A/N: But wait, there's more! It's not just one, but TWO chapters! Yippee! Happy birthday to me!
Kyoya opened his eyes to see that he was in an unknown place crowded with unknown people--commoners.
"Where am I?" He thought, looking around, "I was at home, sleeping, until just a moment ago...Wait, no I wasn't...Tamaki was shouting about something...As I remember, it was about going to some kind of exhibit or something..."
|| Flashback to an hour ago... ||
"Doesn't that sound interesting, Kyoya? The underprivileged commoners hold special events like this once in a while to ease the emptiness of being unable to travel," Tamaki said as he and the rest of the Host club stood in front of Kyoya's bed, "By obtaining notable products from different regions, they are able to somewhat enjoy the feeling of traveling. So I've come up with a project so that beginning 2nd term, we'll be better able as a club to understand Haruhi and Fumika's feelings by going to experience some commoners' culture for ourselves.
"So, with that in mind, come on, let's go! Let's go right now!" Tamaki urged, "Oh, by the way, in keeping with the purpose of this project, Haruhi and Fumika won't be participating with us today, so if you don't mind..."
Grumbling, Kyoya reluctantly woke up, glaring.
"Come on, come on. You think you can sleep until almost noon on the last day of summer vacation?" Tamaki questioned as he and the rest of the Host club--par Mori--attempted to shake Kyoya out of bed.
Grumpily, Kyoya sat up in bed, a dark aura beginning to form around him. "Let me tell you, I didn't go to bed until 5 in the morning," Kyoya growled in a husky voice, "And who gave you permission to come into my bedroom, anyhow?"
By now, the Hosts were all huddled together far away from Kyoya's bed.
"Kyo-chan is really grouchy when he wakes up, huh?" Honey commented.
"Don't go casting stones," Mori said, but he only got a confused look from the little blonde who didn't know how he acted when he woke up.
"Huh? What?"
"Who cares about commoners' culture," Kyoya growled, "I'm starting to get pretty tired of the whole "commoner" shtick. Formulaic morons. If you want to go, then suit yourselves." With those words, the exhausted Shadow King fell back onto his bed, fast asleep.
"Uh, you're sure we can suit ourselves?" Tamaki asked nervously. When he got no response, the blonde brightened up, "All right, we've gotten the hypotensive devil's permission! Gentlemen, let's get this devil dressed up and taken to the car!"
|| At the mall... ||
The Host club--excluding the sleeping Kyoya on Tamaki's shoulders--looked around the shopping center in awe.
"Looks like they're selling a lot of the same kind of clothing!" Kaoru shouted as Hikaru pointed at what his brother was talking about.
"Mass production! Mass production!" they both cheered.
"Hold on! They have a pet shop!" Tamaki shouted, "We're going to the pet shop first!"
"I'm going to eat ice cream on the roof!" Honey declared.
Tamaki scampered over to a nearby events sign. "Oh! Looks like they're holding some kind of amazing event on the roof!" Tamaki said, turning his back to the sign. As he did so, he unknowingly dropped Kyoya onto a nearby bench and left him there as he (Tamaki) led the rest of the Host club to the roof.
|| And so, when the hypotensive devil finally woke up... he realized he was all alone. ||
"Oh, so that's it," Kyoya mused, getting up from the bench. He turned around to look at the sign behind him. "I'm currently at the Izumi shopping center. That's not within walking distance of home. I guess I'll call and have a car sent out." However, when he stuck his hands into his pocket for his phone, Kyoya found that there was no phone there.
"That dumbass," Kyoya cursed as he felt his other pockets for a phone or wallet. To make matters worse, his stomach also decided to let out a loud growl. Kyoya let out an annoyed sigh. "What do I do, now..."
Just then, a kid ran into him, falling to the ground. Annoyed, Kyoya turned to glare at the child.
"Mama!" the boy cried, running away.
"I swear, I'm going to kill Tamaki," Kyoya grumbled to himself.
"Huh? Kyoya-senpai?" Surprised, Kyoya turned to see Fumika and Haruhi staring at him.
"Eh? What are you doing here, Kyoya?" Fumika asked, confused.
Kyoya held his chin as he stared at his girlfriend and her sister thoughtfully. "Fumika, how much money do you and your sister have on you?"
"Huh?"
|| Time Skip ||
"Kyoya, are you sure you're fine with eating here?" Fumika asked, "I mean, there's a restaurant upstairs..."
"Haruhi doesn't have very much on her, so we have little choice," Kyoya said as he read the menu to the fast food place.
"But, I also have money," Fumika pointed out.
"Well, I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I made my girlfriend pay for my food, now would I?" Kyoya said.
"It's not very gentleman-like for you to make my sister pay either," Fumika retorted, rolling her eyes, "And we'll be getting a receipt anyways. Knowing you, you're gonna make Tamaki pay us back anyway."
"Ah, yes, that's good," Kyoya said before getting a dark look on his face, "I'm going to make Tamaki pay you back tenfold later."
Seeing the look on his face, Haruhi quickly stepped closer to Fumika, who let out an exasperated sigh. "All I wanted was take a peek at the products expo," Haruhi muttered to her sister, "Why did we have to bump into your boyfriend."
"He's not that bad," Fumika said, defending her boyfriend.
"Easy for you say," Haruhi said, "Besides, he's in an awfully foul mood, right now, which makes it worse."
"Fumika, how do you place your order here?" Kyoya asked.
Fumika rolled her eyes but giggled as she walked over to the cashier. "I'll do the ordering, Kyoya. What do you wanna eat?"
"Anything's fine. Just make sure there's lots of it," Kyoya said.
"Okay then, 3 cheeseburgers, 2 sodas, a bottle of water, and 2 large fries, please," Fumika said, smiling to the cashier.
"Welcome, can I recommend our new dessert, as well?" the cashier asked, beaming a Kyoya.
"Nah, I don't need anything sweet," Kyoya rejected.
"Well then, we also have a new shake here-"
Kyoya cut her off with a glare. "I said I didn't want anything."
Both Haruhi and the cashier let out terrified squeaks when they saw his glare.
"Excuse me, miss, may I get a receipt please?" Fumika asked as if nothing happened.
|| After getting their food... ||
"Kyoya-senpai, you might be in a bad mood, but you could have told her some other way, right?" Haruhi questioned as she walked over to where Fumika and Kyoya were sitting, the tray of food in her hands. She placed the tray on the table and took a seat in the chair across the booth in which the couple was sitting in. "She was only doing her job."
"Giving excessive service isn't necessarily the right way to wait on customers. Besides, it was obvious that she was trying to flirt with me," Kyoya said, unwrapping his burger and taking a big bite out of it.
Haruhi couldn't help but stare as she watched Kyoya eat uncharacteristically.
Noticing her stare, Kyoya swallowed his food and gave her an annoyed look. "What?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking that you were eating with unexpected gusto," Haruhi confessed, "I pictured you eating in a more refined manner, and thinking that this stuff wouldn't be to your liking."
Fumika looked up from her french fry house she was attempting to build. "Should I be concerned that you've pictured Kyoya eating before?"
"What? N-no!" Haruhi shouted, "It's nothing like that!"
"Yeah, I suppose not," Fumika said before a mischievous smile appeared on her face, "'Cause you're too busy thinking about someone else. Perhaps a certain Host...?"
"No!" Haruhi denied, turning red, "A-And you've been hanging around with the twins way too much."
"As to answer your previous comment about me, this food isn't particularly to my liking," Kyoya said, bringing the conversation back to its starting point, "Are you trying to say that I'm so callous a person as to complain, even when someone else is buying?"
"No..." Haruhi denied. "But I am thinking it, though..."
"The selling point of this stuff is that you eat it with your fingers, and eat it fast, right?" Kyoya questioned, "It's obvious that following that course when eating it will make it taste best. Besides, it doesn't matter whether I eat it in a refined manner or not, since there's no need to worry about how anyone will view me here."
"I guess in his world, there's a lot of pressure over manners and such," Fumika thought as she took a sip of Kyoya's soda.
"Hey," Kyoya said, getting the Fujioka sisters' attentions. "For the record, I mean it doesn't gain me anything to act all high-class in a place like this," he said, twisting a fry with his fingers, "There's nothing in it for me to observe properties with you two, either."
"Oh, you don't say," Haruhi said, a little insulted, "I suppose not, huh?"
Fumika frowned at him, "Well if you're gonna be like that..." She quickly bit off a piece of the fry that was still in Kyoya's fingers, "Thank you for the fry."
"Hey, look. That boy in the glasses in pretty hot." Fumika face turned stone-cold when she heard what the girls nearby whispered.
"Wow, you're right," she heard the other two girls squeal.
"Excuse me, is this taken?" the first girl asked Kyoya, referring to the empty chair next to Haruhi, "And if you're not using this chair, could we borrow it?"
"Go ahead," Kyoya sighed, not caring at all.
"Yay, thank you so much!" the girl cheered as her friends squealed, but Kyoya didn't pay any mind.
"No, not at all."
As the girls grabbed the chair, Fumika made sure to snuggle up against Kyoya's side so they knew he was taken.
"Ugh, I think he's taken already," the first girl grumbled in distaste, "He should leave her."
"Yeah, she's not even that pretty," one of her friends agreed.
"She's probably a slut," the other one added, "Or he's dating her out of pity."
Hearing those remarks hurt Fumika more than she would like to admit. She looked down at table, self-consciously tugging her hair. Kyoya did love her...right?
"Don't listen to a word they say," she heard Kyoya whisper into her ear. He lifted her chin so she would face him. "They are simply jealous that you are far more beautiful than they could ever dream to be."
Fumika gave him a weak smile, "You really think so?"
Kyoya lifted her hands to his mouth, giving them a soft kiss. "I know so," he said, giving her a soft smile. Then he glanced back at Haruhi, "And Haruhi. If you're wondering why Tamaki and I get along so well..."
Hearing that, Haruhi jerked back. Fumika couldn't help but giggled. "I think you just guessed exactly what she was thinking," she whispered to him.
Kyoya nodded in agreement. "...the answer is simple," he continued, his smile turning into a smirk, "Because it's in my interest. I won't act for any other reason. I'm an egoist, after all."
"Tamaki-senpai would cry if he heard you say that," Haruhi sighed.
"No, he wouldn't," Kyoya denied, pushing his glasses up, "He's known that from the beginning. It's why we teamed up. Hikaru and Kaoru, and even Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai, we all hang together because it's in each other's interests to do so. Our relationship with each other's families, and the situations that each of us are placed in--well, let's just say that there's still a lot that you don't know.
"Well, that fool Tamaki sometimes acts when there's nothing in it for him," Kyoya said--and Fumika could've sworn there was a hint of fondness in his voice. "It is true, there isn't a single millimeter of similarity between Tamaki and myself."
|| Time Skip ||
"Senpai, I thought you were going to take a taxi home," Haruhi said as she and Fumika followed Kyoya through the expo.
"I'm already here, so I'm going to look around a little first," Kyoya said, stopping at a jewelry stand, "Hmm, black pearls from Ishigaki Island, huh? Those are high quality articles. Will there be any buyers in a place like this?"
"Wow, that's amazing. You can tell?" Haruhi said in awe.
"Such is the education that I've received," Kyoya said.
At those words, Fumika looked at him thoughtfully, 'Kyoya treats this as if this is normal--but I guess it is to him, huh? Our worlds are so different...Would it really be okay for him to be with someone like me?"
"You know, now that I think about it, I don't really know anything about your family and such, Kyoya," Fumika said out loud.
"You've already met my sister and one of my brothers, and there's really nothing especially there for you to know about my family. Besides, there really isn't any reason for you to know," Kyoya said.
Fumika couldn't help but feel a little hurt. 'I see. I guess he wouldn't think it's important, huh...I mean most high school relationships usually don't last long--and even if they did, as soon as high school's over, the couple would most likely go their separate ways. Not to mention Kyoya's graduating next year and I'll still be in high school...'
"Well, that kind of seems unfair, doesn't it?" Haruhi asked, bringing Fumika out of her thoughts.
Kyoya looked at her, "Unfair?"
"After all, Kyoya-senpai, when it comes to my family, you've even got a firm grasp on who my dad's friends from work are," Haruhi said, "And you're dating my sister, so it seems kind of unfair."
"That's an intriguing notion, in its own way," Kyoya said.
"Kyoya-senpai, you have two older brothers, right?" Haruhi asked, "What kind of people are they?"
Kyoya paused for a while before answering. "They are exceptional men," he said, causing Fumika to internally snort when she thought back to her meeting with Akito "Enough so that they meet Father's expectations without any trouble. And so, even more is expected of the third son."
"I guess things are really hard for you, huh?" Fumika commented, "And here I thought being sisters with Haruhi was hard enough."
"Oi," Haruhi grumbled, pouting.
"You think so?" Kyoya asked, turning to smirk at the sisters, "I can't think of any game more fun than this."
Fumika and Haruhi exchanged looks before letting out sighs of defeat.
"Oh, my, pieces by Komatsu Shoin?" a nearby voice said, catching the three's attention. Standing at a nearby stall was an old lady, "Imagine, seeing them here."
"Madam, you have a sharp eye," the vendor said.
Fumika couldn't help but notice that Kyoya's face turned stern and stone-cold. "Kyoya?"
"Yes, Komatsu Shoin's pieces have such a nice color, don't they?" the vendor said to the lady. He leaned in to whisper, but Fumika could still perfectly hear what he was saying. "To tell you the truth, these are pieces that I'm not supposed to have here.
"These are valuable items, which were not supposed to have been had outside the Komatsu family for generations."
"Oh my..."
Fumika saw Kyoya put on his host smile before he made his way to the stall. "These are fakes, madam," he told the lady.
"W-what did you say? Stop messing around! You're just a kid," the vendor said, not pleased at all.
Kyoya simply smirked and picked up on of the pieces. "It's true, the way the blue comes out here is very similar to Shoin's work, but an authentic piece would have a darker graduation around the base, and the lacquer is too clear," he explained.
"I'm going to report you for obstructing my business!" the vendor threatened, "What school do you go to, you delinquent?!"
Kyoya ignored him and turned the piece so he could see the bottom. "Ah, I knew it," he said as his eyes narrowed, "One of the strokes in this seal on the bottom is off."
The vendor couldn't do anything but stutter.
"If this is authentic, there should be a certificate," Kyoya said, "Shall we do a handwriting analysis on it?"
"I-I left it back at my shop today..." the man stuttered.
"Ah, in that case, my family has had dealings with the Komatsu family going way back, so I could contact them right now, and have them verify these," Kyoya offered, "Would that be all right?"
|| A little later... ||
After Kyoya had revealed the man's attempts of conning people, the security guards--which someone had called--pulled him away, and the lady thanked Kyoya for helping her.
"Helping others is something that is beneficial to you after all, isn't it, Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi commented as the lady talked to someone else..
"Ah, didn't you know? That woman is the wife of the chairman of a major electronics maker," Kyoya informed her.
"Eh?!"
"This is my first time meeting her, as well, but I can tell by looking at the ring on her left hand," Kyoya confessed, "It's a company that our family has a lot of dealings with."
Fumika forced herself to contain her laughs. "Her ring my ass," she thought, "Haruhi may not have noticed it, but there was a big red flag blocking your view of her left hand. You may not want to admit it, but you're a big softie at heart aren't you, Kyoya?"
"Imagine, running into one of the Ootori family's boys here," the lady said, walking back over to them, "Are you out incognito, too? The next chance I get, I'll be sure to take advantage of your family's resort facilities."
Kyoya bowed, "I'm honored."
That's when the lady noticed Haruhi. "Oh my, is that your girlfriend? I apologize; I have interrupted a date, haven't I?"
"Ah, you are mistaken," Kyoya said, wrapping an arm around Fumika's waist to bring her closer to him, "This is my girlfriend. The girl over there is her sister."
"Oh, I am terribly sorry. I didn't see you there, sweetheart," the lady apologized.
"No, it's okay," Fumika reassured her, making sure to bow, "It's nice to meet you."
"Oh, how polite," the lady said, "I'm sure she'll make a wonderful bride. Whose family are you from?"
Fumika froze, unsure what to say. "Um, well, you see...My family doesn't exactly own a company..."
The lady's eyes widened in shock, "Oh my..." but then her eyes softened and she gave them a warm smile, "Well, I wish you two the best and hope you find happiness together. I must be on my way, now. Farewell."
"Have a nice day," Fumika said politely, waving until the lady walked away.
"Hey, Fumika, did you know this?" Kyoya called, getting her attention again.
"Know what?" Fumika asked as she and Haruhi walked over to see what was baffling Kyoya.
"Are melons really this popular among candy makers?"
.
.
.
"Huh?"
"I don't get this," Kyoya said, picking up a box, "Intentionally giving a corn snack melon flavoring, even when it's not actually a melon, just seems disconsonant, doesn't it?"
Not being able to hold it in anymore, Fumika and Haruhi started giggling.
Kyoya turned to look at them in confusion. "Hm?"
"That's an intriguing notion, in its own way," Haruhi laughed.
"Did I say something funny?" Kyoya asked.
"No, no, it's just that earlier, in the food court, you said something about there not being one millimeter of similarity between you..." Fumika started to explained, but she couldn't due to her constant giggling.
"...and yet, that sounded like something Tamaki-senpai would say," Haruhi finished, also laughing.
"I see. This definitely seems like something that Tamaki or the twins would be thrilled over," Kyoya agreed. "All right, I'll buy them." He held his hand out towards Haruhi. "Haruhi, your wallet."
"Oh, right. I'm paying, aren't I?" Haruhi sighed.
"I'll pay for it," Fumika said, pushing Kyoya's hand away so she could stand in front of the stall. "Hi, I'll get five boxes, please."
|| Time Skip ||
"You guys wait here," Fumika said as they stood in front of the bench where the sisters had found Kyoya. "I'll be right back. I saw a really cute key chain a few stalls back and I think I'm gonna get it to attach to my phone. I'll be back in a few minutes."
|| A few minutes later... ||
"Uwah~ It's so cute~" Fumika quietly squealed, hugging her phone--with her new key chain attached--to her chest, "Aren't I lucky that I got the very last matching panda pair. I think I'll give my extra one to Kyoya."
"Then, what is there for you to gain, Kyoya-senpai?" she heard Haruhi ask as she neared them. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Fumika stayed behind the corner. "Wealth, or fame? Some sort of actual, tangible gain? The way I see it, Tamaki-senpai feels benefited from doing things that I don't see as having any point. Kyoya-senpai, I think you're a lot like Tamaki-senpai."
Fumika quietly giggled at the thought. She was about to walk around the corner and back to them when she heard Haruhi's next statement.
"I mean, if you really did do everything out of personal gain, then--with no offense to my sister of course--why would you date Fumika? We're both commoners, so there's really nothing to gain by dating her."
"That's right..." Fumika silently agreed, "I'm nothing but a simple 'commoner' compared to everyone at school. Dating me would probably make his situation with his family worse...Should I...I don't want to...but should we break up?" Fumika could already feel herself tear up just at the thought. "I don't want to hold him back...but I don't want...there's no way his family would accept a commoner like yourself, Fumika, you know that." Fumika glanced at Kyoya sadly. "What should I do...?"
Before she could think any further, she heard the bell of the mall's PA system ring. "This is an announcement for little lost boy," the woman on the PA said, "This is an announcement for a little lost boy.
"Ootori Kyoya-kun, who is here from Tokyo. Ootori Kyoya-kun, is lost," the woman announced, "His guardian, Suoh-sama, is waiting for him at the 2nd floor counter. Kyoya-kun is 180cm in height, and is wearing glasses."
Fumika pushed all previous thoughts out of her head as she giggled at the announcement. Leave it to Tamaki to somehow mess things up but still manage to cheer her up.
"Oh my, are you lost, little boy?" Fumika teased as she walked up to Kyoya and Haruhi.
"I'm going to kill that idiot," Kyoya growled, terrifying poor Haruhi.
|| Time Skip ||
Pissed, Kyoya walked over to the Information Center where the rest of the Host Club were waiting.
"Oh, Kyoya! You're safe!" Tamaki shouted before realizing who was beside him, "Um, what are Haruhi and Fumika doing with you?"
"Haru-chan! Fumi-chan! Let's go play together!" Honey insisted.
"Let's play! Let's play!" the twins cheered.
"No, we're going home," Haruhi rejected, "For some reason, I'm worn out today."
Suddenly there was barking and Tamaki shouting.
"Hey, now! Cut that out! Stop licking me!"
"What's with the dog?" Kyoya asked as they all stared at the dog on top of Tamaki.
Tamaki let out a happy sigh. "Isn't she great? I just bought her at the pet shop up on the roof." He started laughing again when the dog resumed its licking, "Hey, cut that out, Antoinette!"
"How are this idiot and I alike?" Kyoya demanded.
Fumika smiled and wrapped her arms around Kyoya's right arm, hugging it. "You know, earlier today, you lied about the reason why you helped that lady," she said nonchalantly, "I don't know if Haruhi had noticed, but there was a big red flag in front of us, so there's no way you could've seen her ring."
Haruhi nodded in agreement. "I don't understand," she sighed, "Senpai, intentionally acting like an egoist..."
"...when you're not actually an egoist..." Fumika continued.
"...just seems disconsonant," they finished together, throwing Kyoya's words from before back at him.
"Fumika, I'm heading to the back to the front," Haruhi told her sister, beginning to make her way back.
Fumika nodded, "I'll meet you there."
As Haruhi walked away, Fumika heard Kyoya chuckle. "That's an intriguing notion, in its own way," he said.
Fumika's smile dropped when she remembered her thoughts from before. "Hey, Kyoya. I..."
Her boyfriend looked down at her, his eyebrows raised in confusion. "Hm?"
"I..." Fumika tried to say again, but she then decided against it, and instead hugged Kyoya tightly, burrowing her face into his chest.
Startled at the sudden hug, Kyoya couldn't do anything but hug back. "What's this for?"
Fumika shook her head, hiding her face in his shirt, "It's nothing. I just really love you. A lot."
She heard Kyoya chuckle and felt him kiss the top of her head. "I love you, too, Fumika."
Fumika smiled. "I won't break up with him--not today. Maybe at the end of the school year. But for now--please forgive me, God--I wanna be selfish for a little while longer."
A/N: Yay! Another update! And this time, it's TWO chapters! I only forced myself to do it cause it's my birthday and I wanted to do something special for you guys. I hope you guys are satisfied. Yeah, this probably it for at least another month. My SAT is next month, and it's after my second day of school! Sucks to me...TT^TT. Once again, please don't do those "update" comments (but of course there are going to be people who don't read my author's notes where I actually put my emotions in), and thank you so much for your encouraging comments. They always make my day (the comments are the things I look forward to the most when I publish new chapters). Anyways, please be patient with me and thank you those of you who already are. See you guys next time!
- SingingGeekyBookWorm-