Lunchtime Sunday there was a knock on the front door of the Watanabe mansion. A middle-aged butler opened the door to greet the young man standing there, a sleek limousine parked a little further down the driveway behind the fountain.
"May I help you, Young Sir?"
The boy adjusted his glasses. "May I speak to Merry-san, please? I'm a friend of hers from school."
The butler raised a brow and gave him an assessing glance. He opened the door a little wider and ushered the boy inside, guiding him to a side parlour used for greeting and entertaining guests. "Of course. I shall go retrieve Young Miss. May I ask who is calling on her?"
"Kyoya Ootori."
Merry was slightly surprised when Hideo, the butler, told her she had a guest. She was also surprised to find it was Kyoya, and he was alone. She thought the entire Club might try something like this, not just Kyoya by himself. She sighed and made her way to the front parlour, bare feet padding along the pristine floor. Sunday's were her lazy days. It was the day when Ran would travel to Kyoto to take care of some business with her father, not returning until late at night.
That didn't mean Merry was exactly free to do as she wished, though. Ran had instructed the house staff to keep their eyes and ears on Merry at all times. It was almost suffocating.
She supposed she should be thankful the staff liked her more than they did Ran.
She leant against the doorframe, watching as Kyoya studied the interior of her home with keen eyes. "This is a surprise," she stated truthfully.
Kyoya's gaze snapped to hers, his eyes showing slight surprise to see that she was in lounging clothes. She looked much more relaxed in grey cotton pants and loose white shirt than in her school uniform. Her black hair was still in a tight bun.
"Sunday's are the only days I get to myself," she provided, walking inside the parlour. He was more than aware she didn't have to elaborate, that she only said something to give him a small insight into her life. Her sentence had been previously calculated.
The butler appeared at the door just as Merry sat on the couch opposite Kyoya. "Would you like any refreshments or snacks, Young Miss?"
"Tea and some sandwiches would be fine, thank you Hideo-san. Is that good enough for our guest?" Merry asked mock-politely.
"Tea and sandwiches would be lovely," Kyoya responded in a tone that mocked hers.
"I shall return promptly, Ma'am."
Hideo scuttled away and Merry settled further into the cushions, crossing one leg over the other and waiting for Kyoya to speak. When he didn't, she broke the silence instead.
"It's rude to show up to someone's house unannounced."
"You don't seem all that surprised that I even knew where you lived," he pointed out.
She shrugged casually. "I'm assuming you know more than you let on. The first time we even met you gave my full name despite never having met me and a brief glimpse of company history. The second time, although I wasn't even in the room, you enlightened your friends as to who I was. Nothing should really surprise me anymore." She didn't seem at all ashamed to admit her eavesdropping.
"You guessed I would come here?" he asked.
"I actually assumed the whole Club would try something like this, not just you. I wonder what else you keep from them…" she hummed. "There's an old saying that comes to mind; Keep your friends close, and enemies closer, yes?"
"Are we enemies, Merry-san?"
She smirked. "Well, I wouldn't exactly consider us friends."
Hideo entered the room and set down a tray with a tea pot, two cups and a plate full of mixed sandwiches.
"Thank you, Hideo-san."
"You're most welcome, Young Miss."
He left the room, leaving the two teens alone again. "You're interactions with your butler seem to be affable."
"Any reason they shouldn't be?" Merry asked, pouring tea for them both. "Hideo-san has been of much help since my arrival here in Japan."
"From Spain, yes?" Kyoya took a sip of his tea, vaguely noting it was a different spice blend than the Host Club provided.
Merry smiled over her cup. "Yes. I lived there until I was fifteen."
"Japanese isn't your first language yet you speak it well," Kyoya complimented.
She was more than aware of why he was here. Ran had made sure to erase her entire existence from the media's prying eyes until two years prior. Kyoya was curious, and sought her out to try and get an edge on their little game. He knew that she knew what he was doing. He wasn't being exactly subtle about it.
"Thank you. You speak it well, also," she teased.
Kyoya actually cracked a small smile at that. "Being named the sole heir to such a large company like Watanabe International must have come as a shock, especially when you were so young and in a completely different part of the world." There was a hidden insinuation there, but Merry ignored it. He didn't need to know.
"I took it in stride, along with everything else," she hedged. "And you? Your father is the patriarch of Ootori Conglomerate, yes? But you're the third son behind two elder brothers slated to take over the company."
"Yes. My elder brothers are each brilliant in their own right," Kyoya conceded.
Merry noted his eyes shuttered over slightly at that but chose not to press. "What do you like to do outside of school, Kyoya-san?"
He blinked. "Hm?"
"Do you have any hobbies? Any interests outside of school and work? Besides showing up to a virtual stranger's house unannounced, that is."
"I've found that since Haruhi has joined us, I quite enjoy commoner's supermarkets. The idea of giving out free gifts with purchases is fascinating, as well as the concept of 'two for one,' as Haruhi puts it."
"What an interesting pastime," Merry mused. "I'm sure the rest of the Club find it equally as fascinating. They don't exactly scream 'worldly experience.'"
"And you do?" Kyoya quirked a brow, grabbing a plain, cucumber sandwich.
Merry chuckled and didn't answer, preferring to sip her tea.
"I suppose it is only polite to ask you the same question, though I have an inkling to what you enjoy doing during your free time," Kyoya said.
"Music. But you already knew that," Merry smiled.
"It is strange to see you without your case. It's almost glued to your side at school."
"It's safe here at home. No prying twins to try and steal it for a peek."
"Ah. Fair enough."
The soft patter of footsteps drew their gaze to the door just as a child with brown pigtails and a chocolate smeared face ran into the room. "Save me, Mer-aneki!"
Kyoya's brows disappeared into his hairline as the little girl dove into Merry's lap, staining her white shirt with chocolate though the older girl didn't seem to care.
"Did you get into Jun-san's batch of chocolate chip cookies again, Hana-chan?" Merry chided.
The girl looked sheepish. "Maybe," she muttered before perking up. "Hey! You gonna teach me a new song today? Huh? Huh? Huh? You are, right, Mer-aneki?"
"You're not using me as an excuse to escape from Jun," Merry deadpanned.
Hana deflated. "So mean!"
"Hana! You get back here and clean up this mess before Ran-san comes home and flips a lid!" a loud voice echoed in the house.
Hana cringed, looking at Merry with pleading, watery eyes.
Merry remained unaffected. "Don't look at me like that. You didn't even offer me a cookie so you're on your own for this one."
"Hana!"
Hana sighed and slid off Merry's lap before noticing Kyoya was there, observing the interaction. "Who's the weirdo, Mer-aneki?"
"Kyoya. He goes to my school," she replied, not missing a beat.
Hana wrinkled her nose. "You mean that one that's too shiny?"
Merry laughed. "Yes, that one."
"Oh." The four year old marched over to Kyoya, puffing herself up as if to intimidate him. "You better take care of my aneki, Mister, or you'll be answering to me!"
"Which show is that off?" Merry asked, smiling.
Hana blushed. "I-I made it up myself!" Merry covered her smile with a sleeve. "Stop being mean, Mer-aneki!"
Kyoya looked amused. "Well, when such a lovely Princess asks it of me, a humble weirdo, who am I to say no?" he humoured. Hana looked like she'd been struck down with a case of hero worship. "But I don't think your aneki needs much protection."
"Aneki gets lonely, though," Hana nodded. "When she's lonely her music gets sad. It's been really sad lately."
"Run along, Hana-chan. Don't keep Jun-san waiting too long."
"Bye-bye Mer-aneki! Bye-bye Mister!"
With that, Hana sped out the door.
"I wasn't aware you had a younger sister."
Merry smiled after the girl. "I don't. Hana is the niece of our cook, Jun. Hana's mother passed away not too long ago so she lives here with the house staff. I've been teaching her the guitar."
"You play more than one instrument?" Kyoya asked, genuinely interested.
Merry nodded. "Yes. All of them with strings. Violin, cello, guitar, the occasional harp and recently the koto though I'm still learning the latter two. However, violin will always be my preference."
"Interesting. Are you any good?" Kyoya smirked.
Merry matched his smile and reached for a sandwich, ignoring her dirtied shirt. "Isn't that the million dollar question?"
He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he arrived at the address where Merry lived. The driveway was long and shaded by maple and cherry blossom trees, the lawns pristine and green. The mansion itself was more Victorian than expected, but it blended with the landscape well, courtesy of the climbing ivy on the trellised walls.
The interior was grand, the furniture sparse but antique and comfortable. He didn't venture further into the home other than the parlour he was shown. It would be considered rude if he was caught wandering about without an escort.
The parlour was filled with books and a thick coffee table wedged between a pair of plush sofas facing each other, the windows open to let in light and fresh air.
A lot could be said about a person by the state of their home, but as he gazed around, he could garner very little.
For some reason he didn't think this type of home suited the cunning new addition to Ouran Academy.
Then he watched her interactions with others, seeming so natural and easy at home when at school he observed them to be stiff and politely distant at best, and downright insulting with a smile at worst. Merry was multi-faceted, but he still couldn't get a read on her true nature.
Then Hana had dropped the little tidbit of information about Merry's music. He quickly deduced that it's not so much what Merry exposes, but what she hides.
And she seems to be hiding a lot, though it seemed to be revealed through her music.
Interesting.
His mind began to whir.
He left the Watanabe mansion with more questions than answers, but he couldn't deny that the chat had been stimulating and sure to benefit him in the long run.
Merry watched as Hideo closed the door behind Kyoya with a soft snap.
She pushed herself off the wall, arms crossed over her chest. "Thank you, Hideo-san. I appreciate your hard work."
The man bowed at the waist. "Of course, Young Miss. Shall I place the photos back into the parlour?"
"No. I'll hang them in my study. Go and have some lunch with Jun-san. I'm sure she made a delicious batch of cookies." She smiled when the usually composed man flushed a little.
"Yes, Ma'am. May I take your soiled shirt to the laundry?"
She waved him off and turned towards the grand staircase that bisected the interior foyer, climbing the right wing to go to her room. "I'll do it later. Tell Hana-chan I'll be teaching her a new song this afternoon. Her choice."
"Very well, Young Miss."
Ran, in her near-omnipotence, knew Merry had a visitor from school. She also knew it was a boy. It wasn't until Hideo casually dropped Kyoya's last name when serving dinner that the woman became quiet and contemplative before patting Merry on the back of her hand in a rare show of praise.
"My lessons are starting to settle in, hm? About time, Young Miss. Your father will be proud."
Merry said nothing, suddenly losing her appetite though she assured Jun later that her cooking was just as delicious as always.
Thoughts so far? :)
