Title: Invisible
Written by: WraithR249 & Yue Guang Kuroneko
Pairing: KyouyaxHaruhi
Rating: K (for now)

Invisible
By WraithR249
(and co-written by Yue Guang Kuroneko)

--

A black-haired, second year student sat glancing over his paper, pushing his glasses further up his nose. Satisfied that he had not made any errors, he leaned back with satisfaction.

Aced. Easily, of course.

A smirk found its way onto his face. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the class on his back, as usual. Inside, he enjoyed the feeling.

To his left, he saw Tamaki grinning stupidly at him.

Just double check your paper, Tamaki, Kyouya tried communicating to him telepathically. But of course, Suou Tamaki didn't receive the message. If only he would re-read his work after finishing, he wouldn't make those tiny errors.

Well, maybe it's better he does… Kyouya pondered. It was the only thing keeping Tamaki second in their class, and keeping him in first.

The guilt that he should have felt passed right over his head.

The two boys met up after class.

"Ah, I think the tests get easier as we progress, eh, Kyouya? It's like th- urp!" Tamaki's eyes suddenly went small.

"What's wrong?" Kyouya asked, not really caring.

"I have to… make use of the facilities," he croaked, clutching his stomach. "Immediately."

Kyouya rolled his eyes. "Go," he said, dismissing his friend. "I'll talk to you later."

Tamaki ran off, not even stopping to excuse himself as he knocked over a classmate.

That's what you get for eating too much commoner food, you idiot, Kyouya thought, shaking his head.

"Kyouya-senpai!"

Immediately recognizing the voice, Kyouya felt surprise.

But not too much surprise.

He looked over to find a very resilient commoner waving at him, about twenty paces to his left.

Interesting, he mused, heading over to her. Wasn't it just yesterday that he left her crying on the floor of the Third Music Room?

"How are you doing, Haruhi?" he asked her.

"I'm fine, senpai," she smiled lightly up at him.

He wouldn't bother to apologize for what he did. It wouldn't fit his character, anyway.

"And yourself?" she asked.

He waved his hand vaguely.

Haruhi laughed airily. "Well, I suppose I should let you go since we both have class soon," she looked around at the nearby students who were scurrying to their next classes.

"I suppose so," he said simply, checking the time.

So, she wanted to make him believe that she was unfazed. What was she trying to prove?

"Oh, and also…" she interrupted, breaking his train of thought. "I'll join you after school when we meet to plan the Host Club's upcoming activities."

Kyouya stared at the brave, brown-eyed commoner girl smiling at him.

"Make sure Tamaki gets back all right from the bathroom, okay?" she laughed and turned to leave.

Kyouya's grabbed her sleeve, and looked straight into her surprised eyes. He gave her his best soul-piercing glare.

"What is it you want?" he demanded in a low voice. "There isn't anything more to say, but I know you want to discuss it."

She didn't look intimidated in the least. "You'll have to wait. I can't say it here."

He let her go, and she turned to walk away. He watched her back until she was out of sight. When he couldn't see her anymore, he walked to class, forgetting all about Tamaki.

He was not surprised. He knew that the proud commoner had a tough personality, and she wasn't as cute as she looked—not that he would ever admit that he thought her cute.

But he knew that this would be her reaction. He did not expect her to act sullen and despondent, because she believed that it would be showing a sign of weakness. He agreed that that is what he would think of her if she showed up to school acting depressed.

But he had seen her cry, and he knew, even if she tried to cover it up, that his words had struck her deeply. He understood her behavior, but he did not know what she wanted. Revenge, perhaps?

No, that would be too troublesome for her, and that is not the course of action she would choose, he concluded when this thought crossed his mind.

He remembered her face clearly, looking over his shoulder as he left. He saw her on the floor crying, looking pitiful. A pang of guilt lodged itself in his chest sharply, but he brushed it off.

Feelings have no place in a businessman, he had thought to himself simply.

Haruhi would simply complicate everything that he had worked so hard to achieve. Although…

It was interesting that he should find her smile soothing, her presence calming. While she was only a mere commoner and he was sick and tired of the Host Club fawning over the differences in their lives, she was different from the rest of the Host Club—she was calm and sensible.

He admitted to himself long ago that the hormones within him had attracted him to her, but he ignored those feelings. He did not become successful by giving in to his own feelings whenever they were strong enough.

However…

He did not forget the way he felt when Haruhi was confessing her feelings for him. He had listened to every word that she said, and then considered his next move.

He had almost decided to reciprocate her feelings. He had almost fooled himself into thinking that she would make him truly happy. There was something that stopped him from confessing, and he knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

Success is happiness, he told himself firmly.

Tamaki returned from the bathroom.

"Ah, that was refreshing," he sighed in contentment. "You know, I cannot wait until classes are finished today. For some reason, I really feel like seeing my daughter," he giggled stupidly.

Kyouya offered him an empty smile. Perhaps because you're in love, idiot.

Seeing Tamaki so soon after reliving Haruhi's confession made Kyouya feel guilty… for once. This man… his friend… he was the reason why he was unable to confess his feelings.

He glanced at Tamaki who was still talking about the girl, and smiled ruefully. If only he had discovered his feelings first, he would not have had to yield to Tamaki's overzealous love for her.

After speaking, Tamaki simply smiled happily in his direction.

Kyouya knew that he could not betray his friend. Besides, he would rather have an associate like Tamaki than a… lover, he supposed, like Haruhi.

This decision is clearly much more beneficial than what lies in the other hand… by at least ten fold, he added to reassure himself that he had made the right choice.

He put an indifferent, confident expression on his face, but his heart was filled with the unfamiliar feeling of regret.

--

Authors' Notes:

-WraithR269: It looks like Kyouya is pretty determined that he and Haruhi are star-crossed lovers… plus it doesn't seem like he would betray his friend… especially since his friend is rich and could be very useful! It looks like this is a job for… A COMMONER! XP

Anyway, this chapter was VERY boring to write, I got distracted a whole lot, I took a short 10 minute nap because I dozed off while writing it, and I went to go take out the trash in the middle of the night (I was almost butt nekkid, I'll probly have like 9999999 bug bites tomorrow T.T). So if this chapter somehow happens to work out and is amazing, then as usual it is thanks to Nekoooo-chan (whom I affectionately refer to as J.K. Rowling).

A chapter a day means I get to nap on a regular basis ;)

-Yue Guang Kuroneko: I LOVED THIS CHAPTER! Especially the last sentence, and I knew everyone else did, right? -fangirls- And for anyone who read Wraith-san's note, don't listen to him. I would be tainting J.K. Rowling's wonderful name if it had been bestowed upon me, even if it is a nickname T.T Thank you for reading! (pocky for everyone)