Not bad memories in particular. He was never cruel in particular unless the world was holding some spite for him on a given day. It was moreso— a difference in viewpoint. Maiko could never meet eye level with her father, and that desire within her pushed her far above what was expected of her. It left her aspiring for far too much and being unable to deliver.
Hence, she’s currently trying to edge her way into an academy were she was supposedly no longer welcomed.
Which convinced her that this might be a ruse.
Don’t feel bad, though! It’s a mere case of doubtful of everyone’s motives— and vice versa nowadays.
But if she were to uphold any sort of standing with this woman, it’s best she didn’t speak out.
❝ …Thank you very much, Lady Kiryuin. I’m flattered you’d say something so kind to me… ❞ Soft smile.
A-huh.
♕ - It was near impossible to not intimidate anyone who didn’t know her. Ragyo found this at a very bad disadvantage whenever she meets anybody new, but it comes with the job. She’d have to take her presence in stride as if it was as inevitable as bad weather. The young girl’s reassuring tones did make her relieved, to which she heaved a sigh of relief herself.
Then again, there was the ultimate question; what was Maiko doing there? Wasn’t she expelled? Ragyo couldn’t remember the reason; she had a million and one things to think about constantly, given her powerful position.
❝ It’s no trouble at all dear, however…What are you doing trying to climb over the fence? ❞
She definitely had to have gotten her intellect from somewhere. However, she also had to have gained her independence from somewhere else; her mother. Who, of course, didn’t bother to stick around whenever she felt the time to fly the coop came around. And she had as well; Honnouji had been her opportunity to take her life upon herself, and harness her true potential to become greater than the ranking she’d been assigned at birth.
Was that a hint of twitching in her eyes? No, no, it was probably just the daylight reflecting from her lenses.
❝ Of course, I know that I could never measure up to him. ❞
What a joke.
♕ - She knew when she had hit a sensitive spot. A nerve. A sore subject, and she wished that she had held her tongue. Bad memories of her father? Goodness, Ragyo really needed to mind her tongue, and these weren’t her wisest moments.
From what she knew of this girl, she had set up an entire amusement park of traps all by herself. Even Ragyo would count that as a feat on its own, and she offered a comforting smile to the young lady.
❝ No, no, don’t ever say that, dear. You’ve many achievements of your own!❞
At no point in any universe had Maiko Ogure expected to be met well by such a higher-up. She was far above the caste system of a mere academy; Ragyo Kiryuin was the goddess to her peasant, below the common man by quite the margin. Considering her daughter and her shields, naturally she assumed that this woman would be aspiring to crush the Earth beneath her fist— if she couldn’t already.
Her father had been familiar with Lady Ragyo, but Maiko possessed no real memories of this woman. Perhaps it was simply blurred with age. Maybe this was their first true meeting. Who knew? Not her.
But her father… Hm, well. Whatever he was doing right now, she wasn’t entirely positive. If she had known, she probably wouldn’t be living in a makeshift fort right now.
Maiko doesn’t know a lot of things.
❝ Y-yes ma’am, Ogure Maiko… ❞ All that could be read of her face was utter dubiety.
♕ - If she didn’t have the patience, or the tolerance to take Mr. Ogure’s sarcastic comments when they were much younger, Ragyo would’ve been rendered to screaming messes on various occasions. Maiko’s father indeed was a man who knew exactly was he was good at, and he employed them to the best of his abilities, even if it meant rubbing it in.
The Director decided to take some time to speak to Maiko, given that she was given quite a considerable amount of ample time. The perks of being someone whom people couldn’t order around.
❝ Your father’s a really skilled man,❞ Ragyo smiled nostalgically. ❝ I knew him quite some time ago. ❞
She can’t even manage to spit out the name to follow the title. Sure, she could fake her bravado against the face of the rebel Matoi or even, dare she say it, the Student Council Princess herself. Oh, but the Director? On such a big day?
Oh no.
Oh no.
I’m as good as dead, good as dead!!
Instant frantic bowing of obedience. Well, she was currently powerless and prepared to beg for her life in the face of danger. The head of REVOCS, the one that even the esteemed Satsuki would kneel for—
—was smiling at her?
Didn’t she know? Of the terrible, terrible ambitions? Had it not been important enough to reach the big dogs?
Well, no time to be offended. Respond.
❝ No, o-of course not Lady Kiryuin!! No need to bother yourself with a lowly student like me! I’m the lowest of the low! Haha… ha… ❞
♕ - Indeed, she was a woman with a thousand smiles to give. It’s always best to be nice, since what the world needs is a little kindness here and there. The same couldn’t be said in a workplace, however, since she is at the apex of the greatest clothing company in the entire world. A feat that people back then would’ve deemed impossible, but she and her husband did it. They did it. It was her will, and it was done.
The girl was a splitting image of her father; an old acquaintance of the Director’s. She had made it a point to try and at least remember the names of the students in the inhumanly massive academy, but she remembered this one. This girl, upon closer inspection, was Ogure’s daughter.
❝ Aren’t you Ogure’s daughter? ❞ the Director blurted out, surprised and quite happy at the same time. Oh, how time flies!
Huh? Dang, coulda sworn there was something there a minute ago…
Well, whatever it was was now slinking off around corners and crevices, avoiding eyes of all kinds and colors. Quite sturdy, admirable walls, weren’t they? Like castle walls. Castle walls that were unrelenting, prepared to protect their princess, till rubble did they part.
But in every story like that, there was a mighty dragon who went and ripped apart their relationship from the inside out! And once the walls are out of the picture, the princess is easy to overthrow!
And if this dragon can’t breathe fire, well, she’ll find another way! And stealth was definitely, totally her thing. She was deceiving enough to pull off little charades, after all, so that must apply elsewhere! Right? Right! Operation: Sneak Inside Honnouji Academy is a—
❝ A-ah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! F-forgive me!! ❞
—complete and utter failure, apparently.
♕ - While Honnouji Academy protects her two beloved princesses and their loyal subjects, the Director had a fort of her own to protect. While her eldest daughter was viewed as more of a queen by the masses rather than the staunchly strong princess that her mother had viewed her, Ragyo was an empress; an empress who ruled with her emperor wisely and happily.
7:45 am, and she hummed quietly to herself, contentedly walking out of the massive building that shouldn’t even be deemed as a simple school. It was more than a school; it was like a second headquarters to the famed company REVOCS, and the school held its annual Sports Day that very day. She merely wanted to get some fresh air to invigorate her spirits; after all, she had to be prepared to give the officiating speech as the Director of the school.
….Oh?
❝ Do you need anything, dear? ❞ Ragyo asked, smiling at the bespectacled girl without a hint of suspicion.
