My Coffee Bean {Ouran}

{49}

~Izumi Shopping Mall Pt.2~

The three of them walked through the halls lined by vendor stalls. When they left the dining area, Kyoya reached for her hand again, but Kofuyu dodged it. It was petty, she knew that, but she couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment.

Kofuyu walked beside Haruhi, and Kyoya was behind them. He looked through the vendor stalls to see what kind of merchandise was on sale, but his eyes would still occasionally travel to Kofuyu. He was trying to meet her eyes, but she wouldn't look at him.

Kyoya wasn't stupid. He knew that what he said about Tamaki and the other hosts had upset her, but he didn't see why. He wasn't talking about her in those instances, he figured she must've known that. To him, that was obvious.

The girls stopped in front of a booth, and Kyoya did too. "Black pearls from Ishigaki Island. Odd to find them here considering how much they go for," Kyoya spoke out loud.

"You're kidding. Really? That's incredible." Haruhi looked at the pearls then to Kyoya. "How can you tell, senpai?"

"I am the product of excellent breeding," Kyoya replied calmly. Kofuyu rolled her eyes again, but neither of the two noticed. The three continued walking, but this time, Kyoya stood beside Kofuyu.

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

"Because there's nothing for you to know about my family. At least, nothing that should be of interest to you," answered Kyoya. The last conversation with his parent's flashed through his mind, and he was reminded he needed to tell Kofuyu about it, about meeting his family.

"I don't know much either," Kofuyu agreed. She finally looked at him. "All I know is you have a sister, two brothers, and a father who only sees me as a gold-digging commoner." There was a twinge of bitterness in her voice, and Kyoya noticed.

"Well, that seems to be a little unfair, don't you think?" Haruhi asked Kofuyu.

"It is, isn't it?" Kofuyu agreed with a nod.

"Just what do you mean 'unfair'?" Kyoya stopped walking and looked at the two girls.

"You keep tabs on my family, Haruhi's family, and even family friends and acquaintances," Kofuyu told him.

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

"You've got two older brothers. For starters, you could tell me something about them," Haruhi suggested. Kofuyu looked at her and then back to Kyoya. Even she didn't know the answer to that. Kyoya thought for a few moments before answering.

"They're 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," he answered.

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

"Pressure? Oh, no, Haruhi. I can't think of anything else more fun than this," Kyoya answered.

"Only you would think of it that way," Kofuyu replied flatly. This conversation only made her feel worse.

"Dear, me! Pieces from the Komatsu Shoin collection? I never thought that I would find them here!" An older lady caught Kyoya's attention.

"Why, Madam, you have an astonishing eye," the vendor complimented with a smile. Kyoya glared at the interaction, but the two girls didn't understand what was going on.

"Kyoya?" Kofuyu asked.

"You know, they have such exquisite color, don't they?" The man told her, and then his voice lowered into a whisper, "To tell you the truth, I'm not really even supposed to have these out on display. The bulk of the Komatsu collection has been privately held for ages. Pieces rarely come up for sale."