The host club is now open for business.

At midnight.

It was an annual event, or so claimed "The King", where the club would open precisely at the stroke of midnight instead of the afternoon. Most would assume a late night event such as this would lack the energy and festive air of one at the usual hour, however...

"He's at it again..." Haruhi sighed. It was one thing to deal with Tamaki's overdramatic flattery during the day, but at night, and tired to the point of wanting to just curl up on the floor and fall asleep, it was all but amusing. "Don't get me wrong, Tamaki-senpai's ideas are fun and all but sometimes they're just too much..."

All this apparently told to the ceiling. Haruhi looked around at the other hosts successfully fulfilling their goals, with no complaining to inanimate objects, and as far as she could tell enjoying it. Was it just her imagination or were there more guests now than their regular time?

"Something wrong Haruhi?"

Leave it to Kyoya to throw that question at her the second something was wrong.

"No, just tired." Was her almost truthfully response. She figured that the "I'm irritated" part was fairly obvious.

"Understandable." Kyoya nodded. "We all can't have energy as boundless as Tamaki."

Haruhi scoffed. "Tell me about it."

Then, as if on some magic cue, Tamaki called to the pair from where they had somehow missed everyone in the room gathering at the door.

"Haruhi!" The endless power supply called over everyone else. "Come on! We're all going to the plaza!"

"The plaza?" Haruhi cocked her head, then turned to look outside. Well, it was a nice night, plus she could do with getting out of the room.

Haruhi yawned as she made her way to the door, trudging along while the girls she was supposed to host giggled excitedly around her.

"Oh, Haruhi! Isn't it so romantic?" A girl with silly little buns on her head grabbed Haruhi's arm and squealed, "A walk under the moonlight! And look at those stars!" She practically swooned as she pointed out the huge window facing the clock tower.

Haruhi smiled and gazed out the window. "It is really pretty."

The girls around her sighed audibly and crowded around even closer. She felt a light bit of claustrophobia crawl over her.

"Haru-chan!" Honey's little blonde figure came into view above everyone's head. He was riding on Mori's shoulders, his preferred way of travel. "Haru-chan! Haru-chan! Don't I look cute?" He waved his bunny Usa-chan in the air and showed off his matching pink pajamas covered with little designs of strawberries. Haruhi saw Mori give a slight smile as he grasped one of Honey's legs to keep him from falling, and the girls around them squealed.

Haruhi smiled and tried to raise an arm to wave, but she found it difficult to move "Oh, crap. I'm going to suffocate." She closed her eyes and grinned uncomfortably, trying to push the girls around her just a little further away. Then she suddenly felt the floor leave her feet, and she was carried away by the Hitachiin twins by her elbows.

"You looked like you were going to drown," said the one on her right.

"So we decided to rescue you," explained the other.

"Oh. Thanks guys." They continued to carry her down the hallway and through the door. Haruhi was getting peeved. "Guys, put me down. I can walk."

"Oh. We know you can," beamed the twin on her left, Hikaru.

"But we'd rather be gentlemen!" They chimed together.

"Come on, Kaoru. You'll listen to reason. I need to host. And so do you," Haruhi stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, all right," they sang together as they placed her on the ground. "But don't get lost." Kaoru smiled and Hikaru grinned widely as they ran away, locked arm-in-arm.

Haruhi watched their bright red hair bop away into the night and rolled her eyes. She's been here long enough; She knew her way around. But as she continued after them, she nearly fell over. She was once again caught in a wave of females, and she was struck by how many girls there were. She couldn't remember a crowd this big all at once. Once the crowd thinned and Haruhi was left a bit disheveled, Kyoya emerged from the school.

"Haruhi, you're going to be late," he mused as he walked past her.

She muttered as she tried to flatten her hair and smooth her jacket. Then she called to his retreating figure. "Kyoya-senpai!" He stopped but didn't turn around. She jogged up to him and asked, "Are there always so many girls during the club?"

Kyoya smiled and pushed up his glasses, which glinted in the moonlight. "So you've noticed." Haruhi's irritation rose slightly. Well it's pretty obvious, she thought. "Yes," Kyoya continued, "this is one of Tamaki's better ideas. Women are partial to moonlight, after all. It supposedly enhances beauty and hides the imperfections."

"Sure, but it's only temporary," Haruhi stated. "Nothing lasts forever." But before she finished, Kyoya started scribbling in his notebook again, signaling the conversation being over, and he walked towards the chatter. With a sigh, Haruhi followed.

Once outside, Haruhi's mood lifted as if the full moon and billion little shining stars had cast a spell over her. This was only her second time at the school's plaza, the first had only been a walkthrough and she hadn't really been paying attention. That was practically impossible now, however, with the moon's own reflecting light hitting the plaza's tiles in such a way that highlighted each of them individually, making them glow. Dead center of this glowing surface stood a marble fountain, a sort of figure with outspread wings, which was yet another object for the milky light to hit and engulf in this wonderful glow.

Haruhi guessed she had been standing in silent awe for quite a while because she had failed to notice Tamaki standing right next to her.

"It's beautiful, no?" The King questioned with a dreamy sigh. "Such a sight can only be seen in the twilight hours of the night when enhanced by the beauty of the moon. Isn't it wonderful?"

Haruhi nodded. "I have to admit it's almost worth the lack of sleep and destruction to my sleep schedule."

"Such a shame it only comes around once a year..." Tamaki sighed again and turned to look at her. He looked at her and that was all he did for the next few, silent moments.

"Uh...senpai?" Haruhi asked at the end of them. "What are you staring at?"

"Haruhi..." Tamaki's eyes were set on her. Her in the moonlight. She was bathed in the beautiful glow; her big trademark eyes were lit with outstanding beauty that threatened to melt his passionate heart into nothing but a puddle.

Before Haruhi could repeat her question to Tamaki, he had grabbed her into a crushing hug with a squeal.

"You're so adorable!" He hugged her tighter. "It's too much! All this cuteness puts the moon's luminous beauty to shame!"

"Sen...pai..." Haruhi croaked.

Tamaki released her. She gasped. I think I just died a little...she thought glumly

"Haru-chan!" For the second time that night, Honey's voice yelled to Haruhi as he made his way over through the crowd that had formed during Tamaki and Haruhi's little scene, upon Mori's back. "Haru-chan, why are you on the ground?"

"Oh, no reason..." Haruhi replied, standing up and making a point to dust herself off while shooting a glare at Tamaki, who had already moved on to another customer. "Did you need something, Honey-senpai?"

"Uh-huh," Honey nodded then pointed to the sky. "Look at that!"

Haruhi obeyed, as did everyone else within twenty yards. "That" was hardly easy to miss. Against the black of the sky, in between the stars, something white flashed across the sky. At first Haruhi thought it was a falling star, or some other falling cosmic object, but there was something about it that wasn't...right. Then it happened

A flash, blindingly white, filled the sky like daylight. It lasted only a few seconds but when it faded back to black night, something was different and Haruhi couldn't put her finger on it.

The group had to blink their eyes quickly to remove the blinding glare that filled their eyes. Haruhi rubbed her eyes absently. Her contacts were bothering her.

"Haruhi! Are you alright?" Tamaki gasped her face in his fatherly was as her eyes watered slightly. He noticed her tiny tears and his eyes filled with tears also. "Haruhi! You were amazed by the beauty of nature! The magnificence of it all!" He pulled her into another rib-cracking hug and Haruhi squeaked from surprise.

"N-no! Senpai! Let g-go!" She gasped. But he wouldn't give in so easily. He twirled them around the plaza a couple times, monologuing about how wonderful the earth was and how beautiful the night sky was. A few of Tamaki's customers eyed them enviously as Kyoya took notes diligently, his eyes invisible under the glare of his glasses. Honey was exclaiming loudly how pretty the light was, Mori and his customers listening intently, smiling and giggling when deemed appropriate.

But as Haruhi was set back down on her feet, her eyes still a little irritated, she still couldn't shake the fact that something wasn't quite right. Tamaki was still talking, a firm grasp on Haruhi's shoulder, when the twins appeared and broke the romantic mood like a twig under their feet.

"There's a monster on the grounds!" They shouted in unison as they came to a skidding halt among the group. The girls (excluding Haruhi, who merely shook her head) all screamed loudly, some asking silly questions like, "Where?" or "What's it look like?" or "Was it scary?" The twins' customers gathered around them as close as they could get, and the other girls tried to gather closer as the twins began their tale. Tamaki's face looked terrified as he hid behind Haruhi, his eyes scanning the grounds quickly.

"Yeah!" The twins chimed.

"It chased Kaoru!"

"So Hikaru got in its way!"

"I guess I scared it..."

"Because then it turned and ran this way!"

The plaza filled with terrified screams as the girls all grabbed each and hugged each other tightly looking every which way. "Look! It's there!" Someone screamed, and the frightened chatter grew louder until Kyoya emerged from the shadows where everyone was facing.

"What's the fuss?" He asked calmly.

"Monster!" Tamaki and the girls cried, but Kyoya just shook his head.

"Probably just a stray cat. Nothing to worry about." And he smiled. "Please, continue enjoying ourselves." He began taking notes again as his customers walked up to him, chattering excitedly amongst themselves.

"Oh, Kaoru. You hear that? It was just a stray cat," Hikaru soothed. Haruhi rolled her eyes; she knew what was coming.

"But, Hikaru, I was so scared..." and he fell into his brother's arms, his face in his hands. The girls gathered around the duo, their eyes intent to absorb the scene and plaster it to memory.

"I know, Kaoru. That's why I tried to protect you." Hikaru gingerly took his twin's hands and leaned dangerously close to the other's face. "I'll always protect you..."

"Oh, Hikaru..."

And the girls around them squealed so loudly, Haruhi had to cover her ears. It seemed the jolly mood had returned. But Haruhi still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that was growing steadily at the pit of her stomach, and when she looked Kyoya's way, she couldn't help but wonder where he had gone before he appeared from the shadows.

Alright, there's chapter uno people n.n Hope you will take time to read AND review. HOST CLUB ftw