I did not have a crush on Mori.

First and foremost, I was too old to develop a crush. I thought he was attractive, of course, but did that warrant a crush? Of course not. My brothers thought a ton of girls were attractive but did they crush on those girls? Nope. Besides, the entire Host Club were attractive in their own ways. Wasn't that the point of the Club? Attractive boys with too much time on their hands?

Tamaki was attractive, did that mean I had some sort of crush on him? Of course not. But then again, I frowned distastefully, Tamaki was a complete moron and that took away from his attractiveness. I tapped my fingers against my chin in thought. Kyoya was very attractive...but he was also very evil. I mentally crossed him off the list without a second thought. Attractive or not, he was Satan in disguise.

Kaoru and Hikaru were cute. Until they opened their mouths or started their silly incestious act. And how in the world was that appealing to anyone? Japanese girls had the oddest taste and the fact that they were so eager to play their relationship up like that took away from their appeal, in my opinion.

Now that just left Honey, Haruhi and Mori. Haruhi was obviously cute but seeing as how Haruhi was actually a 'she' and not a 'he', her attractiveness to me became moot. Honey was obviously cute but he physically looked six or seven and well...that's not exactly my cup of tea either.

Which left Mori.

I couldn't really find anything wrong with Mori like I could with the other Host members. He wasn't a total moron like Tamaki nor was he completely evil like Kyoya. His relationship with Honey didn't physically repulse me and he wasn't masquerading as the opposite gender like Haruhi. There wasn't much that was wrong with Mori. Well, I suppose he did have his faults, everyone did. No one was perfect but his imperfections weren't as obvious as everyone else's and perhaps that's what intimidated me. And his perpetual silence. The fact that I couldn't easily read him added to his intimidation.

But just because I thought he was handsome and wasn't psychotic like everyone else didn't mean I had a crush on him. I just enjoyed his company because he didn't make me want to smack the living Hell out of him. I mean, I didn't want to smack Honey or Haruhi either but...that's the besides the point.

The point is, I don't have a crush on Mori.

"Are you alright?"

Chihiro peered down at me from the kitchen doorway. I blinked twice and looked up at her, not realizing that I'd zoned out. She approached me carefully, settling down at the island without being invited. "Is that homework?" She asked curiously, emerald eyes scanning the messy counter full of my notes, homework and a textbook borrowed from Ouran's library.

"Unfortunately," I sniffed tonelessly, reaching for the bowl of fresh fruit left by Aimi. Honey was relentless once I revealed my love for macaroons and anything coffee-flavored. I found myself ducking and dodging him practically throwing treats at my face. Haruhi and Mori tried their best to dissuade him from doing so but apparently Honey was quite stubborn. He also had impeccable aim. I steadily avoided the scale just waiting to mock my weight gain in my bathroom.

"Perhaps a tutor if you're struggling?" Chihiro prompted, sliding my textbook towards her. "Oh, history. I thought you loved history."

I picked up my pencil to roll in between my fingers. "I do," I tried hard not to pout. "Italian history. Japanese history is completely different."

Chihiro made a humming noise but she seemed distracted. She was staring blankly at the textbook but her eyes weren't moving. That caused me to frown, Chihiro didn't space out a lot. "Aunty?" I prompted gently, watching as she blinked hard. "Are you alright?"

"I...well…" Chihiro trailed off, drumming her fingers against the textbook. I watched her before reaching over to place my hand over hers. For as long as I've known Chihiro, she's never really been one to space out like this. I tilted my head to her, smiling softly in hopes of reassuring her that whatever was bothering her was going to be okay. "Your Uncle Takuma is becoming very...volatile…"

My smile dropped at the mention of Takuma. I've never met the man in person but mama talked about him once or twice. He didn't sound like the nicest man around and if I recalled right, he didn't think highly of my father or my mixed bloodline. He was a racist bigot and mama had cut all ties with him"What's he so angry about?" I tried to ask casually, stabbing at a sliced honeydew. I had a feeling I knew what he was so angry about but a small part of me wished it was something else.

Chihiro slouched forward, balancing her chin in her palm. Takuma's temper tantrums must really be wearing her down. Chihiro wasn't one for slouching. I remembered hearing stories of Fumiko's horrid etiquette lessons while growing up. She used to whine and groan about Chihiro obsessing over her posture. I didn't go through the same thing, my father never seeing the use for it. But I did receive some lessons. Mama insisted as Dad climbed through the ranks of high society. 'They'll eat you alive, Al. I know it seems silly but the rich are the same, whether it's Japanese high society or Italian. Your children need to know at least the basics of etiquette.'

My brothers weren't really fond of them but I didn't mind them so much. We understood why it was so important to come off as prim and proper. Papa was a businessman and no one would want to do business with a man with rowdy children. It wasn't good for image. Sure, we weren't perfect, but we behaved much better than our cousins.

"He's angry that you've come to Japan for a year," Chihiro sighed, eyes closed. "Shinobu sees something in you that's not in Fumi or Katsu. I see it too. I know how much you want to rebel against it, you're so much like your mother in that sense. So rebellious."

I felt my shoulders stiffen. "I have nothing to do with this company, Aunty. I don't want to someday inherit a business I had no part of."

"Your mother has sheltered you from her former lifestyle."

"What use would she have of it if it's a former lifestyle?"

"Wait until Shinobu hears that sharp tongue of yours. Although it's no surprise since you are Masami's daughter," Chihiro was muttering now, all etiquette lessons be damned. I took the time to study my aunt, frowning all the while.

I remember once hearing that my Mama was described as a sophisticated beauty when she was a teenager. Her beauty had aged like fine wine and now she was described as an elegant beauty. Chihiro, on the other hand, had more of a soft beauty when she was a teenager. Bright-eyed and cheerful, she had been somewhat of a party girl. The life of the party, Mama had once described her sister. But that changed when Mama hid in Italy.

You never really think of the repercussions when making a choice between your happiness and obligations.

Mama was born and bred to run Morimoto Industrial while Chihiro and Takuma were mostly free to do what they liked, as long as it was appropriate in high society. But then Mama was gone and she wasn't coming back. The responsibility of Morimoto fell to Chihiro, a bright-eyed party girl with no idea how to run a multi-billion dollar company. She was no longer bright-eyed and her soft beauty had waned into something...tired. Chihiro was every bit as beautiful as my Mama but it was just...a tired beauty.

I wondered if that was my future, Fumiko's future. Was I willing to do what my mother did to her sister? Saddle her with a burden that was never meant for her? Did that mean it was my burden? If Mama had stayed in Japan, the burden of Morimoto Industrial would have been mine, rightfully so.

"He insists that you go back to where you came from," Chihiro continued with a disgraced frown. "What an idiot. You have every and any right to live in Japan as long as you like, Izzy. You are Italian but you are also Japanese. Don't forget that," Chihiro reminded me in a gentle tone. A small of part of me relaxed at Chihiro's words, that despite not living here, I still had a place in Chihiro's home. It was nice to be fully accepted by my aunt.

But then the rational side of me quickly slapped the thought away. It didn't matter if I had a place here or not. I was only in Japan until the school year ended, until I graduated. Then I would be on the first flight back to Venice with my family with the intentions of going to a top-notch university that my Papa would pick.

Morimoto Industrial could figure out who would eventually take over without even considering me.

"My, you really are bad at Japanese History," Chihiro hummed thoughtlessly, eyes roving over my homework and my notes. "You only got two answers right. Perhaps a tutor would be best, yes?"

I let out a loud groan and dropped my head to the table.

"This isn't the right book," I muttered sourly while stepping into the freakishly large library Ouran had to offer. The library was probably the one thing Ouran offered that pleased me. I loved reading and as my eyes swept over the rows and rows of books, my heart fluttered in anticipation. But that wasn't important right now. What's important is that I borrowed the wrong book. No wonder my homework was wrong. If it hadn't been for Chihiro, I wouldn't have realized my mistake. Luckily my history class was the one of the last classes of the day. I just had to find the right textbook and use my lunch period to correct my mistakes.

There wasn't many students in the library but that didn't surprise me. Who'd spend their lunch period surrounded by books. It didn't bother me either, I preferred being left alone. I moved towards the History section, eyes scoping for the right textbook this time. I grabbed the second edition instead of the third edition. No wonder all my answers were incorrect.

"Berry-chan!" Honey suddenly came bounding up to me. I turned at him, readied for a macaroon to hit me in the face. Luckily he wasn't armed with any treats for now. That didn't stop him from throwing himself at me. Somehow he didn't completely bowl me over and I managed to catch him awkwardly with one arm while still holding the heavy textbook. I shifted the book to balance against my forearm.

"Honey-chan," I greeted in a more calm voice. I clutched at his back, trying hard to hold him against my waist. He clung to my waist, wrinkling the fine yellow fabric. "It's lunch time, what in the world are you doing in here?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

And if Honey was here...that meant…

Mori was suddenly there, swiftly plucking the heavy textbook from my arm. Instantly I reached forward to grab more securely at Honey with my freed arm. "Thank you, Mori," I nodded absently as Honey's face readjusted to press into my stomach rather than my waist.

"Haru-chan needed some books," Honey stated in that bright tone of his. That didn't really explain why Mori and Honey were here as well. But I took a glance at Mori and noted a pile of books in his hands, now with my textbook at the top.

"I see. And where's the rest of your merry band of idiots?" I asked, wondering how long Honey would hang from my waist. I might have imagined it but I swear Mori snorted at my words. When I looked at him again, his face remained a blank slate.

"Haru-chan said they would only get in the way," Honey continued brightly, not at all bothered by my insults. I nodded along to his words and shuddered at the thought of the rest of the Host Club in the library. "What about you, Berry-chan?"

"Ah, oh, well.." I trailed off, feeling a little embarrassed for my reasoning. "I may have checked out the wrong textbook for the history homework. I came to get the right textbook and correct my homework before class."

Mori glanced down at my textbook. "Third Edition," He rumbled with what I could only assume was a bit of mirth. I instantly flushed under his gaze and looked away.

"Yes, yes, I realized that now," I huffed with a small smile. I would've folded my arms across my chest if I hadn't been holding Honey up. Speaking of which, I looked down at the loli-shota. "Honey-chan, would you please get down now? I really must find that textbook and correct my homework."

Honey dropped from my waist with a pout but I offered a smile. I ran my hands over my dress, smoothing out the wrinkles his hug created. "Izzy-senpai," Haruhi approached, holding a two books with a small smile. "Studying?" She prompted, placing the books down on a nearby table. Mori followed suit, placing the pile of books down as well.

"No, just correcting some homework," I shrugged carelessly. "I had the wrong textbook," I explained shortly, narrowing my eyes when she chuckled. "Oh sure, laugh at the foreign Italian girl," I sniffed, folding my arms across my chest.

"You're half," Haruhi reminded me ironically. She continued to smile and I shrugged again while waving her off. I looked at her assortments of books, not realizing that my textbook was missing from the pile. "I have to maintain my grades if I want to stay on the scholarship," Haruhi explained, taking notice of my stare.

"My, my," I murmured softly. "I'm sure you manage quite well even without all this extra studying," I said carefully. Haruhi had to be only sixteen, fifteen at the least. I think one of the twins mentioned that she was always studying. It seemed unfair that the other students were so frivolous and barely had to make an effort to stay enrolled in this ridiculous school while Haruhi seemingly spent a lot of time studying to maintain her enrollment.

Haruhi shrugged a shoulder. "It keeps me busy," She returned very simply. I frowned down at her, lifting my hand to settle my chin in the curve of my palm. My eyebrows furrowed and I know I didn't look that convinced since Haruhi looked a little sheepish.

"Berry-chan looks like Haru-chan's big sister, ne Takashi?"

I blinked, slightly embarrassed that I'd been caught worrying over Haruhi. I barely knew the girl. What she did in her free time had nothing to do with me. She could study until her eyeballs fell out of her head. It had nothing to do with me.

"Ah," Mori nodded, now armed with a heavy textbook. I quirked an eyebrow at him but said nothing else.

"You can be very…" Haruhi took a moment to think of a word. "Sisterly," She decided with a kind smile. "You're like a big sister."

"Ironic since I'm the baby sister in my family," I mused even though the idea made me very uncomfortable. I turned away, avoiding Haruhi's gaze and noticed that Mori was carrying the very textbook that I needed. I made a small noise of content. "The bane of my existence," I commented, hoping to steer the conversation away. I tried not to blush when I realized Mori retrieved the textbook while I spoke to Haruhi.

"I'm terrible at Japanese History," I muttered, holding out my hands for the book. "Thank you for getting it for me, I really appreciate it," I tried to say in a controlled manner. Mori seemed like a nice person willing to help anyone he came across. It wasn't like I was special or anything. We barely even knew each other.

God I hated this guy.

"You're having trouble with History?" Haruhi prompted before I could make an escape. Damn it, Haruhi. I could act like I hadn't heard her but then that would be rude, wouldn't it? Besides, I'm the one who muttered that I was no good at it. Jesus, I should have just thanked Mori and went on my merry way.

I smiled weakly at her. "Well, somewhat, yes. I've only ever learned Italian History. I had somewhat of a crash course of Japanese History since my parents figured I would struggle the most but…" I trailed off, sighing sullenly. "I'm having a harder time than I originally thought. My aunt suggested a tutor…" I flushed, mentally scolding myself for rambling like that. I blamed it on Haruhi, something about her made you want to be sincere with her. I wondered if she knew she had the effect on people.

Haruhi nodded slowly although I doubt she really understood my problem. It's not like she had to learn Italian History and maintain steady grades to keep in her class. She just had to maintain her grades. She's been doing well so far, it seemed like. And on top of that, she was only a first-year.

"Perhaps Mori-senpai can tutor you?"

I made a weird noise in my throat, "ah?"

But Haruhi didn't seem to notice or even care. "He's really good at History and I'm sure he could help you out," She said with a thoughtful look. I only stared back at her, willing her to shut the hell up. Yuna tried to suggest the very same thing but I remembered the conversation veering off into disbelief about the fact that there was a published character bio for the Host Club.

"Oh," I laughed nervously and pulled the textbook to my chest, hugging it tightly like it was a lifeline. "Oh, that won't be necessary," I continued to laugh nervously, avoiding all and any eye contact with Mori. "I'm sure he's quite busy with the Host Club, his own studies and any other interests he has. I'd hate to take up any of his time."

Honey fisted his hand in my dress, tugging at the material. My dress was going to become a wrinkled rag by the time Honey was through with me. "Takashi wouldn't mind, Berry-chan," He insisted cutely, reminding me of cherub. In the back of my mind, I wondered why Honey was so small. Maybe it was bone-deficiency? Why wasn't anyone else concerned about his stunted growth?

"Yes, well, how do you know that?" I asked with raised eyebrows. "You're volunteering him but haven't asked if he's even opened to such things," I admonished both of them for being so thoughtless. I think it was a running trait shared by all the Host members. Haruhi made a face, probably realizing the same thing.

With that being said, the three of us turned to see Mori's reaction. He remained stoic, arms folded simply against his chest. "It's fine," He shrugged a shoulder. I almost threw my head back and groaned. Instead I smiled very tightly and uttered yet another nervous laugh. Somebody needed to stop me, for heaven's sake. I'm surprised no one commented on all my skittish laughter.

"I'd rather not bother you."

"It's not a bother."

For Christ's sake!

I reached up to scratch at the back of my head. "Of course it's not," I muttered quietly. "But..now isn't a good time since I need to do the homework," I held up the textbook. "Thank you very much for finding the textbook, it was very kind of you, Mori," I backed away from the three of them with a strained smile.

Mori nodded but Haruhi was the one who spoke up. "Izzy-senpai is right," She nodded, ruffling her short locks. She really made for a cute boy so I guess I could somewhat understand how they were able to fool the female population. "We should leave her alone."

Honey pouted but nodded slowly. His grip on my dress, however, tightened. "Berry-chan, you'll come to Club today, won't you?"

I felt my smile twitch and froze in my spot. I did tell them to try asking me to join them for club instead of threatening them, hadn't I? What's more is that Honey asked me. I couldn't say no to that face, could I? I could if I didn't care about his feelings and honestly, the last thing I wanted was to hurt Honey's feelings. If it had been Tamaki, I would have done so relentlessly. But Honey? Well, he was a sweetheart with a face of a bunny and even I wasn't that heartless.

"Sure, Honey-chan, why not?" I sighed heavily, shoulders sagging. I decided not to point out Haruhi's smug expression. "I'll see you later then," I took my leave as soon as Honey released his grip of my dress. I absently smoothed the wrinkle away as I retreated first.

Great.

"Giovanni-hime, what a surprise," Kyoya greeted me first when I stepped into their Hosting room along with Fumiko, Yuna and Ayame after classes ended for the day. The three of them had been surprised that I followed along after them, wondering out loud who managed to get me to attend Club that day. I mostly ignored their loud babbling. Interestingly enough, once Kyoya greeted me, they all simmered down quietly. I glanced down at them and took note that they were blushing and gently whispering back and forth among each other.

If their whispering bothered Kyoya, he didn't show it. Of course, a lot of things probably didn't bother him. I folded my arms across my chest and feigned indifference. "Honey-chan asked me to come," I replied smoothly, shrugging my shoulders.

"I suppose there are some things you simply can't say no to," He commented with a small smile. It was entirely fake but it riled any girl close enough to us up. I only eyed my friends with raised eyebrows before slightly shaking my head. I suppose even they were foolish enough to fall for that bogus smile.

"Well, it's not like he kidnapped me," I replied flippantly. For a brief moment, I watched as Kyoya's glasses glinted ominously and his bogus smile faltered. I nearly grinned but managed to control the smugness that wanted to leak out through my mouth. "Oh, Haruhi!" I noticed the short brunette. "I'll designate him for the day, Ootori," I broke off from my friends before anyone could say anything else.

"What did you do to Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi asked as soon as I got close enough. She seemed to have watched the exchange but hadn't been close enough to actually hear it.

I smiled innocently, "nothing."

"Whatever it was, you'll pay for it."

"You're probably right," I agreed easily while sitting down. The girls cluttered together on the single couch across from Haruhi were most likely in her year, so I didn't know their names. They quickly revealed themselves to be Watanabe Hanako, Yukishiro Tomoka and Takane Mei and they seemed like nice girls but I didn't think too highly of them, given their interests. But who am I to judge? I'm sitting here as well, entertaining this whacked out fiasco so what does that say about my character?

I can't possibly say what Haruhi and her trio of oblivious girls spoke about during the duration of the Hosting hour. I mostly spaced out, making comments at the right time but I really had no idea what the four of them spoke about. It probably had to do with Haruhi's 'commoner' status. It seemed that the high society of Ouran couldn't really believe Haruhi somehow survived with her abysmal means.

And really, why didn't that offend her? To my understanding, Haruhi wasn't actually poor. She wasn't well-off like the rest of us but she wasn't dirt poor. My grandparents weren't as nearly well-off as my Father and his siblings but they didn't go around calling them commoners. Well, mostly because Nonna Serafina wouldn't have it. I suppose the students of Ouran were just rude like that.

"How are you liking Japan so far, Giovanni-senpai?" Takane Mei suddenly asked, breaking me from my wandering thoughts. My gaze strayed back to her, studying her for a quick moment. She was smiling politely but her eyes were quite guarded. I guess as the foreign student, everyone was going to always ask me that same, tired, question.

"It's quite fine," I answered in a polite tone. "It's..different but nothing I can't handle getting used to," I continued. I'd rather not get used to Japan and it's strange ways. It's only been about three weeks since I've arrived and somehow I managed to get tangled up within the Host Club. They had to be the weirdest group I've ever encountered in my life.

"Have you become quite close with Haruhi-kun, Honey-chan and Mori-senpai?" Yukishiro asked next, dark brown curls bouncing as she leaned forward. I only blinked at her, wondering where in the world she got an idea like that from. They couldn't know about Sunday, could they? The last thing I needed was any of these girls finding out about that. If Kaoru and Hikaru opened those fat mouths of theirs, I was going to hit them again.

"Oh, you must mean in the library today," Haruhi seemingly perked up, probably thinking the girls found out about the forced friendship. I doubt these girls would take too kindly to a random foreigner becoming 'close' with their obsessions. Nevermind I wanted nothing to do with the group as a whole. I barely wanted anything to do with the reasonable members of the group.

I frowned at Yukishiro. Did that mean she'd been spying on us? I mean, we were out in the open of the library but were having a pretty private conversation. I don't remember seeing the girl but then again, I hadn't been looking out for any girls watching the four of us. It didn't really surprise me but it was a little disturbing knowing she'd been watching us.

But you know what? I wasn't even surprised. These girls were psychos after all, lusting after moronic psychos. Good Lord, I missed the normality of Italy.

"Mori-senpai was helping me to get some books," Haruhi began to explain with that award-winning smile of hers. "Ironically, Giovanni-senpai also needed help locating a textbook. Mori-senpai helped her out and Honey-senpai convinced her to join Club for the day."

The girls 'oh' simultaneously and heave an almost heavy sigh of relief. I almost tell them that it's kind of creepy for them to be so intuned with one another. And why should Haruhi explain our time in the library anyway? Did they think we were having some weird romantic rendezvous in the library? That would make me somewhat of a floozy, wouldn't it?

That's just rude.

Were they all under the impression that I was some hot-blooded floozy, intent on stealing their idols away one by one? Perhaps it wasn't just Hisa who had the odd misconception that as an Italian girl, I was flirtatious and provocative.

Well that isn't nice at all.

It's not like I came off that way. For the most part, I was pretty quiet and to myself. It's not like I actually flirted with any of the Host members. I did the exact opposite and tried to avoid them as much as I could and yet I still found myself in their company more often than not. And what's worse is that these girls probably thought I sought them out, not the other way around.

I tried not to roll my eyes.

"Well, Mori-senpai is kind like that…" Watanabe trailed off with a dazed smiled.

Yes..so damn kind.

End P.O.V

Izzy wasn't all that surprised when she was barred from leaving the Host Club after hosting hours ended. Kaoru and Hikaru snuck up from behind her and placed their hands on her shoulders, forcing her back to the couch. To their surprise, she didn't actually fight them off. Instead she tilted her head back, locks of toffee and blonde spilling backwards as her eyes landed on them. She leveled them with a blank gaze, one that told them that she really wasn't in the mood for their shenanigans. But then again, she never was in the mood.

Kyoya fed Fumiko, Yuna and Ayame some deceitful lie about why she had to stay behind again. Luckily they worshipped Kyoya just enough to believe whatever lie he spouted out. He could say that Izzy was a fabled mermaid and they'd believe him.

All the more reason to believe he was actually the Devil in disguise.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the gaze of a dead shark?" Hikaru asked with a rather bright smile, despite the severity of his words. Izzy's gaze shifted to rest solely on him, one brow quirked.

"Yes. Many times, actually," Izzy replied coolly, seemingly unaffected. Most girls wouldn't take kindly to being told they had the gaze of a dead shark. Izzy was definitely an odd one. "Now get off of me, you're wrinkling my dress," She waved both him and Kaoru away. Satisfied that she wouldn't run off the minute she got the chance, they released their grip on her shoulders.

"Giovanni-hime," Tamaki came bounding over. Izzy decided against scolding him about that silly nickname. At this point, he was just doing it to get under her skin. "It's come to our attention that you're a musical prodigy."

"I don't see what that has to with anything. I wouldn't call myself a prodigy in anything."

"It says so in your records."

"I feel like that's an invasion of privacy."

They looked towards Kyoya but he didn't see the need to give them an actual answer to her statement. He only smiled, very slowly and very deliberately. Izzy rolled her eyes but said nothing else. "Even so," Tamaki continued on, ignoring her obvious distaste. "We're having a Host's Ball," He explained very shortly. Izzy only raised her eyebrows, somewhat knowing where the conversation was going but hoping she was wrong. "And we would greatly appreciate it if you would lend your musical talents."

Izzy didn't immediately react. In fact, she simply stared at Tamaki for a long, silent moment. She slowly raised her hand, smirking when Tamaki flinched slightly, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You mean to tell me you can't just hire someone to play music at your silly ball? I'm sure money is no option," Izzy dropped her hand from her face only to stubbornly fold her arms across her chest.

"While that may be true in a regular situation, we do have a budget to maintain," Kyoya answered before Tamaki could. Izzy only blinked her hazel brown eyes at him, slightly impressed that he seemed to literally have an answer for every one of her questions.

"So I suppose I'll do this for free then?"

"You would expect payment, Giovanni-hime?"

Izzy rolled her eyes and shook her head. Of course she wouldn't expect payment. What kind of girl did he take her for? She wondered if Kyoya dealt with everything like it was a business deal. That couldn't be a healthy way to live and she wondered how his friends could put up with it. "No, I'm not some businesswoman you have to strike a deal with, you know. I'm a regular seventeen year old girl. Why don't you just try asking?" Izzy asked with a pleasant tone, ignoring Hikaru and Kaoru's blank expression.

"Really?" Tamaki tilted his head to the side. "In that case...would you please lend us your talents for our Host's Ball, Giovanni-hime?" Tamaki asked with that princely flare he was known for. Usually that was all it took to get a girl to agree to whatever nonsense he was spouting but Izzy was a particularly odd girl.

Izzy smiled so sweetly, Tamaki was sure she would agree. "Well, since you asked me like a regular human being," She began in a cheerful voice with a smile to match. "Of course my answer would be no."

For some reason she couldn't quite decipher, her answer caught Tamaki severely off guard. Hadn't she done the same to the twins? Lured them into a false sense of security with a smile only to refuse them? Why would Tamaki be any different? Izzy watched in amusement as Tamaki seemed to just shatter from her refusal and moped towards a corner of the room. The corner of the room suddenly darkened and Izzy wasn't positive but she was sure gloomy mushrooms began to grow and surround him. No one really seemed to care except Haruhi. "I thought I told you to stop growing mushrooms in this corner, Senpai," Haruhi tutted as she bent over him, hands resting on her knees. "At least she didn't hurt you like when she knocked the twins' heads together. Get a hold of yourself."

Izzy wasn't sure if it was Tamaki's reaction or Haruhi's bland mixture of console and bereting but it caused her stony walls to break and suddenly a giggle escaped her lips. She held her hands up towards her face, covering her mouth when her giggles turned to laughter.

Up until now, Izzy didn't even seem capable of laughing.

But even so, the sound of her laughter was quite pretty. Her face flushed prettily as she tried in vain to hide both her face and laughter behind her slim fingers. The Host Club, now quite used to Izzy's usual sour disposition, couldn't help but to stare as she continued to burst with laughter.

Slowly Izzy came down from her fit until her laughter died down into a stray giggles that escaped her lips. "Tamaki, please, come out of that corner. That can't possibly be good or even normal," Izzy twittered with tears at the corner of her eyes. She approached his corner, standing next to Haruhi. She didn't bend over like Haruhi, opting to remain with one hand pressed to her lips in hopes of hiding the big smile that overtook her face.

"I'll play for your silly ball, okay? Just please come out that corner. There's mushrooms growing at your feet, for heaven's sake."

It was only a week later on a lovely Sunday afternoon that Izzy found herself regretting agreeing to attend Tamaki's Ball. She, along with Fumiko and Chihiro had returned from visiting with Hiroki. He seemed to be doing better and was positively elated to see both Fumiko and Izzy.

Shinobu hadn't been present, allowing Izzy to wear a short-sleeved black and blue striped shirt paired with a black skirt cinched high on her waist. She was just about to change out of the outfit into something more comfortable when Aimi poked her blonde head into Izzy's bedroom. "Excuse me, Izabera-chan, but you have guests," Aimi brightly reported, causing the tall brunette to pause. She turned towards the maid, head tilted to the side. "They're in the sitting room," Aimi beckoned the younger girl to follow along.

Izzy followed after her, not taking notice of Aimi's coy expression. To be quite honest, she was not all that surprised to see members of the Host Club in the sitting room. She was more so surprised to see it was only Tamaki, Mori and Honey. She sent Aimi away with a wave, ignoring the blonde's girlish giggles. She studied the three with a frown, head tilted to the side. "I am not going to some festival with you again," Izzy narrowed her eyes and stepped into the room, making sure to slide the doors shut behind her. The last thing she needed was for Fumiko or Chihiro to walk by and see the three of them here.

Tamaki only smiled brightly at her. "You look quite lovely today, white lily," He complimented politely, watching as Izzy continued to eye him suspiciously. She had yet to threaten any of them so he took that as a good sign. She continued to frown despite his dashing smile, not at all impressed with his smiles or his compliments.

"What are the three of you doing here?" Izzy asked instead of replying to Tamaki's compliment. "And where's the rest of you?" She asked with a pointed look.

"We'll be joining them shortly," Tamaki replied with his smile still in place. Her temper was tamed, for now. That was always a good sign, he was beginning to learn. Izzy's temper, however, was very fleeting and could change at the drop of a dime. The only brunette in the room slowly folded her arms across her chest and cocked her hip to the side, clearly waiting for them to drop a bomb on her. "The twins require your presence today."

Izzy didn't look impressed but then again she barely ever was impressed with his theatrics. In fact, every since her hysterical laughing fit the other day, the Host Club had almost made a competition of who could make Izzy break down in laughter again. Haruhi thought the entire escapade was silly and along with Mori and Kyoya, stayed out of it. They hadn't succeeded yet but Honey managed to pull several genuine smiles from the indifferent brunette. Never mind the fact that Honey could pull a smile from nearly anyone.

"Require my presence for what?" Izzy asked, tightening her arms across her chest almost defensively.

"For your fitting."

Izzy leveled Tamaki with a stony gaze before turning to Mori and Honey. "What is he talking about?" She grouched, not at all in the mood for Tamaki's dramatics. She had a vague feeling that Mori and Honey had been sent along to act as a buffer. Although she still wasn't quite sure what Honey could possibly do if she decided to attack Tamaki. Well, maybe if he got in between her and Tamaki and turned those freakishly large eyes on her, it could stop her.

"For our Ball, Berry-chan," Honey answered with a sugary sweet voice. Izzy only tilted her head to the side, looking quite confused. "You'll need a dress!"

"But why do I have to go for a fitting? Can't I just wear a dress I already own?" Izzy asked. Not that she even had a dress for a Ball in her closet. It wasn't like she planned on attending any Balls when she packed for Japan. But even so, it wouldn't be that hard to just go out and buy a dress. To her surprise, Mori fixed her with a dry look of 'really?'. Izzy blinked up at him for a long second before a loud and unladylike snort erupted from her. Her defensive stance shattered and she reached up to hide her face from the trio.

"That's a point for Takashi!" Honey exclaimed delightfully. Izzy only looked down at him, head tilted to the side before remembering their silly competition. She nearly reminded him that Mori hadn't been taking part of the competition for the entire week but decided it didn't really matter either way. Honey was insistent and stubborn in his own cute way and she wasn't going to argue with the silly notion anyway.

"But Honey-senpai," Tamaki all but whined. "Mori-senpai isn't even playing with us," He reminded the stunted third-year. Izzy only watched the interaction between the two blonds with her arms folded across her chest as usual. Sometimes she wondered how the odd Club even got along. They all had such different and colorful personalities, she was surprised there never seemed to be any friction. And even when there was, it didn't last long. The two blonds continued to go back and forth about the technicality, ignoring Izzy and Mori.

Izzy let them carry on for a few more seconds, eyes slowly lifting towards Mori. She was surprised to see that he was looking back at her. She hadn't realized that she'd been smiling at Tamaki and Honey until she felt it slip from her face. She quickly looked away, trying hard to will the impending blush away. "Ah, shouldn't we get going? If you insist upon this, I'd like to get it over with," She decided, looking back towards the blond duo.

"Giovanni-hime is right," Tamaki decided firmly. "Besides, Haruhi is on her own right now with those Devil Twins," He made a face of distaste.

"I'm sure Haruhi can handle them for the time being," Izzy grinned idly. "It's them we should be worried about, that tongue of hers is sharp," She chuckled and waved them towards the doors. "Let's go before we waste any more time," She slid the doors open and waved them through. The three moved towards the front door while Izzy pulled Aimi to the side. The blonde was idly fixing a vase of flowers but Izzy knew she'd only been doing so until the three came out. "Aimi, please tell my Aunt that I'll be...I'm going for a fitting to help with a Club's activity."

"Of course, Izabera-chan," Aimi grinned widely. "I'm glad to see you've made friends with such handsome boys. Fumiko-chan and Chihiro-sama will be thrilled," the blonde babbled with a hint of a blush to her cheeks. Izzy only rolled her eyes in exasperation and shook her head, not bothering to correct the blonde and whatever odd fantasy she had cooked up in that head of hers. She thanked the maid and quickly joined the trio at her front door, pulling on the black boots she just slipped out of. She doubted Tamaki would give her enough time to change into something else.

For the umpteenth time, Izzy wondered how she'd been dragged into the insanity of the Host Club.

"Hime!"

Hikaru and Kaoru came bounding over towards Izzy the minute they were notified of her presence. They stopped short, loudly appraising her outfit. They were so used to seeing her in the school uniform that it was like a breath of fresh air to see her in her own clothes. Like the rest of them, her clothes were obviously high brand but Izzy's fashion sense didn't seem as loud as the Host Club's sense. The twins circled her, complimenting the length of the skirt making her legs appear even longer but criticizing her choice of dark colors.

"I didn't come here to have my current outfit critiqued," Izzy reminded them blandly, arms folded. It seemed like every time she dealt with the Club, her immediate disposition was to fold her arms across her chest. "I came for the fitting so if we could hurry this along, I would appreciate it," She continued in the same voice, ignoring Hikaru when he started picking at her ponytail.

"I'm surprised you came so easily," Haruhi spoke up, appearing from one of the many hallways that led to the foyer of the twins' chic manor. She was dressed in her usual fashion, with a simple pair of a jeans and a dark pink dress over the jeans.

"Well, the maids are still gossiping about how I was carried out the last time you all showed up. Heaven forbid we add more fuel to the fire," Izzy stated, shooting Mori a look. "Besides, Fu and Chi were home and I didn't need their attention. I'd never hear the end of it if Fu discovered the three of them in our sitting room," Izzy explained, waving Hilkaru away from picking at her ponytail.

Hikaru and Kaoru led the loud band off towards one of the many dressing rooms their house had to offer. Izzy thought it was a little odd but given that their mother was a famous fashion designer, it didn't really surprise her. Her Aunt Vivi's house was the same, having several large and ornate dressing rooms. Kyoya was already present, sitting comfortably on one of the chaise sofas, armed with his usual laptop. He only glanced at Izzy, nodding quickly, before going back to whatever had his attention.

The twins had a field day with Izzy, often comparing her different body size to Haruhi's smaller frame. They were so used to dressing up the smaller girl that they thought Izzy to be some sort of challenge. She mostly ignored their compliments which were often backhanded and acted just as difficult whenever they made a suggestion. It was rather amusing for everyone to watch the tug-of-war between the three. For someone who possessed little to no patience, Izzy did well with keeping up with the twins.

"I hate that color."

"But it looks great with your skin-tone!"

"So? Are those bows? Do I look twelve? You put that back right now."

"You barely even looked at it, Hime."

"That one has an awful cut. No."

"Hime."

"Oh, wait, that's a nice one."

"It's plain and it's black, Hime, no. It's a party, not a funeral."

"I'm the one who will wear the stupid dress."

"Yes but you'll be representing the Host Club and you've got to look the part."

It was amusing to see them go back and forth like that. The rejections were piling up and it seemed like the three wouldn't agree on anything. It seemed like there was something wrong with each dress they looked at whether it was the color, the styling, the cut or the length. Some were either too short, too form-fitting or the neckline bordered inappropriate. Izzy also had a distaste for anything with too many bows or ruffles.

"This is ridiculous, we're getting nowhere," Izzy huffed with her hands on her hips. She looked at the rejected dresses and frowned in annoyance.

"You're too picky," Kaoru stated, not bothering to look up from a nice bronze dress. It was backless with a sabrina neckline and floor-length, sporting a slit up to her knees in the very front of the dress. He liked the dress a lot, it would fit with both her skin tone and hair color and it wasn't too inappropriate but was eye-catching enough. Besides, he doubted any of the girls attending would wear a bronze dress. His mind began whirling with the possibilities of what accessories to match with it. He showed it to his brother and after they spent minutes discussing the dress, they presented it to Izzy.

She was looking at another black dress, much to their charging, when she turned to look at their dress. Her head tilted to the side and her hands remained perched at her hips. She looked quite thoughtful as she studied the dress, muttering to herself. "I suppose I could try that one on," She said after a long moment, ignoring the Host Club's sigh of relief. She chuckled under breath and took the dress to the side room for privacy. They could hear her muttering once more to herself, Italian curses mixed in every so often.

"Well?" Tamaki called through the door, impatiently waiting outside of it. Haruhi suggested that he back away from the door but he opted out of listening, as usual. He regretted not listening moments later when the door swung open. It crashed into his face, causing him to yelp in pain. Izzy's head poked out a second later, looking quite confused at the sight of his tearful face.

"Was that your face just now?"

"No, Hime, just my pride."

"Well, move it aside," Izzy carelessly chided, still not stepping out for them to see. "I like the dress but it'll need to be readjusted in some areas," Izzy said, watching as Tamaki sulked to the side. It caused her to chortle out loud and in turn, caused Tamaki to grin because he now had a point in making her laugh. A small smile pulled at her lips as Tamaki insisted on keeping the score. So far Honey was in the lead much to his disappointment. Instead of stepping out, she beckoned the twins closer.

As they stepped closer to her, they realized what needed readjustments. They began to snicker but Izzy quickly reached out and slapped them both. "I won't attend at all if you don't quit it," She snapped at them, smile dropping instantly. "Now shut up and get out so I can change back," She continued in that scathing tone, shooing them away. Hikaru and Kaoru did so, smiling triumphantly despite her sour words.

"We found a dress."

The Host Club sighed in relief once more, ignoring Izzy's Italian curses.

TeeBeMe: Izzy is stubborn as all hell, isn't she? :)

HelloThere: No, it doesn't have a lot of reviews but that's okay. I don't have any plans of abandoning it at all! Some things just takes time and besides, we're only on chapter 6 so I'm not bent out of shape with the reviews. It's better than no reviews, right? At the moment, I haven't planned far ahead enough to know if her brothers will come to Japan to visit but it's possible, I don't see why not.

AmericaNidiot: It's what they deserve :) They're sometimes a little too pushy and Izzy isn't a lovesick idiot so expect her to smack them around a couple more times in the future, haha.

Akari: Oh we know it's gonna happen but it's amusing to see her resist so much. In this rewrite, I hope to focus on her friendship with everyone just as much as the romantic relationship between her and Mori. Writing her and Kyoya together I think will be the most challenging since they're somewhat similar in the sense of being quiet and sadistic but they're still pretty opposite. It'll be fun. And I know right, who can hate Honey? Not even Izzy's sour ass can hate him.

This is Juli: You know, it was a pretty hard decision to make when I decided to rewrite the story but I'm glad I did. I just wasn't happy with it and I know a lot of you really loved it but I'm so glad you're on board with the rewrite. Hopefully it lives up the original's standards, just with better writing. Thank you so much!

While it's true that there's only a few reviews, I still enjoy writing Lucky Ones and I hope you guys are enjoying it too. If not, tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll work to fix it. If you are enjoying it, drop a review, favorite or follow! I'm just glad for the support, whether it shows or not. So you guys enjoy this update!