Chapter 25 - Collective Reasoning

"So what fun things are there to do around here?" Adrien Hollands held a straw between his well manicured fingers. His brown eyes stared straight into her gray ones.

Reina opened and closed her mouth, willing herself to say something, but nothing came out. She began to pull at her hair unconsciously.

Mori and Hani sat next to her. For moral support? She'll never know, but she was internally grateful for their presence.

"On campus? Or in Tokyo?" She finally said.

"Both. All of the above. I want to experience this place while I can." He threw a piece of chicken into his mouth.

"Your Japanese is surprisingly good," Hani interjected, trying to defuse the growing tension he was feeling between his friend and new classmate.

"You think so? Thanks. My father told me to start studying it after he announced he wanted to do business here in Japan." Adrien's line of vision didn't leave Reina's once.

###

Reina dropped down in the seat next to her tall and dark classmate.

His eyes roved over her, noting her cheerful demeanor absent and her slouching shoulders betraying her sour mood.

"Rei-chan?" Hani asked quietly.

A trio of girls dropped down in the love seat across from Hani and Mori.

"Did you see the new exchange student?" One gushed.

"He is so handsome!"

"No, he's gorgeous!"

Reina threw her head back and let out a quiet groan, only loud enough for Mori to hear.

Reina felt a soft tap on her shoulders. She whipped around and found Kyouya staring down at her.

"Senpai? Can I talk to you for a moment?" He asked, using his head to point to the side of the room.

"Sure," she grumbled.

He held out his hand and helped her out of her seat. He led her away from everyone without saying a word. Mori watched them walk away.

Once they were out of earshot, he dropped her hand slowly, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm sure you're tired of hearing this by now, but are you alright?" He asked, his eyebrows stitched together in concern.

Reina's eyebrows rose in surprise. "No one has actually asked me that today."

"How's your arm?"

"You're changing the subject."

"You're not wearing your arm brace anymore," he said.

Kyouya's eyes had a softer edge to them, something she'd never seen before. She pushed herself back until she rested against the wall. His genuine concern surprised her.

"My arm is better. I didn't want people to ask questions," she admitted, running her hand over her hurt arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked again.

"I'm nervous," she confessed. She took a quick glance around the room. Everyone was distracted by the hosts. No one noticed her impromptu conversation with Kyouya.

"I don't know what any of this means. My grandfather hasn't told me anything about this company." She felt tears beginning to prick around her eyes.

Kyouya took a step closer, grabbed her hand and placed a cotton handkerchief in her palm, before running his fingers over her knuckles.

"What if something is wrong with the company and my grandfather is hiding it from me?" She hiccuped, holding back tears. "Would everything I'm doing be worthless?"

"Don't-"

"Would it?" she breathed.

###

"Mori-senpai?" Raiden wiped the sweat off his forehead. He thought his tall friend was an apparition, but apparently the tall third year really was standing there.

"Reina said you might need a ride home," Mori said, getting straight to the point. "We offered to give you a ride." He looked toward his cousin who was examining some flowers.

"Oh? Thanks. I appreciate it."

Just then a few of his teammates began filling out of the archery dojo. Some said a few quick goodbyes.

Hayashi stopped abruptly in front of Raiden, as if he was surprised to see him there. He dropped his gaze away from Raiden. "Good job today, Moriyama," he grumbled, his usual enthusiastic demeanor missing.

"Thank you...senpai…"

"Kentaro?" A new voice interrupted.

Raiden's and Hayashi's head shot up. Toya was standing before them, staring incredulously.

"What are you doing?" Toya aimed his question at Hayashi.

Hayashi narrowed his eyes. "Nothing." He left before anything else was said.

Toya stared after his ex-boyfriend.

"Your hair," Raiden stared in awe. Toya's once sandy blonde was replaced by a dark brown hue. Toya had dyed his hair back to his natural color. "You dyed your hair brown."

Toya ran his fingers through his hair. He smiled slightly. "I did." His attention switched between Raiden and Hayashi. "I," he stammered. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

Toya gave him one last look before sprinting after Hayashi.

Raiden's spirits deflated. He stared after Toya and watched as he reached Hayashi. Raiden was confused by what he was feeling. Was he disappointed? He was so used to having Toya following around him, so the one time he chose someone else over him, he was surprised and upset.

"Raiden?" Mori questioned.

"Let's go," Raiden replied.

Raiden settled in the seat next to Kaoru. Their history class was situated in Library #2 for their latest research project. To his luck, Raiden was partnered up with him.

"Should we write a paper, make a video, poster, or a slide show?" Kaoru asked.

Raiden failed to answer, leaving Kaoru hanging.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You look distracted." Kaoru pushed an open textbook before them, making it look like they were getting work done. "You've haven't visited the club in like a week. Is something the matter?"

Raiden hated to admit it, but Toya's actions the week prior, just brushing him off, bothered him. He couldn't quite place it. Why was it bothering him so much?"

"Is it Toya?"

Raiden jumped away in surprise. "How do you know?"

Kaoru shrugged and tried to stop a smile from forming. His slight grin caused Raiden's heart to flutter.

"You seem out of it and so does he. He's been avoiding you lately. Did something happen?"

"He's been avoiding me?" He knew he hadn't seen him around much, but he thought it was because he was busy.

"Yeah and he's doing a horrible job at hiding it. We literally almost ran into him a few days ago and he just up and ran away. I thought for sure he confessed to you or something, but I guess that wasn't the case."

Raiden's cheeks began to heat up. "What do you, what?" he stuttered.

"Maybe it was something else," Kaoru reasoned with a shrug. "Confessions are never really easy to handle."

Raiden hid his face behind his hands. "Really?" he mumbled. "Do you…?"

"I have loads of experience," Kaoru continued, "in that department. Before, Hikaru and I used to make a game out of it. The confessions have dwindled a bit since the start of this year, but it's getting harder and harder."

Raiden took his fingers away from his eyes and took a large gulp. "What's to say, someone came up to you right now, with all honesty and sincerity," he stumbled, "and confessed to you right now. This very second. What would you say?"

Kaoru leaned into the palm of his hand and pondered. "Right this very second? I would really think about it and give them a honest answer. Before, I would have brushed it off and joked, but now I'd have to answer them honestly, because if I were to confess I'd want the same treatment."

Raiden straightened himself in his seat. "Kaoru I -"

Kaoru moved his concentration to Raiden, his eyebrows perked up, listening.

Raiden let out a hasty breath. "What would your answer be?"

Kaoru sighed. "Thank you, but, I can't return your feelings."

Raiden suddenly felt all the hope in the world crashing down around him.

Reina hesitated slightly. He was making her nervous, not the usual nervous she felt around good looking boys (ex; host club). No, it was a nervous aching growing in her stomach.

"I heard this is the best frozen yogurt place in the area," Adrien shifted from foot to foot.

Reina stood silently beside him, hoping he didn't catch on to her agitation.

"I've been here for a few weeks now," he continued, "but I haven't seen much of Tokyo, or Japan really. Just the neighborhood."

Someone bumped into her from behind. She turned around slowly and blushed at the sight of the boy standing before her. "Morinozuka-kun?"

"Hey, Rei-chan!" Hani appeared on top Mori's shoulders. "We didn't know you were going to be here."

Two other forms appeared behind the tall senior. Kyouya and Raiden revealed themselves.

A sigh of relief escaped from Reina's lips.

"Oh? Hello, fellow classmates. It's good to see you out of class," Adrien smiled brightly. He inched closer to Reina, his arm brushing across her's. She shivered at the touch.

"Raiden?" she questioned.

"Oh hey!" he greeted too enthusiastically, he dropped his fake grin. "Nice bumping into you, huh?"

"Kyouya?" she peered around Mori. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a car," he deadpanned, giving a sideways glance toward Raiden.

"Do you want to come to Sensoji Temple with us?" Adrien asked.

"Sure," Raiden moved past Mori. "I want to go." He shot his sister a reassuring glance.

###

"It's quite large," Adrien commented. "It's a popular tourist destination, correct?"

Adrien had a strong hold on Reina's arm, holding it in the crook of his own.

"Yes, Asakusa is the most popular," Reina explained, "they hold a lot of festivals here as well."

"How exciting. Can we go through Nakamise-dori when we're done with the temple?" Adrien asked as they inched closer to the entrance to the temple.

The crowds were minimal considering it was a September afternoon. Luckily, the visited during the downtime of tourist season.

"Who is he?" Raiden whispered to his upperclassmen.

They were walking a few paces behind Reina and Adrien.

"He's a new exchange student," Hani explained, keeping his gaze on the teens in front of them.

"An exchange student?"

"From England," Kyouya added, "He's a member of a very prominent family in Europe."

"Why is he so attached to my sister?" Raiden finally asked.

Mori, Hani, and Kyouya all shot him questioning glances, they were all wondering the same thing.

Raiden felt himself cower underneath their gaze. "Isn't he the boy from the summer festival?"

Kyouya groaned. "Yes."

Raiden was still confused.

###

"Reina, come look at this!" Adrien exclaimed, once they exited the temple.

Raiden noticed Mori stiffen. "Mori-senpai?"

Reina let Adrien lead her to a shop a few feet away from the others.

Raiden walked instep with Mori. "Mori-senpai?" he questioned again. "Are you okay?"

Mori's gaze lingered on the foreign exchange student. "I'm fine."

Raiden followed his gaze. Adrien looked harmless. He was actually quite handsome. His blonde hair fell over his eyes when he leaned his head to the side and his honey, brown colored eyes always seemed to glisten in the light.

However, Raiden could could tell his sister was feeling uncomfortable with him. He was trying to figure out why and he kept trying to talk and walk with them, but Adrien kept maneuvering away from them.

"Is he, interested in my sister?" Raiden asked.

Mori shrugged. "I hope not," Raiden heard him mutter.

A week later, Reina burst into the club room, interrupting the host club's current planning, but the only one's present Tamaki, Mori, Hikaru, Haruhi, and Raiden. Kyouya, Hani, and Kaoru were missing.

Without missing a beat, Adrien Hollands walked in after, sporting a grin on his face.

"Who thought it would be a good idea to split up the student body for this sports festival? I'm stuck with Hollands!" Reina pointed to the teen.

Tamaki had announced the beginning of Ouran's very first sports festival earlier that week, determined to compete against Kyouya.

Adrien pouted. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

She whipped her head around and glared. "It is! Oh, Hollands. It is on. You're going down!"

Adrien smirked and took a step closer to Reina, staring down into her eyes. "We're on the same team," he whispered.

"Who is that?" Haruhi asked, grabbing Tamaki's attention.

"He's an exchange student. He transferred into 3A."

"He's in my sister's class," Raiden added. "Is it okay to keep them both together on the same team?" Raiden questioned. "They don't seem to be getting along."

Tamaki couldn't help smiling. "It's fine. Anyway, Kyouya is going to need someone like her on his team. Someone who's just like him."

The hosts watched as Reina and Adrien bickered out the door.

"What do you mean just like him?" Raiden asked, feeling his stomach drop. Kyouya had said the same thing before.

Tamaki held up a finger. "What word would you use to describe Kyouya?"

Haruhi leaned forward. "Cool or maybe detached."

Hikaru thought for a second. "Scheming."

Raiden shrugged.

Tamaki grinned. "I think Kyouya is passionate."

"Why do we have to do this?" Reina groaned. She plopped down in the seat next to Kyouya.

After a few days of planning and strategizing, the sports festival had begun. The White team, their team, were currently in the lead.

"Are you prepared for the relay?" Kyouya asked, his tone low and serious.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"There are a lot of parents here," Kaoru stood next to them, staring into the seats of the sports arena.

Reina willed herself not to look behind her.

"Are you parents here?" Kaoru asked both of them.

Reina simply shook her head and kept her eyes trained on the ground.

"They would never come," Kyouya responded. "Not to something like this. If my parents were to attend, I would have used a different strategy."

Reina glanced in Kyouya's direction, but he ignored her questioning gaze.

Both teens missed the confusion running across Kaoru's face.

###

"But who is he?" Raiden asked. The sports festival was almost over and the Red team, their team, was catching up to the White team's score.

Raiden and Hikaru were looking over to the white team. Reina was sitting alone until Adrien joined her on the bleachers.

"Adrien Hollands?" Hikaru sat down beside him. "I heard he's the son of the Terra Lux executive. Terra Lux is one of the largest private equity firms in Europe," Hikaru explained.

"Private equity?"

"Yeah, companies like that usually buy or acquire failing companies and try to reform them," Hikaru replied slimply.

The boys exchanged knowing looks.

"Buy?" Raiden breathed. A chill just ran up and down Raiden's spine.

They both looked across the way and watched as Reina and Adrien conversed.

###

"Nice relay," Adrien commented, leaning against the railing.

They watched as the final two legs of the relay exchanged batons.

"Thanks," Reina grumbled.

"Awe, don't look so down in the dumps. It was a compliment."

She shrugged his praise off. "Whatever."

"It's strange, isn't it?" he suddenly asked. "Watching two best friends compete so fiercely. I question their motives."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think those two are really friends?" he questioned, "or merely friends with benefits, you know, minus the sexual component."

"They're friends," Reina quickly defended. "They care about each other."

"Really?" Adrien smirked, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, he gave her a sideways glance. "Do you think we could be like that?"

"Friends?"

He nodded. He looked at something over her head. "It looks like we won."

He straightened himself, gave her one more icy stare, and then walked away, leaving her confused.

"Reina," Kyouya's cold voice interrupting her thoughts. He pulled her aside and began to speak in hushed tones, "don't let him get to you."

"What?" She was too distracted by the sweat trailing down the side of his face and his breaths coming out in short puffs.

"Don't let him get under your skin," he warned. "He's trying to get you to lower your guard."

"But, he just asked-"

"Exactly," his expression turned sour, his face inching closer to her's, "don't let him get you."

She shivered under his touch and tone. What was she supposed to do? "I can't-"

"Yes, you can." He straightened himself out, but kept firm hold on her hand.

"We won!" Hani bounced toward them, followed by Kaoru.

Tamaki and the others soon joined them. "You won, fair and square, Kyouya."

With their arrival, Kyouya finally released her hand from his grip, slowly, and in such a way that all the hosts noticed. Especially Mori, who stared openly and fidgeted in place.

Raiden could feel the giant third year's movements and see his roving eyes between Reina and Kyouya.

Reina tapped her foot against the linoleum floor. She'd never been to an airport and was at awe by the large windows overlooking the tarmac.

"Reina?" Kyouya jogged up to her, a small carry on bag rolled behind him. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Late start today." She looked around his figure and noticed most of the second years walking toward the Ouran waiting area. "I probably shouldn't have come."

Kyouya looked over his shoulder. "It's fine. If not, they'll just spread some gossip. More customers for the host club," he reasoned.

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, I'll just embarrass you like you embarrased me at the sports festival."

"That was days ago."

"Whatever. Anyway, I just wanted to see you off and wish you a safe flight."

"Thank you," he muttered. He took hold of her hand, running his thumb over her knuckles and fingers. "Please be careful and take what I said to you to heart."

"That was almost a week ago. He hasn't-"

"Just be careful," the hard edge that was always present in his gaze returned.

She smiled slightly. "You're always touching me," she teased.

He tugged at her hand slightly, but she noticed a hint of pink spread across his nose. This made her grin. "It's the only way I think you'll listen."

Reina let out a laugh and blushed. She tugged her hand out of his reach and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Please be safe. Don't get in trouble," she whispered.

He dropped his carry on and wrapped his arms around her torso. "How do you know?"

"I know everything," she whispered into his ear. "As long as you're over there searching for his mother-"

"I'll bring you back a souvenir," he interrupted.

She let go of his neck and rested her hands on his shoulders. "Thanks, that's all I ask."

###

"Cake?" Reina stared at her classmates. Hani and Mori were standing next to her desk. For once Adrien wasn't hanging around her desk.

"Yeah, since the host club is on hiatus for the next two weeks, while Kyo-chan and Tama-chan are in France, I thought we could all eat some cake in the club room."

"That sounds like a great idea."

"Can you go get Raiden? I want us all to have some cake."

"Okay!"

Mori picked up her book bag from her desk. "I'll take this to the club room," he offered.

Reina blushed. "Thank you."

He began to walk past her desk, but stopped abruptly.

"Rei-chan?" Hani leaned over her desk, taking a long whiff in her direction. "Why do you smell like Kyo-chan?"

She took a step back. "What? No, I don't. I'll meet you guys in the club room, yeah?" She took another hesitant step backward and then ran out the room. How could they smell him on her? It's been a whole day since she saw him at the airport. She shook the thought of her head.

She sped walked toward the library, searching for her brother. If she was going to find him anywhere, he'd probably be wandering around or in the library.

She rounded the corner and bumped right into him. "Raiden! Hani invited us to eat some cake in the club room. Join us."

Raiden contemplated. "Sure, I don't mind."

The two siblings began to walk toward the stairway when Raiden grabbed his sister's arm suddenly. "Nee-chan? Is Toya avoiding me?"

Reina stopped suddenly. Her best friend's actions haven't gone unnoticed by Raiden, the hosts, or her. "What makes you think that?"

"It's just-" Raiden stopped abruptly, his eyes growing wide.

"What?" Reina looked in the direction he was staring at and found Kaoru and Hikaru on the stairs, having a loud disagreement.

"We should just adopt Haruhi," Hikaru offered, a smile wavering on his lips, "so we'll all be together."

"Are you stupid, Hikaru?" Adopting her was a joke. Do you want to play house forever?" Kaoru yelled, gesticulating with his arms harshly. "I'm so tired of your childishness! You really want to share Haruhi with Me? I don't want that. I don't want to share her with you or milord! I'll never step aside for you if that's how you're going to be."

Raiden hesitated on the steps. "Haruhi?" he whispered. He took a step back and then ran down the hall at full speed.

"Raiden!" Reina called after him.

Kaoru and Hikaru turned at the commotion.

"Rei-senpai?" Hikaru muttered.

She shook her head and turned around to run after her brother.

A.N. - Thanks for reading! What did you think? Sorry if this one felt choppy :\ I have a feeling the rest of the chapters are going to feel like this. I just want to get this story down and have you guys read it D:

That being said, I just finished writing the final chapter! At least I think I did. I'm not sure if I should turn my planned epilogue into a chapter and then have an epilogue. I have a lot of thinking to do. But, this story is almost over! It should be done by the end of August or even sooner :D

Thanks for reading!