Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I'm sorry to say this isn't the most pleasurable of calls." Crisp and concise, Kyouya was always one to cut to the chase. "Miss Arillena was supposed to meet you and Nekozawa-senpai today, I understand? Has she seen you already? If not, I must extend her regrets."

He shifted slightly on the wall of the planter, idly noting a a dragonfly hovering nearby. Odd, it's a bit early in the season for those. "She is unfortunately in our hospital in the Bunkyo district."

Kyouya had expected no less than that direct demand. Fortunately, he'd planned for it, bearing in mind her father's concern about keeping her condition quiet. "We accidentally met in the Kodansha garden about -- " he checked his watch, "an hour and a half ago. We talked briefly. She was feeling unwell and collapsed on the spot, so I had her transported to the emergency room. She is currently in a normal room, but under sedation, and I'm not entirely sure when she'll be rousing. Her father is here with her," he explained.

Us. Distraught. Kyouya's eyes narrowed slightly on the other end of the call. Just what had happened to Arillena earlier in the day? He'd never seen her so downcast -- either side of her. He flicked mentally back over the conversation, and a sudden steel sharpened in those dark eyes.

"No, she was alone. And no, I'm not certain that she's entirely well at the moment, though the doctor assured me she will be after some rest. But perhaps you can shed a little light on the subject for when she comes to. Do you know what caused her unhappiness earlier? She claimed that she'd been told she shouldn't exist." His voice was admirably calm, though there was a soft undertone that indicated, I do not expect you to have said such a thing. Do not disappoint me.

As if the expert in evading didn't know an evasion and redirection when he heard one. Could he assume that Shiny knew what he knew? Possibly ... that would make this conversation simpler, and he could put her reticence down to protecting the other girl.

But it didn't explain the choking sound and the lengthy silence -- nor did it explain the glaring question of who said that to Arillena?

Kyouya felt a nagging doubt form -- one that he couldn't quite put a finger on, but he knew there was something awry. That question about anyone else. Yes. That.

Information was more precious than gold at this moment. He would be very, very discreet about how he spent his, and careful omissions might bring more to light than a more thorough explanation. "I researched her as I do all of our guests," he pointed out levelly. "She was adopted approximately eight years ago from an orphanage in America. She seems to have been talented at music since that young age, and has done charity performances several times. She is occasionally affected by anxiety and fainting spells."

He continued methodically. "Her mother teaches at Ouran, and her father works in film, doing special-effects makeup. She has a younger brother, Kynata, and a sister, Allyra, whom I've had the privilege of meeting once." Most of that was true, to his knowledge, and the pieces that were less so were exactly as Arillena/Allyra had phrased it to him. He would see what Shiny would do with that information -- and that phrasing tidily kept his promise to Xing.

And there's the lie. What part of it was the lie, he didn't know. But it was obvious.

"Is that so? I see." There was a subtle, deceptive softness in Kyouya's voice. "If that was all that happened, why did you ask me what I knew about her history, Shiny?"

As do I.

"Admirable." There was a calculated pause on the far end of the line, as Kyouya weighed his options and knowledge, and mentally replayed multiple conversations. Just how much of that precious coin was he willing to pay out, and in exchange for what ... ?

Careful, that inner voice reminded him -- somehow reassuring and helpful for a change. But you do have a point that would skirt that promise. It was, after all, a promise only to keep the information from the two sides of Arillena's personality. It seemed to Kyouya that the damage her father had been concerned about had already been done, and not by him.

"Ah, I believe that I mis-spoke. My apologies. I have actually met Miss Allyra twice now." He had made a mistake in that recounting, unintentionally, though it did not currently seem to have hurt him.

"I do find it interesting that I have met her in person more frequently than her own sister has," he noted off-handedly. "I also find it interesting that while she's the same age as Ari, and both Ari and Kynata attend Ouran, Allyra conspicuously does not. Suggestive, isn't it?" He would let Shiny draw what conclusions she wanted from that. She'd know him well enough by now to realize that he was deliberately not filling in the full picture, for whatever reasons of his own he might have.

Did something happen after she left the group? Did she leave separately from her friend? Who is said "friend", I wonder ... ? Too many questions. Focus.

That soft off-handedness was replaced by velvet-and-steel. "I generally trust your judgement, Shiny. Given your reaction, I will assume that you did not believe this ... incident ... was sufficient of a problem that it could send Arillena to the hospital."

I thought so. What kind of idiot tells half of a split personality that they shouldn't exist, though? he snapped internally. As if there weren't enough instability problems with that kind of disorder already ...

"I see. She must have run quite a distance. She was exhausted when I met her." Already he was calculating the potential routes Arillena might have taken between Shiny's home and the Kodansha garden -- and none of them were short. He noticed the inexplicable, repeated omission of Ari's friend's gender. Interesting. Why are you hiding that?

A second thought clicked into place. If this person has handled this problem before -- and it sounds like regularly -- why hasn't Xing told me about him or her? Kyouya was well aware that he wasn't always privileged to know private family details. But given that he'd asked if there were anything the club should be aware of or do if something happened, and given how open Xing had been with him on the subject, this seemed like a glaring omission.

And a third. Shiny would never have said such a thing. I doubt Nekozawa would either. He's a bit creepy, but he's not cruel. It must have been this mysterious third person -- or Ari was delusional. He evaluated that thought carefully. Given her state when I found her, she might have been. But given that Shiny didn't deny that it happened, it's probably safe to assume that something like that happened. In that case, why would a person who presumably is familiar with her condition, and that Ari obviously trusts, say something that thoughtless?

He pinched the bridge of his nose above his glasses. This was more complicated than it should be, but he still had cards to play. "At least overnight, I believe. I'll inform the receptionist that you or Nekozawa-senpai might potentially visit, and have you placed on the guest list. And her friend? Whose name should I give?"

"Faolan," he confirmed, reaching for his notebook to write it down. "I assume you didn't get his family name." Partial name, gender confirmed. That's a good start.

His car pulled up at that moment, and he gestured to Hotta, a brief "give me one minute" signal, before getting up and heading back into the lobby to inform the receptionist, phone still cradled to his ear.

"Oh, one last thing, Shiny. Was there anything particularly provocative in that video you were watching? Arillena seemed to be having a nightmare the one time she came to." He had heard her screaming out in the waiting room, after all. "While I don't doubt the sleep will help in terms of restoring her stability, it might be best to let the doctors know if there is anything specific she might be triggering on before she rouses again."