Just Look into It

31. Stern Demands

"I was unaware you could throw a punch like that Ryo-chan!"

"It was certainly an unexpected sight."

"You looked like some sort of valkyrie, Hisakawa."

She glanced up from her work, seeing the hosts gathered around her. Tamaki, for some reason, looked off. 

"I try not to get into fights, so that's not surprising," she responded after a moment.

Tamaki looked like he wanted to say something, so she met his gaze. Like she had hit a trigger, he snapped. "You knew they were here. Why didn't you wait for someone to go with you?"

That's what it was. 

Ryo took a breath and closed her computer. "I consider us very lucky that it was only two drunk teenagers-"

"How is that-" 

She glared, cutting him off. "-rather than someone hired to kidnap or harm anyone of you or the guests."

There was a sudden silence as the hosts exchanged looks. 

"You are all from influential families and the entire reason I go to Ouran is to prevent anything like that from happening. That's the reason I argue with the Host Club so often about various schemes and plans. That's the reason why I always show up when something is going down or something is being delivered. I'm ashamed that I didn't have my system prepared and fully operational for today," she explained. She pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "I consider us lucky. I did not go off on my own out of hubris. I went to bring everyone into one location and to stall for time should I run into someone."

Kyouya nodded. "I knew of her location as quickly as I did because Yuu called from her phone and shared the location before the men had arrived."

Ryo placed the taser on the table. "I wasn't unarmed either. Tamaki, you are upset because Haruhi and I were two young girls against two guys?"

He nodded, anger and concern clear in his voice. "It was reckless and you two could have gotten seriously hurt."

She nodded, standing. "I agree, but think for a moment what would have happened if neither Haruhi nor I had stepped in? Two of your guests and my brother would have been left alone to defend themselves against them. Any number of things could have happened- all Haruhi and I were doing were buying time. Yes, it was unsafe and I apologize for causing you all to worry. But I do not apologize for trying to help those girls, who likely would not have been able to keep a calm and rational mind."

Tamaki practically flopped onto her shoulder. "If only Haruhi would stop being stubborn and apologize like you," he whined. 

"Excuse me?"

Honey piped up, "Haru-chan and Tama-chan got into a fight and now they're not speaking to each other."

She sighed. "Haruhi probably just needs time to calm down and look at it from your perspective."

She watched as Honey and Mori left to go cook dinner, offering her own supplies if they wanted them. The twins disappeared, probably to bother Haruhi, leaving her with her classmates. Tamaki was still leaning against her, and she reluctantly patted his head. 

"You two will make up," she told him. "If not, I'll talk to her myself."

"Where did you learn to throw a punch like that, Miss Ryouka?" Kyouya piped up. 

The brunette glanced over at him. "I dunno if you'll like what you'll hear."

He frowned, and Tamaki instantly straightened. "What's that supposed to mean Hisakawa?"

"Just call me Ryo already," she sighed, pushing the blonde off. "How do you think I managed to get a ground plan of Ouran and map out all of the security risks to send to your father?"

The two exchanged a look, both a bit puzzled. 

"I broke into the campus for a few weeks and evaded the night security until I had mapped out the entire school and all of its cameras."

"You-Your joking, right?" Tamaki asked. 

Ryo shook her head. "I'm not. I have the entirety of the school memorized. I created a blueprint, wrote out all of the issues with security and my proposed solutions. I sent it anonymously to the chairman, who reached out with a contract deal. I haven't done it since, but walking around late enough at night to do so forces you to think on your feet."

"That's terrifying," he muttered before catching himself. "Ryo- isn't that illegal?"

"Probably. At the time, however, I was willing to do anything and everything to get my system and name out there so I could provide for Yuu." She fell back into her seat. "I wish I could have done it in a better way, but I haven't done anything remotely similar since making that deal with Ouran."

"Good," Tamaki said. "We'll come to get you when it's time to eat then."

She opened her laptop and shook her head. "Don't bother. I need to get to work."

"What?" he freaked. "You've got to eat something-"

"Tamaki, I'll be fine," she sighed. "I promise I'll eat something later."

"But that's-"

Kyouya took a step forward. "Tamaki, be glad you've gotten this much out of Miss Ryouka. She can be stubborn when it comes to her work ethic. You can make sure she eats later as she said."

The two started to leave, and she paused in her work. 

"Thank you, Tamaki," she hesitantly called out, "for protecting Haruhi."

Ryo immediately put herself back to work, carrying her laptop over to a camera she was installing. Left alone, she forced herself to focus. The hosts were leaving tomorrow morning and she wanted to be finished around that time as well. 

Images and what-ifs flashed through her mind. 

She frowned, shaking her head. There was no going back for better or worse. The situation had ended with minimal injuries. Ryo decided that she would check in on the two girls come Monday at school. Instead, she tried to distract herself with thoughts of how terribly the dinner would go if Haruhi was being as stubborn as Tamaki claimed. The sound of footsteps reached her ears, causing her to glance over. Haruhi and Yuu were watching her.

"Are you coming to dinner?" Yuu asked. Giving him a small smile, she shook her head. "Why not?"

"Well, I ended up getting less work done today than I expected," she replied.

Haruhi sighed. "You can take a break to eat."

"Like I told Tamaki, I'll eat something later after I've gotten work done," she firmly stated. "Now, go enjoy the food you worked hard to collect. Yuu, I'll be checking on you later, so don't skip eating."

He growled. "So why are you skipping?"

Ryo sighed. "I'm not skipping, Yuu, I swear. I just need space to work and focus."

"Ryo..."

Why was the whole family so stubborn?

With a sigh, Ryo put her laptop down and made her way over to him. "Alright, fine. If you could, could you bring me some food? We can eat here so that I can keep working, and you can make sure I eat. Does that work?"

Slowly, he nodded. 

"Alright."

Sure enough, a while later, he came rushing through the door with a plate of crab. Wanting to make sure he felt better about everything that had happened, she didn't argue and played along with his stern demands to sit and eat. 

Ryo normally couldn't take a break for herself. 

But for Yuu, she could.