"May I have this dance, your grace?" The handsome brunette extended his hand for her to take, offering her a courteous bow.

"While I am flattered and would love to say yes, my kind sir, I'm currently feeling a little under the weather. I'd quite like to take a walk outside" Asuka smiled sweetly, bowing her head politely. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

She gave him one last dazzling smile before turning around and disappearing from the ball room, her ivory dress flowing behind her as she left.

"Thank goodness" She murmured under her breath, quickly walking outside and into the rose garden. She settled into the bench inside the little gazebo at the back, away from the view of others.

Balls were exhausting, even more so when it was her duty to be dancing and speaking to as many males as possible according to her parents. She enjoyed the food and the music but after a while, everything faded into the background and she was back to feeling alone in the midst of people.

It was days like this when she thought about him especially, when she was forced to woo and attract the gaze of what was supposed to be her future husband. The future Duke. She swept a curl of her pink hair out of her face, toying with the ring she wore on her index finger.

"Where are you?" She looked up at the night sky, almost searching for answers.

Of course she knew not to expect any, she had been asking the same question for the last five years.

Five years ago... That was the last time she saw him. The last time she had spoken to him was four years ago. And the last she had heard of him was three years ago. And yet she thought about him everyday.

Sometimes she wondered if he ever thought about her.

"Wishful thinking" She chided herself, shaking her head sadly.

Think of her? The rumours certainly suggested otherwise. The rumours from three years ago which finally forced her to stop living a fantasy and take up the responsibilities she was expected to, that is.

"Do you even remember me?" She asked, looking down at the ring on her finger. It was the last gift he gave her before he had left... left her and left Japan.

It was a beautiful ring, a white moonstone as the center gem which had diamonds above and below it. It was set into a band of silver, and had a unique arrangement.

She couldn't bring herself to take it off, no matter how much she was determined to move on. Asuka couldn't even stomach the thought of throwing it away, even when she hurt. It was the last thing she had of him.

"I wish I could forget about you..." She smiled sadly, fingering the velvet petals of a white rose which was growing on the side of the gazebo.

It reminded her of the rose bush maze they had back at Ouran, and the way they would often go there just to get away from everyone else.

It was also where they shared their first kiss... She still remembered the moment, and the way he had blushed so endearingly when pulling away. She had kissed him first, after years of hiding her feelings she couldn't take it anymore.

"I miss you, Tamaki" Asuka breathed, shivering in the cold night breeze and wrapping her arms around herself.

Five years ago...

"Hey, give me some" Asuka giggled, leaning forward to take a bite of his Danish pastry.

He smiled, laughing softly. "Of course, my princess. But, there is a whole basket in front of you, you know"

"Yeah but I prefer stealing yours. Its more tasty that way, you see" She smirked at him, leaning back against the tree they were sitting under.

"Well ladies are always trying to steal my heart, I guess its only natural that I'm a victim to thievery" He sighed dramatically, also leaning back.

"Trying to steal? Oh, my fairy boy, I already have" Asuka smiled, taking his hand into hers.

"And I couldn't be happier" He said, leaning down to kiss her and giving her a small smile.

"Yeah? Tell that to Eclair. She seemed to think you'd be much better off with her" She rolled her eyes playfully, looking up at the clear blue sky.

"Youre the only one for me, Asuka" He said, stroking her pink hair as she leaned her head on his chest.

"Promise?" She smiled. "I want to stay like this forever"

He paused, his hands stilling in her hair at her words.

"Tamaki?" She looked up at him, cupping his cheek.

"Y-yeah?" He snapped out of his thoughts, looking back down at her.

"What’re you thinking about? Don't tell me you're fantasising about sitting under a tree with me forever" She jested, poking his cheek.

"That does sound nice" He smiled sadly, a distant look in his eye.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Asuka asked softly, her eyes glowing gold as she read his emotions. He was feeling... sadness. And even regret. "Did I do something? Or say something? Why... do you feel regret?"

"No, of course not. Its not you" He said quickly, rubbing his fade tiredly. "I-I'm sorry, I'm ruining our date"

"Tamaki, stop apologising" Asuka said gently, kissing him tenderly. "Tell me what's wrong"

His feelings of sadness intensified, she could feel them growing stronger.

"Asuka-chan, I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now... since the incident with Éclair but I've needed some time to think about it. I only came to a conclusion last night" He said slowly, not meeting her eyes. "I need to find my mother, Asuka. I was forced to leave her behind but what Éclair said reminded me that she's still out there"

"Well that's great news! We can find her together" Asuka smiled brightly, before faltering as he gave her another sad look.

"You misunderstood, princess. My mother is in France, so I'd have to search for her there" He paused, taking a steadying breath. "I've decided after graduation I'm going to leave Japan"

Asuka felt her heart drop to her feet, and all the breath leave her lungs. Leave Japan? "B-But I can't leave Japan. My family won't let me and I'm the only heir"

"I know" He said sadly, and suddenly she knew exactly why he was so upset.

"For how long?" She asked, panic starting to set in.

"I'm not sure... I don't know how long it'll take. Or whether I'll even come back" He murmured, bowing his head. "I'm so sorry, Asuka-chan. But she's my mother and I have to-"

Asuka silenced him with a kiss, a tear running down her face as she pulled away. "I know. I'm proud of you for deciding to go and find her" She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

She was hurting on the inside, but she couldn't show him. She had to be strong for him... even if it meant that her heart was breaking.

"R-Really?" He asked tearfully, his eyes also glazing over as he sought her approval like a child.

"Really" She nodded, brushing his blond hair out of his face.

"Youre okay with it? We'd have to... break up, you know" He swallowed, bowing his head.

"I know... but we still have 2 weeks left together. Lets enjoy them, hm? Tamaki-kun?" Asuka smiled sweetly, cupping his face once more.

"I'm sorry" He whispered, placing his hand on top of hers as a tear rolled down his cheek too.

She could feel his grief, his guilt. It was mixing with her own and making her feel as though she was drowning. She didn't want to let him go, she wanted him to stay with her forever. She wanted to freeze time so they could always enjoy each others presence.

"I love you" She responded, wiping his tears and placing her forehead on his. "Shall I remove the pain?" She murmured, referring to his emotional pain. She could of course manipulate them, and make him feel better.

"No" He shook his head. "I want to remember this moment for the rest of my life... I love you, Asuka" Tamaki whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

It had been five years and yet the memory still caused her heart to ache painfully. He was her first love after all, it wasn't easy to let go.

He had given her the ring at the airport, just before he got on his plane. He told her to never forget about what they had and kissed her one last time before boarding his plane with tears in his eyes.

"Stop" She murmured to herself, shaking her head. She was just making herself upset. Besides, it was all a long time ago, life moved on. HE moved on.

Suddenly her phone started vibrating and she fished it out of her bag, glad for the distraction. A small smirk settled itself on her face as she saw the name, picking the phone up.

"To what do I owe this pleasure? My dear shadow king?"

"You're welcome for saving you from the Winterton Charity Ball, I assume you were searching for a distraction" The cool voice came over the phone in response and she couldn't help but smile.

"You know, I don't know how you're still keeping tabs on everyone even five years after graduation" Asuka chuckled. "Doesn't it get tiring?"

"On the contrary, its vital that I do. We're friends, are we not? Besides, I assume its not as tiring as having to shamelessly flirt with every male that approaches you so I suppose I'll be alright" He mused in response.

"Touché" Asuka sighed, looking up at the sky again. "Thanks for calling, it was a VERY welcome distraction. I think I've had enough of waltzing right now"

"Well thats not the only reason I called, actually"

"Of course, always an ulterior motive" She teased, shaking her head. "You haven't changed at all, have you? Well which princess would you like me to put you into contact with now? I'm sure you've won them all over, leave the rest to some other business men"

"I'm not in need of any princesses for now, thanks for the offer" He smirked back, his glasses flashing as he stared out of the office window. "No, I'm calling because the host club are having a reunion this Saturday. Care to join?"

"Its not much of a host club without..." Her breath hitched, and she quickly forced herself to stop thinking about him. "Sure, I'll come"

"You still miss him?"

Asuka blushed, was she really that obvious? Even Kyoya could tell and he was famous for his intellect over emotion abilities. "Sometimes"

"I'm sure you do... But we can't do anything about him right now. On the bright side, Hikaru finally asked Haruhi to be his girlfriend so thats new"

"Oh that's amazing" Asuka beamed, happy to hear that her friends were at least happy. "I haven't had the time to speak to the twins recently, or anyone for that matter. Its courting season, you know? My parents are constantly forcing me to go to ball after ball to find myself a husband or at the very least a boyfriend"

"And why don't you?" Kyoya asked coolly, leaning back in his chair.

"W-What do you mean? I haven't found myself a boyfriend because I'm not interested in getting married like my parents want"

"Why not?"

"Well because- because all the men in the world of royals are boring! All they talk about is politics and yes they're all gentlemen... well most of them, but they're all so dull" She complained.

"Well what do you look for in a man?"

"I don't know... someone I can speak to like a best friend, someone I can be myself with. I'm not ball gowns and pearls, I'm jeans and comfort food" Asuka shook her head.

"Jeans? I haven't seen you wearing jeans in 3 years" Kyoya chuckled.

Yeah... not since she had heard the rumours and decided to finally carry out her role as a duchess.

"Yes well, you know what I'm saying. These men expect a perfectly flawless lady. I'm not" She said bluntly, sighing. "I may have become more of a lady over the years, and yes I'm relatively more refined but I'm not what they want"

"What do you want, Asuka?"

"I want... I want-" An image of a blond haired, violet eyed young man filled her mind and she faltered. No! She was moving on! She didn't want him anymore, she was done with that. "Whats with the interrogation huh?" She huffed.

"I'm just curious" He smiled, knowing exactly what she was feeling.

"Well how about you? Will she be at the reunion?" Asuka asked softly, knowing how much he hated speaking about her.

"Of course not. She's still touring post Olympics" Kyoya murmured, suddenly feeling quite cold.

"That means there's a chance she'll be in town?" She tried to give him some hope, she could tell he was cutting off his emotion.

"Doubt it. Anyway, she won't be coming even if she does come to Japan. Her schedule is always too full"

"How would you know? You don't even speak to her anymore" Asuka pointed out.

"That was her decision and I respect it. There's no point in crying over spilt milk anyway, everything happened a long time ago" Kyoya shrugged nonchalantly.

"Then why do you still think about her everyday?"

Kyoya paused, considering his response. "How do you know I think about her everyday? I don't" He lied.

"Kyoya, I'm a telepath. I can read your mind. I'm also an empath, I can read your emotions. But above all, I'm your friend. I can tell. I don't need to read your emotions or mind to figure out what you're feeling" She said softly, toying with the bodice of her dress.

"I appreciate your concern, Asuka-chan. And maybe I do think about her everyday but I've acknowledged that there's no point in dwelling on the past. I'm sure she has moved on, and I'm trying to move on too. I actually have a date tomorrow"

She hadn't moved on, at all. Asuka was still in contact with Kira and she knew that they Kyoya and her were far from forgetting each other. But of course, she didn't want to give her friend false hope and so she kept quiet.

"Really? Wow, tell me how it goes shadow king" She smiled.

"I will, but only if you confirm your attendance for the reunion" Kyoya smirked.

"Hah, nothing ever comes easy with you, huh? Anyway, I'll be sure to attend. I do miss seeing your wonderfully stoic face, glasses guy"

"I wasn't aware that Mori-Senpai wore glasses" Kyoya smirked, joking along with her.

"Ha ha, now go and do your business man-y work. I have a ball to get back to unfortunately" Asuka sighed, standing up.

"Good luck trying to find a husband" Kyoya chuckled.

"Shuddup, I'd sooner marry Mr Fluffs" Asuka snapped playfully, referring to her adorable golden retriever doggo.

"Well he does seem more conversational than some of them men I've seen you around, at least. Be sure to give him a treat from me, okay?" Kyoya smiled.

"Okay" She chuckled. "Thanks for calling me, Kyoya. I'll see you this Saturday. And good luck on your date tomorrow" Asuka smiled, hanging up.

She stood up, steeling herself as she began her walk back to the ball room. "Time to find a husband" She rolled her eyes.