"E-Emi-senpai?" Haruhi asked as she timidly entered the room, "That was beautiful, I'm sorry I interrupted."
"No, it's fine." Emi replied with a faint blush, "Did you forget something?"
"Yes, one of my textbooks." Haruhi said as she shuffled over to her designated table and grabbed a book on a chair.
"I'll see you Monday!" Emi said, turning back to the final table that needed to be clean. ~How embarrassing,~ She thought, ~That's the second time in two days.~
"Um, Emi-senpai?" Haruhi called from the door. Emi turned back from the cart and looked at her, waiting for her to speak. "Is Kyouya-senpai forcing you to work for him?"
Emi looked down and scratched her head before returning her gaze to the first year, "Well, yes. I guess that is what happened. I would prefer if not everyone knew though." She said, maintaining eye-contact.
Haruhi nodded, "I won't get into your business, but I understand your problem. I have to host because I'm indebted to him."
"Really? What happened?"
"I broke a vase on accident my first day here." Haruhi sighed. "That stupid vase will be the end of me, I'm glad to finally have a girl to water down the testosterone."
Emi laughed and felt truly touched that this girl was comforting her despite not knowing any details of her situation.
"If you hang around a sec I can just drop you off at the market on the way home." Emi offered.
"It's fine, I just needed to grab my book." Haruhi said, opening the door to the hallway.
"If you say so, but it really is no trouble. It will give me some company before I go make my dinner." Emi smiled,
"You make your own food?" Haruhi asked, mouth open in surprise,
"Er, well I try to. I don't like having a chef at the house, I don't want people being there when no one is around, so I usually make it myself. I know how to do a mean grilled cheese."
Haruhi paused and thought for a second. "If you don't mind shopping with me, you can have dinner at my house and I'll show you how to make miso soup, it's really simple."
Emi's eyes widened, "Are you sure?"
"Definitely."
Emi felt a smile grow and couldn't help doing a tiny jump of excitement, ~Today has been amazing.~
o0o
~Last night was perfect.~ She thought, ~Too perfect, I can't allow myself to slip up like that again.~ Emi lay in her bed, watching the sun trickle in through her window with heavy thoughts circling in her head.~Who knew friendship would come so easily, to me of all people.~
The previous night, Emi and Haruhi had stopped by a local market and got all of the necessary ingredients for their meal. Haruhi had laughed at her reaction to the 'vast and beautiful' bakery and Emi had laughed at her awed reaction to Olivier. Emi assumed that driving oneself was an incredibly rare thing. After returning to Haruhi's quaint home, they immediately began making dinner. Haruhi's father, Ranka-san, had returned from work right as the miso soup had finished and was delighted to find Haruhi hanging out with another girl. Dinner was pleasant and the trio had a fun time. Emi was relieved to learn that neither of them pressured her when she stated she didn't want to share her family matters. After eating and cleaning up Emi tried to slip out but could not escape until she had promised that she would eat dinner with the Fujioka's at least once a week. As she left she heard Ranka-san mumble something about not wanting to leave another young girl without a parental influence and the caring tone in his voice hit her hard. The drive home left her too much time to think and by the time she returned home she was an emotional wreck. Life was unfair and she hated it. That night she cried in a rare fit of raw emotion that led to a deep slumber.
~I can't let myself get connected to people. I must be strong and independent, just like always.~
o0o
The weekend slipped by quickly and before Emi knew it, it was time for her first class to start. She started her trek into the bright pink building housing her classroom when a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, right where a thick bruise was forming.
With a squeak and a slight jump she had grabbed the offender's hand and spun them around, placing them in an uncomfortable position while she held leverage over them in a defensive stance.
"Emi it's just me! Ple-OW that hurts!- let me go!" Tamaki spluttered as he quivered in her death grip.
Emi released his arm and stepped back, slightly embarrassed with her reaction. "I'm sorry Tamaki, it was pure instinct."
"Pure instinct? Do you partake in some form of martial art?" Kyouya said from behind Tamaki.
~Of course he had to be here to see that.~ "I took self defense courses in middle school, I'm not sure if that would be considered martial arts though." She replied brightly,
"Well," Tamaki started as he rubbed his aching arm, "I wanted to ask you if you would like to eat with the hosts today! Many would perceive such an invitation as a true honor and I hope you will consider it wholeheartedly!" He said in his most profound host voice.
"No thank-you." Emi replied curtly, before turning and walking to her class,
"B-but, Emiiii." Tamaki whined while running to catch up to her, "Whyyyy,"
"I use lunch time to study." She said before glancing down at him and seeing his perfected puppy face. She stopped her travel and sighed, closing her eyes. After a second of collecting her thoughts she peeked a glance at him. She wanted to say yes. In reality she wanted to more than that. She wanted jump up in the air and hug this idiotic boy and thank him for opening his arms to her as well as the rest of the hosts. They had given her friendship despite hardly knowing her and it touched her heart. "I am sorry Tamaki but I will not be able to join you today, my studies come first." And before she could allow herself time to change her mind, she turned and continued on to her first class, each step a struggle. ~I am protecting them. This can't be helped.~
o0o
Kyouya and Tamaki watched Emi walk down the hall in silence.
"Why do you think she would lie like that?" Tamaki said in a moment of matureness,
Kyouya looked over at him in mild surprise, "Why do you think she lied?"
Tamaki glanced back at Kyouya with a knowing look, "You can see it in her eyes. They yearned to come with us but something was holding her back. What is holding her back, Kyouya?"
Taken aback by his friend addressing him by his real name, it took Kyouya a minute to respond. "I don't know Tamaki, I just don't know."
By the end of the day Tamaki had forgotten the incident in the hallway but Kyouya had not. He looked forward to Host Club that afternoon in hopes of prying more information out of Emi. He knew she was more of the outsider type but openly denying someone went against her overall lovable nature. ~Did I really just describe her as lovable? I have definitely cracked.~ He thought as he wrote down another scrap of information from his teacher. The end of the day could not come fast enough and when the final bell rang Kyouya sighed in relief. He stood and gathered his things and turned to find Emi waiting for him. She gave him a small smile before following him into the hallway with Tamaki trailing behind surrounded by a mass of fangirls.
"We will be continuing our racecar project and I will be teaching you my methods of handling the finances of the club."
She nodded in understanding but did not speak a word. Kyouya noted her slight change in behavior and tucked it away in his mind.
Club started as normal with the hosts welcoming guests in a gust of rose petals and the swooning of fangirls. Kyouya returned to his corner after the introduction where Emi sat poring over the finances of the club.
"Are you understanding everything?" He said after a few minutes of painful silence.
She nodded but, again, did not speak a word. ~Well, better for me. Her chatter got on my nerves anyways.~ He thought stubbornly.
Mid-way through the club Kyouya saw Haruhi running between the tables at what he would describe as a slow-motion sprint.
He turned to Emi, "Would you go and-." Emi was gone. He straightened up in his chair and looked around his desk before scanning the room for the blonde. He spotted her exiting the backroom with a trolley full of refreshments, moving in earnest towards Haruhi. Without consent a small smile formed on his face as the two girls chatted. ~So she hasn't gone mute after all.~
After a few rounds of catering Emi wound her way back to Kyouya's table and resumed work on the host project. She was halfway through the design of costumes and there was hope that she would finish Hani-senpai's' before the end of club hours.
The remainder of club was spent with Kyouya attempting to work and watching Emi work instead or watching Emi run between tables refilling teacups and offering cookies and cake. As time wore on he noticed that Emi's odd behavior had spread to the others hosts as well. She would talk politely with them but move on quickly, never sparing more than a sentence or two. When the top of the hour hit and the guests left he strolled out of the music room with all the other hosts.
"I will finish up cleaning, don't worry. See you tomorrow!" Emi said to Haruhi and she ushered her out of the music room, "And don't forget your textbook this time." She added with a wink before closing the door.
"What does she mean by that?" The twins asked in unison,
"I left my book in here the other day while Emi-senpai was cleaning. It turned out alright, we ate dinner after." Haruhi said nonchalantly as she moved down the hallway,
"What?!" Was the immediate reaction from Kaoru, Hikaru, and Tamaki before rushing to Haruhi for details about why they weren't invited to Haruhi's meal.
Amidst the rambunctious teens, Haruhi turned and looked at Kyouya with solemn eyes, "Is Emi okay? Something was off about her today." She said,
Kyouya looked back at her and wished for the thousandth time he had an answer about the girl, "I don't know, she won't tell me."
"Don't you know everything about everyone?" One of the twins said,
"Yah, you keep files on the entire school, you must have some idea." The other added,
Kyouya shook his head, "She is the only one I don't have a file for."
The hosts looked at him in astonishment. Never had they thought that Kyouya could be bested at his own game and the girl in the room across from them, cleaning, had done just that.
"Emi-chan probably has a really good reason for not saying anything, I bet." Hani said softly,
"Hn." Mori agreed,
"Whatever it is, we need to just give her time and hope she opens back up to us!" Tamaki said enthusiastically,
"She was fine last week." The twins mumbled together.
"Something could have happened over the weekend." Haruhi offered,
"It doesn't matter," Tamaki said determinedly, "We will have to show her that we can be trusted and allow her to open up to us and share her secrets!"
The twins fist pumped and the hosts left the Ouran building in confidence. This was just another case of a lonely girl needing support. How hard could it be?