Work Text:
reina held her hands tightly together as she sat down at the unnecessarily large table. there were some people already sat down, with others still coming in through the door. she turned to look at her mother who smiled comfortingly at her. reina had never been one to enjoy these sorts of events. the majority of people were significantly older than her and she would just much rather be at home reading. the last to sit down at the table was someone that reina had never seen before. from reina’s guess she couldn’t be older than 30. paying closer attention, reina noticed how pretty she looked in her nicely fitted shirt and tie. this outfit choice contrasted every other woman in the room, including reina, who were wearing various styles of dresses. this already left a strong impression on her. she had never met anyone like this at one of these events before.
“let’s begin with a toast. there are bottles of wine and water spread across the table if you would each like to pour for yourselves. i will then be passing around menus for you to circle what you would like to eat,” the woman smiled as she tried to make eye contact with everyone sat around the table. her gaze had lingered a little longer on reina than everyone else, but nobody other than reina seemed to notice. reina’s mother poured her some water which she immediately began to drink despite the upcoming toast. any way to waste a little bit of time and avoid making eye contact with anyone.
following the toast and the passing out of the menus, there was some free time for mingling and conversations. reina’s parents immediately wandered off to talk to others, leaving reina alone in her seat. taking out her phone she opened the gallery and began reading through the pictures she had taken of her book. she could’ve just downloaded an app with books on, but that felt like betraying her beloved physical copies. she suddenly felt a presence next to her, causing her to turn around. crouched down slightly next to her chair was the woman. “got forced here by your parents?” the woman questioned, standing up and sitting in the seat reina’s mother was previously on. “bingo,” reina smiled as she turned off her phone and put it back into her bag. she didn’t want to seem rude in front of someone important. “i was in your exact position for a long time. i’m yuuka,” the woman explained. she then reached her hand out for reina to shake which she complied with. she had wondered how someone who looked so young could have so much importance. “i’m reina. how old are you?” the woman laughed at reina’s question. it was something she had heard many times from young people and old people alike. “27. maybe that’s older than you thought i would be,” she awkwardly explained. after saying it she felt like she was complimenting herself too much.
they both sat quietly for a moment. it was already more social interaction than reina had prepared herself for. “you know, once the food is done and everyone has eaten i can take you somewhere cool,” yuuka offered, remembering how much she would’ve loved an offer like that as a teenager. despite how little reina knew about her, she was already very aware of reina. “your definition of cool is probably very different to mine,” reina said with a sigh. the same offer had been extended to her at other events she had been to. the outcome had usually been some fancy walk-in closet or makeup room which didn’t match her interests at all. “just trust me,” yuuka concluded before walking off again. reina tilted her head at this response. the confidence that yuuka spoke with did give her a feeling of trust. she didn’t bother taking her phone back out, her mind already filled with wondering what yuuka thought she would like to see.
reina was surprised by the meal that was presented to her. typically the portions would be small, the plate mostly covered in vegetables. looking around she noticed that it was the case for the other guests, but for her she had a full meal with a lot of meat and rice. she turned to face yuuka who noticed and winked at her. the smile on reina’s face widened. maybe yuuka was different than anyone else she had met at these events, especially the hosts. by the time reina had finished her meal she realised that she didn’t feel the dread that she usually would by that point. after the meal would always be socialising time. the time of the evening where all she would want to do is go home, eat snacks, and look at the stars. instead, she was excited to see what yuuka wanted to show her. she didn’t have to wait long for this as yuuka walked up to her seat.
“let’s go,” yuuka whispered before moving back a few steps to allow reina to move her chair out from under the table. ignoring the looks from the other guests, reina followed closely behind yuuka. “the thing i want to show you is just down this corridor and up those stairs,” yuuka explained, not wanting to leave reina too in the dark about where they were going. reina nodded despite the fact that yuuka couldn’t see her. the corridor was already impressive to reina, the carpet being a level of softness against her shoes that she had never experienced. this presented her with the theory that the corridor wasn’t used very often. up the stairs and past a couple of doors was a locked door. yuuka took the key out of her pants pocket and unlocked it. “nobody other than you has seen in here,” she confessed before opening the door. reina was in awe as she took in the room in front of her. it was small compared to every other room she had seen in the mansion, with various bookshelves surrounding a couple of beanbag chairs.
she looked at yuuka who gestured for her to look around the room. not being able to stop herself she immediately inspected each of the bookshelves, humming to herself every time she saw a book she had read or wanted to read. yuuka watched from the doorway, a content smile on her face. “there’s one more thing,” yuuka called out before reina got too immersed. the speed at which reina turned around made yuuka laugh. without another word she began walking through the room, conscious of reina following behind her. beside the last bookshelf on the right was a ladder. yuuka climbed up first and then watched as reina climbed up to make sure she made it onto the platform safely. once the two of them were up there she pointed to her right. there was a large window overlooking the gardens, the sky also perfectly visible. reina gasped as she moved closer. she could see all the stars dotted around the moon. the only thing she could wish for was her telescope to be there too.
it was then that reina realised that yuuka really did understand her, but that realisation came with more questions. if yuuka really did just want to spend her time alone why would she host events like these? reina had already promised herself that as soon as she could stop attending them she would, let alone hosting them. “what are you thinking about?” yuuka asked gently, sensing that reina had something on her mind. “why do you do all of this? i can tell that a part of you feels the same way i do about this sort of lifestyle. why choose to continue with this?”
yuuka hummed at the question. she should’ve expected reina to wonder as much. “it’s one evening out of the year. my parents decided to stop and spend the second halves of their lives doing things they prefer. there was no pressure from them for me to continue their legacy, but i guess i want to do that. for them. they worked so hard to get us to this point and give me a life full of luxury. the least i can do is make them proud to know that it wasn’t taken for granted. if i have kids in the future too. i want to be able to provide them with what my parents could for me. these events and maintaining these contacts is very valuable. it’s a small sacrifice for a much bigger outcome.”
this response was unexpected for reina. she had never considered that perspective before. her family had told her before that in the future there was no expectation for her to host or attend anything which she had taken at face value. “if it’s a sacrifice that feels worth it then i guess that’s okay,” she thought out loud, eyes not leaving the sky in front of her. “what’s your dream, reina? where would you like to be by the time you’re my age?” yuuka paid close attention to the smile on reina’s face as she contemplated her answer. that gave yuuka hope. hope that the decision she had made for her future investments would be worth it. “i want to be an author. there’s nothing more i enjoy in this world than immersing myself in different worlds and situations. i also appreciate the feeling that i’m not alone that i get from a good book. if i could do that for someone else i would be the happiest i could be,” she rambled. any worry of yuuka not caring was diminished as she turned to face the older girl. she was looking at reina gently, a soft and caring look in her eyes.
“i hope this doesn’t come across weirdly, but i thought that might’ve been the case. you see, my parents have known yours for quite some time. they told me about you before, saying that you reminded them of me. the quiet girl in the corner that would’ve rather been anywhere other than sat around a table poking at lettuce while the grown ups talk about their riches. that was at a time that i had a choice to make. my parents were pestering me about what i was going to do and before hearing about you i had no idea. i asked my parents more about you, finding out about your interests and hobbies. it was then that i knew what i was going to do. not just for you, but for any other young girls that start being forced into this lifestyle as well with no clue what to do with it,” she began explaining, capturing reina’s attention completely. reina was almost shaking with the need to hear the end of the story.
“there is a business plan. a plan i have been working on for a year or two. i haven’t began the process of getting it started yet because i’ve been waiting for the chance to ask you about it, but i guess now is the time. reina, would you like to start an agency with me? you can be an author under it as well as a co-owner. when you get to a point where you need to start thinking about what to do with your money, you can help me with investing into it. what do you think?”
the sound of the wind outside was all that could be heard as reina processed everything yuuka had just told her. she had never imagined an opportunity like this presenting itself. her eyes began to water the more she thought about it. yuuka had heard about her and immediately went through all the effort to provide her with something that would allow her the future she had always dreamed of. “of course i would love to!” she eventually replied, wiping the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. yuuka let out the breath she had been holding once reina had spoke. it wasn’t for nothing. there was a strong caring feeling within her at the way reina was smiling at her. she could tell that reina was going to be a precious person in her life. the little sister she had always wanted. opening her arms, she gestured for a hug. she was unsure about if reina would be okay with it, but the way reina lunged forward into the hug calmed her worries. everything was going to work out perfectly.