Chapter 22: Jin's Unwilling Competition!

"You ready for this, Nēchan?"

"Absolutely not."

Jin's foot tapped at the tile lining the train station, crossing her arms in an attempt to not appear too restless. Haruhi didn't feel the need to tell her sister that she was failing. She just sighed and watched the train times change on the call board. If nothing changed in the near future, Eiko Fujioka would be walking out onto the platform in the next two minutes. Haruhi sighed again, but for a different reason. Why was Eiko going to stay at their place for an entire week?

Oh, right, because Obasan and Ojisan are going to a festival up in Sapporo… and Obasan wouldn't let Eiko stay home all by herself.

Biting down a groan, Haruhi wondered if it was bad that she hoped Ojisan had convinced his wife otherwise and Nēchan was about to get a phone call from their father saying they could go home?

' The 2 pm train from Nagasaki to Tokyo will be arriving in less than one minute. Please stay behind the yellow line until all passengers have disembarked. '

Jin upper lip twitched with displeasure, "We could dump her at a hotel for a week."

"Nēchan, she's nine."

"I don't see your point."

The sound of the bullet train approaching took their attention away from each other. They watched with increasing distaste and nervousness as the train pulled into the station. It hissed to a stop just as Jin elbowed her sister.

"Last chance. If you turn and run I'll follow you and take all the blame."

Ding!

The doors to the train slid open and everyone on board piled out. Most were in three-piece suits and talking on their phones, but a few looked like everyday travelers. Including one black haired little girl pulling a bright pink suitcase behind her and sporting the most icy glare anyone had ever witnessed on a child's face. The girl stalked her way over to the Fujioka's, keeping her glare drilling through them. However, being only 4 feet tall, she didn't exactly strike fear into their hearts.

Eiko Fujioka didn't look very different from the last time the sisters had seen her. She still had glossy black hair that reached her middle back, parted straight along the top of her head as if it had been set by a ruler, and bangs that stopped just above her eyebrows. Through the angry slits of her eyelids, you could just barely see the dull grey/hazel color of her eyes, and her nose was so scrunched up it seem to turn up at the end even more than it actually did. Her thin lips were pressed even thinner until they were almost straight lines, making the light pink lip gloss she had applied an absolute waste.

But there were still a few traits here and there that detailed her relation to the girls in front of her. For example, when her eyes weren't squeezed in a squint they matched the same shape as her cousin's, and her face was a slightly chubbier copy of Haruhi's. She even had Jin's eyebrows.

Or... she would if she hadn't thrown a fit for half an hour until her mother agreed to get them "done" at the neighborhood salon a few years back.

For a long while, nothing was said. It was a stand-off in the middle of the crowded train station, with both sides refusing to back down. A few by-passers noticed the mounting tension and skirted around the three girls, wondering what could have possibly been said between them to promote such angry faces. It wasn't until the bullet train had been re-loaded with passengers and sped off that Haruhi attempted some sort of conversation.

"Hey, Eiko. You've grown."

"Yeah, that's something that happens to humans."

If Eiko had hoped that the ice in her voice would make her older cousin's react, they didn't. Jin's returning stare just grew harder.

"Oh… yes, I suppose so."

"I see you've cut your hair short."

"Oh, yeah. Funny story actually. Basically, some gum got stuck in it and I decided-"

"I don't care."

Silence wrapped itself back around the group, only more awkward now. As more people walked around them, even the ones who didn't actually notice the tension between them were steering clear, like the anger was physically driving other people away.

Haruhi glanced around the platform and noticed a security guard glancing their way, "Okay, look. None of us want to be here right now and we all know it. So how about we take one step at a time, starting with getting out before security arrives?"

Eiko nodded, but smirked darkly at Jin, "Looks like Haruhi is more mature than you, huh? So much for being the wonderful big sister."

The brunette's eyes flashed as she stepped even closer, " I'd watch my tone if I were you. You are very lucky I'm even here at all and didn't leave you alone to fend for yourself in the city. I have given you years of my patience, but now? " She let the threat hang in the air for a moment, eliciting a shiver down the small girl's spine. Eiko angrily looked away, finally breaking their staring contest.

Jin drilled her gaze into the side of her head for a moment longer, " Knaw on the scraps of my affection, cousin. That's all you're going to get. "

Then she turned around and marched towards the exit, leaving the others little to do but follow. Eiko was hissing indiscernible words under her breath and Haruhi watched her older sister's back. It was always strange and never fun to see this side of Jin, and it didn't help knowing that they would be in close quarters with Eiko for the next week.

Haruhi shuddered at the sudden mental pictures in her brain from that reminder. Hopefully she and her father would be able to keep the two apart from each other for a majority of the time.

"Aren't you going to tell me what fun happy times we're going to have later or do I have to wait until we see your dad to hear that?"

Jin's shoulders stiffened, so Haruhi answered, "Dad is working overtime tonight so he can come home earlier than usual for the rest of the week. Have you eaten?"

"Yes."

"Then… I guess we're just going to go home and get you settled in."

"I'm taking your room again?"

"Yeah. I've moved most of my stuff to Nēchan's bedroom already. I shouldn't need anything else."

"Fine."

"Um…right. Uh, after we do all that... is there anything you want to do first?"

The group arrived at the next platform, where they were going to board the train that could take them close to the Fujioka's apartment complex, and Eiko smirked.

"Ice skating."

"Here, Nēchan, I've got your skates." Jin smiled weakly and gave her a soft thank you. Handing the white ice skates to her sister, Haruhi sat down on her left and began pulling her own skates on over her fuzzy socks.

"Where's Eiko?"

"The Devil reincarnated? On the ice already. Probably carving the words 'I HATE JIN' into the sides of the rink with her fingernails." Jin pulled the laces as tightly as she could, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. A tell if Haruhi ever knew one.

"Nēchan, is there something else going on that you're not telling me?"

"Um… look, don't get mad or anything, but… I might've asked for a little… back-up?"

Haruhi tilted her head, "Back-up?"

"With Eiko going to be around all week and with the skating starting up already… I just needed a little extra moral support. So, I might have... made a call?"

"No... no, Nēchan, please don't tell me you called-"

"Haruhi! Jin! We're here!"

The brunette's jaw dropped at her sister as Jin raised a hand to the Ouran Host Club in greeting, "Hi, guys. Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"Jin-chan, you invited us to go ice skating! How could we say no?" Honey jumped into his friend's lap to squeeze her in a tight hug. Haruhi didn't even move when he turned and hugged her as well. The other five boys crowded around the girls on the bench, all smiles. Even Mori-senpai had excitement dancing in his eyes.

"We brought our own skates-"

"-if that's okay with this place."

Jin shrugged, "A lot of people bring their own stuff. I'm sure you're fine."

The host club nodded and sat down on the bench as well, pulling their own high-priced ice skates out of their equally high-priced bags and chatting amicably with each other. Jin felt her upper body flush with warmth as Kyoya quickly claimed the open seat to her right. The two exchanged smiles (one smaller than the other, though no less sincere) before turning back to pulling on their ice skates.

"Hey, Kyoya. How're you?"

"Very well. And you?"

"Good."

"Hm, that's good to hear. Now with that out of the way, why am I getting the feeling you didn't invite us here because you missed our presence?"

Jin ducked her head, "Sometimes I hate how well you read motives. Nice black skates by the way. Suits you."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Kyoya pulled the laces loose, "I purchased them on a trip to the United Kingdom during Christmas break a few years ago. The business partner we were meeting with invited my family to the ice rink at the Somerset House. It was quite lovely. You should visit it sometime."

"Only if you're paying, Glasses."

For a moment, Kyoya was knocked off balance by the almost blatant request for a date before he remembers his original question. "Perhaps I will if you tell me why you invited us out tonight."

Jin sighed and leaned back against the wall behind them, eyes sliding shut, "Remember how I told you about our cousin, Eiko?"

"Yes. Isn't she visiting you this week?"

A nod, "We picked her up from the train station about an hour ago. She insisted we come here."

"I see... but I still fail to understand why we are needed."

"You'll see."

"Nēchan? Are you ready?"

"Not really." Despite her obvious discomfort, Jin pushed herself up off the bench and immediately started wobbling. Haruhi darted forward and caught her older sister before she face planted the ground.

"I hate this."

"I know you do."

The girls began their slow shuffling to the ice rink doors, other teens and families passing them quickly this way and that. Jin continued leaning heavily on her baby sister the whole way. She wished she didn't have to, but Eiko could be watching from the windows for all she knew.

At least one good thing did come out of her painfully slow shuffling. By the time the Fujioka's made it to the doors, the rest of the host club had finished putting on their own ice skates and joined them. (Okay, only Jin saw it as a good thing, but that was probably obvious.)

"Jin-senpai, if you're this off balanced with your skates on carpet-"

"-are you sure you want to get on the ice?"

The tall girl huffed, "I don't have much of a choice, unfortunately. Eiko would throw a fit if I didn't."

Tamaki smiled at the brunette, "Jin, it always warms my heart when I see how far you are willing to go for your family. Your generosity is so-"

"Nice try, Tamaki, but that's not what this is about. Now, could someone help me into the rink besides Haru? I think I'm about to crush her."

Takashi shifted forwards and offered his left arm out. Jin shakily pushed herself away from her sister and wrapped her arms around Takashi instead. With probably more patience than a nun, the tall boy waited for his old friend to regain her pitiful balance against him before shuffling her through the doors.

The cold air hit them like a brick wall, sending the host club into shivers. Jin buried her nose into her black and yellow striped scarf before continuing to shift closer to the rink. Peeking out beneath her eyelashes, she saw a good handful of other skaters already in the rink. Some were fumbling just as badly as she was or zipping around the ice like it was second nature.

Two guesses as to which category Eiko fit into.

"Ouch!" The ravenette girl crashed against the wall before sliding to the ice. She had attempted to turn her skates and stop, but that hadn't exactly worked out. Cursing under her breath with words a nine year old probably shouldn't know, Eiko pulled herself shakily back to her feet. However, spying how miserable Jin looked at the moment, she smiled again.

"About time you got out here." She suddenly tilted her head, spying the boys surrounding her cousins. "Who are these guys?"

Jin did her best to straighten up, "They're all in the club Haru and I are a part of. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, Kyoya Ootori, Tamaki Suoh, and Takashi Morinozuka."

"Why are they here?"

The boys blinked at the harsh accusatory tone this little nine year old was using, like her entire year was now a pile of rubbish because she had been introduced to them. Jin could hardly contain her smile.

"Happy coincidence."

The girl sneered, "Don't let them trip me up, or I'll tell your dad you pushed me down."

"Honey, you don't need anyone's help to trip you up."

Eiko smacked her hand on the glass, hard, "Why don't you get out here, then, huh? Let's see who's the better skater!" And with that, she fumbled past the entrance, trying to pick up a controllable speed. Once she was nearing the first corner, the group let out a collective breath. That had been a surprisingly tense conversation with a nine year old.

"Nēchan, why do you rile her up like that? It doesn't help."

"It helps me. And if she didn't want me to talk back she shouldn't make it so easy! We might want to get on the ice before she inches her way back around, though."

The others cast wary eyes around before moving through the small opening to the rink and taking off. Haruhi attempted to wait around for Jin, but she was waved off. Shrugging, the short haired girl started skating, her blue dress skirt fluttering around the black leggings she had pulled on after they got home from picking Eiko up. As she went around the rink with ease, other skaters called out compliments on her Ravenclaw sweater and cute white hat, which she responded with a wave of her blue gloves and a smile. The twins and Tamaki were quick to follow after her; Haruhi was just too cute to resist!

Jin, however, was having a much harder time. After Takashi had pulled her onto the ice, she immediately latched her arms around his chest to avoid falling on her face. After a pretty rough start, and with one hand clutching tightly to Mori and Honey each, the two boys were now pulling her slowly around the rink. Kyoya created a sort of rhythm for himself, skating easily around the rink once before slowing down and taking Jin's hand for a moment to let the cousins skate around themselves.

And if Honey tended to dawdle, twirling around the rink and taking a much longer time than Kyoya would have? Well, he somehow couldn't find it in himself to care all that much.

All in all, the host club was actually enjoying themselves quite a lot on this impromptu day out together. The only thing that ruined the picture?

"Ha! That's the second time I've looped you!"

Jin tucked her chin back into her scarf, which Kyoya had now learned was a 'Hufflepuff' scarf she had gotten for her birthday last year, and mumbled, " It's not a race. " Eiko either couldn't hear her or wasn't listening, because she continued to laugh and drag herself further along the ice via the rim of the rink.

Kyoya frowned and opened his mouth, but Jin tightened her grip on his upper arm and shook her head. Once again, he didn't say anything, but he wished he could. A quick glance around the ice told him the same could be said by the rest of the club. After all, Eiko's voice sort of carried. Tamaki was watching the small child with a pinched mouth, obviously torn between his soft heart around girls and young children and the direct unpleasantness that came from close quarters with Eiko. The twins were grilling Haruhi with questions like 'Why can't we push her down again?'. Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai were out of his line of sight, but Kyoya was sure they looked displeased as well.

Eiko pulled herself a little more ahead of them, so Kyoya slowed himself and his friend to a stop along the edge. Jin didn't protest as she was shuffled through to the hockey bench and sat down. Her skates had been starting to push her fuzzy socks away from the hem of her skinny jeans, and she was happy to have the opportunity to fix them. Even if it meant being grilled by her crush.

"Would you mind explaining why we must entertain such an egotistical little brat?"

Jin sighed against her knees, "We can't leave her alone at our home because I might return to find all of my possessions burned to ash, and she refuses to go anywhere else. This just seemed like the least of many evils."

"Then maybe you could explain why all of her anger is being aimed at you? "

"You know what? The moment my patience with the world comes back, I will answer any question you have about my family that you can't Google, alright?"

Kyoya's head jerked back, face rippling with vaguely raw looking emotions. Shock and hurt to name a few. Jin sighed and rubbed at her face, the guilt already eating her from the inside out.

"I'm sorry, Kyoya… that came out meaner than I intended. But… Eiko is just sucking all of my patience out and this is only the beginning. I'm really sorry I'm such a jerk right now."

Kyoya wanted to be mad. Really. All he had wanted to do was help and understand her problem better and he'd nearly gotten his head bitten off. But one look at the brunette girl in the long sleeve Hogwarts shirt that was a size too big so it almost covered her hands, black winter hat pulled down to cover her reddening ears, and pitiful brown puppy-dog eyes… he couldn't pull up the emotion.

Instead, he reached out a hand and pulled the girl back to her feet, "Fine. But the moment your cousin isn't around, I am getting some answers from you."

Jin sighed and pressed her forehead to his shoulder, nodding against his green sweater, "Yeah… okay. That's fair."

Shortly after, the two stepped back out onto the ice, Jin grabbing Kyoya's hand so tightly in hers he could hardly feel his fingertips. Eiko was now almost at the opposite end of the rink, still fumbling along. She came to the entrance/exit for the rink and stopped. After a slight hesitation on her part, she stepped off the ice.

Haruhi noticed and slowed to a stop before she passed it. The two girls exchanged a few words before the brunette nodded her consent and Eiko shakily waddled back out into the lobby. Jin and Kyoya stopped shuffling forward and waiting for Haruhi to skate around to them. Jin saw the smile on her sister's face and loosened her grip on the boy beside her.

"Haru?"

"She's gone. She said she was tired and was taking the train back to our apartment whether we liked it or not. Dad should be home by now, so I said okay!"

Jin sighed, but there was a grin on her face. Pulling her hand free of Kyoya's, she turned her smile to him, "Thanks for putting up with me. And, uh, sorry about holding your hand so tight."

"What do you mean?"

He didn't receive a verbal answer. Instead, the brunette's brown eyes twinkled before she pushed off on her skates. With ease, she gained speed until she was cruising along with the other occupants of the rink. The girl weaved around her fellow skaters, laugh bouncing off the windows surrounding them all. As she approached the second short end of the rink, Jin swung herself around so that she took the fourth turn backwards, head turned to let her look over her shoulder.

Once she came up to her sister and Kyoya again, she reached out and grabbed Haruhi's hands, pulling her along in a motion that looked somewhat similar to a waltz. The two girls spun and "danced" around the edge of the rink, all smiles. The other occupants watched them with similar pleasure weaved into their expressions, all except for one blond boy whose eyes widened before he quickly exited the ice rink.

The other hosts were too absorbed in watching Jin with complete and utter confusion they didn't even notice who was missing from their pack.

As the girls made another loop, the boys tried to skate beside them and ask questions, only to have Jin release her sister and grab Kaoru's hands instead. The redhead quickly gripped her tightly in return, but craned his head frantically over both of his shoulders in rapid succession, knees starting to gravitate towards each other.

"J-Jin-senpai? I-I'm not super comfortable skating b-backwards!"

"Oh, sorry, Kaoru! I'm just so happy I can actually skate now!" She released Kaoru and grabbed Honey's hands next. The blond was less nervous about the backward skating and trusted his friend to not let him bump into anything or anyone, even though her back was now bent over to keep their hands clasped. He actually began laughing along at the thrill it gave him.

"Jin-chan! Can you do a jump? Or a spin? Like in the Olympics, can you do that?"

"Nope! This is as exciting as my skating gets Honey-senpai! Now, I've gotta let go or my back will kill me tomorrow!" The blond giggled as he was released and Jin straightened her back, groaning as the pressure eased quickly. She reached behind her to press the palm of her right hand against the small of her back, only to have it snagged into a chilled hand and used to spin her around.

"I believe it's my turn to cut in, yes?"

Kyoya took her skating dance to a more refined level, with proper hand placement and everything. He didn't even flinch when it was his turn to face backwards. Jin cocked an eyebrow and he smirked, "Just because I was too busy dragging you along the ice does not mean I don't know a few skating tricks of my own."

The brunette huffed and looked away, "Again… I'm sorry about that."

"Tell me why and you can stop apologizing."

"You drive a hard bargain, Ootori."

"I try."

Jin laughed, throwing her head back and nearly sending her hat flying, "Fine, ruin a good mood, why don't you? Well, I had to pretend I sucked at skating because of Eiko. She believes she's better at skating than me, and I plan to keep that image in her head as long as possible… even if it means embarrassing myself on the ice for the next six days."

"But why?" Kyoya spun the two of them around in a full 360-degree turn before continuing to push Jin backwards around the ice, "I don't often think this, but perhaps Eiko doesn't deserve to believe she's better than you."

His partner's face darkened, "If you tell her, I won't forgive you. This secret is as much for my benefit as it is for her. I don't see Eiko that often, which I am grateful for, but I will gladly suffer through this next week with her thinking I suck at something than dealing with her if she found out I didn't."

Kyoya looked away, not understanding why Jin couldn't just pull the wool off of her cousin's eyes and be done with it. He saw a pair walk into the rink. A blond boy, and a black-haired girl.

"You may not have a say in that, anymore."

Jin turned to face his line of sight and the two skidded to a halt right outside of the ice rink entrance/exit. Tamaki stood behind Eiko, a proud smile etched on his face while the small girl stared at her cousin, mouth open.

"See? Didn't I tell you your cousin cared for you? She pretended to be bad at ice skating to make you feel-"

"YOU'RE A LIAR! I HATE YOU JIN! YOU'RE A LIAR AND I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU SO MUCH! " Tamaki fumbled to a wide-eyed stop as Eiko stomps herself back out the door, screaming how much she hates Jin at the top of her lungs.

"What… have… you… done? "

* The Next Day *

"Okay, Jin. We've waited as you've asked. Now, why does your cousin hate you?"

"Is this some sort of rivalry?"

Jin sighed, readjusting her book bag on her shoulder. Tamaki was on her left, Kyoya to her right, and there was no way she was escaping this 'classmate-sandwich' without divulging some answers.

"Couldn't we wait until the others join up? I don't want to have this discussion more than once."

"We're already here, Jin-chan!"

Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai emerged from the intersection just in front of the three, the 1st year students right behind them.

"Fine. Yeah, there's sort of a rivalry between Eiko and myself, unfortunately. She's always had a problem with me being good at stuff. Or, at least always being better than her."

"So, this is jealousy at work?"

"Sounds more like an inferiority complex."

"I'm afraid it's a little worse than that, you two. Eiko is… ruthless. I don't think she'll stop at anything until she finds something she's better at than me."

"...which is why you made her believe that skill was ice skating."

The two brunettes nodded, "I've been playing that card for over a year, but now that Tamaki messed it up, we're back to square one. And it'll be harder to convince Eiko that she's honestly the best at something this time around."

"Jin, I'm sorry for ruining your trick," Tamaki patted his friend's shoulder, relieved she wasn't so upset that she brushed him off immediately, "but is it really so bad that Eiko is back to looking for something she's better at? It's something that drives her to do better, right?"

"Oh, trust me, it's bad." Jin pushed open the music room doors and a red blur quickly catches her attention.

Good thing, too, considering it was flying directly towards her face.

She squeaked and batted it away with the back of her hand. Whatever it was, it was heavy, and the spot on her hand that had smacked it now ached. The object, thrown off its original course, went sailing to the right. It bounced off the tile once, twice, before smacking into a pillar with a solid thud .

"You've got to be kidding! " Jin's mouth dropped open at the sight of Eiko stomping her feet in a circle, "I should've thrown it lower! Then she wouldn't have seen it so quickly! Augh! "

"Seen… what?"

Honey bounced his way to the red object and picked it up, "It's a ball, Jin-chan."

"Honey-senpai? Let me see that for a moment?"

The blond raced back and placed the object in her hand. She stared at it in disbelief, "Is… is this a racquet ball? Did you just throw a racquet ball at my face?"

Eiko sniffed, "Duh. A tennis ball would've been too bright for you not to notice, and I couldn't find a baseball." Jin's jaw popped open and Haruhi snatched the ball from her before she did something rash.

"Why'd you do that, Eiko?"

"To test her reflexes. See if mine are better."

"And?"

The small girl frowned and kicked the couch beside her, "I hate you, Jin! So-"

"Yeah, I get it. You hate me s o so much . We've all witnessed the Eiko-tantrum parade. Now, why don't you tell us what you're doing here? Why aren't you at your own school?"

The little girl flopped down on the couch she was previously kicking, "Well, you dropped me off at that stupid public school, and I got bored once the day finished. So I took the train here. I must say... for a private school, it's not that impressive. Security sucks, too, consider I walked right in and no one stopped me."

"Our school does not require security, but most of the students here are under almost constant surveillance from their family's private police force."

Eiko cocked an eyebrow, "And who are you, exactly? Some high-priced rich guy, I assume? And the rest of you as well? So... you're all wealthy, smart, and handsome? That's why you're all in the same club?"

"Well, if you wish to generalize it to the surface, then perhaps."

"Then why are you hanging out with my cousin?"

Tamaki made a breathy sound as if he'd been kicked in the gut. His reaction was easily mirrored in the other's faces. Kyoya finally leveled a light glare at the small girl again, "Are you suggesting that Jin, your cousin, is undeserving of having the attention of wealthy, smart, and handsome students as you've so labeled us as, or that she is neither wealthy, intelligent, nor physically attractive?"

"Mmm..." Eiko flattened her hand out, palm down, in the air and tilted it to the left and right a few times, "A little of both, really. I mean, the non-wealthy thing is a bit obvious I think, so 'suggesting' is almost a moot-point. And undeserving of your attention?" She raked her eyes around the boys once more, "Who knows? Maybe you're all assholes?"

Tamaki was now laying flat on his back, mouth gasping like a fish out of water. Surprisingly, Jin and Haruhi seemed to be taking this conversation in stride. The older Fujioka pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a long breath of air.

"Look, tomorrow, you stay at the public school until we come get you. Got it?"

Eiko blew a raspberry, "You can't control me, Freak ."

Jin stalked forward, bearing down on her cousin who unhappily withdrew further into the couch cushions, "Wanna bet? "

"Nēchan! I thought we talked about this!"

"We never discussed her showing up at Ouran! God, she's like a curse that's following us around!"

Eiko snarled, "Don't call me a curse!"

"Don't call me a freak!"

"But that's what you are!"

"Right back at you!"

"Oh, what a brilliant come-back! I'm so scared now! "

"ENOUGH!" Haruhi pushed herself between the two girls, shoving her back against her sister to move her away, "You guys are going to end up either killing each other or starting World War 3! So, while we have an outside party to help us, we're going to settle this feud once and for all. This week, we are going to find something that Eiko is better at than Nēchan and we can all get on with our lives! "

"Yeah, right! Like I'm just going to sit around and listen to some stuck up-" Jin made a small sound in the back of her throat that sounded oddly like a growl, and Eiko looked away, "Fine! Whatever."

Kyoya opened his mouth, ready to make it clear that the Host Club would not be spending their week entertaining a monstrous brat, but Tamaki quickly announced his consent. The rest of the boys groaned, and the ravenet pushed his glasses further up, digging the nose piece deeper into his skin than was pleasant.

"Tamaki... while your usual plans are almost parallel to how moronic and unnecessary this request is, I admit I'm having difficulties trying to find the reason that it appeals to you in any way."

"Really? I thought it was obvious?"

In response to the blank stares he was receiving, Tamaki gestured for the rest of the hosts to gather around in a tight circle.

" Look, Jin is miserable with Eiko hanging around her and Haruhi all the time, and it's obvious that Eiko plans to keep it that way. Perhaps we can not only find a way to ease this feud, but also distract Eiko from ruining Jin's week? We'd be doing her a great service!"

The blond's head was immediately filled with scenes of Jin showing her appreciation with more old photographs of Haruhi (and Haruhi professing her love after seeing the way he mightily defended her sister) while the others whispered among themselves.

Kyoya contemplated his reasoning. Entertain Eiko and find her a personal talent... make everyone happy in the process... good PR... doing Jin a service... being thanked afterwards, perhaps?

"Hm... perhaps I was too quick on my judgement. Very well..." he turned around to the three Fujioka's, "Miss Eiko? It would seem as though you are our new project."

The small girl looked around at the high schoolers surrounding her, dark smiles plastered on their faces. Even Jin was looking far too pleased with herself.

"I'm going to regret ever coming up here, aren't I?"

"Oh, sweetie... you have no idea."

"Alright, men! Operation: Find-Something-Eiko-Is-Better-At-Than-Jin-Before-She-Hurts-Someone is now underway!"

"...Boss?"

"We need to have a serious talk about coming up with Operation names."

Before the blond could dissolve into a mountain of angry defensive rants about his brilliant ideas, Jin clapped her hands together, " So... how are we going to start? Because if I'm totally honest, I'm a little excited about getting this show on the road."

"Nobody says 'getting this show on the road', anymore. It's just stupid."

"Senpai? The sooner we start..?"

"Right!" Tamaki quickly wheeled out a large white board and started writing along the very top with a red marker, "We'll start by making three lists. One of things Jin is good at, one of talents she's never attempted before, and one of things she is bad at."

Eiko scowled from her spot on the couch. She had the whole piece of furniture to herself, which she didn't mind one bit. "You guys are idiots! Don't you think I've done this a million times?"

"We actually did think that, but tell us exactly how well you know your cousin in comparison to us?" The girl scowled even deeper, but gestured for them to continue.

"Let's see... Jin can drive, play piano, teach guitar, sing, fight, ice skate, and babysit like a professional. Anything else?"

Instantly the whole room looked at Haruhi, who hummed and leaned her head back, "Nēchan's writing is very good. She's won a few awards with it, after all. She's also a very good cook and a bit of an actress. Not to mention her class placement and the seven languages she taught herself."

" Seven... languages... Alright, what else?"

"She can tell the two of us apart even when our hair is covered up!"

"One of her drawings just sold for over 30,000 yen on our website."

"She can surf."

"Jin-chan's good with animals!"

Eiko crossed her arms so tightly it looked like she was trying to knot herself together, "See? Freaking perfect! It's unnatural! And don't forget that creepy thing where she can look at her sister and instantly know what she's thinking! Why do you think I call he-"

"ON To the next list! We can add more to the first one later. So, things Jin doesn't know if she's good at or not!"

"Oh, gosh...um, I've never flown a plane or a helicopter, but I wish I could. I've never scuba dived before and I never want to. I've never para-sailed. I don't know if I can roller-blade. Um, I've never tried to build anything from scratch before, either."

Tamaki quickly added 'building' to the list before moving to the right side, "That should be okay for now. How about things you're bad at?"

Jin straightened her back, "Now, those are easy! I can't fix a car to save my life. High-ropes or high-wire courses I can't do, at all. Sewing is also a no go, for me. I've stuck my thumb with a needle one too many times. And while I'm okay at freehand drawing, I'm shit at tracing. It's awful and always looks bad! Let's see... being a waitress is a hard job for me because I'm pretty sure I'm going deaf and it's hard to catch everyone's orders and write them down legible enough for the cook to read I'm a really big procrastinator and have wrecked my health before with the stress of it I can't help anyone else with applying makeup or doing their hair and I've killed every plant I've ever owned same goes for goldfish and-"

Jin stumbled to a stop when she saw that Tamaki was no longer at the white board. Instead, Haruhi stood there with the red marker in hand and a long list of hastily scribbled words behind her. Her face flushed pink.

"Oh... was I talking too fast?"

"A little. It's alright, Nēchan, I think I got everything you said down. Anything else?"

"Um... not that I can think of?"

"Good. Well, I think this is enough for now, so, Eiko?" The hosts turned to look at the short black-haired girl, "How about we get started?"

* Three days later *

"This isn't working."

"No kidding..."

Tamaki leaned back against the wall of the changing room, frowning up at the ceiling. For the past three days, the hosts had tried to find something that Eiko was better at than her oldest cousin... to no luck. The girl just had no talent. And everything she was even somewhat decent at? Jin was just good enough at it for Eiko to not be satisfied.

And not only that, but apparently Eiko was still trying to take matters into her own hands when they left the school. Every morning they were told a new horror story from the Fujioka household, and it seemed like they were just getting worse each day.

"Eiko poured a whole container of chili powder into the soup pot to see which of us could handle spicy foods better and we had to order sushi!"

"Nēchan had to pull Eiko out of the way of a bus this morning! She tried to jump farther than her and ended up off the sidewalk!"

"I swear, if our Dad hadn't been there she would've chopped her fingers off!"

"How would that have even proved anything?"

"Oh, my, gosh, I feel like I'm in a Chuckie movie!"

" She tried to switch out my water for wine to see which of us got drunk faster! "

There was no doubt in Tamaki's mind now. That girl was a menace. And even though he wasn't the type of person to give up easily, this situation seemed pretty hopeless. At the moment, Eiko, Jin, and Haruhi were in the main room, and all the boy could think was that he was glad he wasn't out there with them. Eiko had taken to throwing insults at anyone who seemed to be Jin's friend, so the Host Club had heard the words "snobs", "trust-fund babies", and "silver-spoon suckers" more than five times a day.

And everyone was sick of it.

"Boss... I think we're in over our heads here."

"Jin-senpai's just good at things. And Eiko sucks."

"Besides, we're sick of being insulted every day."

"Yeah! She's a meanie!"

Tamaki sighed, "I know, gentlemen, but we must remain strong. And think of it this way: How could things possible get any worse?"

" EEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! "

A bloodcurdling shriek bounced off the walls of the music room, shifting the host club into action. They bolted out of the back room just as Jin ripped a piece of paper away from her bleeding arm. Eiko, of course, was nearby and holding something black in her hands, but the boys couldn't tell what it was from this distance. The two girls were staring at each other, one in disbelief, the other in anger and disappointment. Haruhi was nowhere in sight.

"Jin? What happened?"

"We heard you scream, are you alright?"

"Where's Haruhi? I thought she said she'd help you watch Eiko?"

The brunette was speechless. She simply raised a hand and pointed at the object her cousin was holding. Kyoya snatched the item away quickly, before it could hurt someone else, and got a good look at it.

It was a stapler.

"Eiko... what did you do with this?"

"I stapled a piece of paper to her arm to see which of us handles pain better."

The ravenet spun around and stared at his friend, "'How could things possibly get any worse' you say. 'Remain strong' you say." Before he could get a response, the doors burst open and Haruhi came running in, a man carting a few boxes on a trolley right behind her.

"Nēchan? What happened? I leave for two seconds and the next thing I know you're screaming bloody murder!"

"She stapled a piece of paper to my arm." Jin pulled her hand away and looked at the wound, "It's stopped bleeding at least. I take it those are our cosplay for the day?" The uniform clad man nodded and set the boxes down, bowed, and left the drama-infested scene in a hurry. No one could blame him either.

"Cosplay? Man, you guys are bigger losers than I thought you were."

Tamaki's left eyelid twitched, "If it's not your cup of tea, then I suggest you leave . We don't have any more time to entertain you today."

Eiko didn't listen. She just strolled over to the boxes and looked at the labels, "Tennis uniform... Volleyball uniform... Basketball uniforms... What, are you guys finally splitting up your stupid club for more fulfilling activities?"

"No. Sport-related pick-up lines. Work more than you might think."

"Right, keep telling yourself that. The only reason your pick-up lines work are because those girls want to get into your- ack! "

The small ravenette was cut off by Jin grabbing the back of her shirt collar and yanking her backwards. The second she was moved out of the way, the cosplay boxes tumbled to the ground, crashing down on the tiles where she was once standing. Hikaru was revealed as they fell, his left hip jutted out in a seemingly casual stance.

"Oops."

For a moment the room is quiet, before Eiko whipped herself around and kicked Jin's legs, "Stupid! I don't want your help! You almost choked me to death! Don't touch me again, you hear me? I hate it when you do that! Stop trying to be a freaking superhero! Just because you're a freak doesn't mean you have superpowers, you... you... Freak! "

The tall brunette didn't even respond. She just scooped up the only cosplay with a skirt (the tennis one) and walked to the changing rooms. Eiko stomped her foot one final time before spinning around and walking out the doors, slamming them shut behind her.

Haruhi sighed and ruffled her own hair, not looking forward to the tension that was sure to still be there when she and Jin got home. Thank goodness Dad's already home by now or Eiko would probably take a knife to Nēchan's mattress the moment she walked through the door.

"Hikaru, while I do realize that Eiko is grating on everyone's nerves, we can not allow physical harm to come to her while she is in our care at the Host Club ."

"What? You're defending her? She would've deserved it!"

"Hika-chan!"

"Oh, come on! They only had clothes in them! They wouldn't have hurt her that much. Maybe a bruise or two, nothing serious!"

"Actually... he might've just done us all a favor." Tamaki continued to gaze towards the back of the room where Jin had disappeared, unaware of the stares he was receiving.

"Senpai? What are you talking about?"

The blond turned back to face his club members and finally smiled, for the first time all day.

"I have a plan."

"This is stupid."

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you the first seventy-two times you've said that, brat. Now shut up."

Eiko opened her mouth again, clearly not about to take orders from anyone who was friends with her cousins, but just then the doors opened. Said cousins walked in and their faces fell even further at the sight of her on the couch, waiting for them.

"About time you showed up. These jerks refused to let me get up and do anything."

Jin rolled her eyes, "With all the hell you've been putting me through? I have no problems with making you wait in boredom." Before the two could commence in another verbal battle, Tamaki strode forward and took Jin's school bag from her, gently pushing her further into the room.

"Jin? Could you sit on the couch beside your cousin for a moment?"

"What? Whose side are you on?"

The blond continued to gesture her forward, "Call it a hunch, but I wish to try something."

The brunette squinted her eyes a hair, hearing an odd somberness in her friend's tone she wasn't quite used to, but in the end decided to trust his judgement. A few seconds later, Eiko and Jin were sitting on the far opposite sides of the couch from each other.

Tamaki himself collapsed down on the one cushioned chair facing the girls. The rest of the club stood behind him, flicking their gazes between the two. Eiko received a number of hard stares, but most of them kept sending Jin encouraging, if not small, smiles and nods. The nine year old twisted her lips into a very familiar scowl when she noticed one of the boys in particular never sparing her a glance, preferring to send Jin flirty eyes. What was his name again? Kyoya something? He was in the same class as her, and it was clear they had a thing for each other. Oh , the number of times Eiko had considered using that as a way to get under her cousins skin...

But it would've been pointless. She'd overheard the two redheads teasing the glasses-wearing guy for liking her cousin on Monday, and he'd simply brushed it off before Haruhi went to tell them off. If Jin was already being teased for something, then what was the point of her doing it?

"I bet you're wondering what this is about?"

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Eiko rolled her eyes, "If you're going to try and make us 'hug it out', I may puke." Tamaki, the stupid blond, looked at her without any anger, surprisingly. Only curiosity. And... a little sadness. It was weirding her out. "What's up with the freaky expression?"

"I've just finally found something that you do better than Jin."

That sure got her attention.

"You have? What? What is it? Are you sure?"

He shook his head, "Not quite. Not yet. But... I do believe that you're capable of being angrier than her."

Eiko remained frozen in her seat before flopping backwards, "I assume you're suffering from some sort of mental damage that's making you forget the past few days? To refresh your memory, we're both angry at each other. I highly doubt one of us is angrier than the other."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's you."

"Oh, yeah?" She pushed herself back up and leaned forward in her seat, " Prove it, then. "

"Easily. Hit her."

Everyone in the room stared at Tamaki in shock. Did he just ask for Eiko to hit his friend? What sort of villain had replaced their President?

Yet despite the anger and betrayal that was now rolling off his friend's in waves, Tamaki only had eyes for Eiko. There was a challenge echoing in them, and if there was anything that Eiko didn't do was back down from a challenge. She continued to meet his gaze for a few more seconds, wondering if he was serious, before twisting in her seat and launching a punch at her cousin's arm for all she was worth. Jin winced and rubbed at the spot as she pulled away, but didn't say anything.

"Okay, I did it. Now what does that prove?"

"Nothing yet. Not until after Jin's turn." The blond looked at Jin and pointed at the younger girl, "You heard me, it's your turn. Hit her back."

She blinked, "What?"

"What I just said. Hit her. Hit Eiko. Or smack her. Kick her shin. Throw something at her. Anything you want, just cause her physical pain."

There's another long stretch of silence as the group waited. Eiko screwed her eyes shut preemptively, knowing her cousin was a lot stronger than she was. What was this idiot thinking?

"No."

Eiko's eyes shot open.

"What was that?"

"No. I won't do it."

Tamaki leaned forward in his seat, finally looking like his old self, "Care to explain to your cousin why you won't hit her?"

"I just don't want to do it." Jin sat back into the couch, not looking at anyone, "Is that some sort of crime now?"

"No, but wouldn't it only be fair, Jin? I mean, she has hit you. Muliple times, actually. And she stapled a piece of paper to your arm yesterday! Why won't you hurt Eiko?"

The brunette frowned and finally looked at the blond, "You just want to make this as bad as you can, huh? Fine. The reason I don't physically hurt my cousin is because I've never wanted to hurt her. Ever! I hate how I have to say mean things and threaten her, but it's all in her best interest."

Eiko was, oddly, speechless as Jin looked around at her, "Eiko hates me. She's probably hated me before she even knew what that word meant, and I've accepted that she'll most likely never stop. And I get angry at her, yes, but I never get angry enough with her to hit her or follow up on my threats. I'd never leave her alone in Tokyo for a week. I'd never dump her in a hotel by herself. I'd never refuse to cook and feed her even if she got on my last nerve. And I'd definitely never harm her. But I pretend like I would because if I showed her how much I actually cared about her, she'd feel guilty about hating me. This way, she can justify herself by saying I hate her in return, even if the truth is the exact opposite."

Haruhi was holding her hands up by her mouth, eyes wide in shock as she looked between her sister and cousin. She'd known about it all along, but she never thought that Eiko would find out about it! How had Tamaki figured it out?

Jin tilted her head, "How'd you figure it out?"

"After you pulled her out of the way of the cosplay boxes yesterday. I also remembered how Haruhi told us that you pulled her out of the street before she could get hit by a bus. You were always looking out for Eiko's well-being, and never once struck her back. Everyone here has witnessed the fact that you're clearly capable of inflicting plenty of damage onto a person who hurts you or someone you care about, but you've never even spanked your cousin after everything she's done."

He smiled and looked at Eiko. She was staring at her knees, hands pressed down hard against the cushions beneath her. For once, her face wasn't squished in a sneer or glare or any other angry emotion. And she looked young. And... oddly enough... a little more like Jin.

"Eiko? Do you understand what-"

"YES!"

The young girl jumped up from her spot on the couch and started dancing around in a circle, "I DID IT! I'M BETTER THAN JIN! YES! WAHOO!"

Eiko began performing cartwheels around the room, a gigantic grin on her face as she pranced around. The Host Club watched in disappointment and contempt.

" That didn't exactly turn out the way I had hoped... "

Jin sighed and threw her legs up on the couch, stretching out, "Eh? You never know. Maybe things will get better now. After all, I've never blamed Eiko for how she turned out." Her sister walked over and sat down by her feet, nodding in confirmation.

"We figured it mostly stemmed down from her parents. Our Uncle, Eiko's father, has never been close to Nēchan, and her mother likes us. They've probably brought up all of her successes in an argument before, so the best we can figure is that Eiko feels inadequate to her own parents or that they're disappointed with her."

The other boys shook their heads, each of them finding a spot themselves to sit down on, since Eiko was still cartwheeling around and singing (terribly) at the top of her lungs. Kyoya walked over to the couch the girls were sharing and Jin immediately moved her legs off for him to sit down. He didn't say a word when she replaced them over his lap once he got comfortable.

"Commoner families... who would've thought?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "Not all 'commoner families' are like ours, idiots."

"Still, what a rough break."

"We make do. Besides, it could be worse."

"Oh, really?"

"How?"

Haruhi shrugged, "I could've been born an only child."

Jin scoffed and poked her sister with her foot, "Way to be a sap, Haru."

"But still! Think about it! What would we be if it was just me?"

The eight high schoolers were silent, trying to picture them without Jin in the mix.

"Nope."

"Not going there."

"Can't picture it."

"It doesn't feel good..."

"No."

The long-haired brunette leaned her head against the couch, smiling, "Way to make a girl feel special, guys."