Engaged to Morinozuka (an Ouran High School Host Club fanfiction)

Serious Threats- Part 3

That night, when Mariska and Takashi got home, Morinozuka was pacing the house, talking with several members of his own home security team. He seemed pretty busy, so Mariska and Takashi left him alone and headed off to the kitchen for an after school snack. While Mariska munched on an apple, Takashi got himself some water. Before long, Morinozuka came in to see them both.

"Your father was attacked at the hospital, Mariska..." Mariska's eyes widened as she looked from Morinozuka to Takashi, who both stared at her expectantly. Before she could locate her voice to ask about her father, Takashi looked at his.

"Is Onikan going to be okay?" Morinozuka sighed and shook his head.

"We don't know..." Mariska sat down as he continued. "Someone pulled the plug on him, so he was unattended by the doctors for several hours. They're afraid that, if he wasn't already in a coma, he is now. They're doing everything they can." He looked directly at Mariska. "We may have to have your wedding sooner than expected and, possibly, without your father present." Mariska started shaking her head.

"But... My father..." Takashi sighed and looked over at Mariska.

"He's right, Mariska." She stared at him in shock as he stared her down. "We have to make sure you'll be taken care of. Your father wouldn't have it any other way." Mariska looked at Takashi and his father, unsure of how to respond. She wanted nothing more than to see her father recover and tell her everything was going to be okay, but, after the news of his attack at the hospital, the possibility of that happening was slimmer than ever. She was so distracted by her own shock, she didn't hear what came next.

"Father, I think she's going to faint." Mariska swayed a little as Morinozuka nodded.

"Get her to the couch..." As she was moved to the couch, Mariska continued to stare into empty space, lost for words. Takashi kept talking to his father.

"So, Father, what is the plan?" Morinozuka sighed.

"I suppose we will have to, for Mariska's sake, have the wedding sooner. If her father dies before she marries, his company goes to his partner, Hitarus, and she is left with nothing. I don't care about Onikan's company, but I do care about Mariska's future. We can't leave her with nothing, Takashi." Takashi nodded, understanding what his father was saying. "If Onikan's condition doesn't improve in the next few weeks, you will marry her at the first of the month." Takashi flinched at the news and said nothing. However, Mariska finally succumbed to her shock and fainted on the couch.

"So, let me get this straight..." Haruhi stared at the other hosts in shock. "The best way to care for Mariska senpai if her father dies is to ensure she keeps her inheritance by making sure she marries before he dies?" Hikaru and Karou nodded.

"It sounds stupid, but that's right. For most big name companies, a woman's claim is rarely recognized unless the woman marries. It keeps things settled between business partners and their families." Kyoya nodded in agreement.

"Since Onikan has a business partner who has a son, Mariska's sole claim to her part of the company when her father passes is at stake. Hitarus's son could very easily take her share of the company while his father is alive and become the sole owner when he passes. However, because of the agreement most people make when they create a business, if Mariska marries, her husband would inheriate her share for her, and she will continue to run her father's company in his place." Haruhi looked at Mariska, who was still staring into her teacup across the room.

"It doesn't exactly seem right..." Tamaki sighed dramatically.

"But, unfortunately, that's the life of a rich woman. Most don't have as much freedom as commoners." He smiled. "But, it means that perfect matches for the sake of the family business happens every generation." Haruhi looked at Takashi.

"So, what's going to happen if you guys do get married at the first of the month? Neither of you have even finished school yet..." Takashi shook his head.

"Father would have us continue to live with him until I graduate from the university. Afterwards, we would be able to claim Mariska's estate as ours and move there, where we would continue the work of our fathers." Haruhi sighed and shook her head.

"Mariska senpai is only 16, though... Aren't there rules about minors getting married?" Kyoya nodded.

"If the marriage was arranged before the passing of the parents, a minor can get married after the death of his or her father in order to ensure their claim to their inheritance. If they weren't fianced or betrothed before the passing and have no other family, they lose everything and are sent to a home until they are of age." Haruhi frowned.

"Doesn't Mariska senpai have family other than her father?" Kyoya shook his head.

"She is the only child of Onikan... Both sets of her grandparents died before she was born, and her mother died in childbirth. Since both her parents were only children, she has no aunts, uncles, cousins, or any other kind of family, especially since her father never remarried." He looked sorrowfully at Mariska. "If Onikan dies, she either marries or she ends up in a home, worse off than even you, Haruhi." Haruhi looked back at Mariska, feeling bad for her. Honey finally smiled at her.

"Mari-chan will be okay, Haruhi. Marrying Takashi will keep her from losing everything and having to go to a home, which is why Takashi's father is doing everything he can to make sure she's going to be okay." He looked at Mariska, seeming unsure as well. "Still, I can't imagine how she must be feeling right now. I'm sure that she's scared of losing her father..." Kyoya nodded.

"I still don't know how her father's condition has declined so fast after a simple gunshot wound. Yes, he bleed out due to a slow reaction time on everyone's behalf, but someone unplugging him and attacking his daughter while at my family's hospital is stranger than you can imagine. Why would someone go through so much trouble to keep Onikan out of the picture?" Hikaru thought for a second.

"What if Onikan's business partner is behind all this?" Karou nodded in agreement.

"Afterall, Hitarus's son just graduated from the university last year and has been looking to take his place in the company. What if they are trying to remove Onikan from the picture and steal Mariska's inheritance...?" Kyoya shrugged.

"I wouldn't know for sure. All I know is that, if they are going through this much trouble to take down Onikan, what is going to happen to Mariska if she marries before they complete their task?" Mariska kept her head down.

"I think that's why those men attacked Takashi and I at the hospital... I think they were trying to remove me from the picture so that they could take my father's part of the business." Haruhi frowned.

"They can't possibly get away with this..."  Mariska kept her gaze down.

"Who's going to stop them?  My father has kept his feud with Hitarus from the public for years.  No reputable source would be able to back my claims."  When she looked up, her eyes glinted darkly against the sunlight.  "I only have a single choice in order to save my father's work..."  Kyoya sighed and shook his head.

"Surely your father kept some sort of records from his meeting with Hitarus...  If we could somehow connect the attempts on your father's life to the men working with him, we could get Hitarus overthrown from the company."  Mariska frowned a little.

"But how?  My father never brought work home with him..."  That's when she thought back to the small safety deposit box he kept in his briefcase.  The one that belonged to the key her father gave her when she was a child.  "However, now that I think about it...  I may know where to go."