Ouran High School Host Club Fan Fiction ❯ Pride, Arrogance and Vanity ❯ Her Arrival ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Oh, I sleep just to dream her
Beg the night just to see her
That my only love should be her
Just to lie in her arms
I know I'll miss her later
I wish I could bend my love to hate her
Wish I could be her creator
To be the light in her eyes
"Sleep to Dream Her" (Dave Matthews Band)

A/N: Not much to say here, except that I've planned this story out and the next two chapters might be kinda slow. I don't want them immediately hating each other/loving each other, so there's really no "action" for a while. Sorry. I promise that there will be soon though. This chapter is basically rambling at the beginning. But some of it's pertinent information so yeah, you gotta read it. Haha! :)

Disclaimer: Kyouya Ootori is owned by Bisco Hatori. I own Raine Wilson, Evan Wilson and any other characters that come from my imagination. Lyrics at top are copyright of their respective artist(s).

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Raine breathed in and out slowly. How could one person be so tired? Scratch that question. She already knew the answer. Exhaustion such as this only came from being jerked from your home, thrown on a plane, stuffed into your best business suit and forced to sit through lessons on Japanese and the general etiquette-of-a-lady for six straight hours.

The absurdity of it all had her wondering if this was her father's idea of a bad joke and if she wasn't really engaged after all. It would make her angry, but it would be such a relief. She was still trying to cope with the fact that the bastard she was marrying had chosen her in her 'normal state' over women with jewels and made-up faces. Weren't rich people supposed to want their kids to marry those of excellent lineage and not commoners who just happened to have the smarts to make a buck?

Sighing heavily, she stirred the strawberry daiquiri that her maid had fixed for her, absentmindedly then sipped. The taste swirled over her tongue and the liquor burned all the way down her throat making a heady sensation that took her away from the troubles of the moment. Ah, the joys of being a legal adult! Of course, she wasn't a drunk. She just enjoyed the occasional distraction that usually only came once a year at the New Year's Eve celebration her father threw, but right now, she just needed it.

"Raine!" Her father barked. (He'd been a bit irritable since she had snapped that she knew how to be civil and that shoving etiquette down her throat was not going to make her any less prone to biting the poor man's head off when he pissed her off.)

"What do you want?"

"Read this," He thrust a couple of papers at her, "And quit being so hostile!"

"You're one to talk." She muttered when he was out of earshot.

She opened the folder to find an itinerary. It simply stated that she would arrive at her penthouse and have a couple of hours to relax before her father dragged her off to some lunch meeting with business associates, and…. Well, crap, she thought. She was supposed to be picked up by Kyouya Ootori and taken out to dinner that night.

Raine had been hoping to have time to devise a plan to get rid of the prat, not have to meet with him and deal without any means of defense against whom the internet stated was the "most charming bachelor in Japan."

She had laughed until her stomach ached when she read that on the Japanese news website, needless to say. Too bad the mysterious Kyouya Ootori hadn't provided a photo for the journalist to post with his story. She'd really wanted a look at him. After all, she had to know if she was going to have to practice smiling if he turned out to be ugly. Really now, why else would he be going into an arranged marriage? If he were handsome, then he should have been able to find a girl on his own, especially since he was so "charming."

Raine tossed the folder on the seat next to her and stared out of the private jet's small window, glimpsing small islands and cresting waves on their shores. It was beautiful she supposed, but it wasn't home. It never would be home.

Evan Wilson came and sat down across from her, "We'll be landing soon."

"So I noticed."

"You'll like it, I promise you."

"How would you know what I will like or won't like? Did you suddenly become a mind reader?" Yeah, she was being a bitch, but at the moment, she really didn't care. Her father had hurt her, by doing the one thing he swore never to do: make her marry.

"Raine…. I really wish you'd be kinder about this. You know I had no choice. It's for the best." He reached for her hand. She slapped it away.

She supposed it was for the best. After all, the last thing she wanted was for her father's company to be shut down. The cancer cure had been so sought after and her father was the only one who knew the secret behind the genetic manipulation (besides her of course. She had figured it out when one of the scientists had let her look at the charts.)

The awkwardness of the slap was avoided by the pilot coming over the intercom and saying that they would be landing in 5 minutes and would they please fasten their safety belts?

Her father moved to his seat and she clicked the buckle on her seat belt waiting for the bump and the dying of the motors to say that they had landed. For some reason, this thought made her nervous. Maybe it was only the fact that this was the first time she had been on foreign soil. Maybe she was nervous that what she would find would disappoint her. However, the most likely reason was that she was extremely nervous of what her groom-to-be would think.

Surprised that she even cared, Raine ended up moving off the plane in a trancelike state, not even noticing her surroundings, sliding into the car and not coming out of her dream world until her father started pointing out some of Tokyo's landmarks. These comments were met with nods of the head and non-committal noises. Her father tended to ramble.

They arrived at her penthouse suite with little commotion and moved in with many smiles and bows to the staff. People stared of course. They weren't used to rich Americans in this district. At least, that's how the concierge who'd taken their bags up had excused the guests gaping mouths. Raine doubted this. She thought it was because that morning's newspaper held her picture and they recognized her.

She could have killed her father for telling the Ootoris to make the announcement. She was going to be mobbed every time she went out by reporters (if the ones who attacked her coming in were any clue as to what was coming.)

She slumped in a chair. This was extremely exhausting. She wanted that time alone, but it looked as if she'd have to fight for it, but she didn't have the energy to. Maybe if she just dozed off for a minute…

*******

"Raine, honey…." Her father shook her.

"Mm, what?" she mumbled, coming out of a wonderful dream where she lived alone on a private island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

"I'm going to my business meeting now, do you want to go?"

"I have a choice?" According to the itinerary, she hadn't had one, which is why she'd allowed them to force her into her best suit.

"Of course you do. It has been so kindly pointed out to me by Mrs. Smith that you haven't had any time to yourself." He gave an unhappy glance back at their old housekeeper that suggested that the words had been anything but kind and this moment of rest had been entirely because the old woman knew how to care for children, whereas her father did not. "You may have a nap, or you can go shopping for your meeting with Mr. Ootori. Mrs. Smith has also informed me that you didn't bring any dresses and you need a cocktail dress to get into the restaurant he's taking you to."

"I'll go shopping, Daddy, don't worry. Go to your business meeting." She smiled. This was their first conversation in a long time that hadn't ended in an argument. She mentioned it to the housekeeper who was hanging her clothes in a closet and she only responded with a smile. The staff were supposed to keep out of the family's affairs and not comment or gossip on relationships.

Once the small apartment style suite was in order, they went out and came back with several items, both formal and casual. It was out of these that Raine chose a teal dress and brown sandals that gave the appearance of relaxed formality, which seemed to be the style of Japan's rich and famous at the time.

For the next hour Raine paced, read books, and listened to music. She avoided eating (a nervous habit, as of late) and stared out the window to the street below. She fretted and worried about the fact that she was going to look like a fool in the dress she wore, and she drove Mrs. Smith up the wall with her constant questions that could never be answered.

Finally, there was a knock on the door and Raine jumped up to get it, but one of the maids got to it first. She smoothed the handkerchief-hemmed skirt of her dress out as the door opened to reveal a handsome young man with short dark hair and glasses. He looked to be around 6 feet tall, if not more and wore a dark pair of slacks, a button up white shirt, with the top two buttons undone and a matching dark suit-like jacket. When he spoke and greeted them all, his voice was deep and soft. This was not what she had been expecting.

Her heart fluttered, as women's hearts are prone to do when faced with a handsome man, and she was pretty sure she was blushing.

Oh, no. This is not what she had been expecting at all.

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A/N: Mwhahahah!! ……OK, I'm done. I just felt that after that ending, it needed some evil laughter….. O.o. I apologise once again for the wordiness and rambling, but it's how I write. Forgive me (AND TELL ME) if I've left anything out or you do not understand something. I will try to clear it up in future chapters.