Chapter 21: Kaede's Good Mood (Part 2)
"Ranka-chan!" Kaede burst back inside the Fujioka household, followed by the others of the club. Tamaki was back inside his emo corner, as the tranny and his daughter sat at the table. "I thought it was you!"
"Kaede-chan!" The two greeted each other in a hug. "Nice to see you again!"
"Ranka-chan?" the twins questioned, tilting their heads. They looked at the person Kaede was hugging. "Oh, so that guy that passed us downstairs is Haruhi's papa!"
"Hikaru! Kaoru! It's divine intervention!" Tamaki burst out at them in relief, but they just walked over him to introduce themselves to Ranka.
"Tono, did you finally put the moves on Haruhi? Sorry about that. This guy is a dyed-in-the-wool ladies man. He's a pheromone machine, who's fooled around with more girls than he's got capillaries."
"Fooled around?" Ranka said, ticked off.
"Don't be so cold, guys," Kaede helped Tamaki up. "We're all hosts in here."
"WHO ARE YOU SAYING IS FOOLING AROUND!? I SINCERELY..."
?! Is he finally confessing his love?!
"...SINCERELY THINK OF HARUHI AS THOUGH SHE WERE MY OWN DAUGHTER!"
Everybody fell down.
"...I should've known better to have hopes for Tamaki-senpai," Kaede frowned, scratching her head.
"Oh...so you're the Host Club I keep hearing about? What a fine group of men (and Kaede) you are. You can just call me Ranka-san," Ranka said, grinning at the group of handsome men in front of her. "Ranka is the professional name I use at the tranny bar I work."
"Professional name? Like a stage name?" Honey asked.
"That's right, Mitsukuni-kun."
"Ara? How do you know my name?"
"I know all of your names," Ranka laughed. He named each of them, one by one, ending with Kaede, "...and last but not least, the beautiful Kaede-chan~"
"Ahaha, you flatter me, Ranka-chan," Kaede said. The twins tilted their heads in confusion.
"How do you two know each other?" they asked. "Judging by how Kaede's been acting, she hasn't been here before." They referred to the overexcited rolling on the tatami and her deep exploration of the house.
"I drop Haruhi off from school sometimes when the Host Club ends late," Kaede said. "Ranka-chan usually waits outside for Haruhi, so we sometimes talk a bit before I go."
"Eh~but you've never come inside before, Kaede-chan!" Ranka whined. "You're always welcome~"
"That's alright, I don't want to bother Haruhi," Kaede jested, hitting the girl on the back like an old man. Haruhi's lips twitched.
Yet you're bothering me now..., she thought.
"I've heard quite a few stories about you all," Ranka said, addressing the group.
"Haruhi talks about us?" the twins asked.
"Mm-mm, it's always from Kyoya-kun, on the phone, or Kaede-chan, from her car," Ranka told them. The group's attention shifted to the K-pair. Kyoya high-fived both of Ranka's hands.
"Ranka-san, you really are beautiful," Kyoya flattered him.
"As to be expected from our natural rookie's father," Kaede added.
"Kaede was a given, but Kyoya?"
"We're looking after his precious daughter, it's only natural that I'd say hello, and give periodic reports on her, right?" Kyoya said.
"Right!" Kaede agreed. "Although, it should technically be your job to do so, Tamaki-senpai." An arrow came and stabbed poor Tamaki.
"You two really are fine co-presidents," Ranka complimented. Another arrow. "Oh wait, Kyoya-kun, you're the vice-president, aren't you? And Kaede-chan, you don't have a club position? That's a shame... the president isn't good for much, huh?" That totaled 4 arrows.
"Wait, otou-san, I knew about you talking to Kaede, but you never told me you were talking to Kyoya-senpai!" Haruhi scolded her father, annoyed.
"Eh~but you never tell me about your life in school!"
"Even so, you can't just ask Kyoya-senpai and Kaede without telling me...SENPAI, STOP GROWING MUSHROOMS IN OTHER PEOPLE'S CLOSETS!" Haruhi snapped.
"Aw~Haruhi's cute even when she's angry~"
The others sweatdropped. "So that's why she's so good at dealing with Tamaki (senpai)..."
"MOU~I'm going to the supermarket!" She slammed the door behind her.
"I'm going with her~" Kaede followed.
"Why'd you come and tag along?" Haruhi asked, annoyed as the taller girl had taken a cart and walked beside her.
"Why not, Haruhi," Kaede smirked, taking some food from off the shelves. "I offered to help you make lunch." Haruhi squinted her eyes at Kaede.
"I feel like you're acting weird today."
"How so?"
"You're acting...happy?"
"I'm always happy, what are you talking about?" Kaede laughed. Haruhi shook her head.
"You're acting, like, Honey-senpai, happy," Haruhi frowned. "I mean, it's good, but it's weird."
"Thanks?" Kaede said. "By the way, what happened back there with Tamaki-senpai?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, why's Ranka-san so pissed at him?"
"Oh, he was paying his respects to my mom."
"What? Then wh-"
"-and then he slipped on a banana peel and pinned me down."
"...oh," Kaede sweatdropped. "But paying his respects to your mom, huh? He's pretty thoughtful, even I forgot to do that."
"Yeah, he is." Kaede noticed the soft look on Haruhi's face. Kaede smiled to herself. Tamaki-senpai, good going.
"Ara, ara~don't you think Tamaki-senpai would make a good gi-I mean-boyfriend?" Kaede grinned mischievously. Haruhi squinted her eyes once again.
"I guess?" Haruhi frowned. "You think awfully well of senpai, Kaede."
"I mean, he's a good person don't you think?"
"...do you like him, or something?"
Kaede fell down.
"Ahahahahaha," Kyoya laughed uncontrollably. A pillow met his face.
"It's not funny, Kyoya!" Kaede whined, hitting her boyfriend repeatedly. "Aish...Haruhi's so dumb sometimes..."
They had left the Fujioka household after lunch, Kaede moving to Kyoya's car to eat dinner with him. The club didn't question it, as they failed to question anything when it came to the K-pair.
The two lounged freely in Kyoya's living room, Kyoya's many servants hiding in the shadows, jealous of the beautiful girl in his arms.
"You're dumb too, I had to confess to you," Kaede frowned. "In America, the guy usually does it."
"Well, we're not in America, are we?"
"Touche, but don't you have any pride as a man?" Kaede's comment was met with a bonk on her head. Kaede paused, scratching her head. "Kyoya."
"Hm?"
"Kyoya. Kyoya. Kyoya. Kyoya. Kyoya."
"What?"
"When's dinner gonna be ready?"
"Soon."
"Say, 'soon, Kaede.'"
"Why?"
"I want to assert my dominance-I mean, I wanna hear you say my name instead of Shirai," Kaede put her head on Kyoya's shoulder. She took Kyoya's arm and wrapped it around herself.
"Kaede," Kyoya said, kissing Kaede's cheek and pulling her closer.
"That's good," Kaede kissed him back. "Now, where's dinner?"
"So, you don't want Kurata-kun, you want Kyoya-kun?"
"Yes, ma'am." Kaede was hit on the head.
"Don't say you want him, say that you want to marry him instead, my baka daughter," sighed Kaede's mom, Naomi. They sat at a fancy restaurant at a window seat, eating dinner while watching the night view. "Out of all of my children, the one who's been a rich kid all of her life is the crude one." Her husband had become a young billionaire at 25, so the only child of hers that had been born late enough to go through rich kid training was Kaede; yet, out of the three, she was the most mischievous.
"Ahaha, face it, okaa-san, I'm the most lovable~" Kaede smirked. Naomi rolled her eyes, but smiled to herself.
This idiot child of mine's changed since that awful middle school. I guess moving her back to Japan was a good move on my part, she thought. Good parenting, Naomi. As you can see, Shirai Naomi was as arrogant and violent as her daughter. "So you want to take the Ootoris up on their offer?"
"Mhm," Kaede nodded enthusiastically. "It's fine right? The Ootoris have been you and otou-san's friends since before the Shirai Company flourished."
"That's true, but you took so long, they've been considering other marriage meetings," Naomi sighed, taking a sip of her drink. "Why'd you change your mind?"
"I'm dating Kyoya now." Naomi spit out her drink.
"You're dating who now?!"
"Mhm, that's right."
"Knowing my daughter, she probably forced Kyoya-kun into submission...," Naomi said to herself.
"You said that aloud, okaa-san."
"I know that!" she cried. She nibbled violently on a baguette. "Kyoya-kun doesn't seem the type to be with a girl like my idiot daughter..." Kaede sighed, wiping up her mother's mess.
"Why is it so unbelievable? I mean, I'm good-looking, smart, amazing at everything, charming..."
"I mean, my violent, arrogant, calculating, tomboyish, crude daughter, snagged a man?!"
"Thanks okaa-san, I really appreciate that coming from you," Kaede's voice dripped with sarcasm. "I've known Kyoya since we were kids, I mean, isn't it inevitable?"
"That's true," Naomi sighed. But still, I never thought she'd get a boyfriend until college... "I'll talk Yoshio-san and Fumio-chan about the engagement."
"Thanks, okaa-san!" Kaede hugged her mother.
"But you're going to have to break the news to Ryo-kun," Naomi sweatdropped, thinking about the sis-con son that she had birthed.
"Does otou-san know about my request?"
"...I'll tell him later."