Erizabesu chuckled as her friend wandered aimlessly throughout the cottage. And especially at the maids' faces of despiar for everything he touched. It reminded her a lot of a childhood friend she had. Her smile was quickly replaced by a frown as she tried so hard to remember why it was that she couldn't hang out with that girl anymore. Something her father had said about places in society.

Her boots tapped against the legs of the chair she had decided to sit in as she awaited her friend's trip to the restroom. In the kitchen, she could hear the murmurs of the maids. They were all fussing over what sort of tea to serve. Erizabesu closed her emerald eyes for a second until the phone next to her began to ring endlessly.

"Suoh here." She answered in an annoyed tone. She knew who it was. "Hold up... He's a what? And you just now realized it... Idiot... No, I am not alone. I'm entertaining Yukimara-san... No, you will not." With that she slammed the phone down. It seemed that her cousin had found out a nice secret about that hapless boy who broke the vase earlier. A smile emerged as she thought about the odds of that happening. Not many boys turn out to be girls.

((@Mobsy: Am not. I say it because I mean it.))

After taking care of business, Naota made a promise to herself that she would no longer make a fool of herself; and by that, she meant that she would no longer make a fool of her brother. “No more touchy-touchy… I’m too big for that!” Forcing her lips into a straight line, the brunette exited the bathroom, and made her way back to her host.

Spotting that signature golden mane, Naota let out a low sigh of apology. “Sorry about that…” Twiddling her thumbs, the brunette rounded the chair only to see Erizabesu brutalizing her moblie. "No, they will not--what?" Inner Naota mused, curious to know what the previous conversation had been about.

Waving off her nosy thoughts, Naota smoothed out the wrinkles in her jacket. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't wishing for her normal wardrobe; skirts, dresses, and all things girly--but, of course, she could not have that if she was to continue this charade. "Did something happen?" She found herself asking, as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

Crossing her hands behind her back like she was taught to do in Finishing School she attending in France; Naota began listening-in on the maids in the kitchen. "If you have Jasmin, I would love some..." Smiling as her voice traveled throughout the decorated room, the brunette turned her attention back to Erizabesu.

((Liztress: If you say so. :lol:))

The emerald eyes of the blonde looked up to see her friend standing nearby. Erizabesu motioned for the boy to sit down and waited for him to do so. "No need to apologize." She remarked casually with a hint of a smile. She debated if she should share the revelation her cousin had or not. "My dear cousin called. The tall blond one. It seems that..." The maids had interrupted their mistress from her sentence to serve the tea and some small cakes. She gave a nod before turning back to Yukimara.

"Tamaki found out that guy who, unknowingly, helped us escape is really a girl." Erizabesu finished with a chuckle. "So now he's going around calling her 'daughter'. A frightening thought if he had any kids... Oh, and he demands that he needs to come over here to make sure you don't try to deflower me." With that, her chuckle turned into full on laughter. "It appears that you look quite shady to him. Either that... Or he's thinking I might try to use something of that nature to get out of the marriage." Her laughter subsided and she was frowning now.

((Mobsy: *glomps*))

Smiling brightly, the brunette took a seat in one of the posh-looking chairs. "I can tell you two are related..." Inner Naota murmured; completely fixated on the maids activies. "Oh, thank you." She murmured politely, as handmaidens placed the items across the pollished surface of the ornate coffee-table. Leaning forward to claim a decadent dessert, Naota listened intently to what her companion was saying.

At first, Erizabesu's statement didn't bother Naota at all--but, that was because the brunette was stuffing her face with treats. Though, when she had finally swallowed her mouthful of chocolate cake, realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Choking loudly, the brunette forced out a--"WHAT? What do you mean she was a boy?"

"Oh, no! What if they figure us out? Huh--huh? That girl looked more boyish than we do! Aw... We're doomed!" As Inner Naota panicked to the point of near insanity, her outerself tried to calm down--which would've worked if not for the next thing that Erizabesu said.

"D-Deflower... You?" All this information was just too much for Naota to handle. So, in 50's black-and-white film fashion, the brunette fainted...

((Liztress: :P Tamaki's got a dirty mind.))

One moment, her male guest was stuffing his face with cake and the next... He laid passed out on the floor. Erizabesu leaped up from her seat the moment the brunette's head fell backwards. It was when the fair haired girl was attempting to revive the afflicted boy that she realized that he was a bit more "developed" in the chest area than teenage boys normally were. Or rather more developed that any male with that body type should be. Back in the music room of the host club, another light flickered on. This left three unlit glass bulbs.

Motioning the maids to bring a glass of water, Erizabesu frowned. This... person had fibbed about their gender and she was curious as to why. Could the girl be running from something? Or worse, was she forced to charade around as a boy? The hostess's green eyes flickered with a hint of mischief as she took the glass of water and poured it on the passed out girl's head. "Well, I guess using you as a pawn to get out of the marriage is a bad idea." The female remarked with a smirk, the words spoken with a joking tone.

((Mobsy: Yes, he does.))

As soon as the water made contact with Naota's face, the girl bolted upright a screamed her head off. "Je suis désolé, madame! Je ne voulais pas à s'endormir, je le jure!" After uttering those words, the brunette took a moment to reacquaint herself with her surroundinds; which, as a result, helped her remember where she was, and what was happening.

"Pawn..?" Inner Naota blinkded, finally able to understand the weight of the situation at hand. "...Oh, no... Please don't tell me that you're going to blackmail me!" Vermillion eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, the brunette quickly scrambled to her feet. "I'm not a spy! I'm not here to steal your soul; or something crazy like that."

Shaking her head ferociously; Naota rubbed soaked russet curls, and oily water from her eyes. "Uh--I... I am a Yukimura... I'm just not Ryohei..." Hanging her head to hide her bashful expression, the embarrassed teen then said. "I'm... his sister; Naota--you know, the one that was shipped off to France--"

'--and never to be heard from again.' Inner Naota finished with a frown.

Daring to peek through the curtain of brunette tresses, the girl began to speak. "Please, don't tell anyone--please! If it helps any, I'll help you...?" Twiddling her thumbs, Naota couldn't help but hold her breath.

((Liztress: ♫ Things are gettin serious! ♪ :lol:))

"Naota..." Erizabesu muttered under her breath, the name clicking with something in the back of her mind. Her emerald eyes lit up when she placed the name with a younger, scrawnier girl. "We used to chase your brother around the playground at that elite daycare! What was the reason we did that again?" The blond began to muse about the younger, more carefree days of her youth.

"I was kidding. I wouldn't do that." She smiled, bringing her attention back to the fumbling girl in front of her. How funny it was that she had the same experience as her cousin. But this was someone the female Suoh knew. Even if it had been so long since the day they played on the playground together. "How was France? Tamaki's from there but he doesn't really talk about it much."

((Mobsy: I know. <3 ))

Upon hearing her name; her real name, echo throughtout the room, Naota couldn't stop herself from going tense. 'She's going to hate me... I'm a liar, and she's definitely going to hate me.'

Shaking almost violently at the thought of being thrown out on the streets, the brunette was completely dumbfounded when she heard Erizabesu's next statement. "Y-You remember that? ..." Blinking away the tears that were stinging her waterline, Naota forced herself to will away the lump in her throat. "He was a... a crybaby; we chased him b-because he used to steal our toys..."

Thinking about it, the reasoning behind their merciless torture seemed a tad--stupid. But, of course, that didn't matter. Back then, things were so much simplier. No divorces, no fighting; everyone was happy, civil, and playing... It was quite sad that they were none-the-wiser to the sick humor that Fate possessed.

"You wouldn't...? But--I... Really?" Staring wide-eyed at the smiling blonde, Naota let her shoulders sag. "You're just as easy-going as before..." Scrunching her face up in a pouty-esque fashion, the brunette dared to rake her fingers through her dripping-wet hair. "Why don't you get mad at me like a normal person would?"
Successfully smoothing down her moisture-darkened russet-tresses, Naota blinked wildly at the last question.

"How was France?" Suddenly, her gazed drifted to the floor, and her countenance shifted to defensive and hurt. "Why would you want to know?" She snapped; her voice louder, and rougher than neccessary. "....." Taking a moment to collect herself, Naota made another attempt to reply."Hn... it was just school in a foreign place; nothing special." And although she didn't sound as tense and combative, she still retained the hostile posture.

((Liztress: :eager: OMG. I need to pick up the pace on these posts... and I'm too lazy to switch accounts, again.))

"Toys? Really?" Erizabesu tilted her head, allowing her golden tresses to shift slightly. "One time was because he admitted to putting that frog in my bento box." It was clear to her that even though both had known each other, and that Erizabesu wasn't showing any signs of anger, Naota was still skittish around her. Realizing this caused the emerald eyed girl to frown. "Why would I get mad? It's not like you actually did something to hurt me, physically or emotionally."

As she went to continue talking to her friend, one of the maids hustled in and announced the arrival of Master Suoh. This caused the blond's frown to deepen. She waved the maid out and began to dry Naota off. "We need to get you looking like a boy again before he comes bouncing in." She muttered, her fingers nimbly buttoning the jacket. This had her leaning over Naota and when Tamaki walked into the room, the scene appeared as if his cousin and this new student were in the process of something... that he could only imagine as wrong.

"Yukimara-san, you have corrupted my dear sweet innocent cousin!" Tamaki wailed as he came flailing over to them. The outburst caused Erizabesu to glance up, a look of annoyance evident on her face. She quickly grabbed Naota and yanked the girl off the seat as Tamaki slipped on a banana peel and toppled over the very spot the younger girl's body had been resting.

"Idiot. I was fixing his jacket for him. One of the button's thread was coming undone and I offered to fix it for him." She remarked, by this time her hands released Naota and the tall girl was glancing over at the group of boys (and girl) that had been observing the scene. "I didn't realize Tamaki was bringing his... friends over. Please, have a seat." Erizabesu had to bite down on her bottom lip as she spoke. He knew that his cousin was never too fond of him inviting others over without letting her know.

"Hikaru, Kaoru." The ravenette beckoned the twins, his glasses masking the amusement he experienced from watching the scene. "Inform the maids to prepare an ice pack for out king." The boys nodded as they headed into the kitchen, each with an arm wrapped around the brown haired boy/girl.

((Apricot: Yes, you do.))

"Yeah... we were so trivial back then." Chewing her bottom lip to curb her bubbling emotions, Naota peered over to match her friend's gaze. As sparkling emerald eyes met their gloomy vermillion counterpart, the brunette forced herself to relax. "You used to hate being lied to... why would I automactically expect their to be any change?" Pursing her lips as the maid entered the room, Naota thought that she would soon be discovered by the other, less level-headed blonde. Luckily for the brunette; not a moment too soon, Erizabesu began to offer her assistance; even going so far as to straighten out her jacket.

Blushing from the tip of her toes to the roots of her hair, Naota silently thanked her. "You don't have to... they'll find out soon en--" Interrupting herself with a loud yelp, the brunette was completely taken aback by not only Tamaki's wild allegations, but also by his sudden lack of luck.

"Where did that even come from!?" She asked, pointing incrediously at the slippery fruit-casing. "... I'm beginning to think this is too much trouble." Inner Naota thought, as Erizabesu let go of her. "I thought we established earlier that these guys were his slaves... or something of that nature." Putting her hands on her hips, the brunette glared daggers at the blonde male.

Unfortunately, her prolonged gaze on the 'king' made her bubble back up with anger. Fueled by his earlier comment about being a bad influence, the brunette began to lecture him. "I swear; I don't know where you get off passing judgement; when clearly you're the one who is doing something that definitely deserves a R-18 rating! N'avez-vous pas honte?" Stomping over to the blonde boy; who was going between exasperated mutterings, to horrified glazes between the enraged brunette and his friends, Naota continued to snap. "Toting around these eggheads as if they are some kind of expensive dress-up dolls! Quel est le problème avec vous?!"

Red hot flames began spouting from her mouth; as Naota snatched Tamaki up by his collar and began to shake the living daylights out of him. "Get those lecherous thoughts out of your head, right now! Le problème commence avec vous, Suoh-san. Le problème commence avec vous!" With her hair flying around like russet-colored snakes, Naota continued to channel her inner Madusa.

A little less than two minutes passed before Naota realized just how crazy she looked. Swearing under her breath, the brunette dropped the half-conscious Suoh and retreated to the door. "I'm sooo dead." Inner Naota cried, as she hurried to her so-called escape.

((Liztress: ;) But--will I ever? The world may never know.))

The entire host club and Erizabesu stood there as Naota went on her tangent. All the boys but Kyoya had the look of fear in their eyes. His merely held a fascination for the sudden outburst. As the girl began to make her way out of the house, her blonde friend whose cousin had just been verbally assaulted began to giggle. The giggles soon turned to full blown laughter, causing most of the hosts to divert their attention from their poor leader to his loud cousin. Sweat drops appeared next to their heads.

"What just happened?" Hikaru spoke up, as the girl's laughter died down. His twin shrugged, his eyes remaining on the emerald eyed girl. When she had noticed this, her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red than from her laughter. Tamaki slouched forward, his hair shifting in front of his eyes.

"It appears that I have offended my dear cousin's..." The shaken boy paused, allowing this time to be dedicated to him. Inside his little mind theater, he envisioned Naota whisking his precious cousin away from the arranged marriage and both laughing at him.

"Boyfriend." The raven haired boy with glasses finished. Erizabesu glanced over at him and he simply nodded. It was then that she realized he knew Naota's secret. A groan escaped her lips and she proceeded to dash off after her friend. Her legs helped her to make it to where Naota was slowly pacing down the driveway.

"Naota! Stop!" She huffed as she drew near. Placing her hands on the other girl's shoulders, she whirled her around. "I have never seen Tamaki so dejected before. Not since I caught him trying on my yukata." She hoped her friend wouldn't try to run off. Offering a warm smile, she whispered into her friend's ear. "He thinks your my boyfriend. Which might be wise to go along with, seeing as his father is the chairman."

Not taking any negative answer, she then grabbed her childhood friend's arm and not-so-forcibly dragged her back in. As they walked back up the driveway, she rambled about how it appeared the host with glasses knew that Naota wasn't a boy but still remained quiet. As she went on about how glad she was that he was seeming to go along with it, her eyes sparkled slightly.

((Apricot: You really ought to translate the French parts for me. :lol: ))

Naota’s breath caught in her chest as she was unexpectedly whipped around. “Ack! Let go!” She exclaimed, while attempting to meet the gaze of her attacker. ‘Oh, it’s just Riza…” Inner Naota sighed, as she tried to calm herself. “Sorry about that… Wait--He did what…?” As bewildered as the brunette was when she heard her friend’s statement, Naota just couldn’t keep herself from going slack in Erizabesu’s grasp. Be the reason for her lack of fight because the brunette trusted the blonde with her life or—because she knew hostility would useless… no one knew.

Finding it in her heart to return the smile, Naota tried her best to discover her sense of humor in what she would melodramatically describe as an ‘absolutely horrible situation.’ “Boyfriend, huh…? No offense, but—you’re the last girl I would date… Suohs have a bit of a reputation.” Staring intensely into her friend’s emerald eyes, Naota almost stumbled on her feet when she was steered back towards the home. “Yeah, no—I’m not too sure that I’m worried about him being the Chairman’s son…” Chewing on her bottom lip, Naota took a moment to gaze at the back of her friend’s head. “Expulsion is only a really big problem if you’re still in school.”

Growing quiet as Erizabesu began to speak, Naota weaved her hands in her still damp hair. “Even if he's gonna keep quiet--that’s still going to be a big frickin’ problem… he gives me the creeps.” Shaking her head, the brunette sighed. “I should just give up the jig while the getting is good.” Scrunching her face up in a childish manner, Naota forced herself and Erizabesu to an abrupt halt. “…I don’t want to go back in there.”

((Liztress: Thought so… :lol: Okay, well… I’ll just PM the translations, if that’s alright with you?))

Erizabesu's cheeks puffed out at Naota's remark about being the last girl she'd date. Yes, the Souh family was known for being quite the romantic type. Or rather the men were known for their playboy ways. But the tall blond prided herself for not being like them. At least, not as bad as them. As she mentally sulked and fumed at the assumption, her attention was brought back to her petite friend's words.

"But you are in school, silly." She let out a sigh as they had both stopped right in front of the door. "He does seem a bit creepy, doesn't he? Like he's a stalker or something..." One of her fingers tapped against her bottom lip as her emerald eyes dulled slightly. The girl became lost in thought over Naota's urge to just give up. "Can't we just get them to go along with it? I mean, Tamaki would be willing to help us out with that. He might seem like a flirt but he has a heart of gold."

((Mobsy:/ Apricot: Works for me, dear.))

Noticing the shift in her friend’s mood; Naota giggled gently, but didn’t immediately comment on it. One of the things that haven’t seemed to have changed was the fact that Erizabesu was still so hung-up on whatever Naota had to say about her… or so it always seemed that way.

Smirking to herself when the blonde had remarked about her education, Naota quickly said. “Technically, I finished school; Riza-chan…” Knitting her brows together, she continued. “Okay, well—I will be attending my second year in ‘college’ in autumn; so… okay, maybe I am still in school.”

Staring discontently at the hand-crafted door in front of them, Naota sighed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he has pictures of us sleeping…” Folding her arms across her chest, the brunette frowned. “I don’t want you involving yourself, and others, in my petty affairs… and I want you to promise that you won’t try to.” Forcing her mouth into a straight-line, Naota tried to keep from laughing. “He has a heart of gold…? Yeah. I believe that.”

((Liztress: :XD Excuse my laziness.))

"You're enrolled at Ouran Academy." Erizabesu corrected, the thought of the raven haired boy having pictures of her, them as they slept causing a rosy tint to spread across her cheeks. "Sure... I promise not to mettle in your affairs." With that she waved her hand around in a manner that was her way of saying that she would try. But it wasn't a guarantee that she would try hard.

As she went to speak up about knowing how kind her cousin was, the door swung open and nailed her right in the face. The impact caused the blond to fall backwards, her body twitching slightly. The one behind the door peeked out and a low sound escaped the girl's lips. It was the one named Haruhi that Tamaki had brought over. Kyoya and Mori, the tallest of the hosts, lifted the downed girl up and carried her back into the cottage. The twins glanced over at Naota and then at haruhi.

"The boss isn't going to be too happy about this." Kaoru remarked, a smirk forming on his face. Both boys had been discussing the fun of taking Haruhi on as a toy of sorts.

"I think..." Hikaru added, his arm wrapped around Haruhi's shoulder. "we should cover for Haruhi. In exchange for you doing everything we demand." Haruhi sighed as she moved from the twins and towards Naota.

"It was an accident. I doubt he would be too-" She commented before being cut off by the sound of an angry Tamaki.

"Who dare assault my dear cousin?!" he ranted. "It was those devil twins, I just know it!"

((Apricot: Only if you excuse mine. xD ))

“Correction; Ryohei is enrolled at Ouran Academy. I go to finishing-school in France.” Snorting as a gust of arrogance swirled around her; the brunette noted the change in her friend’s flustered face. “I didn’t really mean it… unless, of course, you’re into that sort of thing.” Blowing a stray strand of russet hair out of her eyes, the girl drank in Erizabesu’s next statement.

“Sure… I promise not to mettle in your affairs.” Riza's voice echoed mockingly, and it took all of Naota’s might to keep from whining. So, instead she crossed her arms, and began to pout. “… Don’t act like I don’t know you Suoh’s! You keep promises like you keep—“ Pausing to think, the brunette drew blanks. “Uh, well, anything disposable… Make me a real promise, Riza-sempai—SEMPAI!” She all but hollered, when she saw the blonde get thwacked by the heavy door.

Standing like a deer caught in headlights as she watched Erizabesu crumble to the floor, twitch, and then be promptly carried back to safety; and far away from that evil, evil, door, Naota almost didn’t register Haruhi shuffling towards her. No, it wasn’t until Tamaki’s heated yell sliced through the air, did she snap out of her daze.

Muttering a bad, bad swear under her breath, Naota quickly gathered her hair in her hands to put it in a make-shift ponytail. Atleast that way, she wouldn’t appear so—girly… “Hah, hah… well, it’s been fun—um—what’s your face…?” She spoke through gritted teeth, while smiling awkwardly at Haruhi. “Good luck with whatever is coming to you; I hope your face still looks nice tomorrow.”

Smoothing her clothes down, the brunette prepared to make a run for it. “It’s been fun; it really has…” Taking to precautionary back-steps, Naota didn’t expect to see the dark, evil aura that swirled around Haruhi; apparently, she didn’t like the idea of being ditched.

((Liztress: Wheeew... it's been awhile.))

As the two dark-haired hosts toted the blond into the living room, she stirred slightly. Tamaki had remained outside, his voice echoing into the cottage. Erizabesu's eyes fluttered open when her body hit the couch. Kyoya and Mori had not been too gentle with her as they had just tossed her onto the soft piece of furniture.

"That wasn't very gentleman like, boys," She remarked sourly as she gingerly touched her face. Luckily, the only sign of injury was a small cut on her bottom lip. She wasn't sure how that could have happened but she as glad that it had not flattened her nose.

"I apologise. But your accident could cost the Host Club a considerable amount of profits." The ravenite quipped, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose slightly. He wasn't about to mention that he was fibbing a bit. Tamaki would not cast out the one he considered his daughter. But then again, she did injure the silly blond male's cousin. "If he does kick Haruhi out, we will still have to find a way to cover the vase she broke."

"I'll pay for it." Erizabesu stared at the Shadow King for a second, wondering why they would even care about some vase. When he told her the price however, it made sense. The vase was worth at least a hundred times the amount of money Haruhi could ever make in her lifetime.

((Apricot: Yes, it has.))