Piles of notebooks sit before me, taking up most of the room on the small desk. They are organized by which fashion line they are, with the oldest lines on the far right, the newest on the far left. I take my time pouring through them, adding the rentals since six months ago, the last time I did accounting. The fees are enormous, a hundred percent spike. I frown, going through the pages to figure out why, exactly, our profits on costume rental had doubled. Not that this is a bad thing, just unusual enough to make me curious. And I discover the culprit. I also figured out that the profits on costume rental are a bad thing, since although so many costumes were being rented, they were also being altered, ruining them for further use by others. Someone had neglected to include the paperwork in the rentals that mention security deposits, so we were actually losing money on costume rental.

I sigh and close the book. And then I begin to think. I could allow this to continue as technically we aren't in a financial crisis over a few dozen costumes losing their rental value. But still, it'd be better to not lose them in the first place and I'm not sure what these costumes are being used for. I don't want a bad image to come on the brand name. And if they are being used for advertising or profit, then that could be considered theft. And an effective way to make up for the lost money.

Either way, I want to know.

"Miss Natsumi?" I turn to see the maid at the door. "The car is waiting to take you to school."

I smile, and incline my head. "Thank you."

I stand, walking past her, accepting my bag at the door. I give one look in the mirror, checking to see if I had messed up my hair or makeup when I had finished up the work I hadn't done last night. Then I exit, moving down to the car. I smile at the chauffeur who opens the door, scooting to the far side, resting my chin in my hand as I waited for the boys.

They arrive still eating breakfast, jackets being pulled on while they rush down the front steps and they smile at me. "Good morning, Natsumi."

"Morning, Hikaru, Kaoru." I reply. The car starts, pulling out of the driveway.

"Tell me, why do you keep renting so many costumes?"

My hand slides up the banister as I walk up the grand flight of stairs. Hikaru and Kaoru had told me in the car that the Host Club meets in Music Room 3 on the third floor of the south building. I find myself surprised that the hall is empty enough that I hear my footsteps echo back to me. Kaoru had said that dozens of girls visit them each day, and I thought that they would go to the Host club directly after afternoon classes, like I am doing now. I look outside the large windows at the gardens below, and smile. It's such a lovely summer day outside.

A sign above a pair of elegant double doors tell me that this is Music Room 3. I look at the doors and shrug, reaching for the handles to open them. "This is it."

And I am greeted by an Arabian palace, plants not native to Japan scattered through the large room, Persian tapestries lining the walls and the floor, large expensive looking pillows and low tables everywhere. And then I see them, seven boys gathered a dozen yards from the doors in costumes that could only be from the newest Arabia line. They smile at me, all seven of them. "Welcome."

I stare, the expense of each costume filtering through my head. Seven costumes and they had to have had them altered as well, to fit each one of them so nicely. I cover my face with one hand, the other crossing my stomach as my shoulders slumped.

"A new guest!" Tamaki got up from his lounging position, moving towards me, a lily in his hand. "If I'm not mistaken, you are Hitachiin Natsumi from my own class. Ah, yes, I'd recognize that beauty anywhere."

His fingers brush my check, resting under my chin. He lifts the lily, "A delicate flower for such a delicate beauty as you."

"Suoh, save your lines for the other girls. I'm not here as a guest." I brush past him, ignoring the flower. I give him a look over, frowning. "The sultan costume, fifty million yen."

I walked over to the others, giving them the same looking over one by one, starting with Kyoya. "The adviser costume, forty million yen, the palace guard costume, forty million yen the young prince costume, fifty million yen, the thief costumes, sixty million yen each and-"

Here I paused, staring at the final boy. He was wearing the young prince costume, seventy million yen. But there was something about the way his costume was altered. I raise my eyebrows, then turn away. "And the prince costume, seventy million yen. So, that takes this total up to, what, three hundred and seventy million yen?"

I sigh and turn away. "And these are just the rental prices, but by altering them, you've effectively ruined their rental value. Had you signed the proper paperwork, gone through the proper channels," and here I shoot Hikaru and Kaoru a glare, "You wouldn't get your security deposit back. Perhaps that was the plan all along."

"Wait, hold up." That is the prince. "Your name is Hitachiin? Like…"

He glance at Hikaru and Kaoru who movedfrom their frozen position, throwing their arms around me. They grinned at her.

"Yeah, Haruhi, can't you tell?" Hikaru began.

"She's our cousin, Natsumi." Kaoru completed.

I brush them off, glaring at them. "And you two are soon to be banned from any future contact with the business. Honestly, what were you thinking?"

They move away, shrugging. "Tamaki likes to dress up the club. We thought we were charging them right."

A hand touches my shoulder. I turned to see Kyoya smiling at me. "Perhaps we should settle this over here?"

I hesitate. I would like nothing more than to continue to berate the boys for being so careless, but at the same time I know it would do no good. They never were interested in the financial side of the business. And as much as Hikaru and Kaoru had insisted in the car that Tamaki was the club president who made all of the club decisions, I know that it must actually be Kyoya pulling the strings. This means he's the one robbing me.

So I smile back, and nod. "Yes, you're right. We have a lot to talk about."

As we walk away, him guiding me to a chair and table, the twins turn to Tamaki, who had remained where I'd dismissed him, frozen. He must not be used to girls ignoring his charm. "Uh, hey Boss? Boss?"

Kyoya and I sit at a regular level table with tea somehow already set for us. He gestures. "Would you like some?"

"Yes, thank you." I watch him pour the tea, noting how his demeanor was somehow different than his usual polite charm. In class, he speaks with flattery and compliments, a graceful flair to his voice that sways everyone to his side. Here, he is a little more straight forward. He has a confident edge that is nearly rude. He places the tea before me, and I notice the make is high class. I smile.

"Tell me how you're able to afford the expensive rental fees, Ootori-san."

He smiles. "We sell Host Club merchandise to our guests. We also sell some effects of our members. This is enough to finance the food and beverages we require on the day to day and for extra events such as the occasional dance and, yes, our themed events. We actually manage to make a small profit as well."

I nod. "What sort of merchandise do you sell?"

"We sell photograph books. Each book is of a different member- except for your cousins. They feature together."

I take a sip of the tea, noting out of the corner of my eye that a new guest had arrived- this one an elementary school boy. "I see. So, could you afford to buy the costumes, instead of merely renting them?"

Kyoya smiles at me. "I'm afraid not. Not only would it be too much, but we wouldn't need them after the first time we use them. It would be a waste."

I nod, "But you see, it's already a waste, Ootori-san. Because the costumes have been altered to fit your club members specifically, they are not rental quality anymore. Especially the ones for Fujioka-san. Because of the care to hide her figure, her costumes especially are useless now."

I can't help it. I allow my own confidence to show as Kyoya looks at me, surprised. I lean my chin on my folded hands, elbows resting on the table. I raise my eyebrows as he glances at Haruhi then back at me. And he smiles.

"It stands to reason that an expert like yourself would be able to tell Haruhi's true gender. The question is, what are you going to do with this information?"

I look him in the eyes, and we stare at each other for a few moments, sizing the other up. Before now, Kyoya and I had never interacted beyond some polite small talk. Now I can see a little more of him past the host facade. He's a business man, through and through. I lean back. "I'm not going to rat her out, if that's what you mean. She's pretending to be a boy for a reason."

"I'm glad to hear that."

And I believe him. So I pick up my tea again. "So, Ootori-san-"

"Please. Kyoya is fine."

For the first time, he has startled me. And before I can help it, a true smile tugs on my lips. "Kyoya then. How can we help each other?"

He opens his notebook, and looks over at the rest of the club's antics. "I think I have a few ideas."