LOVED YOUR REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER TWENTY. :P A BIG THANKS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS AND ALSO ALL MY READERS FOR GIVING ME THE ENCOURAGMENT TO KEEP THIS STORY GOING. IT SOMETIMES TAKES ME TILL THE END OF THE STORY TO REALIZE I PUT A LOT OF MYSELF INTO THESE STORIES. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED WHAT I'VE WRITEN SO FAR BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY WAS A CHALLENGE TO WRITE. I WILL CONTINUE TO DO MY BEST TO UPDATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IN THE FUTURE. :)

DISCLAIMER: SEE CHAPTER ONE. AND YES EMILY... AVIANNA IS MY MADE UP CHARACTER. STOP TALKING ABOUT NAMING YOUR FIRST CHILD THAT. YOU'RE ONLY ELEVEN. XD

OH AND MY FRIEND, CHRIS OR CHRIS CUTTER ON FANFIC SO GAVE ME ADVICE FOR PART OF THIS CHAPTER. XD OH HOW THE INNOCENT HAVE PLOTTED TOGETHER TO BRING OUT THE MOST TERRIBLE JOKES. XD

!CHAPTER SONG? OK, SO TOTALLY IRRELEVENT BUT I DID LISTEN TO IT DURING SOME OF THE CHAPTER. IT'S 'TURN ME ON' BY NICKI MINAJ FT. DAVID GRUETTA. THE VIDEO VERSION.

Chapter 21

Avianna's POV:

As the two of us sat comfortably beside one another and finished our meal, I began to hear rumbling in the distance. When the storm was directly overhead, we packed everything up and returned the dishes to an employee before getting in the elevator. As soon as we made it to our floor, we could hear rain hitting the panes of the window at the end of the hallway. It was very dark tonight.

"This might be problematic." Kyoya murmured.

I looked at him curiously. "Why? It's just a storm. It'll pass by morning."

"Haruhi. She's afraid of storms. Her father warned me of it about a month after I met her." He told me.

My eyes widened and I ran to my hotel room door. Knocking, I waited for a response. No one answered the door but I could hear Haruhi whimpering. Locating a passing maid, I asked for her to use her key card to open our door. When she had done so, I ran right in with Kyoya at my side.

Surprisingly, Haruhi was sitting on her bed, completely wrapped in a blanket. Tamaki was sitting beside her with an arm around her shoulder as she shook. "Is she okay?" I whispered.

Tamaki nodded. "If it's alright with you Avianna, I'm going to stay here until the storm passes."

I nodded and smiled. "Sure. Take my bed for the night. I can probably get the hotel to give me another room."

Kyoya took my hand. "I can help with sleeping arrangements. Locate some night clothes and a change of clothes for tomorrow."

Nodding, I dug through my suitcase and found everything I needed. Emptying my beach bag, I put everything in there and followed Kyoya out into the hall. I had walked in the direction of the elevator, fully prepared to go to the lobby and request a new room for the night, when Kyoya intercepted. Putting an arm around me, he led me towards his own room.

My face lit up like a firework as he pulled out his key card and opened the door. He waited for me to step inside and I waited for the floor to swallow me. When nether happened, Kyoya began to look hesitant. "I can get you another room if you'd like...or even drag Tamaki back here. I'm sure you can manage to keep Haruhi calm through the night."

I bit my lip for a second. "I want them to be able to spend this time together. She always seems to be more carefree when he's around. It's alright. This arrangement is fine." Finally stepping into the room, I felt as uncomfortable as one could feel in this sort of situation.

Kyoya walked in as well and shut the door before turning on the light. He walked over to the table in the corner and opened the mini fridge. "Are you thirsty?"

Shaking my head, I eyed the bathroom. "I'm fine. I'll just be right back." Diving into the bathroom and locking myself in, I thought I heard him chuckle.

I pulled my bag off my shoulder and dropped it onto a small side table before digging out my pajamas. I had already worn my more comfortable (and more modest) selections. In the end, I had selected a pair of white silk pajama pants and a matching silk pajama top with a baby doll cut to it. Brushing through my hair with my fingers, I dug in my bag for my toothbrush and vigorously scrubbed my teeth before putting my things back in the bag and exiting the bathroom.

While in there, Kyoya had taken the opportunity to change in the main room. His black pajama bottoms looked cotton and much more comfortable than mine. He was just pulling on a black t-shirt when I rounded the corner. Blushing, I sat my bag down and went to sit in a chair by the window. Looking out at the storm, I felt bad for Haruhi. I understood fears like this. Though mine had everything to do with the dark and nothing to do with storms, I felt I could imagine what she was going through.

"Will you be warm enough in that?" He asked as he picked up the hotel phone. Once I nodded, he dialed room service and asked for two tea trays to be brought to this room and the room Haruhi and Tamaki were in. When the tea was ordered, he hung up and stood next to my chair. "The storm is passing quickly. It will surely be gone by morning."

A few minutes later, our tea arrived. Accepting the tea, Kyoya brought the tray over to the small table in the room. He placed a cup in front of one chair and I went take a seat in it. Putting a little bit of sugar in the tea, I took a sip. It helped relax me a bit but it did nothing to lessen my awareness of the fact I'd be sharing a room with Kyoya tonight. Sure, I'd have my own large bed but still...

"What time is it?" I asked, my eyes unable to look directly into his. Eventually, I settled for staring at my teacup.

"Almost nine. Not exactly late but if you're tired, you're welcome to sleep. You did have a trying day." He finished the rest of his tea and placed his cup back on the tray before standing up and locating the television remote. Pressing the power button, he turned it to a random news channel. The woman on the television was actually talking about Ouran.

"...And Ouran once again makes it to the top of the 'best schools in the world' list. In other news, a new merger between Ootori Co. and Yukimura Inc. is now in the first stages of completion. This merger means more jobs, better pay for the employees and more money for our currently fragile economy. Now onto this evening's entertainment. Take it over Miss. Rih."

The camera went to another section of the studio and showed a woman in a flashy red pantsuit standing in front of a large projection screen that read 'Entertainment with Rih.'

"Thank you Fuya. Speaking of a merger, I've actually picked up a rather...juicy detail about that. After a little bit of undercover work, I was able to get word from a close friend of Mr. Ootori, who wishes to remain anonymous, that the son of Yoshio Ootori is engaged to the sister of Mark Yukimura."

I gasped and covered my mouth quickly. What will Mr. Ootori say when he finds out his secret is out? When the woman wrapped up the topic, Kyoya turned off the television quickly and pulled out his phone. He dialed it quickly and, after a few seconds, I heard a light click from the phone.

"Hello?" Kyoya said. "Father? Yes. You heard? What should we do? Miss. Avianna and myself could return to help with damage control."

"No!" I heard Mr. Ootori yell. Walking up to Kyoya, I leaned up so that I could hear what was being said. "If you return now, you'll raise suspicion. We don't want them finding out the rumors are true. That channel isn't exactly credible but it won't be long before someone else tries to find out more information than they did. I already weeded out the snitch and they've been taken care of."

"Alright." Kyoya said quietly. "If I hear anything else, I'll call."

"Don't call. They could be trying to tap into the phone lines. If I need to get a hold of you, I'll call."

Without even waiting for his son to respond, Mr. Ootori hung up. Kyoya shut the cellphone and placed it on the table next to us. He looked like he was seriously thinking through everything. "It probably won't be put to a stop. By the time we return to Tokyo, we might have to do an immediate press conference."

"We?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes, you'll need to be present at all public affairs for now on. This sort of news getting out early will put you in the very center of the public eye. People will probably confront you on your way to school even. Walking is now an impossibility."

I grimaced. "Things will really change now."

"More than you can imagine." He ran the back of his hand tentatively down my cheek. "You won't be alone in this. Don't worry."

Nodding, I looked to the side. "What if I mess everything up? Give the family a bad name or something..."

"Don't worry." He repeated. Putting an arm around my waist, he guided me to the bed I would be using for the night and pulled back the covers for me. "Get some sleep. We'll be leaving for the onsen in the morning."

Nodding, I crawled into bed and let him cover me up with the cold sheet and blanket. Shivering, I curled into a ball and waited for my skin to warm up the covers. As Kyoya turned off the light and crawled into his bed, he pulled a book off the bedside table and began reading by the light of a lamp next to him.

A particularly loud clap of thunder made me practically jump out of my skin. That really took me off guard. Suddenly, lightning flashed very close and the room was plunged into darkness. A loud cracking sound came from outside. Tensing up, I closed my eyes tightly and tried to imagine that the room had some light left. Even in the room Haruhi and I shared, we slept with the bathroom light on.

"Electricity went out." Kyoya said calmly. I heard him shut his book and sit it down. "The generators should kick on any minute." Without really thinking, I crawled out of the bed and walked quickly over to Kyoya. When I laid down beside him, he chuckled. "Do storms scare you too?"

I shook my head but then remembered that he couldn't see me. "No. The dark does."

For a moment, he didn't say anything. Finally, he lifted the covers and brought me under them with him. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and I buried my face in his chest. "The lights will be back on soon." He reassured me.

With Kyoya holding me like this, I didn't feel scared of the dark at all. Looking up, I tried to make out the features on his face in the darkness. I was tempted to lean up and kiss him when the lamp beside us suddenly turned on. I blinked and waited for my eyes to adjust. A little upset over our ruined moment in the dark, I looked down and blushed. "Should I get back in my bed?" I asked after a moment.

He stared at me with half lidded eyes, his focus more on my mouth that my eyes. "You're welcome to sleep right here as long as you'd like."

Turning away from him so he wouldn't see just how red my face had become, I reached up and turned off the little lamp before scooting until my back was against his chest. He put an arm around me and rested his hand on my stomach. I could hear my heart beating loudly and my breathing became irregular as he and I laid together. My nervousness has got to be painfully obvious to him.

"Goodnight." I mumbled before shutting my eyes tightly.

I heard him chuckle softly. "Goodnight."

When I woke the next morning, I didn't open my eyes. The sun was lightly warming my face. First my cheeks and then eventually my eyelids and neck. The light was dim so I guessed it to be early morning. When I finally opened them, I nearly had a heart attack. Kyoya was sleeping right next to me, hair in disarray and his expression peaceful.

Carefully picking up his left wrist, I checked the time on his watch. A little after seven. We were all supposed to be packed and ready to leave by ten. I smiled and closed my eyes. This really was an amazing vacation. And it's only halfway over too. If only Ren and Hiro hadn't decided to cause problems for me. Despite that, I felt positive that no more harm would befall me for the rest of the trip.

After laying there for twenty more minutes with Kyoya's arm wrapped around me, I finally moved his arm to the side and crawled out of bed, careful not to disturb him. Grabbing my bag, I tiptoed into the bathroom and shut the door. Ehh. Maybe it's a good idea if I take a shower before returning to him. My hair looks like a stye.

Feeling a little awkward about showering in Kyoya's hotel room, I made sure to lock the door before setting right to work. After a quick shower, I deliberated between getting dressed for the day and getting back in my pajamas. Choosing the later, I put my silky pajama set back on and attempted to do something special with my hair. Finally giving up, I brushed through it again, brushed my teeth and then exited the bathroom.

When I walked back over to Kyoya, he seemed to be still sound asleep. Carefully lifting the covers, I crawled back in and snuggled up beside him. "What time is it?" He asked without opening his eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." I glanced at the alarm clock behind me. "Almost eight."

Kyoya sighed and turned onto his side. Pulling me close, he growled a little. "I don't want to get up."

I blushed. "Then don't."

After a moment of holding me, his grip loosened and he sat upright. "I do need to get up though." He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger before reaching over me for the glasses on the nightstand. After putting them on, he leaned down and kissed me quickly on the cheek before climbing out of bed.

I laid there while he went about getting ready, missing the warmth he had emanated. When he had shut himself in the bathroom, I decided that it was about time to get ready and go check on Haruhi and Tamaki. Finding my bag, I chose a blue/green sundress with speckles of brown and gold. Putting it on, I put on some shoes and went out into the hall, careful not to get caught leaving Kyoya's room.

When I used my key card to open the door, I was a little amused to say the least. The two had fallen asleep together. Haruhi was sprawled out, taking up a large chunk of the bed, while Tamaki was laying on the very edge, only half covered by the blanket that Haruhi had wrapped herself in. Figuring that they'd want time to get ready, I took it upon myself to wake them up.

When I shook Tamaki's shoulder, he swatted his hand in my direction. "Five more minutes mama..."

"Mama?" I whispered and shook his shoulder again. When he was looking at me with bleary eyes, I ruffled his hair. "Up and at em sleepyhead. We've got less than two hours before we leave the hotel."

He looked at me blankly for a second before his eyes snapped open. "Only that long?" He shot out of bed and started scrambling towards the door. "I can't possibly get ready in that time! What will I wear! My hair! I need more moisturizer!"

I laughed before leaning over and shaking Haruhi's shoulder. "Wake up sleepyhead."

Haruhi was a lot easier to wake. She sat up and stretched her arms. "Morning." She glanced at the clock. "Oh, wow. I should get ready." She grabbed the things she'd need and was about to go in the bathroom when Tamaki shut himself in. "Tamaki! Go take a shower in your own room! I gotta get ready too!"

"No time!" The blonde called and turned on the shower water.

Haruhi glared. "You don't even have a change of clothes with you!"

"I forgot to get moisturizer from the hotel gift shop!" Tamaki screamed.

Rolling my eyes, I found his wallet and pulled out a five thousand yen bill. "I'll go get the moisturizer, you go get him a change of clothes."

Nodding, she slipped on a hotel robe and we walked out into the hall. She knocked on the door and Kyoya let her in with slight surprise while I went to the end of the hall and took the elevator to the lobby. The gift shop was small but it had quite a few selections. Finding the hair care products, I found a few different hair moisturizers. Not wanting to get the wrong one, I bought all three and carried the gift bag with me back to the room. I knocked on the door and handed the back to Tamaki through a crack in the door.

"Oh! This one looks new!" I heard him say in excitement. "Thank you!"

I rolled my eyes and went to pack my clothes alongside Haruhi. She ended up giving me all of the frilly outfits that would fit me and the rest were thrown away. I actually had to stop Haruhi from starting a fire in the waste basket. When we were both packed, we placed our bags by the door and accompanied Tamaki and Kyoya down to breakfast.

The rest of the club was waiting for us at a table downstairs. Even Setsuko was there. She dutifully claimed the seat to Tamaki's right while Haruhi claimed the left side seat. Sitting to Kyoya's right also sat me next to Mori senpai. He was a little bit intimidating but I did my best to make polite conversation.

"So Kume Island, right?" Kaoru asked after taking a long swig of orange juice.

"Uh huh. Four nights at a relaxing hot springs." Haruhi said blissfully.

"Tamaki senpai, are you excited about the onsen as well?" Setsuko asked timidly.

Tamaki smiled his most hypnotic host smile. "Why, but of course princess. But only because I know that this experience will be shared with you."

Nobody at the table, except for Tamaki and Setsuko, missed the irritation that flashed over Haruhi's face. She sat her napkin down and stood quickly before all but storming out of the dining area. Tamaki looked after her with a confused expression. "What's the matter with Haruhi?" Setsuko asked in concern.

Tamaki stood slowly. "I'll go check. Please excuse me for a minute."

After Tamaki left the dining room, I prayed that he didn't act like an idiot for once and knew what he did wrong. If he likes Haruhi, he needs to tone down the womanizing host act. Setsuko actually began to stand by I stood and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Allow them to talk. Please. It's a guy thing. Girls wouldn't understand." I told her.

She blinked and looked in the direction of the door before sitting back down. "I suppose."

When Tamaki and Haruhi walked back into the dining room, they both were blushing wildly. As they both sat, I gave Haruhi a questioning look. If Setsuko hadn't decided to sit with us today, I'd be able to ask her. Determining to corner and question her later, I finished breakfast and went back upstairs with everyone to quickly get our luggage.

After a headcount was done, everyone was shoved onto three trollies and taken to the dock we had used to visit Tadake Falls yesterday. A boat, larger than any we had used to far, was waiting to take us to Kume Island. When we entered the boat, several helpful crew members took our luggage and stored it in a room bellow deck for us. After another headcount was taken, we were escorted into a waiting room of sorts.

"The more I'm on these boats, the more I want to take a cruise." Hikaru said. "We should go on one for Christmas break. I'd rather be warm in the tropics than freezing in Tokyo."

"Totally agreed!" Kaoru shouted before pumping a fist in the air. "How bout you guys? Cruise sound nice?"

"We usually hold a bunch of host events during the holidays though, right?" Haruhi asked. "Wouldn't that hurt our profits if we randomly left on a cruise for however long?"

Kyoya brought out that mysterious black book of his and started to sort through the pages. After he took out a pen and wrote something down, he adjusted his glasses. "We could always turn it into an event. Tamaki, doesn't your family have a line of cruise ships?"

Tamaki nodded, eyes curious. "Yeah. What you thinking Kyoya?"

"We could choose a flat rate to charge each guest to ensure a spot on this cruise. Have an entire itinerary planned for a week. It would be very profitable and I'm sure we'd have many takers."

"But what if Megumi or Ren decide to go on the cruise?" Haruhi asked. "That might cause problems for Avianna. I'd hate to see one of them try to throw her over the boat railing or something."

I shivered as the idea played in my mind. I could only imagine how terrible it would be to be lost at sea by myself. Kyoya seemed to have already accounted for this sort of thing. "Obviously there would be a ban for certain girls. Both Megumi and Ren are currently on suspension and parole for violence. We would have to be out of our senses to allow them passage anyway."

"But what sort of itinerary?" Honey senpai asked.

"The normal things people would do on cruise ships. But instead of a director monitoring the guests, the hosts would." Kyoya answered.

As the hosts began to plan for this cruise, the boat arrived and we were all escorted off before our luggage was handed over. Waiting for us at the dock was a tall, thin woman in a white kimono and an even taller, pudgy man in a dark blue kimono. They both bowed.

"Welcome. You are our honored guests." The woman said. "I am your hostess, Miwa. This is my brother, Izanagi."

We all bowed and accepted her gift bags filled with what looked and smelled like herbal bath salts. Picking up our bags, we followed her up the cobblestone steps to a large, traditional Japanese house. The sign to the right of the door let us know that this was the onsen. Miwa san opened the door and we all piled in to the main area.

Waiting behind the desk was a younger girl that looked very much like Miwa. She was probably only a little over eighteen and she told us that her name was Kimi. She wrote all of our names in a guest registry before escorting us to a sitting room where we all had to kneel on tatami mats.

"This entire onsen has been cleared out for your arrival." Kimi began. "There are twenty rooms total here so most of you will need to room with at least one other person. A few of you called ahead and specifically requested private rooms. Those rooms have been set aside already. I've been informed that your caretakers will be all rooming together. We have a large suite set apart for them. It is two connecting rooms, one for each gender. If you'd please, tell me now who you would like to room with."

The room quickly filled with chatter. In the end, I sat quietly, figuring there would be no way anyone, save for Haruhi, would request I room with them. I really didn't know most of the people who went on the trip. At the large hotel, it was easy for Haruhi to get away with rooming with me. But at a tiny onsen where the rice paper doors had flimsy little locks, there was bound to be problems.

Haruhi, figuring it would be the least awkward, decided to room with Honey senpai and Mori senpai. When only a few stragglers remained, Kimi took it upon herself to just room us together. I was almost forced to room with a very mean looking girl when someone tapped my shoulder.

Looking up, my eyes widened. "Setsuko san?"

She smiled. "My friend and I are rooming together. Would you like to room with us too?"

I looked at her cautiously. "I thought you and Ren san hated me."

She shook her head, her eyes serious. She knelt down and smiled sadly. "I've been in Ren san's shadow since my first years at Ouran Academy. She can be a good friend but her heart isn't always in the right place. I wanted to apologize for what she tried to do to you. It would've been terrible if you were trapped in that cave. She and Megumi both haven't been very nice to you at all. They're both cousins so I usually have to put up with them a lot when Ren decides to talk to me."

I was surprised to see she really meant it and was even more surprised to hear that Ren and Megumi were cousins. Storing that last bit of data away, I smiled. "Thank you. And yes, I'd love to room with you and...?"

She pointed to a bubbly redhead in the corner, talking with a few people. "That's Ina. She's really nice."

Setsuko went over to Kimi and had my name signed to their group. When everything was said and done for the list, Kimi escorted us all through the halls. She opened doors and let groups in while explaining that even though there were doors in each room that led to other rooms, they were locked for a reason and should not be opened.

"And this room is one of our first rate selections. It is for a..." She looked at her list. "...Mr. Ootori. You are one of the students that called ahead?"

Kyoya stepped forward and walked into the doorway of his room. "Thank you."

Tamaki also had selected his own room. When Setsuko, Ina and I were in our room, we all headed for the open door that led to a patio that overlooked one section of the onsen's garden. "Oh look!" Ina shouted as she located a closet full of different sized kimonos with the onsen's logo on them. We each took turns in the bathroom in our room, changing and freshening up.

For the first day, we were free to either use the open baths, one of the more private indoor baths or go to one of the common rooms for games. We all eventually decided to go to the open bath when Setsuko caught wind that Tamaki had gone in that direction with the rest of the hosts.

Like most traditional hot springs, there was a large fence that separated the men's and women's bath. I was really surprised to see a few girls attempting to climb the fence when I walked out with my towel around me. Making sure it wasn't going to slip when I walked in the water, I walked in timidly. I've never been to an onsen before and I knew it was going to be awkward but who knew...

"Tamaki senpai! Can you see me?"

"Hikaru! Kaoru! I can see you!"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes before wading to the far edge of the bath, out of everyone's way. Soaking in the steaming water, I tried to tune out all the overzealous girls. "Can I ask you a question?" Ina said, startling me. The little redhead had scooted away from the fence and was now sitting beside me. The steam was beginning to make her skin turn to the same shade as her hair.

"Sure." I smiled. She seemed like she was extremely nervous and I was beginning to think that this question had something to do with a host.

She blushed, making her face even redder. "Um... Well... It's about this guy. I really like him a lot. But he's the type that doesn't easily let people in. In fact, the only time I ever see him give real affection is when it concerns his brother."

I knew right then that she was talking about one of the twins. "Which twin?" I asked and she looked down.

"Was it that obvious?" She asked with an embarrassed laugh.

"Yeah, pretty much. I hope you don't want me to try talking to him or something. Both hosts aren't exactly good listeners." I told her honestly.

She shook her head quickly. "I know. I'd never ask you such a favor. We've just met after all. I was only wanting advice."

I raised an eyebrow. "What advice do I have to give?"

She looked at me with masked admiration. "You're dating Kyoya senpai. Other than Mori senpai, he's the most unapproachable host. There's gotta be a way to catch Kaoru's attention..." She cut off and blushed.

I smiled. Maybe someone like Ina could be a good match for Kaoru. Kaoru seems a little shy but he hides it well when he's around his brother. Speaking of his brother, that would be the biggest problem. I gave her an apologetic smile. "Well, here's the problem... Hikaru and Kaoru are basically a package deal right now. They're extremely close and I'm not sure either would be willing to separate from the other and date. Plus... I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure that they're both homosexual."

She blushed cherry red. "Oh, I know! What was I thinking?" She shook her head and began to inch away. "I'm so sorry for wasting your time Miss. Avianna."

"Just a second." I called, feeling bad for her. "I do have one piece of advice. Next time you're at a host club meeting, look directly at him with your head held high and ask him about his work as a designer."

She blinked. "Why hold up my head specifically?"

"Because men are drawn to confident women. If he doesn't think you're intimidated, it'll impress him. Promise. And..." I held up a finger and told her to follow me. We went to the edge of the fence and peaked through little cracks. All the hosts were sunk deep in the water with a a few other guys from school there. I felt bad for Haruhi. She looked so uncomfortable. "See the twins?"

She nodded. "Yeah, why."

"Tell me who is who." I told her.

She sighed. "Oh, this is so hard. Um... The one to the left is Kaoru?"

I shook my head. "Wrong."

"How can you tell?" She asked, looking away from the fence to me.

"Well, it's easy right now because they have their hair parted differently. At first, it was nearly impossible. But now it's easy, even if they cover their parted hair, if you remember three things. First, Hikaru is the more confident twin. His speech and actions are more exaggerated. See the way he moves his arms dramatically while he talks to Tamaki?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I guess you're right. How else can you tell?"

"Listen to them speak. Listen to the tones of their voices. Hear Hikaru's voice? Close your eyes and tell me what the tone of his voice reminds you of."

She closed her eyes. "It reminds me of... I don't know." She frowned.

"Okay... think food or a specific scent. Now tell me."

She tried again. "I guess it sort of reminds me of licorice. Red Licorice."

I smiled. "Very good. And Kaoru's?"

"Um...Like chocolate. His voice is more silky than his brother's."

"Alright. Final step to telling them apart is the first look test. You want to be able to tell them apart before they even open their mouths and speak. If they start talking at the same time, it throws people off. Their smiles. I never see them walking along without smiles on their faces. When dealing with guests, they always smile with teeth. But when alone, it's Kaoru that smiles with his mouth closed while Hikaru smiles with teeth."

On cue, Hikaru smiled widely, showing his pearly whites, while Kaoru shyly smiled with closed lips. She smiled at me brightly. "Thank you so much. I think it'll be a lot easier to tell them apart now."

"When the sun sets, we're supposed to be piling into the common rooms. Test it out when everyone gets there." I recommended before backing away from the fence.

She nodded and thanked me again before going over to talk with Setsuko. At noon, Miwa san and Kimi san walked out to each bath and announced that lunch was to be served in twenty minutes. We all made our way to our kimonos and used private stalls to change into them. When we were each ready, we all walked to a very large dining hall that could seat possibly fifty. Kneeling on a cushion next to Kyoya, we shared a quick smile before he was pulled into a conversation about the pros and cons of staying in a onsen as apposed to a more grand hotel. I noticed that as soon as Ren left, a few of Kyoya's guests came out of hiding.

"Most people come to onsens for something no hotel can really give." He answered eventually after a long list of what each place gave the visitor. "Onsens have natural hot springs that only nature can give. Granted, there are plenty of man made hot springs in the world but there is nothing like a real one. An example of why..." Kyoya reached out and took my arm. Bringing the kimono sleeve to my elbow, he showed them the bottom of my forearm. "See the way the skin glows when you exit a true hot spring. The natural water is immensely good for the skin. Man made springs cause the skin to turn red and stay red. When the red fades, there is absolutely no glow. It's not different then sitting in a hot tub."

The girls began to swoon and one reached arm out to Kyoya. "Is...is mine glowing?"

Pulling my arm back, I gave Kyoya a playful glare. "Easy now Casanova. Wouldn't want me getting jealous, would you?" I whispered so only he could hear.

Kyoya smirked. "Believe me, I haven't tried making you jealous yet." He murmured, his eyes looking in my direction while his head stayed facing his guests.

I blinked and looked directly at him. "Yet?" Looking at the food that Miwa san had just sat in front of me, a plan began forming in my head. When everyone began to eat and I was sure none of his guests would notice, I leaned over towards Kyoya. "What do you say to a little bet?"

He raised an eyebrow, a smirk forming. "Like a challenge sort of bet?"

I nodded. "A 'First One To Get Jealous Loses' sort of bet."

"There will have to be rules and restrictions obviously." He murmured casually, the smirk still in place. "Meaning that when making the other jealous, it cannot involve intimate physical contact with any other person."

"So physical contact to an extent but no kissing, no groping, no sex with anyone. That's obviously a given." I said.

"Obviously. Rules of losing; loser cannot just simply be jealous. It's the first one to make their jealousy known. Either by blowing up or reacting in a jealous sort of way. Competition lasts until midnight tonight. Do we need a prize?"

I thought for a second. "I'm not sure."

Kyoya seemed to be calculating something. "Something the other must give the winner. If you win, I'll-"

I cut him off. "If I win, you have to let me borrow your computer for the rest of the trip. And no blocking junk on it with passwords."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why the computer? Do you not have one?"

"I do." I said with a shrug. "But I know how secretive you are about your computer so...I thought, 'why not?'. You're lucky I didn't ask to borrow your little black notebook. I have a feeling I'd find the meaning of life and the secrets of the universe in that thing."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright. I'll agree to it. I won't need it until we return anyway. And if I win..." He paused, his expression thoughtful. Suddenly, his eyes sort of clicked. "...you have to take a midnight swim with me."

I nearly laughed. "That's it? A midnight swim?"

"In the open bath." He halfway elaborated. The smirk on his face was so gleeful looking, you'd think he was going to receive a million bucks in return.

Still not getting what the big deal was, I shrugged. "Sure. Deal." Shaking his hand to begin the bet, my mind slowly thought over his stipulation. A midnight swim? In the open bath... And when you use the open bath... you don't wear any... My eyes widened and I smacked his arm. His smirk widened as he took a drink of his tea. Perverted manipulator...

As dinner commenced, I tried my best to think of how to begin. He'd obviously feel most jealous of whoever I started flirting with flirted back. It can't be some random guy either cause I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea. Meaning...I'll need an accomplice. Scanning the dinner table, my eyes landed on not one accomplice, but two.

When the twins caught my stare, they both looked at me curiously. Finishing my last bite of food, I picked up my tea and carried it around the table. Both twins looked utterly confused but nonetheless allowed me to sit right between them. Sitting my tea down, I looked at the two of them before glancing ever so quickly at Kyoya. He seemed one hundred percent unconcerned.

Knowing that the chatter in the room was too loud for him to hear, I began telling them about my plan. "I've made a bet with Kyoya and I need your particular brand of mischief."

Hikaru was the first to respond. "Tell us first, then we'll consider helping."

I nodded. "I need to make Kyoya jealous enough to blow up. It won't be easy because he knows that's exactly the reaction I want. But I know you two can handle something like that."

They both laughed. "When you two get bored, you go all out, don't you? The bedroom life not exciting enough or something?"

I blushed furiously before glancing at Kyoya. My blush seemed to take him off guard. He stared at the three of us with semi concern. "It's not like that, I swear. We don't..." I didn't finish. This is an off limits topic. But even knowing the twins for as short a time as I have, I've got to figure out eventually that they have no filter between their brains and their mouths. "So will you help me make him jealous?"

On cue, Hikaru swung his arms around my waist and pulled me into his lap. "Sure." He purred. "But we want something in return for helping you."

I blinked. "What do you want?"

"We get total control over the bet. We coach you on what to say and do and even decide what you wear. Everything will be decided by us down to the very last detail." Hikaru said.

Kaoru leaned over and began running his fingers through my hair while glancing slyly at Kyoya. "And... we want to share the prize. Knowing Kyoya, he's gonna be giving you something good if you win."

I bit my lip, feeling very awkward by the twin's attention. "Well, if I win, he's going to let me borrow his computer for the rest of the trip. He'll disarm all his pass codes and everything."

The twins took a second to think. Finally, the grinned. "We want to see his computer too."

I held up a finger. "No deleting anything or trying to destroy the computer or no deal." I held out my hand and, after a few seconds, both twins took a turn to shake it. Climbing out of Hikaru's lap, I took a drink of my tea. "And also, don't go overboard with this jealousy thing. People are aware that I'm dating Kyoya and I don't want people to think of me a tramp or something."

Not that it wasn't already happening. A few girls had noticed Hikaru and Kaoru's special attention to me and they seemed very displeased. Thankfully, Ina hadn't noticed. She and Setsuko were chatting animatedly while finishing up their food. The twins agreed to keep all the overly handsy contact to an extreme minimum when anyone except the hosts were around.

As lunch ended and everyone went to the commons rooms for games, the twins put their plan into action. Slinging an arm over my shoulders they way they often do to Haruhi, they both grinned.

"Avianna, come sit over here with us." Hikaru said before leading me towards a table near the big window along with my brother. When we had taken a seat and Kyoya had sat at a table with Tamaki and the other hosts, I began to worry that perhaps it was a very bad idea to let the twins join in.

As we sat casually there, the twins leaned down so both had their mouths to my ears. "Okay, here's the first step." Hikaru said low enough for only us to hear. "We have to bring in another accomplice. Go over to Haruhi and whisper the plan to her. Ask her permission to make Kyoya jealous with Tamaki. When she agrees, just smile at Kyoya and walk back over to us. Go now."

Sighing, I stood up and straightened out my light blue kimono before walking over to Haruhi. Sitting beside her, I leaned up to her ear. "Don't speak. Just listen please. I know you and Tamaki are sort of a thing but I need permission to flirt with him to make Kyoya jealous and win a bet. Please don't kill me. It's the twin's idea."

She leaned back and gave me a disbelieving look before leaning back in. She laughed. "You guys are trying to make eachother jealous?"

"Yeah." I blushed. "Can I get your cooperation?" I asked before glancing nervously in Kyoya's direction. Some of his attention was being taken by a guest of his but most of his focus was on my face. When Haruhi laughed again and agreed, I gave Kyoya a smile before standing and walking back over to the twins. Sitting back between them on a cushion, I sighed. "Mission accomplished."

The twins laughed a little mischievously. "Excellent." Kaoru murmured.

Hikaru put a finger under my chin and made me look right at him. Bringing his face until we were a mere three inches apart, he grinned wider. "Alright. Here's what you gotta do..."

As the day went on, everyone began to disperse and return to the hot springs, or even go by bus to visit some of the highlights of the island. The hosts, who normally are sort of reluctant to separate, actually did today. Honey senpai and Mori senpai agreed to go with a few of their guests to see the castle ruins that were located somewhere near the middle of the island and the rest of the host club had stayed behind.

The twins left my side to go sit at the far end of the room and play a board game with some of their own guests, leaving me to do exactly as they instructed me to earlier. One specific thing Hikaru had told me out of the entire coaching talk was the very center of my mission. 'Go for his best friend. It works every time. You don't even have to flirt that much to get him angry.' Gulping, I put on a fake smile and scurried over to the table Kyoya, Haruhi and Tamaki were sitting at. Kyoya had been talking to the same girl for the past hour and maybe he figured that would phase me but he didn't account for my ability to read him. He couldn't have been more bored with whatever she was saying.

Sitting at the table, I looked at Tamaki demurely. "It's such a hot day, isn't it?" I asked him before fanning myself with a folding fan that was sitting on the table.

He had been staring at Haruhi with big crush eyes for quite some time so, when I spoke, I startled him. He looked up and nodded with a smile. "Very hot. It's the steam from the hot spring. It heats the entire building up."

Leaning over a little closer than one normally would when having a conversation with someone, I gave him a glance to the side and smiled. "What are you reading?" I asked, my eyes now on the pamphlet in his hands.

He seemed completely floored for a second. He glanced at Kyoya briefly and then to Haruhi before finally returning his eyes to me. "It's, uh...about the island. Different places to visit. Would you like to see it?"

Smiling as charmingly as I knew how, I reached forward and took the pamphlet from him, careful to brush my fingers against his in a very obvious way. Tamaki pulled his hand back and bowed his head quickly before apologizing and saying it was his fault for holding the pamphlet too tightly. I nearly grinned. I understood another reason why Tamaki was the best pawn. He was oblivious. To an extent, he'd get that I was talking to him more than usual, but he wouldn't truly catch on to my flirting. That much I was grateful for. I'd hate to freak him out. He really was a kindhearted and good friend.

I looked through the pamphlet briefly before sitting it aside and racking my brain for one of the other things the twins had said to say or do. Remembering one, I tried my best to not groan out loud. It sounded so stupid but they said it was a surefire way to amp up Kyoya's 'mad o' meter' as they put it.

I began to fan my face harder, my eyes half lidded. Putting a hand against the middle of my chest, I looked at Tamaki. "It's so humid, I fear I might faint." I murmured and his eyes widened.

"Oh no! Please don't faint! I'll go get water! Does everyone else need water?" He was about to stand when I let my weight drop expertly onto the top of his shoulder, causing him to sit back down entirely.

Dropping my hands to my sides, I did my best to look at Kyoya without making it obvious, wanting to gauge his reaction. He had completely stopped talking to that girl and was now glaring at me with a look that said 'what are you trying to pull?'. Fighting a smirk, I closed my eyes.

Tamaki screamed almost girlishly. "Oh no! She fainted! What do we do?"

I almost felt sorry for him, causing him to freak out this way. I didn't miss the giggle that Haruhi stifled. I opened my eyes a little to glance at her. She was watching the three of us like we were the funniest thing she'd ever seen. I was glad that she was so confident in my passion for Kyoya and Tamaki's obliviousness that she knew that me flirting this way wouldn't cause problems between the four of us.

Leaning a little more on his shoulder so that he could see my face, I blinked sleepily and looked at Tamaki. "What happened?"

He sighed in relief. "You fainted! Are you alright?" He yelled into my ear, giving me a minor headache.

Leaning up, I put a hand to my head. "I think so. I think I just need some fresh air."

Tamaki nodded. "Let's all take a walk."

The four of us stood up and so did Kyoya's guest a few seconds later. She flipped her dark hair to the side and smiled at him with unbidden joy as he actually offered her his arm. I almost showed my irritation but was able to get it in check.

Leaning on Tamaki slightly as we walked out the door, I took a deep breath when we entered the garden. He smiled. "Better?"

I nodded and leaned away from him. "Much. Thank you." The twins had told me to not stick to Tamaki. That it wouldn't make Kyoya too jealous but that he would be upset in general with me for stooping too low. Scanning the garden for someone else to reel in, my eyes landed on a boy with very dark brown hair and emerald eyes. He was looking this way, his smile bright but a little nervous. Returning his smile, I slipped on a pair of the little geta sandals the hotel had lined on the patio for guests and went to stand beside him next to a koi pond.

"Hi." He said casually when I arrived by his side. "I'm sorry if I freaked you out by staring. You're just really..." He cut off, his expression telling me he was trying to find words. "...something."

I raised an eyebrow. "Thanks?"

He seemed to notice he hadn't chosen the best word and shook his head. "What I'm meaning is, you're really pretty. We're in different groups so I didn't get a chance to really look at you until we got here. But when I saw you at lunch and you were smiling and..." He paused and blushed. I blinked in surprise.

"Thank you." I murmured, my eyes now glued to the ground. Glancing at Kyoya discretely out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he was looking over at us with very wide eyes. I had never seen him look so startled. Looking up at the boy again, I smiled timidly. "I'm Avianna."

He ran a hand through his dark chocolate hair. "I'm Kin. Look, I know this is sudden and all but would you like to go out sometime? We could take trip to the castle ruins together or the tide pools and have a picnic."

Kin seemed like a really nice guy. Which is exactly why I had to put a stop to things. I smiled sadly. "I'm really sorry but I honestly have a boyfriend."

He grimaced. "Figures. I always see you with the dark hair guy over there but I still thought it was worth a shot. Think we could be friends?"

Not wanting him to get the wrong idea ever but feeling bad for making him look so dejected, I nodded. "Sure. That would be nice."

He smiled for a second before it dropped completely from his face. His eyes widened and he looked behind my head with slight...fear? I turned around and saw Kyoya had walked until he was standing about three feet behind me. "Avianna, everyone is waiting for us."

I raised an eyebrow. Could he really be interfering? I figured that making him jealous enough to react would take much longer than a couple hours. "In a minute. I'm talking to Kin san."

Kyoya's eyes tightened and his jaw followed suit a second later. "You've made prior plans." He lied. "Please don't keep your friends waiting." I could see the words that weren't said out loud written all over his face. 'Don't keep me waiting'.

I glared. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up."

I turned around to face Kin again. He looked very uneasy. "I can talk to you later Avianna san. If you have plans, please don't let me keep you."

I smiled brightly. "Nonsense. He can calm his jets for a minute." I turned back to Kyoya and did my best to give him a convincing glare. "Go wait for me at the door if you insist on waiting. Why do you have to freak out this way every time I talk to another guy?"

This was entirely false. He never freaked out when I talked to any guy. Even when I talked to Hiro, Kyoya would always use a level voice except on rare circumstances. And that was understandable. Hiro was a sicko. Kin, however, wasn't. Anyone could tell by the way he acted that he was a gentleman and a shy one at that. My words had caused the anger to boil over in Kyoya. He glared back with a ferocity I had never seen him use. "I said we're going and we're going now!" He demanded before grabbing me and throwing me over his shoulder. He turned around and walked me away from a astounded looking Kin.

I slapped him on the back. "Let me down right now! People are staring..." Not listening to a word I said, he walked me past everyone. He didn't put me back onto my feet until we were standing alone in a hallway off to the left of the garden. Crossing my arms, I grinned. "You do know that I just won, right?"

I still looked livid. "What were you and that guy talking about? He was blushing."

I blinked, the grin leaving. "I told him I had a boyfriend when he asked me out."

His dark eyes stared into mine, looking for any sort of lie. When he didn't find one, his gaze softened and he actually began to look ashamed. "I must be the most horrible person on the planet."

Not getting why he thought so at all, I shook my head. "Not at all. Why do you say that?"

"The guest of mine asked me to give her a private tour of the garden after sunset and I almost actually agreed for the sake of the bet. You were asked out directly and you said that you were already taken right away. And then I freaked out like that..." He paused and clenched his jaw, the anger in his eyes now directed at himself. After a moment, he calmed down. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose for a second before placing them back on his face. "A bet is a bet. Let's go get my computer."

Not getting how he thought that giving his guest an after dark tour of the garden was worse than me flirting with his best friend, I followed him down the hall to his room. He opened the door and let me enter the room with him. The suite Kyoya was staying in was small, but had a very private sort of atmosphere, which is probably what Kyoya had wanted when selecting it.

I ran a hand along some transparent drapes over the rice paper window in the room and tried not to focus too much on the large low to the ground bed. "Let's not play stupid games like that again. It was really awkward." I told him.

"Completely agreed." He said as he opened a nearby closet and took his computer case out from under a pile of towels, where he had hidden it. He looked rather embarrassed as he took it from its case and started it up. He sat it on the small table in the room and we knelt on cushions in front of it.

When he had logged onto the desktop, he began disabling pass codes on the computer. Finally, he turned the computer in my direction. "Feel free to use it now if you'd like. I'm going to take a shower."

Blushing at how casually he said that, I watched him grab a towel from the closet and a change of clothes before walking into the room's bathroom. When I heard the shower water turn on, I had to stop staring at the door. My imagination was getting the better of me at the moment. Looking at the computer, I tried to figure out what to look at first. After a little bit of document peaking, I did find something that interested me. He had several short stories, and other various assignments, in a document titled 'Literature Class'.

I clicked on the first story and read through it casual, pleasantly surprised with his writing style. It was almost poetic. Smiling at a particular passage in one of his stories, I was startled when he exited the bathroom in a beige button up that had yet to be buttoned and a pair of dark colored jeans. He was toweling off his hair as he went to kneel on the floor beside me again and see what I was looking at.

He blushed ever so slightly. "My writing assignments? I'm sure there are more interesting things on the computer then that."

I smiled. "You write well. Half of these words, I don't even know the meaning of."

I wanted to keep reading the current story but I figured I should wait until he wasn't watching me to finish it. Closing the document, I continued to look through the computer. In the end, I settled with looking through his picture folders. The first several folders were of the host club at various events.

Sure that nothing too interesting would appear in those pictures, I exited the window and ended up opening the browser. Logging into the onsen's wireless internet, which they surprisingly offered, I looked through the bookmarked websites. One in particular caught my eye. It was the actual host club website. Clicking it, I looked through all of the pictures on the main page. I was very disturbed that many of them were of Kyoya in some sort of intimate embrace with a honey haired girl. "Uh..."

"Renge Hoshikugi. She's our manager and she handles the site. Many of the pictures are photoshopped. Including these." He explained quickly.

I snorted. "She hides her love well, huh?" I said sarcastically.

"Now, who is the one being jealous?" He murmured. He was leaning to the side on his floor pillow, his elbow propped on the table and his head leaning on his hand. He had his glasses sitting next to him on the table and was looking at me with dark, sensuous eyes.

"Nothing I will ever do in the name of jealousy will ever surpass you manhandling me and carrying me inside over your shoulder." I told him and attempted to replicate his trademark smirk. Considering that the only mirror in the room was behind me, I couldn't tell if I was doing it justice or not.

I knew that the look he was giving me was causing my self control to wane. Closing the computer quickly, I stood up and put it under my arm before walking swiftly for the door. Turning around, I gave him a brief smile before darting from the room. I didn't miss the brief confusion that flitted through his eyes as I left.

While walking through the hall, on my way to my own room, I ended up running into the twins. When they saw what was in my hands, they grinned deviously. "Excellent." They said with a thumbs up. "Let's go check it out."

Before I could stop them, they grabbed the computer and started carrying it outside. They sat on a bench near the koi pond with it and I ran for them, worried. "Don't get it near water. Go back inside."

The twins seemed unconcerned as they switched it off standby and began by looking through the pictures. By the time they had finished all the pictures and scanned five of the document folders, they looked miffed. "It's not here." Hikaru shouted.

"Check the search box." Kaoru recommended.

I raised an eyebrow. "Was there something particular you wanted to find?"

The twins scowled. "The blackmail file." They both said. "He always has a ready stack of blackmail ideas to get us to do our host work and we want to know where he keeps the list."

I looked at the pair dubiously. "You think he actually keeps a list like that?"

They both nodded, not a doubt in their eyes. True or not, it was sort of comical that they thought he had a long list of ready blackmail waiting to be used. Reaching for the computer, I tried to take it from them. Hikaru held up.

"We're not done looking yet!" He complained.

I glared. "Give the computer back now. He'll get mad if he finds out you're using it."

They both shook their heads, little grins on their faces. "You promised. We get to see the computer too."

Standing up, I stood in front of the two with my arms crossed. "And if you find this list, you'll do what?"

They shrugged. "Delete it, of course."

I reached for the computer then. "You promised you wouldn't harm the computer or delete any files."

They continued to keep it out of my reach and eventually had to stand to keep me from grabbing it. "We lied." They said simply.

I had jumped up with the intention of grabbing the computer but hadn't expected to slam back down empty handed. I landed in such a way that I stumbled backward. Frantically trying to right my footing, I screamed briefly before losing the fight with gravity. The twins' eyes widened as they both reached towards me with both sets of hands. They folded their arms around me and pulled me to them, saving me from falling in. Looking up at the computer in horror, there was nothing I could do as it swung past me and splashed into the water.

The splash caused everyone in the garden to look in our direction. Of all the sets of eyes on the computer that had sunk three feet into water, one set of eyes in particular looked livid. Kyoya's.