A/N: Brief warning for some offensive words below and verbal bullying.

"Is it true? Are you really engaged to Mori-sempai?"

"I heard he fought your whole family then kidnapped you away!"

"Kyaah! Really! That's sooooo romantic!"

"Well, I heard that he and Honey-sempai fought over her."

"Awa! Isn't he married!? And her cousin?! How scandalous!"

Kaori looked up at the crowd of expectant faces surrounding her desk. She'd been afraid of this, it was the reason she'd come to class as late as she possibly could. It hadn't even been a week since her dramatic engagement and the rumors were already flying. Return from summer break was always a hotbed of gossip and this year she got to be the focus.

"We are engaged" she replied, "but it didn't happen like that. Well, not exactly," she added honestly. She'd never been at the center of anything that would set tongues wagging and had no idea how to go about setting things straight. Before she could elaborate, Sensei came in and thankfully ended the interrogation.

Kaori found it almost impossible to focus during morning classes, not that she'd ever been very academically oriented. It wasn't that she had difficulty in her subjects; she just never saw the point in working hard to fight for a top slot. If she was interested in something, she'd do well in it; if not, then at least she would pass. Unlike Mana, who was planning on being a doctor, she didn't have any clear ambition for her future. Whenever she had thought about it she'd only pictured herself taking care of her father and, maybe, having a career as a kindergarten teacher or daycare worker. That is, If he'd let her.

Now, though her future had suddenly changed. Her hand kept straying up to pat the engagement ring she wore on a necklace hidden beneath her uniform. It didn't need to be kept secret, after all the drama how could it be? At least a quarter of Ouran girls were officially engaged by the time they reached third year, but openly wearing jewelry violated the dress code.

A little over a year from now she'd be a married woman. Would he even want her to go on to the university or to work? She had no idea what his expectations were. He was so smart, top of his class in the law department, would he expect her to accomplish as much?

"Haninozuka-san!" Sensei's shout caused nervous titters around the class as she bolted to attention. "Now that you are with us again, please read and interpret the next paragraph."

She redoubled her efforts to pay attention, or at least to avoid looking like she wasn't, for the rest of the morning. At lunch time she was immediately captured by her three best friends in Class C who hustled her off to an isolated corner of the lunch room.

"Okay, spill – we want all the details" said Yuki, the pretty brunette who was the undisputed ring leader. A tomboy in middle school, since the start of third year she had begun dressing and acting like an idol-wanna-be. The previous Christmas she'd suddenly announced her engagement to a friend of her father's. Kaori had heard that he was in his thirties, previously divorced, and going bald. They'd be married as soon as she graduated and the closer the day got the wilder her behavior seemed to be.

Kaori had been friends with Yuki and the other two girls, Rio and Yui, since first year of Middle School. Mana used to be in their circle too, but the year before High School she'd decided to get serious and pretty soon had captured the number one spot in the class. Now she was in the rarefied Class A, but still joined them for lunch when she could. Today, like usual since the start of the year, she was studying.

She realized that these three were the best way to handle her sudden notoriety. None of them were good at keeping secrets; between the three of them they would squash any weird rumors and satisfy the rest of the class's need for gossip. She launched into a complete description of the challenge and as much about the dance as she wanted everyone to know, her account punctuated by squeals and exclamations.

"That's so romantic," gushed Yui when she had finished the tale, "I wish someone loved me that much."

"Oh, you never said," Rio interjected, "how did he confess?"

"Um... he didn't, I confessed to him" Kaori admitted. That had been one of the parts she had left out.

"He did respond – right?" Yuki looked at her sharply, wondering what Kaori was trying to conceal.

"Of course" she lied. Maybe not directly, but fighting your whole family for the right to marry you was just as good as saying the words, right? She didn't think they'd understand. With Takashi, you had to listen for the things he didn't say.

PE with all four classes was right after lunch so there was plenty of opportunity for her three friends to start spreading the real story. She was amazed Sensei didn't get angry – while the boys were busy lobbing tennis balls back and forth at each other the girls were milling around the court in tight little groups whispering furiously.

Kaori had a permanent excuse from PE so she could only observe them from her position at the library window. She was supposed to be using the time to study, but mostly she watched and wished she could join them. When she was younger, back before, she'd been incapable of sitting still. Her mother used to laugh and say that Kaori never walked when she could run, and that was only because she couldn't fly. Even though girls didn't have to, she had loved launching herself at her brothers when they came back from school to try out whatever martial arts' moves she'd learned that day. Sometimes she'd even win. Then it all suddenly disappeared.

As she always did when thinking of what she'd lost, she absent-mindedly rubbed her right leg and felt the contours of her brace through the full skirt. The action brought her up short. Maybe things didn't have to stay that way anymore. The new orthotic gave her so much more freedom to move. She didn't even really need the cane anymore now that the muscles that supported it were strong enough. It would be wonderful to start trying new things to see what she could do; that is if her father would allow it. Which he probably wouldn't; there were very few things he deemed 'safe' enough for his daughter. The hope which had started to bloom abruptly withered; she stared longingly out the window and sighed.

"Ummm… Kaori-chan, can I talk with you," a tremulous tenor interrupted her gloomy thoughts. The short, slightly stocky boy was one of her schoolmates from class B. They had been thrown together frequently since her first day of Middle School; he was often excused from outdoor PE in late spring and fall when allergies could trigger an asthma attack. They'd had plenty of time to talk over the years but it was unusual for him to approach her; he was shy and slightly awkward - usually he waited for her to initiate conversation. He was a sweet guy – smart, funny, a little rumpled yet not bad looking - but his reserve made it hard for him to make friends.

"Sure, Junichi-kun, what did you want?"

He seemed nervous, fiddling with his tie and avoiding her eyes. "Is..is it true you're getting married?"

"Yes. We just got engaged this past week," she couldn't help the smile on her face every time she thought of it.

His eyes shot up to hers and he blurted out in a panic, "But you can't!" He paused to compose himself. "I..I mean. Well, I always thought maybe one day…."

Kaori wasn't sure what to say, she'd never thought he'd had any feelings in her direction at all. Her friends always accused her of being too oblivious and it looked like she'd done it again.

Junichi's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her wrist. "Please! You're the only girl who I can talk to, the only one who's nice to me. You don't have to marry him! I want… I want…"

His grip was painful; his anxiety was giving him strength. "Junichi-kun," she soothed, "you're wrong, I do have to marry him. Not only do both our families want this, but I love him."

"R…really. You aren't doing it because you have to?"

"No, but if I wasn't then I'm glad you would try to rescue me" she patted the hand holding her wrist.

He looked down and noticed his hold on her then dropped her wrist as quickly as he'd grabbed it. "Oh! I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?"

"Not at all," Kaori pulled her sleeve down to hide the red marks she was sure would cause a bruise later. He looked so distraught, she knew things were different than he thought and wanted to comfort him. "Junichi-kun, there are plenty of other girls who would like to talk with you, but I think they need to know you want to talk with them first."

"No, I…I really don't think that's true." He was back to his normal shy self, hands in his pocket and eyes on the floor.

"It's true. Kaho-chan from 2-D is always looking at you, I think she'd like to get to know you. Maybe you could try talking with her sometime."

"Really?" He peered up at her hopefully, while scuffling at the floor with his feet.

Kaori was pretty certain the younger girl had a crush, but Junichi needed a bit more prompting – he was one of her more difficult cases. "I know! Tomorrow I'll go sit with some of my friends in 2-D for lunch and you can come join us. That way you'll still have me to talk to if you need it."

"Ummm.. yeah. I think that would be good." He rubbed the side of his head awkwardly, messing up his already disheveled hair further. "Thanks Kaori-chan. I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's okay. I'm glad to know I have such a good friend." She smiled to herself as he went back to studying, her mind busy working out how she would help the budding romance along. This would be her second successful match of the year; that is if she could get him to open his mouth.

By afternoon classes the rumors had died down and people began settling into the routine of a new term. Third year was only slightly stressful for the students of Class C – unlike Class A few of them would try for universities other than Ouran and all they needed to worry about was getting a passing grade.

Even so, the day went by painfully slow; she kept wrenching her focus back to class and away from her daydreams about the coming weekend. Her father had let her know that Mori would be coming over to take her out. It felt so unreal, confession, then engagement, and only after that their first date. She wondered if there was a word to describe how she was feeling about it; something that meant excited and nervous and exhilarated and scared all at once. It was a relief when classes finally ended.

She made a quick detour to the restroom before heading to her club. Today it was the culinary club, the only one other than animal husbandry that her father would let her join. It was a bit disappointing, she'd thought they'd be learning new cooking techniques but, typical of Ouran, it was mostly about how to monitor the housekeeper's budget, select caterers and create a menu plan for 200 people. She'd always thought that they should just rename it the 'bride training club.' Strange how the things she'd learned in it might now actually be useful.

She heard the door of the girl's bathroom open just as she was getting ready to leave the stall. The first voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Did you hear? Mori-sempai and Kaori?" It was the girl she always thought of as Azami's Minion #1. Kaori got along with most people in her class, and even many outside of it, but Azami and her two best friends were the exception. Azami was from a prestigious family, but her poor grades kept her down in Class C. She thought of herself as better than everyone in general and superior to Kaori in particular. She'd always taken Kaori's presence in her classroom, as opposed to down in D with the rest of the socially unacceptable, to be a personal insult.

"Of course. It's all over the school. How did a cripple like her land an elite like that?" asked the voice of Minion #2.

Kaori wondered if they knew she was in there. It wouldn't matter; the trio could be just as vicious to your face as they were behind your back. It was almost like being honest. It was okay, words were the only thing they'd do after all. Even without Satoshii and Yasuchika around there were enough people that would step in over any physical bullying and Azami was a bit of a coward.

"Well, obviously it's just because she's a Haninozuka." The queen bee herself was declaring judgment. "Think about it, he's next head of his family. Marriage with the Haninozuka's strengthens his position. It was probably all arranged from the outset."

"Oh, poor man! To be forced into that marriage. I mean, what if her kids come out deformed?" Minion #2 sounded horrified. Kaori shook her head; everyone in school knew that her injury was the result of an accident. 'Even my biology grades weren't bad enough to misunderstand basic genetics.'

"I don't understand why it was her," continued the girl, "there are other Haninozuka's to choose from. He didn't need to pick a gimp."

"Ummm… isn't she kind of popular with the guys, though?" Minion #1 sometimes showed signs of being a bit kinder than the others.

"Only with other rejects like her!" Azami snapped. "It's obvious why he picked her, really. My sister, Ayanokouji, was his classmate. She said he's a strange one, never could leave a wounded animal alone. Probably felt sorry for her since no one else would ever marry her. Said he was always a little…close with his cousin, too. Maybe he figured she wouldn't mind coming in second."

"Oh you're so right Azami!" Minion #1 replied, recovering from her earlier mistaken sympathy. "We should feel sorry for her. I'd rather not marry at all than have someone marry me out of pity."

The three continued on in that vein for awhile before departing. Kaori dropped her head against the stall door waiting to be sure the coast was clear. She supposed she should have expected this as well; the gap between her and Mori was so large it was bound to cause speculation. She didn't believe them, of course, it was just spite. Azami considered every eligible good-looking guy in her vicinity to be her exclusive property and always had to find a reason to explain why they never picked her.

But, still… Mori was a natural caretaker, and also so very kind. It was one of the things that she loved about him. She hadn't been able to ask him yet just why he had proposed, but it had to mean he loved her too, right? Or at least liked her? She shook her head sharply and shrugged off the hateful words, all the while seeds of doubt which had already been planted started to grow.

A/N: Thanks to all who've reviewed/followed/fav'd so far. Each new one I get makes me ridiculously excited.

A note for some of the things I've briefly touched on – when I first had the idea of Kaori as having a physical disability I was curious so did some research. While there are laws against it on the books and people claim attitudes are changing, Japan has a history of cultural and institutional prejudice against people with visible disabilities. There are a number of heartbreaking stories out there about people whose families hid them or wouldn't even eat with them, kids forced into special schools regardless of mental ability, people denied entry to universities or to any job other than menial level, etc.

Also, the brace I describe does exist and is relatively new on the market – though it might not be as awesome as I needed it to be for the story. It's one of many called 'stance control orthotics'. Look it up!