Chapter 2: : A Chaotic Meeting

Warm sun filtered through ceiling high radius windows into a room which was inhabited by various plants, some with medicinal values and some solely for viewing. In the center of the room sat a coffee table fashioned out of magnolia and a set of matching chairs. On the table was a spread of tea sandwiches and freshly made beignets.

He knew this room well. It was the solarium located on the south side of the mansion. As Marcus approached the table, he felt a different kind of warmth envelop the room. Sitting down, he saw the hand of an elderly woman set down a cup of freshly brewed white blossom tea before reaching back across the table. As his eyes followed her movements they eventually laid on a dark-skinned, elderly, heavy set woman that favored his mother. She donned a white church hat with a peach ribbon around its base, the brim wide and casting a shadow over her eyes. She flashed him a smile and nodded to the tea in front of him.

"Gwan Crawdad take a sip an' let it calm you." Her voice was deep yet feminine, holding a matriarchal tone to it.

"Granmere, I'm not nervous," Marcus said softly as he lifted the cup to his lips.

"Oh?" she sounded amused. "And why ain't you? You're gettin' a whole fresh start. New country, new city, new school, friends. I would be more jitt'ry than a sinner in church."

Marcus shrugged. "Just ain't. No point in bein' nervous about it, I'm gonna have to get used to it anyways."

She clicked her tongue with a small smile on her lips. "Jus' as cool as the inside of the Frigidaire, like always."

"Granmere…" Marcus sighed as he picked up a beignet and ate it. He wasn't sure why he did, he knew it was a dream. That he was actually on a private plane that was currently crossing the Pacific. "You're visitin' me for a reason."

"Do you wanna know or do you wanna tough it out on your own like always?"

"Even if I didn't you'd drop hints."

"Of course, cher!" His grandmother laughed as she scooted forward in her chair. He saw her look into the teacup, probably studying the way the leaf spun in its small confines. She looked up at him when she heard a small sigh come from his lips. "Marcus."

"Sorry, ma'am." Marcus went back to quietly drinking his tea. It was sweet with a flowery aroma to it. The liquid oddly warming his insides and the taste complementing the beignets he just downed.

"You'll be tested here moreso than you were goin' to that zoo."

"Tested? How?"

"I'll let you figure that out." She grinned. "You don't need to worry about makin' friends that you can trust. You won't be able to get rid of 'em like a leopard can't itself of its spots. Oh, but they'll try your nerves though. And it looks like you're gonna find yourself a nice lil' girlf-"

"Granmere…"

Hattie Mae looked up to see her grandson looking down at the teacup in his hands.

"It's nothin', I just miss ya a lot."

"Oh I know sweetie, but I'm never gone." She leaned forward and lifted up the silver cross necklace. "I'm always with y'all, watchin' over ya and protectin' ya. If you ever get to pinin' just look at the gifts I gave you."

"Alright."

Hattie Mae smiled as she leaned back before standing slowly. The white dress she wore pillowing behind her as she walked around the table and wrapped her arms around Marcus, pulling his head into her chest.

"Your family needs you to be strong, but it's okay if you stop bein' that way for a moment or two. Don't feel like you don't have to step away to breathe."

"Yes'm." Marcus closed his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips as the hug felt real. He could have sworn he heard a faint heartbeat as well as smelled the perfume she always wore.

When he opened his eyes he was no longer in the solarium but was on the plane. His sister was sound asleep in the chair across the aisle and further up his parents were piecing together a meal for them to eat. He sighed heavily and leaned back in the chair, running a hand through his braids.

"Merde." He groaned softly.

When they finally landed, the family exited the plane and stretched their legs by walking around the runway before proceeding to load into the waiting limo. Marcus paused in the middle of his stretching to watch his motorcycle be loaded into a trailer before shaking his head. Looking away once he was satisfied that it was put up safely, his gaze settled on watching his father talk on the phone. From seeing his brow furrow, Marcus could assume that it was neither his uncle nor aunt.

Hell, not even his younger cousin made his father that irritated. Despite that, the lack of rigid posture determined that whoever it was wasn't an enemy. He watched him for a little longer before he saw him end the call and rejoin them.

"Hiso, was that the chairman?" Anne-Marie asked with a small yawn.

"Yeah. The Chairman of your new school will be dropping by the house later to drop off your uniforms and schedules as well as a welcome pamphlet." Hisota said as he looked at his children.

"Great." Marcus looked over at China at hearing the eye roll in her voice.

"Be nice and watch your language baby girl." Hisota told her with a small chuckle.

"What? I don't curse like that daddy!"

"You swear more than a trucker, Chupacabra. All ya need is a big rig and a HAM radio." Marcus snickered.

"Oh, pic kee toi!"

"Point proven."

Anne-Marie shook her head with a small laugh as she pushed her children in the direction of the limo. "In you go! The sooner we get to the mansion, the sooner you two can unpack and the sooner I can cook! You do wanna eat, yeah?"

"Duh!" Her husband and children laughed.

Once they arrived at the mansion, China was the first to bolt into their new home. Marcus was behind her, though pausing to ingrain the facade of the building into his memory. He glanced over his shoulder to see the trailer sporting his motorcycle driving up the long, roundabout driveway. He looked back to the house and ascended the white stone steps to the entryway. Inside, he was surprised to see that the entry hall was decorated to resemble that of the old mansion as closely as possible. He did a quick sweep of the first floor, moving through the parlor, living room, den, kitchen and dining room to find that all rooms had been decorated to look as much like the home they had known for years as possible.

The second floor where the bedrooms were were given the same treatment. His room was painted dark gray and black with alternating walls. Most of his football trophies and accolades had been unpacked for him and placed in a mahogany case in the farthest corner of the room. He had his desk in the same area as it was back home, his bed, bookcase, keyboard and even pictures were as they were. What was new was that his room was suddenly large enough for two recliners to sit in between the foot of his bed and the flat screen that hung on the wall. He gave a small chuckle as he set his suitcases on the bed and began pulling clothes out of them. He had to give them an A for the effort. Hell he was surprised that they even knew what most of the old house looked like. After unpacking the only thing he noticed was different was that his weights were missing.

"Holy hell! Crawdad! Do you believe this?!" his sister's excited voice boomed from a few rooms down the hall.

Marcus stepped out of the room to see her head pop out of her doorway. She was grinning so brightly her almond shaped eyes were nearly closed as that one curl on the top of her head twitched in glee. Marcus couldn't help but laugh at the site before walking back towards the stairs. Heading down, he looked around the main hall before proceeding down one end. Passing the living room, he noticed one room had a door cracked open. Pushing it open, he was greeted by the sight of a fully furnished home gym complete with punching bags, full weights, and tackling dummies.

Another small smile came to his lips and he walked out of the room. Drawn to another room he saw that there was a solarium completely furnished and teeming with freshly bloomed plants and flowers. The screened back door opened to a large rose garden with cobblestone paths that led to an even larger backyard. In it was a large inground pool with a smaller inground hot tub a few paces away. Across from that was a two story pool house.

"Goddamn, it's like the Banks moved to Japan." Marcus whispered under his breath as he sat on one of the stone benches in the garden and looked out at the expanse of their yard.

Little did he realize that his mother was watching him from the sliding glass doors of the living room. Anne-Marie smiled softly before turning and heading to the kitchen. She looked at her husband who was busy dictating instructions to their staff for a moment, after which she moved to the refrigerator to begin pulling out food to cook.

"Madam you should really let me-" one of the butlers stopped when he received a look from her.

"Arashi, I would like to cook for my family and our coming company. If you wanna help, you can wash your hands and start dicing the veggies I laid out."

"Yes, ma'am." Arashi bowed and went to do as he was ordered.

Hisota looked up and waved the rest of the staff off. "Annie,"

"I'm fine Hiso. Our children seem to like the mansion." Anne-Marie said with a small smile. She went silent for a second as she began tenderizing the meat. "We're doin' the right thing and tryin' to make the transition as easy as possible. Their old rooms, most of the old house, mama's solarium. It's like they never left."

"Annie." A small sigh was heard before Anne-Marie felt her husband's arms wrap around her waist from behind, drawing her into the broad chest their sons inherited from him. He placed a kiss on her temple as he rubbed her stomach in soothing circles. She could hear his heartbeat and felt hers calm as well.

"Hiso."

"They'll be fine once they adjust." He reassured her with another kiss to the temple before letting her go. Hisota moved by her side and began rolling his sleeves up. He washed his hands quickly before he picked up a knife and began cutting the tenderized meat.

Anne-Marie smiled softly and gently bumped her husband with her wide hips before continuing preparing the food. They worked in silence with only the sound of Anne-Marie's voice singing soft spirituals filling the kitchen. As the meat was put in the oven, the doorbell rung, removing the three from their concentration.

"I'll get-"

"I'll get it. You rest and have some tea, you've been moving nonstop since we got here." Hisota kissed his wife's cheek before leaving the kitchen.

Approaching the entry hall, he saw one of the maids bowing to a tall Japanese man with blond hair. By his side was a younger woman dressed in a skirted suit with a large bag in her arms.

"Oh! Sakurai-san, Suou-san and his guest are here!" the maid said brightly with a nervous bow.

Hisota smiled and waved her off. "I'll show him in, will you go round up my children Chie?"

"Yes, sir." Chie bowed and went off to do as she was told.

Hisota turned back to the man. "Chairman Suoh."

"Sakurai-san, how are you and your family settling in?" the Chairman asked with a small smile as he and his secretary followed Hisota further into the mansion.

"The children are off exploring and my wife is having tea in the kitchen, please join us." Hisota said as he led them to the kitchen.

The Chairman smiled at the sight of Anne-Marie pulling down the tea cups. "Ah, lovely! I will have two sugars and dash of milk Maid-chan."

Anne-Marie turned and glared at the Chairman. "You what now?"

"Ah, two sugars and a dash of milk, please." The Chairman repeated in English, not noticing the woman moving slowly for the butcher's knife next to her.

"Yuzuru," Hisota cleared his throat, holding back a small laugh and growl of annoyance. "This is my wife Anne-Marie. Annie, this is the Chairman of Ouran, Yuzuru Suoh."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Anne-Marie-san," Yuzuru took her hand and placed a kiss on it before smiling. "I must say that your eyes are as beautiful as honey fresh from the hive."

"Uh-huh." Anne-Marie pulled her hand from his and went back to fixing the tea. She sat cups in front of her husband and Yuzuru's assistant before she sat at the island with her own cup.

"I do hope that you don't mind that I've brought my assistant with me, apparently she's heard stories of the Sakurai family being the most feared family in Japan." Yuzuru laughed and waved a hand. "As if the rumors are true."

"Oh, they are." Anne-Marie said curtly before proceeding to speak in Creole to her husband.

Yuzuru and his assistant saw Hisota shake his head while slowly moving the knives from the reach of his wife.

"My wife is right. Most of the rumors you've heard aren't rumors."

"So there is some truth to them?" Yuzuru asked shaking his head. "I guess that I owe Akira-san some money then."

"Tall ass he-bitch."

"Annie."

"Lite-brite ass nigga still owes me money."

"I'll be sure to relay the message to him." Yuzuru chuckled. "By the way, have you talked with Ichiro-san about allowing his daughter to attend Ouran? I've seen her records and I do believe she's a perfect fit."

"Her records or her GPA? Either way Yuzuru, you need to discuss that with my brother. You're here to talk about our children, right?"

"Of course but you could also convince your brother." Yuzuru said quietly before smiling. "I should've brought my son with me, I bet he would've been great friends with your children. The boy needs more friends."

"If he's like you, thank God for small miracles." Anne-Marie said simply, taking a sip of her tea.

"Actually," Yuzuru said as he pulled out his phone from his pocket and unlocked it as he brought up pictures of his son. "This is my only son Tamaki. He's a bright boy but has a few issues adjusting to Japan."

Hisota saw Anne-Marie take the phone from Yuzuru.

"Annie, don't."

"He's havin' problems adjustin' cause your mother doesn't want him around." Anne-Marie said as she set the phone down and gave Yuzuru a challenging look. "And instead of standin' up for him you're playin' step n' fetchit for your mother."

"Actually, I was speaking of how he's not used to interacting with normal people." Yuzuru said quickly. "But you are right, I do need to stand up to my mother, but I'll worry about that once I am sure that my plan to oust the old bat from the company is complete."

"Uh-huh well, his m-" Anne-Marie let out a small squeak when her husband shoved a tea cake in her mouth.

"Annie, if you keep reading him you'll wreck his brain." Hisota told her with a small smile, chuckling as her cheeks were puffed out while eating the tea cake.

"It's alright if she does so," Yuzuru laughed. "Now, about your children, I've looked over their records and I've decided to place Marcus-kun in Class 3-A as his scores were impressive and Chinatsu-chan will be in Class 2-D….because of her records of getting into fights."

"Can't argue with that. I've seen her take down some of Ichi's men." Anne-Marie laughed.

"This also prevents her from being on the same floor as my son's girlfriend." Yuzuru said. "I do not want the campus to turn into a war zone...and it's also to keep one of our male students safe from the wrath of the Sakurai."

"Don't tell me his son goes there."

"Yes, he's my son's best friend." Yuzuru said. "But don't worry the boy isn't like his father, he's more like his mother."

"Yeah, yeah. Hiso, we'll have to tell Ichi later then since he made his mother a promise."

"We'll do that when we go over for the cookout."

"Also, your son has been recruited for a place on our football team," Yuzuru said. "Along with your daughter having a place saved for her on the dance team and of course your niece's place on the volleyball team."

"Our niece might not attend-"

Anne-Marie looked up at the sound of Yuzuru's assistant making a soft gasp and squeal. She looked past her to see Marcus was entering the room with his shirt draped on his shoulder.

"Ma we got any cold water?" Marcus asked as he made his way to the refrigerator.

"Should be plenty. Crawdad baby, this is the Chairman, Yuzuru Suoh and that now pile of mush is his secretary."

Marcus nodded to Yuzuru and flashed a smile to his secretary.

"Oh goodness, he's cute." The secretary said softly blushing as she fanned herself. "Are you sure that young man is in high school?"

"I'm eighteen chere," Marcus answered with a small chuckle as he took a sip of his water.

Anne-Marie looked at her husband with a small smirk. "That Sakurai charm clicks on again." She whispered to him.

"Ah...right...um…" the secretary giggled softly.

"Marcus-kun right?" Yuzuru asked with a smile as he took the bag from his now swooning secretary. "I do hope you will enjoy your time at our humble school, I have brought you the uniform for every season and your new football uniform. You'll have to go to the school's tailor to pick up your winter coat."

"And we'll have to buy some cover for your tattoos sweetie." Anne-Marie said as she made a motion to the dragon on his chest and the cross on his left shoulder.

"Why? He's at school, he'll be dressed for most of the day."

"Hiso he's your son. Give him the chance and he'll strip because he hates the way the clothes feel."

"She's not wrong dad." Marcus shrugged.

"I do not do-"

"Do I have to remind you of the Macy's incident?"

"No, no you don't." Hisota sighed.

"He should be fine, we allow tattoos but they must be covered during physical exams." Yuzuru explained. "Other than that he's fine."

"Now just because he said that please keep your stripping to a minimum Crawdad." Anne-Marie shook her head.

"I make no promises." Marcus looked at the bag. "Is there a parkin' pass in here?"

"A parking pass?" Yuzuru asked. "Um the students usually don't operate vehicles but if you need to park somewhere you're free to use the student auto club's garage."

"They not gonna play Sacramento Chop Shop with my rides are they?"

"No, as it's currently run by one student," Yuzuru said as he took the folder from his secretary and showed Marcus the student who was in charge of the club. "Takashi shouldn't bother with your vehicle unless he gets the need to change the oil on it."

"Oh look, a tall ass he-bitch."

Yuzuru was about to say something when a crash was heard outside. He groaned in annoyance and could hear frantic yelling. "Of course, my idiot son is outside."

"That sounded like. Oh, hell naw!"

The adults saw Marcus sit the bag and folder on the island before he bolted out of the kitchen to the entryway before running outside. He scanned the driveway before his eyes laid on a tall and lanky blond teen that was trying to lift up his Harley while a brunette girl stood next to him yelling at him in Spanish.

"Hey!" Marcus shouted as he ran over to them. He grabbed the blond by his shirt and slammed him on his back on the concrete. "The fuck is your problem?!"

"I...I'm sorry! I was just admiring your commoner vehicle when it fell," the blonde said. "I was actually on my way home, but I was curious about who lived here."

Marcus glared at him, looking him over. "You're the Chairman's idiot."

"Wow not even three minutes here and you figured out?" the girl asked snorting. "Yeah that's right he's the chairman of Ouran's kid, sorry about him being an idiot, most of us all ran away when we saw the bike fall dude, sorry about that...by the way you're pretty hot."

"No es difícil de entender." Marcus let the blond go and looked at the girl as he stood. "Marcus Sakurai, cherie."

"Oh um...yo dude I'm Sally Moore." she giggled softly. "And that boy you brutalized is my boyfriend René"

"¿Novio? Parece que no puede manejarlo."

"Oh, él es bastante atento y leal." Sally waved a hand before switching back to Japanese. "Rene's a great boyfriend and a hell of a dancer too...oh excuse me for a second." she removed her shoe and threw it into the bushes. "Oi stop taking root over there you tall ass tree and come out!"

"Crawdad what was that noi-oh it's the idiot's son." Anne-Marie said with a shake of her head. She looked from her son to Sally to the tall young man that was slowly arising from their bushes. "Hey! Your father owes me money young man!"

The young man stared at Anne-Marie and didn't say anything. He dusted himself off and plucked a small blond from the other side of the bushes.

"Wah! Takashi don't do that!" the blond wailed loudly flailing. "Mean!"

"The hell? Y'all just brought a whole ass welcome wagon." Marcus grumbled as he picked his motorcycle up and buffed and scrapes from the paint before propping it up with its kickstand.

"Not everyone," the small blond wrestled from the tall boy's grasp and ran to Anne-Marie. "Hi, Mama-chan! Are you Dark-chan's mom?"

"Dark-yes I am Marcus' mother." Anne-Marie smiled as she picked the boy up and cuddled him. "Crawdad sweetie get dressed and go to the store for me. I need to make the pasta to take over to your uncle's later."

"Sure." Marcus said.

"You kids go on home now, oh and don't trespass again. Our electric fence will be live tomorrow."

The blond looked up at Anne-Marie curiously as he cuddled her. "You're warm Mama-chan."

"And you're a sweetie! I'll fix you a to-go plate with some tea cakes."

"Yay! I get cake!" the blond giggled and looked up as he waved. "Hi, Mini-Mama-chan!"

China sat on her balcony, looking down at everyone. "Mommy! You know you're holdin' a boy Crawdad's age, right?"

"I figured with the way he's holdin' onto my chest." Anne-Marie looked down at Honey. "Come down here and say hello. All of them are goin' to your new school."

China sighed as she stepped on the railing of the balcony and shimmied down the column to the front porch. She dusted herself off.

"Sup?"

"Oh wow she can climb down," Sally mumbled removing her jacket and tossing it on her boyfriend. She walked over to China and stared her down. "I heard you were moving here but I didn't think we'd meet here."

"And I heard you're one of the toughest bitches at this prep school." China said as she pulled her hair into a tight bun.

"You heard right," Sally said. "I was wondering how long you were gonna keep duckin' me."

"Ain't no one duckin' yo' ass." China looked Sally up and down as her hazel eyes flashed. "Feelin' froggy? Then hop 'cross this border."

"Ooh, you didn't just say that!" Sally screamed as she ran towards China and tackled her to the ground.

China locked her legs around Sally's abdomen and rolled, reversing their position. As she sat on top of her, she began punching her in the face as hard as she could.

Sally's eyes widened as she was punched before she reached up and grabbed China's fist and twisted it. She glared up at the girl and managed to roll around and pin her to the ground as she began pulling her hair with her free hand.

"Cheap tricks huh?!" China brought her head back and headbutted Sally. When the girl let her go she spun and kicked her across the face before tackling her with more blows to the face.

"The fuck!?" Sally cried before groaning in pain. She reached up to her hair and pulled the small discs that had been holding up her ponytails. She threw one up at China and smirked when she saw blood.

"Bad move." Marcus called to Sally.

Sally blinked and looked up to see China was glaring at her with fire in her eyes. She stood and lifted Sally upwards before falling back with her in her arms. Sally's back connected to the ground and China rolled to her feet. She grabbed her by her ponytail and dragged her along the concrete to the wall. She pulled the girl up and tightened her grip on her ponytail, pushing her head forward to slam it against the brick.

"Don't do that mini-mama-chan!" the small blond had gotten out of Anne-Marie's arms and ran to stop China. "Please don't hurt Sal-chan pretty girl...I'll give you a cake if you're nice!"

China stared at him before she let Sally go. "Fine baby boy, but stop me again and I'll punt you."

The blond nodded. "I promise I won't."

"Damn…" Sally grumbled rubbing her head. "You can fight...but fuck you didn't need to drag me...aww man my mama's going to beat my ass when she sees my face tonight."

"Did time in juvie, went to a literal hellhole, plus my uncle's Ichiro Sakurai. If I don't know how to fuck someone up then I'm a waste." China said simply.

"Still, you need to keep your face protected," Sally noted. "My CD cut through your skin like butter...you also need to be faster in response time...especially if you want to fight badder bitches than me."

China turned to walk away after moving her hands behind her head. "Check that arm, that fast enough of a response time?"

Sally looked down to see a large cut on her arm. "How the…" she blinked. "Ok you're fast...damn that's going to scar...alright you've proved yourself...you're a bad bitch that I can call my friend."

"The bayou don't breed nothin' but bad bitches." China shrugged with a grin. She looked over to see her mother shaking her head.

"Since you won, I'm not gonna beat your ass three ways to Sunday." Anne-Marie sighed. "However if you did lose in your own yard I would-"

"Annie." Hisota shook his head with a small laugh as he walked over to the group. "Is this welcomin' party done now?"

"Oh we should be going...but first." The blond smiled brightly as he took Anne-Marie's hand. "I do apologize for my girlfriend's crass behavior, please do not be angry Mama-san. By the way, I'm Tamaki Suoh, I do hope that you won't think any less of me and my friends."

"Boy worry more about-yeek!" Anne-Marie let out a loud squeal as she was thrown over her husband's shoulder. "Hiso!"

"I told you no more reading people Little Anne," Hisota said as he carried her to the door. "Kids go home, Marcus go to the store and China go clean yourself up."

"Your parents are weird," Sally noted with a small laugh as she looked at China. "Hey, come over my house tomorrow after school. It's Latin night and you can meet my fam." she grabbed Tamaki by the back of his shirt. "And I'll be sure to invite my other homegirls." she headed off.

The tall dark-haired young man looked at China and smirked. "I am...pleased to have met you." he said walking off.

"Oh, you tall ass!"

"Hey! I'm parkin' in your garage from now on!" Marcus called after him.

"It's fine! I'll give you a spare key to the garage!"

"Bye Mini-Mama-chan." the small blond cuddled China before running after his cousin. "Takashi wait up! We have to go get Chika-chan!"

"That was weird as shit," Marcus said as he looked at his sister. "You wanna come with? Cause you already know what our folks are about to do."

"Yeah, lemme fix my face first."