"I didn't know you had a sister, Mori" Tamakai said surprised.
"Yeah" said the twins in unison, "Why didn't you mention her before?"
Mori carried Honey to the couch and sat down. "It wasn't important."
Tamakai looked shocked and began to thoroughly divulge into dramatics. "But how can family not be important! Why without family what are we? How could you disregard her and act though she did not exist? Why it is almost as though-"
"Tama-chan? Shut up." Honey said his voice hard, his face threatening. Suddenly he looked an awful lot more like the martial arts prodigy that they knew him to be. Tamakai went quite, possibly due to shock.
"Honey -Senpai?" Haruhi asked carefully, "Are you okay?"
Suddenly Honey fixed a smile on his face. It seemed unnaturally forced. "Yep, I'm fine it's just that Tama-chan was being stupid is all." He added the last bit with a glance in Tamakai's direction who, after being insulted, ran into a corner and started growing mushrooms.
"Well if everyone is finished" Kyoya said smoothly, "Our guests are waiting." He looked pointedly at the girls who were watching with increasing nervousness.
Tamakai jumped up and smacked the heel of his hand to his forehead. "Of course how silly of me! I almost forgot about my darling princesses!" He took one girl by the hand and waist and dipped her in his arms. Moving his face in close to the girl's he whispered "Forgive me?"
The girl squealed and commenced furious nodding. The other members of the host club also went turned to their guests. Haruhi casted one last worried glance at Mori and Honey before going back to work.
An hour or so later Haruhi slumped down on the couch between the twins.
"Wow, I'm tired" She sighed leaning her head back and closing her eyes.
"Us too" The twins chimed each of them putting their head on Haruhi's shoulders.
"So am I" Tamakai yawned falling across their laps heavily.
"Ow! Get off senpai." Haruhi complained.
"Yeah boss seriously," Hikaru said,
"What have you been eating?" Kaoru added. The twins pushed him off and he fell to the ground with a crash.
"Ahh!" Tamakai yelped. "Mommy!"
"Yes Daddy?" Kyoya answered from across the room where he typing away on a laptop.
"The twins are monopolizing Haruhi again!"
"Oh? Ask Mori-Senpai to steal her for you" He smiled not looking up.
"Good idea, Mori-Senpai!" Tamakai called.
"Oh no you don't!" The twins said grabbing Haruhi from both sides.
"Hey, let go of me, Mori isn't even coming over!" Haruhi struggled against the twins, before realising something.
"Hey guys? Where is Mori?" Haruhi asked confused.
"Huh? He's over there with..." The twins began before stopping. They looked over at the table where Honey and Mori had been sitting only a few minutes before. Honey was still there, poking at a strawberry on top of a cake but his tall, silent cousin had vanished.
"Em Honey-Senpai, where's Mori-Senpai?" Tamakai asked.
"Hmm? Oh Taka-chan went out to find Amaya-san." Honey said smiling but there was a sadness to his face.
"So why didn't you go with him?" Hikaru questioned.
Honey Looked down at the table with a sad smile, "Amaya-san doesn't like me very much. So I told Taka-Chan to go by himself, he hasn't seen her for a really long time."
"Oh?" Kyoya said looking up from his laptop, "How long?"
"Two years."
"Two years? That's a long time not to see your family." Haruhi said, "But Amaya-san is only, what? 15? 16? How come he hasn't seen her, wouldn't they live together?"
Honey tensed. "Because she, she doesn't... She's not..." He sighed "She doesn't live with Takashi. She's been away."
"For two years? Seems like an awfully long time for a young girl to be away from her family." Kyoya noticed.
"She had to leave." A deep voice came from the door. They turned to see Mori, looking grim.
"Taka-chan" Honey said brightening "Did you find Amaya-san?"
"No. She had already left. Gone home to her apartment."
"Apartment? How old is this girl?" Haruhi exclaimed.
"16." Mori stated blandly. "She is a year and half younger than us" He said, the us being himself and Honey.
"Huh, why isn't she living at home?"
Honey and Mori exchanged a glance before Mori gave the tinniest of nods.
"Amaya-san hates the Haninozukas." Honey explained, "She thinks that we look down on the Morinozukas because they used to work for us. And she thinks that I, that I make Taka-chan..." He didn't finish, but then he didn't need to. If Amaya thought that the Hanionozukas felt they were better than her family than there was only one way she could view Mori's and Honey's relationship.
"So she moved out?" Hikaru asked tilting his head to the left.
"Or was sent out." Kaoru added, his head leaning to the right.
"No, she em, I mean, her and our grandfather didn't get on very well."
"Amaya causes trouble." Mori said almost spitefully. Kyoya smirked slightly to himself as a memory surfaced to the fore front of his mind. Yes, he thought, She most certainly does.
Honey nodded slightly to Mori's remark before continuing, "You see our grandfather was really mad at Mori's and Amaya's mother for marrying a Morinozuka. He said that she shouldn't have brought the family down like that. He wasn't a very nice man." He added.
"Suffice it to say him and Amaya didn't get along very well." Mori put in before sitting down beside Honey and looking out the window. It had started to rain again.
"Then one day, when Taka-chan and I were 14, we had a big family get together. Grandfather was there and so was Amaya. Grandfather started talking about the Haninozuka legacy and the next generation and then he started talking about..."
"A test. He called it a test" Mori said quietly, the memory of that day flashing into his mind.
It was a hot day, during the summer. He, Mitsukini, Amaya and Chicka were all sitting around in silence, waiting for the adults to dismiss them. Their grandfather had been getting more and more animated, and more and more drunk, when he finally exclaimed,
"A test! That's what we need, a test to find out how watered down the Haninozuka blood is in these Morinozukas." He gestured and Mori and Amaya, disgust and mischief, flashing in his eyes.
"What do you mean by a test father?" Mori's mother asked cautiously, pushing a strand of blond hair behind her ear.
"Well it's simple, have Mitsukini-kun test his martial arts skills against these half bred Haninozukas" He smirked.
Mori's father stood up suddenly, his fists clenched and his dark eyes flashing. He loomed over the eldest Haninozuka considerably.
"Darling, sit down. It's no different to what Yorihisa-kun and I did earlier" Mori's mother reasoned, although her eyes watched her father suspiciously. Mori's father jaw tightened but he slowly sat back down.
"Mori" His father said pointedly. Mori nodded and stood.
"I hope you don't mean for Misukini to fight him. Why, the boy is twice his size." Their grandfather exclaimed. "No, it would be a much fairer fight if she was his opponent."
Amaya looked up in surprise. "Me?"
"Father that wouldn't be right, Mitsukini has nearly two years experience on-" Yorihisa stated before being interrupted.
"And she has two inches on him. I'm sure it'll even out."
"But Amaya-chan doesn't even specialise in hand on hand combat. She studies Kendo." Mori's mother objected.
"Well then this will show just how lacking her education is!" His grandfather snapped.
Amaya stood. "Alright then. If you insist, grandfather." Her voice was tight. She turned to face Misukini and sunk into a fighting stance. "Shall we?"
Mitsukuni, who had been silent until now, stood as well. He didn't look happy with what was happening but he had to stand by his grandfather.
The two cousins faced each other for another moment and then they lunged.
They both moved quickly and, although it was obvious that Misukini was the more skilled fighter, Amaya had little trouble dodging his attacks. Unable to land a hit she seemed resolved to swipe at him, half heartedly. It appeared choosing to study Kendo from a young age had made her very unaccustomed to fighting without a swords in her hand.
Suddenly Misukini fainted a strike and Amaya left herself wide open. Knocking her to the ground, Misukini proceeded to try and pin her. That's when Mori knew something was wrong. He and Amaya often practiced on each other. Mori knew from hands on experience that Amaya could get worm herself out of any hold. But now, Amaya was letting herself be pinned.
Rapidly, so fast that he could barely see the movement, Amaya's hand lashed out, striking Honey's shoulder. Honey looked surprised but quickly resumed to contain her.
Why did you hit his shoulder? Why not go for the head?, Mori wondered. His question was soon answered however, when Misukini's movements began to slow. He started to swerve, before slumping to the ground unconscious. Amaya stood brushing herself off, nonchalantly.
"What...How did you?" Their grandfather looked confused at his now slumbering grandson.
Amaya pulled something small and pointed out of her pocket. "Knock out darts, very efficient way to win a fight."
"How dare you?! How dare you use something like that in a fight like this?" Their grandfather stood, enraged.
"A fight like this? You mean one you orchestrated in some warped attempt to embarrass me? One that you had planned for me to lose? You must really be as stupid and senile as you act if you think I am going to play fair in an unfair fight." Amaya threw the now used up tranquiliser dart at her grandfather's feet. Mori remembered watching her walk off, leaving her grandfather behind her, shocked and indignant.
"So Amaya-san cheated in your fight and was sent away." Haruhi said bringing Mori back to the present.
"Not exactly." Mori clarified. "But just after we started high school our grandfather died. In his will he stated that Amaya was too reckless to be allowed to stay at home. He stated, that if Amaya did not spend at least two years away from home in order to teach her 'respect' the Haninozuka Company would declare dissolution."
"I guess grandfather wanted to hurt Amaya-san one last time." Honey said bitterly.
