Just Look into It

35. Banter

Ryo held back a groan as she found herself staring at the entirety of the host club through the crack in her door. She had refused to open it up fully, leaving the chain still latched, as it was rather early in the morning. Yuu was still asleep and the pounding at the door had woken her up. 

She glared at Kyouya, who was avoiding her gaze. Forcing a polite tone, she sighed, "What do you all need?" 

There was no response. 

"They showed up at my place yesterday, and they demanded to see your place today," Haruhi growled from the back of the group. Ryo blinked, surprised that she hadn't already snuck away. 

"No," she bluntly responded, shutting the door. 

"Aw, come on Hisakawa," the twins chirped, pressing against her weight to stop the door from closing. "Just for a bit?"

"You'll be here all day, I'm not stupid," she hissed. Growing frustrated, she reluctantly threw the door open fully and stood in the doorway. The twins instantly backed away at her glare, eyes wandering up to the mess her hair was at the moment. "I hope you all know I finally went to lay down an hour ago. Yuu is still asleep. Give me one good reason to let you in."

Kyouya stepped forward, not bothered by her glare or harsh tone as it wasn't the first time they had interacted when one or the other was low on rest. "Take this opportunity to rest. We will keep an eye on Yuu and order food for everyone here."

"And let you trash and diss my home, and corrupt my brother?" she retorted, crossing her arms. "I'll let you in for the food but don't think for a second you'll get away with being disrespectful."

With a firm look made worthless by a yawn, she walked back into the home and moved to wake her brother. She quickly shook him awake and smirked at his groan of annoyance. He attempted to roll over, only for her to grab his blankets. 

"Ryo!" he groaned. 

"The hosts are visiting. Time to wake up."

A bit annoyed that she had been asleep before they arrived, she walked back out to see them all sitting casually in the living room, Honey and Mori sprawled on the floor. They were talking among themselves, and she resisted the urge to keep glaring at them. 

It seemed like they just wanted a change of pace or something. 

"Ryo?" Yuu called out with a yawn, making his way into the kitchen. 

"Yes?" she responded. Taking a quick glance at his terrible bed head, she sighed. "Brush your hair."

"I will," he snapped back. "Why are the hosts here? Is something wrong?"

She grabbed a bowl and the box of cereal. "Don't snap at me. And no, they just wanted to hang out with us."

"Sorry..."

"It's alright, we're both half-awake."

She ruffled his hair, getting another groan as he batted at her hands. Taking a moment to yawn, she looked around for her glasses, trying to remember where she had taken them off a few hours earlier. 

"Ryo?"

"Yes?"

"Your glasses are in the bathroom."

"No, they're not. I left them in there while you were getting around for bed but I needed them once you were asleep."

"You stayed up all night didn't you," Yuu accused, looking as intimidating as he could with a spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth. 

She shot him a look. "Yes, I did."

"You need sleep."

"I'm fine Yuu," she argued, picking up her glasses from underneath some paperwork. Ryo quickly cleaned up the remainder of her mess from that night: organizing her papers, putting her mug by the sink, and plugging her laptop in. 

"Hisakawa?" Hikaru piped up. 

"Yes?" the siblings answered. 

He paused. "Do you have any tea?"

"I do," Ryo answered, shooting him a look. He needed to watch how he worded his next sentence. 

"Ah, well, we brought some loose leaves so we could all share a drink," he said, stumbling through his words as a bit of panic hit him. "But whatever is easiest for you."

"I can make tea I suppose, bring it here. Does everyone want this kind?"

Ryo looked at the fancy tea she had been handed as Yuu finished his breakfast and darted off to get changed. With a sigh, she set her kettle on the stove and pulled out her mugs. While the water was heating, she put fresh grounds in her coffee pot and made herself a fresh cup. 

She leaned against the counter with her eyes closed, the sounds of their conversations barely reaching her ears. Finding herself in a slight daze, she jumped as a high pitched whistle hit her ears. 

With a yawn she set the tray of mugs on the coffee table and settled down on the floor with her cup of coffee, back leaning against the side of the couch. Yuu hurried over with a sketchbook, finding a place on the floor next to Mori. She watched from the corner of her eye as they all hesitantly reached out to grab a mug, staring at the small animals hanging from the edge of the mugs. 

"All I have are individual infusers," she piped up. 

"Cute..."

Ryo turned her face to her own mug, hiding her face as she took a large swig. Her face was flushed slightly at the muttered comment they had all suddenly made. She could blame Ranka or the chairman, but she could have thrown them out at any point and gotten different ones. 

"Miss Ryouka?" 

She glanced up to see Kyouya leaning over the armrest to look down at her. "Yes?"

"Thank you for allowing us into your home on such short notice."

"It's the last damn time," she replied, setting her already empty cup aside. She paused before sighing. "At the very least I'll need more of a warning."

He smirked. "No guarantees, but I will try to at least warn you on the drive over."

Suddenly Tamaki stood up with a shout, pointing at her. 

"As the host and a lady, you shouldn't be sitting on the floor!" he wailed. "Please, take my spot!"

"Tamaki, shut up," she blurted. "My house, my rules. I'm sitting here."

The twins darted over to sit by Haruhi, who Tamaki had been monopolizing. "Thank you!"

"Not you!" he shouted. The three boys started to bicker, leaving Haruhi to move over to where the twins had been before. Lunging across the table, Tamaki scurried to sit next to her again. His triumphant look quickly melted when he realized that no problems had been solved. 

Ryo pulled a pillow from behind Kyouya's neck, smirking at the surprised glare he shot her. She curled up around the pillow, leaning against the couch and watching the hosts interact. It seemed like they hadn't wanted anything but to hang out together, a less harmful objective than scouting out Haruhi's home like they had done yesterday. 

It wasn't long before she drifted off, a small smile on her face as she listened to their banter.