Chapter Text
Kea moaned as she stretched her arms over her head. Once her joints popped, she let her arms drop as she opened her eyes, looking to her right. Sunlight was streaming through the closed curtains. Slipping her legs from underneath her covers, she walked over to the window, tightening her Sherpa robe around her body as she did. As soon as she tied it, she opened the curtains, smiling at the sight.
‘Ouran still hasn’t changed. I’m glad. I want a chance at a normal semester.’ She blushed heavily. ‘Well, as normal as I can get, being Kyoya’s girlfriend. I wonder how this will affect his hosting.’ Kea thought as she leaned against her balcony’s railing.
After the Seika fiasco, she had been moved to a second-level room. With the added height, it would be harder for nerdoewells to get at her. She didn’t mind, because now she had an even better view of Ouran’s grounds. Kea sighed, letting the early morning breeze blow through her hair. A click from the door entering her room told her she had a visitor.
“Kea?”
She smiled at the voice. “Out here!” She called back, not turning around.
Her visitor quickly crossed the room, his socked feet making soft ‘thuds’ on the hardwood. “Enjoying the view?” Kyoya asked softly, wrapping his arms around her waist as he leaned into her back.
Kea chuckled, pressing into his chest. “Sunrise is one of my favorite times of the day.” He hummed softly in agreement, ducking his head to bury his face in her neck. “What are you doing?”
“Enjoying the view.”
Kea giggled at him. “You can’t see anything with your head buried in my neck.”
“Au contraire, my dear.” Kyoya lifted his head, prompting Kea to look at him. He smiled down at her, lifting a hand to brush some of her bangs away from her face. “I can see you in my arms. That is the best view of all.” He smirked at the red that dusted her cheeks, chuckling at how her eyes widened. “So cute.”
“I am not cute.” Kea sharply turned her head away, staring at the grounds.
Kyoya chuckled again, watching her cheeks darken. “You are to me.” He leaned down, kissing her cheek. “You’ve grown.” He commented.
Kea blinked a few times, before chuckling softly. “I suppose I have. You used to have to bend down a lot more to meet my eyes.”
“I like it.” Straightening, Kyoya pulled her up with him. “You’re the perfect height for me to do this now.” Without letting go, he rested his chin on the top of her head. “I could get used to it.” Kea laughed again. Kyoya smiled when she leaned more of her weight on him and placed her hands over his, which were loosely clasped over her lower abdomen, his forearms pressed into her hips to keep her next to him.
“Let’s just hope I don’t grow anymore, then.” Kyoya glanced down at her. “Mom is five-foot-ten, and Dad is six-foot-five, and both had major growth spurts in their first and second years of high school. I wouldn’t mind being five-foot-eight for the rest of my life, if it means I can do this.” Kea’s voice was soft, filled with affection and warmth.
“Me too.” Kyoya pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I wouldn’t mind that either.” They stayed that way for a while, enjoying the morning breeze.
“Come on,” Kyoya said after a while. “I ordered breakfast to be delivered. It should be here soon.” Kea laughed softly.
“What did I do to deserve you?” Kyoya smiled gently. Lifting his hand, he gently cupped and tilted her chin up so he could kiss her.
“Simple.” He rasped when he pulled away. “You are you.”
影女王
“Just hold still, Haruhi.” Kea brushed Haruhi’s hair once more before tying it off. “There we go. Now you’re all set.” Haruhi glanced down at her outfit.
Tamaki had decided they were going to dress in Heian Era clothing, his reasoning being “For our first time back, let’s entice our lonely kittens with the romantic era of the past! The Heian era!”
“We’ve only been back for a day and he’s already this amped.” Haruhi sweatdropped. “I wonder what the rest of the semester is going to be like.”
Kea chuckled. “Well, think of it this way. Once we’re done with this semester, you won’t have to do this until next year! Unless you pay off your debt, in which case you’ll be free to join whatever club you want.”
Haruhi nodded. “I see. You’re right.” The brunette looked up at her friend. “So, you and Kyoya-senpai, huh?”
“Eh!?” Kea’s face flamed up, a brilliant red overtaking her face. “I-I-I, um, w-well, we, uh…”
Haruhi chuckled, making her friend blush harder. “It’s alright, Kea. I am actually surprised it took you guys so long.”
Kea ducked her head, fiddling with the sleeves of her kimono. It was the same one she had worn for Tear Day, except this time she wore a white kimono underneath it, red-and-green obi, and had a parasol instead of a fan. “Was I that obvious?”
“No.” Kea glanced up again. “But Kyoya-senpai was. It was obvious he liked you more than other girls. I don’t understand why he waited so long though.” Both slipped into their shoes and walked out of the changing room.
“He wanted to talk to my parents first.” Kea twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “He put a lot of thought into it.”
Haruhi tilted her head, trying to catch her gaze. She was quickly growing to dislike the height difference between them: Kea was now seven inches taller than the elder brunette when they were flat-footed. “Does that concern you?” Haruhi asked.
“No.” Kea shook her head. “I’m actually flattered by it. No guy has ever shown that much consideration for myself or my family like this before.”
“About time, girls!” Both looked up to see the twins waving at them. “Let’s go!” Hikaru called impatiently.
Haruhi and Kea glanced at each other, before their eyes closed as they laughed. “Right then!” Kea grabbed her notebook as she passed the table. “Let’s kick this semester off with a bang!”
“Yeah!”
*/*\*/*\*
“Mr. President, last semester our circulation dropped into the single digits.” Stacks of newspapers slapped together as they were thrown on the ground. Two male students stood in front of a desk, while a third sat behind it, reading a newspaper.
“Just give me the numbers please.” The voice of the President of the Newspaper Club, Akira Komatsuzawa, was beyond aggravated. “How many newspapers did we sell?”
“Two copies.” Both men held up two fingers.
“That’s all?”
“Yes sir.”
“Ukyo, did you buy a newspaper?”
The blonde pulled out a newspaper. “I did sir.”
“And Sakyo, what about you?”
The blackette also pulled out a newspaper. “Of course.”
Akira’s newspaper folded over. “So you’re saying no one outside of the Newspaper Club bought one.”
“Well, yes. Unfortunately, that does seem to be the case, sir.”
“This is quite a predicament.” Akira stood up and looked out his windows. “This next week’s edition will be our first paper of the new semester. If we don’t come up with better results before the end of the month, the club will be shut down before the end of the school year. Oh by the way, how’s that other club doing?”
“Well, sir.” Both pulled out magazines of the Host Club. Sakyo went first. “The Host Club’s I Love Love Love Tamaki Special! sold out as soon as it went on sale. All one thousand copies.”
“Moe-Moe Ouran Diaries Volume 8, the dōjinshi put together and published by Renge Houshakuji, also sold out as soon as it went on sale.” Ukyo was speaking now. “It’s already in its second printing.”
“I should have known.” Akira placed his hand on the window, looking over the gardens. “They’re the ones with the most power here at Ouran.” Down there, he could clearly see the Host Club entertaining their “guests”.
Tamaki Souh was hidden by hydrangea flowers next to one of the ponds in the gardens; only his blonde hair made him stand out from the blues and purples of the flowers. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin were sitting by a different pond, playing some kind of shell game; Akira watched as one of the twins grabbed the chin of the other, tickling it. Kyoya Ootori was standing by a stream with four other girls; he pulled out a book, and all four immediately started squirming. Mitsukuni Haninozuka was obviously sitting in the lap of his cousin, though Takashi Morinozuka had some of his clothes pulled over his head; it seemed they were entertaining by Takashi blindly feeding Mitsukuni.
Haruhi Fujioka, one of the newest members of the club, was sitting on his own; apparently his clients just left. And the other newest member, Kea, was walking around the garden, making small talk with some of the girls; she seemed to have no problem manipulating the girls for the Host Club’s benefit, since she also had a book and guided girls to different Hosts with a smile on her face. Akira watched as Tamaki tackled Haruhi, causing both of them to crash behind some bushes. A komari ball bounces harmlessly by. Tamaki gets up and immediately starts yelling at the twins, who appear to say something back.
“If we want the Newspaper Club to survive, I’m afraid we’re going to have to ask them for help.” Sakyo and Ukyo gasped in horror when Akira turned around and said this.
“No, Mr. President! It’s too dangerous to get involved with those guys!”
“He’s right! Not only would the club get shut down, but you could be expelled!”
“Calm down! There’s nothing to worry about! We have no choice but to ask them for help. However, that doesn’t mean I’ll fall victim to their-AHHA!!”
The komari ball flew through the window and hit him upside the head.
*/*\*/*\*
Kea watched as Tamaki bowed again to the President of the Newspaper Club, apologizing for the komari ball hitting him upside the head. Haruhi, Mitsukuni, and Takashi were cleaning up the broken glass, while Hikaru and Kaoru read the latest newspaper. She was standing next to Kyoya, who was silently observing. Kea looked around the room. Newspapers were piled higher than her. The dates on the smaller piles were recent; the most recent being the last day before summer vacation.
“Well, this works out perfectly! I was just thinking about approaching the Host Club about a cover story. I don’t suppose you’d be interested.”
“I didn’t know we had a Newspaper Club,” Haruhi commented.
“It’s more gossip rag than newspaper,” Hikaru said.
“Yeah like a trashy tabloid.” Kea glanced over at Kaoru’s comment. “It’s filled with scandalous stories about love affairs, family power struggles, and junk like that.”
“It’s just a lame gossip rag that specializes in stirring up scandal.” Hikaru and Kaoru bent over slightly. “And everyone knows it’s all lies so nobody reads it anymore.”
‘Still…’ The title of one of the newspapers had caught Kea’s eye: Love affair across social classes. She glanced at Kyoya out of the corner of her eye. ‘Even his name being associated with this trash could ruin his reputation.’
“It’s a shame we’re just now realizing our error, now that the paper is at risk.”
Kea returned her gaze to Akira. She immediately recognized what he was doing.
“We finally realized what we should have been reporting to the students of Ouran.” Akira stood up and bowed, his lackeys copying him. “Help us, please! For our first paper of the semester, we’d like to do an up-close special edition, revealing the charms of Ouran’s Host Club members. I’m begging you: without your help, our club will close.”
‘Good riddance, I say.’ Kea tucked some of her hair behind her ear. She wasn’t buying this guy’s act for one second. Unfortunately…
Tamaki did. “You can count on us! On behalf of the Host Club, I ace-AAHH!!”
Kea breathed a small sigh of relief after Kyoya elbowed Tamaki in the face, effectively cutting him off. “We’ll have to decline!”
‘Thank God for Kyoya.’
“But Kyoya he got hurt because of me! What’s the big deal!?”
“Sorry, we have a policy prohibiting us from sharing personal information with anyone other than our guests.” By this point, no one was listening to Tamaki rant. “But we’d be more than happy to pay any medical expenses related to your injury.”
“And another thing,” Kaoru spoke up. “What makes you think we’d want to help you spread more rumors and gossip? We’ve got a reputation to uphold and you’d just ruin it.”
“Besides you guys cause a lot of trouble for other people, and who’d want to get mixed up with that?” Hikaru crossed his arms behind his head and looked away, his expression nonchalant.
“I understand.” Akira sunk into his chair. “Well, I guess you really can’t erase the sins of the past, can you? People won’t even give you the opportunity to try and redeem yourself.” With an overexaggerated cry, Akira flung his head onto his desk. “My head is killing me!”
‘First, the business approach didn’t work, and now you’re working the sympathy angle.’ Kea sighed, rubbing her temple. ‘Unfortunately, Tamaki is a big enough idiot to fall for this.’
“I guess at this point all we can do is disband with grace.”
“No! You don’t have to!”
‘Knew it.’
“You can always make a fresh start. We’ll help.” Kea rolled her eyes. “We’ll rally the power of our Host Club, and we can reestablish the Newspaper Club together!”
“Well count us out.” The twins chorused. They started dragging Haruhi out with them as they left. “You’re way too trusting, boss. We can’t just go along with everything you do forever.”
“Yeah. We’ve had enough.”
“We’re leaving too Tamaki.” Kea started walking out with Kyoya, Mitsukuni, and Takashi. “We’re holding an evaluation meeting, mostly about you.”
“Hold it.” Everyone stopped walking. “How can you be so heartless? These men are about to lose their club. Don’t you feel sorry for them?”
‘No.’
“Their family’s breaking up!” Tamaki whirled around, showing the waterfall of tears. He pointed a finger at his club members. “As your president I demand you help them, and that is a direct order!”
Hikaru, Kaoru, Kyoya, and Kea all turned their heads around, the same expression on their faces. “We’re not going to do it!” they flatly refused.
Kea swore she heard a mirror shatter somewhere.
影女王
Kea sighed heavily from where she stood next to Kyoya. He, Haruhi, and the twins were staring at Tamaki, who was crouched under a window, using a finger to push the komari ball back and forth.
“Well, he’s obviously upset with us.”
“Yeah, he hasn’t even changed clothes.”
“I hate it when he ignores us when we’re right in front of him. He’s such a child.” Kea nodded, humming in affirmation before standing on her toes so she could rest her chin on Kyoya’s shoulder. He patted one of the hands she wrapped around his waist.
“Nah, Tama-chan’s just a lonely guy, you know?”
“A club is like a family.” Tamaki pouted. “Their family’s about to be broken up. I feel sorry for them.”
“I hate to give in, but would it really be that bad to help them out with their newspaper?”
“What!?” Hikaru couldn’t believe his ears.
“Hey! Since when are you taking his side?!”
“Since never.” Haruhi deadpanned. “Just listen okay. I know any moment now he’s going to look over here with those puppy dog eyes he uses when he wants something and none of us will be able to say “No” so he’ll win.”
“Let me guess.” The twins chorused. “You’re speaking from experience, aren’t you?”
“Besides, maybe I’m wrong but isn’t this the kind of thing you guys usually go for?”
“Well, no. This seems like more trouble than it’s worth.”
“What about you, Honey-senpai?”
“Count me out. I have this cake to eat, and Takashi sticks with me, right?” Takashi nodded.
A grunt from Tamaki had everyone freezing. Haruhi looked back over at him, to see him glance up at her. She sweatdropped.
Tamaki pushed the ball back and forth twice before looking up again.
‘Those are the eyes.’ Haruhi thought.
Push. Pull. Push. Pull. Glance.
‘Puppy dog eyes.’ The twins thought.
Push. Pull. Push. Pull. Glance.
Just Kyoya and Kea were left.
Push. Pull. Push. Pull.
“There will be some conditions.”
“Bark!” The gloom lines traded places with sparkles.
“The outline for their article will be submitted by us. Interviews are strictly prohibited, and it is vital our client’s identities be kept confidential!”
“Bark bark!”
Kyoya snapped his book shut. “Do we agree?”
“Well, if you think it’s cool, Kyoya-senpai,”
“Then we do too.”
“I’ll do it since Kyo-chan says it’s okay.” Takashi nodded again.
‘That’s the Shadow King for you.’ Haruhi mentally deadpanned.
“Guess I’ll have to tag along too.” Kea chuckled softly. “Can’t let you have all the fun.” Kyoya smirked at her.
*/*\*/*\*
“Of course! If you’ll allow us to cover you, we promise to observe your conditions.” Kyoya and Kea stood in front of Akira’s desk. They had just laid out their conditions for a cover story, and Akira had jumped at the chance.
“Well then, you may start tomorrow.”
“Excellent.”
“So how is that bump on your forehead feeling?”
“Oh that. It’s no big deal. I hardly feel it anymore.” Akira lifted a hand to said bump. “I owe a lot to this bump, because without it we never would’ve come together for this article.”
“That’s true but we’re still very sorry it happened.” Kea stepped forward, placing the small gold-colored tin on Akira’s desk. “I brought you a little something as an apology of sorts.” Kea unclasped the latch, opening it. “This is a first-aid kit, made by my family’s company.” She stepped back, her role finished.
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“No problem. Please excuse us.” Both turned to leave.
“Oh, it just dawned on me.”
‘Here we go.’ Kea ensured her face remained impassive.
“Your family runs the Ootori group, right? They manufacture medical equipment, don’t they?”
“We mostly deal with hospital management.”
“I’m so glad that we’ll be working together. My father is a president as well, of the Komatsuzawa Publishing Firm.”
“Yes, I am well aware of that.” Kyoya placed a hand on his hip, while Kea clasped her hands in front of her. “So, being President of the Newspaper Club is your way of preparing to take over the family company?”
“Well yes, to an extent, but I have this younger brother. He’s a bright young man and my father’s very proud of him, you see. So now my father’s decided to turn future management over to my younger brother and thereby passing over me, the eldest son. Firstborn.”
‘Not hard to see why. You remind me too much of my cousin.’
“However, if I’m able to finish my third year at Ouran Academy as the President of a successful Newspaper Club, I think he may reconsider my candidacy as his successor.” Kyoya turned to leave. “Do you understand? I cannot allow this club to fall apart, no matter what.”
“Please excuse us,” Kyoya said again.
Kea silently followed him out. It was only once they were a safe distance away did she speak. “Are you alright?” Kyoya glanced down at her. “It seems what he said got to you.”
Kyoya glanced away. “I could ask you the same thing.” Kea frowned. “You were bothered earlier, looking through the newspapers.”
“You’re really good at changing the subject, you know that?”
“Quite.” Both chuckled softly. They exited the hall, meandering their way to the residence hall. “How about this: I’ll answer your question, but in return, you have to answer mine.”
Kea chuckled, clasping her hands behind her. “Fine.” She smiled up at him. “I swiped some biscotti from the breakroom earlier. Want some?”
“I would love some.”
影女王
“The Darumada doll fell ooooooooover!” Kea froze when Tamaki turned around. She was playing the Japanese version of “Red Light, Green Light” with the Host Club. It was Tamaki’s idea, and she had to admit: it was fun.
“The Dar-um-ada doll fell ooooover!” Each time the group froze, Hikaru and Kaoru would strike a different pose. Kyoya hung out in the back, fast-walking to catch up when he felt like it. Out of the corner of her eye, Kea could see the Newspaper Club looking like they were about to keel over.
“The Darumada doll fellll oover! The Darumada doll fell ooover! TheDarumadadollfellover! TheDarumadadabuauadbududover! I saw you move Hikaru and Kaoru!! I saw you I saw you I saw you!”
“What? We didn’t move boss?”
“I saw you!”
“We didn’t move!”
“You know, I can’t blame you for being shocked.” Somehow, Tamaki had gone from underneath the tree to directly in front of the Newspaper Club. “I was unfamiliar with it myself, but,” Tamaki turned around, showing off his blushing cheeks and sparkling eyes. “It’s a commoner’s game! They have a wide variety, and none of them require spending any money! All you need is a few friends to play with!”
“And what does this have to do with our coverage of the Host Club?”
“You need to learn friendliness!” Tamaki shouted. “If you want to clear the negative reputation of the Newspaper Club, and attempt to capture the hearts of your readers, you must try to be more down to earth! I can just imagine the headlines now!
“The Handsome Boys of the Host Club Enjoy Commoners’ Games, with pictures of us frolicking in the scenery of summer. It would be the perfect facelift for your front page, and it would give you the chance to show that a certain commoner is happiner now reliving his childhood here with us!” Tamaki was now back under the tree, glancing at Haruhi with his puppy dog eyes again.
“Great, he’s looking at me.” Haruhi sweatdropped. “I should probably start acting like I’m happy to be here.”
“Ah-ha! I saw that Kyoya! You moved a little bit! Now get over here and link pinkies with me!”
“I’m sure your eyes are playing tricks on you.”
“Stop whining and get over here! Now!”
“Alright fine.” Kea giggled at Kyoya’s grumpy walk. She noticed Akira walking over to Haruhi, but didn’t say anything. Haruhi was too smart to give something away, but she was also too dense to actually understand what Akira would be asking her. A strange combination, but one that worked wonderfully.
“The Darumada doll fell ooover!” Kea stopped moving. She noticed Takashi and Mitsukuni had taken over posing.
“CHOP!!” Hikaru and Kaoru grabbed Haruhi and started running away. Kea ran with them, laughing at the look on Tamaki’s face. He quickly got over it, moving on to a different game.
“Next we’re playing komeketi, and you’re it, okay Kyoya?” Kea smirked, hiding it behind her hand. She was glad she had worn her pantsuit today; they were doing a lot of running.
“If I must.”
“STAAARRRLIIIGHT, KIIIIIICK!!!” The can flew right by Akira’s head, causing him to scream in horror, though it sounded more like a gasp. Everyone started running around, trying to find different hiding places.
At least, trying to act like it.
“Haruhi, come with me. Run!”
Kyoya calmly walked over to where the can had landed, set it upright, and started counting. “One, two, three, four, five, six,” he stood up. Turning to his left… Kyoya smirked at the retreating backs of the Newspaper Club.
“Sneaky devil.” Kea sidled up to him, smirking.
Kyoya chuckled. “That’s what you like about me.”
“Something like that.” Kyoya grabbed her hand and started running. Kea laughed, keeping pace with him. With Tamaki hiding in the rose maze, it gave them the perfect opportunity to confront the Newspaper Club without interruption.
“I’m going to expose Tamaki for the twit he is!” Akira slammed the doors open, only to stop short at the sight of Hikaru and Kaoru seated on Ukyo’s and Sukyo’s desks, cutting off their route to their computers.
“Hm. So we were right all along.”
“You two!”
“Well, I guess it was pretty obvious.”
“The boss is the only one who hasn’t caught on yet. He can be really dense when it pertains to anything about himself.”
“I should warn you: if you threaten him, there will be consequences.”
“Are you ready to have the Hitachiins and every other Club members’ families as your enemy?”
“I knew it. You’re nothing but his lackeys! Tamaki’s holding his parents’ power over all of you!”
“That’s not true!” the Newspaper Club whirled around to see Mitsukuni and Takashi standing in the hallway, cutting off their escape. “We don’t hang out with Tama-chan because of his parents.” Mitsukuni smiled softly. “We love him. We all like being around him and that’s why we choose to be here.”
“He may be a hopeless idiot but, even so…” Kyoya spoke up from where he was seated on the stacks of unsold newspapers, visibly showing the difference in power between the clubs. Everyone smiled as they flashbacked on their first meeting with Tamaki.
#~#~#~#
"What?! You're Haruhi Fujioka and Kea?" The blonde’s eyes were filled with amazement and disbelief, making him look like an excited child on Christmas. Kea refrained from scoffing.
‘This is Yuzuru’s son? He’s so… innocent.’
#~#~#~#
“Well?”
“What will you do?”
“Please leave Tama-chan alone, okay?”
“I’ll get you all. It’s not just about him anymore! I’ll write an article that’ll ruin all of you!”
“Go ahead, be my guest!” Akira stared at Kea in shock. Kaoru had moved to show her leaning comfortably against his desk. She picked up the medical kit she had brought with Kyoya the previous day. “Although…” she turned the kit upside down, pressing on a rectangle in the middle of the base. It popped open, revealing a little disk. She grabbed it in between her pointer and middle finger, holding up for everyone to see. “What do you think we should do about this little disk? You see it’s been here since yesterday, and it recorded everything.”
Kea smirked when Ukyo and Sukyo hid behind Akira. He sunk to his knees.
“Let me explain it to you in terms you can understand.” Kyoya stood in front of Akira. “You would do well to remember that the Ootori group and the Hitachiin family alone are enough stock to remove your father from his position as President of the Komatsuzawa publishing firm. However…” Kyoya fixed his glasses. “We would never do something like that. We’re not like you.
“What we strive for is fundamentally different.”
影女王
“I found you~!”
“Bark!” Kea quirked an eyebrow when both Haruhi and Tamaki barked. She scoffed softly, a smile overtaking her face.
“Where’s the Newspaper Club?” Tamaki asked once they started walking back.
“They had to cancel. Something came up.” A beautiful orange rose grew next to a vibrant light blue one. Upon looking closer, Kea realized they grew from the same stem. “They said they’re going to focus on writing respectable articles.”
“So maybe they’ll get by without having to shut down.”
“Oh really? That’s good news.”
“Let’s hurry back to the Clubroom and eat some cake!” A large dark blue rose seemed to protect a smaller pink one, some of its petals brushing the smaller flower.
“Yeah.”
“That does sound good! Cake! Cake!”
“Kyoya-senpai, I was wondering.” Haruhi looked up at the second-year. “Is the Suoh family really that big a deal around here?” Kea barely refrained from dropping her jaw.
“Well, the foundation of their business lies in corporate finance, but they do have some extensive real estate as well. You’ve heard of the Roi Grand Hotel and the Outo Theater? They also have a hand in other things, like school management for example.”
“I didn’t know that. Which school?”
Kyoya and Kea stopped walking. “Why, Ouran Academy.” Kea actually facepalmed at the shellshocked look on Haruhi’s face. “You’ve been here long enough that you should at least know what the chairman of the school board’s name is,” Kyoya said as he and Kea walked passed Haruhi. “You know, if you think about it, you’re able to attend school here because of the financial aid you received from Tamaki’s family. You should be grateful to them.”
A red rose grew next to a white one, neither touching, yet close enough to.
“Haruhi~!” She robotically turned around, the same shellshocked expression still on her face. “Hurry it up or we’re going to leave you~! I would hate for you to end up lost again~!”
Haruhi swore she saw a banner with the words “The superintendent’s son” written on it appear in front of Tamaki. Eight seconds passed before she slumped over with a groan.
“I can’t believe she didn’t know that.” Kea murmured to Kyoya. He chuckled, glancing down at her. “I mean, I thought it would have been obvious from the acceptance letter. It was in mine.”
“I thought you received a personal visit.”
“How did you-!?” Kea started, staring up at him in shock. He just smirked. “You sneaky devil.”
“You love that about me.”
After a moment, Kea laughed, linking her arms with one of his. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Something like that.” As they exited the rose maze, something caught Kyoya’s eye.
A vibrant yellow rose was leaning on a beautiful lavender one, but both were in perfect health.
He smiled to himself. ‘Yes…’ His free hand came up to place itself over Kea’s, squeezing her fingers. ‘Something like that.’