Megumi dropped her pen on her desk, finally finished with grading. And it's only 9:30 on a Friday night, she thought. No wonder she had no social life. She got up from her desk, stretching, and walked over to the kitchen to put on the kettle. A little tea, a little reading, early to bed; I am truly living the dream. Her lips quirked at the thought.

The kettle had just started to whistle when the phone rang. Megumi looked at her phone, but didn't recognize the number. Who on earth is calling at this time of night? she wondered as she answered the phone.

"Hello? Hisakawa-san?" The voice on the other end sounded vaguely familiar.

"This is she," Megumi said warily. She had a sinking feeling she knew she was talking to.

"This is Hitachiin Kaoru. Chairman Suoh passed along your request for an Ouran alum to visit your class, and he thought I might fit the bill."

Of course he did. Megumi thought. Because when I think of compassionate people who can open up a child's mind, the very first people who spring to mind are the Hitachiin twins. Brilliant, sir. Absolutely brilliant. "Hitachiin-san, what a pleasant surprise," Megumi lied through her teeth. "Thank you so much for contacting me so promptly."

"I know it's been a few days since the chairman called me, but I wanted to put together a collection of pieces from a few different sources before I talked with you," Hitachiin said. "I thought for the first session we could focus on visual arts, including textiles. What do you think?"

First session? What the hell? "Um, why don't you tell me what you were planning to bring?" Megumi covered her confusion. What exactly did Suoh-sama tell him?

"Well, I have a few kimonos from my mother's upcoming collection. If you prefer, I could certainly bring him some of her other pieces, but since the focus is on artistic vision, I thought the kimonos would be the make the most impact. I also have some sketches from one of our up-and-coming designers, Kasanoda Mei. She has an amazing eye. I think the kids will really enjoy having a sneak preview of her work."

"That sounds wonderful," Megumi said, a little dazed. It sounds like he put a lot of thought into this. I didn't know he was capable of taking things so seriously.

"I also wanted to bring in some pieces on a purely amateur level. Let the kids know that they can include art in their lives regardless of their profession. My brother, Hikaru, got into landscape photography a while back, so I have some of his photos. And Ootori Kyoya loaned me a couple of his paintings. Do you think that's enough, or should I ask around for some more?"

"I think that's plenty," Megumi replied. Ootori, huh? Guess I should warn my brother that now Ootori probably thinks we owe him a favor. Thank you so much, Hitachiin.

"I thought maybe next time we could focus on other art forms. Tamaki's asked about organizing a concert series for your class, showcasing both classical and traditional Japanese music."

"You've certainly put a lot of thought into this," Megumi said carefully.

Hitachiin laughed. "Yeah, I guess I have. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstep. But the more I started thinking about this, the more excited I got. It's a nice change of pace, you know?"

"These are all great ideas, but we do still have the regular curriculum to cover as well."

"Oh. I didn't think about that," Hitachiin sounded deflated. "I'm sorry. I guess I got way ahead of myself."

"We could probably spare one hour a month for this project, though. I do feel strongly about getting the children to be more creative in their thinking."

"Wonderful!" His voice regained his usual spark. "Would it work for me to come in next Friday?"

"Hold on, let me check." Megumi opened her tablet and checked the lesson plan for next week. If I move this test to Monday, and then cut our English lesson a little short … "That should work. Around two o'clock?"

"Perfect! If it's all right with you, I was thinking of asking the students to come up with an original piece of their own for when I come back next month."

"I like the idea, but many of the parents won't be pleased that the students are wasting their time on something so frivolous."

Hitachiin laughed. "Tell you what—if you get any complaints, refer them to me, okay?"

"If you're certain."

"Absolutely. It's been a while since I was able to tweak a few noses. I used to be rather good at it."

"I remember," Megumi said without thinking.

"Yeah, you probably do." If Megumi didn't know better, she'd say he almost sounded ashamed. "I've grown up a lot, though."

"I apologize, I didn't mean—"

"Yes, you did mean," Hitachiin cut her off, not unkindly. "Don't worry about it, though. I'll see you next Friday?"

"Yes." Megumi almost started to hang up, then remembered her manners. "Thank you, Hitachiin-san. I can tell you've put a lot of time and effort into coming up with all these wonderful ideas. I really appreciate it; I know you must be very busy."

"Like I said, I'm enjoying myself. In fact, I should thank you for this opportunity," he said warmly. "Have a nice weekend."

"You too," Megumi said before hanging up. That was … bizarre. Hitachiin Kaoru didn't sound anything like the boy she remembered. The Hitachiin twins had never taken anything seriously, especially other people's feelings. After watching them cruelly reject Chiyo's love letters in middle school, Megumi had come to the conclusion that they probably didn't even have feelings. They seemed to have thawed some in high school, particularly after getting involved with the Host Club. But Megumi still couldn't shake the feeling that whenever there was trouble brewing, the twins were somehow involved in stirring the pot.

But the man she'd talked to tonight was totally different. She was a little stunned at how much thought he had put into her simple idea. She'd just wanted one or two guest speakers to shake her students up a little, but it sounded like he'd planned out a yearlong curriculum. And then he'd actually apologized to her when she indicated that she might not have the time to carry it out. Hitachiin Kaoru, apologizing! Well, 10 years is a long time, Megumi thought. Maybe it just took him a while to grow up. She poured the still-hot water into her mug. Or maybe I've been a little too judgmental. Either way, it seemed as though having Hitachiin come into her class was not going to be the disaster she'd feared when she picked up the phone.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to No-Time Lord and mazberrypie for the reviews, and to Beaker77 and Cherry-Wish for the favorites! I'm so glad y'all are enjoying this story!