Kyoya stayed after the end of normal business hours of the Host Club to process what Mori had said. On the one hand, he was an Ootori, and Ootoris did not beg for anything, including the affection of a woman. In that same vein, he was certain his father would arrange a marriage for him in the next few years, never mind what Kyoya might ever want for himself. But on the other hand, Haruhi was probably the most unobservant and dense woman in the history of the planet, and if he wasn't willing to let her go, he would need to go out on a limb and attempt to prove his feelings to her, and hope she would reciprocate. And on the arranged marriage front, it wouldn't exactly hurt Kyoya's feelings to go against Yoshio- after all, he had already bought one of his father's companies out from underneath him, so going against his father's wishes in this matter would simply be the cherry on top of the young man's recent accomplishments.
His mind made up, Kyoya smirked to himself as a plan began to come together in his mind. Checking his notebook to reaffirm the scheduled cosplay for the next day, the Shadow King's smile grew slightly. His first step would be a subtle one, but it would be a start. He knew Mori would appreciate it. Kyoya pulled out his cell phone and called the club's costumer, making a change to the next day's order. Of course, the company probably wouldn't be thrilled, but he was confident the changes would be made in plenty of time. He would include an extra-large tip when he settled the bill to appease the craftsmen and women who would work overtime in order to please the youngest Ootori. Hanging up, he made another call to place an order for, of all things, pomegranates.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Haruhi was actually, for once, excited about the cosplay that the Host Club was doing later. There was no way Tamaki could make the Greek Gods into some tasteless costume for her… probably. Besides, the history and lore surrounding the gods was fascinating. Haruhi had spent much of the previous night brushing up on the mythology, despite having studied it extensively previously. After she had been assigned the Iliad and the Odyssey in middle school, Haruhi had become enthralled with the tangled web of the Greek gods and Goddesses. While Haruhi would much rather be dressed as Athena, there was no way Tamaki was going to let her get away with not being his compliment, especially now that the school knew about the Host Club's "Secret Princess". Luckily, she had been able to talk him out of the Aphrodite idea; there was no way in hell Haruhi was going to be the goddess of love. She could only imagine the scandalous outfit Tamaki and the twins would dream up for her. Instead, she had bargained with Tamaki and he conceded the point on the condition that Haruhi would be the Hera to his Zeus. The brunette shook her head as she walked between the twins on her way to Music Room 3. Tamaki was nothing if not cliché.
Walking into her dressing room, Haruhi was surprised at the garment she found hanging behind the door, waiting for her. She tilted her head, confused. Tamaki must have a weird idea of what Zeus is supposed to look like. Shrugging, Haruhi slipped into the shimmering silk dress and lace-up sandals, and went to join the other hosts.
She was met immediately with silence, until Honey let out a long whistle. From someone else, it might have been demeaning, bust Haruhi knew that when it came from Honey-sempai, he was truly just awed. She looked over at Tamaki, only to find that his toga was done up in the white and gold she had expected. She looked down at herself once more, taking in the stormy grey silk that faded to a burgundy at her hem, with silver embroidery in the shape of vines. Once more, she tilted her head, opening her mouth to ask what had happened when she was rudely interrupted by her blonde friend.
"MY DAUGHTER, WHAT IS THIS? WHY DOES YOUR GOWN NOT MATCH DADDY'S TOGA? MOMMY, THIS IS A TRAVESTY! CAN YOU FIX THIS?" Tamaki's soul began to float from his mouth in shock. To be honest, if Haruhi was any other woman, with any less fortitude, her soul just might have joined her sempai's when the Shadow King joined the group, staring at the only female host.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Kyoya had been focusing intently on his notebook ever since he had gotten to the club room and checked the costumes for the day. Each Host had had a particular deity chosen for them that suited their personalities. Tamaki- Zeus, obviously. Check. Hikaru- Hermes. Check. Kaoru- Dionysus. Check. It only made sense for the twins to be the god of thieves and the god of ritual madness, respectively. Honey- Apollo. Check. Mori- Aether. Check. While Aether was a lesser-known deity, and one that didn't particularly suit Mori's role as the Wild Host, Aether was the god of light and the upper atmosphere, which was a good compliment to Honey's Apollo, as Apollo was not only the god of manly beauty, the arts, and archery, but he was also commonly known as the sun god, so Kyoya thought the godly pairing fitting, due to the closeness of the two men. Obviously, there was only one choice for Kyoya himself- Hades, God of the Underworld. His costume was also present and accounted for. Check. That left only Haruhi's costume to be checked off his list and left in her dressing room.
More nervous than he had been when he was plotting the purchase of his father's company, Kyoya simply stared at his notebook, ignoring the other hosts and their reactions until Tamaki started screaming about the costume. Steeling himself, Kyoya walked to the knot of people in the middle of the room. When he arrived next to Tamaki, he adjusted his glasses and looked at his friend, noticing a small smirk out of the corner of his eye, knowing that Mori understood the significance of the costume switch. "What seems to be the problem Tamaki?"
The blonde turned to look at his best friend, only to squeak loudly and begin to crumble to dust, pointing at Kyoya's toga. Indeed, Tamaki had good reason to disintegrate in that moment. Kyoya's silk toga was a stormy grey at the bottom, fading to silver at the top, with burgundy thread, the same color as the bottom of Haruhi's dress, used to embroider small keys (one of the symbols related to the god, akin to Cerberus the three-headed hell hound) and vines. There was no question who Haruhi complimented this afternoon, and it certainly wasn't the Host Club president.
Haruhi looked around to her section, curious to see if there was any evidence to support her theory as to what her goddess's identity was. Walking over to the table where she usually sat, she grabbed something and walked back. Holding out the pomegranate, she looked at the Shadow King. "I thought I was supposed to be Hera today? Don't get me wrong, Persephone and her story always fascinated me more than Hera's background, but how did the costumes get switched?"
Glasses flashing, Kyoya gave the excuse he had come up with the night before. "The seamstresses called me last night. They hadn't ordered enough of the white and gold silk, because an intern had made a mistake when contacting the silk trader the costumer we prefer usually goes through. However, they had the grey and burgundy silk leftover from a previous order, and asked if it would be alright if they used that instead. Obviously, the color scheme does not suit Hera, but it was perfect for the Queen of the Underworld. And, it was discounted, so there won't even need to be a new debt created for you, as there would have been if the costumers had had to find the other silk for your costume. I assumed you wouldn't mind." Face neutral, Kyoya began to walk away. "Customers will begin arriving in a few minutes. Might I suggest we assume our positions, in order to greet them?"
Haruhi blanched at the idea of a new debt being created, and went to her position by the door. The twins had been standing by, jaws on the floor in shock. Quickly, the composed themselves the best they could and stumbled to stand by Haruhi. Mori swept Tamaki's crumbled remains into the dust pan Honey was holding for him, and brought their king over to his throne. Kyoya placed himself on the opposite end of the group from Haruhi so that their dark costumes framed the other hosts' bright ones, adding contrast and drawing one's eyes even more dramatically to the group. When customers arrived, they too noticed the obvious pair, and were curious about the sudden change; it was unlike the Shadow King to match himself to anyone, preferring to be true to his "Cool Type" label, and Haruhi was usually unwillingly matched with or glued to Tamaki's side. Some of the customers commented on the curiousness of the situation, and Haruhi simply fed them the same excuse Kyoya had fed the Hosts. However, internally- and much to her surprise- she found that she didn't particularly mind being the Persephone to Kyoya's Hades. Certainly, she minded it much less than she minded the idea of Being Tamaki's Hera. Shaking her head slightly, she tried to clear the images of being Kyoya's consort from her mind so that she could better focus on her customers. She must not have gotten enough sleep the night before, for her mind to be wandering in such unusual ways.
Across the room, Kyoya was having thoughts of a similar nature, much to his annoyance. He was having a ridiculous time, attempting to oversee the proceedings and manage his notebook, but his mind kept wandering to the small brunette across the room. Suddenly, his phone rang. He picked it up without looking at the caller ID. "Ootori."
"Kyoya! How lovely to hear your voice!" Kyoya could almost head the red head dancing around through the phone.
"Hello Ranka, it's delightful as always to hear from you. How are you today?" Despite being the complete opposite of anyone his family typically associated with- or perhaps because of that exact reason- Kyoya found himself honestly liking Ranka as a person and friend, on top of being Haruhi's father.
Ranka smiled at Kyoya's typical answer. Of all Haruhi's new friends, Kyoya was Ranka's favorite, and he made no attempts to hide that fact. "Well Kyoya, I had today off and I wanted to make a nice meal for Haruhi, to give her a break, if you will, since she always takes such good care of me and the house, on top of being the top student in her class. But, it looks like it will rain tonight, and the bus she typically rides home was in a minor accident this morning and isn't running today; I was wondering if you would mind giving her a ride home? Obviously, you are more than welcome to stay for dinner!" Kyoya smiled at the way the older man had sing-songed the last sentence, in an attempt to make it sound more enticing.
"Of course I will, Ranka. Club hours are almost over, and I'll bring her home as soon as we escort the last customer, in an attempt to beat the rain."
"You are a life saver, Kyoya darling! The last thing poor Haruhi needs is to be stuck in the rain and catch a cold. I shall see you both later, ta-ta!" Ranka hung up before Kyoya could say anything more. Chuckling at the older man's exuberance, he closed his phone and began to tidy up his table. Without changing, he walked over to Haruhi's table, just as the last goodbye had been said.
"I beg your pardon, everyone, but I must steal our dear Persephone away, now." He decided to lay it on a little thicker, roping the women- and a few men- surrounding Haruhi in a little more, ensuring their continued use of the Host Club. He bowed in front of Haruhi, grabbing one hand in his. "I am to escort you home this evening, to ensure you stay out of the imminent rain. If you would come with me, my queen?" He kissed her hand as she rose, then tucked it into the crook of his elbow. Looking back to the customers, he bid them farewell. "Thank you for coming today, and we hope to see you all again tomorrow."
With that final statement, he whisked his dark princess from the room.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Author's Note: I apologize for Mori being slightly out of character in the last chapter, but I find him to be both underrated and underutilized as a character as a whole, and wanted to give him a bit of a bigger role in this story. He honestly can't be that quiet all the time, especially with a cousin like Honey, and it's my own personal belief that he's much more verbose with those he trusts and cares for most. As it stands, I'm still not sure how much more of this there will be, but I'm quite enjoying writing this, too much so to end it just yet. Please feel free to leave a review if you have any ideas for or comments about the story, I love hearing from the readers. Thank you for reading this far, and I do hope you plan to stick around! Until next time~ Waterlilies