Fusion

When Haruhi had been interviewed for a job, soon after university graduation, she had never mentioned her connections to the famous families she was friends with. Her interviewer however was very pleased with her attendance at Ouran High School.

"Ouran?" The interviewer, Hajime Yamada, looked up at her, slightly surprised. "You attended Ouran?"

"Yes, I was a scholarship student," Haruhi said.

The man made a sound acknowledgment as he previewed her file. "Your teachers have nothing but praise for you, Ouran and university."

There was a pause. "You gained work experience at the Ohtori Group?"

Haruhi grimaced and nodded. "It was a brief, very brief, summer internship." It had been Kyouya's idea of a present, she thought darkly, not that he hadn't made her work for it afterwards.

"Your file is very impressive," he said finally, "Yamada law firm would be fools not to hire you, Miss Fujioka." He stood up, offering her a hand. Haruhi took it, smiling brightly.

"Thank you, sir, I hope I'm able to fulfill my potential here," she murmured.

"Just one question," Yamada said, leaning back in his chair. "Your record is wonderful, one of the larger firms would gladly hire you and for double the wage. Why here?"

"Why Yamada law firm?" Hikaru said with distaste.

"I've never heard of it - " Kaoru continued, frowning.

"Neither have I," Hikaru added. "Can't be any good."

"I think I will find the work there very fulfilling," Haruhi murmured. "It isn't your concern where I work."

The twins exchanged glances. "Haruhi! So mean!" Kaoru cried out.

"Don't you have your own fashion business empire to run?" Haruhi pointed out as the twins continued to pout. "Your mother has high expectations for you."

"Doesn't mean we can't have lunch with our favourite Haruhi," Hikaru said slyly. Then paused and stared around. "Did it have to be here?" He whined.

"The floors are grey! The seats are sticky and that child won't stop staring at us," Kaoru said, glaring at the aforementioned child.

Haruhi sighed. "It's close to my work," she said practically.

Kaoru looked around the diner, "You work near this commoner dump?"

"It has to be a bad neighbourhood," Hikaru said, "Lord won't be pleased about this."

She stood up, glaring at them both. "It doesn't matter what he thinks. I'm going back to work, my lunch break is nearly over. Goodbye."

Hikaru shook his head, "Not going to be pleased about this at all," he repeated.

"It's our duty to inform him," Kaoru murmured solemnly, however the twinkle in his eye jarred the effect.

"Indeed," Hikaru nodded, "Our right and proper duty, one could say."

They both burst out into laughter.

Tamaki, to say the least, was not pleased. This could have been partly due to the twins's lavish and over the top exaggerations on the environment Haruhi was working in.

"Dirt," Hikaru said, "The whole place was covered in dirt and muck."

"The smell was truly horrendous," Kaoru said, waving a hand under his nose.

"We must have seen twenty, maybe fifty crimes occur in a space of a few minutes," Hikaru murmured.

"I never felt safe the entire time we were there," Kaoru said softly, looking wistfully at his twin. Hikaru hugged him, patting his back.

"Kaoru is still affected," Hikaru said haltingly, "I'm not sure how Haruhi," his voice choked as Tamaki's expression grew more and more in resemblance to a frog, "How Haruhi manages."

"Men looked at her," Kaoru muttered.

"They did?" Tamaki said. "Those perverted cads!"

"Haruhi seems determined to work there," Kaoru said, wiping a crocodile tear away, "It's - it's horrible! She doesn't understand!"

Tamaki appeared near tears as well. He took a bold pose, "No longer shall be confined to that commoner law firm! Hikaru," he ordered. "Find a way for Haruhi to be dismissed."

Hikaru nodded, already fingering his cell phone.

"Twin two, Kaoru!" As Kaoru snapped to attention, Tamaki's pose withered. "Make sure that Haruhi doesn't figure this out!"

"Yes, Lord!" The twins saluted.

"What will you do?" Kaoru asked, as his brother began snapping commands.

"I?" Tamaki considered this. "I will find a safe, secure job for Haruhi. Just what she deserves!"

When Haruhi tried to open the door to the office, it is blocked by a desk and three office ladies. They stare at Haruhi in pity, but shake their heads when she asks them top open the door. One of them pointed to a slim white envelope on the ground.

As Haruhi read it, she could feel the rage build up within her. "Those," she started, hand crushing the white paper. No, her dismissal letter! Haruhi had been fired. "Those rich bastards!"

She growled, then clutched at her brief case determinably. "They won't get away with this," Haruhi vowed.

"Tamaki!" Haruhi yelled. "I know you have something to do with this! It has your finger prints all over it."

"Oh, oh! Haruhi," Tamaki bounded out of one of the many doors in huge mansion. "So nice to see you. You're looking very beautiful, my lovely rosebud of spri - "

The letter is thrown at him, grazing past his shoulder. "Tamaki! This was my job, I found it myself and I was going to achieve something there. This is what my mo - this what I want to do." She took a deep breath, glaring at Tamaki.

"But it was a horrible place! Full of criminals, dust, lechers and dirt!" Tamaki insisted, "I could not let your dew fresh flesh be marred by the evil of that den of devils. As your father, it would go against any morality."

"It should have been your concern!" Haruhi huffed, "I was running my own life. It's not High School any more, I don't have a debt and you're not my father."

There's a beat of silence as Tamaki processed this. "I - I see," he murmured, "I should have known," he whispered, as he curled into a ball and retreated to a corner. Dark thunderclouds crackled above his blond head.

"I thought you had gotten over this habit," Haruhi said quietly.

He sniffed. "I only wanted you to have the best, Haruhi, you deserve the very best."

Haruhi sighed, "Then you should trust me, Tamaki, to know what I want."

Tamaki looked woefully up at her. If Haruhi didn't know any better, she would think it was fake, something he did deliberately, but this was Tamaki and...

"I know you're sorry, but - " She started.

"Of course! I am very sorry!" Tamaki exclaimed, launching up from his position like a rocket and taking her hands in his warm clasp. "I even have the perfect plan to fix this situation!"

"Oh, you do?" Haruhi murmured weakly in response.

This was how Haruhi ended up working in the public programs department at the Ohtori Company. The budget was beyond belief and Tamaki could watch the security videos of Haruhi without feeling like a perverted stalker.

The work was fulfilling, Haruhi mused, sorting through her paperwork. But Haruhi couldn't help but feel that there was always someone watching.

She shrugged, dismissing the thought out hand and got back to work.