Border Crossing

Haruhi leaned against one of the tall windows in Music Room Number Three and watched the skies carefully. Rain pelted the glass as it fell in uneven angles outside and the wind blew the late summer leaves from their branches. The storm had come upon them suddenly and the picnic the Host Club had planned for their guests had been rushed indoors in a flurry of picnic blankets, wayward food, and panicked laughter. At the very least they had plenty of desserts. Honey had seen to their protection early on.

As of yet the storm hadn't let out so much as a peep of thunder, but she felt the anxiety all the same. The host club knew of her fear of course, but it was Tamaki who was keeping the closest eye on her. So much so he was neglecting his guests. Of course, she was guilty of the same.

"Haruhi-sempai, are you okay?" asked Kamiko. She was a first year, but the most outspoken of Haruhi's regular customers.

Remembering her guests, she glanced over to Tamaki and gave him a reassuring nod before settling her attention on the six girls sharing her picnic blanket. She smiled and gave a small shrug of her shoulders as she settled back down on the floor.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking though Kamiko-chan. I've just never liked storms." Haruhi said simply. It wasn't the whole truth but it was close enough. The girls around her nodded in agreement though Haruhi suspected their dislike for storms had more to do with their hairstyles then the incapacitating clap of thunder.

The rest of the hour was relatively uneventful as host club events went. The twins entertained their guests by doing something borderline indecent with a spoonful of whip cream, Honey cried over the loss of an artisan strawberry cake lost to the storm, and Tamaki fed truffles to his guests by his own hand, causing two of them to faint and another three to lapse into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Haruhi served her guests as simply and naturally as she always did. Despite the fact most of the girls in her group had low grade crushes on her, she found herself enjoying her time with them. And while there was a certain irony to the fact she related the best to her own gender while dressed as a boy, she had learned to shrug it off. Such was life.

Soon the hour was up and the girls began to pick up and disperse, waving shyly at their chosen hosts as they left. Outside, the storm hadn't let up at all. Haruhi strayed over to the window again, frowning at the falling rain and the darkened skies. Tamaki joined her at the window and looked across the courtyard.

"It's not getting better is it?" he said, slipping his hands into his pockets.

Haruhi shook her head. "I think I might study in the library until it blows over. I don't want to walk in this."

Haruhi realized her mistake too late as Tamaki's eyes lit up in anticipation of coming to her rescue. Gathering her bridal style into his arms, he pranced around the room.

"Fear not fair maiden!" he said gleefully. "You will be whisked away to safety in the finest carriage available. Never shall a single drop of rain touch your shoes or fall upon your lovely hair. For is it not I who-"

He was brought to an abrupt halt by Kyoya, who had taken a hold of Tamaki's collar. Haruhi took her chance and jumped out of his arms. Her and Tamaki might have declared their love, but it didn't mean his antics failed to embarrass her most of the time.

"I'm afraid your chivalry will have to wait." Kyoya said simply.

Tamaki looked stricken. "But why?" he whined.

Kyoya adjusted his glasses. "You don't remember?" he asked darkly.

Now Tamaki looked a bit frightened. "Well, no…"

"Five phone calls, three emails, and one embossed note card informing you of this event and you don't remember?" he asked calmly.

Now the rest of the club was gathering. When Kyoya used the tone he was taking with Tamaki it usually made for good entertainment at the hosts king's expense. Haruhi however, was not in the mood for it.

"What's the event Kyoya-senpai?" she asked. Kyoya glanced down at her with a vague look of disappointment but answered all the same.

"Club financial review. Once a year the chairman sits down with each club and discusses their earnings and losses of the previous year." He looked at Tamaki over the rims of his glasses. "You've done this three times already."

Tamaki grinned sheepishly. "Opps?"

Kyoya frowned then looked from Haruhi to Tamaki and back. He sighed and pushed up his glasses. "It would be easier if I did it on my own. Take Haruhi home Tamaki."

Now Tamaki was looking guilty. The emotion didn't last long however as a bright smile lit up his face. He threw his arm around Kyoya's shoulders. "You do all the work Mother. I think it's about time we shared this experience with the children! Come everyone," he said with a flourish towards the door.

"Yay! Let's go Tama-chan." Honey said, hopping onto Mori's shoulders with ease.

The twins skipped out the door together singing an off-key rendition of "To Grandfather's House We Go." while Tamaki pushed a protesting Haruhi out the door.

Kyoya watched them leave then smiled to himself. "Like clockwork." He muttered.

Anticipating Tamaki's forgetfulness he had set up a meeting the previous week with the chairman and had thoroughly reviewed the clubs finances. Today was simply an excuse for the Chairman to spend time with and hopefully manage to embarrass his son. Kyoya opened his phone and dialed Tamaki's father.

"He's on his way. With the entirety of the club might I add."

"Wonderful! Well done, per usual Kyoya-san." The Chairman praised.

Surprised by the usage of the honorific, but not about to reveal it, Kyoya politely thanked him and closed his phone as left the music room.

On his way to the Chairman's office was delayed however, as he was met by a large group of students gathered in the main foyer of the school. He joined his fellow club members on the periphery of the crowd. He grabbed Tamaki's jacket collar as he moved to circumvent the gathering.

"Let's go."

Tamaki resisted by grabbing a hold of Mori, who stood unmovable as an oak. "But we must see what's happening!" he protested.

Kyoya tightened his grip. "We have an appointment with the Chairman." He said.

Tamaki continued to squirm. "But this might be important."

"More important than a meeting with your father?" Kyoya asked.

Tamaki thought for a moment. "Well…it might be something he would need to know about."

Kyoya raised his brows. It was a rare day when a logical answer was given by the Host Club king.

"Like the Prime Minister!" Tamaki continued. Kyoya sighed.

"I doubt we are hosting the Prime Minister without the Chairman's advanced knowledge. But I suppose we should investigate." He said, loosening his hold.

"Quickly." He added after seeing Tamaki's face light up.

Kaoru and Hikaru were already parting the crowd and making their way to the center. Tamaki rushed to catch them as Mori, with Honey on his shoulders, followed. Kyoya stayed behind with Haruhi.

She looked up at him. "What do you suppose is happening?"

Kyoya shrugged. "I imagine we will know soon enough." He said.

Haruhi studied her friend for a moment. His eyes drooped a bit, as they often did when he lost interest. It was an expression she had been noticing on him a lot more lately. The Shadow King, it seemed, was a bit bored. She supposed she could understand. Kyoya was five months into his final year of high school and had overtaken every challenge presented to him thus far. He had made a success of the Host Club, helped to reunite Tamaki with his mother, and had even come to an odd sort peace with his place in his family. Despite Kyoya's obvious genius, there were certain boundaries high school presented that could only be breached by graduation. For the moment he was being forced to idle and Haruhi suspected he was not enjoying it.

The crowd was beginning to press around them and Haruhi began to hear snippets of conversation as they were inevitably pushed forward.

"..foreigner.."

"…so tall…"

"..look at her hair!"

Kyoya and Haruhi looked at each other in slight confusion before Tamaki's voice rang out above the crowd.

"My fair foreign princess, welcome to our lands…"

Kyoya swore under his breath and pushed his way through the crowd with Haruhi close on his heels. With Tamaki's luck the visitor was an important investor or foreign dignitary. If anyone at this school was capable of accidently inciting some sort of international incident, it was him.

The scene that met their eyes was worse than they thought. Tamaki had begun a deep bow over the visitors' hand, while the twins had positioned themselves on either side of her. It was only a matter of time before they did something inappropriate.

The visitor herself was facing away from them, but it wasn't difficult for Haruhi to read confusion and wariness in her posture. Her classmates had been right, the newcomer was indeed tall. Haruhi guessed she would stand only a handful of centimeters below Kyoya in her stocking feet. Her golden hair was gathered into a loose twist at the nape of her neck, but a few tendrils had managed to escape and fell in soft curls which brushed her jawline.

The students pressed in around her, eager to get a better look. Haruhi couldn't blame them. Ouran was an elite school and there were a few foreign students of course, but a westerner was a bit of a novelty. Add the Host Club to the mix and there was no way the newcomer was going to slip about unnoticed.

"Well, thank you, I suppose…" she said in Japanese. It took Haruhi a moment to pin down the accent. American. To her knowledge, Ouran had never had an American guest. Not among the students anyway. She was sure the Chairman met with investors from all manner of countries on a regular basis, but none had ever ventured out into the bowels of the school.

Intrigued as she was, it wasn't until she looked over to Kyoya that her eyes widened in surprise. He had frozen in place, his gaze focused and alert. He was staring at the visitor, who was currently trying to find a polite way to remove her hand from Tamaki before he kissed it.

Kyoya opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Haruhi watched as he swallowed hard and opened his mouth again. When he spoke, it was one word, but there was something in his tone she couldn't quite place.

"Rachel?"

The girl turned and searched the crowd momentarily before locking her blue eyes onto the Host Clubs' Shadow King.

"Kyoya?"