Monday was a completely different scene the moment Daisuke opened Merry's car door.
She was surrounded by gushing students before she could even stand upright on the curb.
"Are you going to play again at the Host Club, Merry-san?"
"Your playing was so beautiful! I told my mother about it and she wants me to take a video, i-if that's okay?"
"Merry-san! Would you like to sit with us at lunch time?"
"Do you do lessons? You see, t-there's this b-b-boy I like…"
She inhaled sharply, trying to right her equilibrium. "I apologise but I have an appointment with the Dean," she lied. "As for playing for the Host Club, I'm afraid you'll have to ask them as there is nothing concrete in place."
The group 'aww'ed sadly and Merry quickly slipped away, breathing a little easier now that she wasn't so cramped. Her grip was still tight on her violin case as she darted inside the school, sticking to the shadows so she wouldn't be caught out lying to the gossipy girls.
She sunk further back into the dark, but something halted her from going any further. She stiffened and chanced a glance behind her, heart stopping as she met glowing blue eyes emanating from the dark. A Cheshire grin split across the cloaked boys face as a cat puppet twitched on his hand.
"A companion in the darkness, Beelzenef!" The puppet nodded.
Merry glanced around her, noting the hallway was suddenly deserted. "Are you speaking to me?"
The boy seemed to freeze, sinking further into the darkness, ducking his head. "She does not run from the darkness, Beelzenef. Do you seek to curse someone? Ruin their happiness? Drown them into the darkness present in all souls? Or perhaps, join the Black Magic Club and learn the dark arts yourself?" He glanced up hopefully, only to note the girl was walking away. "Wait!" he made to run after her but the morning light blinded him. He hissed and cowered back into his corner, Beelzenef his ever present companion.
Merry couldn't help but think Ouran just kept getting weirder and weirder.
Despite it only being her second week at Ouran, she was still shocked when the teachers announced that exams would be held soon. She was lucky that the school could go off her private tutor marks for the last two years prior to acceptance so her final mark wouldn't be affected by her late arrival.
Math was up first on Monday's where she was more than aware of Tamaki trying not to stare at her, and Kyoya observing her every move from the corner of his eye.
The teacher turned his back to write the solution to a complex equation on the board.
"If you keep staring, people might think you're in love with me," Merry murmured, making Tamaki splutter and Kyoya turn to face her fully with a sly smile.
"Love is a feeling of mutual attraction, Merry-san."
Her lips twitched and their eyes met. "Are you saying you don't find me attractive, Kyoya-san?"
"I could ask the same of you, Merry-san."
"If you weren't any more of a gentleman, I'd almost be insulted," she fluttered her lashes, hazel eyes flashing. "Doesn't a gentleman always make the first move?"
"Not always." There was something in his tone of voice, like he was vaguely remembering something that happened in the past, something he didn't necessarily regret but he wasn't proud of either.
"So it is the lady's responsibility to approach the man?" she sighed. "Whatever happened to chivalry and romance?"
"Romance and chivalry are reserved for true gentlemen, Merry-san. I don't think you need to worry."
"Are you're saying you're not a gentleman?"
Kyoya turned back to the teacher, taking diligent notes. "I'm saying that I don't think you're much of a lady."
Tamaki's ear twitched and suddenly he was on his feet, slamming an open palm onto Kyoya's desk with a fiery passion. "Merry-chan is a lovely Princess, Kyoya! How dare you insinuate otherwise! Just look at her!" He pointed to a blank-faced Merry. "Look at how her eyes sparkle like diamonds dripped onto fresh pine! Like the first snowfall refracting the light of dawn! She is a beautiful lady!"
The girls in the class gushed happily.
Merry cleared her throat. "Tamaki-san?"
He spun to her, eyes sparkling. "Yes, my dear Princess?"
"I don't fault Kyoya-san for jumping to unnecessary conclusions. And also, you're disturbing class."
"Huh?" He faced the teacher who had an impressive eyebrow twitch. He laughed nervously and bowed before slipping back into his seat. "I'm sorry, Makoto-sensei."
"I understand that you young folk are brimming with energy but please, no more interruptions, Suoh-san."
Tamaki began to cry and repeatedly bowed his head, coming close to smacking himself unconscious on his desk. "I'm sorry! Please continue on!"
The class continued and Kyoya spoke quietly from the corner of his mouth. "I see what you're doing, you know."
Merry didn't bother looking at him. "Oh? Figured it out already?"
"You are an opportunist, using Tamaki's outlandish behaviour to defame me."
"It's not my fault that he makes it so easy. It's as you say, I'm an opportunist. But better that than an egoist, yes?"
"Personally I don't see the difference."
Merry let out a snort of amusement. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."
"Your confidence could be misconstrued as arrogance," Kyoya hummed. "Best not get too far ahead of yourself, else you'll find things spinning quickly out of your control."
"Your concern is touching."
"Hmm, not concern. More like a warning."
She finally looked at him through her lashes out of the corner of her eye, eyebrow quirked. His voice was hard despite being at a low enough volume so the conversation remained solely between them. She'd touched a prideful nerve, it seemed, and he wasn't letting it slide this time. "Warning, or threat?"
Kyoya's smile seemed to suck the warmth from the air. "Forgive me, I meant more like a promise."
It had become an unofficial ritual between herself, Isamu, Kat, and Yori to have lunch together, swapping stories over badly dealt hands, poker chips and imported candy.
But since she'd managed to get onto the Host Club fans' radar, she'd had to take rainchecks.
Merry approached the refectory, fully expecting to be accosted by giggling first years asking her to teach them how to play violin to help impress their crush-of-the-month, but to her surprise she was only approached by a single girl just before she entered the cafeteria.
A senior with flowing red hair who exuded an air of high self-esteem, slate grey eyes sharp behind a confidently lazy mien approached Merry with her hands clasped deftly in front of her. Her smile was much too sharp for her delicate face. "You must be Merry."
A statement, not a question. The distinct lack of suffix was not meant for familiarity but rather as a cold intention to instil unease. Merry was mildly frustrated to feel that it was working. She was instantly wary.
Regardless, she smiled beatifically at the beautiful upperclassman. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name but I do not know yours."
Something flashed behind the girls gaze. Akin to surprise, not quite shock. It was gone too fast to compare. "Forgive me, where are my manners?" she tittered delicately. She bowed her head much too shallowly. "My name is Princess Seika Ayanokoji." There was a slight emphasis on the royal title.
"A pleasure," Merry replied, smile still in place. "Is there something I can help you with, Ayanokoji-chan?"
The flash in her eyes was chillier this time at the informal address. "Oh! Not at all. I've been hearing so much about you lately that I thought I'd come and see what all the fuss was about." Her eyes drifted over Merry's form slowly, picking apart her appearance in a way that only perfectionists or the truly vain were capable of. Her gaze paused and soured at the sight of Merry's battered violin case, but eventually flicked up to meet Merry square on. "After all, this is a prominent Academy that caters for the well-bred and well-off."
"My grandfather owned a horse as a young lad. He described the mare almost exactly like that," Merry still smiled.
"How uncanny," Seika replied, her voice a little chillier than before. "I apologise for being so bold, Merry, but you don't seem at all like you've been cut from the same cloth as the rest of us."
Merry viciously suppressed an eye roll. "It seems the bolt ran out before it was my turn."
"I suppose settling for second best is the way of the world, sometimes," the Princess sighed, fluttering a hand delicately over her face. "Privilege is granted to rare few."
"And respect is granted to even less than that," Merry nodded.
Ayanokoji paused, her hands falling to be clasped tightly in front of her again. "Have I offended you in some way, Merry?" she asked much too innocently.
Merry beamed. "Not at all. To be offended one would have to actually care about what was being said."
The Princess's eyebrow twitched and her pleasant mask began to crack. "I see," she murmured, continuing on almost mournfully. "So you're one of those."
Merry quirked a brow, knowing she shouldn't ask but her curiosity got the better of her. "'Those'?"
Ayanokoji gave a soft smile that didn't fool Merry for a second. "A delinquent hiding underneath the guise of money and self-imposed importance," she sniffed. "Someone who does not truly belong at Ouran."
"Well," Merry hummed. "I suppose I should be grateful my fate isn't in your hands, ne?"
Seika smirked. "Careful, Merry. You wouldn't want to jinx yourself on accident."
Merry stepped forward until they were inches apart, their interaction looking like nothing more than two close friends sharing a secret. "Careful, Seika," she whispered derisively, delighting in the senior's slight jerk of offence. "You wouldn't want everyone to know you're actually an insecure little girl beneath all that false superiority."
In an instant the Princess's face became a mottled hue of red as she took a step back to put some distance between them. "How dare you speak to me like that?!"
Merry blinked, tilting her head. "Honestly is the best policy, yes?"
"You… you…!"
"Me… me…?" Merry urged.
"You uncouth, vulgar, vile, pathetic excuse of a woman!"
Merry mock-gasped, clutching at her heart. "What an extensive vocabulary!" Her face blanked and she dropped the act. Suddenly she wasn't feeling hungry anymore. "I would say that I wish you a pleasant day, Ayanokoji-chan, but I was raised to never say anything I don't mean. If you'll excuse me…" She nodded her head and turned on her heel, wanting fresh air and sunlight.
She did, however, crack a smirk when she heart a frustrated shriek echo down the hallway.
She'd never been into the Academy gardens before. She'd gazed at them through the large bay windows sometimes on her way to class, but she'd never stepped foot into them until that day.
She sent a mental apology to her lunchtime gambling buddies as she wandered through the flower beds, stopping every so often to smell a bud nestled amongst the splash of colour. With the new school year and Spring approaching, most of the flowers were beginning to bud and bloom.
By the time her senior year arrived, the school would be awash with flowers and cherry blossoms.
She paused at a row of rose buds in the very centre of the garden. Their stems were healthy, leaves carefully tended and it was obvious to see they were loved and taken care of. She let a soft, nostalgic smile slip onto her face as she touched a closed red blossom.
"The, uh… the Gardening Club looks after 'em. They're Spanish Roses."
She stiffened slightly at the unfamiliar male voice coming from behind her. "I know."
Silence.
"They'll be beautiful blooms come springtime," Merry said.
"Uh, yeah… I hope so. You're the new kid, right? Mary?"
"Merry," she corrected, finally turning to face the boy. He was taller than her, and had a face as fierce as his fiery red hair. He was someone she expected to run into in a dark alley, not a rose garden. She involuntarily tensed. "You were close, though," she added almost warily.
He coughed awkwardly. "R-Right. Sorry 'bout that, Merry-san."
"It's alright."
He suddenly bowed stiffly and awkwardly, taking Merry by surprise. "I'm Ritsu Kasanoda! Nice to meet you!"
She floundered a little. "N-Nice to meet you too, Kasanoda-san."
He straightened and pointedly looked everywhere but at her, an embarrassed flush high on his cheeks. She observed as he shuffled from foot to foot. He was uncomfortable. Unsure. She didn't know why, but she felt a little guilty because of this. She wracked her brain for something to say.
"Are you in the Gardening Club, Kasanoda-san?"
He almost slumped with relief as she steered their halted conversation into calmer, safer waters. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I tried to go for the club with all the animals but they ran away from me, so…"
"The animals, or the club members?" Merry asked, a little amused.
"Uh… both."
She laughed. "I suppose the Gardening Club was the better option. Plants don't have legs."
He cracked a smile at that, his harsh features softening. "Yeah."
"Do you look after these roses, Kasanoda-san? They're well cared for."
"Just Ritsu. And yeah. They're gonna be part of the Welcome Back Showcase once they're bloomin' so they have to be good."
"'Welcome Back Showcase'?"
He blinked. "Oh, right. Keep forgettin' you haven't been here long enough to know. It's basically a flashy party for the new students to 'wow' them at the start of the school year. And show off all the other fancy stuff too. Keepin' up appearances, I guess," he shrugged.
"Ah."
"You gonna do anythin' for it?" Ritsu asked, tilting his head slightly in question.
Merry lifted her shoulders slightly. "As you said, I haven't been here long. Students who have been here longer deserve more of a chance to show their talents than me."
Ritsu's face contorted as he squinted at her, like he was trying to figure something out. "You're different than what people are sayin'."
Her brows raised. "You base all of your assumptions of people off rumours, Kasanoda-san?"
"N-no! That's not what I'm sayin'!" he denied, waving his arms frantically. "Just that, at the Host Club… I don't think people can really figure you out, is all. They're sayin' that you're a tsundere or somethin'."
"The Host Club? You are a customer there?" she looked him over as he began to blush. "I never would have guessed that you're a homosexual."
His face turned as red as his hair. "I'm not!"
"No need to be so defensive, Kasanoda-san. Your personal preference doesn't bother me."
"B-but… But I'm not!" he choked.
She gave him a soft smile. "If it bothers you so much, your secret is safe with me."
He looked positively horrified. "I-I gotta go!"
He took off in a cloud of dust, leaving Merry alone by the roses.
"What a strange guy," she muttered, turning back to the blooms.
"I can never look her in the eyes again!"
"You are being melodramatic."
"I'll never be able to show my face in public!"
"That might actually be a good thing since you're so scary looking…"
"She was so calm and nice about everything! I couldn't help it! I panicked and ran!"
"Calm down, Casanova-kun! You're starting to hyperventilate!"
"She loved my Spanish Roses! She's a pretty nice lady! Why did I let you talk me into this?"
Kyoya sighed as he watched Kasanoda break down in front of the gathrered Host Club. His aim was to startle Merry using Kasanoda's unconsciously bold nature but it seemed the girl was mostly unflappable, and incredibly blunt if Kasanoda's blubbering about being called a homosexual were anything to go by.
It wasn't anything he hadn't suspected already.
He'd watched the pair's interaction with notebook and pen in hand from a window overlooking the garden, observing body language and facial expressions. It had gone well until Kasanoda ran away from Merry, leaving the girl puzzled and cutting their 'random rendezvous' short.
"-don't know why Princess Ayanokoji hates her so much, I mean, she-"
"Wait," Kyoya interrupted. "What did you just say?"
Kasanoda blinked up at him. "I said she's nice."
"No, after that. About Ayanokoji."
"Oh. Right. That. I overheard some girls talkin', sayin' that Ayanokoji almost sunk her claws into Merry-san during lunch. Cornered her or somethin'." He shrugged. "Not sure what they talked about but apparently the Princess was really pissed off afterwards."
The twins began to hound the first year Yakuza while Tamaki prodded mushrooms in a darkened corner after a scolding from Haruhi. Honey and Takashi sat at a table in silence, cakes disappearing down the diminutive senior's throat faster than they could be sliced.
All in all, a rather normal day.
Haruhi shuffled uneasily next to Kyoya, remembering her own encounter with the noble. The Princess was unpredictable and sneaky. "Should we warn Merry-chan about Ayanokoji?"
"No," Kyoya dismissed absentmindedly. "It is not our place to get tangled in squabbles that do not involve us."
"But Merry-chan-"
"Can handle herself, I'm sure."
Haruhi's doe-brown eyes were unusually sharp and probing, almost like they were seeing through him. "Are you saying that because you mean it, or out of spite?"
He gave her a smile that wasn't convincing, but wasn't a lie either. "From what we know of Merry-san so far, do you think we have any right to be worried?"
Haruhi pondered that for a moment.
Well, she supposed the Shadow King made a valid point…
"Should I feel sorry for Ayanokoji or Merry-chan now?" she deadpanned.
Kyoya made a small sound of amusement but didn't bother to answer.
So far so good? :)