"Um... Kaoru?"

"Hm?" I turn and face the girl I had yet to ask for her name. Seeing her felt kind of like a coincidence meaning to happen-- "fate" I guess is the more appropriate word. But maybe that was an exaggeration.

"Well you see, my brother's class starts in five minutes and he needs to get to Ouran Elementary..."

"Oh, then I'll take you there. Tamaki was taking you there, right?"

"Mhm..." We both look at Hikaru and Tamaki sparring over how better they are in flirting.

"Well, Hikaru and I may be twins, but I must say, we're completely different."

"I'll say..."

"Come on, I'll take you there." I whisper, steadily moving them away from the ruckus, and we walk through the courtyard.

"How far is the school?" She asks.

"Not far. It's right next door, so I'm sure your little brother won't be late." I look at the little boy trotting between us.

"What's your name?" I ask him. He looks at me with his big, blue eyes.

"Yoichirou." He says.

"How old are you?"

"Eight."

"Really? I thought you were older."

"I get that a lot."

"Mind telling me your sister's name?"

"Akane."

"Tell her that her name is really pretty." Yoichirou looks at his sister, then back at me, not telling her.

"What year is she?" I ask.

"Why ask me when you can ask her?" I couldn't help but laugh,

"Because, I thought you would be different."

"Different?"

"Well, yeah. I thought you would have that little-kid personality that all little kids have."

"Well... sorry to disappoint you." He says plainly. I look at Akane and she sighs with a smile,

"He's something else. He acts like a mini adult-- so unfitting isn't it?"

"I agree." We reach the doors of the elementary where kids are walking inside. Akane kneels down to Yoichirou,

"Chirou, you know what to do, right?" He nods,

"I need you to pick me up, okay?"

"Of course." Both siblings hug,

"Love you, stay safe."

"You too, nii-san." He then walks inside.

"Let's head back. Class should begin in less than ten minutes."

"Okay." Akane and I turn back and head towards the school.

"What class are you in?"

"1-A"

"Huh, that's my class. Guess I'll be walking with you there too."

"Oh, okay."

Silence.

"So, what was that all about earlier? Flirting and all..." I immediately felt embarrassed.

"Oh, uh... ha, it's a host thing."

"'Host thing'?"

"I guess Tamaki didn't tell you anything."

"Well, he did mention that he has a 'princely' side of him."

"Did he now? Well, I do hate to admit, but he is good at being a prince. You?"

"Well, it kind of caught me off-guard."

"That's because you don't know about us yet."

"'Us'?"

"Let me slow down a bit." I laugh,

"Tamaki, my brother and I, and four others are part of the Ouran High School Host Club. It's basically entertainment... for girls."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, when I say it, it sounds kind of horrible. But if you ask Tamaki, he's going to give you an over-exaggerated answer."

"Oh. Tell me more?"

"Well, I'm not sure how to explain it because I've never been a customer. Quite frankly, I don't want to." I chuckle. "But I'll try. Customers-- girls-- refer to me and the other six I told you about, as a 'host'. A girl reserves a seat with a host according to her preference and we-- the hosts-- are to entertain them by flirting according to our type and-or our act. An example is me and Hikaru's, our type is 'The Mischievous Type' and our act is called 'Brotherly Love'."

"So, it really is just entertainment?"

"That's one way to put it. Another way is just a time-filler."

"Have girls ever heard of the outside world? Art? Sports? Music?"

"Well, I don't know actually." I laugh, "But if they didn't, then that's where we come in."

"You rich kids are weird."

"Well, welcome to Ouran-- where 'weird' is as good as it gets.

"Precisely." We arrived outside of Class 1-A, our class. Before I walk in, I pause for a moment and look at Akane.

"Should I reserve a spot for you at my table today? Just for experience?"

"Uh, sure. What time?"

"Let's do after school. Yoichirou's class ends later because of recess and a longer lunchtime."

"Okay." I smile gently,

"I'm glad we're friends now... We're friends, right?" Akane blinks in surprise, her hazel-gold orbs sparkling.

"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't we be?" Right at that, the feeling of fate that I had felt earlier felt more alive now-- and that I knew, wasn't an exaggeration.