"Father's mad."
Kyoya kept his eyes glued to the laptop screen, pointedly ignoring his sister currently digging through his things. "Father is always mad."
"This time is different, though," Fuyumi grunted, trying to shove a shirt back into the drawers. "Apparently someone's been blindsiding him, buying properties right out from under his nose so he can't build any clinics."
Kyoya froze, eyes meeting his sister's. "Why haven't I heard about this?"
"You've been so busy chasing after that girl that you wouldn't have noticed anyways," Fuyumi giggled. "How's that going by the way? Have you confessed yet? You spent the weekend at her home-"
"With the other Hosts, yes."
"-so it's not like there was no time to tell her."
Kyoya resumed typing. "You're misunderstanding the situation."
"Hm, I don't think so. I haven't seen you this passionate about something since Tamaki-kun became your friend."
"Again, you misunderstand."
Fuyumi didn't look convinced. "Ahuh. So you're not trying to look for information on her right now?" Kyoya was quiet. She giggled again. "Thought so!"
He gave her a disgruntled look. "It's like she didn't even exist until two years ago. And she's the heiress to Watanabe International. It's… bizarre, to say the least. The thought of future dealings with such a mysterious person makes me uneasy."
"Wait… Watanabe International?" Fuyumi asked, eyes wide. "Watanabe-sama has a daughter? That's the girl you've been chasing?"
"Have you not been listening to anything I tell you? And I'm not 'chasing' her. You're just as bad as Tamaki."
"Oh shush, you unromantic sap," Fuyumi scolded before staring into space, her finger tapping her lips. "I remember something happening years ago. Mother and Father were talking about Watanabe International, but back then they weren't so big."
"What was it?" Kyoya asked. He was getting basically nowhere with his own research. Perhaps he needed to bit the bullet and ask someone who has had personal dealings with Watanabe for years. Someone like his Father.
"I can't really remember," Fuyumi murmured, scrunching her nose in thought. "I remember Mother telling Father to back out of a deal with them, though. He refused. It was years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy. I only remember because I was caught sneaking into the kitchen to steal some pudding!"
"How old were you?" If he couldn't find anything on Merry in particular, perhaps he should be taking a closer look at her father's past, even if his secretary was not very pleasant to deal with.
Fuyumi shrugged. "Six? Seven, maybe? Why not just ask this girl on a date?"
Kyoya snorted and clicked open a new search tab, fingers flying over his keyboard. "Have you been talking to Tamaki? He said the same thing. You're both misinterpreting the whole situation and it's getting a little annoying."
Fuyumi fought down a smile as she turned back to her nemesis, the clothes drawers. "Whatever you say, little brother."
Kyoya released an aggravated sigh, resisting the urge to snap his laptop shut. His search on any dealings his father had with Watanabe seventeen years ago came up as a bust. All he could find was that Watanabe stocks skyrocketed the moment they set foot on the international market and shot them up to their present standing. They went from a moderately sized construction company to international property giants in the span of a couple of years.
Either Mr Watanabe was a business genius or he had a helping hand.
Perhaps both.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, clicking on a list of the main shareholders. He froze, rereading the list. One name stood out, with 26.7% ownership, granting a seat on the Board of Directors for the company.
Castillo. Surname only listed.
That couldn't be right. The Castillo family had gone bankrupt. Merry had said so herself, saying her father bought her current home from the family before she was born.
It didn't make any sense.
If the family were wealthy enough to afford shares in the company, why file for bankruptcy so many years ago? There was something he was missing.
He opened another search tab, entering the Castillo name. He was instantly bombarded with Spanish historical sites. Understandable, seeing how the family name was an old one. He clicked on a public domain, listing a family tree.
His eyes trailed downwards until he reached the current century. Reyes Castillo, the sole surviving member of the Castillo family.
He was nearing seventy. Beneath that there was a blank space. No name, just dates with a span of twenty six years between birth and death. Assumed to be Reye's child that was no longer alive.
Kyoya sighed for the umpteenth time. It seemed he was doing that a lot lately.
Wait…
He flicked open his notebook to the page he had his information on Merry. Her birthday was on April first.
The death of Reye's child; April first, same year.
He frowned. It couldn't be a coincidence. Merry's mother was a Castillo, which was why her father purchased the Victorian. But why was Merry in Spain? Was she living with her mother's family there? If so, why did Mr Watanabe wait so long to claim her as his daughter? Why was there nothing on Merry at all until two years ago?
Was she illegitimate, like Tamaki? Merry had said she reminded her father of his grief, so perhaps living in two separate countries was easiest for them both. It made sense, but there was only one way to find out for sure.
He flipped open his phone. "Hello, Tachibana? I need you to do something for me. Locate a Spanish man by the name of Reyes Castillo."
Kyoya made his way down to the dining room to have breakfast before school, only to pause midstride at the sight of his father seated at the head of the table. Usually the man was at the office by now.
"Good morning, Father," he greeted politely, taking a seat. A servant swept into the room and placed breakfast in front of him.
"Good morning, Kyoya," Yoshio said, voice as hard and unemotional as ever. "I received a rather strange phone call this morning." Kyoya was quiet, waiting for his father to continue. The man wouldn't appreciate any unneeded enquiries. "From Sora Watanabe. A rare occurrence for the man to contact anyone personally. You've expressed interest in his daughter, Merry."
Kyoya remained calm and mostly unflappable. "Interest is a very broad term, father. I am merely researching the one slated to take over Watanabe International."
"He said as much," Yoshio nodded. "He also said he wants you to stop trying to dig up matters that do not concern you. His words, not mine. What have you been doing, Kyoya? Sora Watanabe is not a man you should take lightly."
Suddenly Kyoya wasn't so hungry. To have Merry's father step into their little game was unprecedented and more than a little unwanted. Not to mention it meant he was being watched. It made him uneasy. "Merry-san and I have come to an agreement."
Yoshio raised a brow. "And what might that be?" He sounded unimpressed, waiting to judge whether Kyoya's motives were beneficial for the company in the long run. Waiting to see if Kyoya could handle delicate matters such as a father's protectiveness of his daughter.
"We are still in discussion, father. Nothing has been cemented. You needn't concern yourself."
"That does not answer my question, Kyoya."
"No, I suppose not."
"Sora is a difficult man to please. And you have not pleased him, Kyoya. Impressed, maybe. But not pleased."
"I see," Kyoya hummed, taking the veiled compliment at face value.
"However," Yoshio added. "A tie to bring our two companies closer together is not unwelcome. Whatever agreement you have with Merry-san, be sure that it works well in our favour."
A test. Another twist to the game. "… Please excuse me, father, I must be getting to school. Have a good day."
Kyoya rose from the table, bowing slightly to the patriarch before exiting the room, leaving Yoshio to stare after him.
From the next room over, Fuyumi pressed her hand to her lips to stifle a giggle as she eavedropped. Her husband gave her a dry look and she playfully smacked his shoulder. "Don't give me that look. This is so exciting, don't you think?"
"Your father wouldn't appreciate you being sneaky," her husband drawled.
"But it doesn't matter as long as I don't get caught! And besides, what do you think about Kyo-kun and Watanabe-sama's daughter, Merry-chan, hm? I haven't seen him so obsessed over something in a long time."
"I think someone needs to tell those kids that flirting doesn't have to be so difficult."
Fuyumi giggled and pecked her husband's cheek. "My thoughts exactly."
Review if you wanna, but you don't gotta~ :P