After such a long day of traveling (that had really started the day before), all Missy Preston wanted to do was take a long bath. Preferably, one with bubbles and water hot enough to remove the top layer of her skin.

And yet, she had an excruciatingly long limo ride to endure. If the Hitachiins hadn't been there, Missy was sure she would have just gone back to sleep. However, presentation mattered and she certainly didn't trust them to not do something nefarious to her in her sleep, even with their mother watching (watching was questionable. She was, in fact, flipping through a catalogue rather distractedly).

So, Missy stayed awake for the entire twenty minute ride, having a stilted conversation with Myles, reverting back to English for his comfort.

"Galubchik, what do you think about marking a shoot next Thursday?" The photographer asked, looking through his planner.

"That depends on the time. I'm not really sure what's going on with my whole school situation," Missy answered, pulling her phone from her bag to check her emails.

Spam. Spam. A sale for a store she didn't like. More spam.

"Oh!" Yuzuha said suddenly. "Yes, I'm supposed to call Suoh, thank you for reminding me."

"What about?" Hikaru asked, his amber eyes flickering between Missy and his mother questioningly.

Yuzuha grinned widely, skimming through the contacts list on her phone. "About enrolling Missy-san at Ouran."

"You can't be serious."

All eyes in the vehicle turned to the twins, though most of them didn't know which twin was speaking.

"Oh come on, she's a commoner. Ouran only allows the most elite," he defended.

"He's not wrong," Kaoru stated, echoing his twin's sentiments.

Hikaru shot his brother a grateful look. "Thank you, Kaoru. I'm not wrong."

"But what about that honor student, Fujioka-san?" Yuzuha asked pointedly.

"What about Haruhi?"

"He's a commoner and he attends Ouran."

"Yeah, as an honor student. Haruhi is allowed in because of his exceptional grades, but I don't know if the same exceptions will be made for Preston-san," Kaoru explained.

Myles looked taken aback. "Well, Missy has excellent grades. An almost perfect GPA, actually, in spite of her career," the older man defended.

"Unfortunately, Japanese schools operate a little differently than western schools. The High Schools here require an entrance exam, and schools like Ouran Academy are particularly picky about who they let into their system. Not to mention that the term has already started," one of the twins stated, not in a unkind way.

"Hikaru-san or Kaoru-san?" Missy asked, looking between the two twins with interest.

"Pardon?"

"I'm asking the name of who just said that," the girl stated evenly, her blue eyes staring intently at one of the twins.

"Hikaru," the twin who had just spoken answered quickly.

Missy looked between the two. Obviously, that was a lie, considering how quickly he responded. So the more helpful one was Kaoru? Missy tucked that information away for another day. "Hmm."

Yuzuha looked unperturbed by the words her sons had uttered, and instead just looked more determined. "I'll just call in a favor with Suoh-san. Besides, she may not have the background we want, but she has a public image, and we'll only cultivate it further during her time here. It's really a good situation for everyone to have her there, and that's exactly what I'll tell Suoh-san." With those words, Yuzuha dialed the number on her phone, placing it next to hear ear while the rest of the car lapsed into uncomfortable silence.

Hikaru, as Missy had determined him to be for this car ride at least, continued to send her stares that were not exactly hostile, but the word wouldn't be far off. His brother, on the other hand, chose to stare out the window, watching the scenery pass by. Myles continued to glance through his planner, jotting down notes periodically.

"Ah, Suoh-san, how are you?" Yuzuha said suddenly, a laugh escaping her mouth. From the tone of their introduction, Missy guessed that the two had been friends, or at least associates, for some time.

"So I understand the school term has already started, correct?" There was a pause, in which everyone in the vehicle waited for the end of impatiently. "No, nothing like that. They haven't gotten in trouble for anything yet. Give it at least another week before that happens. Besides, you know Fujioka-san and that boy of yours have been really good for them. Anyway, I have a proposition for you."

Proposition? Missy was surprised at the use of the word. She figured a call from Yuzuha would be enough to get her into the school. Was the designer really going to that much work to get her into the Academy? Missy tugged on the hem of her skirt, anxiety churning around in her stomach.

At this point, Hikaru and Kaoru's gazes each turned towards their mother in interest, waiting for her to offer up the 'proposition'.

Yuzuha brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "You see, I have someone that I would like to enroll in your academy. She's an associate of mine, a model for my designs, actually. And I had the most darling idea!"

Another pause.

"Oh, Suoh-san, you know me so well!" Yuzuha responded with another chirpy laugh. "When can she take the entrance exam? Tomorrow should be fine. I'll have the twins drop her off in the morning."

Kaoru turned his attention to his brother, noticing a flicker of annoyance cross his face. Once again, Yuzuha was passing the commoner off into their laps.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll have the design done before this semester is over. If it meets your approval, then we can move into replication and distribution before the end of Christmas break. Oh, they'll be the most darling things you've ever seen! Alright, give Tamaki our love! Goodbye!"

Missy had to admit, while Yuzuha had always been polite, she had never seemed so . . . cheerful before. The sudden change in demeanor certainly threw the model off.

As soon as the call was ended, the smile left Yuzuha's mouth. "Were you taking notes, Missy-san? That's one way to get men to do whatever you want. Of course, I doubt you really need help in that department, with a face like that," the older woman said knowingly.

Hikaru snorted at this comment and Myles had to suppress a smug grin.

Missy, however, seemed completely unphased by Yuzuha's comments. "What are the designs for, Hitachiin-san?" she asked. The brunette figured she would rather have the information out in the open from the very beginning. After all, it would probably involve her at some point or another. Missy noticed that Kaoru, as she had determined was the twin by the window, looked at his mother at her comment, clearly also aware that it would probably involve his effort as well.

"Oh that? I just let Suoh know that we would be happy to design and distribute new uniforms for the school. I'll say, I'm getting tired of the same powder blue blazers and those awful misshapen daffodil dresses every day. Whoever designed those should be removed from the industry," she harrumphed, an odd display that seemed contrary to the woman's usually controlled and pleasant demeanor.

And with those words, before anyone could protest, the vehicle came to a halt. Before the chauffeur even had the opportunity to get out and open the door for the passengers, Missy had opened the door and stepped outside. From where she stood, she could see two maids from the house, both with thick black hair, stride purposefully towards the limo, presumably to remove the luggage. A man with a receding hairline and many wrinkles on his rather expansive forehead, followed behind them.

As Myles followed Missy out of the car from her side, the Hitachiins exiting from the side which the chauffeur held open, the older gentleman approached the family.

"Welcome home, masters Hitachiin. And welcome to the Hitachiin residence, honored guests," he greeted formally, sending a patient smile towards Missy and Myles. Two footmen, dressed identically, followed behind him, opening the trunk and removing the luggage with the maids, and carrying it off into the house with the efficiency of ants on a mission for their queen.

"It's a pleasure to meet you . . ?" Missy trailed off, indicating for the man to answer.

"My name is Kenchi, and I am the butler of this residence, Preston-san. And if you and Tanner-san will please follow me, I will show you to your suites."

Myles shot Missy a confused look and the model quickly translated for the Russian man, knowing that the language was over his head. "This is Kenchi. He's showing us to our rooms," she explained.

"Yes, of course, galubchik, I really need to begin learning this language. I can't depend on you all the time," he grumbled good-naturedly.

And with that, the entire party, the Hitachiins included, followed Kenchi into the manner.

Minutes later, Missy found herself alone, (finally!) in her own suite, her suitcases placed neatly by the door by the footmen, with a promise that a maid would be by in a half hour or so to help her unpack. That left the model with just enough time to take a bath and soothe her aching muscles, tired from all the sitting she had been doing for the last day.

She pulled a band t-shirt and a pair of black leggings, some underwear, and some fuzzy socks out of her overnight bag. Grabbing her toiletries, she headed through the white door, gilded with gold, that was across from her bed, and found herself in a rather unnecessarily large bathroom.

The sense of deja vu was almost overwhelming.

The white marble countertops, the large mirrors along the wall, the massive tub sitting underneath frosted windows let in plenty of natural light.

It all felt painfully familiar.

Taking a deep breath, Missy set her items on the counter before heading over towards the bath tub, sitting behind a white partition screen. Why she would need a partition in her own bathroom, the girl didn't understand, but she knew it was a matter of decor in homes like these.

Her first, and only, complaint with the bathtub was that there were at least a dozen different knobs and buttons along the side. After pressing several different buttons, she had accidentally turned on a stereo system (which she hooked her phone up to, via bluetooth) an aromatherapy setting (something with a vanilla/coffee scent?) and unintentional mood lighting that took another two minutes to turn off (because she did not want to bathe in the dark).

Quickly, she stripped her clothes from her body, throwing them over the partition and towards the counter, she hoped, and slid into the steaming hot water, sighing at the immediate relief it brought to the dull ache in her hips and knees. The model then took the hair tie from her wrist and pulled her loose waves up into a messy bun in an attempt to keep them dry.

Missy left her phone on a towel at the edge of the tub, allowing her to flip through her music casually while she relaxed. With a smile, she put on a band that Josh had introduced her to a few years back. He had even taken her to one of their concerts the last time he had returned from Syria. Listening to them always made her feel a little better, like she was still connected to her best friend, even when they were thousands of miles apart.

Sighing, she pressed play and allowed herself to slip further into the water.

A Dustland Fairytale beginning,

With just another white trash county kiss in '61.

Just then, she heard the bathroom door open.

Probably one of the maids that was going to unpack my bags for me, she thought to herself.

"Thank you!" Missy called cheerfully as she heard her clothes being removed from the floor and the bathroom door shutting behind the maid. She wondered if it was one of the dark-haired maids from earlier, or a different one altogether. After all, big homes like this one needed a large staff just for the basic upkeep.

Glancing over at the clock, (placed conveniently on one of the tiled walls in her line of sight) Missy saw that it had been nearly twenty minutes since she entered the bathroom. She spent another two minutes avoiding the inevitable before deciding that it was time to get out of the water before she turned into a wrinkly prune.

Pausing her music, she reached for the drain in the tub, turning it sideways so the water could escape. She stepped out and reached for one of the fluffy white towels she had placed her phone on, grateful for the foresight in putting it so close to her instead of leaving it on the shelf with the rest of them.

Wrapping herself in it, she had to admit that it was incredibly plush, though not as large as she was used to.

Stepping away from the partition, she walked towards the counter, surprised to find that none of her clothes were on the counter where she had left them.

"The maid must have put them in my room," Missy assured herself, opening the door in search of her clothes.

Unfortunately, the clothes she had picked out were nowhere in sight.

And even worse, her suitcases were gone.

A/N: So, I decided to update again this week as an apology for being so bad about updates in the past. I hoping that I'll have a little more time now so that I can update this story once or twice a week. If I keep with that plan, it should be done before the year is over! I don't know, it all depends on the inspiration I receive.

Thank you so much for the love on the last chapter. You guys are the best, and I really appreciate you all. To the new followers, welcome to my story!

Side note: Anybody else in love with the EP Fletcher dropped recently? Most of the songs are the singles she put out last year and earlier this year, but I've been listening to Princess for the last hour and it's a jam. It has now taken a slot on my 'femme fatale' playlist.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

-Wri