And so the Princess of Machines and The Shadow King Found One Another

by ChisanaNezumi

Maria Caperella is the top engineer and heiress to the Caperella Manufacturing group and is of Japanese and Italian american decent. She gets herself in way too deep being the bleeding heart and hot head she is. One of the host meets her in the US during certain negations . I appreciate constructive criticism. I don't own Ouran Highschool Hostclub.

9. Chapter 9

A/N I'm sorry this took so long but college started up again and school is important and junk.

Maria was packing on a friday evening for a trip home when the host club came over to visit her. The periodically like to bother her whenever they were all free. Haruhi was dragged along but she didn't mind Maria was an intelligent female companion which is really for Haruhi to find. "Hey Maria-chan why are you packing your bags"Honey questioned in a saddened tone as he rushed to Maria and hugging her waist. "Honey i'm leaving for the weekend it's Easter this Sunday and ill be in big trouble if I don't go and at least visit my entire family my Nonna will have my head"Maria said patting Honey's soft hair. "What's Easter is it some kind of commoner holiday" the twins said in unision. "No you morons it's a catholic holiday isn't that right Maria" Tamaki said while hitting the twins on the back of the head. "Thanks Tamaki but details aside ill be back by Tuesday I give you my word" Maria said doing a scout like salute. "You are just too cute"Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison while gently wrapping one arm each around Maria. "Id appreciate you guys calling before just showing up" Kyoya said leaning on the doorway. "Hi, dear almost ready" Maria said completely unfazed by the twins still hugging her. "Hikaru, Kaoru get off Maria" Kyoya said while portraying an angry yet calm demon stare. "Geez alright Mr overprotective" they chirped in unision. "Kyoya has every right to be protective of this fine young lady. After all she is going to be his bride"Tamaki said taking a step away from Kyoya. He seemed extra grumpy today probably because he barely knew what he stepping into with her family. "Damn straight so leave; we're leaving really soon" Maria said as she pointed to the door. "Fine cranky pants see you when over" Hikaru and Kaoru said throwing their hands in the air walking out of sight. "I'm sorry you guys just dealing with my extended family is nerve racking and I don't quite enjoy it" Maria said apologizing to everyone else. "Well try to have fun we'll save cake for you ok" Honey said being a little sad that Maria and Kyoya were leaving. Mori grunted in agreement. The rest of the hosts left before they upset Maria more.

Kyoya and Maria arrived in the states after a long gruelling flight. They were welcomed with open arms very early in the morning by her father but neither responded and both crashed in her queen sized. Then around 10 or so they started to rise. Neither of them changed clothes from they were wearing the day prior but Kyoya was just furious that he slept in her bed with her. Maria was a very heavy sleeper and it took several attempts to wake her. 'I slept with her oh god what would everyone say' Kyoya thought annoyed at his lack of composure of something so trival. "Dude its not like we had sex calm down" Maria said with a moderately angry tone. "How did you know what I was thinking"Kyoya said questioning how she knew. "Well it's written all over your face and honestly that's all I really wanted from you as of now. To share the same blankets to snuggle and fall asleep together at night that's all" Maria grabbing his hand to comfort him. "I suppose you're right we should get up; didn't you mention something about helping prepare some of the dishes tomorrow" he said getting up to try to retain his dignity while rising from the bed. "Well you're in luck my dad is out normally so you sleeping in my bed with me will go unpunished" Maria said with an evil smile. Kyoya was visibly shaken by this. He never really spent a lot of time with her father but the stories Maria told were strange and terrifying, but Tony Capperella was a strange bizarre terrifying man. "I'm going to go get our stuff from down stuff from down stairs while you pull it together" Maria said throwing off the covers. She got up ,left the room and returned a few minutes later with their luggage and a coffee mug in her other hand. "Coffee isn't really that good for you at least in the amounts that you drink it"Kyoya said grabbing his luggage from her. "It's black no cream no sugar so guess who I poured it for" she said offering Kyoya the chicken clad coffee mug. "Thanks." "Your welcome ill get dressed in the bathroom." She grabbed the necessary clothing and left to go to the restroom attached to her room. She came out moments later in a jeans and a purple t-shirt that says Go Fight Win in bold black letters. "What does that mean on your shirt" he said pointing to her shirt. "I used to be a cheerleader before I went to Ouran. I left a captain's position when I went to Ouran" she said looking down and tugging at her shirt. "Well you neglected to tell me that. I'm not quite sure why you kept it from me" he said after a sip from. "In America cheerleaders are viewed as stupid slutty girls who are cruel to everyone. It's not exactly something I want spread around as a professional young lady" she said releasing her shirt. "I see well that's as good a reason as any I suppose" he said standing up. "I still want to know everything about you; you're still an enigma" he said. "I honestly have to keep reminding myself you find me intriguing. Mostly because I'm just me"she said actually being phased by his compliments. "Ill be getting my own coffee and figuring out what day it actually is and planning my day from there. You can tag along or you spend some quality time with my father and the other men in my family while the women are preparing Sunday" she said leaving the room. Kyoya got promptly dressed. He realised that Maria didn't take international flights often because he knew what day it was, it was Thursday. He let her plan this but he had a sneaking suspicion that Maria had planned this to happen. She wanted him to see her world. Her world of industry; of iron and steel; of hard work, intelligence, and grit. It was everything she knew and she was excellent at it. It could one of two ways. She would drag him to her previous school or the main plant in two that her father's company owns. He went down stairs to see her with coffee and checking to see her toolbox was still in order. They were her tools but her father liked to rifle through them on occasion. "So I guess were visiting the plant today" Kyoya said leaning up against the kitchen counter next to Maria. She squeaked and almost jumped. "You know I startle easily. And yea i was planning on visiting the factory today. I always get antsy with new customer production. Tomorrow we will be going to the school. I want you to meet my small amount of friends " she said catching her breathe. She grabbed her keys. "It's the Ootori line of implants we finally got the ok to run full production. It takes a while to get government approval from foreign countries" she said grabbing her keys and small walnut toolbox with drawers throughout it. It looks like a small chest and he would have assumed that it was until corrected that it was a speciality tool box that was worth quite a bit. "It just goes to show you have a lot to still learn about me" she said as they pulled into the complex parking lot. It was large unbelievably so. He was in a bit of awe not really from how it appeared but because he wasn't sure what was inside this concrete fortress. "Were going in through the offices I need to drop some stuff off in my office" she said waving a badge in front of scanner. Kyoya followed her in promptly so he wouldn't be left outside. It was a standard office space, pale beige with corridors leading to individual offices. Maria walked quickly down the right corridor and turned into an office at the very end of the corridor. Kyoya followed her at a slower pace to what he beileved to be her office. It had a couch on against the right wall, a desk with some filing cabinets in the room. It wasn't her style; he could tell. She dropped her tool box on her desk grabbed a micrometer and ran out the door. "Sorry I don't talk much when I'm working my head is somewhere else right now" Maria said rushing past Kyoya. "It's alright you're quite busy"kyoya said following behind her quickly. He was in her world a world she controlled how he wasn't quite aware of that yet but he would be find out shortly because they were about to enter the production floor. It was more concrete and machines everywhere. The smell of oil and chemicals filled the air even though there were exhaust fans all over the upper parts of the walls. She was wasn't phased but the scenery but Kyoya was. It was grimy but had an illusion that the machines and the sectors they were placed in. Similar looking machines were placed together in different sectors to keep production organized. She went to inspection first to see where problems were occurring. "They're having a really hard time grind the heads they've tried a lot of different things" one of the younger inspectors said. "ANy other problems I should know about while im here; im here today only so any grievances will be taken care of today"Maria said taking out her phone and typing in the info she was given. He didn't look a day over 20 but he was in charge of that department. "They really trust you don't they"Kyoya said admiring her hospitality to her employees. "If you take care of your employees they'll take care of you is something my dad always says. Even when we can't give them bonuses and raises we'll still throw a party or 2 during the year to keep up morale"she said putting her phone away. She left the quality control area and proceed to the grinding department. Kyoya followed promptly behind as machinists of all ages and sexs stared at him. He got the feeling like this didn't happen often a random person showing up following around the owner's daughter. "Ok what's the exact problem here" she said walking up to an employee with his head in his hands. "Oh it's just you Maria it's been so long since we've seen you. Why is there a boy with you" the man had a delighted tone then when he addressed Kyoya's presence it became a little less than friendly. "Dude this is the son of our new customer and my fiance you will be nice to him"she said with a glare. "So your old man set you up with him so I guess he can't be too bad". "Are they all your family Maria" Kyoya said questioning this random employees protectiveness of her. It was similar to how Tamaki treats Haruhi. "Well all the machinist here have trained me at one point or another. My dad used to bring here during the summer and I picked up everything really quickly"she said with her arms in the machine. "Its set up properly ill take a look at the programming next and then ill call the maintenance company alright. And if the COO says anything's it's my decision not his. He may run this facility but my father is still his employer ok" she said with a slight anger in her voice. She went to dirty input mechanism for the machine. She looked through most of the programing with a few winces at all the mistakes. "Ill get the file from the engineers ill fix it tonight and send back the corrected file tomorrow. If there are any more problems call me on my cellphone" she said as she wrote down her cell number. She said as she wrote down her cell number. She grabbed Kyoya's hand lightly but with enough of a grasp. I feel like you aren't having a fun time. So ill try to make it up to you tonight ok" she said with a grin. She went to the engineering department where she was greeted with sneers and smiles a like. She got a flash drive with file and promptly left the facility with Kyoya in tow.

They had a wonderful evening of leaving each other alone. It was what Kyoya wanted, solitude to take in everything. Maria was intelligent he kept reminding himself. 'If she is this powerful how powerful were her friends' Kyoya thought while his face was pressed firmly into his hands trying understand this human that eluded him. She never talked about herself much. She never talked about herself unless probed for information. When she spoke of her friends it annoyed her like some older siblings. It was similar to how Haruhi dealt with the twins. He needed to do more research on her while she busy fixing some programs in her workshop. He grabbed his laptop and went up to her room. She had enormous bookshelf and he scoured for any information about her in shelves. Yearbooks anything to who she actually was. He heard steps and stopped what he was doing and froze in place. Maria walked through the door and looked a little concerned. "Do you need help looking for something dear" she said no actually understanding what he was doing. "I think you and I need to have a little chat" Kyoya said in a stern voice. Maria's eyes filled with tears. They streamed down her face and she didn't actually say much except for "please don't leave me". He felt awful he didn't know what he did but he needed to fix it. She was a blubbering wreck of a person, he grabbed and held her tight until the sobs were quieter. "You really are a scaredy mouse aren't you. I want to ask you a few questions about you that's all" Kyoya said letting go her and getting down on her level. There was a whole foot difference in height after all. "Ill get tissues ill be right back"Maria said in an agreeing tone to what he suggested. She cleaned herself up in a bathroom near her room. She came back with a photo album and went to her bookcase and on the bottom shelf she grabbed her yearbook. "So what do you want to know and i expect you to ask questions i'm not that good without prompts ya know" she said plopping on her bed next to him. They talked for hours. She was wealth of knowledge but mostly because of her father. He taught her almost everything she knows she mentioned that at least a few times. She talked about her friends they were all guys and in the IT department in the school. Her eyes brightened when she talked about designing things though. Creating things; figuring out problems gave her a shine in her eyes that he had yet to see. She showed him all her friends in her yearbook. They were very plain looking but Kyoya still pouted in jealousy. Maria chuckled at Kyoya's frown. Maria grabbed the photo album and proceeded to flip through it with him. He realised that this was all her childhood photos. Her first steps to christmas every year. The day she got her glasses when she was 11, her day roaming around the facility in town where she learned the basics of machining, and a picture of her crying with her holding her acceptance letter to Garon Technical Academy. There were more pictures; pictures of her receiving her first set of tools. Her first game cheerleading at were depicted in this book. "My dad supported me even if it meant skipping out on meetings or giving up contracts" she said closing the book. "I hope I didn't bore you with this"Maria said putting both books on her shelf. "I asked you about you. It wasn't boring it was very interesting. I tried doing research on you before we met but couldn't find anything other than either executives loved you or hated you" Kyoya said with an awe in his eyes. She always used to say that she was nothing special, pretty standard, but she was interesting; incredible at that. He wished she would talk about herself more often. "So what do you want for dinner" Maria said plopping on her bed next to her love. "It's a little early for dinner isn't" he said. "I was just wondering what you were in the mood for that's all"she said laying down. "So are we ruining the fun for your father at any point and announcing the union ourselves or do you want to be nice about it" she questioned turning on her side to him. "Stop trying to upset my father" he said getting up. "It's nothing against him personally, even though he barely likes me, it's just it would easier than me trying to cover up a slip up"she said in a sincere tone. "Yea well we just need to let him have his moment" Kyoya said reassuring Maria. He grasped her waist and pulled her in close. He still needed to read more on how couples interacted. The club gave him some ideas but those for how to woo women not what happens afterward. "Maria I'm ordering pizza what do you want" her father said as he walked in front of her doorway. Kyoya not realising he was standing there and proceeds to jump back and apologize for what he may have seen. "Son its ok. I'm just happy Maria is happy" he said with a straight face. He yawned; he looked he hasn't slept since yesterday before Kyoya and Maria "Dad go take a nap ill take of dinner" Maria said going to hug her father. "Thanks for waiting for us this morning"she said letting go of her father. Her father went off to his study even though his daughter said he should do otherwise. "Well I get where you get it from. The whole being a workaholic" Kyoya said in a teasing tone. "You should talk doofus" Maria said while flicking his nose. The night past on but neither Kyoya nor Maria slept at least not well anyways. Kyoya knew that he would be out ranked by default compared to even a kohai at Garon Technical Academy. Most of them were years ahead of their peers that went to a standard high school. Maria wasn't fond of going back to place where he would be bothered by underlings the entire time but she wanted to show Kyoya everything about her. She woke up at about 6 even though she wasn't enrolled there anymore she went into full school mode and grabbed her work boots and uniform, but stopped. She grabbed a pair of jeans she kept her work boots and grabbed a company shirt from the main factory and put that on. She remembered that today was most likely a half day so she decided it was a good idea to get Kyoya up. She entered the guest room in hopes she wouldn't have to wake him. She never liked bothering people it always made her nervous. Maria sat on the bed next to the sleeping demon in hopes she wouldn't have to do more than that. But it was in vain so she leaned over into Kyoya and kissed him gently on lips so gentle that it was as if a feather graced his lips. Kyoya's eyes slowly opened to a blurry image of a smiling small wonderful woman who got him up this morning. "I think we should get up and get ready to go dear" Maria said softly trying not to agitate her love. "Fine ill be down in five minutes" he said gesturing for her to leave. Kyoya came down moments later still rubbing his eyes he didn't appear to be angry just annoyed had was woken up in general. "One of my friends is picking us up soon ok". They were picked up promptly by an acquaintance. "I'm happy you're back Maria i'm sorry it didn't work with the japanese guy" her friend said. "Hey asshole he's in the car with me." "Maria that isn't lady like" he said in disappointed tone. They arrived shortly, Maria hasn't had coffee yet and is quite visibly cranky. They went in to the front office and received visitor passes. "I end up bringing some clients here to attempt to get them to invest in the future of industries. Occasionally they decide to donate money" She said signing both of them in. "I see so do you work for the school too" he said. "No I just like securing a future workforce for our factories I tend to hand pick the best" she said while they walked down the hallways leading to the different departments. "Were heading to IT first and then my department and then the Academic departments." The hallways felt like they went on forever for Kyoya but they arrived in IT not to long after they started this journey. The moment they arrived at the door it burst opened into the highway with 4 guys clad in business casual clothing wrestled her away from Kyoya. "It's been way too long you should call more." "Don't leave us ever again." "I'm really sorry it didnt work out with the japanese guy." None of them would stop talking; not Ethan or Matt or Austin or Tyler would shut up. "You must be Maria's friends she talked so much about. I'd like to please unhand my fiance" Kyoya said with a devilish smirk. The four gentlemen stopped dead and just stared. It was a sense of fear; as if the world stopped. "Wow you work fast huh Maria." "I wanted him to meet you guys since I plan on him being a permanent fixture in my life from now on." The band of idiots gestured Maria and Kyoya into the large lab. THere were sever towers lining the large room. It was a glorious amount of technology. 'Wow this is really like a vocational university' Kyoya thought to himself. He tried to look at things around the area like he completely understood how everything was set up and why but this wasnt his field of expertise. Maria was talking over her new adventure with her friends. She calm and they were too just a bit lively than usual. It almost looked how everyone treated Haruhi but with the a certain air that she was there queen. Queen of the nerds specifically, as Kyoya approached he heard the band of misfits talking about video games comics;things of that sort in general. "You have to go back don't you" Tyler said with a bit of heartbreak in his voice. "I told you all I was permanently moving to Japan. Ill fly you guys out next time ok" she said trying to comfort the four sniffling idiots. They really did care for her. "Hey Kyoya was it. You better take care of our princess" Ethan said while looking slightly down at Kyoya with a gleeful look but with a snide tone of voice. "I understand you care about her. But my family's private police force is more than capable of making sure she is safe" Kyoya said with a happy look a sheen gleaming from his glasses with no disdain in his voice. It wasn't a bluff or threat it was just mere fact. The motley crew heard a little about the Ootori family from Maria but they thought she was just exaggerating. "I want to show you my shop next ok dear" she said lovingly grabbing his arm and whisked out of the room. "Bye everyone ill see when you wherever." Maria grabbed Kyoya's hand in a light grasp as they traveled further into the beast of an industrial complex. "I wasn't expecting this place to be this big to be honest" Kyoya said in a small amount of awe as they reached one of the larger departments. "Well I never expected Ouran to be beautiful so I guess we're even " Maria said leading the moderately taller young man to a steel door. She opened the door to manual machines of different varieties. Grinders were placed against the right wall and there was a small section of two aisles of lathes with some students on them and there were two aisles of bridgeports near the back of the room with a few students on them as well. "There isn't that much there surely must be more Maria" Kyoya said in a calm tone. "Yea there is more in the other rooms. This is where the freshmen normally are" she said with a smile. THe groups of freshmen ignored her. It wasn't uncommon for strangers to come in to the school. Sometimes it was public officials showing off to other public officials about how great the school was doing;or industry investors who want to invest in certain programs.

The other rooms were glorious. The one directly adjacent to their previous position was was filled with equipment and machines similar to Maria's workshop but it wasn't quite as clean or as new as her's for that matter. The room across the hall was filled with computers on desks with special mice for CAD work. "Maria hows is one of favorite students doing" the teacher said while getting up from his desk. "I'm assuming things are holding up here. You know I could never leave well enough alone"she said. "So is this another investor that you're bringing here for us Maria" the teacher said with a little glee in his voice. "Yes and no sir. This is person I went to Japan for, Mr. Johnson this is Kyoya"she said gesturing to him. "Yes hello it's a pleasure to meet you sir" he said as the young man gestured for a handshake. The young couple left Vocational section of the building and promptly went to the academic building. 'Almost like a college' Kyoya thought as he was being dragged along this adventure he was half ok with. On one hand it made Maria happy on the other hand they could be studying for classes on Monday. It wasn't too much of a burden to him he got to see her smile, which is quite a sight; rare and beautiful. Her smile would light almost radiate from her eyes. They went through the academic floors and an the teachers were surprised she was back in the flesh. They all smiled and greeted her with warm words. Kyoya was surprised that she was this close with her teachers. It wasn't particularly common to be close to a teacher at Ouran. Most of the teachers poked fun at Kyoya for putting up with her. But it was all in good fun even though a blush came over his face with just an undertone of annoyance with the blush. "We have to wait at IT for our ride home. Unless you want to call for a cab" she said with a moderate undertone of exhaustion. "I would like to get out of here we do having studying to do you know." "Ok call a cab then." THey swiftly left the school mostly because they had a huge test just a day or so after they were scheduled to come. As soon as they opened the door Maria kicked off her shoes. "So what do you think about the school" she said stretching and walking to the couch in the living room. "It was bigger than I expected ill give you that" trying hid his awe still. He felt out done. She had accomplished so much but what had he down. He created a successful business, the host club. He was proud of that. Kyoya demeanor visibly cracked not by much but Maria noticed immediately. "So you going to tell me what's bothering you or am I going to have to force it out of you. Its written all over your face that something is bothering you" Maria said while wrapping her arms around Kyoya in hopes he wouldn't escape her. "You're more like my senpai than anything you're at the same level as my brothers currently are in their education" he said with a saddened soft noise. "I love you Kyoya" Maria said looking up tearful at Kyoya. "I'm sorry I make feel like that dear" Maria said with tears fogging her glasses. He loved her but words weren't what was needed right now actions were the right course. He wrestled free a little from her iron grasp grabbed her chin lightly and kissed her. This was unlike their first kiss, it had a spark of passion behind that both of them felt before. They both sat down on the couch. Kyoya grabbed Maria and kept her close until she stopped crying. Maria knew what she said earlier but she just prayed that Kyoya would say it back. "Maria." "Yea." "I love you." Maria just breaking out into tears once more. "I'M sorry what did I say" Kyoya said trying to calm her once more. "I'M just so relieved and happy. I'm happy you love me back it was a huge gamble saying that. I know were so suppose to get married at some point but I didn't want this to be some bullshit arranged marriage where there was no love to be found it would kill me" she said as she was starting to calm down. "You never quite told me why your father was willing to even entertain the idea of arranged marriage" Kyoya said with a bit of laugh. "My dad was tired of me being heartbroken all the time. He decided that my love life should be decided by him with a little of my input of course. He wanted me to happy but once anyone of note caught wind of my dad looking for potential suitors it reached many Tamaki's grandmother" she said with a calculating face even with her eyes still red from crying. "Excuse me" Kyoya said in disbelief. "I know when someone was being played for a fool. I put the pieces together after I met Tamaki and his father. I guess his grandmother has been doing quite a bit of buying up of some smaller manufacturing companies ;amy guess is that it was in preparation to enter the manufacturing sector to branch out South enterprises. I'd be treated like nuclear weapon if she tgot a hold me and Tamaki deserves someone who will make him happy" she said with a mild smile. "I'm not sure about the nuclear weapon analogy but you have a point" Kyoya said standing up stretching. "I know i'm highly prized and feared. So I think nuclear weapon is a great way to state my situation in life"she said standing up too. "So I think we're having fish and chips tonight is that ok with you" she said going into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "Is that a commoner meal eaten around here. I'll eat it regardless it would be rude to impose other wise" he said in a questioning like tone. "I mean we're in New England so it's pretty standard food it's part of the culture around here" she said trying to not sound condescending. "Tamaki would get a kick out of it if we sent him selfies saying we're eating american commoner he'd probably lose it" she said with a minor devilish smirk. "Why do you like pestering tamaki so much" Kyoya questioned. "It's easy and his reactions are just fantastic" she said with a minor sarcastic tone at the end. "We can do that I suppose then. Just be aware that he will call all night to ask a million questions" Kyoya said trying to get out taking a picture. Several hours passed before dinner. Maria and Kyoya were engrossed in studying when her father came home. They looked quite busy so he decided not to bother either of them til dinner which Maria had predicted spot on. "So when are you two leaving again" Mr. Capperella said. "Right after dinner on Sunday; we have a decent sized test the next day" Maria said. "Well at least Kyoya will meet the rest of the family" Mr Capperella said in a jovial tone. "I'll gladly meet them they sound like quite intriguing people" Kyoya said in a sauve tone. "I'm sure the rest of our family will grow fond of you as we have" Nana said. "That's very kind of you to say Nana" Kyoya said kindly. Maria blushed heavily and could only think of Kyoya calling her father 'Dad'. Saturday was a peculiar day. One of Maria's aunts came over to h lip prepare some side dishes in advance. It was quite a spread it was more than enough food to feed an entire banquet. Kyoya saw all this but kept out of sight as per Maria's instructions. Her father and her wanted a surprise of sorts for the entire family meeting him. He didn't mind too much.

Sunday was brutal for Kyoya. He just kind of went with the notion that Easter was like thanksgiving in the US. He was sadly mistaken when Maria was up at 9 o clock sharp laying out his clothes for him. Standard black dress pants he packed a long sleeve white button up shirt. Her Nana put the ham in the oven just as everyone was getting up. The service dragged for what felt like hours but they promptly arrived home at 1 or so to prepare dinner that would be served at 2. Although there was enough food for a banquet there was only 12 people that showed up; assorted aunts and uncles and cousins. "So this is the boy you wouldn't let me meet yesterday" on of her aunts said. Kyoya never really expected such warm welcomes. The food was fantastic it was warm in an emotional sort of way. It was the same feeling as when he ate dinner leftovers the first time he met Maria. After an hours worth of goodbye's Kyoya and Maria left for the airport and returned to Japan.