The twins' mother was nothing like what I had expected. Though in all honesty I hadn't really known what to expect to begin with. When she strode into the sitting room with her high heels and fashionable crocodile leather suit, lips spread wide in a smile I knew instantly that she and I would get along famously. I'd gone with the twins' suggestion to just be myself so I had turned up with black netting tights, my red and black chequered skirt and a loose fitting black top with my heavy duty boots to match.
"My, my, I like your style young lady. You obviously mean business." She noted to me and I gave a broad grin, stretching out my hand to shake with hers.
"It's nice to finally meet you Miss Hitachiin." I said as we gripped one another's hands tightly but not painfully.
"Oh please, call me Yuzuha." She brushed aside before sitting down and gesturing for me to do the same. "My boys tell me that you're a talented jewellery designer and that I should consider adding your ideas to my next fashion line. Shall we see what you've got?" Nodding my head I laid out my large portfolio and flipped it open, allowing her to see a few designs that had already been copyrighted. "Hmm…"
"I know there isn't much here but I realise that showing you designs that I created from different inspiration is hardly any use to you." I began to explain, gesturing over the few drawings I had brought with me. "However I was hoping to give you a demonstration. If you could show me an outfit or two then I'll put together a complete jewellery set to go with it. I'd feel that would be a better way to show you what I can do." Yuzuha arched a delicate eyebrow, her short cropped hair revealing her full features so that I could read her expression easily.
"I see. I was right in thinking you meant business, Katsumi-chan. Well then, I'll arrange something quickly. In the meantime, tell me why I should accept you as your company's representative and primary designer? You are aware of the kind of reputation your family's business holds, right?"
"Yes, apparently all our designers are thieves and our quality grades have dropped drastically. Frankly I agree with them, however there is no longer a problem with the reputation of Araki Jewellers as we have reverted back to the time when the designs were made by the family itself. With me being the primary designer, there is no doubt about my loyalty to making my family's business a success once again and I am determined to place us back on the top where we belong." I informed her without batting an eyelid. "My father may have lost his touch but I'm just getting warmed up."
"I see." Yuzuha murmured thoughtfully, a slight smile tugging on her lips before she snapped open her phone and called up her boys, telling them to bring some mannequin with different outfits into the sitting room for her. "You seem quite confident. I can see that you have talent as these drawings and designs are quite beautiful, however what I need is someone who can translate my passions further." She began to explain to me, leaning back in her chair. "I express myself through my designs and everything about them must be perfect, including the accessories. Normally I would have my own people arrange suitable adornments however my boys are rather insistent that we lend you a hand up, as they say."
"Really? I'm surprised." I said, blinking once before smiling. "I guess they really do care." I mused quietly to myself before giving a gentle laugh. "They keep you on your toes, that's for sure."
"You have no idea." She agreed just as they walked in, pushing two mannequins each into the room. Speak of the devils. "Ah, Hikaru, set those two over there, Kaoru over here. That's perfect." I frowned slightly and tilted my head to the side, glancing between the two of them before lifting my hand politely.
"Actually, that one is Hikaru and the other is Kaoru." I said to her and her mouth dropped open, startled before she quickly snapped shut, a warm amusement flickering in her eyes as she smirked towards me.
"You can tell them apart? How interesting." I blushed slightly as I picked up my sketchpad and pencil, my pastels ready at the side to add colour later as I began to inspect the four different outfits carefully, noting each pattern, texture and colour in my mind before they began to inspire different jewellery ideas in my mind.
"So what are these for anyway?" Kaoru questioned, jerking his thumb towards the outfit he'd selected, a casual white cotton top which laced up across the chest with a sky blue skirt that opened above the knees and flowed with a train at the back, an elasticated brown belt sitting it high on the waist with a denim jacket to finish. My pencil instantly began to sketch faint lines, my eyes and mind focusing.
"Are you putting her through a trial run?" Hikaru and Kaoru instantly leaned over the sofa to peer down at my drawing but I jabbed back with my pencil and stabbed Kaoru in the head with the end, making him yelp and they both quickly retreated.
"Stay out of my face you two or else." I warned them. "I'm busy."
"Come on Hikaru, you should know by now not to disturb an artist when she's working. You deserved that." Their mother chuckled, sipping at some coffee as I lifted my hand again whilst continuing to draw.
"That was Kaoru."
"Oh I know, I just like to pretend I don't know which one's which to keep things amusing." She laughed prettily and I cracked a smile towards her. "I am their mother after all, if anyone should be able to tell them apart it's me." That's true, I should have guessed that. Yuzuha sat down carefully next to me and watched as my drawing came to life, the picture of a girl wearing the outfit leaning back against the wall, wearing a bracelet of medium sized pearls with diamond beads the same size to add a little sparkle as well as a thin rope that went to the middle finger with a silver ring that attached the two pieces together.
One arm was reaching back to push aside her hair, revealing pearl lotus earrings and a necklace of a matching flower, the petals lined with silver that coiled prettily away from the ornament with dark green leaves made from jade resting against her collarbone. I'd even added an anklet for good measure, feeling that the look needed that something extra so a simple plaited cord anklet was added around her ankle with the flower motif repeated in a small charm, making me smile before I moved onto the evening gown.
Now this was a bright scarlet red, screaming with elegance and sophistication so I went with gold to match the warm tones of the fabric, colouring and smudging it into place as I redrew the dress onto paper with a scribble of design ideas on the opposite page before I had my next designs. This one received a simple design akin to fire, the swirling charm sitting lower down her chest with the chain wrapping around her throat also with a choker, however instead of matching earrings and bracelet I went for a leaf design which I placed around her wrist and an identical one on her opposite upper arm and for her earrings, simple yet effective swirls that incorporated the two ideas and complimented both.
My designs and ideas just continued to flow, from jewelled belts that slung low over the hips to circlets to compliment an angelic dress of white with a kind of hippie theme to it. There were rings, necklaces, bracelets, watches, armlets and even a few tiaras until I finally had a broad selection of items to choose from, each one more unique and intricately designed than the next.
"Goodness, my boys were right. You are talented." Yuzuha blinked as she flicked through the several pages of my work before turning a smile to me. "I can't deny that I'm impressed, you've designed some of the best accessories I've seen in a long time."
"Thank you, that means a lot to me." I sighed with quiet relief as the boys crowded closer.
"So will you hire her?" Hikaru pressed, he and Kaoru slinging their arms around my shoulders.
"She'll be worth it, we can guarantee that." They grinned at their mother who hummed in thought before giving a final smirk.
"Alright, I'll give you control over four outfits for my new line, they'll be the very last ones to be shown so make sure you make them count." She instructed me and my eyes sparkled happily as I nodded my head enthusiastically. "I'll send round the design patterns just as soon as I've written up a contract and you've signed it, alright? You'll have until Christmas to complete them so there's no huge need to rush but don't leave it until the last minute either, okay?"
"Yes of course, you can count on me." I beamed but then before I knew it, the twins had grabbed me under the arms and pulled me backwards off the sofa, dragging me away with a wave to their mom.
"We're going to kidnap Katsumi now so that she can take our photos, see you later mom."
"Okay, don't be too rough with her!" Yuzuha trilled before returning to looking at my work once again as I blinked, my feet dragging along the ground before I began to struggle and kick out, trying to get my own balance back however I wasn't released until we were in their room and they had secured the door shut.
"Good, now you're all ours." They grinned wickedly at me and I shivered slightly.
"That sounded so creepy. Ugh, you two." I shook my head before reaching for my camera bag and set up my equipment. "So what kind of photos do you want? Please don't start dressing up because we did all that yesterday and I can't be bothered to go through all of that again."
"Don't worry, we made a list." They informed me and shoved it in my face together. "You just need to make sure we look good." I stared at the list, taking the page as it then unfolded into about another fifty right in front of me, hardly able to read the writing as it just went on and on and on. Screw that, I'm not spending an eternity here feeding their ego. I screwed up the paper and tossed it over my shoulder, landing it in the bin.
"No, I think we're going to do this my way, which means you guys act natural and I'll just photograph you when I feel like it." I instructed them before pointing to their desk where I noticed a large stack of unfinished homework. "Now get studying, do something useful with your time."
"Study? But the servants do our homework for us." Hikaru said as Kaoru blinked in equal confusion.
"Yeah, what's the point in hiring them otherwise?"
"The point, you little devils, is so that you learn something! Now come on, I'll even help you if you get stuck." I ordered and pushed them towards their shared desk. Of course the twins played on their special package of 'twincest', meaning that they were clinging and rather close to each other's faces and although it made my skin crawl it was also kind of funny. Girls found this attractive? I don't even want to know what goes on in their heads.
So I ended up taking quite a few perverted and weird photos, much to my dislike but the twins liked them so I wasn't going to worry. I even got a photo of them in the middle of a pillow war before I joined in, leaping onto the bed and claiming it as my castle before they tackled me off it and we ended up in a fit of laughter with pillows all around us. We went out into the garden, down into the kitchen where Hikaru fed Kaoru a strawberry and they made me take a photo of the deep, love struck look they both had on. They should go for acting, they'd make a fortune.
All in all, it was a pretty pleasant afternoon. When the hour was up I almost didn't want to leave I was having so much fun but I had to head over to Haruhi's place as soon as possible before heading back home to help Kimiko with her singing practice. She wanted my opinion on a few things and I promised that I'd be there. "You're welcome to come back anytime." Yuzuha said to me as they stood by my car, the window rolled down as she smiled to me. "I'll send you the contract once I'm finished with it then we'll be official business partners, doesn't that sound great?"
"It sounds wonderful, thank you so much Yuzuha. You two boys, I owe it to you." I said and they grinned at me with a wink before Yuri began to pull away. "Thanks for everything!" I waved before drawing back and rolling up the window once more. I slept in the car until we reached Haruhi's where I got out and told Yuri to have some fun whilst I was inside so he said he'd go and pick up some dinner for me before driving off.
"Katsumi sweetie! I've been waiting for you!" Ranka's voice filtered down from above and I waved up to him then climbed up to their apartment. "How have you been my darling? You're looking wonderful!" He praised and I gave a modest smile.
"Thank you, I just came from the Hitachiin place so I had to dress up a little. Is Haruhi there? We're supposed to be taking a few photos for the Host Club magazine album." I explained and just as I finished she appeared at the door, still wearing her school uniform. "Hey! Glad to see you."
"Come on in and I'll make some tea." She offered, tugging on her dad's arm to pull him away from me as he was snuggling against my hair and led me inside. "So about these photos…"
"Don't worry, I only plan on taking a couple. I'm tired out from running around after the twins. They run pretty fast and it's not easy keeping up when you're holding a camera." I answered, lifting it up to show her. "But I have an idea, could you just come back to the door? I'll take a shot of you welcoming me inside. That'll be cute."
"Sure. Do you want me to change into something else?" She asked and I looked down at her uniform thoughtfully. All the other guys will most likely be in their own clothes because they'll be at home, however because they're rich they'll be all stylish and fashion brands. Would the other girls judge Haruhi because of what she wore? I hope not.
"Let's see what you've got, shall we?" I decided then went raiding through her clothes before I selected jeans, a loose tank top and I made her put on my sleeveless hoodie which I had stuffed into my bag, stepping back to admire the look before nodding my head in approval. "Sweet, now let's get started then we can ditch the photos and get some studying done."
We went around the house, taking a total of maybe ten photos before we sat down at the table and studied together for a while, sipping on tea until Ranka insisted that he take a photo of the two of us together. "You need to take photos of your friends with you in the picture too, Katsumi, otherwise you'll only be left with memories and it's much nicer to have a proper visual on people you care about." He informed me brightly before lifting my camera and grinned. "Smile!"
"Dad…" Haruhi sighed but we posed nonetheless, smiling to the camera with my arm around her shoulders, holding up to fingers like bunny ears until Ranka had taken the photo but then he jumped into the photo frame with us, grinning with a wink as he turned the camera around and rather accurately captured a second photo of Haruhi's surprised expression, my laugh and his grin.
"There! Perfect, make sure you get some copies to us Katsumi my dear." He reminded me and I promised I would. When the hour was up I hugged Ranka and Haruhi goodbye, promising to see her tomorrow at school before I raced out of the apartment to Yuri where he waited with the car, jumping into the seat and only just managed to grab the takeaway meal he'd secured for me before I was settled in my seat.
"Home, Miss Katsumi?"
"Yes please Yuri." I called out before diving into my food. Man, junk food never tasted so good. When I finished the food I took another nap in the car, sleeping peacefully to catch up a little before we arrived home and from there I didn't stop moving until twelve at night. The staff rotas had needed organising, the grocery list needed approving, Kimiko needed my thoughts on her latest song that she had to perform for part of her music grade and Naoki wanted me to play swords with him in the garden. On top of that, I had three assignments, the rest of my art project for school, business studies and then the jewellery designs to sign off as copyrighted.
I tell you, I was glad that Mizuki brought them over to the house otherwise I would have been home another hour later. She was so sweet. So at twelve midnight I finally managed to sit down, continuing with some of my work and assignments before finally, I crashed into bed and snored my way until morning past my alarm so I missed my early rise to go for a jog but instead had to take breakfast with me in the car on the way to school with Naoki who I dropped off first. I should really think about getting a driver's license and my own car, it would make things so much easier. I am seventeen after all.
I somehow managed to fall asleep in class which was totally humiliating for me however when something began to poke me in the side, I stirred. "Katsumi, you need to wake up!" Tamaki was hissing at me in warning, prodding me with a ruler until I awoke with a rush, throwing my arms into the air with a yell.
"I surrender!" Still a little dazed and confused my teacher scowled at me.
"Araki-san, if you decide to fall asleep in my lessons then perhaps you should think about going to bed earlier!" She snapped at me and I blushed in humiliation, lowering my head so that my hair covered most of my face whilst the others in class sniggered behind their hands.
"Yes sensei, I'm sorry." I apologised humbly before the lesson continued. I gave myself a slap with both hands to try and wake myself up, blinking repeatedly as Tamaki looked at me with worry. The day didn't get much better from there. I was so tired that I began to get a little cranky, stomping along from lesson to lesson until lunchtime where I didn't even try eating my food because I fell asleep face down in it. Just perfect.
"Kitty-chan? Are you feeling okay?" Honey asked me tentatively as he shook my shoulder, having come over to my table when he noticed that I was trying to suffocate myself in my own food. "You're all messy, you have rice all over your face."
"Hmm…Honey-kun? Is that you?" I asked, feeling a little hot and I couldn't stop shivering as I blinked my eyes open then sat up, rice falling from my face so I moaned in despair. "Oh no, this is just great!" I whimpered before reaching out for a napkin, intending on wiping my face clean but someone else's hand beat me to it, taking it from the table and began to wipe away the rice as my eyes widened, staring at Mori.
His expression never changed and I was pretty grateful about that. I'd be mortified if he'd started laughing or even looked slightly amused. "You're flushed." He informed me but it only served to make me blush further. His hand reached up and pressed against my forehead, making several girls gasp as I just looked at him, frowning slightly as he checked my temperature. "You have a temperature. You're sick, Katsumi."
"It's just a little hot in here, that's all." I dismissed stubbornly, turning to start eating my food but the moment I looked at it, I felt a little ill at the stomach. There was no way I was going to eat that now, especially seeing as it has my face print on it.
"If you're feeling yucky Kitty-chan, then you should go to the nurse's office." Honey said to me diplomatically as he too checked my temperature. "You're burning up Kitty-chan! You need to rest. Tama-chan tells us that you've been falling asleep all day."
"I just had another late night, that's all. I didn't go to sleep until about three in the morning." I shrugged. "Besides I can't go to sleep, I have an assignment to hand in and then there's notes I need to take from class, I can't just skip out or I'll fall behind." Clenching my fists I looked up determinedly. "I will beat this tiredness! It's not going to stop me from doing my best!"
"Katsumi." I flinched slightly at Mori's tone, slowly looking up at him to see his eyes were narrowed in fair warning, making me gulp. Uh oh, I'm in trouble. Sure enough before I knew it Mori had stood up and somehow managed to pull me up onto his shoulder, an arm wrapped around my legs as I gave a shriek.
"Mori-senpai! Put me down right now! This is definitely not the way to treat a lady, I am not a sack of flour! MORI!" However no matter how much I struggled, Mori was just too strong for me and I resigned to pouting in irritation as he carried me out of the canteen with almost everyone staring at us, Honey skipping along behind with my bag in his hand. Everyone we passed stared as I was carried like some useless baggage all the way to the nurse's office where Mori set me down on one of the beds, took off my shoes then lay the blanket over me. "I won't forgive you for this. I won't sleep." I pouted stubbornly, turning my face away in anger.
"Yes you will." He answered as Honey-kun placed my bag beside the bed but then jumped up, climbing forwards before tucking Usa-chan next to me.
"There you go, you can cuddle Usa-chan while you rest, that way you won't get lonely." He said to me sweetly and I paused slightly, feeling my fury beginning to ebb away slightly. "Now get better soon Kitty-chan, we need you to be all better for tomorrow so that you can take our pictures!" He giggled before springing off the bed and skipping away back for more cake, leaving me alone with Mori. And Usa-chan, of course.
"Really I feel fine, you don't have to worry…"
"Katsumi." My eyes flickered up to meet his as he stood up then reached out with one hand to pat me on the head. "Sleep well." He told me before turning and leaving, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he left the nurse's office, leaving me on my own with a paralysed look of surprise before I rolled onto my side and curled up into a small ball, hugging Usa-chan to me before exhaling. Just a few minutes won't hurt, at least until lunch is over.
Sure enough with the extra nap I felt loads better, however when I woke up I had missed my first afternoon class and was going to be late for my next so I rushed straight there, apologising profusely to my teacher before hurrying to my seat and sitting down. Only then did I realise I was still holding Usa-chan. I almost yelled aloud but clamped my mouth shut, tucking the bunny away safely then made a point to pay extra attention and work hard in the class by answering as many questions as I could before finally, it was all over and I slumped in my seat.
"I didn't hand in my assignment…" I groaned, knowing that my other teacher won't be impressed that I skipped out on his lesson in favour of sleep.
"Actually I took the liberty of retrieving your assignment and handing it in for you." Kyoya informed me, suddenly appearing behind me and I almost leaped out of my skin before I relaxed.
"Kyoya-kun, did you really do that for me? How did you find my paper?" I questioned him suspiciously as I gathered my things together and began to put them away, checking my bag to find that my paper was indeed gone. That was kind of him, I didn't expect him to think about my own paper when it didn't really concern him.
"I dropped in whilst you were sleeping in the nurse's office." He explained, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Host hours have been cancelled today due to pipework malfunction so the school is having to fix the floor that the club is held on, so that means you'll be coming straight home with me for the photo arrangements before I send you on to Tamaki's house. I have already taken the liberty of calling your butler and informing him of the situation." He informed me diplomatically as I blinked at him.
"Huh?" However before I could fully process everything in my mind Kyoya had stepped around and placed firm hands on my shoulders, pushing me forwards with a rush that I almost didn't have time to grab my bag as he marched me out of school to his awaiting limo. "Hey wait! Slow down a moment! I need to give Usa-chan back to Honey-kun!"
"Time is of the essence and I have little to waste, if you like you're more than welcome to sleep some more whilst we journey back to my home though I expect you to be fully awake when we get there." He said to me seriously, pushing my head down and bundling me into the car before signalling for the driver to head off.
Just as we pulled out of school I happened to look back over my shoulder to see Tamaki running after us, yelling for us to wait and he carried with him a massive clutch of papers which I could only imagine to be a list of things he wanted of me to photograph so I instantly slumped in the chair, hoping to hide out of sight before looking over to Kyoya who was cleaning his glasses.
"Why is it you pretend to be so selfish around other people when in truth you're actually trying to help them?" I asked him curiously, sitting up once again as soon as we were out onto the road. "You knew Tamaki-senpai was going to start bothering me the moment school was over, that's why you rushed me out here. Isn't it?"
"I have no idea what you mean." Kyoya answered, a slight smirk touching the corner of his mouth as he did so. "I told you I am in a hurry. I have a lot of work to do for the club and my studies so I would prefer to get this out of the way as quickly as possible." Arching an eyebrow in answer I pulled out my camera and snapped a photo of him as he sat opposite me, one leg crossed over the other with his eyes closed peacefully.
"In that case, I won't get in your way." I told him warmly. The journey wasn't too long and soon we were pulling up outside Kyoya's home mansion, one that was almost twice as big as my own and rivalled that of the Hitachiin twins. "Wow…and I thought I was rich."
"My family are well known for their work in medicine. We are key developers in the latest medicinal technology and drug developments so of course, we reap a huge profit through our investments." He explained to me as the door was opened by the chauffer, climbing out first before he politely reached in and offered me his hand to assist me out of the car.
"Is profit all you ever think about?" I teased him gently before allowing him to lead me inside where the door was opened for us and I instantly began to admire the modern style of the home, with a sweeping staircase and a massive crystal chandelier above my head. "Though right now I feel very inferior." I murmured as I turned a slow circle, my head craned upwards. "I even feel tacky."
"There's no need to feel that way, you're fine just the way you are." Kyoya said to me as he began to ascend the stairs. "I will be with you in a minute, allow me to change then we can begin. The maids will take care of you for the present." He informed me and I looked beside me to find two maids already at my shoulders, making me squeak in surprise before they took my arms and led me into the front room for refreshments.
"This way my lady, please make yourself at home." They invited, sitting me down in a luxurious sofa before pouring me tea and offering snacks of all kinds which I politely refused but took the tea gratefully, moving from the sofa to sit myself down on my knees at the low table, pressing my hands together in polite thanks before taking my first sip.
"I don't believe it, little Kyoya has finally brought home a girl!" Someone squealed and suddenly there was a rush of arms around me and I almost dropped my tea. "It's a wonderful miracle! I thought he'd be alone forever!"
"Uh…um…hello?" I stammered slightly before the woman pulled back and I came face to face with a stunningly beautiful woman with inky black hair and dark eyes which sparkled brightly at me. She wore a pale green dress and a smart cream jacket with short sleeves, a matching sash wrapped around her neck like a tight fitting scarf to go with her dress however my jewellers' eye instantly disagreed with her choice. Pearls would look better with an outfit like that rather than the tie, it looked too much like she was strangling herself.
"I'm Ootori Fuyumi, Kyoya's sister, I'm so happy to meet you!" She gushed and I blinked at her before I finally remembered to smile.
"It's nice to meet you too, my name is Araki Katsumi, however I'm afraid you've got this all wrong. I'm not dating Kyoya or anything, I'm just here as the Host Club's photographer. He's asked me to take some pictures to sell to the club members as a special offer and I agreed." I explained to her and instantly her face fell.
"Oh no! And I had my hopes up so high, I can't believe he would do such a thing to me!" She wailed before giving a sigh and recollecting herself, waiting a moment before she opened her eyes to look at me apologetically. "I'm so sorry, it's just that Kyoya has never shown any interest in other girls and when I saw you here I dared to hope that perhaps he'd finally found someone. Please, forgive me."
"It's alright, it's his fault for not telling you I was coming." I chuckled as I turned around on my mat to face her properly. "Kyoya-kun didn't tell me he had a sister, though he hasn't really told me anything much about himself." Fuyumi's eyes shone a little brighter with mischief and she shifted closer, dipping her head towards me.
"Well in that case, allow me to tell you some wonderful stories about my dear little brother." She giggled before lowering her voice into a whisper. Telling me about the times when Kyoya was younger and soon I was cracking up with laughter. My laughter, however, soon ended in a fit of coughing and I quickly turned my head away, struggling for breath before I gave a soft groan, feeling my head starting to ache. "Are you alright? You're not ill are you?" She questioned and reached out, touching my forehead with a frown. "You are rather hot, how long have you been like this?"
"It's just lethargy from some sleepless nights. I'm fine." I assured her with a smile, sitting up straight and drank some more of my tea. "School gets pretty tough this time of year and I've chosen art as one of my main subjects so I have to keep up with deadlines in order to make sure I don't fall behind." I explained to her just as Kyoya entered. "Kyoya-kun, you didn't tell me you had a sister."
"The information did not arise in a suitable conversation." He answered reasonably, making me roll my eyes in answer before I reached for my tea and drained it to be polite before I rose to my feet.
"It was nice meeting you Fuyumi-san, I hope we get another chance to get better acquainted." I said to her as she jumped to her feet and clasped my hands in hers excitedly, smiling broadly down at me.
"Oh please, you can call me Fu-chan if you like, I'd like that." She insisted before rubbing my head affectionately. "And please, don't be a stranger, even though I don't live here make sure you make yourself at home whenever you like! After all, I might be around and then we can talk some more."
"I can't wait." I agreed before allowing Kyoya to lead me away. "Your sister is really pretty and very nice. How come you don't talk about her more often?" I asked him as he led me to his own rooms which were larger than Haruhi's entire apartment.
"I'm not much of a conversationalist, I prefer to observe behaviours and gather data as it is more useful to me than participating in meaningless talk." He replied before taking a seat on a rather square and severe looking sofa that forced him to sit up straight, picking up a book which he began to read. "How's this?"
"Um…fine I guess." I answered, moving around to try and take a photo however the light wasn't quite catching him right, he had large shadows over his features however after a moment I realised that it kind of suited his appeal. The girls called him cool and mysterious, so this kind of lighting would be perfect for him. "Actually, could you tilt your head to the left a little and look over at me as if you've just noticed me come in?" I asked and he complied, tilting his head and looking towards my camera with a slight lift of one eyebrow. "Perfect." I took the photo and checked it to make sure, smiling slightly at the shadows that danced across the picture, just what I'd expect from the Shadow King.
"Is everything alright?" Kyoya questioned I nodded my head before instructing him into his next pose, having him fold one leg over the other and turn himself slightly towards me, book aside with his chin in his hand. This time I adjusted the lighting so that he was more visible before continuing on.
His room felt very hot and I wiped my brow to find that I was a little sweaty, surprising me a little but I dismissed the ill feeling I had swimming around in my head to make my way through the photo shoot until Kyoya was satisfied. As I uploaded the photos I already had to his laptop for safekeeping I decided to be nosy and asked to look at the financial reports of the host club.
"Why do you want to look at those?" He asked me curiously so I just shrugged.
"I was thinking that I might be able to help you out a little more. I've noticed that you guys don't hold back when spending money to provide the best tea, cakes, entertainment and then there was that planet themed day. It seems to me that you're spending all this money when I'm sure that there are ways you could save more."
"Oh really? Then by all means, take a look." He offered so I went through his files and flicked through the reports and banking plans, taking in all the information and mentally taking notes. "So what do you think?" He tested, sitting down beside me and leaning back in the chair, one arm resting along the top of the sofa as I leaned towards his laptop.
"You're really good at keeping a detailed track of all the financial expenditure." I complimented him before pointing to some statistics. "However you're spending way too much on the tea and cakes. I found this great place that sells high quality tea for a third of the price you spend already and I think if you were to buy your sweets and cakes more locally then you'd save a whole lot too." I began, typing in the company and made some searches into cake shops. "Also, with Honey-kun eating so much, I think you'd be better off buying larger quantities rather than the bite sized options you usually display. Sure the little cakes look cute on their stands, however if you exchange a third of the smaller cakes for double the weight in ordinary cake and offer it in slices, you'd cut your food expenses by a total of forty percent."
"I see, I have never heard of this tea company before. Are you certain they are good quality?"
"My family drinks their tea and believe me, my parents would spit it out if it wasn't fit for an emperor." I explained to him. "Part of the reason we're going bankrupt is because they can't stop spending ridiculous amounts of money on things they don't need. It's kind of annoying, when my mom left to join my dad out in Africa I had to redo the entire grocery list just to cut out all the posh junk we never eat then went through all the ledgers to minimise spending. It means we have a little more money in the bank than we would have had otherwise but still, it's like they refuse to acknowledge that we just can't afford stuff like we used to." Kyoya nodded his head, pushing his glasses further up his nose and was silent for a moment before speaking.
"So what else do you suggest?" Together we went through the entirety of the latest report with me making points on things they didn't need like special water flown in from the alps just to boil for tea, that ordinary water was just fine and instead of spending loads of money on handmade costumes made from professional designers around the world that home brands work just as well. I gave him several lists of all kinds of shops and cheap stores that I knew of where I got stuff for just as good quality for a whole lot less money.
He seemed pretty impressed that I knew so much but I just passed it off as being made to be responsible from a young age. We ended up talking for the rest of the hour that I'd agreed to spend there and almost didn't stop until Kyoya's phone rang with Tamaki reminding him that I was needed over at his place immediately.
"It appears our time is up." He mused thoughtfully, standing up as I reached out for my camera and put it away safely in its bag. "I'll have a car brought round for you and it'll take you to Tamaki's. Thank you for being so patient with us and for taking the time to help."
"It's alright Kyoya-kun." I said as I stood up, rubbing my head slightly as I made sure I had everything with me. "After all, I like to think of it more like I'm helping out some friends. I've never really had any before so it feels kind of nice."
"Oh?" He queried, giving his signature smirk as he placed his hands on his waist and leaned down to my height. "In that case you wouldn't call this a favour, right?" My face fell in a deadpan, looking him directly in the eye without flinching or hesitating.
"No you guys still totally owe me for this." We stared one another down for a few moments before Kyoya gave a soft sound of a chuckle and pulled back, fixing his glasses on his face and I blushed, his handsomeness casually slipping as a thought through my mind.
"Very well. In that case you had better go before Tamaki decides to call the police and send a search and rescue force out to find you." He said and I gave a small snort, shaking my head as I followed after him towards the door.
"Tamaki wouldn't go that far, right?" Kyoya just looked at me blankly over my shoulder. "Holy cow, you mean he would?" Guess he's not melodramatic for nothing. Fuyumi stopped us to say goodbye, giving me a crushing hug and invited me back around for tea sometime so I told her to leave the arrangements to Kyoya, smirking up at him before sticking out my tongue as I effectively trapped him in letting me come back to talk with his sister. I want to know all about the embarrassing stories that Kyoya has so that I can blackmail him out of pestering Haruhi so much to do all their dirty work.
I waved goodbye out of the window before sinking back into the seats. Now for possibly my hardest challenge yet, braving the house of Tamaki-senpai.
Lord give me strength, because boy will I need it.