'It's a cliche in shounen manga,' Yumiko thinks to herself as she looks at the mess her sister had accidentally caused. Kujo stood in front of her, pushing her pointer fingers together and not making eye contact. Even if her face held the same empty expression, there was the smallest bit of red on her cheeks. She was definitely embarrassed.

"So...you positive this stuff will stain?"

Yumiko had her arms crossed over her chest and a frown on her face. She sighed through her nose when her sister only nodded her head.

'Post whatever kind of time skip or break, characters show up with a whole new design and skills.' Yumiko bites her lip as she looks at the horribly stained sweater that laid on her bed. Fake blood covered the entire front of her personal school uniform and was slowly seeping through to the back.

Yumiko pushes her glasses up her nose before turning around and heading towards her closet. She had to have something she could wear tomorrow right? Right?

"...I'm sorry..." Kujo whispers, lowering her head so her bangs would cover her eyes.

Yumiko only glanced over her shoulder before giving a small 'hmm'. She rooted around her closet another few seconds before grabbing something. She inspected the sweater vest before nodding and headed back towards Kujo.

"It'll be fine, don't worry too much about it. New school year new look," Yumiko assured before ruffling her sister's hair. She grabbed the stained sweater and shoved it towards her sister, "But you have to clean this."

Yumiko flashed a quick smile before throwing the sweater up in the air and Kujo was quick to grab it. She blanched at the idea of trying to wash the sweater but headed out of Yumiko's room anyway.

"Wait!" Yumiko called out just as Kujo was about to leave. Empty black eyes met dull brown and Yumiko flashed another quick smile. "No more bringing in fake blood to my room, sis. No matter how cool the recipe is."

Kujo puffed her cheeks before grumbling out a small 'fine' and walking out of the room. Yumiko was left to her thoughts as she tried to put together a good enough new 'uniform'.

'Even if it's a shounen cliche, this is shoujo manga. Characters don't always get new designs unless they go through some major character development...Hmm...'

Yumiko glanced at herself in the mirror. Her lip unconsciously curled.

'Then again, if the laws of shoujo manga are trying to give me a new look at least it would explain why my hair has gotten to so long in the past few days.'

Her messy hair went from reaching her shoulders (with some strands standing this way and that), to somehow reach the center of her back (with some strands standing this way and that). She's mostly been keeping it in a low ponytail. At least her new piercings were nice! Two more were on her right ear.

She dragged her eyes away from the mirror. New school year new look. Second year would be fine. (Her string was glowing and dancing around her and, even if he couldn't see, Takashi Morinozuka had the same string)

There was a small part of Yumiko that was somewhat grateful about the fact that the Host Club had at least raised some eyebrows from the school staff. There were some rumors about this Sensei and that Sensei confronting the chairmen with some questions on just what the point of the club was or what exactly the chairmen's son was doing in starting this club.

The adult side of Yumiko, the woman who died in her early twenties and was shoved in the very back of Yumiko's mind and was buried under all sorts of existential questions (and was only ever purposefully looked at when she was digging up old memories or needed help in studying), would be raising an eyebrow at the idea of Host Club if she didn't know so much about the club.

Really though the idea of a club all about the most handsome (and richest/heavily influential/just plain scary to have against you) guys in schools chatting up and flirting a good chunk of the female population of a high class school (and making connections as it happens) should have ended up being frowned at from the upper class of Japan (and those handful from out of it).

But this was anime. Shoujo anime at that.

So of course by the end of the first three weeks of second year, things just...quieted down.

Yumiko figured there were probably those stiff and more traditional teachers who were just biting their tongue (then again Tamaki had probably won over most of the female teachers and staff by now).

Yumiko, who was happily enjoying spending her second year of high school with Chieko and Kura and the handful of acquaintances inside and out of Ouran, was happily watching things from the sidelines. She listened to the little bits and pieces of gossips she heard (being in Ouran really had turned her into a gossip hound, huh?) and Chieko would tell her what she heard.

Though to be honest, the only reason Chieko hadn't dragged her over to the Host Club by now was the sheer embarrassment she had at the idea of facing Haninozuka. Her crush on the boy was still going strong. (Chieko's string always straighten itself out and lowered itself a tiny bit every time Haninozuka was mentioned...but it always got right back up seconds later)

The first month of school had practically flown by (maybe it was the wonky timeline or maybe Yumiko was just too busy) with nearly no interaction with any Host Club member or anyone of plot significance.

Though it's not like Haninozuka hadn't spent those last few days of first year trying.

The day after the small incident he had happily ran up to Yumiko in the hallway with an absolutely adorable smile on his face as he asked her about yesterday.

"So who was that guy Yama-chan?" He asked, flowers and sparkles had somehow surrounded him and Yumiko had to actually look away from the boy because of just how blinding those sparkles were.

Yumiko had glanced up at Mori, raising an eyebrow as they made eye contact. He had a strangely...determined (...?) look on his face as he waited for her answer. "Kura's a really good friend Haninozuka-san. He just gives me a ride to school so I don't have to take the train and walk to school," She winced before continuing, "I'm sorry about what you saw yesterday, he's just...really reckless."

Then in those last few days, he would happily run up to her, with Morinozuka right behind him, and try to start a conversation which would only last a few minutes with Yumiko only responding with nods or small sentences. Then she'd slip out of the conversation either by rushing into their classroom and with class starting or however she could.

("Yama-chan! You must be super smart to be a scholarship student!"

"I guess so, thanks." She opened her book and went back to reading.

"Yama-chan do you like sweets? You can eat with me and Takashi and share cake!"

"Oh it's okay I'm eating with Kobuchi-kun." She walked in the opposite direction of the cafeteria.

"Yama-chan you can call me Honey if you want!"

"Ah...No thanks...")

First year ended second year started and they were back to not at all talking. Haninozuka was now too busy talking with customers or classmates during class. He did wave to her in the mornings though (and Yumiko was more than content with their interaction ending there).

Morinozuka though…Nothing changed with Morinozuka. He barely talked during Haninozuka's attempts at conversations and instead of waving at her in the mornings she got a nod in her direction. There were those few moments in class, when he was surrounded by classmates who were mostly talking to Haninozuka (there were always those few braver girls who would try and start a conversation with the silent host and honestly hats off to those girls), where they'd make eye contact and Yumiko would give an awkward smile and curt wave before talking to Chieko or focusing on a book she snagged from the library (again Yumiko would be more than content with just that much interaction).

Nothing changed with their stupid red string.

It still floated in the air, twisting and curling and forming all sorts of little hearts. Sometimes it would graze across Yumiko's hand and she figured Mori was thinking about her. Then there would be those few times when it would swim across her vision and if she was lucky she'd glance up just in time to see Morinozuka quickly focus back on the lesson (and oh man the idea of Takashi Morinozuka staring at her during class was enough to make her already blotchy red face get even redder - damn his attractiveness).

While the first month of school flew by, it was the second that was stubbornly sticking around. Literally.

Yumiko, who had spent a good chunk of the night studying (cramming) for a history test, wanted to groan when she saw that she'd woken up to the calendar saying it was the middle of the month. For the third time.

"Honestly there's no big holiday coming up so why the hell do I have to go through this again," Yumiko grumbled as she trudged to Kura's, "We barely even got to the end of the month the second time!"

Honestly, Yumiko was just looking to complain about something. So complain she did. She cursed about not getting as much sleep as normal. She complained about how that was probably making her terrible eyebags even worse. She complained about stupid inconsistent time that didn't make much sense because stupid shoujo manga had to never make any logical sense. Uggghhhhh.

She kept grumbling and complaining until she'd gotten to Kuranosuke's, where one of the men who had known Yumiko since her and Kura were children was kind enough to give her some coffee.

What a kind man.

Y'know, for yakuza.

"What's got you in a mood?" Kura had asked when she finally dragged him out of his room.

He snagged her coffee from her and took a quick sip before giving it back. She punched him in the arm and glared. Jerk.

"The months just feels like it's taking forever," Yumiko complained, a pout on her face before she took a big gulp of coffee.

"Eh," Kura shrugged as he tossed her a helmet, "No more than it normally does."

"You useless commoner," the girl in front of Chieko shrieked, looking dry as ever while Yumiko's sweater vest had nearly gotten soaked, "Do you have any idea as to how close you were to ruining my uniform?!"

Yumiko, who was more focused on mourning the loss of her coffee, could only raise her brow at the girl. Yumiko was momentarily happy - despite her exhaustion she had gotten to school early enough to have run into Chieko and the two were happily chatting about this and that. They turn a corner and Yumiko bumps into Ms. Stereotypical-Rich-Girl. Somehow during their crash, Yumiko ends up spilling her coffee all over the floor while Ms. Needs-To-Stop-Screaming is completely dry.

At least the halls were empty enough to not cause a scene.

Chieko was hiding behind Yumiko, shaking as she gripped her friend's shoulders and tried to avoid eye contact from the screaming girl. Poor, shy Chieko had jumped and hid behind her friend when the screaming girl opened her big mouth.

Something about the girl seemed...familiar. Red hair, straight posture, pretty eyes, clearly held herself like she was above everyone else. Maybe Yumiko would care more if she got the chance to finish that coffee. That amazing coffee that was not too bitter and just a little too sweet and wasn't all that hot. And now it was a puddle on the floor.

"Oh you imbecile are you even listening to-?"

"Do I know you?" Yumiko asked with a tilt of her head, voice calm as ever.

The screaming girl blinked, once and then twice before her pretty mouth twisted into an ugly snarl and she opened her mouth to scream again before-

"Oi! Kobuchi-kun do I know her?" Yumiko twisted her head as far back as she could to try and get a look at her friend. Yumiko ignored the girls face as it slowly turned red from anger. Someone has a temper.

Chieko jumped at the sudden attention before carefully peeking over her friend's shoulder. She flinched when she met the eyes of screaming girl, before going back to hiding. "Yama-chan," Chieko whispered, "Th-That's Emiko Ayanokoji. S-She's in our class."

Yumiko scrunched her brow and bit at her lip. She hummed and ignored the insulted look Ayanokoji-san had. (How dare a commoner like Yumiko forget her?)

Emiko Ayanokoji. That sounded familiar enough...Emiko….Ayanokoji...Ayano...koji….

Oh!

Yumiko snapped her fingers before pointing at the pretty face of the side character from the-what? First episode was it? Yeah, definitely the first episode.

"I do know you!"

Yumiko walked around Ayanokoji. Chieko was quick to run after her.

They beat her too homeroom and Yumiko was left being annoyed about how close she was to ruining another set of clothes. It was fine though, she reminded herself. The white shirt, sweater vest, and pink necktie were alright.

When classes started Yumiko caught herself eyeing the rows up and down, trying to hunt down that long red hair that belonged to the not-at-all-famous Ayanokoji. Who's first name was Emiko? (In the back of her mind Yumiko wondered what characters were used for her name. Smiling child didn't exactly make sense for her, but something like beauty or pretty definitely suited her)

Yumiko spotted her. Across the room, in the row right next to Haninozuka and Morinozuka at the very front.

Ayanokoji, maybe getting the feeling someone was watching her, looked back and they made eye contact. She glared before looking away.

Yumiko hummed before focusing back on her school work.

The hard truth of the matter is that everyone in the Host Club was an idiot. Yes. Everyone. Kyoya is half an exception though, Yumiko decides as she stays hidden behind a corner. Definitely an idiot like the rest of them but at least better at hiding it.

A certain tall host on the other hand...

Yumiko winces when she hears another loud slam as Morinozuka trips again.

'Something that's incredibly easy to forget is that Takashi Morinozuka is, in fact, kind of stupid.'

Yumiko scolded herself for that thought, shaking her head as she peeked behind the corner to see the tall boy slowly pick himself up.

Maybe that was too harsh of a word? Or maybe it wasn't harsh enough? Or maybe it's not what should be used to describe in the first place. Then what was a good way to describe him?

Empty headed? (No, he may always be thinking about food but at least that's something) Robotic? (...maybe) Overly critical of himself? (Oh another big maybe) Unfocused? No.

Takashi Morinozuka was a very focused boy. He was practically Haninozuka's guard dog so of course he had to be aware of what's going on. He was smart too, given his place in class. His last name was clue enough that he was also incredibly strong. Yumiko scrunched her brow as she forced herself to dig up all her old memories about the manga. He was caring... Smart, observant, strong, incredible with animals. Handsome too. Damn Morinozuka really was the full package huh?

Yumiko shook her head, shoving that thought away and not looking at it again.

Slam.

Yumiko winced at the sight of Morinozuka tripping. Again. The poor boy could barely walk two steps without tripping and he was going to be late to club activities like this.

Her lip curled slightly, but her conscious beat out the idea of turning around and walking away.

"Oi!" Yumiko said as she quickly walked to the boy's side in order to help him up, "Morinozuka, you alright?"

The boy looked up, only staring at her before nodding with a small grunt. He looked away from her, ignoring the offered hand and got up on his own.

She scrunched up her brow, her lip curling lightly as she squinted at the boy. Well, that was kind of rude... "Ah well...is everything okay? You uh...you don't seem like the type to trip over themself like this."

He brushed himself off, only sending Yumiko a glance before trying to walk again, "I'm fi-HNG!"

What would have been Morinozuka's fourth time tripping (and dang this time the guy barely made one step) had been stopped by Yumiko, whose grip on his arm tightened before pulling him up. She didn't let go of his arm. Yumiko raised a brow, making sure to hold eye contact in order to try and gauge out something from Morinozuka's empty expression.

Yumiko was pointedly ignoring her string, ignoring the way it bounced and circled the two as they were locked in the stare off Yumiko had caused.

"...So what's your problem?" Yumiko sighed and let go of his arm (her red string just barely tugged at her, wanting her to go back to holding on to him). She folded her arms and sent him a flat look.

"Nothings wrong, I'm fine," he assured.

Yumiko opened her mouth, ready to make a comment and bother the boy about his problem before clamping her mouth. She frowned, trying to dig up old memories and piece together everything she'd witnessed when she was hiding around the corner.

"...Well if you're fine that's great," Yumiko said with a shrug, before walking around the taller boy, "But that girl you completely rejected definitely isn't."

She glanced back, eyelids lowered and brows raised. They were back to staring in silence. Morinozuka, who hadn't moved because he definitely wasn't in the right headspace to try, met her gaze head on. There was a shift somewhere though, something in Morinozuka's eyes showed up and Yumiko was quick to point it out.

"So it's the guilt huh?"

Yumiko turned around, her hands behind her back as she leaned on her heels. A frown was no on the handsome boys face as he turned his head and broke their stare off. Yumiko hummed.

It was an accident. If Yumiko knew that right around the corner was a girl attempting to confess her feelings to Morinozuka, then she would have stayed far away and walked to one of the schools many other libraries. But she didn't know. When Yumiko rounded the corner and saw a girl nervously fiddling with her hands as she loudly stuttered out a confession, she had paused for barely a nanosecond before throwing herself into hiding.

She had stayed out of anxiety, not sure if she had been spotted or if leaving would be too loud. She stayed and managed to hear the poor girl get a surprisingly rude rejection. As in she got silence.

Which while yeah, the tallest host was quiet practically all the time he definitely wasn't the type to just say nothing when someone who was clearly dying of nerves. The girl ended up tearing up and running off and Yumiko was almost tempted to run off and comfort the poor girl. Instead, she stayed rooted to the spot, very uncomfortable and not sure what to do.

It wasn't until she'd head the sound of the tall boy trip over himself did she come back to reality. Skip a few minutes and weird stare offs and here we are.

Takashi Morinozuka was a good person, an incredibly good person that doesn't just go off and make girls cry. Yumiko dug at her old memories, praying that she remembered everything well enough. The only time that she could recall Morinozuka acting like this was when-

"So are you trying to get her to hate you or something?"

He didn't exactly flinch, maybe tensed up would be the better word for the suddenly rigid stance Morinozuka had.

Yumiko took a step closer, hands still behind her back, "Soooooo," she stretched out the word before trying to look him in the eye, "I take it I'm right?"

Silence.

Whether it was a stubborn attempt to keep his mouth shut about being caught or maybe it was just his silent nature, Morinozuka didn't say anything. Yumiko was left bouncing on her heels and pulling at her fingers while she switched between looking at Morinozuka and the walls of the hallway.

Maybe it was seconds or maybe it was minutes (with the weirdly tense atmosphere Yumiko wasn't sure) but eventually, Yumiko gave an annoyed sigh before walking up to Morinozuka.

"Look," Yumiko said as tried to make long strides towards the older boy, "You can barely take two steps Morinozuka-san and you're definitely late to your club activities. I have too good of a conscious to just turn around and act like you won't end up falling down some stairs on your way to your club that's on the third floor. Just...say what's going on."

Silence.

Yumiko imagined the comical tick mark appearing on her forehead as she crossed her arms. 'Just tell me what's wrong asshole!'

She sighed before poking the taller boys chest, "Morinozuka," She seethed, "Haninozuka is probably wondering where you are, you can't walk because you're guilty conscious somehow leaves you immobile, and my conscious will have me worrying about you if I walk away. You're holding both of us up and worrying your cousin, just tell me what's wrong."

He let out a sigh through his nose before finally looking at her. "...She's not the first one to confess..." He reluctantly said before going quiet once again.

"And?"

"...She won't be the last..."

Yumiko raised an eyebrow before gesturing for him to continue.

"...I don't want to hurt them."

Yumiko almost blanched at that. Not at the fact that Morinozuka didn't want to hurt anyone, no that was a nice enough thing to want. But more so for the fact that things finally clicked and boy was it stupid.

Yumiko poked his chest again, and without really thinking she said, "You're an idiot."

He flinched, surprised at the blunt tone. Yumiko poked him again, "You're an idiot if you thought anything you just did was working."

Yumiko stepped back and pointed towards him. "Morinozuka, you're attractive and in a host club. I don't even go anywhere near that club but I have a pretty good idea at what goes on in there and let me tell you this- girls walking up to you to tell you they like you is inevitable. And the sad truth is, once you get in that situation there's no way to get out of it without hurting them," Yumiko folded her arms, "At least rejection is an answer. Telling them you can't accept their feelings is better than just staring at them as they stew in their own anxieties. I get it you're not the talkative type but still."

Yumiko let out a sigh, closing her eyes and scrunching up her eyebrows. "Be honest Morinozuka- just tell them you don't like them in that way. It will hurt, it'll hurt you and it'll hurt her but it's infinitely better than saying nothing."

"How do you know?"

Yumiko's eyes snapped open, and grey met brown once again. There was something Morinozuka's voice, a weird sort of...not desperation but sort of...clarification maybe? He wanted to know that those girls would be fine even after getting hurt.

"Take it from someone who's gotten rejected plenty of times," (Granted most if not all of those rejections were from a time when she wasn't Yumiko) Yumiko said with a shrug, "And someone who has actually had to do the rejecting." (Again mostly from a time when she wasn't Yumiko)

Yumiko tried to smile, a small and bitter smile, "You can't not hurt someone in this scenario Morinozuka. It's...horrible but its the truth."

They were back to silence, Morinozuka stewing over Yumiko's rant and Yumiko mentally scolding herself for going on such a long rant. She was tugging at her lip as she was getting lost in thought 'I overdid it, definitely overdid it oh jeez this is fucking embarrassing - shit did Morinozuka always have a problem with girls confessing? I know around Valentines Day he at least accepts their chocolate right? But outside of that what did he-'

"Thank you."

Yumiko flinched and her hand shot away from her mouth, she blinked once before she comprehended the small smile on Morinozuka's face. Just like last year, he held such a soft look on his handsome and it made her cheeks heat up.

She forced an awkward smile, waving off his thanks with an awkward chuckle. "Yeah yeah yeah, you're welcome and all that. Now," she put one hand on her hip and pointed behind her with her thumb, "Get going Morinozuka-san. You have a club you need to get to."

"Mori."

The smile dropped, "What?"

He ruffled her hair (and she definitely didn't like it definitely definitely definitely didn't like it), still with that very soft smile, "Call me Mori."

"...Pft-" with a hand over her mouth, Yumiko shook her head before meeting his handsome eyes one more time, "No thanks Morinozuka."

She flashed a small smile before walking around him, "Now, I have an overdue library book I have to return and you really need to get to your club." She waved without turning around to look back at him, "See you in class Morinozuka-san."

Yumiko could hear his footsteps walking down the hallway, not once tripping on his way. (And maybe- just maybe she heard a small chuckle…)

Grandfather happily bit into the badly made onigiri, his eyes closed as the duo watched the very bad soap opera together. Yumiko, six years old at the time, was more focused on her grandfather's face. A frown was on her face as she stared intently, slowly she took a big bite of her onigiri.

Gramps raised an eyebrow, head tilting in Yumiko's direction and the two ended up being caught in a weird stare off.

"...You gonna say somethin' kid?" He asked and somehow a small question mark appeared above his head before disappearing. Yumiko squinted.

Her tiny hand shot out and pointed at Grandfather's eyes. The man flinched at how close the kid came to stabbing his eye.

"How do you see?" Yumiko asked with complete seriousness. A determined frown on her chubby, childish face.

"...With my eyes." Grandfather replied with a raised eyebrow.

A small tick mark appeared on Yumiko's cheek, "But your eyes are always closed!"

Grandfather was silent for a moment. He carefully grabbed Yumiko's hand and lowered it before grabbing his chin. He hummed, thinking things over before nodding.

"I suppose they are." He took another bite out of his onigiri.

Yumiko puffed out her cheeks and curled her lip, she huffed before crossing her arms and went back to watching TV.

"Aw come on kid, don't get so upset about something like that," Grandfather tried to joke, "I can even hear with my ears and smell with my nose. Oh! And if I touch things with my fingers I-"

"It doesn't make sense."

Grandfather went silent as he realized Yumiko was actually starting to tear up. He bent down to try and get a better look at Yumiko's face.

"Kid...Yumiko what's wrong?" He asked softly, slowly wrapping an arm around his granddaughter.

"...It doesn't make sense...Nothing makes sense!" Yumiko threw up her arms and snapped her head towards the older man who was in the exact same situation she was in, "Your eyes are always closed and you can see perfectly fine, little hearts appear around Mom and Dad nearly every day, Kujo can't enter a room without physically dragging in a dark aurora! I nearly drowned yesterday because Kuranosuke Hashira was crying an actual fountain of tears!" Tears were forming as Yumiko ran her hands through her hair before pulling at roughly at whatever locks she had in her hands.

Grandfather was quick to grab her hands, forcing her to let go of her hair. He whispered in her ear, telling her to calm down and breathe.

"It doesn't make sense! Nothing here makes any sense and I hate it!" She seethed as grandfather wrapped his arms around her. "All of this stuff shouldn't be possible yet it is and nobody questions it."

"No one questions it because here all of this stuff is possible kid."

Yumiko pulled away slightly in order to look at her grandfather's face. "How can you not question it?"

He actually laughed at that. "I don't question it because I'm an old man who's already spent decades living with weird effects that make no sense. Yumiko," Grandfather said before ruffling her hair in an attempt to lighten the mood, "In this life, I was born with my eyes liked this. No one questioned it, hell sometimes I forgot that they are closed. "

Grandfather's smile dropped slightly, "People don't question what they've known all their lives, and anything you may think is normal isn't for people here. We're the strange ones, remember?" He ruffled her hair one more time, "You get used to it, you adjust to it, and eventually you stop questioning it. In fact, I've only opened my eyes a handful of times in this lifetime because of how used to it I am."

Yumiko scrunched up her face before wrapping her arms around her grandfather.

"I don't like it."

He chuckled, "Do you want me to open them?"

"...No."

He chuckled again.

"...I act more childish too," Yumiko mumbled, "I'm nearly in my thirties and I'm throwing a temper tantrum."

"Yumiko Yamamoto is only six years old," Grandfather said as he slowly pulled away from Yumiko, "Whoever you were before isn't really around anymore. Do you remember everything from your last life?"

Yumiko hesitated before shaking her head.

"Exactly, all that stuff is locked away somewhere up here," he tapped her on the head, "so you may have bits and pieces of your old life but right now you're Yumiko. A temperamental six-year-old with far too many existential questions."

Yumiko stuck out her tongue before her she frowned again. She glanced at her hand, at the limp string the sat pathetically next to her. She shook her head before leaning on her grandfather.

"One more question."

Grandfather raised a brow.

"Has Grandma ever seen your eyes?"

She let out of a puff of air, smiling at the sight of her breath being visible in the cold air. With a large coat wrapped around her, earmuffs, and a scarf wrapped around her neck, Yumiko casually walked towards the school gates. Kura had actually woken up early to not only drive to her place but to also make sure she actually remembered to wear stuff that would actually keep her warm. Even when he was dropping her off he'd lightly punched her arm told her to stay warm and get out of the cold quick. His doting was appreciated, considering all the times the two had gotten sick from running around outside in the cold and not wearing enough layers.

There had been another shift in the world and the weather went from slowly easing off the summer heat to throwing them all in the middle of winter. But it was fine, the possibility of snow and seeing her breathe in the cold air kept Yumiko somewhat positive. Appreciate the small things and all that.

Now Yumiko just wished she could keep that positive attitude.

She leisurely walked through the gates, actually waving at the one or two classmates that waved at her.

A new problem had arisen. A problem she definitely saw coming.

"Yama-chan!" Chieko yelled out from behind her.

Yumiko paused, turning slightly with a small smile on her face, as Chieko rushed towards her. Yumiko eyed the fancy looking coat that probably cost more than her house but definitely looked warm. Rich people and their money…

"Are you ready for la-later Yama-chan?" Chieko asked with an excited grin.

And that was the problem.

Yumiko grinned (it was tight and strained but Chieko was to excited to really care), "'Course, might actually be fun."

And the two started to chatter about this and that like they always did if they met up before homeroom. And when classes started Yumiko silently prayed that classes would take an eternity. All because-

(Yumiko was used to keeping her jealousy in check (in both her first and second life it seemed she'd experienced her fair share of jealousy), especially when it came to stubborn little crushes. Those pesky little emotions that would cling to her heart and bother her frequently, no matter how hard she'd kick them down and bury them under all sorts of other problems.

But damnit people were cute and Yumiko was just a bisexual disaster of a person who thought it was very unfair that her closest friend in Ouran had the most adorable giggle she'd ever heard. Or that every time she gave such a genuine smile, glitter and sparkles would appear because Chieko was just so cute. Or when she got passionate about something and it was like a new person came out of nowhere and her stutter simply disappeared as she ranted about what was on her mind. Or-

Chieko had her hand over her mouth as she tried to keep her squeal in check. She giggled and tried to stutter out some kind of statement. She failed.

Yumiko, on the other hand, was biting the inside of her cheek. She kept her head down as she kept her gaze on the history book in front of her. It was by pure luck she guessed the right answer on the last history test, she needed to be more positive on her answers for the next one (plus she has an excuse to not see Chieko gushing over-)

"Eeeeee he's just so cute don't you think so Yama-chan?" Chieko giggled, oblivious to the tick marks that were forming on Yumiko's head.

"Absolutely adorable."

"Oh, and I heard that the host club started doing cosplay at some of their meetings and Honey looked so cute in his!"

"Uh huh." When did she start calling him Honey? Ughh, not like any of them were actually all that close. Whatever. Who cares who cares who cares.

"Oh and I even heard that the Host Club may be planning some kind of event around Christmas and ooohhhh it sounds so fun!"

"Sounds great Kobuchi."

She was barely paying attention now. Giving casual 'uh-huhs', 'yeah greats', and a couple 'sures' as Yumiko tried to focus on her book.

"Ah! Really Yama-chan?!" And suddenly Yumiko had two skinny arms wrapped around her shoulders as Chieko giggled about how excited she was. Yumiko blinked, before turning her head towards Chieko and trying to comprehend what she was squealing about.

"This'll be so much fun Yama-chan! According to Hato-chan first time guests get to make an appointment for free so you don't have to worry about paying, b-but if we wanna go again then I could always pay for you!"

Yumiko scrunched up her face in confusion, blinking at Chieko's excitement before forcing on a tight smile.

Homeroom ended. Class started. It was midway through first period before Yumiko suddenly sat up straighter with a look of horror on her face.

'I AGREED TO GO TO THE HOST CLUB.SHIT!')

All because she let her stupid jealousy get to her! (Stupid stupid stupid stupid!)

Takashi Morinozuka knew he wasn't in love. Calling it a crush or anything like that was a pretty big stretch as well. ...Infatuated? No that definitely wasn't right. Maybe….curious? Yeah, that sounded better.

He was just curious about Yumiko Yamamoto.

He didn't pay much attention to her before the school festival, outside of the occasional times they'd made eye contact they never talked or really had any reason to interact with each other. She used to stare at him, nothing more than a few seconds and always with a sort...contemplative look on her face. As if she looked at him and his cousin and tried to understand what they were doing.

"I don't get most of you rich families and the way you all function," She had finally said after such a long pause. Her brow was crinkled as she kept eye contact like she was determined to make something clear to him.

Then the school festival happened and somehow he had slipped and somehow she caught him. He'd thought of that moment too many times to count, cringing and rubbing at his temples as he thought of how he must have looked. She held him easily, not at all winded by his bigger frame or heavyweight but she was still horrified - just as horrified as he was - when she looked at his parents and at all the people that were around them and then-

"You should be more careful Morinozuka-san." It was the first thing she'd ever said to him, and she said it with such an empty expression.

She scolded him and left him to the embarrassment of his father's bewildered looks and his mothers delighted giggles at his heavily blushing face.

"Takashi who was that girl?" Mother asked him later that night and she laughed when his face went red from embarrassment.

He had his own little questions that he'd mull over whenever he was lost in thought and he'd have no choice but to come up with his own answers.

Just how strong was that girl? Very was always his conclusion.

What exactly had she said to Tamaki? What were her full reasons to telling him about Mitsukuni? "It's annoying." Those words popped into his head whenever he was mulling over his questions, wondering if that was it. Was the idea of Mitsukuni being so unlike himself really that upsetting to the girl? Why though? Why say anything when she had been so determined to avoid them - which yes he was well aware of.

...Why avoid them? She was so distant, so unresponsive to Mitsukuni's attempts at making conversation and he wondered what the reason was. What it could be that bothered her so much.

And then his mind wandered to other places. Maybe a little more dangerous places and questions that he didn't like worrying over as much. (She showed up one day with bandages on her face and her hands wrapped up and claiming she had nearly gotten mugged. Did that mean she lived somewhere dangerous? Was she safe in her own home? But she was strong, she had enough muscle to easily lift him meaning she must be able to somewhat defend herself. Right? But then there was that boy, the one who drove in reeking of danger and setting every last one of Takashi's protective instincts into overdrive. That guy drove her to school everyday. Was he safe? He definitely didn't seem like it.)

Yumiko Yamamoto made him wonder. Made him almost get lost in thought.

Ofcourse Mitsukuni noticed. Granted he came to a terrible conclusion because he noticed.

"Takashi? Are you interested in Yamamoto-san?" The question came up after a long session of shared training at the manors dojos. Takashi choked on the water he was drinking and really did try to keep his blushing to a minimum.

Mitsukuni giggled at this embarrassment before moving closer. The cousins sat by each other, with Mitsukuni waiting for the taller boy to stop coughing.

"N-Not," He choked out, "Not in the way you're suggesting."

He smiled at that before looking away, thinking over whatever he was about to say. "...She seems so weird don't you think? Wanting to help people she doesn't even know...she must be kind."

…

"Maybe."

He giggled again, looking back up at him with a smile on his face. "You don't think she's nice Takashi?"

He frowned at that, wondering what his cousin was trying to achieve out of this conversation. "I'm not saying that."

"...I think I'd like to be friends with Yamamoto-san. Maybe she'll visit the Host Club when it starts," His smile twisted into a teasing look, "You might be able to talk to her then Takashi."

His glare did nothing but make Mitsukuni laugh. And then they were silent.

"Takashi, you stare at her in class sometimes." And Takashi was back to blushing.

Any defense he could have made was stopped by the soft voice asking, "'Her'? What's this I hear about a 'her'?" And Takashi's mother walked in and any talk about Yumiko Yamamoto was dropped.

Mitsukuni was wrong. He wasn't interested in the way he was clearly suggesting. Curious was the word for it because he had so many questions that he would love better answers for.

But being friends sounded nice (maybe then she would call him Mori).

It was that thought in mind, did Takashi perk up at the sight of Yumiko Yamamoto walking into the clubs door with Chieko Kobuchi. From the little bit he knows about the shy girl, she was definitely one of his cousin's fans. It made sense that the two would end up at his and Mituskuni's shared table.

The idea was further solidified when Yumiko looked away from her conversation with Kyoya (discussing who the duo would designate, discussing how the next they came they would have to charge, etc.) and they stared at each other.

For Takashi, those weird moments of eye contact were sudden. They felt longer than they actually were and he felt as if he was missing something. Like...maybe Yamamoto knew something that he didn't, that he never would.

She always looked away first.

This time was no different. She looked down, frowning at her hands before looking back at Kyoua (She did that a lot, fiddling with her hands like she was pulling at something or even glaring at her palms). She said something and then the two girls were walking.

They walked past Takashi and Mituskuni's table.

They sat at Kaoru and Hikaru's table.

Oh.

Author's Note - Okay so I am totally blaming marching band and school for taking up most of my time. But hey new chapter! Only took me 3 months *cries* I swear this was meant to be out way sooner but I rewrote this chapter nearly 12 different times and I'm just accepting what I have right now and posting it! Also I promise we're getting closer to canon, I didn't realize how much I wanted to be in second year until I was finally writing it. There's...a lot that's gonna happen. Hopefully.

On a side note, I made a tumblr just for me to rant about how my writing is going, post some art, and whatever else concerns my stories! It should be in my bio! I'm saying this because I would really appreciate it if some of you just come and drop me a message about keeping up with my writing (or liking some of the doodles i posted...). Especially if I start to take another 3 months to write.

So thanks a lot for all the reviews, follows and favorites everyone! (I actually wanted to post this chapter when I got 69 favorites so I could laugh about in my author's note...but then...i didn't have a lot written) Especially the reviews! they kept me writing when I got nervous about whether or not it was worth it in the end!