**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

The chapter was once again proofread by a wonderful beta reader. (I found a new one, yay!)

To all my readers, thank you for your patience and continuous support. Please enjoy.

The life of the rich, though glittering and glamorous, is far more complex than what is witnessed by the naked eye. The subtle intricacies and silent rules are akin to that of nobles long passed, a ruthless world where pride and standing were equivalent to the money that they lined their silk pockets and flaunted in an almost garish fashion. No one was immune to the passive aggressive darkness that lurked behind the honeyed words exchanged between them:Sons were compared based on business prowess, personal image, and intellect while daughters were scrutinized for their choice of fashion, financial management, and social standing. Even the hosts, Rin, and Ayaka, were victims to the toxicity of such endless comparisons, struggling to survive in the constant light.

From the time they were able to socialize with others, the two young girls of similar age were pitted against one another while forced to foster a friendship of some kind. From the way their hair was styled to the way they behaved in social gatherings, everything was relentlessly picked at and compared almost every moment of their lives. The two had taken it in stride, climbing to the top of the social pyramid, when things suddenly shifted: Rin had chosen to ignore the rivalry between herself andAyaka, her interests quickly shifting to her young playmate Zaina, her world no longer exclusionary. Ayaka, having grown without the influence of such a commoner, continued to focus on the climb to the top and the endless praise she was given.

For a while, Ayaka was the only one everyone could talk about, from her excelling in her studies and talents to her growing beauty. There were only accolades sung about her throughout the many upper class circles for many years without competition. That unchallenged monopoly of praise was soon no more as comparisons to Rin began again upon her return from abroad. From their mannerisms to their wit, it was all fair game. It hardly mattered at first; Ayaka was confident in her abilities to leave anyone who dared be compared to her in the dust where they belonged.

It was not until the talks failed to die down that Ayaka found such circumstances slowly became more and more irritating. What should have been dust in the wind was now a noticeable thorn in her side. When she finally took notice of whom her rival was, it was now a must to erase any comparison there was. She tried everything to rise to the top again, from honest efforts to underhanded means. Indeed, Ayaka Nagano used every avenue that was at her disposal with the power of her family name. Nothing seemed to work in dropping the image of Rin Chibana, which enraged her further.

Now here she stood, watching the Chibana car drive off the school property, her eyes glued the spot where it finally disappeared from sight as it turned on to the main street. Her freshly manicured nails dug into her biceps as she stood with her arms crossed with a stern expression.

I knew she would be here, but to think she would have the same interest in Ootori as me. She clicked her tongue in distaste. You've always been trying to undermine me, haven't you? Playing innocent while looking down your nose at me. This time you'll see, everyone will see, just how far superior I am to you. Her chin tilted up as she stood a little taller. "I will show you just how different we are."

From that moment onwards, Ayaka made it her goal to prove to everyone just how much greater she was than Rin Chibana. However, that proved to be quite difficult by common attempts:. when Ayaka would excel in a subject, Rin would outdo her in another; when she would amaze in one performance of etiquette and witty retorts, Rin would stun with her riposte. This was all proving to be far more aggravating than successful, which provoked Ayaka's ire every step of the way. When it became too much, she finally took it upon herself to use any means necessary to squash the cockroach that would not die.

"Renge, Renge, did you hear?!" One of her little messengers chirped as the two ran up to their fearless leader. It had been so long since they had last seen her since she was away on holiday with her family. Ever dutiful, the two young women diligently kept note of everything that was going on in order to relay it all to her.

"What is going on?" She turned to see her two little canaries come running her way who flanked her on either side. "What has made the two of you excited? What have I missed?"

"Ayaka Nagano has been challenging Rin Chibana at every chance he has gotten!" The one to her left began, an orange ribbon in her hair. "She was fantastic in reciting French poetry, but Rin was able to decipher an immensely difficult English text!"

"Where Ayaka excelled in math, Rin has astounded in the sciences!" The one from the right chimed in, a red ribbon in hers . "When you think one was above the other leaps and bounds, the other would rise like a dark horse in the night to steal the show!"

"Not to mention the battles of talent from the arts," the other twirled like a ballerina. "The beautiful performance pulled at the hearts of the audience."

"I have heard of such, but think it was so intense," Renge mumbled to herself. "A battle to see who will rise to the top, this is quite the show! Has there been any word on whom they are rooting for?"

"It is an even split," they sighed in unison. "When one garners your praise, the other snatches it away."

"Such poise, such grace...this rivalry is wonderful indeed!" She cried out with joy as she stepped forward, hands clasped tightly with her eyes raised to the sky.

"Ah, you don't know!" The one on the left softly gasped.

"Oh no, no, no! How could we leave out something so important?" The one the right frowned, Renge quickly spun around at these hushed words.

"What don't I know, what have you not told me?!" She leaned in, hands rested on her hips. "Now is not the time to leave me out, tell me! What have I missed while away?" At her question, the two leaned in close as well, huddling up so as not to be overheard.

"Well, as you know, Rin is quite punctual when it comes to arriving at our lovely school." The left was the first to dive into the details. "Not a blemish on her record for attendance!" Renge sagely nodded her head in agreement to this fact. "Two weeks ago, Rin started to arrive late to class! The first time was quite the shock, she even came in by helicopter again! No one knew what was going on and she had not said a word. Zaina simply apologized for their tardiness as if it was her fault. This was far too suspicious for us, so we went and did some digging. It seems as though there has been a lot of construction work going on their route to school. Now, this would hardly be worth noting had it not been for the name funding these projects."

"Who is funding?" Renge learned in closer.

"Nagano."

"That's not all," the one on the right quickly chirped to garner her leader's attention. The trio of girls quickly looked around before huddling closer together once more. "When the roads finally cleared, Rin started arriving by car once more with her attendance perfect once more. It was on a particularly sunny and clear day when everything peculiar began once more! We were all waiting for our cars to come take us home. Rin and Zaina were on their way to a particular car that looked no different than the rest, the driver came around to open the doors when our female knight abruptly stopped her fair lady from getting into the car! 'Who are you?' She glared at the driver. 'Why, I am here for Ms. Chibana and yourself, miss.' He calmly said. 'You are not the usual driver for My Lady. Where is he? Why are you here instead?' Zaina demanded."

"'You see, his car needed to be repaired. It struck a rather deep pothole and was left undrivable, he also needed some medical attention. I was sent in his stead to pick the both of you up in his place.' He nervously explained, it was clear the gallant young woman intimidated him as he began to shrink away from her constant questions about his inconsistent answers. It was clear that he failed and Zaina told him he could leave without them and they would simply wait for another to come get them. This flustered and angered him greatly as he insisted he be the one take them home and to not be so difficult, attempting to reach out for Rin but in the blink of an eye he was pinned to the ground with a knee to his back and Zaina holding the arm that reached for Rin. She told him to leave and they would find another way home."

"All the girls watching squealed at how swiftly she was able to subdue the man! It was quite the sight to see!" The one with the orange ribbon added in as she sighed, holding her face in her hands as she fawned over the heroics of the young personal aid of their classfellow.

"Oh, how could I miss such a thing! And here I thought I was in heaven with a heavenly croquembouche!" Renge sniffled, biting and yanking at her handkerchief in frustration. "Tell me more, what happened next?!"

"Well, such a spectacle was hard to ignore. The beautiful young men of the host club walked in through the crowds to see what all the fuss was about. Haruhi was the first to step in, asking Zaina for the details as she finally released the driver who agreed to leave without them for his freedom. The devilish twins were none too keen on the driver as well it seemed, making sure he left before anything else was said. Now, this is where it gets most interesting!" Her eyes glittered with excitement. "It was our "cool" Kyoya Ootori who offered to take the two of them home! It was clear that Zaina was ready to decline the offer but Rin finally cut in and accepted it; oh, how generous he is!. Since she was unable to fight the decision, Zaina thanked him as well and the three of them were on their way to his car...when it happened! One of the tires of the car that came for Rin, the one Zaina refused, came flying off as it turned out of the building and the back of the car went crashing into the gate!"

"What!? Had they actually been in there, the two of them would've been injured!" Renge gasped in horror as the two nodded their heads. "Kyoya came to their rescue, that is the truth of my darling type! He must've known that such dangers were lurking!"

"Yes, yes, but that's not even the part most striking!" The one on the right quickly began once more. "Ayaka was highly irritated by Zaina's pestering of the driver! She was ready to reprimand Rin and Zaina had the Host Club not take control of the situation. The rumor that I've heard is that she was behind the switch. Rin's driver was perfectly fine and his car was not in the shop at all!"

"Ayaka, again? There must be some mistake, that is a hefty accusation! Who is spreading such rumors? Why would they risk saying such things?" Before an answer could be given, the bell rang across campus to signal the start of classes and the three quickly scurried away to make sure they were marked as present in their class.