A/N: Bit of a warning since I couldn't fit it into my summary this is an AU fic and will be Yaoi later on.

Disclaimer: There is a reason its called fanfiction y'know!

Chapter 1

The honourable Kirkland family

Kirkland house boarding school was famous around the world for being one of the top educational institutes in the modern world. It was founded in 1788 by Lord George Kirkland second cousin once removed to George III the king of England. Only the most elite of English society could attend. It was considered a privilege to be able to attend. Proud nobles would boast about their children attending the most prestigious school in the whole of England.

In 1856 Lord Henry Kirkland, current head of the Kirkland family passed away due to illness. He had no heirs and the only immediate family were his sister Emily Kirkland, Fiancée of Joseph Craven owner of a large and very successful steel factory. Many people were pessimistic at a woman running the school. However the school continued to flourish. When she wed she kept her maiden name stating the Kirkland name must be preserved. Joseph Craven didn't argue, after all her family was richer and far more influential then his could ever hope to be.

In 1974 Lord Richard Kirkland passed away, its was expected that his eldest son Albert would become the new headmaster, however he was currently the owner of a small pharmaceutical company called Kirios and refused to give it up, so the task of running the school fell to his younger brother James. Albert was a cunning and ruthless businessman, within five years his company had grown considerably, with outlets all around the country. But it still wasn't enough for him. He made connections with people from various countries, some rumours that went around told of shady dealings and blackmail. But the name Kirkland still held respect, and the rumours never became more than a whisper.

In 1979 he married Harriet Adams, whose father was a well known business entrepreneur. With his backing Kirios continued to grow. Many people called the marriage a political one, stating the only reason Albert married Harriet was to help his company grow, and likewise Harriet's father gained a lot of money and prestige by backing Kirios so it seemed like a win-win situation, for all except Harriet that is. In 1983 Harriet gave birth to a son. He was named Arthur.

In 1985 Harriet died in a tragic accident. At the Kirkland manor, in the entrance hall were a grand set of marble stairs. She slipped going down one day, hitting her head several times on the way down before landing in a heap at the bottom. She was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead en route, the cause of death was of a broken neck. Following her death there were vicious rumours that she was pushed by her husband after a servant claimed she heard them arguing frequently. However the police ruled out foul play and the servant was fired for slander. Not months after she was arrested for drug handling and sentenced to prison where it was revealed she suffered from schizophrenia. After that no more rumours were made.

When Arthur turned eight his father married again. It was stated he never liked his new mother from the start. She was a cold woman who was snobbish and ridiculed anyone who got on her bad side. She gave birth to a boy who they called Peter. Albert was overjoyed at the birth of his second son.

When Arthur turned eleven he was admitted to the Kirkland house boarding school, he soon became one of the top students in his year, and his family received much praise for it.

It was the eve of his thirteenth birthday and Arthur was sitting alone in his room. He could hear the ballroom music faintly playing downstairs as well as the mindless chatter of the many invited guests. He sat on the large windowsill his forhead pressed against the cold glass a he stared at the dark grounds below. He knew it wasn't proper to stay in his room alone during his own party, and if his father found him he would be in a great deal of trouble. However he just couldn't bring himself to even care. When he was surrounded by other people he had to wear a mask. He had to pretend he was a perfect little Lord who was going to inherit one of the largest companies as well as a very prestigious title as head of one of the oldest most honoured families in Britain. He always had to smile politely and listen to whatever others had to say, no matter what kind of boring drivel they spouted. He had to excel in everything he did, heaven forbid he receive a less than perfect result. He remembered a few years ago during on of his fathers dinner parties he accidentally spilt his drink all over the pristine white tablecloth. His father scowled and made the excuse he wasn't feeling very well and was a bit shaky because of it. Later that night when the last guest left he was punished for embarrassing his father and himself.

He hated having to pretend to be someone he had no desire to be, he felt suffocated. Whenever he was forced to talk to another one of societies snobs it felt like someone was squeezing his throat slowly, as if savouring his suffering. At times he just wished he could run away from it all, cast away the name Kirkland and be someone else. Someone who did what he wanted, said what he wanted and no one would judge him for it.

He was abruptly woken from his thought process at a loud knock on his door. He quickly stood up and told whoever it was to enter.

An elderly woman entered the room and Arthur relaxed somewhat. Emily was the aging head maid and probably the only person Arthur felt he could trust. She had an elegant air about her and held herself up in an almost proud way. Her gray hair was tied back in a messy bun with several locks falling around her weathered face. Her hazel coloured eyes always seemed to glint with a teasing light, as if she knew something about you that even you didn't know.

"Thought I'd find you in here. Your father's starting to ask for you. Oh and what's this? Not even changed tsk tsk tsk young master." Alfred ran his hand through his hair as in irritation.

"Yes I suppose I have been up here longer than I intended too. Very well tell him I shall be down shortly." Emily nodded and bowing as much as her back would allow left the room. Arthur stood there for a moment longer before sighing and walking over to his wardrobe.

He walked into the elegant ballroom and as soon as he did nearly all eyes turned on him. There was a wave of applause and many people walked over to wish him a happy birthday. As soon as he was able to he slipped off to the side and helped himself to some fruit punch. He began to drink it in small sips before his father came over to him.

"Its about time, do you realise how rude it was to keep your guests waiting?"

"I'm sorry father." His father continued to glare at him a few seconds longer.

"Never mind that, there is someone I want you to meet." His father turned on his heel and walked over to the other side of the room with Arthur following close behind.

"Mr Jones this is my son Arthur." His father introduced him to a rather tall man with short blonde hair and a relaxed posture.

"Well hello there son, I've heard much about you." He drawled. Arthur immediately picked up on the American accent the man had. Great another loud obnoxious America to deal with. He had met quite a few in his life and all they seemed to go on about was how great they and their country are.

"Mr Jones son will be attending Kirkland house at the start of next month. I expect you will help make him feel welcome?" His father asked. Arthur knew it wasn't even a question, he would have to show this American brat around no matter what.

"Yes, my son Alfred is looking forward to it, it's a pity he couldn't be here tonight to meet you but he's still back in America while we sort his travel arrangements out." Arthur nodded pretending to be interested.

"Ill be happy to show him around the school, and might I add sir that you've made a great choice of school for you son to attend." A little bit of praise usually did wonders, especially when dealing with people with large egos, such as this American here he guessed.

"Right! I heard its one of the best schools around, and its also one of the most ethnically diverse as well right?"

"That's correct." For the past twenty or so years Kirkland house had gained a number of foreign students attending. Arthur reckoned that pretty much every student was a different nationality. It was certainly a good image for the school. Showing that different cultures could coexist. It also never hurt to make friends with important foreigners kids, his father always droned on about the importance of connections. Arthur wondered what connection this American could offer his father.

"Well it was nice meeting you son, but I'm afraid I gotta go now, have an early flight y'see." His father bade the American goodbye before turning to face his son.

"Mr Jones owns a large chain of five star hotels around the world. He came to England hoping to start a chain here and became impressed with the schooling we have here." Arthur nodded indicating to his father that he was listening. He guessed the man was Earl Jones owner of the Helton arms hotels.

"He was looking for some sponsors, if Kirios sponsors him we'll receive 35% of his profits in the UK." His father continued. So that was why he wanted him to show the American's kid around. It all came down to money, it always did.

"I understand, ill make sure Mr Jones son feels welcome in our country." He said with a slight smile.

"Make sure you do." At this his father left his son and began a conversation with a stuffy looking old man who from the looks of him had drunk far too much wine.

Arthur went and socialised with his guests. He noticed that there were only a handful of other children there. Not that he expected any different. After all the party was just an excuse for his father to strengthen his social connections. He wondered if anyone from his school was here seeing as it was a public holiday and most students would probably be at home.

"Ah if it isn't the little lord." came a familiar condescending voice. Arthur inwardly flinched recognising the voice immediately. He put on a forced smile and turned to greet the 'unwanted' guest.

"Good evening mr Richmond, im glad you could make it." Arthur greeted. The man before him stopped in his tracks, a lofty smirk painted on his ugly face. They both knew that was a lie.

William Richmond one of the head board members at Kirios inc and a man Arthur very much despised. The moment he met Richmond he came to the conclusion he was the smarmiest git he ever had the misfortune to meet. He had a pointed face not unlike a rat, (Arthur even compared him to one on more than one occasion) with beady little black eyes and seemed to always wear a pompous expression on his face. He had joined Kirios roughly when the company first started and soon rose through the ranks to a top position in the company becoming the company Chief Marketing officer. Since he was ranked just below the CEO himself he was sure he was a shoe in for taking over the company, he was less than happy when he found out that Kirkland's sarcastic brat was the heir to the company he was less than happy. He never missed an opportunity to ridicule Arthur. Likewise Arthur never missed an opportunity to ridicule him back.

Yes he truly hated the pompous prick and he knew the feeling was mutual.

"Heard your going to hang out with daddy during the summer, leaning the ropes of corporate life. I wonder, are you really ready to play with the big boys yet?" He drawled. Arthur resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"My father feels I am ready to start learning how to run his company." He made sure to emphasise his, to make it clear to Richmond who was the boss in the end."He has ran Kirios successfully for many years now so surely you don't doubt his judgment now?" If possible Richmonds smirk grew wider.

"Of course not, of course not. I was just concerned for you is all, I wouldn't want to much pressure to be offloaded on one so young."

"Please don't worry about me, in fact I would be more concerned about yourself succumbing to pressure." At this Richmond raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" He asked intrigued. Arthurs smile became a very sly one before he spoke again.

"The last marketing campaign you held didn't do so well am I right? Father wasn't happy after all he can be quite intolerable when it comes to failure. If I'm not mistaken you were supposed to come up with a new marketing idea but there hasn't seemed to be much progress there either. But I understand, I'm sure its frustrating when your team cant produce good results in time." He sounded arrogant, he knew he did but it was the only way he could knock the prick down a peg or two, after all how could he ridicule Arthur for his inexperience when he couldn't even do his own job properly.

Richmond narrowed his eyes and scowled at the little upstart before composing himself and once again wore that annoying smirk.

"I don't need to explain myself to you, I've already spoke to your father about the matter and he understands. Don't try and understand the workings of a business till your just a bit older, okay?" At this he walked straight pass Arthur.

"Oh and have a nice birthday." He said disdainfully.

Arthur watched him go with an unreadable expression on his face before setting off to socialise some more.

The party lasted till quite late before the guests made their excuses and left one by one. Arthur bade his parents goodnight and headed to his room. On the way there he passed Emily who seemed to be dusting the ornaments in the hallway.

"Quite late to be dusting." He stated. She turned to face him and laughed amusingly.

"But if I go downstairs ill have to help clear the ballroom, too much hard work for an old biddy like me."

"Oh I see. Well be sure not to overexert yourself Mrs Medlock." She laughed some more

"Ohohoho if only I was thirty years younger, no mess would be a match for me!" She exclaimed proudly. Arthur laughed heartily.

"I don't think anything would be a match for you." It was true even at her old age she was a formidable opponent, even Arthur's father knew better than to mess with her.

"Pity there was no people your own age there, I bet it must have been so boring being surrounded by such stuffy old people. But I am impressed, you handle yourself around adults so well. Such a polite young man you are, well when you want to be." Arthur scoffed at this.

"Of course, I am a gentleman after all." Emily laughed even harder.

"That you are young sir, that you are. Now if you'll excuse me I must finish this corridor than its off to bed for me." Arthur bid her goodnight before continuing to his own room in slightly better spirits than before. Emily always cheered him up. He remembered when he was a child she used to tell him amazing stories about fairies and unicorns and other mythical creatures, and he hung onto her every word. He used to spend his whole time coming up with stories about mythical beasts and drawings of fairies. He soon stopped when his father ripped up all his work telling him it was utter nonsense. Later Emily snuck a hand drawn picture of a unicorn under his bed as she was cleaning one day. She told him that her late husband drew it for her and it was her favourite drawing. He tried giving it back stating he couldn't take something so important from her. But she just laughed with that jolly laugh of hers and told him that it was rude to decline a gift especially from a maiden. He made sure to keep the picture hidden in a safe place where no one would be able to find it. It was somewhat thrilling to have something kept secret from his father.

An hour later he was laying in bed staring up at the tall canopy. He was thinking back on his meeting with Mr Jones. His father made clear he was to be friends with his son. He groaned in annoyance before turning on his side.

Afred Jones huh? Probably going to be your typical loud mouthed American.

He yawned loudly before drifting off into a deep sleep.

A/N: Well here it is my first chaptered story. I was abit nervous using OC's but they are needed for plot purposes im afraid. I've been doing alot of research for other countries cultures, lest all the characters will act like Brits! heaven forbid! So I hope each characters will be realistic, or as realistic as anime characters borrowed and abused by a rabid fangirl can be.