Check Mate

Where the king is devoured by the Ice Queen.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or Ouran High School Host Club, but if I did, they would've had a crossover already and got these two to meet.

Author's Note: So I've basically returned to Fanfiction and became a total hypocrite. I changed the summary of my 'last' story to say it wasn't my last anymore, because I'm such a fail like that. DX But anyways, this will probably be my last story as myself alone; I'm thinking of doing an epic collab with Shubs and Ash as my final blowout. ;)

KyoyaxHotaru. IKR? It's never been done before, never will be done (probably), so I'm not expecting any attention. Still, I love these two together as an epic combination and I think these two should totally have a conversation together. :P But yeah. This is my fail take.

I know, I'm so rusty. I just know in my head that there are so many errors in it, I can't even... ugh. But I tried, so incredibly hard, despite not having a muse. So... yes. Here ya go.

Words couldn't describe how Kyoya Ootori felt when he first met Hotaru Imai.

It was unprecedented- merely uncalculated- and took him by great surprise. He knew her before then, of course, but only by reputation; she was the founder of the biggest of corporations- even he could admit that he bought many of his supplies from her.

He'd seen her in magazines before. Her short black locks somehow reflected her personality with its precision; had she not been so rich, he would've almost immediately assumed that she cut her own hair in the safety of her own house, rather than depend on others to do it for her. The two purple gems on her face that glistened on the front of Forbes Magazine almost seemed soulless, and yet enigmatically proposed her character to be caring, if ever possible.

"Welcome to the Host Club!"

Kyoya could see Tamaki- the "Father", as he was self-proclaimed- trying his luck at conversing with the lass, but to no avail. She seemed she had her eyes set on walking straight past him and the cloud of females he surrounded himself with, and made her way to the raven-haired man.

Kyoya breathed in, and adjusted his glasses.

"Ootori." Her voice reverberated in his ear for approximately three long seconds before he mustered enough composure to respond. He was taken aback by how delicate and soft it was.

"Yes, how may I help you?" He almost felt the cold aura she carried with her, and the paleness of her skin made him wonder if she had any blood in her circulatory system at all.

"My name is Hotaru Imai of Imai Corporations, and I was wondering if you were interested in a merger with your company. Of course, this isn't the most appropriate place to discuss such events, but all in a timely manner, if you approve, I could arrange a meeting."

"I'd be glad to." He smiled his politician's smile. In reality, he had never been asked such a professional question by such an attractive female. He didn't really want to be questioned, either, for he knew deep inside that she would be the death of him yet.

As she seemed to make her way back to the door, she froze and turned around, somehow stopped by an afterthought.

"Are you any good at chess?" Her purple eyes looked straight into his- a daring act by someone other than his seniors. "Because I'd like a partner."

What a random question, yet he felt compelled to answer with the most illogical of responses: "Alright. Friday, then."

She smirked at the response, biting her lip with a sudden pang of mystery. He felt suddenly entrapped by her mesmerizing existence.

To pursue this posed absolutely no merit at all, and he was fully aware of it.

But he smiled with charm, as always, as she began to calmly walk away from him, leaving nothing but the memory of her presence to lurk in his mind for the rest of the day.

x X x X x X x X x

He kept up appearances for the days following his visit with her. Needless to say, she was the only thing on his mind.

On that Friday, when the sun seemed to seep in through the window shyly, he found himself seated across from her.

About five minutes into the game, he could almost see his demise.

Kyoya needed to have the upper hand in situations like these. Situations where, had the opponent not been a beautiful female, he would've been considered losing in all accords. But every few seconds, he would find himself wondering trivial questions about her- ones that he knew would gain nothing to know the answers to. Like, for instance, what made her annoyed and angry, what her favorite colour or food was, or what made her smile.

She was the first to break the silence. "That boy of yours reminds me of someone I know." She glared intently at Tamaki, observing each and every movement of the blonde carefully, while calmly making her next move.

"Huh, must be quite a handful of a person, then." He made his move without much thought, and winced when he foresaw the consequences enwrapped to it.

"She is." She said, still somehow engaged in the actions of the lonely prince behind her. "How did you two meet?"

As he chose carefully for his next move, Kyoya began telling the story of Tamaki- the kotatsu, Kyoto, mon amis and calling of his first name. He couldn't help but allow a genuine smile to grow on his face, and he immediately turned away lest she saw.

To his surprise, when he finished the story, she chuckled. "He sounds like a complete nincompoop. That's sweet, in a very unorthodox way."

"He is." Kyoya breathed in and took a swift look at Tamaki, who still continued his antics enthusiastically behind.

"It's certainly not a drawback that you have him around." She suddenly dropped her hands onto her lap, indicating to Kyoya that she wasn't going to make a move for a while.

"Well, no, for he provides most of the Host Club's profit-"

"Not like that, Ootori. I actually mean that you," she pointed straight at his chest, "need him around."

He was taken aback by how direct this woman was, and remained dumbfounded. She continued, "I've observed enough the way you look at him, and can come to an explanation as to why you have such an emotional attachment."

"Enlighten me."

"Love." She asserted, "I feel the same way towards another idiot, so I should know."

Then, as his mind pondered over her words, she released a heavy sigh. "I have to admit; I'm slightly envious of you."

"How so?" Lost in thought, Kyoya could only manage that much.

"He still loves you no matter what, and you're both completely aware of your imperfections." She fiddled with one of his pawns. "In all honesty, I don't want my idiot to realize that I'm not deserving of her."

Upon some impulse, "I don't believe that."

"Excuse me?"

He breathed in. "Well, I think she- whoever she may be- will more than willing to wholeheartedly accept you, if she's anything like him. Given that you care for her a lot and wish to stay by her side."

For once, there was nothing on the other end. He watched as the lifeless eyes switched gears into that filled with pain and sorrow—yet her hands were still and her body kept its composure. And that's when it struck him.

She did have emotions. And those emotions, no matter how lacklustre or cynical they may have been, he wanted to explore.

He wanted to know more about this girl, no matter what it took.

"She knows more about you than you do yourself. And that self… isn't as bad as you perceive it to be." He concluded.

After a long pause of silence from her side, she deeply sighed, as if releasing all of the world's depressions. "What do you plan to gain on telling me this, Ootori?"

She moved her pieces swiftly and easily, grasping his bishop between her index and middle finger gently, before replacing the space where his piece used to stand solidly with her queen, adding his bishop to her collection.

"Hm. Absolutely nothing."

Before he knew it, he saw that his king was surrounded by so many of her pieces. He looked up to see her return the gaze.

He smirked. This feeling running through his veins was simply illogical, and there was no use of fighting it, as dangerous or frightening as it was.

He was the man driven by selfish motives; she was the woman who knew of nothing but money.

"You know, Ootori, you continue to surprise me."

"Likewise."

And yet, simultaneously, they both were so much more.

On her lips, he saw something spread that enthralled him to the point of insanity.

A smile. Small and faint, but there nonetheless. He had never seen such a mesmerizing scene.

"Check mate, Ootori."

Based on the rules of the game, that statement indicated that he had lost.

But as much as he hated to lose, he gladly surrendered.

What happens after that is up to you. :)

Thanks for reading this story, even if there were some errors in between. I'm a total fail, and I don't notice stuff like that. XD