The next day, Reiko came to the club completely exhausted. Rearranging Tamaki's schedule had taken almost four hours, and then she'd gone home to do her homework and take care of some business matters her father's secretary could not attend to. She hadn't gone to bed until the early hours of the morning; the only thing preventing her from lashing out at the blonde was knowing that her revenge was in the way she'd arranged his appointments.
Currently, the silver-haired teen sat at a table in Dance Studio 1. The room belonged to the Salsa Club, but because their meetings were after school, Reiko had asked the Club's president to do them a favor and let them use it during lunch. Kyoya occupied the seat across from her and was doing his own work. For some reason, Tamaki had asked them both to stay for Haruhi's dance lesson. The table was silent as they were too busy trying to get as much done before the blonde made it impossible to work anymore.
"I don't see why I have to do all this," Haruhi sighed irritatedly. She frowned at Tamaki, who was looking through a stack of CDs, trying to pick a song for them to dance to.
Reiko shot the first year a serious look. "I stayed up until four a.m. to rearrange yours and Tamaki's schedules to fit these lessons in Haruhi. Don't even think about skipping."
The brunette shivered at her cold tone. Having never been on the receiving end of the girl's irritation, she had forgotten how scary Reiko could be when she wanted.
Classical music started playing through the room's speakers, and Tamaki clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright, Haruhi, today is your first dance lesson! Why don't you come over this way," he said, gesturing for her to stand in front of him.
The first year reluctantly made her way toward the blonde and immediately, Tamaki went to position her hands so he could lead her in a dance. "Actually senpai, can't I get a demonstration first? I'd like to see how it looks before trying it myself," she told him.
"That's a great idea Haruhi!" he exclaimed. His expression, however, quickly turned into confusion. "Wait, but who will do the female part?" he wondered, completely forgetting that Reiko was there.
"Uh senpai? Reiko can dance, and she's a girl," Haruhi informed him.
Reiko, who hadn't been paying any attention to the pair, looked up when she heard her name being called. "Yes?"
"You can waltz, right?" Haruhi asked.
"Of course."
"Could you dance one with Tamaki?"
The second year raised an eyebrow. Tamaki's panicked expression showed that he wasn't too enthused about the idea either.
"I want to see what it looks like, so I have a reference on what to do."
Reiko sighed in resignation. Her role in the club was to help the Hosts succeed in all of their duties, and it wasn't like she hated Tamaki. She could deal with dancing with him for one song if it helped them get this done faster. "Fine."
The music started, and she and Tamaki got into their stances. Her hand slid onto his arm, and he gently clasped her hand in his.
"This is the proper dance posture for the waltz Haruhi," Tamaki said. "Your hand should be placed on the lady's shoulder blade to guide the direction in which you travel, and you should hold her other hand like so."
After listening to the music to dance in accordance with the song's rhythm, Tamaki took a step forward and led Reiko into a box step- the fundamental move in the waltz. As expected, the blonde was an excellent dancer, and Reiko could follow his lead easily. Their movements were perfectly in sync as they traveled around the dance floor. Whenever they would do a move, Tamaki would explain to Haruhi how to lead her partner through it. She and Tamaki danced together until they had demonstrated all the moves Haruhi had to learn by the end of the week.
Haruhi clapped as they ended their dance and exchanged polite bows, thanking each other for the dance.
As Reiko pulled away from Tamaki, she noticed a figure standing in the doorway. Smiling politely, she approached Kanajo Kasugazaki. "Hello Princess Kasugazaki. Thank you for taking the time to join us today."
"Of course, I'm happy to help in any way that I can. Thank you for inviting me."
The silver-haired teen guided the first year to Haruhi and Tamaki, both of who were confused to see Kanako there.
"Hello Miss Kasugazaki," Haruhi greeted with a bow.
"What brings you here, princess?" Tamaki asked.
"I invited Princess Kasugazaki to join us and stand in as Haruhi's dance partner," Reiko informed them.
Tamaki's eyes widened. "B-but I was going to-"
"You're much to tall to stand in for a woman, Tamaki," she said, her voice taking on a mischievous tone. "You want Haruhi to learn properly, don't you? You can instruct them while Haruhi and Kanako dance together." With that, Reiko excused herself and returned to her table, leaving the blonde a spluttering mess behind her.
She sighed as she opened her laptop once more. "Just being near him is exhausting," she complained.
Kyoya's lips curved minutely in amusement. "He does have a penchant for theatrics. Will you be dancing at the party?"
"Unlikely. I must oversee everything and ensure there are no issues or emergencies."
The dark-haired male felt the slightest pang of disappointment at the news that she didn't intend to enjoy the party, but it disappeared quickly, and he nodded in understanding.
The pair fell into silence, though it didn't last long as the doors opened moments later with the entrance of the twins, Mori, and Honey.
"Yo," Hikaru greeted, joining them at the table.
"How was club today?"
"It was alright; it was a bit tough without you guys, though," Kaoru said, sighing.
"Yeah, staying on top of all the appointments was tough," HIkaru added, slouching in the chair next to her.
The second year nodded and smiled at the boys comfortingly. "You both did well today, thanks for taking care of the club while we were gone."
The boys smiled happily at the silver-haired teen's praise. Their attention was quickly drawn to Tamaki, however, who was now sitting in a corner and pouting like a child that had just been scolded. "Why so gloomy boss?" they asked simultaneously.
"I bet it's because he wanted to be the one Haruhi practices with," Hikaru told Kaoru.
"I think you're right, but he's way too tall to stand in for a woman."
Noticing that Haruhi and Kanako were almost done with their lesson, Rieko removed herself from the twins' side to make everyone a cup of tea. When she returned, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrow at an obviously flirtatious comment Kanako directed at Haruhi. "Is that something she should really be doing in public?" she wondered.
Supporting the tea tray with one arm, Reiko poured each of the hosts and the princess a cup of tea.
Kanako stared at her teacup for a moment. "Oh my, is this a new tea set? It's Ginori."
"Ginori?" Haruhi echoed confusedly.
Kyoya nodded. "You have a keen eye, mademoiselle. In fact, we just received them yesterday. We decided that it was about time for the club to upgrade its tea sets."
The brunette smiled at the cup softly. "I see... what a pretty color. Lovely."
Haruhi smiled awkwardly. "You must really be into tableware huh?"
Kanako flinched and immediately set the cup down as though it had burned her. "Not really- I mean, no of course I'm not! Whatever would give you that idea?" she rambled, laughing nervously.
The silver-haired teen raised an eyebrow at her behavior. "She's obviously familiar with it; why would she lie?"
"Hello? I'm here with the new teacups you ordered," a voice broke through the conversation.
Reiko noticed Kanako tense at the arrival of Tohru Suzushima but said nothing of it and instead greeted the second year politely. Since becoming the club's secretary, they had become acquainted as he was the club's main contact for anything relating to tableware.
"Ah, thank you very much. Every item you've chosen for us has been extremely popular with the ladies. I'm quite impressed," Kyoya said.
Reiko moved toward the male and gestured toward an unoccupied table beside him. "You can set that down over here. Thank you for coming all this way I know it was a bit further since no one was in the clubroom."
"It's no trouble at all Sakamoto-san, really."
"So, do you sell tea sets?" Haruhi asked.
"No, I'm just a regular student. Can't you tell by the uniform?" he asked, gesturing to himself.
Kanako's laughter broke through the conversation. "Oh, Haruhi, you're so funny. I can't blame you for not knowing. After all, he doesn't really look like an heir to a first-class company."
Reiko raised an eyebrow at her comment and the obvious note of bitterness as she said. She wondered what kind of connection she and Suzushima had.
"First class company?" Haruhi asked.
"His family's business- the Suzushima Trading Company- deals primarily in the importing of tableware. They currently have the top market share in the country," Reiko explained.
"So, whenever something exceptional comes in, we've asked them to send it our way. He has a great eye for fine china. Don't you, Suzushima?"
"You think? I've still got a lot to learn but thank you."
"Aren't you leaving next month to study abroad in England?" Kyoya asked.
Tohru smiled uncomfortably. "Yes, I am. Well, I'd better go now," he said, trying to excuse himself.
Reading the situation quickly, Reiko nodded. "I'll walk you out." Leading him to the door, she thanked him once again for the tea sets, and he was sent on his way.
"I get the feeling you and that guy are kind of close," Haruhi commented to Kanajo once the second year had returned.
"Don't be ridiculous! We hardly know each other! What makes you say that Haruhi?" she asked quickly. Dabbing her mouth with a napkin, the teen stood abruptly. "Now, if you'll please excuse me... take care," she said and ran out of the room.
Reiko stood at Kyoya's side and peered at his black folder. He was turned to Kanako's profile, and sensing Reiko's presence beside him, he tilted the folder slightly to give her a better view. Under miscellaneous notes, it was written that Kanako and Suzushima were engaged. "It seems that Princess Kasugazaki is Suzushima's fiancée," she informed the group.
Having gotten over being unable to dance with Haruhi, Tamaki rejoined the group. "Kyoya, how long have you known about this?"
"About the two of them being engaged?" he asked, glancing down at his folder. "Well, as you know, I conduct general searches on all our customers. The two of them were childhood friends. It seems that their engagement was arranged by their parents. I didn't think the information would benefit us, so I disregarded it."
"Lucky girl," Reiko hummed.
Everyone turned towards her.
"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "He comes from a good family, is relatively looking, and is a pretty nice guy."
"Tohru Suzushima," Kyoya started reading out of his folder. "Outstanding grades, fair social status... he's reliable. If I had to fault him for anything..."
"He doesn't have much presence," Hikaru continued.
"And he's faint-hearted."
"In other words- he's boring," Kyoya said, snapping the folder shut.
"Not so lucky then," Reiko amended. She cringed slightly at the guys' merciless assessment of Suzushima.
"Suzushima's a good boy, right?" Honey asked, sitting on Mori's shoulders.
"Yeah," the third year answered.
"Alright everyone! We'll have to work on our strategy!" Tamaki exclaimed suddenly.
"Which one?" they all asked.
"It is our responsibility as members of the elite Ouran Host Club to make every girl happy! We are going to find a way to bring Tohru and Kanako together, and we're going to do it at the party!"