Well, this chapter is a lot shorter than normal, since I split up a 12 page chapter into three parts. So basically this chapter is nothing but fluff. The next chapter is the one that actually has some great stuff in it, interactions between Kyoya and Maria as they further deepen their understanding with each other. You'll be very happy with that chapter.

I decided to update because I got some great feedback and figured I should update again! Thanks so much to EowynAhsokaLover and LunarMagick for reviewing, I appreciate your feedback and can't wait to hear more from you! Thanks soooo so so so much! You don't know how much it means to me!

Also, thank you to firefly26893, Thirsty4MoreBloodAndWords13 and ASDFGHJKL25 for favoriting/alerting this story. Thanks so much for continuing to watch this story and be interested enough to continue to read it! I look forward to what you guys think in the future!

So without further ado, here's the ever short chapter 11!


"Tori, I'm going to the store. Don't destroy the place and make sure you get up. The bathroom is down the hall if you want a shower." I tell my zombie-like sibling, who merely groans and turns over. I grab my keys, my wallet, and head out to the store. I had the table brought in earlier, which was really hard to get in the door. Since Tori sleeps like the dead, it was easy enough to get it in here without waking her up. The guys down at the storage place were nice enough to carry it for me too. I tipped them for good measure, because they were going to have to come back and move it back into storage later. They seemed happy about it, though. I'm glad that people are actually nice enough to help me.

I have to go to a supermarket to get something to clean the wood as well as some food to make the brunch. If it's McMillan-style, there's a lot on the menu, and none of it is Japanese. Gives me an excuse to buy a set of nice silver.

Now, what to make is the question. Brunch is a mixture of breakfast and lunch, so...french toast for sure. Fruits like apples, bananas, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, and other assorted berries. Potatoes for hashbrowns. Now, meat-wise...maybe some ham, or...bacon? Nah, there's no good bacon here. I already checked...well, I'll figure it out.

When I get back to my house with my butt load of groceries and the stuff needed to clean and treat the table, I hear the shower running. It's about 8:30, which gives me two hours to clean and treat the table and prepare enough food for nine people. Oh joy. Let the acrobatics begin.


"Welcome, everyone!" I hear my sister's voice at precisely 10:30 as she opens the door. I managed to finish setting the table, put down nice cushions for everyone to sit on, prepared tea, water and coffee, and I have food ready to serve along the table. I've been rushing so much I haven't had time to get ready, so I told Tori to greet everyone while I dress into something besides dirty shorts and a holey t-shirt. I slip on jeans and a nice, plain-colored, fitted V-neck t-shirt that's dark green. It's cut for women, which is nice and looks a lot better than the unisex t-shirts that I mostly own. I pull down my hair, brush it out, put some clips in one side, and dust a bit of crap on my face to at least modestly cover the pimples. I walk out of the room, notice I'm wearing neon socks, and fly back in and slip on some plain white socks. There, not so unprepared anymore.

I walk into the room, and everyone's heads turn to me. I immediately see the sparkles and stars where Tamaki is sitting, and lo and behold next to him sits my sister, who is on the receiving end of his affections.

"Ah, mademoiselle, you are most beautiful...much like your sister. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." I hear him say, and she's giggling to high heaven.

Dear Lord, why did you do this to me? I will never separate them now. Thanks a lot.

"I see everyone's here. I'm glad you all could make it. Everyone, this is my sister Tori. She's turning 15 this summer and she lives in Las Vegas with the rest of my family. She's here for the week and is going to be shadowing me at Ouran during that time." She slaps my leg, because I'm standing behind her.
"Shut up, you sound so stuffy! Let's eat already, 'cause I'm freakin' starving!" She says, and everyone laughs. I smirk and take my seat at the head of the table—which I find a little odd, but don't really mind too much—and watch as everyone's digs in. I see that to my left is Kyoya, to my right is Tamaki, and the rest of the host club follow down as follows, my sister next to Tamaki. It's clear that Tori was the one who sat them down. If it was me, I would have had Haruhi by my left and Kyoya by my right, but that's fine. I don't mind this either, so long as Tamaki can keep his hands to himself throughout the meal.

"This is amazing, Mari-chan! It's so yummy!" I hear from Honey-sempai as he shovels a scone into his mouth. It happens to be my favorite kind as well, which is chocolate chip. I smile and continue to eat.
"Mari-chan, did you make all of this?" I nod, answering Kaoru's question.
"The fruit I just cut up. It was quite simple, really. The rest is homemade, though I will admit that the scones are store bought. They take too long to make by hand otherwise." I say, explaining my methods of madness very briefly. No need for intricate details with these people, because they won't understand or care.
"Did you hurt yourself?" I shake my head at Hikaru.
"No. I've done it long enough, so I don't cut or burn myself much anymore." I say.
"That's not how it used to be. I remember when we were younger and you were starting to cook. You couldn't stop yourself from chopping your hand off most days!" Tori says, and I nod.
"It's true. That much I know. But I was, what, ten? It makes sense that I would have problems when I was that young." I say, taking a bite of the french toast. I'm surprised at how great it tastes. Just like mama's. It's a little nostalgic, and I have to sit there a moment and savor it.

"That good, hm?" I hear from my left, and I look at Kyoya, who's got a sly smirk on his face. I swallow.
"Yes, it is good. It tastes just like mama's, doesn't it Tori? It's a little nostalgic, and makes me a little homesick." I say, and she smiles at me.
"Yeah, it does. You did a good job." She says, before continuing to eat and flirt with Tamaki. I can already tell that tearing them apart at the end of the week is going to be nearly impossible.

All things considered, it would be great motivation for her to apply and get accepted to Ouran. After all, if there's one thing I want, it's to get her out of that house and into my care, under my supervision. I know I'll treat her and support her better than anything she could get in that house. I know that my mother is good enough, but with my father around that's almost negated. Tori may be pretty impervious to most things, but she's not invincible. She'd be better off here. Still, I don't want her to come just because of Tamaki. It's not worth it if that's the case, no sarcasm intended.

I know it sounds like I'm compromising my family, but if I could find a good way to get my father out of the picture, I would have done it by now. As it stands, I have no money, no job, and no education to speak of. I don't have the ability to support my entire family yet. Nothing can happen until I accomplish that much.

"Are you alright, Maria? You seem to have fallen into yourself for a moment." I look up suddenly and look at Kyoya, who had been speaking to me. I blink a little and continue eating.
"It's nothing." I say, avoiding his gaze. I don't care if he doesn't believe me. It's not his business.


"Maria, it was nice of you to invite all of us today. The food was amazing, as always." Haruhi says, and the rest of the host club looks at her funny.
"What do you mean, Haru-chan?" Honey-sempai asks. She smiles.
"I've spent the night at Maria's already, and she made me some authentic American food. It was a fun evening." Then the host club looks at me, and I shrug.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You and Haruhi had a sleepover, and you didn't tell anyone?" I nod to Hikaru.
"For good reason. Had I said anything, you creeps would have found my apartment and shown up unannounced. That's the last thing I wanted at the time." I say, and Kaoru quirks an eyebrow.
"Really? So we're creeps now? Is that a promotion or a demotion?" I shrug.
"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure it's a demotion. That's what I thought at the time, and it's been a while since then. Man, you guys are slow. Haruhi and I may not see each other a lot, but we do hang out from time to time." I say. Tori giggles, and I look at her. Again, Tamaki is flirting with her. But this time, he has her in his arms. I feel myself losing it a little. Why is he touching her? I don't remember giving him my permission.

"I must say, mademoiselle, I find you quite breathtaking. Please do me the honor of spending the day with me." She giggles a little more, playing it up. She's totally flirting, and the sweetness makes me want to gag. As much as I like shoujo, I don't like it in real life. And Yaoi is the only cuteness overload I will accept. So this is pure torture, especially when it's my own sister and that overgrown imbecile.

"I would be happy to, Tamaki." She says, and my jaw drops.
"Hey, what's this you're planning? I don't remember saying you could do that! Tamaki, hands off! Now!" I say, and he looks at me with a pout.
"Aw, it's okay Mari-chan. Tama-chan won't hurt Tori-chan. He's just being nice." I grit my teeth at this, but my weakness for Honey-sempai makes me give in. Plus, who am I to lord over her? She is here, but I told her I wouldn't mind her having fun. However, the way he's holding her and treating her is going to give her the wrong impression, and then he's going to hurt her. I'll have to make sure to get on his case if that's how things are going to be. If there's one thing about Tori, it's that if she wants something, no amount of my hollering and anger is going to change her mind. In that way, she's even more pig-headed and stubborn than I am. I know when to quit, something she has yet to learn. That's my father's influence on her.

"So, Mari-chan, is it alright if I steal her for a day? Do you mind at all?" That smile he gives me...I'm still wary.
"I don't know, Tamaki..." I say, and the moment I see Tori's face that says 'oh no you don't' I shrug, giving in.
"Alright, but you better bring her back in one piece. And if you're giving her the wrong idea I will not hesitate to castrate you. You've been warned." I say, and with that warning in mind, he turns back to her. She doesn't miss a beat skipping over to me.

"Hey, why don't you all come along? I'm sure it would be so much fun!" She says, but clearly Tamaki is not happy with it.
"We can't." Honey-sempai says, and Tori deflates a little.
"Why?" She asks, and he smiles.
"Well, Takashi and I have to go back to his house. There's family stuff that we have to take care of today." She nods.
"It's okay. Anyone else?" She asks, and the twins move next.
"Well, we have to go home and see mom. She's back from one of her shows and wants to see us."
"And I have to go back to see my dad. He wants to see me today." Haruhi says.
"Kyoya?" He shakes his head at my sister.
"I don't have plans." He says.
"Well, Haruhi, we'll take you home!" The twins say, but she shakes her head.
"I'm going to stay and help clean up. It's not urgent that I get home right away, unlike you guys." Deflated, the twins and our sempais say their goodbyes and make their way home.
"Alright, the rest of you can help me. I need to get this place clean before anyone goes anywhere." I say, marching back inside. I start to clear dishes from the table, and I see Haruhi and Tori at my side shortly afterward. They put food away while I run a sink full of soapy water. I don't expect the two that aren't present to help, since they've probably never done this kind of thing before. So I wash dishes, Haruhi dries them and stacks them, and Tori wipes down the floors and table.

"Tori, when you're done with that, call the guys from the storage facility down the street and tell them to come get the table." I say over my shoulder.
"I don't have the number!" She whines.
"It's on my cell phone. Just get the damn thing and call!" I say, gritting my teeth as I wash the dishes. Haruhi laughs at me.
"Maria, you and your sister seem really close." I sigh.
"We are pretty close. She and I don't do anything without the other most of the time. I'm going to try to convince her to come to Japan and go to Ouran. She's got amazing grades and is a great musician. I'm sure there's something they could give her to attend." She helps me put the dishes away as I hear Tori flirting with Tamaki.
"Why is that?" I know my face doesn't look the greatest at the thought of why, but I manage to smile.
"I just can't think of doing the rest of this without her. It would be fun for us to live together, I think." I say. Convinced or not, she doesn't ask any more questions.

"The guys are here, Maria! What do you want me to tell them?" I push past my sister and get to the door. I smile and let them in.
"Here it is, guys! Just take it out the same way you brought it in." I say, and they nod. I push the two numbskulls out of the way and lift the table to put it on it's side without much effort. I let the workers take over after that.
"Miss, you didn't have to do that. This thing is pretty heavy."
"I just turned it over. It's fine." I say, crossing my arms as they maneuver the table out of my door.
"Mari-chan...you turned that table on end all by yourself. How did you do it? It looks so heavy." I shrug to Tamaki, who's got a concerned look on his face.
"It's nothing, really. I've hauled boxes and lifted furniture with more weight than that table." I say, turning back to go to the kitchen. I make sure the place is clean, then turn to go back to the living room. Once the storage guys are gone, Haruhi says goodbye and goes on her way. Tori then jumps for joy.

"Yay, it's a double date!" I shake my head as she grabs Tamaki and makes her way out of the door. I manage to put my shoes on and then make my way out as well. Kyoya holds out his hand courteously, but I just scoff.
"If you think for a moment that I'm going to cling to you like some idiotic, flirtatious female, think again. Let's go...I don't want Tamaki pulling anything without my supervision." I say, pushing my way past the pompous ass behind me and following my sister and the blond imbecile.

God, why me? Why did I agree to this again? Oh, right, it's because I'm a complete freakin' moron with a soft spot for my sibling, and I don't want that imbecile creating trouble for her. Damn me and all of my sensitivities.


There's that filler chapter, and seeing as I have to keep ahead of you guys and I'm writing a whole lot of the next parts of this story as I write this here (yes, I am just that talented XD) I have been hesitant to update because I used to be eight or nine chapters ahead, and now I'm only, like, three ahead. So I split things up and everything so I have more time to work. I promise that as pointless as this chapter may seem, I had to get Tamaki, Tori, Maria and Kyoya out for a day, just the four of them and this is what I came up with. You guys will love next chapter, I promise!

Thanks so much to all of you who have reviewed/favorited/alerted, and please please PLEASE keep that great feedback coming! It spurs me on and makes me feel obligated to give you another chapter if I get enough reviews/favorites/alerts.

Later days and much love!

~B-chan