Just Look into It

10. Welcomed Danger

The next few days were a whirlwind of projects and chaos. With little time to rest and less to prepare for the upcoming physical exam, Ryo found herself running across a tightrope.

Each night she was up until the late hours of the evening, either tracking down Yuu's projects or recoding a bit of her system to take notice of such suspicious actions. Many times she would hit a wall, forced to start back at the very begining.

During the day, she began her routine inspection of the school. Cameras were adjusted, new areas marked, and even the complete replacement of a faulty camera. Her school work wasn't to be neglected either.

The bags under her eyes were mostly hidden by her glasses, and interactions with others dulled down to a passing glance. Her phone was set on silent most of the time.

With a sigh, Ryo fell into her chair, eyes burning. With careful hands, she rubbed them from under her frames and turned away from the bright screens. 

With a glance toward the host clubs screen, she once again found herself dumbfounded at the idiotic plan they were cooking up for the physical exam. Kyouya, however, looked more serious as he tried to find an actual solution.

Ryo grabbed her phone and pulled up his contact.

There is a special clinic that is only used for certain cases. The doctor is sworn to secrecty. Haruhi will be able to go there.

Impressive work as always Miss Hisakwa.
However, I will need to speak with you in the future about certain matters.

Understood.

The next day, Ryo stayed inside of her classroom. The system was synced to her phone for the day, and security was tighter when there were so many visitors.

When she didn't leave at the begining of the class, many of the other second years began to whisper to each other. Their buzzing was quickly silenced by the start of the lesson. Ryo had already completed the assignments for the week, leaving her a bit of silent free time.

A silent yawn escaped her lips as she began to write up a new contract for the potential business partner she had. Mainly, Kyouya.

As she thought over the process, her mind began to race with thoughts of a secondary control option.

At long last, they were all dissmissed to take the physical exam. Ryo was the last one to leave the classroom, and trailed behind her classmates.

Her mind was clouded as she made her way to the special clinic. Her ears were deaf to the others and eyes blankly staring ahead. She dreaded physical exams with no logical excuse. There was something about them that brought up old memories she never wanted to see again.

The brunette lightly knocked onto the door, and entered after hearing a reply. It was a female doctor, thankfully.

Ryo blankly went through the motions, the doctor not prodding for any conversation or interaction. It was clear she had been made aware of the situation.

Once all was said and done, the girl retreated behind the curtain once more. Standing in the darkened alcove, she sucked in a deep breath. Ryo didn't notice the notifications filling her phone screen as she closed her eyes and took another breath.

The cold wind hit her shoulders. Standing behind the curtain with everything but her button up and jacket on, she leanded against the wall, completely wiped out.

As such, Ryo was caught completely off guard when she was pressed against the wall with a hand over her mouth.

"Please, you've-" the words of the older man disappeared before they reached her ears. Her eyes were wide as her overly exhausted mind tried to figure things out.

Ryo found it hard to breathe, overly aware of how his body was nearly pressing her into the wall. Her eyes forced shut, and she didn't quite know what to do. Panicking, she brought her shaking arms up and shoved against his chest.

He hardly budged, still trying to convince her of something. It was then that he was suddenly thrown off of her.

Tamaki landed in front of her, his violet eyes both angered and concerned.

Ryo slid to the floor as Haruhi rushed to her and pried the shirt from her hands before draping it over her shoulder. She burried her head in her knees for a moment, and sucked in a breath. She needed to calm down.

"Ryo? This is different than-" Haruhi started to mumble, ignoring the hosts as they intimidated the life out of the man.

"I know," she hissed. "I'm working on it."

With a final breath, the brunette locked eyes with her cousin before standing. With determined movements, she turned her back to the hosts and pulled the button up off of her head.

Her eyes widened when she noticed one of the men had given her his jacket.

Ryo redressed and pulled her hair into it's tight ponytail. After adjusting her glasses, she pressed her lips into a thin line and joined the group. She was quick to notice that Kyouya was missing his jacket.

After listening into the conversation for a moment, she grabbed a notepad and worte the directions to the proper high school.

"These directions will take you to the correct school," she stated, voice flat. He nervously took the paper and scurried from the room.

Haruhi urged the guys to live so she coukd take her physical, and slowly they trailed out until Kyouya was the last one. He began to exit, and Ryo tapped him on the shoulder.

"I appreciate the guesture," she stated, holding out his jacket. "However, you are looking less than professional at the moment, Mr. Ootori."

He gave her a rare, not fully host, smile. "Thank you, Miss Hisakawa. Would you follow me outside?"

The hosts had departed, many going to finish their own physicals. Kyouya paused once they stood in the hall.

"Are you okay, Miss Hisakawa?" he asked, glancing at her. "I can assume that my attempts to reach you were unsuccessful."

"I am perfectly unharmed," she easily replied. "However I am wondering if the system was able to catch that he wasn't to be here..."

"It did. Security had already been notified as was searching for him," Kyouya answered. "Your system really is a remarkable achievement."

"I appreciate the compliment," she laughed slightly. Ryo glanced at the boy but quickly looked away. "I must be on my way, it will be looking for confirtmation that he has truly left."

The brunette began to walk away, tightly holding her things to her side. The hall was silent aside from the sound of her steps as she hurried away.

"Miss Hisakawa-"

"Feel free to refer to me by my given name. Ryo is fine."

"Miss Ryo, then. Am I correct to think that you knew of the specal clinic because it had already been arranged for your use?"

She stopped in the hall and took in a breath, refusing to turn around. "That is correct."

"Then may I be so upfront to ask why you require to be away from the rest of the student body for your physical?" he pushed.

"No, you may not be so upfront," she hurriedly answered, voice flat and firm.

As she hurried away, his figure was visable standing there in the window reflections. Turning the corner and harshly biting down on her cheek, Ryo couldn't help but wish that he was as transparent as his see through reflection was.

"Who gave you permission to be such a welcomed danger?" she hissed, wondering exaxtly why she felt the need to tell him the truth and whatever it was he wanted to know.