A/N – So, I have no idea what made this chapter so difficult to write. I think I've spent so long writing angsty stuff that the humor wasn't coming to me as readily as it usually does. Anyways, there were a few songs that kind of influenced the past few chapters including this one. Those would be "Let It Go" by Cavo (Kyoya's POV from last chapter) and "Everything Changed" by Staind (Kyoya's POV this chapter. I actually was going to feature this song in this chapter during the serious conversation that Kate and Kyoya have, but it didn't happen).
Okay, also, Kathrin Amendier, my OC from Semicolon Blues is featured in this chapter. You don't really need to know much about her to understand what is going on other than she taught Languages, specifically English, at Ouran Academy, she curses like a sailor, and Kyoya stayed with her for a week during the Ouran Sports completion due to the fact that he and Tamaki were not speaking, and for the purpose of Semicolon Blues, Tamaki had been trying to break into Kyoya's house to see him. She's probably the one adult that Kyoya actually trusts. Anyways, her being in this story stems from this idea that I have where my Ouran Fanfics are interconnected and form this whole sub-canon world of Ouran in my head. I hope it works.
Anyways, enjoy this chapter!
IIIII
I am not entirely sure if this is the best course of action. Kathrin Joy Hisugawa, formerly Kathrin Joy Amendier, was one of my former instructors at Ouran Academy, and I was planning on crashing in on her afternoon. There were a few pros to meeting seeing refuge at Mrs. Hisugawa's home.
Firstly, she was the type of person who rarely asked questions, was quick on the uptake, and knew how to say just enough, which were traits that neither my friends nor Emma possessed when combined. This was why I trusted her and felt comfortable enough to speak with her on my own.
Secondly, I was soaked and was in dire need of clothes. I would have driven to a store or called someone, but I had left both my wallet and cell phone on the couch.
However, there was a con to running for help from Mrs. Hisugawa: she would most likely make sadistic jokes at my situation before actually aiding me in my plight, if she even aided at all, while enjoying every moment where I would be lowering myself to ask for help from her. Despite this, however, I actually needed help from someone and my only other options were to go back to the Suoh estate, to the Ootori villa, or to Ouran Academy. All three of those options were possibilities, but they were not plausibilities.
So, here I was, standing at the front porch of the Hisugawa home writing and contemplating whether or not I should ring the doorbell or run.
"So are you going to knock on the door or are you going to continue to keep staring at the door like a fucking creepster?" That would be her now. I looked to the side where I caught a round face looking at me with pity in its green eyes from inside the home, "You know what, don't answer that. I'm gonna unlock the door. KURT!"
"Good grief, woman, you're closer than I am to the door." A man's voice could be heard just inside the door, which meant that Kurt Hisugawa was home. This would make the visit more tolerable.
"I have to pee. Get the door, old man." I could not make out all of the mumbling with the rain as background noise, but I was sure Mr. Hisugawa had said something about her being an old woman since she had the bladder of a sparrow, though I couldn't be sure.
"It is good to see that some things never change." I shrugged and entered the house, shaking his hand once inside.
"You look like a wet rat. What happened to you?" I heard the wet pat on my shoulder rather than felt it. I guess my body was more numb than I thought.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha! You look hilarious and pathetic! Hahaha. Thank you, you totally just made my day and the motivation I need to go finish what I was working on. Hahahahahaha!" Mrs. Hisugawa walked out of one room and into the next as she spoke. I sighed.
"Back to what you said before. I'm not entirely sure whether or not things staying the same is a good thing or not." Kurt folded his arms and lovingly looked at the room his wife had entered. It had always amused me how such a laid back and down-to-earth man as Kurt Hisugawa could live with let alone love someone as insane as Kate. Then again, I could say the same thing about Emma and me. Could being the operative word at this point, "Anyways, why don't we get you a change of clothes. You must me cold. Come on"
"I appreciate it, Mr. Hisugawa. Is there anything that I can do for you since I barged in unannounced?" Kurt threw me a pair of track sweats. I already knew where the bathroom was, so I walked in and changed.
"First of all, you're way too old to call me Mr. Hisugawa. Call me Kurt. Also, since Kate's been trying to get you to call her Kate since you were sixteen, you should probably call her Kate. Second of all, there's this level on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 that you can only access in multiplayer mode. Kate won't play with me, and I remember that you have a pretty good trigger finger from that week you stayed with us during that sports competition."
"Kate is not going to get angry with us like she did last time, will she?"
"Of course not, she's writing lesson plans, and she isn't pregnant this time. This means you're in, right? Alright!" At least playing a war game would take my mind off things for a while.
IIIII
1) Emiko Katsuragi—the second daughter of the chairman to a major Japanese banking and financing company. Her older brother stood to inherit the position of chairman; however, due to another banking company gaining more influence within Japan, the Katsuragi family has lost many investors and partners. This left Emiko to be the ultimate bargaining chip. It seems as if she grew tired of being the proverbial prized cow sent to auction, so she dropped out of college, hitched a plane to the States, and got a job at a temp agency as a secretary. Now she was being bartered once again—this time to Kyoya.
She wasn't very ambitious and had an intense love for Precious Moments figurines. Apparently she had been employee of the month at her job for the past three years, and she spent much of her free time was spent helping out at various animal shelters, soup kitchens, and orphanages. It nauseated me how nice she was.
Biggest flaw: Something about how pathetically faultless she seemed to scream "FAKE!" Aside from that, her name was too much like mine. Emiko looks like the Japanese version of Emma. Not cool.
2) Hide Fujimoto—Hide meant "fruitful," which was appropriate considering she had been married three times before and had five children. She was the Chief of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Training Hospital and came from a long line of doctors—her father was the chairman governing the boards of multiple Japanese medical schools.
She was incredibly intelligent, almost to the point where she could not communicate with anyone around her. There were no complaints about her professionally, but personally, she was so much of a femiNazi that she set the feminist movement back instead of forward.
Biggest flaw: Sexist bitch.
3) Parker Sutton—the eldest daughter of the current chairman of Sutton Technological Development, currently acting as her father's secretary. She would have been the acting CEO were she not on parole for hacking into government files. Her parole renders her unable to travel; therefore, her usefulness as heiress to a fortune 500 company that specializes is programming medical technology has been minimalized. Yet, it is due to her fathers' power that has kept her out of jail for longer than a year at a time.
Parker Sutton's criminal record shows a troubled adolescence. Most of her crimes had to do with hacking into companies or committing some type of corporate mischief, but she was most always released or given the shortest sentence possible.
Biggest flaw: The fact that she got caught means that her intellect only reaches so high. Honestly, if I were to have chosen to engage in the lawless behavior Miss. Sutton did, I wouldn't have gotten caught.
4) Josephina Spokes—the heiress to a medical supply distribution company. Nearly every piece of medical equipment shipped to hospitals in the United States come through the Spokes distribution centers and sent out on trucks owned by the Spokes Company. This was nearly a billion dollar industry. As the new CFO of Ootori U.S, the amount of money we would save as a company was immense.
Aside from the fact her last name ironically made reference to what her family did, it also made reference to the fact that she was employed as a trucker in her own company. Josephina had even been featured on the show Ice Road Truckers.
Biggest flaw: Ice. Road. Truckers. Need I say more?
5) Fatima Chandiramani—another Chief of Staff at a teaching hospital. Specifically, Miss Fatima was the Chief of Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, the teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Her specialty was in neurosurgery, and most of her research was conducted in memory disorders. The Chandiramani family legacy is in the research facilities it has created in India and the United States. While Fatima chose to become a surgeon, she continues to support her two brothers' in continuing and funding the research of hospitals and universities across the globe.
In her spare time, Fatima dances with a dance troupe specializing in Bollywood dances; she also teaches these dances to women in the cancer ward at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Biggest flaw: She was a Harvard graduate in the same year as Kyoya, and it seems that they also took a few classes together when Kyoya thought that taking pre-med classes would. Apparently, Fatima also knew Christopher very personally as she had done surgery on his mother, coincidentally, saving his mother's life. She was competition, and that was her flaw. That and the fact she was a dancer and, therefore, was more flexible than me.
Five. Five women. Their photos, hobbies, and professional connections were all contained in one white legal envelope hidden underneath the cushion of the couch. It was from this envelope that I learned two undeniable truths.
Firstly, Kyoya has been acting the way he has because he's being forced into an arranged marriage. Most likely Yoshio Ootori broke the news to Kyoya during the funeral, and somehow forced Kyoya into a corner. I knew that all of Ootori US's debt was controlled by Kyoya's father, and our main financial support came from the Ootori Group and their affiliates. Perhaps Yoshio was somehow blackmailing Kyoya with his company's future. It all made sense to me now. Why Kyoya couldn't fight back. He was really just trying to protect the two of us.
He probably figured that getting me to hate him by blatantly tossing me to the side would be easier for me—which leads me to my second point.
Secondly, since he was clearly doing everything he could to make this easier for me rather than himself, I'd put up a fight. If I eliminated all five of these prospective matches, I'd prove not only that I was far superior than any heiress, but I'd possibly also get Kyoya out of this situation or at least give him enough time to figure out a plan.
This was the first time I ever found anyone worth staying with. I sure as hell wasn't going to give up without a fight.
First things first: Due the fact that I was still upset about this morning, the fact that he had the nerve to lie to my face, and despite the fact he must be feeling horrible, I was going to pretend that I had not come to my epiphany, act like I hated him, and wait for him to come clean—as payback, of course.
IIIII
"No! Kate? Whyeeeeeeeeeeeee?"
"One of us needs to make lunch. One of us needs to pick up Lily from your sister's house. It only stands to reason that for either of those things to happen, the game needs to be shut off."
"You could have at least let us get to a checkpoint or the end of the level! Why do you hate me?" Kurt hung his head as he stood up and walked towards the door, mumbling as he slipped on his overcoat. Kate just crossed her arms and watched, the cord to the Xbox still clutched in her hand.
"It's wonderful how you show more concern about your video games than your eleven year old daughter. Your devotion to your family is the reason why I married you. Shit, it's your most lovable trait."
"Language, Kathrin. Language." Kurt grabbed his keys, walked back over to his wife, and kissed her on the forehead before hiking up his hood and exiting the building.
"Honestly. The only reason I don't play games with him is because he finds it fucking necessary to scream at the television, and Lily has a strong aversion to anything even remotely violent so she won't play with him either." Kate just rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen, taking out a ball of dough from the fridge, "It was probably a good thing for him that you showed up unannounced. You did this once before to me, remember. During that stupid Ouran Sports competition where you stayed with me for a week because you and Tamaki were fighting and he kept trying to break into your house, so you bailed. What's wrong this time?"
"I just needed a place where I could get a change of dry clothes. If it were not for Kurt's wish for me to join him, I would have left."
"Bzzzzzz. I'm sorry, but that was not the correct answer. The correct answer was 'I sought your divine wisdom, oh wise and wonderful Kate. Guide me with your astuteness.'" I sighed, got up, and walked over to the counter, sitting down in one of the stools. Her smug smile and piercing green eyes were making me incredibly uncomfortable, "Now, notebook, please."
"I will let you read this if you promise to be my translator on my business trip to Russia this summer. Unpaid translator, of course."
"Unpaid? What a fucking liberty, Kyoya Ootori. A fucking liberty…but I accept." I shook my head and sighed. This could be my undoing, but at least I earned unpaid labor.
IIIII
"Kyoya is being forced into an arranged marriage. I'm certain of these facts, but if you need more substantial proof, peruse these files." I had called a meeting of all of the Host club members and their wives, and we were all currently sitting around the dining room table eating the sandwiches and soup that Tamaki had brought home from his hotel, "I don't want anyone to let Kyoya know that we know. He nearly destroyed me this morning, and while I don't blame him and understand he made his decision in order to protect me, I want him to be the one to come clean and admit that he lied to me, which means I am going to also act like I know nothing—like I'm incredibly angry with him."
"Isn't that kind of mean, Emma. I mean, Kyoya's been going through a lot lately. Maybe he deserves a break." Natasha might be right about that. All of the physical pain he had endured because of me, Yuuichi's death, and now this arranged marriage thing made for one hell of a horrible month. It's why I couldn't be entirely angry with him. However, being angry and getting even were two entirely different things.
"I'm all for Emma's plan. Kyoya acted like an asshole to her, so she should deal with it as she sees fit. Yeah, I feel bad for him, but this'll be good for him. If he can't be honest with her then he's never going to be honest with himself."
"Sayaka's right." Mori threw a shoulder casually around his wife's shoulder and took a bite out of a sandwich, his expression unchanging. So cool.
"Emma! When I told you about the envelope, I wanted you to help Kyoya not make him more upset! He's going to find out that I told you. He's going to kill me. My life is over. So begins the long dark night of my soul!" Tamaki had been sitting in the corner rocking back and forth and biting on his thumb, worried tears running down his cheek. Another person who was exhibiting a wealth of emotion was Renge.
"So beautiful! Love torn apart by the tyrannical father and the brave princess willing to fight for her prince. I'm inspired by you, oh valiant one. You are a mangaka's dream. My muse! I could eat three bowls of rice!"
"I also think that this will be good for Kyoya-sempai. He's always enjoyed the competition in his family and with his father, but this time the expectations on Kyoya-sempai are affecting his life more than they ever have before. It doesn't give him the right to do this on his own though." Haruhi had been eating and going over papers in a folder the entire morning. Her words made Tamaki look up from his corner for the first time, locking his violet eyes with her hazel ones.
"That's funny, Haru-chan. You used to have the same problem." Honey grabbed a cookie from a plate in the middle of the table and began to munch.
"I'm an independent person and do things by myself because I don't think of doing it another way. It's who I am. Kyoya-sempai's different though." Haruhi was right about that. Independent didn't do Kyoya's decision making justice. Tamaki was exactly right when he said to me earlier this morning that Kyoya forces himself to play the victim—the martyr. At least, that's how it was with this situation.
"We've all heard Kyoya-sempai say that it doesn't matter whether or not he is happy. He's such a jerk for still thinking that way. Doesn't he realize that doing things this way just makes things harder for everyone?" Hikaru was sitting in the chair next to me, and as he spoke, he balled his fists tightly on the table..
"It's only harder because we don't want anyone to get hurt. One of us has already been hurt by this," Kaoru, sitting in the chair across from his twin, focused his amber eyes fixed on me, "The problem is that when the Host club makes a plan, we see it through and everyone is happy in the end. If we help Emma, we will have to hurt Kyoya-sempai. If we help Kyoya-sempai, we'll hurt Emma. Personally, helping Emma sounds like more fun."
"What do you think, Tono?" Hikaru turned around in his chair to look at Tamaki who was still hunched on the floor, though the tears had abated.
I looked around the table—everyone was looking at Tamaki. Despite all of the insanity and fun times that happened when these people were together, I had a feeling that moments like these—finding solutions to life's challenges—were why they were all still friends.
"Kyoya's succession of his father and an arranged marriage doesn't just mean that Emma loses him" Tamaki stood up, walked over to the table so that he was behind Haruhi's chair, and placed his hands on her shoulders, "We would all lose him. He'd go right back to that cage of passive acceptance and loneliness he was in before meeting all of us. None of us would be able to reach him anymore. If Emma thinks that she can stop that from happening, then I trust her with all my heart."
"It all seems pretty hopeless to me, but if there is even a small chance that we can prevent this from happening, I'm in." Hikaru brushed his bangs from his face and gave me devious toothy grin, one that I caught Kaoru making as well, "Besides, like Kaoru said, helping Emma sounds like it'll be fun."
"If I'm going to lose him in the end, I want to be able to say that I tried. I have to believe in the man that I love—even if I can never have him. So, thank you all for understanding." I stood up, grabbed the envelope from the table, and headed upstairs to get ready.
If I could get Kyoya to admit he lied to me and tell me about the arranged marriage, it would mean that he still cared about me. I'd be able to use that against him. Tonight I would act as if I hated him. Knowing Kyoya, it'd probably give him the satisfaction of knowing that his plan had worked. At the same time, he would probably be disappointed that his plan had worked so well. Maybe he'd second guess himself and how much I cared about him. I could use that vulnerability to my advantage.
IIIII
"Dear God, baby Jesus, you are a fucking imbecile!"
"That fact has already been established." Kate had finished looking over this notebook while I lay on the couch.
It was quite unsettling, but in the event that she had some different advice then Tamaki had for me, it was worth the risk. Besides, I had been looking for a translator for my business trip in Russia. Cutting costs wherever possible would be beneficial, and the Hisugawa's usually spent a week with me in the U.S. every summer anyways. Besides, if I was married by then, I would probably need a vacation with someone who knew me.
"I can't even, wow, just wow. How did you ever decide on doing something so epically vicious? I've been convinced since I met you that you were the spawn of Satan, but at least Satan had a legitimate and rational excuse for his behavior!"
"This is why, as you read, I seriously debated coming here. To be honest, the prospect of dry clothing was the only thing that swayed my decision."
"After what you did to that poor girl, you deserve the chafing! Why don't you just say 'fuck it,' take Emma, and run away to Canada to live with the moose?" I sat up.
"I wish it were that simple. Running from this would only make things worse"
"Let me be completely frank with you, Kyoya. Life is a bitch who gets her jollys off by stabbing people repeatedly with her stilettos. You were my best student, you graduated valedictorian from Ouran Academy, and now, at the age of twenty-eight you have a doctorate from Harvard, you are the CEO of a medical company that has overshot every expectation for it while still in its infancy, and you are now the heir to the entire Ootori legacy. Unfortunately, that means you have expectations. It means that you are trapped, and this time there might not be a way out. Yeah, that means you might never be happy again in your personal life or for the rest of your life."
"Thank you. So, this is what your limitless wisdom provides? Very inspiring. I am so glad I came here. The fog has been lifted."
"I'm trying to help you. Don't give me sass you little shit." Kate got up and sat next to me, pushing my shoulder with her own. "Look, Kyoya, if I understand that you are trapped, what's to stop Emma from understanding it too? If this girl is as feisty and intelligent as your words describe her as, she would probably react to this situation by understanding. Of course she'd be angry at first, but she would get it. You have to include her in this decision regardless of whether or not there is no hope for a happily ever after. If you love her, you have to give her the respect she deserves, which means you have to let her decide whether she wants to hate you or whether she's willing to just be friends. The point is that you can't do this on your own, and you shouldn't expect yourself to."
"Kate, I have no idea what to do." Saying it out loud made me realize how pathetic I was, mostly because it was probably the most truthful I had been about this whole situation. Without warning I was being pulled towards Kate, her arms nearly crushing me in an embrace, "Kate…can…not…breathe…"
"Sorry. Shit. My bad. Stupid motherhood created a fucking emotional imbalance and makes me weepy. Don't judge me." The timer on the stove went off and Kate leapt up to take care of the food in the oven.
I looked down at my watch: it was 1:30. There was only an hour before we had all planned on meeting at Ouran Academy, which meant that I needed to figure out at plan. Kate had said the same thing that Haruhi had said to me this morning, albeit Haruhi made her point more painfully. I guess Tamaki had said the same thing as well.
I still did not want Emma to know about this, but since I had run into Tamaki, Haruhi, and the twins this morning, it was only a matter of time before Tamaki either voluntarily or forcibly told them what was going on. This also meant that there was a high probability that Emma also knew.
Altogether this meant that it was not that I did not have the ability to do this alone as Kate had suggested. Now, the issue was that no one would leave me alone at all.
IIIII
I made for one sexy orange tabby cat. Yes, I was regretting that I ate anything today because it was so incredibly difficult to breathe in this spandex suit, but the sex appeal and fluffy tail made it bearable. The only thing that made it harder to breathe was that nearly every ten minutes Natasha made a round around the room and pulled everyone into one of her debilitating moe hugs.
"I am so excited! You have no idea!" The sudden voice sounding directly into my ear made me jump in the air.
"Christopher, would you please turn down the volume of your excitement. Why are you even here? Not here-here obviously—but talking in my ear."
"Well, Mr. Ootori actually arranged this before the two of you left. I wanted to be a part of the action, and I can translate for you. He doesn't have to pay me extra either." I shrugged. It made sense. I didn't even know he spoke Japanese!
"MOMMY!" I ignored Christopher's laughter in my ear and stood up from the couch as I heard Tamaki's scream. Kyoya had just walked through the door, completely soaked through and dripping on the floor.
"You're late, Kyoya-sempai." Both of the twins said at the same time, placing their backs together and folding their arms. Natasha's idea to dress them and Renge like russet foxes really was effective. It made them look more sly, which was perfect for my plan.
"Honestly. He just disappears this morning and doesn't arrive here until now without any explanation. What a dick move. Just saying." Sayaka slowly walked towards Kyoya. Her voice was slightly muffled due to the beak she had strapped around her face, but she looked nice. The blue and yellow feathered monstrosity actually looked like a fashionable gown made for some rich actress nominated for an Oscar.
"Kyoya! Where did you go all day? You left your wallet and phone at home so there was no way of contacting you. What if you had gotten in an accident and died? What if you drowned in a puddle? What if…"
"Tamaki, we only have fifteen minutes before people are going to start showing up. Kyoya-sempai, your cosplay is in the back room. You need to hurry up." Haruhi came out of the changing room followed by Mori and Honey, the three of them ushering out Sophie and the Morinozuka brood. If I had to be honest with myself, Honey and Natasha made adorable rabbits, but Haruhi stole the spotlight. She had on a golden brown leotard with fluffy legwarmers and elbow length gloves, a cute little tail, and floppy ears. It was all I could do to still keep my face in an angry expression and not 'sqeeee' while running forward and glomping Haruhi.
"Emma, what is going on? I feel like I am missing something, and its beginning to make me really uncomfortable." Christopher said.
"You're the one who is supposed to be translating for me, remember." I whispered, trying to be a discreet as possible and keep myself from laughing. I was supposed to be acting angry at Kyoya—laughing would doom my plan, "Here's the ten second rundown. Kyoya and I fell in love, we got together, he became head of the Ootori group, he broke up with me because he's being forced into an arranged marriage and doesn't know that I know."
"I knew it! I totally knew that you two were going to hit it off. Remember your first day. I told you that I thought you and Mr. Ootori would either get along too well or kill one another. I guess I was right. What're you going to do?"
"I'll tell you later." In my attention to answering Christopher's question, I hadn't noticed that Kyoya was standing in front of me.
"Emma, would you mind joining me in the other room? I have a few things I would like to say before this evening continues." It was now or never.
"Hiiiiiicccccccc," I was dressed like a cat, might as well make the most of the costume. Kyoya just looked at me with one eyebrow raised before pushing up his glasses.
"Smooth. I'm sure that was the best way to deal with things. I'm not even there, and I feel bad for him." Why did I think that this was going to be easy? The fact that I wasn't really angry with him made doing this harder than I had expected, so did the fact that he still looked so sad.
"Shut-up, Christopher. You're being a distraction." I ignored Christopher's grumbles when I saw a few women enter the music room.
Tamaki had mentioned earlier that not all of the guests would be able to come every night, and we had already figured out who would be here most nights. I had already prepared myself to not participate much.
"Welcome beautiful princesses! It has been so long since we have all been together; however, the years we have spent apart have only served to make your brilliance shine even brighter and my heart long even stronger. As always, the Host club members are here for your entertainment." I ignored Christopher's giggles of surprise at Tamaki's words and walked forward to shake the hands of the women who had entered the room.
Pretty soon, everyone was sitting around tables and on couches catching up and chatting with one another. It seemed as if quite a few of these girls had kept tabs on the Host club members that they had fantasized about. I walked over to where Haruhi, Tamaki, and Sophie were sitting.
"She is adorable! She looks so much like you, Tamaki-sempai! Oh, how sweet." A woman with incredibly long and wavy light brown hair said as she picked up Sophie who let out a small 'woof.'
"Kawaii!" All of the girls surrounding the three of them said at the same time.
"Who would have thought that my own daughter would steal my guests? It's embarrassing!" Tamaki crossed his arms, looking over at Sophie who stuck out her tongue at her father—all of the guests seated around the Suoh family laughed. Haruhi just grabbed Tamaki by the neck and pulled him down into a kiss. He flushed red while the fangirl squeals chorused.
"I've been so lonely since Kaoru's gotten married. It's like he's forgotten all about me." Hikaru dramatically looked away from Kaoru, covering his mouth with a hand.
"I'm sorry, Hikaru. You know that you'll always be my first love. Please forgive me, Hikaru. Please! Hikaru!" Kaoru grabbed his brother by the shoulders and forced Hikaru to face him, one tear slowly running down his cheek.
"Kaoru!" Hikaru yelled sorrowfully as he pulled Kaoru towards him in an extremely emotional embrace, "I'll never let you go again."
"Maybe it's because I'm not there with you guys, but I'm pretty sure that I have no idea how Mr. Ootori survived these people throughout high school." Christopher had a point. Thankfully I did get to see how they complemented one another outside of this Host club thing. I really don't think I had mentally prepared myself for all of this.
"Sayaka." I heard Mori's low growl, so I turned from where I was standing behind the twincest-fest over to where Honey was being fussed over by Natasha and some guests. Mori was trying to get his wives attention while more female guests were chasing around three of the Morinozuka children. Sayaka was holding the youngest but her attention was focused on the twins.
"Mori, stop it. There's yaoi going on. They're your guests. You talk to them." Sayaka was a true yaoi fangirl. It was inspiring.
"Emma! Come over here for a second." I looked over towards the opposite side of the room where Tamaki was waving me over. I shrugged and jogged over, "These lovely princesses had a question for Kyoya, but since he is still changing I figured that you might be able to answer them."
"Sure. Yeah. Definitely." I sighed and sat down at a table. I had brought Kyoya's laptop with me, so I opened it up as two women sat down with me, "So, sorry that Kyoya isn't out here yet. You must be his guests."
"Actually, Kyoya-kun didn't always entertain guests. Most of us just admired him from afar and waited for him to have some Host club merchandise." A woman with long black hair said in English—thankfully-grinning sweetly as she looked at me.
"That's actually what we wanted to ask you about. We figured that you were the one who came with Kyoya-sempai because you're carrying around a notebook." The other woman with short brown hair at the table commented. Both of these women were looking at me quite expectantly.
"Well, ladies, we are actually going to be selling two different photography collections. If you look here on the screen, you will see the 'Best Of' photography collection. This nine by fifteen book showcases the photos of the Host club that were sold out due to high demand while you princesses were in high school. Each club member has a section in the 'Best Of' photography collection. The second photography collection entitled 'Everyone With Somebody to Love' will not be available for preview for a few more weeks as it will contain pictures from this week, but if you pre-order now, we will not only discount this photo collection, we will also throw in the doujinshi Moe Moe Ouran Diaries: The Reunion for free."
"Please, sign me up for everything!" The woman with the black haired girl said, pulling out a credit card from her purse. Pretty soon I had tons of these women coming up to me, throwing plastic and cash at me.
"I would have turned tail and hid if I was being mobbed by a bunch of crazy fangirls. That's why you are one of a kind Emma. Besides, you're going to be Kyoya's new CFO when I'm transferred to San Diego. It's good to know that my shoes will be adequately filled." Christopher noted in my ear as I continued to collect money and present my sales pitch over and over again.
Thankfully, the ebb of raging hormones abated when tea and cake was served. I closed the laptop cover and stood up, looking around the room for Kyoya. He should have come out by now. I looked from couch to couch searching for someone in a black cat suit with a black fluffy vest, tail, ears, and notebook—no Kyoya.
There was no way he would ignore these festivities. He wouldn't admit it directly, but he had been looking forward to them.
"Man. I forgot how much work being a Host was. I feel like it was a lot easier when I was dressed as a guy." Haruhi walked up to my side and stretched her arms in the air, "Emma, is there something wrong?"
"Kyoya hasn't come out of the changing room. I'm kind of worried that my hissing at him may have made things worse instead of better. Come with me to check on him." I didn't even give her a chance to say no as I stalked off to the room Kyoya had gone in to change.
"Kyoya-sempai?" Haruhi questioned as we opened the door. The light was off—oddly. Haruhi had gone over to the wall to turn on the light and as soon as the light went on, I panicked.
"KYOYA!" Kyoya was still in his wet clothes, collapsed on the floor. I knelt beside him and lowered an ear to his mouth—his breathing was incredibly shallow. I placed a hand on his forehead.
"Haruhi, Emma, where did you two disappear…Kyoya!" Tamaki bolted to my side and knelt down as well. Christopher kept trying to talk to me, but I just disconnected the feed.
"He has a fever." I couldn't help but be panicked, and I had tossed my notebook aside for a little bit to deal with the issue at hand.
Tamaki helped me get Kyoya into dry clothes, laying him on the couch. Thankfully I always kept a first aid kit with me, including a glucose monitor. Since Tamaki was the one freaking out the most, I had ordered him to go get some water and a hand towel while I took a sample of Kyoya's blood pressure. It was low—frighteningly low.
"I told him that he shouldn't have driven on that motorcycle in the rain." Tamaki said as soon as he came back, pacing back and forth. We had all heard some commotion outside, but it sounded as if the other club members were handling the fans well, "I shouldn't have let him leave."
"Tamaki, don't blame yourself. You're not the one who told him to get out—I am." He had looked sick this morning too. I remembered. I was about to ask him how he felt when everything went to hell.
"Emma, I…" I knew that Tamaki was trying to be helpful, but he wasn't. It was a good thing that Haruhi was here because she grabbed her husband by the hand and steered him out of the room.
"Kyoya." I took him by the hand. His hands were freezing and clammy, just like they were this morning, "I can't see any of those crazy envelope chicks doing this for you."
"Did the loud and obnoxious moron leave or is he still pacing someone where behind me?"
"Holy shit!" My heart stopped suddenly in surprise. I took in a few deep breaths. Kyoya could barely open his eyes, but that didn't stop him from laughing at me—though the laughs were interrupted by coughs. However, his laughter and my shock was not really what worried me at this moment, "Uh, Kyoya…how much did you just hear?"
"Something about 'crazy envelope chicks.' I am sorry you had to find out from someone other than me. Can you ever forgi…" He couldn't finish his sentence due to a raging fit of coughing.
"How about we talk about this tomorrow when you aren't about to cough up a lung?" I caught a small smile light up his face as he nodded and let his eyes close. His hand clasped tighter onto mine, and I kept it enclosed in his, laying down my head so that my cheek was touching the back of his cold hand.
This just strengthened my resolve. Things were going well. I was not going to let him go, even if it was only for now.
IIIII
A/N – Okay, so, Death Note cosplay and Black Butler cosplay are tied as of right now. If you haven't put in a bid, I do need the help to make the decision. Currently I am leaning towards Black Butler, but I still want my readers' opinion.
Anyways, review please! I'll see you all in the next chappie!