It was still too early for them to open up their doors to their guests, but in stark contrast to the normal atmosphere of the Host Club, it was totally silent in Music Room Three. The twins sat in silence at their usual table, their heads low as if they were about to begin a quiet conversation. Hani and Mori were perched on either arm of one of the room's many velvet sofas, staring at the doors in anticipation. Haruhi stood patiently behind an ornate chair, a tray of tea and commoner coffee in hand. Kyoya was seated at a table near the back of the room, Tamaki peering curiously over his shoulder as the other boy flipped through his notebook.

At last, Kyoya looked up from his notebook and called the other hosts over. Once they were close enough for his liking, he opened his laptop and pulled up the website for a free climbing magazine. On one of the covers were a boy and a girl posed at the base of a rock face with ropes and harnesses behind them. He turned the laptop around so that the others could see.

"The Schulz siblings," Hikaru said, a hint of amazement coloring his voice.

"But no one's seen them since… you know," Kaoru continued, incredulous.

Tamaki hummed to himself, rubbing his chin. Christin and Laurenz had been famous for their rock climbing, yes, but that was all behind them now. It had been two years since then, and no one had heard even a passing rumor of them trying to get back into the game.

"Actually, they've enrolled in the Academy's exchange program." Kyoya turned the laptop back to face him, accessed the school's network, and brought up the new student's profiles. They looked the same as they had in the magazine photographs, but there was a certain tiredness behind their eyes now, as if they'd grown bored with the world itself. "Furthermore, I've invited them to the Host Club for the day. Their presence will be quite the draw for curious customers."

Almost as if on cue, there was a knock at the doors. Haruhi gave Kyoya an inquisitive glance before heading over to open them.

Outside stood Christin, hand on her hip, head tilted to one side. She looked past Haruhi at their resident Shadow King and pointed behind her. "Mein Bruder angegriffen wurde," she growled at him. Brushing past Haruhi, she walked right up to Kyoya and crossed her arms. "Retten ihn vor deinen Fans."

Kyoya stared at her, unimpressed. He got to his feet and smiled pleasantly at her. "Sie können damit umgehen."

"I don't want to get mobbed." Apparently upset that he'd obliged to use her own language, she switched to English. Her accent was heavy, obscuring part of the meaning of the sentence to the rest of the Host Club. "Apparently I'm considered cute."

Tamaki opened his mouth to agree, but he quickly realized that the girl wouldn't appreciate his input. It was a strange thing to think of; didn't all girls want to be told that they were beautiful, or pretty, or cute? Haruhi didn't count, of course, because she was special. That and his precious daughter was just hiding it. She obviously loved it when he called her pretty. Wait, what was he thinking about again? Oh, yes, Christin not wanting to be called cute. He'd have to find some other way of assuring her that she was beautiful.

Christin paused, looking Kyoya up and down before turning to gape at the others. She bounded over to Hani, took the hem of his ornate garment in one hand, and rubbed the fabric between her fingers. A delighted grin crossed her features, and she seemed to forget about the trouble involving her brother. "A chiton?" she queried, her gray-blue eyes bright. When Hani nodded, still reeling from her sudden change in attitude, she laughed quietly. "Who designed these for you? The fabric is so light, and the hemming is perfect! Well, actually, they should have used a blind catch stitch instead of a pitch stitch. It lasts much longer. But the embroidery—ooh, you have no idea how absolutely gorgeous it is! It's so detailed, and the thread- Um…" She looked up at the others, smiling sheepishly. "Heh. That was childish of me. I'm sorry."

"You seem to know quite a lot about clothes, Schulz-chan," Kyoya interjected, unfazed by the German's eagerness to know about their costumes. He picked up the notebook from its place on the table behind him, flipped through it until he reached a certain page, and scribbled something down. "Our theme today is Ancient Greece, and as such, we've enlisted the help of our manager in acquiring appropriate costumes."

"Your—manager? Am I translating that word correctly?"

A distinctive laugh echoed about Music Room Three, and a dais rose up from the floor. On top of it was Renge, microphone in hand. "The Ouran High School Host Club: designed to entertain young ladies and provide them with the experience of a lifetime. Our seven hosts each cater to a specific set of ladies. We have the Princely type, the Cool type,"—here, she gestured to Tamaki and Kyoya in turn—"the Boy Lolita type, the Strong and Silent type,"—this time, she indicated Hani and Mori—"the Little Devil types,"—she frowned as she pointed to the twins—"and, of course, the Natural type,"—finally, she smiled and waved at Haruhi.

Christin's jaw worked while she struggled to recover from the shock of Renge's unexpected entrance. She rubbed her ears, muttering to herself in German. "Laurenz!" Remembering her brother's plight, she darted out the doors and returned not a minute later with the younger German clinging to her sleeve. "Kannst du mir diese Dummheiten verzeihen?"

"Ja, ja. Ich weiß." There was sarcasm dripping from the words as he spoke them, and he gave the Host Club a sideways glance that said he was stringing his sister along. He clutched at his chest, leaning heavily on his crutch. "I think they broke my ribs." His English was less accented than Christin's, but some of the statement was still hard to decipher. He turned a pathetic grimace on his sister, accenting the expression with a whine. "Chris…"

"Little liars don't get kuchen."

Laurenz's face went from doleful to horrified in the span of a second. As Christin walked away from him, he followed after her, babbling incoherently in German as he tried to convince her not to take away whatever she had threatened to.

Christin merely ignored him, turning back to Hani's costume and commenting on how well the gold embroidery set off his skin tone. She fingered the cloth as if amazed by the feel of it. "I'd love to get my hands on some of this fabric. It's wonderful! Do you guys have themed costumes every day? Or is it just on special occasions? Oh, who's your tailor? Do they work on-site or do they just have your measurements?" She seemed fascinated by their costumes and had totally shut out her brother in favor of them.

"Chris," Laurenz pleaded, dragging the nickname out. "Ich werde gut sein." He pulled on his sister's sleeve, tugging her away from the chiton.

"Nein. Keine kuchen." She frowned at him, trying to express her obvious disapproval with both her voice and her expression. However, she seemed to be finding it a bit difficult to keep a straight face. "Du bist ein Lügner."

"Uh, Chris-chan," Hani interrupted, having clambered up on Mori's shoulders several moments ago, "what is your brother asking for?"

"Kuchen," she replied, as though that explained everything. Then, she shook her head and apologized for not being clear. She thought for a minute, tapping her chin with one finger. "I think the word in English is—cake?"

"Oh, I love cake!" Hani clapped his hands together. "He can share some with me."

"No, he lied." Adamant, Christin crossed her arms. She tossed a disappointed glance in Laurenz's direction, and the boy rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "He doesn't get cake today. Unless Mama says he can have it. Mama overrules me." Her expression turned thoughtful as she considered the possibility that she might indeed be overruled.

"But… But—kuchen!"

"Don't worry, I won't torture you, you silly little Maus. I won't have cake today, either."

"Ich bin nicht eine Maus." Laurenz looked over at the Host Club, clearly embarrassed that he and Christin were arguing in front of them. He muttered an apology and hissed something into his sister's ear that earned an approving nod.

"You must be busy today," Christin said, drawing back towards the door. "We should go."

"No, no," Tamaki purred, doing his best to speak slowly and clearly so that they could understand him with ease. "Stay. I insist, princess. You won't be bothering us at all."

Mein Bruder angegriffen wurde - My brother was attacked

Retten ihn vor deinen Fans. – Rescue him from your fans.

Sie können damit umgehen. – You can handle it.

Kannst du mir diese Dummheiten verzeihen? – Can you forgive my stupidity?

Ja, ja. Ich weiß. – Yes, yes, I know.

Kuchen - Cake

Ich werde gut sein. – I'll be good.

Nein. Keine kuchen. – No. No cake.

Du bist ein Lügner. – You're a liar.

Maus - Mouse

Ich bin nicht eine Maus. – I am not a mouse.