hear about you," Haruhi warmly invited.

"This is my apartment," the Shadow King reminded all of them.
"I shouldn't intrude," Mari was on Kyouya's side on this one. Any other given day, Mari had the permission to intrude into his apartment because he had gotten used to her. He would leave the door unlocked for her. That, and the fact that he actually liked having her over. But this? This was unchartered territory that neither of them wanted to venture into.

"Come on," Tamaki begged.

Mari turned to Kyouya. It's your call, she told him through her eyes.
No, he wanted to scream. Hard no. I want them out of my hair immediately.

But what came out was a distressed sigh. "Fine."
The blonde cheered in delight. "Come on, Mari! Come in!"
"I'll be there in a bit," Mari pursed her lips, trying to mask her reluctance. "I'll put away my things before coming around, yeah?"

The couple nodded. Kyouya stuck the key into his door and glanced at Mari.

It was an unspoken rule. No one needed to know about them. It was none of anyone's business what they were, or what they defined each other as. They were friends at best. Acquaintances at the worst. She nodded to him in understanding before stepping into her own unit.

Mari knocked on the door.

Gosh, it was weird to be knocking. She usually walked into his apartment without a word. Security was good in the building to the point where neither of them really locked the door if they knew either of them were coming around.

Kyouya was the one to greet her at the door with an exhausted expression. Mari smiled up at him in sympathy. Tamaki was a lot to deal with, especially for an entire day. She wondered how he kept up for this long.

Mari held up a six pack. It was only polite to bring over something if she was a visitor, right? Kyouya huffed. He hated this commoner craft beer stuff. Kyouya had cracked open a bottle of wine before she had come around.

"I brought beer," Mari announced.

Haruhi turned around with excitement. "Oh, American beer!" Tamaki perked up.
"Commoner beer! Ah yes! Let us have some!" He ditched his wine glass immediately.

Kyouya could only sigh. What was with Tamaki's fascination with commoner culture even after all these years? He had a chardonnay that been sitting around for so long and this six pack of carbonated bread had won over. Mari smirked at him in victory.

Mari made her way over to the couch and let the guests pry open the bottles themselves.

"Tell us about your life!" Tamaki excitedly started off. "Are you studying at the conservatory?"
Mari shook her head. "No, Harvard."

"Harvard has a music school?" Tamaki dropped his jaw.
"Well," Mari smiled to herself. Of course, he would only remember her as a musician. "Yes. But I'm not here for music," Mari patiently explained. "I did my undergraduate degree in chemistry. Now I'm finishing up my Master's in pharmacology." Mari thought about what it would be like going back to Japan to have to explain the same story over and over again.

Haruhi nodded in understanding. "That's very exciting, Mari. It's nice that you're doing well for yourself. Are you going back to Japan?"
Mari shook her head. "I'm moving in a few months to England."

"England?" Tamaki gasped. "For what?"
"Doctoral degree," Mari smiled.
"Amazing," Haruhi looked at her in awe. "That's brilliant. You're going to do wonderfully."
"I hope so," the graduate student could only sigh.

"Kyouya! Did you know all of this?" Tamaki flailed his arms at his best friend.
Kyouya shrugged. "No." That was a lie. "Congratulations, Mari."
"Thanks," she responded in the same clipped manner.

Mari turned the conversation over to Tamaki. Haruhi was doing law school here. Tamaki would be beginning his MBA program soon. They lived together and had been together for the past few years. Mari could only nod and smile. They're very sweet together, she thought to herself. Tamaki was excited for the prospect of being beside his best friend again. Mari wanted to laugh at how Kyouya's eyes widened with fear for a split second.

"Have you gone back to visit?" Haruhi asked Mari.
"No," she shook her head. "I have no business to be going back to Japan."
"Ever?"
"Possibly, yes," Mari shrugged.

"Don't you ever miss home?" Tamaki frowned. "I know I would."
"Home is wherever," Mari smiled. "I've been quite comfortable here for the past few years."
"Then why move?" Haruhi was curious. "You could do a doctorate here as well."

"3 degrees from Harvard? Geez, that's overboard," Mari joked. "I want to gain greater perspective. Live elsewhere. Learn different things. A change would be good. Growing too comfortable might stifle my growth."
Tamaki listened with such intent. "That's a marvellous way of approaching the future."

"Well, who knows what the future brings," Mari smiled. "Hopefully something good."
"Of course!" Tamaki agreed. "You deserve nothing but the best!"

"You two really haven't spoken to each other all this time?" Haruhi was surprised to observe the lack of interaction between Mari and Kyouya. They were neighbours! They had to have been friends at the very least.
"Our paths don't really cross," Mari explained. "And we weren't really the best of friends in Ouran, either."
"Well, you can bury the hatchet!" Tamaki excitedly suggested.

Mari gave Kyouya a look. She twisted her lips to something almost of a smirk, caught only by Haruhi and Kyouya himself.

"Seems like the hatchet has already been buried," Haruhi was blunt about it and called it out like she saw it.
"Mutual understanding," Kyouya shrugged. "We don't get in each other's ways."
"Yeah," Mari agreed.

Haruhi shook her head, not believing a single word. Tamaki on the other hand, was absolutely clueless to it all. It was a wonderful Ouran reunion for all he knew.

They used to spend weekends together. Friday nights were their nights to drink wine and beer respectively. Saturday mornings were made for the Shadow King to sleep in, and oftentimes he found himself unconsciously wounding his arms around her waist to keep her from escaping his grasp.

Mari grew into it. She used to squirm out of his grip, her arm immediately catching his hand. Until one morning when she was too exhausted to pry him off of her. Somehow, Mari sunk into his warmth. The feeling of comfort. She almost wanted to stay in this position for the rest of the day without any worries that clouded her mind.

But as always, Mari would wake up before he did. She would slither out of his arms like she had done far too many times before, gather the remnants of her clothes that were strewn off the floor, and then clean up the kitchen because god knew that Kyouya would never bother to. He had a cleaning service set up conveniently during the times that he sat in class.

Mari tiptoed out of his room, closing the door as quietly as she could. She never kept a toothbrush at his place. She wouldn't take the option anyway, she would have preferred to have her DNA and every single strand of hair banished from the rest of his flat. Mari placed the empty wine glasses in his dishwasher and placed the glass bottles of beer away in the recycling. Mari rubbed her eyes and sighed to herself before opening the door.

"There is no way he's awake yet, Tamaki."
"That is why we have to go wake him up! It's the weekend. It is the perfect time for brunch."

She shut the door and locked it immediately. A moment of panic rushed through her veins before she took a deep breath. She was trapped. Mari thrusted open Kyouya's bedroom door without a second thought.

"Your friends are here," Mari shook him awake.
The Shadow King grumbled. "Leave them outside." He could not have cared less about who was outside his door.

"No, I can't leave," the young woman seethed. "I'm trapped here. I have to leave."
"Is that really the worst thing, Mari?" the Shadow King still had his eyes closed.
"I swear to god, if this is the same Tamaki as I rememb—"

Mari quieted at the sound of the knocking against the apartment door. The knocking became more persistent as the minutes passed.

Kyouya groaned. "I hate him."
"Just get up and tell them to come back later," Mari begged.
"He won't come back later if he gets in," the Shadow King sighed. "Just leave them."

The woman growled. "Deal with it. I have a meeting in 2 hours."
"It's the weekend," Kyouya made a noise of disbelief. "What meeting could you possibly have?"
"I'm doing a practice run of my exit seminar with my labmates. Just –" Mari groaned. "I don't even have my phone on me to cancel."

The Shadow King reluctantly pulled himself up against the head board of his bed. He rubbed his eyes and took a look at his phone. 20 missed texts from Tamaki and 3 missed calls.

Good morning, best friend!
Look at the sunshine! Let's go out for brunch!

Kyouya scrolled down a little further.

How does 11 AM sound?
Ok?
No?
Too late, we're coming!

3 missed calls from Tamaki followed.

"He wants brunch," Kyouya muttered.

"I don't care what he wants but you better deal with it," Mari crossed her arms. She wore a grey t-shirt that just so happened to showcase enough of her assets that Kyouya had to avert his gaze. She pulled her cardigan closer against her body, barely enough to cover her thighs. Her bare legs felt cold against the frame of his bed.

"What do you want me to do?" he ran a hand through his raven hair. They could hear Tamaki call Kyouya's name through the door now.
"Let me get back to my apartment, of course!" the woman whispered.

Kyouya cocked his head to the side and looked up at the Mari who stood furious at the edge of his bed. He could imagine his hands reaching beneath her soft cotton t-shirt, pulling her back into bed. He would take apart that messy bun to let the strands fall against her bare shoulders.

"For fuck's sake, don't just sit there like an idiot—" Mari threw her hands up.
Kyouya smirked. "What will I get in return?"
"Whatever the fuck you want, just let me go back home and get ready for my meeting!" Mari furrowed her brows.

The Ootori picked up his phone and made a call to the security office in the building and filed a noise complaint. Within 20 minutes, Mari could hear Tamaki wailing outside the door with Haruhi profusely apologizing to the security guard. Mari breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," she mumbled. "I have to go."
"Not so fast." He caught her arm and pulled her back to where she belonged. "You owe me a favour, Mari."

Mari sighed and shook her head. He closed the gap between them before she could get up. Her lips curved upwards and his touch.

"I have to go," she whispered against his jaw.
"Persephone has to stay for half the year," he reminded.
"I am not a character in a myth," Mari lowly replied.
"No," Kyouya agreed. "You are a goddess."

Mari sighed and shook her head. She let her cardigan fall over her shoulders, her nails gently dug into the side of his jaw. Goodness, she was breathtaking, he thought to himself. His fingers gently took apart the loose bun as she bridged the gap again.

"You really are a host," Mari murmured. "And I won't fall for it." She bit his lip, reminding him that she was still someone not to be reckoned with. His hands found themselves elsewhere on her body, tugging at the edges of her pyjama shorts. Her legs straddled over him comfortably as they fell into their old habits.

Tamaki left another string of voice messages. All of which, Kyouya deleted except the last one.

I cannot believe you called security on us! I thought we were friends! He could hear shuffling on the phone. Haruhi grumbled and ended the call but not before letting Kyouya know their dinner plans.

Reservations are made for 7 PM. I believe you both owe each other an apology of some sort. I made a reservation for 4. Bring Mari, I think Tamaki would really like that.

Kyouya heard the neighbouring unit door open late afternoon. He let her settle down for a few minutes before texting.

Tamaki wants dinner with us.

Mari's phone buzzed on the other side. She was in the midst of brewing a cup of warm tea before settling back down to tweak her presentation. Her practice run had gone alright, though there were certainly improvements to be made. She looked at her phone and rolled her eyes.

I'm busy.

Kyouya waited patiently for his phone to vibrate. Her message was short and blunt. It was obvious she didn't want to go. Quite frankly, neither did he. He texted Haruhi that Mari was busy and so was he.

Tamaki insists that he will convince Mari. He wants to come over.

Kyouya sighed. There was no stopping Tamaki, especially when he was already set on the idea. The Ootori reluctantly made his way over to his neighbour and knocked on the door.

Her hair was in a much neater bun than from the morning. Mari tilted her head in surprise and raised an eyebrow. They were not really the type for pleasantries. Kyouya held his phone up and showed her the message from Haruhi.

"He's really something, isn't he?" Mari sighed. Kyouya's phone buzzed with another message from Haruhi.

We're coming now.

"God, he's really persistent," the woman shook her head and left the door open for Kyouya to come in. "Tea?" Mari offered politely.
"Sure," Kyouya shrugged. Mari poured the tea into each mug.

"What is with Tamaki anyway? You guys have hung out a lot lately. Isn't he tired of you?" She settled on a bar stool and let the warmth of the cup travel from her fingertips to the rest of her body.
"He loves his bonding," Kyouya grumbled. "I'm tired too. But I would like to have another body of sanity around. I don't know how Haruhi does it."

Mari sighed. "She's a saint."

"Are you coming then?" Kyouya sipped the imported sencha – it reminded him of home. Mari may have assimilated into commoner culture but she certainly still had refined taste.
"Well, if he's going to break down my door like he was going to with yours this morning, I will agree for the sake of my safety…"

The Ootori chuckled.

"He's a lot," the Shadow King murmured. "I apologize on his behalf."

"You're dealing with him too," Mari pointed out. "I get it though – he's your best friend. How could he not want to hang out with you?"
Kyouya sighed. "I should get back."
"Yeah," Mari laughed. "See you in a bit. "

He hated that he couldn't stop staring. She put on a darker shade of lipstick and tucked her sweater into a pencil skirt and adorned her legs with sheer tights. Mari had always looked refined, but even more so than usual – of course, she always knew to dress appropriately. She was raised by the upper class after all.

She ate quietly and answered Tamaki's questions. All things that Kyouya had known about of course. He ate quietly as he watched his friends learn more about Mari. First about her years abroad, and then her research – explained to him in layman terms, to her career, her family back in Japan and then…

"It sounds like you have been so lonely," Tamaki commented.

Mari cut through her filet mignon with ease, unflinching at the observation.

"I have been doing well," she responded with a curt smile.

The Suoh frowned. "Well, of course. But you haven't gone home in so long – don't you miss your homeland?"

The woman chuckled. "I used to miss our culture. The politeness. The hierarchy of respect. But then, you just… somehow grow into this carefree world. It's been a good change. I've been very content."

"Is content all you're looking for, mon ami?" Tamaki gasped. "Don't you want the experience of true happiness?" Of course, the French man had to flail his arms around dramatically.
"I'm happy," Mari reassured. "I like the work that I do."
"There is more to life than just work," Haruhi pointed out.

Mari and Kyouya shared a look. It was undeniable that the two argued otherwise, being the workaholics that they were. They defined themselves as their occupation: future CEO and scientist. They were willing to dedicate their whole lives to their passion. Nothing and no one would compare to the feeling they had while they did what they loved most.

Haruhi watched the two lock eyes. Kyouya smirked at her. She averted her gaze and looked back down to her plate. Her slender fingers delicately maneuvered her cutlery to pick up one strand of green beans before she popped it into her mouth. She made the act of eating seem so gracious, even Haruhi could not help but to stare at how her sophisticated nature.

"That may be true," Mari answered Haruhi softly. "But for now, I am fulfilled and I am happy. I see no reason to change my path of interest."
"But what about love?" Tamaki wailed. "You have to have experienced love to experience happiness!"
"Or loss," Mari looked at the other end of the spectrum. She swirled the wine in her glass mindlessly. "Loss too, can change your perspective."

The table went silent. The French man settled back into his seat. Mari sipped her wine quietly. She glazed over her last comment without any remorse as she spoke the truth. Kyouya had to agree and tilted his glass towards her. Like night and day, the people who shifted into the shadows united with a clink of their wine glasses while those on the other side of the table stared.

"I'm sorry," Tamaki cleared his throat.
"Nothing to be sorry about," she smiled at him and raised her glass. The Suoh reciprocated the gesture. "To… happiness," Mari softly said. The rest of the table joined in.
"Who hurt you?" the Suoh softly prodded. "You poor thing."

Mari shook her head. "No one," she smiled. "No one can hurt me," Mari reassured softly. "Loss is not always defined by being hurt. Emptiness, mostly."
"Then who left you empty?" Haruhi blinked. She never expected it from Mari. She was always so sweet. But then again, Haruhi never really knew her all that well to begin with.

The woman in question pursed her lips. "Does it matter who left? They are no longer part of my life. Dwelling on the void only invites more unhappiness. It's unproductive, don't you think?"

Mari evaded the question with ease, putting to rest the topic that seemed to place a blanket of sadness over the table. She easily diverted the question to happier things. Tamaki was more than excited to talk about Haruhi. Their relationship. Their plans for the future. He was so incredibly in love and he only wanted everyone around him to experience the same feeling he did.

Mari listened intently, smiling at the couple in front of her.

"You two have a lot of chemistry," Haruhi pointed out as they waited for dessert.

Kyouya raised an eyebrow at his friend. Mari reciprocated the same gesture. They said nothing to the comment.

"Your silence says more than you think," the lawyer-to-be huffed.
"I hated him in Ouran," Mari reminded. "I truly hated his guts."
"Who didn't…" Haruhi grumbled until she saw Kyouya glare at her. Even to this day, it sent shivers down her spine. "To… some degree," she tried to backtrack.

"What did he ever do to you, sweet Mari?" Tamaki shot his friend a glare. "What has the Shadow King done?"
Mari laughed. "He was just a terribly infuriating lab partner. A snob. Privileged beyond belief and yet had the audacity to –" she stopped herself. "We were cut from the same cloth," Mari remembered. She shouldn't have been so hard on him. "But we were just so different."

Haruhi nodded. "I can certainly see that. You hung around other scholarship students, didn't you?"
Mari nodded.
"I am sure you and Kyouya must have gotten closer after going to Harvard together." Haruhi was trying to hint at something much more than what seemed to be just a surface-level relationship.

"We didn't run in the same circl—" Mari tried to explain.
"—We're just acquaintances." Kyouya cut her off.

The lawyer pursed her lips and did not engage further. The two were stubborn in their ways and Tamaki of course, was still horrendously oblivious to it all.

Kyouya of course, was the one to drive her home. They spent the ride in silence as Mari looked out the window. She would only be around for a couple more months – weeks, really. She would miss Boston. Mari had grown up here for a good portion of her adult years, after all. And now she was packing up her bags and starting over again, only in a matter of a few months. She was excited, but it was all so bittersweet to her.

The Ootori gripped the wheel and exhaled to himself. Something about that dinner made him feel unsettled. Of course, their knee-jerk reaction would be to say that they were acquaintances. Even being friends would have been stretching it.

But was it so hard to admit that they were at least friends? Or just a two people that had a quick fuck every once in a while?

Who was he kidding, it was far more than just once in a while. And he knew her. More than she ever let on during that dinner. He knew the emptiness that she had felt. The cause of it all. He knew that she was so much more than just that sweet exterior.

They arrived back at their building and the two exited the car into the cold.

"Is it so hard to say that we're friends?"
Mari gave him an amused look. "You said we were acquaintances," she reminded.
"Yeah but," the Ootori huffed. "You were not very enthused about us in the morning."

"Did you want your friends to know?" Mari raised an eyebrow at him.

Kyouya sighed. "No." He did not want questions from Tamaki. He certainly did not want Haruhi's smug face telling him that she had known all along. It would take an idiot to not realize that Haruhi already had an inkling of their relationship.

Mari smiled in victory and began walking into the lobby of their apartment building. She held the elevator for him and coolly leaned against the railing at the back.

"We're friends," Mari agreed. "I'll give you that. But you and I both know I'm not a girl you would bring home."

The elevator dinged.

The Ootori let her walk past him without even a glance. He wanted to protest Mari's last comment but it was far too late when she wished him a good night and stepped into her unit.

Not a girl you would bring home.

She was not just a girl. She was a woman who was accomplished. Intelligent. Ambitious. Goodness, he respected her in so many aspects.

He wondered if she knew that.

He watched as she packed up her belongings. She was officially a Master's graduate but of course, Mari had no interest in staying for a petty graduation ceremony. She was off to Oxford today.

Two large suitcases. Three boxes of textbooks. Everything else was Kanda's, she said. Mari seemed to have no particular attachment to anyone or anything. Not even him.

Not that he expected her to.

"Are you going to let this apartment collect dust?" Kyouya asked as she rolled her suitcases towards the door.

Mari shrugged. "The apartment is under Kanda's name. He can choose to rent it out but quite frankly, I think he will sell it. Unless he'll keep it for his son…" She rolled her eyes. "But that will probably be over a decade from now."

Her flight was 8 hours from now. Kyouya offered a ride to the airport and to that she only chuckled.

"You have better things to do than that," Mari brushed off. "This isn't anything I haven't done before."
"Have you found a place in Oxford?"

Mari nodded. "Yeah, home for the next few years. It's a one bedroom flat. Small but cozy. Close to campus. It'll be good, I think." Silence filled the room as Mari took one last look around the place. "It was good while it lasted. 6 years here in Boston."

"Another 3 in the UK," the Shadow King murmured. "What's next?"
Mari smiled. "Not sure. I'll see where life takes me."

She would never be tied down. He knew that. The way she broke free of all expectations, even if there weren't any to begin with. Mari hated to be confined. It only drew him into her. Like a moth drawn to a flame, she would never settle and he felt like he could never catch up. Even if he was the son of one of the most powerful families in Japan. She didn't bat an eye to that.

"Will you be back?" he asked while she loaded up her textbooks in the trunk of the taxi. A UK address was plastered at the very top of the cardboard box. She refused to sell these books for some reason – calling them all sentimental to some degree. Much of the books were already dog-eared and highlighted to her heart's content. He took another box and loaded it into the trunk.
"To Boston?" Mari hummed. "If the opportunity presents itself. Maybe if a post-doc position opens up here. Maybe MIT."

"Academia?" the Ootori raised an eyebrow.
"It's what I'm good at," the woman shrugged. "Play to your strengths, right?"

"What about Japan?"
"You know how I feel about Japan," Mari softly said. The two finished loading the back of the taxi.
"Right," he nodded.

"Will I see you again?" It sounded so dumb when he said it out loud.
She smiled. "Yeah. We run in the same circles, Kyouya. Our families do business together."
Kyouya scoffed. "As if you would ever show up to those publicity events."
Mari laughed out loud. "You know me too well. Maybe you will see me. Maybe you won't. I don't think it matters to you."

I don't think it matters to you.

She waved to him and nodded in acknowledgement. A slight head bow, just as they were taught as children despite adapting to Western styles of etiquette. It was a mutual form of high respect. Mari stepped into the taxi and all he could do was wave.

It did matter to him. A feeling of emptiness filled the hollows of his chest. All he could do was sigh. The feeling would pass. He would forget.

Or so he hoped.

Yuki Takuya was quite the social media influence. Now over 3 million followers across Asia and growing. She was, what she considered, a self-made businesswoman with sponsorships without having even gone to business school. As such, one photo had caught the eyes of millions. A sweet moment caught by the influencer between aunt and nephew.

There is absolute love in her eyes. Good to have you home, sis.

Mari had her nephew on her legs. Her eyes crinkled in absolute delight as the child looked up to her in curiosity. Who was this woman? He had never seen her before. But she showered him with love and care. With toys. With patience and time. He played with her for the first time and she stayed to play with him too. He got attention from her for such a prolonged period of time, someone other than his usual nanny.

He latched onto his aunt. They became inseparable after an afternoon together. Mari quite liked her nephew. He was very well natured. Quiet and cautious. It reminded her of herself as a child.

Kanda laughed at the sight. His son and his little sister. He saw his son every night after coming home from work but he hadn't seen his sister in years. Yuki was of course, attached to her phone. His wife was glad to have someone take her son off her hands, even if it was only a few hours after the nanny had gone home.

"What a family reunion," Kanda mused.

"Photo time!" Yuki announced. "Mari, the photo I posted of you already has over 100K likes in 20 minutes."

Mari blinked. "What?"

"Don't worry! I'm a great photographer – comes with the job. You looked wonderful in it. And of course, Taika looks adorable as usual."

Mari put on a fake smile for the camera with her siblings. She felt obligated to see her family after being abroad for 7 years. Now that Taika was old enough to remember her and Kanda had taken over the company fully – things had settled down. It was harder to relate to them as the years had gone by, but at the end of the day – Mari found her siblings to be pleasant. Everyone stayed outside of each other's ways – letting each other live their respective lives.

No one asked Mari what she did in the UK. All they knew was that she was doing her doctorate. She was now labelled as the brains of the family. Yuki's job was unconventional but she had a steady paycheque. She did what she was good at. Kanda was doing everything expected of him: becoming CEO, a loving husband, a great dad, fulfilling the large shoes left for him.

There was no scandal between the siblings fighting for their respective share of the fortune. No competition. Everyone was happy and had their own fulfilling lives. A rare sight. The media pounced for any scrap they could find, watching Yuki's social media closely. Yuki hardly shared anything about her family.

The photo of Mari sparked interest. So much so that Kyouya even got an alert on his phone the next day.

Who is this mystery sibling of Yuki Takuya?

Secret Takuya Sibling Unveiled!

Heir of the family, the beauty of the family… where's the missing piece?

Kyouya blinked at the sight of these articles.

Mari Takuya – the forgotten sibling of the Takuya family. A former internationally-acclaimed pianist made a surprise appearance on social influencer Yuki Takuya's photos with their nephew. A Harvard graduate of chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences, the accomplished academic is now pursuing her doctorate in Oxford.

Mari never told him she was in the country. A part of him couldn't help but to feel a pang of disappointment.

He clicked other articles. Some linked to her Master's thesis as it were investigative journalism – all it really took was a search in the Harvard database. He rolled his eyes. The media could hardly find anything on Mari – likely because she refused to have any footprint on the internet. Of course, she was cautious and far too smart to slip up like that.

Kyouya texted her.

You're in Japan, I see.

He attached an article he found amusing. She responded quickly. He wondered what she was up to.

Wow, who knew I was such a shame to be kept hidden for over two decades until I became an accomplished academic!

He chuckled. They hadn't spoken in nearly a year. He wondered how she was doing. It seemed right to catch up. His fingers had a mind of their own when he typed the next message.

Dinner?

Mari coolly responded within minutes.

Give me a time and place. See you whenever.

He smiled dumbly at his phone. It was good to have her back. He looked at the photo that Yuki posted.

She looked happy. And goodness, he hadn't seen her in a year but she was gorgeous. It was a great photo – one that piqued the entire country's interest. She was so elusive – it only brought on more attention. All of which she deserved.

He couldn't explain it. He was proud to know her. The world only caught on when they were far too late in discovering who she was.

Mari arrived at the restaurant right on time. Of course, the Ootori was already there. If you were on-time, you were late – something that he would probably abide to, Mari thought.

She had her hair pinned up. Mari looked effortlessly sophisticated with her grey handbag that contrasted from her white dress. She took a seat in front of him with ease while taking note of the surroundings.

A live string quartet played in the background. The wait staff was at their beck and call. They had a private room to themselves.

"Pretentious," she commented at the choice of restaurant. "Wouldn't have expected anything else." The first thing she said to him was far from a greeting. He smirked.
"You've been well," Mari noted. "You must be finished at Harvard by now."

He nodded. "And your doctorate is going well?"
"Well…" Mari repeated. Doctorates were never really going well in the thick of it all. "It has not been easy but… it is what it is."

She took a sip of her water. "Are you back to work at your company?"

He nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"You asked me to dinner," she gave a snarky response.
"And you hate Japan," Kyouya rolled his eyes.

Mari shrugged. "I don't hate where I had lived for my entire childhood. Actually, my siblings were quite tolerable these past few days. Yuki has grown out of her annoying phase. She seems busier than I am– meetings with brands and managing her entire empire of followers. Kanda of course, is busy with the company."

"You would not visit Japan for your siblings," the Ootori pointed out.
"I would visit Japan for my nephew," Mari smiled at the thought of the little boy. Goodness, he was so sweet and so pure. All he wanted to do was to play with trains and dinosaurs. Mari planned on taking him to the natural history museum the next day.

Kyouya frowned. It was getting annoying to try to gauge the answer he wanted out of her. Mari chuckled at his irritancy.

"My passport expires soon," Mari explained. "I've been abroad so long – there would be no way I could travel without a working passport. Though I guess I could have gone to the embassy but," the woman shrugged. "This visit was long overdue, after all."

"Ah, yes," Kyouya nodded. It made sense.

"Who knows, maybe one day I won't be a Japanese citizen," Mari toyed with the idea of settling elsewhere.
The Ootori shrugged. "I can see that. Anywhere but here."
"Yeah," Mari nodded. "Though it is nice to be able to speak your native tongue."

The two caught up over the past year. Small talk. Nothing exciting. Quite frankly, they were both very successful in their respective fields. They didn't expect anything less of each other, either. He walked her to the entrance of the restaurant at the end of the night. They caught up with each other like they were old friends. It was a familiar feeling.

Mari called for a cab.

"Where are you staying?" Kyouya casually asked.
"A hotel," Mari answered. "I'm only here to sort out my passport. I leave in 3 days."
"I see," he perched up his glasses. "It was good to see you."

"Mmhm," Mari agreed, crossing her arms. The cool evening breeze was comfortable as they stood outside. "What are you up to?" she looked him in the eye.
"Hm?" he dumbly responded. Kyouya couldn't help but to stare. She was still so pretty, just as he remembered her. It was a stupid thought that crossed his mind. Of course she was beautiful. She wouldn't step out in public if she was not put together, a simple rule of the upper class.

"What are your plans for the rest of the night?" she tried again.
"Uh," he cleared his throat. "Probably reviewing… some documents," Kyouya grumbled.
She tilted her head and smirked. "I could think of a better use of your time."
He blinked. His mouth gaped open at the realization of what she was insinuating. Or… was she? Maybe he was looking for an excuse… he missed her in more ways than one.

She couldn't help but to laugh at his reaction. "Up to you how you want to spend your night," Mari shrugged. The taxi pulled up to the curb and Mari reached for the door.
"Wait," Kyouya grabbed the door handle for her. Mari raised an eyebrow. The Shadow King coolly sent the driver away.
"I'll send you home," Kyouya huffed when he saw her smirk.