Chapter Twenty

Kyoya sighed, angrily and punched the numbers into his calculator harder each time. Everyone but Haruhi was hiding from him before club started. The twins pulled her over and inquired if Chikako had done anything particularly stupid or expensive (or both) recently to upset Kyoya in this way. Haruhi shrugged. "She does dumb, costly things all the time, but I'm not sure she's committed any extraneous acts to upset Kyoya-sempai this much."

Hikaru frowned. "Ever since he announced his engagement to us, he's been subtly turning catatonic. I mean, she drives up expenses, yells at him like it's her job, and bosses him around almost as much as his father, and he just takes it."

Kaoru nodded in agreement. "You can imagine why we usually assume his foul mood is because of her."

"Have any of you just…asked him what's wrong?" Haruhi deadpanned, presuming the club members' stupidity before they bothered to answer.

Tamaki glanced over at a dark corner where a small blond boy was cowering. "Honey-sempai did."

Haruhi looked over at Mori and he shook his head as if to tell her that it wasn't a big deal. She sighed and muttered about how big of babies they all were being as she approached the Shadow King. "Uh, hey Sempai. What are you going?"

"Expenses," he growled.

"For…the club?"

"Yes for the club," he snapped, slamming his fist on the calculator as the enter key popped out. He swore under his breath.

Haruhi took a brave step forward. "What did Chikako do this time?"

Kyoya scribbled out his recent notes and barked, "Nothing, nothing, damn I wish she had; it was me who lost it, but I doubt it matters since she'll never wear it anyhow!"

"Wear what?" Haruhi asked, furrowing her brow.

Tamaki heard commotion outside the music room door and straightened his suit. "Kyo-"

"One minute," Kyoya mumbled, oblivious to the noise. He flipped open his computer to a webpage for expensive jewelry. "Maybe if I order another one just like it…except it was custom made and I-"

"Kyoya," Tamaki said again, loud and stern. His friend's face froze and Kyoya's cool complexion crept into his expression as the Host King said, "Club's started."

They all notably obeyed their king and the girls came pouring in. Kyoya plastered on a hospitable grin quicker than Haruhi dreamed possible. He had been spitting fire earlier and now he was an open, sweet, and calm host. Must be something you learn in Rich-People-Mannerisms school, she inwardly concluded. He bowed to the girls and chatted them up about the most recent calendars to buy, how to set a table for the next visit, and which host smelled best, all answers to their perpetual questions. They were thrilled to hear about the new cosplay ideas and picture books. The members figured out these small commodities early before club every day and Kyoya would sell them with a smile.

They all meandered to their tables, cracking jokes, staring longingly into the girls' eyes, and pouring tea around the clock. Haruhi wandered over to Kyoya and pulled him to the side. "What'd you lose?"

"Hm?"

"Earlier. You were looking up jewelry?"

He sighed and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Chikako's engagement ring. Cost more than your home and scholarship together, I'm sure."

Haruhi simply ignored his blatant wag of wealth. "Well, what are you gonna do?"

"Buy another, I suppose," he answered with a slight growl. "How I lost it is beyond me, but no one can know, understand? Not even…no, especially not Chi-"

"Chikako! Ah! Look. At. You!" they heard Renge squeal. She was followed by dozens more girlish ooh's and ahh's. A crowd was forming and even the hosts were wandering over, towering above the guests. Kyoya was the last to follow.

Renge was holding up Chikako's hand and her left ring finger was sparkling. A large shiny rock was clasped to her skin and she was blushing as the girls ogled over the jewelry. "Who's the lucky man?" one girl squeaked.

Another cackled. "Or unlucky!"

Chikako smiled, gracefully. "It won't be officially announced until the wedding."

"Which is…?" one blond girl chirped.

Chikako shook her head. "Can't tell. Soon, though."

A brunette pouted. "Aww come on, Koko!"

"Koko?" Chikako echoed with pleasant surprise.

Renge laughed, robustly. "It's what the girls and I call you when you aren't around. Is that alright?"

Chikako paused, repeating the name to herself. "Koko…Koko…" She grinned. "I love it."

"Good!" Renge exclaimed. "Now spill! Who is he?"

Chikako laughed and saw Kyoya out of the corner of her eye. She relaxed and answered, "He's my arrogant fiancé and that's all you have to know. Now, enough about me…"

"No!" the brunette exclaimed, obviously living vicariously through Chikako's love life. "What's he really like? Arrogant isn't very romantic."

Chikako softened her expression, muttering, "Well, neither is an arranged marriage." She saw the girls still staring at her and sighed, a reluctant smile on her face. "He's…quite charming. Rich, obviously, and very…noble." She searched for the words like they were markers on a treasure map. "He's intelligent, witty, impossibly handsome, subtle… but annoying and manipulative and controlling and…" She smiled at the girl. "He's a man, so you can never fully love or hate such a thing, can you?"

The girls laughed and continued to chat amongst themselves. Haruhi turned to Kyoya in private. "Well, I found the ring," she murmured.

He licked his lips and adjusted his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I would say that I can't believe she stole her own engagement ring but I'm really not astonished in the least."

"Maybe she wanted to surprise you," Haruhi suggested.

"Or maybe she got bored of not being the center of attention anymore," Kyoya point out, looking at Haruhi pointedly. She immediately searched for Tamaki, understanding his accusation.

She lowered her voice. "Did he tell you about our plan for next year, Kyoya-sempai?"

The Shadow King nodded. "It sounds like a fine plan, academically that is."

Haruhi looked back at Chikako, who was giggling and gossiping with the best of them and showing off her ring, flamboyantly. "Where will you two go?"

Kyoya followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes. "Wherever our business takes us, I would presume. She wants to go to a lot of places, I hear, though I know she would never tell me." He sighed, taking off his glasses and cleaning the lenses. "She likes to make things as difficult as possible for me, so it's mostly a guessing game. It keeps me on my toes, yes, but she isn't my only concern in the world. Why do you think I plan to follow you and Tamaki?"

Haruhi blinked. "But Tamaki's just as bad."

"He's predictable and I would much rather know that he's about to explode with random stupidity than wonder which personality I'll get today, like with Chi-chan."

"Chi-chan?"

Kyoya shrugged. "She's recently asked for me to l her all sorts of nicknames to create the appearance of a close relationship. Chi, Kako, even Yoshi, which I nixed for the pure absurdity of it, but…personally, I prefer just, 'Chikako.'"

"Then just call her Chikako," Haruhi deadpanned with an apathetic shrug.

Kyoya sighed. "She'll be my wife soon and I have to keep her happy. The requests always seem ridiculous, but I've come to acknowledge that she knows what she's talking about."

"So, why won't she tell anyone at school about the engagement? To you, I mean, not to some mystery man," Haruhi wondered aloud.

"Probably to secure my business as the Cool Type Host."

"Does that bother her?"

He looked down at Haruhi, his glasses down his nose. "Not to my knowledge. As a woman, would it bother you?"

She rolled her eyes. "That's a bad question to ask someone like me," she muttered before walking away.

Chikako walked around the room, methodically to each table, chatting up every client and every host along the way. She smiled, laughed, and ensured their happiness, promising another cup of tea and to order more cucumber sandwiches for next club. After finally escaping the Hitachiin twins' playful kisses, she retreated to Kyoya's side. She smirked smugly at scene in front of her without looking at her fiancé. He looked up from his notebook and watched the club dramas unfold delicately.

"So?" Chikako murmured with a mischievous smirk.

"So," Kyoya replied, distractedly.

She waved her hand around his line of vision. "Are you alright with my taking the ring without telling you?"

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Would it matter if I wasn't?"

She paused. "Probably not," she answered, truthfully.

He smiled so quickly that only Chikako could catch it. "I figured not."

She pressed her lips together to keep herself from laughing. "Are you ready to graduate?"

"Yes, I believe I am." There was a pause. "Are you ready to be married?"

Chikako pursed her lips and looked down at her engagement ring. "I don't think I ever really was, but I believe…I will be happiest with you. You know, financially, materialistically…personally…"

Kyoya smiled at her and it was the look she both adored and despised. It was charming but fake, personable but distant. She narrowed her eyes and replied with her own complex smirk. The two of them would soon perfect this seemingly complacent exchange when they were married. It was what made them so dangerous: they got along in such a way that they could either explode or fall apart if the other dared to step out of place, and neither would ever move.

Suddenly, Chikako's phone began to ring. "I'm sorry; it's probably my mother again or something…"

"Go ahead. Let me know if you need me," Kyoya nodded before walking toward his table and girls.

"I will," she answered, walking in the opposite direction, out of the music room. She closed the door and dropped the grin as she answered. "Mahiti. Are you there?"

A computerized voice responded. "Yes, Miss Chikako. I'm aware you want to track a number?"

She sighed. "And a person. Jacob Frank Lawrence of Oxford England." She proceeded to give the voice Jake's number and waited for the search to ensue. There was a long silence until the speaker returned.

"Results found. What else would you like to know to narrow the search down?"

"Correlate him with his attempts to contact me, Chikako Akiyoshi, in the last year."

There was a brief, expectant pause. "May I inquire why you wish to know?" This irrelevant question alerted Chikako that this was either a highly intelligent A.I. or a human operator with a voice changer. Either way, she didn't trust the speaker in the slightest, but her sources to reach this number hadn't exactly been pure.

"Does it matter?" she snapped.

"Yes. The files in correlation to you, Miss Akiyoshi are locked and marked confidential. You will have to contact me again from a more secure line with a different password obtained from the administra-"

"How many hits?" she asked, quickly interrupting protocol. "Two? Three? Those few phone calls and e-mails in the beginning of the year, right?" There was silence. "Read me the number Mahiti!"

"One thousand four hundred and sixty attempts from Jacob Lawrence to contact Chikako Akiyoshi in the last year were recorded," the voice read off.

Chikako's heart soared then sank like she was on a rollercoaster. Her hand shook as she switched her phone to the other ear. "How?" she breathed. "What medium of communication did he use?"

"Letters, e-mails, phone calls, text messages, friend requests on multiple social networks—all blocked and/or denied by a secure source."

"Which source?"

"I'm sorry, but that is classified information."

"Which source, Mahiti?" Chikako hissed, her face contorted and voice cold as ice, sharp venom.

"I'm sorry, but that is classified information."

"Mahiti!" Chikako shouted, trying her best not to break down over a conversation with a machine.

"Yelling will not change the status of this electronic vault."

Chikako rolled her eyes, growling about the computer's sarcastic cheekiness. "Great. Then may I have one simple yes or no in response to a question?"

There was a pause, as if the voice was contemplating or processing this request. "Yes."

"Did the person or source that sealed it also use the surname Akiyoshi?"

"No."

Baffled, Chikako bit her lip. If her parents didn't prevent her and Jake's communication then who did…? She licked her lips and swallowed hard before daring to ask, "Was the name…Ootori?"

There was another processing pause. "Yes. You have now exceeded your allotted time. The administrator will be notified of this breach in security and this program will be deleted posthaste. Have a nice day."

The connection broke off, leaving Chikako feeling like she had been slapped in the face. It couldn't have been Kyoya, could it? Her parents could have told his parents about Jake and thus he would have inevitably found out… Her mind reeled at the possibilities and her stomach churned at the thought of going back to the Club, having to face her fiancé and act as if nothing was wrong. What if he did cut off her connection with Jake? What if she was kidnapped so Jake could make that phone call? Chikako didn't know what to think; nothing seemed to be adding up.

She stayed there in the hallway and sunk to the floor, her back sliding against the wall. She wanted to trust Kyoya, not necessarily love him or even like him all that much, but at least have some faith, and now she couldn't even do that. She didn't know who to rely on anymore and that terrified her. She sat there for five minutes, softly counting each second under her breath and staring straight ahead. She knew that club would be over soon and she would have to face her fiancé. She didn't want to, though.

She growled in defeat as she begrudgingly rose to her feet. Clutching her phone in her hand, she decided not to confront Kyoya—at least not until after the wedding. She walked back into the club room right as all the girls were leaving. She forced a smile and faked a laugh to keep them in high spirits before they disappeared behind her. She quickly spotted Kyoya on the phone. His gaze met hers and he quickly motioned her over. She scurried toward him, confused and admittedly scared, but she didn't say a word until he had hung up.

There was a long pause as he clutched the phone in his palm before he tensed and asked, quietly, "What did you do?"

"Excuse me?"

"Our parents have pushed up our wedding date since someone breached their security system through an A.I. hacker known as Mahiti." He narrowed his eyes. "Do you know anything about that?"

Chikako shook her head, looking down at the floor, shocked. News traveled remarkably fast. What were her parents hiding? And was Kyoya in on it? She doubted the latter since he looked just as surprised about the situation. She took a deep breath and said with an blank stare, "I guess I better go make sure my wedding gown fits."

He reached for her wrist, shaking his head, still puzzled. "But Chikako-"

She moved her hand behind her back, evading his touch. "Kyoya, it's best to simply follow orders, and if our parents think that I would be safer married, then…"

"It's obvious that they aren't just after you. They are after the entire Ootori-Akiyoshi Corporation," Kyoya pointed out, fervidly trying to piece it all together. She loved the way his eyes glistened when he was in deep thought, like there really were little gears behind his eyes, spinning so fast that smoke was fogging up the windows.

Chikako noticed the curious eyes of the hosts around the room fixated on the couple. She shook her head, theatrically, and took Kyoya's notebook, as if she was changing something. "We couldn't possibly have that event that Saturday," she said, loudly. "That would throw everything off." She pretended to write something to throw off suspicion of their plotting. She spoke quietly as she scribbled in the air, "Somebody doesn't want the assimilation to be complete."

"Probably our possible competitors. This organization has been planned ever since you and I were born, and they know each of our parts in the grand scheme of things. If they take you out of the equation-"

"-The Ootori's have no heir," Chikako realized. She looked up at her fiancé, disgusted with her presumed role in the situation. "So, they think the downfall of this company would be lack of breeding?"

He looked around the clubroom in thought, sitting back on his heels. "It makes sense. Our children would be of a remarkable breed. Our parents were quite shrewd in their choices."

She screwed up her face and clutched Kyoya's notebook to her chest. "I feel so used." She sighed and shook her head. "Oh well…it isn't exactly a new feeling, now is it? My parents have always paraded me around like a racehorse." She sighed, heavily. "When's the wedding now that they've changed the date?"

Kyoya put his hands in his pockets, coolly, and looked her intently in the eyes. "Two weeks."

A/N: Nooo summer, where did you go? Is that anyone else's main burden right now? It's around this time that I realize how much I procrastinated this summer on writing, school work, actual work, cleaning, etc. My room's a mess, I have like six documents up right now, and my bed's crowded with math and SAT prep homework that I still haven't done. I have to go to work early tomorrow, but I decided to post this chapter before I went to sleep.

Anyways, what are your thoughts and feelings about this chapter? There's only one more chapter left in this book! I'm warning you, so prepare yourself! Haha I'm planning to start up the sequel in either September or October, so the last chapter should be out in the next week. Please review and let me know what you thought! :)

~Kit Koko