Chapter 8

Takashi had enjoyed seeing Kyoya again, but he didn't like the way the younger man had inferred that the mystery woman was his stalker. Yes, she did take pictures of him unknowingly throughout his day, but she was enlisting the help of his closest friend and cousin. Mitsukuni had assured him that the woman was only trying to communicate out of the public eye. When Takashi had heard that he wondered if she had something to hide. He knew she came from a well off family and had attended Ouran during her high school years. Nearly every rich family had its secrets, but what if her secrets went deeper. That was the though which troubled him most. He certainly didn't want to get caught up in some scandal; that would ruin his family, and the Haninozuka family.

He was taken out of his thoughts as he heard conversations growing louder around him. His notes were open in front of him, but his eyes stared blankly at the page. His three group mates took their seats next to him. They were getting ready to begin their mock trial. He was the accused in their scenario. The accusation was that he was an accountant for a financial company and had been laundering money from the company for some time. He attorney on the case was Aiko. The other two men in his group were playing the president of the financial company and his lawyer.

Once everyone had settled into their seats, their professor called their group and they handed in their scenario. Their professor presided over each trial acting as the judge. He presented the case and the group called Takashi to the bench first.

They had intentionally made all of their questions direct and to the point leaving little room for error when being answered. Takashi answered each question as he had practiced, pleading his innocence and giving the facts that the company had been over spending in various departments. He left the stand and the president of the company was then called for questioning. He was not as well prepared as Takashi and fumbled a lot of his arguments.

The entire scenario had taken just over twenty minutes. When they finished, their professor gave everyone a chance to write down their verdict. Each slip was turned in and their professor began making tally marks in the guilty and not guilty columns on the black board. At the end of the tally, the verdict was not guilty by a vote of 20 to 6.

"Well done, Morinozuka-san," their professor commended. "And you as well, Junkata-san."

Both Takashi and Aiko gave a short bow and returned to their seats. Takashi knew he wouldn't learn his full grade until the next class period, but he felt confident that he would garner high marks.

The second group began their scenario and Takashi's mind wandered to the mystery woman. Mitsukuni had mentioned she was out of the country training for nationals. She was a Muay Thai fighter and the only place he thought she could go would be Thailand. It was only logical. His mind refocused when he heard a loud thud. The student playing the accused began throwing a fit because the scenario wasn't going the way the group had planned. Takashi made note of who was in the group; four men, three of which were from rivalling families.

'No wonder this scenario isn't panning out correctly,' Takashi thought. They were all fighting each other rather than working together. He sighed mentally and looked down at his slip of paper. Before giving it another thought, he wrote 'guilty.'

xxXxx

Takashi arrived home just before dinner was to be served. Mitsukuni and he had a short conversation about Nationals on the ride from the university. Mitsukuni informed him that his father was making him and Yasuchika train together every evening. Mitsukuni didn't mind it, but he knew his younger brother hated it. Takashi listened to Mitsukuni's troubles, assessing the situation as he always did. When Mitsukuni was dropped off he thanked Takashi for listening.

"Taka-nii!" Satoshi greeted loudly. "Look who came home with me for dinner!"

Takashi entered the dining room and saw a boy, who was presumably in Satoshi's class, sitting next to his brother. He had jet black hair spiked up in the front with gel, and was wearing the typical Ouran High School uniform. The boy stood and bowed to Takashi in greeting. He was tall for his age; taller than Satoshi by a couple of inches. He was thin, but had toned arms from what Takashi could tell from the size of the boy's jacket. He also wore glasses; square black frames boxed his dark blue eyes.

"Morinozuka-san," the boy spoke. "It is nice to meet you. My name is Ryokei Kazuaki."

Takashi gave a short bow in return. "Hello, Kazuaki."

The boy sat again and he began a conversation about comic books with Satoshi. Both boys became quite animated and Takashi just shook his head in disbelief. The boy had acted so formal a moment ago and now he was just as crazy as his little brother.

Takashi went up to his bedroom to drop off his things. On his way back to the dining room he was stopped by his mother.

"Takashi, sweetheart, how was school today?" she asked.

"Very good," he gave his mother a small smile. She was a foot shorter than him, but he respected her sometimes more than he respected his father. "I won my case in the mock trial today."

"That's wonderful," she beamed. "I know you've been working very hard in your classes."

"Was there something else?" Takashi asked.

"Yes," his mother began. "The friend your brother brought home today, this is the first time I've met this boy. Do you know who he is?"

"He introduced himself as Ryokei Kazuaki," Takashi answered.

"Oh," she looked surprised. "Hideo's son. I didn't realize he was the same age as Satoshi."

"He was very formal whilst introducing himself, but when he spoke to Satoshi he became very animated," Takashi told her knowing she wanted to know more about the boy.

She giggled, "Your brother makes friends so easily. He always finds people like himself."

Takashi nodded. He couldn't help feeling that his mother favored Satoshi's personality to his own.

"I heard Kyoya was back in the country this weekend. Your father told me you and your friends got together. How is he?"

"Doing very well. He is enjoying university in America."

"Good. I hope you can see them more often during the winter break," she smiled at him and patted his cheek.

"Me too," he said to her before she entered the dining room to meet Satoshi's friend.

Takashi followed shortly after and took his seat at the table. Satoshi and Kazuaki were continuing to talk about comic books and anime, before food was served to the table. The staff served everyone their first plate and returned to the kitchens. Takashi noticed someone was missing from the table.

"Kaasan, where is Otousan tonight?" Takashi asked.

"He had to work late tonight, but I suspect he is spending time with your uncle as well," his mother answered. She then turned to their guest, "Kazuaki, what extracurriculars are you taking at the high school?"

"Oh, I am taking English and cultural anthropology," he answered adjusting his glasses.

"Cultural anthropology, that's unusual," she said.

The boy nodded, "It's my smallest class, but I enjoy it a lot. I'm really interested in the cultures of Asia. I'm supposed to go to Thailand for the last month of the semester. My sister is there now."

"How exciting," Hiromi smiled. "Is your sister going to school there?"

Kazuaki shook his head not being able to speak with a mouth full of food, "No, she's working there right now."

"What does she do?" Hiromi asked as she took a drink.

"She's a photographer," he answered.

Takashi perked up at that. His thoughts and memories began to fall into place. He started to pay closer attention to the conversation.

"Oh, does she do landscape or portrait?" Hiromi asked.

"Mostly portrait," Kazuaki answered. "She works for Yuzuha-sama a lot."

"She photographs the fashion shows?" Hiromi asked.

"Mhmm," Kazuaki answered after taking a bite of food.

"Kaasan," Satoshi groaned signaling to her that she was hogging his friend.

"Well, I hope you have fun on your trip," Hiromi smiled and finished her dinner in silence allowing her son to enjoy his friend's company.

After dinner, the younger boys went up to Satoshi's room to read comics and manga. Takashi returned to his room and switched on his laptop. He signed into his college account to check his grades in case his professor updated them. He searched for his mock trials class and clicked on it. No updates yet.

He wasn't worried about his grade. He knew he did well. He just wanted to distract himself. He knew who had been sending the photographs to him now. He couldn't believe he had forgotten her. She was somewhat of a guide to Mitsukuni during their first year of high school. Takashi pulled up a search engine and typed in the last name Ryokei. The first link was for a bank, the main one in Japan that was owned and managed by Ryokei Hideo. The next two links led to articles about Hideo's rise to billionaire status and a current news article about the way he was changing banking for everyone. The fourth article was the one he was looking for; a tabloid dated four years ago. It stated that billionaire banking tycoon, Ryokei Hideo, learned his eldest daughter was not his biologically. The scandal left the entire country and other parts of the world in shock that his wife had cheated early on in their marriage, resulting in a child born out of wedlock. The daughter's name was Asuka, and Takashi remembered her now. The news broke during his first year at high school. She had been ridiculed, shunned, and bullied by nearly every one of her classmates. Her family had been disgraced and she was the one paying for it.

Takashi went back to the main search page and found another article; one containing an interview with Hideo's wife and Asuka's mother, Suchin. She was half Thai, half Japanese. Her family lived in Thailand for a time, and she was the heiress to a very successful mining company that specialized in the extraction of precious gems. The interviewer asked about her marriage, to which Suchin explained she had been in love long before she was married to Hideo, which had been arranged. He was of Thai descent, a commoner who worked as a miner for her father's company. When the interviewer asked if he was the biological father of her eldest daughter, her response was "No comment."

Takashi sat back in his desk chair and took a deep breath. He understood now why Asuka had opted to send cryptic messages rather than meet him in public. She was afraid to put herself back in the limelight. From the way her brother spoke, it sounded like she had really made a name for herself in the photography business, even working for the Hitachiin twin's mother. When he heard Satoshi and Kazuaki leaving the bedroom and a few farewell remarks being made, Takashi leapt up and took his chance to confirm his suspicions.

After Satoshi had said his goodbyes, Takashi followed Kazuaki out onto the front step of the house. The boy didn't look surprised or nervous. He stayed calm waiting for something to be said. Takashi closed the door, to which Satoshi gave him an odd look.

"Does your older sister practice Muay Thai?" Takashi asked.

"Yes, that's actually why she's in Thailand. She's training for Nationals," Kazuaki said tentatively.

"Asuka," he whispered.

Kazuaki nodded, "I didn't realize it was you she was always going on about." Kazuaki smiled at Takashi. "She wanted you to know that she never meant any harm. This was to keep her affections out of the public eye."

Takashi nodded, "She's staying in Thailand until December?"

"Yes, she's training with her father. I am going to Thailand for the last month of the semester, but I won't be seeing much of her. It's strictly a school trip and I'll be in a different part of the country," Kazuaki paused for a moment then exhaled deeply. "I miss her."

Takashi didn't know what to make of that last statement. He didn't say anything, just opened the door and walked back inside before saying, "Have a good night," and shutting the door.

"Taka-nii!" Satoshi yelled. "What the hell was that?"

"None of your business, Satoshi," Takashi answered and went back up to his room. He grabbed his cell phone from his nightstand and texted Mitsukuni right away, *What's Asuka's phone number?*