I hope you like the progression of this story
"You look very pleased," Haruhi commented, staring at her crazy friend.
Renge-chan brushed back a curl and gave her a playful smirk. Haruhi involuntarily felt shivers cascade through her body. One could never be sure what was in Renge's mind and how it could eventuate in for her. Houshakuji Renge had the habit of involving the poor commoner in her crazy antics, and Haruhi didn't have the stamina and nerves for that.
"I have talked to that fake princely type," she wiggled her eyebrows.
Haruhi decided that the fake prince was Tamaki-senpai. As she managed to deduce in her later observations of the strange host club, the members had categories and types they belonged to, to maximize the effectiveness of the host club's services. She never understood what that was supposed to mean, but Tamaki Suoh must have been the princely type. Renge-chan, of course, had her disagreements as a well-versed person in such matters, but Haruhi wanted to know none of it.
The host types were not a topic she was very much interested in, although, it was not difficult to conclude that they had the creepy type―Nekozawa Umehito, the two devils from her class―Hitachin twins, Renge-chan's sweetheart was the quiet type if there was such a thing, and his golden haired cousin must have been the cute type. A strange thought occurred to her as she was wondering what the redhead talked about with Tamaki-senpai. She wondered if Kyoya Ootori was a host club member what type he would be.
"What about?" she finally spoke, pursing her lips, waiting for the worst, as she already learnt that there couldn't be anything good that involved Tamaki-senpai and Renge-chan.
"You know how much I miss Takashi," she pouted. "I have asked Tamaki to make me the host club's manager, and he agreed."
"Oh," Haruhi nodded. "That's nice. I am glad you can spend more time now with Mori-senpai. And hopefully less time with me."
She didn't say her last sentence out loud, but she wasn't sure Renge-chan would even take it seriously if she did. She was a very lighthearted girl with crazy streaks, but Haruhi liked her regardless. She found Renge's spirit quite uplifting. She realized that some of her friends from middle school like Mei shared the same peculiar obsessiveness. She wondered if she had a thing that attracted those people or she herself was attracted to that sort.
During the second period break she headed to the host club with Renge to help her with her new responsibilities. Mori-senpai was there too, sitting in the corner, shooting awkward glances at Renge's direction. Their relationship was a very amusing one to follow. There was some peculiarity that both of them shared. They say polar opposites attract, this was a concrete example of it, as there was no man less opposite of bubbly Renge than Mori-senpai.
When she was done helping, she walked back to the classroom, leaving Renge-chan alone with the silent guy. They had some sparkles pass through them, and she figured they wouldn't fancy her presence. She had left her bag in her locker and needed to grab it before she would head to her class. To Haruhi's surprise, there was no bag inside when she opened the door. She was surprised and didn't even have time to panic that all her money for the week was inside her wallet in that stupid bag. How could have her bag just disappeared like that?
She closed the door and looked around frustrated. Did she leave it in the Host Club? Maybe, she was so busy listening to Renge-chan that had forgotten completely about leaving her bag in the locker before going to the third Music Room. She sighed and decided to go back to check the club just in case it was there, but before she could leave the corridor something got her eye's attention through the window. The fountain bellow had a lot of random things floating in it. She was surprised to see books and notebooks and wondered who was upset enough to throw their bag... bag!
She rushed down the stairs. It was her bag in the fountain. But how did it even get there? A lot thoughts passed through her head and she couldn't say that any of them made her happier. Her locker was broken, but this was a nice school and students couldn't have done that. At least, she hoped so. Yes, her richer classmates didn't treat her with much respect but to be truthful they mostly ignored her and weren't very interested in her.
The winter air had chilled the water in the pool and darkened in colour. She tried to reach her bag and the books that had fallen out of it and were floating on the surface of the water, but they were far in the middle. She had to take out her shoes and socks to step into the water and go closer to them. She touched the water with her bare hands and her body prickled in anticipation. Haruhi sighed and undid the laces of her shoes.
When she stepped into the water, her body momentary was shocked and it was as if the cold burnt her. She winced uncomfortably, but continued to walk forward. Her bag was empty everything was in the fountain as if someone deliberately shook the contents of it into the waters and then dropped it there as well. She took out couple of her textbooks and pens from the water, but her wallet was missing. The cold of the water was becoming unbearable.
"What are you doing?" she heard a familiar voice, turned around startled.
"Oh, Kyoya-senpai," she said with a sigh, "my bag fell into the pool, and now I am trying to find my wallet."
Kyoya stared at the retrieved items on the flat surface of the pool and nodded. He was surprised to find her barefoot in the water. Wasn't she cold? She was supposed to feel the cold unlike him. Her bag and books were wet.
"Your textbooks are ruined," he commented. "Don't you think it's waste of time to spend in the freezing water trying to find things?"
"I can't," she shook her head frustrated. "The entire weeks of money is in my wallet."
She splashed the water, trying to place the wanted object and walked away closer to the center. He noticed how her body trembled in cold.
"How did it even get there?" he asked, curling his brows.
"I don't know," she said without looking up at him. "I thought I left it in my locker."
Kyoya looked up towards the Ouran high school. In front of them stood proudly the crazy building styled in the best traditions of Renaissance era, coloured in tender pink. The window above was closed. But Kyoya noticed someone standing there and secretly watching them. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, wondering who it could have been, but the figure quickly left, worried perhaps to be caught staring. He turned towards the quivering girl when heard her low gasp. She was very cold. Kyoya leaned down to take his shoes and socks.
"What are you doing, senpai?" Haruhi looked at him in disbelief. "The water is very cold."
"I don't feel cold," he smiled and stepped into the water. "I can't feel cold."
She looked at him stricken by his unexpected answer. Her short hair was waving as the winter breeze passed through its chocolate strands. Her fresh smell flew towards him, and Kyoya closed his eyes and hastily breathed in the air coated with her aroma. There was something extremely disturbing for him to feel so attracted to another person's scent and he caught himself at this thought frequently since he met the girl.
"How much money did you have in it?" he asked curiously.
"8000yen," she said. "All my grocery money for the week."
He thought for a short second to offer her that much money, so she would walk out of the cold water. He even thought he could explain his offer by pointing how she gave him food with nothing in return. But the idea suddenly seemed very ugly. He knew what she would think if he suggested such a thing. After all, once blood was priceless in some sense. He nodded and sloshed the water around. He stepped on something hard suddenly. He knelt down and grabbed it. The wallet leaked of cold water, and everything inside was wet. The front had her picture, and he stared at her for a second. Her hair was slightly longer in the photo.
"I have found it," he said, waving the item. "You should come out of water before you get cold."
Her face brightened up seeing her wallet. "Thank you, senpai," she said with a smile.
She was shaking like a leaf by the time they walked out of the pool. Her teeth were chattering and clicking. "How come you are not cold!" she said almost like a complain.
"I don't know," he said. "I am not very sensitive to temperature. I guess it's just a side affect."
"Do you have any good side affects?" she smiled putting her shoes on.
He sighed. "What sickness does have a positive side effect!?"
"I am sorry," the smile faltered and faded. "I just don't think sometimes that this is a real struggle for you."
He didn't respond. He gave her the wallet. "Do you have a class now?" he asked, looking around.
"Yes," she sighed. "I think I am late for it. I will also have to explain why my books are wet. I guess I need to hurry."
She walked towards the school, leaving Kyoya behind. He looked after her and then up at the window where he spotted the person. How could have her bag been floating in the fountain if someone didn't throw it there? He was almost certain that the person was watching how she was searching for her belongings and fishing them from water. Whoever that was, Kyoya was confident, was a pretty sick person. He frowned and walked up to the school. She didn't seem like a person to offend anyone. Haruhi Fujioka was a nice girl. Someone, though, didn't like her, and he wanted to know who that someone was.
His steps took her to the section of the school where the lockers for the first-year students were located. He looked around. There was no one. He looked up and noticed a security camera. A playful, almost threatening smile appeared on his lips. Technology was a nice thing, he always said to himself. He would find out who was the prick who had thrown the girl's bag into the fountain. He fixed the glasses on his nose and walked to the cafeteria. The smell inside was heavy. Everyone had just eaten and Kyoya couldn't say he liked what he smelled. He wrinkled his nose and went to buy a cup of hot coffee.
The coffee in his hand, he headed towards the security camera room on the last floor. When he knocked at the door and opened it a plump, middle-aged man stood up immediately surprised and stared at him quizzically. Kyoya politely bowed and walked in.
"Good afternoon, sir," he said with a pleasant expression on his face. If not the fear of him exposing his fangs, he would have smiled fully. "I am sorry that I am interrupting your very important work, but unfortunately I have lost an item in the second floor, near the locker rooms."
"Oh," the man nodded. "You want me to find the person?"
"No," Kyoya shook his head. "I have noticed there are security cameras there. I just want to see who took it, so I can approach them. I am sure they want to return whatever they have taken."
"That would be easy," the man got up. "Was it today?"
"Yes around twelve, I think," Kyoya said, giving the man the most worried look as if he was very concerned about having his item lost.
"Yes," the security guy started to search for the video archived. "I will take a few minutes to look this through."
"You are working really hard, sir," Kyoya smiled and stretched him the coffee cup. "I am sure you didn't even have time to have coffee, and it must be very stressful to sit here the entire day and make sure we all are safe."
He had seen the man a few times. He always looked tired and had circles under his eyes. Only he never bought coffee in the cafeteria. It must have been too overpriced for him to afford. The man stared at the coffee cup, and small twinkles appeared in his eyes. "Thank you," he said, taking the cup. The corner of Kyoya's lips went up in triumph, and he walked closer.
"I think I can look up the file myself," he suggested. "You can just drink your coffee and have a few minutes of deserved break."
The man was a little confused by his words and pleasantness but got up from his seat regardless, leaving Kyoya alone with the computer. When the man went a little away, Kyoya stuck his USB into the computer. He went through the files quickly and found the footage. Kyoya looked around to make sure he was alone and then played the file. His eyes widened when he spotted Ayanakoji Seika walking to Haruhi's locker, opening the door and then taking out her bag.
He pushed the pause button and stared at the screen. He remembered the girl's low voice from the Host Club winter ball, and his body shuddered with disgust as the memory of her words came to his mind. Why was she doing this? Was there any reason for this pampered girl to treat the honour student like that? He heard the footsteps of the guard and quickly copied the file into his USB flash drive. He stood up, taking his own bag.
"All well," the guard grinned satisfied and relaxed, the smell of coffee stuck on his breath.
Kyoya bowed politely. "Yes," he said with a pleasant expression on his face. "I have found who I was looking for. I am sure they will want me to return the favour."
During his classes, he contemplated a lot. He was certain that he wanted to take action, only what kind, he didn't decide. Surely, the girl didn't think she could get away with this kind of things just because her victim was a girl of more humble background. He couldn't just let things slide. She needed to be warned. He didn't want to get too far away either. Everything should have been discreet, subtle. He loved things done elegantly and especially handling things like this.
"Thinking about Renge-chan," Tamaki Suoh said, sitting in front of him when the class ended.
"Yes," Kyoya said harshly. "If that makes you happy, I am thinking about her."
"I knew it," chairman's daft son smiled. "But seems like she is in love with Mori-senpai."
"How unfortunate," Kyoya mocked. "I suppose now you will stop talking about her, Suoh-san. You don't want to make either of us uncomfortable."
"Are you giving up so easily?" the blonde frowned.
Kyoya was sure that if there was one person to make him lose his iron temper that would be this oaf, sitting in front of him. His head was full of romance and love and friendship, and that annoyed him so much. "Suoh-san, I already told you several times that Houshakuji-san is not in my taste. I don't like loud, obnoxious women. And I prefer brunettes. So please for the love of God, don't talk about her anymore."
"Then who do you like?" Tamaki's question surprised him.
It created havoc in Kyoya's mind. A few answers came to mind that surprised him, and he dismissed them as soon as they appeared.
"Currently no one," he said with a frustrated sigh. "I will make sure you know once I start liking someone."
Tamaki gave him a doubtful look as if he was sure Kyoya was lying, but the raven-haired man had no time and patience to care. The blonde continued to pester him with questions, and Kyoya did his best to remain calm and respectful. By the end of classes, the youngest Ootori had a headache of his life. He never thought anyone could have exhausted him that much, but Tamaki Suoh managed to do the impossible.
He needed to catch Ayanakoji Seika alone. He didn't want to attract everyone's attention when he would confront her, and he planned to confront her. So Kyoya was very pleased to see the girl outside the Ouran high school gates alone after classes. She was looking around with impatience and checking her phone. She must have been waiting for her driver to come and pick her up. It was the perfect opportunity Kyoya couldn't ask for. He took out his cellphone and walked closer to the girl.
"Good day, Ayanakoji-san," he greeted politely.
The girl turned to him with surprise but smiled pleasantly. "Kyoya-sama," she brushed back a curl.
"It is quite cold, isn't it?" Kyoya said, looking at her and attempted to smile without showing his teeth.
"Yes," the girl agreed and then whined angrily. "My driver is late. I think I should speak about this with my father."
"It must have been colder for Fujioka-san then," Kyoya said, staring into the girl's eyes. "Someone had thrown her schoolbag into the frozen pool, and she had to step into the cold water to get her belongings back."
Ayanakoji blinked suspiciously and then grimaced. "Commoners in a prestigious school like Ouran don't have a place. She should have realized that long time ago before poking her nose into our school. I suppose people didn't like her being a student here."
"People who don't like other people for lack of wealth and status are petty," Kyoya said calmly. "Only classless and disgraceful people feel threatened by the presence of others who they think stand lower than them. Don't you agree, Ayanakoji-san."
The girl's face bleached, and she stared at Kyoya in disbelief. She shifted uncomfortably, staring at the road as if hoping that her car will appear and remove her from the awkward situation she found herself in.
"People of noble upbringing would deem it improper to bully others regardless of their status," Kyoya sighed. "I am sure you agree."
"Of course," she said hesitantly and cleaned her throat.
"Then I am sure you will apologize to Fujioka-san for throwing her bag into the pool," Kyoya curled his lips upwards.
"What? Why should I do that?"
"Didn't you know that the walls even have eyes? I am sure you don't want me to show this footage," he turned his phone, playing the video from the security cameras, "to Suoh-san. I mean he thinks of you so highly. You wouldn't want him to be upset knowing that you are not that graceful, after all."
"Are you threatening me?"
"Not at all! I am just asking you to do what you are supposed to do, apologize for your misconduct, Ayanakoji-san."
"I can't believe you are defending that dirty commoner," the girl huffed.
"You might have forgotten, but I am still a member of the Ouran high school's disciplinary board. I won't allow another student to get harassed and neglect my duties. And if you keep doing what you did, I will have to take this case to the board president's review and then even to the school chairman himself."
The girl bleached even more and then sticking her nose up, walked away without saying anything.
A/N-I hope you like how this story progressed and it doesn't make you bored. Please leave me your thoughts and tell me if you like the chapter. As this is AU I have re-positioned some of the events from the canon and I hope you don't mind.