Goddamn, my thumb burns like a motherfucker. I knew fresh tattoos can hurt afterwards, but holy shit, this sucks. Although, the breeze going by on our way home felt nice. It wasn't very far between Shinjuku and Shibuya, but it still hit the spot. When Kasanoda and I got back to my building, he noticed me nursing my hand.

"Hey," Kasanoda worried, "Are you ok, Rei?"

"I'll be fine," I brushed it off, "It's a bit tingly, though."

"Try feeling that all over your back for days after," he cringed, "It's fucking hell."

"It doesn't sound pleasant," I sympathized. I might wish this on my worst enemies, but I sure as hell wouldn't wish it on Kasanoda.

"Can I ask you a question, Rei?"

"Sure. Shoot."

"Why did you get that?" he wondered, "I mean, I know it's your nickname and shit, but why on your hand?"

"I'm right-handed," I told him, "When I beat the shit out of someone, I want the to see who's kicking their ass."

"Like a calling card?"

"Exactly!" I squeaked, "Is that arrogant of me?"

"Just the right amount," Kasanoda allowed, leaning against my building, "Hopefully, they'll learn from the first time."

"You'd think," I pointed out, "But you'd be surprised of how many repeat customers I've had."

"The first beating was good enough for a second one?"

"Satisfaction guaranteed," I nodded, "Tell your friends. Maybe I should start handing out punch cards."

"Pun intended?" Kasanoda asked.

"No, but I like it."

"You know," he chuckled to himself, "You scare the hell out of me."

"Just don't get on my bad side," I shrugged, "And we should be fine. But we don't need you meeting the business end of my bat. You will not walk away in one piece. Something will be broken."

"Yikes."

"Well," I changed the subject, "What about yours?"

"My what?"

"You got tattoos," I remembered, "Am I ever going to see it?"

"Not tonight," Kasanoda shot me down, "I'm not taking my shirt off in front of your apartment building."

"Come on," I begged, "I showed you mine."

"I was there for yours," he gave me a nudge.

I leaned up against the wall next to him, reveling in the cool brick on my skin, "I'm glad we did this."

"Me, too…"

"Well…" I offered, "It is pretty late. You want to come up?"

"I…" Kasanoda blushed, "I really shouldn't."

"It's perfectly fine," I assured, "Didn't you say your family compound was on the outskirts of town?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not going to make you drive back," I insisted, "And my couch is hella comfortable."

"You're sure it's ok?"

"Positive."

"Your building doesn't have curfews?"

"Get. In. My penthouse." He's exhausting.

"Ok."

He acts like I'm going to jump him. No. I know better. Kasanoda could hardly stand. There's no way he'd be able to make it home. Fucking sue me for caring about his wellbeing. The two of us took the elevator up to my penthouse and I unlocked my door. Home sweet home. I threw my bag on the table and my jacket on the chair. It's 1AM. I'm wrecked. I wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed.

"You need anything before I turn in?" I asked.

"No," Kasanoda shook his head, "I'm good. But thank you, Rei."

Had to drag your ass up here, but go off, "No problem. Good night."

"Night," he made himself comfortable on my couch and I threw myself into my bed. Pajamas, Rei. Your tight shorts are not for sleeping. I mustered what little strength I had left and got some pajamas. Because nothing beats a giant t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Alright. Now, I could go to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, I immediately smelled food. If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was six years old again. On Saturday mornings, it'd be nothing for Mama to wake me up for us to watch cartoons. Daddy would be making breakfast because, as much as I loved you, Mama, you couldn't cook worth a shit. Daddy always teased her about how he's only met one Italian girl who could burn water. Wait…I haven't bought groceries since I got here.

I rolled out of bed and grabbed my knife off the nightstand. A girl like me could never be too careful. But then, there it was. The source of the delightful smell. It came from a stunning display of swirling blues and greens. And that little minx said it would be a while before I got to see his tattoo. I never expected Kasanoda to be the type to get a giant sea serpent on his back. She's beautiful, though. I'll give him that.

"Damn. Ryu has quite a talent."

"What the fuck?" Kasanoda jumped out of his skin, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Considering this is my house," I giggled, pulling up a barstool at the island, "I would think good morning would've been a more customary greeting, but I guess freaking out works, too."

"Look," he grumbled, "Your kitchen gets hot fast when the stove is on! And you were still asleep when I started cooking, so…!"

"Kasanoda, relax," I settled him, "It's fine. You really do overthink shit too much."

"I'm sorry," Kasanoda threw some cheese in the pan. Mozzarella, if I'm not mistaken, "Habit."

"So," I asked, holding my head up in my left hand, fighting every urge I had to scratch my right one, "A sea serpent, huh?"

"Yeah," he wiped his hands off on his pants and threw his shirt back on, "What about it?"

"Can I ask you why?"

"Something about water," Kasanoda went back to cooking, "No matter how shit my day got, water just puts me at ease."

"Really?" I liked this. I loved hearing the innerworkings of Kasanoda's mind, "Why?'

"I don't know," he threw a handful of tomato into whatever masterpiece he had going on, "Maybe because there's such a storm inside, still water helps. Like…It's the reassurance that everything will be call again. I don't know. Water just brings me down, ok?"

"Kasanoda," I awed, "That was beautiful. I totally get it."

"You do?"

"Yeah," I spun my knife around on the counter, "It grounds you. Kind of like me with fire."

"What do you mean?" Kasanoda looked at me weird.

"When I look into fire," I explained, "I know that I can let all the problems in my head burn away. I can watch them turn into ash."

"Oh," he started sliding breakfast onto a couple plates. They looked like if an omelet and a Swiss roll made a baby, "I just thought you were a bit of a pyro. Secretly an arsonist, are we, Rei?"

"Fuck you," I giggled, "It's not arson. But I could be a pyro. I'm sure it's the same for you, only instead of your problems burning, yours can drown. Same principle."

"You still scare the shit out of me," Kasanoda shook his head.

"As much as I'd love to wax poetic some more," I peeked over his shoulder, "What have you been doing in my kitchen?"

"Have you ever heard of grocery shopping?" he teased, giving me my plate, "You have no food."

"I mostly go out," I got defensive, "I've only been here a week, man. Cut me some damn slack. When I'm not at school, I'm either getting jumped by the host club or some asshole is taking me God knows where."

"I would be that asshole."

"Or I'm trying to adjust to a new time zone," I argued, "I'm sorry that I haven't gone grocery shopping. In all honesty, I'm surprised Roy hasn't done that."

"Roy?" he wondered.

"Roy," I nodded, "My driver. I mean, he's more than just my driver. My driver, my personal assistant, my whipping bitch, if I so desire, my sounding board, my maid, once in a while."

"Jack of all trades kind of thing?"

"Yeah," I took my first bite…and melted, "Goddamn, Kasanoda."

"That good?" he chuckled to himself, "It's just tamagoyaki. It's hard to fuck it up."

"But it's really good," I swooned, "What possessed you to make me breakfast?"

"You were good enough to let me crash here last night," Kasanoda took the empty barstool across from me, "So I was good enough to make you breakfast. It's nothing elaborate, but it gets the point across."

"You're welcome," I smiled, "Anytime you want to do this again, you're more than welcome."

"Thanks…" I'm starting to get an appreciation for catching Kasanoda off guard. Am I a sadist? Maybe a little bit, but aren't we all to some degree? The two of us sat in silence, enjoying breakfast and each other's presence. This sure as hell beat sitting here by myself with my finger in my ass, wondering what kind of shenanigans I could get into today. After last night…I don't know. This might be ok for a while. I know I said no attachments, but for the time being, I couldn't be mad at this, "I should probably get going. I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome."

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes, "You're not overstaying until I kick your ass out. Or until you start having your mail forwarded to my mailbox. THEN, you're overstaying."

"Seriously, though," Kasanoda grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch, "I really do need to get going."

"Hold on," I stopped him, "You don't have any plans today, do you?"

"Not really," he hesitated, "Why?"

"I mean," I thought it over, "We could hang out today. It's not like either of us have any plans."

"Not right now," Kasanoda shot me down.

"Oh," I wasn't expecting rejection, but he's entitled to live his life, too, "Ok."

"But…" He's hooked. He's a sucker for this cute, little face, "I got tickets to see the Gazette tonight. My second bailed on me, so I have an extra ticket. I was going to scalp at the door, but you wouldn't want to come with me…would you?"

Second date? Kasanoda, you dog. I had no idea who the Gazette is, but it looks like I'm going to learn, "Yeah. Sure. I'll go. Sounds like fun."

"Awesome," Kasanoda lit up a little, "I'll come by and pick you up around eight. Is that ok?"

"It's fine," I allowed, "I'll see you then."

Knock, knock.

"Uh…Rei?" he asked, "Were you expecting company?"

"Not this early in the morning." I mean, it was knocking on eleven, but still, "Chances are, it's Roy. You don't need to be here for that. He'd shit if he knew I let you stay here last night and that's a headache I don't feel like dealing with today."

"What do we do?"

"Go into my bedroom," I ordered, "Go out through the fire escape. I know it's a distance, but we don't have much for options."

"Your…Bedroom?" Kasanoda blushed a bit, "You're sure?"

"Oh my God," I groaned, "Yes! Love of God, Kasanoda, it's just a bed and a nightstand right now. It's not like some secret treasure trove of sin. My bedsheets are purple. My lamp is white. It's no different than looking into a hotel room. Just go out the goddamn fire escape, so I don't have to deal with Roy giving me an unnecessary lecture!"

"Yes, ma'am," he obliged, "I'll see you tonight."

"Drive safely," I waved him out, "Don't hurt yourself on the way down."

"I won't."

As Kasanoda made a walk of shame down my fire escape with the utmost safety (or so I hope), I stood on my toes and checked my peephole with my knife in hand. That's weird. You're not Roy. Last I checked, Roy was only one dude. Not six dudes and a chick. I thought I was going to have the weekend to myself (Kasanoda was the only exception). They seemed harmless.

"Good morning, Rei!" Tamaki chirped.

"It's wonderful…" Hikaru stuck out a half a dozen roses to me.

"To see you this lovely day…" Kaoru gave me a light pink box of macarons.

"Uh…" I questioned their sanity, "The fuck are you guys doing here?"

And just like that, Tamaki turned to stone. Aww…It's so cute how he can't handle profanity. So pure. So innocent. Although, in a shocking turn of events, he snapped right back into his head. Good for you, Tamaki. Good for you, "We are simply here to wish you well on this fantastic day!"

"Tamaki," I gave him a look, "Are you medicated?"

"He's not," Kyoya chimed in.

"Are you on anything right now?" I stood on my toes, checking his pupils. They looked pretty normal.

"I don't understand…" So pretty…So innocent…So dumb.

"So," I invited them all in, "Why are you really here this morning?"

"We were curious where you lived," Hikaru admitted.

"Kyoya-senpai hacked the Ouran records for your address," Kaoru added.

"Yikes," I cringed, checking in my bedroom, "Kyoya, do you have any mafia connections anywhere? Here? The US? Anywhere?"

"I like to keep a diverse network," Kyoya shrugged, "But I don't think any of them have mafia connections. Except for maybe one…"

"And if you want to keep your balls, you'll keep your mouth shut," I threatened, making sure the light just caught the blade of my knife. Just because it was the host club didn't mean I wasn't making sure I was packing something.

"I see I've hit a nerve, Rei," he apologized, "I'll do my best to not repeat myself."

"So?" the twins changed the subject, getting uncomfortably close, "How'd it go last night with Kasanoda? Did he still come over?"

"Yeah," I backed off.

"And?" they made up the distance, "How'd it go?"

"Good," I stretched out on my couch, my knife on my belly, "We talked. We hung out. Why the hell am I telling you this?"

"Because we have those trustable faces," Tamaki assumed, "And we're concerned. We consider you our friend, Rei. After what you did for us with Beni-bara…"

"In a perfect world," I suggested, "We'll never talk about what happened with Beni-bara again. K?"

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed. Damn. Do I just have a presence today? Because damn, I'm on one today!

"I'm sorry, Rei," Haruhi stepped in, "I tried talking Tamaki-senpai out of coming over when he called me this morning, but…"

"Hey," I stopped her, "No worries. It would've been nice if I would've gotten that phone call. You guys hacked my information. You could've found my phone number."

"I figured that it'd more likely be your father's number," Kyoya assumed, "Given that he's thirteen hours behind us, calling him when it's this late in America wouldn't be the wisest decision."

"I'm sure Daddy's still up," I checked the clock. It's midnight back home. It wouldn't exactly surprise me, "But he'd wonder what the hell a bunch of kids from Japan would be doing calling him at an ungodly hour. Then, he'd go into a panic and think something happened to me and that you're holding me for ransom. You don't want to deal with Daddy when he's worried about me. He would not hesitate to kill someone."

"Rei-chan…" Honey took my hand, looking at the bandage over my recent puncture wounds, "What happened to your thumb?"

"It's…"

"Rei!" Tamaki rushed to my side, looking my hand over, "What happened?! Did Kasanoda do this to you? Because if he was anything less than a gentleman to you…"

"What are you going to do?" I jumped on the defensive, "What are you going to do, Tamaki? Because I don't think you'd be able to do much against him. Besides, he didn't even do this to me. A guy named Ryu did this. Don't worry, Honey. It's ok. I asked him to do it. Well…Kasanoda kind of talked me into it, but totally worth it. It's fine. You want to look under the bandage?"

"Are you sure?" Honey seemed skeptical, "Is it…icky?"

"I'm sure it's a little swollen," I figured, "But it should be ok."

"I don't know…" Something tells me this little peanut is squeamish.

"Come here," I peeled the bandage back. Just a little swollen around the edges, "It's ok. I promise."

"Ok…" Honey approached with caution, peeking over my shoulder. Then, he realized there was nothing to be afraid of, "Oh! You got a tattoo!"

"WHAT?" I thought Tamaki's heart stopped.

"Yeah," I showed the rest of the class, "I got a tattoo last night. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing, but I'm glad I did it. It's cute, right?"

"Kasanoda's a terrible influence on you," Tamaki scolded me, "I forbid you to see him again."

"Good luck with that," I giggled. I wonder what he'd think if I told him Kasanoda stayed over last night. And that he snuck out the fire escape seconds before I let them in the door, "Your forbidding really works, Tamaki. Just would've wished you would've said something earlier. We already have plans for tonight. And it'd be rude to cancel on him."

Hikaru's eyes lit up. And Kaoru's weren't too far behind him, "You're saying…

"…You have another date with Kasanoda?"

"TONIGHT?"

"I wouldn't exactly say it's a date," I shrugged them off, "But yeah. I guess."

There it was again. That look of mischief in Hikaru and Kaoru's eyes. That made me a tad nervous. This is what I had the knife for. The twins walked to up Tamaki. Hikaru grabbed one arm. Kaoru grabbed the other, "We need to have a word with you."

I'm worried. I'm genuinely worried. I know I haven't been around the host club for very long, but I have a feeling that's something to worry about. Hikaru and Kaoru seem like the type to share a single brain cell and once in a while, they'll loan it to Tamaki. I sat back and waited for those three to come out of their deliberation. And when they do, I had a gut instinct telling me that it wasn't going to be pretty for me. Although, Honey giving me a macaron set me at ease.

"It's decided!" Tamaki sang, "Rei, you're spending the day with us!"

"What?" I gave him a look.

"You have a date with Kasanoda tonight," Hikaru took my left arm.

"You don't think we're not going to have our hands in that," Kaoru took my right arm.

"Do you?"

Oh, shit.

A/N: And so, our friend Rei is about to fall victim to the host club. Or is she? She does still have her knife on her? Maybe it'll end in a blood bath. She calls Kasanoda to help her clean up the mess. The cops get involved. Shit gets messy.

…No. That's not happening. This is a little more lighthearted than that. Like I could kill the host club. Please. They'll be left with the cockroaches and Twinkies and the Hetalia fandom. BUT! MOST IMPORTANTLY! Rei and Kasanoda are going to see the Gazette tonight. I'd love to go see the Gazette. It'd be awesome. And you may be asking yourself, why are they going to see the Gazette. Well, you'll see then, but how about I go over here and outline Friday's update, yeah? See you next chapter! xx