The third music room, much like the school it was located in, was also much larger than it looked. Upon entering, Koichi's annoyed expression was instantly transformed to one of shock and wonder. This one space seemed larger than all the rooms of the girl's house combined.
And then the girl became aware of all the eyes on her. Every person in the room, girl and host alike, had turned to face the newcomer and Koichi found herself shaking in her worn out sneakers.
"Who's she?" one girl muttered to a friend.
"What's a commoner from the public school doing here?" wondered another.
"Uh… I… I…" Koichi stammered, her heart rate rapidly increasing.
A tall boy with blonde hair stood from the table he'd been sitting at (surrounded my girls) and walked over to meet the commoner.
"And who might this be?" he said in a sweet voice, reaching over to lift the girl's chin in his hand.
Koichi squeezed shut her eyes and turned away from the boy's touch. "I-I'm here to see the Hitachiin twins," she said nervously.
"Oh so you must be-
"Koichi!" Hikaru and Kaoru chided, popping up out of nowhere and interrupting the blonde.
"You guys know her?" asked a girl in the male student uniform, holding a tray of teacups.
The twins rolled their eyes and spoke in unison. "She's the one we were telling you about. You know, the one that lost a best to us…" they added, grinning stupidly in Koichi's direction.
At this time, the girls who had been staring at Koichi all seemed to lose interest.
Koichi crossed her arms. "Stop gloating. You two's egos are already big enough."
The girl with the tray chuckled, setting it down on the nearest table and walking up to Koichi with a smile. "So I see you've met the twins. I'm Haruhi Fujioka and the blonde one over there is Tamaki Suoh. He's a bit of a drama queen, but he's not that bad once you get to know him."
"Not that bad?" Tamaki complained in a hushed whine.
Haruhi rolled her eyes and continued her introductions, pointing to three boys in the back of the room. "The one with glasses is Kyouya Ootori, the tall one is Mori, and the short one is Honey."
"I-I'm Koichi Kichimaru…" Koichi stuttered.
Kyouya stood, suddenly interested. "Any relation to Yoshiya Kichimaru?"
Koichi nodded. "U-uncle." It was the only word she could manage.
"Hmm…" Kyouya mused. "And why is the niece of such a man attending-
"Public school?" Koichi interrupted angrily. "Because he's selfish and won't help his sickly sister."
The hosts were silent for a few moments, not really knowing how to respond.
"Wait a minute." Haruhi said after a few more moments. "Who's Yoshiya Kichimaru?"
"You don't know?" asked Hikaru and Kaoru in disbelief.
Haruhi shook her head.
Koichi sighed. "He's the founder of Kichimaru industries… he makes TVs and videogames and such."
"Aaanyways… now that the introductions are over…" said the twins, rushing over and each grabbing one of Koichi's arms.
"Wait just a minute!" snapped Koichi, tearing her arms away. "The deal was that I spend the entire afternoon at the Host Club. Not that I spend the entire afternoon with you two."
The twins shrugged.
"If you'd rather spend your time with someone else, then fine," said Kaoru.
"But wouldn't you rather spend your time with people you're already familiar with, no matter how slightly, instead of a complete stranger?" asked Hikaru.
Koichi sighed, sounding defeated. They were right. The less people she became acquainted with here, the better. "Fine…"

"I never knew you were a Kichimaru," Hikaru commented upon sitting down at a small round table with Koichi and his brother.
Koichi sighed. "Well I am Nico's cousin after all."
Hikaru looked away with a roll of his eyes as his brother took his place in the conversation. "You know… with a name like that, the academy might be willing to give you a scholarship."
"I don't want to go to your stupid school." Koichi grumbled, crossing her arms.
"And who not?" asked Kaoru.
Koichi pointed to some of the other girls. "I'd have to wear a stupid frilly dress."
Hikaru chuckled, eyeing Koichi's school uniform with a mischievous grin. "A frilly dress is better than a monotone church outfit any day."
Koichi turned away with a huff. "You're infuriating." And after a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "By the way, what's up with that Haruhi girl? Why's she-
"Shhh!" The twins shushed her.
"Nobody knows that Haruhi's a girl." Hikaru said in a hushed voice.
Kaoru nodded, speaking in the same tone. "She's working as a host to pay off a debt for breaking a ¥8,000,000 vase."
Koichi sighed. "And no one notices? How pathetic. Rich people really are brainless then, huh?"

The rest of the afternoon passed in pretty much the same way. The twins shared stories about the Host Club, and Koichi just rolled her eyes and made comments such as "That's stupid," "You guys are all freaks," or 'You two are annoying."
Kaoru could tell that the 15-year-old was actually interested in the tales, though. There was just something about her pretty green eyes that didn't quite match the insults she was saying.
Pretty soon, the third music room had quieted down, and Kaoru looked up to realize that all the customers had left; except for Koichi of course.
"Hurry up and finish that cake, Mitsukuni," Kaoru overheard Mori saying to Honey.
Koichi stood with a relieved sigh, stretching a bit. "Well I guess that's it, then. I'm out."
Kaoru sighed. "Oh. Alright…"
"Wait a minute." Said Hikaru, patting the pockets of his school uniform. "Kaoru, did you see where I put my phone?"
Kaoru blinked. "Now that you mention it, no. Did you leave in class again?"
Hikaru sighed, standing up from the table. "Probably…"
"We'll check before heading home." Kaoru decided, standing up as well.
Hikaru turned to Koichi with a wry smile. She had a bad feeling about this.
"Maybe Koichi can come with us." He smirked.
"No way. That wasn't part of the deal."
"Oh come on." Hikaru sighed. "Just this one last thing, and we'll leave you alone, alright?" Kaoru looked as if he wasn't satisfied with what his brother was offering to the girl, but he didn't complain.
Koichi took a minute to glance back and forth between the two twins. "Fine," she decided.

Koichi followed the twins slowly through the school, having a hard time keeping up because she stopped to inspect practically every painting they passed.
After many minutes of wandering, though, the three high school students finally made it to the twins' classroom.
Kaoru stepped up and opened the door, motioning for the other two to follow, which they did.
"No lights?" Koichi asked quietly upon entering.
Hikaru shrugged. "Why bother? It'll only be a few minutes." He said, walking over to the desks on the other side of the room.
"Right…" Koichi sighed, following Kaoru as he walked towards his brother.
Then the girl stepped on something that made a loud cracking sound, and she clung to Kaoru's arm as a reflex. "Wh-what was that?" she whined.
Kaoru felt his face flush a bit, and he hoped no one noticed. He looked to the ground. "It was just a pencil," the younger twin murmured, pointing to the broken writing utensil on the floor.
"O-oh…" Koichi replied shakily, loosening her grip on the boy's arm, but not quite letting go yet.
Hikaru smirked, searching through a desk until he pulled out a small cellular phone. He turned back to the others and chuckled at the sight Koichi nervously gripping his brother's arm.
Koichi quickly released Kaoru's arm, blushing slightly. "I-If you have your phone can we just leave?"
Hikaru shrugged, his grin only widening. "Sure thing."

"So, um… you're scared of the dark?" Kaoru asked upon exiting the school, breaking the awkward silence that had been in place since leaving the classroom.
Koichi stopped in her tracks, spinning around to face the younger twin. "I'm not scared of the dark!" she snapped. Hikaru walked around her and continued walking down the steps of the school, sensing that his brother might want some privacy with the upcoming conversation.
"Riiiiight…" Kaoru muttered.
Koichi sighed, turning around and starting to walk away.
"W-wait." Kaoru said a little louder.
"What is it?" spat the girl, turning around to face him again.
"Will… Will I ever see you again?" the boy sadly murmured.
Koichi's eyes glimmered with sympathy for a few moments, but then she narrowed them in annoyance. "Listen," she said, pointing a finger towards Kaoru. "I'll admit it: I had some fun with you today, but this could never work."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Koichi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "We could never happen." She said slowly, pronouncing each word as clearly as she could.
"But-
"I'm poor, you're rich. We go to different schools and have completely different outlooks on life." Koichi interrupted angrily.
Kaoru shifted his gaze to the ground. "You… you could try to get a scholarship…"
"No."
Kaoru sighed, meeting Koichi's gaze with sad amber eyes that were slightly clouded from rejection. "At least tell me you're scared of the dark, then. Give me that one answer and… and I'll leave you alone."
Koichi's hard stare turned into a turmoil of emotions, all swirling around in her green eyes and fighting for control. The girl sighed, taking a seat on one of the steps. "It's because of a reoccurring dream I used to have when I was little."
"A dream?" Kaoru asked, sitting next to her.
Koichi nodded. "I started having it after father left. Mother and I are walking through the forest like we usually did, laughing and having a good time… But then all of the sudden she's gone and it's pitch black… I-I call for her but… she's gone. I… I just can't lose her, too…" she trailed off, cradling her head in her hands.
"Koichi…" Kaoru murmured.
"Now tell me something." Koichi muttered, looking towards the boy.
"What?"
"Promise me that you won't tell that to anyone. Not even Nico."
"Uh… sure."
Koichi stood with a sigh, smoothing the wrinkles out of her short gray shirt. "Goodbye, um…" she trailed off, realizing that she had gone two days without bothering to learn which twin was which.
"Kaoru…" Kaoru murmured quietly, standing up as well.
Koichi sighed again. "Goodbye Kaoru." She said, turning away and starting her trek home.
Hikaru walked up to his brother once the girl had left. "Hey… I'm sorry."
"Hikaru?"
"Yeah?"
"You left your phone behind on purpose, didn't you?"
Hikaru chuckled. "Was is that obvious?"
Kaoru nodded, smiling. "Yeah. And… thanks."
Hikaru sighed. "I'm sorry it wasn't enough,"
Kaoru sighed as well. "I-It's fine…"