Chapter Twenty-Three : The Girl and the Hostess
Kiiro sat on her own at one of the tables in the Third Music Room, sketching absentmindedly while she brainstormed for cultural display ideas. Today was a relatively quiet day for the club. Aside from the normal outbursts from the Twins and Tamaki and the usual squealing of the girls things were quite...peaceful.
It was actually quite unsettling.
She began to think that the rest of the time would pass like that.
And then she was proven wrong.
"Ah, a new princess?" Tamaki perked up. He stood from his place among his clients, producing a vibrant red rose. The Host King loved greeting new guests. "Hello, my dear, please don't be shy."
Kiiro glanced over from her table. She recognized the girl from somewhere. She had long, dark black hair and deep blue eyes.
'Maybe...' and then it clicked. 'Ah! That's Kimi Ikeda from my art class.'
The girl blushed red, avoiding Tamaki's eyes.
He offered her the rose, "May I ask which host you would like to request?" he beamed.
Kimi looked up at him for a moment, in a small voice she said, "Host? Umm, I'm here to...to request Kiiro Harper."
"Eh?!"
The look of shock in the club was only surpassed by the expression of Kiiro herself.
Tamaki's rose wilted.
Awkwardly, Kiiro sat up straight, across from Kimi.
"Ah, I'm sorry for not...um...being too good at this..." she began. "I'm not exactly... I've never done it before."
Kimi squeaked, "N-no! I'm sorry! I'm the one who put you in this position..."
Kiiro laughed nervously, trying to calm the girl down, "Ah, no, no, it's okay! Um..." she racked her brain, trying to think of what one of the boys would say.
'God, how does Haruhi do this so well?!'
"Um, is there...anything you would like to talk about?" she tried. "Maybe...hobbies?"
Kimi's blush returned, "Hobbies, well, I like drawing..."
Kiiro wasn't sure how to reply, "Ah, yes, you're in my art class, right? I've always been more of a painter myself."
Kimi returned with, "I-I've seen you painting in class...they're- well, they're very good."
Around them the club tried to act nonchalant, but it was obvious all eyes were on them, even the clients had become distracted by the impromptu hostess and her shy guest.
"This is going nowhere." Hikaru whispered to his brother.
"They're both too shy to talk..." Kaoru sighed.
"Why are you allowing this to happen, Kyouya-senpai?" they turned to him. "Aren't you jealous?" they teased.
Kyouya smiled, "Why should we turn a customer down?"
"Wow, even with Kiiro-senpai involved he has his eye on profit..." they sweatdropped.
Tamaki was busy lamenting over Kiiro's poor performance, "She should sit closer to her! Keep the conversation flowing! Making sure Kimi-hime is happy and comfortable is key!" he squirmed.
"Well, Kiiro-senpai is the Art Director...not a hostess..." Haruhi defended her.
"That's it!" he had an epiphany. "It's obvious that Kiiro needs lessons! Under my tutelage, Kiiro will become our first ever hostess!"
Kiiro was a little bit thankful when club activities ended. The half hour she spent trying to host Kimi had been disastrous. No matter how hard she tried, it seemed that neither of them could get past their reserved natures. She liked the girl, she seemed sweet and kind, but Kiiro just wasn't hostess material.
Just when she thought she might be able to put this past her, Tamaki and the Twins sidled up to her table as she was packing up to leave.
"N-ne?" she stammered.
"About your performance today..." Hikaru began.
"...we found it a bit lacking." Kaoru judged.
"Well, what did you expect?" she huffed. "I'm not a hostess! I'm an Art Director!" she argued.
"That aside, Kiiro, you had a guest today." Tamaki said simply, his scheming smile appearing. "And if she does decide to come back, you need to be prepared to give her want she wants."
"We're not planning to make this a full time thing, are we?" Kiiro went wide eyed. "I accepted this time out of politeness but I'm not sure I want to get myself into this..." she turned to Kyouya and Haruhi for backup.
'Kyouya would hate to see me sweet talking others, right?' she thought desperately. 'Surely Haruhi sees how nonsensical this is, right? I mean, she couldn't participate if her gender was exposed.'
Haruhi didn't seem to catch her plea. Kyouya only smiled.
'Bastard...' she glared at him.
She sighed, turning back to the Twins and Tamaki, "What do you want me to do?"
Tamaki perked up, "We're going to train you! You want to make Kimi-hime happy, don't you?"
She thought about it, certainly Kimi had seemed...sad, and embarrassed, "Well, I-I suppose so." she admitted. "She is very polite."
"Then let's go right now!" King announced. "To your house!" he pointed to her.
"Why my house?!" she crossed her arms.
He smiled, "Because I haven't been there yet."
"Nosy brat..." she said under her breath.
"No, no, Kiiro, it must be done like this." Tamaki ordered her, trying to have her replicate his "handsome glance from the side". His eyes shone and a soft smile resided on his lips as he rested his head in his hand.
"I don't see how mine's any different." she said in her faux-sweet voice, trying to replicate his look and keep her temper in check at the same time.
The Twins were finding this absolutely hilarious as every few minutes they would break out in tears.
The club was gathered around in her main sitting room, where most of them watched the Host King attempt to tutor their shy Art Director in his ways.
The Twins fought off their fit of giggles and interrupted them, "Let's move on from that for now, we need to find a character for Kiiro-senpai!"
"Character?" Kiiro sweatdropped, their words reminiscent of Renge.
"It's true..." Kyouya placed a finger to his chin. "But what sort?"
"Ne? Don't egg them on." she tried.
"Isn't Kir-chan a bit like Kimi-chan~?" Hani suggested from his spot across from them, scarfing down the cake Kiiro's kitchen staff had whipped up.
"Mm." Mori agreed.
"We ought to play up what Kimi-hime sees in her then..." Tamaki appeared to be deep in thought. "But it will be difficult since their personalities are similar at a glance."
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Kiiro interjected.
"Everyone has their type, Kiiro." Kyouya explained.
"Well, when you and Kimi-san first spoke, what did she talk about the most with you, Kiiro-senpai?" Haruhi asked her.
Kiiro thought about it, "Mostly...art I believe."
"Go figure." the Twins shrugged.
"Since we all have an art class together..." Hikaru started.
"...of course she'd talk about art." Kaoru finished.
"Come to think of it, we've caught her looking our way a few times." they said in unison. "So she really was looking at you, senpai!" they teased.
She shrugged them off, irritated.
Tamaki's grin widened, he stood dramatically, pointing to her, "That's it!" he announced as if in epiphany. "Kimi-hime has an art class with you! She saw your paintings and fell in love with the painter!"
"I-in love?!" Kiiro stammered.
"The beauty! The passion! The poetry of it!" he pranced around the sitting room wildly, posing here and there for effect. "To find meaning in art! To finally feel connected after years of loneliness! To feel as if you are familiar with someone, a complex sense of understanding through creativity! To chance forbidden love for connection!" he babbled on, pointing to her again. "A creative type!"
"Ne?" she slumped. "Forbidden love...? Creative type...?" her head was spinning.
"I see." Kyouya smiled as if he understood all of that. "Kimi-hime is seeking the person she found in your artwork."
"How am I supposed to know what she took away from seeing any of my pieces...?"
The Twins assessed the situation, "Artistic types..."
They sprung into action, "Kiiro-senpai, it's obvious what kind of act you have to do."
"Is it?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Kimi-san is the less relaxed of the two." Kaoru stated.
"Which means Kiiro-senpai would have to be the one to take the lead." Hikaru nodded.
"So if you think of it like one of our acts..." the two embraced, Hikaru cradling Kaoru's chin as he transitioned into a standing position.
"Kimi-chan, your eyes are so beautiful, even a masterpiece couldn't do them justice." Hikaru said in a voice that paid homage to the Princely Type.
"But anything painted by you would be more lovely than reality, Kiiro-senpai." Kaoru held a hand to his flushed cheek.
"Like that!" they proclaimed proudly, breaking out of stance.
"Why would Kimi-hime reply like that?!" King criticized.
"D-do I really have to say things like that?" Kiiro despaired. "That's too embarrassing. I can't act like that around someone I don't know."
Kyouya shrugged, "Not all of us use overly direct one-liners."
Haruhi spoke up then, "I'd have to agree with Kyouya-senpai, I don't think Kimi-san would like an approach like that."
"Haru-chan should be the one teaching Kir-chan~!" Hani insinuated. "She is the Natural Type~!"
"Mm."
Haruhi rubbed the back of her head, "I don't know how good I'd be at teaching that sort of thing..."
"You did receive a large amount of customers right after joining." Kyouya added.
"All I really do is talk to the girls who request me." she smiled.
"If we're going to spend all day trying to work this out..."
"...we might as well save ourselves the trouble..."
"...and call Renge." the Twins pulled out their phones.
"N-no! Please don't call her over here!" Kiiro hopped up. "Artistic Type works for me." she settled with a smile.
The remainder of the day was spent tutoring Kiiro in different ways, Haruhi suggested different things to talk about, while Tamaki harped on flirtation, and the Twins tried to make her more forward.
And at the end of it, Kiiro's head was spinning, 'Who does this for fun...?'
Everyone had left, bar Kyouya who had decided to stay, most likely to poke fun at her embarrassment.
She raised her eyebrow, "So why are you going along with this, Kyouya?"
He smirked, "Did you think I would be jealous?"
She thought it over, "Jealous? No, I suppose jealousy doesn't suit you. But still, I will be flirting with someone else if Kimi-san comes back."
"How is your hosting someone different from my hosting someone?" he crossed one leg over the other. "I'm actually surprised you aren't jealous."
"Ne?" she recalled all the times she saw him with his guests. "Why should I be jealous of that?" she smiled. "I know you don't really mean any of that."
He cocked his head, "Interesting reasoning."
"Besides, you're completely different when you're actually flirting." she inched closer, looking away.
"Am I?" he cupped her chin, turning her head to face him.
She giggled pressing a kiss to his lips. He deepened the kiss, gently pushing her back against the arm of the couch. He pulled away with a bit of a grin, placing a hand at either side of her shoulders, keeping her there. He returned to kissing her, feeling a smile on her lips.
"It's been a while since we've been able to do this." Kiiro chuckled as he trailed kisses down her neck.
"Too long." he said against her collar bone as she buried a hand in his hair. He undid a few of her shirt buttons.
"Ky-Kyouya!" her face lit up.
He raised an eyebrow, "What?" his eyes seemed darker than usual. "Embarrassed?"
She averted his gaze, "M-maybe we should go to my room..."
His grin returned.
"Not-! Not like that!" she stammered. "Just in case one of the staff walks by..."
His laugh only served to darken the shade of her blush.
Kiiro was actually quite surprised when Kimi Ikeda had returned to the Host Club the next day. After the awkward exchange they had had the day before, she had still returned. Kiiro sat at a couch this time, just in case Kimi came back. According to Tamaki, closeness breeds comfort. And though Kiiro often felt the exact opposite way, Tamaki was every bit the Host King.
"N-ne, welcome back, Kimi-chan." Kiiro smiled, she tried to use her smoothest voice. "Would you like to sit with me?"
"Y-yes, thank you." she sat beside her.
'Alright... Now what?'
She glanced over at Tamaki, who was gesturing wildly. She glared at him, 'What is any of that supposed to mean?'
His fingers met his thumb over and over again in a much more understandable gesture, 'Talk.'
Her glare only intensified. She was glad Kimi paid no attention.
'What about?'
Tamaki, who was excellent at reading expressions, wrote on his palm.
'Her beauty?'
Kiiro resisted the urge to hit him, 'Isn't that a little forward? Surely it works for his customers...'
She could feel the anxiety in the air. Though, thankfully, it wasn't all coming from her, not in the slightest.
With a smile, Kiiro suddenly knew what to talk about.
"It's a little weird, isn't it? A place like this?" she asked, turning back to Kimi.
Her guest looked up from the floor.
"A club where boys sweet talk girls. Or, well, I suppose in this case girls sweet talk girls." she chuckled.
She could see Tamaki flailing out of the corner of her eye. Weird? What if the guest too that the wrong way? What was Kiiro doing?
"But, you know, you shouldn't have to be nervous." she leaned back. "I'd like to learn more about Kimi-chan. So let's talk?"
A tiny smile appeared on Kimi's face, "You'd like to get to know me?" she said quietly.
"Mmhm." she nodded.
Tamaki gave her a thumbs up, obviously his flawless tutelage was a success.
"How about...? Oh, what's your favorite color?" she began. 'Little easy questions.'
"Umm, orange." Kimi answered.
Kiiro grinned, "What sort of orange?" she turned, placing her elbow at the back of the plush couch.
"W-what sort?" her guest seemed confused.
"Yes, like my favorite color is yellow, but I prefer lemon yellow over others." she explained.
"I-I guess I never really thought about it that way." she lifted a finger to her lips. "Then... Then I think the sort of orange that you can see in sunsets is my favorite."
"Sunset orange? Ah, you're definitely an artistic kind of girl, Kimi-chan, to choose a color like that." she smiled again. "I think that's lovely."
"L-lovely?"
"Oh, I almost forgot." Kiiro sat up. "Would you like any tea? I believe we have green and chai today. Unless, you'd prefer coffee, and you wouldn't have to drink the commoner's kind, I know Kyouya keeps some regular blends around in case the ladies don't want to...try...the instant stuff."
"Oh, yes, I would like some tea. Chai, if you don't mind."
"It's no trouble." Kiiro stood. "Cream or sugar?"
"Oh, um, two sugars." her small smile returned again.
"Alright, I'll be right back with that." she glided over to where they kept their tea brewing, pouring Kimi's chai and a cup of coffee for herself.
"Not a bad start, Kiiro." Kyouya leaned against the wall beside her, scribbling in his ever-present black notebook.
Kiiro grinned at him, "Now if I can just keep it going..."
"Well, you've gotten the icebreaker out of the way." he closed his notebook with a flick of his wrist. "All you have to do know is, "Learn more about Kimi-chan."." he chuckled as he quoted her.
She stuck her tongue out at him, "I've often heard you say, "Use whatever works." Sure you're not jealous?"
He shook his head, "Jealousy doesn't suit me. I'm thinking about how we can make this Hostess business possible. Maybe I could get a few photobooks together?" his grin was playful, but his eyes revealed the calculations running through his mind.
"Please don't use me for profit, dear." she said with a fake sweetness.
"Use whatever works." he shrugged.
She rolled her eyes and made her way back to where Kimi sat, seemingly perplexed by something. Kiiro followed her line of sight, to where the Twins entertained their squeeing guests with their acts of brotherly love.
"Kimi-chan, your tea." she handed the cup to the girl.
"Ah! Th-thank you!" she stuttered, bowing her head politely.
"You'll get used to them." Kiiro said of the Hitachiins. "To tell the truth, I don't see what their girls see in that act." she confided in her client quietly.
Kimi's cheeks reddened a bit, "I-Is that so? I mean, yes, I'd have to agree!" she smiled, looking embarrassed to have been caught looking at the two. "They're both boys, and brothers at that." her voice was so small it was nearly imperceptible.
"Exactly." Kiiro giggled a bit. And then she realized something, "Kimi-chan, do you think it's weird that they're both boys?"
Kimi's eyes widened, "Ah, um, well, certainly it's fine for two people of the same gender to like each other, right?" she seemed to catch herself.
Kiiro knitted her brow, a bit confused, "Of course, we're both girls, aren't we?" she said with a practiced coolness. "Doesn't Kimi-chan like girls?"
Kimi's blush darkened to near purple, "Ah! Y-yes! I-I do..."
"I'm sorry, was that too forward?" she cocked her head. "I didn't mean to offend you."
"N-no!" she waved her hands. "I'm not offended. It's just..." she struggled to find the words. "This kind of thing is all so new to me."
"Tell me about it." she laughed. "Before Kyouya told me about it, I'd never heard of a Host Club before. I think they have them in America, but I don't think they're quite as popular. I certainly never thought I'd be part of one."
"If you're not usually a hostess, what do you do for the club?" she asked.
Kiiro could tell she was making an effort not to be silent, it was kind of cute, "Well, I'm the Director of Arts and Culture here. Every once in a while the Hosts will arrange to do a sort of themed presentation or they'll set up dances and events, and I'm one of the ones that does the bulk of the planning and setting up." she sipped her coffee. "Ordering decorations, designing outfits or preparing the room..."
"Is it any fun?" she looked at her with a bit of curiosity.
"Mhm. It's all kinds of fun, I think. Even this hostessing part." she tried to pull of her cutest smile. "I'm enjoying spending time with you, Kimi-chan."
The redness returned to her face.
Kiiro rested her head in her hand, trying out Tamaki's "handsome glance from the side."
Club activities were over, and Kiiro let out a breath. She had thought she'd done rather well. Certainly better than the day before. She was rather pleased with herself.
"That was super good! Amazingly good!"
Apparently, Tamaki felt the same way. He crushed her into a death hug.
"Kh-! Help!" she squeaked.
Kyouya pinched one of Tamaki's hands.
"Ouch! Ouch! Letting go! Letting go!" he released her.
"Ne! Why can't you just hug normally?" she caught her breath.
"Kir-chan~!" Hani danced around her. "You were like a real Hostess~!"
"Mm." Mori smiled, patting her head.
"Yeah, two thumbs up, Kiiro-senpai." the Twins commented.
Kiiro shrugged, "Thanks. You know, it was actually kind of fun."
Kyouya grinned at her, "Like I said, we ought to make you a hostess full time."
She glared at him, "Like I said, this is a one-time thing."
He faux frowned, "Oh, Kiiro, think of all the young ladies we might be alienating."
"Think of all the profit to be made." the Twins said sotto voce, on either side of her before they began laughing.
Haruhi just shook her head.
As the club began to file out, Kiiro tugged on Kyouya's shirtsleeve, "Ne, Kyouya, there's something that doesn't add up, do you think you could tell me what you know about Kimi Ikeda?"
His glasses flashed, and his lips turned up in a smirk, "I was wondering if you had caught that."
"Kiiro-senpai, I thought you were working on something else yesterday?" Kaoru cocked his head.
"Yeah, did you scrap it?" Hikaru rested his elbow on his brother's shoulder.
They stood in Art Room One in the middle of their mixed-grade art class, toward the end of the school day.
"I didn't scrap it." Kiiro smiled as her brush met her canvas. "I only put it on hiatus until this is finished." she raised an eyebrow, "Hold on, did you switch up your speaking routine?"
They gave her an odd look, before rolling their eyes and returning to their class work across from her.
She shrugged, then turned her head to look at the back of the class. Kimi sat in the very last row. She wasn't focused on her papers, her gaze was somewhere else, on someone. Then she turned her attention to Kiiro. Kiiro flashed a smile her way before turning back around. Kimi blushed and focused on her work.
The Twins were not oblivious to the scene before them, "Kiiro-senpai, do you think-?"
Kiiro pressed a finger to her lips, smile never faltering, "I know, boys, I'm working on something."
That day in club Kiiro's visitor came again, sitting beside her on the opulent sofa.
"Hello again, Kimi-chan." Kiiro grinned, turning her attention to her underclassman. "How are you today?"
"I-I'm doing well, Kiiro-senpai." her small, sweet smile appeared again. "H-how are you?"
Kiiro was glad to know that she wasn't the only one with no idea what to say, "I'm quite happy, especially now that I get to see you again."
Though it worried her that these responses were becoming easier and easier to think up.
Before Kiiro could say anything else, Haruhi walked by with a rolling cart of sweets, "Kimi-san, Kiiro-senpai, would either of you like a snack?"
"Ne, Haruhi, does Kyouya have you working as the busboy, again?" Kiiro frowned, "How rude of him." she said quietly, so the Shadow King wouldn't overhear her.
Haruhi smiled, but her tone was flat, "Well, it was either this or get debt added for breaking that teacup the other day." she shrugged. "But I don't have any clients right now, so it's alright."
"That miser. But, thank you, I think I'll have this." she plucked a plate of chocolate cake of the cart. "Do you want anything, Kimi-chan?"
When she turned to face Kimi, she could swear she saw a bit of sadness and then maybe envy in her eyes, but both emotions were gone in a moment, "Ah, no thank you, Haruhi-kun." she gave a small bow of her head.
Haruhi smiled her cute host-smile, "Alright, but if you reconsider, just wave me over." she made her way over to the Twins' table.
"O-okay." she nodded, then she asked her hostess, "Kiiro-senpai, you moved here at the start of the school year, right?"
"That's right. Why do you ask, Kimi-chan?"
"Well, it's just..." she looked out over the room, to all the boys entertaining all the girls, "Whenever you talk to them, or about them, it's easy to see how close you are to them." she sneaked a peek through her long bangs at Kiiro before looking away again. "I'm a bit envious." she smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, that's rude, isn't it?"
Kiiro sat her plate down on the coffee table before them, sitting on her side to get a better look at the girl, "I don't think it's rude. You know, before I moved here, I only had one friend to speak of. And he lived so very far away." she spared a quick glance at Kyouya, who was entertaining a few clients of his own.
Kimi chuckled a bit, "When all of the girls in my class talked about the Host Club, I had thought it was a place I would never go to..."
Kiiro felt a twinge of sadness in her chest, and though she already knew the answer she asked, "Because you're not interested in boys?"
"Well, I actually can't talk to boys at all..." her gaze dropped to her feet. "When I like someone, I end up not talking to them at all because I'm too shy..."
Kiiro's inkling from yesterday was confirmed as Kimi kept talking.
"But, I can talk to you, Kiiro-senpai. You're why I finally came to the Host Club. When I first saw you in class, you were shy and quiet. You were a lot like me. But, then, as time passed, you weren't. You talked to Hikaru-san and Kaoru-san in class, and then you were talking to everyone else in class." her smile resumed, as if she was thinking over a nice memory. "And that's why I thought it would be nice to talk to you, too. And, even though you're not a hostess..." she trailed off.
Kiiro waited for her to finish, then, with a grace reminiscent of Kyouya's or Tamaki's, she cupped the girls chin and met her eyes, "Kimi-chan, I don't mean to be rude, but, I have to wonder, wouldn't also be nice to try and talk to the ones you really like?"
Kimi looked so embarrassed, "B-but I already said I can't..." she lifted her head from Kiiro's hand, and tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry, I have to go!" she stood quickly and hurried out of the room.
Kiiro started to follow after her, "Kimi-chan! Please don't go..." she stopped, running a hand through her hair. "I wasn't able to tell her..."
Tamaki walked over to her side, looking confused, "What happened, Kiiro? Why did Kimi-hime leave?"
Kiiro made a snap decision, "Tamaki, I need to ask a favor..." she turned to look at him.
He was surprised, "Sure, what is it?"
"It'll be tough to plan it so suddenly... But, I have an idea for an event. Do you mind?"
He went into King-mode, "Not at all. As soon as club activities are over, let's get started right away!" he returned to his customers.
Kiiro smiled, thankful for Tamaki's constant need to help people.
"What are you planning, Kiiro?" Kyouya asked, suddenly beside her.
"Just a short party. Do you think I could get your help coordinating?" she gave him her best puppy-dog eyes.
"Why is it that I know so many bleeding heart types?" he smirked. "Of course I'll help, though, it'll cost you."
"For once, I'm not too worried about it." she grinned playfully. "What's the price?"
"I've been thinking about how your house has no staff on the weekends."
"W-wait, how did you know that?" she asked, though asking Kyouya that kind of question was redundant.
"So, how about letting me sleepover?" his grin was more than a little dark.
"I-isn't that price a little high?"
"I thought you said you weren't worried about it?" he shrugged. "But, it's not like I'm going to do anything you don't want me to."
She glared at him, "A-alright." she relented.
Since the event was planned on such short notice, they weren't able to use any of Ouran's grand ballrooms. And, since it was Kiiro's idea in the first place, they were going to use the Harper's First Ballroom. Which actually made things easier because they hadn't had to run anything through the school. So, only a week after Kimi had left the club early, the Host Club held a ball.
Kiiro had taken care of the invitations (design courtesy of the Hitachiins), the decorations (with help from Tamaki), the catering (of course, Hani made sure there would be plenty of sweets) and music. Now, all that was left to be done was hold the party. And, hope that Kimi would actually accept her invitation and attend. Or else all of Kiiro's efforts would be for naught.
She was desperately hoping they wouldn't be.
The ballroom had been decorated extravagantly. Kiiro had never set up a ballroom before, especially a ballroom meant to hold a lavish party for Ouran's Host Club. In the spacious room whole swathes of golden fabric were hung from the coffered ceiling. They glittered in the reflection of the ultrawhite globe lights above them, like full slabs of stars. The pillars- and the little wall space at the north and south parts of the room as the east and west walls were made up mostly of windows- were covered in all manner of pink silk.
Kiiro had dressed in a dark chocolate and gold gown. From the sweetheart neckline to the fitted waist it was shining gold, then it faded into the deep brown, nearly black color, with little dots of gold trailing down the layered skirt.
She scanned the room, full of over-the-moon girls, from the stairs for Kimi.
"Do you see her?" Haruhi, who was dressed in a crisp light gray suit despite the usual "My daughter must wear a dress!" argument from Tamaki, said.
"No, not yet." she sighed. "Ah, well, it's still early."
"Welcome to our party, princesses!" Tamaki, in a tuxedo of different white hues, announced from his spot at the top of the second-level balcony.
There was a cheering from the crowd, so loud it drowned out the classical music that drifted out of the speakers.
"Is this usually how Host Club parties are held?" Kiiro found herself wondering.
"What do you mean?" Kyouya asked from her side, he wore a black-and-white houndstooth patterned vest with a white dress shirt and black slacks.
"Well, I mean, there are so many girls and only seven hosts..." she continued searching the ballroom.
"We manage." Hikaru and Kaoru leaned against either of her shoulders, donning matching green-and-yellow checker patterned vests over their white shirts and black pants.
"At one dance per customer." Kyouya added.
She shrugged, starting down the stairs, "Sounds silly just to attend a ball for one dance."
Her phone buzzed, 'I'll save one for you, if you'd like.' - K.O.
She resisted the urge to smirk his way, texting back, 'Last dance?' before venturing out into the throng of girls in long gowns and short dresses.
"Kir-chan~! Kir-chan~!" Hani came out of the crowd, taking her hands and spinning her in quick circles, he dressed in a pink-and-yellow tuxedo.
"N-ne, getting dizzy..."
Mori steadied her. He wore a simple black-and-charcoal gray suit.
"Thanks, Mori-senpai."
He nodded, "We saw, Kimi-san."
"Ah!" Kiiro perked up. "Really? Where?" she looked around.
"She's at the entrance~!" Hani announced happily, pushing Kiiro in the right direction.
"Right, thank you!" she called, receiving a thumbs-up from her seniors. She took a deep breath, hoping she could pull this off. Tamaki did this sort of thing for the guests all the time.
In all of her years living in L.A., Kiiro had not made a single friend. Everyday at school was quiet for her, the only people that had ever tried talking to her were the children of her family's business associates. But, she found that hard as well, even forcing herself to go through the pleasantries with others could become overwhelming after a time. Eventually, she just became the quiet girl who sat at the back of the classroom. She only talked to her family and Kyouya after a while.
But then she came to Tokyo, and met Tamaki and Haruhi, Hikaru and Kaoru, Hani and Mori. And, they became her friends. Honest to goodness friends. And, Kyouya... Well, she was in love. Things had changed so suddenly and so much. Things were so much better.
'And Kimi should feel the same way.' Kiiro thought stubbornly as she spied the girl, looking rather hesitant in the door.
She grinned, "I'm so glad you came, Kimi-chan."
Kimi smiled, but Kiiro had seen a million fake smiles in her life like this one, "I-I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly the last time, Kiiro-senpai. I was kind of surprised I was invited after that."
"Of course you would be invited." she offered her elbow to the girl, leading her out onto the floor amidst the Hosts dancing with their regular clients. "I asked the club to throw this ball for you, Kimi-chan."
Kimi looked shocked, her cheeks darker than her light blush, "F-for me?" her voice mousier than usual.
Kiiro nodded, "Mhm." she took one of her hands and rested the other at her side, pulling her out to dance. "You know, Kimi-chan, I know exactly how hard it is to open up to other people. It's overwhelming, and kind of scary to make friends."
Kimi looked down at her feet as Kiiro played the lead.
"But, there are so many interesting people in this world, so many amazing people. Getting to know others, becoming friends with them." she smiled sweetly. "I think it's one of the most rewarding experiences... Even just sitting beside Kimi-chan for a few hours, talking about mundane things, I've had a lot of fun getting to know you. And I'd like to continue to do so, even if it's not me hosting you." she chuckled. "But, first, you'll have to do me a favor."
Kimi peered up at her, "Kiiro-senpai?"
"In art class, and in the clubroom, I've noticed you watching the Hitachiin boys."
Kimi's face turned absolutely red.
"So, you'll have to dance with at least one of them, okay?"
Something, not much louder than a peep, came from her junior.
"What was that?"
"C-can I dance with Kaoru?"
Kiiro's grin widened, "Of course, you can."
'Can she tell them apart? What an interesting development...'
Thankfully, Kaoru was one of the Hosts not currently dancing, so Kiiro took Kim's hand and led her over to where the boy leaned against the wall.
"Ne~! Kaoru, I have someone here who would like to dance with you." Kiiro nearly cheered, as Kimi stood behind her, gazing at the floor.
Kaoru smiled, he had also caught Kimi's glances at him and his brother, "Kimi-chan." his laugh was sweet. "You don't have to be shy, okay? I would love to dance with you." he held out his hand to her.
And, with a little hesitation, she placed her hand in his.
Kiiro smiled, allowing herself to feel a little proud.
"I can't help but notice you no longer have a dance partner." Kyouya said from behind her.
Never ceasing to smile she said, "I thought I had said you'd have the last dance?"
He smirked, "I never said I was patient."
She accepted his hand, she loved dancing with him.
"I'm a little surprised that you went to all this trouble to help her out." Kyouya followed her gaze to the pair of first years.
"Not all of us only do things for profit." she beamed slyly. "Not even you, Kyouya. And, you know, when I talked to her... I guess you could say, it was like I was hearing myself from a few years back."
He smiled, and she could feel his thumb rubbing circles on her hip, "You bleeding heart types."
When the dance was over, Kiiro was surprised to hear one of Tamaki's regulars ask for her for the next song.
And then, dance after dance, Kiiro found herself twirling around with the other Host's clients, until she couldn't help but laugh. She never thought she'd be this popular.
The next day during club activities, Kimi timidly came in, requesting the Twins this time.
Kiiro was a little thankful that she could return to planning for new events and cosplays.
And then, "Excuse me, Kiiro-san, do you think we could sit here while we wait for the Hosts to switch clients?"
Kiiro looked up, seeing three girls standing in front of her table.
"Ah, sure." she smiled.
"We think it was really sweet, what you did for Kimi-san." one of them said, taking a seat next to her.
"Yeah, I never would have guessed she was a closeted Twins fan?" another giggled.
Kiiro laughed too, "As long as she's happy..." she looked over to where Kimi was indeed grinning and blushing.
All sorts of customers frequented her table that day, talking to her about anything and everything.
"You seem to be popular of recent, Kiiro." Kyouya leaned with his hand on the table, once activities were over.
"I'm not quite sure how it happened." she laughed, then she raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to start auctioning off my things?" she asked wryly.
His glasses flashed, "Perhaps I should make a few photobooks?" with a cat-like grin, he added, "Maybe I could get a few shots during that sleepover I was promised?"
Her face turned red, "I forgot about that... W-when, may I ask, are we having this sleepover?"
"Once we get back from our school trip." he said matter-of-factly.
"G-great..."