Hallow dear reader! Thank you for choosing The Things That Define Us to read! I really hope you enjoy it! Many thanks to my beta Madin456!
Few notes:
~I am from USA, and have never been to Japan, so 99% of my knowledge comes from anime and manga. If I get something wrong, let me know! Chances are it's not super important to the story, and I can rewrite with the correct info!
~For now, the story is set in the timeline of the anime (vol. 1-8), but will eventually move into the timeline after the manga (vol 18). This will contain spoilers for the manga. I will post a warning when it finally comes to this point, and unless you don't care, I will suggest reading the manga.
~Names are written in the Western fashion: [first name] [family name], unlike the Eastern: [family name] [first name]. This is simply because it will reduce my stress, and it will be less likely that I'll mess up names.
~I am in college, and will not always have the time to update the story. Please be understanding! Encouraging me to continue is a great motivator, bashing me is not.
Again, thanks, and enjoy!

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A girl with her hair pulled into a simple ponytail, so black it almost seemed to darken the light around it, stared up at the "2-A" sign that hung above the classroom door. She sighed, a book tucked in one arm, a bag hanging on the other, and walked in. She was the first to arrive.

Good, she thought. This way the stares would happen when she was sitting down, reading, and she could easily ignore them.

She found a seat in the back, and hoped that it wasn't anyone else's. Truth be told, she was supposed to have gone to one of the offices, so she could meet her class representatives, but she really couldn't be bothered. She would end up meeting them soon enough, and there wasn't much they could really do to punish her.

Ouran Elite Private Academy, the girl thought to herself. It was the first day of the fall term, and summer had just ended. Again she sighed. It would do no good thinking about where she now found herself. So she picked up her book, worn from use, and flipped to a page in the middle and began to read.

It was not long before someone walked in. She only spared him a glance (male, tall, glasses, black hair) before falling back into her book.


Kyoya Ootori walked into the 2-A classroom, wanting to drop his belongings off before heading to meet the new student who was arriving that morning. To his surprise and mild amusement, the new student appeared to already have arrived. She flicked her eyes up at the sound of his footsteps, gave him a once over, and then returned to her book.

Kyoya walked over to her, and put on his Hostly smile. "Hello. You must be the new student. I'm Kyoya Ootori." She again only flicked her eyes before letting them fall onto her book. She must be shy, Kyoya decided. He noticed that her book was in English, and it seemed to be in verse, although he couldn't tell exactly what from. "Is that Shakespeare?" he asked, trying to gain common ground.

This seemed to grab the girl's attention, because she sighed before closing the book, hand over the cover. She turned to face him, and Kyoya was somewhat startled to see bright, blue eyes stare back at him.

"Why?" she asked, giving him a look of disdain. "Are you gonna regale me with some fascinating fact about Shakespeare that only you somehow know, showing off your vastly superior knowledge, expecting me to ooh and ahh at your every word because you decided to grace me with them." Her tone was highly sarcastic and biting. She glared at him for a few seconds letting her words sink in before turning back to her book. She didn't look up a few seconds later when she said, "Oh, and I know that he was gay… allegedly."

Kyoya was at a loss for words. It only happened once in a great while, and could be counted on one hand. This girl was not at all like the others who usually attended Ouran. She did not care to watch her words, and seemed to lack the refined grace of the others.

A ghost of a smile played on Kyoya's lips. It was going to be quite a show when Tamaki arrived.


The girl sat reading her book while other students trickled in, staring and whispering among themselves, no doubt about her. The boy who walked in first, Kyoya Ootori, had sat down a couple seats to her left. He didn't say anything else to her, and ignored her, which was absolutely perfect.

However, her peace was quickly shattered when another boy, a blond mop of hair and purple eyes, walked in. When he spotted her, he quickly made his way over to her. "You must be the new student!" he exclaimed. "I'm Tamaki Suoh! And who you would be, princess?" The girl ignored him, flipping a page in her book. Tamaki, not one to be deterred, took one of her hands, and smiled in his usual dazzling way. "You have such lovely hair, princess, like a raven's feather."

The girl sighed. A habit, it seemed. "You're not one to give up, are you?" she asked, seemingly to herself. "Fine." She turned to face him, closing her book with a sounding clap. A few of the students in the room quieted to listen. "First, hands off." Tamaki blinked once before letting her hand fall onto her lap. By now, the rest of the students were all paying attention "Second, half-baked compliments about appearances are demeaning and rude. " With this comment, Tamaki's smile faltered, if only for a moment. "And third, do not expect me to put on a cutesy voice like the rest of the half-wits here, and act like I don't know how the world works." She gave him an obviously fake smile, and turned away from him. She opened her book once again and began to read.


Tamaki stood there frozen, shocked beyond reason. "Tamaki," Kyoya called. This seemed to pull his friend from his stupor, as Tamaki then rushed to Kyoya. Just as he was about to ask Kyoya about the girl, the teacher walked in.

The students still standing took their seats, and as he usually did, Tamaki took the spot to the right of Kyoya, which also happened to be to the left of the girl.

"Today, we have a new student joining us," the teacher stated once the class had settled down. "She has spent the last few years abroad. Would you please come up here to introduce yourself?"

The girl, who had still been reading her book, looked up, had the common sense to not sigh, stood, and walked to the front of the classroom. She faced the class, and plastered on an extremely obvious fake smile. "Salutations, friends. My name is Titania Kuroki. Please take care of me." Her tone was highly sarcastic. She gave an overly dramatic bow before walking back to her seat. The teacher didn't seem to know what to do after, as he stuttered a bit before continuing on with the day's lesson.

Kyoya glanced at Tamaki. Tamaki's eyes were wide, and his face slack. Even Haruhi was not so brazen like this new girl was.

Kuroki, Kyoya mused to himself. It sounded familiar, yet he couldn't place it. Odd, for him. He would need to look the name up later, after school.

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Thank you again for reading this story! I really hoped you enjoyed it, and will continue to read it as more chapters are released!
Constructive criticism and love is always appreciated!