Father and Son
Families rise and fall. For the longest time, the Ootori's found themselves at the top. Now it felt like they were at the bottom. There was nothing wrong with the Ootori Group. In fact, it was doing better. Sometimes negative publicity has an opposite effect, but it was taking its toll on their family. Yuuichi, his eldest son, was now the chairman of the Ootori Group. He had no choice but to retire since his health wasn't in the best shape. However, he wasn't the type to sit idly. He found himself being an advisor of the Mizushima Corporation. He worked closely with the newly appointed chairwoman.
"It's all clear, Ootori-sama. There are no issues now with your cancer. You're officially in remission. We just need to do yearly scans to monitor any changes." The doctor said.
It was good news. He fought his cancer silently for two years. A year ago, Noriko found out about his condition because of his accident. Surely, this would merit a celebration.
"Thank you for your efforts." Yoshio said.
The doctor turned red. To receive praise from Yoshio Ootori himself. He fumbled on his words as he said that he only did his job.
Yoshio stood up and went down the hall. He acknowledged the greetings all the employees made as he made his way around the hospital. It was one of the largest Ootori Group facilities. This specific hospital had a Cancer Institute. One of the best in the country. It covered everything from the diagnosis, treatment, and even the option for those who wish to forgo any further medical intervention. He walked to the Hospice center. This specific ward was for those patients who were just waiting for their time to come. It was equally as important as the rest. Patients who refused any further cancer treatments were placed here. Elderly patients with conditions that are too critical to be placed in regular nursing homes were also placed here. It also included patients in coma.
At the end of the hall was a specific room. Going to this area for most guests was the most difficult. Critical illnesses didn't choose any age. The more fortunate ones were like him. People who've lived a considerable amount of time, but some weren't as lucky. There were children playing in one area. Some had portable oxygen tanks following them as they walked around. In room, a group of college students visited a classmate who couldn't stand anymore. There were parents being taken care of by their children.
In a sense, most of them were lucky since being sick sometimes provided time for the entire family to come to terms with the situation. Not everyone was as fortunate. There was no time for the Ootori family to process their situation. No time to prepare for the next step. It came falling suddenly one after another.
Yoshio watched his youngest child sleep. The prognosis wasn't good. He made sure that multiple scans were done. The day Kyoya was brought to the hospital was the most difficult. He was dead for exactly 43 seconds. It was one emergency operation after another.
On top of the multiple physical injuries his son faced, he even had mild pneumonia and an infection. That required him to stay in the intensive care unit for another several days. He went in and out of the intensive care unit for the first week. There were no signs that he was improving.
By the second week, his condition stabilized. Yoshio knew that if Kyoya didn't wake up in the first week, the chances of any improvement was extremely low. Yuuichi's first and most difficult decision went against his values as being Kyoya's brother and being the chairman of the Ootori Group. They had no choice but to sell Kyoya's projects as stated in his will. If Yuuichi had it his way, he wouldn't have done that.
Now it was the third week. They've decided as a family that if no improvements would be seen by the end of this week, it was best to let him go and rest. When people envisioned their wealth, luxury, they thought they would be free from all sorts of burdens. Yoshio begged to differ. The ironic part about their family was how restrained it was by the board of directors. Down to their marriages and their paths in life, they had no choice but to play a certain role that was already made for them. This was the very role that Kyoya resisted. Yoshio was aware that he was never content with being the third son which is why he worked even harder than Yuuichi and Akito.
Yoshio sat beside his son. He was a man of science and facts. He didn't believe in things like fate or destiny. That kind of wishful thinking was Ryusei's belief. In that moment, he hoped he was wrong. He looked at the stubble on Kyoya's face. He took the razor and a small basin close by and filled it with some warm water.
"I've never had the luxury of teaching you things like shaving or how to fish. There were plenty of things you and your brothers had to learn yourselves." Yoshio said as he placed some shaving cream on Kyoya's face.
"I believe you and your brothers were capable enough of learning through example." Yoshio took the razor and lightly placed it on his son's face. "It's not an easy task to be my son. I know how strict I am as a parent."
"You have always been observant with how we carried ourselves. The only thing I taught you was how to fix your tie properly." Yoshio reminisced a young Kyoya's struggle for independence by dressing himself up for one of their events. A memory of Kyoya being unable to tie his own tie and how Yoshio taught him how to do it entered his mind.
"Despite all your setbacks, I'm proud of your actions." Yoshio continued to speak. "You've grown the most among all your siblings which is why whatever course of action you take; I'm letting you go."
Yoshio took his handkerchief and dipped it in the lukewarm water he prepared earlier. He wiped Kyoya's face and took a deep breath. His son finally looked like his usual self. Yoshio took another deep breath and closed his eyes. He was fine with whatever path Kyoya was going to take now, even if it meant leaving them behind for good. For the first time in years, he held his son's hand and he hoped for the best.
Noriko watched the father and son bond silently. She peaked through the door without letting Yoshio know she was there because he would get his guard up as usual. She listened to him talk to their son. The most difficult thing for a mother was to know that she might have to bury another child of hers. She felt the tears building up and her vision clouding. Even if the tears made things blurry, she was sure that Yoshio shed a few tears as well.
Plan B
Kyoya woke up exactly one day before the set time limit. It was almost miraculous that he was already speaking. In an ideal world, recovery would go smoothly, but this was reality. There were no shortcuts in this part of life.
When he woke up yesterday, Julia and the Host Club were the first to arrive. After 30 minutes of speaking to them, he already felt drained. His family arrived shortly after. Given his current state, he didn't want any press releases about his health. He wasn't even allowed to eat by himself yet since he was hooked to a ventilator. He had this feeding tube that passed through his nose and went directly through his stomach. As if that wasn't enough, his entire chest was tightly bandaged since more than half of the ribs on his right were broken. He even had a tube that was stuck to his chest to help him breathe.
He asked his family to keep it a secret for now. Since then, his siblings took charge of all the damage control. Only a limited number of essential individuals knew about Kyoya's awakening. Not even the board members of his own company new. Not even Tachibana, Ajima, and Hotta knew. He left a list with security with those who were allowed to enter his room.
"Ootori-sama, I need you to take another deep breath." One of the doctors instructed.
With whatever strength Kyoya had, he took another deep breath. He wished he was in a manga or television series where the moment he woke up from a coma. If he were some kind of lead protagonist, he could run around in less than a day and start working while making a grand entrance of some sort. No one talks about how painful it was to take deep breaths after someone took a tube out of your chest while half of your ribs were broken. He couldn't even sit up by himself.
The situation could have been worse though. At least it was his right arm that was broken, not his left. He could still write to communicate with those around him when he found it too tiresome to talk.
"Very good, Ootori-sama." The doctor recorded his progress. "Hopefully once your lungs are in better condition, we can remove the chest tube."
"How can I get this out faster?" Kyoya asked.
"Take as much deep breaths as you can. If you can do at least 10 deep breaths every hour, even better."
The doctor bowed and took his leave. Another nurse went inside the room to help him sit up. They fixed his oxygen support and left a glass of water for him. It was just past lunch time, so no one was visiting him yet. Most of his friends were still at work. Julia wanted to spend lunch with him, but he refused so it wouldn't raise any suspicion that he was already awake. Kyoya was going to make his presence felt when the time was right.
Kyoya did as instructed and took another deep breath. He wanted to get out of this god forsaken place as soon as he could. He closed his eyes and concentrated on inhaling and exhaling.
"Ootori-senpai?"
Kyoya opened his eyes and saw that it was Kazukiyo Soga. He was a classmate of Haruhi and the twins. The infamous cowardly president who also happens to be Kyoya's fund manager. Kyoya acknowledge his presence and the man slowly made his way inside. The poor soul had Aichmophobia or fear of sharp things. The thought of seeing the needles on Kyoya's body already traumatized him by the minute.
"I did exactly what you asked me to." He said as he got his composure back. He opened his laptop and showed Kyoya how he circulated his assets.
Kyoya nodded. "Thank you, Soga-kun."
"It's nothing. Even now, you're still one of the biggest clients." Soga replied. "Didn't you tell Suoh-senpai that you were going to sell everything?"
"There was no need."
Soga took a deep breath. When he was selling off Kyoya's house Tamaki came running and asking him why he was doing this. Tamaki kept debating that there was no need to take such drastic measures, but what most people didn't see was Kyoya liquidated all his possession and invested in back in the stock market under a different account. As he slept, his monetary value maintained itself because he decided to let go of non-essential items. This included certain paintings, cars, watches, and articles of clothing. It was the practical move for Kyoya. This was a contingency plan in the event that his company is unable to maintain its revenue. It was also a way for his to keep the losses at a minimum since he had to think about all the compensation he had to shoulder. Personally, he didn't think Kyoya needed a fund manager since he was fine by himself, but he saw his purpose during those three weeks of coma. He never thought that Kyoya Ootori would need him to be an extension of his plans. It flattered him to a certain extent.
"Your money is doing quite well. I've invested it in companies that you mentioned before. Then I also invested back another percentage back to your company when the ownership was at stake." Soga explained.
Kyoya nodded. "How about the compensation for the employees who left?"
"That's also been taken cared of. Everyone that left got it…Currently, you only have twenty employees left on payroll." Soga clenched his fists. He couldn't look at Kyoya directly with this kind of news. "I also sold the office as you requested and got a smaller space. It should cut the costs for now."
"How about the investment I told you about?"
Soga showed photos of an old building that housed a quaint pub. "They're starting off well. They opened yesterday."
Kyoya took the photos Soga brought. This was his last investment before the accident happened and this was the first risk he was going to take. He was sure that this was going to be successful in its own right. He was a good judge of character.
"Those fools decided to name it 'Noel's Pub'?" Kyoya raised a brow. They had terrible naming sense, but it was sentimental in its own way.
The Pub
When the lawyers started analyzing Kyoya's will, the entire household of Kyoya was paid in full for the next seven years as compensation. Tachibana, who was already relieved of his duties, got another bonus. Ajima, and Hotta were even compensated until their retirement fund. Kyoya also requested that they be relieved of their duties since their job was to guard him. As if things weren't enough, he left another investment with them. It was the final investment Kyoya made.
It had clear instructions for the three men. Kyoya was well aware that Hotta was a good cook. He practically grew up with them and he spent more time with them than his own parents. He asked them to start a business that they've always dreamt of.
Hotta was sobbing as the lawyer gave him the property title and the funds they needed to start up the business. It didn't feel right that they were moving on, but their bocchama wasn't there with them. They looked at the building Kyoya bought for them to use. It was a simple building on top of a mountain with a roof deck that had a nice view of the city. It wasn't exactly in the heart of the city, but it was close enough that there were still people who walked. It lived near the residential area so it was a good place to start a small business.
"There's still no news about Kyoya-sama?" Hotta asked.
Tachibana shook his head. "None. For the last week the security was even stricter. All I know is that if Kyoya-sama doesn't wake up by the end of the month, the board suggested of ending life support."
The air became heavy. Ajima took off his shades. "We have to do well for Kyoya-sama."
The two men nodded. They couldn't let their boss down. The three of them decided it was best to name their new venture after something that was close to all their hearts. Ajima looked at the feline that was left under their care.
"Poor Noel must be confused." Hotta said.
The poor feline was as finicky as his owner. The cat refused to touch the bare pavement. He didn't eat anything lesser than the fancy canned fish Kyoya got. He didn't go outside the commoner world as well.
"He's a bit of a snob too." Tachibana commented. The cat was indeed like Kyoya on so many ways.
They spent a few moments in silence. Then it felt like a chill ran down their spine. It was the familiar sense of fear they felt when they did something Kyoya didn't approve of. The sheer thought of his threatening look in the morning was enough to remind them that there was no room for failure. There was no time to grieve.
"We have to make Kyoya-sama proud. When he wakes up, he's going to want to eat here." Hotta stretched his hand out and looked at his companions.
Tachibana nodded and placed his hand on top of Hotta's and Ajima followed as well.
"Let's go Team Kyoya!"
Hi there!
Thank you again for your support. Up to now I still appreciate your thoughts. If you guys have any suggestions with the omake (or even the previous chapters), comments, thoughts, feelings don't be scared to leave a message or review. I'll be sure to take those into consideration.
Also with all that's going on in the world, I've decided to post the omake in tiny fragments so that you guys have something to look forward to each day. In my country, I'm basically stuck at home so I have no excuse but to write. My tiny contribution to this is to make you guys feel better by posting fluff as much as I can. Fanfic can be therapeutic and can serve as a distraction for all of us. I hope you guys are safe.
Another random thought, I've always thought of Kyoya's bodyguards to be like Asian uncles/dad vibes. Totally uncool with the asian dad squat or something. I'm still contemplating how to do the love story now. I'm thinking of having an extra with Julia's experiences as a rich person now.
