Hello hello !

A few updates that I wanted my readers to be aware of! I've taken the time to go back and edit and revise each chapter that I have so far. With that being said, there are a few more events and details that have been added into both chapters one and two. Chapter two has been split into parts, so, please, make sure to go back and read over the new and improved parts of the story! I'm so excited to continue with this story as I have some BIG things planned for it. The revisions are just making room for those plans.

Also, I want give a huge thank you to one of my best friends. She's amazing and has been such a big help in my writing process. She's always the first to read over my work and help me revise if I'm having thoughts, or if she has any. Bouncing ideas with her is one thing that really keeps me writing. Thanks to her and her help, I can post with confidence. This story is my baby just as much as it is hers.

Dear JuggernautJJ

Rina is definitely mixed! Although, her English isn't that developed, or articulate because she's lived in Japan for her entire life. I'll start dropping more hints as to what she looks like, so be on the lookout and tell me what you think later. ;)

Dear paulavara140

Thank you so much! I'm thrilled that you're enjoying it so far. Another update, not just revisions, will be coming really soon. So, please, look forward to it!

Dear liptint

When I say that your review had me FLOORED. I was at a loss for words when I first read it and I just want to say, thank you so much for taking the time to leave me such a kind, detailed review. It really does help my confidence as a writer getting appreciation for my work, even in its early stages. I'm happy that you're enjoying Rina's character so far. She's currently my child and I can't wait to see her develop to something even greater as the story progresses. She is most definitely a Blasian character and I love how perceptive you were to that. I dropped a few subtle hints without outright saying it, and it's awesome that you picked up on them. But, I agree! Especially with a manga/anime like Ouran, in many fics, it's frustrating when the characters look amazing in everything, but take no interest in fashion and make no effort to look nice. It seems as though many writers explore both concepts at once because they still want their characters to appear desirable. But, if I'm going to write a tomboy character, she's going to be a tomboy. Just like with Rina, if I'm going to make her fashionable, she's going to care about her appearance, and that's okay both ways. Thank you for taking the time to write this review. I really enjoyed reading it!

Imitation III - chess is a game played by Rina's rules

Leo's Daily Horoscope

Leo, the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to shine, but don't get too comfortable yet. This week has been a tough one, but as most lions are, you're resilient. The universe will be throwing a few more tests your way today, but tell it to bring it on. Once you're out of the tunnel, you'll have nothing but sunshine.

Gaienmae and Aoyama-Itchome - Saturday, March 31, 2018

Like a child or a small dog only able to hold onto one emotion at a time, Rina's anger from the previous day had simmered and she was left only slightly annoyed. Who did they think they were demanding that she take some money as an apology? No matter how many times she thought about it, it still sounded crazy to her. No doubt, the host of the party was used to paying people to be quiet, but Rina refused to be another notch under their belt. Did she use that correctly? Either way, she wasn't accepting the money and that was final.

Morals? They had none and at least her father raised her with enough high morals for both of them. She hoped that the sharply dressed man would leave her alone after yesterday, and that their conversation was enough to convince him to stop. All week she felt like she was once again in another movie, some kind of action-thriller, sans the explosions and buff love interest, or that she was in some kind of marathon, with all the running she had been doing.

After she had left the man behind, she saw him take his phone out of his pocket and she almost expected the bus driver to stop, because, with her luck, the driver would have been in cahoots with these shenanigans, too. But, nothing happened, and she found herself safely at home. That brought her to today, where there was no sign of him, and it was mildly suspicious. It was like the quiet before the storm. The calm outside a department store before a sale. And, Rina just knew, something was going to happen. Her horoscope did say all week. Not to mention her daily horoscope said that she would be tested today, and she didn't like tests.

The practiced server smile painted against her lips as she passed an elegant, dining couple before making her way back into the kitchen where her shoulders immediately slumped and she relaxed. It was always exhausting holding a fake smile, but being as sweet as sugar did get her the nice tips. It felt good to be in the restaurant for once and not off-site catering for some event. The entire summer she was mostly part of the catering crew, and although sometimes events were pleasant, she missed being a regular waitress and not moving around anything but the tables. Maneuvering around people was hard because, well, they moved.

She placed the dirty dishes into the sink, thanking the dishwasher in advance and placing in the next order. Finally able to take a breather, she found her way into the break room and sat against the arm of the chair. She knew if she plopped down onto the comfortable couch she would have a difficult time getting up. Saturday nights were always busy, no matter where she worked. The door opened and Rina waved in greeting.

"Rina, my girl. Fancy meeting you here. Do you come here often?" Tadashi grinned, falling against the couch much like she wanted to. The girl laughed, flicking his nose affectionately. If there was one thing she was going to miss about letting this job go at the end of summer, minus the tips and wage, it was working with Tadashi. She'd agree that becoming friends with him was one of the best things about getting this job, although she would never admit that to him. He could be a little sappy sometimes, which for a literature major, made sense.

"You would know, wouldn't you? You come here way more often than me." The man shrugged, running his hands through his fluffy hair and winking.

"Shh, you'll blow my cover...girl," he paused, making a usual horrible joke, before laughing at his terrible pun. Rina stared at him, not able to believe what she was hearing.

"That was terrible. Omg, I'm glad I won't have to hear those for much longer."

"That was clever! Don't leave me hanging, my Amazonian Princess. That was comedic gold," he wiped a tear from his eye, catching his breath. "But don't remind me. I'm gonna really miss you. Who else is going to help me get things off the high storage shelf?"

"Don't you worry, that's why I've invented something called a ladder. Works like a charm, with or without me." She announced like a commercial, pulling up a picture of a ladder attached to a child's slide on her phone. He snorted laughing at her subtle hit at him.

"Onto more important matters. What's the update with you and your secret admirer? You and Meisa have been blowing the group chat up and I feel left out." He laid down, kicking his legs up behind him like he was at a slumber party and was getting the latest, juicy details. Jokes on him, though, there wasn't much to tell.

"Don't you ever disrespect me like that again. Secret admirer my a-ass," she stumbled over the swear, as she coughed. "And, nothing you haven't read. He's shown up almost everywhere I've gone, but no sight of him today, thankfully."

"Why don't you just take the money? From what Meisa says, it was hefty hefty hefty."

"Yeah, and that joke is wimpy, wimpy, wimpy. But, I refuse to take money as an apology. If the host felt like he or she needed to apologize, they could have sent a nice apology note, but money isn't it." Tadashi shook his head, humming in agreement.

"Tadano took the apology money and quit as soon as he got it." He rubbed the scruff on his chin, giving the girl a look. She returned the look, brow raised as if asking him to continue his thoughts, but he said nothing else.

"Are you trying to convince me to take it?" She sounded almost disappointed, but he shook his head in disagreement.

"Nah, it all seems pretty grimey like you said, but it's not cool that they're harassing you to take it." Rina hadn't thought of it like that, but she was indeed being harassed, whether they saw it like that or not. It was silent for a moment before Tadashi got up from the couch, making a loud groan and stretching. "Let's get back to work before Wataheadache notices we aren't on the floor," he patted her head lightly, careful not to muse her hair. She smiled thankfully at him, happy that he defused the semi-serious atmosphere and followed behind him.

A man dressed in his favorite midnight black suit held the door open for his employer before walking inside. Looking around the restaurant he saw that tonight was rather busy, and he left...Is what he wanted to do, especially after his unbearably long week. He didn't think he had worked as hard as he did that week out of his entire life, and that was saying something. However, Morikawa Rina made his week strenuous.

"And," his employer droned in a bored tone, "You're positive that she works here?" The shorter male asked Kensuke who nodded. His employer hummed, standing in the area as they waited to be seated.

"I have been following her around all week, per your requests. I think I would know where she spends most of her time." The man was feeling a bit annoyed as his employer questioned him. It wasn't like he had been out all week, from sunup to sundown learning everything that he could about some teenaged girl that wanted nothing to do with him. He felt weird even thinking about it like that, but it was like he knew more about her than what he did himself. He was more than sure that daytime stake-outs weren't apart of his job description as a bodyguard, but somehow the teen he worked for always found a way to rope him into his club's shenanigans.

"People who can't even do their job correctly don't get to snark, Kensuke," the boy glanced at the man, daring him to dispute with a wry grin curving his lips. Kensuke grimaced, rolling his eyes. Of course, this would be his fault, he wasn't surprised at all. The sooner they found Rina, the sooner the teen would be able to make her sign the agreement, take the money, and then he could go home and get some much-needed rest.

"Not like I keep you protected or anything…" Kensuke muttered, looking to the side and frowning.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, this way, sir." Kensuke cleared his throat, arm out as he gestured for his employer to walk first. The boy walked first, somehow commanding the attention of those who seemed to notice him with his confident stride up to the maî-tre d.

Ironically, the maî·tre d did not address the boy, but instead, turned to the man behind him. "Hello and Welcome to Dreaming of Gaienmae. It'll be a few minutes for a table."

"Actually, I don't believe it will be a few minutes for a table." The boy responded, flashing his sleek, black card in front of the maî-tre d. "I'd prefer a table closest to the window, but my second choice would also be a table closest to the window."

"R-Right, of course!" The man scrambled, "Right away, sir!"

"Was that really necessary?" Kensuke commented, watching the man scramble and nearly run into the desk as he rushed to find them a table. "You could've waited a few minutes, maybe then a table in her section would've been free."

"It was absolutely necessary, Kensuke. I don't understand why you have decided to be so mouthy tonight." The boy turned to his bodyguard, "Regardless of what section she's in, you do realize that I am able to request who I want to serve me, correct?"

"No, I'm pretty aware of that," Kensuke responded just as the maî-tre d came running back. The man stopped in front of them, hiding his panting breath from the sprint.

"R-Right this way, sir. I've procured the best table we have to offer, along with our best serve—"

"Is the server Morikawa Rina?"

"I, no, um...this server has been here for man—"

"Then change my server." He simply responded.

"I, the, she, s-she does not wait in that area, sir," the man looked nervously between the two. Kensuke bit his lip, avoiding eye contact with the man. If he knew his employer like he did there was no way that he was going to take any excuses. The only thing he wanted was results and it would be wise for the maî-tre d to realize that soon.

"And I assume she has legs. She may use them." The two blinked at one another, staring each other down and with a simple quirk of a brow, the maî-tre d began to scramble to please once more.

"R-Right, I'll go inform the staff of the change. F-Follow me, please." The maî-tre d about-faced and lead the boy and his bodyguard towards the table that he requested. Kensuke gestured for the boy to go before him, and without a hitch, they were led to a dimly lit area next to a window, just as his employer had requested.

Kensuke found it rather ironic that Morikawa Rina worked in this area, as his employer lived in Gaienmae and Aoyama-Itchome. Upon hearing she worked at this restaurant, he was less than impressed, however. Due to a few management issues, the once 5-star restaurants reputation had fallen into the trash. It was rather unfortunate to the teen that he had to even step foot into such a low grade establishment where people flashed what little money they were able to get ahold of.

The bodyguard pulled out the chair for the teen to sit down, pushing it in and standing behind him, hands clasped in front. The maî-tre d looked between the two, carefully placing one menu in front of the seated teen before slipping the second menu underneath his arm. He bowed, excusing himself and left the two patrons to their own thoughts.

"Now, we wait."

Every server had something called the smile. It was the very polite, practiced, perfect little server lilt of the lips that was supposed to keep the customers at ease. Unfortunately, it was starting to crack and she was having a horrible time trying to keep it in place. It had been a long night and the next thing she wanted to do was go home and hop into her bed. Working around people was exhausting, but waiting on them hand and foot was exceedingly debilitating. Therefore, the wearier she became, the more impossible it felt to keep a look of joy on her face. Pouring more of the sparkling champagne into the flutes standing proudly on the table, Rina bowed, keeping the smile on her face with ease, though something to her left caught her attention.

As she looked over, there was Watanabe, with his greasy oil-slick hair standing just a head taller than the maî-tre d, Masaru. Masaru, as Rina had learned, was the nervous, tattle-tale type who could easily kiss many a ass to please, while, as everyone else in the restaurant knew, Watanabe was the asshole type. Perfect fit for one another. They fit perfectly together and Rina could only speculate as to why they weren't together. But they weren't exactly what caught her eyes.

Instead, it was the glint of a watch, and attached to that watch was none other than that blonde-haired menace that had been bothering her all week. Only this time, he had the decency not to wear his sunglasses inside the building. From where she stood, backed off from the table she'd just serviced, she could see that the man had also noticed her and gave a small wave with a weird, grimace-like smile. Rina took that as her cue to disappear further into her section.

Though she hardly got more than a few tables into the enclosed area when she almost ran into Masaru. Another rather unsettling quirk of his—appearing when you least expected him to. "Rina," Masaru breathed out, "You're to take table 9 in Akihiko's section."

"But why?" Rina nearly whined before she remembered where she was and cleared her throat, "Is something wrong with Akihiko?"

"No, unfortunately..." Masaru cleared his throat, "You've been...requested to do so by our guest."

Somewhere in her mind, Rina had a pretty good idea of who had requested her, and with Masaru approaching her like this, she knew she couldn't pretend she didn't know that she was supposed to be serving them. She frowned, Okay, get it together, Rina. It's just a few more minutes until the end of your shift. You can handle this, you can do this, you can—

"Rina, don't keep the guest waiting." Masaru hissed at her, walking by, definitely mumbling something under his breath that she would tell Tadashi and Meisa later. Rina sighed, trying to pull herself together one last time as she went to approach the table.

Lips wobbling, and nose flaring in discomfort, she stood there stiffly, staring at suit-wearing fiend who had now brought a friend with him. Smoothly dressed in a tan turtleneck sweater matched with a grey blazer, he didn't look away from the girl, holding her attention with an authority she didn't even know a teen could have. The man across from him, blonde hair cut short, clear signs of him being either completely foreign or somehow mixed with something foreign in his green eyes and tan-in-a-different-way skin, was familiar in a way Rina didn't want him to be.

"What can I get started for you?" She asked politely, "Our house wine is particularly exquisite today."

"No wine," The boy said, "I've outlined each and every item on this menu that I would like, please return promptly."

Not liking his tone at all, Rina took the menu and vaguely wondered if he should be writing on the menus at all, but the way Masaru was acting, she was sure they'd excuse everything just short of murder (at least she hoped). "Please make yourselves comfortable, I'll be back with your drinks soon."

Within mere minutes, or tens of seconds, Rina and a few other waiters had returned with the courses he'd requested. Against the table was a five-course meal that she was almost positive he wasn't going to be able to finish on his own, nor with the help of his weird bodyguard, but that didn't seem to bother him. He had money after all. The rich so loved to waste money on food they weren't going to finish, and they loved not taking leftovers as well. Now alone after the army of servers dispersed, she didn't move, although every fiber of her being wanted her to dart the other way when he finally spoke. Although his analyst only took a minute, tops, it felt like forever to the girl.

"Morikawa Rina, I presume?" The question was rhetorical, he knew exactly who she was and she felt like such an idiot for reaching up to hide her name tag, especially when he had requested her, by name, she found out on her trek back to the kitchen earlier.

"No." She spoke impertinently, ready to bash her head against a wall. She was not intimidated, not one bit, she was just caught off-guard. And by off-guard, she really meant it. She glanced at the bodyguard, who tried his best to keep a straight face, but was clearly amused by her antics.

He raised a keen brow, his face as straight as a lined stencil as he gestured towards the seat in front of her. "Now that the courses have arrived, please, do me the honor of taking a seat, won't you? Surely it's fairly obvious this meal is to be shared." Once again, it wasn't a question, but after regathering her nerves, she felt more obliged to turn him down.

"I apologize, sir. That would be most inappropriate if I sat with a guest during my working hours." The practiced smile reshaped and formed against her lips. However, it seemed he had an even more practiced one, but it clearly didn't reach his eyes.

"Very well. I assume you understand why I am here, Ms. Morikawa?" They both glanced at the man who had practically ignored both of them in favor of staring at the steaming food on the table. There was no need for her to answer, as just that mistake of glancing at the man was answer enough. "You were quite the hassle to keep up with this week, according to my bodyguard, and frankly, I am tired of playing these games. Unfortunately, for you at least, I had to come and finish the job my guard was not able to." The bodyguard scoffed, but nobody spoke.

She knew it. Always a hopeful one, she hoped that he wasn't related to the sharply dressed man that had been following her all week, but with him knowing her name, it would be foolish for her not to assume. "Yeah, I see you finally decided to come and profess your romantic intentions yourself. Thought the bodyguard was enough, but I'm flattered. I guess this was the other measures you mentioned in the note, huh?"

His eyebrow quirked again, and the slightest tilt of his head showed that he was surprised. He wasn't expecting such a quip, but he supposed it made sense after the week she'd been through, and how pushy he knew he was making his bodyguard be. If it wasn't for Tamaki and his kind-hearted idiocracy, he wouldn't have felt the need to push so hard. In his defense, he never foresaw this being so hard. He wasn't sure if she was playing difficult, or if the amount wasn't enough. The funds for the Host Club had already substantially depleted before the new school semester even started thanks to those wonderful ladies at the gathering.

He assumed that the best way to apologize to the working class was through monetary compensation, and in the beginning, he was correct. There weren't many taken advantage of at the Host Clubs back to school extravaganza, as his idiot friend liked to call it, but the few that were had already accepted and signed the contract. This Morikawa Rina was indeed a headache, and he had to take time out of his own schedule to do a job that should have been completed without him.

"Yes, well, you seem rather...resilient," he phrased his words in a way that would not offend the girl. Rina's mouth opened to retort but was quickly stifled when Manager Watanabe grabbed the scruff of her collar. Oh heck no. She shrugged herself loose from the ill-tempered man and shot him an incredulous look.

"Morikawa, just because you've been requested, doesn't mean you can neglect your other guests," Watanabe whispered to her, grabbing her arm. He then smiled his brightest at the boy and bodyguard, "I'm sorry, but Morikawa does have other responsibi—"

"You wanna explain why you think touching me is appropriate?" She retorted, for once, unable to keep her word vomit to herself. Ripping her arm from his grip, Watanabe was shocked for a moment before fixing his face. He seethed, clearing his throat, and motioned Masaru to placate the tables from Rina's section.

"If you don't start doing your job, I'll be taking your minutes of idleness out of your paycheck." Inside, she directed his attention towards the black-haired teen sitting there observing the entire interaction. She was like a person at an airport guiding the planes to a safe landing as she really wanted to direct the impertinent manager to the actual problem. Not like he would believe her anyway. Instead, she took this as her moment to get away, no matter how unpleasant getting reprimanded was.

"Well, as you can see sir, I have to get back to-" The boy seemed to take this as his chance as well and took a black rectangular card out of his wallet once again, flashing it at the manager between two fingers. The scowl on the manager's face disappeared and a pleasant smile replaced the nasty look within seconds. Rina, having taken a step back, could only stare at the conniving male.

"I believe I have a solution for that," He spoke, placing the card against the table and watching the ill-tempered man follow the action with his eyes. "As I have requested Morikawa Rina's attention, I am more than willing to buy out your lovely employees' time if you allow her to sit and speak with me for a moment." There was no doubt in manager Watasellout's eyes, as he pulled out the chair and dragged the girl over to sit into it. She tried to get back up, but his hand firmly came down against her shoulder and held her in place.

Rina stared at the boy, then looked at Watanabe, "Anything else you may need, please do not hesitate to ask." He bowed deeper than Rina had ever seen and disappeared from whence he came.

Rina would agree that if this was an actual date, with company she enjoyed, it would be nice. Wonderful lighting, soft music, and pleasant aromas from the food wafting from the kitchen. Regrettably, this wasn't one of those situations, and the boy in front of him seemed to be getting a kick out of it. "So," she started, "I'm just throwing a wild guess out here, you're the host from the party?"

"One of them, yes. Now, with the pleasantries aside, there is one rather annoying host that is particularly regretful at your treatment during the gathering. Unlike my guard, I am not taking no for an answer and would rather end this game early. It was amusing at first, now I'm rather tired of it." He slid the piece of paper across the table, placing a pen on top of it. Rina looked down at the small print, reading over the first and last paragraphs of the agreement and biting her lip in thought.

He was confident that this would be the end of this little headache, but she slid the contract back defiantly. "You really are trying to buy my silence. That's pretty grimey," she confessed, borrowing Tadashi's words for a moment. He frowned, looking at the girl as if she had sprouted two heads throughout this entire one-side conversation it seemed.

"Yes, well, monetary value is the way of the world. It is how you commoners make a living, correct? From paycheck to paycheck, I've heard—" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, or she didn't want to believe what she was hearing. Commoners? What was this, the Edo Period? This was the most self-righteous view of the world that she had ever heard, and she wasn't even sure if he knew what he was saying was wrong.

Standing up from her seat, she took the glass of water sitting before him into her hands and splashed its contents across his face. His eyes didn't look so sharp and shrewd anymore, especially when the palm of her hand clapped against his face. Or, at least that was how she felt on the inside and could never, would never do something like that to another person. However, imagining it wasn't too bad and at least her imagery self got to feel some kind of gratitude. Instead, she stared at him, unsure of how to respond to his words, although, it seemed like she didn't have to as he continued for both of them.

He leaned back in his chair after pushing the paper and his card towards her once more. Checkmate, he thought to himself, that same cold smile finding its way back onto his features. "That was all the time I required, now please, put however much you believe your time is worth on my bill." His word was final as he took a tablet out of his bag and begin typing, ignoring Rina's presence.

With a shaking hand, Rina snatched the card and agreement from the table before getting up and taking long strides away. Holding her breath, she tried to keep in the angry tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. No worries, I'm going to have the last laugh, Snake-eyes.

The teen locked the screen of his iPad and placed it back into its protective case once the bill for his meal came back around. "You see, this is how you handle a simple problem like Morikawa Rina," he sat back into his chair, eyeing his bodyguard. Kensuke shrugged his shoulders, just pleased he could actually get his first restful sleep of the week. The man grabbed his employer's items, packing up the boy's papers before slinging the bag over his shoulder.

He wasn't surprised to see that there was a different waitress delivering the bill with Morikawa Rina nowhere to be had explained to her that if she didn't accept the terms when he asked, then other measures would have to be taken. It was such a shame since the girl seemed rather nice. He had hoped for her case she had been wise and performed the tasks his employer told her to do since the teen was rather confident that the compensation had been handled. The waitress handed the teen the bill with a highly artfully crafted smile. One intended to garner his attention, but he ignored it, more interested in the two pieces of paper and card she held in her hands.

Taking the bill and agreement from her, he noticed that the agreement form had been signed. No fraud as he could read her signature clearly. The waitress stood there for a moment, waiting for him to give her his undivided attention, and when he looked up, she thought she had gotten lucky. He definitely seemed like her type. "You're still standing here, why?" His dry tone made her frown and quickly leave with a scowl on her face.

The teen rolled his eyes, glancing over the copy of the bill. A disbelieving snort slipped past and he couldn't contain the amused lilt of a smile that cracked his stony demeanor. He was intrigued at this Morikawa Rina as she had taken out exactly how much his bill was, including the time for her work hours. On the amount was a small scribbled note, and he could only find himself to be somewhat annoyed.

Mr. Ootori, owner of the black card and employer of the awkward bodyguard, sir.

My wage is $12.28 per hour. I guess the joke is on you because I only had two hours of my time left tonight. So, I'll only be taking $24.56. I also signed the agreement, so now you really have to leave me alone. Enjoy the rest of your night, I guess, and I hope we don't run into each other again! Because, yikes! Your company was painful.(◦'ںˉ◦)

Kensuke glanced at the note, chuckling, "I guess now you see why it took me a week, huh?"

"Be quiet, Kensuke." Perhaps she had checkmated him, too.