There was an intense moment as Kyoya and Rachel stared at each other in disbelief. The foyer had abruptly turned silent as every eye in the crowd focused on the two at its center but Tamaki had dropped Rachel's hand and was watching Kyoya thoughtfully.
Haruhi's attention however, was drawn to the twins. She knew the look they were giving each other and guessed it was only a matter of a few seconds before they intervened. There was something about Kyoya's demeanor that told her he wouldn't appreciate their particular brand of mischief at the moment. Stepping forward she placed herself in a position between the twins and Kyoya.
"I'm sorry Sempai, but didn't we have a meeting with the Chairman?" she asked.
The reminder was enough to cut through Kyoya's surprise. He nodded to Haruhi as he pushed up his glasses.
"Of course. Thank you Haruhi." He said before walking straight to Rachel, taking her elbow and maneuvering her away from the twins. "You must be looking for the Chairman's office as well. Allow me to escort you miss." He said to her.
The looked she gave him was a mixture of amusement and perplexity, but she complied, nodding to the other students before allowing him to guide her through the astonished crowd. The Host Club followed, with Tamaki and Haruhi sharing a questioning look before rounding the corner. The silence in the foyer held until the last host was out of site and then burst into a round of hushed whispers. Kyoya was sure he didn't want to hear the various explanations they were coming up with. There were few things in this world more creative than an ill informed group of teenagers.
Halfway to the Chairman's office he spared a glance to his companion. She barely moved her head but even at this angle he could see the smile she was suppressing. She glanced over and quirked her brows before returning her attention ahead. The Chairman's office about twenty meters away when Kyoya suddenly turned the two of them to an empty classroom to their right. He turned to Tamaki.
"I'm afraid I will not be joining you today." He said.
Tamaki looked panicked. "But I don't know what to present!"
Kyoya sighed. "You won't have too. Your father set this up as a ruse to see you. I went over the club finances with him last week."
"But…" Tamaki said, looking over to Rachel and back to Kyoya who pushed him towards the Chairman's double door office. "Go." He glared to the rest of the club. "All of you."
For a brief second Tamaki seemed as though he would protest again, but he suddenly changed his mind and cast his arms out wide, as though enveloping the rest of the group. "Come all. The ruler of our fine school has requested our presence and we should not disappoint him."
He made a deep bow to Rachel. "Princess." He said before pushing the twins away from the classroom. Kyoya watched them for a brief second before opening the door for Rachel.
As soon as the two slipped inside, Tamaki found himself prisoner of the Hitachin twins. "Boss," they whispered. "Shouldn't we keep an eye on them?"
Tamaki shook his head. "Kyoya wants to be left alone. I think we should honor that."
Honey and Mori stepped forward. "I agree with Tama-chan. We should leave them alone." Mori grunted his agreement.
The twins looked to each other, then grinned. "You can do what you want." Hikaru began.
"But we're going to take a look." Kaoru finished.
The brothers crept to the large door of the classroom, though in reality there was no need. Ouran's classrooms had been designed with the most exacting of standards and included a certain degree of soundproofing. As Kaoru opened the door slightly, Hikaru clamped his hand over a protesting Tamaki's mouth. This was soon unnecessary, as Tamaki's innate curiosity trumped his moral reservations. Out of habit, the rest of the Host Club followed suit, peering through the crack of the wide door.
Kyoya and Rachel were perched opposite each other on a wide bay window at the far corner of the room. Haruhi had always felt classrooms of Ouran more resembled a social club than a place of learning. They certainly didn't resemble any classroom she had ever been in before coming to this surreal school. Still, the teachers were top notch, so it made it easier for her commoners mind to forgive the lavish surroundings.
Watching the two at the window, Haruhi had to admire how the room complimented them. Kyoya sat at the end of the window seat, legs crossed casually while Rachel's dove gray pencil skirt confined her to a more rigid position at the seats edge. There was nothing rigid or hard about the rest of her though. Haruhi may have ignored the finer points of her own gender, but even she had to admit, Rachel was lovely. Her blue eyes stood in contrast to her clear skin and while she didn't seem to be wearing any make up, there was a becoming rose flush to her cheeks. As for the rest of her, well…Haruhi knew she'd never come close to having the same…attributes. And wasn't sure she'd ever want to. She knew the kind of looks girls like her endured walking down the street.
Tuning into their conversation, she was surprised to hear Rachel conversing in Japanese. It was a bit formal and she stumbled occasionally over some of the more complicated pronunciations, but it was still a far cry better than the horrible ways tourists on the streets repeatedly butchered her language.
"You should have told me you were coming." Kyoya was saying.
"But we weren't even planning on being in Japan, much less Tokyo. The symposium was scheduled to be held in Hong Kong." Rachel said.
"What happened?"
"The government kept putting restrictions on what we could discuss. It was moved to Tokyo at the last minute." Rachel said.
Kyoya frowned.
"I would have come to Hong Kong regardless. Did you think I wouldn't?"
There was a long pause as he stood and leaned against the window.
"I didn't want you to feel an obligation." Rachel eventually answered.
"I would have appreciated having the choice. And incidentally, visiting a friend hardly an obligation for me."
"I'll hold you to that." She said before breaking into a wide smile. "It's good to see you Kyoya."
She looked up at him. "You got tall."
Kyoya smirked. "After four years, I would certainly hope so."
Rachel shook her head. "Has it really been that long?"
"I remember you having pigtails."
Rachel raised a hand to her hair. "I don't miss those. They kept getting singed in the lab."
Kyoya sat back down. "Speaking of. I've been following you and your fathers work. Quite impressive. Are you as close as the medical journals are hinting at?"
She looked up at him with a brief, careful look in her eye. "Am I speaking to the Ootori foundation right now, or you?"
Kyoya didn't seem to be bothered by the question. "Me."
She smiled again. "In that case, we're already there. We've had successful trials on animals. That's been published. What hasn't is the ten human trials we've done."
"Success rate?"
"One hundred percent, thus far. One man suffered an infection, but it was minor and we think it was a result of poor surgery sanitation. We're investigating."
Kyoya nodded. "Then what's keeping you from moving forward into the public sphere?"
Rachel's smile faded. "Cost. Thanks to our family fortune and investments, we've been able to do our research how we've wanted, but currently it's an expensive process and if it moves out into the public realm now, only the rich will be able to afford it. If we hold off a bit longer, we think that we can find a way to grow the tissues in an affordable and safe manner. We can help more people. Besides, statistically it's the lower incomes that have more health concerns. Heart disease, diabetes, renal failure. Imagine if we could give someone enlisted in Medicare a new kidney right from the start, grown from his own tissues, and keep him off dialysis from day one?"
"The savings to your government would astronomical." Kyoya agreed.
Rachel nodded. "I know waiting is a bit of a gamble, but we think it's going to pay off in the long run. The world certainly doesn't need a bigger gap between the rich and poor."
Kyoya leaned forward and lowered his voice to an extent that Haruhi and the others had to hold their breaths to hear it. "And do the Naturalist's have anything to do with why you're holding back?"
Rachel looked up sharply. "How do you know about that?"
"You thought I wouldn't be keeping tabs?"
"Not that closely." She said. She waved her hand dismissively. "They're nothing. A fringe group."
"I've heard they been recruiting quite well."
"I'm not worried about a group that thinks calculators are an abomination."
"Fanatics are dangerous Rachel."
"Not these people. They're annoying. Nothing more." She answered, with a tone of finality. Kyoya frowned, but didn't respond.
It was in the brief ensuing silence that Tamaki sneezed. It startled Haruhi to such an extent her head jerked upwards, hitting Kaoru in the chin. He yelped and flung one hand out to the side, hitting Hikaru, who in turn stumbled from the half crouch he was in and knocked Haruhi off her feet. The entire Host Club moved to catch her, resulting in the lot of them tumbling through the door and onto the floor of the classroom.
As they groaned and attempted to move off each other, Kyoya stood and calmly motioned to the flailing heap.
"Rachel, may I introduce the Ouran Host Club."
She stood to her feet slowly, joining Kyoya at his side. Eventually Haruhi and the others found their footing. Tamaki recovered first and after seeing to Haruhi, gave Rachel another formal bow.
"Once again, I welcome you to our school Princess." He said.
Rachel hid a smile while giving him a formal bow in return. "It's nice to meet you."
"Rachel, this is Tamaki, Haruhi, Kaoru and Hikaru. The tall one behind them is Mori, and Honey is on his shoulders." Kyoya said, pointing to each person in turn.
Rachel gave another bow then looked to Kyoya. "They're just as you described them." She said.
Tamaki looked stricken. "Mother, you've been gossiping about your family behind our backs? Father is very hurt."
Rachel's brows shot up. "Mother?" she asked Kyoya, not bothering to hide her grin.
Kyoya frowned. "Don't ask. And Tamaki, I don't see how my conversations are your concern."
"But she knows about us and we've never even heard of her." Kaoru pointed out.
"Kyoya has only mentioned you in passing. I've put together the pieces on my own. I promise you, I've been told no secrets. Just enough to put names with faces." Rachel hastened to explain.
Kyoya turned to Tamaki. "If I'm not mistaken, you have a meeting with your father you're now late to."
Tamaki opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the ringing of a cell phone. Rachel's, as it turned out. She gave them an apologetic look before answering, then commenced a rapid conversation in English as the others struggled to sort out her words. English was required in school, and while all of them could read and write quite well in it, conversations were difficult. All their tutors, when teaching them how to speak it, used clear and precise pronunciations and of course used none of the shortcuts and slang Rachel was employing. Only Kyoya and Haruhi seemed to understand what she was saying.
"You're leaving." He said as she hung up and turned back towards the group.
"I'm sorry. There's been another snag in the symposium schedule and they're calling all the presenters back for the day." She said.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." Kyoya said and her face brightened.
"You'll come?"
"I would have come to Hong Kong." He said directly, causing her to look away in embarrassment before fishing through her small purse and pulling out a business card.
"We're here, in the basement. I'll be presenting at one."
Kyoya quirked his brows. "Basement?"
She rolled her eyes. "It was all we could manage at the last minute, don't be a snob."
He tucked the card into his pocket. "What time will you be leaving your hotel? I'll—" There was a non-so-subtle cough from the host club. Kyoya sighed. "pardon, we'll pick you up."
"That's not necc—"
"What time?" He interrupted. She gave him a long look before sighing and giving up.
"Eleven." She handed him another card. "Here's where I'm staying."
He grinned. "Good." He said, pulling out his own phone. "Arata will drive you to the symposium grounds today."
"Really Kyoya, I can get a taxi."
The look he gave her before speaking with his driver made her throw up her hands in defeat. "Fine." She said before murmuring something rather impolite in English.
He hung up and turned to Tamaki. "I'm going to escort her out. I'll meet you in the Chairman's office in a few minutes."
Tamaki slapped his hands over each of the twins mouths before nodding to the two. "I look forward to seeing you in your element tomorrow Princess." He said as he escorted the twins to the door, with the rest of the club in tow. Haruhi turned and waved her goodbyes as they filed out the door.
"They're fun." She said.
"It's one word for it." Kyoya said as they walked down the hall. "They keep me occupied."
She didn't respond as they passed through the foyer. Thankfully, with the exception of a few after school stragglers, it was empty. They passed through wide double doors and saw Arata waiting by an idling black car in the courtyard with an umbrella. Kyoya turned to Rachel.
"Tomorrow then?" he asked.
She nodded. "At eleven." She said before giving him a thoughtful look. "You know, I think you're doing your friends an injustice. I think they've done more than just keep you occupied these past few years."
Kyoya met her eyes. "What makes you say that?"
She shrugged. "You're smiling more." She said simply before turning to the car. Arata rushed up the steps to meet her. She gave Kyoya a parting smile. "It's a nice look for you." She said.
Kyoya watched her descend the steps and slip into the vehicle. As they drove way he pushed up his glasses, turned to the school and began routinely tapping his I-Pad. He was halfway inside before he stopped and looked up, catching a glimmer of red tail lights in the distance.
"You're beautiful." He murmured, before turning his back and slipping inside the school.