Wassup, Everybody?

All right, I'm proud to say that I have the energy and juices to keep writing this story! I actually went back and read my story to see if I could tie anything together for the final chapter.

K.C.: Speaking of this story... I've noticed that you used A LOT of characters with "K" names.

*ponders* Now, that you mention it... I did use a lot of characters with "K" names. ^.^" talk about un-intended irony... especially in the main pairing.

K.C.: It was the main pairing of this story. Now, I've put that low-life ba***** behind me, so I'm moving on with Zuki.

You do realize that it's almost the end of the school year for you, right? So, you and Zuki won't be an item for a long while.

K.C: Oh, come on. You're the author. You'll fix this, right?

*evil smirk* Oh, I'll fix this.

K.C. *freezes*: Wh-what... what were you thinking about doing?

Oh nothing... *back to cheery self* :3 Anywayz! Read on guys and discover what happens in the next amazin' chapisode of... "Ouran High School Host Club: Fitting In"!

K.C.: Quick question about you're little plot... You're not going to put me through another one of your "character tortures", are you?

*cheery smile* Don't be silly Katie-bug!

K.C.: DON'T CALL ME THAT!

Oh, just so you guys know, there will be a LOT of OCs in this chapter (both mine and others). Be warned... but, hopefully, you'll remember them.

OC'S USED IN THIS CHAPTER:

Meghan Maple (Moonlight's Shadow Warrior)

Jenna Maple (Sunrise's Light Warrior)

Maya Travers (Aurora-16)

Taylor Zierau (Snow'n'Cupcakes)

Allyra Mortlock (AllyraMortlock)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or it's characters, they belong to the wonderfully talented Bisco Hatori. I also do not own the other OCs in the story. They rightfully belong to their owners (listed above).

CLAIMER: I own all of my OCs, and the idea/plot for this story.

~ Chapter 38 ~

Sweet Revenge

I couldn't believe it. No matter how many times I looked at the calendar, I still couldn't believe that February had already blown into April. Boy, where had all that time gone? In one more month, just four more weeks, it would be graduation, and I would be out fo Japan for good. Needless to say that I would reflect on the days I spent at the school and in the country, and I sure would miss everything.

There were my good days, and there were my bad days, but I learned to let those go, no matter how much they pained me when the slightest hint brought them back. There were lessons I learned and I would remember not to make the same mistakes in the future. One thing that I definitely had to work on was not to let my emotions do the talking, because that got me into trouble more than once.

Aside from that, I built up close relationships with my classmates, the hosts, and some students that were a year or two ahead of me. Kazuki was the main one. After falling into Kyoya's little scheme to use me and meddle with my feelings, I shut him out of my mind and moved on with Zuki. I must admit that the past month we've been together was the best. All right, I'll admit that we weren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend; in fact, Kazuki hadn't asked me to be his, not even on Valentine's Day. Maybe he was just taking things slow, but we still walked together to and from classes every once in a while. Well, no matter what, I'd rather settle with him than that conniving, two-faced Ootori.

Kyoya was a thing of the past now, so all I had to do was move on.

Striding down the hallway to my classroom, a pair of identical brunettes caught my attention. The two of them were hanging around Haruhi, chatting about whatever it was driving the poor female host crazy. After a while, I realized that the two brunette were none other than the Maple sisters, who went grocery shopping with Haruhi and me. What puzzled me the most was that the two of them were wearing the male uniform for Ouran.

Brushing the fact to the side, I walked up to the two sisters. "Hey, Jenna. Hey, Meghan. I didn't know you guys went to Ouran."

The two girls turned away from Haruhi, and faced me somewhat confused. I wouldn't blame them since it had been over two months since I saw the female twins, so a couple of moments of blinking passed before Jenna let out a squeal and glomped me.

"K.C.!" she squealed. "We thought we'd never ever see you again!"

Geez, and I thought that Tamaki's hugs were suffocating...

"Uh, Jen," Meghan spoke calmly. "I think you should let her go..."

Thankfully, Jenna did as her sister bid, and I was able to breathe again. Serisouly… was I some kind of glomper-magnet (if that were real...)? First, it was Hunny-senpai, then it was Tamaki, and now it was Jenna. I wasn't that popular; but still, it was nice to know that people even noticed me.

"Hey, quick question, you guys," I began. "Why are you two wearing the boys uniform?"

"We weren't too fond of the female uniform," the sisters answered in unison.

"I'm not much of a dress-wearing person," Meghan explained. "Only on certain occasions of course."

"And I just don't like the color yellow," Jenna added. "But, the blue in this jacket really brings out me eyes!"

Her sister rolled her eyes at her perky twin, who proceeded to spin around humming a random tune to herself. Haruhi had taken the time to slip away from the two sisters to head on to class, but I knew that she would be ambushed by the other set of twins once she got there. It was difficult to believe how different Jenna and Meghan were even though they were twins. They didn't even act the same. As I thought more on the subject, Hikaru and Kaoru were the same way, even though I hadn't quite spotted all of their differences.

As soon as the bell rang, breaking Jenna out of her reverie, she grabbed her sister and bid me a cheery farewell before towing Meghan down the hall along with her. As soon as the two disappeared around a corner, I sighed and continued down the hallway toward my own class. Yes, I was going to miss a lot once I was gone.

~ . . * . . ~

"Can you guys believe it?" Maya cheered. "After graduation, we'll all officially be juniors!"

"I know, right?" Taylor answered. "It's hard to believe how fast this year has flown..."

While the two of them continued to babble on about graduation and parties, I gazed out the window at the courtyard; just another one of the things I'd typically do whenever I wanted to enter my own world and contemplate on things.

I still couldn't shake the feeling that I would soon be a junior, and if next few years flew by as fast as this one, I'd be graduating High School and traveling off to college. So much had occurred over the school year, and it was difficult to believe that I would never set foot on the Ouran campus again. I'd be back home in America, cooped up in my room for six hours every day, staring at my computer screen.

When I was home-schooled, I felt like I was inside my own little haven, a place where no one could harm me; but now that I've been through what a real school was like, I realized how much I've been missing out on my life. At the time, I thought I had all the school experience I needed, but I was far from being right. I had no social skills, or social life for that matter, so it was no wonder why I was so shy the first couple of months into the school year. I was unsure how to make friends, and I was always worrying about what others would think of me.

Now, even I've come to notice that I've opened up a lot more; I have good friends, no... great friends, both male and female. They were friends that were there whenever I needed someone to talk to, (plus, they were my age), and they wouldn't dare take a step to betray me. I've come to be able to trust them all; but now, with three weeks to go, I would be traveling on the plane to America, like a free stallion roaming the meadow to a tamed show-horse.

"K.C.?" a voice spoke, interrupting my thoughts.

Startled, I jerked my head over to find Tao, who had pulled up an empty chair beside my desk. That was one of the downsides of zoning out into space to think: I had absolutely no clue what was going on around me.

"Hey, Tao," I spoke managing a weak smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," she answered. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I answered. "I was just thinking about school next year."

"Huh? Oh, right..." Tao glanced away for a moment, and then sighed and glanced back up at me. "Are you sure you're only here for a year?"

"As far as I know," I answered.

"But, Fujioka-senpai has a full-term scholarship, and he'll be here until he graduates High School."

I stopped myself before correcting Tao that Haruhi wasn't a "he", or else her secret would be out. Well, at least she knew my secret; it was better mine than Haruhi's, which made me wonder how long the hosts could keep up their act and continue to convince the girls that Haruhi was indeed a boy.

"Well," I began. "Maybe because he's from Japan, and I'm a transfer from America."

"True," Tao agreed. Then, she sighed, "It's just won't be the same without you, K.C.."

"Tao, I've known you since the first term; and believe me, I've noticed that you've changed since then. You were closed up like a clam, but then by the third term I walk into the classroom and see you chatting away with Taylor and Natalie." I gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you'll hold up fine; besides, you've still got my e-mail address, right?"

The brunette returned my smile. "Yeah. Thanks, K.C.."

"Anytime, Tao," I answered.

~ . . * . . ~

Geez, I wished that classes didn't fly by as fast as they did! Maybe that was why this year was flying by...

Anyway, once again I found myself picking up the props the hosts would need for whatever cosplay they were holding today. I did manage to sneak a peek inside the box to find a couple pairs of sandals and twined wreathes that looked as if they could be substituted as a headband. Aside from the clothes were some fancy pottery with pictures engraved on them, especially those with men in chariots, and one of a man fighting some half-human half-bull monster. I wasn't quite certain what kind of cosplay the hosts were planning, but I decided to allow it to slide as I continued down the hall.

As soon as I approached the Third Music Room, I pushed down the handle with my elbow and used my back to push the door open. Once I was able to slip into the room, I gazed around at the decorations that had already been set up. The curtains had been replaced with long, silk white, translucent drapes while statues of men and women stretched from the floor to the ceiling. (How the hosts even managed to bring them into the room, I'll never know...). Some of the statues wore armor, mainly the men, some of them with animals, and one of the statues wielded a lightning bolt. Fancy lounge chairs replaced the typical sofas in the room, while the chairs and tables were replaced with polished tables with their typical velvet chairs.

"Ah, Katherine!" the all-too familiar voice of the club president spoke. "So glad you came!"

I glanced over to fine Tamaki and a few of the other hosts dressed in white robes, togas to be exact, wearing sandals and the wreathes were placed around their heads. For some reason, the decor and the outfits seemed familiar; however, I couldn't remember at the moment.

"Hey, senpai," I spoke. "I love what you guys did with the place. Although, I'm not quite sure what the theme is. I mean, I've seen something like this before, but I'm not sure where."

"You don't know?" Tamaki answered with a smile. "Well, it's our Ancient Greek theme, of course."

"Oh, yeah, now I remember," I spoke. Then I glanced up at him. "So, what made you guys want to do a Greek theme?"

"Why not?" the club president answered with that sly smile. "Greece, the birthplace of philosophy and the Olympics. Not only that, but they created outstanding architecture and highly detailed sculptures! Even though the Romans later conquered them and copied everything from the gods to their architecture, the ancient Greeks still remain the root of modern society today."

"Sooooo... you guys are trying to revive the Greek era?"

"Exactly so. Plus, why have the girls be entertained by their regular host, when they can relax and be hosted by a Greek god?"

Something in my gut told me that that was one of the main purposes of this theme. Of course, Tamaki was all about making every women happy, or so I've heard; but, I've seen it when he's hosting. He doesn't pull out his charms to make it with the ladies, he does it because he understands how rough school is and he just wants the girls to relax and enjoy themselves (no matter how high their hormone level is...).

I sighed, deciding to change the subject. "So, where do you want the rest of these vases, senpai?"

Tamaki placed a hand to his chin in thought as he scanned the room. I waited patiently for his answer, no matter how much my arms felt like they were going to fall off. However, I held back the urge to drop the box for fear of breaking the valuable vases and adding another chunk of yen to my debt. With little time I had left in the school year, I had a feeling that remaining yen wouldn't be coming out of my own pocket...

After what felt like an eternity, the club president gestured over to a couple of milk white pedestals placed in the room. "Just place the vases on those. Of course, you may arrange them however they fit."

Without hesitation, I knelt down and placed the cardboard box on the tiled floor, opening it to draw out one of the vases. I glanced around the room, and then back down at the intricately designed pottery in my hand before walking over and setting them on top of the pedestal. Then, I traveled back over to the cardboard box and drew out two more vases to place in the room. It was more difficult placing two vases because the pottery was fairly large that I had to carry them under my arms. When I set one down and then proceeded to the next pedestal, my elbow knocked the pottery off the platform.

I gasped as I turned around and attempted to reach for it, but sadly missed. Oh, God this cannot be happening! Everything seemed to occur in slow motion as I stared, gaping at the pottery, and I closed my eyes tight, awaiting that echoing smash on the ground. After a few moments, all was quiet. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I opened my eyes and glanced up to find the female host member holding the vase in her hands.

I sighed with relief. "Thanks, Haruhi. That could've been messy."

"Trust me, I've been there," she spoke, placing the vase on the platform.

After that, Haruhi offered to help me set up the rest of the decorations in the room, which I gladly accepted. Besides, we never spoke much because of my busy schedule, so this was a great chance for us to chat.

"So, how does it feel to be a rising senior?" I asked, assisting her with hanging up a rustic, woven tapestry.

"I just can't believe it," she answered. "I mean, I can still visualize myself first entering the clubroom."

"And knocking over the vase?" I answered slyly.

"Yeah," she answered. "But, I've grown used to the clubs antics."

"That's understandable."

The two of us descended the ladder and hauled them over to the next wall to hang another tapestry. This one wasn't as large as the last one, so it didn't take long for Haruhi and me to hang it up and then descend the ladder.

"So, how is everything with you and Zuki?" Haruhi inquired.

"Oh, we're still good friends," I spoke. "I know it's been a while, but I think he's taking things slow, which I understand."

"You guys haven't had any other dates since the last time have you?" a pair of voices inquired.

Haruhi and I turned to find the Hitachiin brothers leaning against one of the many Corinthian columns in the clubroom. Both of the twins were dressed in their togas, while wearing their sandals and their wreathes.

"No, we haven't actually," I answered. "Of course, school has been busy for both of us."

"What do you see in him exactly?" Hikaru inquired rather coldly. "I mean, you take the time to dress up all fancy, and he just takes you out to a simple commoner's restaurant and then out to a movie."

"Hikaru!" Haruhi hissed.

"I'm just saying," the older twin answered. "If it were me, I'd impress my date as much as I can."

"Well, for your information, Hikaru," I began. "Kazuki is a really nice guy who accepts me for who I am. And, unlike any of the other wealthy kids in this school, he actually likes being casual and going to 'commoner places' like a restaurant downtown."

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

After that, he turned and walked off, leaving his brother with us. I was taken aback by the older Hitachiin's behavior. Never, during my entire school year at Ouran Academy, had I seen Hikaru act so... cold. On top of all that, he looked as if he were about to blow up with anger or something. Well, at least he walked off before he could. What puzzled me the most was why Kaoru didn't follow after him.

"What's up with him?" I asked.

"He's probably just in one of his moods," Haruhi answered.

I glanced over at her confused, but she only shrugged.

"Even though Hikaru's the older twin," Kaoru began, "he still has a lot of growing up to do."

I stared up at the younger Hitachiin surprised. So, Kaoru was the more mature one of the two of them? It was hard to believe since he was younger.

"Does he typically come close to acting like...that?" I asked.

"Sometimes," Kaoru answered. He glanced across the room at his brother, who sat in one of the chairs listening to his MP3 player. "Hikaru just has trouble with confessing his feelings. Most of the time he'll bottle them up and eventually blow up in front of someone."

"Like back in Karuizawa?" Haruhi inquired.

Kaoru nodded.

I thought over that the younger twin said. So, Hikaru wasn't the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. He just brushed his emotions to the side, or so he thought, until he couldn't take it any longer and unleash everything on someone. But, what Kaoru said about Hikaru admitting his "feelings"... did that mean...?

"Hey, Kaoru?" I asked, glancing up at him. "You don't think that-"

"Five minutes until hosting hours begin," Kyoya's voice broke through the silence. "You three should be preparing yourselves, especially you, Johnson."

I scowled at the Shadow King as he passed us, and then stuck my tongue out as his back. Why was it that every time I was close to discovering something about one of the hosts that I never knew, Kyoya always had to come along and interrupt the moment? Sighing, I walked passed Haruhi and Kaoru, making my way to the kitchen.

"K.C.?" the younger twin's voice called out.

I turned to him. "Yeah, Kaoru?"

"What were you going to say?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh... nothing..." I answered. "I... forgot..."

I grinned sheepishly, and rubbed the back of my head with my hand. Haruhi and Kaoru exchanged glances but then shrugged and turned, joining the other hosts. Kaoru of course, strode over to his brother, probably to chat with him about his behavior. I turned back around and made my way towards the kitchen.

As I grabbed my apron, thoughts began to fill my mind. Was Hikaru jealous of Kazuki? If so, did that mean that Hikaru, no matter how deep down, had... feelings for me? When did he even start having feelings for me? I never really was paying attention... Then again, why would he and his brother have set me up with Kyoya, twice, if Hikaru had a fondness for me. I sighed and shook off the confusion.

Nothing made sense anymore...

~ . . * . . ~

As soon as hosting hours were through, I cleaned up the kitchen, and then double checked to make sure I completed everything. After that, I hung my apron up and grabbed my book bag making my way out of the room. There were a few boxes set up in the middle of the room, most likely ready to be taken back to storage. The hosts continued to tear down their decorations and neatly pack them away into the prop boxes.

All of the hosts were teamed up together, taking down the tapestries or the statues, which turned out to be hollow replicas. That was when I noticed that Hikaru wasn't teamed up with anyone; instead, he was packing away the vases and drapery, which he folded hastily massing them up somewhat. Was he still upset about earlier?

Knowing that his little chat with his brother probably didn't solve much, I grabbed the leftover pottery, wary not to drop them; then, I carefully set them down in the boxes, organizing them so that they would all fit.

"You know, you shouldn't rush yourself," I spoke to the older twin. "Haste makes waste you know."

Hikaru only growled and continued to fold the drapery. I sighed. Stubborn as a mule...

"Look, Hikaru," I spoke standing up. "I understand that you're jealous of Zuki-"

"Who said I was 'jealous'?" he snapped.

"Nobody," I answered with a smirk. "You just made it obvious."

"So?"

"Hikaru, listen... I understand that you have trouble with your feelings, but that's what friends are for. Besides, I never like to see my ani upset."

The older Hitachiin twin froze at the statement, and then glanced down at me surprised. I only smiled up at him as the two of us stood there for a few moments. Both of us knew that that was the exact same thing that he and Kaoru said when they were taking me home from Kyoya's mansion (except it was them saying imouto). Nonetheless, Hikaru was still my friend, my older-brother figure, and I wouldn't trade him or the other hosts for anything else in the world.

After a while, Hikaru returned my smile, and then the two of us packed the remaining vases in the box. Most of the boxes had been taken to the storage room already, leaving two more to take down the hall. I offered to take them both, but Hikaru insisted that I just take one and he and Kaoru would gather the other. Well, at least it was nice to know that he was back to his typically self.

Carrying the box down the hallway, I began to think over the day, especially that afternoon. It was true that you learned something new every day, especially things that may surprise you. I was still unsure if, and when, Hikaru began to develop feelings for me, but I brushed the thought to the side knowing that he was fine now that I understood.

"So, this is what you do during club hours?" a menacing voice spoke, interjecting my thoughts.

Startled, I whirled around to find none other than the Pre-Madonna, Kimiko, casually leaning against the corner. She had that sly smirk on her face as he flipped her long, jet-black hair over her shoulder. Her hazel eyes gleamed with mischief and mayhem as she stared me down. That was when I noticed that she stood right across from the storage room. How in the world did she even know where I was going?

Dismissing the thought, I turned to her. "Kimiko-san. What brings you here? Club hours are through with, aren't they?"

"Of course they are. I'm not stupid," she answered curtly. "I just thought I'd have a little chat with you on your way to drop of the props from the Host Club."

"Well, that grea-"

I stopped in mid-sentence as her reply ran through my mind again. How did she know that I was packing away the props in the storage room? More importantly, how did she even know that I was carrying the props from the Host Club?

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I inquired.

"Don't play dumb with me, Katherine," Kimiko answered, walking up to me. "In fact, don't even try to hide it. Now, I understand why you enter the Music Room before Hosting hours, but are never there during the time. You're the club's personal foot stool."

My eyes grew wide as the color drained from my face. How does she know? I pondered. Had Kimiko been stalking me this entire week? Why would she even bother discovering my secret as to why I was helping out the club?

"Y-you have no proof..." I stammered.

"Actually..."

"...we do."

Startled, I whirled around on my heel to find Ochira and Momoka behind me with identical smirks as their leader. In Ochira's hand were a set of photographs of me helping set up the clubroom, and some of me in the kitchen. Momoka held a camcorder, which I assumed had been hidden somewhere in the clubroom and recorded me attending my afternoon routine at the club.

I just couldn't believe it. Even though I left Kyoya alone so that he and his fiancé could attend to their wedding plans, or whatever they did together, Kimiko was still out to do whatever she could to take me down and bring me down to her level. There was no other way around this. These girls had all the evidence they needed for blackmail, or whatever they were going to do to me.

Sighing in defeat, I turned back to their leader. "What do you want from me?"

Kimiko smirked. "Well, fist of all, you can never, ever, talk or go anywhere near my fiancé. Secondly, you have to carry my books to and from my classes. And finally, you have to do obey my every bidding."

"And if I don't?" I asked.

The diva strode over to her lackey and took the photographs from Ochira's hand. "Let's just say that I have connections with the Newspaper club. You don't want a replay of the Fright Night Aftermath, do you?"

I swallowed hard. Man, did this girl know how to get her way or what?"

"All right..." I mumbled.

Kimiko grinned with satisfaction. "Excellent." Then, she handed the photos back to Ochira and continued: "Now, I typically arrive at the campus ten minutes early, so I expect you to be here by tomorrow morning five minutes before me. Got that, sweetheart?"

"Yes, ma'am," I muttered.

"At least you're getting the hang of respect, you commoner."

After that, Kimiko spun on her heel and strode down the hall with her two hench-women tagging along behind her. I sighed and continued my way down the corridor until I reached the storage room. Just when I thought the end of the year couldn't get any worse. I'd have to finish up my homework and get enough sleep to arrive at school fifteen minutes early. Typically, I arrive at school around five minutes early, so now I had to get there another ten minutes!

Well, three weeks and it would all be over.

~ . . * . . ~

I couldn't believe this! This whole week had been one living hell! That morning I had to sit and wait at the front entrance for over ten minutes, only to have Kimiko come up with an excuse why she was "late". Today it was "Oh, I couldn't find my other earring, so I spent most of my time looking all over for it..." blah, blah, blah. I scoffed just at the mere thought. Lost earring my foot... Excuse for being late for this, excuse for being late for that...

Then around class time, I had to carry her bag to her morning class, and then after lunch I had to carry it again to her afternoon class. Something told me that she purposely put rocks in her baf just to make my day more miserable than it already was. How did I know there were rocks in there? Kimiko was a second-year in Haruhi's class, and I've lifted Haruhi's bag before; much lighter than the Pre-Madonna's.

If I could find some way out of this blackmail, some sort of loophole, I could probably manage to free myself from her tyranny.

Once lunchtime came around that Friday, I gathered Tao, Jenna, Meghan, Taylor, and Allyra together for a group meeting. Why I chose the five of them... Well, Tao was obvious because she was my best friend, and the rest were those that I could trust and either have seen or experience something with Kimiko. All of them seemed to understand, like they had been there done that, but most of them seemed to volunteer to take her down.

"Why is she even tormenting you, K.C.?" Taylor inquired.

"It's a long story," I answered. "But, I'm starting to get sick and tired of her teasing, manipulation, and all her gossip."

"She's been like this since Middle School," Tao spoke. "I think that someone needs to stand up to her and teach her a lesson."

"True that," Taylor answered. "I may not have crossed paths with Kimiko, but I have overhead some of her gossip."

"Yeah, Kimiko is such a-" the sisters began.

But, they were cut off by the red-head. "Meghan! Jenna! Don't say what I think you two were going to say!"

"What?" Meghan spoke innocently. "You know she is one."

"Besides," Jenna added. "She needs a taste of her own medicine."

"But, what could we do?" Allyra pondered.

Silence filled the air as the six of us sat at the lunchroom table pondering over what we would do to get back at Kimiko. Even though revenge isn't always the key to winning a battle, it was always needed when your opponent needed to change his/her ways.

"I know!" the twins spoke together.

"We could dig a pit outside and fill it up with saltwater, adding in some great white sharks," Meghan added.

"Of course, we'll cover the tank with the classic camouflage tarp," Jenna added. "So, when Kimiko walks over it..."

"Crunch!" The two sisters ended together.

The rest of us stared at them, most of us surprised, while the other taken a back. Okay, that was something that I would expect from Natalie, but definitely something I'd never expect from the female twins. Of course, leave it to the Maple sisters to plot their revenge against their enemy when the only idea they come up with is their opponent's death.

"We're planning payback for Kimiko," Tao spoke blandly. "That doesn't necessarily mean that it has to involve violence..."

"Well, that was the best we could come up with," the female twins spoke flatly.

"But, you know," I spoke to the group. "I trap does sound like a good plan." A sly smirk crossed my face as images formed in my mind. "And I know exactly how it'll be set up."

With that, I drew out my sketchpad from my bag and opened up to a blank page. The other five girls hovered over the page, but allowed my some elbow-room to sketch out the plan. I drew a map of the school hallways first, and the rooms within it. They were mainly the halls of the second-year, and third-year rooms, along with the clubrooms, and I drew little stick figures of us at certain positions.

The five of us would confabulate and tweak our plan until we knew that it was full-proof. So, we made two options incase one didn't work out, the other one would nab her. Once everything was organized and complete, the six of us scanned the picture and exchanged sly glanced.

"All right, guys," I spoke. "Here's what we'll do..."

~ . . * . . ~

Afternoon classes flew by that day, and I stood outside of the second-year's last classroom waiting on Kimiko. My class had actually ended a few minutes early, giving my enough time to pack away my bag in my locker before traveling down the corridors to the second-year district. The Host Club was actually having another one of their "days off" to play around in the courtyard, which was a huge relief off my shoulders because that meant that I didn't have to prepare anything that afternoon.

Standing against the wall opposite of the door, I couldn't keep that grin off my face as I continued to think over the plan. It was sure fire, it was full proof, and it was going to work or so help me God... Releasing a few deep breaths, I managed to calm myself down just in time for the bell to ring.

As soon as Kimiko walked out, she shot me a confused look. "What're you doing here?"

"I was just thinking that you needed some help carrying your things to the Stellar Club," I spoke.

"Actually," she spoke with a smirk, "I was thinking about going to the Host Club today."

"Oh, really?" I asked, feigning surprise in order to hide my smirk. "You know they're taking the day off today."

"I know, but the weather said that there may be a few pop-up storms," Kimiko countered. "So, in case the hosts decide to come back in, I'll be ready for them. Besides," she added with that malicious grin. "You can show me how you bake and decorate those cakes."

As infuriated as i was with her at the moment, I managed a smile. "Sure thing."

Holding out her book bag to me, she shook it a few times gesturing me to carry it. I stared at the bag and then at her. We weren't walking to, or from, classes, so why would I need to carry it for her?

"Are you going to take it, or not?" she inquired curtly.

"Well, I just thought the deal was for to and from classes," I answered.

Kimiko shot me a venomous glare that sent chills down my spine. "What part of 'I have connections with the Newspaper Club' did you not understand?"

"Y-yes, m-ma'am," I spoke, taking her bag nearly falling to the ground from the sudden weight. "But, may I suggest that you put everything in your locker. I mean, it's such a hassle to carry all these 'books' all the way to the Music room when your locker is right around the corner."

Kimiko glowered at me skeptically, and then pondered for a moment. "All right," she spoke with a shrug. "BUT! You're still carrying it."

With that, she sauntered down the corridor to her locker while I followed her. These rocks in her back were really starting to strain my arms and back out, but I ignored that pain and watched as the black-haired girl spun the combination on her locker.

As soon as she opened the door, a boxing glove on a spring immediately punched the unsuspecting girl in the face sending her stumbling backwards. I held back the urge to laugh, no matter how much I wanted to. Kimiko growled and stomped over to her locker to grab the glove on a spring. After much difficulty, she managed to rip the spring off the back of her locker, still fuming.

Slowly turning her head, she glared at me. "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"

"No, Kimiko-san," I spoke.

"Then who?" she snapped.

"Maybe... it was a belated April Fool's joke?" I suggested.

The raven-haired girl stared down at my skeptically before snatching the bag and tossing it into her locker. After slamming the metal door shut, she stormed over to the nearest trash bin and hurled the glove attached to the spring inside it. Then, she stormed down the hallway towards the Third Music Room with me following in tow. This plot was working just as we planned it. Spring-Glove down, now all that was left was...

Kimiko shrieked as a tiny, wet roll of paper hit her face. She gave a disgusted face before continuing on down the hall. I gave a thumbs-up to Jenna and Meghan, who were hiding in the trash bins we passed, with straws in their hands. The two sisters loaded a few more wads of paper into the straws and aimed it towards the Pre-Madonna. Instantly, Kimiko was pelted with more spit-balls before taking off and running down the hallway with her hands over her head.

The female twins' laugh could be heard echoing from the two trash bins, but soon died down as I reached Kimiko.

"Someone's up to something!" she exclaimed. Then she turned to me and stared down at me with her piercing hazel eyes. "I don't trust you at all, Katherine. In fact, I think... no, I know you're the one behind all of this. So, allow me to let you off with one more warning. If I get caught in another one of your little pranks again, say goodbye to the Host Club because I will have you expelled!"

After that, she whirled around on her heel and stomped off, while I only stared at her and smirked.

"Too bad," I muttered to myself. "You're not going to miss the grand finale."

After that, I caught up with Kimiko, who stood in front of the door to Music Room 3. She stood there with her arms crossed and tapping her foot impatiently. When I approached her, she glared at me.

"So, are you going to open it or what?" she inquired.

Wordlessly, I walked over to the large, double doors and turned the golden handle. Just like planned, the entire room had been cleared out. There was no furniture or decorations in the room; just the tiled floor, pillars and ceiling. I peered in, as if making sure that there were no traps; but, I actually was looking for Taylor, who soon snaked her head around one of the giant columns in the room. She gave the thumbs up, and I nodded.

"Well, Kimiko-san," I spoke, glancing over my shoulder at her. "It looks like the coast is clear."

"It's about time," she grumbled, shoving me to the side and striding into the room.

I followed her as she stepped into the middle of the room and glanced around skeptically. She continued to wander around the clubroom, but I quickly rushed up to her, realizing that she was far from where she was supposed to be when Taylor launched the "Grand Finale".

"Well, I guess the club won't be meeting in here for the entire afternoon," I spoke, grabbing her wrist and tugging her to the spot. "Maybe we should just leave now."

"Wait a second," Kimiko snapped, jerking her arm out of my grasp. "I know what you're up to."

At this time I was ignoring her, and I glanced over at Taylor, giving a nod. This was it.

"I thought I told you, if you played one more little prank on me-" Kimiko continued.

But she was cut off when a giant cupcake the size of what seemed like a horse dropped down on not only her, but on me as well. The two of us managed to tear through the thick dough and pop out to the surface covered in green icing. Kimiko sputtered and wiped the icing off her face with her hand, and gazed down in horror at her icing stained uniform.

"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" she exclaimed.

"Surprise!" I spoke. "Happy Birthday!"

"IT'S NOT MY BIRTHDAY!" she retorted.

"Oh, well then, uh..." I trailed off, thinking of excuses for a giant cupcake to drop on her. "Happy Early Birthday."

Kimiko snarled and clenched her hands into fists so tight that it made her knuckles turn white.

"...Belated?" I added, chuckled nervously.

"YOU LITTLE-!" Kimiko shouted.

And with that, she pounced on me slamming me into the ground. Luckily the breading of the cupcake was able to cushion my fall somewhat, but then the two of us began rolling around in the icing, smearing it all over the floor and our uniforms. Meghan, Jenna, Tao, Allyra, and Taylor came out of their hiding places and watched the brawl, debating whether or not to get involved. After scratching each others' face or arms and pulling at each others' hair, I was able to free myself and stand with my group.

"I should've known you'd ally with others to go up against me," Kimiko mumbled. "But, I swear, Katherine, by tomorrow, I'll have you expelled and you won't be helping out your precious Host Club any longer. On top of all of that, I'll have Kyoya all to myself. Do you hear me? I WON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOU ANY LONGER!"

"On the contrary," a deep, male voice spoke from the doorway, "You'll still be seeing Katherine until the end of the year."

The seven of us glanced over to the open door way to find Kyoya leaning against the frame with that sly grin on his face.

"K-Kyoya..." Kimiko whimpered, scrambling to her feet but failing (obviously on purpose).

Kyoya held his hand out to assist her, which she accepted without hesitation. As soon as she was gazing in his eyes, she threw her arms around Kyoya and began breaking down in tears (totally fake...). I rolled my eyes at her act, and I'm sure the other girls may have detected it too.

"K-K-Kyo-ya..." Kimiko stuttered though 'sobs'. "K-Katherine, she... she was playing harmful tricks on me. Please, do something to her..."

With that, she turned her head and glared at me, while I scowled right back. Taylor, Allyra, and Tao struggled to hold the twin sisters back from rushing over and beating the snot out of the girl. I stared at both Kyoya and Kimiko together. He seriously wasn't going to fall for her trick was he? I doubted it. Kyoya wasn't like that; of course, anything could happen when Kyoya was involved, so I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet.

The corners of his mouth curled up into a smirk. "It's such a shame that beautiful girls aren't always so beautiful on the inside."

Immediately, Kimiko released him, and stared up at Kyoya with a confused look. "Wh-what?"

"You've been blackmailing Katherine with photos of her working here at the club," the Shadow King answered, adjusting his glasses.

Kimiko gazed up at him wide-eyed and took a few steps back. "N-no I didn't. You have no proof!"

Kyoya only grinned and gestured over towards the doorway. All of us turned our attention towards the open doors where the rest of the Host Club stood with Ochira and Momoka, who were being held by the twins.

"Here's the photos, Kyo-chan," Hunny spoke, bounding up to the Shadow King.

"And the video," Mori added.

"Thank you, Hunny-senpai, Mori-senpai," Kyoya spoke.

The two cousins nodded and joined the other hosts in the room. Kyoya scanned over the photos and then took out the CD from the video recorder. The light from the chandeliers reflected on his glasses as he gazed down at Kimiko who was now white as a ghost. I smirked to myself; she probably had never visited Kyoya's "Demon Side".

"I'm sure this is all the proof I need," Kyoya spoke with that fake smile.

"B-but... but I..." Kimiko stammered, glancing around the room.

"Yes?" Kyoya pressed on.

The raven-haired girl swallowed hard, knowing that she was now in checkmate, and then she released a deep breath. "So what if I've been blackmailing her? I know her little secret. And I'll make sure everyone else does too!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kyoya chided as he reached into his bag and drew out another set of photographs.

As soon as I was able to see what they were of, I gasped in shock. One was of Kimiko, Momoka, and Ochira paying monkey-in-the-middle with me while tossing a vase, the second was of the three of them ganging up on me in the hedge maze and ruining my dress, and the third one was of me carrying Kimiko's book bag, which I presumed came from earlier that week. So, Kyoya knew about all these incidents. Well, he might have discovered them later...

"You've had it in for Katherine for quite some time now, haven't you?" Kyoya inquired.

"Well, I... uh..." Kimiko stammered.

"If you spread any gossip about Katherine working for the club," the Shadow King began again. "I'll be sure to let the Newspaper Club know that the most popular girl in school isn't all sugar and spice; and also, the engagement will be off."

Kimiko gritted her teeth together as she glanced down at the ground. "There's no need for that." She she snapped her head back up and glared at him. "The engagement's off! You and I are through, Ootori!"

After that she dashed off passed Kyoya while the twins released her lackeys, who proceeded to follow her down the hall. I stared after the girls, and then back at Kyoya, who began to pack away the photos into his book-bag pocket. The hosts showed up at the right place and at the right time; but... how did they even know about our little plan. I glanced over at the other host club members, who only returned my gaze with a warm smile. When I turned to the other girls, they too had smile on their faces.

"Okay, so we kinda passed the plan on to the hosts," Allyra spoke.

"But, they still needed to know about this," Tao added.

I smiled and nodded. "Thanks guys."

"GROUP HUG!" the female twins exclaimed as they glomped me.

Taylor, Allyra, and Tao joined in, and soon the hosts were in the group hug as well, except for Kyoya, who was busy jotting down notes in his book like always. We stayed like that for what seemed like hours, but I never wanted it to end. Sadly, it did, and now some of the girls had icing stains on their uniforms; of course, they told me not to worry about it and that they had extras at home.

"I can't believe our plan actually worked, you guys!" I exclaimed, excitedly. "Allyra, Tao, that glove thing in her locker was epic! Jenna, Meghan, I loved the spit-balls. And Taylor..." I trailed off as I gazed at her. "I thought you said you were making a giant pie..."

"Well, when it comes to pranks and gags, pies are pretty common..." she answered."So, that's why I went with a giant cupcake instead!"

The eleven of us stared at her for a while, but then I smiled and shrugged. "I can't argue with that logic."

"You do realize that either way, you'd have to stay after club hours to clean up your mess," Kyoya spoke, not glancing up from his notebook.

I froze at the thought. Seriously? Well, I didn't want to give the janitors a hard time; plus, this was the Third Music Room where the Host Club was mostly held.

"Don't worry, K.C., we'll all help ya out," Allyra spoke.

"No, don't," I answered, gaining a ton of bewildered expressions. "I got you guys into this mess, and the plan was mostly my idea-"

"But, we followed out with it!" Tao interjected.

"Still, I don't think that it would be right for you guys to clean up after me, even if we were all cleaning," I spoke calmly. "Besides, there's the science test next week, and that art project coming up..."

Taylor instantly froze at the thought of the art project, and then she laughed nervously.

"Listen, you guys," I spoke. "Thanks so much for helping me out to day. We make a pretty awesome team."

"A pretty badass team," the female twins corrected.

"What did I tell you two about swearing?" Allyra exclaimed.

The sisters stuck their tongues out at her, while the fuming, red-head began shouting and chasing the two girls around the room.

I sighed and then turned to the remaining group. "Well, I guess I'd better get the mop..."

~ . . * . . ~

It had been about ten minutes since I came back with the mop, and, yes, it was the old-fashioned kind that looked like a bunch of strings that you dunked into the cleaning liquid in the bucket. (Seriously, was there no such thing as Swiffer Wet-Jets here?). Everyone else had already left for home while I stayed to swab up the icing stained on the floor. Kyoya of course had to stay behind also, just to make sure I completed my work and didn't slack off.

My arms felt like lead half-way through mopping, and all I wanted to do was go home and get some rest so that I could sleep in the entire weekend. I still couldn't understand why Kyoya would even bother to blackmail Kimiko with pictures of the times she and her lackey harmed me. Was he just using the pictures as evidence to prove her guilt, or... or did he truly care for me and didn't want me getting hurt.

Typically, I would scoff at that thought, but I thought over it a couple times, I realized that Kyoya wasn't as heartless that afternoon up until he confronted Kimiko for her wrongdoing. Maybe, just maybe, Kyoya had been thinking over everything I had told him.

Releasing a sigh, I turned towards the Ootori boy at his computer. "Hey, senpai?"

"Yes?" he answered, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Look, I just wanted to say..." I trailed off as I pieced my words together. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for disrespecting you, back in January at Lobelia, and last month. It... it was uncalled for."

"Apology accepted," he answered. There was a few moments of silence, which I then continued my work until Kyoya began again: "Anything else?"

"Um, yeah..." I began lamely. "Thanks for, you know, earlier."

"My pleasure," he answered.

Why was it that whenever I wanted to talk to Kyoya, he only spoke two or three words per sentence? As I thought over what I told him, the events of him and the other hosts rescuing my from Lobelia, and then back during my date with Zuki brought up questions in my mind. First and foremost: Why did he even do it, or agreed to do it?

There was only one way to find out: "Senpai?"

"Yes, Katherine?" he answered.

I froze, realizing that that was the first time in two months that he addressed me by my name. I blushed, but glanced away hoping that he wouldn't notice. "I was just thinking about... about what happened back at Lobelia, and during my date with Kazuki..."

"And?"

I gazed up at the ceiling and then released a deep breath before turning back to him. "Why did you even do it?"

"Simple," Kyoya spoke. "If you were transferred to Lobelia, you'd have to pay off the rest of your debt some other way..."

"Can you come up with any other reasons?" I asked blandly. "Reasons that don't relate to anything about my debt or being the club's personal chef."

Kyoya paused in his work for a moment, but then began typing again, "No."

I growled at him. Something in my gut told me that was a complete lie, but I shrugged it off. "Okay... what about when you agreed to go with the other hosts to spy on me during me date? Why did you agree to do that?"

The Shadow King continued to type, as if he were ignoring me; of course, he could've been pondering more excuses. During the slight silence, I thought of my own reasons why Kyoya joined the club members. One, Tamaki forced him to (which was a possibility); two, Kyoya was doing something else downtown and just so happened to cross paths with Tamaki. (Nah, not likely); or three...

My eyes widened as I thought over the third reason. As much as I was in disbelief, I had to know the truth.

"Senpai," I began, "were you jealous of Kazuki?"

At that moment, Kyoya stopped typing. His fingers lingered, hovering above the keyboard, while his eyes remained glued to the bright screen. Moments passed, but neither of us said a word; heck, Kyoya didn't even continue his typing. I smirked, knowing that I had him caught; of course, Kyoya was a sly one, as far as I knew, so I had to be cautious of the logic he threw back at me.

After what felt like an eternity, Kyoya adjusted his glasses and continued typing. "Of course not. At the time I was engaged."

I scowled at him. "Well, it was just a thought."

"You always have 'thoughts'," Kyoya spoke, and even thought I couldn't see it, I knew his smirk lit up his face. "You have thoughts all the time, that's why your mind wanders off every once in a while-"

"ZIP IT, OOTORI! OR DO I HAVE TO SMEAR YOU IN THIS ICING?" I threatened.

The Shadow King turned to face me with that stupid smirk still on his face. "I doubt that there would be much to smear, considering the fact that it's almost cleaned up."

I gritted my teeth together and pointed the mop at him. "Wipe that smile off your face, or do I have to wipe it off for you?"

"I have two hands," Kyoya answered, turning back around. "I have full ability to wipe my own smile off if I wish."

"Smart-alec," I growled, resuming my work.

Finally! Midnight to 7 again... Well at least that's done...

So, what do you think K.C.?

K.C.: Did you throw in the HikaruxMe pairing just in this chapter?

Actually, if you read the story over a few times, you can see slight hints of Hikaru coming onto you.

K.C. *shudders*: I don't think I want to read it now...

Anyway... Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

Sneak Peak for 39:

As soon as I exited the building, I traveled out into the courtyard where I promised Kazuki I'd meet him. I was still curious about what he wanted to talk to me about; but, of course, I would find out all in due time. So many thoughts began buzzing around in my mind like a swarm of bees; actually, more like a swarm of wasps...

As soon as I reached the courtyard, there stood Kazuki underneath a weeping willow tree.

"Hey, Zuki," I spoke walked up to him. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Kazuki glanced over at me, and then back down at the ground. He sighed, and then stood straight up and glanced down at me. "Listen, K.C., I know we've been good friends for a few months now, and we've only been on one date so far. And..." he trailed off as he glanced around, while I waited patiently for him to continue. "And, I really do like you, K.C.. Not 'like you' as the friend kind, but... but the 'like you-like you' kind. What I'm trying to say is..."

Once again, Kazuki trailed off and turned away from me. Why was he acting so nervous?

After a while, Kazuki released a deep breath and then turned back to me with a warm smile, "K.C. ... will you be my girlfriend?"

Replies to the Reviews from the Last Chapter:

Shan-Shan XP: Thanks! Haha yeah. Kaito.. yeah, he's something else... I'm not much of a yaoi fan either, but he and Mori would definitely work out together!

Ogden writer: Thanks!

HarutaYari: Phew... I'm glad I didn't screw him up! Thanks! I will.

Moonlight's Shadow Warrior: Haha! You two are just too funny! But, I will consider your little scheme...

silverrain1312: Thanks! Hey, NP. OH, and congrats!

Toni Heart: Actually... no... You're probably forgetting her appearance.

Witty-Little-Readhead: Haha1 Yeah he sure is something else... Yeah Kyoya can be a real pain in the a**

i'mthenewCAKEPIG: Yeah, the twins are actually my second fav out of the bunch :3. AHH! Don't hurt me with Mister Sp00n!

AllyraMortlock: Yay! Happy day for you! It s fine, really. Nbd. Yeah, that was a much better idea with Kaito. kudos to harutayari for him ^.^. Anywayz, Haha! Yeah that would've been hilarious!

Aurora-16: It's totally fine! I still need to review your chapters thought! GAH! I'm not too good with updates either... ^.^'' Thanks! And sorry about the sneak peak, but of course, you never know what to expect when those come around. ;). Yay! Thanks!

pres1111: Lots o' drama!

Snow n' Cupcakes: Hey, no big deal! I totally understand. Especially about being sick. That's never fun...

perfect-piscies: Thanks! Updates are every weekend!