Kyouya noted that he could still make Haruhi compliant by promising she could have her favorite foods. Since dinner was on him and she was free to pick her favorite place to dine, she melted into a puddle of happy anticipation.
As her roommates waved them out of the apartment, he noticed the fur lined hood of her winter jacket slipping down (she had kept it on during their exchange in her room). The hood had obscured the length of her hair, but now he saw that it was just long enough to brush her shoulders. He also noted the feminine touch of a bead studded hairpin holding a section of her bangs back. He thought Tamaki would surely have loved the new look.
He regarded the venue she picked with suspicion at first; it looked more like a dive than a restaurant. They had walked from the apartment, and the buildings and streets looked increasingly sketchy as they moved down the avenues. He felt a little unsure when they stopped in front of a dark, ominous-looking doorway and he couldn't peek through the gaudy gilt casements to see what was within. He could only hear the faint, trembling tune of some horned instrument and thought the rhythm had an unsettling, outlandish flavor.
"Haruhi..."
"This is it, come on!" She stepped ahead of him and flashed him a smile before the shadows of the curtained entrance area swallowed her.
"…" Kyouya stood still for a moment before entering as well. As soon as he cleared the darkness, he was hit by the thick, pungent smell of cooking liberally peppered with spices. The dimmed lighting had a warm ochre ambience and, looking ahead of him, he saw that Haruhi was already navigating through the packed restaurant with a waiter.
"Wait--" He had to descend a staircase, and the steps were so low his long legs felt very awkward as he moved down. At the bottom, he navigated through guests seated on floor cushions around circular metal tables and servers zigzagging across the floor with their heavily loaded trays. The music was no longer the tame sound of a lone horn but but included a rush of hand beaten drums and wildly plucked strings. He walked faster to get past a smoking section, but the bittersweet smog still clouded his vision.
He finally reached Haruhi at the end of the room where the air was lighter and the music was only audible as a trembling beat again. Since their table was low, he sat down in his usual Japanese style but soon realized that sitting on his calves made him too awkwardly tall for eating. He shifted to sit cross-legged on his cushion like Haruhi.
"Excuse me." he said as his took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, which the smoke had made tear.
"Are you all right, senpai?"
"Thank you, I'm fine."
Haruhi had been watching as he made his way toward her and realized he was having the same reaction she had the first time she came here with her college friends. She had found the atmosphere heady as well, and the sudden warmth was contrasted with the cold of a late December night in the city. Kyouya's pale skin was unusually flushed, and he moved quickly to remove his coat before replacing his glasses.
Seeing him this way in his slightly disheveled, Haruhi suddenly thought of something. "Senpai, you didn't need to wear glasses in high school, did you?"
"I could have worn contacts, yes."
"Right…but, if you didn't, you would be taken some attention away from Mori-senpai."
His coat was off, and he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his dress shirt as he looked at her. "What do you mean?"
Haruhi studied him for a moment to make sure. Without a barrier of smooth glass his gaze appeared sharp and intense as he peered at her through strands of hair displaced by his quick movements. The slightly messy hair and the unbuttoned collar made him lose his polished, academic look. His sharp cheeks and his hard eyes made him tough and a little dangerous.
"You might have looked like the wild type, too."
Surprised, he thought her words over as he finished settling down. "That's an interesting opinion. In Ouran it was important for us to the image of our types, but I had always felt natural as…" He replaced his glasses, "the cool type." and smiled.
"I see." Thinking that the ex-vice president of Host Club hadn't changed much since she left Japan, she smiled back.
When their waiter returned, placing two complementary cups of Darjeeling tea on their table, they remembered that they needed to order. Opening his menu, Kyouya noted that at least 45 of the listed dishes were made with spicy ingredients.
"I figured that this would be a good place for dinner because I remembered that you like spicy foods."
"Oh? How considerate of you."
They smiled again, and it was a pleasant moment as they both thought about the times they had shared in high school.
A couple of hours later, after they had finished eating, reminiscing and taking a stroll through a local park, Kyouya waved good-bye to her before turning the key to the door of his temporary apartment. Haruhi watched him go for a moment before opening her own door. When she stepped inside, she saw her roommates were sitting in the living room as if they were waiting for her again.
"Some girls just have all the luck..." the younger sister sighed. "Before, I was so excited for you, but I'm feeling a little jealous now."
"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked as she took off her jacket and slipped out of her shoes.
"Because you have another—"
"OH HARUHI, AT LAST I'VE COME!"
The older sister was starting to explain, but the racket of a blonde flash charging toward Haruhi interrupted.
"Did you miss me my darling, my child? Oh! It was a dreadful time getting here-- I had to fly on business class in order to come as quickly as I could! I squirmed and twisted in my uncomfortable seat, and only my thoughts of you made the torture bearable!"
"Um…"
"Haruhi, come into papa's arms!" Tamaki clasped his arms around her, easily lifting her up as he spun deliriously. They went in circles and circles, and she thought that he would never stop. She reached out a beckoning, pleading hand to her roommates whenever she could.
"Ah, help me! He's going to kill me!"
The sisters didn't look too eager to jump in, but Tamaki stopped as Kyouya walked through the open doorway, which that Haruhi did not have a chance to close.
"Ah Tamaki-kun, I see that you've managed to come after all. This is a pleasant surprise. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I didn't retrieve all my luggage from my car yet and I was wondering if I could borrow some shampoo—"
At the sight of him, Tamaki remembered his agenda and immediately set Haruhi down so he could begin inspecting her with exaggerated concern.
"Haruhi, you had been left with Kyouya all night--did he do something to you? Are you drugged? Do you feel a little dizzy? Did you check what you were drinking when you were out—"
"Wait! Hold on a minute." Haruhi stepped back and removed Tamaki's hands from her shoulders. His desperate grip was starting to hurt.
"I don't understand what's going on here." She looked back and forth between the two young men, waiting for an explanation.
Tamaki drew a quick, deep breath before responding. "Haruhi, I'm here to rescue you from becoming involved in one of Kyouya's illicit business schemes! I want to take you away with me to my family's country villa in France where we'll—"
Pushing his wire-frames up calmly, Kyouya interrupted. "I think I'll have to stop Tamaki-kun there. I have nothing illicit in mind; I just want to enlist the help of a friend in what would be a very profitable venture if it succeeds."
"He wants you to be a host again!" Tamaki shrieked.
"What?" Haruhi turned to Kyouya.
"Ahem, please allow me to explain. Gunma's Takahashi clan has lately been in financial trouble, and the heir is planning to sell off some very enticing properties in Hokkaido. This heir just also happens to be a graduate of Ouran High who frequented our club. She was a client who designated you, Haruhi, as her favorite."
"He wants to gain an unfair advantage over other buyers by using you!"
Kyouya shrugged slightly. "Well, Tamaki is correct in a way, but it's not really about being fair or 'unfair'. I don't think that the poor girl would want to go through the humiliation of auctioning off something her family can no longer keep. If Haruhi were to appear and offer her a sense of comfort by, say, taking her away to the Bahamas for a while—"
The blonde stabbed a finger in the other man's direction. "You wouldn't care about her humiliation or sense of comfort; you just want to avoid an auction!"
"Wait a minute, guys," Haruhi held her hands up with the palms facing outward as she stepped back. "I hadn't played host since high school, and what makes you think I'm going to go to France or the Bahamas? I've already signed up for a study program in Venice for the next month."
"You can cancel it." Kyouya said.
"Why would I?"
"You won't have to pay rent for half a year."
"Oh my God, do it Haruhi!" The older roommate spoke as the other nodded her head furiously in agreement.
Tamaki quickly said, "But, I'll pay your rent for a whole year!"
The roommates were hushed in astonishment.
"Ah guys, this is really…" Haruhi waved her hands at the men, and they promptly ignored her.
Kyouya turned to the blonde, saying, "You know--since we both have money, we can't buy Haruhi with it."
Tamaki looked at Haruhi before turning back to him. Speaking in the determined, deeper voice that he saved for only the most dramatic, serious moments, he announced, "Fine, then this will be a different sort of battle. This will be—this will be a fight for Haruhi's heart!"