Kohaku stared at the page in front of her; the numbers had begun to merge together as if they were laughing at her. Groaning lightly, she allowed her head to fall on the book, it was hopeless, no matter how hard she tried, she could not understand these damn equations. Her teacher had informed her that there was a test tomorrow and she needed to get at least 70% or she put her scholarship in jeopardy and with the way things were going right now, she knew that attaining even 50% was a long way off.

As she attempted another equation, she felt her hopes lift slightly. Right now, she wasn't getting any weird answers; maybe she had finally gotten the hang of it. As she finished the equation, she grabbed her answer book to check if she had gotten it correct.

Scanning the answer, she let out a loud groan,, her answer was nowhere close to the answer given in the book. She was so doomed.

The rest of the Host Club looked over as they heard a groan coming from Kohaku.

"What's wrong with Ku – Chan?" Honey asked, worried.

"She is studying for the maths test tomorrow, judging by the groans we have heard, it doesn't seem to be going well," Kyoya said as he went over the club's budget.

"Haruhiiiiii! You should go and help her! That way you two can bond over studying and become even closer!" Tamaki said, finger in the air.

"Idiot, she's in the year above me. We haven't covered whatever she is doing so I can't help her," Haruhi stared at Tamaki through narrowed eyes as he began to sulk in his corner.

"Erm, excuse me Ootori – San," Kohaku's voice caused them all to turn to the girl as Kyoya looked up from his laptop.

"I was hoping that maybe you could help me study for the test tomorrow..." Kohaku's voice was quiet, as if she was nervous about asking.

"Why don't you ask Tamaki?" Kyoya asked.

Kohaku didn't answer but instead cast a strange glance at Tamaki who had not emerged from his gloomy corner.

"Why should I help you?" Kyoya asked, adjusting his glasses with a smirk on his face.

Kohaku clenched her fists tight as she answered; "Because if I fail this test I might lose my scholarship and then I won't be able to play for the Host Club."

Silence fell between the pair before Kyoya stood up; "Very well."

Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi looked on in shock as Kyoya and Kohaku walked over to where her books were sitting and began to work.

"Did she just..."Hikaru began.

"Blackmail the Shadow King?" Kaoru finished.

"I think she did...subtly, but she did," Haruhi said, looking at her Senpais.

"Whoa... she's evil." The twins chimed, looking at their Senpai in a new light.

Kohaku listened intently as Kyoya explained where she was going wrong in the equations.

"So instead of substituting this equation here, you would only need to use the value that you get once you solve the first equation."

Furrowing her eyebrows she asked; "So if I solve that equation first, then use the value for x in the second equation. I should get the right answer?"

"Exactly, what you were doing was simplifying the first equation but not solving for x, that's why you never got the right answer."

Kohaku nodded in understanding and attempted the question that Kyoya had written down for her. She was trying hard to keep calm at the small space between the pair and the fact that with every breath she took, she could smell the expensive cologne he wore. It was a pleasant smell, masculine yet not overpowering like many colognes.

She knew that Kyoya wouldn't hurt her, that to cause herself to panic would only cause trouble for herself. After all, she had asked him for help and he couldn't help her if he was sitting far away from her. She just had to try and face her fear head on, without his help she would definitely put her scholarship at risk and that was not acceptable.

"Are you listening Nakamura – San?" Kyoya asked, irritation leaking through his calm voice.

"Ahh, sorry Ootori – San."

"You asked for my help with this so please pay attention instead of daydreaming."

Embarrassed at being scolded, Kohaku couldn't help the blush that crept up on her cheeks as she murmured an apology.

"Try and complete this page of equations and when you are done, check your answers. If you have any problems, just ask."

As Kohaku began the questions in her book, she couldn't help but glance at the boy sitting beside her. He was typing away on the laptop that never seemed to be too far away from him and his eyes were partially hidden by his glasses. He looked just like a normal teenager, a well dressed teenager, but normal nonetheless.

Blinking rapidly, she focused again on the equations in front of her, following the instructions that Kyoya gave her; she was able to finish the page much quicker than she normally would and she was ecstatic when she compared her answers to the ones in the book. She had gotten every single equation correct!

"I assume by the smile on your face that you have finally managed to do the equations correctly," Kyoya said, giving the girl a sidelong glance.

Kohaku nodded eagerly, scarcely believing that she had gotten every one right.

"Turn the page and try those equations, they are harder but if you just apply what I taught you, you should be able to complete them correctly."

Kyoya typed furiously onto his laptop, he had long finished the weekly budget for the Host Club and now he was determined to find more information on the girl beside him. Despite using all of his resources, he only found out the very basic information; her recent medical history, her middle school records and various things that he had noted down.

Accessing her school file, he noted that there was no mention of a father which was strange as even Haruhi's file mentioned her deceased mother.

Clearing his throat he spoke; "So Nakamura-San, what does your father do?"

From the corner of his eye, he gauged the girl's reaction. She had frozen and her grip on the pen tightened to the point that the pen had begun to break.

'Interesting, so her father is a sensitive subject.' Kyoya thought, noting this down.

He waited for a response from the girl but was shocked when she changed the subject completely.

"Ootori-San, I can't seem to get these two equations correct but I don't know where I'm going wrong," Kohaku smiled at him, a smile that was obviously fake and Kyoya knew that pushing the father topic would be a bad idea.

With a sigh, he examined the two questions that she pointed to and realised her mistake instantly.

"Nakamura – San, it appears that you have forgotten a very basic thing. You do remember what BODMAS is don't you?"

"Ahh, BODMAS is the order you solve things isn't it? It's Brackets, Orders, Division, Multiplication, Addition and then Subtraction?" She looked up at Kyoya for confirmation.

"Exactly, now look at how you have answered these two and see where you have gone wrong."

Kohaku furrowed her eyebrows as she re-examined the equations before letting out a small 'oh!' in realization. As she erased her previous work, she quickly wrote down her working and answer for both questions before comparing them with the marking guide.

"I got it right!" She exclaimed, a grin on her face.

"Well done Nakamura – San, although maths isn't your best subject, you are competent enough to maintain at least 75 -80% average if you work hard."

Kohaku nodded as Kyoya spoke, still happy that she had managed to complete two pages of equations and only having to redo two equations! That was a personal best for her!

"Thank you for helping me Ootori – San," Kohaku said, smiling at the boy beside her.

"There is no need to thank me, Nakamura – San. If you lose your scholarship then you won't be able to play for the Host Club and that would be most unfortunate."

Kohaku blinked at Kyoya before bitterness seeped into her stomach.

'Right, this is just for the Host Club.' She thought.

"Do you hate me Ootori – San?" Kohaku asked quietly.

She couldn't stop the question that slipped through her lips and while she regretted voicing it, she was curious to know his answer.

"Hating you would not benefit me in the slightest," Kyoya answered.

Kohaku frowned at the cryptic answer; did that mean he didn't hate her? That he was completely indifferent towards her?

Instead of answering the girl simply gathered her things and made to leave, still thinking over his answer.

"Eh? You're leaving already Kohaku-Chan?" Tamaki asked.

Kohaku froze as the self proclaimed king spoke to her.

"But you haven't even practiced today! Are you alright? Are you feeling sick?" Tamaki fussed over the girl as she clenched her fist.

"I don't need to practice today, I am alright, I don't feel sick," Kohaku muttered, she wasn't lying. She had arrived early in the morning and practiced before school, she also spent all of music class on the piano and most of her lunch-break practicing.

"You don't need to practice, Nakamura – San? You said if your grades drop in the slightest then your scholarship would be in jeopardy, are you sure you have practiced enough to prevent your music grade from dropping?" Kyoya asked, his voice patronizing the girl.

"Yeah, we don't want you to leave Ku- Chan! We like having you here!" Honey exclaimed as he hugged Usa-Chan.

Kohaku lifted her head and looked at Kyoya who merely smiled at her, her stomach twisted and at that moment she could not help but feel annoyed at Kyoya, annoyed and very angry.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and walked over to the piano, placing her bag on the floor and sat on the bench. Flexing her fingers, she began to play the piece that she had been given to practice at almost full speed. As she played the notes that she had memorised, she felt her anger washing away bit by bit and was finally able to enjoy the music flowing from the piano.

When she finished playing she grabbed her back and before leaving the room, she looked at Kyoya and spoke clearly;

"I believe that answers your question Ootori – San, in the future I believe I should be the one to determine if I need to practice or not."

Despite not feeling as angry, Kohaku couldn't help the iciness in her voice as she spoke to Kyoya. What he had said to her earlier had just made her so mad; he had used such a patronizing voice and had even smiled! He was so impossible! She had overheard the nickname that the other hosts had given him; 'The Shadow King' and right now she thought it fit him very well.

The next day, Kohaku stood in front of the door biting her lip nervously. She had to face the Host Club after her outburst yesterday, or well her childish fit. After she had calmed down on the way home yesterday, she had been horrified with how she had reacted towards Kyoya; sure he had deserved it but still! She had been completely out of line and in all honesty, she wouldn't have been surprised if they refused to let her play and just exposed her secret to force her to leave Ouran.

She timidly opened the door and instead of being immediately shouted at when she entered, she only got smiles from the Host Club members. Walking towards the group warily, she hesitated before bowing low in apology.

"I am very sorry for my behaviour yesterday!" She said with her eyes shut tightly.

When her apology was met with silence, she continued;

"I shouldn't have acted out like that and I understand if you don't want me to play anymore but please don't expose my secret!"

Opening her eyes, Kohaku startled at the brown eyes staring up at her sadly causing her to straighten up to look at her Senpai.

"We wouldn't do that, Ku – Chan!" Honey exclaimed while Mori nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we aren't that evil. Hell, you don't really have to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong yesterday," Kaoru said lazily.

"Yeah, in fact it was cool how you stood up to the Shadow King, seems you're just as evil as he is, Nakamura – Senpai," Hikaru grinned.

Kohaku blinked and looked at everyone, noticing that there were no glares being shot at her. In fact they were smiling at her, well with the exception of Kyoya but she didn't really count him.

"We wouldn't expose your secret Kohaku! You are part of our family now, my beloved daughter!" Tamaki said while he moved to hug the girl, who quickly sidestepped the hug.

"You're really not mad?" Kohaku asked.

"Even if we were mad Ku-Chan apologized so we wouldn't be mad anymore!" Honey smiled up at the younger girl who returned it meekly.

"Now that you're finished, we can discuss the activities today, Nakamura – San. I have an interesting idea I would like you to try out," Kyoya said, his trademark smile on his face.

Kohaku just stared at him, fear creeping in at whatever idea he had thought up and knowing that she had no way out of it.

A/N: Hello again! For some reason I had trouble with this chapter, maybe it was the math talk, or maybe it was the fact that I kind of wanted this to be all fluffy and sweet but Kohaku and Kyoya refused. Either way, here is chapter eight!

As usual thanks to those who have added this to your favorites/story alerts and thanks to Itsgoose2u,2featherbraids and TykiPyon for reviewing!

Also since 2featherbraids asked for the 40,000 yen in US dollars, I looked it up and it is roughly $512.

I hope you had a nice bonfire night if you are in the UK!