Chapter 3

Finally, a Challenge

The alarm was blaring like the sirens on twenty-thousand and one fire trucks. Yes, it sounded that loud and obnoxious. Not for the first time, Kyoya had proven that an hour of sleep definitely wasn't enough, especially in the middle of a school week.

He opened his eyes and glared at his alarm clock for a moment before he reached over and turned it off. School would start in an hour and a half. He had minimal time to get ready, considering he liked to arrive early to school to get a little necessary work done before class. Kyoya stared for a few moments at the red numbers on the clock, wishing he could add a few more hours to the day.

He stopped himself in the middle of that thought and shook his head. What a foolish notion.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand, hoping to remove some of his weariness. He threw his covers off of him and as soon as his feet touched the floor, thoughts filled his mind of the day ahead.

As always, there was a considerable amount of accounting he had to do for the club; that was nothing new. Honey continued to order endless sweets and Tamaki's theatrics consumed money as though there was no such thing as bankruptcy. The day appeared to be fairly uneventful. That is, except for one thing.

Kyoya allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he took his glasses from his bed stand and pushed them onto his nose. His room came into focus around him and he stood to get ready for the day.

His morning routine was fairly average: shower, brush teeth, comb hair, put on uniform, eat breakfast, grab school supplies and leave. The one thing different about this day's routine was that his thoughts weren't entirely filled with the Host Club. Instead, as he got himself ready, his mind remained focused on his newest challenge: Fukumoto Rinsuke.

She had been evasive to his direct questions yesterday, and she remained so even when he was no longer in her presence.

He had done some digging into her records at Ouran, but nothing significant was listed about her aside from her phone number and address. The only family member she had on record was her mother, Fukumoto Aika, and the only contact information for her as well was a phone number and address. The address was the same as Rinsuke's, which was a disappointment. Kyoya had thought that maybe Rin would have a different address – her father's. After all, he didn't believe that the man was as absent from her life as she let on. She did say that he was the one who paid for her driver, and that also probably meant her tuition.

Nonetheless, Kyoya had been curious. He looked up the address, as he wasn't familiar with the street name. The house was apparently in a part of the city similar to Haruhi's, though the families there were just a touch more wealthy and the neighborhood was more suburban. Rin's house was located nearby a track and stables, which made sense. Kyoya was aware of Aika's occupation as a horse trainer.

Aside from that, Kyoya had been unable to find anything of significance about her life outside of school. He could make a few guesses on some of the information he found. For instance: Rinsuke hadn't started attending Ouran Academy until she was in the fourth grade. Before that, she had been enrolled in a public school a few miles away from her mother's house. That implied that Rinsuke's father hadn't been a part of the picture until then. Aika's salary hadn't changed much over the years, and while it wasn't low, it certainly was not enough to pay for Ouran. Also, Rin apparently hadn't started out in class A. She had at first been in class C, but because of her academic achievements she had been bumped up to class B in middle school, and then to class A in high school. And she did all this despite her very frequent accidents, which like this year often kept her out of school for months on end. If anything was suspicious, it was that she had been so accident-prone since she was that young. With that many injuries she should have been physically handicapped, or if not then she shouldn't have been able to excel so quickly in school. Her situation at Ouran was more than just apprehensive.

Kyoya had thought about calling Aika to question her a little about her daughter, but decided against it. She was reported to be out of town at a race and he doubted she would have much time to talk. He also didn't want to alert Rin of his interest in her too soon; she would probably become even more defensive than she already was. He would just have to wait to call Aika at a more appropriate time.

Kyoya's morning routine went smoothly, and he actually left his house a few minutes early. When he arrived at Ouran there were a few other early risers, but aside from that the campus was fairly quiet. Kyoya went straight to his class room and pulled out his laptop to begin planning for the day's expenses.

For half an hour at least he was able to work in peace, but soon students started to trickle into the class. Some were courteous enough not to interrupt him as he tapped away at the keys, but others were less inclined to leave him be. He soon had to shut his laptop in order to entertain his classmates, many of whom he couldn't afford to offend.

As the clock ticked on, Kyoya found himself glancing at it every so often. Rinsuke had come late to school the day before, or he would have known of her return to school sooner, since she was his classmate. Still, she had to have shown up at one point or another. He wondered if she would miss the first part of the day again. From what he could recall of few previous interactions with her, she didn't have any particular fancy for Japanese literature. About five minutes before class was about to start, Kyoya pretty much gave up on her coming to class. Everyone aside from Tamaki and Rinsuke were in class already.

At that thought, the door suddenly burst in as the Suoh heir waltzed into the room with his usual flamboyance.

Speak of the devil, Kyoya thought as he watched his friend.

"Hello, my beautiful classmates," he said cheerfully. Most of the boys gave Tamaki small waves, but the girls of course greeted him with squeals of excitement. Tamaki responded to each in turn with his charming looks and words. Kyoya just waited.

When Tamaki was finished with his rudimentary greetings he turned to Kyoya with sparkling eyes.

"Kyo-ya," Tamaki said playfully as he sat down on top of his best friend's desk. He leaned close to him and asked, "How is Mommy doing today?"

"Fine, I suppose," Kyoya sighed. He then narrowed his eyes. "Might I ask what you want, Tamaki?"

Tamaki pouted at Kyoya's question. "Nothing at all, Kyoya. Can't I wonder about my friend's well-being without seeking for anything in return?"

Kyoya stared at him. Tamaki didn't respond for a moment, but when it was clear to him that Kyoya didn't believe him he laughed.

"Mommy knows Daddy so well," he said and then suddenly held up a finger with a serious look. "I have an idea for tomorrow's theme."

Just then, the starting bell rang and the teacher walked into the classroom. Tamaki smiled.

"I'll tell you later."

He stood and went over to his seat. The teacher, Mr. Adachi, greeted the class once everyone was seated and paying attention. He, as usual, began to give a quick overview of what he wished to accomplish that day in class. About halfway through this itinerary, the door suddenly opened and a rather flustered-looking Rin stepped inside. Adachi turned to her and raised an eyebrow. Rinsuke bowed right away, panting heavily. She apparently had a habit of running before she stepped into rooms.

"I am very sorry for being late," she said between deep breaths. "I ran into some traffic on the way here."

Adachi frowned. "That is hardly an excuse… but you may have the wrong classroom. I was not informed of a new student."

Rinsuke straightened as she looked at Mr. Adachi, her brows knitted together in confusion. Then, making a sudden realization she smiled.

"Oh, that's right! I remember the headmaster said you were a new teacher." She bowed again politely. "I am Fukumoto Rinsuke."

As soon as she said her name, Mr. Adachi seemed to understand exactly who she was. As a matter of fact, he understood so well that he apparently decided to dismiss her tardiness.

"Ah, Miss Fukumoto, it is a pleasure to have you with us." He gestured to the back where there was an empty seat. "You may have a seat there."

Rin nodded and obediently moved through the rows of desks to where the empty seat was. The eyes of the class followed her, and Kyoya took notice of how Rin kept her head up and walked with dignity, probably to make up for the way she entered into the classroom. She didn't make eye contact with a single person, and no one raised a hand to say hello. Rinsuke didn't appear to mind; she just sat down at her desk and waited patiently for the teacher to begin. Mr. Adachi continued on from where he had left off, and for the time being Kyoya put his own thoughts aside to pay attention. He did, however, intend to confront Rin once it was time for the teachers to change classes.

-K-

As soon as the bell rang, Kyoya stood and (much to Tamaki's disappointment) walked over to where Rinsuke was seated. She was still engrossed in the novel they had been reading in class, or at least she pretended to be, but when she noticed him she looked up. At some point during the period she had put her hair up in a ponytail, though it was down before. Her hair still reached down to the middle of her back, but it no longer covered her ears which, Kyoya noticed, had two piercings on each lobe as well as numerous ear cuffs. She seemed a little surprised that it was him standing there, but she at least had the wits to smile. Kyoya had no doubt she hadn't forgotten his comment yesterday about her finances, however she was smart enough to let it go, at least for the time being.

"Hello, Ootori-san," she greeted.

Kyoya smiled. "Good morning, Rinsuke. I am glad you could make it to class today."

He noted the doubt in her eyes when she said a soft, "Thank you." She then looked at him expectantly, knowing that he hadn't just come over there to say hello.

"I wanted to speak with you about the dress we gave you yesterday," he informed her. Rin didn't appear surprised by this, but he thought he saw some annoyance flash through her eyes. She looked past him, presumably at the clock on the wall, and nodded.

"Of course," she said, "what about it do you want to discuss?"

"Ah, I merely wanted to point out that, unfortunately, the Host Club is not made of money. The dress did cost nine-million yen…"

Rin glanced at Kyoya with a raised eyebrow. "So you want me to pay for it?"

Kyoya just smiled, and Rin narrowed her eyes.

"Typical," she muttered under her breath, probably not thinking that Kyoya could hear her.

"What's that?" he asked. Rinsuke smiled again and waved her hand in dismissal.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. So I assume you want this money right away?"

"Preferably. However, I don't think now would be the best time. How about you come to the Host Club today and drop if off then?"

Rinsuke eyed him suspiciously. "Why do I have to give it to you at the Club?"

"I highly doubt it would be appropriate for you to give me any form of money in front of our peers, and the Host Club is where I spend my afternoons. Of course, there are always other ways for you to pay off the debt…"

"No," Rinsuke said quickly. "I'll give you the check tomorrow after school. I don't happen to have my wallet on me right now."

Kyoya nodded. "Alright, then, I'll be waiting. Thank you very much for your cooperation, Rinsuke."

"Yes, of course, Ootori-san," she replied in a monotone.

Kyoya could just imagine the insults she was throwing at him in her head. She kept her irritation to herself, though, and Kyoya smiled before returning to his seat.

"What was that about?" Tamaki asked once Kyoya was seated.

"Just handling some Club matters."

Tamaki pouted. "But Mommy, what about me?"

Kyoya looked at him and said rather bluntly, "You are sitting next to me, and our schedule is the same throughout the whole day. I needed to speak to Rinsuke before she changes classes, which I do believe she does after lunch."

Tears welled in Tamaki's eyes, but before he could say anything else, Kyoya spoke again.

"Now, what was this idea you had for tomorrow's theme?"

Tamaki's demeanor suddenly changed as he remembered the idea he had yet to tell his friend. He leaned toward Kyoya, his hand in front of his face with his index finger shaped as though it were a hook. He said just one word:

"Pirates."

"…Pirates," Kyoya repeated incredulously.

Tamaki nodded and stood, making large arm movements as he spoke. Flowers and sparkles seemed to swirl about him as he trailed off into his fantasy.

"Just think of how the girls will fall at our feet as we bravely stand up for them with our swords. It will be forbidden love on the open seas, both beautiful and tragic. I, the Captain, will be dressed in a dashing red coat that would match my passionate feelings for each of the damsels that stumble across my humble crew."

When Tamaki was finished, Kyoya looked at him with a slight frown.

"It would take more than a day to prepare for that," he stated.

Tamaki placed his hands on Kyoya's desk and leaned forward so he was towering over his friend.

"But you are going to do it, right? Even if not tomorrow, we will become devilishly handsome for our ladies!"

Kyoya sighed, but made note of it in his notebook. "I will try to make it happen as soon as possible."

"Perfect!" Tamaki cheered enthusiastically, then once again sat down in his seat. "I knew you'd love the idea, Mommy."

Kyoya just adjusted his glasses as he thought about this new theme for the Club. He would have to up his fundraising considerably to get the money to pay for it, but it shouldn't be too much trouble. He'd already had to pull off quite a lot for Tamaki, after all.

-K-

When lunch came around, Kyoya left the class with Tamaki to go to the cafeteria. Rinsuke did not stay in the class as he thought she might. She did not go to the cafeteria either, however. Nor did she go in the direction of her next class of the day, which was some form of advanced mathematics. As Tamaki babbled on about his pirate idea and how cute Haruhi would look with a feathered hat and a parrot, Kyoya watched Rinsuke as she sped down the hall in the opposite direction. He had half a mind to follow her, but before he could he was summoned by another student.

Tamaki stopped his rambling and both he and Kyoya turned to the voice trying to get their attention. It was Mai, the first girl Kyoya had questioned about the apparent ninja outside Music Room #3. Immediately, Tamaki bowed low to plant a kiss on Mai's hand.

"Good day to you, Princess." He straightened and gently lifted her chin. "What can we do for you?"

A slight rosy color flowed onto Mai's cheeks and she seemed flustered as she answered.

"W-well, I actually wanted to tell Kyoya that I remembered something about the two boys he was asking about. I figured he would want to know."

Tamaki frowned and turned to his best friend.

"When was this?" he asked.

"Yesterday," Kyoya informed him evenly as he adjusted his glasses. "There were two boys snooping outside the Music Room after Miss Rinsuke dropped by."

Tamaki appeared to take the hint, for he eyed Kyoya and asked in a slightly darkened tone, "And you didn't tell me?"

"I did not see the need. They were gone when I checked and I have not found them since."

"Didn't see the need?" Tamaki asked, likely thinking about what those boys could have done to her after she left. "Kyoya, if those boys were there to-"

"Join the club," Kyoya said swiftly, remembering what he had told Mai yesterday. Tamaki stopped and looked utterly lost at the sudden topic shift.

Kyoya smiled and hoped Tamaki wouldn't try to argue any further. "I have heard some rumors that there are some boys who want to join the Host Club." He turned to Mai. "Now, what is it that you have remembered?"

Mai tore her gaze away from Tamaki, who still looked like a deer in headlights, and stuttered, "Oh, um, well… I knew I was forgetting something when you first asked me about the boys. I couldn't remember at all until this morning. I drove by a shop with a familiar symbol as its logo, and I realized that both of the boys had that same exact symbol tattooed on their arms."

Kyoya furrowed his brow in thought and asked, "What did the symbol look like?"

"Well, it was pretty simple," Mai said as she tried to remember exactly what it was. She traced her fingers in the air as she described it. "It was two triangles attached at the tip kind of like an hourglass, and then two half-circles surrounding it on opposite sides. The circle on the right was slightly bigger than the one on the left."

Of all the things Mai could have said, that was perhaps the one that Kyoya least expected. He had to work to keep the astonishment out of his expression. Though he had not knowingly met any of the members of the organization that particular symbol represented, he knew it well. The knowledge of the faction was less public than other groups like it, but more prominent members of society had to know about it. Otherwise, its members could very easily do most anything to ruin a person's life.

Kyoya recovered quickly and hid his surprise with a smile. "Thank you Miss Mai, you have been most helpful."

Mai paused, probably expecting a little bit more of a reaction than that. Kyoya bowed politely, and Mai muttered a quiet "You're welcome" before she ran off to where her friends were waiting for her. Kyoya heard them practically squealing as he turned on his heel and continued on toward the cafeteria. He would have searched for Rinsuke, but she had long since disappeared. He also needed some time to think about this new information, as it was a rather large curveball that he hadn't been expecting. It changed a lot of things. If the people after Rinsuke were the Kumo… or even worse, if she had caught the attention of the Jor ōgumo…

"Hey, Kyoya," Tamaki said as he kept pace with him. "What is the significance of what Mai said?"

Kyoya glanced at Tamaki and debated whether or not he should tell him. If he did, the whole Host Club would know before the day was out, and that could be more trouble than it was worth. If they knew who was following Rin, they would make a rather visible effort to protect her or figure out why, and they wouldn't be very subtle about it. With the exception of maybe Haruhi. Kyoya doubted that she even knew who the Kumo or Jorōgumo were. However, without a doubt, the others would probably confront Rin under Tamaki's orders. Tamaki wouldn't just sit and watch while one of their guests was being harassed by a secret organization. Because of that, Kyoya thought better than to say anything.

"I'm not sure," he lied. "It seems important, however I can't think of a reason why. I'll look into it, though, so no need to worry."

Tamaki believed him, or at least appeared to. He again launched into one of his pirate fantasies while Kyoya just tried to puzzle out Rin's possible involvement with the Kumo. In his mind he organized the basics of what he knew about her and the events surrounding her.

She had stumbled into the club after being chased by a group of at least three boys. She was bleeding, but it was a wound she had seemingly received earlier. Then there was the account of the two Kumo members outside of the music room. It seemed that those two were the ones chasing Rinsuke, however if that were the case then there were more than just the two of them. Where the others had disappeared to, Kyoya could not say.

Now, considering he knew virtually nothing about Rinsuke's father, it was possible that she was being targeted for something he did, or to be used as some sort of leverage. It was not uncommon for students at Ouran to be hassled for their family's wealth. And yet, if the Kumo's wanted Rin, she should already have been kidnapped or worse. The Kumo's were a very prestigious group: they would not have let her slip through their fingers so easily. There was also the distinct possibility that they were just watching Rinsuke for the purpose of discovering some secret she or her father kept.

But, this was all just speculation. There were still a lot of things in this picture that had not yet been revealed. He would need to do some more digging in order to figure anything out. Unfortunately, he did not see Rinsuke for the remainder of the day, so he couldn't do much of anything. He continued to search Ouran's archives and even looked for anything on the internet about her or her mother, but he couldn't find anything significant. In the end, he decided that he would need to use methods that were a little unconventional to learn what he needed to. And that was actually a stirring thought. It seemed that Rinsuke would provide even more of a challenge than he first assumed, and he hadn't had one of those for a while.

A/N: Can I take a moment to point out that Kyoya and Rin have the same super-late-night habits? They went to sleep at pretty much the same time. I just thought that would be cute. Don't mind me~ XD Anywho, I got this chapter out a lot later than expected and for that I apologize. Life is a troll, that's all I can say. Well, that's about all aside from the usual. Thanks for reading, please leave a review, and I love you all. ;)