"Do I really have to wear this?"

I groaned and pulled a single pillow over my head.

"Hey, Nao-kun, I know you're awake. Answer my question. Also, is it true you guys don't have any personal servants? Not one?"

Holding the pillow as close to my head as I could manage, I attempted to tune out Ren's voice. He happened to be the last person I wanted to hear speaking first thing when I woke up.

"Nao-kun~"

Go away.

"Nao-kun~"

Go die.

"Nao-kun~"

Sitting up, I chucked the pillow my head had been buried in towards the direction of his voice. Ignoring his laughter, I dropped my head back down to my sheets and returned to holding the other pillow over my head.

"Are you not a morning person, Nao-kun?" Ren questioned. "Is it possible that you're even less lady-like in the early hours of the day?"

"Shut up," I grumbled, my voice muffled by my sheets.

"It is possible! How interesting. Now, Nao-kun, please tell me. Do I really have to wear this?"

I racked my mind for what little I knew about the school Ren had been attending. If my memory served right, they hadn't been required to wear uniforms. Great, another thing the spoiled brat would complain about. Pushing the bit of information from my mind, I buried my head further into my sheets.

If only he'd go away.

How'd he even get into my room in the first place?

"Nao-kun~ It's time to get up~ Come on!"

My entire body went rigid as my comforter disappeared. He was so dead.

"Aww, how cute! Hey, Nao-kun, are those-"

I chucked my other pillow at his head and saw it hit this time. Slightly satisfied but still incredibly pissed, I scrambled from my bed and pointed at the door.

"OUT. NOW!"

Chuckling, he let the pillow drop into his hands over the Ouran uniform he had laid over his arms. His hair was already perfectly styled, apparently the lack of servant didn't mean that wouldn't be happening, and he was dressed in another outfit similar to the one he'd shown up in. Despite my order, it seemed he had no interest in moving.

"Your pajamas are cute," he commented lightly. "Nice teddy-bear shorts-"

"If you don't get out, you'll regret it," I threatened.

Something in my expression must have gotten to him because he paled slightly.

"Sure, just tell me, do I really ha-"

"YES, NOW GET THE HELL OUT!"

"Yes ma'am."

When the door shut behind him I finally realized how burning red my face must have been. The pajamas I'd thrown on the night before were comfortable, but not exactly the sort you showed off to other people. Pink, silky pajama shorts with multiple bears wearing night-caps displayed all over them and a soft, white tank-top displaying a single night-cap teddy bear yawning. It was embarrassing enough that I was highly considering murder to keep from having to hear about this later.

After making sure that my door was locked, I glanced at my clock and found out that it was only about ten minutes until my alarm would go off. Not enough time to bother with going back to bed. With a sigh I began reassembling my blankets and made my bed so that there wasn't a single wrinkle in case my uncle checked up on the state of my room, or had a servant do it sometime today. With that finished I went about changing into a pair of exercising pants and a more conservative tank-top than the one that had served as my pajamas. When I'd finished that I turned to face the door, aware that I had just enough time to grab something quick from the table for breakfast.

I stopped dead the moment I had the door open.

Leaning against the wall on the opposite wall was Ren, that smug smile already on his face. I highly considered stepping back into my room and shutting the door, but that would just be admitting defeat. Instead I carefully composed my face into a neutral expression and stepped into the hall, allowing my door to fall shut behind me.

"Kimura-san," I greeted him, then paused for a moment before continuing. "Next time you feel the urge to wake me up- don't. I'd rather be burned alive than hear your voice first thing in the morning."

Now that I had that out of the way, I started down the hall and away from him. Much to my annoyance I could tell that he'd pushed away from the wall the moment I started walking and was trailing behind me.

"Really? I would think it would be a gift. You know, getting to see this perfection fi-"

"Your ego is really off-putting," I interrupted. "Do girls actually fall for that? I'm losing faith in my own gender."

"Women love it," he informed me and I knew that smug smile would be growing even larger with his words.

"Faith lost."

"I'm not that bad," Ren protested.

"No," I replied as I reached the door to take me into the diningroom for breakfast. "No, actually, you're worse than that. I pity the girl that ends up having to marry you one day."

I entered the room then stopped walking when Ren quickly skirted around me to block my path. The sliding door fell shut behind me as he placed his hands on either side of my head.

"Do you really? I think that you'll just be jealous."

A quick glance at the room told me that Uncle wasn't here yet, which meant he probably didn't plan on joining us this morning. Some business must have come up. Once I knew I wasn't going to get scolded for my actions, I shot Ren a harsh glare and gripped the wrist he'd placed on my left side. He started to pull it away but I swiftly twisted it, earning myself a yelp.

"If you wouldn't mind," I told him, keeping a firm grip on his wrist with my good hand. "I'd rather eat without having to deal with your disturbing pick-up lines. Try them on a girl who cares."

Ren grimaced, but nodded and moved out of the way once I released his wrist. Pleased now that I hopefully didn't have to deal with him, I walked over to take my place at the table, just now noting that he'd changed into his uniform. At least that was one less thing to deal with. Although, I realized with annoyance, he had those black sun-glasses perched on the top of his head. Hopefully he didn't think he was going to get away with wearing those in the school building. I didn't think he was that much of an idiot, but you never know.

"So," he commented, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. "Do you have that prostitute club today?"

Resisting the urge to snap at him, I swiped an apple from the choice of fruits laid out along the table and began twisting the stem.

"The host club," I corrected. "And yes, the club is meeting today."

He wrinkled his nose and I caught sight of him eyeing the table with distaste.

"Host club, prostitute club, what's the difference? And I have to go to this thing?"

"That's what Otou-san said," I informed him, choosing to ignore the first part of his statement.

The stem came off of the apple and I sat it to the side. A quick glance at the clock told me that I had about five minutes to waste here if I was going to get the exercise in before catching my ride. Ren wasn't going to put up with walking to school, and frankly I didn't want to spend that much time alone with him. That cake wasn't going to work itself off on its own, however, so I had to get the exercise somehow. Grabbing a napkin and wrapping it around the apple, I abandoned the table and started towards the door.

"You just got here," Ren protested. "Why are you leaving already?"

"Did you even notice what I'm wearing?" I retorted. "What do you think I'm doing, moron?"

He didn't respond and I took that moment to escape the room. I ate my apple while making my way down the hall to the door that would take me to the court-yard that laid in the center of the house. Cutting across the yard, I reached the actual gym that laid on that side of the house. I didn't visit it very often and earned myself a surprised look from one or two of the house security that were currently working out. Giving them a greeting nod, I tossed the core of my apple and the now juice soaked napkin in the trash and located a treadmill.

About thirty-minutes and a good amount of sweat later, I quickly made my way back to my room to show and change into my uniform. Once I had both it and my hair fixed so that they were up to Uncle's standard, I took a deep breath and went to locate Ren. Not much to my surprise, he was still sitting in the dining room. HIs plate displayed a variety of massacred fruit.

"Where are the eggs?" he demanded when he saw me. "And the meat! What about tea?"

"Fruit is healthy, as is it's juice. Otou-san believes that our bodies need the best nutrition in order to function best. Are you ready to go? The car should be ready to take us to school."

Ren glanced at his plate and scowled.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Pulling himself to his feet, he complained the entire time as we both grabbed our school things and headed out the door. The driver even shot me a sympathetic look when Ren and I reached the car. It was sad when even the staff felt sorry for me having to deal with him.

"Also, why this blue color? It's so..."

"Are you about finished?" I questioned after the driver shut Ren's door.

Ren glanced at my dress then pursed his lips, looking like he might start again. I narrowed my eyes in his direction and he sighed, spreading his hands in the air.

"I guess. I mean, your outfit is even worse than mine, so I guess I should be grateful and feel sorry for you."

If it wasn't for the driver getting in the front seat I might have given into my urge to strangle him.

By the time that we arrived at Ouran I was impatient for class to start. When we got out of the car, I was surprised to find that Ren had fallen silent. His eyes were flickering over the school and I regarded him with curiosity as he pursed his lips once again and tightened his hand around the strap of his bag. Something occurred to me and I didn't start walking right away.

"Kimura-san?" I asked.

He tore his eyes away from the school and I realized his expression wasn't quite as self-assured as before.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever transferred schools before?" I questioned. "Also, the average income at your school wasn't that high, was it?"

Ren didn't respond right away, but his entire body seemed even tenser than before.

"No, I haven't transferred before," he replied, apparently deciding to dismiss my second question. "I get along with everyone, though, so it's only a matter of time till everyone's begging to be my friend. I don't need your concern."

Resisting the urge to scowl, I decided to leave him be and started towards the front doors. Ren was quiet the entire way to the classroom, although he had attempted to fix his expression. I could practically feel the uneasiness rolling off of him. When I pulled open the door to the classroom, he paused for a moment before following me through.

It seemed even Ren could get nervous- no matter how much he wanted to hide it, it was obvious.

"Sensei," I greeted as I walked towards the front of the room where I could see Sensei sitting at his desk. "This is Kimura Ren-kun. You've heard about him, right?"

Sensei glanced up from his papers with a polite nod, his eyes flickering from me to Ren.

"Of course. Take your seat, Morioka-chan, I'll take care of him."

"Thank-you, sensei."

Relieved of my annoying charge, I made my way to my seat and sat my stuff down. Honey and Mori hadn't arrived yet, much to my disappointment. I'd rather have them be here making it easier to relax. When they did arrive, the change was almost instant and I found myself smiling and easily following Honey's happy chatter. Even when it came time for Sensei to introduce Ren I didn't tense back up. Much to my relief, the only empty seat was at the front of the room, putting two entire rows between me and the red-head.

Thank-goodness.

________________________________

Why was it that out of all of the host club members, Mori was the one that ended up completely shirtless for today's cosplay? Not only that, why did today have to be a day when any of them were shirtless? The look on Ren's face as the club prepared for the girls told me that I'd probably have to keep correcting him on the name of the club for quite some time yet.

"Sit ov-"

"Kimura-senpai," Tamaki greeted the moment we entered the room.

Just the use of Ren's name drew the attention of the other club members.

"You know my name?" Ren questioned, shooting me a curious look. "Has Nao-san been talking about me?"

It took all I had to resist snapping at him. Of course he was being polite now that there were people around to see him. Although, I suppose the same double-standard applied to the way I acted.

"Not exactly," Kyoya explained, stepping in before Tamaki could respond. "We accompanied Mori-senpai and Nao-senpai to the kendo tournament."

"...oh," Ren responded putting on a guilty expression. "I see. You probably don't have a very good opinion of me, then."

"Nope," the twins chimed.

Ren gave them a sheepish look this time.

"Anything I can do to fix that?" he asked, slinging an arm over my shoulder. I shuddered and stepped away. "Nao-chan's forgiven me, you know. So surely you all wouldn't hold a grudge of she wasn't, I told her how guilty I feel over the whole event."

"When?" I demanded, unable to help myself. "Also, who the hell said I forg-"

I clamped my hand over my mouth as the curse word escaped. Luckily I was saved from any embarrassment by the clubroom door opening.

"Welcome," the host club announced before they'd even seen who'd arrived.

All eyes shot the door that revealed a young brunette kid. His green eyes widened as he fell backwards at the sight of the scantily clothed boys suddenly greeting him. Honestly, I couldn't blame him for his shock. I was pretty startled when I saw what they'd chosen to try-on before the appointments today.

"What? It's just a kid," the twins complained.

"And a boy, too," Hikaru added.

Ignoring the twins, Tamaki gave the boy a bright smile, taking a seat and beckoning with his hand in what I guessed he thought was a kingly manner.

"What's the matter? Are you lost? Or did you come to my palace for something...?"

I almost face-palmed. It'd be better not to do this cosplay if Tamaki was going this far when the girls weren't even here. Although, it seemed to work on the kid. He pulled himself to his feet as his cheeks lit up with a faint blush.

"Ah... are you king?" he asked.

Tamaki froze, then leaned forward with one hand cupped over his ear, as if he hadn't heard.

"King," the kid repeated.

"What part of him looks like a king?" Ren asked me under his breath and I discretely smacked his shoulder.

He frowned at me as Tamaki began happily basking in the idea of being called a king.

"What's your blood type?" Ren demanded.

I ignored him for a moment, focusing on the kid.

"I am junior section grade five class A's Takaouji Shirou!" he announced, pointing a finger in Tamaki's direction. "I would like to apply as the host club king's apprentice!"

"Nao-kun~" Ren muttered quietly, the look on my face telling me he was considering saying that name a bit louder. Scowling at him, I searched my mind for a moment before drawing up the information he wanted.

"AB," I informed him. "Why?"

Ren shook his head as Tamaki began announcing that he'd indeed be taking the kid on.

"Figures," he grumbled, turning his attention to the commotion.

"Why?" I repeated myself. "What's yours?"

His lips turned up in an amused smile.

"AB, of course."

_____________________________________________

I couldn't help but keep a close eye on Shirou when he and Tamaki began taking their appointments. The host club may have switched back into their normal uniforms since that cosplay was planned for another day- they'd just been trying out the costumes- but they were disturbing even on a normal day. I wasn't that certain that a little kid would be able to handle it. Currently, he seemed to be doing fine, listening in on Tamaki's charming one of the girls. That didn't mean it couldn't change, however.

Ren, thankfully, had decided he'd take the liberty of distracting a few of the girls who were waiting for their appointments. From the looks Kyoya kept giving him, I was wondering how long that would be allowed. Although, I guess it wouldn't come as that much of a surprise if Kyoya decided to take advantage of Ren's ability to gather girls rather than rebuke him. The shadow king liked things that brought profit after all.

Soon enough I realized my suspicions were right about peace of Shirou's observation wouldn't last forever. Strangely enough, he was the one to break it.

"If I must say it, she's more like the crucian carp in my garden's pond. I would never use such blatant words of flattery," he commented, breaking into Tamaki's flirting.

I stifled laughter as the girl began to cry. The twins didn't even bother to hide their amusement and Tamaki did his best to calm the girl down.

"This is great Tono. You've got a cute little brother here," Hikaru commented.

"Hikaru..." Kaoru murmured, a sad look appearing on his face. "Hikaru.... you'd prefer a brother like him better?"

"Idiot! Even if I searched the world over, no one would compare to you..."

"Hikaru..."

Do they really have to do that act right in front of a kid? I wondered.

Not wanting to let anything else happen, I stood and started to approach the scene. The girls began squealing as Shirou attempted to escape. Haruhi beat me to the punch as she attempted to comfort the kid, but all that it managed to get her was a question that sent the entire club into a panic.

"Are you a transvestite?"

Tamaki and the twins were instantly there, of course insisting that the cross-dresser was indeed a boy.

"Maybe-" I began.

I was cut off as Haruhi began to hand Shirou a tray at Tamaki's insistence and it was immediately sent to the floor. A second later Tamaki was even yelling since the kid tried to clean the tray up with new curtains.

"Tamaki-kun," I cut in. "He's just a kid, maybe you shouldn't be yelling at him...."

Honey choose that moment to step up, hugging Shirou and offering to have cake. Even I lost the desire to help the kid with his next words.

"Annoying, what grade are you in?"

Apparently Mori lost any desire he might have had as well, because a dark look appeared on his face. Shirou was saved from anything that might have happened when Tamaki declared Shiro was to be isolated.

_____________________________

"Do they make a habit out of locking people up?"

"Ren..."

"I mean, it just lends weight-"

"Ren, if you don't shut up..."

"I know, I know, I'll regret it," he interrupted, rolling his eyes.

It took all I had to keep my neutral expression on. If it wasn't for the fact that the host club was only a short distance from where I stood, I might have had a different reaction. As it was, I was debating whether or not to broach the idea of releasing the kid from the cage he'd been placed in. I would have spoke up if his constant complaints weren't annoyingly close to Ren's attitude, which made it extremely hard to feel sorry for Shirou. Even Tamaki was ignoring the kid's complaints... well, to a point.

"I don't have time to play with kids like you..." Tamaki commented, sipping his tea while Shirou continued to rage on.

"I am serious! I'm running out of time. Teach me how to make women happy! You are genius, right, King?"

"Looks like you are serious..." Tamaki decided imedatiely releasing Shirou from the cage.

"His ego is worse than mine..." Ren commented under his breath and I glared at him. He simply shrugged and placed his head on his hands, which were braced against the table across from me. "What? Who gives a brat what he wants just because of a compliment? Even I wouldn't give in that quickly. He'd have to tack on handsome, or something like that."

"... I'd say you're worse than Tamaki," I commented quietly. "Now, shut up."

Meanwhile, Tamaki seemed to have decided to give the kid a second chance. I watched, highly unimpressed, as he began dishing out orders to make Shirou into some mischievous type to lure in girls. It wasn't until Shirou was ordered to fall down that I felt sorry for him. Jumping to my feet, I knelt down in front of him and offered him a concerned hand.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Shirou brought one hand up to rub his face as he pulled himself up. There were scuff marks all over his cheeks and forehead, further making that concerned feeling in me grow. Perhaps it was a bad idea to let the host club continue to mess with him, even if he was a brat.

"It's nothing..." he mumbled. "I'm fine."

Surprised, I retracted my hand and stood up. A girl behind me squealed in delight at his reaction as I tried to decide on the best way to convince him that he should go back to the elementary section. My thoughts became unnessacary as the kid made the decision without me, hoping to his feet and clenching his fists.

"I... I've had enough, Baka!" he declared and turned tail to dart out the door. "If you don't want to teach me seriously, then forget it!"

Joining Haruhi and Tamaki in the doorway, I stared after the kid with a bit of guilt. I really should have stepped in earlier. He seemed so upset...

"Most people don't like it," Haruhi was informing Tamaki when I tuned into their conversation. "Also... he said there was no time..."

No time?

__________________________________

Just because I was short didn't mean that they could attempt to put me into the elementary uniform like Honey. While Ren laughed his head off, I managed to convince them that if I was going to be coherced into joining Honey and Haruhi in this mad scheme of theirs, they could at least allow me to wear the same uniform as Haruhi. Reluctantly they agreed and I somehow found myself sneaking around the elementary section desguised as someone Honey's brother's age. I could only feel grateful that a certain amount of treatening had convinced Ren to go home ahead of me.

To make it worse, when we entered one of the classrooms it was quickly revealed that the host club had tailed us from the beginning. Meaning there was no actual purpose in getting into disguise. If I hadn't left my uniform in the music room I might have gone to change then and there. As it was, I could feel my irritation growing even further as the club members almost got us caught with all their chattering.

A few close calls and snappy words on Haruhi's end later, we'd managed to locate where Shirou had ran off to. He was perched on the ledge in front of a window in the music room of the elementary section. All of his attention was focused on a rather cute girl his age who was talking with him, although her mood seemed to be rather depressed when he dismissed a request of hers. I was about to ask Honey about my thoughts on the matter when Tamaki spoke up from the other side of the hall. A quick glance revealed that he'd bribed one of the girls belonging to that classroom with a rose.

"Kamishiro Hina-chan?" the girl mused. "Well, she will be moving away soon. I heard that because of her father's job, they will be moving to germany after next week."

I blinked then turned my attention back to the window. Was Shirou acting like such a brat because of that? I searched the room with my eyes and realized he was gone just as his voice hit the air.

"What are you doing?" Shirou demanded from the doorway. "What are you trying to do coming all the way here-"

Tamaki tossed the kid over his shoulder before he could finish speaking and started walking down the hall. The twins commented on how Tamaki was stealing Mori's technique as I quickly attempted to keep up with them. A quick glance in Mori's direction told me that he didn't really care about the stolen technique.

"Takashi hasn't had his chance recently," Honey commented lightly.

My lips twitched up as I attempted to pay attention to what was going on with Shirou and Tamaki.

"It doesn't seem like he minds," I replied.

Honey tilted his head thoughtfully, then grinned.

"No, but if you're concerned you could give him a chance."

I blinked, studying Honey's innocent expression. Confused, and embarressed, I shook my head.

"I... don't think that's nessacary...right, Mori?"

He didn't respond right away and I tore my eyes away from Honey to him in time to see him give a slow nod.

"I'm fine."

It seemed whatever Tamaki had been saying to Shirou while we tried to keep up with him had gotten through to the kid because when the group neared the music room.

"Forget it..." he mumbled, seeming more dejected than I could have imagined him allowing us to see. "There's no time..."

Tamaki opened the door into the room and crossed it without a word. He then depoisted the kid on the bench of the piano.

"I didn't know there was a piano here..." Haruhi commented as we all stood to the side.

I tilted my head, looking at her in confusion. She did know what room this was, right?

"Of course, it's a music room after all," the twins chimed, echoing my thoughts.

"That's because this is a music room," Kyoya said.

"It has been placed in that unseen corner for a long time," Honey added.

"It is called Music Room Three," I tagged on. "Of course there's a piano."

Haruhi looked slightly put out as Tamaki seated himself next to Shirou on the piano and started going through music sheets.

"Tamaki knows how to play?" I was asking Honey as Tamaki questioned Shirou about the piece.

Honey nodded with a happy smile as he grabbed my casted arm and tugged me back towards the door.

"Uh-huh," he said, just loud enough to be heard over the music. "Tama-chan plays really well."

I shot him a confused look as we came to a stop just beside the door. He tilted his head in Tamaki's direction, where the host club king was annoucing that they were going to have a week of intense practice to prepare Shirou to play for the girl we'd seen earlier.

"Tama-chan's going to be busy now," he said lightly. "Kimura-san left, right? Takashi and I will take you home!"

Having no reason to argue, I reminded Honey that I needed my things. We gathered them up and said our good-bye's before walking out the door. At least I had a nice car ride to look forward to before heading home.