"Are you all ready for the Ouran fair?" Tamaki beamed excitedly, twirling into the room dramatically. "Gentlemen, this will be a celebration to remember. I can feel it"

Asuka smiled from where she was sitting on the piano, shaking her head. He was so cute. Butterflies always followed where Tamaki went, and somehow they always fluttered wildly in her stomach when she would see him.

"Dont worry boss, we're getting everything ready" The twins mock saluted him, getting busy on the decorations.

"Asuka-chan~" Tamaki chimed, taking a seat next to her and beginning to play the piano. "I have surprise for you!"

"Surprise?" She asked curiously, starting to play the piano in time to him. She loved it when they played piano together, she felt closer to him both physically and emotionally.

"I didn't forget your birthday, you know. Happy birthday, Asu-chan. My surprise will be waiting for you in the maze at lunch" He smiled at her widely, getting up once more and prancing off as he finished off his piano riff.

The host club had already given her a big surprise welcome this morning and Kyoya even ordered her a cake and the best present ever- a platinum card for every single fast food place in the country! But she found herself excited all over again at Tamaki's words.

She didn't expect much because her birthday was on the same day as the Ouran fair, so everyone was usually very busy.

"Be still, my beating heart" She murmured to herself dramatically, sighing wistfully as she watched him walk away. What he did to her was terrifying and yet thrilling at the same time. "I wonder what the surprise is" She mused.

Lunch time couldn't come sooner to Asuka who was currently making her way to the maze, munching on a fried chicken Onigiri. It was so good! But she didn't have time to be distracted with food now, she was so nervous to see what Tamaki had planned for her!

Asuka quickly ran towards the center of the maze, craning her neck for any sign of him.

"Tama- Woah"

Asuka gasped as she found herself in front of their special gazebo, only the gazebo was draped in pink and gold with a birthday banner hanging from it.

"Why hello there, My lady. I hear its your special day today" Tamaki smiled sweetly, appearing from behind her in a suit. "I've got a five course meal waiting for you. And... this" He pulled out a neatly wrapped gift with a big bow on it.

"Wow! Tama-kun, you shouldn't have-"

"Shhh, its your birthday. I wanted to make it special. Now open it" He silenced her by placing a finger on her lips, giving her a charming smile.

She blushed, looking down at her present before unwrapping it. "Wow" She breathed as she tore away the paper to reveal a book? No- an album!

She smiled brightly as she opened it up to the first page, and it was a picture of them making funny faces at a camera.

They had taken this one the time they had gone to the Otori resort, dressed in summery clothes and holding each other close as Kyoya volunteered to take the picture.

She turned to the next page, giggling as she found a picture of her and Tamaki messing around in class (again captured by Kyoya). He was sat on top of her desk, ruffling her hair while she laughed. It was a really sweet picture, and it made her happy. There was nothing particularly special about the day it was taken but the memory was still very special to her, representing their friendship.

She turned the page again, her heart warming as she looked down at the picture.

"Kyoya is quite the photographer, hm?" Tamaki smiled.

Asuka nodded silently, not taking her eyes off the picture. It was the two of them asleep in his family's private plane. That was when the host club had taken a trip to the outskirts of Japan, and they had fallen asleep leaning against each other.

"Its beautiful. Thank you so much" She smiled, feeling extremely emotional all of a sudden. She shut the album, making a mental note to look at the rest of the pictures later on so she could truly appreciate them.

"The pleasure was all mine. It was all worth it when I saw the smile on your face. You know, Asuka-chan, you're very beautiful" He smiled tenderly at her, handing her a red rose.

"W-What?" She stuttered nervously, smiling awkwardly as she took the rose which matched the colour of her cheeks. "Stop flattering me, you think all women are beautiful"

"Thats true, they are. But you possess a different kind of beauty, I wish you were more confident in yourself. I promise you, you're beautiful. Any guy would be lucky to have you" He smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear gently.

"I-I..." Asuka looked up at him, her heart skipping a beat at the way he looked at her with so much adoration.

She couldn't help but lean up and press a kiss to his lips, her eyes fluttering closed. She had waited for this moment for 2 years... Two long years worth of longing stares and butterflies and hiding her feelings.

Tamaki's eyes widened as she kissed him, standing frozen in place. Was this really happening? Did Asuka really have feelings for him? He didn't know how to react, blushing hard before she pulled away extremely flustered.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realise- I didn't know. Oh god" She began panicking, her heart absolutely shattering as she realised he didn't like her back. He didn't even kiss her back, how stupid could she be? Why did she let her feelings get the best of her?

"Asuka-chan, calm down-" Tamaki began, taking her hands.

"I didn't mean to- I just... And then you-" She was tripping over her words, her heart clenching.

She wanted to run away and hide but she knew her friendship with him was as good as over if she left things like this. How did she let this happen? She ruined their friendship because she couldn't control herself. She couldn't control her damn feelings. He would never look at her the same again, they would never go back to being Asuka and Tamaki again.

No, she had to fix this. She... She didn't want him to remember this. Call her selfish but she never wanted to lose him. She wasn't going to lose him.

Her eyes glowed golden as she looked directly into his eyes, her resolve strengthening as she decided what she was going to do.

"Asuka-chan, w-what are you do-"

Asuka skipped through his memories once she had entered his mind, finding the one of her kissing him and... erasing it. She could manipulate thoughts after all, but rarely could she accomplish something on this level. The surge of raw emotion was enough to stimulate her powers enough to manipulate his memories.

Tamaki's eyes glazed over for a few seconds before he stumbled and regained consciousness, unaware of what had just taken place. Her eyes returned to the normal shade of brown, and she didn't even realise that she had tears in them.

"Dont you like it, Asuka?" Tamaki asked worriedly, breaking her out of her reverie.

"L-Like what?" She asked, confused.

"The album. Why are you crying? Did I do something?" He furrowed his eyebrows, wiping away her tears tenderly.

"No, you didn't do anything. I love the present. Thank you for an amazing birthday" She thanked him, lunging at him to hug him tightly. "You're the most amazing best friend ever"

"I'm happy you're happy" He chuckled as she suddenly hugged him, smiling as he hugged her back. "Now let's eat!"

"R-Right..." She forced a smile on her face, taking a seat opposite him. She had suddenly lost her appetite but she couldn't disappoint him. She wished she could erase her own memories...

♡♡♡

"Positions, everyone!" Tamaki declared, fixing his hair one last time with a big smile before the doors to the grand salon opened to reveal a crowd of parents and students alike.

"Welcome to the host club, ladies and gentlemen" Kyoya smiled, bowing with a clipboard in hand.

The crowd dispersed as the people entered the room and began exploring. Excited chatter filled the air as the hosts began their routine of shameless flattery and tragic backstories, all the women falling for their charm.

"Hey, Asuka-Chan?" Kira hummed, taking a seat next to Asuka who was sitting in the corner of the room, hoping to avoid the gaze of everyone. She kind of just wanted to disappear.

"Hmm- yeah?" Asuka responded, lost in her own thoughts.

"Are you okay? You seem... different" Kira asked, cocking her head to the side as she surveyed her friend.

Kira may not be the most emotionally intelligent person but she knew when something was off, especially when it came to her friends.

"I'm fine. Say, will your parents be coming to the fair?" Asuka asked, trying to change the subject.

Kira's face darkened slightly and she shook her head. "Nah, my parents don't care about such 'frivolities', they only ever come during review days to check up on my progress. I guess I should be thankful though, at least I can spend the day doing whatever I want. The boys are busy with their duties but at least we can have fun, hm?"

"Yeah... I'm looking forward to it" Asuka smiled softly, but the smile not reaching her eyes.

"How about your parents?" Kira asked, knowing something was off but allowing her to stall for a bit longer.

"Nope, they have royal duties to be taking care of. They usually just send Yuki, our maid who also takes care of me when I'm home" Asuka shrugged, a distant look in her eye.

"Asuka-chan... I know we haven't known each other for a long time but I consider you a very close friend. You can speak to me, if there's anything bothering you" She assured the pink haired girl, holding her hands.

Asuka swallowed, looking into Kira's eyes sadly as she finally decided to tell someone. Maybe it would ease the intense guilt. "I... did something bad, Kira" She bit her lip, trembling slightly.

"I'd never judge you" Kira promised, allowing Asuka to grip her hand tighter.

Asuka finally took a deep breath and told Kira the whole story, trying her very best to keep her tears in. Tears of guilt, and sadness. Guilty because she had used her powers against Tamaki like a terrible best friend and sadness because she knew now that Tamaki didn't reciprocate her feelings.

Kira's hugged Asuka tightly, knowing she needed some comfort after everything that had taken place. "Hey, its okay. We all make mistakes. And honestly, we've all been there. You let your feelings get the better of you, but its okay. Because you're human. I'm sorry Tamaki-kun doesn't feel the same way about you, but you are an amazing person"

"Thanks Kira" She sniffed, she had always harboured even a little bit of hope that maybe Tamaki liked her back. Thats why she had never simply read his emotions, she didn't want to crush her hope. She didn't want to disappoint herself. It was ironic that she had done that without the help of her powers anyway.

Kira went to say something before pausing, craning her neck. "Is it just me or is the room silent?"

Asuka looked around too, her eyebrows furrowing as she realised the room had fallen silent and everyone had gathered around the front door. "Whats happening?" She whispered.

The girls quickly stood up, walking to the front door and weaving through the crowd. Asuka's eyes widened as she realised what was happening.

"Grandmother! Im so happy you made it. Welcome, please take a seat" Tamaki smiled pleasantly, holding his arm out for her to take.

"Dont patronise me" His grandmother said coldly, avoiding his arm like it was infected. "Filthy child" She sneered as an afterthought.

Asuka's fist clenched. How dare she? The host club was well aware of the Suoh family matriarch, and they all had a collective hate for her. Well everyone but Tamaki... Tamaki didn't hate anyone, regardless of how they treated him. It was one of the many reasons why she adored him.

"Éclair-san, come here please" Shizue said, and the crowd parted to reveal a stunning young woman of their age.

She had bright blue eyes, and a face of delicately sculpted features. Her strawberry blond hair fell down past her shoulders, and she held a pair of binoculars to her eyes. Her carefully painted lips were curved up in a smile and Asuka held her breath, what was happening?

"You will escort Lady Éclair around the fair for the next two days. Do I make myself clear?" His grandmother said coldly.

Lady? So she was royalty too? Asukas eyes narrowed as she watched her, her fist clenching once more.

"Pleased to meet you, Tamaki" She breathed, staring up at him.

Tamaki looked down at Éclair before offering her a smile, nodding. "Welcome to Ouran, Lady Éclair. Care to go for a tour around the school, my dear princess?"

"If you don't mind" Éclair gave him a smile, walking out of the room with her hands intertwined behind her back.

Tamaki followed after her quickly, and Asuka watched as he caught up to her, speaking to her animatedly as they left.

The ugly of feeling jealousy reared its head inside Asuka, causing her to feel almost nauseous. What was happening? What was the deal with this Éclair?

"I'll keep an eye on them" Kira squeezed Asuka's hand, quickly transforming into a butterfly and flying out of the room.

Asuka swallowed, mouthing a thank you before walking towards the rest of the host club members. She felt funny, there was a strange sinking feeling in her stomach.

"W-Who is that, Kyoya?" She asked, taking a seat next to the twins who were also confused.

"That's Éclair Tonnerre, her family is of royal descent and she's the third daughter of the Tonnerre family who reside in France" Renge said, approaching them slowly.

"Not only that but her family owns The Grand Tonnerre, a company which are rapidly rising to the top of the financial industry" Kyoya finished off, tapping away at his laptop.

"What does she want with boss?" The twins asked glumly.

"I'm not sure" Kyoya shook his head, his glasses flashing as he looked back at them. There was a feeling of anxiety in the air, nobody really knew what was going on.

"I-I'm going to help out Haruhi" Asuka quickly excused herself, wanting to provide herself a distraction.

She busied herself with fixing the cake on the trolley, walking around the room with Haruhi to entertain the guests. Despite the events of earlier weighing heavy on her mind, she managed to bring a smile to people's faces as she conversed with them.

"You're a natural at this, you know? You should become a host yourself" Haruhi smiled at Asuka, refilling cups of tea.

Asuka smiled, playing with the hem of the white and gold dress she was forced to wear in order to be 'presentable', after all Tamaki had wanted her to match with him.

"Nah, I'm not cut out for that life. Flattery and charm doesn't come as naturally to me as it does to you all. Not to mention, it'd be harder for me to pass off as a guy" she chuckled, referring to her long pink hair and relatively bigger chest.

"We really should have women hosts though, don't you think? Who's to say the guys of our school don't want to be fawned over? Just an idea, of course" Haruhi shrugged.

"Thats true" Asuka nodded, she loved Haruhi's less than conventional ideas. She didn't care about what people thought, just as Asuka didn't.

Suddenly, a butterfly appeared in front of them both, transforming back into Kira.

"Asuka-chan! They went on a boat ride. And nothing really interesting happened but she was commenting on how she didn't like art or whatever. Anyway I'm here because she asked Tamaki to play her the piano. They're in music room 3" Kira said quickly, rather breathless as she had flew as fast as she could to get back to Asuka.

Asuka's eyebrows furrowed, looking at the two other girls. "That doesn't sound so bad, right? I don't know, what am I supposed to do?"

"Well I'm going there to change anyway, you want to come with me? That Éclair gives me a bad feeling" Haruhi offered with a kind smile.

"Yeah okay, I'll go... Kira?" Asuka turned to Kira who was currently staring at a tall man with dark hair and glasses.

"Is that...?" Asuka started, squinting slightly.

"Kyoya's father. You guys go, I'll join you after" Kira said grimly, walking towards her boyfriend.

Asuka understood, she had to be there for Kyoya. God, why did everyone's parents have to be dicks?

"Lets go" Haruhi nodded, walking out of the salon with Asuka.

Asuka nervously played with the bracelet she wore, she didn't really know why she was going. Maybe she didn't want him to be alone with Éclair, maybe she was going to put her own mind at ease.

They paused as they reached the closed doors, hearing Tamaki on the piano. Asuka nibbled on her lip nervously, looking over at Haruhi before they placed their ear on the door. Haruhi had enhanced senses, so she could hear a lot more clearly than Asuka.

"She's talking about the host club... And how Tamaki's whimsical nature is causing us to... suffer?" Haruhi whispered.

"What?" Asuka gasped, her fist clenching. "How dare she? She has no right to come in here and put Tamaki down like that"

"Shall I go in before you?" Haruhi asked her, also looking annoyed at Éclair's words.

"Please? You're a life saver" She mumbled, her stomach in knots. Why did she have such a bad feeling about this?

Haruhi walked in, closing the door behind her. Asuka quickly put her ear on the door, trying her best to listen in.

"What're you doing here, Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, pausing on the piano.

"I came to change, you told us to change 3 times a day senpai. But you left us all in the salon. Everyone's upset at you" Haruhi sighed, looking over at him.

"Whaaaat?" Tamaki gasped dramatically, immediately standing up. His friends were upset at him?

"Sorry, but Tamaki is mine today" Éclair's voice came.

Asuka resisted the urge to burst in there and rage at Éclair for staking her apparent claim on Tamaki. It made her blood boil, she would tell him that he was causing everyone to suffer and then "own" him?

"Are you jealous?" Éclair asked with a smirk on her lips.

"Jealous? No! Anyway thats all I wanted to say. Have a good evening, senpai, sorry for disturbing" Haruhi said coldly, leaving the room.

"Disturbing? What, no! Haruhi--" Tamaki's voice came before Haruhi entered the hallway and closed the door behind her.

Asuka looked at Haruhi, sensing her frustration at Éclair. "Same. Who does she think she is?" Asuka grumbled.

"She's really enjoying having Tamaki senpai to herself... I don't know, I feel like maybe she li-"

"Dont say it" Asuka shook her head, trembling slightly.

Did Éclair like Tamaki? But how, they only just met! She couldn't just waltz in here and take her... her best friend away. Or could she? Tamaki owed Asuka nothing and he didn't even like her back. Maybe... Maybe he wanted someone like Éclair. A refined young lady with elegance and classically beautiful features. A lady who came both from old and new money... Someone who his family already approved of.

"Woah...!" Asuka heard Tamaki yelp, and her eyes widened.

"What's she doing to him?" She snarled, slamming open the doors.

Asuka froze as she took in the scene before her. Éclair was sitting beside Tamaki, and leaning dangerously close to his lips with her hand on his chest. He was under her on the couch, sprawled out as if she had just pushed him back. And yet he was staring up at Éclair with a blush on his cheeks, as if... as if...

"S-Sorry" Asuka whispered as they both looked up at her, running out of the room and not even looking back as Haruhi called her.

"Asuka-chan..!" Tamaki called, before Éclair pushed him back down onto the sofa.

"Tamaki, I can give you the thing you want most" She breathed, closing the doors of the music room with a flick of her wrist.

Asuka ran as fast as she could, away from them, away from everyone. She had enough of heart break today. First being rejected and then watching as the guy she loved got seduced by another woman.

She felt a lump in her throat form, he had already moved on? Correction, he didn't remember anything about her having feelings for him so he wasn't moving on... He was living his life as normal.

Before she knew it, Asuka found herself at the gazebo. She took a shuddering breath, trying to calm down. It wouldn't do her any good to lose her mind. Still, she didn't want to see him right now. She didn't want to see anyone. She watched the sunset in silence, closing her eyes and allowing the breeze to wash over her.

Not even an hour had passed when Asuka received the first phone call from Kyoya. She decided to ignore it, wanting to keep to herself a little while longer. But when one phone call turned into 2, 3, 4, she began to worry. Kyoya never called 4 times without good reason.

"Hello?" She said, finally picking up the phone.

"Why weren't you picking up?" Kyoya asked, sounding both annoyed and panicked.

"Something came up" She lied, gnawing on her lip. "Why do you sound so worried?"

"Why am I so worried? Let's see... Maybe because Tamaki just declared that he's engaged to Éclair and is breaking up the host club" He responded harshly.

"W-What? You're joking, right?" Asuka demanded, standing up immediately.

"Come see for yourself" And with that, Kyoya hung up.

Engaged? Breaking up the host club? Her breathing picked up again, what was happening today? Was she dreaming? Dream or not, she couldn't let this happen. She couldn't let her best friend do this to them all, the host club was so special to them all. But also engaged?

Asuka began sprinting back to the Salon as fast as she could, her hair whipping around wildly behind her. Despite hating sports and anything remotely related to being healthy, Asuka was quite a fast sprinter when she wanted to be. And so she made it back to the Salon in 10 minutes, panting as she arrived.

"Where's Tamaki?" She demanded breathlessly, storming into the music room where the host club had gathered.

"You just missed him" Haruhi sighed, shaking her head. "We tried our best to change his mind but he was so aloof. He didn't even want to talk to us, he just left with her"

"There's no way his highness would just leave like that!" Hikaru exclaimed, his fist clenching.

Asuka collapsed onto the couch next to Mori-Senpai, still out of breath.

"I-I missed him...?" She muttered, crestfallen.

"Listen. Tomorrow is a new day. Tamaki said the host club would be over after the Fair, which goes on until tomorrow. We still have tomorrow to convince him, right? So everyone go and get some rest. We have guests to entertain and minds to change!" Kyoya sighed, trying to keep spirits high.

"Tomorrow, we will stop at nothing to convince Tamaki that he's being an idiot" Kaoru promised.

Xandra_Dee 😱😱😱 thoughts?! I thought I'd go down a different route than literally KISS KISS FALL IN LOVE!!! I kind of wanted to highlight some of Asuka's flaws in this too because she deffo isn't the Mary Sue she wishes she could be. She's inherently selfish like humans are, and scared, and anxious. And let's not forget that Tamaki didn't seem to reciprocate her feelings 🤧🤧🤧 Kekekke I have part 2 in the works ✨ And Kyoyas one shot too. Make sure you listen to the music - I LURV IT AND I FINK ITS ASUKAS SONG TO TAMAKI 😭