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"Reina?"
Kiyama's reaction gives new meaning to 'jaw dropped to the floor.' Too bad she can't enjoy it properly. Overworking again, huh.
The plan was to set the proposal on the fool's desk and enjoy the rest of her evening in peace, but unfortunately said fool is there toiling away at who knows what. His secretary isn't even here.
Reina waves the envelope she has in her hand. "Came to drop this off. The proposal for funding a Sun Garden football program."
"Oh. Sorry for having to make you go out of your way like this."
She resists the urge to click her tongue as she crosses the room to give it to him. "It was my idea in the first place."
"That's right, it is. But still." Kiyama takes the envelope and takes out the contents. He flips through it with practiced ease, doing things like pausing to reread things and make mental notes. When he's done, he sets it aside and smiles at her. "As expected of Reina. It's done well. I'll bring it up to the board in our upcoming meeting."
For some reason, this fool keeps smiling at her.
"…What?"
"Mmm, nothing. It's just that this is very much like you to propose something like this."
Reina scoffs. "Spare me. I wouldn't have to do this in the first place if someone isn't so hell-bent on repeating the mistakes of the past. Even Hitomiko-san…"
"It's not like that." So he says but the guilt is pretty much written on his face. "Kariya-kun is a special case. He was a problem child who could have gone down the wrong path. We just wanted to prevent that from happening."
Reina pinches the bridge of her nose with a sigh before crossing her arms. Honestly.
"Try telling that to the other children. You know a lot of them won't understand, especially now that it's after the fact. Be more considerate of the situation before it spirals out of control."
Kiyama laughs weakly. "You're right… I— I'll do my best to get this past the board."
"You better."
Reina knows this adds more to Kiyama's plate, but it can't be helped. It's something that needs to be done. As caretakers, they have to be impartial and transparent. Especially when it comes to children.
Whatever. Reina's done what she came here for.
She turns to leave. "Well. See you."
"Eh, already? Can't you stay for a little bit longer? It's been a while since we last talked."
Bastard doesn't even bother to hide the kicked puppy look. Where the hell is his pride?
In return, Reina doesn't bother hiding her disgust. "Unlike some people, I don't have the time to spare."
Kiyama laughs, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. (What is he? A masochist?)
"Acerbic as ever."
There's a pause that bodes of nothing good.
"Reina—"
"No."
"Aha… I didn't even really say anything yet…"
Unbelievable.
"Who do you take me for? A fool? You've been complaining so much that pretty much everyone at the orphanage knows."
Reina feels a stab of annoyance at how Kiyama's expression brightens up. Just how obvious can a person get?
"Oh, that's good. I'll get straight to the point then. Reina, let's get married."
"Absolutely not."
"Aha… Did you have to reject the idea so strongly…?"
What Reina would do for a football…
"Have some shame, will you? Don't drag me into your messes. If you want to avoid the unwanted marriage arrangements so badly, figure it out on your own."
"Ah, yeah… See, that's the thing. I wouldn't ask at all if I didn't run out of options…"
"Lie and say you're impotent and infertile."
Kiyama laughs weakly. "Blunt as ever… But you'd be surprised. How little that would deter them…"
Reina clicks her tongue and thanks herself for dodging a bullet. The life Kiyama volunteered for sounds like a huge pain in the ass.
"Then if you need a buffer wife so badly, just ask that secretary of yours. He gets mistaken for a woman enough as it is."
"Reina… That's rude. And Midorikawa is my financial advisor, not my secretary."
"He follows you around everywhere and makes sure your air-headed ass doesn't fuck up. Sounds a lot like a secretary to me."
Kiyama lets out another weak laugh but it doesn't take him long to switch gears. "What about being my bodyguard then? I promise to pay you generously for your time."
"I'd rather die than work directly under you."
"That's… pretty harsh… Ah, that's really too bad though. Your glares are usually enough to shut down even the most audacious person."
"…Are you trying to pick a fight?"
"Of course not. It's a compliment, a compliment."
Yeah, Reina's indulged him more than enough.
"I'm leaving."
"Wait, let me—" Kiyama cringes at whatever work he has left to do and quickly changes his mind on whatever he was about to say. "At least let walk you to the entrance."
He's at least several years too late to pull the gentleman act on her.
"Don't bother."
"Oh, come on, Reina. Don't be so cold. I—" He moves to stand but immediately plants his hands on the desk for stability.
This bastard—
"Kiyama. When was the last time you had any sleep?"
He won't make eye contact. "It was. Oh. I don't remember, actually."
Men.
"Go sleep. The last thing I want to deal with is making an ambulance call." She takes off her jacket and throws it at his face. "Use this as a pillow."
Kiyama takes it off his face and Reina knows for a fact he's going to say something absolutely infuriating.
"Ah, no lap pillow?"
"Do you want to die."
"Sorry…"
Unfortunately, even after situating himself on one of the couches, Kiyama doesn't immediately blackout.
"…I wonder how everyone is doing."
No, he decides to be a sentimental bastard instead.
Reina situates herself the one opposite of him with a grunt. "Just fine judging by the cards the Sun Garden gets every New Year."
"I see… I wonder… if they're happy."
Probably a lot happier than him at least. Honestly. The fool needs to worry more about himself.
"Go to sleep, Kiyama."
There's a moment of silence and, for a moment, Reina thinks he's finally passed out. Too bad for her, Kiyama quickly breaks it.
"Reina… I want to play football with you again…"
If he has time to speak nonsense, he should just fucking sleep.
"Are you going to go sleep on your own, or do you need my help for it?"
"Ah— I'm good… Sorry…"
There's another lull, but, despite all odds, he manages to slur out, "Hey… Reina? Can you… stay until I wake up?"
Reina sighs. Alright, she'll humor him just this once. Bastard probably hasn't eaten anything either judging by all the energy drinks in his trash can. She sends the secretary an SOS before lightly tossing her phone to one side.
"Yeah, fine. Just go to sleep already, Kiyama."
"Mm… Good… night… Rei… na…"
Kiyama's breathing finally evens out.
She takes a good look at his face for the first time in a while. He's paler than usual (which says something) and he's got some nasty bags under his eyes. The sight of him is so sorry Reina has to look away. She clicks her tongue and says to no one in particular:
"Damn fool."