February 4

I was happy. I was elated.

I was still on cloud nine from the dance yesterday, I had a great day at school, and now I was sitting in the host club with my notebook in hand, back in comfortable clothing. I thought that absolutely nothing could get in the way of my good mood.

And then Miyuki came in and proved me wrong.

She came in actually sparkling (which made me wonder if she had borrowed some from Tamaki), giggling with her friends and pretending to be casual but scanning the room for Kyouya. Once she found him, she made a beeline for his table, and Kyouya had to put down his computer screen and talk to her because, as much as he'd rather deal with the numbers on his screen, he was a host first and a manager second.

It was painful to watch her flirt with him and sigh and giggle, and even though I didn't have to, I felt protective over him. To me, Miyuki was overstepping her bounds much too far into Kyouya's territory. I didn't usually dislike people I hadn't had a real conversation with, but the air about her that she had at the dance told me a lot that I needed to know. Her behavior wasn't helping her case much, either.

I eventually forced myself to focus on my book and write. I was almost done with another one, but I was having a hard time finishing the endings because I was writing a choose-your-path type. I didn't have a problem asking the other six hosts what they thought the ending should be that would best suit them; even Mori-senpai didn't mind answering. But, since Miyuki was occupying all of Kyouya's time, I decided to go back and edit a little bit more until he was free to talk to me. I couldn't help but hear Miyuki's voice above the others, since she seemed to be getting loud and more audacious with every passing second she was alive.

Every other second, the quiet atmosphere of the club was interrupted with "Kyouya-kun" this, "Kyouya-kun" that. She had her hand on his shoulder, she'd brush her knee against his leg, she'd poke him time and time again. She was trying to flirt, but even to someone who wasn't experiencing it, she just came off as annoying. It became obvious after I looked a little closer that Kyouya was more than ready to snap. He looked calm, as usual, but I'd come to easily recognize the ticks for his anger- he tapped his fingers on the keyboard, the half-smile on his face stretched far too thin, his eyes raved behind his glasses, his words became clipped and standard. He showed no signs of interest or investment. Not able to take it anymore, partially from watching it and partially from uncalled-for jealousy, I got up and approached their table. At my arrival, Kyouya looked up and nodded toward me with a real smile, and Miyuki glared at me with distaste.

"Kyouya-senpai, sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I steal you for a second? I have a couple of questions to ask you about our books." He nodded, getting up very quickly. I bit back a smile of my own

"Of course, Kaiyoka." He then turned to Miyuki and said, "Excuse me, I have some club business to attend to." He and I walked back to my table, and as soon as we sat down, he said lowly,

"Thank you. I didn't think you'd ever look back over here." I laughed, causing the boy across from me to smile.

"I didn't want to be smothering by watching you two," I admitted, "But yeah. She seems to pluck the wrong chord with you." I said. He scoffed at my analogy.

"Just one wrong chord? She broke the entire instrument," He replied, making me laugh aloud once more. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miyuki looking over at us in anger, and it made me smile a little wider, though it shouldn't have. I was having way too much fun, honestly.

"You know, she's looking over here," I informed Kyouya as I flipped through my notebook. He nodded, glancing over at her without moving his head.

"Of course she is. She's jealous and wants attention. I've been noticing it before, and in class too. She doesn't seem to like you very much." I agreed, nodding my head vigorously at that.

"No, she probably hates me. But no matter, I actually do have a question; I didn't say that just to rescue you." I turned the notebook around and pointed to the top left page. "Read from here and tell me what you would think the ending should be, please." I sat silent while Kyouya read, his eyes scanning easily over my small handwriting. I ignored the glares from my right as Kyouya finished reading and reported back to me.

"I think if he came back to her at the end, that would be best," He suggested, straightening his glasses frames. I straightened my own, as they were slipping down my face, and nodded at his assessment.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, you'd better get back to Miss Miyuki over there, before she blows up over her impatience." Kyouya sighed, rolling his eyes as he stood up.

"A host's job never ends," He said, giving me a small wave as he walked back to his own table. Unashamedly watching closely, it was amusing to see her expression snap from a snarl to sweetness as Kyouya got back to his table.

"Kyouya-kun!" I heard her say. "What took so long?" I laughed aloud, a short laugh, and shook my head as I got back to writing. Her ridiculous attempts to gain Kyouya's favor put me at ease. He wasn't going to be coerced by her any time soon.

*

Just as everyone was leaving, and the last few girls were trickling out of the room, Miyuki paused in the doorway and turned around. She walked over and pointed at me accusingly, narrowing her blue eyes. I was standing with Kyouya, and we were discussing how the latest book would be published and if we could get enough copies for release day. At her approach, we both stopped talking and turned toward her expectantly.

"Kyouya-kun, I can't believe you let her into the club! Don't you see it now?" She complained. Her eyes were narrowed in my direction, but as soon as he turned toward her, she widened her eyes and tried to look innocent.

"I'm afraid I don't know to what you are referring, Miyuki," He replied coolly. She gasped, shifting her weight to one hip and flipping her hair, obviously trying to impress him. It wasn't working.

"Isn't it obvious? She's just here to use you boys! She just wants attention, and what better way to get it than suck up to you seven? I mean, these three idiots-" She motioned to Tamaki and the twins, "- and those three-" motioning to Honey, Mori, and Haruhi, "- would never get it, but I'd think that you would, Kyouya-kun." I saw his jaw clench, but as always, he kept his cool.

"Miyuki, I think it's best that you leave, as you're no longer fit to be our guest. You don't know what you're talking about, and I suggest you don't speak negatively about other hosts." I knew Kyouya was exceptionally angry, but it was only made more obvious by the fact that he said 'I suggest'. That meant that it wasn't a suggestion, more than it was a dare to go against him. Miyuki's eyes glittered with fake tears, and she fell back a few steps.

"How could you, Kyouya-senpai? You're an idiot if you can't see that a.... A harlot, a promiscuous harlot like her is just using you for attention!" She was now yelling at the top of her lungs. The boys and Haruhi stood a little bit away, not quite knowing what to do. I stood next to Kyouya, not moving, content to just watch her lose her cool. But then, she turned her anger on me. She looked over at me, blue eyes flashing as she started yelling again.

"They'll see one day that they don't mean anything to you, and that you're just using them! They'll see you for the harlot you are. It's disgusting. Sad, really. Didn't your father ever tell you not to end up like those girls on the street? He must not have done a good job," She taunted. I was in the middle of turning away from her when I stopped, my left foot about to hit the ground.

I thought I could do it. I thought I could let her make a fool of herself without getting angry, myself. But after I took a few seconds to compose myself, I turned around, glaring at her with such distaste in my eyes I saw her flinch. Kyouya took a step back, and I saw Honey look worriedly up at Mori.

"It's one thing to stand here and insult me. It's another to insult my friends, and they're good people for standing here and taking it. However," I began taking a few steps forward, closer and closer to her. "It's a completely different matter for you to stand here and insult the members of my family." By now, I'd gotten dangerously close to her. I heard her back hit a wall, and I stood just in front of her, glaring right back at the menacing look she gave me.

"Let me tell you something right now. If I ever find out that you're disrespecting me, my friends, or my family again, you'll be wondering exactly what happened and where you went wrong when you wake up in the hospital, wondering what day it is." We glared at each other for a few seconds before I stepped back a little bit, flourishing sarcastically in the direction of the music room doors.

"The doors await you. You're unfit to be a guest," I reminded her. She shot one more glare at me before walking in the direction my arm was still pointing in. The doors closed behind her with a slam, and I dropped my arm and my glare, walking back over to grab my things.

"Kaiyoka, are you okay?" Haruhi asked, rushing over. I brushed off her worries with a wave of my hand.

"I'm fine," I said, still bottling up my anger and putting it away. "If anything, don't worry about me, worry about Kyouya. He's got a yandere after him." And I couldn't stop my next thought from popping into my head- 'And I was here first.'

"Jeez, Kaiyo. We didn't know that you had a worse glare than Kyouya. You make him look like a baby," Hikaru commented, walking over and swinging an arm over my neck, laughing softly. I shrugged out of his grip, joining in his laughter and silently thanking him for dismissing what just happened.

"No, she doesn't." Of course, Kyouya coolly stepped up to defend himself. I smiled, bandwagon-ing the joke.

"Of course I do, Senpai. If I recall, I was the only one who could wake you up because your 'shadow glare' didn't faze me." I saw Kyouya smirk, and he adjusted his glasses.

"Fair enough," He said. As he turned around, I caught him smiling- actually smiling. I shook my head as he walked over to his table, packing up his computer.

"Kaiyoka." Mori's stoic voice caught my attention, and I turned to him. He didn't say a thing, but he nodded, and the message was clear. Honey verbalized it for him.

"Just make sure to let us know if she bothers you again, okay, Kaiyo-chan?" Honey asked, clinging to my leg. I nodded, knowing I was lying while doing it.

"Will do, Senpai."