Revised: 11/15/2021

A/N: I really had fun writing this one towards the end.

Thank you for the review Nuvola De Demone. I appreciate that you like the groundwork of the story so far.

Hope y'all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Chapter 2

Only those with excellent social standing and those from filthy rich families are lucky enough to spend their time at the elite private school Ouran Academy.

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, a perfect setting to begin the first day of high school.

Akane Hinode, now a first-year, begins her day, entering classroom 1-A. All the social-climbing girls flock at her side as she enters into the room with as much grace and dignity, exactly like her mother. The class was lively today, as talk of new after-school activity filled the room, flyers about the list of clubs were soon passed around. Supposedly, a new club was added to the roster of after-class activities.

The Ouran Highschool Host Club.

Akane smiled as she read the flyer that was passed around. Tamaki Suoh was the president and a resounding name that pulled at her heartstrings, as vice-president.

Kyoya Ootori.

Well, what a surprise.

A few months before high school started.

Akane's POV

After middle school ended, my family went to France to enjoy the summer. We stayed at the main estate on my maternal side of the family.

The Grand Tonnerre Estate.

Evidently, my grandmother wasn't impressed with my mediocre performance at school when she found out and proceeded to convey her disappointment. She expected me to do better in high school, or certain precautions would apply if I do not do well. For example, transferring me to a private academy in France permanently or simply disowning me from my mother's side of the family.

My lips tightened as I nodded at her. "Yes, grandmother. I will not repeat it again."

"A disgrace to the Tonnerre legacy," she said. Followed by, "You are exactly like your father."

She looked at me with such disappointment, her teeth clenching and her back straight, her eyes held nothing but contempt. I politely smiled at her.

The voice in my head reminded me that this is how it is, this is what I deserve. I should've crushed the competition while I had the chance. I had multiple chances, but I blew it.

My grandmother would look at me with silent loathing and subtly sneer.

"Do not disrespect me, child. Remember where you belong." she calmly spat.

"Yes, grandmother." would be my solemn answer.

"We are inherently better than most wealthy families. You will do well to remember where you are and hold yourself to that standard," she added, her arms crossed in front of her as she looked down on me. I can almost see the steam coming out of her ears.

"I will do my best, grandmother." I stared at her with a straight face.

"Your best will never be good enough! You must do better than your best! Our family's legacy, our ancestors worked hard to improve will not be disgraced by your failures! Do you understand me! If you were half as good as your cousin you might have been acceptable, but you are made up of half of your filthy-blooded father, unacceptable!" she glared.

"Yes, grandmother." I solemnly replied, my hands clenching to a fist at her remark. The memory of my smiling father flitted across my mind.

"Do not disappoint me, child." she paused.

"You will do best to remember that. You are a Tonnerre by blood. You cannot be anything but perfect. Keep that in your mind." She said sternly as she walked away.

I cannot fault my grandmother for thinking this way. As descendants of royalty, we are required to be perfect. For generations, my family would be raised to a higher standard. As the matriarch of the family, my grandmother was forced to think this way. It was unacceptable to exhibit any imperfections when it comes to my mother's side of the family. We came from a long line of flawless, beautiful, wealthy, and successful 'blue-bloods' after all.

For generations, our family had to hold the utmost pristine standard. Failing to meet such high standards would mean disownment or even the worse cases back in grandmother's time, death. My mother's side of the family was extremely archaic or better word for it would be, barbaric, when it came to reputation. Compared to generations ago, I would say my grandmother really toned down the traditional way of thinking, yet somehow it remains prevalent when she raised my mother and my aunt.

My grandmother was disappointed with my mother for marrying a man whom she didn't approve of and had always resented her for that, every chance she got, she would remind my mother how insolent she is and how disappointing she turned out to be. My mother did nothing but nod her head as my grandmother lashed out at her with hurtful words. My mother would still be considered the lovely daughter of the prestigious Tonnerre family in the public's eye. She will always be required to attend to her duties as a daughter of the noble house of Tonnerre to keep up appearances. My mother would do nothing but attend to my grandmother's wishes, as was expected of a daughter from the blood of royalty. Despite all the hate she received from her grandmother, my mother continued to stay with father.

Even though my father was a wealthy and intelligent man, he didn't come from 'old money' as my grandmother would say. Therefore, my father didn't pass her standards. My grandmother would have preferred my mother to have chosen a candidate from any of the rich European families that also descended from royalty. My father didn't mind my mother's family. He felt lucky that he married the most beautiful and kind-hearted woman that he ever met. That was enough for him.

In an attempt to improve my lacking qualities. My grandmother assigned my cousin to help me 'learn' as much as possible. My mother told me to treat the situation as a form of bonding with my cousin.

Eclair Tonnerre.

Well, treat it, I shall then.

My cousin loved spending her time in the kitchen conversing with the housekeeper. That was where we spent the majority of our time 'learning' to be an acceptable Tonnerre. Eclair would smile at all the stories that the housekeeper would tell. Stories that described her son that played the piano. I would laugh with her at all the outlandish tales that the housekeeper would describe her son coming up with. Eclair would look at the housekeeper with such wonder in her eyes, that I couldn't help but soften just a little bit.

"He's a bright young boy, very enthusiastic. He never failed to put a smile on my face." The housekeeper would say.

I learned the housekeeper's name to be Anne-Sophie de Grantaine. She is a lovely lady with blonde hair and violet eyes. She would always light up when she talked about her beloved son. It made me smile sometimes, she described him as her son that always smiled, never giving up, ever bright and happy. She would go on and say how she missed her little boy and that she would give anything to see him smile at her again. She concluded by saying that his future would be brighter without her in his life because she couldn't offer him much of anything except her life, love, and loyalty.

Anne-Sophie treated Eclair and me as her children. She took care of us with much love that frankly we didn't deserve. Her smiling face never failed to brighten either one of us' days. She cooked and cleaned and often is the person that would spin fantastical stories about love and romance.

Apparently, the Suoh family had recommended her to the Tonnerre estate as a housekeeper after discovering her family's immense debts. My grandmother and the Suoh matriarch were old friends, naturally, my grandmother understood the situation and took Anne-Sophie in as the family's housekeeper. Anne-Sophie merely nodded in acceptance.

I didn't really believe in the whole 'family's immense debt story,' so I had my friend, my father's private investigator, help me uncover the actual story.

Apparently, Anne-Sophie was the secret lover of the Suoh patriarch. It was a short but sweet romance for the both of them but quickly ended after they got caught.

Shocking, that this is where the Suoh matriarch would hide the young illegitimate Suoh's heir's mother. In the estate of a family that could easily buy their whole company.

Subsequently, Eclair, I soon discovered, was an absolute romantic. She conveyed to me her interest in Anne-Sophie's son. She told me tales of the books she had read about true love and happy endings. I would smile at her politely because I honestly do not believe that such things exist. It is merely a load of bull-compost, I thought. Of course, my cousin felt determined about her feelings for Anne-Sophie's son; therefore, I didn't find it in me to tell her what I thought.

But I was curious.

"Why do you believe in true love, Eclair?" I looked at her curiously.

She looked at me and smiled.

"Because there is nothing more beautiful in the world than to fall in love, my dear cousin." She gave me a genuine smile.

"I don't understand." I looked at her in bemusement.

"Two hearts that feel the exact same way about each other, meeting fatefully as an immersive feeling of warmth overcome both their bodies. What could possibly be more beautiful." She sighed and chuckled at my confused face.

I looked at her shrewdly. What a load of...

Nonetheless, Eclair would take me around the city of Trouville as a part of our lessons. She would bring me to brunches and force me to interact with ladies that my grandmother deemed acceptable for our family. I would grin as they sip their chamomile tea and talk daintily about the current gossip. She soon found out that I really didn't need any of the social etiquette lessons, as she determined that I was perfectly capable of keeping up with her in a battle of fake smiles and veiled compliments that hid intention.

Then she asked me one afternoon at our regular brunch.

"Why would you fail in school on purpose? You knew grandmother would not approve," she questioned, delicately reaching over to sip her tea.

I smiled at her, then looked in her direction.

"I didn't necessarily fail at school. I simply 'accomplished' being mediocre at school." I replied back.

She smirked at me and rolled her eyes.

"Why did you become mediocre on purpose?" she then asked.

My lips tightened. A moment passed between us. I looked towards the ocean, towards the crashing waves that would hit the sand. A minute passed. Then I responded,

"I felt pity," I answered her matter of factly as I delicately sipped my tea.

She stared at my face. A look of contemplation overcame her face. She brought her teacup to her lips to take another dainty sip as she reflected on what I said. Then she asked,

"Pity?" she asked, curiosity bloomed and she looked at me softly.

I looked back at her. I smiled politely and brought my own teacup to sip as daintily as she.

"This boy in my class. He would look sad sometimes. So, I didn't bother to try in my class. He's incredibly intelligent, you see, so I wanted him to show it off without any further competition." I confessed.

She smiled at me, her shoulders shook in silent amusement, her eyes betraying her mirth.

"What do you find so amusing?"

She stopped and held my gaze.

"You know, for someone who vehemently refuses to believe in true love. You certainly are enamored." She playfully quipped. She placed her tea down on the table so she can cover her smile with her fingertips.

I stared at her for longer than a full second. A pause as I noticed my ire rising.

"Whatever do you mean?"

She politely smiled at me and said, "You may try to hide it, but I am, if not more so, observant than you, my dear cousin."

My lips turned down, and my eyebrow twitched. I didn't bother trying to hide my ire for her, as I'm sure she thought that she already had me figured out, my perfect cousin who had everything she desired.

"Well, dear cousin. I am nothing at all close to what you claim I am. I am merely stating that he looked… entirely too pitiful that I wanted to erase that foolish fake smile off his face to not ruin my perfectly good day." I gently fumed at her, trying to hide my ire behind my teacup.

She laughed at me as my lips formed a full frown.

"Well, you certainly ruined grandmother's perfect day that's for sure." She courteously chuckled.

I stared at her for more than a few seconds, until I couldn't stop myself. We both burst out laughing at the thought of our grandmother's grumpy face. I wiped the non-existent tears off my eyes as I returned her polite smile.

I don't really know what she meant by that. Obviously, I was following my mother's example by helping out a charity case. It wasn't anything more than that!

On the other hand, Eclair certainly made this summer slightly more bearable. She was born with the blood of Tonnerre, after all. She knew how hard it was for us, how many more rules to follow, how many more people expected us to be perfect. She's the only other one who knows what it's like.

But despite all decorum, Eclair's spirit hardly dimmed. She was still set on her prince that will take her away from her evil curse. I can't help but genuinely smile at her for that, her face lights up like a Christmas tree every time Anne-Sophie talks about Tamaki.

My bond with Eclair grew stronger as the summer progressed. She was just too endearing when she expressed her fondness for romance, it almost made me smile if it wasn't for my lack of belief in the whole charade.

France was lovely in the summer, even with all the lessons and social upkeep. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, the ocean of the beaches matched its color, the food was nothing but excellent, and the fresh air completed the scene.

Yet it wasn't the beautiful scenery that brought me a sudden burst of joy that summer.

It was the letter that I received in the mail one day.

It read:

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Dear Hinode-san,

I hope this letter finds you in good spirits. I trust that France is treating you well this summer. I couldn't help but write you this letter directly.

I would like to personally invite you to be a guest at a new club that Tamaki Suoh and I will be founding. I hope you would consider attending, as I am sure you would find it enjoyable.

Also, I wanted to know the name of that book by the miserably romantic senile author that you were reading. I'm sure I would find whoever they are, be as tragic as you described. Although, I do hope they won't be as 'despondent.'

I look forward to our next meeting.

Sincerely,

Kyoya Ootori

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

For a moment, my heart quite literally stopped. I had to think about actively breathing just to make it function again.

Oh my goodness… I might actually have a heart problem. I need to focus.

I didn't think he knew where I would spend my summer. I had to give him credit for his information-seeking skills.

I turned the letter over, he left a return address. I smiled at the letter and immediately, I wrote him back.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Dear Ootori-san,

France has been treating me rather well, thank you for asking. I was somewhat surprised when I saw your letter. I would never imagine that you would have any reason to write to me.

I'm curious about the club that you and Suoh-san are creating. I'm sure that whatever it is will surely be lovely. I look forward to seeing it once school starts.

Also, I have attached a copy of that book you wanted to know about in this correspondence. Feel free to keep it as a sign of good faith. I hope you won't find it too macabre. Though it would be rather tragic.

I've noticed the 'despondency' was not so apparent in the book.

Let me know what you think.

In all sincerity,

Akane Hinode

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Days would go by as I patiently wait for a reply.

Eclair teased me relentlessly when she found me in my current state. She asked me what the matter was when she saw me looking out the window, watching the road. I simply told her that I was waiting for the truck that delivered the mail. She laughed at my embarrassment and assured me.

She said, "Don't worry, I'm sure he will write you back."

I hid my blush and told her she was delusional. She simply raised her chin in an 'I told you so' fashion and told me how right she was about her 'unrealistic' ideas of romance and her load of cow plop.

"So you mean to say, the girl that told me that romance is a figure of my imagination is also the same girl that writes letters to her lover in the most romantic way of communication?" She smiled at me.

I glared at her. If she wasn't my cousin, I might've actually lost my cool.

"He's not my lover, he will never be my lover! I am not writing love letters to him!" I bit back at her.

She laughed at my response and proceeded to give me a knowing look.

I glared at her and shooed her away.

I patiently sat on the windowsill every hour of the day for more than two weeks, sometimes reading a book, and other times I simply stare outside.

Finally, the truck came and the delivery man had a letter with him.

I looked back and forth to see if my cousin was watching.

.

Great! She's in the kitchen!

.

.

.

I didn't waste my time and all but ran out to gently take it from him. I briskly walked back to my secluded place by the window sill. Carefully, I opened the letter, and it read:

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Dear Hinode-san,

I'm glad that I was able to surprise you. I certainly pray it was received positively. In regards to my reasoning to write, I do have a motive behind it, it is to simply invite you to the host club. All things considered, my intentions are not entirely negative.

I found that the book you gave me to be somewhat unique in its views as far as romantic literature goes. Despite this, I still found it rather enjoyable.

With all sincerity, I look forward to your first visit to our club. Until then, I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer.

Patiently waiting,

Kyoya Ootori

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After I read that letter, I did not know what came over my body. I felt my face start to heat up, as my heart started beating faster. I think I'm getting sick. Maybe I should go lay down on my bed. It isn't healthy for me to read Kyoya's letters anymore. It might have been the material of the paper or the smell of his cologne staining the parchment. Still, I decided that it's not safe to keep rereading it more than ten times than I already have, trying to analyze the meaning behind his words.

I immediately walked to the kitchen to let Anne-Sophie know of my coming illness. I think I'm gonna have to eat something more nutritious if I wanted to feel better.

I'm not going to respond to him. It's bad for my health. I've decided.

Nevertheless, I felt a smile form on my face.

I folded the letter and stored it in my pocket. As I entered the kitchen, I saw Anne-Sophie drinking tea and chatting lively with Eclair. My bright cousin would positively swoon at the housekeeper's story. Then she would go on and ask as much as she could about the remarkable boy that played the piano with heart. My eyes would soften at the scene.

I entered the room and joined in on the conversation, proceeding to tell Anne-Sophie about my health dilemma. Anne-Sophie simply smiled at me and nodded, she started to make a hot soup for my poor health in what looked like amused understanding.

"It's true Anne-Sophie! I think I might have the flu!" I replied back to her smile.

"Yes, yes, of course, it's just the flu." She smiled back at me.

At the same time, my treacherous cousin simply chuckled as she made fun of my predicament.

I frowned at her but basked in how warm I felt around the kitchen with the two people that I love.

I looked out the window and smiled at the serene blue sky and the fluffy clouds that matched the set, quietly anticipating the end of summer.

And before I knew it, summer quickly concluded, and school would soon begin. I can't help but have a feeling that this year is going to be great.

The first day of Highschool, back to the present.

Third-person POV

She smiled at her recollection. She was right, this year was going to be great.

Akane glanced back at the flyer that she was holding. Curiosity and anticipation filled her as she contemplated if she should visit or not. As she was mulling over her thoughts, Kyoya walked into the classroom with Tamaki in tow. They were chatting about outlandish adventures and ordering a big truck of roses for tomorrow. Kyoya sighed as he smiled at Tamaki.

Then he glanced in her direction and smiled politely at her.

She looked away, pretending to blush as she was caught staring. Though was it really an act?

She peeked again to see if he was still looking at her and found that he was chatting with Tamaki again. She gave a sigh of relief when the teacher came into class to begin the lesson.

It was an on-again-off-again battle of possibly catching glances and trying not to get caught by the other. Akane yet internalized that this is entirely childish. A lady of her stature would not resort to 'staring' at a handsome boy. No, no, absolutely not. It cannot go on. She needed to think about how she would do well this year and not disappoint her grandmother.

In what seemed like a short amount of time, class quickly ended. The halls were filled with anticipation as the bustle of the female students did not go unheard. The chatter grew louder as they rapidly rushed to the top floor of the south building, at the end of the north hallway, in a music room that is never used.

Akane felt a nervous excitement as her heart raised to a crescendo.

Then the words of disappointment from her grandmother came to mind as she walked the hallowed halls of the south-most building. Her hand clenched over her chest as she stared at the door at the end of the northern hallway. Her body was overcome with a wave of melancholy. Her steps faltered.

"A disgrace to the Tonnerre legacy."

She slowed her pace to a halt, her hands clenching over her heart.

"You will do best to remember that. You are a Tonnerre by blood. You cannot be anything but perfect. Keep that in your mind."

She tightened her lips and stared at the door at the end of the hallway.

"Do you understand me!"

She clenched her hand tighter and took a step forward, her steps echoing in the empty hall.

"Do not disrespect me, child. Remember where you belong."

She took another step forward, trying to calm her rapidly pumping heart.

"Yes, grandmother. I will not repeat it again."

"You are exactly like your father."

Her step faltered, her heartbeat unbearably loud for her ears.

"A disgrace to the Tonnerre legacy."

'I would like to personally invite you to be a guest at a new club that Tamaki Suoh and I will be founding.' His eyes glinted with amusement, then was hidden by the glare of his glasses.

She stopped and stared at the door in front of her.

"Yes, grandmother. I will not repeat it again."

"This boy in my class. He would look sad sometimes. So, I didn't bother to try in class. He's incredibly intelligent, you see, so I wanted him to be able to show it off without any further competition." he smirked and pushed up his glasses.

"Do not disappoint me, child."

Remember the blood, the legacy that my ancestors had created.

Her heart lurching and her resolve broke.

She looked away from the door. She can't do it, she promptly turned around.

"You know, for someone who vehemently refuses to believe in true love. You certainly are enamored."

She looked back at the door for another moment.

"Why do you believe in true love, Eclair?"

"Because there is nothing more beautiful in the world than to fall in love, my dear cousin."

She turned back and walked away.

A figure standing behind the corner, towards the door to the abandoned music room, walked out of his hiding spot. His glasses glinted as he watched Akane's retreating figure. He frowned. Suddenly, his attention was caught by a blonde and violet-eyed boy of his age calling out to him. He watched her retreating form one last time then walked away from the hall towards the excited blonde.