Between her classes, preparations for her societal debut, and working for her father, the week passed all too quickly for Reiko. Before she knew it, it was already the end of the school day on Thursday, and she'd almost forgotten about the study arrangements she'd made with Kyoya Ootori. It would've slipped her mind entirely had it not been for her chauffeur confirming that she would be staying at school longer than usual through a text message. Having thankfully checked her phone and received that fortunate reminder of her rendez-vous, the silver-haired teen set off for the school's fifth library as soon as she'd finished gathering her things. She didn't stop to chat with her classmates, she'd never been one to socialize after class since she was always too busy.
As always, the fifth library had few students. Today only a handful of third years were found on the main floor studying or enjoying the peace and quiet. None of them even looked up when Reiko walked through the doors. She sat down at a table by the window and began taking out her chemistry notebook and textbook. In a (rare) lapse of judgment, both she and Kyoya had forgotten to specify a time for their meeting. She didn't know whether he would show up immediately after class as she had, or if he would go to the Host Club and then come down to the library. Rather than sit twiddling her thumbs, she decided to review a bit while she waited.
The raven-haired male entered the library only five minutes later. He too had intended to leave immediately after class, but Tamaki had prevented him from doing so as he'd launched into a long-winded speech about inner beauty.
He'd spotted her as soon as he'd walked through the doors.
Hearing the door click, Reiko looked up at him and smiled in greeting.
For a moment, Kyoya stopped. The light from the window was hitting her hair just right, making it seem like she was glowing, and her grey eyes looked a bit bluer today, like the sky as it cleared up after a thunderstorm. Her slight smile was natural, easy, and like everything else about her it was effortlessly elegant. Swallowing, he adjusted his collar slightly as he sat down next to her.
"I apologize for being late," he said.
She shook her head dismissively. "It's fine."
Kyoya nodded and looked down at her notebook. "You've already started?"
"We never specified an exact meeting time, so I thought I'd study by myself until you came," she told him.
The raven-haired male raised an eyebrow curiously. "You could have messaged me so we could work out a time. I hope you didn't clear your entire afternoon schedule for this."
"We've never exchanged numbers. Besides, I didn't have all that much to do today so it's of no consequence." Reaching into her bag, the silver-haired teen pulled out a phone and opened it up to her contacts page. "Here," she said, sliding it towards him.
Reiko's willingness to exchange numbers caught him off guard. Surely she was aware of how much information he could access through just the number. After being so determined to keep her personal information a secret from him, it was almost dissatisfying to be given a puzzle piece unprompted.
Noting his expression, Reiko smiled knowingly and rested her chin in her palm. "It's a burner phone," she explained, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "You didn't think I'd give you my personal number, right? I thought you knew me better than that, Kyoya."
At that, Kyoya couldn't help the small smile that stretched across his lips. "I'd expect nothing less," he said, taking the device and sending himself a short message so he could save her number.
"Now that that's sorted. Let's get started, shall we?" she prompted.
They spent a total of two and a half hours at the library. It was honestly more time than either of them needed. Reiko had understood everything she'd had issues with and was getting all of the practice problems right before the first hour was even over. Kyoya didn't need to spend much time reviewing in the first place either, but neither one of them moved.
Kyoya glanced at the silver-haired female in front of him. They had long since fallen into a comfortable silence, and he watched as she answered another question. She had moved on to their German homework now, and everything she had written was completely correct. Her expression was thoughtful as she wrote down her answers, her eyes moved across the page, scanning the lines and carefully reading the instructions as she worked. He noticed that a strand of hair had fallen over her shoulder, and Reiko instinctively brushed it away and tucked it behind her ear.
Not wanting to be caught staring at her, Kyoya returned to his laptop, which was now opened to the Club's monthly expense report. Once again, his idiotic best friend overshot the budget.
"What are you working on?" Reiko asked quietly, breaking the silence. She decided to take a short break and noticed the raven-haired male frowning at his computer screen.
"I'm recalculating the Host Club's budget for the month," he revealed.
At this, she perked up a bit. She had heard about the ostentatious parties and themed days the Host Club held and had always been curious as to how they managed to pay for all of it. "Would you mind if I took a look?" she asked.
Kyoya raised an eyebrow, confused as to why she would care about the club's budget. It wasn't like it was privileged information, though, so there wasn't any harm in letting her see the records. "I suppose not," he said, sliding the laptop between them.
Reiko leaned over and began reading the figures on the screen. Looking over the data, her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't thought they'd spent this much money on their special events. It was amazing they had enough to cover more than just their basic expenses. "Impressive," she muttered. She'd met financial advisors with six-figure salaries who weren't capable of doing work even half as good as what her classmate had done.
Having heard the girl's quiet comment, Kyoya sat up just a bit straighter. Few people cared about the management of the host club, and as such, his efforts often went unnoticed and undermined. Hearing someone acknowledge and even praise his work struck a chord with him, and he found himself looking down at her with a newfound appreciation.
"I see you're not using any of the money the school allots for club expenses," she observed.
"I try to avoid pulling funds from the school's budget if I can help it," he told her. He had made it his personal goal to run the club entirely without the school's support, and up until that point, he'd been fulfilling it. Unfortunately, it seemed that this month might be the exception.
"How ambitious," Reiko commented.
"Is it?" he mused.
Reiko looked up at him, that small and amused smile playing at her lips once more. "A little... yes, but I'm sure if it's you..." she trailed off as she looked down at the ledger again and frowned at the numbers. The way things stood now, it was clear that he wouldn't be able to avoid using the school's allowance this month. "You're buying birds?" she asked.
Kyoya frowned a bit at her unfinished thought. "They're for our tropical paradise day," he explained.
"Why not just rent them?"
"Renting?" he questioned. It was a strange proposition and something he'd never considered. Renting was something commoners did because they couldn't afford to keep whatever it was they were renting.
"Yes, renting," she repeated. "It's convenient for things like this. If you rent the birds, it'd be much less expensive, and you wouldn't have to waste time and money planning what to do with them afterward. The rental company would take them all back for you."
Kyoya hummed thoughtfully. It was a good idea- he made sure to mentally take note of it to revisit later.
"Also... do you really need such a large sweets budget in February?" she wondered.
"Yes, unfortunately, Honey senpai greatly enjoys sweets, and we have to have them flown in from Switzerland."
"But you have valentine's day. I'm sure you all get more chocolates and sweets from your guests than you know what to do with, so wouldn't you end up having a surplus? Why not cut the sweets budget for February in half and just use the supply they give you? That way, you can just use the money this money... that is unless you guys really eat all of it," she said.
Kyoya stared at the screen. She was right. She was completely right. "You have a point," he said quietly.
Reiko shrugged. "It's just something to think about. I'm sure there are other factors to consider."
"Not at all; your suggestions are most helpful."
"I'm glad," she said smiling.
She watched as he created a financial model using her suggestions. If they did what she said, they would have just enough money to cover their expenses. It was tighter than Kyoya would've liked, but it was better than what they currently had. He could figure out ways to improve it further when he got home and hopefully put the club in a better monetary situation.
Reiko's phone suddenly vibrated, and looking down at the screen, she saw it was her chauffeur messaging her informing her that he had arrived and would be waiting for her outside of the school. Looking at the clock, she realized that it was now a quarter past five o'clock, and the third years that had previously been in the library with them had long since left, leaving the pair alone in the building.
"The school will be closing soon, we should start heading home," she told him.
Kyoya glanced at the clock on his laptop- he too had lost track of time. "Yes, we should. Allow me to escort you out," he said as he put his stuff away.
Reiko nodded, and together, they walked to the school's front gates.
He'd hoped that the limousine waiting for her had some sort of company logo or family crest as family cars often did, but there was none that he could see. Part of him wondered about the reason for all of the secrecy surrounding Reiko Sakamoto, but before he could ponder it too deeply the silver-haired female spoke up.
"Thank you for today; it was surprisingly...pleasant," she admitted carefully.
"I thought so as well. I'll see you tomorrow then, Miss Reiko," he said.
"I'd wish you luck on our exam, but I doubt you'll need it," she commented humorously, and with one final wave goodbye, she slid into the backseat of her car and drove off.
Kyoya's eyes lingered on the car for a moment. He watched as it drove out of the school's front gates and towards some destination unknown to him. Sighing, he walked to his own limousine, which was parked just a few yards away.
"Good evening, master Kyoya," his chauffeur greeted.
"Good evening. I want to go home now," he requested.
"As you wish, sir."