A/N: FIRST OFF: IM TERRIBLY SORRY FOR THE SUPER LATE UPDATE! I had difficulty, I know. But please forgive me!

Now shall we start?

This was long been pending in my computer and school didn't give me a chance to write it. There was a problem along the way though. I lost my mojo, therefore not being able to write. I know this is a short chapter but please bear with me! This is SO on the fluff side! Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Greys of the Heavens

Patches of colors swung from side to side, mimicking the movements of a graceful pendulum. A lone cherry earphone hung lazily, slowly getting tangled in stray locks of curly hazelnut hair, as its counterpart was precariously perched in a delicate earlobe. Opposed to what she was playing only moments ago, her accustomed ear was assaulted with various guitar solos and an earful of screaming in the foreground.

It was around the time of sunset. The orange and yellow beams of light emanated from the sun, engulfing the massive corridors of the prestigious Ouran High School. A lone figure trailed its beauty, as she retraced her steps a tenth of a foot a time; pacing slowly, committing to memory every interesting detail the hallways had to offer her.

As the next song shuffled on her iPod, she was once again plunged with the dilemma her thoughts weren't quite finished toying with yet. She was de novo vis-à-vis with both the second and the first music rooms that spiked her peak of interest the most. She had quietly passed the Third Music Room, giving respect to what she though as Mr. Ootori's son's wishes.

An image of the youngest Ootori's smiling face suddenly popped into Akari Hanagurashi's mind, causing heat to quickly leave her body and rush to her marble hued complexion. The mere thought of that close proximity to any guy was awkward, as it is flattering.

For a few seconds, a bright color of strawberry was prominent on her face, before she managed to shove those thoughts to a solitary dark corner, somewhere in the contours of her mind, making her expression calm and collected again.

Hanagurashi pondered for a moment. She was wondering if her curiosity still overpowered her reasoning, if she dared to defy the rules of the little game she was playing with herself.

Should I… once more? She questioningly thought to herself; placing a hand on her chin.

Curiosity was always the murdered of innocents cats so, this was obviously a knock-out task for it.

She grinned. She always craved for that exhilarating feeling she was experiencing now. She felt as though she was defying some unnatural law, and the consequences were indefinite. Yes, this may be a small thing for some, but for someone being trapped in 4 generic walls may feel a lot of freedom at this point.

Okay then, but just a little peek. It's getting late anyway. Akari reasoned out, a smirk still plastered to her face.

Ninja mode was quickly turned to its maximum. She was moving as 'stealthily' as she could manage in the bright yellow balloon-like dress she was wearing, taking in the intricate designs and colors posed by the second music room. But nothing really stood out for her there, so she moved on to the first. She silently left the second music room and moved on.

She hesitated for a moment, but then impulse took over her motor skills. She placed her hand on the handle and turned.

She approached the first music room more discreetly this time, slowing her pace in the process. She quietly approached the center of the music room; with the mentality that the room was best observed when one was in the core of everything. She took minuscule steps, slowly taking everything in.

It was absolutely breathtaking. The way the beams of light lit up the contours of this grand room was absolutely astounding. There was hardly any difference between this room and the other she had already been; apart from a few instruments here and there but hey, it was a music room after all. But the one thing that stood out the most was the view of it all.

Whoever the architect of this building was a pure genius. It was as if she was perched at the very top of the building, looking down on everything. The window overlooked the wide open greeneries of Ouran and the hills as its background. The city trailed around its skyline, amplifying the feel of them being isolated in some modern wonderland.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Shock filled her system with a sudden amount of speed that caught her off-guard. Adrenaline quickly took over her body and ninja mode was at its peak. She whipped her head to the side, her hazelnut curls flowed, gracefully following the movements of its owner.

Her gaze met a person leaning on the doors of the music room she politely left wide open for anyone's free access. Her cerulean orbs were radiating in the contrasts of the reds, oranges and the yellows of the room. She inspected the details of the intruder of her sanctum with unmasked curiosity: black pants, blue blazers; the standard uniform for the men.

She worked her way up, taking in her intruder's appearance. He possessed slightly curled tuffs of strawberry blonde hair, which she found quite amusing for some reason. Then, she finally met his electrifying emerald eyes that struck her with awe. It was as if it wielded lighting, but the warm gaze he gave her suggested otherwise.

Realization hit her. Hard. She was staring! For no apparent reason at that. Crimson assaulted her face once more, as she shuffled her gaze away from the stranger. She was flushed yet again.

Dammit, man. Dammit.

It was him. The stranger she met earlier.

He could only chuckle at her innocence, which made Akari avert her eyes away even more. Then his body suddenly tensed up. Our damsel sensed the change of position and quickly turned her eyes back to his figure. Now, he was the one staring at her. Strawberry blonde hair, warm smile, and that static charged-like emerald orbs; all heading towards her at a slightly fast speed.

"So, we meet again."

~X~X~X~

"I am quite puzzled at the fact that all of you are still staring at me even though I am earlier that everyone else this time around." Kyouya commented rather off-handedly. He was busy putting away the materials he used earlier that afternoon. He was currently putting away a basin with partially bloodstained water he used to clean the wounds of a certain Hanagurashi Akari.

He sighed inwardly. The turnout of events was definitely not what he had planned, especially that last part. He seriously doesn't know what's going on with him. But when it comes to her, he just couldn't resist.

"Ooh! Kyouya-chan! Did you offer cake to the pretty lady?" Hunny-sempai asked innocently; engulfing a big chunk of and ingenious blend of chocolate, cheese and strawberries all in one cake. He chewed happily; Usa-chan in one hand, armed with a fork in the other. He was beside Mori-sempai whom he had offered a piece of this delicious confectionary multiple times, but always resulted to futile attempts.

He was going to take another bite of his cake, when he realized that Kyouya hasn't answered his question yet. But before he could follow up the question, Kyouya answered briefly.

"Unfortunately, Tamaki's arrival prevented me from doing so" he replied casually.

"…or anything for that matter" He continued, but loud enough for only his ears ho hear.

"What was that, Mummy? You told me I wasn't interrupting anything!" Tamaki said coyly, trying his best to bash his eyelashes innocently at Kyouya.

For a very brief moment the youngest Ootori's system was engulfed with sudden apprehension, thinking that Tamaki, or any other host club member overheard what he just said, but it immediately subsided after no sarcastic comment followed. On the outside, he might have looked emotionless to an extent, but for him on the inside, he felt like he was blushing like a freshly picked tomato. He didn't have a response in mind, and the silence was getting long enough to being called awkward. He hoped that someone, anyone, would break the quiescence of the moment.

"What's with that girl anyway, sempai?" The Hitachiin twins asked in unison.

Relief escaped Kyouya Ootori in a form of a sigh. It was undetectable, but it was all Kyouya could do to express it. He was almost done returning all the tools he used to clean her wounds – and that included filling up their stocks with fresh multicolored band aids. He pondered on what the twins had just said. They wouldn't believe him if he told them about his dream, wouldn't they? Would they? Kyouya shook his head lightly, dismissing such thoughts. That dream was utter nonsense, and he would be better off forgetting that ridiculously enjoyable dream of his.

"I honestly have no clue either."

~X~X~X~

6:30 pm

Kyouya Ootori was it for that afternoon. It was unreasonable that he had to clean up after the meeting since there were janitors and cleaning ladies that will do that job for them. After he was done cleaning up his bloodied mess, Tamaki and the others decided that he should at least give them a proper explanation on who was that Hanagurashi girl and why he was late. When he failed to at least give them a coherent explanation, they all hailed the verdict to make Kyouya clean for that afternoon. Although he didn't like it, it was an opportunity to help ease up his mind about that perfect doll, his perfect doll.

The sun already left the skies. The assortment of violets and the hues of blue were all mixing above the youngest son of the Ootori family. As he approached the gates of the school, he can't help but notice the beauty of the night sky – and how much he enjoyed it. His chauffeur was already by the gates waiting for him. But all he wanted was to stare at the star-lit heavens. He was a little bit disappointed when he reached his car. He couldn't see the sky much in there. Nonetheless, he had no choice.

"Good evening, young master" His chauffeur addressed him.

With a slight nod of recognition and his return of the formality, the chauffeur opened the back door of the Ootori Family's Jubilee Silver Rolls Royce Phantom. Before he slid in the comfort of the English White leather of the backseat of his car, his brandy hued orbs caught something. He looked to his side, only to find hazelnut hair greeting his sights.

It was her, yet again.

For a very brief moment, he stared at her, hoping that she would notice. His chauffeur understood why his young master was like that. She was pretty, no one can deny that. He was discreetly giving a nod of approval to that girl and the young master.

"She has been there an hour before you came, young master Kyouya." He said, sensing the wonder in his master's eyes.

It appears that she was distressed. She was staring at her cell phone with worried eyes, constantly flipping though it. Seeing that she doesn't notice either himself or his master dismayed him a bit. It was a shame. If his master wished to go this instant he was bound to oblige, even if it was against his wishes.

Seconds pass, yet she still haven't noticed the pairs of eyes that were staring at her. Kyouya got it. It was time to leave.

"Let's go, Claude." He said to his chauffer.

Claude couldn't quite put it, but something was off with his master's tone. He chose to keep silent, as he helped his master with his door. Once he slammed the door shut, cerulean eyes turned to him. He sort of felt sorry for her, for the girl had anguish deep within her eyes, almost on the verge of tears. He was going to request for the young master to attend to her; they seemed to know each other in the least. But his young master grew impatient, and three taps from the glass window of the car gave meaning that it was time to leave. With a sigh, he bowed at her direction as a sign of respect to her and went into the driver's seat. And he drove away from her, unknowing that his master had the same intention as he. His master's gaze still fixed on her silhouette, slowly vanishing in the distance.

~X~X~X~

It was getting late, and Kyouya Ootori had just come from a little soiree their company threw. It was for their successful campaign or something like that. Luckily, there were no classes the day after, so he could immediately relax when he got home. The Jubilee Silver Rolls Royce Phantom rode in the distance, but as time progressed it also slowed down, catching what little interest the master of the car had.

"Claude, is something the matter?" Kyouya asked monotonously, his eyes still fixed outside of the tinted windows of his car.

"It's nothing to worry about young master. We've just encountered a little traffic."

Dismissing it as something insignificant, Kyouya continued to gaze at the world outside his window. It was the usual humdrum world everyone lived in. The streets were still busy. People were scattered everywhere, even though it was already past 10.

Traffic was still moving slower than usual. They have been on the same spot for almost 15 minutes now. The day was tiring for Kyouya, his eyes already half-lidded. He was close to leaning on the window, but he stopped himself. He wasn't supposed to be sleeping in the car. So, he sat there upright and half-awake, waiting for something interesting to keep him attentive.

For random reasons even he does not understand, he decided to count the number of people wearing yellow tonight. The image of that ripped shoulder part of Akari's uniform flashed into his mind upon just thinking of the color. But he was too tired to mess with his brain right now and he needed a quick pick-me-up.

He spots one, a baby with a pale Jasmine frog suit passed by his gaze seconds after. He spots another one, a man inside a black car. Another, then another. In minutes he has spotted 10 people in total, but he was still tired as hell. Apparently his pick-me-up didn't work on him.

Just as he was decided to stop counting, he spots another one. This one was about to leave the bookstore. Kyouya was already half-awake when he saw this person, so his brain wasn't all that sharp to process all that info like it usually does. It was a girl, judging by the length of the hair and the softness of her features. He really didn't see much of her face, because she was desperately trying to wipe forthcoming tears before it came. Her once-tranquil cerulean orbs were now unfocused, clouded with worry and frustration.

Wait… Cerulean?

He got his pick-me-up alright. Cerulean was not a natural eye color for a Japanese person to have. But since the boom of contact lenses and costume playing it has since been a trend. Still, yellow? Cerulean eyes? It couldn't be. There were too many coincidences. But his chauffeur confirmed his suspicions.

"Young master, I don't mean to intrude on your business, but isn't that the young girl we saw in front of the gates of your school?" Claude asked, unknowing that his aged voice was echoing in his master's mind.

"Claude, I don't mean this as an insult, but are you sure?" He replied back, already ware of what his chauffeur was going to answer.

He paused for a second before answering.

"I am sir."

And those three words plunged the Jubilee Silver into silence. If it was up to Claude, this young lady would have been in the car even before they revved away from Ouran. This was most unusual for his master. Unusual indeed. Positive that the traffic will be in a standstill for a longer while, he decided to take a gamble.

"Young master Kyouya…" He started off firmly, aware of his place, yet making sure he doesn't step out of its bounds.

~X~X~X~

She was standing by the streetlamp conveniently located next to a Rolls Royce Phantom. It was similar to her car, but only it was a Ghost model. She was there because the bookstore was closing its doors to customers, aware of the fact that it was closing time for most shops. She had in her hand what seemed to be a map and was focused on scrutinizing its contents. She had her iPod on play, her cherry earphones replaced by a pair of silver waterproof ones. Her iPod was in the comfort of warm orange leather pouch, nestled in her pocket. A new song starts to play; the one she favors the most in her music selection.

Somewhere only we know…

There is rain that falls kindly as well. As the hums of the first stanzas of the song reached her ears, little droplets of tears fall atop her body. Unfortunately for Hanagurashi Akari, this wasn't that sort of rain.

As it starts to rain, what little population of people scrambled to find some sort of protection from the impending drops of water. Others pulled out an assortment of colorful shades – umbrellas. This damsel didn't have an umbrella, so she too was hunting for something to shade her. It was implausible, but it was so, shade was far from where she stood, and she got drenched before she could save anything from the rain that was fast-falling on them.

Now Akari was on the brink of brawling. She was on a standstill, imagining that the rain would wash all of her problems away. She was having a bad evening. And as time passes, she cared less and less about what the people that she shared these streets with thought about her. She was disgusted with herself; to think that she was this weak. She desperately needed someone to comfort her, to tell her it was going to be okay. A hug would be a great bonus too.

Just then, the droplets ceased to fall on her already wet, delicate form. Now, there was nothing to mask her tears that were silently caressing her cheeks. She was scared to turn around. She honestly didn't know what to expect. She even got the nerve to joke around – to think that this person might be a crook or something more terrifying. But something made her change her mind. Five words were all it took for her to completely trust this stranger.

"It's going to be alright."

She turned.

The chorus hummed in her ears, echoing in the contours of her mind.

And if you have a minute, why don't we go, talk about it somewhere only we know?This could be the end of everything,so why don't we go somewhere only we know? Somewhere only we know.

A grey umbrella graced her sights. She never thought that seeing grey would bring her a tremendous amount of joy. The warm brandy eyes of the youngest Ootori was staring at her with concern that somewhat took her aback. Her tears were burning behind her eye sockets, Akari refusing to show them to Kyouya. But with all the emotions she was keeping to herself, the walls crumbled, and tears were once again slowly caressing her cheeks.

It felt like an eternity, each other drowned in the others' gazes. People were starting to suspect, started to stare at them, but neither of them cared in the least. It was like they were the only two people there. Impulsively, Kyouya touched Akari's cheek, gently wiping a tear that was giving in to gravity's pull.

She was the first to break the silence.

"Why are you…?" She started, but then stopped. She was chocking on her words, tears were preventing them from coming out. She willed it to come, but no sound came.

It didn't need to.

The scent of bergamot, citrus, and jasmine assaulted her senses. She didn't know why, but it relaxed her a little bit. She collided with his chest. The warmth of his embrace made Akari feel protected somehow, like he knew exactly what she needed. No feeling of embarrassment was present in her. She openly took the gesture, even though there was no intention, no warning of the said action.

Again, he repeated.

"It's going to be alright."

A/N: Tissue anyone? I hope you enjoyed!

By the way, here.

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