Just Look into It

12. Control

We need to talk.

You have a study hall before
club activities, correct?
Go to this location.
<start route>

The bright screens burned her eyes in the dim room. Pulling of her glasses to rub her eyes, the brunette wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in her chair. She had been able to avoid whatever talk Kyouya wanted to have thanks to the chaos caused by Renge so far. For that, she was thankful, but after hearing from Haruhi about their need to create more believable characters, she doubted the trouble would end.

Ryo forced herself to stand up, arms stretching over her head as yet another yawn slipped from her lips. It quickly turned into a low growl, annoyance leaking from her.

Glancing at the cameras, she could see that Kyouya was on his way, no emotion visible on his stoic expression like normal. However, this time she felt a little more nervous. Had she given him the wrong information in her sleep deprived funk?

With a small sense of urgency, she began to sort through the stacks of files that had crowded the desktop at her side. The numerous Manila folders were organized and stuck onto the already filled bookcase.

Most of the information about students that Kyouya requested couldn't be found in the basic student information she automatically received. As such, the official paperwork rarely needed to be updated.

"I'll need to go though and trash the paper files on last year's graduates," she mused, flipping through the file.

The monotonous tone that came from her phone started the brunette, her eyes whipping to the screens to see that Kyouya was already inside the library, a tinge of surprise and curiosity in his expression.

"Shoot!" she hissed, snagging her phone before darting up the stairs. The bookcase opened without a sound, and she quickly closed it behind her.

Kyouya was flipping through one of the books he had pulled from the shelves, a look of curiosity taking over his face. As she emerged from the shelves, he quickly turned to face her.

"I had no idea this library existed."

"We'd like to keep it that way for a variety of reasons," she answered. "The books here aren't exactly safe for the public."

"Fair enough." He closed the book and tucked it back into the shelf. "Mind explaining how you managed to appear out of thin air?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I thought you had something to speak with me about."

"I do. However you've managed to attract my curiosity with this place."

Her green eyes stared at him before she eventually let out a sigh. "Alright. This gives me the opportunity to test out a new function anyhow."

"Excuse me?"

"This way." She motioned for him to follow, leading him back to the corner. As the bookcase slid open, she heard him suck in a small breath. "Finger print activated. No point in telling anyone else."

Ryo led the boy down the stairs, an alert echoing in the silence. A small snarl formed on her lips, and she quickly forced it away. This was her job in a way, so there was no point in complaining.

"Don't touch anything," she called out, falling into her seat to scan the screens.

System Alert:
[1] Unidentifiable and Unregistered object(s) being transported into the building. Action is recommended.

Notify security?
<yes> <no>

The room was quickly filled with the sound of the keyboard as she took care of the situation, likely yet another package for a club that hadn't been fully registered. Once security had intercepted the workers, Ryo spun around in her chair to face Kyouya.

"I'll assume that this is were you go every morning," he said, eyes locked onto the screens.

"Yes. This is the control center for Ouran. It's the most advanced version of my system currently," she explained, turning back to the computer and pulling up the code. "I have a contract with the school with benefits that are too good to pass up."

"I see."

Ryo gestured for him to step closer, pointing to he small scanner. "Thumb then index, either hand works."

Sending her a suspicious look, he hesitantly presses his fingers to the pad. "May I ask what this is for?"

"I'm setting up a secondary feature that I recently finished developing. Originally my system was one person only to prevent any traitors, I have since seen flaws in that." Her fingers flew across the keyboard, stopping only when she pulled up an image of Kyouya to save it. "The chairman can now view the cameras and will receive the same notices I do."

"So why did you need my finger prints?" he pressed.

"You now have access to this room whenever I am here as well. It will add efficiency to any business we have." She quickly turned around to face him once more. "Now what did you need to speak with me about?"

Kyouya paused, looking a little startled. She raised her eyebrows, taking in the unexpected sight. A Kyouya Ootori that wasn't confident or collected was a sight to see.

"I wanted to speak to you about the ball we held a while back."

Instantly her gaze hardened and face fell blank. "What about it?"

Ryo dared him to ask. What else would there be for him to talk about? There was a reason she always had her hair up and thick glasses on her face. The dance had been a mistake, and she dared him to bring it up. However, she desperately wanted him to ask about something else. The brunette didn't have a clue about what she would do if those words came from him. So instead of revealing her worry, she masked it with a hard expression.

He blinked and cleared his throat. "After hearing more about your system and the various precautions you take, I'd like to offer you a deal on behalf of the Ootori family."

It was her turn to blink owlishly. "Excuse me?"

"I assume you are aware that my family does deal in part with security?"

She nodded. "I do, but I am still quite unsure what you would want with my system."

Before he could elaborate, his phone began to ring. Glancing at the screen, a slightly frustrated look slid over his features. She could easily infer that it was none other than Tamaki calling.

"Unfortunately I must be on my way. I would like to go into further detail about this matter some other time however."

With that, he began to climb the stairs out of the room, leaving her green eyes to watch as he disappeared. Biting her lip, she spun back around to her computers to finish some of the finer details that she hadn't told Kyouya about.

She wasn't just giving him access to the room, but rather placing him as her secondary. Should something every happen to her, control of the system would immediately transfer over to him.

After all, Ryo couldn't think of someone she trusted more.