Kyouya's point of view.
I sat silently as the beautiful girl walked, no, glided, down the stairs of the host club. She looked spectacular in a dark blue ball gown. Chocolate brown hair hung in a bun on the top of her head. The face of an angel… Or not… I saw a twinkle in Yuki's eye when she saw me and the rest of the club gawking at her in amazement.
"See brother," Kaoru said as the Twin's circled around Yuki like a pair of vultures, "I knew that this would work. Yuki looks astounding in this shade. It accents the blue in her almost black eyes." Hikaru giggled. "Yeah, and at least we put the bun somewhere else on her head besides the signature 'below the neck' style." They exchanged hi-fives and got a sound whack in the back of the head. "You forgot to mention my other signature: delivering pain to the Twins." She hissed.
I chuckled slightly when I realized that this marvelous woman standing in front of me was still Yuki. No different then she was 10 minutes ago. She still looks… surreal. Something else was different about her though, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
Tamaki was on one knee in front of her with a pristine white rose. "Dearest Yuki, you shall be the most dazzling woman at the ball tonight." "Cram it, lover boy," she said harshly, though she took the rose with the utmost care in her hands. Those hands could be as soft as a feather, or hit you like a brick. Turning to Haruhi, who was also in a dress, she passed it to her and announced "I think that Haruhi should be getting the rose, not me. If it wouldn't embarrass you people or my family, I would have come in jeans and a t-shirt. Our Haruhi is the girl who did this of her own free will."
Haruhi blushed and put the rose in a vase looking in my direction and mumbling something along the lines of 'not necessarily.' To be honest, I didn't really care that she had to do this to pay off a debt. It was her fault that she broke that vase, not mine.
My mind wandered to the guests waiting in the hall with all of the other guests. Since we didn't need to introduce the guests to our facilities, they began streaming into the secondary hall. In one hour, everyone would be changing outfits and putting on masks. The masquerade ball was Yuki's idea. Let everyone enjoy themselves without knowing who everyone else was. The said girl walked beside me as we passed into the hall.
Tamaki headed straight for a giggling group of girls that gawked at him, and the Twins did the same. Hunny and Mori made a bee line to the snack table. Yuki continued to follow me without a word as I made my way around, taking everything in. The decorations we had picked out worked perfectly together.
As we passed by a pillar in the hall, a grip like a vice grabbed my arm and pulled me into the shadows. It was Yuki, with a strange look on her face. "What is it? What is wrong?" I asked, worried all of a sudden because of her expression. Then a huge toothy smile spread across her face as she pulled something from out of her shoe.
"Here, this is for you." The slip of paper she handed to me was folded up, and I opened it. There, plain as day, was a check for 1.5 million yen made out by Yuki to me. "Now I can see the look on your dad's face when he finds out that you, his 3rd son, bought his company from right under his nose." Yuki's face was triumphant, but the normal gleam in her dark eyes was gone. "How did you come across this?" I asked, my stomach full of butterflies. Her smile cracked slightly. "It doesn't matter. Now go and finish up that deal. I'll cover for you." She replied as she pushed me out from behind the pillar.
The moment I walked away, I saw the smile shatter and slip away from her heavenly face. Yuki went to grab her neck for a moment, but pulled back, and a look of complete sadness crossed her features. But before I could turn back, I was pushed into the crowd, and she disappeared from sight.
Hurriedly, I made my way to a side door and went to my computer. Punching in what needed to be, the money was transferred into my account. Then I emailed my lawyer and told him to seal the deal.
By the time I was finished, it was time to get changed for the masquerade ball. I did that as fast as I could, and made my way into the hall. Everyone around me had masks on, of all different shapes and sizes. Mine was a black, silver and white half mask, just covering up my eyes and nose. The "black tie event" suit matched it.
Since father didn't want to come after the 'disgraceful wench' made fun of him yesterday, the only person from my family who came today was my sister, Rose. I knew that she would be waiting for me by one of the couches, in a green half mask. Making my way in that direction, I saw her looking for someone frantically. When she caught sight of me, she pulled me onto a lonely couch in the corner of the room.
Then I saw it in her hand: a locket. The white gold locket was simple but unique, with swirls carved into the soft metal. "That…that's…" I muttered. "This is a present from my boyfriend to me, and he just gave it to me tonight before I came. When I opened it, a picture of your little friend Yuki popped out. Is this hers?" She asked. I nodded, dumbfounded.
That was what was missing. She didn't have the locket. Yuki must have sold it to give me the 1.5 million yen. That idiot! She should have never given it up!
"So it does belong to the girl that you talk so frequently about. You need to go and give it back." Rose demanded. "And you need to tell her." "Tell her what?" I asked. "That you are in love with her, brother." I couldn't say anything for a moment. "Was it that obvious?" I mumbled.
"Brother, I knew you liked her the moment you said she had come to your school. Just the way you said her name, with such affection, told me that you liked her. And then, when you came back home from your holiday, you said it with such protectiveness that it scared me. That was when I knew you loved her. To top that off, every time you come home from school, there is a smile on your face and a laugh just waiting to get out. The only other person who could do that was Tamaki. Putting it frankly, I thought you were going to be gay." She said matter-of-factly.
Taking my hand, Rose put the locket in my palm and wrapped my fingers around it. "Now, go and get that girl, and tell her how you feel." I shook my head and muttered "What… what if she doesn't feel the same? She is so special and beautiful, she could have anyone. Maybe she is in love with someone else. Like Tamaki. He is so romantic, every girl he meets falls in love with him. Or maybe it is someone else at the host club. Everyone who has seen her driver, Stephan, knows that he has a crush on her…"
My sister hugged me around the neck and said "No, dear brother. She is in love with you, though I have never met her. From what you have told me, this locket is her most cherished possession. You said that she acts like it is her sister's heart. And she was willing to sell it for you, so you might get what you need to buy out father's company." I gasped, but she waved me off, "I think that I am smart enough to recognize that the mysterious 'K.O.' is my brother. But she did that for you, Kyouya Ootari. Don't you ever take that for granted. Now go, before I change my mind and take the locket back."
I stood up and whizzed off to find her. While circling around the ballroom, I realized that I didn't know what kind of costume she would be wearing. I decided to seek out the twins. Passing Tamaki dancing with a girl in orange, I spotted them. "You guys, where is Yuki?" I asked frantically. They exchanged knowing looks and one of them said "She has been moping around the balconies ever since we made her change into her costume." The other one said "Yeah, and tell her she looks good: she needs to hear it from someone who doesn't say it all the time, like us."
I swept off to the balconies, and almost passed the dark lit one away from the crowd. There, leaning on the edge in the moonlight, was Yuki. She looked elegant in a pastel sleeveless lavender gown. It sparkled with gold dust as she shifted from foot to foot, gazing out into the gardens. The lavender and gold half mask she wore over her eyes was perfect to match her attire. Her rich, chocolate brown hair fell in waves down her shoulders, and little wisps of it framed her face. I heard her sigh, and turn towards me. Then she gasped.
(Yuki's point of view)
I looked out into the starry sky, and remembered the look of pure joy on Kyouya's face as he twirled me through the air. And then when I gave him the check, the look of shock made me want to laugh hysterically. Was it worth it ? Yeah. You might want to get back to the ball before the boys get themselves into trouble. Probably… and I gasped as I saw a shadowy figure blocking the threshold.
Standing in the door way was a handsome man clad in black and silver. His matching half mask was held to his head with a silver ribbon, which made his coal black eyes shine in the darkness. Looking completely astounded, he stepped forward onto the balcony with me. I stood there frozen, until he whispered my name softly in a familiar velvety voice. "Kyouya?" I asked, surprised that I loved the way he uttered my name. He nodded, and leaned onto the balcony rails like I had been doing only a moment before. I followed suit, and looked up at the stars and the moon. "Isn't it beautiful out here tonight?" I asked him. He nodded and mumbled something. "What?" I asked, not hearing what he had just said. "I said that you look beautiful out here tonight." Completely caught off guard, I blushed up a storm. He has never said that to me before. Ever. He continued to look out into the gardens.
"Thanks, Kyouya. It means a lot to hear you say that. You look very nice tonight as well." I could have sworn that he blushed too. Then I heard him ask "Why would you do that for me, Yuki?" "Do what?" He turned to look at me, and drew himself to his full height. "Why would you sell the locket for me?" I gasped, mind racing. "I wanted to make you happy. And it is obvious that you having the company would make you happy." I went to grab for the missing locket, but pulled my hand down quickly. "Is my happiness that important to you, Yuki?" Nodding, I twirled a finger through my hair.
I felt his breath behind my ear, but I didn't freeze up. "Yuki, I have something for you. I want you to be happy too. Pull your hair up." He commanded. I did as I was told for once and felt his slender fingers wrap around my neck. There was a familiar clinking sound, and a weight fell onto my neck.
Impulsively, I reached for it, and there it was. My locket. I held it in my shaking hands, and turned to Kyouya. "How?" I asked, about to burst with delight. "My sister got it as a gift from her boyfriend, and saw the picture of you and your family still inside. I… have told her about you, so she thought that that was what you would look like."
I reached out and touched his bruised cheek, but as I went to pull back, he put his hand over mine. "Yuki, your happiness means the world to me." Kyouya said, and I felt a tingle go up my spine. He let go of my hand. Gently, Kyouya removed the mask from my face. I in turn removed his mask, and put it on the balcony. In the moonlight, his features glowed with a soft white light. "I have to tell you something." Kyouya said.
With both hands, he cupped my face and tilted it up so I was looking straight into his eyes. There was such emotion in those eyes, I began to tremble. "Yuki, I think…I think I am in love with you." He said, and his lips came in contact with mine. I froze in shock and closed my eyes, barely even realizing what was happening. Love?
He removed his hands from my face, and a look of heartrending misery spread across his heavenly face. "I'm sorry. It seems like you don't feel the same way…" Kyouya moved away from me, and grabbed his mask from the balcony. As he turned to leave, I grabbed his arm and turned him towards me. "Don't go, Kyouya." But he wouldn't look at me. "Kyo-kun, look at me. Please…" He looked surprised to hear my mind's nickname for him, and looked at me again.
Not realizing what I was doing, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him towards me, and kissed him. I closed my eyes, and savored his sweet orange taste. Kyouya wrapped an arm around my waist, and cradled my head with the other. My knees buckled underneath me, and he pulled me in closer, deepening the kiss. His lips were soft and warm, molding against my own as if they were made to be together. I felt fingers combing through my long hair. Wow… I can't believe I'm thinking this, but I'm glad that the twins convinced me to wear my hair down.
Finally, our lips parted and I looked up at him. "You need to stop apologizing all of the time. There are some things that you can't control." He smirked and said "Well, does this mean that you love me too?" I was too reluctant to step out of his arms to give him a smack in the head, so I just gave him a kiss on the nose instead. "Of course it does, you idiot."
I reached down to grab the locket, and opened it up to look at the single picture inside. As expected, on the left side was the picture of Suki, Mari, Kuronosuke and me. What I didn't expect was the fact that on the right side, there was a picture of all of my friends at the host club. It was from when we were on out mountain get-away. Hunny and Mori were down at front, still as inseparable as ever. Kaoru and Hikaru were kissing Haruhi on the cheeks, and she was laughing her head off. I had wrapped my arms around Tamaki and Kyouya's necks, pulling their faces down next to mine. Tamaki had his boyish grin on, smiling at the camera. Kyouya had on the smile that put angels to shame, but he wasn't looking at the camera. He was staring right at me.
Just like he was staring at me now. As happy as I had ever seen him. And that was because of me. "Hope you like the picture I slipped into the other side. I didn't like the fact that you didn't have your other family in there too."
My other family. Hmm, that sounds about right. Suki, I hope you like my other family too. It was your idea to make the half-empty locket whole, wasn't it? Of course it was her idea. I wish I had been her conscience. Hmm, she was much more sensible than you. Now you and lover boy go back to the party, deary.
