Letting out a breath, Kyouya gently tucked one hand into his trouser pocket and walked toward the girl gazing out the back window. Somehow, he felt as if he were interrupting something as he stopped beside her and put on a fake smile. "Konoe-sama," He said in his signature host tone, "I trust that you're enjoying the party."

"Ah, of course," the girl mumbled, caught off guard as her cheeks were stained red by a blush. "Ootori business engagements are always excellent. But to be honest, business parties in general don't really interest me."

Shameless and somewhat blunt. Kyouya made a mental note of this.

On instinct, one hand rose to gently stroke his chin while he racked his mind for ways to please her. "Is there anything I can do to make the experience more enjoyable?" He asked, his voice dripping with an abnormal amount of kindness.

"Well," she bit her lip nervously as her gaze turned to the glass door beside her. It was clear to him that she thought she was out of place to be asking for much more at such an extravagant party. "I couldn't help but notice the garden out back and-"

Kyouya removed his hand from his pocket and raised both in a motion to stop her. "Say no more. Please come with me, Konoe-sama" he said, holding his arm out for her to take.

With a side-ways glance, the much shorter girl nodded and gently linked her arm with his as the pair exited the building.

Much like most strangers, their movements were rather stiff but the silence that hung about the pair was contradictory. Being among such a magnificent display of flora left nothing to say. The Ootori garden spoke for itself and was truly a sight to see, even during the night. All that could be heard were the soft clicks of their shoes touching the brick walkway and the faint sound of laughter coming from the building left behind.

It was a while before the silence was broken but even then, it was such a small gasp that one had to be paying close attention to hear it. Out of mild curiosity, Kyouya looked over to see her gaze locked on the large fountain that would normally be missed due to the dark night.

"I see you're admiring the fountain," Kyouya commented, guiding her towards it. "This is my sister's favorite part of the garden as well. It's a shame that we don't use it very often."

"It's so beautiful though," Anastasia said, taken aback by the design as she released his arm and quickened her pace towards it. "My family has three fountains but none of them are like this." It was true that such a fountain was practically one of a kind and a rare find in anyone's home.

The design was unique. Like most outdoor fountains, the bottom started as a regular wide pool made of brick but in the middle stood a tall marble masterpiece. From the base to the first bowl, it looked almost like a series of vines wrapped around a cylindrical peg. The first bowl was very wide, had a victorian trim along the edges, and the peg leading to the second bowl had vines similar to that of the very bottom. The second bowl was similar to that of the first, as was the peg, but at the top of the fountain sat a piece that resembled the hat of a court jester's.

Kyouya watched, slightly amused, as the girl walked around the brick barrier to observe the fountain at all angles. It was rare to find someone as interested as she was in art these days.

Appreciative of fine architecture. Kyouya made yet another mental note to add to his file as soon as he returned home.

"Here, Konoe-sama," he said gently as he crouched down and pulled a brick away from the bottom, only to flip on a switch and replace it.

Immediately, lights began to flicker on and water began to pour from the bowls in separated streams.

"Magnificent..." she mumbled, her lips parted slightly in awe.

Nodding in agreement, Kyouya sat down on the brick ledge and shifted to watch the water fall as well. "You can sit down, if you'd like," he said, being sure to keep his voice soft as to not disturb her.

Without saying another word, she sat beside him and lost herself in the smell of the fresh gardenias around them, the sound of the water trickling, and the sight of the work of art before her.

Once again, it took a rather long time for either person to make a sound. It felt as if time had stood still as the few happy memories he had of his family played in Kyouya's mind and as Anastasia wondered what artist was able to design such a thing.

"Y'know, Ootori-sama," Anastasia said softly, her eyes reluctantly parting from the marble. "I get the feeling that you're putting on a facade. Like you're not usually this nice."

Quirking an eyebrow, Kyouya turned his head so that they were face to face. "What do you mean?" He asked, unable to hide the bit of amusement in his genuinely curious tone.

"Don't play dumb," she said with a laugh. "You don't have to be nice to me just because I'm a Konoe and you certainly don't need to be so formal."

Kyouya stared at her feeling dumbfounded as her joyous laugh rang through the garden like wind chimes in a summer breeze. Never in his life had he been told that he was 'playing dumb' nor had anyone, besides the commoner, been able to decode him so well. True, she hadn't hit the nail dead on but she had in fact tapped it.

Perceptive. He noted as his lips slowly shifted into a smirk. "Is that so..."

The applause of the guests indoors sounded just as the clock struck midnight, interrupting their conversation as Anastasia stood and slid her purse from her shoulder. "It looks like the parties over, huh?" Anastasia commented with a smile as she opened the bag with a soft click, pulled out a small card and pen, and began to scribble away quickly.

"Here. It was nice meeting you, Ootori-sama," she said before turning away to quickly make her way back into the building and leave.

Holding the card delicately between two fingers, Kyouya read the front which held her phone number and flipped to the back to find a short message. Call me some time! - Ana-chan.

"Interesting and clearly much more than what meets the eye," Kyouya made his final note out loud as he gently tucked the card away in his pocket for safe keeping and idly strolled back inside to report to his father.

Maybe his father had been right. This was not a challenge to be underestimated.

A/N: I'm glad that I got to hear what people thought on the first chapter of this. So far, so good. I hope this chapter was good and flowed easily. I've noticed that with some fanfictions, the girl can overly unique. I wanted her to be different but not to where she's so different that a girl like her doesn't exist in the world.

I took a suggestion and put up my vision for Anastasia on my profile. If I can find an outfit like the one she wore to the party, then I'll gladly post that up as well.

There seems to be a bit of confusion on Kyouya's age, which I've placed in the Introduction to make sure that no one else gets confused. The story is set in the future and Kyouya is a legal adult so my intention was not to make Ana a cougar, ahah! If you go to the Introduction and look at "side notes" then I've made it to where everyone will be able to see from now on.

For those of whom reviewed, thank you very much! Although this doesn't have very many yet, the ones I have are positive and help me better myself as a writer. Also a big thank you for anyone whose read this but hasn't reviewed. I know I'm getting quite a few hits and visitors on this so obviously people are reading! As much as I'd like to turn on anonymous reviews for anyone without a Fanfiction account, I've learned various other websites, such as Formspring and Tumblr, that no good can possibly come from allowing people to say something anonymously.

The next chapter should be up within maybe a day or two.

Remember to review, pretty please!

- Kisai-Chan