I only own my OCs.

Spoken English is underlined.

[Some days later]

Host Club was slow today, maybe it was because exam season was upon us and most of the student body realized that their parents actually did care about how well they did in school.

Stephen and I no longer owed any sessions to the club, but I enjoyed keeping Haruhi company and Stephen enjoyed the attention. I only ever came as an official advisor these days and Stephen, well, he was a host for now. Occasionally Kyoya would convince me to host a session or two. Especially when Tamaki had an expensive idea and they could use the extra cash flow. Once the engagement is announced there won't be many visitors for either of us so I've agreed to the extra sessions without much protest, to Kyoya's surprise.

Who knows when Raku will put an end to that? Thinking of Raku made me remember Nozumu. During our discussion two days ago the thought of losing a chance to explore our tepid connection didn't even occur to me. If I continued to be engaged to Tamaki, I wouldn't risk anything for him and that made me realize I truly didn't care about him.

His attention was nice and having him be able to tell us apart certain helped encourage my feelings towards him. But I don't think I was ever going to care enough about him. It was just a crush which means I still have nothing to lose.

Anyways, Stephen was angry with me. Both me and Suzette. After Suyuri's arrival, we had met the next day without Kyle and Julia to discuss when we should bring Susanna and Sakura in on what was happening.

Once they had finished explaining everything about their trip and the phone call Kyle had with the South Korean branch, their sister sat there with her eyes nearly bulging out of her head and her arms limply at her sides. After a brief pause, she broke out of her shock and leaned towards the both of them. "We absolutely cannot tell Anna."

"Are you joking?!" Stephen bellowed, "After what happened last time, we're going to keep another secret from her? Do you two remember what happened the last time?"

"Stephen, Anna is capable of many things but keeping a secret? She can't know." Suzette told him, shaking her head firmly. "You asked for my opinion and I told you."

"You're just upset that she agreed with me." I told him with a sigh. "And you need to realize that we're right. She isn't in the right state of mind to be a major part of this. Kyle's daughters keep her plenty entertained and Zee is right, she's abysmal at keeping secrets. She may keep her mouth shut around Suyuri but definitely not Min Hee."

Suzette nodded her agreement. For once, her stubborn nature was playing in my favor. She wouldn't let Stephen sway her, and I was going to have a strong ally.

"Okay then what about Sakura?" He demanded, pacing across the room. "We have to tell her."

Suzette paused and then looked to me, with pursed lips. She was hesitating, that didn't bode well for my cause.

"I think...we shouldn't." Suzette finally said quietly. "She's so happy with Mori and she wouldn't agree with all of that. She wouldn't want to hide it."

"Well why don't we ask her?" Stephen suggested again, "and let her decide?"

"Stephen, earlier last week you didn't even want to include Suzette on this. Why change your mind now?" I demanded.

Suzette let out an outraged harumph, but said nothing.

"Because Sara, I'm not entirely sure even you have thought this through!" He exploded with worry ringing in his tone. "Just imagine what Father will do if he finds out what you're up to. How unprepared Susanna and Sakura will be!"

"Then we do everything in our power to make sure that he doesn't find out. I'm not planning on telling him. Are you?"

"No." He replied sullenly, sinking into his chair.

Suzette sighed and patted his shoulder. "Stephen, I appreciate that you are worried but...Anna and Sakura are happy. Blissfully unaware, and we will protect them."

"Just like we protected Sara?" He challenged.

I slammed my hands into the table, sudden rage filling my head as Suzette shrunk away from him. "That's enough! Stephen, that was wildly unfair. I have apologized for that and honestly I don't need you bringing it up."

Stephen stood quickly and shouted, "well this is unfair to them too! And until you show some remorse for the chaos you're about to bring I can't look at you."

He stormed from the room and slammed the door, making Suzette wince.

He was going to be angry for quite some time and going after him wouldn't help.

"Is there a reason why your brother was so upset?" Kyoya asked me.

We were putting the last of the teacups away after Haruhi begged me to help so she could study for her big biology exam. If I hadn't offered, Kyoya probably would have raised her debt another 20,000 yen. He really was cruel to her sometimes; I wondered if he relished the crumbled look on her face or just enjoyed teasing her.

Maybe that was why I was so annoyed that he was pretending to care why Stephen had been ignoring me unless we had guests. I turned away from him pointedly and walked over to a different table.

"There's no need to be childish, I am merely asking a question." He said in his usual monotone. "You know that profits go down when the two of you are fighting."

I placed another teacup on the trolley, resisting the urge to throw it at his smug face. "Then kick me out of the club."

Kyoya chuckled, "and miss this? No, I think I'll take my chances."

"Then take them and deal with the silence."

Damn, I was tired. I plopped down on the couch and hung my head on the back of it mentally reviewing everything that needed to be done. I knew there were only a couple more teacups, but they could wait while I rested my head.

"Sara."

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I realized how much distance he closed between us. "Yes? Is there a reason you feel the need to be so close?"

He squatted down to meet my eyes. "Is everything okay? Between you and your siblings I mean. I know I use the club expenses as an excuse but...I am actually concerned about you."

I scoffed, "Oh really?"

"Yes really. I consider us friends, don't you?"

I dropped my guard and stared at him, trying to figure out if he was serious. Friends? Since when? I tightened my grip on the soft, plush cushions.

He met my stare steadily, staying still as I studied him. I finally decided that he looked sincere enough. Maybe I was being too hard on him, but he seemed to pry just when I thought I accomplished pretending hard enough that no one would notice how stressed or tired I was.

"I'm...not sure." I finally admitted, relaxing my hands. "I don't have very many."

"No, you have the advisor and your siblings. But your siblings have friends outside of your family, why shouldn't you?"

I didn't really have an answer. And having him put his full attention on me was very disconcerting. I tried to lower my eyes, but Kyoya leaned even further down to stay in my sight line. "You seem to be punishing yourself again. And I really don't think you deserve it. And I can't understand why you think you do. I thought, perhaps, you might appreciate having someone who cares about how you are. But maybe I'm wrong and you enjoy being treated as a unit."

"You know we don't." I told him, tipping my head back to avoid his gaze. "I don't."

He rested one of his hands on the cushion behind mine. "Do you mind if we finish now? We can sit and I won't ask you any more questions, unless it's about the homework."

I smiled despite how annoyed I was with him. "So then we'll be working in silence."

Kyoya's lips twitched ever so slightly, as he rose. "Deal?" The light glared across his glasses, making it hard to read his eyes. I never realized what a soft gray they were until he was that close to me. I found myself thinking it was a shame that his glasses obscured the view.

"Deal," I agreed with a firm nod, a little unnerved by the direction of my thoughts. Really what did it matter what color his cold, calculating, too observant eyes were? I stood with more stiffness than I expected and tried to relax my body as I looked past him to the table where I had left my books. "Once we finish putting everything away that is."

"You should have let Haruhi do this." Kyoya told me with some disapproval.

I brushed off his comment with a wave of my hand. "I don't mind cleaning up. I'm used to cleaning up after others." I gave him a half smile, "aren't you?"

"That doesn't mean I like it." He muttered. He still seemed unconvinced that me offering to clean was entirely my idea, judging by his expression.

"I think it will be good for you. Cleaning builds character."

He simply shook his head and continued to help put away the tea cups.

Maybe Kyoya wasn't too terrible after all.

An hour later, we were all still in the club room though most of us were attempting to do homework. Tamaki and the twins ended up riling each other up and were currently running up and down the room doing who knew what.

"I didn't know you doodled." The sound of Kyoya's voice behind me made me jolt. "Apologies, I shouldn't have come up behind you so suddenly." He appeared around the table I was occupying and came to sit beside me. He had gone to get us some water when I coughed into my hand, despite me telling him I was fine without it.

I dropped my pen and rubbed my temple. "I typically don't. I took the same art classes as Susanna but I was never that talented." The cartoonish looking bear on a tightrope looked grim, sort of how I felt. Maybe I should have added multiple balls in the air.

"You don't give yourself enough credit." he muttered, shifting the page towards him to get a better look. "The calculus homework couldn't keep your attention?"

"Nothing seems to be keeping my attention lately." I grumbled. My school work was suffering from my lack of attention, not so much that I was in danger of failing but Kyoya would likely be the top student this semester. I couldn't find it in myself to care all that much.

"If I asked..." He paused long enough that I felt the need to look over to see what had distracted him so much. He was just staring at the paper.

"Asked what?" I prompted, shifting to face him fully. It was rare to see him at a loss for words.

"Would you tell me what is bothering you so much?" When his eyes met mine, a gasp escaped from me.

Quickly, I covered my mouth and looked down. Why did he look so concerned? Was I being too obvious to everyone about how stressed I felt?

"I don't think anyone else has noticed. But seeing doodles on your homework is a very good indication of your distraction. I wasn't going to ask again, but I can't ignore it." Kyoya's voice didn't sound as self-righteous as I usually thought it did. It sounded soothing- nice. Like he was a friend that cared about me; like Kyle. But unlike Kyle, he didn't have a family he should be thinking about. I hadn't been convinced earlier when he was teasing me, but now that he had kept his promise and sat silently by me...why couldn't I take the easy road for once?

"I'm so tired." I admitted in a whisper, as if anyone would hear over the twins' antics. I chanced a glance at him, noting how seriously he nodded. I took it as an opportunity to reevaluate how much I trusted him. He had been a big help as of late; securing notes for the classes I missed when I picked up Suyuri from the airport, bringing catered lunch for the group during a particularly rigorous school day, and now checking in on me- twice.

Kyoya took a beat then shifted the paper back to me. "Do you want to leave?"

My head moved on its own accord, before I came back to my senses. "Our second car is in use. We all have to leave together. I should call-" I pulled out my phone from my bag, but Kyoya tapped his book over it before I could do anything.

"Don't. I'll take you somewhere." He tilted his head back towards the bag. "Let me make an excuse to Tamaki. Will you trust me with this?"

I didn't want to lean on him. But I was getting to my breaking point and if I wasn't careful I would break here and now. Just having him ask so geniunely and with so much concern was making me dangerously close to tears. "Fine." I put my phone away and started gathering my things. "I'll try to finish this, but just tell me when we're leaving."

(Stephen's POV)

Kaoru loved to make Susanna laugh didn't he? I couldn't help but hate how easily the orange haired boy made my sister smile.

I was still feeling guilty about letting Suzette and Sara convince me to keep the real reason Suyuri was joining us in our home.

I also didn't know how they expected to explain why this mysterious person was suddenly staying in their home. Sure the contest fib wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't great. There were too many holes in the story. Why couldn't Sara have left her in a hotel somewhere far away? Or let Tamaki host her? Tamaki and Sara were getting very close now that their engagement was getting more and more final every day.

"Kaoru! Sit still!" Susanna ordered while letting a giggle escape as he shook his head.

"Suzie, I've been sitting still for 20 minutes now! Let me see what you have so far."

Susanna shook her head and pointed her paintbrush at him. "NO. Now do as I say or I'll- I'll crumble the paper up and you'll never see it!"

Kaoru gave her a little pout and then went back to his original position.

I rolled his eyes at their antics. Susanna must have thousands of pictures of her boyfriend by now. Charcoal, colored pencils, sketches, probably crayons, and now paint- or watercolors? I couldn't keep track of it all.

Susanna let her hair fall over her shoulder as she concentrated on her work again. She looked more mature now; I had, unfairly, always thought of her as a little girl despite being the same age. All of my sisters looked similar, while they weren't all identical they were the closest thing to it. But Anna always had a youthfulness to her that made her seem much younger, more carefree.

It was hard for me to see her having a boyfriend and being so invested in him. She used to have flings, even long-term boyfriends, but one always got the sense that they weren't serious- even if Susanna felt heartbroken by the end.

Were they truly meant to stay in Japan?

Sakura had Mori, and now Susanna had Kaoru.

I certainly didn't want to stay here. I wanted nothing more than to go back to England.

Although I was tempted to intrude on their time together, I kept my feet planted on the balcony and watched as my sister's hands flew across the page and her boyfriend patiently held his pose.

Maybe...Suzette and Sara had a point. Maybe it was wrong of me to interrupt her happiness to make it "fair."

Would she spend her time sketching Kaoru and laughing if she knew what was at stake?

Would she try to change herself to be more like...Sara?

Is that what I wanted? For all of my sisters to become more like her?

Suzette had already started shouldering a large portion of the burden Sara put on herself. It wasn't hard to notice the change in her after the gala.

She spent longer hours in a study and left work unfinished in her studio. There were a lot less phone calls from boys she flirted with, and more meetings with Kyle and Hikaru and Kaoru's mother.

Admittedly, I missed the devil may care attitude she had. Even if sometimes she appeared more pretentious and spoiled. I knew her better.

Letting out a resigned sigh, I turned away from the balcony.

It was high time I apologized to Sara and Suzette. I had no doubt Kyoya already started interrogating Sara about my standoffish behavior at the club this afternoon and it would be a miracle if she wasn't plotting his slow demise.