Referee

The jersey fit her nearly perfectly; there wasn't a doubt in her mind that nobody would be able to tell her from the other boys. She still didn't agree with the means of getting her to the gym though. They may have talked the entire club into it, but her mind wasn't made up about it. They may have dragged her here, screaming and kicking the whole way, but either way, she was here. She was here and they were going to teach her basketball. The entire following was sitting in the bleachers with bated breath awaiting the great show. Haruhi playing basketball? Oh boy, were they in for a sight, with her father less than masculine it never really was an event that they did too often.

The twins insisted though, apparently it was a crime to live your entire life never learning basketball. They didn't play it competitively, actually none of the boys played anything competitively, but that didn't seem to matter to them. Haruhi would learn basketball if it was the last thing those boys did.
Haruhi laughed seeing the twins' jerseys: Hitachiin#1 and Hitachiin#2, she knew it was something they were trying to use to differentiate between the two, but that they'd end up swapping jerseys halfway through just to throw off the clients. Honey Senpai was wearing a custom made bunny rabbit jersey that fell to his knees and restricted his movement to a mere waddle. The basketball was larger than Honey's head, but he didn't seem fazed by that, instead jumping ungodly heights to successfully perform a slam dunk. Mori on the other hand could palm the ball and nearly reached the basket without trying. Tamaki was no doubt still in the locker room making sure he looked picturesque. When the girls began to fawn she knew that Tamaki Senpai had made his appearance. No doubt his hair was windswept in exactly the right manner and his jersey would be thin enough to see through without being inappropriate, but Haruhi was surprised when she turned around.

Kyoya in fact was in full basketball garb spinning the ball on his finger. As the girls crowded around him a huge smile grew on his face.

"You can take pictures with me for just 100 yen," he explained as the otakus formed an orderly line. Haruhi rolled her eyes at the spectacle as someone behind her wrapped their arms around her neck. She peered up through her bangs to see lengthy arms, blonde hair and a humorous smile. She slapped his hand away.

"What if someone saw that?" Haruhi worried, "They'd know I was a girl."

"Don't worry, everyone else is watching Kyoya. We could do anything right now without them noticing," Tamaki remarked, a sly smile forming on his light lips. Haruhi playfully slapped his shoulder. He backed away slowly, throwing his hands in the air in mock arrest. "Sorry," he laughed, grinning furiously. That was when she noticed that he wasn't dressed like the rest of the boys. He was wearing a dreadfully striped shirt and black shorts. Haruhi supposed that if it was comfortable it was worth it then. He noticed her staring.

"No!" she yelled, "No, not like that! Don't worry," she reassured. He shook his head solemnly.

"I saw you staring," he whispered, sounding frighteningly coy.

"What are you wearing?"

"I'm the referee! I don't want any of those boys trying to pull anything. Especially those troublesome twins!" he explained. The idea was so ridiculous she thought it was a joke.

After examining his face though she could tell that he was dead serious. There was only one person serious enough to become a referee just to monitor the boys' behavior, and that person was Tamaki without a doubt. Haruhi was both worried and somewhat interested to see how the afternoon would play out.

Honey was the one to teach her how to shoot. Apparently the appearance of the tiny boy helping out his older mentor was just too overwhelming as a large percentage of the clients were given immediate nosebleeds. Honey just giggled as Haruhi attempted to shoot with all of her might. She felt that the ball was just too big for her little hands, but once Hikaru began to teach her how to pass she felt that she was getting the hang of it. Tamaki never once blew his whistle during practice, but he did have full rights to stare at the team, or rather Haruhi, incessantly the entire time.

"Let's play three on three," Mori suggested out of the blue. Haruhi took it as a compliment saying that she was ready. She straightened her jersey and gave a dutiful nod. The group formed around Tamaki, who named Hikaru and Kaoru team captains. She assumed he thought they were less of a threat if they were separated. It was clear that Mori and Kyoya would be the first picked as they were the tallest and the best at basketball, but when Tamaki motioned Hikaru, as the older twin, to choose first he took a moment to ponder.

"Haruhi all the way!" he exclaimed, fist pounding into the air. Haruhi took a moment to look at him and the rest of the club in shock. Honey bounced on his heels, excited by the fact that their little student had made it to the big-times.

"Mori, you'll be with me," Kaoru said, much less enthusiastically when he chose his teammate.

"That means you and me Kyoya!" Hikaru exclaimed, knowing all too well that Kyoya could not be chosen last or someone may die.

"Mitsukuni!" Mori exclaimed quietly as Honey ran to his best friend. Haruhi couldn't help but smile to herself a little bit watching the little boy waddle over in his oversized jersey.

"Okay!" Tamaki yelled, pulling his whistle out from inside his shirt. "Ready?" The girls in the bleachers sat at the edge of their seats as Tamaki tossed the ball high into the air. Our tallest player, Kyoya swatted up at the ball, but it wasn't a surprise that Mori reached it first. He dribbled to the basket where Haruhi stood playing defense, feeling very inadequate.

"Mitsukuni," he mumbled, bouncing the ball high over Hikaru's head and straight into Honey's hands. He ran ahead, weaving in between our players and jumped up to the basket.

"Usa-chan jump!" he exclaimed while performing a slam dunk. Hikaru cursed out loud and slapped his knee.

"We've got this next one team!" he encouraged. The game continued on in this depressing state for quite some time until Kaoru said that he had to use the restroom. Hikaru, never wanting to leave his brother's side, joined him as Tamaki muttered to himself "troublesome twins".

"Hey Haruhi, keep up the good work, Daddy's proud," Tamaki whispered into her ear, the hot breath causing her to shiver. She looked up helplessly.

"Uh, I haven't done anything except steal the ball once," she whimpered, sounding very much like a girl at the moment.

"And my heart," he breathed.

"What Senpai?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied much too quickly. "You've got this next point Haruhi!" he encouraged. Though she hated the way that it made her feel, it was nice to have someone believe in her. She nodded with a soft sigh.

"We're back!" Hitachiin #1 announced, but instead of Hikaru it was Kaoru. He walked over to join Haruhi's team. She and Kyoya stood close to him as he talked strategy.

"Why did you switch jerseys?" Haruhi asked quietly. Kyoya snapped his head up at Haruhi before looking in between the two twins.

"Kaoru?"

"Just for fun Haruhi, don't worry," he reassured, patting her on the shoulder. Tamaki took the whistle to his mouth so close to blowing it at him. Haruhi hadn't made up her mind on whether this was a good idea or not, but she would go along with it none-the-less.

"Everyone ready?" Tamaki asked impatiently, twirling the ball in his hands.

"One minute Boss," Kaoru, dressed as Hikaru called. "Okay, no defense this time guys! Pure offense," he planned. This was so unlike Kaoru, Haruhi decided. Perhaps this was all part of a scheme. Kyoya nodded diligently, no doubt looking forward to showing off a little bit. Haruhi chewed her thumb fingernail.

"Don't worry so much Haruhi," Kyoya stated simply. Kaoru looked as though he was about to try to comfort her but Tamaki had blown his whistle.

"It's time!" It was too late now.

The ball was tossed up and by some miracle Kaoru shot straight into the air to tip it off to his own team. Kyoya gained possession and dribbled it all the way to the net. He tossed it up; it hit the rim then fell right into Haruhi's hands. She attempted to jump up and shoot, but instead dropped the ball.

"Don't worry about it," Kaoru-in-disguise yelled out. In the following point Kyoya looked as though he were about to make the fatal mistake of passing it to Haruhi and as a precautionary measure Hikaru, currently dressed as Hitachiin #2, blocked Haruhi by pushing her back with his arm. He pushed her back across the chest.

The whistle went off before anyone had realized what had happened.

"What are you thinking?" Tamaki screamed. "How dare you!"

"I'm sorry!" Hikaru squeaked, silently smiling to himself and Haruhi. At this moment all Haruhi could think was what a bad idea it was to come here today.

"Hey Tama-chan! This is basketball not hockey," Honey called out, of course referencing his strong urge to attack Hikaru to the ground. After taking a huge breath he grabbed the jerseys of both the twins and dragged them from the gym. Haruhi could hear them yelling outside for at least forty-five minutes after the event. The game was cancelled and inconclusive, but one thing was solved that day.

Haruhi realized that she liked when he stood up for her.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Remember to REVIEW, FAVORITE and CHECK OUT my other stories! I promise it will be worth your time :) Lots more Ouran fics with different pairings on my profile!