Shadow Queen

Chapter 12

TESTS

...and other stories...

Third Person

"How come Kaede's always in the back table studying now?" Haruhi asked Kyoya, happening to be passing by. The two looked at her from afar, sitting in what used to be Tamaki's "eating ramen" spot.

"It seems as if Kaede's test scores have lowered," Kyoya said, fixing his glasses. "By the way things are going, she might be put in the regular rankings like you and everyone else."

"What? Didn't she get the highest score on exams?"

"She got a 93; In other words, that's one of her lowest scores."

"That exam was hard, though..."

"She got the easy questions wrong."

"Cracks under pressure, huh?"

"SHADDUP!" shouted Kaede, currently dressed up as Katana. "I AM TRYIN' TO STUDY, OOTORI! YOU FRIGGIN' NOSY JERK!"

Haruhi was surprised. Not that Kaede was shouting at only Kyoya ('cause most of the time she does), but that she was exceedingly immersed in her studies. She knew that, usually, Kaede only studied when she was deathly bored. "How come she studies for once?" she asked, curious.

Tamaki went from behind, since he had a break in between appointments. "Looks like Kaede got into a bet with my father."

They heard a sickeningly crunch! as yet another [mechanical] pencil breaks from Kaede's grasp. Kyoya fixed his glasses. "If each pencil she has broken equals to a wrong answer, she has had only 6 wrong answers."

"Is it okay that she is breaking them?" asked Haruhi, flinching at the waste of money. The two rich guys turned their gazes to the commoner.

"They're only 180 yen," said Kyoya. Haruhi sweatdropped.

"So, Tamaki-senpai, what is it about a bet?" she asked, turning to the blonde.

"My father's taking a liking to Kaede, apparently. He told her that if she gets a perfect score, and he meant a 100, on the end of the quarter exam, he'll switch Sachiko into the A classes."

"So that's why she's studying."

"I don't know about you, but it looks like she would be more content if she was on her computer doing drawing tutorials or stuff for the club," said the twins, piping into the conversation.

"Uwah, Kae-chan looks angry!" pointed Honey to an exceedingly fed up Kaede. She broke another pencil and stood up from her chair. Her threatening gaze turned to the Hosts.

"I feel like we have to run."

"Me too."

And so, the rest of the Host Club time was spent having the Hosts being chased by a rather swift Kaede.


"Kaede, it's time to go," Kyoya said to a sleeping Kaede, shaking her a bit. They were all alone, since Kyoya stayed behind to wake up his childhood friend.

"Kiyoshi...," Kaede softly muttered. Kyoya flinched, abruptly taking back his hand. "Kyoya," Kaede said too, laughing a bit.

Is she messing with me? thought Kyoya, annoyed. If she's awake...

Kaede, though, made no sign of complete consciousness. She continued to softly snore, when Kyoya was annoyed to his wit's end. "OI!" he shouted rather loudly. No response.

Kyoya had a rather weird idea, but it was better than staying at school the whole night. His hands hesitantly moved near Kaede's sides... and he tickled her.

That's right. He tickled her. And Kaede woke up in a flash; even falling to the floor in surprise. She looked up to Kyoya, whose nerve had popped. Kaede started laughing crazily, rolling on the floor. "Oh my GOODNESS, I lost it," Kaede said, unable to stop. "It's just so nostalgic."

"Shut up," Kyoya said, still greatly irritated. Kaede kept on laughing.

"S'been a while since someone's tickled me," Kaede said.

"Whatever; we just need to get out of here before dark."

The two, after Kaede had settled down, picked up their stuff to leave. Kyoya insisted for him to walk Kaede home, even though there was the option of driving in the limo.

They reached her doorstep in record time, and so the pair parted. As Kaede opened the door, she sighed.

"And so one relights a spark..."


The next day, Kaede bumped into Kamiko. "OI KAMIKO!" shouted Kaede, carrying her books. "ISH YOU 'GAIN!" Kaede's speech was slightly weird due to early morning excitement.

"Kaede...?" Kamiko asked, a little weirded out.

"How you feelin' bout Kyoya?"

That comment sure did strike the heart. Great, Kaede, just great.

"Sorry, Kamiko," Kaede said softly.

SLAP! Kamiko slapped her cheeks hard. Kaede's eyes widened. "It's okay Kaede," she grinned at the surprised girl. "He turned me down nicer than I thought he would."

"Well, he better," Kaede clenched her fist in a show of protectiveness. Kamiko laughed. I'm glad that she's the one for Kyoya-sama.

"I'll build my own confidence and make men fall at my feet!" she pumped her fist in the air. Kaede stared at her for a second, confused at the sudden character change. Red started to flood Kamiko's cheeks. "Mou, Kaede, don't look at me like that, I'm already embarrassed!"

Kaede smiled warmly at Kamiko's flustered face. "Damn, I can't understand lack of confidence." Kamiko rolled her eyes at her arrogant friend. "I mean, when I'm nervous 'bout somethin', I forget 'bout it."

"What? How can you do that?"

"Because I know someday I will die and my regrets will all fade away..."

"Um, that doesn't help."

"Really? It's usual if when someone regrets something they want to die. It helps if you know YOUR FATE IS NOT DIFFERENT."

"Kaede, are you high on something?"

"No, why?"

"Nothin'."


At the end of the day, the Host Club still looked to see Kaede studying during business hours. Dressed as Katana, she entertained her numerous guests by maintaining her usual broody attitude.

"Katana-kun, what are you doing?" one of the guests asked.

"I'm studying, genius," Kaede replied, her tone sharp.

The hosts, who were still observing, gasped. "Uwaaaa! Kata-chan is being mean to the guests!" cried Honey.

"How is her behavior different? She's always like this, you know," Sachiko said, piping in.

"At this rate, she'll scare away her guests!" exclaimed Tamaki.

"Yeah!" agreed the twins.

"But, they sure don't look scared," Kyoya pointed out, making them turn in surprise. Well, actually, the girls they thought were afraid had hearts in their eyes. "I think we found 'his' selling point."

"You guys found whose selling point?" added a voice. Everyone turned, again. It was Kamiko.

"Kamiko-chan!" Sachiko said in surprise. "You don't go here often."

"Kaede acted a bit weird earlier, and I found out that she hangs out here a lot."

"Well," Kyoya interrupted, "Kaede's not here right now."

Kamiko almost jumped in surprise, seeing Kyoya there. "What? Um, then I'll go." She turned to leave quickly.

"Wait!" a hand on her arm stopped her. Kamiko spinned around, startled. It was a boy, a handsome one, whose face she didn't recognize. "Are you Kamiko-chan?"

"Y-yes," Kamiko replied, still a bit startled. The boy, who was 'Katana,' looked at her intently.

"You can stay here for a bit, Kamiko-chan. I'm sure a presence like yours could shut up the idiots," Katana said, both kind and bitter (however those tones fit together).

"Um, o-ok," Kamiko stuttered.

And so she was stuck. With the ridiculously handsome hosts that she was not immune to, like Kaede and Haruhi (Sachiko excluded; she was a nervous wreck).

"You are Kaede's friend, no?" Kyoya surprised her even more by sitting on the couch across Kamiko. She couldn't help but blush.

"Yes."

"Do you happen to know anything about her-" he was interrupted by a sudden hand to the mouth.

"Well, well, O-Kyoko-chi..." To Kamiko's surprise, it was Shiraishi-kun. "Seems like you've been busy with Kamiko-chan."

Katana looked annoyed, and a nerve had popped. Kyoya looked irritated too. "Don't call me using a girl name, Shiraishi."

"Sooo... Kamiko-chan...," Katana ignored him, much to his dislike. "Are you liking your stay?"

"Um, yes, Shiraishi-kun," Kamiko said politely.

"Great! Next time you should request me or Haruhi, since Kyoko-chi is a very very bad influence on innocent people like yourself," Katana pulled off a winning smirk, showing both cleverness and kindness. It made Kamiko flustered.

"Oi, Shiraishi," interrupted Kyoya, annoyed. He took Kaede by the ear and tugged hard. It made the crossdressing girl wince. "Don't call me Kyoko!"

Kamiko looked at the scene in wonder. Was Kyoya-sama straight in the first place? she thought in horror.

Horrified by the fact, Kamiko rushed to get out. "Bye, Shiraishi-kun, Kyoya-sama!"


A/N: (o.\\\)