"Father," he replies cheerfully. Yutaka's in his fanciest suit, which is really well-tailored and makes him look hot as hell itself, in his opinion. "I see you've been doing well."

Iemasa studies his son's face for a few long moments before finally replying, "And you as well. How are your studies?"

"Oh, father, I wouldn't want to bore you with the trivial details of everything I've been up to at my new school," he says, even more cheerfully.

Which causes Iemasa to scowl. "I suppose not." He looks at the driver through the window to the front of the car. "Take us to the event, if you please."

"Yes, sir."

"I have to say, I am quite excited to see everyone again. How is Kobayashi-san doing, by the by?"

"Quite well," he snaps back, glaring at Yutaka for a moment before deciding he is far too sober for this shit and grabbing a bottle of champagne from the minibar.

"Oh, please, sit, I'll pour you some," he says, ever the dutiful son. He gingerly takes the bottle from his father then pours him a glass before pouring himself one and offering it up in a toast. "Kanpai."

He doesn't actually clink glasses with his son but he does at least raise his in a half-hearted remote toast before downing it in a single gulp.

Hee hee hee. Yutaka just takes a small sip of his own before setting it down so he can pour Iemasa another glass.

He accepts it, but this one he sips from more slowly.

Yutaka will stop antagonising his father quite so much, at least for the moment. He has all night to do it, after all, and Iwasaki-san will be a lot less able to turn the car around and kick him out once they're actually at the party.

This is going to be really fun.

It was supposed to be a garden party but it's not warm enough so it has been hastily relocated to a swanky hotel's ballroom, which looks absolutely fabulous and is full of rented potted plants to compensate for the weather and which of course everyone is complaining about. Everyone is also complaining about the catering, because the hotel requires that you pick from their caterer list, and the fact that the food is objectively quite nice doesn't change that it isn't what they were expecting. Grouchy rich people and their cocktails taking it out on the hotel staff is the order of the day.

God, he hates all of these people. ...most of these people. Regardless, yeah, he's gonna have fun.

Iemasa steps out of the car first and doesn't wait for Yutaka to follow him before putting on his best smile and walking up the steps to go greet the Nakano family, who arrived just a moment before they did. "Hideyoshi-san, Akane-san, it's been so long," he says, greeting the parents and completely ignoring the daughter.

That's fine, Yutaka's used to this game. Ever the dutiful son, he's right behind his father, and he bows more deeply, explicitly facing Aiko. "Nakano-san, long time no see."

Aiko bows back. "Iwasaki-san. How good to see that you're well."

"How has the school been? Certainly a lot duller without me."

"Positively serene. Even educational."

"Gosh, educational? I'm frankly disappointed that I didn't manage to leave a more permanent impression." He looks at his father and Aiko's parents, deems them sufficiently distracted with each other, then adds, in an undertone, "And how is Kōji-kun? Did he like your gift?"

"My gift, you say - yes, he liked it very much, just like you thought he would."

"I'm rooting for you," he says, and he means it genuinely. Nakano Aiko-chan is not one of the people he hates. To be perfectly honest, he was just being a little bit of a bitch in his head; he doesn't hate most of the kids here, it's mostly the parents. Now, of course, at their age, a lot of their kids are already taking after said parents, and are becoming more and more insufferable or prickly or just plain mean and selfish, but still, there's plenty of people he likes.

"I do appreciate that. You're good at presents. Are you already showering everyone at your new school in them?"

"Only the cool people."

A single drop of rain falls on Yutaka's head.