Dragon's Den

“Welcome back, Miss Kujo and Mr. Boyfriend," Mr. Vance greeted with a warm smile. “You’re just in time. I’ve just got done adding the finishing touches to the suit.”

Without a second delay, he snapped his fingers, and two assistants came out from the velvet curtain and essentially dragged me to a different room, while Mr. Vance led Reina to the waiting lounge.

The assistants helped me dress up, checking each corner of the suit and trousers while I stood still in front of a mirror.

Minutes later, I walked out the velvet curtains looking like a different person. Not that same ‘scholar king’ that worked late-night shifts at a konbini…

More like a person who is worthy enough to stand next to Reina.

Reina was in absolute awe; she stood up from her seat and started going around me in circles. “You… you look wonderful, Kaito." she whispered, her breath catching slightly.

“It’s my first time wearing something this… formal before.” I whispered back, feeling the intense gaze of Mr. Vance and his assistants on me. “I probably look unnatural, Reina. I think this we shou—"

She got up close and adjusted my tie in front of everyone, even though the tie was already fitted perfectly. “I think you look great, absolutely perfect," she said, her voice dropping into a soft, velvety tone meant only for me. “In fact, you look absolutely perfect.”

“Ahem, Miss Kujo?" Mr. Vance interrupted, adjusting his collar. Probably feeling the tension between us… “I’d take it that everything is to your liking?”

Reina cleared her throat before answering, “Yes, thank you, Mr. Vance.”

“Great,” he gleamed, walking us over outside the fitting room and into the lounge. “Now let’s move to the front desk for the quote.”

I walked side-by-side with Reina to the front desk, standing quietly as she and Mr. Vance discussed the final figures. Just as they were finishing up Reina’s phone rang from her bag.

She casually fished it out and answered the phone, “Yes, Mother?”

Reina had the phone to her ear, so it was pretty hard to hear what her mother was saying, but judging by Reina’s tone, it seemed quite serious.

After a few minutes the call ended her face was still unreadable… She took a deep breath and leaned in close to whisper something to me.

“My father has just landed at the airport. We need to go. Now.”

Just hearing Reina mention her father sent a nervous chill down my spine. I stood there, completely frozen, not knowing what to do.

"Well," I said, taking a deep breath and adjusting the cuffs of my suit jacket, feeling the crisp, sharp fabric against my wrists. "I guess court is in session early."

Reina reached out, her hand sliding into mine, her grip tight, warm, and unyielding. "Let's go, Kaito," she whispered, her voice steadying. "It's time to face my father."

We both walked outside and stepped out onto the sidewalk. As we rounded the corner on the way to the train station, a speeding black sedan hurriedly stopped beside us, its wheels screeching on the pavement.

The driver quickly stepped out and opened the passenger doors. “Miss Kujo, your mother has instructed me to bring you and your companion to the estate.”

Reina didn’t say a word; she just grabbed onto my hand and pulled me into the sedan. As we made our way out of the city, I could see the bright lights of the commercial district fade away, giving way to wider, tree-lined avenues as we drew nearer to the Kujo estate.

I was staring at my own reflection on the tinted windows—specifically the blue suit that made me look like a completely different person.

While I was taking in how ridiculous I looked, Reina’s figure appeared on the reflection; She was staring at her lap her hands tightly folded together.

I looked at her, then reached down and placed my hand over hers, gently unclenching her tight fingers until our palms met. “Reina, your hand is sweaty… Are you nervous?”

"W-well, it’s only natural.” Reina looked up, our gazes meeting in the dim interior of the sedan. “It has not even been a day yet since we got together, and now my father suddenly cancels his business trip to interrogate us!?”

She gripped my hand harder, slowly averting her gaze down on her lap again. “I don’t even know how I’m going to explain this to him... What if he separates us? What if he gets you expelled from the academy? What if—"

Seeing how she was spiraling down in her anxiety, I used my free hand to cup her face, redirecting her gaze back to mine. “Reina, calm down. Breathe.”

She took a few deep breaths before finally regaining her composure. I looked at her flushed face, her wide, panicked eyes, and the slight tremble in her shoulders.

“He’s not going to get me expelled, and he’s not going to separate us," I said, keeping my voice as grounded and steady as humanly possible. “I won’t allow it; I’ll fight with my all, and I know you would too.”

“You’re right," she mumbled, fixing her posture with a new profound confidence. “I won’t just let us be separated.”

“Besides...” I added, a small, foolish grin tugging at the corner of my lips, “if he does try to ban us from seeing each other, we could date in secret.”

A faint, trembling breath escaped her lips. A fragile, genuinely beautiful smile touched her face, and she squeezed my hand tight. "You really are an idiot, you know that?"

"Yeah. But I'm your idiot."

"Don't let my father hear you say that," she chuckled softly, leaning her shoulder lightly against mine as the car pulled up to the front entrance of the Kujo estate.

The driver once again got out and opened the door for us. We walked out on the stoned pavement hand in hand all the way up the marble stairs, where Mrs. Kujo was waiting in a dark long dress.

“Looking sharp, Kaito," she greeted with a warm, approving smile. “You sure pull off the gentleman look really well.”

Her gaze shifted to her daughter, her eyebrows arching slightly. “And as for you, Reina... I don’t recall you wearing that sweater when you left yesterday.”

“I didn’t have a change of clothes,” Reina replied smoothly, though her cheeks flushed a faint pink, “so Kaito was kind enough to let me borrow his sweater.”

“Oho~ How romantic~~~”

"I—is Father here yet?" Reina asked, doing her absolute best to ignore her mother’s teasing remark.

“No, he got stuck in traffic," Mrs. Yukari said, taking out her phone from her purse. “Though his ETA is in 15 minutes, so you two have just enough time to prepare.”

"Thank you, Mother!" Reina said, dashing past her mother all while still holding my hand as she started to drag me along into the estate.

As we ran it, only just dawned on me how big the Kujo estate really was. Sure, it was massive from outside, but the long corridors and the random doors everywhere really put things into perspective.

After sprinting across the carpeted floors and a flight of stairs, we finally stopped in front of a large wooden door. Reina pulled out a small key and unlocked them.

I breathed in and looked around, taking in the modern-luxurious vibe. Just by the size of the room itself was probably bigger than all the houses in my hometown… The ceiling was high, the walls were lined with marble, and the whole flooring was covered in expensive looking carpet.

On one corner, it had an absurdly large bed; the next had bookshelves packed with classic literature and advanced science textbooks; she even has a space reserved for a grand piano near her pristine academic trophies.

"Welcome to my room," Reina breathed out, finally letting go of my hand. "The private bathroom is right through that door if you want to check your hair or wash up."

"Thanks," I murmured, stepping over to the full-length mirror near her vanity.

I stared at my reflection, carefully adjusting the edges of my jacket. When the reality of the situation finally clicked in my mind...

I, a complete nobody who just works himself too hard is about to meet the head of the Kujo family, to talk about my relationship with her daughter…

Behind me, I heard the soft rustle of fabric. Reina had stepped into her walk-in closet, emerging a few minutes later in a navy dress. It was modest, elegant, and cut so sharply that it matched the tone of my suit almost perfectly.

She walked over to where I was standing by the mirror, tying up her lokng dark hair with the silk ribbon I gave her a while back.

"So," I whispered, meeting her gaze in the glass reflection. "Matching colors?"

Reina’s hands paused for a split second, a soft pink flush creeping up her neck as our eyes locked in the mirror. "I told you at the restaurant that I'd wear something that complements yours."

She turned around and stepped directly into my space. Reaching out, her small hands resting gently against my chest as she smoothed down the lapels of my suit jacket one last time. 

Her touch lingered, her fingers pressing lightly over the steady, heavy thumping of my heart.

It was a quiet moment until Mrs. Yukari knocked entered the room without knocking. “Reina, Kaito? Sorry to bother you two, but his car just pulled up out front.”

“Just a second mother!" Reina yelled, taking one last look in the mirror before facing me. "It’s time; are you ready for this?"

"With you? Always."

She turned toward the double doors, taking my hand in hers as we stepped back out into the grand, echoing corridor.

It was time to head down to the dining hall and face the dragon.