At what price,love?

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A/N: This one is kind of a short bridging chapter. And fair warning: this chapter is kind of dark and the next couple chapters will be a mix of light and dark before we get back to light-hearted Host Club mayhem. Hope you can bear with me.

~oOo~

"Are you done embarrassing me?" Haruhi said to her father.

"Rich boy has gone home for the night if that's what you're asking," her father replied.

"He has a name you know."

"Not to me he doesn't. He hasn't earned one yet."

"You're not being fair. Just because... Just because Tam... Tamaki left me without warning... Doesn't mean Kyoya will." From the tone of her voice, it was clear she wanted rather than believed it to be true.

Frankly, Ranka thought the two were cut from the same cloth, but faced with his daughter's cracking voice and emotions barely held in check he decided not to push it. Maybe he should have encouraged her with those idiot twins who were at least in her grade and wouldn't have graduation as an excuse to leave her, but he doubted they had the emotional maturity to get her through the summer. "I'll make you a deal honey: I will take tomorrow night off work and we can spend it just the two of us. When you get home from school, you can tell me if I chased rich boy off. And then I will tell you why I did it."

~oOo~

Kyoya lay back in bed, his fingers laced behind his head, staring at the ceiling. How much did he really want her? He couldn't even believe he was asking the question. Under any other circumstance is he would grab hold of her and never let go. But he was planning on leaving the country in six months. And not returning for six years. Granted, he made those plans back when she was firmly tied to Tamaki and his chances of getting her were nonexistent. Watching them grow closer and more intimate day after day was a form of self-punishment that Kyoya did not intend to indulge in. He didn't really need the education; he already knew what he needed to know to make his way in the world. He was after the sheepskin and the connections. Both of his brothers had graduated with high honors from nationally ranked schools, but neither one of them had gone to a world-class institution.

He could take her with him he supposed. She was certainly smart enough to swim in those waters. But she missed the application deadlines for the September start, and she hadn't finished high school yet anyway. Ouran, like most Japanese schools, did not grant early graduations. Lately he'd been leaning towards Stanford, simply because the weather was better. But Ouran had a sister school in Boston. If he went to Harvard he could keep her with him. Would she go? Or faced with overwhelming loss, which she cling tightly to this handful of familiar things left to her? Her crappy apartment. Her friends. The school. Whatever he decided was best, he should probably ask her before he started setting things up. She became irrational whenever they arranged her life without her consent, even if it really was in her best interests.

In order to bring this about however, a number of very delicate things would have to happen in a very particular order. He picked up his cell phone. He should feel guilty about calling his friend at this time of night, but given how many times Tamaki had done the same to him, he didn't feel bad in the slightest.

"Yeah," said the groggy blond.

"I'm putting together an investment pool. You want in?"

"Kyoya, it's 2:30 in the morning."

"You call me with your stupid ideas at all hours. Do you want in or not?"

"Umm, sure."

"Good. Minimum buy-in is ¥100 million. We should take a research trip over spring break. I'm thinking a week in London and a week in San Francisco."