It was the ultimate party that was one for the books. One of Chizuru's classmates from St. Lobelia threw a bachelorette party. It was one of those highly exclusive, luxurious, albeit raunchy gatherings. There were plenty of things considered too crazy for most Japanese nationals that occurred in a single night. Besides, what was a bachelorette party without some drinks and a little bit of playing? High society women usually kept themselves away from prying eyes and rented an entire bar in a different continent to ensure their privacy.
Chizuru clapped her hands when she saw parking lot of the university. She was elated because she couldn't see Kyoya's car. "Yes! I'm so lucky. Kyoya's not yet home so he can't scold me."
Kyoya took a deep breath as he parked the car and repeated to himself that a drunk Chizuru wasn't reasonable to begin with. It was three in the morning and he was busy watching over her.
The brooding Ootori crossed his arms and stared at the mess in front of him. He usually had Tachibana, Ajima, and Hotta here to help, but there were urgent issues that needed fixing back home which brought him to his present dilemma. Chizuru's drunken smile was radiant and bordering annoying now. Since when did he become the designated chaperone for Chizuru? Exactly thirteen days ago, their classmates called him to pick up a passed out Chizuru sleeping on one of the park benches and now this? This isn't even counting the other charades that happened since the start of the semester.
"Get out of the car." Kyoya put on his coat and guided Chizuru as they walked back to the school grounds.
The Ootori thought he was going to die of insanity. Just the other day, he got a call from Tamaki saying that he saw Mori and a new companion he met through an omiai. They had their date at one of the restaurants at Rio Grand Hotel. It was enough for Tamaki to conjure all sorts of theories about the two. He came to the point where he was talking about baby showers and baby names.
He let out a sigh.
Kyoya didn't usually carry people, but he had no choice now. He supported half of Chizuru's weight as they walked back. He grumbled to himself since he was still the one taking care of everyone up until now. He had hoped that he graduated from this role after being separated with the Hitachiin twins. Fortunately, Chizuru was much milder compared to the them.
"Are you holding my hand?" Chizuru gasped. Unable to walk in a straight path. "Are you my boyfriend?"
"You wish." Kyoya didn't hide his annoyance and spite as he dragged Chizuru across the courtyard.
"You look so strong." Chizuru's hands started running her hands on his arm and shoulder.
"Stop it." Kyoya swatted her hand away and scoffed. "You should never get drunk with strangers." He scolded and shook his head in disbelief. If it weren't for him, multiple individuals would have already taken advantage of her by now.
"Ojisan…you know…"
Kyoya raised a brow. He could feel his exasperation growing by the second. Who did she think she was talking to? After everything she put him through, she had the nerve to insult him even more. "O-ojisan?" he repeated as if seeking some sort of clarification and explanation. He would understand if she called him Okaasan. Oniisan he could tolerate, but ojiisan? It was extremely offensive.
"You know…I saw the last guy I dated in the party with another girl." Chizuru looked like she was about to fall asleep as she told her story. "You know what he told me?"
He didn't answer since it seemed like a rhetorical question. He wasn't entirely interested in hearing more about Chizuru's failed love stories. Chizuru let out a drunken burp which reeked of alcohol.
Kyoya scrunched his nose. He waved his free hand to try to let the scent waft through the breeze and dissipate before he could continue dragging his drunken companion
"Ooojiisan, are you listening?" Chizuru sung and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Yes, I'm listening." He replied automatically only half listening to her rambling. He just wanted this ordeal to be done and over with. "Start walking, Chizuru."
Chizuru nodded and followed his lead. "He told me that I was…that I was...bisexual because I was desperate for attention." Her speech was already slurring. Another burp followed by a hiccup was let out. Her balance was already faltering as she started leaning forward. "Then…I told him that I was bisexual because… I liked both girls and boys. If I were desperate, I would have dated him."
Kyoya let out a short laugh. "Did you now?" he said as he opened the door to her room. He dropped Chizuru unceremoniously on the couch. He needed to sleep or else he would lose it already.
He was about to leave until he left Chizuru grab his wrist. "I think I need to see…" Chizuru closed her eyes. "an eye doctor."
"Why?"
"Because when I close my eyes, all I see is you." She gave a drunken giggle.
Kyoya took a deep breath. He really needed to sleep or else he would lose his sanity permanently. It's all the gods and his ancestors were really testing his patience.
"I seriously don't get why she would go out with him." Rajiv buried his face in his hands. He got painfully rejected by Charlotte from the Film department even before he could actually ask her out. She mentioned something about needed time for herself to grow. He accepted his fate graciously until he saw her going out with Matthew yesterday.
Richard grimaced the entire time. He wasn't sure what was more stressful, the final exams which were right around the corner or the fact that he felt for his friend. "If it's any consolation, he looks like a product of incest."
"Sweet home Alabama." Andrew sang briefly.
There were only certain things uttered within the confines of your study group/support group. Kyoya found himself three comrades to pass the time here at Boston. Andrew Merkle's family was in finance. Everyone in Shanghai knew Richard Lee. No further introductions needed for him. Rajiv Kumar's family was in the business outsourcing process industry.
Kyoya titled his head to the side. He wanted to say something since he had the perfect term in Japanese to describe Charlotte and her new relationship.
'No, that's not it.'
He wasn't sure how to explain the term in English. There was a specific term for her in Japanese. It was slang but calling Charlotte 'that' was not becoming of a gentleman. It was true, but not appropriate. He had an internal smile growing because he never realized how judgmental his mother tongue was.
"Hey Raj." Kyoya took one of the case files and encircled the details they needed for their case. "Doesn't this figure answer question three?"
Raj looked at his watch and went back into work mode. He only had five minutes to mope around. He slid across the room with one of the computer chairs and reached for the paper Kyoya was handing. "Yeah, yeah. This is number three." He took the case again flipped through the rest of the pages. "I'll try to run the projections on this. You'll do question number 4?"
Kyoya gave a curt nod. Having a group of four work on several cases due for the same class was heaven sent. Working alone on these cases wouldn't be efficient. It was a miracle Richard was able to block one of the conference rooms for their study group. He practically reserved it a month before finals just so he could get the room. He knew it was no coincidence that Richard got the room next to Nadine's. They continued to work in silence.
They heard a short knock on their door. The frosted glass door gave away their guest. Chizuru pushed her thick rimmed glasses and entered with a polite smile. Kyoya was initially surprised that her eyesight was worse than his, but when she did these all-nighters, he became more accustomed to her wearing glasses. She walked slowly and sat beside Kyoya without saying a word. She placed a box of Chinese takeout and a cup of coffee beside him.
He continued whatever it was he was doing and gave her a side eye. He knew a bribe when he saw one. "What?"
Chizuru continued her polite expression and placed her hands together in some sort of prayer position. "Kyoya-sama, will you give me the honor of lending me your laptop charger?"
Kyoya sighed and reached into his bag and handed the said item. Chizuru had to run from economics class to her comparative literature class across school. Luckily, he saw her charger before he left the lecture hall. "You left it again in class."
Chizuru took her charger with both hands and gave a low bow. "Thank you so much, Kyoya-sama." She smiled to the rest of Kyoya's friends and placed another two boxes of dimsum on the table. "This should be enough for everyone."
Rajiv started sobbing. "Dimsum was Charlotte's favorite dish."
Chizuru didn't realize she stepped on a landmine. She looked at Kyoya who shrugged his shoulders then she glanced at Andrew. He was already on his second dimsum as he ignored Rajiv's sobs. Richard was busy texting on his phone.
Andrew had a pitiful expression on his face. "You know Charlotte Jenkins from the Film department? She's dating Matthew." Hoping this would provide some clarity to their friend's situation.
"Matthew? The one from the Arts department?"
"No, not that Matthew." Andrew snapped his fingers a few times to recall the man's name. "Matthew Walters. The one from Philosophy."
"Ehhhhh? Why?" Chizuru blurted out. Suddenly surprised with her comment. She covered her mouth with her hand and regained composure. "No judgement, but…" She tried to suppress a giggle. " You know there's this Japanese slang word to describe their situation."
"Really?"
"Yeah, when you have a good looking person go out with…someone…unfortunate looking." She let out a nervous laugh.
Raj, Richard, and Andrew suddenly gave their full attention to Chizuru. They all looked at Kyoya who had an unreadable expression as he continued answering their homework.
Chizuru tucked back a loose strand of hair. She had a calming aura of contemplation as she carefully chose her words. There were certain nuisances in translating Japanese to other languages since the meaning is somewhat altered or comes across as too strong of a statement. "We have this term 'B-sen'. It's slang actually. 'B' stands for Busakiku which means ugly. 'Sen' is short for senmon which means specialist." She explained. "So I guess it roughly translates to 'Ugly person specialist'." She had a tense laugh. "I apologize. Our language is precise yet so harsh. This is so bad."
The three guys looked at Kyoya who had a lightly amused expression. He glanced over them. He knew they were wondering if Chizuru was joking because it was such a precise word. "I was thinking of the same thing. I just wasn't sure how to word it. We're fortunate to have a literature major explain these kinds of things."
"B-sen." Richard repeated before bursting into laughter. "My god. I'm gonna use that term in my daily life now."
Chizuru looked at the atmosphere of the room and it seems like it was less stuffy now. She waved goodbye and left them and went back to their group's conference continued studying for their finals. She walked back across the hall and was just relieved that Kyoya found her laptop charger. She was scared that she was going to have to buy another one. That would be the third charger she lost for this month. She went back to her seat with a triumphant look.
"Oh, you found your charger." Nadine was amazed. "Where'd you find it?"
"Kyoya said I left it in the lecture hall." Chizuru said as she plugged her laptop. She was ready to get into her peak study focus mode as she placed a neck pillow on her shoulders and wrapped herself with a blanket.
"You're so weird." Nadine crinkled her nose as she looked at Chizuru. Her friend looked like a burrito with glasses. "I don't know if you're here to study or sleep."
"Most people are in their pajamas anyways. What's wrong with bringing a blanket and pillow?" Chizuru defended.
"Touché."
Their study group continued on until 2:00 in the morning and they all started packing up. Each one expressed their exhaustion and need for sleep. Chizuru still had some energy left and was determined to finish answering the last set of questions. She went through one question after the other and was just glad she was done.
'It's 4:00 am.' She looked at her phone. She stretched and felt her bones crack 'I still have around 3-4 hours of sleep before class starts."
The rest of the study rooms were already empty, but there was still one room with the lights on. She peaked through and saw Kyoya who fast asleep while sitting down with his arms crossed. His head bobbing up and down. There was no one else there so the rest of the guys must have gone back to their rooms. Most of the people close to Kyoya knew better than to wake him up.
"He's going to get a stiff neck at this rate." She said to herself.
She tiptoed and entered the room as quietly as possible. The last thing she wanted was to wake him up. It was an experience she didn't want to happen ever again. She gently took off his glasses slowly and placed it on the desk. She placed the neck pillow on Kyoya's shoulders and draped her blanket over him. She was about to leave until she remembered she had her secret weapon along and placed it gently on top of Kyoya's laptop.
By the time Kyoya heard his alarm, he didn't realize he snoozed it several times. He didn't notice that he fell asleep for almost three hours. He usually woke up after an hour if his position was too uncomfortable. He tried to stretch his back and neck since it felt too stiff.
'Did I put my glasses on the table?' he thought to himself as he placed it back on. He didn't remember taking it off since he was only planning on taking a short nap. It was only then he realized he had a blanket and a neck pillow on.
'Who could have-' He didn't even complete the question in his mind. When he saw a box of muscle patches on his laptop, he knew who the culprit was. This wasn't a brand he could easily here.
Although the weather forecast for today declared that it was officially the winter season, Tamaki felt like spring was here. The light breeze, gentle rays of the sun, and the chirping of the birds greeted him. He hummed to himself as walked through the school grounds. Today was a special day.
He was excited because Otousan and Okaasan were going to be reunited after nine long months of not seeing each other. They could finally have a picnic as a complete family. He can only imagine how happy his daughter is. This was the longest time Kyoya planned on staying home and Tamaki had each day planned out.
Haruhi could practically see Sakura petals draping her fiancé as he pranced through the school.
"It's too cold out here. " Kaoru placed his hands in his pocket and let out a short breath. He looked at Haruhi who looked like she was questioning her decisions and looked towards the same direction she was starting at.
"Why is milord walking like it's spring time?"
"I have no idea." Haruhi pulled her scarf closer to her face. "He's been doing a countdown until Kyoya's arrival."
"Is that today?" Kaoru looked at his phone to check the date and answer his own question. It's been ages since they last saw Kyoya. He just sent a short message saying his was going to be home for the entire winter break. The year before that, he just stayed for four to seven days. Even when he visited last summer, he just cleared two days from his schedule to see the rest of them.
"I guess he really misses Kyoya-senpai." Haruhi mused. "He's been complaining that Kyoya-senpai's been busy the past few months."
"Well, whatever keeps Kyoya-senpai busy is his business." Kaoru shivered. "Let's go inside." He didn't want to wait for Tamaki to stop smelling the imaginary flowers on the trees with this temperature.
The Host Club had their dinner reservation at a popular izakaya near Minato ward. It wasn't those overrated places seen on the internet that people flocked to, but this was a place that specialized in hand pulled noodles that served a variety of drinks.
Chizuru looked at her watch and hope she didn't arrive too late. The jetlag made her wake up much later than she expected. It didn't help that there was a bit of traffic on the way because of the snow.
"Reservation under Benio Amakusa."
The waiter bowed and ushered her to one of the private rooms. They went through the main dining area and across a small courtyard. She was lead to another room on the second floor. She couldn't make out the conversation, but based on the laughter and excitement in their voices, it seems like they've already started eating. She peered through the door and saw Hinako and Benio sitting beside each other. It didn't take long for Hinako to notice one of the guests of honor.
"Chizuru!" Hinako stood up and ran to her friend.
"Hinako-chan!" Chizuru hugged her friend tightly and they swayed like two little girls who haven't seen each other for years.
"My beautiful lily, where's my greeting?" Benio pouted with her arms outstretched for a long overdue hug.
The two girls widened their circle and let their friend join the group hug. It was a good five minute squeeze before they let each other go. Benio already had tears in her eyes.
"We missed you so much. We didn't even get to see you last winter break." Hinako held her hand and squeezed it as they swayed like giddy children. "You're just in time. We're still waiting for the main dishes."
Hinako pulled her inside. "Everybody, I'd like to reintroduce our third half, Chizuru."
Benio and Hinako introduced her to their newfound friends. Chizuru heard all sorts of stories from Hinako and Benio that they and the Host Club all found each other in a good light. There was this sense of camaraderie and warmth that wasn't obviously there the first time their groups met. The animosity and discomfort between them washed away. It was like it didn't even exist. It didn't make the group any less intimidating or imposing though.
"Good evening." Chizuru greeted. "Thank you for taking care of my two friends." she said formally with a bow that she's perfected throughout the years.
"No need to be so formal, Chizuru." Hinako beamed at her warmly. She gestured for her to come closer. "They're a fun bunch."
She took a good look at the attendees of the "reunion dinner". All of them were attending Ouran University. It was one of the top and well established universities in the country. It was the very first university in the country to accept women, and the first to admit foreign students. The university branch was established far more earlier than the primary and secondary levels of the said institution. It remained as one of the top universities since it's establishment 1734. It boasts a diverse as well academically excellent university, rivaling that University of Tokyo and Tohoku University.
Ouran's high school, elementary, and preschool education may have been a playground for the rich and was slightly lenient with their activities, but their university was the peak of academic excellence. It was less luxurious than the high school and elementary branches since the intention was to slowly integrate the children from prominent families to the realities of the workforce.
"Your ethereal presence is appreciated in these humble quarters." Tamaki approached her with his usual dreamlike expression as he gently reached out for Chizuru's hand and gave it a light kiss like a true Frenchman. "Shall we have a short introduction of sorts? It would be nice to get to know you even more. We've only heard stories about your adventures"
Tamaki reintroduced the rest of the Hosts. Even if their friends have forged friendships for being in the same university for two years, Chizuru was technically a stranger to them. As expected, Tamaki was taking business. Kaoru was taking Arts and Fashion design like Hinako. Hikaru went into computer science and programming. Honey was taking Social sciences. Haruhi and Mori were both taking political science as their pre-law.
"Chizu-chan, I heard you were taking literature?" Honey inquired. "That sounds so interesting, right Takashi? She must read a lot of books."
A light 'Hnnn' of agreement was heard in reply.
"Literature?" Haruhi confirmed. She thought Chizuru was taking business as well since she was sure that Hinako mentioned briefly that she had classes with Kyoya.
Chizuru nodded a few times. "Yes, that's my main concentration."
"I thought you were taking business like Kyoya-senpai." Haruhi's keen memory and attention to detail was a testament of her becoming a great lawyer.
"Ah! We're both taking economics as a secondary field." She explained.
At each instance she's had to introduce herself as a student of one of the most prestigious schools in the world, she's grown accustomed to a wide range of reactions. She's heard all sorts of comments from strangers, friends, and family.
'Wow! You must be so talented.'
'It must be nice to have a smart daughter like you!'
'I didn't expect someone like you to make it there.'
'Don't do anything to disgrace our family.'
The silence the room had was enough just to hear meat sizzling on the grill. She slanted a questionable glance at her two friends who just shrugged. They were also at a loss with the reaction.
She laughed nervously. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No…you just didn't strike us as a crazy masochistic bastard type." Hikaru replied bluntly.
Kaoru nodded several times. "We knew that getting into a Harvard was one thing, but applying for a double degree? Now that is another level of dedication."
The twins looked at each other and shrugged. "I guess the Shadow king doesn't have time to play around since he's too busy."
"S-shadow king?" A teasing smile made its way on Chizuru's face. "That's what you guys call him?" This would be a story to tell the rest of the guys back in Boston.
Chizuru was suddenly sitting at the center of the group. There were a few conversations here and there about school and their hobbies. She found herself having little contribution to the discussion since she wasn't there to experience or reminisce the events and experiences her friends recalled together. Hinako would occasionally try to explain or give a background with what happened two weeks ago or the story behind their inside jokes. It was a lot to take in with all the multiple conversations happening simultaneously.
"My daughter, don't you think it's best if we have a champagne and lilac color scheme for our wedding?"
"Any color is fine with me."
She turned her head to the side and focused her attention on another conversation. She was glad that things were turning out this way for her friends. She could hear bits and pieces of their lives. It was nice to see everyone doing well. She continued to eat as she heard a bit of everyone's conversation.
"We should take Ageha to the petting zoo, right Hikaru? Mori-senpai, can you guys come with us?"
"That's a good idea Takashi! I'll bring Reiko-chan along since she likes those places too."
"Benio, will we have a date at the museum again tomorrow?"
"Of course. Did you want to have dinner as well?"
"We already went there last week! I don't wanna do that again Milord."
"What did you guys plan for Christmas? We got tickets to see the Christmas tree lighting festival."
"Oh shit! I forgot to register for my classes."
"Kaoru, we need to go to the warehouse to look for more satin for our project due next week."
Chizuru continued to listen to everyone's stories as she ate in silence. She drank some beer which felt so refreshing. She preferred the local Asahi over Budweiser or Stella Artois. She looked at her watch and realized that Kyoya probably wasn't coming. He was probably suffering from jetlag and is fast asleep. It was technically 7:00am from where they came from. Even if he wasn't jetlagged, she couldn't blame him for avoiding the group. Haruhi and Tamaki's relationship was practically blossoming. She could even see the glimmer of the engagement ring on Haruhi's left hand.
"Benio, you didn't forget to reserve the tickets for Phantom of the Opera, right?"
"Neh Takashi, I think it's time we order something sweet."
"I told you for the fifth time Tamaki. We don't need a circus to open our engagement party!"
"Kaoru, let's play that new video game I ordered when we get home, okay?"
She saw how the ex-hosts worked as a family, but it was evident they each had their closest pair. The Hitachiin twins were practically a single unit. Mori and Honey formed another duo. Tamaki and Haruhi were the final couple. In her case, Hinako and Benio were also a pair. She wasn't sure if Kyoya felt the same way. It was nice that all their friends had their closest companion, but it did feel lonely at times. She could never admit this childish thought to anyone.
"Chizuru, you and the Shadow king are classmates, right?" Kaoru decided to open up a conversation with her even if he was a few seats away. He was genuinely concerned about his bespectacled senpai. "How is he? Does he have any friends?"
"Yeah, he does." She reassured. "He's pretty close with his study group."
"Pfft! Study group! That's Kyoya-senpai alright." Hikaru found himself laughing with disbelief at the thought of a study group. He offered her another glass of beer. "Let me guess, they're either smart, well connected, or both?"
Chizuru let out a short laugh. She couldn't deny the allegations made.
"Does he go out on dates?" Kaoru moved much closer and forced Tamaki off his chair. "Is he seeing anyone?"
"Hmmm…" Chizuru thought long and hard. "He isn't seeing anyone seriously from what I know. I can name a few girls from our dorm who've asked him out."
"Eh?! Kyoya's staying in the university dorms?!" Kaoru stood up from his seat from shock. "I thought he had an apartment nearby?"
"That's where Tachibana, Hotta, and Ajima stay when they're in the area. They take care of Noel while Kyoya's at school, but sometimes he stays there during the weekends."
"Who's Noel?" Hikaru squished himself in between Kaoru and Tamaki to hear more of the story.
Upon sensing their misunderstanding, Chizuru waved her hands to dispel whatever stories were going on in their heads. "Noel is his pet cat." She realized that her friend hasn't been talking much about school or his affairs.
"Is he part of any clubs or is he in some secret fraternity?"
"No. I don't think he's in any fraternity or final club. I'm pretty sure he's part of that business consulting student organization. I've seen him attend a few meetings and conferences with them. They travel from time to time to those attend business symposiums."
"How about you?" Kaoru poured another glass of sparkling plum wine for Chizuru.
"Me? I work-" Chizuru bit her tongue. She was accidentally going to say she worked part-time at an Asian grocery just for fun. "I joined the Student Arts Project. Most of the people there are also from the same department as me. Basically we just make art, write poems, stories, or songs and feature it to each other for constructive criticism."
Chizuru rambled on with what they did in the club. She didn't realize she fell into the twin's trap of drinking. They have perfected the art of subtly getting someone drunk without anyone in the room realizing their actions.
"What do you guys do on weekends?"
"Kyoya and I usually go to the jazz bar near Bridgetown Street." The alcohol was slowly getting into Chizuru's system. Breaking down the polite demeanor she placed. She was starting to get tipsy already. During this state, she would talk for hours about anything. "Then if he's awake before noon, we have brunch at the Sunday market. He's really fond of the seafood paella there."
It's not like she and Kyoya actively made sure they went out, it's just something that happened due to proximity. Most people would go home or visit family and friends during the weekends or holidays. With both of their families and friends across the world, they usually spent their weekends together. Chizuru went on how they would go shopping and they even tried going to the famous American grocery chain. Walmart portioning and sizes was practically overstimulating for them. She even told them how she was able to convince him to try wall climbing.
"...Then snow storm made it too difficult to order food or go out so he had to cook whatever food he had stored. " Chizuru started laughing and wiping the tears that escaped from her eyes. "He had this brand of extremely spicy Korean instant noodles. It was so spicy he had to bring me to the hospital."
Hikaru poured her another glass of plum wine. The entire table was engrossed with Chizuru's stories. "What else did you guys do?"
"Kyoya would occasionally go to a shooting range. Did you know he could assemble and disassemble a rifle in three minutes? That's where he taught me how to shoot a gun. Anyways, enough about that. If you'd ask me, I think his favorite is just going through the parks with his film camera. We already scheduled our trip to Arizona for spring break."
The Host Club was stunned with this revelation. They've never learned about these hobbies of Kyoya. Managing the Host Club, plotting, scheming, and playing mind games were the only pastime they knew of. It felt like she was talking about a different person.
"I didn't think it was possible to make Kyoya-senpai more fearsome." Haruhi commented. However, it did make sense for a family with a private police force to know how to use these things to an extent.
"He has quite a lot of hobbies which surprised me at first. If he wasn't studying or doing anything related to class. I'd often see him reading a book or some business journal, he'd do all sorts of things." Chizuru pointed out.
What the hosts didn't know was that Chizuru had a special talent for hitting critical points with words in a subtle manner that was stung. "I guess he never really had the time to do these things for himself. Handling all the logistics and operations of the Host Club must have occupied his time." She had a thoughtful expression on her face. "I didn't understand at first why Tamaki-san would call Kyoya 'okaasan' and to be honest, he's not an easy person to read but I think …"
She sipped her plum wine once more. "…he was too busy making sure all of you were well taken care of before he worked on his own hobbies."
Chizuru didn't realize that she shot an arrow and aimed straight for their hearts. She was too tipsy to realize the sudden guilt the rest of the Hosts had. Her sentiments made them realize their shortcomings. They never realized it until she pointed it out.
Honey tried to make the situation lighter but he still felt a twinge in his conscience. "That's Kyo-chan for you."
"One day he's on full okaasan mode, then the next moment he's a high handed demon evil lord." Hikaru added.
"So that's how you talk about someone when they aren't present." Kyoya commented coolly. His voice brought a certain shiver to their spines.
He ignored the shocked expressions on his friends as they tried to regain their souls from his sudden appearance. There was only one remaining seat left so he had no choice but to sit beside his 'university friend' that was grinning ear to ear. He knew that alcohol induced smile far too well. It didn't take long for Tamaki to smother him with attention suddenly forgetting his temporary sadness. One by one the ex-hosts all expressed their excitement that he was there.
Kaoru had a cheshire cat-like grin on his face. "We were only asking about your experiences in school, senpai." He was about to pour another round of sparkling wine on Chizuru's glass until Kyoya covered the glass with his hand.
"That's enough. She's bound to get drunk if she has a few more drinks." He saw through the younger Hitachiin's ploy. He wanted to shake his head in disappointment since Chizuru fell right into their trap. The last thing he needed was a drunk Chizuru on his first night back home. "What have you told them?"
"Nothing much. Just your usual hobbies." Chizuru had a smug look on her face. She leaned closer and whispered. Making sure that Kyoya was the only one who heard her. "Don't worry. I didn't tell them your secret." She raised her right hand and drew a cross on her chest signify her loyalty.
"It's true senpai." Haruhi defended. "We all just wanted to know how you were doing."
Kyoya cursed himself internally. Right now he was staring at his weakness. He knew he had no reason to doubt Haruhi. Chizuru didn't show any signs that warned him of any impending chaos. He then concluded it was fine for her to have one more drink before she turned into a complete mess.
Hikaru was mixing sake and beer and was passing it around. At least they could still extract more information from the tipsy Zuka Club member. The Hitachiin twin was about to hand Chizuru her glass, but she suddenly hugged Kyoya. Everyone froze with what they saw. They weren't sure if what they felt was fear, awe, or a looming cloud of distress. Chizuru started crying and sobbing as she hugged Kyoya even tighter.
"Kyoooyaaaaa. Meredith hasn't message me yet." She whined.
The expression on Kyoya's face was enough to tell their friends that this was something he became well accustomed to much to his dismay. He wasn't particularly comfortable with the excessive physical contact, but it's like as if he's resigned himself from any type of protest.
"You've had too much to drink." Like a perfectly practiced routine, he untangled himself from Chizuru's hug.
"What did you guys give her?" Kyoya inquired as he looked at the two culprits. He needed to assess the situation so he knew how to move on from there.
"She had a glass of beer." Hikaru replied. "…Maybe around two or three."
"She also had two or three glasses of plum wine." Kaoru had a tense smile on his face. "And it may have had a shot or two of whiskey." He added gently.
The situation wasn't as bad as it looked. She was at phase 3 out of 7 on her drunkenness scale. Kyoya was certain that she was still two glasses of whiskey, three bottles of beer, or 150 mL of vodka away from her peak drunken meltdowns. She could still have a few drinks, but if she reached phase 5, handling her would more manpower. It was best to keep her at phase 3 for now.
He poured two glasses of water and handed it to her. "Drink this."
Chizuru nodded and finished it up until the last drop. Showcasing her empty glasses with a proud smile.
"Stand up and go to the restroom." His voice was firm.
"Yes, sir!" Chizuru said with a salute.
"You know what to do already?"
"Don't leave until I pee."
Kyoya nodded in agreement and gestured for her to go and do her business. He took the glass Hikaru was still holding out and took a sip. He visually examined the drink and gave a short nod of approval. It was to his liking.
"What's wrong?" Kyoya placed the glass down gently. "I thought you wanted to know more about my university experiences? I was expecting some inquiries by now."
Hikaru laughed nervously. "I-I think Chizuru filled us in, don't you think so Milord?"
Even Tamaki knew when not to push Kyoya's buttons. "Y-yes, yes. We just wanted to be certain Okaasan is having a good time."
Kyoya shrugged his shoulders and took another sip.
"Kyoya, won't you help me plan my engagement party?" Tamaki asked just to change the mood. "Our daughter isn't helping out. I asked her if she wanted to have elephants ushering us in for the grand entrance."
Kyoya glanced at Haruhi. "You're certain that you're going to spend the rest of your life with this idiot?"
Haruhi found herself smiling. Despite Tamaki's antics, no matter how much it seemed over the top, she was content. "Sad to say I'll be stuck with him for the rest of my life."
A glint reflected from Kyoya's glasses as he pushed it up his hand. He looked at his watch and took another sip from his drink.
Hinako and Benibara have heard stories about the Shadow King. They thought that his precision and accuracy to detail was albeit exaggerated by Tamaki. The two girls whispered to each other. They were worried that Chizuru collapsed or fell over somewhere since it's been almost 10 minutes.
"I should go check on Chizuru." Hinako stood up.
Kyoya waved his hand in dismissal. "There's no need." He looked at his watch again. "She should be back any minute now."
Chizuru opened the door with perfect timing. She made her way back to her seat. Her giddy and tipsy state was gone. The energetic and playful energy now transformed to a calmer and polite tone. "Did I miss anything?"
Hi guys!
Thank you for staying here. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It's nice to see a relationship that's a bit more equal. It's nice that Kyoya now has a friend that looks after him too. It was also nice to incorporate the hosts in their story. If you'd like to leave a comment or review, I'd like that. I want to hear your thoughts as well. I'm trying a different approach with the hosts this time as well.
To be honest, I don't think there are other stories that have used the zuka club in this manner so I'm having fun writing this entire dynamic.
ALSO AGAIN IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. AS OF THE 20TH OF APRIL 2024, I MADE REVISIONS WITH THE FIRST CHAPTER. It doesn't change the plot at much, but I realized how little background I gave with setting and I wasn't satisfied with it.