Just Look into It

15. Composed Look

"Just once..." she muttered, harshly tucking a strand of her dark hair behind an ear. A glare seemed cemented on her face as she stared at the host club, only Kyouya and Mori not shrinking away.

"Just once it would be nice for you to listen to what I've told you many times before."

She really shouldn't be that surprised. Ryo had tried to tell them, but it never seemed to click. Well, she hadn't yet the pleasure of telling Renge, but moment was mere seconds away. In fact, the transfer student stood right in front of her. The girl stood with feet apart and hands on her hips, the powerful stance doing nothing to stop the slight tremble and sweat beading on her forehead.

"Let me know of any packages, people, or objects being brought onto school grounds, especially if they haven't been registered! I think an entire movie filming crew and machinery fit that description!" Ryo snarled, raising her voice loud enough that the men setting up cameras behind the group even flinched. "What even is this?"

Renge stepped forward, brushing off any fear she had shown at the opportunity presented. "I'm helping these boys dive deeper into their personalities so they can better understand themselves and host so much better! Besides, what better way to do that than a movie! It will bring in extra publicity for the club anyhow!"

A dumbfounded look filled Ryo's features. "Oh, a movie. You mean the kind with planned, fake conversations, and planned, faked scenes where people act like other people because that's not who they are?"

"Exactly!" Renge cheered, a bright smile on her face. "Every one of these boys has such a bland attitude, except my darling Kyouya of course!"

Unfortunately, there wasn't much Ryo could do to stop the movie, and she knew that, but she was going to give Renge enough grief to make herself feel a bit better.

"You've been at this school for how many days to fully understand these boys?" she snapped. Taking a deep breath, the already worn out brunette pinched her nose before piping up again. "I can't stop you from recording but I have to stay and monitor personally to make sure there are no security issues."

Renge smirked as if she had won. "Hmph, good. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my darling!"

As she danced away to start yelling at Tamaki, Ryo let out another deep sigh. She felt like she was still running on low fumes. The short visit with her mother had only been yesterday, leaving her with little sleep. Partially because where she had hit her shoulder felt terribly sore and irritable. She couldn't be sure what it looked like but she could imagine it wasn't very nice.

"Miss Ryo?" The low and smooth voice easily pulled her back into reality. She found Kyouya leaning down slightly right in front of her face. Blinking out of her reprieve, she quickly adjusted her glasses to focus better on him.

"Yes? Is something wrong?"

"How is your health? You seem a bit pale now that you're out in the sunlight. And you've got pretty bad dark circles under your eyes. Have you been getting enough rest?"

Ryo blinked, surprised at his observations. "Uh-"

Luckily for her, the sound of Renge's screeching drew their attention. The two sighed in sync, the both of them suddenly stiffening at the realization.

"Why do you put up with Renge? I know quite a bit about you and your personality by now, so there isn't much need in telling me otherwise."

"She is a guest, and as a host, I must treat her as such. She hasn't violated any rules of the school or the host club, so I have no reason to act otherwise."

Ryo nodded. She stared off at the other club members, forcing her eyes off of the tall boy at her side. The feeling that started seeping through her veins was familiar by now. She refused to act on it. She couldn't act on it if she was honest with herself.

Suddenly she noticed Renge and Haruhi slipped around a corner of the school and out of sight. She could let the girl mess with the hosts, but Haruhi was still family.

"I'm going to make sure that she doesn't cause any problems with the students still on campus," she stated, eyes firmly locked onto whatever chaos Renge was causing out of her sight. "Excuse me for a moment."

The brunette suddenly felt like she couldn't hear anything but her quick steps on the ground. With ease, her quick pace pushed her around the corner, where her eyes locked onto Renge and Haruhi. Two other male students stood nearby, the confusion on their faces slowly morphing into shock and disgust.

"They are the perfect fit for the delinquents we need!" she faintly heard Renge chirp.

Ryo felt her blood freeze in her veins as she recognized the two boys. Of all the students she could have grabbed, it had to be these two.

Easily sensing that something was about to go terribly wrong, she dropped her phone and the folder she had been carrying and rushed forward. Even her cousin could tell things were about to go sour as she tried to intervene and stop Renge from causing any more harm.

Sure enough, she could see the panic and frustration on the faces of one of the boys as he lashed out, an arm swinging towards the two.

Time seemed to slow once again as she pushed Haruhi and Renge out of the way, knocking the two to the ground. Her sudden appearance shocked the boy, as he almost pulled back, lessening the force used to shove her back into the equipment leaning against the wall.

A hiss escaped her lips as a rush of pain flew through her already agitated shoulder. She managed to stay on her feet, sucking in a deep breath before forcing a composed look on her face.

The two boys panicked, attempting to sputter out an apology as Tamaki turned on them. Ryo blinked, wondering where the blonde had come from to get here to fast. She forced herself not to wince as she brushed herself off and moved to help Renge off of the floor. As much as Tamaki annoyed her, she knew Haruhi was in good hands.

What a mess.