Chapter 11
Lunchtime at Ouran. A perfect time to catch up with your friends and relax for an hour in between morning and afternoon classes or in Haruhi's case, a perfect time to catch up on homework. There was the rare occasion that she didn't spend her lunch hour in the library or in the classroom working on something.
But today was not one of those days.
Not wanting to have much homework for the upcoming weekend, Haruhi gathered her books to make her way towards one of the many libraries that Ouran Academy had. Hopefully it would be quiet in at least one of them.
As she walked out of the classroom, she was startled to find Hikaru standing in the hallway – without his brother, which was a surprise. "Took you long enough," he said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Every Friday you go to the library during lunch to work on homework. Either its out of habit or you just want to get it done incase something comes up."
"Not every Friday," she said beginning to make her way towards one of the libraries.
Hikaru smiled as he fell in step with her. They walked in silence until they were almost to the closest library. That was when Hikaru pulled Haruhi into an alcove that sat underneath a staircase.
"Hey! What gives?" she asked. "I need to study!"
"Willyougototheballwithme?" he blurted out in a jumble of words.
"What?" she asked a little confused.
She watched as Hikaru nervously ran his hand through his hair before taking a deep breath. "Will you go to the ball with me?" he asked much slower, without jumbling the words together. "As a girl of course," he added at the end in a lower whisper.
A bit taken back, Haruhi blushed slightly. This was completely unexpected. She knew that Hikaru still had feelings for her after their date in Karuizawa, but she never imagined that he would ask her to the masquerade ball and to go as a girl. But how would it all work out?
Seeing that Haruhi was contemplating something, he spoke up again. "Between you, me, Kaoru and Aimi, I am sure that we can come up with a plan to make it work out."
Hearing that Hikaru had thought of whom they could talk to in help on pulling off this idea, Haruhi decided that perhaps a change was in order. It wasn't a Host Club even after all, so why couldn't she go as her true self – just a little hidden. "Yes," Haruhi answered with a smile. "I'll go with you."
Shocked that she had said yes so quickly, Hikaru stared wide-eyed at her for a moment. "Really?" he finally asked.
Haruhi nodded yes again as she smiled at him before stepping out of the alcove and making her way towards the library. Now she really needed to get some studying done since she needed to go shopping that weekend. And she knew exactly who she would ask for help with dress shopping.
As Aimi entered Music Room 3 on that afternoon, the Host Club had already begun for the day. She made her way silently towards the table where Kyoya was busily typing away on his laptop. He paused for a brief moment to look up at her as she sat down next to him then went right back to typing. Nothing was said between them.
Nothing needed to be. There were things that were meant to be private and their newfound relationship was one of them. Their lunch "dates" - if that was what you could even call them – the last two days had made up for some of the time that they wouldn't be able to spend acting like a couple in the afternoons: time to themselves and stolen kisses when no one was around. That was why silence during Host Club hours didn't faze them.
All around them both guests and the other Hosts were noticing that Aimi had returned to the club after her outburst the other day. Several of the guests began to whisper among themselves about what was going on, while being careful not to whisper too loud around any of the other Hosts. Yet every so often a few of the hushed words would drift out of one of the conversations and reach the ears of Aimi, Kyoya or another Host.
'I heard that it was all an act the other day for attention.'
'She is just wanting to come off as Ms. Perfect, when everyone now knows that she isn't.'
With all the words – both negative and positive - swirling around her, all Aimi could do was sit back and smile. What did she have to prove to these girls? Absolutely nothing. She knew that she wasn't perfect. In fact, she was far from it. There were only a few people in the world that mattered the most to her: herself, her grandfather, Haruhi, her uncle Ranka and of course, Kyoya. Everyone else came second. Yes she would consider the other Host Club members her friends, but would she trust them with her secrets? Perhaps in the future, but not yet. Then there were her other cousins from her mother's side of the family, but in that case she rarely talked to them.
Yet Aimi was rudely knocked from her musings by a high pitched squeal coming from nearby as her arm was suddenly grabbed. She felt someone trying to pull her out of the seat that she was currently sitting in.
"Mommy upset cousin the other day! Therefore cousin doesn't need to sit with mommy!" Tamaki squealed louder, trying to again get Aimi up from the chair. The Host Club king found that the smaller girl was much stronger then he was, even with a hurt knee. She had locked her legs together and wasn't budging from her seat.
Aimi raised an eyebrow to Tamaki as she was referred to as "cousin" and Kyoya was referred to as "mommy" as she continued to hold firm to where she was sitting despite Tamaki's pulling. She knew from what Kyoya had told her in the past that Tamaki thought that the Host Club was his family, yet she never thought that she would have been considered part of that family.
It was a bit odd.
She was about to say something in response, but she was beat to the punch. "Tamaki, while you consider Aimi a part of this dysfunctional family since she is Haruhi's cousin, she is still a guest. And as a guest, she has the right to choose which Host that she would like to sit with." Kyoya promptly stated as he closed the lid to his laptop.
"That is correct, but…" Tamaki said trying to cut Kyoya off.
"Yet, you seem to be neglecting your own guests at the moment." Kyoya pointed out.
Tamaki turned and blushed as several young ladies were watching him from a nearby sofa. He chuckled softly as he dropped Aimi's arm. "Forgive me, princess," he said, putting on his "princely" persona. "Please enjoy the rest of your afternoon."
Aimi watched in puzzlement as Tamaki walked back over to the girls that he was currently hosting and sat back down with them. Was the Host Club president bi-polar and just never diagnosed with it? Or was there something else wrong with him?
"Tamaki is unique to say the least," Kyoya said as he set a teacup down next to Aimi before gently running his fingers along her back to get her attention. She had been so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed him stand up to get them some tea, let alone move behind her. "Despite coming across as rash and childish at times, he is the heart of this club. You will get used to it in time."
"I'm sure I will," Aimi said smiling at Kyoya as she took a sip of the tea. He had moved from behind her to sitting back down in his chair.
The rest of Host Club carried on without incident. After Kyoya took a short break to enjoy tea with Aimi, he went right back to working on the budget for the club on his laptop. Aimi sighed happily as she sat back and continued to observe the other Host Club members in action. Since she was pretty sure that she would be attending the club on a regular basis, she thought that she better get a feel for who she would be around.
With all of the girls that were around, Aimi could tell that some of the hosts were merely putting on acts for their guests. Thinking back to when all the Host Club members had visited her house the day after her injury, some of them didn't act how they were during club hours – mainly the twins. Their twincest act was a bit much at times. But they, besides Haruhi and Kyoya, were the ones that she was around the most. Perhaps with time she could figure out what "acts" the others were putting on.
As the bells chimed for the new hour on the clock tower outside, Kyoya stood up from his chair. "Sadly, our time with you lovely ladies has come to an end for today. We hope that you have a restful weekend and we shall see you again on Monday," he announced with a smile on his face.
Several ladies sighed in sorrow before standing up from where they had been being entertained by their favorite host before making their way to the doors. Aimi, as well, stood up from her chair to leave.
"Where do you think you are going?" Kyoya whispered as Aimi walked past him.
She stopped and turned towards him. "Home," she answered. "Club hours are over."
"For our guests. But you are not a mere guest. You are now 'cousin' according to our illustrious leader."
Aimi smiled as she gently kissed Kyoya's cheek. "I'll see you in a bit," she whispered in his ear before turning to start to leave again. Kyoya couldn't help but smile as he turned and began to clean up from the day's club activities.
Just as she went to open the door to leave Music Room 3, Aimi was once again stopped. This time by her cousin. "Hey Aimi," Haruhi said in a low voice as she approached her cousin. "I need a favor."
"What's that?" Aimi asked in an equally low voice.
Haruhi looked all around to make sure that none of the other hosts were nearby before turning back to look at her cousin. "I need to go dress shopping for the ball. Want to go with me?"
"Sure!" Aimi happily said.
Haruhi sighed in relief.
"But realize that you are going to have to give me all the details about your date." Aimi said with a smirk. "And in return, I'll tell you about mine."
Slowly blush crept up Haruhi's face. At least talking to Aimi about these things would be a far better cry then talking to someone like Renge or even Tamaki. She nodded in agreement. "How does tomorrow sound?"
"Perfect!" Aimi said. "I'll come and pick you up about 10 am."
Haruhi nodded before stepping away to allow Aimi to finally leave Music Room 3 for the afternoon.
Aimi happily wrapped her arm around Kyoya's before lacing their fingers together as they left the cinema in the Shibuya district later that evening. The couple had just gotten done watching the latest comedy movie that Aimi had wanted to see for several weeks. The previous night, during their nightly phone conversation, Kyoya had mentioned that they needed to have a proper first date. She had asked what he had in mind of doing. Trying to come up with a quick response, Kyoya found that he actually didn't have one – let alone know what they should do for their first official date. Aimi suggested that they go see a movie and then perhaps get something to eat with her reasoning being that most teenage couples that she had known did that sort of thing one a first date. Wanting to do nothing but make Aimi happy, Kyoya agreed to her idea. Thus leading them to their first date as a couple.
"You can take Duchess with you if you want," Aimi said with a smile as she referred to the plans that Kyoya was being dragged into the next day. He had been asked to go to a local dog park for some unknown reason with Tamaki and Antoinette. In return, Tamaki was forbidden to contact Kyoya at all that night with frivolous phone calls and text messages. And thus far, Kyoya's cell phone had not rung or buzzed once during their entire date.
"Then Tamaki will unquestionably know that there is something going on between us," he answered with a small smile as they continued to walk from the cinema towards a nearby ramen restaurant that was touted as being the best in the area. Kyoya had let Aimi choose the movie, while he had researched restaurants in the area so that he could make his decision about which one to take Aimi to on their date.
"He's eventually going to find out." Aimi said pointing that fact out.
"Ah you said the keyword," Kyoya said. "Eventually."
Aimi sighed and rolled her eyes as they continued to walk. She knew why their relationship for the most part needed to stay private – essentially so all hell didn't break loose in the Host Club – but also it was bothersome not to be able act like Kyoya was her boyfriend at school. She knew that for one, Seiji Cho would be leaving her alone. Yet then there was the saying that 'all good things come to those who wait.' So for now, she would have to make due with stolen kisses during lunch and date nights.
Not far behind them, but far enough to give the young couple some space, Tachibana and Katsu walked and watched for anything that might befall their young charges. For both men, this was a new realm of their job description: having their young masters date. At least the two brothers could experience it together and secretly they both were hoping it would last, even if it had only been a few days into the new relationship.
As Kyoya and Aimi entered the restaurant, they too followed – staying just close enough, but not too far away. They chose a table on the other side of the restaurant so that the young couple could have their privacy. As they watched Kyoya and Aimi, they both could tell that this relationship would be a long one. Even Tachibana had noticed a difference in the way that Master Kyoya had been acting the last few days. It was almost as if he was happier – except for first thing in the morning. And if how he was acting as any indication, there was a pretty good chance that Aimi Daishiro was the cause of this happiness.
Good. Both of the kids deserved some happiness.
Kyoya silently sat down at the breakfast table with his father and older brother, Akito. Here it was, not even 9 am on a Saturday morning and he was up. What the hell was the world coming to?
Oh right.
He had agreed to go to the dog park with Tamaki and Antoinette. Thankfully Tamaki had abided by his part of the bargain and not called or texted Kyoya at all the night before while he and Aimi had enjoyed their first date. Hopefully this ordeal at the dog park would not take all day since he did want to see Aimi that night. And why a dog park? One could only guess when it came to Tamaki.
As he reached for a piece of toast, as his father spoke up. "How is Aimi adjusting to Ouran Academy?" he asked without looking up from his newspaper.
"Things are going well. I think she will fit in just fine."
"Good. No doubt you are helping her, correct?"
"Yes sir." Kyoya said with a slight smile. "In fact, she and I have decided to pursue a romantic relationship."
Upon hearing the news that his youngest son was in a relationship with the young woman that he would like to marry into their family one day, Yoshio set down his newspaper. "Aimi Daishiro is an honorable choice as someone to be romantically involved with. The contributions that her family will make in the future to the business world could bring untold merit to whatever family that she marries into. Remember that."
Kyoya simply nodded in response to his father's request.
"Good," Yoshio said as he picked up his newspaper and began to read again.
Eating the rest of his breakfast in silence, Kyoya's mind began to digest the conversation with his father – he was proud of him for dating Aimi. But even that came with a demand - marry Aimi and gain untold merit for the family.
Yes, Kyoya was happy that he had made his father proud by dating Aimi. But he wasn't simply dating Aimi for the "untold merit" of her family's name. No, he was dating her because she made him genuinely happy and made him feel alive. More alive then he had been in a long time.
And that upset him.
The night before had been wonderful from start to finish. Aimi had been smiling all night long. Tamaki had lived up to his part of the bargain and not bothered them. Their good night kiss had been long, drawn out and perfect in every way - nor had it been the only kiss of the night, just the longest one. Most of all, he had been able to spend several uninterrupted hours with the one person who was quickly winning over all parts of his heart and consuming his thoughts. Yes, it was soon in their relationship, however he and Aimi had known each other for as long as they could remember. Then again, he and Aimi at one time had been considered for an arranged marriage…
No. He wasn't going to allow his father to dictate his relationship with Aimi. Some things his father could tell him what to do, but not when it came to Aimi or his heart.
It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. Not to him and especially not to Aimi.
"You know that this is one of the most expensive stores in Tokyo." Haruhi said looking up at the shopping centers that she and Aimi were about to enter in the Ginza district of Tokyo that next morning.
"But its not the most expensive." Aimi said with a smile. "Besides you are going to the masquerade ball! You've got to look like a princess for your prince."
"I can't afford anything in here!"
"Pssh. Who said anything about you paying?"
"Then who is?"
"Grandfather."
"Aimi!"
"What? He said he was fine with it!"
Haruhi huffed again before allowing herself to be dragged into the department store – which was nothing like the department stores that she had ever gone to. There were 11 floors dedicated to women's fashion before moving into a few floors with men's, children's fashions and sporting goods along with a section dedicated to kimonos. Several restaurants were on the top floors with an elaborate grocery store in the basement. They looked at the directory and found the floor that they wanted to start on. As they made their way to that floor via elevator, Aimi turned to Haruhi and smiled with a knowing look on her face. "So which twin is it?" she asked.
Immediately Haruhi turned beet red. "How'd you know?"
"I knew it had to be someone in the Host Club or that Kasanoda guy you introduced me to the other day. They are the only ones who know your secret besides me. So I narrowed it down. I was pretty sure that you and Kasanoda have not talked since Tuesday and the dance was announced on Wednesday. That put him out of the running. Then Tamaki is too wrapped up in his own world to notice if it was night or day sometimes, putting him out. As for Hunny and Mori, I figured that since they only saw you during Host Club and occasionally at school that would knock them out as well. That left the Hitachiin twins. They spend the most time with you out of anyone in the Host Club…"
"But you never said how Kyoya-senpai was out of the running." Haruhi countered.
Now it was Aimi's turn to blush slightly. "He and I started dating a few days ago…" she softly said. "I'm his date to the ball."
Haruhi couldn't help but smile. Ever since Aimi had returned to Tokyo and began to attend Ouran, Haruhi had noticed a difference in the Shadow King. Even at the hospital when Aimi had first been injured, she had noticed this difference beginning to emerge and she had even questioned him about them in a way by asking if what he had told her about their past was the entire story. She had never gotten her answer then. But now she had it: Kyoya had feelings for Aimi and probably had harbored them for a while. Thankfully Aimi's feelings were the same.
"I'm going with Hikaru," Haruhi finally said. "He asked me on Friday. He suggested that between him, Karou, you and me, we could find a way to make this work so that I can go as my true self to the ball."
"And I'm sure we can," Aimi said, stepping out of the elevator as the doors opened on their floor. "Now let's go find us some dresses."
AN: Whew! A lot happened in this chapter! Now we are getting into the heart of the story! I hope that you enjoy it! Oh and the shopping center that I described is actually based on a real one in the Ginza district.
Please let me know what you think about this chapter! Reviews make my day! If you can take the time to favorite and/or follow this story, then please take a few more seconds to let me know what you like about it!