Short steps, deep breath,

Everything is alright,

Chin up, I can't,

Step into the spotlight

-Everything's Alright; by Laura Shigihara

Lana let out a frustrated huff as she tried to get comfortable. For the past five minutes, she was moving around in her seat, trying to find a position that would ease the discomfort she felt all over her body, especially in her lower back. At seven and a half months pregnant, however, it felt like Lana would never find relief. She learned rather quickly, once the baby had grown significantly, just how intensely her body would start reacting to the pressure. The soon-to-be mother felt aches and pains in all parts of her body — her joints (her legs specifically), her back, her feet; it felt endless. Lana herself was not a tall person, she was barely pushing five-feet as it is, and being pregnant and having the pressures of a growing child inside her made things difficult. She could barely do anything in the later parts of her pregnancy, because of the discomfort and the baby. But she had to suck it up, considering that she still had a business to run.

"Are you doing okay, Watanabe-san?"

Pausing for a moment, Lana's eyes flickered over to her colleague, Mitsuki Yamamoto. He'd come down to the Watanabe household to help her out with some work. He was one of Lana's closest business associates, and she trusted him more than anyone.

"Just trying to get comfortable," she responded. She threw a somewhat sheepish smile Mitsuki's way, unconsciously placing a hand on her swollen stomach. "It seems the baby has other ideas."

Chuckling softly, Mitsuki nodded. "Aimi was the same way when she was pregnant," he responded. "Our second child was the hardest for her. She was always uncomfortable. Then she started to feel pains, and. . ."

"I can imagine it was difficult for you both."

"It was. We decided to stop after our daughter was born. I couldn't risk my wife's health."

With a small smile and a nod, Lana chose on the position that gave her even the slightest bit of comfort before resuming what she'd been doing.

"We should probably get back on track," Mitsuki stated, squaring his shoulders slightly.

"Of course," Lana agreed. Leaning forward, she flattened the paperwork and designs in front of her, hoping to get a better look at them. "You said these were new shipments and orders?"

"Yes. They'll be brought to our branch here by some of our other locations."

The two continued their discussion, going over each and every piece of paper in front of them. Mitsuki helped bring Lana up to date on certain things she was behind on, and she was able to clear up a lot of paperwork that had to get sent out to some other higher officials. It took the two a number of hours to work through even half of what was in front of them, and that was barely cutting the surface.

"How has Hayate been?" Mitsuki asked, organizing some of the finished paperwork. "I haven't seen him lately."

"He's been busy," Lana replied. "He's been getting case after case at the firm."

Mitsuki hummed in response. "He's a good lawyer," he said. "I'd say you and the baby will be set for life, between the automotive company on top of his success."

"I hope." Gathering some of the completed designs, Lana let out a sigh. "Hayate and I have been setting aside money for an emergency fund and a college fund since finding out I was pregnant. So we both have been picking up as much work as possible to get as much money as possible."

"That's smart." Leaning back in his seat, the older man let out a huff. "I heard he recently ran into someone in the Morinozuka family."

Scowling, the soon-to-be mother let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah," she exclaimed. "Hayate had a confrontation with one of them; that's what he told me. To think, someone from that damned family would have the nerve to approach my husband."

"I don't understand this feud you have with them," Mitsuki stated. "It seems almost childish."

"The Morinozuka family has tried to taint the Watanabe family for decades," Lana exclaimed. "My husband and his family — essentially my family, too, since I married Hayate — have been under their attack for decades. It's our duty to defend ourselves."

"The Watanabe family used to be close friends with the Morinozukas." Mitsuki arched a brow at his colleague. "The sudden animosity surprised all of us."

Nodding, the soon-to-be mother ran a hand over her face. "I know," she responded. "That's what Hayate told me, too. It's just. . .in this kind of life, it's hard to find people you can trust."

"This kind of life?"

"In the aristocracy," Lana said. "Being in charge of businesses and wealth, it's difficult to find trustworthy people."

Mitsuki nodded. "I should probably start heading out," he said. It took him a moment to really respond to Lana. He wanted to take the time to process her words, to understand what she meant. And Mitsuki did acknowledge that trustworthy people are hard to find among the wealthy. It's all about self-gain and maintaining a personal image. But Mitsuki has been grateful to have found good comrades among the Japanese aristocracy; Lana being one of them.

"Okay," Lana sighed. "Thank you for all your help."

"I'll come by in a couple days, how does that sound?" Mitsuki asked. He looked at Lana as he stood, gathering some of his paperwork.

"I'd appreciate that. There are some things I'd still like to go over."

-O-O-O-O-

Long after Mitsuki left, Lana found herself still sitting in the same spot. She had an almost dazed look in her eyes as she looked over the remaining workload in front of her. The two had done a relatively good job going over a good portion of it, but the remainder still left her with some questions. But, in that moment, Lana's mind was also on other things. The discussion of the Morinozukas had all kinds of thoughts going through her mind. Hayate had explained the history of the Watanabe-Morinozuka feud. He explained it in great detail, and Lana understood it.

The Watanabe family was a family who made a living in law. The Morinozuka family were well-equipped in martial arts. The two families, at one point, had been very close. The bond between the two families could rival the one shared between the Morinozukas and the Haninozukas. And for as long as the Watanabe family could remember, their bond seemed unbreakable. And then. . .

Lana let out a long sigh. The falling out had been the hardest. Everyone paid the price for what happened, but the grudges never went away. It was difficult. After the fall out, the Watanabes, going back decades, learned to hate the Morinozukas and vice versa. It can definitely take an emotional tole. Honestly, though, what can anyone do at this point? It seemed as though there was no changing the animosity between the two families. And that felt horrible.

(A/N):

First off, I'd like to apologize for the wait on this chapter. And for how poorly written it is. I don't know if there's a proper excuse or reason behind why it took so long to have this posted, and why it's kinda sucky, so I'm not really going to bother thinking one up. Hopefully you guys can enjoy this chapter and give feedback where you think it's necessary. Constructive criticism is important, guys! Tell me where to improve and explain what I'm doing well in. Honestly, that's all I really want.

Nothing in the Host Club fandom belongs to me. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and a teensy bit of excitement for the new year. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.

So yeah. That's all I've got, really.

Leave a random fact in the reviews if you want.

Thanks a bunch, you guys.

AJ Menendez