For weeks their stressful banter went back and forth. One day, Miku would annoy Kyoya to the point of no return, his hand gripping around the air he pretended as his knife while he brutally desecrated her toned body with it in his mind. Oh, the things he did in his mind...

But the next day it would be her mentally beating the crap out of him, amongst other things... Yet she kept those hidden fantasies to herself, allowed him to think she hated him just as much as he did her.

For there was a truth behind Miku, something she didn't like to admit; she liked challenges. And Kyoya, being a challenge, was someone she liked.

Perhaps she didn't know it herself, but it was there in her, a constant nagging feeling in the back of her mind saying, "Just be nice already.", that little voice she kept ignoring in favor of the taunting, teasing one that would exclaim in its loudest sounds, "You must win.".

"Check it," she declared for the umpteenth time since their battle (or agreement, as that stupid teacher Hiro called it) began, pushing her traditional lunch-time apple juice across the table.

Kyoya had grown used to her antics, the way she talked too loud when she had something important to say, the irritating look she'd get in her eyes whenever she knew she could make his life hell, that stupid smile she'd wear whenever he said something mean to her, like she liked the verbal abuse.

Pouring a small amount of her drink into his empty one, he humored her and tried it, nodding right after. He knew in the pit of his stomach that she wouldn't do anything like that, not while their 'game' was going on. She wanted to win with such a passion that it frightened him sometimes, made him worry that – one day – she really would just tackle and rape him in a vulnerable state or something of the other.

She sat down with a grin on her face across from him, like usual, lightly nibbling on her scarce amount of food. Occasionally he would amuse himself with wondering why she ate so little. It wasn't as if she needed to be cautious of gaining weight; the girl was thin enough to be able to gain a few pounds while still looking just as striking, if not better.

But he didn't care enough about her life or herself to ask such a question. He was just there as the babysitter, it was no business of his what she chose to do with her life, so long as it didn't go against the agreement.

"What?" she suddenly asked in a softer tone than usual, earning the glances of the seven from the Host Club. They group of remaining six sat with the feuding duo out of courtesy to – and fear of – their Ootori friend. Confused, Kyoya gave his unwanted companion a questioning glance, unsure of what she had been asking of. "You were staring at me with this weird look on your face..."

And she tried her hardest to hide the blush and look away from his gaze because that look affected her. He had this soft, almost caring look on his face. She hadn't seen it before in her life from both him and others; it was so new and different from the usual lust-filled stares she received from men. Kyoya hadn't ever shown her that, and for a while she had been enraged and upset by its absence; was she not pretty enough for a boy like him? But that look just then had been more than she could handle, more than she ever thought she wanted from her captor.

"Did I?" he harshly answered, his voice quiet in hopes of hiding the malice in his tone. Despite their proximity to one another and the knowledge that no unwanted females would approach their table while Miku – Lord of the male Student Body – was around. "I must have been-"

He was going to say something rude to her, like usual, but stopped his sentence when he realized her attention was taken by something else. Her eyes glanced over his shoulder, hands poised on the table as if she were going to jump from it in a mad dash.

And as he went to turn his head to see, he heard the loud crash of a tray from behind his back, followed closely by the loud sound of frantic movement, the pounding of heels as Miku made her way across the cafeteria floor.

Turning swiftly in his seat, Kyoya analyzed the scene his responsibility – known as Miku – was heading towards. There stood a man of low social standing, a man he knew as Nakizuka Kenta, with his fists clenched and lips yelling ruthless insults to a fleeing girl he recognized. He remembered that blond hair and shy demeanor from the Host Club on that first day his hell-on-earth had started: that girl was Kihiro Nana.

"What the fuck?" Kyoya heard the enraged voice of Miku shout, despite being on near-opposite ends of the large cafeteria.

He watched as the blood drained from Kenta's face when the party princess had said such a thing to him. Nana had once told Kyoya that the Kushiro heir was 'kind', had she not? Was this her idea of kindness?

"Who the hell do you think you are? Who are you to say such things to that girl?"

Even without knowing her long, Kyoya knew that her rage was building with each word she spoke, the volume of her voice growing as if to shame the Nakizuka boy. He said nothing in his defense as she screamed and – as if his silence infuriated her even more – she raised her hand and brought it across his cheek.

The crowd watching let out gasps and whispers of question, unsure of what side to be on. The known player Nakizuka, or the ever-popular Kushiro? After a second of debate, most took to the latter, some wishing to clap in agreement of the action but their names and reputations preventing them from doing such a juvenile thing. Only Miku would have done something like clap or slap a man in public; she was fearless. She didn't care about name or worth or wealth, or if she did she certainly didn't show it.

"You are the biggest piece of trash I have ever met in my life. How dare you put her through so much pain. How dare you."

And she turned on her heel, chased the young Nana from the cafeteria, calling her name in a strangled voice.

"Dammit," Kyoya barely muttered, standing from his seat as he realized it was his duty to retrieve his fuming subject.

"Let's go find her," Tamaki kindly offered in assistance, standing from his seat and watching with such pride as the others in his group stood, as well. They were a crew, a group of friends who helped each other out when they were stuck in bad situations. And this was Kyoya's time to be helped. "Nana couldn't have gone far, right?"

Without even discarding their trays or Miku's hardly touched excuse of a lunch, they left from the cafeteria with a slow kind of haste.

It hadn't taken long to find the duo, either – just like Tamaki said, they hadn't gotten far. Just a little into the east wing, they had found them by the windows over looking the clock tower. And though Kyoya was about to rush in and separate the two girls from whatever they were doing, Tamaki halted his best friend's progression and placed a finger to his own lips in a form of command to be quiet.

"Let's see how this plays out, okay?" he whispered in the smallest of voices.

Unwillingly, Kyoya agreed, and as a group of seven they stood around the corner and listened in on the conversation.

"Nana," an out of breath Miku huffed out, leaning on her knees as she tried to catch the air she lost. "Hey, what happened there? Are you alright? Did he hurt you at all?"

A loud sob was heard from the crying Kihiro girl.

There was a pause, then a comforting, "Hey... Nana, it's alright... You don't have to face him anymore, okay? I'll take care of things if you're not strong enough..."

And then arms were flung around Miku's neck, a hug forced upon her by the still-crying, still-frantic Nana. Despite not knowing much, Miku hugged back. She didn't know who was to blame in that incident of whatever happened. All she saw was Nana approaching the boy she had a crush on for the longest time, that little asshole Kenta, and receiving a harsh insult – "You're not worth my time", as Miku recalls hearing – as a reply. Perhaps Nana had said something rude, too, but it didn't matter; in Miku's eyes, Nana was the victim. Kenta deserved that slap, no matter what. Hell, he deserved so much more, but she knew she would have gotten in trouble if she'd done it.

"Hey, Nana, don't cry. Stop crying, alright? You'll make me cry, and everyone knows how unattractive I am when that happens..."

A weak laugh was heard from both girls, as if it was an inside joke between them.

Lightly, Tamaki smiled as he seen the changing expression upon his friend's face. The hard Ootori had gone from condescending to confused to neutral then to caring, all in the matter of a few seconds of seeing the scene unfold. In those moments, Tamaki felt a kind of loneliness inside his being he wanted to ignore for as long as he could, push to the side until this scene, at least, unfolded.

"I-I told him I liked him..." Nana muttered softly, as if ashamed by doing so. "And he said I wasn't... I wasn't worth his time." And the tears began again.

Softly, the normally bad-attitude Kushiro wiped away a few tears, forcing her friend's face in between her hands in a form of keeping their eyes on each other in an attempt to strengthen what she was about to say.

"You listen to me, alright? Kenta is an asshole. If he can't see the greatness in you, then he's obviously not even worth the effort. He'll just be a heartache, you're better off without him." She sighed, dropped her hands, rubbed them against her dress. "Now, how about you dry those tears, we march back in there, and you tell me about what you want in a boy and I'll try my hardest to make it happen, okay?"

"But... I... I want Kenta." Another loud sob.

"Hey, hey, Nana. Before Kenta, you wanted Kaoru. Before Kaoru, you wanted Hikaru. Before Hikaru, you wanted Ren. You'll want another guy too, okay? They're just phases that are bringing you closer to your strongest one. Like Rock Lee!" The goofy smile on her face could make a kitten melt in awe of it, her entire expression lighting up in a way it never had before.

Wiping away her tears, Nana nodded, almost shamefully. "Y-You're right. I'm like Rock Lee."

"Uh... Well, you're prettier than Rock Lee, but you've got the determination!" She smiled hugely as she grabbed her friend's hand, swinging it between them as they began to walk back towards the cafeteria, the free hand of Nana still rubbing her eyes, Miku's pumping into the air as she began listing off things.

"You've got his charm!" Another pump. "You've got his strength!"

Nana began laughing as they neared the corner to turn, joining in on her friend's boyish manner. "I've got his spandex!"

Both lightly giggled at this, like it was the funniest thing shared between two females in the entire world.

Then they turned the corner, and both froze at seeing the seven of the host Club standing awkwardly against the wall, listening in...

"So, um... Spandex..." Miku hesitantly said, casting a look towards her friend that was concealing the giggles they both wished to release.

That day had marked the first nice act Kyoya ever saw his companion make. Before that, there had never been any sign of a heart to the girl, never been any kind of clue that she could feel what compassion or empathy was. Before then, she had seemed like a ruthless, cold woman who wanted what she did and got it soon after, someone he could easily despise because she hardly seemed any different than himself. And, God, was it easy to hate himself.

Yet when that day ended, she hadn't brought it up again, he hadn't mentioned it, nor did anyone else who witnessed it. It was as if it had never occurred in the first place, her one act of kindness forgotten about amongst the midst of her misdemeanors of cruelty which she continued to force onto Kyoya.

Tamaki sighed as he saw their harsh debating continuing on the next day.

He had thought, for a moment, that Kyoya had finally...

But no, he hadn't, and the loneliness inside the Suoh had disappointingly vanished.

[Author's Note]

So, it's been a long time since I updated this... Sorry! That's totally my fault, I apologize so, so much. I'll really be trying to end this story for real now, which means a lot of updates soon. I'll do my best!

Also, reviews from you guys are the best thing since waffles, you know. I love hearing that beep of my phone and realizing that it says [review alert]. Honestly, you don't know how big of a smile you bring to my face, and how much you reviewers make me want to come home and write up the next chapter to publish just so I can keep that feeling. It's so intoxicating, so please feed my addiction and review so I can keep you guys happy, and we're all happy together!

That is my dream, to keep you all happy. I hope I do, thanks a ton for reading!

See you in the next chapter, dear readers and lovely reviewers.