A/N: I've procrastinated this chapter so much, y'all, it's not even a joke anymore. I'm so sorry I've been late! My plan was to upload a chapter every Sunday, and so far I've missed four, and this chapter is being posted on a freaking Thursday! Oh, the horror T~T I hope you can find it in your precious hearts to forgive my laziness. This chapter's kind of short, but I feel like I did a better job with it than the last one. Much more drama! And also Host Club antics just make any chapter better, haha. Enjoy!
****edit note: horizontal line breaks added to review section on 10-14-14****
Ouran High School Host Club and all its characters, places, and events are not mine. They all belong to the creator, the very wonderful and talented Bisco Hatori! This piece of fiction does not profit from anyone and I do not receive anything but happiness that my fic might be read by y'all.
TEN
"Thank you both. Again," Aiko repeated for about the sixth time as she led Hikaru and Kaoru out the front door. The setting sun revealed the many hours that had passed since the twins showed up; she still felt the dazed disbelief that time had flown by so quickly. It felt as though they'd just gotten started on tackling the issues with her inability to solve high school math.
The golden streaks left in the sky were slowly but decidedly dying, giving way to the wispy purple of approaching twilight.
Hikaru gave a bit of a huff as he turned to Aiko. "We got it already. There's no reason to keep repeating yourself."
The pink infusing her cheeks was nicely hidden in the light of the setting sun. "But...I want to th-th-thank you." If it wasn't for the twins, Aiko wouldn't have been able to finish her worksheets, or the extra math packets Mr. Okanawa had let her have, or begun to finally understand what it was she was learning.
After they'd come back down from her room – with Hikaru and Kaoru still snickering into their palms – Aiko had readied herself to deal with another session of confusing theorems and frustrating numbers, both real and unreal. However, that hadn't been the case. The twins had a brief meeting in the hallway before rejoining her in the parlor, their faces once again set into determined and somber expressions. She'd gulped and fidgeted in her spot as they sat down.
I'm going to get scolded again, she'd fretted. At the time, their silence was worrying and caused Aiko's mouth to go dry. Because I still haven't gotten these concepts. Hikaru's going to get frustrated and snap at me.
Instead, what she got were a blank sheet of paper, her calculator, and her pencil. Kaoru instructed her to just write down the key components of the problems he called out: the x, the y, the constant, and other such items needed to solve the parabola. Aiko did as she was told – then he told her to take the components into a type of architectural design of her choosing.
She'd blinked and looked up in confusion, but his face had been dead serious. Hikaru's own expression mirrored it.
Aiko kept her mouth closed and, despite the belief that this wouldn't make anymore sense than her previous attempts, concentrated on the task beforehand, and put her pencil to the paper. Within just a few minutes, she'd given each component of the math problem a place in her design of an archway and found the zero points, the place of axis, and variations of the inputs and outputs. She'd stared down at her handwriting in shock.
The surprises didn't end there. For every problem that she'd missed or hadn't finished, the twins made her do the same thing: write down key components, fit them into a design on paper, then solve. It came so easily to Aiko that she was speechless.
Of course, there was still plenty that Aiko didn't understand, and putting the imaginary numbers into a structural design was as difficult as it sounded, but they'd obviously made a breakthrough. And Aiko knew that without their help, she would have continued to fail the problems. The amount of gratefulness she felt far exceeded her abilty to express it.
Kaoru's voice knocked the thoughts from Aiko's head. "Like we said before, you're turning this into a bigger deal than it is."
"Yeah," his brother agreed. "It's just tutoring you in math-"
"-we would have done the same for any of our friends."
Friends.
Just the word itself made Aiko's nerves tingle, caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end in excitement. She turned her head towards the ground to hide her reaction as they walked down the long drive; the twins' limo sat at the end, driver ready at the door.
Before they climbed into the backseat, Hikaru and Kaoru turned around to give Aiko one last grin and a wave. "Just remember, next time we come over, make sure you have that game set up for after we get finished studying, okay?"
Aiko nodded, her mouth curling into a small smile. "Okay." She lifted her hand and waved in return.
When the limo was no longer in sight, Aiko returned to the house, that tiny smile still in place. It was joined by a red flush when she noticed Yumi and Hana giving her knowing looks.
The next night, just as Aiko sat down at the cook's counter to have her dinner, the sound of the front door opening and closing alerted her to the return of her Manabu. She turned around expectantly, and only seconds later was greeted with the familiar smile of her father, albeit a rather tired version.
"Welcome home, dad." She hopped down form the chair to properly greet him
"Thank you, sweetheart," he said, moving to place a warm arm around Aiko's shoulders. He gave a quick side squeeze, dropping a kiss to her forehead before letting go. "Looks like I just made it in time for dinner. What're we having?"
"Salmon teriyaki, udon noddles..." Aiko recited, feeling her joy bubble up in her stomach. This would be the first time in many months that she and Manabu had a proper, sit-down dinner together. They used to have them every night that was available to them – before Kokoro passed away.
Manabu grunted his approval. "Good, good. Let your old man go get out of this uncomfortable suit and then I'll meet you at the table, okay?"
She nodded. And by the time her father was halfway up the stairs, Aiko sat waiting at the end of the table, food set out for the both of them with the help of Hana. Her hands lay in her lap, twiddling idly.
"So," Manabu said as he sat down across from his daughter, now dressed in more comfortable clothing. He paused to throw a casual smile her way. "How did the study session go? Yumi says you looked pretty satisfied afterwards, so I hope that's a good sign."
Though she blushed at the mention of Yumi's description, Aiko nodded. They bowed their heads and murmured, "Itadakimasu," before picking up their chopsticks and digging in. "They helped me unders-tand what I kept...missing. It was good..."
He chuckled slightly. "Good, good." Manabu's expression then switched from content to skeptical in an instant. "And they didn't try to pull anything with my little girl, did they?"
"F-F-Father!"
"It's a valid concern, Aiko! You're a cute girl and they're young men who should obviously be able to see that."
Aiko just gave him a pleading look, face hot. She busied herself with her noodles as Manabu gave a brief laugh. He's so mean! Aiko thought to herself.
But...
She looked up from under her lashes at her father. The grin on his face was wide, making him look about twenty years younger; his dark eyes were bright with mirth. Manabu looked more relaxed and happy in that moment than Aiko could care to count on her fingers. A tender smile touched Aiko's lips as she looked back to her own meal.
...this is nice.
"...she had them over this weekend-"
"-father was on a business trip."
"Who does she think she is?"
"-having the twins all to herself, I bet it was amazing!"
The whispers following Aiko around on Monday were cryptic and only spoken when she seemed out of earshot. But she heard them – though she wished fervently they were speaking about something other than what she assumed.
I didn't tell anyone about the tutoring session, though, she reminded herself. Aiko clutched her bag closer to her chest as she made her way to class, like a protective shield from the looks thrown her way. And Hikaru and Kaoru didn't say they were telling anyone but the other hosts...and they don't seem like the type to gossip.
But no matter how much she tried to reassure herself, that bit of nagging doubt left Aiko's stomach in knots.
She didn't mention any of this to Hikaru and Kaoru, of course. They might get angry at her for assuming they would gossip about her – or worse, they'd laugh in her face and admit to it. And Aiko didn't think she'd be able to deal with either situation. So she stayed quiet and pretended that everything was fine.
Then the chimes rang for lunch and she made her way to her locker to grab her bento box. The hallway was empty except for her, which should've alerted her to the footsteps coming her way the moment they turned the corner. Unfortunately, Aiko was too preoccupied with her anxious thoughts to notice the group of girls swarming around her until she heard a familiar cold voice behind her.
"Seems like you're the talk of the school again, Nakamura."
Aiko spun around, startled, her back slamming against the metal lockers. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight before her.
Nijimi stood with her hands clasped in front of her skirt, poised as ever with her head held high. Her face didn't show any sign of contempt or disgust; that only made the icy stare that much more menacing. Aiko glanced at the other girls surrounding her, some not as composed as their leader and openly glaring her down.
Looking back at Nijimi, Aiko gulped. She was trapped.
They were waiting for her to speak. Aiko opened her mouth, but nothing more than a tiny squeak escaped. She immediately shut it again as the other girls began to giggle; a heated flush began to creep up her neck, spreading across her face rapidly.
A chilling sneer played on Nijimi's features. "Speechless, are we? That's okay, you don't need to speak – as long as you listen very closely, Nakamua." She leaned forward, putting her face just inches from Aiko's. "We're on to you and your angle to get in close with the Host Club, despite your less than stellar social standing here at Ouran."
Aiko blinked – the confusion she felt must have shown on her features, for Nijimi's neutral expression turned into mild irritation.
"Don't give me that dumbfounded look, Nakamura. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Ever since you showed up at this school, you've put on your most pitiful face and batted those goo-goo eyes towards everyone who'd give you a single glance. Unfortunately for you, the ones who seem drawn to a good charity case are our host club members." Taking a moment to regain her composure, as it had begun slipping, Nijimi leveled a superior look towards Aiko. "Did you think we wouldn't have to step in eventually?"
"First, you managed to get Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai to fall for your little ploy," she stated, ticking off her fingers as she spoke. "Then Haruhi and the twins were being led astray. At first, I wasn't worried too much about them – you're new. A shiny toy dangled in front of two bored dogs; I suppose it was only natural they seemed to take an interest in you."
Her hand closed into a fist, and Nijimi's smooth voice turned strained, as if she were holding back the agitation she was slowly losing control over. Aiko eyed her fist nervously. "But. I learn on Friday that you managed to snag them into visiting your house, something that is unheard of for any other Ouran student." Her cohorts began to mutter among themselves irritably. "And that's when I knew I had to step in; to put you in your proper place."
She delivered the words with a kind of tone that suggested Nijimi was willing to follow through on that promise, no matter what It took.
She breathed deeply, dropping her hand back into its place in front of her. The atmosphere around Nijimi went from electric to a more subdued, but no less menacing current. Aiko preferred the former. "I gave you your first and only warning in our previous encounter, Nakamura. This is the last intervention for you to try one last time to right the wrongs you've committed – or face the consequences."
A little quirk of the corner of her mouth created a slight sneer. "Next time, I won't be so forgiving."
And on some unknown signal, she turned and began to walk down the hallway, her cohorts giving Aiko one last solid glare before following like little ducklings. They turned down the corridor, and Aiko was once again alone, left to try and keep a steady flow of oxygen to her lungs.
It took a long time before Aiko was able to force her still-trembling legs to take her outside and to her lunch spot. By the time she made it, the lunch period was halfway over, Honey and Mori were already there, and looked relieved to see her face when she finally showed up.
"Aiko-chan!" Honey exclaimed when he saw her, jumping up. Flowers popped up around his head in his excited state. "Where've you been? Takashi and I were starting to get worried when you were late-" The flowers disappeared with a small pop as Honey noticed Aiko's expression. "What's wrong, Aiko-chan? You look upset."
Mori nodded, looking at Aiko as well. She managed to raise her eyes from the ground and force a smile into place. "...s-s-sorry for m-making you w-wait, Honey-senpai, M-M-Mori-senpai...it took longer th-than I...expected..." Aiko bowed her head.
The two hosts shared a look as their junior took her seat on the grass and pulled out her bento. Aiko looked more troubled than she knew—her eyes were red and the smile she gave was less than convincing. Honey looked down at his Usa-chan, deep in thought.
"Hey...Aiko-chan."
Aiko looked up at Honey. "Y-Yes?"
Honey opened his mouth to say speak, but then seemed to think better of it. His serious expression turned into a large grin, followed by a giggle. "Nothing. Do you want some cake? I've got carrot cake today, Usa-chan's favorite!"
He filled the rest of the lunch period with his usual chatter, seeming not to notice Aiko's lack of response and her less-than-pleased expression. But Mori knew his cousin better than that. The stoic senior gaze cooly at the two of them, knowing that Honey was just forcing himself to stay cheerful for Aiko's sake when deep down, he was worried for her.
Mori took a bite from his own lunch thoughtfully. Something happened to Aiko that she didn't want to speak about, and neither host was going to push the issue if she wasn't ready to voice it.
As the lunch period came to an end, Honey and Mori waved as Aiko walked back into the building. When she was no longer in sight, Honey turned to his cousin with a worried look. "We have to talk to Tama-chan about Aiko-chan."
"...yeah."
Aiko's sullen and troubled expression didn't only alert Mori and Honey to her silent plight. Haruhi and even the twins noticed her severe lack of energy to even muster a smile when they greeted her in class after lunch.
The three hosts shared confused looks before Haruhi turned back to Aiko with vague concern. "Hey, is everything alright, Aiko? Did something happen at lunch?"
The girl glanced up at Haruhi, then across the classroom towards the front of the classroom, but they fell just as quickly—too fast for Haruhi to follow her line of sight. The tense expression she wore caused more than a couple of bells to go off in Haruhi's mind.
"No..." Aiko murmured. Behind her, the twins pulled bland faces at the obvious lie. "...everything's fine...Haruhi..."
Shooting her a dubious look, Haruhi glanced back up to the front of the classroom. A group of girls that frequented the Host Club sat clustered in the desks, talking quietly among themselves. In the middle of it all was Nijimi Akihito, a regular of the twins'. Though she wasn't exactly the warmest person, Haruhi didn't think she was an openly cruel person as far as Haruhi knew.
But seeing the fretful looks Aiko kept throwing Nijimi's way, she was pretty sure that wasn't the entire story.
Haruhi turned back to the one-sided conversation the twins were trying to have with Aiko about their tutoring session. She hadn't even known they'd gone over to Aiko's house, which was a surprise in itself. "You guys didn't tell me you started tutoring her," Haruhi pointed out. It wasn't out of hurt of being left out of the group, but of open curiosity.
Kaoru flashed her a smirk. "That's right. Jealous, Haruhi?"
She blinked. "Huh?"
"Yeah," Hikaru agreed, putting a hand on the back of Aiko's chair. "She didn't mind us coming over to visit—or, tutor. And next time we go, we're gonna play her Wii and have a Mario Kart tournament."
Haruhi arched an eyebrow. "Don't you guys have that game at your house?"
"Yeah-"
"-but it's lots more fun to have high scores on someone else's game!"
The exasperated sigh she released was the end of the conversation, as the bell signaled the beginning of class. Haruhi cast another glance Aiko's way before going to her own table for the lesson.
Aiko didn't speak more than four words at a time for the rest of the day, no matter how much Haruhi prodded or the twins probed. She remained tight-lipped and fidgety all the way up until the bell rang for the end of the day, and she was the first one out of the classroom without bothering to say goodbye to them.
It was with more than a bit of concern that Haruhi walked with the twins to the club that afternoon.
"Hey, guys," Haruhi spoke up as they trekked to Music Room #3. "Did Aiko seem a little...I don't know, anxious to you?"
Hikaru and Kaoru looked down at their cross-dressing friend, then back to each other, brows furrowed. "Well, kinda," the former admitted, putting a hand behind his head. "I mean, she's always jumpy and stuff, but today-"
"-it kinda felt like she was regressing," Kaoru agreed.
"That's what I'm worried about." Haruhi sighed. Brown eyes travelled up to the ceiling as if the answer had been conveniently placed up there. "It's just kind of weird, you know? It seemed like she was getting better around us—and Honey-senpai said they'd sorted out their situation, so I don't think it's that."
Kaoru held up a finger. "But you just pointed out that Honey-senpai and Aiko are okay now, and it's obvious they get along well. Even Mori-senpai. They all sit together at lunch—maybe Aiko told them her problem then?"
Haruhi nodded thoughtfully; Hikaru, however, made a disgruntled face. "But why would she only tell Honey-senpai? We're all her friends—or whatever she considers us."
"She's probably still not completely comfortable around us yet, Hikaru," Haruhi reminded him. "Just because she let you guys tutor her doesn't mean she's okay just revealing her troubles to us. But," she added, once Hikaru opened his mouth to retort, "we can just ask Honey-senpai in the clubroom."
The confrontational twin huffed, but didn't argue. They continued their walk in silence, reaching the music room in a few minutes. Haruhi opened the door and the twins followed her in, calling out a greeting. "Hey, we're-"
"-and she hardly ate any of her lunch and wasn't paying attention to anything around her," Honey was saying to Tamaki and Kyoya. The two second years were sitting down at one of the tables while their blonde senior and his ever silent companion stood across from them. "I didn't ask her about what was bothering her, though, because she didn't seem like she wanted to tell us about it."
Haruhi blinked in surprise. "Honey-senpai, are you talking about Aiko?" she questioned.
In his ever usual greeting, Tamaki bounded over to Haruhi, hugging her to his side. "Oh, my sweetest daughter, I'm so glad you made it here safely. Daddy was worried since you were all alone with those two perverted devil twins-"
"Hey, we're not the perverts here!" said twins argued back.
"Tamaki-senpai...get off," Haruhi grunted as she squirmed out of her senior's grip. The violet eyes of the Host King turned teary at the rebuff.
Honey, who'd bounded over as well, took the lapse in conversation to speak. "That's right, Haru-chan. Aiko-chan was acting strangely at lunch today. Like there was something bothering her."
"Funny you should mention that," Kaoru intoned from the couch where he and his brother were lounging. It wasn't a cosplay day, so they had some time before the guests arrived.
"Yeah, we were hoping you had an answer to why she was so anxious after lunch, Honey-senpai," Hikaru added. His slim chin rested in his hand as he looked to his blonde senior. "You're saying she didn't say anything to you or Mori-senpai, either?"
Honey looked discouraged. "No."
Tamaki, who'd already rebounded from the scene with Haruhi, held his chin thoughtfully. "So she was upset even after lunch. Haruhi, you and the twins have almost every class with her, don't you?" The first year trio nodded. "Was she acting like this before lunch?"
For a moment, all was silent as the three first years thought back. Haruhi spoke up first. "I guess...she was a lot more fidgety than normal, but there didn't seem like there was anything obviously worrying her. It was only after lunch ended that it seemed like she was upset..."
"Yeah," the twins chimed in. "At first we thought she was just being awkward after our tutoring session yesterday."
"Well, did anything happen at her house that would make her upset?" Honey asked, leaning over the back of the couch to hear.
Kaoru and Hikaru shared a look before shaking their heads. "Nothing like that."
Honey's eyebrows furrowed, and he turned to look up at Mori. "Then it must have been something that happened before lunch."
"But we don't know what it was," the twins said.
The reminder sent everyone into a tense silence. They were stumped. Only the clacking of Kyoya's laptop keys made a sound. Suddenly, Mori looked sharply in the vice-president's directions, deep voice permeating the air:
"Bullies."
Everyone besides Mori, Haruhi, and Kyoya gasped in an over-dramatic, horrified manner. "A bully?"
The tomboy looked over to the glasses character; she and Mori had come to the same conclusion only seconds between. "That's right, isn't it, Kyoya-senpai? Someone's been bullying Aiko, haven't they?"
Kyoya adjusted his glasses along the bridge of his nose, leaning back slightly to address everyone. "That's right, Haruhi. It seems that this is only the second face-to-face confrontation between Aiko and her bully, she's been under intimidation almost from day one."
Honey, Tamaki, and the twins all rushed to gather around Kyoya's table. "You mean you knew about this, Kyoya?" the king demanded in confusion. "If you knew, why didn't you tell us? We could've prevented it somehow!"
"I'm afraid my information was nothing but a single anonymous tip and a few complaint reports from Aiko's old boarding school. I couldn't point fingers until I had concrete evidence that their was bullying going on." Kyoya turned back to his laptop, the glare from his glasses flashing. "I did know this was a possibility, though I'd hoped it wouldn't come to pass."
"Poor, Aiko-chan," Honey whimpered pitifully, eyes magnified through his tears. "No wonder she was so upset; but why would someone want to bully such a sweet person?"
The twins leaned over the back of Kyoya's chair. "Who is it, anyway? One of those Yakuza?"
"Doubtful," Kyoya dead-panned. "Actually, it's one of your classmates—Hikaru, Kaoru, you ought to be pretty familiar with this young lady. She is, after all, one of your regular visitors."
All eyes cut to the twins, who stood with befuddled expressions. "Who?"
"A one Miss Akihito Nijimi."
Haruhi almost choked. "Her? The girl who's president of the tea club?"
"Don't underestimate her, Haruhi," Tamaki spoke up. His expression was hidden by his bangs, but the way he spoke was low with warning. "She's part of the same club as Ayanakoji; and we all know just how awful things can get with people like her."
Haruhi scowled. She definitely didn't like the sound of that; and it was all the more reason to do something to stop it before something really bad happened to Aiko. "We've already dealt with Ayanakoji-san. As long as we keep Aiko from running into Nijimi-san, that should keep the bullying from happening, right?"
"Yeah!" the twins cheered, throwing their hands up in excitement. "A mission!"
"I like your thinking, Haru-chan!" Honey said in excitement. "We'll be able to protect Aiko-chan from that meanie!"
"I hate to burst your bubbles," Kyoya spoke up, sounding like it would be his greatest pleasure to burst some bubbles with a sharp needle. "But must I remind you that Aiko still doesn't know that we all know about the bullying? And it seemed like she wasn't planning on telling any of us of it herself."
Several grins deflated at that. "Oh, yeah."
Haruhi thought for a moment before turning to the Lolita boy. "Honey-senpai, you should have Aiko's number, right?"
"No," he admitted, petting his Usa-chan. "I didn't ask for it."
The twins popped up behind Haurhi with twisted smirks. "Oh, really, Honey-senpai? What a shame-"
"-yes, such a shame-"
"-if only you knew someone who had her number. Then you could just borrow it-"
"-or talk precariously through those people."
"Oh, well."
Haruhi's brow twitched in irritation. "If you guys have her number, you could've just said so instead of trying to sound all sadistic like that."
"You're no fun."
"But that works out fine, doesn't it?" Tamaki asked. A confident grin spread over his lips. "All we have to do is have the twins text Aiko-hime to meet us all here tomorrow-"
A fist connected with the top of Tamaki's head. He cried out in shock and pain, crumpling to the ground. The others stood over him while Haruhi lowered her fist. "That's not going to work, senpai. Aiko isn't likely to admit something like that in front of a group of people she hardly knows."
Tear fell in two long waterfalls down Tamaki's cheeks as the top of his head throbbed; Honey and Mori watched on as the twins poked the twitching lump, snickering. "And you had to hit me to tell me that?"
"Haru-chan is right, Tama-chan," Honey said, standing up. "It's better if Aiko-chan doesn't feel pressured into admitting to being bullied."
"Then what do you want us to do?" Hikaru demanded, becoming bored with poking Tamaki's bump. He turned to Haruhi with a semi-frustrated look. "Text her and say, 'Hey we know you're being bullied, wanna stop by the Host Club tomorrow for some cake?'"
Haruhi's eyes lit up at the word "cake." "No, Hikaru, you're not going to need to do anything," she said. "Because Honey-senpai's going to be the one to talk to her, along with Mori-senpai."
"What!? Why?" the easily agitated twin retorted. "Kaoru and I are the ones who have her number, she gave them to us."
"That doesn't mean she's more comfortable around you and Kaoru, though. Remember who she sits with at lunch everyday; just because you tutor her once doesn't mean she's trusted you one hundred percent, Hikaru."
She turned away from the boy to speak with Honey, leaving a fuming Hikaru to Kaoru. "Do you think you'll be able to do it, Honey-senpai?"
Honey nodded, putting on a determined expression. "Definitely. If it means Aiko-chan won't be bullied anymore, I'll do whatever I can!"
"Alright then!" came an ethusiastic yell from Tamaki, who seemed to have miraculously been cured from his previously grievous wound. He pointed a finger in Honey and Mori's direction, still speaking in a loud, demanding voice. "Then we'll leave it up to you, Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai. Do your best!"
"Right!" Honey replied. He and Mori both saluted as Tamaki turned to the others.
"As of now, Operation Aiko's Bully Blockers has commenced!"
END OF CHAPTER TEN
I swear, writing Tamaki is both a challenge and hilarious thing for me because I have to keep him in character without being too over dramatic. I'm sure you see my problem there.
But I think that even though this chapter was shorter than the previous one, it definitely lagged a lot less, in my opinion. And there was lots of drama between Nijimi and Aiko *dun dun dah!* Will the Ice Princess stick good with her threat? Will the Host Club be able to get the truth out of Aiko? Will we ever find out what's on Kyoya's laptop? The world may never know. xD But seriously, thank you all for your reviews and favorites so far! And I was late-again! I owe you people so much!
Also, I'm sorry about the American tendencies I have put in this story. I understand that in Japanese schools, the students stay in a single classroom throughout the day and the teachers are the one that switch, but that's my bad. I hope it's still believable this way!
Review time~
SmolderingBlackRose: Yay another chapter! I thought that you wrote the twins really well, to be honest. Also, Aiko is my favorite OC in fanfiction that I've ever seen. I just love her so much :3
I'd have to say that my favorite subject is either English or World History. I like English because I'm best at it, and I want to be a published writer. And I like World History because learning the background of where we come from is extremely interesting.
Aw, I'm glad you thought so! The twins are the hardest characters for me to write, even though they're two of the main characters in this fic *sweatdrops* But your review made me smile, so thank you! Also, you and I are in the same boat about school subjects, my friend. I just love history of any kind, really, especially African and many Asian countries. Thanks for reviewing!
p.s. I hope you loved the "silly little tea drinkers" in their lime light xD
Gottaloveastory: Blah. I had way too much Mt. Dew for my own good when I wrote that. I waited A WEEK for an update... That's a lot faster than my updates, you're fine.
Well, if you're sure, haha. This chapter was even later, so I hope you're still happy with it! Thanks for the review, darlin'!
Po1aris: I don't think this chapter was crap at all. It may have dragged a bit in certain places, though. I'd like to see if the twins try to teach Aiko the math she needs with architecture metaphors.
Thank you for saying so! I feel like although the last chapter wasn't technically a filler, it dragged like one, so I'm trying to improve in that respect. c: And you're such a good guesser, it made me laugh. Although they didn't really use metaphors for Aiko (I hope the explanation wasn't so confusing in the way it was described. Math isn't my best subject - or Aiko's, obviously- so I tried my best to make the transition simple, though I fear it was a little complicated. Aiko's mind is just strange, haha. Thanks so much for your review!
FALLING-ANGEL24: Oh my gosh! This is beautiful! I really love this story so far! I hope that there'll be some MorixAiko moments. I almost cried when Honey told her that they were friends
You're too sweet for saying so, thank you! :3 I'm glad you enjoy my story so far. Ha, and you're the second person whose mentioned the MorixAiko moment I managed to sneak in there. Don't worry, I'll be putting in a few more just for fun, since they're such cuties. Thanks a lot for reviewing!
Meilong101: OMG! （）I love Aiko-Sama sooo much!
I really like your writing style, and Aiko-Sama is a VERY real person to me. The only thing I have problem with is what she looks like, gomen nasai, Sensei. O＿O
OMg you're literally the cutest, thanks so much! I'm not mad that you don't enjoy the way Aiko looks, so don't worry about it! (But wow, really, there's no need to call me "sensei", though it's very flattering, you cutie patootie) I just want to know what it is about Aiko's looks you don't like? I'm awfully curious xD
Kang Mina: Hello! Sorry for not reviewing lately! :( I was buy with finals for a while. Chapters 8 and 9 were amazing! Aiko is the cutest character EVER!
Dear, I'd rather you pass your finals than worry about reviewing for a silly old story like mine, but I'm glad you enjoyed the chapters! Haha, you're going to make Aiko blush saying things like that (which is good, you should keep doing it).
Aiko, dear! It's time for your questions~
Aiko: Okay...
First one is from SBR: Aiko, are you allergic to anything?
Aiko: Um...not that I know of
Which can be both good and bad. Because you don't know if you eat something you're allergic too until it's too late, and if you don't get immediate medical treatment, you could die.
Aiko: !
I'm kidding, kidding! Well...sort of...
Aiko: B-But-!
Next question! From Gottaloveastory: Hey Aiko, are you any good at being not cute? I'm dying. X[
Aiko: *blushes* Oh, I'm s-s-sorry...I don't want you to die...but I'm not th-that cute...
*coughs* Yeah, sure you're not.
Anyways, next question is from Meilong101: Oh, I'm also curious, since Aiko-Sama doesn't like mornings, does she have type AB blood? (_)
Aiko: Actually, my blood type is A n-negative...
It's not that Aiko doesn't like mornings, it's more that she doesn't enjoy waking up too early. Anytime before 9 AM will get you a sleep/grumpy Aiko. She's not as bad as Kyoya and Honey trust me
Last question! From Kang Mina: A question for Aiko: Which member of the host club do you like the most right now? (As a friend, not anything else.)
(this one made me laugh at her reaction)
Aiko: ...w-w-wait...you want m-me to pick favorites!?
Tsk, tsk, Aiko, it's not like she's asking you to pick which one you'd marry.
Aiko: WHAT!?
Oh dear. -_- Just answer the question
Aiko: *very, very quietly* okay...um...I guess...my f-favorite host...would be...H-H-Honey-senpai...
See? Now that wasn't so hard was it?
Aiko: *blushing too hard to answer*
And I think she's done. Haha, thank y'all so much for your reviews and questions, they make my day and what inspires me to keep writing no matter how late I may post! And don't hesitate to ask Aiko more questions! She loves them, honestly.
Also, again, sorry for American-izing the schools in this fic. I don't notice I'm doing it until I read other stories, so that's my bad. Okay, so I've got my question for you guys ready: Which Host Club member do you love interacting with Aiko the most? Because I love hearing your opinions on the canon characters and my OC (plus I want to know how many of you are having trouble with picking a ship for Aiko, shh).
Last thing! If you guys wanted to know, this story and the Ouran anime (I base the majority of this fic on the anime, with characterizations and additions from the manga, btw) are parallels and happen at the same time. So you know what that means? Ouran episodes and Aiko's story crossovers \( e w e)/ I live for that moment when I can do the summer chapters, y'all don't even know. Speaking of episodes, this particular chapter follows alongside Episode 6, The Grade School Host Is the Naughty Type! Just fyi.
Alright, until next time, guys! Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome!