A/N: Taking a very "Romeo and Juliet" feel. Hence the title of this chapter. Enjoy. ^_^

Chapter Ten
In Fair Ouran, Where we Lay our Scene...

"No way."

"Come on, Hikaru. We all have to do it."

"No we don't, not all of us. There's no way I'm seducing that woman."

Tamaki huffed, having had this fight with Hikaru for most of the morning. Kaoru hadn't been much better. The boys were currently waiting for the girls to show up and Tamaki had been unable to get a hold of Kyoya when the Shadow King had failed to show up for school. "Look, boss, we're all for destroying the Zuka club, don't get us wrong." Kaoru explained.

"Yeah." Hikaru finished. "We just don't want to have to basically try and get Benio Amakusa to fall in love with us while trying."

"But if you guys back out then we won't have any left to go through with the plan…" Tamaki steamed, rather feebly. He wasn't thrilled about the idea either.

That is when the girls arrived. The Ishihara twins slinked up to Kaoru and Hikaru. "What's with the looks?"

Tamaki grinned evilly. "They don't want to do their part. They'd rather just let both our clubs be destroyed by those St. Lobelia girls." He shrugged, letting the girls take care of the rest.

Iori put a hand on her hip, staring.

"What?" Hikaru shrugged. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not doing it."

Midori crossed her arms.

"Seriously. Forget it. Have you seen that girl? She's kind of nut job." Kaoru defended.

The girls raised an eyebrow and said together, "Well, if you're too scared…"

Groaning, Hikaru and Kaoru finally agreed to help. After that, Sayori took over management. She sat the hosts down and explained exactly what their plan of attack would be, and that Mori and Honey would be excluded. She didn't comment on the absence of Kyoya, but she chewed her lip worriedly for most of the day. Even when the stress of the evening started getting to her, she kept turning her head toward the door, hoping.

"No. No." Sayori sighed, a hand on her temple. "That will never work."

Hikaru stopped acting and put a hand on his hip. "And why not?"

Sayori had been playing the part of Benio for the practicing, since no one else seemed willing. The set up was going to be tricky so each host had to play their new role perfectly in order to succeed.

"You are supposed to be an idealist. The sensitive guy who is driven by his peaceful and revolutionary goals for humanity." She clarified. "What you did sounded like a tree hugger on drugs." Hikaru was to display the passionate idealist who was new-age and fit the heterosexual role reversal that might appeal to someone like Amakusa. Kaoru was to portray the opposite. The type of man Benio despises: macho, chivalrous, and aggressive. She figured there was always a chance of opposites attracting, but, needless to say, Kaoru was a last resort.

Tamaki hadn't needed too much coaching. He took to his role simply enough. He was the effeminate lure. Basically, he was a girl while not actually being a girl. Sayori hadn't needed to give him much coaching in that respect. He only needed to tone down the dramatic and restrain from flirting with women besides Amakusa.

The only other host left to work with was Kyoya, but he was still missing. Tamaki had tried calling his house, but the maid had answered, saying the young master was sick. Sayori doubted that very much, but she couldn't do anything about it. When he did arrive, Kyoya was going to play the empathetic intellectual. Honestly, she believed that his role would be the one to break Amakusa, but the thought made her face burn. The last thing she wanted was to watch him flirt with that…that…Sayori let the splintered remains of her pencil fall into the waste basket.

She had just brushed the last remnants of lead from her hands when the Host Club doors opened.

"Kyoya!" Tamaki was the first to crowd the boy. "I thought you were sick."

Kyoya smiled, not particularly annoyed by Tamaki holding onto his shoulders. "Yes, well, I'm feeling much better now." He went over to a table to set his bag down. When he looked up, every host and hostess eye was on him. "Don't we have some work to do?" He sighed, adjusting his glasses with two fingers.

"Sorry, Kyoya-senpai. It's just…well…you've never missed school before…" Hikaru said.

"Or so much of club activities…" Kaoru shrugged with his brother. "So. You know. This is weird."

"Nonsense. Everyone gets sick from time to time. I am human after all."

Haruhi smirked. "Yeah, but not all of us are quite convinced." She mumbled.

Sayori kindly stepped in, ushering the hosts out of Kyoya's face and getting them back on track. She looked at him over her shoulder, but he set his gaze determinedly on anything but her. Hesitantly, because she did not believe for a second that he had been sick, Sayori approached. Her smile was genuine and her eyes soft, almost kind. "You've missed a lot today."

His eyes were covered by the glare on his lenses. "I see. Then, I suppose I'll have to be filled in. I wouldn't want to miss anything, considering how quickly things change around here."

She leaned on the edge of a table, her knees bending along the edge. It didn't take long to run through the club events he had missed. She rolled all of the fighting and bad acting by the twins into a few sentences. Then she got to his part in the plan, looking up at him with a smirk. The playfulness was back and a part of her was looking forward to the look on his face when he knew he was to be included. "So, then we get to your role."

He looked up, actually in her direction, for the first time. "And what would that be?" He had agreed with her choices for the most part this far.

"The empathetic intellectual." She smiled. "You're the only one capable."

He sighed. "Fine."

"Remember, you need to be charming and polite." Sayori directed.

He seethed. "Yes, I understand the role." Sayori held in laughter, knowing that he was reluctant to participate.

"I'll play the part of Amakusa—" She started.

Kyoya's head snapped toward her. "Excuse me?"

"For practice, of course. Did you really think you were just going to wing it? We have to make sure that the character is right. That you know what you're doing."

"I know what I'm doing." He argued quietly, his voice bordering anger.

Sayori leaned toward him, her shoulder at her cheek as she smiled coyly. "Then you won't mind proving that."

He watched her stride to the middle of the floor, extending a hand as she waited for him to follow. Like hell.

"Kyoya, aren't you going to get any practicing in?" Tamaki asked, noticing the hesitation.

"I don't require practice, but you and the twins might benefit from the exercise." He tried to keep his voice light and positive. Then he felt an arm slink over his shoulders, followed by a second. The twins, being shorter, had him hunched over as they stood on either side.

"Now, Kyoya-senpai, we all had to do it. How does it look to us if our own leader doesn't participate?" Hikaru purred.

"Besides, if you're as good as you claim, we might learn something from your example." Kaoru grinned.

"You wouldn't want to deny us such a promising learning opportunity, would you?" Hikaru winked at his twin.

Kyoya was almost visibly shaking, anger and frustration making it hard to see straight. His head was down, but when he lifted it, he wore the perfect smile of a gentlemen. "If you want, I can write up some notes on the subject. I'm sure that would be much more enlightening to you." He sent them a pleasant glare. "Unless, of course, you're not interested in such learning possibilities."

The twins released his shoulders, shrugging and sauntering off. They had failed. Haruhi moved next to him, just as Tamaki started to prepare his own argument. She spoke quietly, so that Tamaki wouldn't hear, but Kyoya would.

"You know," She sent him a knowing smile. "They'll never stop unless you do it, so why not just get it over with? If you're that good you'll only have to run through it once and it would probably be a lot less painful than listening to all this."

Kyoya looked down at Haruhi. Then returned the smile. "As much as I hate to say it, I believe you have a point." Tamaki was still full swing when Kyoya put a hand in his face and the blonde fell backward. Kyoya sighed, stepping in front of Sayori. "Let's get this over with." Her eyes practically shone. He thought of Fuyumi and all that nonsense she had tried spilling the other day. Then he shook it off as exactly that, nonsense.

"You can start." Sayori said with a bow. "I'll be playing the part of Amakusa." She twisted her face and assumed her best Benio impression, which was not at all accurate.

He held back a sigh, looking forward instead of at Sayori beside him. "Hello, Miss Amakusa. I was just admiring your beautiful academy." He began smoothly, his voice soft and almost kind. The voice of a diplomat.

Sayori waved her arms dramatically, flipping the ends of her ebony hair. "And how can you, a man, fully appreciate the true beauty of this sacred institution?" She had made her voice deeper and taken on some strange accent that neither Benio nor any other human used. Kyoya felt the very corner of his mouth slant upwards, despite his protest. But Sayori was too in character to notice, her eyes closed and her pose ridiculous. Her rendition so horrible, it was almost amusing enough to make him forget.

He bowed politely. "That I am. But I would gladly accept any council you could give me on the subject. A woman's opinion is truly something to cherish."

Sayori held her chin in the air. "Your words are very refreshing." She put her hands on her hips, like she might start to fly at any moment.

"I take that as the highest compliment, from you. Would you care to show me around this magnificent institution so that I may better understand its true beauty? I'm sure, with you as my guide, I would learn so much more than I have previously read." He still fought a smile, but extended his hand to her, as he would in the real situation.

Sayori grabbed his whole arm. "What a wonderful idea! Finally, a man that can acknowledge a woman's superior intellect."

"Yes, superior." He said quietly.

"What was that?" She snapped, her eyes leveling him.

"I was simply agreeing with you."

She nodded and began dragging him around the room roughly. Pointing at walls or pillars or tables and naming them as important historical monuments of St. Lobelia. She had done her research, at least. All the names were accurate with precise details on their meaning.

"Do you always agree so easily?" She asked, as she stopped her 'tour.'

"Quite the contrary. My respect is very difficult to obtain. But I have heard so much of your abilities that I had done my own research into your career. I was rather impressed with your supreme cunning and ability, while admiring your feminine graces and elegance. Your skills on stage are not to be outdone as well. I have never seen a more convincing portrayal of Hamlet." He lied smoothly, bowing again and taking her hand.

Sayori tried to keep the girly squeals from her act, keeping her voice a few octaves lower and trying to be more like Amakusa. "You have heard of me, that is no surprise."

He smiled. "I make it a point to know things of importance and the activity of a well known, talented, club leader from a prestigious school is something I research fully." Kyoya cleared his throat, not forgetting that he was supposed to be seducing the woman. But it was not Amakusa who peered up at him from under her eyelashes. He continued bravely. "When I found the subject to be a woman of such natural beauty that was just an added bonus."

Sayori put a hand to her cheek, falling quickly out of character. "Natural beauty?"

"Qui, mademoiselle. And now I find that you are beautiful in more ways than one, to my delight."

"You're a very smooth talker, Mr. Otori." Sayori's emerald eyes were unwavering. Her voice at its normal pitch.

"I like to think so." He replied, losing a bit of his confidence with her staring like that. He kept his smile going and retained his character. She still had his arm, grasping it with both of hers.

"Do you talk to every girl you meet like this?" Sayori looked down, her bangs hitting his shoulder.

"I believe every woman deserves to be treated with respect and appreciation. I hold no favorites, though I might be persuaded to nominate you for the position." Her fingers moved gently on his arm, her knee bumping his thigh, like she wanted to move closer. When she looked up, there was no more acting going on.

It was her turn. Her line. But she didn't speak. Then her head was moving, closer like her body seemed to want to do. What the hell was she thinking? She was not about to try and kiss him. Not in the middle of a crowded club room. Not him. And, his biggest problem, he seemed to be letting her. Her lips parted in that delicious way girls have of doing simple things as if in slow motion. Her hands had slipped down his arm to grab his hand, holding it in place.

He fought to keep his eyes open. She smelled so good. Her face was so close. Her breath was so inviting. Her lips looked so appealing. Damn her.

Her breath hit his lips and he still wasn't trying to stop her. His eyes fell closed.

"Wow, Kyoya-senpai. You did way better than any of us." Hikaru noted with a smirk.

Sayori jumped backward, running her hand over her lips. She rubbed at her face and then brushed at her hair and then straightened her shirt. Kyoya hadn't moved or done anything but stand there and almost close his eyes and almost let her kiss him.

"Uh…yeah. That was very good practice. I think you're ready. No need to continue you." She tried to keep her voice even, but the words still came out rushed. Her cheeks were pink and her heart pounded in her ears. But visually, she remained composed.

Kaoru leaned on his brother's shoulder. The rest of the club had been watching, riveted, and now quite speechless. "Yeah, good practice." Kaoru said. "I might be compelled to say, a bit too good. What do you think Hikaru?"

"Oh, I don't know Kaoru. Their scene was extremely convincing."

Kyoya kept his mouth shut, knowing that defending himself would only work to incriminate him further. The twins had active imaginations and he did not want to feed it. Thankfully, Sayori was smart enough to draw the same conclusion. In his mind, however, the twins were both suffering horribly for their bold comments.

Hoping to keep the crowd from saying anything, they bowed to each other formally and parted ways. Jun had just opened her mouth, when Sayori spoke first. "I think we can call it a night and work out more details tomorrow." She picked up her school bag. With a few protests, the hosts and hostesses began to file out of the room, heading for home.

Sayori held a hand up when she sensed Jun behind her. "You don't have to wait for me. I'll see you tomorrow." Jun pursed her lips. Sayori did not want to be anywhere near the blonde at that moment. Jun was not going to let the issue drop and Sayori needed more time to think.

Jun, getting the wrong idea, ushered everyone left, except for Kyoya, out of the club room. When the door shut, they were alone and both let out a grateful breath.

Sayori kept her back to the room. "You weren't sick."

He stood at the door, ready to leave.

"What's the real reason you were so late?"

Kyoya kept his eyes on the handle.

She sighed. "Fine. Don't tell me." The she was in his face, glaring. "Keep whatever secrets you like. But…" She looked down. "And I know this probably doesn't change anything, but still..."

He looked down, she sounded like she was crying, but he didn't see any trace of tears.

"…You didn't try to stop me." She spun on her heel and let the doors fall shut behind her.

She was right. He didn't try to stop her. Possibly because he didn't want to stop her. Kyoya's talk with his father had gone long into the night. His father had taken a lot of convincing, but Kyoya managed to secure his place at Ouran and in the club. He just needed to keep his father informed of any information Kyoya learned from her, since that was his real intentions when keeping the whole thing quiet.

"And, Kyoya." His father had stopped him, Kyoya's hand on the door.

"Yes, Sir?"

"I've read up on Miss Koichi." His father began. "I want to make sure you understand. Don't fall in love with her."

Kyoya felt his face harden. "Understood."

Then he had let the door swing closed. Of course he understood. What did his father think of him? Kyoya let out a breath. Apparently, he thought Kyoya was a teenage boy and Sayori a teenage girl. Apparently, he knew his son, or at least teenagers, better than Kyoya had thought. No, he wasn't in love, by any means. Love required more than what he was thinking. Besides, he still chose his father over her. That wasn't love.

There was always the possibility of his feelings turning into something as strong, but he wasn't going to let it get that far. His mishap earlier had been a warning. The warning being that if she restarted her pursuit of him, even partly, he'd be caught with ease. His avoiding her was part of the conditions to stay at Ouran. He chose his friends and school over her. Obviously, this was not love, but more fascination. He'd fought off women easily for years. Even though this one actually tempted him, he'd have no problem keeping her away.

Except, he had a problem doing just that not an hour ago. Kyoya got into his car. Quiet. Thoughtful. He had to come up with something. Something that would suit his needs. To maintain his father's good graces, his desire to stay at Ouran, and to combat these nagging feelings that tormented him. Easier said than done.

Her driver held the door for her and Sayori thanked him as she ducked into her car. "Did you have a good day, Miss?" He asked when he heard the thump of her bag against the floor. He took her silence to mean 'no' and eased the door closed behind her.

Sayori looked out the window. She played with the buttons on the door. She twirled a piece of hair in her finger. Then her car pulled into her drive way, under the front awning and stopped to let her out. Before her driver could get out to open her door, she stopped him. Her mother would want to talk to her or she might run into her father as he was leaving the house. She didn't want to deal with the awkward wave as he passed her by, eyes only for his phone, or deal with her mother obsessing over some party or other.

"I'm not going home." She instructed. "Take me to Inoue's house, please."

"As you wish." Her driver started the car again and they left.

The Inoue estate was a familiar site. Jun and Sayori had been friends since they were little, around the same age that Sayori had met Kyoya. When Sayori left her car and walked up the front steps, the door had opened before she could knock. Jun's excited blonde head filled her view as she was given a hug.

"I didn't think you'd be visiting today." Jun gushed, letting Sayori walk inside. The walls of the house were pale and ancient looking. Displays, priceless antiques, legendary painting, all types of expensive and rare artifacts lined the many rooms and halls. Her parents were collectors. Like most families in their social standing, the house was meant to be viewed, not lived in. Not a single chair or couch looked comfortable. They made Sayori's back stiff just looking at them.

Jun dragged her along, up the stairs and to her room on the third floor, a long evening gown fluttering out behind her. Sayori didn't need to say anything. When Jun was home, she was another display. A piece to make a perfect family in their perfect house. More a trophy than a daughter. Jun was not to speak in her parent's presence unless expressly invited to. She was not to wear 'flashy' trends or appear unladylike in the house. If she ever forgot her manners, Jun was reminded with a sharp slap on the cheek. The poor bubbly girl was caged by her status.

"Oh, this is wonderful. I was just doing my homework before going to bed." Jun fluttered around her room sporadically. It was the only place she could act as she pleased.

"Yes. Wonderful." Sayori mumbled as she fell back on Jun's bed.

Jun finally stopped her chattering and sat next to her friend, a wide smile on her face. "Did you come here to talk about earlier?"

"No."

Jun stretched out onto her side. "Come on, Yori. I'm just dying to talk about it. And I am your best friend, after all. If you can't trust me then—"

"I trust you well enough Jun."

Jun pouted. "Fine. If you must be that way. Why did you come over? You haven't been stopping by nearly as much since we started the club."

"You don't like the club?"

"Oh, but of course I do. Don't be ridiculous." Jun leaned on her elbow. "Do you?"

"I enjoy my time there." Sayori sighed.

"I see. And spending time with friends outside of home is always nice."

"Yes."

"And…I must admit that I've grown awfully fond of the Hosts as well…" Jun smirked, but Sayori had her hand over her eyes.

Sayori was silent now. Jun was not yet clever enough to trick her, and she really didn't come over to feed the girl's already wild imagination.

"You seem fond of them too, I noticed." Jun received a glare.

"Enough. I'm not going to talk about it."

"But why not?" Jun pouted.

"Because…" Sayori covered her face in her hands. Why had she come over? She knew this is how it would be. Maybe she did want to talk. But she didn't. Sayori groaned and rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in Egyptian cotton.

"Sayori." Jun put a hand on her back. "Why are you trying so hard to keep this from me? It's not like I can't see how you are with him. I don't think I've seen you so happy. You can't ignore the issue forever."

"I don't want to talk about it because it won't solve anything." Sayori laid on her hand, staring away from Jun and out the window. Drops gathered on the glass and it began to rain.

"It might not solve anything." Jun agreed somberly. "But you can still talk to me. It's fun to talk. It helps. If I were in your situation, I'd be glad of a friendly ear." Jun smiled, leaning back on her arms. "I've always had to pry information out of you like this. You'll talk eventually."

Sayori slouched, a position that would have normally initiated a quick reprimand, but she was comfortable here. "We don't always have the freedom to do as we please. We can't always get what we want. And no matter how things may seem, there are some luxuries money can't buy."

Jun sighed. "But that doesn't mean we can't try—"

Sayori turned over, staring at her sharply. "You're too optimistic. His father would never allow him to…" She groaned. "Look, whatever I may feel doesn't matter. We're not a good match. Ask anyone. Our parents would murder us or disown us or worse. Now, I may not care about that, but he does. So…if I care about him at all, how can I make him choose?"

Jun sighed. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to leave him alone. I'm not going to push it anymore. It was fun, but then things got…complicated and now…now I care that he's happy or something along those lines and don't want to put him in a situation that would potentially harm him or what he wants. So there. You got me to say that I do like him, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Oh, Sayori." Jun looked up brightly, her hand resting on Sayori's shoulder. "There's always something you can do."