Take Us As We Are

Chapter 2

Hitomi Hyuga

"Kyoya, you work entirely too much for a second-year."

I sighed and put down my pen. "Be that as it may, you rummage through my drawers entirely too much for someone who claims not to do so."

Fuyumi looked up from my dresser to smile at me. "Call it a force of habit, I guess." I shook my head and went back to my physics homework, trying to focus on the equations instead of my meddlesome sister.

She put down an article of my clothing to look at me inquisitively. "You're awfully quiet tonight, is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine," I answered. "Why do you ask?" It wasn't unlike her to ask me questions like that, but it seemed a little odd since there was nothing troubling me. At least, nothing I consciously recognized.

"Like I said, you're too quiet. And I can't think of anything that might've upset you, so I wanted to hear it directly from you," she said.

"Believe me, Fuyumi, if something were wrong, you'd be the first to know about it."

"I would? I feel so honored!" she giggled.

I rolled my eyes. "I suppose I'm just thinking about the Host Club's autumn event. We still aren't sure what we're going to do."

"I'm sure Suoh will have something prepared by morning," she said, quietly going back to digging through my dresser.

"What makes you so confident?" I looked up at her to see her back turned to me.

"Doesn't he always?"

I paused and put my pencil down. "You have a point," I said with a small chuckle, imagining the wild idea Tamaki would bring into the club with him. I pictured the stars he would have in his eyes, the grandeur with which he would describe the evening from start to finish, and, of course, his elaborate scheme to make Haruhi fall in love with him.

"What's with the dreamy look on your face, huh?" I jumped, not realizing that she was facing me again with her hands on her hips and a cocky smile on her face. I only answered her with a questioning glance as I tried to return to my homework. "Oh come on, Kyoya! Why did you get all smiley when I mentioned Suoh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said. Immediately, I regretted my answer as her smirk grew.

"You're lying! What were you thinking about?" She put her arm around me and pulled me close to her.

For once, I briefly let my guard down and recalled to her what I had thought about. After all, if I couldn't tell my only sister, the person with whom I was closest, who could I tell?

"Are you sure that's all?" she asked. I grew increasingly frustrated with her persistent pestering, and why wouldn't I? She clearly knew what I didn't at the time.

"Yes, I'm quite sure," I answered coolly. "And I can assure you that my expression was not 'dreamy' by any stretch."

"You don't know that, you aren't the one who saw the expression," she said, a smug air of satisfaction about her. I found it infuriating. I closed my notebook and shoved myself past her to get to my (now disorganized) dresser to change into my pajamas.

"I'm going to bed."

Fuyumi frowned at me. "Aw, I didn't mean to make you mad, Kyoya. I promise."

"I know you didn't mean to…" I began.

"…but I did anyway, right?" Her answer took me by surprise. I couldn't answer her after that; I only continued to get ready for bed. "Look, Kyoya, I'm sorry I always intrude on your personal space and make you uncomfortable. But you have to learn to start letting people in! Don't you plan on getting married one day? I've never heard you talk about girls that you like, why don't you find yourself a girlfriend?"

"Fuyumi, this has nothing to do with my interactions with girls. I'm too busy for a girlfriend; she would likely only get in the way of my schoolwork and club activities. None of the hosts have girlfriends, you know. It could ruin their status with our guests."

"You're changing the subject," she said. "If you aren't interested, that's none of my business. I was just thinking that you might be a little lonesome, that's all."

I sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. It was time to allow her back in. "You don't need to worry about me being lonely. Thanks to Tamaki and the Host Club, I'll never really be truly alone. As for getting married, I think I'll wait until I've completed my education entirely."

She smiled and hugged me. "That's a good boy. You don't need to change a thing; you just do what makes you happy."

"Thank you," I gladly returned her hug. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to retire for the night."

"So early?"

"I've got a long day tomorrow."

She shrugged. "If you say so." She turned to leave, but paused just as she was at the door. "You know, I didn't notice it at first, but you're much happier and more sociable since you've been in that Host Club. Suoh is doing you a lot more good than you realize. You ought to keep him around."

At that moment, I didn't think much of my sister's seemingly harmless comment; I simply continued my nightly routine of brushing my teeth and washing my face. But as the night went on, I couldn't help but replay the last part of her comment in my head.

"Suoh is doing you a lot of good. You ought to keep him around." What on Earth does she mean by that? I wanted nothing more than to get a full nights' rest, but those sentences rang into my mind in my every waking moment that night, even when my sleep was disturbed by a breeze outside or noise from somewhere else in the manor.

It was a question that haunted me for days afterward: was she trying to suggest something? What could it possibly have been?

Chapter 2 is a go! It's a bit shorter this time, but hey, not much is going on. Gimme a little more time, and it'll pick up!

Okay, slight change; the spring event is now the autumn event. Just felt like changing it, since the school year in Japan begins and ends in spring. I dunno, I want them all in school together for the duration of the story.

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-H. H.