Hey guys, it's been a while huh? Sorry about that. Things seem chaotic for everybody at the moment. This chapter has been semi-done for a while but it's rather short;; and yet I couldn't figure out any other way to end it. So I hope you don't mind;; And hopefully the next one won't be too far after!

Anyway, kyoya questions the morality and ethics of what's essentially just nosiness as he falls deeper down the rabbit hole of this mystery

Connection made, Kyoya immediately began looking over his logs of the family tree and family registry.

Perhaps...just perhaps, they had a shared relative down the line.

Though he couldn't account for all members of the shrine, he knew through conversation that any mentions of a father were through past tense. And the few times he had seen the Higurashi monarch, a band was clearly seen on her finger with no news of a current paramour.

Of course, these were deductions based on assumptions, but he was rarely wrong about these kinds of things, and any insight on another target was better than based on nothing.

Still, Kyoya if nothing else was through. He needed hard data and information but how to go about it without raising suspicion?

It would have been easier if she were a student at ouran or had other connections thus an eye wouldn't be raised in terms of him visiting the shrine grounds once more. Sure, she had made it clear it was fine for him to visit, with which he took up gladly to spend any time away from his current life for a moment of peace and serenity the shrine grounds gave him. Not to say he was unpleasant with his lot in life, still, it could get stifling. And maybe...just maybe he was looking for a way to connect her more into his life...

The entire situation was mindboggling and interesting.

He hadn't felt quite as intrigued or challenged by a puzzle or mystery in a while. And maybe some of his research bordered on the line of invasiveness and maybe...well...creepy...

But he was an investigator and a businessman, and it wouldn't do not to know all options and every piece and scrap of information available to you...no matter the means.

At least in terms of legality, he was staying within the law...morally and ethically...well...

He'd rather not think about the implications of his actions so much...but now the thought was there. Kyoya had already questioned his normal method of "research" something feeling wrong about it. Maybe it was the openness with which Kagome easily shared with him? Perhaps just the general idea of snooping out information on a shrine maiden...perish the thought.

There was something about the shrine, that just, filled him with peace, something about..Kagome was calming to be around. And he wanted to know more and he wanted to hear it from her.

Kyoya was unused to the idea of companionship in which the other party didn't approach first. The host club, of course, was filled with consumers dying for his companionship, his gaze upon them and just the chance to be near him. Then there were the host club members themselves, Tamaki the ringleader and his first...friend.

Without Tamaki literally bulldozing his way into his life, leading him by the hand, socially he's not sure if he would have half the bonds he did.

And yet, Kagome was different. She didn't seek him out for his companionship, his time, his money or connections, but just like Tamaki, she had this open-air about her and easy agreeableness that made you curious and want to learn more. And tho their "king" of the host club was no dunce, Kagome had a wit about her that made conversations engaging. She offered him a friendship expecting nothing more in return. It was a foolish and foolhardy thing to him, how can you expect nothing? And yet, she never demanded anything of him, never a glimpse of an ulterior motive, just pleasantness, a chance to engage and just...companionship...

Kyoya made a habit of psychoanalyzing others, it was a part of the job he'd like to think. Trying to map out the motives and intentions to always be a step ahead. But analyzing yourself? Introspecting thoughts as to why you seek out certain methods?

Was this the only way he knew how to make friends? By psychoanalyzing them? Researching all he could to be the best prepared on every side?

His thoughts were now circling down a downward spiral.

Shaking his head as if to physically clear his thoughts, he narrowed down the niggling questions he had pertaining to and surrounding Kagome.

1. Her mother. While always kind and polite, she seemed almost afraid and wary of him. While normally an understandable and useful thing, her fear seemed less about the power of his family...like there was something else...

2. It could be just coincidence, but if Kagome were related to him...how, and did her mother seem to know and therefore her wariness in regards to the Ootori's? Was there bad blood there?

3. With whatever knowledge he gathered, what would he gain from the outcome? If he gathers his answers and complies with his results, what next? Where does that leave him?

He isn't sure.

A change of perspective, would be needed. The perfect opportunity to change tactics...he had just the person in mind..