Disclaimer – As much as I love the characters and putting them in situation that may or may not be bad for their health, I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or its characters.

A/N: Here it is! The beginning of my Christmas story. After two polls, Chika won by a landslide over Kyoya. Don't worry Kyoya/Haruhi fans, he will get either a New Year's or a Valentine's story…although, I'm leaning towards Chinese New Year and Valentine's together since they are not that far apart in 2016. I was discussing the story with a couple of people and I had originally planned something else, but when I was talking about the Grinch with CyraHafise, this story popped in my head and I knew this was going to be the one I worked on. So there are some aspects of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The other story idea will be put in my journal to be used next year. Enjoy and MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Chapter 1 – Being A Grinch

This sucked! Life sucked! His brother sucked! And he wouldn't be here right now if it hadn't been for his pigheaded overbearing cousin, Satoshi; ergo, he sucked too! Chika wanted to rip the shinai that was normally found in his hand away from him and beat him into a bloody pulp…okay, maybe not that drastic, but pretty close to it. Suffering through this night was making him inch ever closer to completely bonkers, and if he got to that point, his cousin may die.

Chika's sole goal in life was to become better than his elder brother, Hunny. Every day, he worked hard to improve his skills in martial arts, pushed himself to excel in academics, and did what he could to surpass his brother…and each and every day he failed. It was enough to make someone bitter; and bitter he was. His brother could make friends more easily, always seemed happy and full of smiles, did what he wanted, and was still stronger than Chika by a landslide. No matter what he did, Chika could not beat him. It wasn't fair!

Was it any wonder his motto was more "Bah Humbug" than "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" this Christmas? He didn't think so. He also didn't understand how he and Satoshi had been roped into helping the Host Club with their Christmas ball. If they wanted the girls to be fawning all over them, then they didn't have to rope in people not even associated with the club to begin with! He had to remind himself on more than one occasion that this was only temporary and after this year, he wouldn't have to worry about the blond bug because Tamaki would be graduating in the spring.

But it wasn't only the ball Chika had an issue with, it was the small skit that Tamaki just decided the club had to do! After seeing the cartoon and then the movie of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the blond had the brilliant idea to perform for the princesses…and no one wanted to dress in a green suit. Somehow names were discussed and eventually, Mori approached his brother and Chika to help with the play and somehow Chika was forced into a green suit. Why not Satoshi? Chika still wasn't sure. He only knew that his cousin had helped the twins to assault and wrestle him into the costume for the initial fitting…and each subsequent fitting.

Would it be wrong to murder his supposed best friend/cousin in his sleep? What about the other hosts? Because as he stood there in the ball room, knowing the time to put on the green suit was encroaching quickly and a cloud of doom hung heavily over him, he wanted to do nothing more than to make sure each one of them suffered. Maybe, a little mind you, maybe he could understand why the Grinch acted the way he did. He was surrounded by people who annoyed the hell out of him, forced things upon him, talked about him behind his back, etc. It was enough to drive a sane person insane.

The only shining light in this whole thing: Haruhi was playing Cindy Lou Who. He actually couldn't say why it was a good thing or why he cared, but it mattered...a little. It was just, since the time he had met her, she was probably the only person who never compared the two Haninozuka brothers against each other – not that Chika didn't do enough of that on his own. To her, they were their own person. Although, he had to admit that she was kind of dense if she didn't understand his animosity towards Hunny. Of course, he also had thought she was a boy until the start of her second year when she showed up to school wearing the girls' uniform. How had he missed that one? He didn't know and he didn't care…much.

The thing was, she was a person who stuck with you long after you met her. Maybe it was her eyes or her presence, but once you met her, you never forgot her. She would unknowingly ingrain herself on you and you were powerless to fight it. Even before he discovered her true gender, he had thought about her more than once, but most of the time it was nothing more than a passing fancy; and after the revelation, he had thought about her more than just in passing.

The problem was, she was taken – or at least he believed she was. Chika could never get a straight answer out of anyone, and that made him even crankier. Tamaki had claimed her for himself, but she acted as if she hated his hugs and always seemed to talk to him like he was more of a child than a man who had captured her heart. When he asked his brother, Hunny had said, "Haru-Chan? All of the hosts love her, but Tama-Chan seems to love her the most." That didn't exactly answer Chika's question. When he asked Mori, his older cousin told him, "Haruhi doesn't understand the feelings of the others, but she isn't completely oblivious." Chika's deadpanned response, "Thanks for sounding like a fortune cookie." When he asked the twins, they started to tease him and then told him to give up because she had something with Tamaki, but they couldn't say exactly what it was. And when he asked Kyoya, the Shadow King leered and asked, "And why do you want to know?" It gave Chika the chills and he understood why his nick name was the Shadow King. In other words, he never got a straight answer. Was she dating Tamaki or not? Tamaki would have probably said yes if Chika actually flat out asked him, and asking her…that was just too embarrassing and he wasn't sure what to do or how to handle the situation. Did he want to date her? He actually wasn't sure, but the thought of Tamaki and her as a couple – he broke a punching bag at the dojo's gym at school.

It seemed as if the closer they had gotten to the party, the worst his attitude became and the number of swings from Satoshi's shinai increased. Why did he have to help out his brother's former club? Why did he have to be the Grinch? And why did Haruhi have to be with Tamaki, even if it was just a rumor?

"What's your problem?" Satoshi hissed at his cousin's side. Kyoya had confiscated his shinai and told him that acts of violence in front of the guests was ungentlemanly, but he wanted nothing more than to feel the weight of it in his hands just in case Chika misbehaved.

Glaring at his best friend, Chika retorted, "You mean besides the fact that I was forced to come to this party, forced to wear a green suit, and forced to be nice to people I don't even like?"

"Yasuchika…" the name was a warning on Satoshi's lips.

"Yasuchika, will you dance with me?" Haruhi interrupted the two. She had just finished dancing with a male guest and saw Chika's temper about to flare. Pulling him out on the dance floor seemed safer than leaving the two cousins to duke it out. When they were safely twirling around, she asked, "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah," his answer was short and clipped.

"I see…" Her eyes noticed every little nuance of his face, the minute changes in his expression, and she could tell that he was a little more relaxed since they had started to waltz. It may not have been much to others, but it meant a lot to her. The last thing she wanted was this night to be ruined for anyone by anyone. The hosts had worked long and hard, as they usually did, to make this night perfect for their guests, and she could see that Chika had been near the end of his tether. "You know, there are many girls here who are talking about you and have been waiting to dance with you."

"Does that include you?" He asked without thinking.

Smiling, she told him, "I can't say, but I will say that you are a lot easier to dance with than your brother." She could still remember how dizzy she felt every time Hunny literally spun her around the dance floor; and while she may not admit to anything directly, it felt good to be in his arms dancing casually instead of feeling like she had to watch what she said and how she behaved. "Thanks though."

"For what?"

"For helping us with tonight and for doing the skit. I know you didn't want to have anything to do with the Host Club and even if the others don't say it, you saved us. Tamaki-senpai accidently wound up inviting everyone in the student body and we needed extra people, and then there was the skit. No one wanted to do it, and even though it was by force, you stepped up. So, thank you."

"Why did Tamaki-senpai send out the invitation?"

She snickered, "He thought he would help Kyoya-senpai and it backfired."

The sound of her laughing made his heart clench, "I see. The degree of his idiocy knows no bounds."

"That's kind of harsh."

"I believe you mean truthful."

"What is your problem?"

"Nothing. This is just how I am. I don't even know why I'm here. I would rather be fighting my brother than pretending to be some nice gentleman. In fact, I would rather be anywhere than here with these people."

"Does that include everyone?" Silently, she wondered and asked if it included her.

"Possibly."

"Don't you think you're getting into character a little too early?"

"No, this is just how I am."

"Scrooge."

"Don't you mean Grinch?"

Her steps faltered a bit when she "accidentally" stomped on his foot, "Excuse me. I think I need to go and get ready for the play." She left him staring after her when she left him on the dance floor alone. If he wanted to act like that, he could, but that didn't mean she had to stand there and listen. And it's not like she really cared about what he said anyway…at least that's what she told herself. Didn't care at all.

Chika watched her walk away, and if he needed confirmation on what Tamaki's role in her life was, he had it. His hand went to his chest and scratched. He still didn't want to admit why it was aching.

"Mommy, what happened between our daughter and Yasuchika?" Tamaki asked as his eyes followed Haruhi making her way through the crowd.

Kyoya adjusted his glasses and smirked, "I believe a disagreement about the future."

"Future of what?"

"Their lives and the play."

"Why would that matter? Why are they talking about their future?" Was he missing something?

"Because the Grinch still needs to learn his lesson."

"Lesson?" Tamaki paused to think and then brightened, "Oh the play! Everyone needs to get ready!"

And just like that, the hosts took their temporary leave from the ball in order to prepare for the play…or was it their funeral?