The bell tower sounded out a melody signifying the midday recess. In the Class 2-B homeroom, students quickly reorganized and found their friends, chatting and laughing in a sea of periwinkle and daffodil. Hanako, in her two piece black suit, didn't look around the classroom to find any friendly faces among her peers. It was understood at Ouran that Hanako was better ignored than engaged. Her desk had once been surrounded by eager would-be friends who wanted a connection to the illustrous Negida family. Then, the very people who had flocked to her abandoned her and cursed her name. Once the Host Club had been established, they settled on mutual civility. She was Kyoya's Shadow. The Host Club's dog. They figured she wasn't worth it.
"Hey! I wanna talk to you!" Renge's unexpected arrival surprised Hanako from her the note in her hands, and she pocketed it to look up at the French student inquisitively. The first year looked like a woman on a mission with her brow set as she marched into the second year classroom, unbothered by the attention that she was getting from Hanako's peers.
"Yes, Renge? I wasn't aware that we had anything to discuss."
"That is exactly the problem!" Renge slammed her hands on Hanako's desk, and the body guard didn't even flinch. Renge was a passionate young woman, that much had been obvious from the moment they first met their lady manager. Of course, Hanako completed her profile on Renge once the girl made it clear that she wouldn't leave. Her transfer files, her family background, her extracurricular record. Hana had it all, but she had formed her opinion on Renge the moment that they met. Once again, their gazes locked in a battle of wills, the cobra and the mongoose, and Hanako prompted Renge to get to the point with an arched brow. "Everyone in the Host Club has accepted me as a member of the club except you! Why are you so against me being here? Huh? Tell me right now! I wanna settle this once and for all! If you have a problem with me, say it to my face. You know, us women in the workplace have to stick together!"
Renge's piercing voice rose and fell in volume with every point she made, and it was more than enough to earn the stares of Hanako's classmates. A determined fire raged in her dark brown eyes, and Hanako knew instinctively that she wouldn't get anywhere if she put Renge off. "Look, I understand your enthusiasm for the Host Club, and while Kyoya-sama and Tamaki-sama find your presence tolerable, you haven't done anything impressive or worthy of earning my respect."
"What do you mean?" Renge roared defensively, the fierce wind of her outrage blew Hana's hair back. "I've brought in a Hollywood filming team, I helped Shiro learn how to be a host, and I helped Nekozawa-senpai get over his fear of the light to help his sister! I've done a lot of good things for the club!" She didn't understand what it was that Hanako didn't like about her. All the other hosts had forgiven her for the misunderstanding when she first came to Japan, and she had learned since them. She helped with promotional items all the time! Not to mention, her otaku tendencies made her the perfect analyst when it came to the hosts! Renge knew that she was an asset to the club, and everyone in the club had accepted her.
Nothing that Renge said moved Hanako, and the raven haired young woman just regarded her with the same unimpressed caramel eyes. It could have been an interview the way Hanako was looking at her, a very firm and unfriendly interview that was going very poorly. "All of that is superficial," Hanako rebuked every example Renge brought up. "Your efforts for the club as an entity have been noted, and the benefits of your managerial assistance are understood. You came to the Host Club looking for people who fit your expectations of character tropes, and you found people with feelings and experiences that don't fit those molds. Mitsukuni is a very dear friend to me, and your criticisms of his character, a character he has spent a lifetime trying to realize, have not been appreciated. That is, of course, in addition to the harm you put Haruhi, Tamaki, and Kyoya in when you first arrived. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Renge, but my boys aren't toys for you to play with. I take their well-being very seriously, and you haven't proven that you're on par with my expectations."
With every word, Hanako seemed to look less and less like a student in that classroom. There was something about the hardness in her gaze, void of forgiveness and leniency, that aged her. Renge surprised the other students by standing tall in the face of Hana's harsh criticisms. She held Hana's gaze with her chin jut out defiantly, but she couldn't find the words to defend herself. What was there to say? Renge knew from that glint in Hanako's eye that there was nothing she could say in her own defense that Hanako didn't already have a counter point ready for.
Hana recognized that the conversation wouldn't go any further, and she rose to her feet and left her desk. "Please excuse me, Renge, I have somewhere else that I need to be right now," she dipped her head to the younger student politely and continued on her way out of the room. There was note scrawled on the paper shoved in her pocket that she needed to attend to. Renge lowered her gaze to Hanako's now unoccupied desk.
The observant students in the classroom gathered around Renge in Hanako's absence, and they surprised Renge with the sympathy that they put on for the younger girl. "Hey, it's okay," one girl said comfortingly. "Negida was too harsh on you. Don't feel bad."
"Yeah! I'm a guest of the Host Club, and I've seen you a lot of times. I don't think Negida knows what she's talking about."
They were so quick to support Renge, that she couldn't help but wonder if there was anyone in this classroom who would disagree and defend Hanako. Raising her head, she looked from face to face thoughtfully but didn't find a single person who would criticize her in the crowd. She recalled that this was the Ouran Academy's B class. Despite their seniority as the older class, their pedigrees didn't stand up to Renge's, and that was most important to them.
"She just wants to keep the Host Club for herself," a syrupy voice crooned to her.
"She's so indecent, Hoshakuji-kun, with the way she has all of the hosts wrapped around her finger. You know, she's the type who thinks that just because she's beautiful, she should have all those handsome boys falling at her feet."
Renge listened to them with her own doubts about their claims. When she decided to march into Hana's home room and confront her, she thought that Hanako simply didn't like her for some kind of petty high school reason. She knew that Hanako's devotion to the Host Club wasn't shallow. Wasn't it Hanako who had dove after Honey at the pool? Around the time that they first met, hadn't she said something to Renge about not threatening the boys? Maybe, she had underestimated how close Hana was to the Host Club. After all, when she first arrived, she was under the same impression that Hanako had the hosts enchanted by her beauty, but if that was true, wouldn't that be the same thing as saying the hosts thought beauty was only skin deep?
Renge had her own insecurities about her appearance. She didn't look quite Japanese, and she didn't look quite French. Yet, she appeared to have features from both aspects of her background. Her skin wasn't quite white, and her hair wasn't dark and sleek. Her eyes were wider than her Asian classmates. She was pretty, sure, but her hips were too narrow, face too wide, ears too big. Her figure wasn't boyish in the slightest, but she looked like a girl, a child, when compared to Hanako. Yet, the hosts never treated her like she was unattractive. In fact, they didn't seem to care about what she looked like at all. She wasn't sure if they even cared about how Hanako looked like. Truthfully, she had never heard them mention Hanako's appearance before, not even once. The way they talked about her, stood up for her, and respected her told Renge a completely different story than the ones Hanako's classmates were telling her.
{OR}
Hanako made her way to the second year students' third floor study hall after leaving her home room. Renge's confrontation had been the second abnormality of the day. The first was a little anonymous note that she received in her locker. Strangely, the note didn't stir her suspicions, and she presumed that it was a personal summons. The third floor study hall in the second year students' wing was rarely used by any of the students. All of the study rooms on the third floor were almost always empty because the first two floors usually accommodated the majority of students. When Hanako stepped in through the rosy French doors, she wasn't surprised to find that it was mostly empty.
She realized who had written her the note quite easily. He was an unremarkable looking young man, but he stood up from his table when he saw her. There was nothing that stood out about him, but he seemed vaguely familiar to her, as if she had seen him somewhere before, perhaps fleetingly. He passed his dark brown eyes over her, astounded that she even showed, and he quickly pulled out a chair for her at the table, tripping over himself a little bit as he did.
Hanako politely thanked him for his chivalry, no matter how unnatural it seemed to him, and the boy blushed brightly as he sat across the table from her. "Negida-kun," he started, his voice a little bit coarse but not unpleasant. "My name's Izanagi Takaki from Class 3-C. I… I've been admiring you ever since the first time I saw you at a party thrown by the host club earlier in the term. I think you're very beautiful, and I've never seen anyone like you. My family's quite wealthy, and I'm a good guy. I mean, I- I'm not a bad guy, and I'm a gentleman. That is, I would treat you well… I mean… Would you please be my girlfriend?" He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, embarrassed by his confession and anxious for her response. Izanagi wasn't an unattractive young man. He was very plain in his appearance and uncertain in the way he spoke. It was the kind of hesitation and self-doubt that endeared this type of man to young women.
"I'm sorry," Hanako's response disappointed him immediately. The girl sat with her back straight in the chair, but she didn't seem uncomfortable as she rejected him. Her beautiful caramel eyes regarded him openly, apologetic yet firm in her decision. Her good posture emphasized her confidence as she turned him down. "I appreciate your sentiments, but I'm not looking for a relationship. Good bye, Takaki-san." She moved to leave, pushing her chair back and starting to stand. Unfortunately, Izanagi didn't have the sense to leave his failed confession at that.
Still insecure and embarrassed, with a deeper shade of red burning across his face at the rejection, he asked, "So, a-are the rumors true, then? Is it j-just handsome boys from the A class who you a-accept?" He stumbled over the words as he said it, his nerves absolutely tarnished but his embarrassment emboldening him.
It wasn't the first confession that Hanako had ever received, and it was one of the few that she had gotten since the inception of the Host Club. Nobody dared approach her after her engagement to Takashi was announced, and what she received after its dissolution more closely resembled harassment. Hanako sat back down and kept her eyes on Izanagi's face despite his attempts to avert his eyes. "Why did you think to ask me to be your girlfriend? Would it matter if the rumors were true if you genuinely had an interest in me as a person? Did you think that by confessing to me you would be able to prove whether or not the rumors about me were true?"
He opened and closed his mouth like a fish gasping in air, and he watched her pick apart every part of his confession. "You've never met me until this very moment, and your first impression of me was based solely on my appearnace. You can't possibly know enough about me as a person to determine that we have enough in common to initiate a relationship. Your claim that you've never seen anyone like me suggests that your interest in me lies in novelty of my appearace, and since you know about the rumors, you must place much value on beauty more than personality. If you didn't care about the rumors, you wouldn't have brought them up. I'm not impressed by your wealth, Izanagi-san, and I can't be bought, despite what you might believe. It doesn't suit my interests to be some sort of trophy for you or anyone else. As a gentleman, you must understand how inappropriate it is to question a lady's reasons for refusing your interests. After all, a gentleman would respect that a girl simply isn't interested in him instead of falling back on rumors to cushion his ego."
His coloration worsened, and the shame on his face burned red down his neck to the top of his ears. Hanako smoothly rose to her feet, unimpressed by the young man, "I believe you've kept me long enough. Have a good day, Takaki-san."
With that said, she left, stewing in her displeasure as she made her way back to her home room. The Host Club didn't account for the majority of boys at Ouran Academy. The halls were infested with self-interested rats masquerading as gentlemen. More than once, Hanako had been met with outrage and blame after turning down a confession from her admirers. Somehow, they made it her fault that she wouldn't accept them. When she said no, they would take her considerate explanation as an excuse, as if she was obligated to accept them. Ootori's whore, gold digger, tasteless, shrew… she had heard it all before, and they would follow it up by reminding her how lucky she was that they found her desirable as if her worth were somehow attached to their opinion of her. They wanted to domesticate her, put her on display, and take pride in owning her. Perhaps there were girls resigned to that fate, but Hanako had worked too hard and lived through too much to be reduced to an object for some man.
The midday sun blanched the rose colored walls and floors in the halls of the second year wing. In the combination of natural and artificial light, everything looked almost white. Hanako's frustration and disgust coiled tight in her chest and weighed down her heart. Ouran was like a dream, and nobody in the faceless periwinkle and daffodil wanted to face the reality. They were content and complacent in the safety of their bubbles. As far as they were concerned, their comfort justified their lifestyles. Their privileges went unchecked while the weight of their ambitions dragged them into the cycle. Resentment burned through her, the kind someone could only feel after losing everything, and she wanted so badly to cry out at them to open their eyes.
"… 2-A classroom and said he would make Ootori pay." She heard the comment in passing. Suddenly, a stillness smothered her smoldering bitterness. As soon as it had come, it was gone, and she composed her internal turmoil as her attention on her surroundings sharpened.
"Really, Shima-kun?"
Hanako body reacted immediately. She raced through the hallways and down the stairs indelicately, ignoring the stares following her as she navigated the fastest route to the second years' A-class home room. She had no idea how long word about Shima searching out Kyoya had been circulating, and she pushed herself to run until her legs burned from the exertion.
Finally, she found his back just as he stormed into the classroom. There wasn't much time before the end of the recess, but it was clear that Ken didn't care. He marched with determination, and she saw in his posture that he wouldn't care even if a faculty member got in his way. Tamaki and Kyoya looked up from their chat when he threw the door open and entered their classroom uninvited. The two of them had never seen this boy before. He glared at Kyoya ferociously with an unbridled hate burning in his eyes, but the host didn't seem to care. Kyoya regarded Ken blandly, with such little interest that it only fed Ken's hatred.
"What's going on here?" Tamaki asked cautiously, aware of the building danger before them. His gaze flitted to the door behind Ken, and he saw Hanako enter silently into the room with a hardened expression.
"Ootori, you bastad," Ken snarled. "You don't even know who I am, do you?"
"Should I?" Kyoya's languid response did nothing to help, and Ken grabbed him by his lapels, dragging him out of his chair.
"Hey!" Tamaki barked his protest as Kyoya's chair skidded against the tile discordantly. He and Hanako lurched forward to help him, but Kyoya raised a hand for them to pause. Trusting his judgment, Hana and Tamaki froze, angry frowns deepening as they observed.
"Maybe you've heard of BiOhms. The Ootori Group bought my family's biotech company, and there wasn't anything that my father could do about it. Now he doesn't even get to make decisions on the board. Ever since, there have been all sorts of problems at home. My parents are fighting all the time, now, and my sister moved out of our home. My girlfriend just left me! All of it started because of your family. It isn't fair. You get everything you've ever wanted, and my life's falling apart!"
"It sounds to me that there were already personal issues in place before your father agreed to sell."
Kyoya's astute remark infuriated the already agitated boy. Shima raised his fist and threw it at the wealthier boy's face, screaming, "Shut up!" Kyoya didn't even flinch, and before the punch could land, Hanako intervened. She caught Shima's fist in her hand and applied pressure on the hand still wrinkling Kyoya's jacket, pulling him away from her employer and stepping between them.
"Are you alright?" she asked Kyoya, glancing at him over her shoulder. He regarded Shima with an ice cold glare, no longer remotely interested in what he had to say. His patient, courteous façade slipped for a moment, and Ken felt his blood run cold under the Shadow King's revolted gaze.
"I'm fine." His response sounded tight, and he quickly schooled his features against his slipping self-restraint.
"Get out of the way, Negida," Ken scowled at his classmate standing between him and the object of his anger. "Are you really going to protect him? He's an Ootori. He doesn't care about people. Just like his father. We're all just expendable to them!" Pop. Hanako could hear another security bubble burst as her classmate realized the harsh reality of the life they lived.
"Shima-san," she said slowly, "you know full well that no student's family business or business practice is reflective of their personal beliefs."
"That's bullshit," Ken snarled at her, angered by the insinuation that business had no place at Ouran. They were all extensions of their families. That was why Ouran existed in the first place. They had to network and play nice with the biggest names, but it didn't matter in the end, anyway.
"Shima-san," Hanako said again, more sternly, "control yourself."
He turned his attention past her and fixed his attention back on Kyoya. "Stop hiding behind your guard dog and take me on like a man, Ootori. What kind of coward hides behind his woman? You're nothing but a pretty face. You fucking bastard." He lunged for Kyoya, again, and Hanako caught him by the waist and threw him back. The boy stumbled to regain his balance and continued to glare at Kyoya over Hanako's shoulder.
"You're having a hard time, right now. Don't make things worse by starting a fight with Kyoya-sama," Hanako warned her classmate. "This dispute, already, could be grounds for a suspension." Ken stood across from them, jaw locked and eyes narrowed as he considered what she said. Ouran did take its disciplinary action seriously, and while students could get away with many things, he knew that the administrators wouldn't tolerate his treatment of Ootori.
He spit at the floor and turned, "Fine. I didn't come here to talk to Ootori's bitch, anyway." Behind Hanako, Kyoya tensed, and his patience burned out at that very moment. A dark look passed over his face, and the sharpness of his gaze could have killed.
"What did you say?" Kyoya all but growled. His voice was so low that there was no guarantee that any of the other students besides those four could hear.
"Kyoya," Tamaki warned his friend, stepping up with a composed authority that insisted Kyoya heed his caution. The blonde turned to the unwelcome guest in their classroom, and his typically kind amethyst eyes narrowed with disgust and anger. "Get out of here. Kyoya isn't to blame for your troubles, and your behavior doesn't belong at this institution. We won't be seeing you again."
The room's atmosphere was heavy with disbelief and outrage, but nothing could compare to Tamaki's unrelenting certainty. Tamaki could command a room without even saying a single word, and nobody questioned it. His word was as good as law at Ouran despite his strained relationship with the Chairman. The moment Shima set foot in the 2-A classroom, it was all over for him. There was no way he couldn't have known that, but to go so far only sealed his fate. In his absence, a thick and stifling silence lingered for a moment before the other students broke into whispers.
"Everything's fine, now, Hanako. Get back to your classroom," Kyoya dismissed her. His voice came out clipped but even, and she spared him no second glance, bowing and taking her leave of the classroom.
{OR}
Word of the confrontation in the 2-A classroom spread quickly, and by the end of the day, the entire school had heard of Ken Shima's ill-conceived plan to challenge Kyoya. The second year club members arrived at the music room together that afternoon, and they were quickly questioned by their concerned friends.
"We heard some kids saying he pushed you, boss. You okay?" Hikaru asked first, crowding around the second years and inspecting them for signs of injury.
"I can't believe someone from school actually came after you Kyoya-senpai," Kaoru shook his head in disbelief, coming up on their other side to double check for any harm to the trio.
"Who would've thought there were such crybabies here?" the brothers chorused, unsympathetic to the slighted student's troubles.
"That sounds scary," Mitsukuni came up in front of them. His eyes shone with unshed tears of concern for his friends, and Hanako patted his head reassuringly.
Kyoya dismissed their concerns with his usual unbothered voice and a small shrug, "I'm sure that the rumors are blowing the whole thing out of proportion. Hanako took care of it, and he won't be a problem again." Hana frowned at his nonchalance, knowing that what had taken place was much more serious than he played it off as.
"Some people just don't know how to cut their losses," Hikaru sighed with disapproval.
"Yeah!" Mitsukuni agreed with a firm nod. "He can't blame Kyo-chan for the market. Everyone knows that."
"If anything, selling to the Ootori Group's just going to save them from bankruptcy," Kaoru pointed out.
"It's not that simple." The hosts gave Hanako their attention, then, confused by her unexpected input. She didn't look angry or critical of their position on the issue, just a little bit tired. "Shima-kun's family has been used to a certain degree of control over their company. Even with the pay off from the Ootori Group, they won't have the influence or potential that they once did in their industry. The Shimas are particularly ambitious, but Shima-kun's father is notorious for poor decision making. His life may never be the same. Of course, that's no excuse for his behavior today."
"So, what's gonna happen to him now?" Kaoru asked. He looked between the three students, and he noticed that their usually vocal leader had yet to utter a single word. "Boss?" The blond wore a pensive, solemn expression. They had all heard the other part of the rumor, too. The other half of the stories mentioned Tamaki's threat to have Ken Shima thrown out of Ouran for his disrespect and blatant disregard for Ouran's student code of conduct. This wasn't like Ayanokoji. Shima's B class status didn't protect him from the repercussions of his actions, and they had all made it clear at the formation of the Host Club that they wouldn't tolerate harassment in the halls of Ouran Academy.
"I'm afraid Shima crossed a line today," Tamaki said regretfully. "As top students at Ouran Academy, we have a duty to hold our peers to the same standards we hold for ourselves. Hanako, I'd like you to write a formal security report against Shima for the dean. Kyoya and I will provide our signatures once you've finished."
Her eyes darted to Kyoya, as if she was asking his permission to carry out Tamaki's order. Almost imperceptively, he nodded, and she dipped her head in acceptance of the task. "Yes, sir."
His amethyst eyes softened with relief, and he offered his club mates a smile, "Good. Now that that's taken care of. We have to get ready for today's theme. Where's Haruhi?"
They dispersed to conduct their club activities, as usual. Tamaki and Kyoya made their way to the changing rooms, and Hanako walked to the main floor in search of a table to write her report. Finding one of the tables occupied, she crossed the floor and peered down at Haruhi. The girl must have been doing her homework before club, judging by the open book that now functioned as her pillow and the notebook under her arm. Haruhi's work ethic was nothing short of impressive, and Hana admired that about her. She wondered what sets of challenges Haruhi had to overcome as a commoner and what freedoms did she have that they in the upperclass did not. There were certainly privileges that they all had that Haruhi would have to work twice as hard to attain, and there were restrictions on their private lives that Hanako hoped Haruhi would never have to experience. A sudden urge to protect her friend flooded Hana's mind, and she smoothed down a patch of toussled brown hair on the back of Haruhi's head.
She could sleep a little longer, Hanako decided, quietly moving to a table on the other side of the room to get to work on the report. It wasn't often that she had to write a report citing a student as a threat to another students' safety, and she knew that it wasn't just Shima's violent intentions against Kyoya that convinced Tamaki to make the report against her classmate. For as long as she had known him, Tamaki had never tolerated anyone disrespecting her. Tamaki was the kind of gentleman who genuinely respected other people just by virtue of their humanity. Class, race, and gender never stopped him from standing up when he knew someone was being mistreated. Even with a heart as tolerant and accepting as his, Tamaki had his boundaries. He saw the best in people, never assumed the worst, and championed second chances over immediate dismissal. She knew that for him to ask this of her, Shima was too far gone for their aid.
She spent the entirety of club hours writing a thorough, objective report about what Shima had said and done, citing their interventions and attempts to dissuade Shima from his outburst. By the time she finished writing out the report, the crowd of guests had come and gone from the club room and the boys left the floor to change out of their costumes. Quiet footsteps approached her, and when Hana looked up, she was surprised to find Renge standing at her table. Renge regarded Hanako with the same determined look from earlier that day, and Hana wondered if this was going to be a continuation of Renge's confrontation. The French girl spared her no pretenses and got straight to the point.
"My contributions to the club may be superficial, but they're what I'm good at." Renge's brown eyes softened. Her typically proud, confident stance shifted, and Hanako caught a glimpse of the insecure girl hiding behind Renge's larger than life personality. "I'm sheltered, and I know it. The truth is, I didn't have a lot of friends before coming to Japan. I've heard what people in school say about you, and I think I owe you an apology. I didn't realize how harmful I was being when I first got here, so I think I understand what you were saying earlier. I'm sorry for being presumptuous, Hanako-senpai. I really admire you and the Host Club. I really wouldn't change any of you, and I'm happy to just be a part of this."
A shadow of doubt passed over Renge after she fell silent, wondering if she had said the right thing. She wasn't a straight-forward person like Hanako or Haruhi, and she spent so much time playing otome games and reading manga that she wasn't sure how to best go about talking to people in real life.
"We need to work on our advertisement efforts," Hanako responded, flipping through her clipboard for the recent student club rankings. "While the Host Club has successfully maintained a high club attendance record, we rely mostly on loyal guests and word of mouth instead of actively reaching out to new potential members. I think that, as the club's manager, this could be a good project for the two of us to start on."
Renge's confusion hit Hanako straight on, and the older girl just smiled with a secretive satisfaction, as if she was finally seeing something in Renge but wasn't going to disclose what it was she found. Renge lit up as she realized what Hanako was offering. "Absolutely!" Hanako's smile widened as Renge enthusiastically launched into a passionate list of potential advertising solutions that could appeal to potential guests.
{OR}
"You and Renge seemed to be getting along well," Kyoya commented from their usual work table after his usual dinner in the dining room with his family. Hanako brought him a freshly brewed espresso and sat on the side of the table adjacent to him.
"We just had a little chat earlier today," she answered him vaguely. "I think she'll do a good job bringing in new guests with this advertising project."
"That's good to hear. Renge does have access to good resources. I knew you'd warm up to her eventually."
Hana didn't answer him immediately. She finished reading the page in front of her before acknowledging, "She's making an effort. It's only fair." Then, an unexpected knock sounded at Kyoya's door. The two students shared a puzzled look before Hanako rose to her feet and walked over to answer. When she opened the door, she found Tachibana standing on the other side, his lips in a thin, tight line.
"Master Ootori would like to see you in his office, Negida-san." Hanako frowned at the order disguised as an invitation and glanced back to Kyoya, whose grip had tightened on his pen.
"I'll be right back, Kyoya-sama," she said before stepping out of his room and closing the door behind her. Tachibana, despite his neuroticism, wasn't typically a tense man, but as she followed him to the opposite wing of the house, she could tell that his movements were more stiff than usual. She couldn't blame him. A summons from Yoshio Ootori didn't bode well for her. Undoubtedly, news of her report to the dean had made its way to him.
Yoshio's home office was isolated from the rest of the mansion. He had chosen the part of their home where he would never be bothered by any unwanted disruptions. The doors to his office could only be found through a long hallway that branched off from the main hall. She left Tachibana in the main corridor and passed the line of oil paintings hanging on the walls. Her knuckles fell on the door twice before she entered, knowing that he already expected her.
"Close the door," her employer instructed. A singular desk lamp cast a soft yellow light in his office, revealing the dark figure seated behind the ornate mahogany desk. Unlike his son, Yoshio Ootori preferred to work in low light and in complete silence. Hanako stepped into the center of the room, her casual, black flats soundless on the imported rug. Yoshio Ootori was an imposing man. He carried himself with an air of superiority, and the shadows of his aged face harshly emphasized his stern features. "What is the meaning of this?"
The simple question carried a judgment behind it that had already been passed. Hanako stood rigidly with her arms at her side under his critical dark gaze, and he tapped the envelope containing a copy of her report questioningly. "A student from the 2-B classroom, Ken Shima, recently experienced family troubles and attributed the cause to the purchase of his family's company by the Ootori Group. He retaliated by verbally attacking Kyoya-sama in the last half of the midday recess."
"Why didn't you apprehend the student before the situation escalated?" Yoshio was not a lenient man. Hanako knew that. He had few expectations of her, and all she had to do was fulfill the duties of her job. Otherwise, she would lose her chances of regaining control of Spring Onion International.
"Kyoya-sama instructed me to wait until the student threw the first punch," she replied.
"I see. Then, it's good you were there. How is Kyoya doing at school?" He asked the question the same way he could have asked for a daily report about the stock market. Yoshio was not an unloving father, but he was strict and held his children to high expectations. He loved them, undoubtedly, but he knew investments better than he knew family.
"Kyoya-sama has maintained his position at the top of his class again this term," Hanako reported from memory. "With the exception of the incident today, he continues to have good relationships with his schoolmates. Recently, he has been associated with Umehito Nekozawa from Class 3-A."
"The Nekozawas?" Yoshio repeated with mild interest. They were not the typical industry that the Ootori Group conducted business with, but they were an old, powerful Eurasian family that boasted strong ties to Europe and the United States.
"Yes, sir."
"What about Kyoya's after school activities?"
Hanako steeled herself against the probing question and answered in a removed voice, "Kyoya-sama dedicates his time after school to interests in small business management and large-scale operations. After the school day, he and Tamaki-sama oversee a school-wide economy with the Hitachiin twins, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, Takashi Morinozuka, and the honor student, Haruhi Fujioka." Yoshio quietly sounded his approval, not realizing that Hanako withheld the reality of the Host Club from him in her report.
"I received your 90-day performance review from the school. There was an incident that stood out concerning a Dr. Yabu during the physical examinations." He arched a brow at her questioningly, but with his frown and the lines on his forehead, he looked far more intimidating than anyone else Hanako had ever encountered. Before she could defend herself, he continued. "There was a separate incident in Okinawa that required medical attention for yourself and Haruhi Fujioka. Yuudai never would have allowed for such failure."
Hanako recoiled at the honest criticism. Yoshio never spared her feelings in his feedback, and she accepted his harshness as a necessary push towards her own excellence. "Should I be worried about your ability to focus, Hanako? You still model for Yuzuha Hitachiin, correct?" If Kyoya could be cold, his father's voice cut like ice.
"Oba-san takes care not to interfere with my work for the Black Onion," she stated factually. "Tachibana-san, Honda-san, and Aijima-san always have eyes on Kyoya-sama even in the rare event of my absence. I apologize for my negligence. It will not happen again."
"I expect it won't," Yoshio acknowledged, but his voice betrayed no sense of confidence in her. "Akira tells me that you've been spending quite a lot of time in Kyoya's bedroom lately." The sentence hung in the air between them as he regarded her with suspicion. He regarded the young woman disparagingly. She had not inherited any of Yuudai's features. Her long dark hair and feline eyes came from her mother, and if it wasn't for the subservient bow of her head, he could have mistaken her for Akina. His frown deepened at the memory of Akina. When they were teenagers, her red painted lips smiled at every young man who could afford to hold her interest. Free-spirited and clever, Akina entranced every man and woman who ever laid eyes on her. "I hope you don't forget why I allow you to stay by my son's side, Hanako. I expect you to keep him safe from any and all unwanted advances, whatever those may be. I tolerate your companionship with him if it makes your job easier. Don't take advantage of your position."
"I understand, Ootori-sama," she choked down her feelings of humiliation to answer him. "Kyoya-sama conducts his school work and further develops plans for the school's student economy at home. I only assist him with his calculations, and he reviews my work for the Black Onion. Our relationship is strictly professional."
"Good. You may get back to work, then, Hanako. Have a good night." He dismissed her and returned to his work before she even left the room.
"Likewise, sir. Thank you." She bowed respectfully before exiting through the door and closing it behind her. At the end of the hallway, she saw that Tachibana still waited around the corner where it met the main hall. Her subordinate and friend followed her back to Kyoya's bedroom, completely silent. Nevertheless, she could sense his concern for her. Her meetings with Yoshio were always the same, but the degree to which his disappointment permeated through her differed with the reports he received. This particular review had been sub par at best.
Kyoya looked up again when he heard his door open. He passed his gaze over Hana worriedly, finding that her shoulders drooped more than usual and her eyes looked more tired than they had when she left. He frowned. Kyoya knew that his father was harsh and unsympathetic, following up on Hanako as if she was another one of his investments. He also knew that every time she reported to his father, she lied for Kyoya's benefit.
"Don't frown so much," she said lightly. "You'll get wrinkles." Hana rejoined him at the table and scanned the pages laid out curiously as she sat down. All the while, Kyoya watched her carefully.
"You can go rest. I'm able to manage this on my own." He wasn't sure if his offer came from a place of guilt or concern, but either way, he didn't want to push her tonight.
Hana's smile told him that she wouldn't have it. Instead, she reached out and picked up a recent article about a foreign company planting roots in Japan. "You're being motherly, again," her plafully chastising tone reminded him that she could handle her own exhaustion. "What do you think about this? Have you received the correspondence from Ozawa-san?"
Their work picked up quickly, and together, they pored over the papers and emails. As the night drew on, Kyoya continued to cast glances in Hanako's direction. Despite her insistence, he could see the signs of her weariness worsening. Reaching behind him, Kyoya pulled a plush blanket off the sofa and draped it around her shoulders wordlessly. Her long fingers grasped the edges of the fabric and pulled it tightly around her frame, and she smiled at him gratefully before they continued working through the latest hours of the night.
{OR}
A/N... Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the reviews :) I fell behind a bit in my writing plan again, so unless I get another burst of motivation and inspiration, the next chapter might be a bit delayed. It's all planned out, though, and there's a lot to cover in the next few chapters. Thank you for your patience! Special thanks to Einklley for your continued support!
What are your theories about Akina and Yuudai Negida?
Next time: An Ouran Exclusive. Even Hana has her fears.