Kyandi: And we're back!

Naniko: After this, though, we have other stories to update.

Kyandi: Yep. I'm trying to get chapters for as many different stories done as possible.

Naniko: She's doing good so far.

Kyandi: Why thank you! I'm trying to start the year off with a little more...energy. You know what I mean?

Naniko: Yep. And she has like ten other chapters for other stories that she needs to get to.

Kyandi: Right, so everyone enjoy and review.

Naniko: Kyandi-sama does not own Ouran High School Host Club.

Kyandi: God, that's still a mouth full to say.

Chapter 28 New Start Contributions

"Student activities are now over. Please come to the Grand Hall and join the dance party."

By the time Naniko heard those words, she was tired and her feet were hurting from the pinchy-toed, authentic heels that she had been forced to wear with her dress. And she wasn't the only one. Haruhi was so tired, she was slumped over looking like she was either close to dying or close to hurting someone else.

Maybe both.

"Good job, Haru-chan. You worked really hard today." Hunny praised her.

"Haruhi, are you okay?" Tamaki asked, seeing how bone tired she was.

"She'll be fine once she gets some rest." Naniko told him, smiling at Haruhi from a seat across from her.

"How are you not tired?" Haruhi asked.

"Since I've come to live in the Katsunami household, I've had to learn to deal with all this and more. I'll have to ice my feet when I get home, but you won't see me complain about it in the eyes of the public." Naniko told her.

This only made Haruhi slump even further forward. Where Haruhi had only just begun having to deal with all this, Naniko already had a year under her belt. She was definitely more use to it than Haruhi was.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. A man opened the door, giving a bow as he spoke to Tamaki.

"Master Tamaki, the Chairman requires your presence. You are to greet visitors at the Grand Hall." the man said.

"Yes, I'll be there right away. See you all later. Haruhi, rest here for a while, okay?" Tamaki said before rushing out of the door.

"He acts like nothing happened. I thought I was seeing a real-life soap opera unfold, but I guess it was just a dream." Haruhi remarked.

"Soap opera?" the twins asked.

"I believe those are the sappy dramas aired midday for common housewives to watch." Kyoya told them.

"Oh, it's a drama, alright." Koaru remarked.

"After all, milord is the son of a mistress...and she's currently missing." Hikaru added.

Haruhi and Naniko turned in their seats to look at the twins. Naniko had known that Tamaki was half Japanese and half French, but she didn't know he was the child of an affair, just as she had been.

"Some twenty years ago, the previous head of the Suou family died young. The Chairman immediately married a woman his mother chose for political reasons. He then assumed the role of head of the family." Koaru said.

"However, a few years later, he fell madly in love with the daughter of a French aristocrat while on a business trip to France." Hikaru added.

"And that's how milord was born." they finished together.

"The Chairman divorced his lawful wife. He then tried to bring the woman and milord to Japan." Koaru continued.

"However, the grandmother refused to allow it." Hikaru added.

"And because Tama-chan's mother was sickly and not suited to Japanese life, Tama-chan was raised in France until he was fourteen. Meanwhile, the grandmother began to worry about the Suou family not having an heir. Around the same time, Tama-chan's mother's family business failed, and they were left with a huge debt. That's when the grandmother issued a proposition." Hunny added.

"'I'll raise enough money for you to live comfortably. But in exchange, only Tamaki will come to Japan. And...he shall be forbidden from seeing his mother ever again.'." Kyoya finished, quoting Tamaki's grandmother.

"That's horrible!" Haruhi said.

"Sadly, in a case where the head of the family is not the decision-maker, that is often the case." Naniko remarked, sighing to herself.

"She's right. The Chairman might be the head of the Suou family, but, in actuality, the grandmother is the decision-maker and holds supreme power on the board." Kyoya said. "Tamaki's mother is so sickly that if she had been left destitute and without the Suou's support, it would've been the end of her."

"So he left." Naniko remarked, sure without a doubt in her mind that Tamaki had done just that, all for his mother's sake.

"Yes. Maybe because she was too lonely, or maybe because she blamed herself for exchanging Tamaki for money, she moved away, as if going into hiding, after he left. I'm sure the Chairman has a secret inkling as to where she is." Kyoya said.

Naniko turned back around, leaning back in her chair as she took this information in. She hadn't realized how similar she and Tamaki were.

"The granny should acknowledge milord since it was she who took him in, but she can't forget her grudge against the French woman who seduced her son." Hikaru said.

"It's easy to sympathize, but I'm glad Tamaki is who he is." Kyoya said.

"I never realized..." All eyes turned to Naniko as she dropped her chin into one hand. "So similar, yet so different."

"You've never told us, Naniko...why did your father finally bring you home?" Hikaru asked.

Hunny and Mori instantly tried to shush him, but Naniko only heaved a sigh.

"There's not much to tell. I really don't know his reasoning behind it. I never asked. Maybe it was some nostalgic desire to have some piece of my mother back, or maybe it was his attempt to right a wrong. I don't know. Every time he came to watch my house, he was always more focused on my mother. Growing up, I had been sure he had only seen her, not me. Even when he finally came for me, he couldn't look at me. Every time he tried, it was like the guilt tore him up and he would walk away with the most guilt torn look on his face. If it was that painful for him to be around me, then I don't know." Naniko answered.

"He never looked at you?" Koaru asked.

"The one and only time he looked at me...was right before he died. He called for me and when I stepped up to the bedside, he looked at me and said only two words before dying; "I'm sorry."."

Naniko almost sounded...sad. Her expression was idle, distant, almost as if she was lost in some past memory.

"At least he apologized." Hunny told her.

"I didn't want an apology. Never an apology. If he had just taken a moment to look me in the eyes he would have known...he never needed to apologize to me." Naniko said, getting to her feet. "Anyway, enough of such depressing things. I know for a fact that Ryotarou and Sezusa are waiting for me to make an appearance at the dance party. You're families are probably the same. And I need to change."

With that, Naniko headed for the dressing room, grabbing a garment bag along the way that held her dress for the dance party. Her friends watched as she vanished beyond the curtains.

"And this is what she meant by so similar, yet so different." Haruhi remarked, sighing.

"What do you mean, Haru-chan?" Hunny asked.

"Their pasts might be similar in that they are both children of mistresses, children of affairs, but how they turned out, how they've let that color their personalities, is vastly different." Haruhi replied. "Tamaki-sempai is frighteningly positive and has a lot of energy. Naniko is more logical, almost cynical and has had a bad tendency to hold onto anger. But lately, it feels like she's starting to change."

"Change how?" the twins asked.

"She's not as angry as she use to be. She seems...calmer now. Like earlier when her brother and step-mom arrived. I was surprised that Naniko actually managed to keep the majority of her annoyance to herself. She not usually so quick to let something go or to tolerate Sezusa's fawning. It's...it's a good thing. I think she might actually be beginning to move past the anger she's held onto for so long." Haruhi said.

The smile on her face as she spoke about her friend, told them just how happy it made her that Naniko might be letting go of her anger. Kyoya could have probably filled in a reason behind Naniko's recent changes, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he walked away to change, leaving Hunny and the twins to dress Haruhi up as a girl.

Naniko was still missing when they got to the Grand Hall, but they knew the moment she entered the room because some of Naniko's regular customers at the club, started squealing when she entered. Kyoya turned and paused. The dress that graced Naniko's figure was a one-shoulder affair with lace completely covering the bodice and an a-line skirt. It darkened from a pale lavender at the bodice to a deep amethyst at the hem. Silver rhinestones glittered around the hem of the dress like stars in the night sky. She had brushed all of her hair over to the left side of her head, pinning it into place so that it tumbled over her left shoulder and finished the look with diamond earrings in her ears and a diamond and amethyst necklace around her neck.

Kyoya was standing close to Sezusa while Ryotarou spoke to Kyoya's father and heard her when she let out an adoring gasp.

"I knew it would look beautiful on her!" Sezusa said.

"You have impeccable taste, madame." Mr. Ootori remarked.

Ryotarou excused himself for a moment, making his way over to his sister. He arrived just in time to save her from being swarmed by her female admires. He spoke lowly to Naniko for a moment before offering his arm to her. Naniko glanced at his arm for a moment before looping hers through his. With that, he lead her back over to Sezusa. Naniko greeted Kyoya's father with a smile, but Kyoya knew she didn't want to be around his father, so he stepped up to her side, leaning down to whisper close to her ear.

"How about a dance?" he asked.

"Are you sure about that? The last time we danced, my back was bruised for a week." she replied.

For a moment, Kyoya let his mind recall the memory of the party Naniko's brother had invited him, his father, and his brother to where Kyoya had slammed her back into a pillar out of anger in the middle of a dance. He knew, by the look on her face, that she was teasing...at least somewhat, so he offered her a smile.

"I promise, this time there will be no pillar." he told her.

"Then I will gladly accept." Naniko said, laying her hand in his before excusing herself.

Kyoya lead her out onto the dance floor and instantly pulled her into a dance. Since they weren't fighting this time, the dance was smooth, just the two of them moving to the music that drifted through the room. Kyoya glanced down at her.

"I take it your step-mother picked out the dress." he remarked.

Naniko looked down at her dress before sparing a fleeting look in her step-mother's direction.

"She picks most of my dresses. I don't really have a sense for party dresses and she seems to have a good eye for what would look good on me. When she heard that there was going to be a dance party, she went out to shop for a dress for me and this was what she came home with. I just decided to humor her." Naniko told him.

"I take it that's why I see you in a lot of purple, then." he remarked.

"She says it's a good color on me, that it compliments my eyes. She does the same thing with Ryotarou's ties and any accenting pieces he wears." Naniko told him, giving a shake of her head. "And then there's this thing she likes to do where she pulls all of my clothes out of my dresser drawers and tries to fold them "more neatly" as she puts it. Some how, she can never fit my clothes back into the drawer. It can be a bit exasperating."

"I know the feeling. My sister does the same thing." Kyoya replied, feeling like he would get a headache just by thinking about it.

"I really don't know how they manage it. Ryotarou tells me that Sezusa only started trying to do things like cook and clean, after I came to live with them."

Kyoya looked down at Naniko but she was looking off to the side. There was a slight smile on her face, as if she was amused by the idea but also conflicted about being amused.

"And that is why you feel she is trying to take your mother's place?" he asked.

"Part of it." Naniko admitted. "At the same time, it's touching that she's trying so hard when she should, reasonably, hate me. It's conflicting. That aside, though, you seem to be in a good mood. Did something happen with your father?"

And there she went, changing the subject again. Anything so she wouldn't have to talk about her feelings where Sezusa was concerned. In this case, though, he didn't mind. A content smile curled his lips as he thought back to what his father had said earlier that day.

"Ah, so something did happen. I don't think I've ever seen such a contended smile on your face before. And a genuine one, too." Naniko remarked.

Kyoya explained to her how, when some others were praising him to his father, his father had remarked that if Kyoya worked hard enough and did something impressive enough, then he wouldn't mind naming his third son as his successor.

"Oh...Oh! That's amazing." Naniko said, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. "And here I thought your father would never be able to see any of your achievements past those of your brothers'. Maybe the man isn't as blind as I originally thought."

"It will still take something on a massive scale for him to name me as his successor. My brothers are not without their merits." Kyoya remarked.

"Well, of course. They've been trying to impress your father for a longer time than you. That being said, if there's one thing I know about you, it is that that devious mind of yours will always come up with something. If it will help, I'd be more than happy to throw my own devious mind into the mix." Naniko offered.

"You're offering to help?" Kyoya asked, arching in eyebrow at her.

"Of course. Part of our truce was to help each other. Besides...you being the Ootori successor could be beneficial to me, too. If you're in the spot of successor then perhaps you can talk your father out of trying to marry me to your brother. For that goal, I will help how I can." she told him.

It was an interesting offer. With Naniko's help, then he was sure he could come up with a plan that would get her out of this hoax of a relationship with his brother and put him in the position as his family's successor. With their minds joined together in this, things could get really interesting, really fast.

Let the game begin, Kyoya thought.

From the edge of the room, Ryotarou, Sezusa, and Kyoya's father watched the two teenagers as they danced, their heads close as they spoke lowly, like they were plotting something.

"Am I the only one that gets the feeling those two are plotting something?" Sezusa asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Ryotarou remarked, a weary smile on his face, Mr. Ootori looking at him.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Well, from what I've seen, you have a very clever son in Kyoya, sir. As for my sister...well, let's just say that Naniko is, without a doubt, definitely a business man's daughter. She has a mind made for business deals and she is very clever, herself. Put those two together and that is a friendship that could, potentially, rule the business world one day. Of that, I have no doubt." Ryotarou insisted.

And he has no idea just how correct he was, or that, in time, Mr. Ootori would come to understand just how correct he was.

-0-0-0-0-

"Why am I here? I didn't do anything. I wasn't even in the same room when it started."

Naniko heaved a sigh. Currently, she found herself sitting in the vice principal's office, having been summoned there along with all the other members of the Host Club. She didn't understand why she was there. She had just been walking into the lunchroom when the twins began, yet another food fight because they were bored and ended up nailing the vice principal with some of the food.

"Deplorable! Who on Earth do you think you are?" the vice principal, Kazama Zennosuke, scolded. "You people are supposed to set an example! And yet you've started this questionable club of yours and repeatedly caused chaos! Aren't you ashamed to be hauled in and lectured for causing a racket in the cafeteria? You're high school students! Your actions are absolutely deplorable!"

Naniko heaved a sigh while her club mates begun to whisper about what could have caused the school's renowned Elder, to lose his cool. She didn't care one bit. All she wanted to know was why she had been pulled into the office when she hadn't done a thing.

"Are you listening to me?" the old man asked. "Listen, the issue isn't about consomme verse potage. The point is not to waste any food, whatever it might be. Having been brought up with silver spoons, you may not understand, but...it was right after the war. During a time when I hardly had any food to eat, I was pursuing a career in academia. Unlike you, I came from a poor family. One day, I went mountaineering and almost starved to death."

Naniko had a feeling this was going to be a long story but her mother had always taught her to be respectful to elders, so she kept her mouth shut. Later, though she was going to give the twins a "lecture" of her own. Complete with twin slaps over the head.

Tuning back into the vice principal's story, she tilted her head to the side as he spun them a tale of a young woman who came to his rescue, giving him food to eat when he was sure he was going to die from hunger.

"I don't remember what kind of soup that goddess from a hut fed me with her warm meal, but the food was delicious. It truly tasted out of this world. When I ate it, I felt an energy bursting from within me. Later, I became a teacher. As a side project I started to research all kinds of soups which eventually led me to write this book." The vice principal laid a book in front of them called Soups of the World. "If you'd like, I'd be happy to give you a copy. But however much I research, I've yet to find that soup. I mean...I'll probably never come across it again."

By this point, the old man had Tamaki, the twins, and Hunny in tears, Mori joining them in being deeply moved but without the tears. Naniko stood off to the side with Kyoya, shaking her head because she knew exactly where this was about to go.

"Sir! Your story touched me deeply!" Tamaki declared. "How foolish we've been! Everyone, you heard what he said, right?"

"Yes sir!" chimed the twins and Hunny.

"Vice Principal, please leave the matter to us! We will not let your precious memory go to waste, sir! We will make sure we meet your expectations by recreating the soup of your memory!" Tamaki declared, even though the vice principal hadn't really asked them to do such a thing. "Men, are you prepared?! Let's roll out!"

Thus begun their quest to find the elusive soup of the vice principal's past, which, of course, turned into a competition with the prize being a lunch made by Haruhi.

Strategy one, line up every soup that comes to mind. Made by top chefs, of course. When that failed, they moved to strategy two which was having Haruhi lead them in making the soup from scratch. Haruhi found herself standing before the boys, with dozens upon dozens of ingredients sat before her.

"Okay, everyone, are you ready?" Haruhi asked. "Since it is a pain in the neck to teach someone who has never cooked before, I want you to use this book and the video as your reference and do whatever and Naniko will be helping me."

All of the boys turned to Naniko who was tying a frilly, black apron on over her clothes. Her hair was tied back and secured by a bandanna.

"Wait...you know how to cook, too, Naniko?" the twins asked.

"Of course I do. I've had to cook for myself since I was little. Before my mother died, she worked so I had to cook for myself and after she died, I basically lived alone and had to cook for myself." Naniko replied.

"Naniko is one of the best cooks I know." Haruhi remarked.

"Thanks, but I wouldn't try to make a living from my cooking." Naniko remarked, joining her.

"We didn't need to think so hard. We should have just asked Haruhi and Naniko for help from the start. It's so obvious. Based on the time and circumstance, it must have been some plain dish of the common folk." Kyoya remarked.

"Hey now, " Naniko said, giving him a warning look. "Some commoner dishes are better tasting than the fancy stuff I've ate since moving into my father's house."

Kyoya simply let the matter go. He wasn't going to start a fight when, lately, he and Naniko had been on good terms. And that thought alone made him realize how much their relationship had changed.

"But he has a point. It probably is a dish that a five star chef wouldn't think of." Naniko remarked.

"And Haruhi is a real pro at that!" Hunny cheered.

"This proves that Haruhi and Naniko have some worth as Host Club members!" the twins said.

"Excuse you?" Naniko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ha ha ha. Want me to punch you?" Haruhi asked.

From there, they started cooking, Haruhi finally completely chipping in when she was told that she could take home whatever ingredients were left over. It actually ended up with Haruhi and Naniko doing all of the cooking. The boys were impressed with how quickly and expertly Naniko chopped vegetables and how flawlessly the two moved around the cooking space without once getting in each other's way. It was obvious that the two had grown up cooking together.

"So, Haruhi, Naniko, what kind of soup do you think it was?" Kyoya asked, watching as Haruhi stirred the pot while Naniko swept carrots off a cutting board and into the pot.

"Well...even though western-style dishes spread rapidly after the war, I have a feeling it might've been a Japanese dish. Like a miso or lees soup. Soup is basically a stew in Japan, after all." Haruhi replied.

"In western countries, a soup, on it's own, wouldn't be as filling as the vice principal described, because it's typically thinner, so I had to agree with her." Naniko remarked.

"Considering the location, the ingredients must have been edible wild plants and mushrooms." Haruhi mused.

"Gotta have some meat!" Hunny chimed in.

"That means chicken, deer, beef..." Kyoya listed idly.

"Or boar meat." Naniko added.

"Well, since we don't have it here, we can't add it, but she's right. In the mountains there are-"

A knocking on the door, cut Haruhi off. Naniko wiped her hands on a hand towel and went to open the door. Standing there, was Mori with a wild boar hoisted up on his shoulder. A live wild boar.

"...wild boars..." Haruhi finished.

"No offense, Mori-sempai, but, um..I am not gutting and cleaning that." Naniko said, before she closed the door on Mori and the boar.

"Let's try some chicken." Haruhi said, agreeing with Naniko.

While Naniko and Haruhi focused on getting the soup right, the boys put their efforts into researching side dishes to accompany the soup. It was during their research that they got into a line of discussion about balancing flavors and Tamaki told the other boys about a book he once read that said if someone poured soy sauce over creme caramel then it tasted like sea urchin. The looks on the boys faces was enough to tell Naniko that none of them had known that. It was ridiculous.

"Listen, when the vice principal spoke of the flavor, he described it as "out of this world". In other words, for as poor a man as he was, it must have been a rare food he had never tasted before. Taking into account the time and place, the ingredients could not have been expensive. And here's this book!" Tamaki said, laying down a book called Fun Experiments. "Common folks combine affordable, plain ingredients in new ways to magically create the taste of delicacies! I think the vice principal's story coincides perfectly with this book!"

Of course, they just had to try it. Naniko stood back and watched as they poured soy sauce over creme caramel and tried it.

"It's edible, but it tastes like soy sauce ad creme caramel." Tamaki said.

"It's far from sea urchin." Hunny added.

Naniko rolled her eyes, turning back to continue with the soup she currently was making.

"Hey, no one eats that as a treat. Besides, everyone in Japan already knows it doesn't taste like sea urchin." Haruhi told them.

"Hmm...she must've tried it to know that." Kaoru said.

"What about this "cucumber with honey will taste like melon"?" Hikaru asked.

"What else have you tried?" the twins asked together as they wrapped arms around Haruhi' neck.

"Raw tuna topped with mayonnaise and soy sauce to taste like giant tuna." Haruhi answered even as a blush colored her cheeks.

Curious, the boys gave it a try. Which ended up in Kyoya making a call to have his people find the very first person in the world who said that raw tuna with mayonnaise and soy sauce tasted like giant tuna and banish them from the country. All of the boys took it to an extreme, including Mori and Hunny.

In the end, they ended up using just about all the ingredients and made a huge mess, only for the vice principal to already be gone by the time they were done. Haruhi, upset that they had wasted all of the ingredients, ended up angry with the boys, but Naniko, surprisingly, had had fun. It had been a while since she had gotten the chance to just have fun cooking.

Even if it meant that Haruhi and Naniko were in charge of shutting down the club the next day because all of the boys got sick from all the bad dishes they made and ate.

That was what they got for going over board.

-0-0-0-0-

"Where did she go now?"

Naniko looked around, but all she could see was people upon people. This morning, she had agreed to go to a Regional Specialities Exhibition. Apparently, from what Naniko had been told, Haruhi had gone to it the day before, only to have her day ruined when she found a grumpy Kyoya who had been dumped, asleep, on a bench after the other members of their club had dressed him and dragged him out for the day.

In hopes of a better chance today, Haruhi had invited Naniko along. Somewhere along their exploration of the expo, Naniko had lost track of Haruhi. Now, standing in the middle of a bustling floor, she had to heave a sigh. It was then that a child ran past her, crying about a demon in human form. Curious, Naniko headed the way the child had run from and found something that had her laughing.

Honestly, just what was her luck?

"Someone looks awfully cranky."

Hearing her voice, the so-called "demon" turned on the spot and Naniko found herself face to face with a disheveled Kyoya. Kyoya was surprised, as well, when he turned to find her there, a smile on her face. For a moment, he paused, his eyes traveling over her appearance.

Today, Naniko's outfit of choice was a sleeveless, high necked, black dress that cut off a little above mid-thigh. She had paired it with a pair of knee-high, black boots, white thigh-high stockings, and had finished the look off with a blue, purple, and white plaid, button-down shirt tied around her waist. A simple, silver necklace hung around her neck, a charm shaped like feathers, hanging from it. She wore the matching earrings and had her hair tied in a loose ponytail under her left ear.

At the moment, she had a smile on her face and her hands on her hips, a shopping bag hanging from one wrist. It was easy to tell that she was amused by something and he had a good feeling that something was him.

"I didn't expect to find you here after the whole incident of yesterday." Naniko remarked.

So she had heard about that. Of course she had. There was no way that Haruhi wouldn't tell her best friend about the whole thing. The knowledge did nothing to improve his mood.

"Yes, well...it seems those idiots decided to pull the same trick twice." Kyoya retorted.

"Really? You would think that, after the first time, you would be a little more prepared."

"I admit, I did not think them foolish enough to try the same stunt two days in a row." Kyoya admitted.

"Did they at least remember to leave you with your wallet and phone, this time?" Naniko asked.

Kyoya hadn't checked his pockets yet. He took a moment to check each of his pockets, but he came up empty and heaved a sigh, his mood growing darker. Naniko could tell it was bound to be yet another bad day for him. Though it was amusing to think he had ended up in the same situation two days in a row, she decided to take pity on him.

"Well then, how about we catch a bite to eat and then I can get you home." Naniko offered. "My treat, of course."

Kyoya wouldn't express just how grateful he was, but he accepted her offer and Naniko fell into step next to him. Clasping her hands behind her back, she let her eyes wander as they walked. Kyoya glanced down at her before voicing the question in his head.

"And what are you doing here today?" he asked.

"Haruhi asked me to come with her. She wanted to look around a bit more and I didn't have any plans. It was either this, or let Sezusa drag me to the other end of the country for a shopping spree. I'm not much for that kind of thing, nor am I fond of being treated as a doll." Naniko replied.

"And where is Haruhi?" he asked.

"I lost her in the crowd. We agreed, though, that if we got separated, that we would meet back up at the main entrance at four, so it's fine."

Naniko paused at a map of the shopping center, checking to see what food places they had. Kyoya came to a stop beside her as she scanned the list of food places.

"There are some pretty decent restaurants here. What are you in the mood for?" she asked.

"I don't particularly care. You pick." he told her.

"Alright then."

Without another word, Naniko lead the way. The restaurant she chose was, by his standards, tolerable, but he had a feeling that, for a commoners' place, it was the best he was going to get. The food wasn't bad, so he didn't mind it all that much. He was just grateful to put a rest to the growling in his stomach.

"If you don't like shopping then why did you come out at all?" Kyoya asked suddenly.

"I only said I didn't like dress shopping. Things like this can be interesting. You never know what you can find here and this year, I can actually afford to do a little more than window shopping. Not that I'm usually an impulse buyer." Naniko answered.

Kyoya's eyes dropped to the shopping bag sitting on the floor beside her chair. He had noticed it when she had first approached him, but hadn't really paid it any attention.

"Find anything interesting?" he asked.

"A few things. Mostly I was just picking up a few little things for friends. That and doing a little birthday shopping for myself." Naniko replied.

"Birthday?"

Kyoya looked up at her. While, normally, he was on top of things like that, if for no other reason than appearances, he had been completely in the dark about her birthday. Then again, to be fair, before their truce, he hadn't cared.

"Yeah, my birthday is in a week. It's early, but I saw a pair of black pearl earrings and decided it would be my gift to myself." Naniko replied, elegantly raising her shoulders in a shrug. "Speaking of gifts..."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow as she reached down to dig something out of her shopping bag. Once she found what she had been looking for, she reached across the table and sat a small box in front of him.

"It's not a big deal. Just something I saw while looking around that instantly made me think of you." she told him.

Curious, Kyoya picked up the box and opened it. Nestled inside was a black cord bracelet with a flat, square charm made out of black pearl. Carved into the surface of the pearl, was a rose. It was definitely a bracelet made for a man, but, aside from color, he didn't see how it would make her think of him.

"In the club the girls use black roses to represent you, correct?" Naniko asked.

"They do." Kyoya answered, finally realizing how it made her think of him.

"You don't have to wear it or anything. I just thought it would be interesting." she told him.

Kyoya turned the bracelet over, looking it over. It was a good, high quality item so it wasn't like he had any issues with it. He was just surprised she had given him something. Peering at her across the table, he watched her as she continued to eat. No matter the amount of time they spent together, she continued to surprise him. He had already seen how serious she was about the truce she had purposed, but she just continued to surprise him with how much she had worked to get past the awful things he had said and done.

Was she really that forgiving?

No, he didn't think "forgiving" was the right word. He had first-hand experience with her anger and what a force of anger it could be. He knew she wasn't the quickest person to forgive, but, for the sake of both of their sanity and futures, she had made the choice to wipe the slate clean and begun anew. So it wasn't forgiveness, just...a new start.

So he would take the bracelet and would try to learn to be a little more open minded where Naniko was concerned. Maybe then she wouldn't continue to surprise him so much.

Not likely, but it was nice to hope.

For the time being, perhaps he should consider something to show his contribution to this new start.

END

Kyandi: That is what's called "forgiving but not forgetting".

Naniko: Like he said, "forgiving" isn't the right word.

Kyandi: No, you took the expression and flopped it.

Naniko: Meaning?

Kyandi: Instead of "forgiving but not forgetting", you chose to "forget buy not forgive".

Naniko: That doesn't even make sense.

Kyandi: I know...I'm sleepy.

Naniko: Then go to bed!

Kyandi: I'm about to. Everyone, enjoy and review.

Naniko: We'll return as soon as possible.

Kyandi: Bye-bye!