-Chapter 2-

Kyoya Ootori took his time padding down the length of one of Ouran High School's many hallways. The late afternoon sun cast beams of amber through grand, arched window panes, breathing life into the lonely building.

His soft footsteps echoed off the walls as he came closer to Music Room #3 and he began to wonder if Tamaki and the others had given up their wait and gone home. Not likely, but it was awfully quiet…

He creaked open the door, and stepped into a darkened Music Room #3. Kyoya blinked, are those…balloons?

"SURPRISE!" the host club members and dozens of classmates jumped out at him and screamed in unison as soon as he flicked on the lights. Streamers, confetti, and God-knows-what-else littered the air and came raining down on a dumbfounded Kyoya. Music started blaring from some part of the room, mingling with the noisy chatter and laughter.

Kyoya quickly composed himself only to be knocked to the ground by an overexcited Tamaki Suoh.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOTHER!" Tamaki hollered with sheer exuberance as he crushed Kyoya in an embrace.

"Get off of me, you idiot!" Kyoya growled, Tamaki quickly retreated with a hurt look in his puppy-dog eyes.

"Mother doesn't like his birthday surprise?" the prince blubbered.

"Don't be so dramatic, boss," Kaoru rolled his eyes as he draped an arm over his brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, Kyoya-senpai just doesn't like to be caught off-guard," Hikaru added with a sly smile.

It was true, Kyoya hated surprises, and this party had somehow escaped his radar. But there was no need for anyone to know that.

"On the contrary, you couldn't have been more obvious," Kyoya corrected equably.

"What, so you knew about it the whole time?" Kaoru crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Of course, you didn't think I would notice all of the whispering and dodgy mannerisms? I simply put two and two together. Besides, I saw the receipt for the bulk package of balloons lying carelessly on the floor when I arrived here early yesterday before club to evaluate this week's revenue and loss."

"Ugh! Haruhi!" both of the twins flung their arms up and smacked their faces with the palms of their hands in exasperation.

Haruhi, dressed in a sexless outfit of a baggy t-shirt and jeans to hide her identity, happened to be playing host and was busy offering a group of giggling girls a tray of teacakes and instant coffee. Kyoya watched her from across the room as she laughed at something one of the girls had said.

"Yes, and Haruhi was the one who planned everything," Kyoya said with a tone of complete knowledge, though he wasn't certain this was the case at all.

The deadpanning of the twins' expression confirmed his hunch was correct and they stalked off mumbling how he "always found a way to suck the fun out of everything".

Kyoya really hadn't known all along what their plan was, but all the clues he spotted prior to the party were true and he wondered why this wasn't made obvious to him sooner. That bothered Kyoya immensely. To be quite honest, he had completely forgotten that today was his birthday.

He scanned the room and saw that Tamaki had long since gotten over his dejection and was now chatting up a group of classmates with a charming smile. Honey and Mori sat contentedly at a table as Honey consumed copious amounts of cake while fan girls fawned over his "cuteness" and Mori's stoic devotion. It was like the host club but with cheap decorations and obnoxious music… and absolutely no profit being made.

Kyoya almost took back that last thought when he noticed a certain individual looking a bit out of place- A new student, by the name of Katsuki Ito, whose parents owned a multitude of extremely successful medicinal facilities around the world, and only second best to his own family's empire. Kyoya plastered on a cordial smile in place of his disinterested countenance and made way to approach this new prospect.

Finally, something to be gained.

Late afternoon soon turned to dusk and the number of party guests was thinning down, till only a few stragglers remained to say their goodbyes. Haruhi was left with majority of the cleanup work, which she would not have minded so much if the guys had agreed to let her buy paper plates and plastic utensils. Instead, they had insisted on using their finest china and silverware, all of which she was collecting to wash herself. Damn rich people…

To be fair, they had let her take over ambience such as the décor and music selection. She knew they were just being polite when they saw the end product of her decorating skills. Even the twins grit their teeth in an overly enthusiastic smile and gave a half-hearted "thumbs up" when she showed them the CDs she purchased on clearance.

"What made you want to buy these CD's, Haruhi?" Hikaru had asked carefully, trying to hide a wince while browsing the playlist on the back of the case.

Haruhi shrugged, "It was selling at a bargain price. Plus, it says 'party jams' on the cover."

Tamaki and the twins instantly smothered her, tears pooled in their eyes as they were overcome by her "adorable commoner ways".

"She bought it just because it said party jams on the cover!"

"How cute, she doesn't even know what good music is!"

"She tried so hard, Daddy is very proud of you!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes as she recalled their reaction. She did know what good music was! Just not for parties…

Haruhi scooped up another plate and was careful not to break it as she placed it in the bin of dirty dishes she was carting around on a trolley. Haruhi knew if she broke one it would be added to her endless debt, and something told her that the Shadow King would not make an exception on his birthday.

"Yes, thank you for attending our little get-together. I hope to see you on Monday; it was very good to meet you, Miss Katsuki Ito."

Haruhi peeked around her shoulder at the sound of Kyoya's voice and saw him standing by the door with an unbelievably beautiful girl. Haruhi noticed her a couple of times throughout the party and recognized the girl by her long, black hair with streaks of chestnut brown, giving it the illusion that it was made of flowing chocolate.

She continued to watch the pair as Kyoya offered the Ito girl a courteous bow before she glided out the doorway. This was curious to Haruhi, knowing Kyoya never gave any such attention to one person unless there was something beneficial for him in the process.

"Haru-chan! I have one more plate for you- Oops!" Haruhi's attention was again diverted from her task as Honey accidentally dropped and shattered the very expensive dessert plate he was holding, along with Haruhi's no-break streak.

"Gahh! Senpai!" she cried out but faltered when Honey looked up at her with a quivering lip.

"I-I'm sorry Haru-chan," his voice wavered like a lost little boy, Haruhi's frustration melted away. There was no way anyone could stay mad at that.

"Awh, it's alright Honey-senpai. Accidents happen, right?" Honey wiped his watery eyes with the back of his sleeve, Haruhi's heart clenched, "why don't you take some of that extra cake home? I know Kyoya-senpai probably won't want it, you would be doing me a favor." She gave a happy smile.

"Yay! Thanks Haru-chan! C'mon, Takeshi , help me carry all these cakes into the limo!" Honey bounded around as if he wasn't upset just a few seconds ago. Mori nodded his head solemnly and followed his little friend.

Haruhi sighed wearily and picked up the shards of broken glass. The guys of the host club were so unpredictable. At least it's never boring…

"Haruhi."

"Eek!" the unexpected voice behind Haruhi made her jump and successfully spill the pieces of glass all over the floor again, some cracking off and creating more shards. She spun around and aimed a death glare at Kyoya who observed her with one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, Senpai?" she struggled to keep her cool, remembering that it was Kyoya's birthday.

"Haruhi, I hope you are aware of how much that dish cost. I'm afraid I will have to include that to your debt."

Haruhi could have sworn she saw the corner of his lip twitch up into a smirk, and it caused her temper to flare. But, knowing that it was his "special day", and to avoid any more additions to her debt, she held her tongue.

"Great, thanks for letting me know," she muttered through gritted teeth and stalked off with the broken and unbroken dishes.

Haruhi was still fuming when she stormed into the small kitchenette that was installed in the backroom. Why there was a kitchenette in a music room, Haruhi could not fathom. She yanked on the sink handles to get the hot water running, shoved a stopper into the drain, and violently hurled a sponge in the sink. There was a dish washer of course, but, she could not use it, at least, not with the nice dishware- which was all of the dishware. She let out an angry grunt as she hefted up the dirty dish bin and dumped its contents into the sink full of steaming water, then squeezed a healthy amount of liquid soap into it.

"Careful, Haruhi. That isn't your commoners dishware you are so used to cleaning."

Haruhi peered behind her. To her annoyance Kyoya had followed her into the tiny kitchen and had made himself comfortable against the countertop, keeping an eye on her every move.

Haruhi dredged up the soapy sponge and began to scrub vigorously at one of the plates in defiance. I bet you've never washed a dish in your life, rich bastard.

"Actually, I have washed dishes before, in case you were wondering."

Haruhi almost dropped the plate. How does he do that?!

"Not really," she murmured, lying.

Kyoya shuffled up next to Haruhi, a little too close for her comfort.

"What are you doing, Senpai?" she asked, irritated, but partly curious as to why he was still here in the first place.

"I came to give you this, you missed one," Kyoya held up another dirty plate and slipped it into the sudsy water. He let out a weary sigh, "but now it occurs to me you are completely ignorant on the proper care of fine china, I must stay and train you."

To Haruhi's great surprise, he began to roll up the sleeves of his designer, button-up shirt revealing his forearms. She couldn't help but notice slight cords of muscle contracting beneath his skin as he grabbed at a plate and sponge.

"Move," Kyoya ordered calmly.

So, in an odd turn of events, Kyoya and Haruhi silently, side by side, washed and dried and stacked dishes. Haruhi wasn't sure whether to feel grateful for his help or insulted by his lack of confidence in her dishwashing abilities.

"Uh, so did you have fun at the party?" Haruhi asked, attempting to break the quiet. It was discomforting.

"I suppose there were enjoyable moments," Kyoya replied cryptically.

"That's…good," Haruhi accepted hopelessly.

The silence persisted, with nothing to fill the void but the sound of water sloshing as Kyoya gently rinsed the dishes and handed them to Haruhi for drying. She had to admit, he was pretty good at that.

"Hey, not bad, Senpai. I guess you really have washed dishes at least once in your life, huh?" Haruhi jested lightly with a crooked grin in his direction.

"Hm, yes," Kyoya smiled, but it was cold, "as a child my father would force me to wash the dishes in place of our help every time I achieved less than satisfactory results in school. He used to tell me that is all that I would be worth if I continued to disappoint him."

He stated this in a tone of nonchalance, as if it was a normal occurrence. Haruhi didn't know what to say, a bit taken aback that Kyoya was actually sharing a personal story with her. It made him seem…human for once. But, she also felt a twinge of pity for the Shadow King. Not because he had to do dishes as a kid, but because of the harsh words that were apparently inflicted upon him by his father.

"Well, that must not have been very often, because I can't imagine you ever doing anything less than perfect," Haruhi, in her own way, complimented him with a sincere smile.

Kyoya gave her a sidelong glance, but said nothing.

Finally they finished off the last of the dishes, and Kyoya was drying his hands with a dish towel when Haruhi noticed something peculiar: Abrasions on Kyoya's knuckles. Definitely not from washing dishes… although she hadn't noticed them before. His hands weren't that sensitive were they?

"I want to thank you, Haruhi," Kyoya slowly unfolded his sleeves and buttoned them at the cuffs.

"Er- for what? The party? It was no big deal, Senpai-"

"No, not exactly," Kyoya interrupted. He looked straight at her, his glasses glaring, "I want to thank you for the birthday gift you have unknowingly given to me."

Haruhi cocked her head in confusion and was about to ask what exactly this gift had been when she spotted something far more curious- A small, jagged cut that ran down, not even half an inch, from the corner of Kyoya's mouth. Suddenly, Haruhi was seeing all sorts of these nearly unnoticeable flaws as if they were revealing themselves to her. Light, red markings along the jaw, a dark bruise forming on the side of his neck, mostly hidden by the collar of his shirt, and the scrapes on his knuckles… What the heck happened to him?

She knew her gaping was obvious, but Kyoya made no move to turn away, nor did he try to embarrass her by saying anything about it. Instead, he stood his ground and studied Haruhi behind a pair of gleaming specs.

Haruhi flit her gaze up, catching his eyes just as there was a rare break in his "glare shield". They were searching, trying to procure any thoughts and theories from her chugging brain. They invited any inquiries while warning her to tread lightly…

"Haruhi, the car is waiting outside. I'm not letting you walk home by yourself this late." Tamaki meandered in, not aware of his disruption into the silent investigation going on between the two.

"Uh, am I interrupting something?" Tamaki eyed them apprehensively, perhaps taking notice at how close his friends were standing to one another.

"Not at all," Kyoya lied smoothly, "I was just thanking Haruhi for the birthday party."

Another lie.

Haruhi squinted at him in disapproval but said nothing. Kyoya responded to Haruhi's glare with a kindly smirk and slid one hand in his pocket as he sauntered his way out of the cramped kitchen space.

"I will see you two on Monday," he said throwing a perfunctory wave behind his shoulder.

Tamaki hummed a sigh of contentment once Kyoya was out of earshot, "I knew Kyoya would like his birthday surprise." He wore a smile of self-gratification, looking like he had accomplished the entire plan alone.

Haruhi rolled her eyes as she safely stored away the remaining china.

"I hardly think Kyoya-senpai enjoyed the surprise party," she grumbled. Haruhi had to admit, she felt slighted. Tamaki's sob story about the Ootori family never celebrating birthdays somehow touched her enough to want to do something nice for the Shadow King; she should have known that a birthday party was neither expected nor desired…

"No, Haruhi, the party was fantastic! But, I am talking about something else, or, someone, I should say," Tamaki said with a wink.

"Oh!" Haruhi's light bulb finally flickered on, "the girl, the one he was with throughout the party, right?"

She remembered Kyoya's previous comment, the one thanking her for "the gift she had unknowingly given him". So that's what he meant…

"Exactly!" Tamaki triumphed, jumping up and down, then switched to the role of suave host club prince, "I, Tamaki Suoh, an expert in the art of matchmaking and romance, have found the perfect woman to thaw Kyoya's icy heart… They are in love!"

"Er- I don't think they are in love, Senpai. They only just met…"

"Oh, Haruhi, so naïve in the ways of true love… someday you will understand," he ruffled her hair like one would a small, daft child, "you should have seen her face when I invited her to the party, on behalf of Kyoya Ootori. Starting now, I will dedicate my life in search of soul mates for all who are alone and desperate for love!"

"Whatever you say, Senpai," Haruhi sighed and slung her messenger bag around her shoulder, "let's just get going already, I'm exhausted."

Haruhi could debate with Tamaki all night and it still would not make a difference. She knew Kyoya's true motives for befriending the girl, but honestly, what did she care? As she pushed through the main entrance into the cool night air, with Tamaki still babbling beside her, all she cared about was getting some sleep and a bowl of hot ramen, not exactly in that order.

While Haruhi was telling herself how much she could care less, the mystery of Kyoya's wounds continued to pick at her brain and inevitably became the focal point of her thoughts on the ride home.

A/N:

Hey all! Thank you so much for the follows and reviews on the first chapter, please continue to let me know what you think. I love hearing for each and every one of you :) Stay tuned!

-Elsie Kay