It was almost painful to watch the Europeans stutter and stumble trying to trying to introduce themselves in his native language, Kyoya observed. They certainly knew the right words, but the pronunciation eluded them, and their heavy accents did nothing to help. He continued to watch, curious as to how this would play out. Finally, he took pity on them and announced in a firm tone, "Christin and Laurenz Schulz, youngest children of Volkskrone Tech owners, Wilhelm and Lena Schulz."

Startled, Christin's round gray eyes flicked in the direction his voice had come from. She gave an appreciative nod, placing a hand on her brother's lower back and guiding him to an empty desk. Then, she sat next to him, ignoring the inquisitive whispers that had been flitting about the room since Kyoya's announcement, her gaze focused on the teacher.

The youngest Ootori child pulled his black notebook from his pocket and flipped to the page where he had recorded his earlier observations of the Schulz family. He looked across at the siblings, tapped his pen against the desk, and began to write. In all honesty, he didn't know much about them that hadn't come from tabloids, given the family's propensity for secret-keeping and the oldest child's frequent explosive outbursts at journalists.

He ran through the list in his mind: Wilhelm, Lena, Hagen, Jochim, Christin, and Laurenz. It was highly likely that at least Lena, if not Hagen—as it had recently been announced that Jochim was engaged—would have accompanied the younger two to Japan. After all, Volkskrone Tech and the Ootori group had been collaborating on an important project for years now, and it was very near completion. With any luck, Christin and Laurenz's enrollment in the exchange program here at Ouran signified a desire to strengthen relations outside of collaborations.

Sooner than he expected, class was over, and the students flocked around the two Europeans, bombarding them with questions about their parents' company and what they were doing at Ouran. Overwhelmed, Laurenz began clinging to his sister and burying his face in her chest, while Christin looked from student to student, her brain obviously struggling to make sense of the fast-paced Japanese.

Kyoya stood, striding towards the group of students in silence. At the sound of his footsteps, everyone turned around. He smiled, placing his notebook back in his pocket, and took another step forward. "Christin-san and Laurenz-san must be exhausted from their flight," he said, taking care to enunciate each and every syllable. "I'm sure they would be happy to answer your questions at a later time."

Christin was about to reply when she caught on to what he was doing. She sighed heavily, jabbed Laurenz in the ribs, hissed something in his ear, and rubbed her left eye, yawning. The action, combined with her round, almost childish face elicited a round of cooing from the female students. "A bit tired," she admitted in embarrassingly infantile Japanese.

Their fun spoiled, the rest of the students retreated to their desks.

"Danke, Herr Kyoya." Christin got to her feet and extended her hand, smiling when Kyoya shook it firmly.

Laurenz grinned, adding quietly, "Danke."

"I can find you two a tutor if you need help with your speaking skills," Kyoya offered. Christin immediately withdrew her hand, hissing defensively that their mother had already hired a tutor. Of course, he had never expected her to accept the offer, but he was to be polite, after all. "You could always speak English. It is a required course here at Ouran Academy."

Christin gave him a curious once-over, as if not sure whether or not he was being serious. At last, she nodded and returned to her seat.

"By the way, Laurenz-san, how is your leg?"

The boy gripped the edges of his desk, his jaw clenching and his blue eyes hardening. A choked gasp escaped his throat, and he started trembling. Finally, he put his head down.

His sister shot up from her chair, darting to his side. "Mach den Kopf zu! Do you want him to have a panic attack?" she demanded, glaring murderously at Kyoya. She stroked Laurenz's hair and murmured comfortingly to him in German. "Du bist in Ordnung," she kept repeating, her voice so soft that it almost couldn't be heard. "Ich habe dich gerne."

Shocked, Kyoya took a step back. After two years, one would think they wouldn't be so sensitive about it. It had been everywhere in international news for months. "My apologies, Laurenz-san." Unsure of what else to do, he retreated to his seat and withdrew his notebook once again, leaving the Schulz children to sort themselves out. He noted their soreness regarding the accident and made a mental not to bring it up again, provided he wasn't required to lie in order to do so.

This certainly had been an interesting third meeting.

As far back as Tamaki could remember, he had always hated to watch others cry. Thus, when Kyoya stepped back to reveal the shaking, hunched over exchange student, he had instantly sprung to his feet and practically ran over to him and his sister. "Christin-san, is your brother alright?" he queried, aware that the younger student was in no condition to reply. He reached out to place a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

Christin smacked his hand away, pulling Laurenz to her chest—which was oddly flat, Tamaki observed before reminding himself that it was impolite to stare at girls like that. "He'll be okay if you don't touch him!" she snapped. She shook her head as though to clear it and offered an apology, adding that she didn't mean to come across as rude.

"It's alright, princess," he assured her, noting how she set her jaw but neglected to correct him. "You must still be under stress from the accident." Although he wanted to go on, he chose not to, respecting the siblings' privacy. After all, he knew what it was like to have a sensitive subject brought up by a well-meaning person.

"I- I'm fine," Laurenz choked at last, drawing away from Christin. "Just needed a minute."

"Thank you, Herr- I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Oh! How silly of me; I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Suoh Tamaki."

Christin's eyebrows lifted. "You're related to the headmaster?"

Before they could continue the conversation, the next teacher entered the room and announced the beginning of class. Tamaki and Christin immediately crept back to their desks, embarrassed to be the only ones standing up in the middle of a classroom of thirty people.

Only when it was time for lunch did they manage to escape most of their peers by heading to the courtyard. A good portion of the student population preferred to eat in the cafeteria, while others kept to their homerooms, but a select few sought peace one of the many gardens the campus had to offer.

"Here is really dead trouser," Laurenz said, glad to be able to speak in his native tongue after three long hours of classes. He prodded Christin with his crutch, enticing a playful glare. "What are we going to tell Mama when he asks about our day?"

She appeared to think about it for some time, tapping her chin and humming under her breath. "The teachers were competent, the students were friendly,"—here, she paused and gave a sly grin—"and the campus was pink."

He laughed, throwing his head back. Then, he looked around to make sure no one was in hearing range. "Christoph, are you sure you're comfortable in that dress?" he inquired in a low voice, concerned. He leaned forward and grabbed his brother by the arm. "We can talk to the staff, get you the right uniform. I'm sure they'd understand."

Christoph mimicked his new posture, leaning in so that their noses were touching. "Not as ugly as I thought it would be," he murmured, pulling on the skirt of the dress. He batted his eyelashes, smiling coyly. "Besides, I think I make a pretty girl, don't you?"

Laurenz pulled away, sighing. "Stop lying."

"Alright." Christoph tugged on his bangs, moving them in front of his right eye. "I'll stop." He dragged one hand down his face. "I hate it, Laurenz," he confessed. He pulled his legs up onto the edge of the fountain, turning so that he was partially facing away from his brother. "I thought I could handle it. I thought that maybe- Maybe, if the dress was pretty enough, if I looked good enough in it that I'd… you know, not feel like I'm going to have a panic attack every second I have it on."

"Come here." Laurenz pulled him into an embrace, letting him lay his head on his shoulder. Lord only knew how much his brother needed it right now.

It was going to be a long year.

Danke, Herr Kyoya. – Thanks, Mister Kyoya.

Mach den Kopf zu! – Shut Up! Lit. Shut your head down!

Du bist in Ordnung, - You're okay

Ich habe dich gerne. – I love you. (Platonic)