Sakura's POV:

"Kirina-san," I started.

"Hmm? What is it, Haruno-kun?" she asked in response, taking a sip from her cup.

I thought of what I was going to say, arranging them in words that might probably woo her into telling me her story, before I spoke. "Were you ever told you were weird?"

I watched her reaction. It surprised me when her body movements and expression changed from stiff and guarded to open and gentle in a moment. She laughed heartily, making the patrons from the other tables look in our direction, which made her laughing stop immediately, but her smile still had the hint of laughter in it. She looked so amused.

"Oh dear, Haruno-kun. Mou! How could you ask a girl that?" As she asked me that rhetorical question, she smacked my arm playfully. I laughed embarrassedly.

"Oh, haha! I'm very sorry about that, Kirina-san. I'm just trying to lighten up the mood," I told her.

She gave me a look that had her eyebrow up in curiosity. Placing her cup down on the table, she crossed her legs and folded her hands on her lap. And once again, her expression became solemn.

At least, she's opening up a little.

Yeah, whatever. But more than a little of her guards are still up.

"Kirina-san?" I called hesitantly, urging her to tell me something.

"Well," she started, tucking a strand of her bangs behind her ear. "There was a time I was called weird."

My ears perked and I became serious. Inching closer to her, I asked, "And when might that be, Kirina-san?"

She was quiet for a few seconds after that.

Probably thinking whether she should tell me or not.

She suddenly turned to me and looked into my eyes, serious and unwavering. Totally different from the haughty and confident facade she hid behind from. Then, she sighed, probably from relief; a smile formed on her face, albeit it was as solemn as her expression.

When she still didn't speak, I picked up her cup, getting her attention in the process, and breathed the scent in. "Kirina-san . . . ," I said.

"Yes," she replied.

"I was also called a weirdo once." I looked at her and smiled my usual closed-eye smile before continuing, "It was during my grade shool days. Believe it or not, I was studying in a public school."

A gasp came from her. "Eh? P-public school? Were the children there as rogue-ish as the rumors said? Were they always playing in groups and bullying puppies?!"

I stared at her, a little taken aback at her sudden brightness. "Uh, well, they weren't exactly rogue-ish. There were considerate and sweet children, too, but do you see this hair?"

Kirina-san nodded as she saw what I was pointing at.

"I was teased for having pink hair," I said with a sort-of pained smile. In effect, this made her show a pitying look - her mouth was covered delicately by her hand and she looked at me in sympathy.

"Even when I transferred into a private school for middle school and junior high-though in all honesty, they were not as extravagant as this, it still a private school by national standards . . . I was still teased." I chuckled before adding, "But really, nobody who sees a boy having such pink hair in their school think that he's a normal kid. Either he's a delinquent or a crossdressing maniac boy."

When I looked at her through the edge of my vision, she looked downcast and she was quiet. "It was painful, back then. Nobody wanted to be friends with me-"

"Haruno-kun, I have something to say," Kirina-san suddenly interjected.

I nodded, giving her a curious stare and placing the cup back on the table. "Alright, Kirina-san. What is it?"

I watched her fiddle with her thumbs, looking anxious and animated as I waited for her to say something. Then, as if finally coming to a decision, she sighed and began to talk.

"I wasn't actually called weird, however, I was thought of as freaky," she started. She paused for a bit, maybe to calm herself. "I . . . I told my best friend that I wanted to try to go to a public school. And she told me, 'Oh my gosh! No, don't!' but I didn't listen. I continued talking about how interesting it would be if I, an heir to a rich company, would be studying in a public school.

"Of course, my best friend, who was very spoiled by the way, wasn't as interested as I was in poorly facilitated schools-Ah, if you don't mind me asking, Haruno-kun, what did you think of me the first time you saw me?"

Her question caught me off-guard. But I hid my surprise by clearing my throat.

I can't exactly say I thought she was a haughty person, can I?

Tell her how you felt when you saw her! The truth, Sakura!

"Please, tell me the truth. You thought I was spoiled and a snob, didn't you?"

See?

I looked at her and with a little hesitance, I nodded my head. In response to this, she laughed heartily again, but this time, she made it a little softer than before.

"Mou! Though it is true, it really hurts when someone as handsome as you admits it," she chukled in amusement. "Ah, but there's a difference between me and the people in this school."

"And what would that difference be?" I asked her. Noticing that her cup was almost empty, I politely offered to put more tea in the cup, regretting not having done it the first time I held the chinaware. She agreed and continued with her story.

"The difference was that I'm not very happy with how we used our riches," she said. At this, my eyes widened with wonder.

I leaned a little closer and asked her with a look of utter curiosity, "What do you mean by that, Kirina-san?"

"I mean, most of the friends I have are really spoiled which is equivalent to rich young people buying more useless things sold at high prices than useful creations that can be bought in a fair bargain. Like, seriously! I couldn't find a single rich person anywhere that is close to having at least the same feelings as I do about poor people!"

When she was done speaking, she was showing such an angry face that I had to inch away a bit, for safety reasons.

Suddenly she looked at me and asked with an intense stare, "So? Don't you think it's quite sad and irritating?"

But before I could even utter a word in response, she began talking again, this time a little more animated. "By the way, have you ever gone to those places where the poor people always play? I don't remember the word but I think it sounds like, uhh, 'ar-kad' or something?"

It's arcade.

"Are you talking about arcades, Kirina-san?"

She flicked her two fingers and gave me a 'You got it!' smile. "Yes, yes, that's the one! You going to a public school before seems to be the truth," she said in an excited manner.

I chuckled softly as I acted embarrassed, but I immediately changed my aura. There was something I really wanted to tell her so I looked her in the eye seriously and began to speak. "But even so, Kirina-san. There should be other rich people who respect and treat poor people equally here in Ouran. Maybe you just didn't know," I said. "Or maybe you didn't care to know," I added.

She looked troubled from what I said and she looked down at her cup. It was getting cold, but she still picked it up and drank its content. The moment the rim of her cup left her lips, her facade came back full force which got me a little worried. "Kirina-san," I called to her.

"Well, I don't think I'll be able to meet anyone like that here, Haruno-kun," she replied coolly. Then, suddenly, her demeanor changed. She brought her hand up and exclaimed girlishly, "Ah! It's the refreshing boy! Haruhi-kun~!"

Eh?

Is she abandoning me?

You were probably no good. And why did you even say that?! Why couldn't you have been more delicate?

'I' am not delicate, you say?! And who the hell is always being blunt with the truth and insults to me here, huh?!

And I got myself caught up in an internal fight with inner as Fujioka Haruhi walked towards us. It seemed that she was on the pirates side of the setting - she wore a white, long-sleeved shirt that had a V-neck and loose trousers that was hastily stuck in brown, knee-high boots. She also wore accessories that could have been easily thought of as gold.

WAIT A MINUTE!

Oi, is that real gold?! REAL GOLD?!

I don't know! I'll ask those guys later.

Oi, oi, oi. Just because this is a rich school, doesn't mean you have to have accessories so obviously real gold on your rich person! Although, it's ironic that the poorest person in the whole school is wearing such things.

Inner, that's rude.

During my mental debate with Inner, Fujioka had already reached our booth. She gave Kirina-san a charming, refreshing smile befitting her image. "Hello, Kirina-san. How are you today?"

I watched the two of them converse while I waited for the news. I have a feeling.

Maybe it's time to get the next customer?

Maybe. Oh, well. Goodbye to this girl then.

Oi! Don't just call her 'this girl.' She's a sempai, mind you.

Whatever. She can't hear me in your head, you know.

I know, but the way you called her was still rude.

Then, the duo turned to me - Fujioka with a refreshing smile and Kirina-san with a cool look. Leaning toward me, Fujioka whispered, "It's time for your next customer, Haruno-san, so while you say your good-byes to Kirina-san, I'll wait beside you."

"Oh, thank you, Fujioka-san."

She looked like she wanted to tell me something but she shook her head and walked a little bit away from the booth. Forgetting about how curious I was about it, I turned to Kirina-san and told her with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, Kirina-san. It seems that this is it for today. I hope you join me again and let me entertain you tomorrow."

I took her hand and gently placed a kiss on it. She immediately pulled it back and nodded my way with a stiff quirk of her lips. "I'll see to it, Haruno-kun," she said pleasantly before standing up and walking away. But before she could reach a meter from the booth, she turned and waved happily at Fujioka who waved back.

"So, who's next?" I asked as I watched Kirina-san go, a little bit worried with how she bid me farewell. Something was nagging at my gut and it was very unpleasant.

"Well, before we come to that, Haruno-san. I should tell you something that the vice president told me to say to you," the crossdressing girl said. I bobbed my head in a way that shows I want her to continue. "That lady you accompanied won't be coming back tomorrow, and from the looks of things, you probably weren't able to get her to open up to you. So, you are going to have to take responsibility for the lessening of the club's patriots by becoming close to her in any way you can and help he with her problem! . . . Well, that's what he told me to say. Haha! But you did well on your first day, Haruno-san," Fujioka said gently.

I thanked her for the praise. "So, does that mean I don't have to take in any more guests today?"

Fujioka shook her head. When she looked up, she was about to speak until she saw someone from behind me. I turned around and found Kyoya walking towards me with a new girl in tow. "That must be your next customer, Haruno-san. Good luck!" Fujioka cheerily said to me as she walked away, no sign of femininity seen from her movements.

I will have to work hard. Kirina-san is a really diffeicult person to deal with.

Hah! You don't say. Welp, here's our next customer, be formal.

I'm surprised you're into this, Inner. And for the first time in a while, you're giving me helpful advice.

Shut up already.

Following Inner's advice, I calmed myself and tried to show off a formal feel, standing up to welcome my new company. The moment they were near, I greeted both host and guest. "Hello there," I said politely.

Both of them smiled, the girl turning to Kyoya with an amused smile. "So this is another recruit, eh? Seems to have potential," the girl remarked, immediately taking a seat. I remembered I had to offer her a drink before I started anything and that's what I did - under the scrutiny of Kyoya.

Ugh, I don't like the way he's staring. It's creepy.

Creepy or not, he's just trying to take account of how useful I'll be in this host club. Probably.

'Probably' my butt! He's judging us! He's judging us HARD!

"Oh my, he's got manners, Kyoya-sama! How charming," the girl gushed, giggling amusedly.

"I see that, Maki-san. If you are comfortable, then I will take my leave and let you have him for youself," Kyoya said formally, bowing in such a way that showed poise and grace. It was a mesmerizing sight in retrospect.

"Byeeee~!" Maki-san waved enthusiastically at the teen before turning to me. I shivered at her hollow stare. Somehow, she suddenly oozed a murderous aura. "Let's see~ Haruno Saku-kun, right?"

I nodded, taking a seat beside her and opting to pour her tea. "Ah! I don't like tea! I want juice!" Startled at her outburst, I raised my hand and ordered juice.

"What juice would you like, Maki-san?" I asked her with a shy smile.

She grinned mischievously. I felt something prod on my arm and when I looked there, I found her finger flirtily doing the finger-leg walk.

GYAAA! She's a PERVERT! HEEEEELP!

"I would like one Haruno Saku juice, please~ Ufufu."

. . . H-

Help . . .

. . . us . . . !

Kyoya's POV:

"How is Haruno-san doing, mama?"

I turned to the club president who had his arm around a girl. Ignoring the prez's precarious way of showing off, I answered coolly, "(s)He wasn't able to make Kirina Bon-san to open up to him(/er). Although, I can see Haruno-san having fun with her second customer." I did not add the fact that I had an unsettling feeling in my gut every time Maki-san teased the new host with her intimacy.

"Hmm. Well, Haruno-san is still a newbie in that aspect, eh? Hehe, how cute!" Suou gushed, looking at the girl beside him who squealed in excitement together with him. I sighed while shaking my head fondly. Really, his outgoing nature is still going strong as ever and he's still unashamedly flirting with other girls, even though it's plenty obvious now how affectionate he really is towards Haruhi.

'Well, troubling others is his faulty charm, I suppose,' I thought fondly. 'Good luck, Haruhi.'

I agreed to my narcissistic superior's words, keeping to myself the fact that I am suddenly feeling irritation when Suou is voicing out his praises towards Haruno-san. I held my chin to wonder about it. 'What does this mean? I am puzzled. It seems that I am feeling something, however, I do not understand how it came to be.' I hummed as I continued to ponder on this problem.

"Kyoya-sama! Can I have you today?" My thoughts were interrupted by a newcomer. I looked at the girl and recognized her as a regular, making me smile immediately in effect. 'I have no time to be so relaxed to the point of stopping my work. The sales are going through the roof now that Haruno-san's recruitment has spread throughout the school, though that means more customers would be coming in.'

"I see. If you are fine with me, then let us go over there," I gestured toward my usual booth, "to have a little bit of privacy." With the last part, I was sure I was able to make her swoon. The hearts in her eyes were a dead giveaway. "Yes, please!" was her eager reply.

I smiled at her, proud of my work. But before I could lead her to the booth, I first checked on Haruno-san. She was still being teased by Maki-san but it seemed that Haruno-san has finally calmed down enough to know how to deal with her. "That's good," I suddenly said.

"Eh?" The girl looked confused.

I immediately turned my attention to her and successfully evaded my abrupt statement with something about her skin being smoother than usual. She seemed to have hyped up after that, speaking more about her ways of taking care of her skin. "I'm astonished you noticed, Kyoya-sama!" she claimed excitedly.

"Well, of course. It is my duty to find every bit of beauty in you, after all," I smoothly replied. She giggled happily at my compliment and continued to talk about a lot of things.

Regrettably, although I am quite amused by my customer's idle talk, I was not the one to take Haruno-san's next guest to her.

Hours passed by and club activities were deemed over, to the disappointment of many Ouran female students. "See you tomorrow, Kyoya-kun. I will see to it that I have free time enough for you," my last customer bid me cheerfully. I took her hand and placed on it a kiss like usual. I heard her giggle happily before letting her hand go. And she was gone after that.

"Aaah! Today was busier than usual! Maybe because Haruno-san is here?" Kaoru playfully said.

I pushed my glasses up as they were almost slipping, and explained, "Yes. It seemed that her recruitment has spread far and wide among our school's female students. Today has shown more profit and for that, I am glad." I looked at the club's newbie host and smiled, "How was your first day, Haruno-san?"

She looked up and shrugged her shoulders carelessly. "It was . . . both fun and tiresome. I'm quite surprised you guys can go through this everyday. Ugh, my second customer was the worst," she muttered.

Suddenly, a Tamaki Suou appeared at her side, catching her off-guard. What's more, the abrupt closeness caused her to send a punch toward the president (I can't say I was not satisfied about that) though Mori caught it quickly and stopped it before any damage was done, particularly at our best host. And that best host was hiding behind Haruhi while complaining about how his 'daughter didn't do anything like that when she just started!'

"Haruno-sa~n," Hikaru started, placing his arms over a chair's headrest. "You shouldn't be swinging those fists around, you know? As a girl, it is your duty to take care of yourself, and what's more, you are already a part of this host club. The president and vice prez won't stand for that, you know?"

"Yup, yup," Kaoru added. He leaned down to Haruno-san's ears and whispered something while looking my way. I didn't like the way the look was sent to me and I do not like how close he is with Haruno-san so despite my aloof nature, I walked toward them and gave both of them the best glare I could muster.

"And what would you need to whisper about over here, both of you? I do hope it's about how to up your usefulness . . . is it?" I queried, raising one eyebrow.

It was Kaoru who answered me. And true to his personality, he made it as confusing and playful as possible, though I have to thank my analytical skills for making me able to understand all of it. "Oh, we~ll. I was just telling Haruno-san how attractive she was while entertaining her first-day customers! It was regrettable how those from the far booths weren't able to see her work so wonderfully. Neh, Haruno-san?"

Mentioned crossdressing host was startled into agreeing to the older Hitachiin. However, she wasn't so swept away that she wasn't able to give a proper thank you to him. With a bow, she said in a dignified manner, "Thank you for the unusual praise. Please, don't indirectly tell me that you have been spying on me while I was working. It is rude and most of all, unappreciated."

We all watched her scold Kaoru for his spying and such, and I am quite amused with her lecture. Even Hikaru and our two thrid years were mentioned in her speech. "As I recall, although it is probably what you are supposed to do, I did not sign up for this while allowing anyone checking up on me all the time. I am utterly capable of accompanying ladies as a host if need be, as I am a girl first before a host, thus, I understand how a maiden's heart works. Please do not undermine my knowledge," she said, crossing her arms.

There was an awkward silence that came over the room after her "I am utterly capable" speech, but it was quickly broken by a laugh. Oddly enough, it was Haruno-san who was laughing.

"Oh my gosh, my sides!" she guffawed while holding onto her sides. We all watched her, taken aback by this sudden change in character. I would have expected the laughing from the president, maybe even a chuckle from myself, but to see Haruno-san, the one who has been showing a calm hostility towards us, laughing at our faces is quite a scene.

In no time, the other hosts who are adaptable to the situation joined in on her laughing. "Why are we laughing?" I heard Honey-sempai ask his giant cousin who in turn only shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"We're laughing because all of you are idiots," Haruno-san finally said, stopping the merry atmosphere of the room. Inhaling deeply, she returned to her former composure, as did everyone else.

"Well," I started, fixing my glasses on my nose, "going back to our previous topic. While it is true that you never agreed to us checking up on you, it is only tradition for the seniors to watch over their juniors at work, as done in every general work facility in the world and in other clubs. And although, as you say, we shouldn't doubt your knowledge of a maiden's heart, that doesn't mean we shouldn't doubt your ability to woo a customer, am I correct?"

She staggered, caught unaware of how much knowledge I have about marketing and deals. I smirked. "I will take your silence as a 'yes' then. Additionally, technically, it was your grandfather who agreed for us to have you into our handsome circle, not you."

She opened her mouth to say something but I immediately interrupted her. "We are not giving any sort of work that would hint at harrassment or anything like so. We have given you proper tasks befitting that of a host in this club and we don't abuse you at all, do we?"

Haruno-san didn't answer. She must be thinking over my words.

"And as a matter of fact," Hikaru joined.

"You were actually having fun with your customers, weren't you, Haruno-san?" Kaoru finished for him.

True. She should be having fun with her guests. It has been what Suou emphasizes in his extravagant speeches of beauty and whatnot.

"Well, yes. But-"

"Ah-ah-ah, Haruno-san. You should know that you are here to be friends with us and us with you. And being a host is not that bad. We only have to dress into whatever costumes we have and entertain the ladies. Look, even Haruhi is fine with it!" Finally, the president of the club has made his entrance into the conversation.

"Haruno-san, it is also a fact that only the members of this club are knowing of your," I paused, thinking of an appropriate word. Then, I got it and hastily added with emphasis, "situation. If you were to be found out, consequences will be acted upon and you shall understand how humiliating it is to have ever thought of going into this school in a male uniform."

She groaned at my words while the others watched expectantly, most of them having the same grin as I was wearing on my face. Finally, I thought. Something to take the upperhand.

And suddenly, we heard a ringtone flare.

~Chapter Eighteen ends here~

Platinum. Anime07: OKAY! So I've been thinking . . . Is it better for me to publish shorter chapters or continue making these long ones? I know some of you are pretty bored now because of waiting for the romance part (I swear! The sappiness of crushing on someone and feelings of butterflies in the stomach will be coming real, real soon. There's even a hint of it in this chapter!) and I know from experience that, unless my writing is good, readers will be skimming through the chapter if it becomes too long. So, I had to ask: Long chapters continue or Short chapters begin?

PLEASE answer! So that you won't have to wait for two or more months for my updates. And if possible, if you had the sudden urge to leave a review, please don't ignore it and feel free to! I really appreciate a reader's opinion/review. Especially now when I'm feeling like I'm getting worse with my writing (I'VE BEEN READING SUCH GOOD WORKS IT HURTS MY ALREADY SMALL EGO).

Well, I'm super happy you've made it this far, especially with my unorthodox updates, and I hope you continue to support this by reading til the end. Thank you.