In Her Mind (Kyoya x reader)

Chapter Four: In a Bind

F/n - Fake Name

Unedited

After several months of toying with Kyoya, visiting the host club every second or third club day and secluding herself in the abandoned art room every chance she got to fulfil her slow trickle of orders, along with host club costuming requests (which paid just as well if not better then her other orders as they usually had to be done relatively quickly) Y/N found herself in a tricky spot.

The principle had called the young girl into his office at the end of a school day. The early autumn breeze fluttered in through the open window as Y/n entered, his office as imposing as the rest of the school. Unlike the bright colours and fancy decor the rest of the school sported, the Principle's office was far darker. His large and intricate desk was a dark mahogany, the overstuffed bookshelves that lined the wall were in a matching wood. The walls were painted beige and the wood floors were dark and pristine, the oak under her feet echoing each and every step she took.

Sitting across from the greying man Ouran called it's principle was a woman with the exact shade of ginger hair that she had seen before. She was well poised, dressed in a navy suit jacket and pencil skirt, tailored to her body perfectly. She had a warm smile, her eyes dancing with a hidden mirth that led Y/n to believe that the principle had filled her in on all the details of what he deemed the "amusing" situation.

"Miss L/n, welcome," he began with a warm smile "This is Mrs Hitachiin, I believe you know her two sons."

"I do," Y/n confirmed "It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Hitachiin. I work mostly in costuming, but I can't help but admire your work. Everything you produce is exquisite."

"Thank you, L/n, your kind words are appreciated," Mrs Hitachiin said with a small smile

"I've filled Mrs Hitachiin in on your situation," the principle informed Y/n, confirming her earlier suspicions "I called you in today Miss L/n because you have a very unique offer coming from Mrs Hitachiin."

Y/n stood there in shock a few steps away from the desk, her features perfectly crafted to conceal her shock. She felt terribly exposed in this kind of light without her mask and wigs, almost wishing she could hide behind them. Mrs Hitachiin had come here with an offer... for her?! These sorts of things never happened to Y/n, in fact, her admission to the school and her consequent business was nothing but a few strokes of luck that she had been able to keep working with despite previously being the most unlucky person she had ever known.

"I've seen some of your work, Miss L/n," Mrs Hitachiin began to explain "Both through my sons as well as other means. I'm currently designing a line of evening gowns, and I believe it would be beneficial to my brand to have a younger eye take a look at some of the designs. Of course, you will be noted for your contributions and compensated heavily for your work."

"You... understand that we will have to use F/n rather then my given name, along with the fact that wherever we work, as long as it is around Hikaru and Kaoru my identity will need to remain a secret," Y/n explained, straightening her posture, her hands falling to fiddle with a loose thread on her dress almost unnoticeably

"Of course!" Mrs Hitachiin enthused "Whatever makes you comfortable. I wouldn't want to be a detriment to this little... game... you seem to have crafted with the youngest Ootari."

Y/n felt herself pushing down the heat in her cheeks at that. It wasn't that she was embarrassed of the web of lies and half truths she had created, it was the fact that so many fully grown adults found such amusement in it.

The group discussed the details of the partnership, with Y/n's mind occasionally wandering. How in the hell was she supposed to keep up the charade if she needed to cover up so many different events? How would she even cover them up? Working with Mrs Hitachiin was a dream for any budding fashion designer, and while Y/n certainly did not stand apart from that crowd, she worried that this would make her stand out to much. Much of her life here at Ouran ran as smoothly as it did by her falling through the cracks and going unnoticed, by blending in and moving with the crowd.

As soon as the discussion was over Y/n left to the dorm room she had on campus. It was always quiet and peaceful in the dorms, most students not even knowing they existed. As the halls slowly grew more empty, Y/n could hear her thudding heart as if it was playing within her ears, her footsteps seemingly growing louder and louder. She became aware of every breath she took, every step she made, her eyes beginning to dart around, trying to make sure not a single soul was in sight to see her slowly crumbling under the weight of all the pressure. Y/n was one of three students who lived at the school, and because she rarely ever left the building it cemented the rumour among several students that she was a campus ghost.

The story behind that was intriguing. According to the student body, a ghost roamed the halls of the elite Ouran Academy, a young girl who had been scorned by her fiancé, who behind her back had maintained a relationship with a girl belonging to a far more successful family then her own. In her sorrow, it was said that the girl had committed suicide, starving herself until she eventually passed. Apparently, the ghost of the student who had done that continued to roam the halls, latching onto and terrorising young male students who found themselves engaged to fellow students, be it by betrothal or otherwise.

Whilst Y/n certainly was not the student from the story, several students were steadfast in their belief that she was, and she was all but certain that the story would have gotten to Kyoya by now. Luckily for her, it allowed her to move within the student body with most not even batting an eye at her, simply trying to avoid her in subtle ways so as not to "incur her wrath".

By the time Y/n had made it back to her dorm, she had broken down. She barely made it through the door before she collapsed, her panic at the situation finally hitting her head first and sending her spiralling. She felt as if she couldn't breath, couldn't think, as if the darkness and shadows were slowly encroaching upon her. She felt alone in her struggles, desperately clawing at her neck in an attempt to bring air into her lungs, her nails leaving deep scratches in her skin. The sting reminded her that she was alive, the sensation of something so real causing her breathing to even out and her brain to stop swimming.

In the next passing days Y/n had found herself having to cover the light scars with concealer, her body tuning on auto pilot, her mind feeling empty. Not even Mitsuo could get through to her with his usual jokes or requests to study. She even missed one of his games, which was unusual, and when he went looking for her afterwards he found her curled in a corner of her bedroom, knees drawn to her chest and staring at nothing, her eyes all but empty husks of their former self. Mitsuo climbed up on her bed, drawing her unresponsive figure into his arms. It didn't take long for her to eventually break down and spill everything to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly and sobbing into his chest. He simply ran his fingers through her hair lightly, praying Kyoya hadn't noticed her mood change, but otherwise doing his best to sooth and console his distraught friend.

But Kyoya had noticed. Kyoya knew she had been called into the principles office and had followed not far behind, pressing his back to the wall to try and listen in when the door had closed. He didn't know when he had resorted to such sneaky measures as this, wondering if perhaps Tamaki or the twins had begun rubbing off on him. To his dismay he couldn't hear a word, however in class the coming days he could see how lifeless she looked. No one else seemed to notice but her eyes were glazed over and unfocused, seemingly staring into nothing. He didn't know if her head was empty or if she had some thought swirling around in her mind. When she no longer attended anything to do with the host club he didn't press the issue, choosing to simply observe from afar.

This was something he had yet to see in Y/n, it was almost as if she was simply going through the motions, unresponsive to the world around her as if she were completely unaware. He noticed her disappearing of a lunch time, though this time he refrained from following, unaware of where she was going. He didn't know how to feel about this development, noting down all the signs and symptoms he could in his notebook. On the one hand he was slightly worried about the state she was in, on the other he was unaware on how, or if, he should help.

All he could do was wait until she returned to normal to continue his investigation.

Word count: 1623