I wasn't too happy with the small part the twins had last chapter, so they will have a bigger part in this chapter ;)

Hope everyone had a nice New Years Eve. Mine was great as I found out my nephew was born. Only New Year's resolution I have is to find/make time to write more.

Thanks go to: Those who have reviewed and clicked the follow and favorite boxes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or any of its characters. They belong to Bisco Hatori. I do however own Zaltanna.

Staring fiercely at her desk and not up at the rest of the class, Zaltanna cursed her luck. Maybe if she stared at her desk long enough the instructor would think that she hadn't heard him, but it didn't work as she felt a lot of eyes on her. Closing her eye's she tried to figure out what to say. It all went out the window when she heard her name come out of Mori's mouth on his silky baritone voice. She glanced over at him, seeing encouragement in his eyes. That look alone drop kicked her nervousness off the cliff and she stood up, taking a bow.

"My names Zaltanna Rayne Dunstan. I'm here on a swimming scholarship, and will be going into the auto industry hopefully to either be a mechanic or help with new safety innovations. I'm happy to be here and it's nice to meet you."

Looking out at the class she noticed the shocked expressions, more so from the girls. Zaltanna knew it wasn't because she was 'exotic', but she wasn't sure what it was. The quiet response from the instructor didn't help either. Sitting down she waited for the instructor to begin his lecture. It remained quiet for a little while longer, and she glanced back up at the instructor and noticed the condescending look he gave her before he opened his notes and started with his lecture.

Zaltanna remained uncomfortable through the class. She was unsure of what it was that caused the feeling of condescendence, and she wondered if she had accidently insulted them. She hoped not as these people seemed to be taking it a little harsh. Whatever she had done she hoped someone would enlighten her as she really didn't like feeling like she was alienated.

Her mind was still on figuring out what she did wrong when she saw a shadow cast over her desk. Zaltanna looked up into the brown eyes of a boy in her class. His attitude read to her that he was all that, and she decided to do what she could to clear up whatever had gotten her on the wrong side of the class.

"Can I help you?" She asked her voice full of confidence.

"Ouran doesn't offer any classes dealing in the auto industry."

"I'm aware of that."

"Then you should go back home commoner. You'll never make it. Grease and grime are a man's job."

Standing up she took a step toward the boy. Now she knew why they had looked down on her, and it pissed her off, "You think I won't make it? Then I'll prove to you that a woman CAN do a man's job, and I've been doing it since I was a kid."

The boy caught her eye's with malice and leaned in close, "Then I'll make it my mission to keep you from-"

He stopped as a hand came down on his shoulder and he looked up at Mori, who was looking at him warning in his eyes. Not from him, but from Zaltanna. Mori had seen how she had dealt with Tamaki and he wanted to defuse the situation, for her sake.

"I'll be seeing you savage." The brown eyed boy said before dislodging Mori's hand from his shoulder and walking away.

"Sexist pig!" Zaltanna snapped as she grabbed a book to throw, but Mori caught her hand and shook his head, "Are you defending him?!" Zaltanna asked balling her other hand into a fist.

"No. Tanaka just wants you gone." Mori replied with a shake of his head, a little worried that she almost hit him. Somehow he knew that she wasn't a girl to mess with or upset.

Giving him a shrewd look she asked, "Then why did you stop me?"

"Tanaka's family has ties with some of the auto makers here. If you had continued he would have made sure you didn't go anywhere here in Japan."

Give the man a point, he had read the situation better than she had, although now that she was calm she could see that Tanaka had indeed tried to start something with her. Unclenching her fist she laid the book back on the desk, "Thank you."

Mori nodded his head and gave a small smile. Grabbing her bag she gave a smile back at him, walking out of the classroom with him. As they walked down the hallway, she thought back and realized Tanaka had called her a savage. Zaltanna wouldn't let him get away with that, and started to think of what she could do to get back at him. Everything she wanted to do would be a little much, she wanted to get him to back off, not retaliate.

Parting ways at the end of the hall, Zaltanna watched as her silent companion walked the other way. Her grandfather had been trying to get her to calm down her need to fight back, even if they were with words, and yet Mori had made her see reason faster than anyone else had. Maybe having him around wouldn't be a bad thing, not like she didn't like having him around. It was just that Mori stepping in to remind her to calm down, was almost like it was supposed to happen. If it was a sign from the gods and goddesses that he was supposed to be in her life one way or another, she had gotten the message like a smack to the back of the head.

Class ended for the day and Zaltanna went to find the coach for the swim team. She hoped that that meeting wouldn't be as bad as the rest had. Each class had not taken kindly to the fact that she wanted to do a man's job for the rest of her life. The girls had once again looked at her like she was dirty and didn't want to be associated with her. She couldn't understand why they thought that, well she could, but it wasn't like she was being forced into her career path. She had wanted to do it since she figured out she could make a living working on vehicles.

Shaking her head Zaltanna walked into the office that was on the piece of paper Michiko had given her. No one was in and she decided to sit and wait. The office had some trophies and plaques on the walls. The desk even had some team pictures as well as personal pictures, a typical office of a coach. Although once she saw the woman who had walked in the office seemed a little plain. Zaltanna knew that Ryoko Byrne wasn't full Japanese, she looked like she had some European in her but she couldn't fully tell from where. The woman had brown, thin shoulder length hair and hazel eyes. She also had the air of a woman who didn't take excuses or playing around.

Before Zaltanna could speak Ryoko spoke up first, "Zaltanna Dunstan. I was wondering when you'd stop by."

Zaltanna didn't question the woman in front of her just looked up at her, "I'm sorry it took me this long. I was still unpacking and had to help the Host Club with their opening preparations."

Hazel eye's watched her closely, looking for a sign of lying, "The Host Club? Tell me Ms. Dunstan, are you serious about this scholarship?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Than do tell me why are you associated with the Host Club?"

"I agreed to help Ohtori Kyouya with the accounts."

"That is all?" Ryoko asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Zaltanna answered.

Watching her closely Ryoko set some papers in front of Zaltanna, "Fill these out. In the meantime you can use your old swimsuit and cap. Practice starts next week. I expect you to be at every practice, and before you speak up Ms. Dunstan, I already know what Mr. Ohtori told you about making club events. I will talk to him. If he doesn't see reason I'll ask you to quit the Host Club entirely."

Zaltanna already liked Ryoko, she didn't play around. She got things done and said what she meant to say. She was perfectly fine with not being part of the Host Club. She still thought the idea of it was ridiculous, and sometimes she still thought it was a sick idea.

Finished filling out the papers she handed them back to Ryoko and stood up, "I look forward to practice. Thanks Mrs. Byrne."

Coming around her desk Ryoko shook Zaltanna's hand, "Call me Ryoko."

Zaltanna smiled in response and walked out, deciding she needed to do something. She didn't want to go straight home, and walking around the shopping district didn't seem to hurt. Something might happen, and it might be good, and she was counting on that to turn a somewhat bad day into a better one.

The streets where strangely quiet for a shopping district, and even the sidewalks weren't crowded. Zaltanna figured it was because it was the first day of term, and students were still stuck at school for whatever reason. It was fine with her, she could space out as long as she wanted to as she wondered the street. It wasn't the shops she was looking at as much as what they specialized in.

When she heard the sounds of tools hitting a concrete floor, and smelled oil and engine grease she looked across the street and saw the garage where the sounds where coming from. It was small, and had only one bay, but she still found it cute. Walking towards it Zaltanna took it in, happy that there was a garage within walking distance of home and school. She knew she couldn't work, but that didn't stop her from going to the place.

Walking into the bay she took in all the tools and the smells, not unlike her garage back home, except she didn't have all the fancy tools a garage would have. She had only handled them during her auto class back at Lutz. The truck that was on the hydraulic lift looked like it was a work truck and from what she could tell was hardly ever worked on maintenance wise. Frowning she shook her head. People didn't realize that keeping a vehicle up to date on maintenance meant that they could keep it running for a good while.

"We don't work on foreign vehicles." A voice said from her side.

Startled Zaltanna looked over to find a middle aged man with black hair to his shoulders, wearing a blue grease, grime and oil covered jumpsuit, smoking a cigarette looking at her from the doorway of an office, "I'm not here for that. I just smelled the place from across the street-"

"The young lady is a mechanic Hotsuma." An old man with brown doe eyes said walking out from the other side of the truck, without looking at her, as he reached up into the undercarriage of the truck.

"She's too nice to be a mechanic. Doesn't dress like one." Hotsuma scoffed, smirking.

"Looking nice and dressing nice don't mean anything. She can be a damn lipstick princess and still be a mechanic. Don't assume looks keep you from being anything." The old man said as he continued to deal with the exhaust as Zaltanna took a closer look at it.

Zaltanna didn't question how the old man knew she was a mechanic, but she liked him already. He reminded her of her grandfather a bit and if he was like her grandfather he just knew things. He observed more than he talked.

"Women shouldn't be doing a man's job. They should stay at home or in the office." Hotsuma said as he walked past Zaltanna.

Twice in one day, she had been talked down to by a sexist, and she wasn't going to take it. Mori wasn't around to hold her back and she had a feeling this Hotsuma needed a wakeup call. Grabbing the closest tool to her hand she smashed it across the back of the man's head.

Hotsuma swung around his hand to his head and glared at her, "What the hell! You think you can act like a man than I'll show ya a man's job isn't for a woman."

Hotsuma reached to grab her wrists and pushed her against the tool chest. Zaltanna got a wrist free and had grabbed a screwdriver before the old man had pulled Hotsuma off her and was standing between them. Hotsuma glared at them both.

"You treat our women customers this way?" The old man asked.

"No."

"Then why is she different?"

"She's got no business being a mechanic."

The old man looked between them again. Zaltanna could tell he was thinking of something. She silently wondered if she would like what he was thinking.

"You need a job?" He asked her.

Zaltanna shook her head, "I can't. I go to Ouran they don't allow me to have a job."

"Then we have a new volunteer. What's your name young lady?"

Hotsuma didn't look happy, as Zaltanna looked to him, "Zaltanna Rayne Dunstan."

"I'm Kazushi and this hot head here is Hotsuma, my son. Don't mind him he just believes in the old time ideals." The old man said taking the screwdriver from her.

Hostuma stomped into the office, as Kazushi looked over his new volunteer, "Native American, never seen your kind over here, at least not since the war. So what do you specialize in?"

Zaltanna gave him a quizzical look before answering, "Jeeps mostly, but I've worked on Toyota's, Dodges, Fords, and Buicks."

"I'm an anthropology major young lady." Kazushi said having seen her quizzical look, "This is the family business. So you know a bit about 4 wheeling. Good thing as Hotsuma only knows racing. Got any questions?"

Zaltanna shook her head.

Kazushi added as he went back to work on the truck, "Well then young lady, I believe you got what you were expecting today. Stop on by whenever you have time. Hotsuma will be nicer next time you come around."

"Thank you sir." Zaltanna said, before making her way out.

Walking home, she knew two things; people here seriously didn't like the fact she was doing a man's job, and Kazushi was cryptic like her grandfather. Her steps were lighter as she walked, besides the days hiccups life was looking good for her. She hoped that's all it was, just good karma.

The Host Club was as Zaltanna expected when she walked in the door a few days later, entertaining the ladies and when she had walked in they turned their eye's to her. Some of them she remembered from her classes and they continued to look down on her. Knowing they'd get over it she walked over to Kyouya who gave her an update on accounts and she went to work on them in the back of the club room.

She wasn't entirely focused on the paperwork as she could hear the ladies complaining to their hosts that they didn't think she should be there. The hosts stated she was there only for the accounts, but many thought she was stealing. This comment earned a chuckle from Kyouya who assured his guest that Zaltanna wouldn't dare, since she hadn't wanted to be a host. She wondered if he was counting on her stealing so he could blackmail her into being their first female host. Soon she got fed up with listening and tuned them out.

So wrapped up with the math that Zaltanna didn't realize the club was closed for the day, until Kyouya stepped up to her table. She had triple checked the math and her own calculations that it had allowed her to stay there through the club hours. Looking up at Kyouya she handed him the accounts. The hosts stayed after helping to clean up, except for the twins, who were sitting at the table looking bored. Frowning she got up and walked over to them.

"You two think you're above cleaning." Zaltanna said stopping a few feet from them.

"Cleaning-" One twin started.

"-is boring."The other finished.

Raising an eyebrow Zaltanna added, "You've never cleaned in your life have you?"

"No." The twin with his hair parted to the right said.

"The maids do it for us." The twin with his hair parted to the left continued.

"Then how do you know cleaning is boring?" Zaltanna said trying to catch them in a lie. She noticed the other hosts watching, and wondered if they had even tried to get the twins to clean.

"We don't. It's too menial for us to do so we don't do it." Both twins said together, standing up and walking towards the door.

They didn't get far before Zaltanna grabbed the collars of their shirts and pushed them towards a broom and a mop, "It's too menial for you to do? Look at your fellow hosts. They're cleaning. So I suggest you get to helping them."

"Why-"

"-should we?"

"You're not helping them, and you're a host. Why should we clean if you aren't either?"

"I'm not a host, and just because I'm not cleaning don't mean I wasn't going to help them."

"Whatever." The twins said trying to walk away again.

Taking the mop bucket, Zaltanna splashed the twins with the dirty water, and smiled, "It's your mess you clean it up."

Looking at each other the twins grabbed the mop bucket and broom and grudgingly got to work. Zaltanna satisfied the twins wouldn't ditch walked over to the other hosts. They had looks of surprise on their face.

"You got Hika-chan and Kou-chan to work. I like you Zal-chan. What else can you do?" Huni said from his perch on Mori's shoulders.

"I can fix vehicles" Zaltanna replied.

"She can't fix vehicles, those scars on her arms screams she's a cutter." The twins said popping up on either side of her and grinning.

Raising an eyebrow Zaltanna turned around, "Me a cutter. That's a laugh. Ok geniuses if I was a cutter how can I cut myself on my shoulder blades. I'm a swimmer but even I don't have that dexterity."

"You had-"

"-someone. Cut you."

Zaltanna shook her head, "Then I wouldn't be a cutter I would be a masochist. There's a difference. All my scars come from working on cars."

The twins glared at her, "You take the fun out of it."

"I take the fun out of it when you start tarnishing my image." Zaltanna quipped.

That earned her another glare from the twins but they said nothing more and went back to cleaning, even if it was a half assed cleaning. She was pleased with herself for not taking the road she had with Tamaki. Although from what she'd observed Tamaki deserved the punch she had given him.

"You took care of Hika-chan and Kaou-chan quickly. Who are you Zal-chan?" Huni asked again.

"Just a mechanic." Zaltanna replied looking from Huni to his quiet taller companion.

Mori hadn't said a word or done anything, she had a feeling he wasn't worried since she was dealing with the twins, and they could make a come back just as well as she could. Plus the twins were the type to attack with words and not their fists. She read amusement in his storm cloud grey eyes and she blushed. His amusement flattered her more than Huni praising her. Mori was going to read straight through her and she decided she would never lie in front of him or to him. It would wreak havoc on her ethic system, knowing he could detect her lies. Of course she didn't make it a habit to lie.

"Zal-chan would you like us to walk you out?" Huni asked not oblivious to the look she had given his cousin or the look his cousin gave her.

"Only if I get to hold hands with you and prince charming," Zaltanna said smiling. She meant it to be a joke, but if Huni took the bait than Mori would to.

Huni replied with a big smile, "Of course Zal-chan." Taking a hand he looked up at his cousin, "Takashi, you're her prince charming."

Zaltanna noticed the small blush that had crept up on Mori's face when he took her hand. She had caught Huni's 'her prince charming' bit but let it go. No sense in denying or saying something that she couldn't take back. Mori's hand felt nice around hers. His calluses told her he practiced quite a bit. He was a man who had discipline. A man her grandfather would like. Huni's hand slipped from hers as he walked a little further in front of them. Her other hand remained in Mori's and she blushed lightly.

Huni kept his pace in front of them as Zaltanna and Mori walked in silence. Mori's mind was on how nice Zaltanna's hand felt in his, small but firm. Zaltanna's mind was between Mori and her grandfather and her own thoughts on her reserved companion. They weren't much as she had only known him for a short while, but she couldn't deny that Mori made her feel good, in what way she wasn't sure of yet.

Just as the last time Mori had walked her out the walk was short lived, and again she felt disappointed he couldn't walk her home. Hesitating a moment before slipping her hand from his, she looked at him, giving him a smile. Mori caught the smile and returned it.

"Stay safe Zal-chan." Huni said as he came up to Mori's side.

"I will. I'll see ya later Huni and Mori and Thank you."

"You're welcome." Huni replied with a smile.

Mori nodded his response and caught the lingering gaze Zaltanna gave him before she turned around and walked away. He stayed with Huni until they couldn't see her no more, and then they turned around and walked back to the club room.

"Zal-chan is making things interesting isn't she Takashi." Huni asked his cousin, holding his Bun-Bun in his arms.

"Yeah." Mori replied, wondering how much more interesting Zaltanna would make things.

So I added quite a bit this chapter. I was originally going to make the students at Ouran be ok with her wanting to do a man's job, but I decided to make it a little interesting and give a challenge for later chapters. After this chapter I'm going to speed things up a bit, and start the ZaltannaxMori dynamic. Since most of that really doesn't start until they are both third years. So I'll do my best to explain everything and get to the fluffy romance without dragging this story out for too many chapters.

I also hope the bit with the twins is alright, and even though I hate him, I'll try to bring Tamaki in more since I have more ideas for him.

Please read and review.

Chapter 5 will be up soon.

And there's a cookie jar full of cookies for you trolls. Shut up, take your cookies and go bother someone else.

Zaltanna