XXx Setsuko xXX

I lie down on the hard bench and attempt to cushion my head with my puffy uniform.

Raising my fingertips to my cheek, I brush them against the stinging stripe of skin. I pull them back, and they come back faintly red.

Little shit.

I wipe the small amounts of blood on my skirts. Sure, I'm not happy about ruining such a nice dress, but anything that might piss that little ginger twit off is good enough for me.

Go ahead and let him get Kyoya-sempai. See if I care.

I let my eyes flutter closed, trying to ignore the thumping of my own heart. Because in all honesty, glasses or not that guy really freaks me out. Not that I'd ever admit to it.

The silence becomes a bit unnerving after a while. I gnaw my lips and attempt to relax, but it's not really working. I could really use a nap, but I'm a little scared about falling asleep in a place like this. My heart rate slows eventually, and my mind stops buzzing. But just as I'm about to drift off I hear the privacy curtain being pulled away.

Before I can react I feel myself being tossed over someone's shoulder. My eyes snap open as Hikaru marches me out of the little cubical and into the dressing room.

"You know you're surprisingly heavy," he wheezes.

My cheeks flame and the rest of my neck and ears follow suit as he marches past Kaoru and Akina.

Akina looks stunned. It's the last thing I see before the curtain closes. Her face is burned into my mind, the way she looks like she can't believe what she's seeing. As if she's witnessing something horrible, like someone skinning her cats.

And that's all the incentive I need.

At that moment, I ram my knee into Hikaru's stomach. He drops me almost instantly and I roll to absorb the impact into my shoulder.

"What the hell?!" he gasps, anger glinting in his eyes. "That was uncalled for!"

"Says the guy who threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes!" I spit back at him as I shove curtains of my hair out of my face. "And here I thought all you hosts were supposed to be gentlemen!"

He glares at me with eyes like chips of amber, but they hold none of the warmth the stone has. I almost laugh aloud at the comparison. A rock has more warmth in it than Hikaru Hitachiin does.

Now that's hilarious.

"What the hell is your problem?!" he retaliates. "Why do you have to be the wet blanket here? A coldhearted crone like you should be happy to be accepted into this club!"

I can feel my jaw clench and my teeth grind.

"Well, have you thought about this?! Maybe I don't want to be here!" I pull myself to my feet and flip my hair over my shoulder. "Who wants to waste all their time on a bunch of narcissistic pretty boys anyways?! I'd rather have teeth pulled then waste my time here!"

"What seems to be the problem here?"

My blood freezes as I realize this whole scene too place in front of the entire club room. Tamaki and Kyoya-senpai are looking at us with a mixture of concern and disapproval. Well scratch that. Tamaki has the concern, Kyoya has the disapproval.

But that's not what the most upsetting thing is…that, actually comes from the countless squeals that start ringing around the room.

"Oh! I get it now!" a girl gushes to her friend. "So Setsuko's character is in love with Hikaru but she doesn't know how to deal with it so she hides her feelings by beating him up!"

"How romantic!" another one sighs dreamily.

"It's not an act!" I yell at the bubble brained girls. "It's real ANGER and ANNOYANCE. I hate him!"

But all that does is make their smiles wider.

"Setsuko is such a great actor!"

"Just like her parents!"

Anger overloads my system and I can feel the pressure of tears building behind my eyes. If I don't get out of here now, I'm going to start crying. And that's the last thing I want these people to see.

The fangirl noises begin to make my head throb, and before anyone can stop me I head straight to the dressing room, taking extra care to ram my shoulder with excess force into a shell-shocked Hikaru on the way.

XXx Aiko xXX

"I'm terribly sorry, but please excuse me for a minute," I say quickly to my customer as I set my teacup back down on the table in front of me.

"O-of course!" he stammers before pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Take your time."

"Thank you," I reply with a small smile before leaving my seat.

I sigh and smooth out the skirts of my pale yellow dress before following Akina into the changing rooms. Setsuko really needs to outgrow her temper tantrums.

I tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear as I walk past the Suoh and Ootori, but keep my gaze steady on the floor in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Suoh raise a hand to stop me, but Ootori holds him back, and they let me continue walking on.

My heels are muffled by the thick carpet of the dressing room. I kick them off at the door and proceed farther in. Akina has beaten me there and she sits with Setsuko on a small couch. She strokes Setsuko's long raven hair, murmuring softly under her breath.

"That was some scene out there," I say quietly as I walk up to her.

Setsuko just responds by burying her face in her hands and letting her hair fall in thick curtains around her.

"I don't even know how he has the nerve to do this to me after everything he's already put me through," she says in a muffled but bitter voice.

"You forget he has no idea about what happened to you afterwards," I say carefully, knowing I'm treading in dangerous territory.

"Dammit I know that Aiko!" she spits as her head snaps up, tears leaking down her face. "And it makes it that much harder for me to hate him!"

I try my best to smile at her as I sweep her bangs out of her eyes. She wipes her eyes furiously on the heels of her palms before giving up and using her dress skirts.

"But why do you need to hate him?"

We glance over at Akina, whose soft green eyes linger on the floor.

"Why can't you just let it go?"

Setsuko looks appalled, as if Akina just suggested that she boil live puppies to make herself feel better. But the look wears off fast, and she just slumps over.

"You don't just forget something like that," she says sadly. "I don't see any other option but to spend the rest of my life hating that little ginger brat."

"That's where you're wrong," I say calmly. "You can let go and just tolerate him. We won't force you into being best friends, but at least we won't have any more scenes like that. And you won't be so angry anymore."

She seems to be considering my words as the curtains over the exit are pulled back to reveal Aya-senpai and Shiori.

Senpai looks a bit uncomfortable, but is wearing a concerned look anyways.

"H-hey," she says timidly.

XXx Aya xXX

This is agonizing.

Fist the guy went out of his way to be nice in hopes that I probably forgot that I rejected him once already.

When that didn't happen I ended up sitting through the longest explanation ever about how he really did like me and that how Kisa had given him the little kick he needed to actually talk to me. Though he still didn't understand half of what happened that day, he still wanted to get to know me.

Long story short I ended up sneaking one of my earphones up all ninja style into my ears and began to semi drown out his babbling. I nodded and 'hum'-ed in the right places while glancing longingly over to the table Honey and Mori were seated at.

Honey catches my eye for a nanosecond and smiles.

While I'd love to return it, it 'would be out of character' and Renge would lecture me for hours on end if she caught me.

So instead I snuggle deeper into the loveseat and tuck my feet under me, letting my eyes glaze over.

I suddenly notice that everyone around me is standing and gawking at something over my shoulder. Even this Minato guy is watching whatever's going on with interest.

I tug my ear buds out and am met with a voice so full of sarcasm and malice that it could only come from Setsuko. She's disheveled and shoeless, her skirts creased and wrinkled around her long pale legs. Her hair sticks up at odd angles like she just rolled out of bed.

"Well, have you thought about this?! Maybe I don't want to be here!" she snarls as pulls herself quickly to her feet and tosses her hair over her shoulders. "Who wants to waste all their time on a bunch of narcissistic pretty boys anyways?! I'd rather have teeth pulled than waste my time here!"

That seems to strike a nerve with Hikaru, but before he can say anything Kyoya cuts in.

But then the guests get involved and everything just seems to fall apart for Setsuko. Though her face says otherwise, her eyes betray the fact that she's close to tears.

She leaves quickly, but not before purposely slamming into Hikaru.

Ouch.

Kaoru moves in to comfort Hikaru, but I glance over to the dressing rooms in time to see Aiko slip through the curtains.

"Wanna come with me to see if she's ok?"

XXx Shiori xXX

Aya glances up at me in surprise.

"Uh…well, I mean, it's not that I…" she stammers softly.

I suppress a giggle and extend a hand towards her and pull her off the loveseat.

"It's ok," I say as she shifts awkwardly from foot to foot. "Setsuko would be glad to see you. She thinks you're cool."

Her cheeks flush and I just can't help but laugh at her. She's so funny.

"I-I guess I could," she says as she nervously rubs the back of her neck.

I smile and drag her along after me, doing my best to drown out the mindless babble floating in the air around us.

Just as we're about to enter the dressing room I see Takashi looking at me from across the room.

My first reaction is surprise, but then I notice it's not really one of 'those' stares. He seems almost on edge about something. I just flash him a quick smile before turning away and shoving Aya into the dressing room ahead of me.

Aiko, Akina, and Setsuko look surprised to see her, but its short lived.

"H-hey," Aya stammers.

Setsuko looks up at her from her place on the floor, and I can see the faint gleam of respect in her eyes that is quickly washed aside by shame. She averts her gaze, but still tries to smile.

I look over at Aiko who nods subtly in the direction of the curtain.

I creep over to it, peeking through a small gap between the wall and the torrents of fabric. To my relief, the girls seem to have calmed down a bit, but as my eyes roam over the last part of the room I nearly have a heart attack.

Takashi hasn't seemed to have budged an inch, and his eyes are glued to the curtain, as if he can see me through the thick suffocating material. I scramble back and almost trip over a discarded pile of shoes, clutching my chest and breathing too quickly and shallowly.

A shudder passes over my body before I walk back towards the girls. What is his problem? He seemed so nice earlier when he helped me get out without disturbing Honey and Aya-chan.

Then I feel like smacking myself in the forehead.

Does he think I'll tell someone and laugh as the customers tear Aya apart? A wave of hurt and fury washes over me and the one thing I can think about is marching back out there to set the guy straight. Well the thought of someone my size trying to put someone that huge in his place is laughable, I'm just barely taller than Aya.

But still. I was going to guard that secret, and I still will. I do want to see them happy. I've never seen either of them like this before. Not to mention with the little display I saw earlier, I've never seen a couple that seemed so hopelessly in love.

Why would anyone want to destroy that?

Ok, forget I asked.

I've noticed that one second year girl who seems to be one of Honey's regulars is less than happy at the idea of sharing even with her own friends.

Though the gap in the fabric I look him straight in the eye. I can't tell if he sees me or not. But if he does he's good about hiding it. I steel my spine and curl my hands into fists.

He's always protected Honey. Now I'll protect Aya.

XXx Akina xXX

Almost immediately I can sense the change in Setsuko's posture. She's ashamed to have senpai seeing her like this.

I lick my lips and lower my gaze.

It's been a while since Setsuko last blew up like this. I could read in her body language that she was close to cracking on the first day of being a hostess, but I was proud that she managed to hold herself together. But now, I can't help but feel a bit jealous as she looks up at senpai, even though I'm still disappointed in her actions earlier.

"Hey," Setsuko replies back in a wavering voice. "Is everyone gone?"

Senpai shakes her head softly.

"Unfortunately no," she says softly. "But I don't think they'll mind if we disappear for a few minutes."

She crouches down so she's looking up at us. For a minute I admire the way she's able to keep her balance on the heels she's in while resting her arms on her knees.

"Are you ok?" she asks quickly. "You look terrible."

As soon as the words leave her mouth she claps her hand over it. A blush stains her cheeks and she looks back up at us apologetically.

Setsuko chuckles dryly.

"I've been a lot worse, trust me."

I stiffen at her at the sudden lightness she treats her condition with. Wasn't she just mad about it? I sigh softly and look up at her. Setsuko's features have returned to their usual confident mask, but I can tell she's still upset.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Senpai looks uncomfortable with her own suggestion, but still manages to make her worry sound clear and genuine.

"It's alright," Setsuko says as she tosses her hair. "It's kind of a heavy topic to force on someone I barely know."

Senpai nods, trying to look understanding but just barely masking her disappointment.

"Well why don't we fix that?"

Everyone looks over to me and I try not to shrink back from the attention.

"Why not get to know us better senpai?" I ask cautiously. "After all, it seems like we'll be spending a lot of time together."

"Yes," Aiko says as she takes a seat on my right. "How about a sleepover this weekend? The five of us."

She falters for a moment, and it almost looks like she might fall over in her heels. I can't help the small smile that tugs at my lips at her reaction though. It's as if she can't believe that she's being extended an invitation.

"What do you think Shiori?" Aiko asks, ignoring sempai's expression. "Can we invite an outsider to one of our sacred Saturday night sleepovers?"

Shiori jumps, but faces us with a smile plastered on her face once the question sunk in.

"Totally!" she gushes. "But I think it's time we rejoined the club."

Setsuko stiffens beside me, but I get up and extend a hand to her. She gives me a half smile and allows me to pull her up, which is hard since she's taller and pretty much all arms and legs.

"Let's go," I say quietly. "You don't want him to win do you?"

That puts the fire back in her eyes and she steels her spine before marching to the curtain.

XXx Hikaru xXX

I let Kaoru lead me over to the nearest couch. I collapse into the plush cushions, trying to drown out the noise around me.

My stomach still smarts. That girl has boney knees.

"That was…unexpected…" Kaoru trails off in a soft voice.

"You think?" I snap back half-heartedly.

"But despite that you can't deny it was somewhat refreshing right?" he pries.

I sigh and sink farther into the seat. I haven't even thought past the throbbing in my stomach yet. How am I supposed to answer that?

"I'll let you know when I can feel my stomach again," I reply. "The refreshment might not be worth it."

Kaoru almost smiles as he glances over at the dressing room.

"She looked like she was about to cry," he says suddenly.

I feel my eyebrow raise as his gaze returns to me.

"Why does that matter? She's not the one who got her intestines rearranged."

"She hates us," he replies curtly.

"And I repeat, why does it matter?"

I have to admit there's something unnerving about knowing someone hates you, but I shove the feeling aside. It never mattered what people thought of us before. Why does it matter knowing that one person doesn't like us?

Except she doesn't just not like us…she hates us. Somehow that word just doesn't sit well with me and it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

"It doesn't make you feel…weird?" Kaoru finally asks.

I throw on an unconcerned smirk and rest my arms behind my neck.

"All I know is I'm beginning to feel glad that I picked her," I say smoothly. "Looks like her reactions will be more satisfying than the little brunette."

Kaoru rolls his eyes and returns his gaze to the curtain.

The thought of Setsuko crying bothers me. Mostly because she doesn't look like the crying type. But I just roll my eyes and slouch back into my seat. We've made tons of girls cry before. What difference does it make if she cries too?

I take the opportunity to close my eyes for a minute and shift my thoughts to a less confusing and stressful topic.

XXx Kaoru xXX

My mind buzzes as I fixate my gaze on the curtain.

Is Setsuko crying behind it? And if she is…will Akina hold her hand until she feels better?

I bite down on my lower lip and shake my head. This is stupid. Setsuko definitely doesn't seem like the crying type.

I wince as I realize that she seems like she'd be the type to smash cinder blocks with her forehead when she gets mad.

Still, I can remember the way her eyes glistened as she shoved past Hikaru, and how Akina's own eyes were wide with fear and concern as she spun on her heel and ran after her.

I guess they have a bond similar to Hikaru and I, with the way one glance seemed to break through the shock that overrode Setsuko when Hikaru tossed her over his shoulder. And while I'll admit I think Hikaru is right about Setsuko's reactions being more fun to watch, something tells me Akina's could satisfy me in a different way.

She seems so naïve, and Setsuko wants to protect her.

So what would be more satisfying?

Having Akina trust us and have Setsuko keep biting her nails with worry, or just tormenting them from a safe arm's length like we do with everyone else?

The first one sounds more appealing, but it would require more effort than usual.

I sigh and lean back in my chair.

It's probably about time we got back to our guests, but I feel like I should take this opportunity to relax a little. They're so busy squealing about the fight that they haven't bothered returning to their regular hosts.

Is this refreshing feeling worth tearing the two of them apart?

XXx Kyoya xXX

I let out an irritated sigh as the pen I'm using runs out of ink. I toss it in the nearest waste basket and pull out another one from my blazer pocket.

"So what should we do about it?"

I glance up to see Tamaki staring intently at me like he's expecting an answer. He must have been monologuing again.

"About what?" I ask calmly.

"We can't just let this slide!" he yells. "If we do then everyone will think its ok to start fights! That's not how I want our family to be!"

I look up from my notebook and straighten my glasses.

"Unfortunately, we seem to have had a positive response to that little scene," I say. "The customers seem to like the fact Setsuko doesn't get along with Hikaru and Kaoru. We have a great opportunity to create some new merchandise for them."

Tamaki looks horrified that the suggestion.

"I will not promote violence between my own children!" he sobs.

"Somehow I feel that Renge will have the final word in this matter," I reply as I tuck my notebook under my arm.

"Until this matter is solved I think you should just focus on the packaging you already offer."

We turn to see Inoue standing in front of us, her pale skin standing out starkly against her bright red hair.

"But until then would you mind keeping some distance between them? Setsuko is brash and speaks before she thinks, it would be best if she didn't have to interact with the two of them any more than what is absolutely necessary."

"Very well," I say with a curt nod and pull the last rose off the table behind me.

I hand the pale yellow blossom to her and she takes it warily, running her slender fingertips over the orange tips of the petals.

"You have some customers waiting for you," Tamaki says proudly as he proceeds to usher her towards a table that has, in her absence, filled with math Leets and chess club members.

I suppress the urge to roll my eyes and flip my notebook back open.

I'm pretty sure I'll have Renge on my side for the new packages, but better prepare to convince her anyways.

XXx Mori xXX

She sits, smiles, and laughs like she does this every day.

She's given away a rose, fearlessly sitting on her knees and sticking it in the chest pocket of her customer's leather jacket. She does it with ease. Her friends have been rather reluctant to give any of theirs away, but she just hands them out like they're candy.

I shift my eyes away for a minute to glance at Amaya. She still looks like she's suppressing physical pain, and right now I can't even tell if that's how she's actually feeling or if it's just her character.

My thoughts are soon answered as she senses my gaze and mouths 'help me.'

A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth, but before I can actually do anything, the club's time slot ends and everyone begins to reluctantly filter out of the room.

Once the door closes behind the last customer, a loud sigh breaks through the momentary lapse of silence.

We all turn to see Setsuko flop down across a loveseat, kicking her shoes off in one fluid movement.

"Thank god that's over."

Shiori skips over to her and pushes the hair out of the other girl's eyes.

"Aw, come on," she whines playfully. "You know you enjoyed that Setsuko."

Setsuko responds by puffing up her cheeks and blowing a jet of cool air in her upperclassmen's face. Shiori squeaks and jumps back, giggling girlishly.

"Because it's every girls dream to have the undivided attention of the captains of the basketball, soccer, and swim teams all to herself for an hour," Setsuko grimaces as Akina walks over and gathers her shoes. "It's just not my dream."

"Come on," she says as she extends a hand to the taller raven haired girl. "It's about time we got going."

Setsuko takes the other girl's hand and lets her self be pulled to her feet.

"I won't argue there," she says as she heads to the dressing room. "And now to change from a ridiculous dress into an even more ridiculous dress."

She's already behind the curtain before Tamaki can express his hurt. I'm guessing from his reaction that he picked the dresses this time around. The rest of the girls follow suit, but Shiori is the last to go in.

Her large brown eyes flicker up at me for a second before she disappears behind the curtain.

Has she really been in our class all these years? I rack my brain, trying to remember as far back as I can. She looks familiar, but never stands out in my mind. So that really doesn't prove anything.

I sigh and run my hands through my hair.

I guess some people are just easy to overlook unless they do something worth paying attention to.

XXx Honey xXX

Aya is the first one out of the room, back in her black shorts and a loose red knit sweater with her hair down and waving.

I smile as I see the yellow and blue rose she holds in her hand, and grip my own pink rose a little tighter.

I smile, feeling slightly bad that I'm happy Takashi has a Kendo meeting and it will just be us on the ride home.

She smiles as she walks up.

"Ready?" she asks.

l nod and we walk out together, calling a few goodbyes over our shoulders. As soon as we're out the door, her hand finds mine and our fingers interlace.

"That was awful," she says calmly as we walk through the silent halls. "Every second of it made my skin crawl."

"Well maybe it was just that one customer," I offer. "Maybe not all of them will be like that."

She sighs heavily as we cross the courtyard, the sun playing over her light blond hair. She gives me a lazy smile.

"And here I thought you'd be happy I find hosting other boys completely repulsive."

I laugh.

"To be honest I am," I say before quickly kissing her temple. "But I'm also trying to make this a bit easier for you by telling you what I've found out by personal experience."

"What?" she asks in mock shock. "You've had customers you can't stand?"

"I think we all have," I say as we reach the limo. "We just have different ways of dealing with them."

"Ahhh," she sighs dramatically. "So that's why Kisa thinks you're her boyfriend."

I glance down at her, a pang of panic running through me. She can't be serious. The worst part is, I can't even tell if Aya is joking or not.

"She said I was her boyfriend?" I mutter in horror.

"On more than one occasion," she replies grimly. "She seems to have convinced herself that you two are soul mates and are going to get married someday."

I groan despite myself. Aya looks up at me, a sudden mischievous glint in her eyes.

"And in her mind apparently I'm trying to seduce you."

"Oh well, she was right about that," I muse. "You can be pretty seductive when you want to be."

Her face goes scarlet and her jaw almost hits the floor. Her hands fly up to cover her glowing face, but the red of her sweater only emphasizes the flush in her cheeks.

I can't help but laugh, and she seems too embarrassed to even snap at me. Much less get angry.

"H-How?!" she finally manages to stammer. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

I pull her into my arms and kiss the crown of her head. She whimpers and buries her face in my chest.

"You know I don't mean it like that," I assure her as I stroke her hair. "You don't need to sink that low to get attention."

"Still…" she mutters.

"It's just one thing you'll have to get over," I tease. "Even if you're not trying, or even if you come back from your dance classes all sweaty and gross, I'll still find you alluring Aya-koi."

She just digs her face as far into my chest as she can. My arms tighten around her and I wait for her to calm down and collect herself.

"I think that's enough of that," she eventually mutters.

She steps out of my arms, her face still faintly pink, but she grabs onto my hand and beings pulling me towards the place where our limo is parked. I open the door for her and she slides in. As I sit down and pull the door closed she curls up next to me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Here," she says with a small smile as she hands me her rose. "It's the only one I gave away today. Sometimes it pays to be the me."

I take her rose and hand her mine.

"I wish this was the only one I gave away," I say somewhat sadly.

"It's ok," she says as she re-laces our fingers. "I understand."

"How about we go out tonight?" I ask. "We can go to one of those teppanyaki places you like."

She smiles up at me.

"Congrats," she says. "You officially have a date with the…what exactly am I? The playing hard to get type?"

I put an arm around her shoulder and bring her closer to me. Her head rests comfortably on my shoulder, her fine hair tickling my cheek.

"We'll I've got you. So it really doesn't matter."

XXx Author's Notes xXX

So yeah! That's about it. See yah all next time!

Lotsa love, Krystal