Chapter 8:
Unlike most boys his age, Kyoya was not embarrassed in the least of having a girl in his 'room' and simply did as any good Host would: smile and offer a seat to her along with refreshments. After taking a seat and refusing the last, Sayuri finally got a chance to really look around as her date leaned casually against a wall. It seemed that everything was shades of grey, not an atom of color except for the cream dinner jacket that its owner was wearing over a black dress shirt and dark green tie. He observed her carefully behind the shine of his glasses and seemed to be puzzling over something which made her bite her lip in nervousness.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked finally, curiosity and silence eating up at her.
Kyoya tilted his head and hesitated before asking, "Are you sure you want to know? My mind can be a rather dark place."
Sayuri couldn't help but smirk at that understatement. She hadn't been blind and deaf during her times at the Host Club. She knew very well that the Vice-President was a very devious minded man. "I'm afraid I'm not like other girls Kyoya-senpai. I don't ask unless I absolutely want to know."
She thought she caught sight of a ghost of a real smile on his lips before he replied, "I was wondering just how exactly I should propose to you."
Sayuri nodded once in understanding but then tilted her head as a look of mischievous amusement passed across her face. "It's not like you to be unprepared Kyoya. Haven't you already planned it all out? No romantic serenade? Not getting down on your knees? My my, I have to say I might be a tad disappointed." She teased lightly, no malice in her words, voice, or face.
He blinked in surprise before recovering with a rather amused chuckle and smile, one of his few real ones, and Sayuri noticed.
"Well that's not entirely true. I've planned out several possible scenarios but I'm afraid I don't know you well enough to decide which one you'd like best." He explained as he put a hand on the arm rest of the sofa she was sitting at, leaning towards her.
"Don't know me well enough? And what have you been doing these past two weeks my dear Kyoya-senpai? I've seen you always writing in that book of yours and we've hardly been apart at school save for actual classes. And you're telling me you still don't know me? Shame." She tutted with fake dissatisfaction.
At this, the bespectacled boy raised an eyebrow and probed, "So I assume you know me better than I know you?"
"Hmm…it all depends on what you mean. I have the utmost confidence that you know more ABOUT me than I do you. But as to your actual self… your personality, how you act and what you like. I would bet that I know you better." She wagered with confidence.
"Interesting… All right Miss Sayuri. I accept your bet. What would you like if you win?" he asked.
"That is the question…" She murmured thoughtfully, tapping her chin with a finger. She really hadn't thought about what she wanted out of it before she started placing bets. Then an errand idea floated past her. "If I win, then I get to decide how you will propose to me. That is…if you still will." She amended.
Kyoya supposed that that really wasn't asking much, and he was sure that she wasn't silly like most girls that would ask for him to propose to him in a most ridiculous way.
"That can be arranged. And in retrospect, if I win, then I get to do the same."
Sayuri was rather surprised that that was all that the scheming boy wanted, but did not question it. "All right then. Deal." She offered her hand to her dark haired friend and he shook it with a confident yet polite smile.
"Allow me to go first." He began. "You enjoy archery and yet aren't the best at it. You've never had a pet before but you've always wanted one. You enjoy playing the violin and singing and the only thing you regret about the combination is that you can't do them at the same time. Your favorite color is blue, yet you rarely wear it. You dislike the feeling of pants and like skirts rather than full dresses. You are friendly, and yet you don't make many friends, preferring to more alone and quiet, but never pushing anyone away if they dare to make the first move. Your hair is naturally straight and you prefer it that way, yet you curl it to fit and because it pleases your mother. You enjoy the taste of green tea with milk and one sugar oddly. Your favorite school subjects are math, Japanese history and literature, English language and music appreciation. You are quite confident in your abilities to fill the role as future leader of Nitta Multinational Corporation and you have never thought of doing anything else." He finished finally, leaning quite closely towards her, though he was still standing and therefore more looming over her.
Glancing up from her folded hands on her lap to his glass shielded eyes with a passive expression that almost seemed…bored? "Is that all Kyoya-senpai?"
He stayed silent, not sure what else to say. She smiled sympathetically at him before finally speaking, "Like I said, I expected you to do your homework and to pay attention during our many lengthy talks. But you still don't seem to understand. And you are quite wrong on a few things."
Kyoya's storm colored eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he sat down next to Sayuri, wondering if she was simply lying to win the bet. "How do I-"
"Know I'm not simply lying?" She finished for him with a patient smile. "You don't. And you won't unless you try to get to know me better. But if you do, then you'll figure it out eventually. Now I believe it is my turn." She crossed her legs and turned more to face him.
"You don't have a favorite color as far as I can tell, but rather pick whichever color would be best with the situation, people, or décor. However you never wear bright attention drawing colors. Half because you believe they are tacky and half because you do not enjoy being in the spot light. Your favorite type of pet is fish, though you've always wanted a dog like your friend. You don't want to admit or show anyone that you are capable of being compassionate for fear of being seen as 'soft' or weak. But you aren't as cold hearted as some think, nor 'a secret big softie'. You do not have any friends…at least not outside of the Host Club. But your truest friend is the one that no one believes least of all yourself. You envy him still, but that does not get in the way of your friendship. You choose not to wear contacts because you know you appear smarter with glasses as well as the fact that you feel safer with them on; which is realistic if you believe the eyes are the windows to the soul." Sayuri flashed him a brief smile before continuing.
"You choose to stay in high school rather than graduate early (which you can do quite easily) as you enjoy your time at the Host Club with friends and yet use your time wisely as well. You are the third son of your family and yet that does not discourage you from striving to be your father's heir. It frustrates you beyond belief at how cruel and cold he can be and you hate him for it and yet know that you must be just like him to be accepted. You know you are going above and beyond what either of your brothers have done, and yet he still refuses to acknowledge you as his heir. Even now you struggle with this proposal, trying to see if it will get you closer or farther away from your goal. That is why you analyze everything so meticulously. You can only understand people this way, by calculating them. But you are starting to understand, with some help. And just so you know, I prefer my psychology class over mathematics." She smiled softly, reclining back into the cushions of the sofa, observing his face closely.
Kyoya had pushed up his glasses, causing a glare from one of the ceiling lamps but froze when Sayuri mentioned them in one of her many observations. He stayed quiet, mind still turning the many cogs and wheels. In just two weeks, she had picked up on what some of the closest people in his life (save his sister) hadn't found out in years. He decided to set aside that to think on later and concentrated on the problem at hand…he had lost the bet. He wasn't above willing to admit that…even though he didn't like it one bit.
"I believe you have won Sayuri-san." He sighed.
She simply let out a small chuckle and stated, "I know."
"So…how would you like for me to propose to you my lady?" he asked cordially.
Tilting her head to the right slightly in thought as she stared at her hands she then looked back up at him and said, "I want you to propose to me traditionally. But with your glasses off. And…no smiling. Not unless you mean it. And I'd like to get it in writing if you please."
He was rather perplexed about her first requests, but the last made him let out a small low laugh. Quite the business woman she was. "I think I can arrange that." He stated as he stood, brushing the nonexistent wrinkles from his slacks. He carefully drew away his glasses from his face with one hand and folded them before placing them on the side table. Then getting down on one knee to kneel in front of her, he drew out a small black velvet box and popped it open to reveal a small white gold ring with three diamonds, the center one the biggest at twenty karats. With an expression of utmost seriousness he finally asked, "Sayuri Nitta…will you marry me?"
She glanced disinterestedly at the jewelry he presented to her and instead looked into what she wanted to see most, his eyes. Hesitating at first and then more surely, she drew her hand up and gently caressed aside the bangs to look clearly into those steel grey pools. They weren't narrowed in calculation for once. He was really simply waiting for an answer, though he wasn't worrying about the answer as much as a regular man would. This was the man she was to marry. To hold, cherish and trust. And maybe even love too. As if she would get that lucky. Smiling softly, Kyoya could just barely detect the sadness in her grey blue eyes, she nodded. "Yes."
He allowed himself a very small smile, barley discernable from his usual blank expression other than the softening of his eyes and that his mouth's corners weren't completely flat, as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it on the ring finger of her right hand. Then taking that hand he kissed her knuckles chastely before standing still holding her hand and therefore drawing her up too. His smile growing a fraction he spoke, "Let's get that paperwork started shall we?"
Sayuri couldn't help but laugh and agree. Kyoya of course had some official paper they could use and after he drew up a statement they could both agree on, he signed as well as she and he made a copy for both of them to have. They were engaged.