The week passed by without another showing of Merry at the Host Club. Kyoya wasn't all that worried. He knew she'd show her face sooner or later. She reminded him of a strange blend of Haruhi and himself. Incredibly open minded but wouldn't hesitate to fight dirty within the appropriate means of civil conversation. She was an enigma. She was interesting, and she'd challenged him for reasons that had yet to reveal themselves.
He had tried to subtly seek her out during lunch breaks, but she slipped past his sight and practically disappeared. Trying to find her was like trying to catch mist in your hands.
But Friday afternoon, everything changed.
"What is this?" Tamaki stared, aghast at the red tape lining the doors to Music Room 3. An official looking note was attached. He snatched it up and read it quickly, paling. "EH?!"
Kyoya pried it from his grasp, brows furrowing. He got to the signature at the bottom and paused before rereading it.
"What's happening to the Host Club, Takashi-kun?" Honey whimpered, hugging his cousin's head and squishing Usa-chan into his ear. "Is everything going to be okay?"
Takashi pat his cousin's back. "Aa."
"What does it say?" the twins asked in tandem, eying the red tape.
Kyoya pushed his glasses back up his nose. "It seems that the Chairman has come to the decision that the Host Club monopolises the Music Room too much."
"What does that mean?" Haruhi squinted at the letter, trying to read it over Kyoya's tall shoulder. "No one uses this room, which is why we're here."
"It means that someone has thrown down the proverbial gauntlet," Kyoya replied, already having a vague idea on who it was. "We are no longer allowed into the Music Room on Friday's. It has been scheduled for private use until the end of the school year."
"But Friday's are our best days!" Kaoru exploded. "And the End of Year party is always huge! We need time to prepare!"
"We can't ignore the Princesses for more than a weekend! They will be so lonely!" Tamaki cried. "Mommy! Fix this!"
Kyoya already had his cell pressed to his ear. "I'm planning to."
A throat was cleared. The group turned to see a blank faced Merry, her uniform impeccable and bags slung over her shoulder.
"May I get through please?"
"Merry-chan! This is horrible!" Tamaki darted forward to clutch at her shoulders. "We can't entertain you this afternoon, Princess. Some awful person has kicked us out of the Music Room every Friday until the end of school! Oh, I'm filled with such sorrow!"
She brushed him off and walked towards the door, fishing out a silver key. "I know," she replied without looking back. "I'm the one who booked the room."
Everyone, save for Kyoya whose eyes were narrowed dangerously, stared at her in shock. "EH?!"
She tapped a finger to her bottom lip in false thought as she slid the key into the lock. "You know, I always thought it odd how the only functional Music Room was being used for tea parties. But the Chairman eased my troubles when I asked him about it, saying that most of the students have private music tutors. After all, Ouran is famous for its monetary affluence and academic record, not its music program. Once I explained my dilemma of having nowhere to practice he was more than willing to help me out."
"There are other music rooms," Kyoya pointed out, his cell phone tucked back into his pocket. "Surely you could find one to your tastes. And I'm also curious as to how you managed to get a key for the room. The only spare is in the hands of the Host Club."
"I have a master key," she replied, pushing the doors open and ducking underneath the red tape. "And the other music rooms seem to be undergoing sudden renovations as they found mildew in the ceiling plaster. How unfortunate," she pouted cutely before smiling deviously at them all. "I'm sure you can speak to the Dean if you have any issues. If that's all, have a good afternoon gentlemen."
She slammed the door and the lock slid into place.
They stared at the closed doors in shock for precious seconds until the twins exploded.
"This isn't fair!"
"She can't do that! We've been here for the last two years!"
"Haru-chan, does this mean we can't eat cake today?" Honey sniffled.
Haruhi shook herself from the daze she was in. "I… I don't know, Honey-sempai."
"We need to see the Dean," Takashi's deep voice suddenly stated.
Everyone nodded, turning on their heel and making their way quickly towards the Dean's office. Haruhi huffed, trying to keep up with her shorter legs.
Kyoya trailed behind the group, taking a last glance at the closed double doors before scowling lightly.
The Club was dear to all of them. Miss Watanabe just opened a can of worms she might not be ready for. When banded together, they could do amazing things.
Merry wouldn't know what hit her.
Merry peered through the small crack in the door, smiling to herself as she watched the Host Club turn the corner of the hallway. She unlocked the door and tore the red tape off. All she had to do now was wait.
Turning on her heel, she breathed in deeply, shoulders sagging with relief as she walked further into the room. Without the tables, sweets and tea sets the sound bounced off the walls in a way that gave her chills.
She unclipped her case and gently lifted her grandfather's violin and bow out, stroking the familiar wood lovingly.
She refused to underestimate the power of the Host Club and guessed she had an hour, tops. Plenty of time for a quick practice before Ran came looking for her and dragged her back home.
She placed the instrument under her chin, mentally chose a song and began to play, getting swept along the musical currents that bounced around the room and wrapped around her.
She had an unconscious smile on her face as she played and her soul was at peace, her heart pouring out into her music.
She was reminded of happier times whenever she played her violin.
Happier times in a place she'd rather be.
She barely noticed when the door was cracked open and a few curious faces peeked in.
The Host Club walked out of the Dean's office in various moods. Tamaki was crying, the twins were seething, Honey hugged his bunny and Takashi closer, and Haruhi was frowning. But Kyoya…
The Shadow King had a small, mysterious smile on his face, his eyes cold and calculating.
Everyone shuffled a little further away from him. His mind and thought patterns were always an enigma but this was just plain disturbing.
"What do we do?" Honey asked, his voice small. "How can Merry-chan be so mean?"
"This is her revenge for a certain pair of twins who will remain nameless being complete and utter jerks to her," Haruhi snapped, glaring at Hikaru and Kaoru. "It's not the nicest thing to do, but I can kinda see where she's coming from."
"No, this is a blatant challenge," Kyoya chimed in. "By convincing the Chairman, Tamaki's father no less, she's trying to show us that she can do what she wants, when she wants."
"And you rich bastards don't do that?" Haruhi grumped.
"Our actions rarely interfere in a way that affects others in a negative light," Kyoya pointed out. "Much," he amended, making Haruhi's jaw click shut. "She's crafty, but she's underestimated us." He glanced at his wrist watch, noting that they had spent longer in the Dean's office than anticipated. "No use worrying about it now. Come Monday, everything will be back to normal and our schedule will remain unchanged."
A sudden stampede drew their attention to a mass of chattering school girls, gushing over something or another. One ran up to Tamaki with starry eyes.
"Oh Tamaki-kun! We missed you at the Club today!"
"Bwah?" was all the King could say.
"I'm sorry about today, ladies, but Host Club on Friday's will be-"
Kyoya was cut off by a squeal. "It was incredible, Kyo-kun! I've still got chills!"
"What's happening?" Honey tilted his head in confusion, eyes wide and shimmering. The girls 'aww'ed.
"Despite there not being any handsome men to serve us tea, the music more than made up for it!"
"Music?" Haruhi whispered.
"Merry-san is truly amazing, Haru-kun," one girl blushed shyly. "She said that you were all gracious enough to let her borrow the room to practice on Friday afternoons from now on, saying that you sacrificed your time so she would be happy and feel welcome at a new school. That's so sweet of you! She's wonderful! Not like people have been saying at all!"
"She was so cute and delicate, like a flower! She was so shy when we caught her playing her violin."
"She agreed to give me lessons! She's so nice!"
"Maybe she's a tsundere?"
Kyoya felt his eye twitch but he smiled warmly at the girls. Merry played dirty, getting the clientele on her side while the Club was chasing dead ends. If they cut Merry out of the Music Room now, they would be seen as unnecessarily cruel to someone considered undeserving of such scorn and their ratings would suffer. It seemed it was he who underestimated Merry instead of the other way around.
A minor miscalculation, but something that wouldn't happen again.
"Of course, ladies. The Host Club deems all of its Princesses to be beyond compare. We'd do anything to make you feel more comfortable," Kyoya purred. "If you'll excuse us, we need to make sure our newest addition is all settled and comfortable with this new arrangement."
Kyoya stalked away towards the Music Room, Tamaki trotting to keep up. Haruhi dragged the simmering twins away by their ears, releasing them once they were out of the girls' earshot.
"Bye-bye, Princesses!" Honey called out cutely, waving cheerfully.
The girls giggled and waved before hurrying to go home for the weekend.
"That sly little…" Hikaru hissed until Kaoru calmed him down.
"You gotta admit that what she did was impressive," Haruhi chuckled. "She cut us off at every turn."
"Someone is being mean to the family, Haru-chan! This is no laughing matter, even if it is a lovely Princess who's trying to tear us apart!" Tamaki wailed. "Mommy! What are we going to do?"
"Don't worry, Daddy. Mommy's going to fix this."
Haruhi laughed uneasily. "H-hey guys, you realise that this is partially your fault anyways, right? I mean, if you all hadn't treated her so roughly then the Club wouldn't be in this mess."
"If it's our mess, it's yours too, Haruhi," Kaoru pointed out.
"Yeah! All for one and one for all, and all that other stuff," Hikaru nodded.
"Don't lump me into your schemes! Merry-san was perfectly civil and smart when we were talking then you ruined it all by not controlling yourselves!"
The twins had the grace to look a little shamed at that.
"Regardless of past actions, she has shown that she is willing to go as far as the Chairman to get what she wants," Kyoya said, still heading the pack. "If we back down now, it'll make the Club look like a bunch of weak willed idiots."
Haruhi suddenly stopped, slapping a fist into her open palm. No wonder Kyoya was acting so strange. It all made sense now. "Now I get it! You're just looking out for your pride, Kyoya! She kind of reminds me of you when you get all dark and devious, actually."
The Shadow King halted along with the rest of the Club. "This isn't personal. This is about the pride of the Host Club."
"Are you sure? 'Cause it seems to me like we're all overreacting. I mean, it's just one afternoon a week, right? Can't we find another room to use until the end of the year? And the girls seemed to like whatever Merry-san did, too. We can use this to our advantage, right? We can do that?"
"Haru-chan makes a good point," Honey nodded, hugging his bunny. "Usa-chan thinks so too. I don't like all this fighting."
"Aa," Takashi agreed.
"I suppose we could try and make a deal with her," Kyoya mumbled, finger curled around his chin in thought. "The school year is almost over and such petty infighting doesn't benefit anyone. Besides," he glanced icily at the twins, "Two of our members still need to apologise for starting this whole mess. Do you have any idea how much money has been lost because of this altercation?"
The twins gulped. "N-no?"
"A lot."
"A lot?" Haruhi asked. "Like, a lot by my standards, or a lot by rich bastard standards?"
"A lot as in you're lucky you're debt free now, Haruhi, because that pales in comparison."
Haruhi let out an awkward laugh. "W-wow."
"So it's decided!" Tamaki suddenly shouted, clapping his hands and gazing dazedly into space with glittering eyes. "On to the Music Room so the devilish doppelgangers can apologise to the Princess then by the time Monday comes around we'll be back to normal and Merry-chan can come back to the Club to help Haru-chan act more like a girl!"
"Shut up, sempai."
"Mommy! Our daughter hates me!"
"Shut up and get moving, Daddy."
Merry was loosening the tension on her bow when the doors slammed open to reveal the Host Club in all their sparkly glory. She smiled without turning around to look at them.
"Enjoy your afternoon?"
"That was a dirty trick, you sly little bi-mmph!"
"Not now, Hikaru!"
Merry glanced over her shoulder with a raised brow and smile. "You should be thanking me. After all, not many people would willingly help out a group of people who made such an awful first and second impression. Those girls seemed awfully smitten with you all when I wove the tale of your kind heartedness." They could hear the amusement in her voice.
"What is it you want?" Kyoya asked, getting straight to the point.
Merry sighed and placed her bow in the case next to her violin with care. "You think I did this for any other reason than the goodness of my heart? I'm wounded."
"If you meant that, I'd probably believe you," he replied.
Merry chuckled, the sound bouncing off the walls. "I suppose it's always good to know how my future associates are going to react to certain situations. You are an heir to the Ootori Conglomerate, are you not? And our families have generational ties as you mentioned. Many of your family's hospitals are built by Watanabe Property Development and Construction, yes?"
"So this was a test?" one of the twins spat. "For Kyoya?"
"Why were we dragged into this?" the other snapped, indicating the rest of the club.
Merry clicked her case shut. "It was a test, in a way. If I were serious, you'd have failed long before now. As it stands, I don't feel like moving again and Ouran is working out to be quite interesting. My relationship with the Host Club is mutually beneficial, I assure you. I relieve myself of boredom and you get a slew of new clients. Does your club gather during the holidays?"
"During the first and last week, yes," Kyoya answered.
"I shall be using the room in between then. It really is a beautiful room. The acoustics are wonderful. I hope this is acceptable?"
Merry's smile said she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
"That should be fine."
"Terrific!" she chirped, slinging her case onto her back. "It's late and my chaperone is waiting for me. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I shall see you all Monday. Oh! Before I forget," she smiled at the twins. "Apology accepted."
She left as abruptly as she appeared, leaving the Host's all glancing at each other wondering exactly what had just happened.
Haruhi crossed her arms and drummed her fingers against her bicep. She wasn't impressed. "Care to explain what this is actually all about, Kyoya-sempai?"
The second-year sighed and adjusted his glasses, unfazed by the sharp stares of his fellow Host's waiting for an explanation he didn't feel the need to provide. How troublesome.
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