Chapter 18: Living with a New Name and, Possibly, a New Brother

I spent the rest of Christmas break drowning in boredom. After the party, I had found gifts from my father waiting for me at home. My wardrobe filled with new dresses and other clothing, all high-end brands, which was both a good thing and a bad thing. I didn't really have much of a wardrobe before, but now my closet is filled with tons of clothing I hate and will probably never wear.

In addition, there was also a new lap-top computer on my desk. I had never had my own computer, so that wasn't too bad, but these gifts don't even come close to making up for what happened at the party.

New Year's came and went. Interestingly enough, my mini-mansion had a vast garden area. I made use of it many times; whenever the weather was good anyway, walking and jogging around the grounds. My days consisted of either exercising or lounging in front of the TV. Playing video games or watching movies that I can't recall the names of.

I hadn't done much cooking or eating either. In fact, I was losing weight from exercise and the lack of food. Georgina and Hinata were worried about me; even Chris seemed concerned. I knew this, and yet right now, I didn't care, I just wasn't hungry.

The days blurred together, and I was vaguely aware of anything but the boredom of not being able to do anything. I napped often, and my sleeping schedule got a bit out of whack. I would find myself sleeping in the middle of the day and unable to sleep at night. Even though I was able to catch up on some much needed R&R, the laziness was suffocating me.

Then came that oh so special day...

'Today is my first day at school,' I thought as I stood in my bathroom, brushing my hair, 'as Ayami Suoh.' I wrinkled my nose at the thought. 'Suoh, ugh...'

"Miss," I heard Hinata say from the hall, "If you don't hurry, you won't make it on time." I sighed and put down my brush.

"I'm coming," I called as I took out a small box from under my sink. I opened it and looked at the pile of pink ribbons inside, Momo's pink ribbons. I had made a habit of saving all the ones she gave me and put them in this small shoebox. I took one out but not just any ribbon; specifically, the ribbon from the day I had last seen her. I held it in my hands for a bit, feeling it's silky smoothness before I tied it in a bow in my hair. I looked at my self in the mirror. 'Teeth brushed, check. Hair done, check. Gross uniform, check.' I went through the list in my head then sighed as I put the box of ribbons away again and exited the bathroom.

"Ah, good morning, miss," Hinata said as I came out of my room. Without replying, I started walking down the hall. "Uh, will you be eating breakfast this morning, miss?" she asked, following me.

"No, thank you," I said, picking up my school bag from the table in the front hall and headed toward the front door.

"I see... then... have a good day at school," she said with a slight bow as she held out my lunch box. I looked at her; her expression seemed filled with worry. I had refused breakfast since the party, and sometimes I wouldn't eat lunch or dinner. I gave her a very fake half-smile as I took my lunch from her hands.

"Ittekimasu (I'm leaving)," I said, stepping out the door; she smiled sweetly but uncertain. I walked down the front steps; Chris was waiting for me like usual, and he opened the car door for me.

"Good morning, Miss," he said as I stepped in the car. I said nothing as he shut the door, got in, and began driving.

We sat silently for the entire way, me looking out the window, him driving and looking back at me in the mirror several times. I mindlessly watched as we passed by people, houses, and buildings, street after street in silence. When we arrived at school, I looked around, it was early, and there wasn't a student in sight, but a young office lady was waiting by the gate. Chris opened the door for me, and I got out.

"Miss," Chris said, and I looked up at him. His expression seemed pretty flat, but there was a hint of concern. "Have a good day at school." he finished. I nodded with a half-grin and walked towards the waiting lady.

I looked her over; she was young, an intern, maybe? She had dark hair that was tied up into a bun, and she wore a navy suit-dress with matching heels.

"Good morning, Miss Suoh. I'm Kyomi Omori," she greeted with a kind smile. I couldn't stop myself from scowling at her when she said Miss Suoh. She looked confused and surprised by my expression.

"Just Ayami is fine," I mumbled irritated, and she sweat-dropped.

"Oh, well," she said nervously, "Would you please follow me." I nodded and started walking. She walked with me making noisy chit-chat about the weather and the holidays. "How was your Christmas, Miss? Did you get any nice presents?" she asked. I froze in remembrance of the day.

"Not really that great," I said, thinking over all that had happened, "But I would say the only gifts I got were some new clothes and a laptop." I did not count the party or anything that happened at the party as a gift.

"Oh, did your boyfriend get you anything? Surely a girl as lovely as Miss Suoh has one," she said sweetly.

"No," I said in a harsh tone, the Suoh thing was getting on my nerves. "They were from my dad. I don't have a boyfriend." The young lady sweat-dropped again and didn't talk much after that.

"Please wait here," she said when we reached the offices. She took a seat at her desk and started sorting through some papers. I sat in a chair by the window and waited, watching as the students filed in the gates.

Shiori was the first student I recognized. She walked towards the school and stopped to talk to a few girls from class. They talked back and forth; she was shocked by something they said, then she walked away, looking confused. I would guess that she asked about me, they told her what happened at the party, and now she's completely surprised by the fact that I'm related to the Suoh's.

Next, I spotted Haruhi, and from then on, it became a game of Where's Waldo, only with the host club members.

Mori and Honey were easy to spot; the tall guy with a short blonde. They came in the same car, and as they walked, Honey greeted many girls, although Mori looked a little preoccupied with something else.

The twins were next to arrive, and they happily skipped off to class, probably dying to tell Haruhi all about what they did for New Year's. I had noticed their weird trio.

Then Tamaki appeared on the scene. He was strangely not himself as he walked into the school. Instead of greeting every girl with a smile gorgeous enough to make them swoon (as I had come to expect of him), he walked with his eyes straight ahead and his expression very serious. Although I knew why, he was bothered by what happened at the party. I frowned, thinking about it.

'No,' I told myself, shaking my head, 'I was right to be upset. He didn't even ask about my feelings before stepping into the place of my big brother, and I'm not about to let him have it; it doesn't belong to him!'

Last to show was Kyoya, who seemed bored or perhaps annoyed. I watched him closely; he yawned and stretched a bit, trying to be subtle. 'Ah, sleepy. I guess he's not a morning person,' I thought as he walked out of view. That's when the young lady checked her watch and stood up.

"Miss, I will walk you to your class now," she said with an annoyingly, too happy smile. I sighed as I stood up and followed her. We walked through the halls, and she explained a few things, "I'm sorry for the wait, but basically you're starting here as a new student."

"Again?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, you'll be in the same class, though, since classes are still arranged by grade scores," she said, and I nodded.

'So I'll still be in the same class as Shiori, that's a good thing, I think...' I thought as we approached my classroom. We stopped outside the door, and she smiled at me before knocking lightly on the door.

"Yes?" the teacher inside called, and the lady opened the door. She nodded at the teacher, who nodded back then addressed the students, "Class, I have an announcement to make. Today we are welcoming a new student into the class." I could hear the whispers and mumbles. The young lady smiled at me and stepped back, motioning for me to go in.

"She's also an old friend," the teacher said, turning towards me. She gave me a "kind-ish" smile, considering she never really liked me and motioned for me to enter.

I held my breath as I reached up and touched Momo's bow for a little mental courage, then I released the breath and took the first step into the classroom. The students gasped in awe as I walked to the front of the class, my movements feeling a bit robotic in motion.

"Everybody, please welcome to our class, Miss Ayami Suoh," the teacher said as I came to a stop in front of the school board, my new name written on it. I bit my lip to keep me from grimacing.

"No way!" a girl exclaimed in shock.

"So the rumors were true?" one boy asked another.

"I'm in your care," I said, bowing slightly and keeping my eyes fixated on my feet. When I looked up, I met eyes with one very shocked Shiori whose jaw hung wide open. Her expression made me snicker a bit. 'Well, I guess it's time for everyone to start treating me differently.' I thought, looking away from Shiori's gaze to the faces of my astonished classmates.

"Please take your seat," the teacher said, motioning towards my empty desk. I nodded to her and walked down the aisle. Everybody watched me, and I felt the same nervousness from their stares that I had on my first day of school.

The stares never let up, even though I kept my head down, and in-between classes Shiori and the other girls would bombard me with questions. I tried to explain it as best as I could without actually admitting the part I hated most.

"So..." Shiori said, looking at me after the lunch bell rang, "you're Tamaki's younger sister?!" I looked at her, irritated.

"Will everybody stop saying that!" I retorted, shoving my notebook into my bag and standing up. Some of the nearby students flinched at my outburst. Shiori noticed that she had stepped on a landmine and put her hands up.

"Okay, okay!" she said, trying to calm me. I looked at her, a pout on my face, and she smiled. "Let's put that aside for now and talk about something else, um..." she was trying to think up another conversation topic. "Oh, I know, how about I tell you about my trip to France!" she exclaimed.

"Fine," I said; she smiled and began chattering on about her visit to her mother's house and all the shopping she had done while overseas.

'Well, it seems that Shiori hasn't changed her opinion of me all that much. We'll just see how long that lasts,' I thought, standing up. I listened to her stories as we to the cafeteria, and, of course, every person we passed would stare and whisper. 'Surely rumors of my return to school have spread to the host club member's ears by now,' I thought as we entered the lunchroom, and every pair of eyes turned in our direction.

The room grew deathly silent for a few seconds. Shiori looked around just as the whispering and murmurs began. Every pair of judgmental eyes on me.

"Uh," Shiori said uneasily, then she leaned towards me and whispered, "Everyone's staring." I sighed.

"Yes. I noticed." I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes., although my nerves were decidedly on edge. "Let's go and eat somewhere else," I said, turning to leave.

"The clubroom?" Shiori asked cheerfully.

"Good heavens, no," I said as a girl with dark hair walked up to us.

"Um, Sohm- I mean, Suoh-san?" she said. I glared at her, and she backed away.

"Can you believe that?" a boy nearby mumbled.

"Yeah, how rude. I bet she thinks she's better than us now," the girl next to him said. I gritted my teeth.

"Well, I was just wondering," the girl with dark hair spoke again, inching towards us, "Is it true that you're Tamaki's younger sister?" I clenched my hands into fists and took a deep breath to keep me from going rampant.

"Tamaki and I indeed have the same biological father, if that is what you are referring to," I said through my teeth.

"Really!" the girl's friend with light hair said, and suddenly, I was surrounded by a dozen girls all asking questions.

"That's so amazing!"

"So, this does mean that you're a Suoh now!"

"Are you going to be living with Tamaki?"

"Wow, I'm so jealous!" Many girls bombarded me with questions.

"Wah!" Shiori exclaimed because they were crowding us. I put my hand in front of Shiori defensively and tried to back out of the room, but the girls had encircled us. I felt a sense of panic; I guess the fight or flight reflex, and, since I couldn't run, I was planning to push our way out by force.

Suddenly someone grabbed my wrist...

Mori's point of view:

Honey and I were riding to school in the car together. I was looking out the window, thinking over what Ayami had said at the party.

"Don't you dare call me that! Only one person gets to call me that, and you're not him! Do you understand?! Don't you dare ever call me that again!"

She wasn't just upset; she was livid. I had never seen her that angry before. Once or twice, I could tell she was bothered or irritated but never so angry. 'Why?' I wondered as Honey spoke up.

"Taka-chan," he said, and I looked at him.

"I hope Aya comes to school today," he said with a grin.

"Me too," I replied.

"I wonder how Tamaki's doing," he pondered out loud. I nodded, looking back out the window.

"I'm more worried about how this will affect Ayami," I said, watching as few buildings passed by outside the car window.

"Yeah, she seemed pretty upset," he said, looking sadly at Usa-chan.

"No, I think it's more than that," I said as I turned back to him; he looked slightly confused. "I think she's having a hard time, and she's not telling anyone about it," I said, and his expression became even more downcast.

"Me too... but Aya-chan is a very personal person and doesn't talk about things that are bothering her," he said, then he glanced up at me. "Although..." he said with a pause, and I looked at him curiously, "She did talk with you once or twice before, right?" I nodded. "Maybe if you try again, she'll talk to you about what she's worried about. Then maybe we can help her," he said, giving me a little grin, and I nodded back in agreement.

"I hope so," I said, looking back out the window.

The rest of the ride was silent, and school seemed to pass slowly. I sat through classes trying to think of a way to talk with Ayami. 'But... how am I supposed to help her?' I wondered as I twirled my pencil around my finger. 'In order to help her, I have to know what's bothering her. Do I know what that is?' I tried thinking that one through and concluded that I knew at least part of it if not most of it. 'She misses her family, and she's been missing them for a long time now, ever since she's been coming to Ouran.'

"I like him because he reminds me of my younger siblings, even though he's older than me, but it's probably just because I miss them. I'm not allowed to see them right now, and kind of miss hearing their voices. Honey reminds me of them a lot."

'She has relationship issues with her mother.'

"...You see, my mother doesn't like me very much. She was hoping that she would be able to dump me on to him or better get paid lots of money in child support." ... "My mother started bragging about how she was going to get all the money she could out of him, I told her that I wouldn't allow it, and we fought. She got mad and kicked me out of the house, so my father took me in..." "... my mother will most likely give up her parental rights, and I will no longer be a Sohma. She'll hate my guts worse than she always has, and she'll do everything she can to make my life miserable, like keep me from seeing my younger siblings."

'She had to deal with bullying, got in a fight at school, and was suspended for a week.' I could see her in my mind as the wet and cold child sitting by the edge of the pond and also as the bandaged, proud defender of justice in the nurse's office. 'Then, just when that problem was solved, she was forced to separate with her family.' The image of Ayami's crying figure came to mind, and I stopped fidgeting with my pencil.

~~~~"I wasn't supposed to cry."~~~~

'I'll never be able to get that image of her out of my head. Her defeated, crying figure as she sat slumped on the floor.' The thought made me shift uncomfortably in my chair. 'I wish I could have done something for her... She's been stressed with all that, then to add to it all her father revealed her identity to everyone she knows and in front of hundreds of other people. Knowing how she reacts to people's attention being on her, I bet that made her uncomfortable. Then to top it off, the event with Tamaki-' then it hit me. Why she was so cold and harsh to Tamaki at that time.

"Only one person gets to call me that, and you're not him!"

'One person? Not Tamaki but Yoshiro, her brother, who died almost seven years ago.'

"I killed my brother," she said, then she paused and looked at me. "You don't believe me?" A sarcastic grin. "Well, I did, and that's the biggest reason behind why my mother hates me."

"How?" I asked, curious.

"Fire," she replied, this shocked me a bit, but I still listened as she explained. "When I was little, I had an older brother, Yoshiro... A week after my tenth birthday, there was a fire in our apartment complex... When my brother saw me crying, he asked me if I was hurt. I was babbling about the doll, and that's when it happened. He told that he'd go get it and ran into the flames." She shook her head. "If I had known what he meant, I would have stopped him..." "So, that's the big reason why my mother hates me. she blames me for killing her beloved son."

"It's not your fault," I said calmly, she looked up at me doubting.

"Yes, it is," she said in a positive tone, which confused me.

"You blame yourself?" I asked, sounding more like a surprised statement than a question.

"Yes," she replied.

"You shouldn't."

"Why not? It's true; if I had been so upset over that stupid doll, my brother would still be alive." She said, shaking her head a bit with a slightly sarcastic smile.

"You don't know that," I said, and I could see she wouldn't be accepting my logic anytime soon. We were quiet for a bit. She looked off into the distance as I watched her, then a small smirk appeared on her lips.

"You know," she said, looking up into the tree's leaves above us. "Haruhi said the same thing. She told me not to blame myself." She looked at me, and a gust of wind ruffled her hair as we stared into each other's eyes. I was stuck in their deep blue for a short while before the school bell rang. We both looked at the clock tower.

"Lunch is over already," she said under her breath with a sigh. I starred at the clock tower. Time always seemed to be interrupting our conversations.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly said, and I looked to her, confused by what she was apologizing for. "Because of my babbling, you didn't get to eat your lunch." I looked down at my still full lunch box.

"It's alright," I said, standing up, I wasn't particularly hungry when I was talking with her. She seemed to take my mind off of things like that. I looked at her then, and she seemed like she didn't know what to say, and neither did I. I didn't want our conversation to end; I wanted to talk with her more. Learn about her thoughts and feelings.

"Well," she said awkwardly, turning to leave, "I guess I'll see you later." I nodded, knowing there was nothing I could say to make our conversation last much longer, then she started walking away. Away from me, ending our conversation just now. No. I couldn't let it end with that.

"Ayami," I said, and she turned back to me a look of curiosity on her face. "I don't think it's your fault, and," I paused. "I don't think your brother would blame you either. I think," I said, putting my hand on her cheek and wiping away a single tear. "That he just wanted you to be happy." I showed the tear to her; she blushed and began frantically rubbing her eyes.

I handed her my handkerchief. She didn't take it right away, but after a bit, she took it and wiped her tears. When she held it out to give it back to me, she realized that some of her make-up had wiped off on to it.

"Sorry," she said, blushing and biting her lip. I grinned slightly, but she didn't see cause she was looking down.

"Keep it," I said, placing my hand on her head and ruffling her hair a bit; it was soft and tangled its way between my fingers. "I'll see you at the club," I said, removing my hand from her hair and walking away.

'Even if I do get to her to talk with me, what am I supposed to do to help her?' I wondered. I couldn't find an answer to that question. When the lunch bell rang, Honey and I hadn't heard any news about our dear friend Ayami and were headed towards the clubroom when...

"Can you believe it!" a girl exclaimed.

"I know! It really is unbelievable!" another girl replied, "I would never have thought that she would come back." Honey looked at me with questioning eyes then turned to them.

"Who?" he asked cutely. The girls looked a little nervous and didn't reply. Suddenly a small group of students rushed around the corner.

"Hurry up!" one boy said to another.

"What is it?" a girl asked.

"There's a commotion in the lunchroom involving the Suoh girl," he said with a grin. The girls we had been talking to joined the group that was headed to the lunchroom.

Honey gave me a cheerful yet worried expression, happy that Aya had come back but also concerned about what this "commotion" might be. I felt the same way, and we hurriedly made our way through the halls to the lunchroom.

When we arrived, we found the room teaming with students, most of them female. A couple dozen of them had gathered into a group.

Being taller than everyone else, I could see that they were swarming a very distressed and annoyed-looking Aya. She stood defensively in front of her friend Shiori, who was with her. My protective instincts kicked in, and soon I was making my way through the crowd towards her.

I reached her quickly just as her expression looked as if she was considering fighting her way out of the group. I then grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her towards me. She grabbed the hand of her friend as I tugged her out of the crowd. After I had done so, she shook her head and looked up at me, both surprised and curious.

"Mori?" she said, confused. "What-" she started to ask when the group of girls looked our way.

"Wait! I still have a few questions," one said.

"Me too," another added.

Without thinking, I pulled Aya by the hand, and we ran from the lunchroom. The girls who had been crowding her started following us, and I continued to lead her out of the room and into the halls. We hurried down the halls, not heading in any particular direction. The girls stayed on our tails as we hurried through hall after hall, but eventually, we ducked around a corner and lost them.

We had stopped in a hallway not far from the clubroom. Shiori fell to the floor, out of breath. Aya was breathing heavy, and her face was red from running, but she seemed otherwise fine. Her flushed face reminded me of how cute she looked when she blushed.

We stayed there, catching our breath until Aya finally turned towards me. She looked down, then back up and opened her mouth to say something.

Aya's point of view:

We stopped running in a hall, and Shiori collapsed from the stress. I stood next to Mori, catching my breath when I realized he was still holding my hand. I looked down at his large hand that was holding mine tightly; then I glanced up at him. He was staring at me again.

"Umm... Mori-senpai," I said, but he didn't respond, so I made a motion towards our hands. He looked down at our hands, and I think I saw a tinge of blush on his cheeks.

"Uh," he said, then there was an awkward silence before he released me from his strong hold. "Sorry," he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. I grinned slightly then walked towards Shiori.

"Are you alright?" I asked, kneeling next to her. She looked up at me, still out of breath.

"You guys, *breathe* run, *breathe* way, *breathe* too fast!" she said with heaving breaths. I grinned and turned towards Mori. He was looking down at his hands for some reason.

"Mori," I said, but he didn't respond, so I repeated myself, "Mori-senpai." No response again, so I spoke up a bit, "Takashi!" It felt strange using his first name, but he responded instantly and looked up at me quickly.

'I guess even rich people space out.' I thought before continuing.

"Thanks," I said with a kind grin, "if you hadn't jumped in, I don't know what would have happened." He blinked and nodded in response. His simple answer and the fact that he still seemed entirely out of it came across as funny to me. It made me want to laugh, but I just grinned. He blinked again, appearing confused, but I turned back to Shiori before he could say anything. I helped her up a bit so that she was sitting and leaning against the wall.

Then the most annoyingly familiar voice rang through the halls.

"Ayami! Princess Shiori, are you alright?" said one bothersome Host Club President. I didn't turn to see but could hear the footsteps of what was probably the rest of the host club members.

"Aya, are you okay?" Honey asked; he must have been the one who went and got the rest of them.

"We're fine," Shiori said, sitting up straight, "just a bit frazzled."

"Taka-chan, are you alright?" Honey asked, looking up at him. Mori was looking away from me and had his hand over his mouth so that I couldn't see his expression. I don't know why Honey looked concerned about him.

"What happened?" Haruhi asked as she walked towards me. Shiori looked at me, and I helped her to stand up.

"Fangirls," I explained, turning my face towards the group. I keep Haruhi in my main line of sight, but that didn't stop the very face of the one blonde I didn't want to see from coming into view.

"I see," Haruhi said, looking somewhat apologetic.

"Yeah, they'll be the death of me," I jokingly complained. Just then, Tamaki stepped forwards. I reluctantly shifted my gaze to him but didn't speak. I crossed my arms, and I tried to keep my expression as near to emotionless as I could.

His face was determined, serious. He took in a breath, and just as he opened his mouth to say something - a lady spoke over the loudspeaker.

"Ayami Suoh, of class 4C. Ayami Suoh, of class 4C. Please report to the Superintendent's office immediately. Please report to the Superintendent's office immediately. Thank you. *click*..."

We all stood there in silence, though I was furious, my hands shaking with anger. I had nearly reached my limit.

"I'm gonna kill him." I stated darkly, "I'm gonna wring his neck!"

"Aya, calm down," Haruhi said, stepping towards me a semi-worried expression.

"Grr," I said, making my hand into a fist and punching the wall once. "How dare that old man call me out like this," I growled then I leaned my head on the wall and sighed. "Why me?" I mumbled under my breath so no one would hear. My anger fizzled a bit, though I was still pretty pissed, and I stood back up straight. "Excuse me, Shiori," I said, showing a sarcastic smile, "It looks like I won't be able to have lunch with you. I have to go kill my father and dump his body someplace where no one will find it."

"Uh..." she said a bit unsure, "Okay - I'll see you later in class then." I nodded the same sarcastic smile stuck to my features.

"Um, Aya-" I heard Tamaki start, but I just ignored him and turned to leave.

"Excuse me," I said to the group annoyed, as I started walking away.

"Aya!" Haruhi called after me, but I continued walking.

Haruhi's point of view:

"Aya!" I said, but she kept her back to us. I stepped forward, about to chase her down to talk with her when-

"No, it's okay," Tamaki spoke up, and we all turned to him. He seemed hurt, but his expression was generally calm.

"But she-" I started, and he just shook his head.

"I'll give her some space then talk to her later on my own," he said composed and sounding very wise as if he had already thought it out.

"That's probably best," Kyoya said, and the twins nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, all she needs is some time," Honey chimed in, "Ne Taka-chan?" Mori responded with a nod.

"I guess your right, Senpai," I said, looking down the hall at the disappearing figure of Aya.

"Perhaps I'll speak to her this afternoon. Haruhi, do you want to tag along?" Tamaki asked cheerfully.

"That's not space!" Hikaru chided.

"Nor is that on your own," Kaoru added.

"And for once, I thought you were being smart about something," Kyoya sighed as he started walking away.

"Mm-hmm," Honey and Mori said together, nodding and following Kyoya.

"Really, Senpai," I said with a sigh, "You haven't changed a bit."

"What? What?" he asked, confused, looking at us as we all started walking away.

Aya's point of view:

As I walked through the halls to my father's office, I skimmed over every possibility he could have for calling me out like this. 'What could make him call me over the loudspeaker? He's always used an office worker to come and get me quietly. To call me out like this, it must be something important... What if it was an emergency? What if something happened with my family?' That thought made me uncomfortable, and I hurried my pace.

I came up to my father's office door, not even waiting for his secretary to get up from her chair, and I entered the room without knocking.

"Ah, Aya," my father said calmly yet cheerfully. His desk was covered with small squares of fabric, magazines, decoration catalogs, and little colorful papers.

"What did you want?" I asked, stepping closer, looking around somewhat confused.

"I wanted to ask your opinion on something," he said, picking up two small squares of fabric and a piece of paper. "Which do you prefer for your bedroom, the blue looks good with this choice of paint, but the pink looks like it would go better with the carpet I've chosen." I stared at him disbelieving.

"This is it?" I asked, and he looked at me, confused. "You called me up here to talk about paint colors and fabric swatches!" My voice raised an octave. I was starting to lose it.

"Well, yes," he said with a smile, "I want to have everything ready for you to move into the secondary estate this weekend."

"I- You- secondary estate!" I started but couldn't finish and just shook my head, putting my fingers on the bridge of my nose.

"I thought you would be happy to move out of that small place you're currently staying at and move into the secondary estate. After all, Tamaki will be there, and you won't be living by yourself anymore. I thought you'd like that," he said, utterly ignorant of my feelings.

"No!" I shouted, completely uncaring if anyone outside the office heard me. "I'm not happy, and I wouldn't want that! You're not even close! I don't want to have anything to do with Tamaki! If I had my way, I'd never talk to him or see him ever again!" I slammed my hands on my father's desk; I'm sure my face red-hot with furry. He looked shocked at my sudden outburst, I had never shown him my angry side before, so this probably surprised him.

"Well," he said, thinking it over, "It's too late. I already have people working on your new room. The carpet is already installed. The painters will be there today and tomorrow. Then the movers are coming to pack your things and help you move-in this upcoming Sunday."

"Well, tell them not to!" I protested.

"No," he answered back rather calmly for the state I was in.

"What?" I asked, aghast that he had denied my request.

"I'm not asking you if you want to move in there. I'm telling you that you are," he said, standing up. "This, like other things, is non-negotiable."

"But-" I started, but he interrupted me.

"I know you don't want to, but the place where you are currently staying, I do not own. I'm renting it out, especially for you, not that I'm complaining about the cost; money is the smallest factor here; however, it is a factor none the less." He said, walking around his desk towards me. "To put it simply, you're only living there because I'm allowing it." I stepped away from him, furious and dumbfounded. I didn't know what to say because... he was right, and that's what was most annoying.

"I'm only going to pay the rent for the rest of this week, then no longer. Your things will be taken to the secondary estate on Sunday," he stated, then his expression turned dark. "I understand if you'd rather not live there, but keep in mind. I won't be paying for any expenses from your living somewhere else, which I know you can't afford to live on your own. And, if you're thinking of running away, perhaps going to live with an old friend," he said most likely referring to Haruhi, "then know this..." He leaned towards me, his expression threatening. "I'll find you and drag you back myself if I must." I stared at him at a total loss for words. I was mad, and I wanted to retaliate, but his cold expression scared the sh*t out of me.

"So, with that being said," he said, his expression shifting back to his normal smile, "Blue or pink?"

"I don't want pink," I mumbled quickly, still shocked by the sudden change in his character.

"Hmm," he said, walking back around his desk, mumbling to himself, "Then I'll have to adjust the color of the furnishings to better match." Then he looked up at me, holding up a couple of books filled with pictures of furniture. "What do you think? Victorian or Modern syle?"

"I don't care," I said, irritated, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Then I'll go with the Victorian princess theme!" he cheered, sounding pleased but also teasing me; he knew I wouldn't want that.

"Please dear god no! Modern! MODERN!" I begged and he grinned.

"That's more like it," he said happily, then he sighed. "Although, I guess I was looking forward to decorating a slightly more girly room for a change." He continued to search through what things he had on his desk. I sighed and closed my eyes, shaking my head.

'How come he thinks he can force me to live there? It's not like I have to! So why? Why is he making me move in with Tamaki?' Tamaki's face came to mind, and I felt even more annoyed. 'Seriously, TAMAKI! Of all the people in the world that could be, it had to be me that he's related to. ME! The girl who hates scatter-brained people like him! Ugh, I don't know how long I'll last living with him before I try to off myself!'

"Are you really serious about all this?" I asked my father in a partial groan.

"Yes, I am," he replied flatly.

"Fine," I sighed, giving in, my tone sounding somewhat depressed. "I'm going back to class," I stated flatly as I headed for the door.

"Wait," he said, pulling out a slip of paper and handing it to me. "This is so your teacher won't get upset for you showing up late." I sighed and took it.

"Whatever," I complained, shoving it in my pocket, and I continued walking away.

"Then I'll figure out the rest of this on my own," he chimed happily, going back to his catalogs. I reached the door and put my hand on the handle. Then I thought of something, and I stopped and turned towards him.

"Father," I said, and he looked up at me curiously. "What will become of the cook, the maid, and my driver when I move into the secondary estate?"

He stood up straight again to answer, "They were only hired for this short time."

"So will they go to work somewhere else?" I questioned.

"Probably." he replied, then he gave me a kind smile, "Don't worry, there are plenty of jobs for them out there, and I will give them a good reference so that finding a job won't be hard for them."

"Couldn't you hire them to work at the estate?" I asked.

"There are already several butlers and maids at the secondary estate to look after it, and an excellent cook is working there as well." I didn't like the idea of more people waiting on me hand and foot, but I knew that I wasn't going to win any argument with this guy.

"Can I keep the same driver?" I asked, hopefully. 'Please say yes, I don't want to spend more time than I have to with Tamaki.'

"I guess that would be alright. I'll see if he would like to agree to a longer-term contract," He answered, rubbing his chin.

"Thank you. Also," I paused for a bit, and he looked at me curiously. "There are a few things of mine that I don't want the movers touching so, if you could, don't let them go through my stuff until I say so, okay?" He looked a bit confused but nodded his head.

"Alright then," he agreed.

"Thank you," I said, opening the door, "Good day." I left his office and shut the door behind me. His secretary gave me a strange look, and I realized I was still scowling a bit. I sighed and hurried off down the halls.

As I walked, I got more and more irritated; eventually, I started complaining out loud. "He's so damn annoying! Why do I have to do this anyway?! Why can't he just leave me alone?! UGH!" I passed a few students who gave me strange looks, and I decided to duck into the girls' restroom where, once I was sure it was empty, I let out my frustration.

"I want to strangle that BAS*ARD!" I shouted for was genuinely pissed off now. "This is so frustrating," I moaned, rubbing my forehead like I had a headache; this I only did when I was agitated. I sighed and took a few deep breaths, then I left the restroom, mumbling curses at Tamaki and my father the rest of the way to class.

Mori's point of view from earlier:

We had stopped in a hallway not far from the clubroom. Maeda fell to the floor, out of breath. Ayami was breathing heavy, and her face was red from running, but she seemed otherwise fine. Her flushed face reminded me of how cute she looked when she blushed.

We stayed there, catching our breath until Ayami finally turned towards me. She looked down, then back up and opened her mouth to say something.

"Umm... Mori-senpai," she said, sounding a bit shy. I blinked, then she made a motion with her eyes downwards. I looked down and suddenly realized I was still holding on to her hand. I froze and felt my face grow warm.

"Uh," I said, my hand didn't want to let go and was still gripping hers tightly. "Sorry," I apologized as I reluctantly released her fingers from my grasp. She grinned slightly, then turned and walked towards the fallen Shiori and asked her if she was alright. I then looked down at my fingers.

'Her hand is small in comparison to mine.' I thought, making a fist then releasing it. My palm tingled with the lingering heat from her hand. It felt nice, warm, and comfortable. Now that I wasn't holding her hand, my hand felt kind of... empty. 'I want to hold her hand again. Hold on to it and not let go-'

"Takashi!" Ayami said suddenly, interrupting my thoughts, and I realized I had been zoning out. I looked back to her, her expression expectant. "Thanks," she said gratefully, "if you hadn't jumped in, I don't know what would have happened." I blinked once and nodded in response.

Then she smiled a short, sweet, genuine grin that looked like she wanted to laugh at something. It caught me by surprise, and I was about to ask her why she had done it when she quickly turned around again.

I stared at her for a short bit, confused until I suddenly realized something. She had addressed me by my first name, no surnames or titles.

Embarrassed, I looked down at the floor and put my hand over my mouth to hide my blush.

I'm thinking of changing Aya's younger sister's (not the triplets the other one) name from Kotomi to Tomoko. It's not that I don't like Kotomi; it's just that, when I'm writing, I keep putting in Tomoko instead of Kotomi, and I think that maybe I should just officially change it. Your opinions? (I know I didn't mention her at all in this chapter, but this has been on my mind for a while now)

~Please review!~

~Thank you for reading~

~MiraCarpathia