A/N: Quick note.
If you can't already tell by the first chapters, the characters are going to be a bit different than they usually are. In the manga, it seems they are a bit more mature than in the anime, and I am making them more so. Mainly Kyo, Hani, and Tohru might seem different than you view them, and that mainly has to do how i perceive them. I find that Kyo as a girl might be a bit more mellow/connected with Tohru or others because she's a girl and can interact with her normally, and I also have a hard time keeping Kyo the same as the original since it makes moving the plot difficult.
I also am rewatching both animes, but am depending on the mangas to get the dialogue and I change the wording to my liking, so you might find differences.
REMINDER BC I DON'T KNOW IF I SAID IT BEFORE:
This will contain spoilers from both mangas as we go down the line, so beware. These spoilers won't occur until past chapter 10 or so, but still.
Note continued at the bottom.
Kyo yawned as she got up to head to the bathroom, scratching her cheek. It was the middle of the night and her need to go to the toilet had woken her up. When she was done, Kyo walked back to her room and paused in the hallway at the sound of sniffles. Seeing she was standing outside of Tohru's room, she frowned, stepping closer. Hearing another sniff and muffled sob, she knocked on the door. The sound immediately cut off and Kyo could hear fumbling.
The door opened, showing Tohru with a nervous smile and puffy red eyes. "K-Kyo? I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She worried.
Kyo internally sighed. Of course Tohru would worry about making too much noise. "I heard you crying."
Tohru's cheeks flushed as she shook her head, waving her hands wildly. "Ah-! I'm sorry. It's nothing, please ignore me!"
Seeing Tohru try to dismiss her tears just like she tried to on New Year's made Kyo angry. Pushing past Tohru, she entered the room and sat on the corner of the bed. "You and I both know it's nothing. Now tell me what's wrong or I'll tell the others you're crying." She threatened, glaring at her.
Tohru bit her lip, deciding that she definitely didn't want to make them worry. She closed the door softly, slinking to Kyo's side and sitting, resting her hands on her thighs.
"It really is nothing, I'm just overreacting-"
"Tohru."
Tohru looked up, surprised at the soft tone in Kyo's voice. Resolve crumbling, Tohru let out a shaky breath, "I'm sorry...It's just...this is the first time I'll be having my birthday without mom…" She whispered.
Kyo inhaled sharply, her chest tightening.
"...It's your birthday?"
"It's tomorrow-well, I guess it's today." Tohru brushed a few stray tears away, giving a small shrug.
"Why didn't you tell us? Yuki and Shigure would have been tripping over each other to get you a cake."
"I didn't want to seem like I expected anything, especially after all you've done for me. Mom and I never really did anything special for my birthday anyways, just shared a small cake with Uo-chan and Hana-chan..." Tohru shook her head. "Anyways, I guess I just got sad about not having mom here…"
"You should have still told us though! I thought you learned from New Year's, you don't have to suffer alone-" Kyo stopped as she looked back at her and saw Tohru tearing up again. "Hey, wait-"
Tohru reached up to grasp Kyo's hand, clasping it between hers. Staring into her eyes, she gave a grateful smile. "Thank you for caring Kyo. It means so much to me that you don't want me to feel alone."
Kyo's eyes softened lightly, glancing away as her cheeks burned. Pulling her hand from Tohru's, she stood up. "Your mom would want you to keep being happy. I'll buy a cake tomorrow; we can cut it when I return from school. Now go to sleep before you wake up tired tomorrow." Giving Tohru a fond head bump, she headed for the door, automatically stopping when hearing Tohru speak up once more.
"Hey, Kyo?"
"What?"
"I was pretty sad when you transferred out of Kaibara. I miss seeing you at school and I wished you could stay. But...you've changed… - And I'm not saying that as a bad thing! I...I think being at Ouran is giving you a chance to be yourself, it's helping."
Kyo didn't know how to respond to her words. What could she give as a response? Giving a terse nod, Kyo opened the door and went back to her room.
But even as she laid on her futon, staring tiredly at the ceiling, it took a while before she could stop thinking about Tohru's words.
Kyo looked around in interest as she entered the music room and saw the newly decorated space. This was the first time witnessing the hosts holding their monthly costume event, and she had to admit, they did a great job with the setup and props.
Walking and gazing at the hosts wearing beautiful Kimonos, she ended up sitting down with Kyoya. She had seen Haruhi and Hani doing rounds, and she wasn't about to start sitting with Tamaki or the twins. So Kyoya was her best option, especially as he wasn't tending to any guests. She sat down on one of the seating mats and poured herself a cup of tea.
"Not very often you choose to be in my company. I suppose you won't be wanting my services?" Kyoya asked, not even raising his head from where he was scribbling in his notebook to look at her.
Kyo gave a huff, arching her brow. "As if. I'm just here because nowhere else is good. I hardly see you take any guests anyways, I doubt you're any good." She looked away as her gaze fell on the twins and Haruhi, watching the little scene they were doing. There's always something going on with them.
Feeling the air shift, Kyo glanced to the side and tensed as Kyoya reached out to tuck a hair strand behind her ear, brushing his fingers against her jaw along the way. "With your beautiful ruby eyes and vibrant flaming hair, you are the only one who can light the fire in my heart." Kyoya murmured, his eyes half-lidded as he stared intensely into Kyo's own wide ones.
Feeling her cheeks burn, she struggled to compose herself. It wasn't the lame line that affected her; she grew desensitized from Tamaki's constant croons. It...it was the way Kyoya stared at her like-like she was desirable. No one had even looked at her like that and it took the air out of her lungs.
Kyoya blinked and the look vanished, replaced with his usual smug face. "Still think I'm not any good?"
Unbelievably flustered, Kyo tried to come up with a snarky response but couldn't.
"Kyon-chan! When did you get here?" Hani asked, hurrying toward her. Hearing his voice helped to ground herself, coming to her senses.
Kyo stood up, getting off the cushion. "A while ago…" She mumbled, walking to Hani's side.
Hani's brow furrowed as he stared at Kyo's dazed face. "Are you okay Kyon-chan?"
"I'm fine…" She insisted, passing him as she headed toward the crowd forming near the doors.
Hani stayed back briefly to give a suspicious glance at Kyoya's smirking face before following after Kyo.
"Don't touch me you phony!" Kyo's internal turmoil got pushed aside as she gaped at the girl attacking Tamaki, not only with a shove but with a barray of words. "-But why do you look so stupid?! You're the worst!" Tamaki couldn't take any more of the insults and fell backwards, amazing everyone with his new slow-motion technique, according to the twins.
"Who the fuck…?" Kyo whispered, sharing a look with Haruhi. This chick was completely insane, she must be.
Kyoya joined them, hand on his chin as he stared at the girl. "Could it be you are…"
Kyo was in disbelief at how the girl went from angry to teary eyed, running into Kyoya's arms. "Kyoya! I wanted to see you so badly, my prince charming."
.
.
.
"Kyoya-senpai's fiance?!" The twins gasped as everyone staring at Renge, who had introduced herself finally. After getting over the initial shock of her coming in and making a stir, things had calmed down enough to where Renge now sat on one of the couches, across from them. She sipped her tea as if she hadn't just yelled and insulted Tamaki to bits.
Speaking of him, Kyo scoffed at Tamaki's sulking figure in the corner. He had stayed there since he got insulted, emitting a dreadful vibe. She scoffed again as Renege listed out how Kyoya was so kind and affectionate, sounding nothing like him.
"You might have the wrong person." Haruhi noted bluntly.
"No! My eyes are justice! Kind to everyone and never asks for anything in return! Loves the solitude, but actually hates the loneliness! The heart throbbing love simulation game, you!" Renge shouted, pointing to Kyoya. "Who looks like Ichijo Miyabi-kun from Uki-doki Memorial!"
A shock silence ran through them as they realized just who they were dealing with.
"Otaku!" Hikaru gasped. "This is my first time seeing one!"
"Otaku?!" Tamaki joined the twins as they panicked and shouted.
"From what I could see from my research, Kyoya's managing everything in this club, right?" Renge asked them, clasping her hands together.
"Yeah! Kyo-chan's our director!" Hani answered, sending her a bright grin.
Renge cupped her cheeks as she swooned. "The director! It suits him well!"
At that point Kyo turned out of the conversation. An obsessed girl projecting her love onto Kyoya? This girl looked like trouble and Kyo didn't like her one bit. She would never understand the need to fawn over someone, especially one where she wasn't taking into account that Kyoya was a real person, not a videogame character. This reminded her of Yuki's crazy fanclub.
"Haruhi and Kyo!"
Kyo looked up to see the room empty, sans Haruhi and Renge.
"Where'd everyone go?" She asked, eyebrows lifted in confusion.
Haruhi stared at Kyo, frazzled. "...They left us so we can accompany Renge…" Haruhi mumbled.
"I'm going to kill them."
Nearly an hour later, Kyo found herself in one of the school's cooking rooms, baking with the girls. She would have flat out refused to babysit an Otaku*, but she figured she would take advantage of the resources and bake a cake for Tohru. Might as well have something good come out of this, right?
She left (abandoned) Haruhi to handle Renege and worked by herself, following a recipe she remembered from Kaibara's Home Ec classes. It was easy to tune Renge out, mumbling to herself as she recited the recipe and made the icing while the cake baked in the oven.
Outside the room, the remaining hosts peeked in, fawning over how ladylike and cute Haruhi was.
"What a beautiful scene…" Tamaki cooed, eyes twinkling.
"What are they even doing?" Kyoya asked, raising a brow as Haruhi frantically tried to save Renge's mess ups.
("How's the chocolate going?"
"Everything's going fine, I'm melting it now."
"Wait, don't use the direct flame! That's very basic knowledge!"
"What the hell are you guys doing?!")
"Renge said she'd make some cookies for Kyo-chan." Hani giggled.
"In the room, which is full of sweet fragrance-" ("That's the smell of burnt chocolate." Kaoru muttered.) "Cute cookies, which are just baked. And two female classmates who are getting along very well...Everything is well planned." Tamaki smirked, raising a finger. "This is one big project to make Haruhi realize she is a girl! The gentle atmosphere that only girls can possess will aid Haruhi to realize she is a girl and…"
"You're too noisy, you phony." Renge deadpanned, glaring holes into Tamaki's face as she appeared at the door.
Tamaki flinched as though struck and retreated to his corner, sulking.
"My dear Kyoya, I've learned how to make commoners' cookies from Haruhi-kun! It's my first time baking so I was a bit scared." Renge presented her burnt pile of cookies to Kyoya, smiling sweetly.
"Well...the color looks okay." Kyoya settled on, looking down at the pile.
"I know, I'm bad at it!" She shook her head, the cookies getting passed off to Hani as she cupped her cheeks. "But I'm sure Kyoya will say 'Anything you make is delicious…'"
"Tastes nasty." The twins chomped on Renge's cookies, immediately spitting it out. "What is this, a rock?"
"Yeah, it doesn't taste good." Hani agreed, lips pouting at the weird taste in his mouth.
"Mitsukuni, don't eat that, it's bad for you." Takashi fussed, hovering over Hani.
Renge turned her sight on the four, turning into a she-devil as she chased them for insulting her cookies. They ran away frantically, scared out of their minds.
Kyo stepped into the room, sighing at their shenanigans. She couldn't find it in herself to be surprised anymore. In her arms she carried a cake box and on top of it, a tray with a smaller strawberry cake sitting uncovered.
Setting it down on a nearby table, Kyo spotted Hani and waved him down, ignoring the twins beginning to tease Tamaki and Haruhi.
"Kyon-chan! I was wondering where you were!" Hani said, making his way toward her. His eyes roamed to the side until he saw the cake, mouth parted in awe. "Did you make that cake, Kyon-chan?"
Kyo shrugged, feeling bashful. "It's not that special. I made a cake for a friend and I had extra batter to make a second one. It's a basic recipe, try it if you want." It really wasn't that special. She could have done better with icing the cake, and maybe add a bit more sugar to the cake itself. It definitely wasn't anything like the ones the school made for the club. She offered him the second cake, trying to make it seem like it wasn't anything important. She stared at Hani from the corner of her eyes, watching him hold the cake in his hands.
Hani grabbed a fork, taking a piece out of the cake and eating it, a delighted hum coming out. "Kyon-chan! It's yummy!" He grabbed more, devouring it much like he did with the other cakes.
Kyo tried not to show the relief on her face, glad to have the approval of a cake connoisseur. "Thanks Hani, glad to know I didn't mess up on it."
"You're all not good enough…" The soft mumble was enough to interrupt their conversations and silence them all, bringing attention to Renge who had an unreadable expression on her face. "Everyone's characteristics are very bad! Except my Kyoya!" Kyo jumped as Renge began to shout at them. "You lack any negative aspects, and girls find that dreadfully dull! Girls are weak for beautiful men involved in trauma and they'll be bored with your so-called dummy actions soon enough! Are you trying to make Kyoya fail?!"
Renge continued her rant, pointing at HanI. "You first! We'll be renouncing your characters starting today! Having cuteness outside and inside is the same as toddlers! Thus...change it to 'Having a cute face but actually being a beast!'"
"No!" Hani cried out, clutching Kyo's arm as Renge glared and ignored him, moving on to relabel the rest of the host.
Kyo was shocked to say the least. Who did Renge think she was to self-proclaim herself to be in charge and change everyone's personality? She looked at Hani, growing angry as she noted his watery eyes.
"Don't listen to her Hani, she's delusional." She assured, not minding his grip due to his distraught figure.
"-Twins, suffering from the fact that people can't tell the difference between the two of you! And you're in the Basketball club! Haruhi! You'll be a super poor honor student, but you're being bullied! And you, Tamaki! You're the school idol and people always compliment your appearance, but you actually have a huge complex! The 'Lonely Prince!'" Renge finished off, looking pleased with herself as if she didn't just make everyone have a crisis over her stupid little game.
Kyo's jaw clenched tightly. "Hey! You have no right to-"
"Oh, you definitely don't fit into this. You're not right for any part." Renge tutted, shaking her head at her.
As much as she hated what Renge was doing, Kyo couldn't help but feel offended by her statement. "As if I want to be a part of this shitshow!" And...it didn't matter. Renge was already gone, fawning over Kyoya's perfect character. Kyo stood there glaring daggers into Renge's back, pulling away when she felt Hani squeeze her arm.
"It's okay Kyon-chan, I think you fit in well with us." Hani murmured, his big doe eyes expressing his worry for Kyo.
Sighing, she shook her head. "I think I'm going to head home now." She slipped her arm from Hani's grip, moving to collect her cake box and bag. She offered the short senior a slight smile. "I'll see you tomorrow Hani, good luck with Ms. Crazy over there."
"Happy birthday dear Tohru, happy birthday to you!" Shigure, Ayame, Momiji sang from the top of their lungs, almost making Kyo's ears bleed with their nonsense.
Tohru's cheeks had been cherry red since they began singing, the candle on the cake burning bright. Kyo had initially told Yuki and Shigure to just prepare something small to celebrate Tohru's birthday, but when Kyo came back home, almost half of the zodiac had been bunched together in the sitting room, waiting for Kyo to arrive.
"Make a wish, ja?" Momiji insisted, grinning up at Tohru.
"Oh...um, I don't know what to wish for...I have everything I could wish for; friends, a roof over my head…" Tohru mumbled, clasping her hands together.
"Just make a wish already, the candle's melting." Kyo uttered, crossing her arms.
"It's her birthday, idiot. Let Miss Honda take her time." Yuki glared.
"Listen rat boy-"
Kyo was interrupted as Tohru blew out the candle. "I made my wish, it's okay now." She placated, looking between the two.
Kyo looked away, sitting against the wall.
"Yay! Now we can cut the cake!" Momiji cheered, his German accent heavy as he drooled over the cake.
Tohru grabbed the knife, smiling brightly as she cut into it, placing it on a plate to pass it to Momiji.
"You know, sulking in the corner makes you look like you don't want to be here." Hatsuharu interjected, sitting down next to Kyo. She glanced at him before huffing lightly.
"Don't be stupid, I'm the one who made this happen, remember?"
"Then why the bad mood? I know that's your usual thing, but it's Tohru's birthday."
Kyo couldn't help but to roll her eyes. "Look, I'm just in a bad mood. I had a long day." She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."
"It's about those boys in that club, right?"
Kyo snapped her head at Hatsuharu, alarm in her eyes.
"Calm down, I'm the only one who Momiji told." Hatsuharu met her gaze, lowering his voice. "You know I have no reason to gossip. You should be more worried about Hatori than me."
She knew he was right. Hatori had no loyalty toward her or no reason to lie for her. It was just like he said.
.
.
.
"So, you've become friends with seven boys?" Hatori asked after minutes of complete silence.
Kyo couldn't bring herself to raise her head, glaring at Hatori's hands holding her wrist to check her heart rate. He could feel her heart pound against her ribcage, she couldn't lie.
"It's six boys and one girl dressing like a guy. And they're not my friends." She mumbled.
"It's a bad idea to be close to them in the first place. They could find out."
"They won't." Kyo barked out. "How stupid do you think I am?"
Hatori wasn't phased by her outlash, checking her breathing. As she took exaggerated breaths, he spoke again. "Akito will ask me about you. And I will have to inform him about your new friends." He warned. "You of all people should be careful with everyone just waiting for you to make a mistake."
A lump formed in Kyo's throat as the familiar glares and whispers resurfaced to the front of her mind. She shoved Hatori away from her abruptly, standing up.
"Tell him for all I care, I've done nothing wrong! If he was so worried about me revealing the secret, why'd he even send me over here?!" She yelled, clenching her fists.
"You seem to forget what you are." Kyo's breath stilled as Hatori pierced her with a cold stare. "You are the cat. The outsider looking in. What other reason could Akito have by sending you here?"
She frowned at him, thinking hard. Her mouth parted in a gasp as she finally made the connection.
"Now you understand...to separate you from the others." Hatori turned away to pack up his medical tools. Kyo raised her hand, wanting to clutch his coat.
"I…"
"I'm on nobody's side in this battle, but I won't lie to Akito. You need to figure out what to do before you graduate." Kyo dropped her hand, feeling completely numb to her core.
.
.
.
"-yo. Kyo!" She blinked as a piece of cake was shoved into her line of sight, Momiji standing over her. "Are you alright?"
Grabbing the plate from him, Kyo huffed. "I'm fine." From the corner of her eyes, she could see Hatsuharu and Momiji sharing a look before the eldest** returned to Tohru's side.
"What were you thinking about?" Hatsuharu asked.
Kyo shook her head, stabbing the cake with her fork. "Nothing. Just drop it." She was relieved when he stopped pushing, focusing on the others instead. She was fine, she'd figure this out on her own.
.
.
.
The next day was better. Sleeping made her calm down a bit and now that she was back at school, she felt normal again. Or as normal she could be.
Watching an unnecessarily large camera crew film the hosts, she could only pity them as Renge shouted orders and directions at them.
"Hey Kyon-chan!" Kyo nodded in greeting as Hani skipped to her, standing next to her chair. "Are you gonna watch my part?"
"I'm here aren't I?" She arched her brow, crossing her arms. "So you're no longer upset about your new persona?"
"Kyo-chan thought it'd be interesting to see, so we're playing along…" Hani shrugged. "I'm gonna try my best!"
Kyo shook her head, sighing. "I still think this is all so stupid. But I'm sure you'll do fine."
Hani gave a nervous smile, looking down at her. "Thanks Kyon-chan. I have to go get ready for my scene. You'll stay until we're done, right?"
"I guess." She sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
Satisfied with her answer, he left her to her own devices, heading over to Haruhi and Mori.
The half hour had Kyo confused and put off by the directing of this unnecessary film. Having read the script for this, she didn't understand the continuity error of having the twins move indoors to out in the rain so suddenly. Might as well have them outside from the beginning. She frowned as they shot Hani's scene, the fake rain pouring down on the three as they talked.
"You can't get away from me anymore, you poor bitch." Kyo gaped slightly as Hani looked like a completely different person, his stance and words nothing like the usual bubbly senior. "You should've known what would happen when you went against me."
"...Stop it, Mistukuni." Mori intoned, giving a sideway glance at Hani. "You're the one who suffers every time you hurt somebody else…"
"Don't admonish me, Takashi. You want to be punished again?" Hani gave a dry chuckle, tilting his chin up as he stared at Haruhi's trembling form. "I hate somebody living beyond his or her means." A beat passed before Hani broke down in tears, breaking character to launch himself at Haruhi. "I'm sorry Haru-chan!"
"Cut! Follow the script!" Renge shrieked, waving her fists in the air. "How many times do I have to tell you?! Don't just read it in such a bland manner! Camera! Stop filming for a while!"
Kyo got up from her chair, towels in hand as she made her way to the hosts. "You guys could have been using this time to host, not waste time filming." She scoffed, tossing Haruhi and Mori towels.
"Kyon-chan! I was pretty good, wasn't I?" Hani beamed, giggling when the next thrown towel landed on his head.
"It was surprising." She noted, smirking as Mori bent down to dry Hani's hair. "Didn't expect you to have a tough side, that was good acting."
"Takashi's the better actor, ne, Takashi?" Hani hummed, smiling at his cousin.
"Hn." Mori grunted, standing up.
"Haruhi-kun, Kyo-senpai, can you help me for a bit?" Renge's voice called out from behind the building they were filming at.
Kyo turned to look behind, letting out a breath. Rolling her eyes, she left the boys and followed Haruhi. This better be worth her time.
"Yes? What is it?" Haruhi asked, turning the corner and stopping at the sight of two menacing Class-D students behind Renge. Kyo stopped as well, narrowing her eyes at Renge.
"I'd like these people to be in the film too! Please explain the script to them."
"What's the matter, A-Scholarship student, transfer student?" One of them asked, glaring at them.
Kyo glared right back, not showing them any sign of weakness.
"These should always be bad guys in the climax! The club members unite upon being hurt by true villains! ("What the fuck?" The boys shouted, hurt by her characterization of them.) The story ends wonderfully when the villains reform themselves after Kyoya-sama's touching line!" Renge crooned, a determined glint in her eyes.
"Wait, Renge-chan…" Haruhi muttered, holding out a hand to pause her ranting.
"Aside from this batshit crazy idea, why do you need me?" Kyo arched a brow. "I thought you said I didn't fit into this."
"I changed my mind! You're going to be the social outcast who's kind heart got tainted by all the bullying! You're going to be the Sukeban*** that leads these boys to attack in an effort for revenge!" Renge laughed as she patted herself on the back for this genius idea of hers.
Kyo stared at Renge blankly as she struggled to not be affected by her words. Who did this bitch think she was, trying to label her as an outcast? She knew nothing. Her chest heaved with anger, blood pumping in her ears, unable to hear Haruhi trying to lecture Renge. She had enough with the Sohmas mocking her and dangling what she could never have in front of her face; she wasn't about to let this spoiled bitch do the same.
"...Well, anyways, please come and stand by…" Renge grabbed the Class-D student's arm, pulling him toward where they were filming.
"Asshole! Don't just say whatever you want. Don't act so big-headed just because you're from Class-A!" He snapped, ripping his arm from Renge's grip and using his other to push her away forcefully.
"Watch out…!" Haruhi yelled, getting cut off as Renge slammed into her and Kyo. The momentum of the push had all three of them hit the filming equipment propped against the wall, Kyo screaming in pain as she took the brunt of the fall.
Kyo clutched at her shoulder, the air knocked out of her. Haruhi was clutching her face, Renge fussing over her in concern.
"Haruhi?! What was that noise…?" Tamaki came running around the corner, eyes filling in concern.
Haruhi looked up at his voice, tears streaming down one cheek. Tamaki's eyes widened before he acted on impulse and punched the Class-D's face. He gripped his shirt, pulling the student close. "Who did it?" He hissed.
"We..We don't mean…"
"Would you like to be expelled together?" Tamaki muttered, voice cold as ice.
"Wait, the girl started the quarrel first…!" The student's friend intervened, yelping when he noticed Mori by his side.
When the twins started to feign calling for a teacher, the two students bolted out of there, scared out of their minds.
Tamaki pulled Haruhi up to her feet, cupping her face. "Haruhi…"
Haruhi kept touching her face, shaking her head slightly. "It...hurts…" She finally pulled her hand away, blinking the rest of the tears away and presenting her hand. "My contact lens fell out." She stated.
Tamaki froze. He let out a chuckle in relief, letting her go. "Oh...it was only your contact…"
"Ca..camera! Did you get that just now? Except the contact lens scene!" Renge cut into the silence, pointing at her film crew and grinning when they confirmed the shot. "This is it! It's perfect! Now, only thing we need is Kyoya-sama's touching-"
A rock being smashed into the camera's lens interrupted Renge.
"My camera!" The cameraman cried out, holding the now broken camera.
"Kyo-Kyoya?" Renge gasped, shocked to see her love being the culprit.
"I'm very sorry, but we cannot leave any evidence of the club member's violent acts. And it's very unpleasant of you to be causing this kind of trouble." Kyoya said, looking irritated.
Renge had tears forming in her eyes, shaking her head and falling to her knees.. "Why? Kyoya, you should have said, 'Don't worry about it…' And pat my head gently...If it's Kyoya…"
"But that's not the real Kyoya." Tamaki informed her, causing her to falter.
"There's various reasons to fall in love." The twins noted, shrugging.
"I think it's fun to know the person little by little through looking at their personality, don't you?" Haruhi smiled, crouching to meet her gaze.
"...I'm sorry...For causing trouble…" Renge whispered softly to the hosts, now learning her mistake.
Kyo got up on shaky legs, bringing the attention to her as the equipment fell to the ground completely with her movement. She still clutched at her shoulder, glaring down at her dirty uniform. The one Tohru painstakingly washes and dries to perfection every single time. The one Tohru fawns over. She ruined it and it was all Renge's fault.
"You're sorry, are you?" She spat venomously, making her way past the hosts and toward Renge. She heard Hani whisper her name to hold her back, but she had her sights set on Renge. "What are you sorry for? For being a delusional bitch? For making us get hurt? For trying to make me into something I'm not?!" Kyo's voice raised until she was yelling, everyone quietly looking on in horror.
"They might forgive your stupid act, but I won't!" Finally making it in front of Renge, Kyo clenched her teeth, raising her hand in the air.
Renge flinched and used her arms to shield herself, waiting for Kyo's hit. When seconds passed with nothing happening, she risked a look up and gasped. Kyo still had her hand in the air, eyes full of anger and hurt pinning her where she was.
"You're not even worth it." Kyo muttered, dropping her hand to clutch at her shoulder again. "Pull that shit again and I'll show you how much of a Sukeban I can be." Kyo lowered her head, letting her hair curtain around her face as she walked away. She was done with this day, and she didn't want to be here anymore.
Haruhi took a few steps in following Kyo, getting stopped by a hand on her arm. Turning around, Haruhi frowned at Hani. "Hani-senpai?"
Hani shook his head, staring at Kyo's retreating form. It always ended like this, didn't it? Always watching Kyo leaving. "It's okay Haru-chan...I think Kyon-chan needs to be alone right now."
"But Hani-senpai, Kyo's hurt. We should still go after her."
"She would just get more angry at us. We'll talk with her tomorrow, ne?" Hani dragged Haruhi to the rest of the hosts gathered around Renge, still thinking about Kyo even though he tried to halfheartedly comfort a crying Renge. Even he couldn't fully forgive her actions.
"Kyo? Kyo what's wrong? Why is your uniform dirty?" Kyo ignored Tohru's questions that started the second she stepped foot inside the house, running up to her room and slamming the door shut loudly.
Stumbling down to her futon, Kyo bit her lip harshly. She wasn't an outcast, she wasn't, she wasn't!
But she was. She was to the Sohma's, forever labeled as the stupid cat.
Blinking back tears, Kyo wrangled herself out of the uniform, cursing loudly as it moved her shoulder. On her way home she had discovered that it wasn't anything but bruised, although it still hurt to move it.
Hearing a timid knock at her door she already knew it was Tohru and told her to go away, slipping into pajamas.
"...Kyo...I'm really worried. Yuki said to leave you alone, but I know I can't." Tohru spoke from behind the door, making Kyo shut her eyes. "...You helped me when I was crying, so please let me help you too, please."
Debating internally for seconds, Kyo made the choice to slide the door open and let Tohru enter, shutting it firmly behind her.
"If it's about the dress, I'm sorry alright? It got dirty without me wanting to." She mumbled, resting her head against the door. She could hear Tohru pause as she walked to the dress, picking it up in her hands.
"You don't have to be sorry, a good wash will make it good as new again!" Tohru assured her.
"But because of me getting it dirty, now you have to wash it even more than you do now." Kyo shook her head.
"I don't mind! Besides, I'm-Kyo! Oh no, what happened to your shoulder?!" Kyo grimaced as she turned around, trying to hide her shoulder. She couldn't see it, but no doubt there was a deep bruise already forming.
"It's nothing, it'll heal in a few days."
Tohru was flustered, dropping the dress on the floor again as she hurried to Kyo's side. "This doesn't look like nothing! I can get the first aid kit, or I can get Shigure-"
"Just-" Kyo raised her voice briefly before cutting herself off, letting out a shaky breath. "Just let it go.
Please Tohru. This isn't any worse than when I fight with the rat, and I only fell. I hit my shoulder and it's a bruise. I'm fine."
Tohru didn't seem convinced. Kyo sighed and gave her a pleading look. "I promise I'm fine. Don't tell the others, they don't need to know."
"I'm worried Kyo…" Tohru whispered.
"You don't have to be." Kyo walked up to her, putting a hand on her lower back to lead her out of her room. "I'm going to turn in early. Don't stress out about this." She opened the door, letting Tohru out and giving a small smile at her. She closed it, letting the silence engulf her.
Why did everything have to be so complicated?
A/N:
Otaku*: Just putting this here in case anyone got offended by this term. I know there's a difference in the perception of Otaku in Japan and in the US, hell, even I proudly called myself an Otaku. That doesn't take away the fact that it is kind of frowned upon in Japan because of the withdrawal from society because of the obsession with whatever hobby. Either way, sorry if anyone gets offended.
Elder**: Not sure how many people know this, but Momiji is older than Hatsuharu.
Sukeban***: Means delinquent girl or boss girl in Japanese, equivalent to the male banchō. A dictionary of Japanese slang says that sukeban only refers to the leader of a girl gang, not any member of the girl gang.
IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THE STORY:
CherryBlossomSuki asked if Kagura is a boy now that Kyo is a girl. It's a valid question, one that it didn't occur to me to talk about before.
No one else in this story will be gender swapped. Only Kyo. With that in mind, those who read the Furuba Manga know the complications that will come up with Kyo being a girl and not a boy. But I still stand by the decision, and will fix those plot holes as they come up. That being said, I will let it be known now that Kagura will be the same in obsessing over Kyo. I won't state which characters are gay, if there are any, because it doesn't matter. Just keep an open mind on this, although i'm not sure if I explained this right so feel free to ask questions about it.
Kyo and Hani are a bit OC as in more mature, because I view them as such. I think with Kyo being a girl, she is able to depend on Tohru more easily and be more mellow, and with Hani, I like to think he just puts on a more brighter persona with the guests, but is a bit mature when he's with the hosts. Not to point where he isn't bubbly anymore, but just to where he's chill, if that makes sense?
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had my friend's help in checking this was smooth to read, and I hope it's smooth for you guys too. I'm more consistent in writing and getting motivated to write because I wrote down outlines for the next seven chapters, and I no longer am floundering for something to add. It makes filling the page easier knowing what is needed to input.