Maaya the Negotiator [Closed]

Midori was glad to help Maaya with this; Kazuo was becoming a bit of a pain herself. Certain urges that a woman can't entirely help in the presence of a man like him were flaring up and she didn't feel comfortable with releasing them while he was a wall away. When it came to the food, Midori needed nothing special. She'd be happy eating at the Saionji table, which was gonna be a new experience for her. It wasn't often that she got to sit at a nobles table. She was kind of excited.

"Come in." The silence of his office was broken by a light knock at the door. J looked up from his work, placing the Sixth Division stamp to the side once he saw it was Maaya. He looked curiously at her for a moment and then sat straight in his chair. "Is everything alright?" he asked, knowing she rarely came to him at this time of day because he would be working. The first sentence out of her mouth caused him to stiffen. He raised an eyebrow and braced himself for whatever was to come. His mind went every which direction, mostly positive to be honest. Did she want to go somewhere? Want to buy something? Maybe she wanted to visit someone? Maaya didn't come in so calmly if it was something bad. She may have been nervous, but not enough to cause him actual worry, so he kept himself calm as she explained.

J stared at her for a few silent moments once she finished speaking. He allowed his thoughts and emotions to hop around for a second before he took a breath and sighed, rubbing his face. "Alright. From what you've said, this has already been done. If he actually arrives, then I will do what I can." J said and then motioned for her to come over. Once she did, he slid his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. "I did not know it was effecting you enough to feel the needs to take such an initiative." he kissed her cheek and looked apologetically at her, "I apologize, but also thank you for worrying about me. You are right; Kazuo is stubborn. It's a thing with the males of our family. I pray we have a daughter." J let that little bit slip and then went to stand up, gently guiding her from his lap, "Shall we get ready for their arrival?" J made his way too the door, holding it open for her to walk through.

"And Maaya. That was a show of strength and confidence I had yet to see from you. Beautifully done."

The dining room was quiet, but not empty. J and Maaya sat patiently, waiting for Kazuo and Midori to arrive. J more nervous than usual, which was why he kept silent, his eyes closed, and his nicely trimmed nails tapping melodically on the table. When they arrived, J raised his attention to greet them, nodding to his brother as normal while slightly bowing slightly from his sitting position toward Midori as a show of respect. J did not think this conversation was going to go well and the silence that followed their initial arrival only made his assumption more accurate. He sighed lightly, never making eye contact as he waited for someone to begin. J wasn't one to allow another to lead, this was rare for him, and only showed how much the situation bothered. Luckily, Kazuo took initiative and spoke up.

Unfortunately, J's assumptions were correct. He mostly understood where Kazuo was coming from and Maaya kindly made it clearer. However, during Maaya's explanation of Kazuo's meaning, J did not turn to her. He kept his eyes shut and then opened them to look at his brother once she finished.

"This is going to be more difficult than I thought." J admitted and sighed in frustration, "Firstly, brother, if you're okay with Hanae's presence in the manor, it is not me who you need to convince. It is her. It was my decision to bring her home and that would not change." This was an example of J's authority. It did not matter whether Kazuo liked her here or not, J's familial values were extremely high. Hanae was his sister; he would not abandon her. Kazuo was his brother; J would not abandon him. His decision on Hanae was final, whether Kazuo argued against it or not and his mind would never have changed.

"On to the more pressing issue, however, your being insulted by my inability to speak on the matter of Hanae's birth is not my concern." J stated quite blatantly, though the tapping sound his nails created on the table sped up, "I was given strict orders, ones I did not intend to disobey. The reason given to you are requests of our Mother and Grandfather, not mine. It does not matter whether you've gotten older, a promise does not fade with time. The only reason the information is out is because she was discovered. Until Captain Hayashi came forward with the information, even I did not know where or who Hanae was. If I had, I would have hunted her down years ago and this would not be a problem."

"You would have told Kazuo earlier if you knew of Hanae?" Midori questioned with a surprised curiosity. "Of course. The situation would have changed. She would have been home, not out there alone. Grandfather did not give me the information about where Hanae was living. He only stated we had a younger sister born by a woman during the time Father and Mother were married. I later found evidence that Grandfather was supporting Hanae up until the death of her Mother, which I'm sure you can guess my opinion on." J was obviously angry about that last fact. The tapping of his nails stopped and his eyes narrowed in anger. He didn't like that Hanae had gone without the support of her family.

"Kazuo..." Midori spoke lightly, setting her hand on his shoulder and giving him a concerned look. She wanted him to stay calm, but didn't know how he would react to his brothers reaction, which brought something to her mind. "J..." Midori turned curiously to him again, "Why was it so important that this stay hidden? I mean... to your Mother and Grandfather." "Because Hanae's birth was what lead to the execution of our Father. It wasn't our sister and her Mother that they were worried about Kazuo not liking the news of. It was that our Father had been executed..." For a moment, there was something lingering on J's lips. He had more to continue that sentence with, but held his tongue. However, the challenging look he gave Kazuo in that moment would tell his brother to press that issue. There was no other way that J would finish that sentence. It was up to Kazuo and whether he'd notice.

J raised a curious eyebrow as to why Kazuo's question was important. It seemed more like needless information until Kazuo explained the reasoning behind it. "Both." J's tapping of the table stopped and he leaned back in his chair, laying his arms along the arm rests, "It was originally a request, discussed, and then agreed upon by the three of us." J assumed that wouldn't be a satisfying answer.

The conversation was going better than J originally thought it would. Nerves calmed, moods raised, and J no longer felt the immense amount of tension between him and his brother. He was thankful for that. As Kazuo bowed to Maaya, J raised a curious eyebrow and glanced to the blue haired beauty next to him. The blush was expected and as cute as he thought it would be. J's attention quickly turned to Midori, who was sitting silently. She caught that he was looking at her and the two shared a respectful nod, their way of showing gratitude to each other while the other two were dealing with the situation.

"I do not see a reason why either of them would have to leave; they called this meeting and deserve to be a part of it." J explained, unaware of the upcoming question. However, when it did come, it wasn't the other two's presence that made him give his answer. It was more the atmosphere of the room and the light mood everything had fallen to. "Nothing that you need to be worried about." J answered clearly and without hesitation. Though it was not entirely the truth, J did not see the need to sour what was a comfortable interaction. "Is there more that we need to discuss? And are you returning home?"