Match

An Ouran High School Host Club fanfiction

Ootori Kyouya / Houshakuji Renge

A/N: Apparently, under stress at work, I get inspired to write a 3-part Kyouya/Renge. Sure, just let things happen, I guess. This was quite an exercise, seeing as most of my stories were written in 3rd-person Kyouya POV. Even now, I still struggle with grasping what an older Renge would be, so I hope I didn't lose her. I'm still trying to find ways to write in her "Medusa hair".

Match: Equal

When Renge received a call from her former-high-school-crush-turned-friend, she was more than happy to make her way to Central Tokyo to meet with him for lunch. What he asked of her, though, completely surprised her. "You want me to…?"

"Match me with someone."

Before she realized it, she released a long string of laughter that rang through the restaurant. The lunchtime occupants of the cafe all glanced over to their small table, wondering what caused such a commotion. Once they realized that the beautiful, yet extremely loud woman was laughing in hysterics, they looked away to avoid eye-contact, chalking it up to her just being crazy.

"Renge…" he adjusted his rimless glasses higher on the bridge of his nose, as they gleamed opaque.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye. "You just shocked me, that's all. I mean, do you know who you are? You are Ootori Kyouya, one of the most eligible bachelors in the world. One of the youngest intensivists this country has ever seen, shareholder to some of the biggest companies on the planet. Rich, cool, smart, incredibly good looking-."

"And far too busy to socialize and sift through those who are just after my success," he finished, taking a bite of the greens on his plate.

"Hmm…" Renge tilted her head thoughtfully to the left. "That is true…" The world of the rich, the world they both grew up in, was a tricky one to navigate. Associate with the right people. Be careful who you trust. Keep things close to the chest, but always say enough to appease the public. Always have a trump card. Never, ever let your guard down. That also was true in the case of dating and marriage; the lower income bracket had it so easy. She leaned over to her large tote which sat on the right side of her feet. "Good thing I carry these around everywhere." She pulled out a thin green folder, which held paper packets together with a paperclip. She handed the top sheet to him while keeping the rest of the packet on the empty tablespace next to her fork. "This," she pointed to the paper she handed him after taking a sip of her seltzer water, "is all the legal-liability stuff. In a nutshell, the agreement is good for six months, with 50% of payment due when contract is turned in, the other 50% the first day of month three. After that, you are free to renew your contract or not. Also, it covers things like how we can't guarantee intimacy or anything like that. We run a date matching service, not a brothel!"

Kyouya's eyes skimmed over the sheet of paper. " 'For the duration of the contract, the client is also entitled to advice regarding mannerisms, appearance and overall impression for successful dating'...?"

"Oh! Part of the pricing! The consultant, which would be me in this case, could give you dating advice, go clothes shopping with you if you need to, etcetera."

"I see…"

"You can read it over if you want, give it to your legal team, and scan it back to me."

"No need," Kyouya pulled out a pen from his inner pocket and signed and dated the bottom of the contract. He handed it back to her and she stuck it underneath the pile. As she did so, he pulled out his phone, opened an app, typed vigorously for a few seconds, then placed his phone back in his pocket.

Her phone binged.

"There," he told her. "The 50% has been wired. This should go without saying, but I hope you would keep this account private and out of your partner's advertisements or reality show?"

"Not that she needs the ratings, but are you sure?" Renge chimed. "Your face would be wonderful on television." When she received a silent, opaque lens glare from the other side of the table, she smiled and shrugged. "Alright, alright…" she pulled out a pen and began to fill out the questionnaire profile.

Ootori Kyouya. Male. 180cm tall.

"Date of Birth?"

"November 22nd."

"Blood type?"

"AB."

Renge continued to fill out information she already knew. Twenty-six years old. Intensive care doctor at Tokyo Municipal Hospital in Central Tokyo. "And now the fun part. What do you look for in a woman? Physical things first, like height, ethnicity, body type, things like that."

"Height… without heels, perhaps 175cm or lower. Ethnicity is irrelevant. Body type… so long as she takes care of herself and is within a healthy weight range, I suppose it won't matter."

Renge wrote all these requests down. They were a little vague, she had to admit. "You don't seem very specific on physicality. Well, what about internal aspects? Do you want her aspirations to be domestic or business-oriented?"

"I suppose it doesn't matter."

Renge's expression fell. That wasn't helpful. "Well, if she was working, would you want her in the medical field?"

"It seems trivial. Similarities would be nice, but so would some opposing aspects."

Renge's eyebrow twitched. Who knew the Shadow King was indecisive when it came to the opposite sex? "Do you have any idea what you want?" she asked, her attention now turning to the bleu cheese sprinkled steak salad in front of her.

"I never really paid any mind to it."

Again, true, Renge had to admit. This was a man of noble birth and enterprise. Women had been falling at his feet, throwing themselves at him since high school. She would see it as she performed her host manager duties. Hell, she was one of those women once upon a time. That was, until a natural-type young man lifted her spirits and heart… and then, she turned out to be a girl. Just my luck, Renge sighed. But the Host Club was different. That was fantasy, this was reality.

Back to the matter at hand, which was this. Kyouya's dating criteria was nothing short of vague and unhelpful. "Hmmm, you know what? I'll look through my profiles and set you up with someone."

"Thank you."

"And observe you."

The fork in his hand paused as it made its way to his mouth. "Excuse me?"

"That's part of my service, Kyouya. Give dating advice when needed."

"I don't think-."

"Be honest!" she insisted. "When was the last time you dated someone? Not just a random date to never speak to again, but someone you went out with at least three times before calling it quits?"

He stared at her. She watched his grey eyes on her, as if calculating his response.

"One year? Two…?" She was met with more silence. Wait, really? "...Three?"

"Last woman I dated, I was 21."

Renge's mouth dropped. "Are you serious? Five years since-. But-!" He must have been pulling her leg, she thought. A physically perfect specimen standing before her has not been out with a woman for that long?

"I was in the middle of my third year in college," he explained. "We dated for about three months but it was nothing at all serious. So we parted ways with nothing but well wishes."

Renge pursed her lips together. She couldn't believe it. Then again, didn't he say so himself? He was too busy; his time has been occupied with studying, work and networking since he was in high school. He asked for help, which was such a rare gesture from him. "Leave it to me," she smiled. "I'll find you the perfect person."

"Please take care of me," Kyouya said casually, a playful smirk on his face.

Wrong. Wrong. All of this was wrong. Renge hid her frown from behind the large menu as it sat propped up in front of her on a white linen table.

She sat at a booth four tables away from him, trying to stay out of his date's view.

Nakamura Natsume. Twenty-five years old. An physical rehabilitation doctor based out of Minato. Graduated from St. Teresa's All-Girls School, then breezed through medical school as if it was a walk in the park.

Kyouya smiled at Natsume. Renge narrowed her eyes.

When the matching company's head and Renge's college friend, Azusa Kumiko, insisted to Renge that Nakamura was a good choice for him, she couldn't help but agree. Young, ambitious, and a rising star in her field. And yet, the moment she and Kyouya began exchanging words, Renge knew it wasn't going to work. They were too… similar. Plus, there was that very obvious behavior Kyouya was doing…

"Hey, Renge. What are you doing here?"

Renge looked behind her to come face to face with a set of identical faces. They would have been mirror images of each other, except the hairstyles: one with spiked dark black hair, the other with naturally ginger hair which reached down to his ears. Her eyes widened. "Hikaru! Kaoru! What are you doing here?"

"We were meeting with the photographer for our upcoming catalog," Kaoru volunteered.

"But now, back to the previous question…" Hikaru reverted back to the question.

"What are you doing here?" they both looked at her suspiciously.

"Uh, well, I, um…" Renge didn't realize her vision was darting back and forth between Kyouya and them. Shoot! They caught her in the middle of work. And not just any work, but work for Kyouya.

Simultaneously, both twins craned their neck to the direction she was trying hard not to look towards, but obviously, she was failing to hide. "Hey… isn't that…?"

"Kyouya…"

"And he's on…?"

"A date?" Hikaru exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" Renge hissed through her teeth. "Keep your voices down, my goodness!" Before she had a chance to shoo them away, they both told her to scoot over, simultaneously taking a picture of the date unfolding before them, and then sending it out.

Within ten minutes time, Renge was joined with four new persons in her booth. The original members of the Host Club all shared her booth, much to her utter dismay.

"Ooooh! That lady's trifle over there looks delicious!"

"Aah."

"What is she wearing?"

"When was the last time he was on a date, anyway?"

"He's on a date! Bravo! Stupendous! But how come he never told me?! I thought we were family! Brothers!"

"He probably didn't tell you because of how you're reacting now, Tamaki."

Renge's head was swimming as all the voices around her grew louder and louder. This could not be happening. Kyouya specifically requested to keep his accounts private! But their voices started rising and she was 10-seconds away from throwing them out of her booth, screaming. Suddenly, she could see Kyouya stand up from his table and walk towards them. Everyone seemed to simmer down at this.

To say Kyouya was unamused… well, the funny thing was, Renge realized, was that his face was completely expressionless. She couldn't tell what she was thinking. "What are you all doing here?" Kyouya looked around the table.

"For the record," Renge exclaimed, "I was not a part of any of this!" She watched as he glanced at her, judging the situation, weighing out whether she was telling the truth or not. When he turned back to the others, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Neh, Kyouya!" the tall, blond man praised, "I'm happy you're going out but I wish you told me!"

"What's to tell? I'm having dinner with someone. Which was going smoothly..." Kyouya let out a short sigh, before turning on his heels. "Honestly," he muttered as he returned to his table. "Sorry for the interruption…"

"It's alright," Natsume briefly glanced over her shoulder. Renge ducked fully behind her menu. "Who are they?"

"... Nobody." Kyouya briefly glared at the occupants at the table.

" 'Nobody'?!" Tamaki cried.

"Tamaki," the other female voice chimed, "you know he's kidding."

"But, but-."

"Still gullible, huh, Tono!"

"Silence, the both of you!"

"Do you want some beer, Takeshi?"

"Thank you."

"Uuurgh, I think I'm going to be sick again…"

"Oh! Haruhi, do you need help?"

"You can't go in the womens restroom!"

"Still sick, huh?"

"Unfortunately. I tried spoiling her with something nice, like ootoro-."

"You tried to give her sashimi, Tono? Wow, you're an idiot."

"Eh?"

"Yeah, Hikaru's right. Pregnant women have to limit their fish, and pretty much not eat anything raw."

"I did read that somewhere, didn't I?"

The chaos reigned for another few minutes, before one by one, they all left. Haruhi was feeling nauseous and decided to go home; Tamaki obediently followed. The twins grew bored quickly, and left for the night. After Mori and Hani finished their nightcaps, they thanked Renge for the invite (though she didn't invite them in the first place), and then they left.

The next person to leave was Natsume. She must have said something to Kyouya, because his demeanor suddenly turned stiff and cold, enough that it felt like a bucket of ice was thrown down Renge's back. Renge watched as the young woman stood from her seat and walked away, without even a backwards glance to Kyouya. What… happened?

Kyouya's shoulders rose and fell with a large breath. He took a sip of his drink, and watched her through the glass as Renge left her booth and joined him on the seat Natsume once occupied. "So?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, I don't think it will work out with her."

"What happened?"

"She's...not suited for me. Or my life."

Renge tilted her head to the side. What could that have possibly meant? Did she say something to him that he didn't agree with? Politically? It couldn't have been religious… he seemed too science-minded for that. Then again, Renge tried to remember what he told her for religious preference; it said "N/A". Ok, then…

"Oh, well. On to a more pressing matter," she shifted subject, "To you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. What the heck were you doing back there?"

Kyouya narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't notice? The closed eyes as you talk, then look off to the distance, the way you held things. Kyouya, we're not in the music room anymore. You were speaking to a woman one-on-one," Renge explained. "This is different from hosting! You're not putting yourself on display for the visual pleasure of a woman's imagination. Dates involve connecting with someone! On a much more deeper level. Honestly, how on earth did you date that other woman for three months?"

"We mostly spent time together during breaks and then study hall," he answered matter of factly.

"That's not dating! That's a study partner!" Renge was suddenly struck with an idea. "Alright, that's it! You and I are going out on some dates."

Kyouya lifted his eyebrows slightly.

"We're going on a few dates for the next few weeks. Dinner, amusement parks, movies, etcetera, and I will train you to be the most wonderful, dateable boyfriend!" Renge then lifted her head to the side, and released her signature laugh in the middle of the candlelit restaurant.

Kyouya stared at her straight-faced. If she took a hard look at him, she would have noticed the amused twinkle in his grey eyes. Kyouya raised his cup to his lips once again.

Renge instructed for him to meet her at a restaurant out at the south edge of Shinagawa. It was a small establishment, tucked in the very back of a hotel.

It had been a whole week since she observed his date, and for that entire week, she agonized over what she was going to wear. Which, Renge found, was so strange. It wasn't as if she didn't have her pick of beautiful dresses, it wasn't as if she had never been on a date. All she knew was that days leading prior to it, she spent her office breaks arranging for beautician appointments and stylists consults. After hours of dress selections and makeup trials, she had decided on a fit and flare dark pink dress made of silk, with off the shoulder caps sleeves, her hair pulled back to a side ponytail, and gold pumps and jewelry. All this fussing for Kyouya? Her friend?

The chauffeur dropped her off and she walked to her destination: past the lobby, up the short stairs to the mezzanine level in the left wing, and there sat the restaurant. It was small, with only about a dozen tables, all draped in dark burgundy cloth, and dimly lit with clusters of votive candles on each table.

She spotted Kyouya sitting at a table in the middle of the dining space, sitting calmly, phone in hand. She could feel her breath shallow just a bit, noting how well the dark navy pinstripe suit fit him. When she approached the four-top square table, he looked up, realizing her arrival. "Good evening," he greeted.

"Hello," she replied. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"Not at all," he stood and circled the table.

"The seat near you," she said before he had a chance to reach the chair directly opposite his. "This is a date, not a negotiation. It's easier to get to know each other if we are closer together."

"Noted," and Kyouya pulled out the seat that sat perpendicular to his. Once she sat, he assisted in scooting her chair in before returning to his own. He briefly glanced at his phone before placing it facedown on the tabletop, just left of his knife. "You look very nice," he complimented.

"Thank you," she smiled. She reached for the menu and opened it up, quickly skimming over the entrees for today.

They were soon joined by the waiter, asking for their order. "The tuna, please," she ordered. "And a Manhattan."

"The scallops. And a glass of scotch. Neat." Kyouya handed the waiter his menu, Renge did the same. When the waiter left, Kyouya turned his attention back to Renge. "Why did you choose this place?"

"I've eaten here before, and I like it. It's quaint, intimate…" she admitted. "Besides, it's far enough and small enough so that we may not run into any distractions."

"Mmm," Kyouya's eyes turned to the short round glass the waiter had just set in front of him. He waited until the waiter to place down both of their drinks and leave before he continued his conversation. "So, how's work?"

Renge narrowed her eyes. "Kyouya…" she frowned, "your inexperience is showing." She reached for her drink and sipped.

Kyouya brought his alcohol drink to his lips. "What do you mean?"

" 'How's work'? Come on, Kyouya, I'm not your friend right now, I'm your date. Your blind date. Don't ask me about how work was or how my day was. You want to get to know me!"

Kyouya's eyes widened slightly.

"You want to trigger a conversation where a woman talks about herself on a personal level. Women like talking about themselves! We have had a history of being seen and not heard. Now in this modern era, it is acceptable to hear and see us simultaneously-."

"I feel as if you are making that up."

"Well, it sounds legitimate!" Renge insisted. "Anyway, go on! Engage me!"

Kyouya blinked for a moment, placing his glass down. It was as if the wheels in his head were turning, trying to weigh out types of questions in his head. "So, would you please tell me something about yourself?"

Renge couldn't help but feel a little disappojnted. That was all he came up with? Well, it's a start. "I'm 25 years old, graduated from Keio Business School and I work for my father's distribution company. The Houshakuji Corporation covers different industries, from pharmeuticals to entertainment. And that's the division I work in. I'm the vice-president of the division in charge of entertainment distributions: products, mobile games, both foreign and local."

"That's very impressive. However, I could find any of that with a simple web search." He leaned forward, elbow on the tabletop, and cradled his chin in his hand. "I'd like for you to tell me something about yourself. Something no one else knows."

Renge's eyes widened. That was unexpected.

"If you'd like, I could tell you something about myself. It seems only fair."

"Um…" Renge nodded. "Alright."

Kyouya took another sip before he began. "As I'm sure you're aware, I am the third son in my family. And as the third son, I was expected to support my family, and not stray from that. Everything I were to do, was for their benefit. Stay within my borders, as it were.

"And then, in middle school, my father told me that Suou's only son was to begin attending Ouran. And how beneficial it would be for the family if I were to associate with him."

Renge didn't hide the shock from her face. She knew they all met at Ouran, but no one ever really knew the history of how the friendships which resulted in the Host Club started.

"So, I became friends with him, followed his eccentric suggestions and flights of fancy…" Kyouya admitted, and the corner of his lip curled up for a moment, as if remembering something amusing from the past. "But he was the one who made me realized that I had given up on myself before I even tried. That my mentality of 'staying within the lines', as it were, were idiotic."

"You really don't think you would have achieved as much as you did if it wasn't for Tamaki?" Renge quietly asked before she realized she opened her mouth.

"That would be interesting, wouldn't it?"

That wasn't really confirmation, Renge mused. But then again, that really wasn't denial, either. "So…" Seeing that Kyouya had shared something so personal, it only seem fair to do the same, right? She racked her brain, trying to think. She began her habit of thinking: reaching her hand up to her hair, brushing her bangs away from her forehead.

Her hair…

Her pulse quickened a little bit, thinking of a memory from the past. "I guess, this fact is as good as any…" she shrugged and took a sip of her own drink. "Two years ago, when I was just named vice-president, our division was sent out to Los Angeles. We were to meet with the American counterparts for distributing this new mobile game. We went, and I thought everything went well. Then, when the meeting was over, I heard the president say that the Americans thought it was weird that the CEO's teenage daughter was tagging along for trips. Can you believe that? Teenage daughter! I was 23 years old already. I've been working for the company for two years by then!

"I don't need to tell you how absolutely livid I was!" Renge shrugged. "Daddy said to not worry, and that I should never change myself for anybody!" She could clearly see her father behind his desk, a deep frown set on his face that day when they reported back to him after the trip to Japan. How he immediately dismissed the comment that insulted his daughter. "But then, I started to realize something. I was in an industry mostly dominated by men. Sure, I have the mind for it, but no one would listen to me if they're judging my outfit. When I returned to Japan, after the conversation with my father, I realized that I had to change, at least to fit into the business world. I hired a consultant for foreign businesses, so that regardless of whatever country I visited, I knew how to approach them. I even dressed a little different when it came to work. Suits and work dresses, rich and serious colors. I can still be me when I'm part-time match-making, but when I'm working for the Houshakuji Corporation, I need to be a good representation of my father's company."

Kyouya had stared at her the whole time, eyes intently looking at hers while she unfolded her memory for him. "Your father is right, though. You shouldn't have to change yourself to please others. However," he leaned back against his chair, "I understand why you did that. They'll hear you because of how you are dressed, but they will listen to you because of your mind. No one can deny that you are good at what you do."

As Renge looked at him, she didn't realize her breath was beginning to be more shallow. "Thank you…" she sheepishly replied to his compliment, feeling her face warm up. "I… I never told anyone that. The reason why I changed the way I dress."

"I'm glad you told me," he said to her, locking her in a gaze.

Renge had to remind herself to take a breath.