Ugh… writer's block is a killer. But I took a break, the polar vortex managed to close my campus a few times, and with a new job that allows me to write when I have nothing else to do, I can type these up to my heart's content!

Disclaimer: I don't own OHSHC


Ouran Academy

Exact Location: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan

Classroom 2-A

08:00


Okay. In about fifteen minutes I'll be heading off to school. What sort of reception am I expecting when I get there? Not a clue.

Kyoya's been confined to his bedroom ever since I personally escorted him there Sunday afternoon and I've extended his house arrest until further notice. I'm sure he wanted to complain, but I didn't hear a peep. In fact, not a single club member spoke out loud as I carted them home in shame after Mr. Hitachiin's story.

I can't say I blame them. The first time I was ever in a real firefight I wanted to curl up in bed and forget the whole thing. If most of them end up staying home from school today I won't be surprised. If not then I'll have to start giving them more credit.

That being said, I'm assuming more sullen and nervous behavior from the lot of them. Shock and fear can be very powerful emotions in the heat of the moment, so I'm not going to assume that they're suddenly going to see me like a superhero or whatever now. If anything, given how they followed my orders yesterday, they might fear me even more.

Which is fine, I suppose.

At least this way they'll definitely listen to me.

*\/*

Livia ran into someone the moment she stepped into her classroom. Or, more accurately, someone ran into her.

Her eyes went wide and she would've flipped Tamaki around and into a chokehold if she hadn't realized at the last second that she was being hugged. It was quite possibly the tightest hug she'd ever experienced in her life. Tamaki's fingers dug into the back of her school dress as his face buried itself into the crook of her neck and shoulder. She could feel his shaky warm breath puff against her skin with every exhale.

"Tamaki? Ow- my ribs! Geez, stop squeezing so hard!"

He obeyed, but only marginally, not pulling away in the slightest. Not even when other students had to perform an awkward wiggle to get past them and enter the classroom, whispering among themselves as they went. It was embarrassing, but Livia couldn't find it within herself to push Tamaki away.

"Tamaki? What is this all-"

"Thank you," he whispered against her dress collar. Livia's words died in her throat, body going stiff.

"Tamaki, class is about to start. You should let Trasic-san go."

It took a moment but Tamaki did as Kyoya said, giving Livia a rather watery smile before making his way back to his seat. Livia watched as he went, unsure of how to respond to the blatant display of 'not-hate'. That was the last thing she had expected after yesterday's events.

Her eyes hesitantly moved over to Kyoya, hoping an explanation of sorts might come from him. Instead, she just barely caught his gaze before he looked down at his desk, pulling his notes out of his bag and pretending like she wasn't there.

In a daze, she walked over to her own desk and sat down.

*\/*

The day went by fast. Livia only vaguely remembered the lessons and how Chikamatsu-sensei told her and Kyoya to pick up their new egg from her office before they went home for the day. Livia's head felt like it was so jam packed that her thoughts were going to fall out of her ears if she wasn't careful.

How were the others going to act around her during club hours? Was Kyoya just planning on not speaking to her ever again? Did Haruhi talk to Tamaki, which would explain his warm behavior?

Her questions plagued her all the way to the last class. Even during lunch, which she had eaten by herself in her classroom, she only picked at her food until Anami told her the next class was about to start. It was interesting, she supposed, that she had been prepared for almost every possible reaction from the hosts except them being kind to her.

Taking a deep breath as she walked down the North Hallway, Livia tried to clear her mind. She couldn't be distracted any more. No sir. She was all that stood between Kyoya and a bullet, so she had to be at the top of her game. No more surprises.

She stopped dead in front of the club room doors. There was a note pinned to them:

To our Wonderful Guests~

We regret to inform you that the

Ouran Highschool Host Club

will be closed for this afternoon

Club activities will resume tomorrow

~We'll see you there~

"Fuck."

What now? Livia felt the usual rise of anger bubble up in her chest, burning away her confusion for the time being. They were pulling this again? Were they trying to hide from her? Yeah, right, buddy. Like that's gonna fly.

"Liv-chan?"

Stifling a yelp, Livia spun around, her hand falling off the door handle. Standing behind her was the Host Club in its entirety. For a moment, the hallway was silent. Hikaru and Kyoya weren't looking at Livia and most of the others appeared to have difficulty meeting her eyes, but they weren't running away. Or glaring.

Hoping her face wasn't a mess of emotions, Livia jerked her head towards the notice. "What's this about?"

All seven pairs of eyes across from her flick to the notice before dropping once more. Haruhi, who is standing in front of the group, glanced around at her friends before taking a deep breath.

"We've decided to take a break for the day. To regroup."

Livia's whole body went rigid the moment Haruhi used the word 'break'. Raising an eyebrow, she explained, "Look, I get that your nerves are probably shot, but I am not about to let you tempt fate and go-"

"We know, Livia. We want… er, well we were hoping you could take us to your apartment for the afternoon. If you wouldn't mind?"

If I don't mind?!

Livia opened her mouth.

*\/*

Livia was starting to really tire of the silence. Collecting her new "science egg", driving to the apartment complex, showing everyone inside, and all of it done in complete silence. At least this time it didn't appear to be terror-filled like yesterday's quiet. This was more nerves than fear. It resulted in a less tense atmosphere.

After kicking off her shoes, Livia led the way into her sitting room. The host club slowly found places to sit as Livia pulled the tiny incubator out from the corner of the room. After setting up the heat and making sure the machine was stable on the little coffee table, Livia carefully placed the egg inside and shut the glass.

Turning around, the first thing Livia noticed were Kyoya's eyes. He was staring at the egg incubator, expression tight and… was that guilt she saw there? She gave the incubator a half glance before making her way to the empty spot on the couch next to Haruhi.

Once she sat down, the tension in the room multiplied by roughly a 'fuck-ton'. Even Livia was starting to feel uncomfortable as she waited for someone to speak up. Why exactly had they asked to come over?

After a full minute of absolute silence, Livia gave up, her head lolling forward. Whatever they wanted from her, they clearly weren't ready to ask for it yet.

"I'm sorry."

The two words were like an explosion in the quiet air. Livia's head jerked upright. Kaoru's lips were pressed together tightly, but they still wobbled. His hands were clenched tight in his lap as he took in a shaky breath through his nose.

"I-" His voice cracked and he paused, taking another breath before trying again. "I'm sorry. For yesterday. A-and the week before. And everything else. I'm really sorry."

"We were jerks." Hikaru wasn't looking up, choosing instead to pick at the skin around his thumbnails as he spoke. "We were arrogant, and stupid, and idiotic, and reckless, and… and…"

"I should be dead."

Kyoya blinked at the coffee table, like he was also surprised by his words. He shifted around on his chair, accidentally jostling Honey on the floor as he adjusted his legs behind the blond's back.

Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Kyoya's eyes darted to Livia momentarily before moving down again. "I would be dead without you. Long before now. I should've been thanking you from day one. I was wrong to treat you like I did, and I'm sorry. I'm also sorry for trying to ruin your science grade. That was childish of me."

For a moment, Livia was completely speechless. Once again, the host club boys had completely stunned her. Being shocked was not something Livia was familiar with. She had no idea how to respond.

The only thing that she could think to say was, "You realize that these grades mean nothing to me, right? I have my own school, and they take grades from other schools with a tablespoon of salt."

Kyoya's cheeks flush pink and he laces his fingers together in his lap. "I didn't know that."

Livia wet her lower lip before continuing, "I guess… I forgive you. Just don't do any more stupid shit like that again. As exhausting as handling you guys is, I really don't want you getting hurt. Okay?"

One by one, the hosts nod their agreement, shoulders gradually relaxing. Livia watched as the tension leaked away, almost tempted to offer them a smile. Instead, she abruptly stood up and muttered about making some tea before walking into the kitchen.

Mindlessly grabbing the tea kettle off the stove and shoving it beneath the sink faucet, Livia relived the past two minutes in her head. Of all the things they could've said. Of all the things. Livia felt winded. She'd heard stories from other agents about last minute reveals to save the life of their charge, and the horror and fear they experienced afterwards. The screaming and crying and the throwing of anything in their general vicinity.

Not once had she ever heard of an apology.

The shock of cold water running over her hands wrenched Livia from her own head. She quickly pulled the overflowing kettle out from under the sink and shut the water off. A shaky sigh left her lips as she dumped some of the water out. This wasn't good. How was she supposed to protect Kyoya and the others if they kept ruining her focus and peace of mind?

She stayed in the kitchen until the tea was finished. Behind her, the quiet murmurs of the host club threatened to lure her into eavesdropping, but she refrained. The last thing she needed now was to confuse herself any further.

Carefully plating the tea cups on a metal tray, Livia carried the drinks back to the sitting room. It was quiet again, but the tension had lessened. However, with the way most of the club members muttered their 'thank you's as Livia handed out the drinks, a conversation was not on the horizon.

"You didn't poison it, right?"

"Haruhi!"

Tamaki's expression was no less than mortified as he stared at his girlfriend, his voice a tiny squeak. The others looked similarly horrified, gaping at Haruhi or tripping over themselves to apologize to Livia for the insult.

"Pfft-ha!"

Livia brought a hand up to her face, covering her mouth while her other hand held the empty tray against her chest. The corners of her mouth peeked out on the sides of her palm, the occasional flash of teeth paired up with whatever giggles slipped through. The nervous apologies dissipated as the boys watched on, their eyes wide.

After a moment Livia dropped her hand, the corners of her lips still twitching as she said, "No, I didn't poison it this time either, Haruhi." She gave the other girl a wink before slipping back into the kitchen to put away the serving tray.

"Alright. Just checking," Haruhi called out after her.

Livia hummed in reply, still snickering to herself as Tamaki's voice floated out from the sitting room. "What did you mean by 'this time'? Has Trasic-san-"

"No, Tamaki, she hasn't tried to poison me before. Or anyone else. It was a joke she made the last time I was here," Haruhi explained. Livia stepped back into the sitting room, noticing more than a few side-eyes as she reclaimed her seat. Honey breached the subject first.

"You've been here before, Haru-chan?"

"Yeah. It was right after that big dramatic reveal about who Livia-senpai was. I had some questions."

Honey's widening eyes moved from Haruhi to Livia. "Liv-chan, you can answer our questions?"

"Some of them, sure. There are some I can't, for legal and personal reasons, but if you have some questions, you can ask."

"Like?" The twins probed.

Livia shrugged and waved her hand towards Haruhi, crossing one leg over the other. Thankfully, the other girl took the cue. Haruhi gave a small hum, eyebrows crinkling momentarily before she tilted her head.

"You mentioned you have your own school? Is it another private academy?"

Livia shrugged. "I guess you could say that. I live in what most people would call a military base. We have our own hospital staff, school system, cafeteria, and just about everything else you could imagine. Our classes are really small and we have a lot of personalized teaching methods to go around. You can get all the way up to a Master's degree from the base. The teachers were also agents once so they're accustomed to sporadic teachings, and they share their studying tricks with us so no one falls behind on anything."

The sitting room was silent for four seconds before the questions came pouring out of the boy's mouths faster than Livia could process them. Honey launched himself up onto his cousin's shoulders and the twins were falling over themselves, so it was almost funny how fast they shut up when Livia raised her hands for quiet.

"One at a time, if you can manage it."

"Ooh! Me! Me, me, me, please!" Honey waved his hand in the air a few times, nearly falling off of Mori's shoulders. Livia nodded.

"How many missions have you been on? Are you friends with everyone you protect?"

"I don't know the exact number, but I think just over 60 missions at this point. And I usually… don't. Become friends with anybody, I mean."

Hikaru and Kaoru leaned forward and asked in unison, "How many missions have you had in Japan?"

"I can't say the exact number, but maybe about a third of my missions? Usually they pick agents of asian descent because they can blend in better. Even though I prefer Japan and I'm one of the few non-Japanese agents who can speak Japanese fluently, I'm usually sent to the U.K."

"Oooo~"

Livia's lips twitched dangerously again. The boys just looked so excited by what she had to say.

"You talked a lot about my friends and family during your first few weeks here. What about your family?" Kyoya's voice acted like a shockwave through his friends, their smiles disappearing when they noticed the look on Livia's face. She let out a sharp breath.

"I have a little brother named Connor. And there's a group of four siblings who I consider family. That's it."

"What about the parents you talked about?"

Livia pinched her lips together for a moment. She rubbed her hands together uncomfortably. "Fictional. The real ones are dead."

Her tone pushed for Kyoya to drop the topic, but he pushed forward regardless. "Are all agents of R.A.R.E. orphans?"

"No. Some are children of other agents or were adopted, or like in the case of Hikaru and Kaoru's father were brought in on recommendation."

"Agents can be adopted?"

Livia narrowed her eyes a bit at Kyoya, but he remained unwavered, so she answered, "Yes. It's mostly retired agents who do it. It's also not uncommon for mentors to absorb their trainees into their own family in some way, shape, or form."

Haruhi perked up at that, cutting off Kyoya's following question. "You mentioned your old mentor lived in Japan. Will they adopt you?"

"No. They're too busy with their long distance relationship for kids. Besides, h-... they're a little young to adopt someone my age."

"What about other agents? You've gotta be close to some other ones!"

"Yeah! Aren't there any others who might adopt you and… what was his name? Connor?"

Livia went quiet, staring down at the floor. The excitement that came from the twin's questions quickly died out the longer they went unanswered. Finally, Livia squared her shoulders and stood up from her chair. Not looking anyone in the eye, she walked towards the kitchen.

"You guys must be getting hungry. You're welcome to stay for dinner and ask some more questions. Any takers?"

Behind her, the hosts looked at each other, silently asking what to do next. It didn't escape any of them that Livia was avoiding the question. The question was whether they tried to keep pressing her for an answer.

"I'd like to stay, Livia." Haruhi stood up, brushing imaginary dirt off her uniform pants. "Just let me go tell my dad and change out of my uniform. I'll be quick."

Livia smiled softly as she nodded her consent, the boys now pulling out their cellphones to tell their drivers not to pick them up for a few hours.

*\/*

The atmosphere lightened significantly over dinner. The host club stayed crowded around Livia's kitchen table through seconds and thirds, the group laughing into their bowls as Livia shared her personal stories. Tamaki, for one, was incredibly pleased that Livia was in fact from America and he proceeded to grill her about the country. Haruhi was happy to learn that Livia was planning on reading the Harry Potter series as soon as she could, now thoroughly hooked after the first two books.

The questions kept coming. They asked about Connor and the Aleshires a bit, but they mostly focused on Livia. What food she liked, when she started learning Japanese, what she liked most about the country, if she watched anime, and everything in between.

As the night went on, Livia loosened up significantly. Her smiles and laughter grew until they all but burst from her. It was at that moment that the Host Club realized they had never seen Livia relaxed before. Her entire demeanor softened. She didn't look younger, per say, but she looked like she felt lighter.

Kyoya in particular was watching her closely, determined to figure her out while he had the chance. She was by far the most interesting person he'd ever encountered, with the thickest mask to boot. To see her drop it in their company was similar to witnessing an eclipse or the northern lights. Or both at the same time.

Even when their conversation strayed back to her "job" later on, as they were packing up to leave, Livia's voice was calm and genuine. Haruhi asked if the bullet would lead to the capture of the "bad guys", and while the rest of them tensed, Livia just smiled at the other girl over her shoulder, her hands never stopping as they washed the dishes.

"Maybe. Ballistic matches aren't common in my line of work, though. It's been known to happen, but not as often as you think." She turned back to the sink, a soft smile still on her face. "Don't worry too much about it. I've found plenty of bad guys without extra help."

Kyoya blinked at what he presumed was a giggle after Livia said "bad guys", but he had to admit that Livia's ensurement that she'd complete her job relaxed a part of him as well. She was confident in herself and her abilities. Perhaps he should be, too.

Just then, Livia unplugged the sink and dried her hands on a towel, glancing up at the clock above the window. "And with that, I think it's time you all went home. We have school tomorrow."

The twins and Honey whined, but they slid on their shoes all the same. Honey even wrapped Livia in a quick hug around the waist before skipping out the door. Livia's cheeks went a little pink, but no one felt like mentioning it. Still, there was one more question Kyoya had.

"Am I still on house arrest?"

Tamaki and Haruhi paused in the doorway, the other hosts peeking their faces around the two. Livia cocked her head to one side, eyes narrowing a bit, but she wasn't glaring. In fact, if Kyoya was anyone else, he might've assumed Livia's expression was almost… playful.

"I don't know. Are you going to go out on little adventures without me or something similarly stupid again?"

Kyoya felt his face flush with heat. "No."

"Because…" She took a step forward, tilting one of her ears in Kyoya's direction.

"Because I don't want to die?"

"Excellent." She nodded and stepped back, hands coming up to rest on her hips. "Then, no, you are not under house arrest. Now shoo. Go home." She flicked her hands in their direction, like she was sweeping the host club out of her apartment, a smile still in place. Kyoya tried to feel offended, but he couldn't bring up the emotion. Instead, he nodded his head and bade her goodnight before following the other hosts out the door.


Okay, before I get any smack for letting Kyoya walk out to his car without me, I have cameras around this whole freaking apartment and two blocks out. There's no one around, I promise. Also, the whole club is on high alert, and the assassin's last attempt on Kyoya's life was yesterday and they were almost caught. They know better than to try something right now.

As for the rest of tonight… say what you will, but this was more than I ever expected. It's nice to have more people on my side while I'm on the job, even if they were all morons at the beginning. Except Haruhi. But I digress.

Hopefully this means that school is going to become less of a battleground and the hosts will stop acting weird around me. We've probably earned quite a bit of attention over the past month, which is definitely what I don't want.

This is quickly becoming one of the most mentally exhausting jobs I've ever encountered. The best I can hope for is smooth sailing from here on out.

End log.


Quick note as to the future of this story. I most definitely am not quitting or giving up on it, but it might be longer than planned. I was originally going to end on a rather sour/angsty note and write a sequel, but now that seems like it might be too much for my current and future workload. So, I will instead be combining the two and just making this story a little bit longer. Hopefully it all works out!

P.S. I am officially travelling to Japan next year to study abroad for a few months! And then I graduate. AAAAAAHHHHHHH!