Always the bad guy – Chapter 3 cont.

A/N Hey everyone! :D Thank-you all so much for taking the time to read this! Since this is my first fanfic and I don't have a beta reader your comments about improvements to be made are more than welcomed! – I'll make sure to get back to anyone who does with a thank-you note and an update on if I changed it or why I didn't. I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. I am SO sorry this has taken me so long. College, church and life in general have taken over :p I have been so busy – plus losing my laptop for 2 weeks followed by my notebook TWICE didn't help!

I DO NOT OWN OURAN HIGHSCHOOL HOST CLUB!

*_* = sound/action
'_' = thoughts
"_" = speech

Chapter 3 Part 2 – Study?

*tap tap tap tap tap* Kyoya sighed. He was working on the Club Spreadsheets and was becoming more and more aware of just how popular Haruhi was becoming – her number of regular guests had surpassed his months ago but now her average customers per week was starting to exceed Hunni and Mori's! Jealousy started to boil up in his stomach, until he suppressed it by picturing the dramatic uproar that would be caused if her true gender was revealed, not to mention the drop in profits. Glancing at his watch, he swore under his breath; he had lost all sense of time while his thoughts had been running away with him. He still didn't understand how she had such a great effect on his ice cold heart, but he knew it was melting fast. Thankfully thoughts of his father, and his reaction if Kyoya were to act on his feelings towards the commoner, were like a freezer – and once again they refroze the ice of his heart.

"You don't have to take me there. You are clearly very busy."

The all too familiar voice floated its way down the corridor and into his bedroom.

"It's alright Miss. Master Kyoya's room is just down this corridor. It's the second door on the right, though it's actually a long way down."

Kyoya cast a glance around his room; everything was as pristine as ever so he quickly changed his screen to display future plans for the club, he couldn't have Haruhi's predicted income for the club on show when she walked in after all, but he still felt the need to appear to be working!

"Thank-you for all your help; I think I will be okay from here."

Now all he could do was sit at his tear-shaped table and wait for the handle of his door to turn and for Haruhi to step in. One half of him knew he was being stupid but the other half desperately hoped that she would be wearing the dress that Fuyumi had chosen. Frustratingly for him, she had insisted that, as a girl, she knew best when it came to dresses and since it kept her away from rearranging his clothes and making a mess he had agreed to let her choose one after having shown her a picture of Haruhi. What he hadn't banked on was his sister hiding her choice and then deleting the history (and all traces of it) so that he wouldn't then be able to see what she had elected suitable for the occasion. This worried him a bit since he never actually specified what kind of occasion it was and Fuyumi, although conservative with most things, loved to dress other people up; this had been a golden opportunity for her.

Haruhi drew a deep breath before finally pushing down the overwhelming sense of trepidation that filled her heart, she had gotten this far, she wasn't backing away from the Shadow King now! As she finally pushed the door open, a sudden lack of resistance caused her to pitch forward and stumble into the bespectacled man who had tired of waiting and opened the door himself. Haruhi was close enough to spot the emotion that flashed in his eyes before her startled senpai regained his control. She dwelt on in it for a few moments. She had recognised most of it as surprise but there had been another look in his eyes in that split second. One she couldn't name; one that reminded her of Tamaki somehow.

Kyoya was equally contemplative. How had this commoner attained so much power as to be able to manipulate him without ever even realizing it? Not only had he grown worried and opened the door for her, but as she fell, he had instinctively moved to catch her. He would never have done this for any other. While this was in the foreground of his thoughts however, the cold, calculating part of his mind pushed his main concern into a dark corner; for 'that' emotion needed to be shut away if he was to surpass his older brothers. No. Love would never do. Thus the thought of enjoying the feeling of this girl in his arms was dismissed almost instantaneously with its arrival.

Realising that she was still in the Shadow King's embrace, Haruhi stepped back, embarrassment colouring her face.

"Gomen -"*

"Haruhi you need to be much more dignified when you meet my father later"

The defeated commoner groaned. She knew what was coming next. He would complain that she shouldn't have made him wait so long and probably add to her debt because she had caused him to act as a servant by opening the door for her and then they would continue their day in an ever business-like manner. She was partially right.

"I shall have to teach you proper conduct once we have finished biology" continued Kyoya "Of course I shall add this extra time to your tutoring fee"

She groaned again. This was unfair. She never asked for any of this!

"Wait a second Kyoya-senpai! It can't be that different to hosting right? I have attended countless events, balls and all sorts with you guys. I can conduct myself just fine among you rich bastards!"

"I beg to differ Haruhi" Kyoya responded "For a start, referring to the aristocracy as 'rich bastards', especially in front of a member, completely counteracts your claim. Besides that I notice you didn't mention the fair. If I remember correctly it was at that event that you insulted my father in front of many friends and associates correct?"

He knew it was a low blow but he needed to remind himself of at least one of the many reasons that he could not allow himself to continue to fall for this tenacious commoner. Even if it meant being a villain, it was better than hurting the both of them.

"Just because he is rich Senpai, doesn't mean he is always right. I know he is your father but this club relies on your hard work. Someone had to set him straight."

Her sincere bluntness never ceased to stun Kyoya. She never let anyone walk all over her no matter what their money or status. It was one of her greatest strengths. But it was also her weakness. He was curious to know his father's true intentions for inviting her to dinner but knew there was no sense in asking.

"Haruhi, instead of standing in my doorway berating me for not talking back at my father, why don't you come in and make yourself comfortable?"

Embarrassed as hell, the belittled commoner made her way into the vast bedroom. Not that she could really call it that, for in her mind this 'room' was an apartment in its own right. After all, the only thing it lacked was a kitchen – she felt sure there was an en-suit bathroom if her experience at the Ootori family villa in Okinawa was any indicator. As she looked around, she decided that this room fit her senpai like a glove. There was nothing personal around anywhere; even the three-tiered stand opposite her was totally empty. The pristine, white sofas looked so clean; at first she thought they were brand new and the whole place was so bare, she could hardly believe anyone lived there at all!

Kyoya smirked to himself; trust Haruhi to gawk at in his plain and boring room before she even knew the price of each item in there. She always looked so innocent when she felt overwhelmed; no one would ever guess what a sharp tongue she had. That was one of the things he loved about her though; how she always called things as she saw them never caring what others thought of her for her bluntness. 'No! Not loved. Admired. It's something I admire about her' Kyoya scolded himself as he stood in front of the table and gestured to the gap between the table and the sofa behind it.

"Would you like to take a seat Haruhi?" He asked hoping that she would interpret his gesture to be indicating the seat she felt most comfortable in. Not surprisingly, she knelt at the table. 'Well I did invite her here to study I guess,' he thought to himself as she started to open one of her two bags. It was then that two things happened at once that caused the whole of the afternoon they had planned to veer off course.

Haruhi groaned as she realised that she had opened the wrong bag so that the poufy black dress escaped its confines, and Fuyumi burst into the room full of excitement.

"I just heard from the maids that our guest had arrived." She gave a disapproving look to Kyoya, "That was mean not to introduce her to me Kyoya-san! You knew I wanted to meet her."

Haruhi stared in disbelief. The woman standing before her was beautiful, but not only that, she was telling Kyoya off! She decided that she liked this woman and desperately thought back to see if Kyoya had mentioned her name. It was fruitless.

"Oh but look now I am the one being rude. Hello I am Kyoya's sister Ootori Fuyumi, but please; call me Fuyumi."

"It's nice to meet you Fuyumi-san. My name is Fujioka Haruhi."

There was a brief pause. No one quite knew what to say now the introductions were over until thankfully Fuyumi broke the silence with the simple yet odd question "where's your favourite place to eat Haruhi-can?"

"Ano~ I prefer to cook at home than to eat out really Fuyumi-san. It's much more cost effective that way too. Why do you ask?"

"Well I'm sure Tamaki must have mentioned that he is pursuing a tour of commoner foods ne? Well I thought that it was a splendid idea so I have been doing it with him. It's been very fun so far so I was thinking you should join us for your favourite place and tell us why you like it so much."

Haruhi groaned inside. Surely this woman wasn't going to be the female version of Tamaki? The commoner didn't feel like she could cope with that.

"But you said you prefer to cook yourself? That's so good of you! Can you cook Okonomiyaki?"

"Yes that's quite a simple dish. Dad isn't a big fan of it though so I don't cook it often"

"That's amazing! We have cooks who can make it for us of course but I have often wondered what it would be like to cook it for myself."

Haruhi smiled. Maybe she had been wrong. This woman was not like Tamaki at all, although she also failed to see the family resemblance between Fuyumi and the Host Club's Shadow King. Kyoya quietly cleared his throat. This could go quite wrong, quite quickly if he didn't control the situation. He had planned out the entirety of the day and he did not like the idea that his sister was about to turn that all upside down simply because she enjoyed Haruhi's company. Besides, he was beginning to feel a little bit awkward standing in his room while these two girls nattered about cooking.

"Ne Haruhi-chan? Have you tried your dress on yet?" asked Fuyumi, having not heard Kyoya's attempt at breaking them up.

"Well no I haven't. I know it will fit since Kyoya has all my measurements so I didn't see the point."

"I didn't mean you should try it on to see if it fits Haruhi-chan. I meant to see if you like it."

Haruhi was gobsmacked. She never really thought of the possibility of trying it on to see if she liked it! She knew girls often tried on clothes for the fun of it and/or to see if they fit, but she never thought of trying on this dress to see if she liked it. After all, to her, it seemed that this was Kyoya's choice and that she had to go along with it; like it or not. She trusted Kyoya's decision on the dress and she knew it would fit so that was the end of the matter in her opinion especially since she had no other option. There was another momentary pause. Haruhi didn't know how to respond to that proposition and had no desire to explain why there was no point to trying the dress on. She gave a subtle sigh of relief, therefore, when Kyoya stepped in and saved her.

"Fuyumi onee-san we actually had plans to study before dinner since Haruhi is actually here for some help in biology. Would you mind please leaving us to get on with it?"

"Aw Kyoya-san that's no fun!" retorted Fuyumi "At least promise me I can help her get ready later!"

Kyoya sighed and pushed up his glasses. "Very well then. I'm sure she will appreciate all the assistance you give her." This last comment earned the boy a death glare to rival his own from Haruhi. She was rather affronted that he had suggested that she would need help getting ready this evening, especially since his pushing-his-glasses-further-up-his-nose habit tended to appear when he was in the process of manipulating something. Fuyumi left with a wave and the two students settled down on the floor at the table in centre of the room to work. After a while or so Haruhi's gaze softened - she could never stay mad at this senpai for long.

Just a few notes:
a) Okonomiyaki is a type of pancake where various ingredients such as seafood, vegetables and meat are mixed into a batter and grilled.
b) I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO WRITE FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! HELP ME!

A/N Sorry this is so amazingly late in coming :s
A special thank-you goes to IzLiz who helped me with the plot and characters a bit and a MASSIVE thank-you goes to FrivolousFlare for being an amazing friend and helping me with this story having only ever watched 2 episodes of OHSHC! Thank-you so much! But I also want to thank everyone else who has reviewed so far – they made me so happy! :D

Please review – I like hearing your comments and questions (plus they motivate me to write more) and I promise to reply to them all! Well unless you don't want me to :p God bless you all!