After the incident, Leilani had decided not to go to school for an entire week. It was a haughty decision, yes, and her parents were very understanding and sympathetic. However. In no way was it like she was running from the situation back at Oral Academy. I mean, Ouran.

No. Hell no.

Leilani told her ego that she was trying to nurse herself back to full health, the words: 'Those who run away live to fight another day', being her encouraging mantra. After all, a twisted ankle, a sprained wrist, horribly wounded hands and a bruised backside undoubtedly deserved seven days of no school. The logic was undeniable.

But sadly, for the duration of those seven days, the teenager of seventeen had subjected herself to one hundred and sixty eight hours of pure boredom. Playing video games to ease that boredom was out of the question, just like going on the computer, indulging in the lovely fun of colouring or even eating food (or eating her feelings) with a stupid utensil was prohibited due to her bandaged up hands (which strangely resembled a large pair of washed-out boxing gloves.)

It was on the first day of being stranded home, that within the first thirty minutes of absolute silence, Leilani nearly wanted to cry and shout: "Is there no God?"

She didn't, of course. But the thought was awfully tempting. Nonetheless, with her fun quite restricted, Leilani resigned herself into the wonders of her imagination. She had been thinking about the encounter of the Host Club for a while (more like forever) and was wondering, what would've happened if she'd punched one of the guys in the face?

…Hm.

Ha-ha-ha! Awesome.

She could already picture Aretha Franklin's 'R.E.S.P.E.C.T' playing in the background as she launched a fist at the glasses guy's face. Yeah, you heard her. The glasses dude. Kota Omari or whatever his dumbass name was. Leilani didn't know what it was but there was just something very off-putting about that dark-haired guy. It really got her on edge and he pissed her off in the Music Room.

Oh, and back to her mental theatre! Just imagine, right when she punched Four-eyes, how hilarious would it be if he went skidding his bony, white ass right down the halls of Ouran? Oh, God, so very hilarious! It would be like that scene in Kung Fu Panda when Po ("I'm not just a big, fat panda. I'm the Big, Fat Panda") sent Tai Lung (the seriously whacked up but not too bad-looking Snow Leopard) skidding across the ground and then into a building. Or house. Whatever. But still! Funny.

Oooh! And! And! And then Kyouya would turn into a weird but cute lookin' mini… uhh, whatcha call it? Chibi. Oh, yes. Would he hate that? Oh, God, how cute would it be if he turned into a chibi? Dear Lord, Leilani was feeling better already! The sensations of morbid satisfaction were rolling off her in tremendous waves.

But while the teen continued to drown in immature fantasies of what would never happen, at Ouran Academy, Tamaki Suoh had subjected himself to the dark Corner of Woe and Regret. In his lovely retreat of gloominess, he sat with his arms around his legs and his knees huddled at his chest, paying no heed to the healthy mushrooms sprouting from his blond-haired cranium.

"Tamaki-sama's been like this for some time now," one beautiful customer pointed out, staring at the young lord. The other clients who sat beside the girl hummed their agreements and nodded.

"I wonder what's wrong with Tamaki-senpai."

"Why don't you go and ask?"

"I don't want… Um. Maybe it has to do with why the club was closed yesterday. I heard that the Host Club had a talk with Miss Monreiqua. I saw her leave the room with my own eyes. She was a very sad sight."

"Really?"

"I wonder why she was with the Host Club…"

"Oh, I know about her," a new voice interrupted, gaining the groups' full attention, "Apparently, she's the step-daughter of Jonathan Lynch." There was a simultaneous gasp that could be heard at the mention of that name - the name of one of the three most powerful and authoritative businessman known throughout the world of high society. "They say that Miss Leilani's mother was Mr. Lynch's mistress."

Another female decided to make her own rumour known. "Well, I heard that her mother forced herself onto Mr. Lynch which resulted in the birth of Leilani Monreiqua. He was a married man then. So, I'm guessing she blackmailed Mr. Lynch. Her silence for his money. Something like that."

"How cruel."

"Such filth!"

"Why was Miss Monreiqua with the Hosts?" a customer asked.

"Well, Fujioka-kun was being bullied. Leilani Monreiqua was the culprit. That's why the Hosts confronted her. That's why she looked so pitiful when you saw her leave the room. I think that she was the one who had been doing all those terrible things to Fujioka-kun and the Host Club defended Fujioka-kun's honour."

"Wow…"

"Haruhi-kun's so lucky."

"But why would Miss Monreiqua do that?"

The girl glared at the smaller female who had been asking the questions. It was getting annoying and she didn't want that trash to know too much. Why couldn't she just eat up the story?

'Shut your mouth' was the message she delivered with her eyes and when the female winced, hung her head low and clamped her lips together, she knew the message had been received - loud and clear.

"I don't know," the female finally answered.

Her final statement put an end to the topic of conversation but the damage was done. Leilani was now officially registered in the bad books of those girls. From there, rumours would spread like a wild fire and then with the stories going out of control, Leilani's reputation would truly be ruined.

It was too bad that no one noticed the mystery and the deception Amane left hanging in the air.

The brunette helped herself to a porcelain cup of tea and sipped at the hot liquid, enjoying the lovely sensation as it left a warm path trailing down her throat.

Oh, it was good when things went according to plan. Leilani reacted just as Amane anticipated. Soon, Fujioka would be removed from the Host Club. Permanently. No longer would he be a thorn in her side. No longer will he interact so closely with Tamaki-sama. No longer would Tamaki coddle and treasure Fujioka, and never her.

Amane deserved the best. Tamaki was the best. He was handsome, charming, an heir to a filthy rich company and was weak to the charms of a woman. These were the attributes that made him perfectly compatible with her. And no one, not even a pathetic commoner like Haruhi Fujioka or a naïve, ugly slut like Leilani Monreiqua was going screw it up.

It's weird though and I find this quite funny because at the exact moment Amane thought this, Leilani, Haruhi and Tamaki all sneezed at the same time.

"Mi'lord", Hikaru and Kaoru said simultaneously, handing their lord a handkerchief.

Tamaki turned to the twins and the two snorted at the look on their King's face. Watery-eyed and a dribble of something hanging from his nose, Tamaki gratefully took the handkerchief and blew. Hani-senpai, Mori-senpai along with Kyouya circled themselves around the distraught blonde as he sniffled.

"Ne, ne. Tama-chan, would you like to hold Usa-chan for a while?" Hani asked, offering his cute plush bunny. The young man shook his head and looked down at the brown bear huddled at his chest. Kuma-chan had already come to his rescue - and the moment seemed rather cute, especially seeing the teddy bear's stuffing-filled arms struggle to hug the mass of which was his much larger master.

Kyouya took a straight-forward approach and said, "Tamaki, while I do sympathise with you and what happened yesterday, your playing small is acting as a hindrance. You have been like this all day, but it is Club hours and customers are waiting for you to service them."

There was a long silence shared between the dark-haired male and the Host Club King, and what their lord did was merely stare with his puppy dog eyes before looking at the ground. "It's all my fault, Mama," the blonde sighed and Kyouya simply clenched his jaw. Did everything he say go through one ear and out the other?

"Hey, what's going on?" Haruhi intervened after hearing the sound of gritting teeth.

"Mi'lord is just upset," the twins answered.

"Why?"

Everyone glanced at one another.


But back home, Leilani sneezed with an "Ack-pfft! …Ew."

Leilani's older brother, who was sitting beside her on her bed, gave Leilani an incredulous stare. He raised an eye brow and quirked his lip downward into a disgusted grimace. Nathaniel said, "Ugh, here." He plucked up a tissue and handed it to his teary-eyed wimp of a younger sister.

Leilani massaged the bridge of her nose. "Ow…" she said, sniffing delicately before clearing her throat, "That hurt."

"You still have some up there." He pointed out.

"Hn. Just saving it for later," Leilani joked, wiping the offending snot away. "Better now?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks." Leilani tossed the tissue into the bin at her bedside.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm alright." She said. She was just glad to be home away from the catastrophe. It was so good to be in a place where she was safe, where no one would judge her. Leilani remembered the overwhelming relief she felt when she explained to her parents what happened.

"You sure? You look like shit."

"I'm fine. Where's everyone?"

A smile crept to Nathaniel's lips. "They've gone to your school to talk to your Principle."

Leilani gasped. Her lips were parted and her eyes were wide. "No way," she said dramatically, schooled surprise evident on her face.

"Yes way," Nathaniel grinned. "And you should've seen them. They were so pissed, I kid you not. Dad contacted the school to find out about them. The Host Club. He got a ton of info on them and Mum called their parents. I swear it was the funniest thing ever."

Leilani was smiling from ear to ear, entirely captivated by Nathaniel. He stood and spectacularly threw his scarf over a shoulder. He straightened his back and shaping his fingers to form a phone, he placed his hand next to his ear. "Brrr, brrr." He mimicked, trying to imitate a phone's ringtone. "Brrr, brrr- click, 'Hi, may I please speak to Mrs. Hitachiin? Yes, it's urgent. Yes, I'll hold.'"

Leilani was watching her twenty year old brother with rapt attention, not sparing a moment to blink should she miss something.

"'Hi, Mrs. Hitachiin. I'm Lina Monreiqua. …Yes, you can help me. You see, yesterday at school, your two boys and their little group did something to my daughter that I am not happy about. Have they told you about the incident? Oh, of course they didn't. Hm, can you pass on a message? Tell your sons if they wanna keep their testicles, they better keep their fucking hands off my daughter!'"

"Oh, my God! She didn't!" Leilani squealed, taking the blanket and lifting it over her head.

"She did."

"Oh, my God. Did Mum really say that?" she said, peeking out from beneath the feather-filled doona.

"No. But if you dumb it down, that's the gist of it. And Dad, he was furious. Livid! He's attacking their parents - business-wise. He's doing everything within his power to bring them down. They've lost our family's support and other companies are following our example. They find that the Host Club's incompetence is a reflection on their parents. You can always tell what kind of person you're dealing with by the way they raise their children and shit."

"Dear God… I think I love this family."

Nathaniel flashed his trademark grin and huffed out a laugh. "You better love us. How's your hands?"

Leilani looked at her two boxing gloves with amusement shining in her brown eyes. "Okay, thanks. You've pretty much made my day."

"Good. Now, I gotta go now. Work calls, Dad needs me."

"You're not gonna do something weird too, are you?"

"Me? For you? Leilani, you're not that special."

Nathaniel was rewarded with a smack in his chest. His face was purely comical looking like the wind was knocked straight out of him. He dramatically coughed and wheezed, anticipating his façade to please his step-sister.

"Yeah, well, you smell funny."

He chuckled through clenched teeth and made his escape. But when he closed the door behind him, his childish smile disappeared and he called a close friend.

"Hey, Dylan, how are you? I'm sorry, I know it's late but I'm calling in a solid you owe me. I need information on the names: Tamaki Suoh, Kyouya Ootori, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, Takashi Morinozuka and, Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin, the brothers. Write down the names. I need everything. Birth Certificates, hospital records, e-mails, numbers, if they wet the bed - I need the whole ancellotta. Yeah, thanks. Yeah, sorry. Go back to sleep. Don't forget. Yeah, goodnight."

Nathaniel hung up on his friend from across the other side of the world. He paused for a long time, glaring hard at his phone.

Then the silence was broken again by the sound of dialling.

"…Dylan. Sorry, I need you to do another name. Amane Matsumoto. Okay, thanks."


(Author's Notes)

To my dear readers, I'm sorry for taking forever just to update. Forgive me please. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and I'll try not to take forever just to update. Please read, review and just remember that criticism is embraced. It helps me with my writing.

P.S. I just discovered that if you re-arrange the letters in the word 'among', it can spell 'mango'. Oh, my God. My mind has just been blown (Mind-splosion).

-kun: "This suffix is used at the end of boys' names to express familiarity or endearment. It can also be used by men among friends, or when addressing someone younger of a lower station."

-sama: "This suffix is one level higher than '-san' and it is used to confer great respect."

-chan: "This is used to express endearment, most towards girls. It is also used for little boys, pets and even among lovers. It gives a sense of childish cuteness."

-"Chibi": "…is a Japanese word meaning "short person" or "small child". The word has gained currency amongst fans of manga and anime. Its meaning is of someone or some animal that is small."


Love,
Miss Marion.