Chapter Text
Penthouse Apartment, several floors up
Yet again another set of courses had been set for him and yet again he found himself in the comfort of his text books. Kyoya removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh. The fact he had to deal with the troublesome remains of what his brother had done to them to this day was like a restless spirit that clung to him. He wanted to rid himself of the chains that society had bound on him and rid himself of the burden that had now become one with his oldest brother Yuichi in his mind. Not even Akito had caused this much trouble for their family in the past.
This is absolutely ridiculous. Here I thought I could have some freedom. Yet here this shit rears its head at me. Even Tamaki pestering me about Haruhi would be welcome over this!
He glared at the paper. "I wouldn't mind their troubles...the ones of those I actually care about," He mumbled as he leaned back in his chair and laughed at himself. "I can imagine the expressions they'd have if they heard me." With another heavy sigh, he squared his shoulders and went back to work to find an answer to the current issue.
~*~
Several floors below Kyoya’s misery and personal ruminating…
~*~
They say that the college experience doesn't become "real" until the very first night you sleep in your dorm room. This was the exact feeling Mina Freyr was getting as she snuggled into her tiny bedroom on the opposite side of her two bedroom apartment in Boston, Massachusetts. Across the hall, her new roommate, Ami Rheos, could faintly be heard moving around as she presumably prepared for tomorrow's freshman orientation.
It had been hard, at first, to leave the affluent and artistic neighborhood of the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York, but considering that Mom was hardly home and her brother Arthur was probably gallivanting around the halls of Columbia University and stalking the exchange students, it was really leaving behind all she'd known that had made the trip so difficult. Pulling the covers close to her chin, she really hoped that everything would go well tomorrow.
Communications 102 had been a hard class to get into due to its fame for not only being one of the toughest classes on campus, but also for its lucrative professor, Kakyuu Kinmoku, a famous business woman who was the former head of Starlight Records before its takeover by Saori Sara.
Professor Kinmoku, while seemingly lovely and sweet, was also the most vicious hardass that wouldn't tolerate any slackers in her classroom. More than one student had been rumored to flee in the middle of class streaming tears. As her eyes began to close and Ami could be heard settling across the apartment in her own room, Mina succumbed to sleep.
While Mina slept on, or at least, attempted to sleep, Ami happily set up her room, her books all set up nicely and in place while her array of stuffed animals from home set beside them. She smiled at the fond memories that surfaced and washed away her anxiety. She was excited to be independent and no longer a burden, but she worried for her small family. It was a relief and luck that she had her death friend across the hall. From what she heard, her roommate was not so bad as well.
Alright Ami, this is your chance! Get the degree, land a job, and help take care of your family! Dad will be able to retire and my siblings can get good education! She thought to herself to keep a cheery disposition. I hope I get to meet the roommate soon...it'd be rude to just fall asleep on them the first night after moving in. I should buy a cake for her--maybe cookies? She thought excitedly as she headed to the door and hurried out. She wanted a warm and fresh start.
~*~
Several blocks away, in the candy and baking isle…
~*~
She quickly ran into the store and grabbed a hand basket, hopeful to grab a good selection of confections. Those expectations were dashed at the news of the store not having a bakery. She thanked the clerk and started to wander around aimlessly.
As Ami honed in on her target, Hitachin Hikaru was bending over to rummage around on the bottom shelf of the baking aisle, mumbling to himself as he attempted to find the baking supplies he would need for tonight's mischief. He and Kaoru were going to surprise Tono (otherwise known as Tamaki) with a cake to congratulate him on passing his summer classes; what he wouldn't know about were the gummy worms the twins planned to place in between the intended cake: two layers of devil's food with chocolate ganache, his favorite. Eyes gleaming with intended malice and mischief, he spun around quickly, accidentally knocking into a petite young woman with, strangely enough, navy blue hair.
The only option left for her was to make a cake or buy cookies. She was a terrible baker and that was something even she could not deny. She could do any sort of chemistry lab in her sleep, yet baking was a chemistry that seemed to hate her. With a heavy sigh she walked down the aisle, head downcast on worry when she bumped into someone.
"I'm sorry," She said at the same time as the patron beside her.
"Uh, sorry, hehe," he laughed in fluent English, his Japanese accent a mere affectation that signaled someone from outside the Boston Metro area.
A strange jolt of electricity coursed through her at the touch, but she dispelled it as fright from shock. "I wasn't looking where I was going," She assured the taller auburn haired male, a sincere and sweet smile on her lips.
"I'm a little lost actually...do you know where the cake aisle is? It seems this store doesn't have a bakery." She frowned cutely at the information. "I just moved in to my dormitory and I figured I should at least give something as a greeting to me roommate since she is my senior," she explained, unsure why the handsome young male made her feel comfortable.
As the dark haired girl babbled nervously, her face possessing an endearingly light blush, Hikaru rolled his eyes, beginning to become exasperated. “Nah, it’s fine. Cookie stuff is that way,” he waved a hand idly behind him in a left-ish direction, sounding as bored as he looked, not even sparing her a direct look after her cutely, flustered behavior. He was used to pretty girls bumping into him on purpose from the Host Club; why should he spare a thought for the ones in Boston?
"Oh, thank you very much!" She smiled gratefully at him and turned in the general direction of the wave and stood there to think a bit.
"So what would be a good choice? I guess a simple cake would be best right?" She mumbled to herself as she pulled out her phone to read the information she had gathered on her roommate. "No chocolate allergies, or gluten intolerance...so I should be good." She looked up at Hikaru and smiled again. "Thanks again, have a good evening. " She bowed and carefully looked through the offered selections. Would I need a specific type of pan? A foil tray would not look nice. She thought, oblivious to what Hikaru was used to of women.
Heading to checkout, Hikaru glanced back at her once when she became absorbed in the shiny metal pans. Grabbing a pack of gummy worms that were flesh colored on his way out, he smirked. Tono won’t know what hit him! Idly wondering about the cheery, focused girl, he mused that she would be an interesting toy if he saw her around. With a disposition like that, she’d be fun to mess with. And yet...it was her cerulean blue eyes, unnaturally blue, but clearly not contact lenses, that captivated the former Host.
Ami had not noticed his glance back at her, her eyebrows furrowed as she tapped a slender finger against her chin. She had no time to overly think this, so she quickly grabbed the best looking things and then peeked at the needed extra ingredients. Once the hunt was completed, she regrouped at the register and waited in line at the only one that was open at this hour. She checked and rechecked her basket with the back of the box, her nerves a little tense from excitement. She looked up at the back of the person in front of her as she tilted her head to the side. The broad shoulders looked a tad familiar, but she was unable to grasp why. She forgot her glasses in the dorm as well so she had to bring things all the closer to even see things properly. She squinted a little for a moment before she let it be and set her things on the belt after she set the dividing bar. I hope she likes these...actually I hope I have time to make them before it's too late in the evening, from the look of the time. She sighed as she looked at the big numbers on her phone screen.
~*~
Several blocks and a lovely colonial brick building away, Fujioka Haruhi gasped as she sat up in bed, her body sweaty as the full moon shone down on her through the window. She’d just had the weirdest dream involving her having long blonde hair, blue eyes, and the klutziest, bubbliest personality this side of Mother Theresa. Sighing and glancing across the room at her bedroom’s sunburst mirror, she gawked when she saw just that, the image winking at her before it faded away to her normal looks.
“EHHHHHH!?”
Her senses of encroaching doom, usually associated with Tamaki’s plans, once quiet since her move and even peaceful with him and the host club joining her in America, was suddenly doing a Scottish reel.
Whatever this was, it wouldn’t go well.