A/N: This story started in my head as a result of two things. First was the glimpse into Kyoya's future in Volume 18, I wanted to find a relationship that would align with his ambition, yet still surprise him with love. Second there was something really, really mean I wanted to do to him and I had to work out a believable way of doing it. Well, I'm sure he'd hate it, but I hope when I finally get there those who stick with me will like it. This story is going to be a bit of a slow burn, Kyoya is a tough nut to crack (but I'm told he has a gooey center so the effort should be worth it).

This story is, hopefully, consistent with the Manga and set about ten years after the non-omake ending. Kyoya is now 28 and working for his family, my OC is 22, and that should be all you need to know to start.

Thirty minutes into the Omiai Risa had reached one inescapable conclusion - Ootori Kyoya was very, very good at lying.

Alright, she had to admit that might not be entirely fair – after all, she hadn't fully tested the hypothesis. There was always a chance that he really was the shallow, slightly obsequious, politely smiling twit that had spent the last thirty minutes charming the heck out of Ojii-sama.

She would prefer it if he were a liar.

She needed him to be a liar.

As Ojii-sama and the two Ootori men chatted, drinking the tea she had perfectly prepared, she studied the younger man under lowered lashes; searching for any sign that he was also wearing a social mask. If he was, he wore it well; she couldn't find any obvious fissures or cracks. The only thing that gave her hope was his eyes. No matter how much he smiled, it never reached his eyes; their expression remained perfectly neutral.

Risa suppressed a sign and renewed her focus on playing her role as demure and dutiful heir to Sakura Pharmaceuticals. Most of the time she found it easy to maintain the façade, it was even preferable to letting certain types of people get too close. Today, though, she had to fight hard to keep it in place; her thoughts were too chaotic, too agitated to allow for the calm it normally gave her.

Does he have what I require?

If he does, can I tempt him to my cause?

If not, can I stop this match before it spirals out of my control?

Chairman Ootori had been a close friend of Risa's father and Ojii-sama seemed to regard the joining of their families as destiny. That last word should really be in all capitals, italicized, and accompanied by several exclamation points. If the Ootoris ended up being interested, it would take all her power to convince Ojii-sama to decline. But then again, if he did meet her criteria…. Enough! She was driving herself crazy with pointless speculation; she needed to find a way to properly gather and evaluate the data.

Finally, Ojii-sama gave her the opportunity she was looking for. "Ootori-san, the gardens at this tea house are quite beautiful. Have you had a chance to view them?" It was the signal that the elder two men found the match unobjectionable and it was alright if the potential bride and groom had a chance to get to know each other better. She guessed she must have passed whatever test the Chairman had for a daughter-in-law. Well, 'dutiful heir' really was a good persona if she did say so herself.

"I've not yet had the opportunity, Chairman. Perhaps Tsuchiba-san would like to accompany me? I'm sure she would make an expert guide." Ootori-san replied coolly, giving her a polite smile. She was starting to hate that stupid smile. It made her feel like her family was trying to marry her off to a politician. A poll-reading sycophant would be useless to her; the only politician she was interested in was Machiavelli.

"I'd be delighted, Ootori-san." Risa replied sweetly as she gracefully rose up from her kneel and allowed him to escort her from the room. Not for the first time she lamented that these things called for a traditional kimono. Sometimes she sincerely missed her wardrobe from university; she wondered how this prim and proper man beside her would react if he saw her in her favorite well-worn jeans and her "Biochemistry – because [BArium]d[ArSenic][Sulfur] isn't an official major" t-shirt.

She glanced over at her partner; the formality appeared to come naturally to him. His light gray suit looked as crisp and fresh as if it had just come off the hanger and was tailored perfectly to his long, lean frame. He looked like he could have stepped out of an advertisement for custom Italian clothing; he was even wearing silver and blue cufflinks that matched his tie. Cufflinks! Who wore cufflinks in this day and age? On him, though, they seemed to fit.

Her lips twitched as she tried not to laugh at herself, she always had been a sucker for a well-dressed man. It didn't hurt, either, that he was almost impossibly good looking. Black hair, gray eyes, classically aristocratic features – she would describe him as a textbook perfect example of the Japanese phenotype. Her friend Amy would have just declared him 'a long tall glass of water on a hot summer day.' Standing side by side only reemphasized his height, she never felt quite as short in Japan as she had in the States, but his extra thirty centimeters made her feel tiny.

As they headed out, he continued his polite discourse. "Tsuchiba-san, I believe we both attended university in the Boston area, did you enjoy your time there?"

"Yes, very much so" she replied absent-mindedly. Another thirty minutes of small talk like this would kill her.

The gardens were beautiful, especially right now at the transition between spring and summer and the air was heavy with the scent of the blooming flowers. Out of view and earshot of the tea house, they crossed a pretty wooden bridge over a perfectly landscaped pond. She stopped in the middle and moved to the rail, gazing at the Koi swimming below. He came to stand next to her and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Hmmm… his eyes were still neutral, but he'd dropped the smile and now appeared almost as bored as she was with this game. Maybe his mask could slip if he thought no one was looking; she took it as an encouraging sign - it was time to make her move.

Second A/N – Just a quick note to beg you to review/follow/fav so I know if you like it. I'll do my best to answer questions and respond to reviews as this goes along. I expect this to be a longish one, but will try to post two chapters a week as long as y'all keep encouraging me.

Disclaimer: All Ouran characters belong to the talented Bisco Hatori and I'm not making any profit off this work. Just assume this disclaimer holds for any subsequent chapters.