AN: Soooo...its Tuesday, not Monday. Sorry about that. I really tried to get it out yesterday, but I had more that I wanted to add. Well it's here now! Hope you lovely readers enjoy it!
This is the longest chapter I ever wrote! *falls over exhausted* Well I hope you guys enjoy it! I'm actually thinking of making the next chapter from Kyoya's POV. What do you guys think about that? Good? Bad? Any thoughts at all?
I want to say thanks for the reviews! It really brightens my day to log on and see that people reviewed my story. It helps with motivation too! ^.^ I'm really glad that you guys are liking the story. :)
So, I want to take the chance to respond to some reviews...
XLil MEkoX- I'm going to have the story play out just before things get serious in the manga. (I think thats in book 10 or 11, after the sports festival.) I want to introduce Rosalia and her past a bit, before having to deal with the other characters and their problems. I'm glad your liking the story so far. :) Don't worry Kyoya will have more parts very soon!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. That belongs to Bisco Hatori. I only own the Rosalia. (I keep forgetting my disclaimer! .)
Rosalia wrinkled her nose in disgust, tugging at the yellow fabric of her dress. She spun around in front of her mirror, glaring at her reflection. Yellow really wasn't her color. But if she didn't wear the uniform she would stick out, and that was the last thing she wanted.
The half-breed walked out of her room, stopping at the foot of her stairs. For the most part she had the new mansion to herself; she didn't have anyone breathing down her neck forcing her to follow strict rules. The only people here to keep her company were the servants and body guards, who wouldn't even dare to raise their voices at her if they expected to stay in the good graces of her father. Although, she was rather disappointed to find out that her father had actually hired body guards; she was hoping it was just a bluff. It was strange that her parents had suddenly gotten so overprotective. Seriously, she would be completely fine with just the normal servants. There was no need to go to the extreme and hire men in black suits.
Having those guards watching over her every move was going to complicate her plans. She wanted to explore the city, every inch of it, everything her new world had to offer. She wanted to see shrines, visit Harajuku Takeshita-dori, and every other tourist attraction that she had read about.
Rosalia wanted to do all these things freely, without having someone breathing down her neck the entire time. She wanted to just imagine, even for a short while that she was not a caged bird. This was not going to be easy to do with her body guards on her trail.
Sneaking around to explore her new surroundings was going to be a lot harder with those guys always watching her every step. To make matters worse, her body guards were part of the private Ootori police force. Even in the walls of her own home she was forced to deal with the Ootori family.
She shook her head to force the thoughts out of her mind. She would find a way to sneak out of this dungeon and explore the world outside. After all, those guard's had no idea who they were dealing with.
Rosalia placed her hand on the banister, as a sly smirk etched its way onto her features. No doubt her body guards would report back to Mr. Ootori, if they found anything of interest. Instead of taking the stairs like a normal, sane person, Rosalia hoisted herself up on the banister like a misticivous child. She had always wanted to slide down the one at her home in Italy, but with the head maid watching her every move she never could. However, that lady had stayed behind to help prepare for the move. Leaving Rosalia in charge of the new staff, they wouldn't dare try and tell their boss how to behave. With a childish giggle she slid down the banister, jumping off as she reached the end of the rail.
Her eyes widened as she stumbled, trying desperately to regain her balance. With a few more unstable steps Rosalia collided with the wall, knocking down several picture frames.
This had worked out a lot better in her head. She quickly stood up, smoothing out her dress in embarrassment, even though there was no one there to see her.
Hearing the loud crash one of the body guards had come running into the hall.
"It was nothing. Find a maid to clean this up. And fetch a driver for me, I want to get to school early, I don't want breakfast." Rosalia ordered, not making contact with the man.
Rosalia leaned back in the bench, her head hanging over the edge so she had an upside down view of the world. She was supposed to meet Kyoya at the front of the school for a tour, but decided to take a rain check. She really didn't want to spend unnecessary time with the guy anyways. Besides, she could claim she wandered off and got lost. It's not like he would be able to blame her. Not really.
If she needed a tour she could always find a classmate to do it, they would most likely jump at the chance to be in the good grace of the Altimari family. She didn't need to rely on Kyoya.
Rosalia sighed; she didn't want these people to like her just because of her family name.
"What's a beautiful princess like you looking so down for?"
Rosalia's head shot up, her eyes widening in surprise. She hadn't heard anyone approach. Her green eyes locked with familiar purple ones. A smile spread itself across her lips.
"I just got a bit lost, but now that your here surely you could help me?" Rosalia tilted her head smiling at the blonde. This guy is supposed to be good friends with Kyoya.
"I would be honored to help a beautiful princess," The blond held out a rose, "Allow me to be your knight and show you around the grounds."
Rosalia giggled; taking the rose she gave it a small sniff, before she extended her hand. "It would be my pleasure to have you as a guide."
"No my dear! It is my pleasure to be of use to you." Tamaki grabbed her hand, placing a kiss on it.
If only Ootori could see this. Rosalia thought as she slid out of her seat to follow the blonde around the grounds.
Kyoya stood just outside the door to the main entrance, his dark eyes scanning the grounds before checking the time on his watch. He had been standing at the front of the school for several minutes, waiting for his fiancé to show up. He sighed. Honestly, he wished she would hurry up; he had other business to attend to.
Things weren't going quite the way he had hoped with her; the meeting last night had been a disaster. He had to make this engagement work; his father was counting on this merger.
He leaned against the wall and pulled out his black notebook, flipping through the pages. As he was concentrating on the neatly written words a pair of fimiliar voices reached his ear. The dark haired teen glanced up from the notebook, spotting the owners of the voices.
His friend Tamaki was walking across the campus, leading a familiar dark-haired girl. The two were laughing, although Kyoya couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Kyoya slowly put the book away, watching as Tamaki made grand gestures pointing out the various different buildings.
He stood in the shadow of the building watching the two interact. Rosalia had looked so happy, her mouth turned up in an excited grin as he said something to inaudible to the blonde.
Kyoya couldn't help the annoyance that he felt at the sight of the two. He was perfectly aware that there was no harm in Tamaki showing the girl around, Rosalia had to know her way around the school. He was just irked he wasn't the one to do it. After all Rosalia was his fiancé…
The teen made his way over to Tamaki and his fiancé.
"Hello Tamaki. Hello Miss Altimari."
"Kyoya!" The blonde greeted, before the grin on his face slowly turned to confusion, "You know Rosalia?"
Kyoya glanced at Tamaki at the mention of the girl's name. He pressed his index finger to the middle of his glasses, pushing them up. "Sort of…"
Tamaki tilted his head to the side still clearly confused.
"I have other business to attend to, I'll entrust you to give Miss. Altimari the tour of the school."
"You can count on me Kyoya!" The blond pointed at himself energetically.
Rosalia watched as Ootori walked away, a slight pout on her lips.
Ootori didn't even get jealous that Tamaki was the one who was showing her around. At the very least he could show a bit of feeling, it wouldn't kill him to melt his cold exterior.
The two of them really wouldn't make a good couple.
"So, how do you know Kyoya?"
Rosalia looked into the curious violet eyes of the blonde. "It's a secret." She smiled, her index finger placed over her lips. She spun on her heel and skipped ahead of the blonde, "Back to the tour? Classes will be starting soon." She glanced over her shoulder to make sure the blonde was following her.
Tamaki looked as if he wanted to ask more on the matter, but kept his mouth closed. Instead, he focused on showing the new girl around the grounds. He could always ask Kyoya later.
Rosalia knocked on the door of classroom 1A, before sliding it open. Slowly, she made her way to the front of the classroom. She did her best to keep her gaze fixed on the teacher's desk. She was so nervous that her stomach felt like it was doing flip-flops. The last thing she needed was to see all those curious eyes staring at her, watching her every move. Or see their lips moving, whispering words to each other that she wouldn't be able to hear. Surely, they were gossiping about the new transfer student.
She swallowed nervously. Thinking was making her even more nervous. Rosalia wiped her sweaty palms against her dress.
"Ah. Miss Altimari, I heard you would be joining us." The teacher addressed the new comer.
Rosalia smiled nervously, "Uh…Yeah…" She mumbled.
The teacher stood up from her desk and smiled at the new student before turning to the chalkboard and writing Rosalia's name across the board.
"Class, this is Rosalia Altimari. Miss Altimari transferred from a school in Italy. I expect you all to help her settle into her new surroundings."
Rosalia gave a small wave to the class, trying to grin, but her lips kept twitching nervously.
"You can take a seat in the back row, behind the twins," the teacher's voice took on an apologetic tone towards the end.
Rosalia nodded her head, making her way quietly to the desk. She glanced at the faces grinning up at her as she passed between rows, returning their smiles with a nervous one of her own. At least she was in the back of the class. Nobody would be able to stare at her.
She pulled her notebook out of her backpack, before placing the black school bag on the hook of the desk.
Rosalia couldn't really pay attention in class. Although, she knew Japanese it felt as if the lesson was going way too fast for her to keep up. She had started out taking notes diligently, of course everything she was writing was in Italian it was just easier that way. As class drowned on she found it hard to focus on the words flying out of her teacher's mouth, yet alone the words scribbled across the board. Eventually, she was forced to just cast aside her pen and paper.
Rosalia stood up, stretching her arms above her head. She was ready for break time, she desperately needed it. Her mind was yearning for a break from all this studying. It was a lot easier speaking Japanese, than it was to read the language. Rosalia sighed. She only ever practiced speaking Japanese. And now she was regretting that she slaked off on reading the language.
"Rosalia!" Two voices called out simultaneously.
The girl's head jolted to the source of the sound. She knew who they were even before she saw their faces. After all, she met them earlier when she snuck into the school.
Her green eyes locked with two pairs of gold eyes. Rosalia smiled, ever so slightly, "Hello…Um..." She trailed off. The girl knew who they were, without them having to introduce themselves. They were members of the Ouran Host Club, always hanging around Ootori and Tamaki. Their mother Yuzuha Hitachin is a fashion designer who owned her own company. Rosalia had seen her clothing line before; it was quite popular in Italy. Their father worked on computer software. She had dug up whatever information that she could, after her pervious visit to the Host Club. Her blue book contained information on each of the club's members. She had to know whatever she could about them, for they were part of Ootori's circle. All the best generals find out information before going to war.
But technically she wasn't supposed to know them…after all, she had only just now transferred into the school.
"I'm Hikaru," said the one with his hair parted to the right.
"And I'm Kaoru," said the one with his hair parted to the left.
Both boys wore identical devilish smiles.
"Hello Hikaru, hello Kaoru," Rosalia addressed the twins, once again, after officially learning their names.
"Hikaru, Kaoru, Stop trying to confuse her."
Rosalia turned her head slightly so that she could see the new comer, Haruhi Fujioka. A girl forced to attend school as a boy by the Host Club. She was at the top of her class, a commoner who received a scholarship to the prestigious school. A commoner, who wasn't bound to the same world as Rosalia was, someone who was free to do as she pleased.
"Don't listen to them, their trying to confuse you. That one is Hikaru and this one is Kaoru," The teen said pointing at the opposite twins. "They always try to confuse people."
"You're no fun Haruhi!" The twins complained, as they each began to tug at opposite arms.
Haruhi rolled her eyes, at the antics of the twins. She was hardly fazed by it, after being subjected to their teasing for so long.
Rosalia smiled, "I do hope I can learn to tell you two apart."
"Yeah, whatever," One of the twins (She thought it was Hikaru) said.
"Don't be rude," Haruhi muttered, before turning her attention back to Rosalia. "I'm Haruhi Fujioka. If you need any help in class, I'll be more than glad to help. It'll give me a break from these two," Haruhi said gesturing to the twins.
"You don't have to worry; Haruhi is the smartest kid in our class."
"Yeah, Haruhi is the honor student. He's poor though, he was offered a scholarship to attend this school."
Haruhi shook her head, giving an annoyed look to one of the twins. Though, Rosalia wasn't quite sure which one it was.
"I'm going to eat my lunch. It was nice meeting you Miss Altimari."
Rosalia smiled, "You can just call me Rosie."
Haruhi smiled, "See you later, Rosie."
Before Haruhi even had the chance to walk off the twins grabbed either of her arms. "Eat lunch with us in the cafeteria!" They said in unison.
"No. Last time I ate with you, you two started a food fight. It was impossible for me to eat my lunch in peace. I'm staying in the classroom." Haruhi pulled her arms away from the two pouting boys and made her way back to her desk.
The two twins followed her for a moment, begging her to join them for lunch. But, their pleas fell on deaf ears.
Rosalia tilted her head slightly, watching the scene, before pulling out her little blue note book and flipping through it. From what she had gathered she knew the twins were mischtivious. She was made aware they could sometimes get out of hand…but surely they wouldn't start a food fight in a school like this. Rosalia pulled out a pink pen, making note of the apparent food fight the twins had caused, before turning to leave the classroom.
By the end of the day Rosalia was more than exhausted. She was ready to go home and take a long nap. Transitioning into a new school was taking more effort than Rosalia had originally thought it would. If she wanted to keep her grades up she would have to actually study. She would brush up on reading in Japanese.
At least she could get Haruhi to help her out. It would be better than having to ask Ootori. She didn't even want to think of having to go to him for help.
"Think of the Devil…" Rosalia muttered to herself, upon spoting Ootori leaning against a wall. He hadn't spotted her yet, he was distracted by the black notebook in his hands. It would be very possible for Rosalia just to run away, to sneak down the hall and avoid the unpleasant interaction. She sighed. As tempting as the thought was, it's not like she could run away from Ootori forever. That would be near to impposible. She would have a better chance at sprouting wings or discovering she had magical powers.
Rosalia made her way to her fiancé, coughing to get his attention.
The shadow king immediately looked up, his expressionless eyes locking with the lively green eyes of Rosalia.
"Miss Altimari, can I talk to you for a moment."
"I suppose," Rosalia said crossing her arms, "make it quick though. I have other business to attend to." She raised an eyebrow, mimicking Ootori's words from earlier.
Rosalia thought she saw an annoyed glint in his eyes, but it could have been her imagination.
"You know we're stuck with each other, whether we like it or not. Our parents are invested in the merger of their two companies."
Rosalia huffed, and glared at the wall behind Ootori, "I don't have to be complient with it…"
"What are you going to do? Run away?" He raised an eyebrow.
Rosalia glared at him. She couldn't run away. "No. But, I can make your life hell."
Kyoya sighed, taking off his glasses to message his temples with his fingers. "I didn't find you just so we could fight. We're not supposed to fight…Things aren't supposed to be like this…" He muttered the last part more to himself.
Rosalia raised an eyebrow, "Then how is it supposed to be?"
Kyoya didn't responded; his gaze was focused just over Rosalia's head, lost in thought.
"Ootori?"
His gaze returned to Rosalia, "How was your first day?"
Rosalia rolled her eyes, "I don't want to exchange pleasantries."
"Fine. We're having dinner this Friday. I'll pick you up, be ready by 6."
"And if I don't want to have dinner with you?"
"It's not negotiable."
Rosalia glared at him. She refused to be ordered around. Ootori couldn't order her around.
A silence lingered between the couple, as they stood there: Rosalia glaring at Ootori, and the later not giving any hint to his thoughts away. Rosalia would not be the one to leave. If she turned and left now she would be admitting defeat. The two would have been standing there forever, neither one willing to budge, if it hadn't been for the interruption of the blonde prince of the school.
Kyoya was the first one to notice him; his cold gaze glanced away from Rosalia to acknowledge the newcomer.
"Am I interrupting something?" Tamaki said awkwardly, glancing between the two.
"Nothing at all," Kyoya answered.
Tamaki forced a smile to his face, but curiosity shun in his violet eyes.
"You're going to be late to club…" The blond trailed off, "But, since your never late…I guess this one time would be okay?"
Kyoya waved a dismissive hand at his friend. "I'm coming. We we're finished here."
"Okay…" Tamaki was clearly uncomfortable by the atmosphere. He couldn't quite grasp what was going on…Kyoya hadn't told him anything about the transfer student, but clearly there was something going on between the two. Tamaki was just slightly bothered by the fact that Kyoya hadn't confided in him, they were supposed to be best friends. And best friends share everything with each other.
A genuine smile graced Tamaki's lips, "Rosalia! How about you come to the Host Club, too! It'll be fun! All the girls have fun!" He grabbed the girl's arm gently.
"Let's go!"
Rosalia smiled awkwardly. She didn't really want to go…she wanted to go home. She wanted to have a warm bath, and take a nap.
"Um…I'm actually busy…I think I'll pass for now." She maneuvered her way around the blonde. "Thanks though…bye!" Rosalia ducked down the hall, all but running to the door. At least Tamaki had provided her with a way to leave.
Her limo was waiting for her out front, a body guard standing off to the side awaiting her arrival. Rosalia rolled her eyes. She was going to have to find a way to put some space between her and them. Honestly her parents were far too over protective. It's not like anything would really happen. They just worried too much.
