Haruhi/Kyoya
The Challenge: Part XIII
If anyone challenged Kyoya intellectually it had to be Haruhi. Everyone else was just dumb. But Haruhi took his place as number one from the moment she entered Ouran High School. It astonished him. Never before had anyone been able to overtake his place at the top of academics.
He didn't know what to think of it. Someone had managed to beat his scores? How?! Then he met her. He knew exactly who she was. So he set up a silent challenge for her. If she could be a member in the Host Club and keep her grades up, he would concede defeat to her. It was only a matter of getting her into the Host Club.
When she stumbled into the Host Club, that really gave him the idea. After all, the Host had a number of expensive items scattered throughout the room. It would hardly be a challenge to get the girl to bump into one of them, break it, and for him to declare a debt being owed to the Host Club. He doubted the other members would protest too much. While it was Tamaki who came up with his outlandish ideas for the Host Club, it was Kyoya that brought them to life.
Haruhi didn't know why this man kept talking to her like that. She didn't like it. She kept trying to get away from him but to no avail. And then he forced her to bump into the flowerless vase. Why was there a flowerless vase in the middle of the room?! Then she was forced to work for the Host Club. Once she became an actual member, an actual host, school became much harder for her.
At least two hours of her study time had been taken away. That meant she had to make up for it late at night. Then Club duties proceeded to take up more of her precious time as they went off to take a break. Haruhi meant come on! She hadn't even managed to get a bit of study time that day and instead had to 'rescue' Honey-senpai, when really she did nothing. Argh! Was there some kind of conspiracy against her or something?!
Kyoya tracked Haruhi's grades during the semester, and found that not once did they falter. It was as if she had never joined the Host Club. How did she do it? It made no sense to Kyoya. So he pushed harder. Convinced Tamaki the club ought to do more cosplay, take a vacation, have the hosts take a couple of apprentices. Anything to make Haruhi more busy. And when that failed, he convinced them to interfere with her home life.
Haruhi was extremely displeased when the hosts started randomly visiting her house. It made it more difficult for her to study in peace. At least she could count on her dad to chase them out if he was home. He was exceptionally good at that.
The first time Kyoya got a good look at Haruhi's room he was impressed. It was neat and orderly, not an item out of place. Everything was placed so it was easy to find, easy to use, and never out of reach for when Haruhi required it. Her father, if he could be called that, clearly kept out of her way, although he wasn't certain if it was by choice.
And even after everything Kyoya did to try and get her grades lowered due to her being busy, not once did he succeed. It amazed him. How did she do it? So he set people to watch her. And he learned she had started to stay up later at night to study more, eat more sugar to keep her energy up, and drink more caffeine when it was needed. Never before had he found someone so dedicated to their studies. Kyoya couldn't even tell if Haruhi was tired after a long night of studying. Clearly her father taught her how to use makeup to conceal any bags or other physical problems.
After that Kyoya laid off. He stopped encouraging Tamaki with his schemes and the Twins with their bothering of Haruhi. And Haruhi finally got to relax and focus on her studies, even if it was only for a little bit.