"1-B?" Mitsukuni doubtfully echoed with a tilt of his head. He took another bite of his meal, silently chewed on it as his honey-brown eyes squarely looked into Karma's mercury colored ones. "Why?"

Gakushu, who sat next to the redhead, scoffed. "Why? Don't ask such obvious questions, Mitsukuni," he advised. His hand reached for his water glass before he took a few sips. "It's because this idiot," he said, jerking his head the redhead's way. "Splendidly failed his History midterms."

"Whaat? Really, Ma-chan?" Mitsukuni asked in disbelief. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that both his childhood friends were smart. Smart enough to get into A-class and remain in the top three.

Karma derisively rolled his mercury colored eyes. "Nah, it's because I skipped too many classes," he explained. "Headmaster Asano met my parents yesterday," his gaze flicked to Gakushu next to him, and he smirked. "But I guess daddy's boy there already knew," he mocked with a sly grin.

The blond chocked on air, hitting his chest a few times he glared at the redhead. "Ha? Don't speak nonsense. I'm not a daddy's boy," he harshly refuted.

The redhead barked a laugh. "Sure, if that makes you sleep at night," he dismissed before refocusing on Mitsukuni in front of him. "Either way, they said that so long as I didn't correct my ways— skipping and pulling pranks, I wouldn't be able to go back to 1-A," he casually stated. He shrugged, a loop sided grin on his face. "Not that I mind, 1-A is such a bunch of stick in the mud," he complained.

Mitsukuni hummed. He supposed that Hikaru and Kaoru would have been transferred to B-class too if, they attended Kunugigaoka. The Hitachiin twins were the Little Devils type. His doe eyes seized the redhead for a few seconds before he nodded to himself. Karma was this school's devil prankster, no doubt about it.

"No offense, of course," the redhead added as he pulled open the lid of his yogurt. "I mean, if I could, I would ask for you to come to 1-B with me, Mitsukuni. Oh, the fun!" he drawled.

The strawberry blond hummed, lightly shaking his head. "None taken," he evenly answered as he started to dig in his cake. "I'll miss you too, Ma-chan," he admitted with a pout. His left hand reached for Reiko next to him, he grabbed her and gently squeezed her soft body, inhaling the soothing fragrance of her perfume. "Sweets too," he added, lifting one of the cat plushy's paws to wave at the redhead.

"Whoah, I'll miss you too, Rei-chan," Karma childishly cooed at the doll, eliciting a laugh from the shorter of the three. "Here, I'll give you my strawberry milk as a goodby gift," he said, pushing the small pink carton can toward the plush and boy.

"Ooh, strawberry milk!" Mitsukuni marveled. He loved cakes the most, but every other sweet snack had a special place in his heart. "Thank you, Ma-chan!" he beamed. "Here, Sweets's saying thank you too," he giggled, grabbing the milk can with his doll's paws before putting it away in his bag.

Gakushu rolled his eyes at the two's overly childish display. "Here, you can have my cake, I'm full," he said, pushing the plate in the blond's direction.

Mitsukuni's face brightened. Free strawberry milk and now cake? How much better could this day get?

Karma snorted. "Ooh, how kind, coming from the Grand Lord Gakushu," he mocked with an exaggerated curtsy from his seat. "Do you have a slice for me too?" he taunted, a sly smirk on his face.

Gakushu clicked his tongue. He rolled his violet eyes in distaste. "Urgh, you're disgusting," he muttered, leaning his torso away from the redhead next to him. "Don't call me that, you give me the creeps," he said with a faked shiver.

"OoOoh? Like that you mean?" the teen taunted, leaning closer to the fleeing blond he burst out laughing. "Why so scared, Shu-chan?" he sang in falsetto.

"Not that either!" he denied with a frown.

"Aww, but you let Mitsukuni call you that," he whined, a smile tugging at his lips as he looked at the blond with upturned-eyes. He carefully blinked his mercury colored eyes, fluttering his fiery red eyelashes as he beamed the blond an obviously fake grin.

Gakushu showed a disgusted expression. He brought a fist to his mouth, fake coughed, and sneered. "Ooh, my bad, Ma-chan," he articulated back, his tone overly sweet as he looked down on the redhead.

"Eew."

"Right, eew," the blond echoed, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "So shut your mouth and get yourself a slice of cake if you want some," he rebuked.

The redhead clicked his tongue. He straightened his back, sitting correctly before sighing. "You're no fun, Gakushu," he said with a helpless shrug, as if unbothered by the blond's words.

Mitsukuni licked his lips, eating some of the whipped creams that coated his lips, before wiping the remaining with his napkin. He rinsed his mouth with a cup of water. His honey-brown eyes flicked to look at his two childhood friends who finished quarreling.

He pursed his lower lip out in an exaggerated pout. "Ne, ne, do you dislike that I call you Shu-chan and Ma-chan?" he whined, obviously aware that that wasn't the reason behind their argument. He squeezed out a few fake tears, fluttered his blond lashes, and made his eyes glisten with "unshed tears."

He was a pro.

He bore with him the mark of the Ouran High School Host Club. He couldn't let his customers down.

After all, he was the "Loli-Shota" type.

He thought about it for a second. If he put his experience to use, would he be able to swindle the students and gain some free pastries?

Now that was a good idea.

He was a genius!

::

Mitsukuni silently sat in his house's living room. His homework sprawled around the low table, drinks, and snacks on the side. He twirled a pencil between his fingers. His left hand drummed over the wooden surface, creating a light thumping sound in the otherwise quiet living room.

His honey-brown eyes swept over his scribbled notebook. He flicked his gaze upward, met the pitchless black button that made up Reiko's eyes and smiled. Whenever he looked at his doll, he felt like Reiko was there, watching over him.

It was comforting.

He liked it.

His focus returned to his unfinished work. It wasn't anything complicated, as a matter of fact, Mitsukuni found it way to easy. He wondered if the fact that it was because it was Junior High material, and decided to flip through some books for higher grades later on.

Better safe than sorry. At the moment school was as easy as Martial Arts. But when would it become hard enough that he would need to seriously work on it?

He knew that Kunugigaoka was far from kind to its students. The fact that classes were ranked from best to worst, academically speaking, was enough to show the competitive nature of the school. Coupled with the treatment students received depending on their grades, it was easy to see that your status rested on them and nothing else.

Mitsukuni wouldn't say that he agreed with this system, but it was hard to say that he was totally against it. After all, as a former Haninozuka, the heir to boot, he knew what it meant when one said excellence was a must. He was raised with this mindset, he knew what his worth was, and with his skill and knowledge, being demoted from A-class wasn't something he would tolerate.

At least, he wouldn't take it as well as Karma. Maybe it was the difference in their temperament, value, or upbringing, but when it came to them, Mitsukuni didn't feel so close to the redhead. It was correct to say that Gakushu was more similar to him on every one of those points.

Martial Art prowess apart, of course.

Mitsukuni knew his worth, and while academics were something he may come to struggle in later, Martial Arts weren't and would never be. He was sure of it. Mitsukuni was a Master of the Art, while Gakushu a newborn cub who hadn't seen the world.

Honey-brown eyes slid back to his homework, he twirled the pencil around his fingers twice before neatly writing the answers down. Secondary mathematics, compared to tertiary education, was relatively easy. He hummed, not bothering to take his calculator out, mental arithmetic was second nature to him—,, especially with such easy calculation.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw his father's attendant come to the living room, a tray in hand with a teapot and cup atop, he walked up to him. Mitsukuni raised his head, beaming at the man he didn't forget to make himself all the cuter, in case he needed to sneak a few pastries out of the kitchen one day.

The man gave the teen a kind smile. He settled the cup on the edge of the table before neatly pouring the blond a cup of freshly brewed tea. "Some guests will arrive later in the evening, Young Master," the steward explained as he added three sugar cubes to the beverage.

Mitsukuni tilted his head, humming as he received the sugary cup.

"Young Master should be familiar with the name, I heard their son also attends Kunugigaoka Junior High, and was the same age as the Young Master," he added, taking the small jug of milk from the tray.

Mitsukuni showed some surprise at the revelation. "Really? Is he in 1-A too?" he asked, suddenly interested in his father's supposed guests.

The steward hummed. "The Young Master's name would be Sakakibara," he answered. "As for his class, I apologize for not being able to answer you, Young Master," he said with a bow as he took the now empty tray under his arm.

The strawberry blond teen hummed, a hand to his chin as he thought of the name. Sakakibara, Sakakibara, wasn't there a Sakakibara Ren in his class? His eyes widened in realization, he hit his palm with his fist. "Ren-chan?" he asked, turning to look up at the steward.

The man simpered. "It would seem that Young Master Sakakibara's name is indeed Ren," he agreed. "Is he one of Young Master's classmates?"

Mitsukuni gave a firm nod as he stretched his fingers. "Mhm, he's one of Shu-chan's friends," he provided, before taking hold of the teacup. "I think he and Shu-chan are going to run for the Student Council," he mused, eyes slightly narrowed as he tried to remember his blond friend's words.

The steward nodded. His eyes flicked to look at the blond's homework, noting that they were almost done before he slid his gaze back to the teen. "Shall I bring Young Master Sakakibara to you once they arrive, or will you come down to welcome them?" he asked, readying himself to depart.

Mitsukuni hummed, his honey-brown eyes swept his homework as he mused on the question. He should be finished in a bit. "I'll come down to greet them," he answered with a nod. "Thank you, Uncle."

The steward smiled. "Very well," he bade before retiring, most probably to go back to his father's study.

The teen silently gazed at the closed door before refocusing on his unfinished homework. It was barely six in the evening, guests usually didn't arrive before seven. He had some time.

He grabbed his teacup, blew on it— the motion reminded him of how Takashi would sometimes do it for him, he smiled and took a silent sip. His pencil in his right hand, he easily completed his remaining homework.

It was three months into the school year now, Mitsukuni had a more or less clear understanding of his classmates and who stood at the top of it. Without much surprises, Gakushu was elected class representative, the other student being a male who used to live in Los Angeles— Seo Tomoya if he remembered clearly.

The thought of the raven head made Mitsukuni frown. The boy was rude and lacked elegance, he wasn't all that handsome either, and kindness definitely didn't exist in his dictionary. All in all, he was everything Mitsukuni disliked, not Host material.

"You agree with me, right, Sweets?" he asked, looking up at the cat plushy that sat opposite him. "Seo-san is definitely not Host material!" he asserted, hitting the table with his fist. "I mean, he's so mean, you know. Last time he took my snacks away when Shu-chan was out to see his father," he complained with a pout.

Without any surprises, Reiko remained motionless. Yet, Mitsukuni seemed to hear her answer, he curtly nodded. "I knew you would understand best, Sweets. And I wanted to share my candies with Ma-chan at recess too," he whined, aggressively sipping on his now lukewarm beverage.

"He should be happy that he's Shu-chan's friend, I would have kicked him otherwise," he seethed in anger as he put the empty cup down on the table. Only God knew whether or not he was serious.

He took hold of his pen, wrote a few more words on his notebook before slamming it shut. With practiced ease, he pulled all of his stationery closer and stored them away in his school bag. Grabbing Reiko by one of her paws, he slid the bag over his shoulder and walked out of the living room to his room.

He would ask one of the maids to take care of his empty plates and cups while he put his school material away in his bedroom. The Sakakibara would be there soon. And as much as he didn't care for them, for Gakushu's sake he would try to bond with Ren.

After all, unlike Seo, Ren was polite, friendly, and most importantly, handed him candies and sometimes his cake at the cafeteria. What's more, he had good tastes and could see Reiko's charm!

With these simple thoughts, Mitsukuni changed out of his uniform, grabbed Reiko, and walked out of his bedroom.

It was a quarter to seven, the Sakakibara would be there soon.

Thanks for reading, until next time^^