~Acquiesce~

Kofuyu sat motionless in her chair. She stared straight ahead at the front of the classroom, but she was no longer paying attention to what was going on around her. Lunch was in a few minutes and she was thinking about how she'd have to give up, and let Kyoya win.

Kofuyu was nothing, if not stubborn.

The bell rang but Kofuyu was too in her own mind to notice. It wasn't until Koaru placed a hand on her shoulder that she jumped out of her train of thought. "What?" She asked, a little to harsh.

"Just checking to make sure you were okay," Kaoru defensively spoke.

"You weren't moving or responding," Hikaru added.

"Yeah, I was just thinking," Kofuyu sighed and turned away from the twins. "They hadn't said anything about me joining their club. Did Ootori or Suoh even tell them?"

Kofuyu gathered her things and left the classroom. She knew Hikaru and Kaoru were still talking as she got ready to leave, but their words didn't even register in her head. She headed to the gazebo and sat down across from the glasses-wearing host.

"You win, Ootori. I'll join your stupid club," Kofuyu sighed out. A slight smile spread across Kyoya's lips.

"I'm sure Tamaki and the others will be happy to hear that," Kyoya replied. "My assumption was correct. I only assumed she had more to hide based on what I know about her permanent record."

Kofuyu continued watching Kyoya silently. She analyzed his body language and facial expressions, but he was pretty neutral. Hate and frustration began to bubble in her chest, but she pushed those feelings further down to suppress them.

"I don't think you actually think you have anything against me," Kofuyu lied. "I'll still accept your offer. I've realized I do, in fact, have something to gain from being in this club."

"Oh, yeah?" Kyoya hummed. "And what's that?" Kyoya brought his hand up to his face to push his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "I get the feeling Kofuyu is a lot less oblivious than Haruhi is. I shouldn't underestimate her."

"I'll keep that to myself for now," Kofuyu declined. She pulled off the lid of her lunchbox and began getting ready to eat. "I think we're done here. You can go now," Kofuyu spoke carelessly.

After Kyoya left, Kofuyu let her emotions show. A scowl covered her face, and her eyes burned holes into the table. She hated that Kyoya was able to successfully blackmail her, but she decided she wouldn't take it out on the host club. That is, unless they had any involvement or agreed with Kyoya's tactics.

~~~

"Why did you tell us that you were thinking about joining earlier?" Hikaru and Kaoru even whined in unison. The two followed behind Kofuyu and Haruhi as the two girls headed to the third music room.

"I didn't think it was important," Kofuyu answered without looking at them. "You know now, so what's the big deal?" Kofuyu shrugged them off and ignored the curious looks Haruhi gave her.

"I get why you didn't tell them, but why didn't you tell me?" Haruhi asked. She upset at all. Instead, her reasons behind her questioning was purely due to curiosity.

"Because I didn't think I was going to agree. I wasn't planning on it at first, but then something changed my mind," Kofuyu answered truthfully. Once again, she made it to the front door of the host club, and the brothers beside her pushed the doors open.

Kofuyu stepped into third music room. Her face was devoid of emotion, but internally, she was not happy. Her eyes met Kyoya's first, and he gave her a soft smile. In response, her gaze hardened for a split second. She was really starting to hate him.

"Kofu-chan is here!" Honey shouted and bounced up towards her. "Hi, Kofu-chan! Did you come here to eat some cake with me?"

"Kofuyu, here, is going to be joining the club," Tamaki spoke calmly as he strolled over. "She's going to help Kyoya manage the club, like a little assistant."

"Wait, what? How exactly do I fit into this club?" Kofuyu questioned.

"Since Kyoya said you weren't willing to become a hostess, you can spend your time with us helping serve our costumers tea or help Kyoya with management!" Tamaki explained. He grabbed both of Kofuyu's wrists and pulled her deeper into the room.

"Oh, great," Kofuyu replied in an obviously sarcastic tone.

"To start, Kyoya's going to give you a tour of the host club. He'll show you the changing rooms, costume closets, and kitchen," Tamaki said and grabbed her shoulders. He gently pushed her over to Kyoya and and Kofuyu fought off the frown that was forming on her face.

"Do ya think Kofu-chan can sit with me for a bit later? That way she can have some of my cake?" Honey asked Tamaki and Kyoya with hopeful wide eyes.

"If there's time," Tamaki agreed. Kofuyu furrowed her eyebrows a bit. She found it a little weird that they didn't ask her for her opinion or even if she wanted to, but she didn't mind. She wasn't going to say no to free cake.

Kyoya lead her to the dressing rooms first since they were closer than the kitchen. She made a not about how everything was clean and neat.

"These are where some of the costumes are kept," Kyoya explained and slid open the closet door. Some were kept in black garment bags, but others were simply hung on coat hangers. The ones that weren't covered, were strange, at least to her. It made her thing about all those Halloween costume stores she's been to since they didn't all fit a specific theme.

"Weird," she mumbled as Kyoya explained how the outfits were organized for each host.

When he lead her to the kitchen, she looked over the white marble counter tops and the soft pink walls that matched the club room. Kyoya gave her a quick tour of everything kept in the big set of dark wooden cupboards and the expensive-looking fridge.

Everything was so lavish and extravagant. It really made Kofuyu feel out of place being there. She wasn't used to the fancy cakes and expensive exotic teas, but there was one thing that she was familiar with.

"Instant coffee? I didn't expect to see this sort of thing here," Kofuyu muttered.

"Ah, yes, before Haruhi joined it wasn't something the host club offered, but it quickly became a favorite among the guests," Kyoya explained while adjusting his glasses with a single digit. "Now that we've finished discussing your responsibilities, I'd like to remind you that we are still a host club, and our goal is to welcome each and every lady that steps into our room. You're free to enjoy the complementary food and beverages as well as the entertainment."

"Uhm, thanks but I think I'll pass on the.... entertainment," Kofuyu declined. She cringed at the memories of the hosting activities she witnessed the other day. Kofuyu turned around and made her way to the exit with Kyoya behind her. As soon as the two stepped into the main room, however, she was dragged off in a different direction.

"Kofu-chan!~" Honey called. "We still have some time before we open! That means you can have some cake with me!"

"Sure," Kofuyu agreed. She smiled at the thought of free cake and allowed Honey to pull her over to one of the couches. As soon as she sat down, she was bombarded with with questions.

"What kind of cake do you like? Chocolate? Strawberry? What's your favorite?" Honey spoke quickly. He took a seat across her and beside his cousin.

"Chocolate," Kofuyu answered without hesitation. "My favorite is chocolate, at least."

"It is? Here, try this one!" Honey replied and handed her a plate of chocolate mousse cake. Kofuyu didn't hesitate to dig in as Honey watched her eagerly. "What do you think?"

"It's really good," Kofuyu said after swallowing the first mouthful. A small smile formed on her face, and the two twins became interested.

"Hey, I don't remember seeing Kofuyu smile like that before," Hikaru pointed out.

"I think you're right," Kaoru agreed. The two leaned against the back of Honey and Mori's chairs, so they had a direct view of Kofuyu.

Her smile faltered almost instantly, but she continued to enjoy the dessert given to her. 

"Kofuyu, why don't you tell us more about yourself?" Hikaru and Kaoru suggested. Tamaki peaked over, interested in the topic of discussion.

"What sorta stuff?" Kofuyu asked. She was in a happier mood because of the cake, and because of that, she was more willing to hold a conversation.

"Tell us about your family! What sort of work are your parents in?" Hikaru asked.

"What kind of hobbies do you have? Or do you just sit around all day and study like Haruhi does?" Kaoru asked and motioned over to the other female club member.

"Hey!" Haruhi complained.

"I live with my aunt. She works a lot though," Kofuyu answered shortly. "And as honor students, it's important to stay ahead of our studies," she defended Haruhi. 

"So you don't have hobbies?" Hikaru deadpanned.

"I have hobbies. I just don't see why any of them would interest you all," Kofuyu answered. She ran out of cake.

"Come on. Give us something!" Hikaru whined.

"Kyoya will barely tell us anything about you or what's in your file!" Tamaki finally spoke up.

Kofuyu froze for a second but tried to play it off like it was nothing. She cleared her throat and shrugged.

"I like... gardening and photography," Kofuyu admitted. She was silent after that and the others were too for a moment.

She hasn't done either of those things for a while, but she debated whether to start again or not. With the recent move and all the studying, she hasn't had time for much of anything else.

"Of course the country kid likes gardening," Hikaru and Kaoru thought to themselves. They gave each other a little glances and automatically new they were thinking the same thing.