Haruhi wasn't a particularly curious person, but as she began to get to know more about her fellow hosts, a few questions had begun to come up.
For example, Tamaki was doing it again. Not that such a statement narrowed the possibilities; actually it was like pointing out a flower in the middle of a field full of all the same kind of flowers.
"And all for you, my princess," the king concluded, his lips pressed against the fingers of his customer.
"Tamaki-senpai ," the girl said breathlessly, as she half-heatedly attempted to take her hand from his grasp. Another typical host club encounter; Haruhi sighed and wondered why no one else noticed it.
'It' was right behind Tamaki; the backdrop of red roses with shining dewdrops on their petals. If she tilted her head and took a step to the right, there would be a perfect frame of roses around their senpai presenting the client with a short-stemmed, thornless rose.
Kyoya walked onto the scene then, the roses mysteriously vanishing as he informed them that the young lady's time was up. Tamaki offered to escort her to the door, so Kyoya was the first to note the question on Haruhi's face. "Is something bothering you?"
"I don't know."
Kyoya pushed up his glasses. "You are distracted, which makes you less effective as a host. I had assumed that you would want to clear your debt before I graduate." The threat was clear.
"I was just wondering why no one else notices it," Haruhi answered quickly.
"It?" Two voices interrupted. "What's going on?" The twins dropped their arms around Haruhi's shoulders.
"We're solving a problem."
"My daughter has a problem?"
"Tama-chan, you dropped a rose!"
"That's exactly the problem: Tamaki's roses!"
The hosts quieted and looked at her. Kyoya opened his notebook. "I didn't think that you had any allergies, Haruhi."
"Haruhi's allergic to my roses!? Quickly, we must purge the room! Hikaru, Kaoru!"
"Right!"
"I don't have an allergy!" The twins and Tamaki froze.
"What did you want to know?" There was the barest hint of impatience in Kyoya's voice.
"Well," she felt a little foolish, "where do they come from?"
"I thought you knew that roses generally grow on bushes. If you want the name of our florist, you should just ask, but I warn you that they are very expensive."
"That's not quite…"
"Don't fear, Haruhi! If you desire any flowers from our florist, put it on my expense account and Daddy will pay for them!"
"There! You see?" The hosts looked at her blankly, rose petals falling softly around them. She sighed. "The background."
"Oh, that!" Kaoru answered.
Hikaru shrugged. "He's always had it." Satisfied, the twins left to welcome their next clients.
"Did you want one, Haru-chan?" Honey looked at her quite innocently.
"Only the finest for you! I will arrange everything!"
"I don't want one!" With an instantaneous disappearance of roses; Tamaki curled up into a suddenly dark corner of the room.
"Haruhi, that will be 200,000 yen." Kyoya closed his notebook.
Haruhi's eyes widened as she protested, "I don't need a background!"
"Not for the background; for the waste of valuable hosting time." Kyoya walked away with the two seniors. Haruhi twitched with annoyance.