Huzzah, chapter three! Sorry it took me a while to get it up, I've been busy.
And thanks again to all who reviewed! ^_^
It had started to become a pretty easy and simple routine for Nel, one that she was endlessly grateful for. It definitely kept her mind off things when she needed it. Every Tuesday and Thursday, during her grandmother's physical therapy sessions and late lunches with her closest friends, Nel would sneak off once she knew she was safe and under good care and make her way to Ouran Academy. The staff that permitted visitors to the premises had become pretty well aquatinted with her and even an older man by the name of Chizuru had picked up on her love of books and had somehow managed to get her a card to the library so she could borrow a few to keep her even more occupied in those long hours at the doctors offices and hospitals. Overall, things were looking up pretty well.
It was on a fairly calm Thursday afternoon that Nel found herself browsing the main library of Ouran, looking for a few specific titles. She found one out of the three, and had a hunch she could hunt down the other two in the other libraries scattered around the school, but she was getting tired and just wanted to see her cousin and the rest of the hosts. Nel had grown quite fond of the group of boys, and she let a small smile pick at her lips as she scaled the stairs to the south wing, thinking of them all. She really had nothing to worry about when it came to their competence about taking care of Haruhi, but just as a safety net she continued to hold the threat of abolishing her debt above their heads. Just to be safe.
She pushed open the grand doors to the third music room and realized she stepped in during the hosts busiest hour. She didn't want to disrupt any activities that may be going on so she kept to the walls, and made her way around the crowd of fawning girls to her favorite table in the back corner, right next to a large window. She loved the natural lighting and the view over the courtyard that was always blooming with some sort of flower or another. (Though she had more than once questioned the genetic makeup of those flowers as she knew for a fact wisteria did not bloom that long.)
She nearly collapsed into the plush chair, overtaken by a sudden wave of exhaustion. She knew the cause, but told herself to fight through it, and it would go away with time. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to ignore the sound of blood rushing through her ears. She could get through this, she could be strong and just ignore the adverse affects of-
"Nel."
The brunette knew before opening her eyes who had spoken. There wasn't anyone else she knew with such a deep, calm voice. She looked up to find Mori, staring down at her with his usual blank gaze and holding out a fairly large mug of something. Nel took it hesitantly, wondering what it could be, and upon seeing the fragrant amber liquid broke out in a huge grin, one that Mori returned in his own miniscule way.
"Aw, thank you, Mori-kun. This is just what I needed." she said as happily as she could manage in her current state. She thought back to last week when she had given them all a thorough talking to about the horrible lack of apple juice in the fridge where they kept the chilled drinks and snacks. It appeared they took her advice and stocked up.
Mori nodded, and in an usual display of concern said, "You look tired."
Nel was busy sucking down the contents of the cup, but manage to pull herself away to wave a hand dismissively and say, "I'm fine, I just didn't get much sleep last night. My grandmother got pulled in for another surgery today." She glanced around, noticing Honey was entertaining Mori's usual guests on his own and looked up at the boy and gave him a friendly wink. "You should be getting back to your guests. No need to worry about me."
Mori, knowing she was right and never being one to argue, simply nodded and went back to his cousin.
A small group had been watching the exchange the entire time, and seeing the show was over, the love struck girls sighed and turned back to Tamaki and Kyoya, who they had stopped and forced to watch the show with them.
"I've never seen Mori-senpai behave like that," one of them said in wonder. Her friend agreed, and looked up at Kyoya with wide eyes. "Kyoya-senpai, who is that girl?"
"Haruhi's cousin," he explained shortly, not wanting to delve into things too much unless Nel didn't want anything being spread about her. "She stops by a couple days a week while her grandmother does errands, to keep an eye on Haruhi and take a short break."
One of the more... outspoken guests Tamaki had to deal with huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, she's imposing in my opinion, and is honestly a little creepy, how she just sits there and never speaks to anyone. And her clothes..." She shuddered, like it was a personal offense.
"Now now, princess, we gladly meet the needs of Haruhi's most beloved cousin, and Nel simply has her own personal style. I quite admire her for staying true to herself." Though Tamaki had to admit, Nel definitely didn't go out of her way to impress anyone at Ouran. Today she was wearing a variation of her usual outfit; black zip-up hoodie with the sleeves pushed to her elbows, black tanktop, dark blue skinny jeans and cream colored Toms that had seen better days. She obviously dressed for comfort.
Overhearing the conversation, the twins switched their focus to the girl sitting alone in the corner of the room. "She sure does spend a lot of time here," Hikaru observed.
"She doesn't look to be in the best shape today either," Kaoru added, stepping up beside his brother and following his gaze.
They turned to their guests and gave them dazzling smiles, saying, "Excuse us for a moment, ladies."
They of course were more than happy to oblige and the twins made their way over to the girl, not even sparing a greeting before announcing quite loudly, "You look awful today, Nel."
Nel didn't miss a beat, not even looking up from her phone as she said with a bored tone, "Thank you boys, right back attcha."
There were cries heard all around the room, and a near complete uproar an the injustice of such an uncalled for insult began. Haruhi, sensing danger, quickly made her way over and opened her mouth to put the fire out before it could begin but stopped whens she caught eye of her cousin.
"Whoa... Nel, are you alright? I don't mean to sound rude, but those two are right, you don't look so good."
Nel gave an exasperated sigh, pressing the pad of her thumb hard against her temple and rubbed, looking like she was about to pass out any moment. "I'm fine, Haruhi." It was the first time any of the hosts had seen Nel express any sort of genuine anger and they all glanced at one another apprehensively.
"Seriously Nel, I think you should go see the nurse." Haruhi took a step towards her cousin, showing no signs of letting up any time soon. Nel stood up suddenly, and hoped no one noticed how she had to grip the edge of the table to keep herself from toppling over. "There's no need for that. I'll just go home, then." She started to walk swiftly away, ignoring the cries of her cousin to stop, and Nel soon found herself regretting getting up so quickly as what little blood she had left in her system rushed to her head.
Her vision blurred around the edges and she mumbled something about needing to call Raizo before she stumbled forward, her hip slamming into something cold and hard before it gave out from under her and she fell to the floor, watching the stars shoot across her vision before everything went black.
"She moved!"
Nel was vaguely aware of voices, many voices around her saying things in hushed, worried tones. The only one she could pick out for certain was Haruhi's and she forced her mouth to work, seeing as her eyes and limbs were being uncooperative.
"Haru..." she mumbled, still feeling impossibly weak and lightheaded and just wanting nothing more than to sleep for hours.
"Come on Nel, open your eyes."
She knew Haruhi was worried. She could hear it in her voice. She knew, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. She was just so tired...
"Nel!"
This time the cry was accompanied by someone shaking her shoulders, but still Nel was unable to do as asked.
"Nicole Hoshiko Mason, wake up!"
Now this one caught her attention, and Nel moaned as she moved her head a bit, trying to bring herself back to a conscious state of mind. "No usin' my trouble name," she mumbled, finally cracking her eyes open. "S'not fair..."
When her eyes adjusted to the light she found herself laying on a couch, staring up into the handsome faces of the host club. The rest of the room was empty, and she assumed they closed the place down for the day after all the excitement. With a grunt she pulled herself up some, leaning back on her elbows. "Ugh, why does my head hurt so bad?"
Haruhi shot her a look, obviously trying to look more angry than worried and failing miserably. "Because it had a direct hit with the floor, that's why."
Nel reached up and touched the spot with the worst pain and winced once she felt how big the bump was. "Oh," was her only reply.
"Shall I go ahead and call an ambulence?" Kyoya asked calmly, phone at the ready. Nel held up a hand, trying to pushing herself fully upright. "No! No, I'm fine it's just..."
"Just what?" The twins asked sharply.
Nel sighed, knowing she'd have to fess up now. Taking the heat from telling them the truth was a much better option than taking a trip to the emergency room. "Like I told Mori, my grandmother was pulled for emergency surgery today, but their supply of her blood type was low, and a shipment wasn't going to come in for a while. But they desperately needed it, and I happen to be an exact match. So..." She finally managed to sit up and pulled her sleeve up higher, showing them the small red dot on the inside of her elbow. She shrugged, letting them connect the dots.
Kyoya lowered his head just so, letting a glare provide him some cover as he asked his next question. "Exactly how much blood did they take from you, Nel?"
This was the exact question she was hoping wouldn't be asked. And guessing by Kyoya's cold, still tone she knew exactly what he was getting at. As the son of the owner of a major medical company it went without question that Kyoya would have a much more extensive knowledge than the average person on things concerning the health of the human body. Nel wished in the safety of her head that she could just sink into the fabric of the couch and disappear. But, she knew there was no getting around it now and just took a deep breath, waiting for his reaction as she said, "Two and one third pints."
"What."
Nel decided in that moment Kyoya's calm, quiet tone was much worse than anything that could be shouted at her. She sighed and, realized she was being a coward, looked him in the eye. "You heard what I said," she replied shortly, sounding tired. She just wanted to go back to sleep.
"Nel, do you understand that for any normal adult, that amount of blood loss could potentially be fatal?" She cringed away from him slightly, and his voice that was slowly creeping into anger. "That's not even taking into consideration your size, which is much smaller than average and could barely hold seven pints at maximum. So you mind telling me what kind of idiot doctor gave the okay to nearly kill you?" Nel started to stand and get prepared to go head to head with the boy that was far out of line to be speaking to her like this, but she was silenced as Kyoya took a step towards her and fixed her with a gaze that was cold as ice and appropriately froze her on the spot. "How could they even let you out of that hospital in the first place? If you had exerted any more effort than you just did you could have died right in front of us."
The other teenagers around her stared at the dark haired male in shock. Kyoya never reacted like that. But then again, they had never experienced anything quite like this either, and especially not with anyone with a position in the dynamic that Nel had. It was a very unfamiliar, frightening situation altogether and no one knew quite what to say.
Haruhi turned and looked at her cousin with worry. "Nel, is all that true?" She asked, her voice small, and Nel felt the first stab of guilt at keeping the information to herself.
"Of course it is," Kyoya snapped, causing Haruhi to flinch, and that was the last straw for Nel. She glared at him as she stood, thankfully without any real difficulty though she suddenly found it much harder to collect her thoughts. "Don't misdirect your already pointless anger at her, Ootori." He could tear into her all day but she would not allow him to take any of this out on Haruhi. "As it is, it's already none of your business an-"
Nel trailed off, distracted by a gleam of something behind Kyoya's head.
One of the many small tables scattered around the room was on it's side (so that's what her hip ran into, Nel thought) and laying next to it on the polished marble floor was a sleek, expensive looking laptop. Nel recognized it as Kyoya's, and wanted to groan out loud when she saw the huge web of cracks across the screen. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was completely soaked in tea, the shattered tea cup in pieces near by. Even if Nel didn't have the large knowledge of computers she possessed, she'd still know that Kyoya's laptop, the one he used for everything, was completely toast.
Kyoya watched her face, knowing what she had seen behind him, and was shocked to find her skin grew even paler. Her eyebrows drew together and she looked positively miserable. "Oh shit," she said weakly, still staring at the mess. "I did that, didn't I?"
Kyoya merely nodded in reply. Nel groaned, and pushed her first two fingers into her temples, closing her eyes. "Great." After a short, silent moment, she sighed and finally opened her eyes to look at Kyoya. "How much do I owe you?"
Kyoya didn't waste words. "Eight-thousand, three-hundred, and seventy-six American dollars."
Nel stared at him like he had grown an extra head. "Goddamn boy, did you get every damn upgrade Apple had available or did you just talk them into giving you a model that shouldn't have been released for another five years?"
"Both," Kyoya said simply, completely serious.
Nel pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes again. "Of course. I don't even know why I said that like it was a joke."
Haruhi finally spoke up. "Kyoya-senpai, you're not seriously gonna put Nel into debt too, are you?"
Nel held out a hand before Kyoya could give Haruhi a lecture about how she could possibly think any different. "Of course, Haru, don't be ridiculous. Despite the circumstances in which I broke it, I still broke it." She sighed, and fixed Kyoya with a gaze that was both tired and apprehensive. "I've gotta pay him back somehow."
"Why do you sound so worried about it?" The twins said sharply. "Can't you just get your grandmother to pay for it? You said she had money, didn't you?"
Nel rolled her eyes, sitting back down on the couch. Her knees were killing her. "Well yeah, but unlike you guys, I'm not gonna just toss my family's money around. I got myself into this mess, I'll fix it myself." She looked up at Kyoya, trying to regain her concentration but anyone who looked closely enough could see the slight glaze over her normally bright and clear eyes, the way she swayed ever so slightly in an attempt to keep herself awake and alert. "I can only pay you so much seeing as I can't work right now, and it'll have to be in payments. But if that's not enough..." She shrugged. "I can always be of help as an assistant. Part of my job back home was keeping up with the books, inventory, profit, things like that." She quirked up a brow. "Honestly, you could use the help. From what you told me before you've got a lot on your plate, and that's just the host club. I can't even imagine with all the school work on top of that and whatever you've got going on at home. Besides," she added quickly, before Kyoya could say something about her thinking he couldn't handle it all himself, "you could probably benefit more from taking some more customers." She smiled. "I hear talk. You've got more fans than you'd think."
Tamaki hmm'ed, rubbing his chin. "You know Kyoya, she's got a point. You do quite a bit around here, and it'd probably be good to take in a few more customers. I think it'd be a good thing to take Nel up on it."
Nel merely put her elbow on the side of the couch and propped her cheek against her fist, watching Kyoya for an answer.
He thought about it, turning the idea over in his mind. Even he had to admit (in the privacy of his own mind of course) that it sounded nice, having the load lightened some. But he wasn't even sure Nel could actually handle it. He shot off the names of a few of the programs he used to keep everything in order, asking Nel if she was familiar with them. She nodded in a business-like manner. "Of course. Though that first one I've only used an older version of it, but that's just an issue of getting used to a different interface, isn't it?"
Kyoya nodded, staring the girl down. She certainly seemed competent enough, and Kyoya had to remind himself she was, after all, nearly three years older than him, or so she said. "...I'll need to make sure, of course, that you can actually handle it."
She beamed, and Kyoya was caught off guard by the friendliness. "Certainly. How about we do a trail run for a week, free of charge? If things go smoothly, we can discuss wages after that. Either way, I'll give you what I can every two weeks." She watched him with her calm, steady eyes, obviously waiting for an answer.
"You've got a deal, Miss Mason."
She smiled that crooked smile, and Kyoya couldn't help thinking she had known all along exactly how this would go. "Perfect."
I think I'm here. The one with the huge ass metal gate? Why am I even asking that? Of course you have a huge ass metal gate.
Kyoya could practically hear the mildly disgusted tone as he read the text from Nel, and couldn't help feeling amused. She was very much like her cousin indeed.
It had been a few days since they agreed to Nel becoming something of an assistant to Kyoya, but since then she hadn't been able to make it to the club due to needing recovery from her blood donation and also the new list of things she had to do to take care of her grandmother after her latest surgery. Finally they agreed upon Nel coming to Kyoya's house for an evening so he could give her a crash course and see how she preformed.
Kyoya made his way to the front door as he punched out a reply on his phone. He knew the help would have answered the door, but he was still doing his best to stay in her good graces. There was something about her behavior, a unique sort of maturity that he could only describe of some sort of mutual respect between them. So, he felt it only right.
That's the one. Just park anywhere out front and I'll meet you at the door.
He slipped his phone into the pocket of his tight-fitting black pants and continued along his way across the expansive mansion. He reached the front door and pulled it open just in time to hear a car door slam shut. His eyes followed the sound and he watched as the short girl walked around the sleek silver car and towards the house, raising a jingling bunch of keys over her shoulder. The car beeped and the tail lights flashed as Nel finally looked up, shoving the keys into a pocket of the messenger back tossed over her shoulder. When she saw Kyoya she flashed him a small but bright smile, like she was simply over to visit a friend.
"Evenin', sir," she said in English as she closed the last few feet between them, and Kyoya couldn't help but notice the slight southern drawl to her words. Her accent when she spoke Japanese was completely perfect, and it caught him slightly off guard to hear her speak any differently.
He nodded his greetings and held the door open for her as she stepped inside, closing it behind them and leading her down the through the hallways without a word. Nel glanced around curiously at the decor of the completely silent house as she followed along, having to rush slightly to keep up with Kyoya's much longer steps.
"I like it," she said quietly, still turning her head this way and that as they moved along. Kyoya looked down at the girl, raising a brow. "It's a bit... stiff, but overall it's a very nice looking home." She smiled up at the dark haired boy, but the look at the back of her eyes told Kyoya that Nel knew very well the stiffness, as she called it, stemmed from the fact that it wasn't really a home. Simply a house.
"Thank you," he replied finally before opening a door. "Here we are." He stepped to the side to let her pass through first, and smirked when she let out a low whistle. "This is your room? Geez dude, it's like a small house in here. Ohhh, big windows. I like."
"Make yourself at home," he said simply, crossing over to his dresser and grabbing the small black flash drive sitting on top of it. When he turned around he found Nel already unloading her own laptop, apparently having trouble with the tangled cords with a small frown on her face. "Stupid technology..." she muttered, glaring down at the knot.
Kyoya merely quirked a brow at her, holding out the flash drive. "That's got all the software you'll need to install as well as the data you'll need to complete this month's spread sheets and general overviews. It was a pretty slow, normal month so it shouldn't be too difficult."
Nel, having finally untangled the cords, looked up at him then down to his hand before taking the little device. "Sounds good, I'll get right on it."
Kyoya nodded before explaining, "I'm going to go grab a late dinner before I start on my home work. Would you like anything?" he asked politely as Nel settled herself onto the white couch, setting her laptop up on the coffee table and plugging the drive into a USB port. "Water would be great. And anything salty and preferably completely unhealthy if you've got it. I've been having weird cravings."
Kyoya merely nodded before leaving her to herself, making his way to the kitchen. The house was silent as he walked along the empty hallways. His entire family was away for business trips, leaving him home alone, along with the staff of course. If it was even possible, it made the place seem even bigger and more cold than it usually was. But he couldn't honestly say he missed them.
In an unusual act of kindness, Kyoya brushed off their head chef and heated up the leftover dinner himself, rummaging through the cabinets while the plate revolved in the microwave. To him, salty and unhealthy translated to potato chips, which they currently had none of. But they did had an unopened bag of small pretzels, so Kyoya figured that would just have to suffice for the girl's request. He grabbed that and two bottled waters from the fridge just in time for the microwave to beep. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks from a drawer before balancing the hot bowl in his hand and holding it close to his body, the rest of his arm supporting the bottles of water while his other hand clutched the bag of pretzels. He made his way carefully back to his room, the smell of teriyaki noodles making him realize exactly how hungry he was.
Nudging the door open with his foot, he peered his head in curiously, trying to get a glimpse of Nel before she could do the same to him first. She looked completely comfortable on the couch, leaning back agains the arm rest with a couple pillows behind her back, another one in her lap underneath her laptop. Her bare feet were crossed at the ankles, and Kyoya noted the bright shade of turquoise blue that her toe nails were painted. Hearng the door creak she looked up, and answered the look he was giving her with, "You said to make myself at home after all."
Kyoya couldn't stop the small chuckle before it came. "That I did." He handed her her requested items, and she let out a happy gasp while she thanked him. "Ohhh you are so my new favorite." She already had a small pretzel inbetween her lips, typing away on her computer.
"And who was your favorite before?" Kyoya asked politely, raising a black brow.
"Mori," she said, leaning back as she watched the progress bars creep forward as the software installed. "He did bring me apple juice after all. That's practically grounds for marriage in my book."
Kyoya wasn't sure to accuse her of having low standards or to reccomend a therapist for her addiction problem. Either way, he turned and headed towards the stairs that led up to the actual bed part of his bedroom, leaving Nel to her work. "I'll be back down in about fourty-five minutes to check on you," he said as he went. Nel merely made a noise to let him know she heard him, nose already back in her screen and one cheek full to the brim with salty snacks. Kyoya shook his head, for once second guessing his decision.
Fourty-seven minutes later Kyoya went back down, finding Nel much the same as he'd left her. He quietly went around behind her to see the screen, and was honestly a little shocked to find her well beyond the rate of completetion he had mentally set for her. Infact, she was nearly done.
"Kyoya, how is this a normal, slow month?" she asked suddenly, her tone incredulous. "Do you boys have any idea how much money you could save by baking all those snacks and cakes instead of buying them? Seriously, the quality would be the same, but the bottom line qould change dramatically." She shifted around a few windows, bringing one up and tilting the laptop so Kyoya could see better. "Here, look at what you spend versus the cost of materials it would take to make the same exact thing."
Kyoya examined the numbers carefully, trying to find some sort of error. But there were none, and he had to admit he definitely liked the results. "Well that's all good and well, but you didn't factor in the cost of labor."
Nel went back to calculating the normal end of month forms, shrugging a shoulder. "I'll do it. Just another way to pay off my debt, and not does it help the both of us, but it greatly benefits you."
Kyoya sat on the other end of the couch, staring at Nel. "You want to pay your debt off by baking?"
Nel raised her eyes to glance at him over her glasses. "Why not? I like baking. I'm a crap cook but I can bake like a crazy mofo." She smiled gently, pausing her rapid typing. "I'll even order all the supplies myself and do it at home so the school isn't inconvienienced at all."
Kyoya watched her for a moment before nodding. "Alright, you've got a deal."
With one last punch of a key Nel smiled brightly. "Great! All done, by the way. I sent it via email, so you can take a look before we call this a done deal."
Kyoya already felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, taking longer than needed to open the email and look at Nel's handywork. She had followed the provided example perfectly, even improved it some and made it easier to read. He was... impressed, to say the least.
"Miss Mason, I may just have to hire you on permanantly, regardless of when you head back home to the states." He said as an answer. Nel gave him a self satisfied smirk, and Kyoya appreicated the fact that she didn't seem to have ever doubted her abilities.
"Well, first things first, alright?" she said with a small laugh and Kyoya smiled, finally feeling optimistic about this. Maybe he'd actually get some decent sleep for once. Nel stood from the couch, fluffing the pillows and putting them back in their proper spots before beginning to back their things.
"I was thinking," she began, "that instead of monthly I could try it weekly, that way I can give it even more attention and be sure there's no errors whatsoever. Just as a satefy net, really, but mostly because I'm just that bored." She stood, heaving her bag over her shoulders and smiling down at Kyoya. He just nodded silently, not quite sure what to say to the girl. He was floored, though he'd never admit it to anyone out loud. Were it not for the fact he wouldn't really gain anything other than a fantastic secratary and accountant, he may contemplate bringing her up to his father as a marriage proposal.
But, that was quite a silly thought for him, and he brushed it away. "Well Nel, looks like things are going to be just fine with this new agreement." He stood as well, ready to lead her back to her car.
She raised a hand, slipping her shoes back on. "I'll let myself out, you still need to finish your homework."
Kyoya stepped towards her. "No really, I insist."
She poked him in the chest, grinning. "And I insist that I am perfectly capable of finding the front door, sir." She winked, already stepping back towards his bedroom door. "Night, Kyoya. See ya Tuesday."
She was already gone by the time the words left his mouth. "Goodnight, Nel."
Aww, budding friendship! Hoped you guys liked it. ^_^ By the way, HI ASHLEY :D
