Y/n's brown eyes scanned through the stores that she and Haruhi were passing by. Presently, the Fujioka sisters were roaming around a department store due to there being a product exposition taking place at the said shopping mall.

"Kyoya-Senpai?" Y/n heard her sister, Haruhi, call out the accustomed name of their upperclassman.

"Hm?" Y/n hummed questionably, discontinuing her movements so she could stand beside her sister. She detached her gaze from the store she was examining and connected them to the person positioned a couple of feet away from her and Haruhi. "Oh. Kyoya-Senpai, what are you doing here?" Y/n quizzed with a raised eyebrow once the brownish-greyed eyed male directed his attention to them.

He didn't respond nor move away from the mall bench and the mall directory he was standing in front of. He just placed his index finger and thumb on his chin in a contemplating demeanor as a group of kids that were giggling cheerfully ran past the three teenagers.

"How much money do you have on you, Y/n and Haruhi?" He randomly questioned.

The two sisters were slightly taken aback at Kyoya's straightforward inquiry--both of them replying with, "what?"

- - - -

"Kyoya-Senpai." Haruhi began in an unsure tone, her wallet in her grasp as she, Y/n, and Kyoya stood in a line at a fast-food shop. "Are you sure this is where you want to eat? There are much nicer restaurants to choose from upstairs."

"Well, you and Y/n don't have much on you, so our choices are limited. Just be sure to get a receipt." Kyoya attested. "Tamaki will reimburse you two tenfold." He spoke lowly with a shadow casted over his piercing eyes.

Y/n sweat dropped. "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed..." She whispered quietly to Haruhi, making sure the second year male didn't hear her. The wavy haired female, too, was holding her wallet as she and Haruhi both agreed on paying the bill half and half.

"Haruhi, Y/n, I think it's our turn. How do I order?" Kyoya brought the two sisters out of their thoughts.

"Here. I'll order for you." Y/n assisted, proceeding towards the service counter. "Do you know what you want?"

"You pick. Just get us a lot of it." He answered, indifferently.

"Uhh, okay then." Y/n looked down at the small, paper menu that was taped and presented on the counter's surface and pointed her finger at a meal. "Can I please have that. A small vanilla milkshake." She glanced back at her sister. "What do you want to eat, Haruhi?"

"The meal I always get is fine." The short haired female shrugged.

"Alright." Y/n looked back at the cashier and pointed to a burger meal that Haruhi usually enjoys. "And that. All three with fries please."

The female cashier that was receiving the food order glanced at Kyoya, causing a small blush to immediately appear on her cheeks as well as a friendly smile.

"Okay, coming right up. Would you be interested in adding one of our delicious desserts?" She offered kindly.

"Thank you, no." Kyoya rejected in a bored tone. "I don't care for sweets."

Sparkles flashed in the cashier's eyes before she held up a paper that had a fifty-percent off choice with one hand while holding up her index finger with the other. "Before you decide, we have a new shake that's absolutely-"

"I have given you my answer." Kyoya interrupted coldly, vaguely glaring down at the young woman.

Y/n, Haruhi, and the cashier stared at Kyoya in minimal fear and disturbance.

"Please be sure to include our receipt." Haruhi reminded in a weak tone, holding out her hand as the three females kept their eyes on the bitter male in front of them.

Once their order was placed and ready to gather, Haruhi took the tray of food and led her sister and Kyoya to a table that was in the corner.

"Kyoya-Senpai. Just because you're in a bad mood today doesn't give you the right to go around talking to people like that." Haruhi formulated as she sat down next to her sister with Kyoya seated across from them. "The poor girl was just doing her job."

Kyoya grabbed a burger from the tray and started to undo the wrapping. "Her job is to serve us food, not irritate me with some weak sales pitch." He took a bite out of his burger.

Y/n collected her vanilla milkshake along with a drinking straw. "I feel quite bad for her. You're kinda scary when you're in a bad mood."

Kyoya just chewed the food that was in his mouth, ignoring Y/n's comment which made her stare at him with slight interest.

He caught sight of her brown eyes on him. "Now what?"

"Hm, it's nothing." Y/n dismissed during the time of grabbing a fry. "It's just that I've never really seen you eat before." She shared, putting the fry in her mouth afterwards.

"Yeah." Haruhi accorded with a burger in her hands. "Somehow I thought the experience would be more refined. I'm surprised food like this even appeals to you."

"It doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. No doubt you'll say I'm callous for admitting it, since you two bought this tripe." Kyoya contended and drank out of his straw.

"Of course we won't." Haruhi turned her head to the side in modest guilt. Y/n could tell that her sister was thinking it through, making her hold back a smirk.

"There is an understanding between makers of food like this and those that eat it--quality takes a backseat to convenience." He elucidated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Refinement isn't part of the equation. It's meant to be eaten quickly. Besides, no one of consequence is here to witness my momentary lapse of manners."

Y/n drank her milkshake, mentally rolling her eyes. 'Geez, he's being extra moody today...'

"Hey." Kyoya furthermore spoke up while twirling a fry between his index finger and thumb. "For the record I'm saying it benefits me nothing to keep up appearances in a place like this. And that includes any special treatment I may give you two here."

"Would have never guessed that in a million years." Y/n remarked, her voice laced with sarcasm. From the corner of her eye she noticed three girls halting their movements and glancing at her table.

"Oh my gosh, girls! That guy in the glasses is a total hottie." The young woman with long, wavy hair whispered to her friends.

"You're right. He's gorgeous!" Her two friends agreed quietly.

"Um, excuse me. I'm so sorry to interrupt." The female with long, wavy hair pardoned her presence as she stared at Kyoya and the empty chair beside him. "I was wondering if you're not using this chair can my friends and I borrow it?"

"Why not?" Kyoya shrugged, monotonously.

"Thank you so much! That's awesome!" The girl smiled widely along with her friends as they stared at the young man excitedly.

"You're quite welcome."

The Fujioka siblings shared a look with one another. Y/n compared Kyoya's behavior at school as well as in the Host Club to how he is acting at the moment.

'How is that person the same as the person sitting across from me? How does he and Tamaki-Senpai even compliment each other?' Y/n pondered as the three females walked away.

"You're both probably wondering how Tamaki and I compliment each other so well." Y/n and Haruhi jumped at Kyoya's words and sweat dropped. "The answer is simple." A small smirk formed on his lips as he held his drink with the same hand that had his chin rested upon it. "I have something to gain. There is no better motivator than self-interest. I have to look out for number one, you know."

"Tamaki-Senpai would be heartbroken if he heard you say that." Haruhi commented.

"On the contrary." The black haired male adjusted his glasses with his index and middle finger. "He's understood our arrangement from the very beginning. The same goes for all of them: Hikaru, Kaoru, Honey-Senpai, Mori-Senpai. The glue that holds the Host Club together is our mutual egocentricity. It's the principle that drives the alliance between our families and ensures each of our futures. Though." His mysterious brownish-grey eyes landed on the two sisters. "Well, let's just say there's still quite a bit you two don't understand about that. Although Tamaki is a fool and self-sacrifice does come naturally to him. So I guess the point of this is we are very different creatures."

Y/n and Haruhi stared at Kyoya, now knowing something new about the Host Club that they weren't aware of before.

They soon finished up their food and Haruhi went to give the tray back to the cashier, making Y/n and Kyoya wait by the exit.

Y/n dusted off any crumbs that might have landed on her white, short sleeved, crop top. The white top barely went above her bellybutton and it had a butterfly embedded on the middle part of the chest area. Her crop top was accompanied with mom jeans and white sneakers.

Haruhi approached Y/n and Kyoya. "Alright, let's go."

The three high schoolers walked away from the fast-food place and strolled into a section of the department store with Kyoya in front of the two girls.

"Senpai, I thought you were going to take a taxi home." Haruhi mentioned.

"I am, but I might as well have a look around first." Kyoya acknowledged and stopped in front of a stand that had caught his attention. "Black pearls from Ishigaki Island. Odd to find them here, considering how much they go for."

The two sisters examined the pearls closely. "You're kidding. Really? That's incredible." Haruhi discussed.

"How can you even tell?" Y/n asked and looked up at Kyoya.

"I am the product of excellent breeding." He replied.

'Breeding? The hell...?' Y/n thought, scrunching up her face before glancing back at the unique pearls.

The three of them shortly stopped looking at the black pearls and began to proceed down the line of shopping stands.

"So, Kyoya-Senpai, why is it that after all this time we still know next to nothing about your family?" Haruhi questioned.

A look of realization flashed across Y/n's facial features. "Oh, yeah. Why is that?"

"Because there's really nothing for you two to know about my family, at least nothing that should be of interest to you." Kyoya simply answered.

"Wow, that's unfair..." Y/n muttered, but her words were within earshot of the male situated in front of them, making the said boy cease his actions and glimpse back at her.

"Just what do you mean 'unfair'?"

"Well, you know plenty about Haruhi and I's personal life. You even know who our father works with and who his friends are. And we don't really know anything about you. I just find it unfair. That's all." She unfolded with closed eyes, shrugging her shoulders along with her hands.

"That's a very intriguing notion, in its own way."

"You've got two older brothers, right? For starters, you could tell us something about them." Haruhi brought up. "What kind of people are they?"

Kyoya thought back on something before calmly addressing Haruhi's question with a small smile, facing away from the two girls. "They are rather exceptional. Enough so that my father puts a lot of stock in them. Though as the third son, things work out a little differently for me."

"I didn't realize there was so much pressure on you to succeed." Haruhi admitted.

"You and me both." Y/n mumbled with a small nod of her head.

"Pressure?" Kyoya turned his head to look back at them from the corner of his eye. "Oh no, Haruhi and Y/n. I can think of nothing more fun than this."

Y/n had an unassertive expression present on her face before releasing a sigh. "If you say so."

"Dear me, pieces from the Komatsu Shoin collection."

Kyoya, Y/n, and Haruhi directed their attention to the elderly voice that they heard, catching sight of an old woman wearing a kimono standing near a display stand.

"I never thought that I would find them here." The woman gently denoted.

"Why madam, you have an astonishing eye." A man over his forties who had a mustache was standing behind the stand, arranging a forceful smile.

The two siblings noticed Kyoya slightly glaring at the stand.

Y/n glanced at the said stand then back at her upperclassman. "Uhh, Kyoya-Senpai, is everything okay?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -