Chapter 7: Media Scare and Gender Swap

"On the news at 10pm. The late Howard Wolfe who recently passed, gave his company to his daughter Amelia, in his will. However, due to regulations in the contract, she is not properly the owner of the company. In the mean time, Howard Wolfe's partner is thinking of shutting the business down or one of the highest Japanese bidders will buy it out…"

…

Amelia was in full, silent panic. She couldn't sleep that night. Her father's legacy, taken over by a partner. One who barely did anything in the company and now he's running it! And what does he do? Plan to put the company under auction where her father's rivaling companies can buy it out. Just to expand their own business. As the screech of her alarm blared at her, she was still awake. She got up, putting on her uniform and to top off her morning, the press was outside her door.

Isao watched her with sympathy as she put on her shoes.

"The lawyer is already outside. He came as soon as he could on my request," Isao explained.

"Thank you, Isao," Amelia thanked tiredly. "This is the last thing I need on my plate."

"As much as I respect your father's business, it seems that his partner has failed from his duties. This just seems to be an unwise move on his own end," Isao pointed out sadly.

"Well apparently I'm not the heiress of the company after all," Amelia sighed hopelessly.

"That's all media, Imai. The lawyer is looking into it. The partner didn't read all the ends of the contract. As soon as you're eighteen you have full ownership and responsibility of the company," Isao reminded.

"I'm turning sixteen in two weeks Isao. That's still another two years of waiting," Amelia disagreed. She felt impatience creep in her stomach as the reporters set up outside with her lawyer.

"Two years can be a long time. However," Isao began, leaning down to her level. "That means you can do as you please until then. Your father didn't want you to worry about the company's assets until after school for a reason. He wanted to give you freedom."

Amelia swallowed, tears welling up in her eyes. She nodded in agreement, taking a breath.

"Okay, you ready to pass these hounds?" Isao questioned. She grabbed her leather jacket putting it over her male uniform, grabbing a newsboy cap, pulling it over her eyes.

"Say nothing, don't even look at them," Isao whispered protectively. "Ready…go."

He grabbed her arm, quickly escorting her to the limo. Amelia kept her head down as a sudden wave of voices escalated. Questioning voices directly at her. It was overwhelming! The lawyer tried to divert their attention back to him. But it was useless. Isao shoved Amelia gently into the car, closing the door and yelling a Japanese order to the driver. The driver sped off avoiding anymore media to get at her. Such is the life of the Wolfe legacy...

...

3:00pm…

Amelia was trying everything to keep herself distracted. She changed into her butler attire for the outdoor festivities, going straight to work. No customers to her relief. She kept her mind busy, very quiet, trying to make sure not to break even more expensive tea sets for their Cherry Blossom event. She tried to relax when she had nothing to clean or pass out to the rest of the club.

She finally sat down, putting her feet up on the table. She rubbed eyes from frustration. As she looked out at the rest of the club, her eyes became heavy from lack of sleep. She started falling asleep until Kyoya noticed. He walked up to her nudging her awake. She jumped at his touch, looking up at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry I'll get right on it," she said quickly, immediately springing to her feet. Kyoya looked oddly at her.

"That wasn't…" he began but she was already off, clearing dishes from the unused tables. When she was in the midst of picking up the rest, the twins approached her.

"Imai!" they greeted. She grabbed a spare tray, clearing off the table of dirty dishes. She began piling them together and continued setting the table up with new dishes.

"We just got Haruhi to pick classes with us. You want to join?" Hikaru asked.

"What are you talking about?" Amelia asked only half paying attention.

"It's the new term you have to pick your classes," Kaoru reminded.

"Come on it'll be fun," they encouraged, accidentally patting her back too hard that she fell forward. Next thing she knew her hand was burning in one of the hot tea cups.

"Ow!" she yelped, backing off. The twins looked at her apologetically, pulling her toward them. She shoved them away instinctively sucking on her fingers.

"I'm so sorry Imai," Kaoru apologized.

"Our bad," Hikaru added.

"Let us see," they insisted.

Amelia could hear Tamaki freaking out on the other end of the yard. Suddenly, the noise got louder and louder like it did earlier that morning. The twins tried to get her hand in their grasp but she kept fussing. Then one more line of noise and she cracked.

"Pardon the interruption but Imai, may I speak to-" Kyoya began but she suddenly panicked.

Amelia shoved the twins away, running for the campus. Kaoru fell to the ground from the shove leaving Hikaru dumbfounded.

"Hey we were just trying to help!" he yelled at her. Amelia couldn't hear them amongst the physical and mental distractions that have been haunting her since that night.

…

Amelia was sitting at one of the windowsills. She watched as everything outside was taken down an hour ago. She had her head in her hands, trying to be able to breathe. One thing after another. She still had no money from her father's will. The company wasn't hers and now she couldn't even think. She was so stressed about her father's company being bought out she forgot entirely to even look at her classes. Her priorities were getting mixed. No one could help her other than Isao. She felt like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She didn't even bother changing from the outfit they wore for the festivities.

Amelia jumped when she heard someone at the door. Haruhi walked in, closing the door behind her.

"There you are. The rest of the group was worried when you just ran off like that," Haruhi announced as she walked up to her.

"Sorry," Amelia apologized quietly. Haruhi approached until she was standing in front of her, crossing her arms about her chest.

"They were wanting to speak to you before you ran off. Apparently we have a problem," Haruhi informed. Amelia got up tiredly, taking off her apron.

"That being?" sighing hopelessly, her back turned away from her.

"Well physical exams are this week. The day after tomorrow," Haruhi replied.

"And? The problem?" Amelia asked, the problem not entirely sinking in. She took off her vest, feeling frustrated.

"We'll be exposed," Haruhi replied bluntly. That made Amelia freeze.

"You mean…they'll know we're lying…" Amelia added. Haruhi nodded making Amelia's face turn ghastly pale.

First the company and now this…

...

The Next Day…1 Day before the Physical Exams…3:30pm

Amelia stayed silent for most of the day. The twins were trying to bug her during classes, but she immediately found some way to avoid them. She had nightmares last night about everything happening. As much as she tried to distract herself it didn't work. She could only think about dominoes falling one by one. Everything popping up left and right. When was she going to have any peace!

It was so bad that she didn't even make it to the club on time. No customers today. As she walked through the door, she felt her stomach clench into unwanted knots.

She noticed Haruhi was already there. The boys were writing things on a huge white board. At the sight of her, Kyoya walked up to Amelia in concern.

"Hello Amelia," he greeted casually. "May I speak with you?"

Amelia swallowed hard.

"What about?" she questioned. Kyoya nodded towards the other end of the room for privacy. The twins looked over noticing her enter, looking at each other after they saw Kyoya led her away in private.

"Rough time with the media?" Kyoya whispered, trying not to be heard. Amelia looked away embarrassed.

"I don't want to talk about it," she whispered.

"It affects your responsibilities here at the club Amelia," Kyoya whispered back in concern. Amelia kept her eyes down on the floor as he stood in front of her. The others suddenly turned silent, everyone now noticing Kyoya talking to her in private.

"So what if it does?" Amelia asked.

"Your debt will not be repaid as quickly as you and I would like," Kyoya responded bluntly. Amelia looked at him swallowing hard at the thought. "If you keep running out from the club, do you honestly think that you're going to expect customers to ask for you?"

Amelia sighed in frustration. She hated herself for all this. But she also hated that he was right.

"Now if you excuse me. Tamaki has been trying to set up plans to conceal your identity. I want to make sure it's bulletproof," Kyoya informed, walking back to the group.

For a moment, he stopped, turning to face Amelia.

"And Amelia," he began. Amelia looked at him, unsure if she should be angry or upset. He looked at her in all seriousness. "Don't let the idiots with a microphone dictate how you should act. You think it's going to be any different later? You're not in the states anymore. Just the fact that you're a woman in this country taking over your father's business is a magnet for the media around here."

Amelia shook her head, taking off her jacket following him to the rest of the group.

"You just need to learn how to filter it," Kyoya finished.

"Fine. Then why don't we start by getting them off my porch," Amelia agreed tiredly, plopping on the nearest couch. Kyoya smiled slightly, approaching the rest of the group. She puts her stuff on the floor, overhearing Tamaki do formation A and plan B for the next few minutes.

Amelia lied on her back, covering an arm over her eyes trying to concentrate.

"Please Haruhi! Let us help you and you can remain our secret princesses!" Tamaki exclaimed grabbing Haruhi by the shoulders, staring at her with tears and desperation.

"Sure," Haruhi accepted a little bewildered by Tamaki's overactive behavior. "But I don't really care if me being a girl is a secret or not."

"We also have another problem milord," Hikaru pointed at Amelia.

"We have to do this with two secrets," Kaoru adds.

"If they're found out they'd be out of the club. But we'd get to spend time with them all the time," the twins chimed.

"Guess we'd have to pay you back some other way, huh?" Haruhi asked.

"I'll find a way on my end to at least pay for some of it. The paperwork is still processing," Amelia commented tiredly.

"Milord we're not getting through to them!" Hikaru exclaimed under his breath.

"Why do these two heroines have to be so difficult?!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"We have to figure out a way to motivate them," Kaoru suggested. Suddenly, Mori placed a hand under his chin thinking sternly. His eyes became expressionless.

"Giant tuna," Mori said, causing Haruhi to look up in surprise. The twins and the rest of them looked at each other like they were spreading rumors about Haruhi.

"That's right you didn't get any from the Christmas party," Hikaru started.

"Such a derived childhood," Kaoru added.

"If Haru-chan and Ima-chan stayed with the Host Club they could eat whatever they want," Honey pitched in.

"Aw come on. All because I'm poor doesn't mean I'm never going to be able to try some fancy tuna," Haruhi waved off as she laughed under her breath. "Am I really going to get to try it?"

The boys laughed at her reply but then looked at Amelia. She was unphased by this bargain. Why would she care about giant tuna?

"I'll pass on the giant tuna and stick to the paperwork…" Amelia objected, leaving her arm over her eyes.

"Great we had one down," Hikaru groaned.

"One to go," Kaoru finished. Both of the twins gave a rather annoyed look at her.

"Come on Amelia, please! We like both of you being our secret princesses!" Tamaki begged. "Daddy doesn't like the idea of giving both of his little girls away. We don't want any other boys to flirt with you when we could be enjoying you ourselves."

Amelia immediately sat up, looking between them. Now this was getting a little irritating. She doesn't mind flirting, but this was like treating her as if she were a prized toy.

"Although that may be flattering, I don't know how to really take that statement," Amelia objected sarcastically.

"Uh milord…I don't think that was the path to go on," Kaoru intervened.

"Hey wait a minute, if you leave the Host Club, we automatically win that game of yours now don't we?" Hikaru recalled.

"What game?" Amelia questioned. The twins smirked evilly at her. They sat on either side of her on the couch.

"You know," Hikaru began.

"The game of trying to find what kind of guy you're into," Kaoru finished.

"How do you "automatically" win?" Amelia questioned in confusion. "It doesn't work if I have to forfeit."

"Oh come on isn't it obvious?" the twins asked.

"No," she replied bluntly.

"If you leave the Host Club, we have all day to pester you and only us. Every time a guy even looks at you, let alone talks to you, we'll push them out and be the only ones bugging you until you graduate," the twins explained, their smiles wider.

"Are you kidding? That's cheating. You'd be invading my personal space all the time," Amelia explained.

"That's the idea," the twins replied with a rather mischievous grin. She growled at them until she sighed getting herself together. She put a hand on her forehead. Dang it they were always trying to find some clever loophole and she knew it. Way too much time on their hands.

"Guys what are you thinking?! You can't just bribe her like that! Besides I won't allow it!" Tamaki yelled.

"Not like you would have room to talk milord. You're not even in the same year as her," the twins mentioned. "And once we're in the same classes together, we could certainly keep her all to ourselves."

The twins hugged her, embracing her rather tightly.

Amelia rolled her eyes.

"All right fine I'll stay!" she gave up.

"Yay!" the twins yelled.

This was going to be a nightmare to figure out.

…

The Next Day…Physical Exams…

Amelia followed Haruhi down the hall to the physical examination halls. It was crowded with doctors, nurses and students. She never would see this many people in such a small space.

"Is this normally how these things are?" she questioned the twins who followed them from homeroom.

"Yeah," the twins replied.

"Damn these rich people," Haruhi commented.

"So…why are we worried about being revealed here? What exactly happens during your physical exams?" Amelia questioned.

"Oh the usual," Kaoru replied. "Height, weight…"

"And chest measurements," Hikaru finished trying not to smile slyly.

Oh…

That's why they were screwed. Amelia couldn't help but reach towards her chest, covering up even more with her blazer. The twins were called up, causing her to panic. They had planned out everything multiple times yesterday. Why was she suddenly forgetting it now?

As Haruhi was called up, Amelia was alone, trying not to panic by the massive amounts of students that'll very quickly find out her secret. She jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

"Mr. Wolfe?" a nurse questioned.

"Sorry, I just…having an off day," Amelia smiled nervously.

"Mr. Wolfe, you're next," a nurse called out. "Please stand next to the Hitachiin brothers and Mr. Fujioka. We'll get your chest measurements."

"If you would you could step behind this curtains here to disrobe," another nurse instructed. The twins automatically disrobed their shirts without any concealment of the curtain.

"Curtains?" Hikaru asked. "Doesn't bother me."

"I'm not shy. Who needs a curtain?" Kaoru questioned. Both of them stood their shirtless, letting the girls shriek with approval. The twins' smiles were breathtaking to the crowd of girls. The brothers started flirting with each other keeping the girls distracted from the normal exam schedule. Amelia was shocked by how distracted these girls were. She jumped when Haruhi was shoved into one of the changing rooms behind her.

Mori grabbed Amelia's arm dragging her to the next curtain over, leaving her alone.

"Hey wait a minute!" Amelia exclaimed quietly.

"Stay here," Mori ordered plainly.

"But…" she began to protest but Mori had already left, making sure everything was going according to plan. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Don't worry. Just wait a minute," a voice ordered lightly. She turned seeing Kyoya lean against the wall on the opposite side of the curtain.

"Kyoya?" Amelia asked, confused. "How did you get here?"

"Just follow me, I have a room for you and Haruhi to change in. I just need to talk to the doctor," Kyoya instructed as he passed by her. She hesitated before finally following him out. They walked down the hall towards the "Special Boy's Clinic" next store.

"Wait here, I'm going to talk to the doctor about our situation," Kyoya said. Amelia nodded, sitting on the bench aside from the door. She heard Kyoya's voice converse with a young woman who seemed to accept whatever he was telling her.

"I'm a doctor, if I'm able to keep secrets in the welfare of my other patients, I can certainly allow this slide," the woman explained with a smile.

"Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation on this whole ordeal," Kyoya thanked.

"Of course. After all your family gave me a job. I couldn't find any other way to repay you other than my services at the hospital," the woman commented.

"Of course," Kyoya bowed his head with a smile.

"Whenever you can get the two of them in here, I can give them the examination," the woman insisted.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to tell them. They'll arrive shortly," Kyoya thanked as he headed out the door. Amelia looked over at Kyoya, as he approached.

"Well, the doctor here says she'll keep both of your identities a secret," Kyoya explained. "I'll get Haruhi to come over, until then you can go in and get your information down with her first."

He was about to leave but she grabbed his arm.

"Kyoya?" she asked.

"Yes?" he questioned in response.

"Why did you do all this for us?" she asked rather confused by the ordeal.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyoya questioned with a smile on his face. "You and Haruhi still have to pay off your debt in the Host Club."

"Oh…yeah…right," she said simply, her face turning red from embarrassment. She let him go as she headed inside the office.

"Plus…" Kyoya began making her stop in her tracks. She turned to look at him rather curiously. "The way things are going in the Host Club, you and Haruhi are keeping business steady. It would be a shame to lose such valuable hosts."

Amelia smiled slightly. Kyoya smiled in return.

"Now go get your exam over and done with while I tell the news to Haruhi."

After the whole fiasco with the gender swapping at the doctor's office, everything turned out okay. She just had no idea what was going to happen in the next week. Especially when it involves the twins…