To dance above clouds {NZ-TS-KO}

[tsarashi]

…Do not forget to be on your best behavior,

Yours truly,
Your loving Aunt and Uncle.

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Her mother’s calligraphy glared up at her mockingly from the parchment in Nickolette’s delicate hands. The silent threat that had been hidden within kept nagging at her heart strings long after she had finished reading. She didn’t need to be reminded of the consequences if revealing her true identity. The teen had been reminded all of her life and she was no closer to divulging the secret than the last time she was spoken to about it. Nickolette could feel the trust her parents put in her. But at least she had heard from her mother.

The duchess never called for fear that some would get wind of suspicious phone calls to Japan. Since of course, who in their right mind would call their niece more than once a year? Apparently not her family. Her parents certainly were strange people, they were so paranoid about their reputation being soiled, yet it was almost as if they took some perverse pleasure in keeping a secret from the world. Nickolette didn’t understand any of it though; she felt it was a childish game of ‘I know something you don’t know’ where she has absolutely no choice but to go with it.

Nickolette closed her eyes and sighed; the paper in her hands made a crinkling sound as she folded it in half three times. After making sure that nobody was looking she gave into her temptation to crumple the letter into a small wad and put it in her satchel to dispose of later. She didn’t have time to bother with distractions like that here at school, she should have opened it earlier, but Viktor, her driver and aid, had given it to her on the short drive to the school. She only got to the courtyard before her curiosity got the better of her, something she greatly regretted now. She had hoped that today would be a good day, but so far it was not looking very bright.

Heaving the black designer satchel over her shoulder Nickolette composed herself to head to class. She could at least pretend that she was having a good day, even though the letter had made her mentally weary already. At some point in her walk the beautiful landscaping had become rather dull and her eyes became set on her feet as she pulled her thoughts together. The stone that made up the walkway clapped under her shoes and she was so focused on it that she hadn’t heard if the warning bell had sounded or not. Although it wasn’t as if it mattered since she had been given a study period first hour since the school administrators figured she could use the rest. They didn’t take into consideration that she had just woken up from sleeping all night, but at least only a few of the school personnel knew about her condition. That was her little secret.

While she was so distracted the Russian exchanged student didn’t even see the wall that she ran into, in face she didn’t even know for sure if it was a wall or not. The only thing she knew for sure was that she was now sprawled on the ground looking up at the clouds. Her satchel had fallen to her right and all of its contents were spilled across the ground. She briefly wondered how many people saw her like this. The thought made her groan. Soon enough though she allowed herself to be distracted from the humiliation by seeing how blue the sky was and how strangely fluffy the clouds looked. It was rare to see anything much beyond overcast back home.

[ooc-Sorry it took so long to post, I just finished up with school and have more time now.]

[Tamaki Suoh]

Twas yet another wonderful, beautiful day in the life of Tamaki Suoh. Birds were chirping, grass freshly cut, roses in full bloom. Of course, just about everyday at Ouran was beautiful, with the staff working hard to ensure everything was just perfect (after all, with all the money going into the school it would be a disaster to look bad). As it was the beginning of the day, the Host Club was not yet ready for business, and so Tamaki spent his time wandering the school, thinking up more ideas for the club whether it be themes or events to hold. And of course, he would offer his services to any young lady wishing them while he was out and about; he could never refuse a request from a lady. For the moment, however, he was all alone….

Whistling a happy tune to himself, Tamaki was making his way towards class, a little skip in his step on the stoneway as he did so, when he spotted a young woman sitting alone, reading over a letter. Normally he wouldn’t have focused too much, but the unfamiliarity of the young lady, combined with a look that did not seem to show happiness, he had to have stopped. Just then, the young girl crumpled up her paper, and Tamaki hid behind a column. Whatever that letter had written on it, it made the girl distraught. He had the obvious urge to become involved of course, but he was also trying to work on controlling himself like Kyouya had asked him to. Besides, he didn’t know anything about the situation, and sometimes not sticking your nose into everything was the best way to help. Still, Tamaki couldn’t help but wonder what was going on; maybe he could get Kyouya to get some information on the girl.

As he had to restrain himself for now, Tamaki decided to focus on returning to his class. Still, his head kept turning to the girl, who was lost in thought from the looks of it. Just as they were about to disappear from site of each other, however, he watched her walk right first into a wall. Tamaki being, well, Tamaki, he did what he did best. In what must have been like a single leap, he made his way towards the girl, who was sprawled on the ground, the contents of her bag spilled out on the ground beside her. He stuck out his hand in an offer to help her out…

”Excuse me, would you like some help madame? I am Tamaki Suoh, a pleasure to make your acquaintance in this most unfortunate time it seems.”

[/blockquote]

[tsarashi]

It took a few moments for Nickolette to realize that the blurry skin-tone and blue object above her was a hand and only after blinking several times to clear her vision did she see that it’s intended purpose was to help her up. Gratefully she took it, appreciating it’s warmth against her naturally chilled, pale fingers. A small thankful smile graced her features as she held back her earlier frustration, but she was not able to suppress the flush of embarrassment. Knowing that at least one person had seen her commit such a scatter brained act was enough for the blood to rush to her head.

But after regaining her footing and learning who the chivalrous boy was the exchanged student felt less bad about her predicament. Tamaki Suoh, son of Yuzuru Suoh, the principal of Ouran. He had quite the reputation for being ridiculously kindhearted and always having his head above the clouds. She was actually rather glad that it was him who had found her and not one of the other, more rumor driven students. He was one of the people that she had learned about before her admittance into Ouran and his bright blonde hair made him easy to pick out from a crowd. She vaguely remembered that Tamaki wasn’t even his first name.

Nickolette shook her head softly as if to clear it before looking back up at him. He was a good six or seven inches taller than her. “I’m terribly sorry for causing you any trouble. I suppose I wasn’t looking where I was going.” She smiled brighter, hoping that it was visible in her eyes, she felt like it was. Since his hand was already in her small grasp Nickolette shook it in greeting, although she somehow felt that an introduction was terribly unnecessary. But of course, just because she knew him that didn’t mean that he knew her, though she felt rather disappointed that he obviously didn’t recognize her. “My name is Nickolette Zuboff; I have been in the same class as you for a few months now, I transferred in last spring. The pleasure’s all mine.”

The last phrase felt awkward with her thick accent that she was afraid that she might have messed up the wording, but she went with it anyway. If she did slip then hopefully she would be corrected, and after being corrected she would take the time to revise her studies on the language. Anything that she was able to do to keep her mind off her parents was something that Nickolette was more than happy to do, be it studying or talking to the ‘prince’ of the school. And since she had left all of her language books on her desk this morning the little princess greatly hoped that that this boy would continue to speak with her and be her distraction.

[Tamaki Suoh]

Tamaki was no stranger to seeing a girl blushing at him, and so he simply smiled and tried his best to reassure her he wasn’t here to hurt her or anything like that. Normally he would be commenting on the blushing or taking advantage of this for the purpose of hosting, but since this was outside of the club he could restrain himself. Besides, there was the more important task of ensuring that the girl was okay after her bump, and that she could s tand. After all, she looked rather pale behind the blushing, so there was the possibility of some kind of injury or condition…or she was just pale. She also felt kind of cold though. Maybe he should try and get her to the nurses…

Whatever the case, he gently helped the girl stand to her feet and waited for her to regain her balance and speak before planning anything else. Her first reaction of course was to apologize for causing any trouble for him. Tamaki just simply shook his head.

”Not at all. I am always glad to assist a beautiful lady in need,” he flirted before finally actually letting go of her hand, after shaking it in greeting it seemed. Introductions were soon in order. Now that he actually had a good look at her, he was starting to remember. My, what a failure of a host for him to have forgotten such a lovely lady in his own class like that. Well, he would have to do his best to make up for it now…

”Oh yes, how could I have forgotten a face as lovely as yours… he mused,”Anyway, to make up for forgetting your name, I would be glad to reserve a spot for you for a session in the Host Club, if you want to of course.” he said, hoping that would be a good offer to make up for the crime of forgetting her name.

”If you don’t mind me asking, Zuboff is a Russian name isn’t it?” he added out of simple curiosity. Between the foreign name and the accent, he figured it would be a good guess. That, and he probably was digging up some old info that Kyouya probably told him about her that was locked up in his mind somewhere. Whatever the case, he could sense some hesitance about the language, but she seemed to be getting it right enough. As a foreigner himself, he could understand trouble about the language and so could sympathize with her if she was having trouble about it.

[/blockquote]

[tsarashi]

Host Club? Nickolette mused silently to herself. What in the world was a Host Club? She’d heard snippets of the title in conversations that the other girls at this school have had around her, but never have she felt that it was more than mere trivial gossip. She wasn’t one for gossip and never bothered to pay attention to it, though the name did seem familiar. It must have been talked about a lot. But that still didn’t aid her in discovering the purpose of such a club. Well, her logical mind told her, a club is a group of people with common interests who gather for the purpose of that interest, and a host is a man who caters to his guests, therefore it is a group of men who entertain people, particularly women.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she told herself that she could be wrong, that the title could simply be misleading. Also she felt that a club dedicated to such a thing would be trivial since there were plenty of parties for these students to attend. But maybe it was good practice for hosting their own parties in the future? Regardless, what harm could it do to visit it just once since she was being offered a placement? That was part of the reason that she had come to Japan in the first place; to try new things and have fun. And besides, how bad could it be? It’s not like a club like that would be overly rambunctious, it would be safe for her.

After thinking over the pros and cons of attending the club Nickolette decided that she had nothing to lose, and since no body in that club could possibly have knowledge of her condition they wouldn’t treat her like she was porcelain. “I don’t see why not. I’ll attend after classes. Would today be alright? I haven’t anything scheduled for this afternoon.” And she didn’t, she would just have to find time during the day to contact Viktor and tell him that she would be late. She knew he wouldn’t mind since she hardly ever asks anything of him.

Almost as an afterthought Nickolette nodded to his question. It was pretty obvious that she is Russian since both her name and surname are of Russian origins and her accent is rather thick, though it has been mistaken for a Belarusian accent before. “It is, I am born and raised.” She blinked curiously and looked up at him. “And you? You are not native to Japan.” She stated the fact. It was only polite to inquire since he did so of her own heritage, even though she already knew the answer.

Before waiting for his answer Nickolette brought her hand up to lightly inspect the swollen ridge of the place just above her temple. Thankfully it was hidden within her hairline because she knew that in a matter of minutes she would have a deep bruise marring her delicate skin. The simple act of touching it brought a wave of lightheadedness to her and she was forced to close her eyes and focus on the ground so that she did not waver. She almost considered holding onto the blond for support, but since that would be rude she simply stuck it out and tried to keep herself from showing signs of distress. She could feel her heart beating rapidly, but it was soon to pass. A wave of dizziness was far from the worst thing that has ever happened to her, so while she stood there she thought of what she would eat to bring her blood levels up.

[Tamaki Suoh]

Now here was an eager young lady: had just met him and was already ready to to go visit the Host Club. Then again, he did have that kind of effect on women; they just had to rush to the club just to get another chance with him. Oh woe was he for being such perfection as to irresistable. That aside, hei had to ensure the success of this new client, and so it was time to tell her where exctly to go.

"Well then, it's settled. Stop by Music Room #3 whenever you are ready. Someone will greet you, and if it isn't me simply ask for me, unkess you're interested in one of the other club members of course."

Just as he had suspected (being such a genius), Nickolette was Russian. Before he could respond with his own background, as per the polite thing to do, he noticed that she ws touching the spot on her head. However, it seemed as if something was wrong. She had closed her eyes and looked at the ground. Was she wavering a bit as well. Stepping closer, he lightly held onto her shoulder, looking at her face and the spot on her head. He could see it already starting to bruise. It seemed that bump was worse than he thought.

"Are you all right Nickolette? You seem kind of faint. Do you need to go se the nurse? That bump seems to have done a number on you. I'll be glad to escort you there."

[/blockquote]

[tsarashi]

It took a moment before his words finally processed in her fogged over mind, but when the words finally clicked she gently looked up at him, her crystal blue eyes meeting his exotic violet. The nurse? That was probably not a bad idea actually, seeing as the nurse’s office gave her privacy and a person who knew everything about her health. Over the past few months her and her respective nurse have grown quite fond of each other. She was a sweetheart who acted as if Nickolette was the only person who ever asked her how she herself was feeling before addressing her own problems. Actually, Nickolette thought, knowing some of the people at this school she probably was one of the few people who asked about the wellbeing of the help.

The dizziness was beginning to leave her system and the mist that had clouded her mind and vision was receding, but you could never be too sure. Unexpected things could happen at any moment, so it was always better to be safe than sorry. And since ‘unexpected’ was a well used word in the Russian’s newest set of vocabulary being in a controlled environment was probably for the best. And what place was more controlled (other than a hospital) than the nurse’s office?

Nickolette smiled up at the blond in front of her, though it looked as forced as it felt and she felt bad about that. He was being so kind to her, and yet she wasn’t able to smile one more time for him. It was not because of the pain, or the new slight ache in her stomach that reminded her that she wanted to get her blood sugar up, but it was because she felt horrible for burdening him and causing him to be late to class.

“Would you please? I hate to push myself on you, but I am feeling a bit… under the weather. And it would be rather embarrassing if I were to collapse in the hall.” The last that she needed was another fall. Another fall meant another bruise and bruises were glaringly obvious on her.

She gave him a sympathetic look before looking down at his hand that was still cupping her dainty shoulder. She had kept herself from touching him for fear that she would have been acting too rude, but yet here he was doing just that. His hand felt warm through her sleeve, just like it had when he helped her up. Perhaps it was simply his culture that caused him to differ from the other Japanese students. Nickolette knew that her own culture was a rather physical one as well, but she knew from experience that a firm handshake and a kiss on each cheek was not as welcome here.

Shaking her head hard enough to clear her thoughts but light enough to keep the room from spinning, Nickolette placed her tiny hand on top of his. ”Shall we?” She said before dropping her hand as softly as she had put it there and stepping away from him and beginning to walk in the direction of the office that she knew all too well. ”Anyway, you were saying?” She asked before the thought of culture slipped her mind. ”Also, tell me more about this club on our way, because truthfully I know nothing about it.”

[Tamaki Suoh]

In all his time as a host, and just being Tamaki in general, it wasn't hard to see that the girl was forcing herself to smile for his sake. She probably felt guilty about what he was doing for her, but it was no trouble for him at all. As a host, and as a person, he was always ready to offer a helping hand, especially to a lovely young lady as the one in front of her. But enough about that. More importantly, they needed to get her to the nurse. He had a nagging feeling there was something more to this than just feeling 'under the weather', but that was something a little to personal to ask or get Kyouya to spy on it. For now, it was just a trip to the nurse's office.

"Of course, it's no trouble at all. There is no way I could just leave you like this alone."

He was sure his teachers would understand if he was late if he was off helping a girl with something. After all, that pretty much happened every day for him; they were used to it. Plus, this was an actual medical emergency so he had even better reason to be assisting her. So he would help her out to the nurse, make sure everything was fine, and then make his way back to class. Then during the next break he would track her down and see if she was all right later on.

But first, apparently he might have gotten a little to physical grabbing her on the shoulder to make sure she was all right. Nickolette had noticed his hand and gently signaled him to let her go. Well, if she was sick, and bruised easily from the look of that bruise on her, it would make sense she didn't like people touching her right? He could get a little carried away at times, though most of the girls here really didn't seem to mind that much when he did it. Oh well, it was fine. If she fell again though he would obviously try and catch her... Following right behind, he began his usual discussion of the Host Club.

"Well, the Host Club is pretty much where the us Hosts entertain the ladies who come and visit us. Various members of the club have different talents when it comes to entertaining. I am the princely type, for example. Usually people also get free drinks and food, but much of the focus is pretty much sitting and talking and entertaining the guests. If you come, I'd also suggest you meet our newest member Haruhi Fujioka. He's a natural."

[/blockquote]

[Kyouya Ootori]

Kyouya had been walking around the courtyard and looking at his phone to make that no one important had texted or called during the day. So far there was nothing too stressing that he had to take care of right away. A few texts from his older sister about something, but that could be answered later tonight when he made his way home from school and everything else. She was the last person that he was concern about for the matter of getting back to.

He closed his cell phone after a moment or so and slipped it into the front pocket of his blazer and turned a corner of the courtyard. He took one glance around the courtyard and stopped when his eyes fell one Tamaki and someone from their class. It took him a few seconds to recall her name from the teacher rooster every day, but other than that there was not much that he knew about the girl he was with. He had never decided to dig too deep inside her background since she was from overseas.

Now that she had gotten the prince’s attention, he knew that was going to change. He had to make sure Tamaki was not promising to go to the end of the earth for this one as well. ”…Why does he know how to keep me on my toes…” Tamaki had been the only one to really catch him off his guard before.

He watched them for a moment and watched her nearly faint and that triggered something from the file he had read before. He remembered reading that there was a few new medical supplies that his father’s company was giving the school for a student. A coy smirk rose to his face at the moment that he made disappear and he made sure his blazer was straight.

He slowly walked towards them and watched Tamaki with her and caught the last bit of what was being said as he walked up behind them. He pushed up his classes when Tamaki spoke about the club and Haruhi. ”There is also, Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai. Both third years of the club this year. Honey-sempai is the cute type where his counterpart is the quiet type barely speaking a word to anyone. We also have two very devilish twins that you could take part in meeting if you prefer someone that is not like Souh here it could be arranged.”

He decided not to describe himself for now and to see how the two of them would react to him coming up behind them like that. It was not his intention to catch them off the guard especially after seeing the girl nearly faint like she did. He reached up and pushed up his glasses and kept pace with them for now.

[tsarashi]

Nickolette nodded to Tamaki, encouraging him to continue as she carefully placed one foot before the other, the two of them slowly making their way out of the courtyard. She had been right about the Host club, it was a group of boys entertaining women, and she felt rather proud that her definitions hadn’t failed her. If they had then she would have been jumping into something completely unknown to her; either way visiting the Host club would be a welcome twist in her day’s routine.

Then the subject of Haruhi Fujioka was brought up in the conversation. The Russian didn’t know much about the scholarship student since she figured that it would be slightly pointless to research someone with such a background. He was normal and helpless in her endeavor of spreading her wings and discovering her world. As long as there was money in her bank account her world was in a higher class than Mr. Fujioka, though, not in a snobby way. That was just the way things were.

She had heard that Fujioka had joined a club though; it was a rather popular topic in the gossip grapevine and has been since the very start of the school year not too long ago. Nickolette had only heard snippets, but apparently bits and pieces were enough to begin piecing together the puzzle that was the Host club. Nickolette’s inner musing was interrupted by the sound of footfalls behind them. She stopped walking and turned back just in time to hear their company’s words.

Nickolette recognized him instantly, his black hair, his designer frames, his ‘strictly business’ posture. He sat four seats to her left during homeroom but they had never exchanged words before this day, just like she and Suoh. It was rather amusing actually, all of them being in the same class, but yet they had never said a word to her until now. Why? Why on this day was she just now being brought to their attention?

It didn’t matter. All that mattered now was responding politely to the men she knew so much about. She loved learning about people when she was confined to her home and learning about their lavish lives and relationships, but now that inane curiosity of people helped her wherever she went. Some people she had learned more about than others due to matters of importance, Tamaki being one of those people, but others she learned about during and after chance encounters when her curiosity had been peeked, this was so with the boy standing before her as well as many others.

A warm, inviting smile blossomed across her face and her ailments were almost forgotten as she welcomed the boy to the conversation. ”Kyouya Ootori… are you in the club as well?” She intertwined her fingers and laid them against the front of her dress. Her eyes glistened with the memory that was brought to the forefront of her mind. There was much watching that night as people danced, she had been alone until company had joined her and humored her with conversation. It was not a long conversation, but it was enough to grab her attention. It had even secured supplies for the new school that she hadn’t yet been planning on attending.

Yes. Knowing people was good. ”I didn’t know. My name is Nickolette, by the way, Nickolette Zuboff. Though, you probably already knew that.” She looked away before looking up at him, the slightest blush on her cheeks from the reminder of the handsome man who had spoken to her of education and politics and medicine. Her smile returned as she spoke again, not knowing that she might be venturing into dangerous territory. ”Your eldest brother must have told you, since, he was in fact the very person who introduced me to Ouran academy.”

[Tamaki Suoh]

Just as he was finished speaking about the club and Haruhi, Tamaki soon found himself joined by Kyouya in assisting this girl to the nurses office. Well, that was a pleasant surprise, although he had expected Kyouya to be off to class or something. After all, he wanted to maintain a spotless record of attendance; this could possibly make him late for class. It seemed there was a bit of a heart in this boy somewhere deep, deep inside the evil manager act that he liked to put on whenever it came to club business. Of course, even when being friendly he was a shrewd businessman, such as he was doing now by mentioning the other members of the club.

”Oh, good afternoon Kyouya. I had expected you to be heading to class right now.”

Before he had the chance to begin introductions, as any polite gentleman ought to do in a situation where two people he knew but hadn’t introduced met like this, Nickolette was already asking her own questions about the situation. She was quick to spot out that Kyouya was in the club as well, and there was his que to begin a more formal introduction of Kyouya.

”Why yes, Kyouya here is the manager of the Host Club and also the ‘cool’ type if you’re interested in that. He tends to all the day by day logistics of the club that I’m not as well suited for dealing with. I may be the President of the club, but Kyouya here is really the brains of the operation.” Tamaki added, knowing he still sort of needed to get back into Kyouya’s good side after that issue about bringing up his family the other day. More importantly, Tamaki wasn’t afraid to admit he found the hosting side of the Host Club more interesting than the budgets or anything like that. That’s why he and Kyouya made such a good team; Kyouya had the brains, and as king he had the charm and charisma to put it together. A perfect combination!

Her comment that Kyouya probably already knew her name was, in fact, probably true as he had pretty much info on every person in the school. The comment she made about his older brother introducing her to Ouran, however, was interesting. Apparently she already had some dealings with the Ootori family. That was knew, and it meant she would be easier to integrate into the club than he thought. After all, she was already familiar with one of the members…sort of at least.

”Is that so? Well, we’ll have to thank him one of these days for sending such a radiant lady such as yourself to Ouran. I hope that the academy is up to the expectations that he must have set for you about it?”

[Kyouya Ootori]

Kyouya watched the two of them for a moment before pushing up his glasses again. It was a habit that he could not break so easily and he was not sure that he wanted to do it. It allowed him to look like he was plotting something and well his brain was always going on about something that he could use against someone or o something for the club. It was just how he operated and he was fine with it. Everyone else seemed to be okay with how his brain worked, but his sister and that was for something to worry about some other time.

He looked to Tamaki when he called him out for heading to class already and gave a slight shrugged. “You should keep up with your own schedule and not worry about mine,” Kyouya said calmly with a small shifty grin on his face. It was a playful jab at his friend, but one that he had to make sure Tamaki knew that he was able to keep better track of things that needed to get done then he was.

He raised his eyebrow just slightly when Tamaki described him to the girl and actually praised him somewhat for his managing skills. It seemed that his friend was still trying to make sure he was not planning something behind his back for the incident the other day. It was harder this time to hold back a smirk and his lips twitched just barely before returning to a smile and looked to his friend for a moment before turning back to her.

”If I allow Souh to manage anything we would be over booked in a matter of minutes. He likes to be creative, but sometimes that does get out of hand from time to time and I have to pick it all up and sort through it.” Was he tired of cleaning up after his friend? Not really since it did give him something to do with his time other than worrying over his future or school activities outside of the club.

He looked up slightly and his eye twitched slightly at the mention of his brother. Now that she brought it up he did recall him saying something along those lines, but had dismissed it as unimportant at the time. How wrong he was that it was not important. He moved and pushed up his glasses once more for time to clear his mind. He hated anyone mentioning of his brothers mainly because what it reminded him of.

”Yes, I do recall him telling me of you once, but nothing else as ever been said.” He left it as that for now and hoped that she would do the same and knew Tamaki would be quick to say something. He looked to Tamaki when he mentioned thanking his brother for introducing her to the school and a twitch pressed against his lips at this. ”I will see him tonight…and pass the word to him for you.”

Kyouya took a moment for himself to get a hold of himself. He closed his eyes slightly and opened them once his mind was calm again and looked between the two of them. ”Are you taking this young lady to the hospital wing or are we just going to stand here and have an idle talk about the school and families?” It was his way of asking if they were going to wait or actually move along at the moment.

[tsarashi]

Nickolette had the sneaking suspicion that while they were talking to her, it was more like she wasn’t there and they were talking to each other. It was as if they were going back and forth about something that was completely different than talking about the Host club, there was an undertone that she couldn’t quite catch. But, it was really none of her business anyway; all it did was made her feel somewhat left out. But she was used to that. Since she hadn’t made many friends yet she was used to being left out in the cold when it came to inside jokes and conversations.

She watched their reactions closely and didn’t miss the tightness in Kyouya’s lips as he responded to Tamaki’s offhanded comment. For a moment she was confused, why would his mood switch to such ice at the very mention of his brother? Had she said something insulting or brought up something painful? For the life of her she couldn’t understand why that would affect his mood, but then the answer hit her and hit her hard.

Like a load of bricks it hit her with such a force… or perhaps that was simply the dizziness coming back, but either way she knew the answer. He was the youngest child. It was common knowledge that in wealthy families the title ‘heir’ would always go to the first born. In the past it was strictly to the first born son, but now-a-days women were expected to become the heir as well. That left the younger siblings with high expectations and no or little reward for their efforts; it was just what was expected of them.

Now Nickolette could picture the younger Kyouya following in the shadow of the intelligent, handsome man that she had met so many months ago. She frowned at the ground as the fog slowly filled her head, her thoughts were beginning to physically hurt, but that didn’t mean she would just stop thinking, which was impossible of her. Maybe she was being presumptuous in thinking that, but as bad and cruel as it made her feel, she liked the thought of that. It helped her relate to him.

Their circumstances were completely different, she knew, but at least it was something, right? She was the born heir of her family, but she was never given the right to be as such since she was born a little weak. The title, the praise, the prestige was all supposed to be hers, but her parents had killed her. The nameless heir had died, and Nickolette, the ‘distant relative’, had been born. She would never be able to grasp something that she felt that she deserved. There was no way to prove her birth either aside from a DNA test; there were no records of her birth.

Nickolette hid her eyes behind her hair as she bit her lip in frustration. But soon the wave was over and she could shake her head and clear her mind. When she looked back up at them she wore a calm smile of understanding and acceptance. There was no way to change her fate; she knew that ever since she was born, it was pointless to think on it now.

”Yes, let’s not linger on such a topic.” She said sweetly before continuing to head in the direction of the hospital wing. She was sure that they would follow her. Or at least, she hoped that they would, seeing that she was still rather dizzy and it took a lot of effort for her to simply walk in a straight line.

”And to answer your questions Tamaki, this school has gone above and beyond all of my wildest expectations. Everything is absolutely perfect, even the students.” She said to the blond to placate him. She knew it was probably just what he had wanted to hear and she wasn’t against flattery. She did like the school, so it wasn’t a lie. But it also didn’t hurt to get on the good side of this boy. He was the principal’s son after all.

[Tamaki Suoh]

”Yes, Kyouya here is the genius that keeps the Host Club running. He’s the brains and I’m the heart, so to speak.” Tamaki said, lavishing more praise on his good friend in hopes of sucking up. To be honest, he knew it wouldn’t work, but Kyouya got so little praise anyway that he tried to do this sort of thing every once in a while to know the boy was appreciated. Tamaki knew deep down the real power of the Host Club was Kyouya; didn’t stop him from making everyone think he was king though.

With the topic of Kyouya’s brother, Tamaki was a little afraid something might happen, but just as he should have expected, Kyouya managed it well. He hid back any resentment or anger about it, told the girl that he would pass on the message, and the topic was changed. Another catastrophe averted. Even better, Kyouya was quick to remind Tamaki of exactly what it was that they were supposed to be doing with the girl.

”Right, almost forgot about that. Come on Nickolette, let’s get moving.” Tamaki said as the girl started moving again towards the hospital wing. From the looks of it the girl was still a little dizzy, so he tried to stay close in case she fell again so he could catch her if she fell. Considering how she was walking, there was a good chance that she might just do that. He also shifted himself around a bit, using hand gestures (good thing he was known for having extravagant ones) to subtly keep her in a straight line.

She did answer his question about the school, stating that it was absolutely perfect and gone above her expectations. To be fair, that wasn’t hard to do. Ouran Academy was pretty much a Versaille compared to just about any other school in existence. It’s pure size and grandeur dwarfed most other schools. With all the students backgrounds, the grades and scholastics were amazing as well as the sports programs. But really, what did any of that matter? He wanted to know what she thought about the students. The comment they were ‘perfect’ seemed a little too vague for his taste. After all, not all of them could be as perfect as he was, so unless she thought all the students were him, there had to be more to it.

”Is that so? Tell me, have you made any friends since you’ve arrived. I would think a girl as lovely as yourself would have had a whole flock of friends around you, and you seem like a sweet and kind person as well.”

He was also curious about that since she had no one to help her immediately after her misfortune. Whenever someone was alone, with no friends or family to support them, he had to find out why. Family and friends were probably the most important thing in life after all…alongside knowing how to impress the ladies of course.

[Kyouya Ootori]

Kyouya glanced over at Tamaki when the boy decided to give him praise for what he did for the club. He never really told him what exactly he did for the club besides place orders for their events and organized it so there would be no mistake to go wrong. He knew the twins would make his life hell from time to time, but the boy standing next to him did that already. He wanted to tell Tamaki that sucking up to him held no place for him, but telling him off in such a girl that knew a bit about him was no place. He held his tongue for once and turned to the girl when she decided to change the subject away from his brothers.

He took a few steps back and allowed Tamaki and Nickolette to walk a few feet in front of him for now. He deciding to let the two of them talk as long as the girl got to where she needed to be was better than having the talkative blonde there took her mind off things for now. However, Kyouya remained a few paces behind in order to monitor her condition and see fit they made it there. He knew how the boy in front of him could be from time to time.

He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket once more and flipped it open and glanced at a text sent by his sister. He frown some when it mention inviting Tamaki over for dinner tonight. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and shook his head slightly at it. There was no need for his sister to be this worried that he did not spend enough time with his friends now.

He blinked slightly when he thought that. He moved his hand up and pushed his glasses back up. It was a habit to hiding his emotions and his eyes from people when he thought about it. He grinned some and looked up as Tamaki asked about her making friends.

He gave a small laugh slightly. It was more for his own amusement than to Tamaki and Nickolette’s. ”Ms Nickolette, you must understand the Prince here. He has made it his mission since he started here to see that nearly everyone is happy…even if we look happy…he seems to think there a underline to everyone that they are not happy and wants to see them happy. He would do anything to make one happy.”

Kyouya shot a look to Tamaki after speaking. It was more of a playful look then anything at the moment. It was rare for him to tease Tamaki out in public like this, but this had just opened a bit of pay back from the other day. Tamaki would take his full until Kyouya decided the boy had enough to eat.