The Rebirth
Kyoya understood betrayal quite well. At some point, he didn't take it personally. Betrayal didn't depend on how much a person loves you or how much you trust them. No, the human psyche is far too complex for such a simplistic rationale. There were plenty of factors that lead from one thing to another. Being the skeptic he was, he never ruled out betrayal from anyone around him.
Would Hikaru or Kaoru betray him for let's say, Ageha's life? Yes, they would. Would Tamaki betray him? Possibly. If the circumstance is so grave. Would Julia betray him? In theory, no but it was also a possibility.
Betrayal wasn't something that was measured in something unquantifiable such as love or trust. It had a more practical application. Betrayal was dependent on the gravity of the situation placed in front of the person.
This was why he never took it personally even if his employees sold information from his company. They were at a certain circumstance and it was their only means for survival, then so be it. What was more important was how he handled the consequences of their actions.
Kyoya looked at all the pieces of the puzzle. The game was getting more interesting. It took the Shido Group a considerable amount of time to get control of a sinking ship. In all honesty, Kyoya was holding back out of respect for Fuyumi's husband, but today was the day he had to draw the line.
Kyoya put down the newspaper he was reading earlier. The acquisition of the Shido group with his company happened a few weeks earlier than intended, but he was confident that he could face them. There was already an emergency meeting with all the executives and major shareholders.
Tamaki, Hikaru, Honey, Mori, and basically everyone called him that morning. All of them were going to the said emergency meeting. It was just a few weeks after his employees and other members of the Ootori Group decided to hold a memorial celebration for him. The lack of information coming from his family made everyone imagine all sorts of things. He was surprised Yuuichi let them be.
Kyoya buttoned up his dress shirt and placed his necktie on. Julia insisted on something so unlike him, but he was seriously taking this into suggestion. If there was someone who knew how to surprise the public with a new look, it was Julia considering she used to do this for a living. Kyoya placed on the contact lenses that he was going to use for the first and last time and the sunglasses she gave for that extra flair. He took his signature black coat and left his house.
The commotion at Kyoya's previous workplace was beyond control. Employees were all over the place and there were fractions between them now. Not everyone was comfortable with the Shido Group taking over, but it was better than a "dead CEO".
Kyoya's secretary looked at the altar they placed in the main hall and drank some of his coffee. "It's just so sudden how Ootori-sama died."
His companion nodded. "For more than a year his family refused to answer any questions about Ootori-sama. How can they pretend that he didn't exist?"
The two employees were part of the minority that didn't wish for any changes, but it was too late now. There were posters and flowers all over the place to commemorate the occasion, but here they were trying to move on already. The cleaners were starting to remove the decorations as ordered by the Shido Group.
"The Shido Group is like a sister company anyways." The other man rationalized.
"Yeah, everyone's gathered upstairs already. It won't be long until the ownership is finalized."
With all the commotion going around, nobody noticed a dark-haired man enter the main hall. The two employees watched the mysterious figure approach the altar. It was probably some rich acquaintance who wanted to pay his respects.
Kyoya looked at the grandiose display of flowers and shook his head. "Even on my death bed, they try to kill me with my pollen allergy."
One of the attendants gave Kyoya the guest logbook. Kyoya skimmed through the pages. It was interesting how his 'death' became his greatest opportunity. Kyoya smirked as he looked at some of the hypocrites leaving their notes.
"Excuse me, sir. Are you going to leave a note?" The attendant asked.
Kyoya shook his head and faced the area of the hall with the greatest number of people. "There's no need for me to leave a note on my own memorial service."
This was a trick Julia showed him. They spent the entire afternoon yesterday practicing this. In one swift motion, he took off his shades and looked at his employees. He saw his secretary gasp and he dropped his coffee. Numerous people stared at him. They couldn't believe their eyes now. The sound of murmurs filled the room. Even a few started taking a video of what was unfolding right there.
"I'm sure there are plenty thoughts running in your mind, but I'm back." Kyoya said.
Kyoya paused and bowed to his waist. "I apologize for those who were gravely affected by this incident, but for personal reasons, I had to prioritize my health. I apologize for any inconvenience on your part."
"To commemorate such an occasion, all our services shall have a time limited discount today. The employees and branches who have reached their target sales as of today shall also get double their usual bonus. Thank you for your consideration and continuing patronage." Kyoya bowed once more.
With all the main shareholders in the meeting room, no one was aware of the commotion that was happening outside. Arata Shido, the current vice president of the Shido Group, explained the terms of the merge and how it would affect every single one of them. They were midway with the whole process and it was almost time for voting. The Hosts looked at the woman sitting at the end of the table right beside Mori. She looked very familiar with her silver hair, but they couldn't quite place who that person was. All they knew was she was the representative of K.I., the next largest shareholder.
As the meeting continued, the Hosts tried their best not to glare at the man. They stood their ground with the refusal to change the management, but they were corned as it was. It was a close fight between the Shido Group and K.I. who were the shareholders at 42% and 40% respectively.
Arata Shido was finally going to have his revenge. He could already taste his victory. "I'm sure everyone has been worried about the situation given the circumstances that happened the previous year. This year we will rename the company and incorporate it under the Shido group to bring out the most profit. From now one, I will personally oversee the operations of this company."
"Of course, all of you will be compensated generously if you vote for the change in management." Arata Shido continued.
A show of hands was asked within the board room. The twins took note of Kyoya's request to spice things up by raising their hands in favor of changing the CEO. Even Honey raised his hand as requested by the Shadow King. The look of satisfaction on Arata Shido's face was glowing. Even Kyoya Ootori's own friends have betrayed him.
"I would like to request everyone to keep their hands raised." A familiar voice said.
There was this sense of dread that entered the room. A few of the executives stood up from their seats since they felt like they saw a ghost.
"So this is how it feels like to rise from the dead." Kyoya commented. He glanced at his opportunistic brother-in-law and savored the horrified expression the man had.
Arata Shido felt like he couldn't breathe at this point. He couldn't even glance at the Ootori's general direction.
"For those who raised their hands…" Kyoya looked at the room and found the "surprised" look of the Host Club even more entertaining. "I'll forget what happened in this room. Let's all go back to work and avoid wasting each other's time."
Hikaru and Kaoru smirked at Arata Shido and even laughed in his face. Tamaki placed his hand on Kyoya's shoulder and smiled. "Welcome back, Kyoya."
The Hosts stood nearby their Shadow King not for moral support, but because they were more curious with what was going to happen with Arata Shido. It wasn't everyday someone from the dead comes back with a vengeance.
Kyoya stood by the door and smiled at his brother-in-law. "Arata-niisama, shall I escort you the entrance?"
"The merger is still going to push through." The man looked at Kyoya with false politeness.
"Yes, it will." Kyoya nodded. He had the man to thank. After all, without him knowing he did exactly what Kyoya wanted.
The man clenched his fists. "The Shido Group still has 42% of the shares and all you have left to your name is 5%."
"You're quite observant with the graph posted behind us." Kyoya nodded. "It's true that I have 5% to my name, but as CEO of the K.I. group that puts me well above the Shido Group."
"You own 47% of the company?" Arata felt his throat dry up.
"It seems like Arata-niisama is proficient in basic arithmetic too." Kyoya smiled. "Well, it seems like we both need to go back to work."
"But the merger is already set to push through." Arata threw his glass on the floor.
"Yes, it will still happen, but not with the Shido Group, right Matsudaira-san? We're renaming the company to Kikyou Incorporated."
The other hosts were surprised that Kyoya worked with the Matsudaira's. They weren't aware that their long time Student Council President back at Ouran had a sister. The man was like an old soul who was too gentle to do anything.
The extremely woman with light colored hair smiled at Arata. "I couldn't betray my kohai. To think that Shido-san was so mean to me."
Arata looked confused. "It's the first time we've met."
"Don't you recognize me? It's me Toshiyori Matsudaira. We worked together at the Student Council with one of the alumni projects."
Everyone in the room, except Kyoya, froze. They were pretty sure that Toshiyori Matsudaira was a gentle hearted man but was stood in front of them was a vixen. How could the meek student council president turn into such a brazen woman?
Kyoya smiled. "Matsudaira-san, shall we escort Shido-san to the entrance?"
The Misunderstanding
Ageha Hitachiin was bored. It was nice to have dinner with her parents and brothers, but having the Ootori, Mizushima, and Miyura families was boring. Especially the Ootori family. They were into the grown-up small talk. They were so serious it made her sick. Her mother explained that it was because of their business that they had to be a bit boring. Ageha slouched in her seat as they talked about some takeover and company rights. She didn't understand why her mother and brothers had to pretend to be a bit boring when these people arrived. To make things even worse, milord's grandmother was also there. It was such a boring dinner filled with old people, but at least she and Kyoko could play. She who was the only fun person from the Ootori family.
Fuyumi smiled at Ageha. "Do you and Kyoko want to play at the gardens after some dessert?"
The two looked at each other and nodded. Anything was fine as long as they got out of there.
Milord's grandmother was saying something boring. She could even see her brothers pretending to be interested in what she was saying. Then she looked at the most boring people in the room. Shadow king, his brothers, and father were listening intently to what Milord's grandma was saying.
She leaned over and whispered to Kyoko. "Your uncles aren't human."
Kyoko giggled and this caught the attention of Shizue Suoh. She initially ignored the two young girls giggling.
"Don't you ever forget the importance of inner strength." The woman said. She couldn't tolerate the disrespect that Ageha was unintentionally doing.
"I'm sure you two know this." Shizue directed her attention to the young ladies in the room.
They stopped giggling and sat up straight and focused their attention on Milord's grandmother.
"Remember the saying 'sticks and stones may break my bones'…" Shizue said slowly putting an emphasis on each syllable. Everyone looked at Kyoko and Ageha expectantly. They waited for the two young ladies to continue the saying to stress their point.
Ageha and Kyoko were confused they knew the saying and Shizue encouraged them to continue the rest of the saying with conviction. The two girls looked at each other and briefly nodded.
"But chains and whips excite me." They said in unison with an air of confidence.
Unfortunately, pop music has poisoned the minds of the two children. It was most definitely Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. There was a generational gap at this point.
There was silence in the room. Shizue Suoh looked shocked. Like her ears couldn't believe what she just heard. Hikaru and Kaoru's shoulders were shaking now. They looked up and saw Julia and Megumi biting their lips as well. They were silent but tears were already flowing down as their shoulders were shaking. There was no way they could salvage this kind of tension. No damage control could remedy this now. They looked at the horrified state the Ootori's were. The Ootori family was the epitome of emotional self-control, but that wasn't the case now. Fuyumi looked like she was about to faint.
"Where in the world did you learn that?" Yoshio regained his composure however he had to drink down several cups of tea to compensate for the shock he felt.
Ageha blinked a few times. She was definitely Hikaru and Kaoru's younger sister. "I heard Julia-neechan and Megumi-neechan say it."
Ageha's expression showed no remorse. She had to defend herself. She wasn't wrong. "They definitely said 'Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it. Sex in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it. Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me. "
"They taught you that?" Shizue looked at Julia and Megumi with a smile on her face. "When on earth did they say that?"
"Who knows?" Ageha shrugged her shoulders. "All I know is Shadow King is a dom."
Kyoya cleared his throat. "Children have an interesting imagination."
There was now some agreement in the room. Distraction was the only way. The atmosphere was slowly returning to normal. Luckily, he was still able to salvage what was left.
Kyoko was initially uncomfortable with the situation and then realization dawn on her. They must have been playing a game. They were role-playing.
"That's why Julia-neesan called Kyoya-ojichan 'Daddy' the other day. You were playing house." She said proudly. She was so glad to have an uncle who still liked to play games even if he was an adult.
The atmosphere was so terrible. The horrified expression on Yuuichi and Akito's face, the fact that Fuyumi had to excuse herself to get some fresh air, and how Yoshio glared at his son and Julia for such unbecoming behavior was too much. Julia looked like an empty shell. It was definitely a direct hit. Kyoya continued his meal and he acted like as if nothing happened. Yuzuha Hitachiin looked at her daughter. She looked at her sons. They all looked as equally surprised and they couldn't hold back any longer and they got into a fit of laughter. The Hitachiins weren't built with the same self-control the other families had.
For the first time, Ageha smiled. These dinners weren't always so boring after all.
Okay, I know this omake was short. I actually uploaded it way beyond half baked. The next few parts are still outlines, but for personal reasons I had to post this.
I even did major revisions now with the first 3 chapters so that's for you as well.
I got a prologue now and I did some restructuring but if you've gone this far, it doesn't matter. Context wise nothing really changed.
1. The Rebirth
I totally wanted the cool feel for this one. Damn, Kyoya was too cool even for me at this point. Also, the student council president is a manga only character. He's basically a cinnamon roll. An old cinnamon roll and totally harmless and I'm like why not use whatever I have to my disposal. From old cinnamon roll to hot woman.
2. The Misunderstanding
Now, I don't own any rihanna songs. This was just for laughs now. It would make sense to have traditional families like the Ootoris and Suohs together, but mixing up the Hitachiins was something interesting. They're not the old rich formal kind of family so the difference in values was there. Also, let's be honest most of you guys imagine Kyoya in that way already.
So since this was done quickly and was too short, there will still be more. This is for the reader who prefers to not be named who messaged me and begged me to post whatever it was I had since he/she was going through some really difficult things with life and this is the only thing I could give you. I know it's not much but I hope that this chapter helps you get through whatever it is you're doing.