Chapter 46: For the Heart of Jin Fujioka!

" Flight 241, Detroit to Tokyo, is now disembarking. Please be sure to collect your baggage at the baggage claim on level 1. "

A boy with short, spiky brown hair quickly muscled his way past a mother and her two young children, hands gripping at his backpack and carry-on suitcase with white knuckles. He was finally here! All those months… pining … and finally he could see her!

The most perfect human in existence!

His little bunny!

His girlfriend!

Jin Fujioka!

Quite a few miles away, Kyoya Ootori sighed in content as his cool grey eyes looked out the window. Two lithe arms were crossed over his shoulders and upper chest, holding him a little closer to the warm body he was leaning up against.

Jin rested her left cheek against the top of her boyfriend's head as they lounged in the window alcove. This was truly a rare treat for either of them, having a spur of the moment lunch date such as this. Even though it was now far too cold to have a picnic outside, they were plenty comfortable in the little seating area beneath the window.

Jin's back was to the wall, Kyoya head resting contently against her collarbone. His left hand was resting across his stomach while his right slowly traveled up and down the black tights covering the leg placed between his body and the window. Jin's skirt had made this particular seating arrangement a little difficult the first time they'd attempted it, but now that she was wearing either black tights or knee-high black socks to school, it was much less embarrassing for her to lift her skirt above her knees and -silently- call herself the big spoon.

The remainders of the boxed lunch the two had shared was neatly packed away into Jin's bento box, resting on the floor to their left as they contently waited for lunch time to end.

After a few more moments of this silence, one of Jin's hands removed itself from Kyoya's chest, resulting in a soft growl of warning from the boy before it morphed into a pleased hum. Jin smirked as she gently ran her fingers through Kyoya's short black hair. Her short fingernails provided a pleasant scratching on his scalp, making the boy roll his head forward so she could reach more of it.

Jin smiled and conceded, pressing a kiss to the back of his head before continuing on. Who would've guessed the famous Kyoya Ootori was a cuddler? Though she'd never say that out loud, just in case Kyoya got mad. She liked these moments too much to risk it.

The moment that was abruptly shattered at the sound of Jin's phone going off. The girl actually jumped a little before reaching into her pocket and pulling the offending device out, reading the screen while her boyfriend leaned his head back again.

"Who is it?" Kyoya knew he probably sounded irritated at the interruption, but he kinda was... so he wasn't going to apologize for it.

"I've gotta take this." The brunette pulled herself out from underneath her boyfriend, who probably would've protested a lot more if she hadn't pressed a quick kiss to his lips, "I'll tell you about it later. See you in class, Kyo-kun."

Kyoya opened his mouth to protest, but Jin pressed the accept button and walked off, her bento box in her left hand. Sighing at the date interrupted, the boy swung his legs to the floor and stood up, stretching as he did so. His back and sides felt uncomfortably cold as the shared body heat he'd had with Jin disappeared. Perhaps the twins were right, he was becoming soft. Such public shows of affection were a little beyond his previously set personal rules, but he couldn't truly find himself minding.

Now, if only Jin had told him who had called her, then perhaps he wouldn't feel the need to chuck her phone from the top of the school at the next given opportunity.

* Time Skip *

"Hey, Kyoya? Have you noticed-"

"All of the phone calls and emails Jin has been receiving today? I have."

Tamaki raised an eyebrow, "Do you… know anything about them?"

"Unfortunately, no. Jin told me she'd explain in class, but then amended it to before club hours, and just recently changed it to tomorrow morning. I'm sure by then it'll change too."

The blond got a confused look on his face, "Huh… I wonder what's going on. She looked worried the last time I saw her on her laptop…"

Kyoya didn't respond, but he had noticed that, too. In fact, these phone calls had pulled out a number of emotions in his girlfriend. When she'd entered class after lunch, she had seemed very put out and distance. And just a few seconds ago, he had seen Jin grinning almost ear to ear into the phone before slipping out into the hallway along with the rest of their end-of-the-day guests. When he voiced his curiosity, the brunette attempted to reassure him that he'd know all about it as soon as everything was settled. And he would've been totally fine with it…

...if she hadn't been avoiding physical contact with him since she took the call at lunch.

Against his better judgement, there is a sort of nervousness settling deep into his gut.

With only a few days left until his eighteenth birthday, Kyoya had briefly wondered if that was what Jin was so preoccupied with. Only he would've assumed she would have brought Haruhi, Tamaki, and the rest of the club in on it if she was planning some sort of celebration. But the others were just as lost as he was. They weren't saying much about it other than asking Kyoya if he knew what the phone calls were about -as proved by Tamaki only moments ago- but it was clear the odd behavior was worrying not just himself.

She wasn't…

Kyoya immediately shook that idea out of his head. There was no way. Jin wasn't that kind of girl. But he was having a difficult time coming up with alternatives off the top of his head.

With a sigh of frustration, he walked back to his usual hosting table. Perhaps if he lost himself in work he could ignore Jin's strange behavior until she finally took the time to explain what was going on. He only hoped it would be resolved before his birthday. Call him old fashioned, but he did want his girlfriend for more than twenty minutes to himself on "his" day, not having her constantly disappearing to the corner of the room with her phone or… her laptop.

Kyoya stared at the HP laptop resting just across from his own computer.

I shouldn't.

He walked around the table, one slow step at a time.

She could come back at any moment.

He sat down.

I don't even know her password.

He opened her laptop and was faced with her lock screen. A butterfly resting on top of a dog's head. He clicked the space bar once. The photo dimmed and a line for the password appeared. Kyoya kept his eyes on the door while his hands typed in Haru1Fujioka on a whim.

Denied.

"It's 'green and purple roses 17'."

"No capitals."

"No spaces."

The sudden voices made Kyoya whip his head around. It was the twins, of course, and they looked oddly concerned. But before he could ask why they were helping him, or how they knew Jin's computer password, they began backing away.

"You didn't hear it from us."

Hm.

Kyoya looked back at the computer screen and entered in the password, just as Hikaru and Kaoru had said. Log in.

'Green and purple roses 17'. It actually put a little smile on his face. So, she thought of him every time she logged onto her laptop, did she? That was actually really… sweet of her. To think she could've used a password focused around Haruhi, the most important person in her life… it was a nice symbolism.

But it also made him feel horribly guilty.

What am I doing?

Betraying her trust.

An internet browser was opened up in front of him. There were a few tabs open, including the host club's website, the weather forecast for the upcoming week, and her email. A few months ago, he wouldn't have even hesitated. In fact, he probably would've just traced her emails from his own laptop, or called her phone company and have them trace her calls. But now...

Instead of clicking the email tab, he shut the laptop. I should've have even considered-

"Kyo-kun… what are you doing?"

Icy cold regret washed over the ravenet as he twisted in his seat. Jin was walking towards him, her eyebrows creased as she looked between him and her laptop.

"I didn't read anything, I swear it. I closed your laptop before I did. I'm sorry."

"Read? Read what?" Suddenly her eyes widened. She stopped walking. "My emails."

"I swear, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Then why did you do it? Really? Under what circumstances would you read my emails behind my back unless you thought I was doing some shady shi-" Jin gasped. A brief flash of pain echoed across her brown eyes, confirming Kyoya's worst fear… she had figured it out.

"You… you thought I… I that I would ever …"

"No, I didn't! I swear-"

"How could you think I'd cheat on you?"

Her hands went up to cover her mouth as the rest of the host club quickly retreated into their corners of the room, watching the couple with fear in their eyes. Kyoya found himself oddly grasping for words.

"Jin… I promise you… I never thought that."

"Why else would you look in my emails unless I was… there's nothing else that… you wouldn't have thought…"

The ravenet sighed, "What did you think I would do? You wouldn't tell me what the phone calls and all your emails were about! What if you were in some kind of trouble? You tend to think you're invincible, so it's impossible for me to tell if it's something I could help with!"

"Of course I would tell you if I was in trouble and I couldn't handle it! That's called trust you Dummy! Maybe you've heard of it?"

A strange anger was bubbling up in the two. They hadn't gotten mad at each other like this since they became a couple, and they were trying to maintain boundary lines in their heads, which made them even angrier. It was kind of like when someone tells you to 'calm down' and you immediately extend your saltiness on the topic for another fifteen minutes. Only this time they were telling themselves to calm down and not anger the other too much, to which they responded internally: Well they deserve to know how mad I am!

"Of course I know what trust is! Now if only you could practice what you preach! Why all the secrecy? If it's nothing bad, then just tell me what's going on! It's not that hard, Jin!"

"If I told you, you'd do exactly what I'm trying to avoid and get the rest of the club involved and use your family names like some sort of 'Fast Pass' past my problem instead of working through it like normal people! "

"Oh, so rich people are incompetent?"

"I never said that!"

"Are you quite sure about that?"

Jin screwed up her mouth before straightening her back and announcing to the whole room, "Aki Hayashi wants to hire me as a paid employee at the animal shelter."

The room went quiet. Even Kyoya's eyebrows shot up.

"As that is obviously against Ouran's school rules, he has been debating with the School Board all day about changing me from a volunteer position to employee status. I have been the center of a large windstorm of emails and phone calls with either updates on the debate or providing my viewpoint on the matter. It's kind of a big deal, considering how long we had to fight to allow even the volunteer status when I first started school here and it could really go four different ways. I could suddenly have an actual job that I am paid for. Nothing could happen at all. I might lose my volunteering privilege from the Board and be forced to quit at the shelter. Or, everything could quickly go sideways and I could be expelled for disobeying school policies."

Her eyes flashed angrily, "And the reason I didn't tell any of you, is so no one playing a part in the decision could suggest I'm using Tamaki's influence as the Chairman's son to win. Unlike the rest of you, I actually have to fight to get permission to do things!"

Jin's chest was heaving a bit, staring directly at the shocked and embarrassed look on her boyfriend's face.

"Jin… I'm so sorry I-"

"No, Kyoya. You're only sorry now that you got your information. Please tell me exactly when you stopped trusting me to be loyal?"

"I never thought you were cheating on me!"

"Then what was it? What made you so adamant on finding out what was going on that's you'd read my emails behind my back?"

Kyoya blinked, trying to remember. If he hadn't been worried that she was cheating… why had he looked into her computer? That wasn't like him. Or was it?

"I just…" What? Wanted to know? Through any means possible? That was almost just as bad. He couldn't go stalking Jin for the rest of her life. She needed her space, her privacy, and his trust. "I'm sorry."

"You're just, you're sorry."

Yes. I'm so sorry.

Jin shook her head a little, hurt still echoing within her eyes. Kyoya felt hollow. The last time he'd hurt her like this, emotionally, was back in the summer. Their last day of summer, actually. And that hadn't been nearly as painful as this.

On the far edge of the room, Tamaki and Honey were clutching at each other as they watched, looking very much like they were the ones in the argument, not witnesses. Haruhi wasn't even able to do that. Her back was pressed to the back of the couch and, on occasion, she'd cover her ears with her hands. The twins were kneeling beside her, ready to give her a play-by-play of the action once the couple finished arguing. And Mori was simply staring at the two.

All six of them were worried about the same thing: that their friend's relationship was going to end much quicker than they had hoped. Meaning, never.

Kyoya, for his worth, didn't give up. He took in a deep breath and let his thoughts settle, "You're right, Jin. I was… completely unfair. But I promise, it wasn't that I don't trust you. I didn't trust myself to be what you deserve, and I was worried that you had found someone better for you. If-"

BAM!

"LITTLE BUNNY!"

The room went silent as the doors exploded open. Standing in the middle of the doorway was a boy. He had short, mousy brown hair that kind of stuck out all over, like he'd just rolled out of bed. Standing somewhere around the twins' height, he had on a pair of scruffy blue jeans, an old t-shirt, and blue and grey tennis shoes. But his most defining feature was the crazy, wild look in his eyes as he stared directly at Jin.

The girl was staring right back with wide eyes and an open mouth. But before Kyoya, or anyone else for that matter, could ask who this guy was, her face fell flat.

"Oh… sure… WHY NOT?" She spins around and starts screaming at the ceiling, shaking her fist, "IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO, UNIVERSE? THINK THIS IS THE WORST SHIT YOU CAN DUMP ON MY LIFE? FIRST THE SCHOOL, THEN KYOYA, AND NOW THIS? THAT THE BEST YOU FUCKING GOT? COME ON! BRING IT ON! I'M RIGHT HERE! BRING IT! "

The strange boy gasps and rushes over, "My little bunny shouldn't be using such foul language!"

Jin quickly retreats, shoving at him so he can't grab onto her and growls, "I'm not your little bunny! Get it through your head that I'm not your girlfriend, Thomas! "

She was moving backwards so fast she ran straight into Kyoya. The boy put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, but his glare was focused on the newcomer. Thomas, apparently. He opened his mouth to deliver an inquisitive and yet claiming remark when Jin brushed his hand off.

"Don't think I'm not still mad at you, Ootori!"

With another generous shove at the brunet's chest, the eldest Fujioka ran from the room, Thomas right on her tail.

For a moment, no one said anything.

"Who… was that? "

Haruhi stood up from behind the couch, where the twins had forced her to watch Thomas's introduction, or lack thereof, "I have no clue. Nēchan never mentioned that guy before..."

She scooped up their bags and winter apparel as she went to follow her sister out of the room, but stops and spins around when Kyoya takes a step after her, "I really don't think you should be the one talking to her right now, Kyoya-senpai."

The boy watches in shock as she walked away, slipping out of the room without another word.

"Takashi, what just happened?"

"Jin and Kyoya are having a rough day."

"Yeah-"

"-no kidding."

" Nēchan? Nēchan, are- Eep!"

" Shh! Do you want him to find us? "

Flicking on the lights, Haruhi looked around the janitor's closet her sister had just pulled her into. She had received the text from Jin about five minutes after they first left the music room, telling her that she'd found sanctuary in the closet just to the left of Jin's classroom.

The elder Fujioka leaned up against the wall and slid down to the floor, burying her head in her hands as she did so. Haruhi sat beside her.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know. I mean… I've been worried sick about Aki and the Board… and now I have to deal with Thomas on top of that. Oh my god, Haru, I thought I'd gotten rid of him! He's the reason I turned down staying in America for another year!"

"You could've stayed?"

"I was debating it, but Thomas made that place Hell for me!"

Haruhi frowned, "You never told me about him."

"I don't like bringing it up." She sighed, dropping her hands and staring at the mop just across from her, "He was my stalker. You remember how Renge acted around Kyo-kun when she first showed up? An Otaku?"

"How could I forget?"

"Crank her delusions to eleven and you've got Thomas. Obsessed with Japanese culture to an unhealthy level, and he somehow convinced himself that I was his dream Japanese waifu. He pretty much stalked me for half a year before we left."

Haruhi straightened up, "How come you never told me this?"

"I thought I'd gotten rid of him! I don't like talking about him either. Remember when Aaron and the others visited a while back?"

"Yeah."

"Did you notice how they didn't talk about Thomas, either? He's like… a taboo subject. He took secret photos of me and covered the inside of his locker with them. He tried following me in his own car once. And he bought two tickets to homecoming and kept trying to sneak one of them into my locker or desks so he could say we were going together."

Haruhi's mouth had fallen open, so Jin just continued, "He is obsessed and completely out of his mind! I don't even know how he might react if he found out you were my 'brother' or if he never found out."

"... Is this going to be like middle school again? "

Jin closed her eyes, "I think… it might have to be."

Haruhi nodded, though it still left a sour taste in her mouth. She was finally in a place where she could be as close to her sister as she wanted to, and now...

"What about Kyoya-senpai?"

The taller brunette looked towards the door, not meeting Haruhi's eyes, "I'm still a little pissed at him, and this Thomas situation is only going to make things worse. I guarantee you that I will not be able to having another one-on-one moment with any boy for as long as he's here. Definitely not with Kyo-kun after Thomas saw him put his hand on my shoulder today. I'm going to try and get a hold of his parents or maybe his school later tonight. But once that happens... I'll probably forgive him. I'm starting to notice some self-confidence issues, and he's not going to stop apologizing until he's sure I've forgiven him."

The sisters sat in silence for a while, Haruhi gently leaning her head on Jin's shoulder to provide gentle comfort. "You realize that with you and Kyoya not hanging around each other all the time, you two are going to become right terrors to deal with, right?"

"Well, let's hope we focus that anger on Thomas and he somehow gets the hint."

"How likely is that?"

"Minimum to none."

"Lovely. Think we can sneak out of the school without Thomas spotting us?"

"Unlikely. He's probably waiting in the bushes outside."

"Ready to try?"

"Sure."

* Time Skip *

"Young man, you can not be here."

"But... but my little bunny needs me! Tell him, Jin!"

The brunette snarled, even as her face flushed, "Please get rid of him, Amori-sensei." The history teacher nodded once before somehow managing to muscle the boy out into the hallway amid Thomas's screams to be released. Jin buried her face in her hands as the rumor mill picked up around her.

" I heard he's trying to force Jin into an arranged marriage! "

" Do you think that's why Jin and Kyoya didn't have a good morning kiss today? "

" Kyoya looks so angry... why aren't they talking? "

" You don't think they broke up, do you? I wouldn't be able to stand it! "

" Poor Jin! She looks so embarrassed! "

Dear god, make it stop!

Ring! Ring! Ring!

As the bell rang for lunch, Jin was the first one out of her seat and into the hallway. The rest of class 2-A could faintly hear the strange boy shouting at Ouran's security when he caught sight of the brunette once again. The whispers grew in volume as they began filtering out of the room. Kyoya, however, remained seated. He rested his elbows on his desktop and put his head into his palms.

"Kyoya? You alright?"

The ravenet leveled a hard glare at his 'best friend' before dropping it, "What's your analysis?"

Tamaki sighed, "You can't keep ignoring Jin."

"You think I'm ignoring her? I've been trying to talk to her since last night!" Kyoya groaned and straightened up in his seat, "I don't understand how she expects us to move past this if she refuses to speak with me about it."

"Kyo-chan, you need to focus on Thomas-san first." Honey and Mori managed to slip into the classroom while the other students were walking out. "Once he's gone, then Jin-chan can focus on forgiving you."

Kyoya nodded, leaned back in his chair, "I suppose you're right. Does anyone know where we stand on that?"

"I do."

Haruhi and the twins walked in, making the entire host club accounted for... minus Jin, of course. Kyoya thought it was strange; it used to be an incredibly rare sight for all of them to be in one place at the same time without it being a club activity, but now it was almost commonplace. Lunches, study sessions, even those childish games they had played with Kasanoda typically ended with them all together and enjoying each other's company... without any other benefits.

"Nēchan called Thomas's parents last night. They didn't even know he came down here, he told them he was going on a trip with some friends." Haruhi sighed and sat down in one of the empty seats scattered around the room. "If I were you, Kyoya-senpai, I wouldn't worry about it until Thomas was gone. Once that problem's settled, then you can try working out your problems with Nēchan, but until then she might not want to talk to you-"

"She doesn't want to talk to him?"

"If Thomas saw she had a boyfriend he'd leave her alone! She doesn't want to be seen with you!"

"It's just like Ranka said! Once you lose her trust you'll never win it back!"

The twins and Tamaki were quickly spiraling down into panic. Haruhi opened her mouth to calm them down, but gave up before she even uttered a word. Kyoya was getting that look on his face. The one that signaled his 'business' persona was going to be taking a back seat while his true nature took over. Haruhi had gotten pretty used to that expression over the past few months. Usually when the host club finished up for the day or when he came over on the weekends and didn't know the shorter brunette was paying attention to him and her sister.

But if there was one thing she knew about Kyoya Ootori's real personality: He was never one to back down so easily.

Especially when it came to what he thought was his.

Haruhi sighed again and left the room, remaining undetected as five of the hosts continued to unnecessarily freak out over a very stable relationship and the sixth undoubtedly began forming a plan to woo his girlfriend 'back into his arms'.

The brunette scoffed. As if she ever left them.

Still... it was kinda sweet. It made Haruhi a little wistful, in fact, and she slowly found herself daydreaming as she walked through the school halls. I wonder what it would be like to have a boyfriend that devoted to me...

* Time Skip *

Jin hadn't seen the purple rose he'd left on her chair in class. Thomas had come in and threw it out, telling Jin someone had wanted her to hurt herself by putting rose thorns on her chair. The brunette hadn't seen the intricately done and expensive bouquet either, which had been left in Chika's care for when Jin went to join the middle school's karate club for a short session. The American boy had ruined that too by attempting to tackle Chika, an apparent 'rival' for Jin's affection, and got the flowers crushed in the process.

Kyoya was nearing his breaking point when it came to the strange boy. He couldn't help but wonder if Renge had been this bad. The answer was probably no.

Even so, he wasn't about to give up.

The ravenet walked into Hōmusuītohōmu with a single rose pinched between his thumb and forefinger. He had wondered previously if using a red rose instead would be more romantic, but he decided against it. He wasn't necessarily trying to be romantic. He was trying to apologize, and be sincere with her. His personal color would accomplish that much better, he imagined.

Approaching the front desk, Kyoya is immediately waved down by Kisumi-san, one of the regular employees at the shelter. He'd gotten to know the small woman pretty well over the past couple months, but had yet to hear her first name. Still, she was nice and always willing to point him in Jin's direction.

"Good afternoon, Ootori-san. Is that rose for Jin?"

"Always."

The woman smiled, "You two are so cute! Go right on in, sweetie. She should be taking inventory in the aviary right about now!"

"Thank you."

Pushing his way past the doors leading to the kennels, Kyoya began walking to the back of the building. A few other employees and year-round volunteers walked passed him, usually offering a smile or wave. He was pretty well known around the place, especially since most of them had earned quite a bit of cash on the bet that he and Jin would get together.

Kyoya was maybe halfway through the dog kennels when his rational mind caught up to him.

What was he doing? Cornering Jin at work? He shook his head. This is the textbook version of a Dick move, Ootori. Give Jin some space.

He nodded to himself. He should just leave the rose at the front desk instead and try actually talking to her tomorrow, once Thomas was taken away. Maybe he could get a restraining order against the boy? That might put him back into Jin's good books. Yes. He'll surprise her with that tomorrow. That would be a decent way to strike up a conversation, right?

With a solid plan in his head, Kyoya turned around to leave.

"So... you're the one who's trying to make a move on my little bunny?" Kyoya stared at Thomas, who was standing at the other end of the row. The boy was panting hard, a creepy smile on his face, "I've been trying to figure out who was moving in on my territory. To be quite honest, I didn't think it would be you. Exactly what makes you think you're my little bunny's type, anyway? You're just a weak little nerd!"

The really strange way the boy was trying to insult him confused Kyoya. A nerd? Jin herself was a nerd. If anything, that would be the perfect type for her. And exactly why was Thomas talking to him? With Chika, he had just straight up-

He understood a second later when Thomas charged him while he was lost in thought. In his confusion, Kyoya didn't react until he was a split second too late. The taller boy managed to side step his way out of Thomas's direct hit, but the brunet still managed to grab ahold of his middle and drag him to the floor anyways. Kyoya grunted in pain as his back hit the cement. The brunet tried to get back up, ripping the purple rose out of Kyoya's hand and tearing the petals off of it, but his shoe got caught on Kyoya's right arm. He tripped, kicking Kyoya's glasses right off his face.

That was the drawing line.

Kyoya growled and grabbed Thomas's ankle, yanking hard so the other boy fell flat on his face yet again. Thomas let out a shout and kicked at Kyoya the best he could, managing to tangle his feet around the ravenet's legs as he tried to get up. Kyoya stumbled and Thomas rolled over, managing to kick him against the nearest kennel door.

The ravenet grunted again as his back hit the chain-link fencing. The sound of dogs barking in agitation filled his ears as Thomas scrunched up his legs and kicked Kyoya's stomach over and over again. He could faintly hear the sound of other people shouting and footsteps approaching, and grabbed the next kick sent his way. Thomas ripped his foot away and tried jumping on top of Kyoya, but before he could two guys wearing the lime green shirts of the animal shelter grabbed him by the armpits, dragging him away.

Aki Hayashi approached Kyoya, offering a hand to help him up, "What's going on here?"

Still a little winded from the sudden attack, Kyoya brushed at his dirt-scuffed shirt, squinting around the blurred scene, "I came to see Jin... we had an argument and I wanted to apologize. But I realized I would've cornered her here and changed my mind. I was about to leave the rose..." Someone pressed his -thankfully undamaged- glasses into his hand and he slipped them on. The first thing he noticed was the destroyed flower on the ground.

"Or, I was going to leave the rose at the front counter when he attacked me!"

The owner of the shelter nodded and glared at Thomas, who was still struggling, "I thought I told you you were no longer allowed on the premises!"

"You can't keep me away from her! We're soulmates!"

The brunet groaned and rubbed at his tired eyes, "Can someone please go around and find out how this psycho got back in? Check all the doors and-"

"Aki? There's a broken window by the office. Did someone throw a brick or-" Jin stopped when she came around the corner. First her eyes went to Thomas, who continued struggling in the choke hold of her fellow volunteers. Then Kyoya saw the big brown eyes land on him. They dipped to the crushed rose and back up, "Cornering me at work, Glasses? I thought you had more class than that."

Without another word, she turned around and walked off.

Kyoya leaned against the chain-link fencing and shut his eyes, not believing his bad luck. A solid hand squeezed his shoulder.

"I'll talk to her. You should head home. And someone get that crazy guy out of my shelter!"

"Jin?"

" What? "

At the cold tone of Jin Fujioka's voice, every other students in the front hall of the school formed a wide ring around the two of them. Kyoya could see Haruhi standing off in the crowd just behind her sister. Had they not come in together? He hadn't noticed them walking together at all yesterday, either. He'd have to ask one of them about that... assuming Jin would let him.

"I wanted to explain why I was at the shelter-"

"Aki told me already."

"Oh."

The whispering around them was getting annoying. By now the story of the Power Couple's argument and new 'love triangle' had circulated throughout the entire school. Rumors were running rampant, leaning all the way from the truth to Jin planning to elope with an old flame she'd had in America to hide her shame of carrying Kyoya's illegitimate child.

The ravenet could only assume that their 'manager' had something to do with a few of those rumors. He could see her now, jumping around in the crowd ready to provide a play-by-play of the upcoming discussion.

"Well, then, I wanted to talk with you ab-"

"LITTLE BUNNY! I FOUND YOU!" Thomas ran into the school, knocking aside other students in an attempt to reach Jin. He didn't even seem to notice Kyoya at all as he tried to wrap his arms around Jin, lips puckered for a kiss. Jin threw her arms out to stop him by his shoulders, sneering as the boy whimpered and whined. Kyoya's face twisted into his own personal sneer. Jin's glare was off of him, sure, but that was still his girlfriend this boy was trying to kiss.

"Stop. Calling. Me. Little Bunny. "

Finally, the boys stopped moving, " My little bunny is mad. " His eyes trailed over to Kyoya. For a moment, his eyes widened in recognition, then he lunged, "HAVE YOU UPSET MY BUNNY!? YOU BAST-ACKK!"

Jin had grabbed his shirt collar and yanked him back before he could even touch Kyoya.

Her voice was soft and deadly, "Don't touch him. I may be mad at him, but don't you dare touch him. I heard all about your little brawl yesterday. You're lucky I haven't already ripped you apart for that." She dragged Thomas towards the door, not sparing the crowd even a passing glance, "And I do believe the school said that you can no longer be within 1 mile of the grounds. Let's go find security."

The two exited the foyer into the chilly late November air, and the moment the front doors slammed shut everyone was talking at once. Renge was cashing in bets on whether Jin would've actually gotten violent while Haruhi was rushed by at least half of the witnesses for background information.

Only one girl approached Kyoya, meekly tapping at his shoulder, "Um... Kyoya-senpai? Why are you smiling like that?"

And he was. There was a small smile on the ravenet's face. It probably could've passed for his usual smirk, but definitely both sides of his mouth had lifted. It was an official smile.

He looked down at the girl, "Jin defended me. She may still be upset with me, but she does not want to see me hurt." Kyoya tucked his hands into his pockets and started walking down the hallway, "If you would excuse me, there is something I have to take care of."

* Time Skip *

"We're so sorry about this, Jin. Is there anything else we can do for you to make up for this?"

"Nothing comes to mind..."

The brunette tightened her scarf more securely around her neck. It was roughly three o'clock in the afternoon, but the temperature was just barely above freezing. Jin wouldn't be surprised if they got a little bit of snow before December. Mrs. Newell, Thomas's mother, frowned at the back of the car behind her. Thomas had his face pressed against the window, tears clearly streaming down his cheeks. Her husband was tapping at the steering wheel with impatient fingers and nervousness.

"I think we're going to start taking him to... see someone."

"That may be a good idea."

The woman nodded, though she looked pained, "I'm so sorry for whatever my son did while he was here-"

"It's alright, Mrs. Newell. Really. I don't blame you for anything. I'm more sorry that you'll have 14 hour flight back with him like that."

She got a weak chuckle, but the woman still looked pretty beaten down as she climbed into the car with the rest of her family. Jin briefly heard Thomas crying out her name as the vehicle sped off, but then it was gone. Her shoulders drooped with relief.

Of course, that's when her phone went off.

Sighing, Jin wiggled her hand out of its glove and pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was Aki. No doubt to give her another update on his case with the school board. Yeah, that had still been going on during that whole two-day mess. She pressed the accept button as she started walking up to the school.

"Hey, Aki. What's-" she stopped walking. "Wait. Wait, what are you talking about?"

There was a brief pause as the adult on the other end of the call explained.

"I gotta go."

Jin hung up and marched towards the school. Her hands roughly tore off her scarf and gloves as she reached the warm interior, quickly speed walking through the hallways. A few students who were preparing for their own after school activities waved at her or asked if the strange American was finally gone, but she was usually already around the next corner by the time they finished their question. The girl had tunnel vision.

She came to a stop right in front of Music Room 3's doors. Kyoya was waiting for her.

"I thought I told you to stay out of it."

Despite the flat tone of her voice, Kyoya felt relaxed. He kept his hands in his pockets and a content smirk on his face, well aware of what he had done.

"On the contrary. You said you didn't want to use Tamaki's influence to win your case. You said nothing about my personal input."

"What did you tell them?"

"Only the truth. That you've surpassed both of your class representatives with your grades, are a full fledged member of an on-campus club that meets every day and the occasional weekend, act as a guest instructor for the middle school's karate club, and are still capable of working volunteer hours at the animal shelter in Bunkyo as Second in Command to the owner. And I felt that if Aki Hayashi wished to reward you for your hard work and devotion to the animals with a monetary payment, then he should be allowed to do so. It won't hamper your ability to continue being an extraordinary student for Ouran to claim as their own."

Kyoya smirked a little wider as Jin processed his words, eyes narrowing. This was a much better gift than a simple flower or a restraining order.

After a few more seconds, Jin scoffed and grabbed his jacket's lapels, pulling her boyfriend down for a hard kiss. He didn't argue, hands coming out of his pockets to settle on her hips like they belonged there. She broke the kiss much too soon, in his opinion.

" I'm kinda glad you didn't give up on me. As much as I got annoyed seeing you around along with everything else... you showed that you cared. " Another kiss, "But don't ever do that again!"

"Deal." Kyoya pulled her close and kissed her deeply. He'd missed this.

They continued on for a bit before Jin pulled away once more. Despite her boyfriend's groan of protest, she was smiling softly, "So... a little birdie told me tomorrow's your birthday."

"Mhm. Eighteen."

"Anywhere special you want to go?"

"Let me take you on a date. A real one. Candlelight dinner. Maybe a movie."

"I thought it was your birthday?"

"I can't think of anyone else I'd rather celebrate with, or anything else I'd rather do."

Jin blushed, a sight for sore eyes, and ducked her head, "I see you're back to being a sap. Fine. But don't think you've gotten out of receiving a present."

His only response was another kiss.