Vannen: Thanks to all my wonderful readers and reviewers. I was so happy to get so much feedback and look forward to more. I'm having fun writing this and authors always enjoy feedback whether it be critsism or praise, we still love it. I'm no exception so feel free to continue clicking the button at the bottom of the page to submit a review. Also, I've been informed that my OC sounds very similar to Haruhi. Hopefully, all will find the differences in character in this chapter. If it's still unclear, I'll exagerate her character a little more in the next chapter. Enjoy all! Here we go!

Chapter 2

Hail Storm

"What are you lot talking about?" Aiden asked, her thick accent evident in her voice.

"We've got to keep your secret safe or you'll be forced out of the school," Tamaki informed her calmly. "Fear not, young maiden! We will protect you!" Okay, as calm as Tamaki gets when he's feeling "noble."

"You're father already knows who and what I am due to an extensive medical history." As an after thought, she added, "And for some reason he wants me to call him 'Ojisan.'"

Tamaki gaped. She knew his father? And he had asked her to call him by something so ridiculous? Blast him….

"We could still have a lot of fun keeping it form the rest of the school," Hikaru murmured.

"It could be a fun game," Kaoru agreed.

"I'll warn you now, Aiden-kun. You've been targeted as they're new toy and it only gets worse." Haruhi shook her head at the twin's antics, silently cheering that they had a new play thing that wasn't her. She still felt bad for the other girl, but it didn't cover her elation at the sudden fortune for her.

"Joy." Sarcasm dripped from her voice as she ignored the rest of the conversations going on around her as she went over to the piano to warm up for the day. She still didn't look all that good but she was at least able to walk in a fairly straight line, as long as she was able to lean against the wall. She played, heavier than normal and slower as well.

"I'm worried about her, Takashi," Hani said, watching the slightly swaying figure at the piano. "Let's keep a close eye on her."

"Ah."

Haruhi sat at a table in the corner, a pencil between her lips as she stared at the paper before her. Blasted calculus… She'd been released from her duties as a host for the day in order to complete the assignment she'd been given. It had to be done or else the trip planned for that weekend would never be able to include her

"How goes it?" Kyouya asked looking over her shoulder.

"Pretty good," she replied and typed a few more figures into her calculator. "I'm just having a little trouble with this exponential growth thing. She just gave us the page number and told us to go to work." She tapped the pencil against her forehead before embedding it in her mouth again.

"Here," Kyouya said and leaned over her shoulder, taking the pencil from her lips and wrote a quick equation at the top of the page. "R is your initial amount, n is the starting point, time is t, your percent is P, and your changeable variable is I. That should help."

"That makes more sense," Haruhi murmured as she typed the equation he'd written into her calculator and submitted the information from the first problem. When it gave her an answer, she checked the back of the book where the answers to the odds were. Her left eye started to twitch slightly. "It didn't work…" she growled turning deathly cold eyes on Kyouya. His remained hidden behind the sun reflecting off his glasses.

"You missed something," he told her and pointed to one word in the text of the problem. "You're percent is decreasing, therefore P should be negative."

Haruhi changed the equation and tried again. "It worked!"

Kyouya grinned slightly and walked off.

"Thank you Kyouya-senpai!" Haruhi called after him.

"Any time," Kyouya replied. "As long as it's math."

She watched him for a moment, curious as to the strange tone he'd used to address her. It seemed almost… playful. Shaking her head, she pushed the thought away for a later time to contemplate.

Kaoru and Hikaru sat with their heads together, whispering and casting sly glances around. The girls around them squealed, thinking they were sharing some taboo information. In reality, they were planning the demise of two certain girls that worked diligently on their school work.

"So, if we get them away from the others, especially Tamaki," Kaoru surmised.

"We win and the girls don't know what hit them. I think this is our best plan yet."

"Oh, Hikaru," Kaoru said louder, giving his brother a dreamy look, causing another bout of squeals.

"There's no need to say anything Kaoru," the older twin said, pulling his little brother into a tender embrace, "I understand completely." His eyes flashed in satisfaction as a few girls fainted clean away.

"How do we get the ever observant Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai away?" Kaoru asked in his brother's ear.

"We'll think of something, even if we have to pay off Shadow King." They glanced quickly at Kyouya before once again launching into the speech rehearsed for the unthinkable "relationship" the two shared as hosts.

"Takashi?" Hani whined, looking up at his cousin with tears in his eyes. "Have you seen Usa-chan?"

"Where did you have him last Mitskuni?" the taller youth rumbled and wiped a bit of frosting off the tiny senior's face.

"I don't remember," Hani whimpered.

Mori stood and started looking. He glanced under tables, chairs and couches. Sadly, he didn't notice Tamaki, standing up and heading towards Aiden to tell her to play something different, until the last moment. Usa-chan sat on the floor very close to the piano.

Tamaki, being the dense king he is, didn't notice the stuffed rabbit either. At least, not until his foot connected with it and he started to fall forward, on a crash course with the bench and the girl that sat on it. One thought went through his head.

"Ah, crap."

Every eye turned to the piano as the screech of moving furniture and two "oafs" were heard. Mori had reached the location just in time to kick the bench out of the way, pull Aiden against him so she didn't pitch off the edge of the bench when his kick sent it out from under her, and grab Tamaki's collar barely before he could face plant into the hard floor below.

"Nice catch Mori-senpai," Tamaki breathed as he clambered back up to his own feet. Girls gathered around, crying in fear and relief at the three in the incident and whispering amongst themselves at Mori's actions.

"Sen… pai..."

The voice he heard was strained. He looked down at the girl crushed against his side. She was leaning forward heavily and seemed to be feebly pushing away at his arm.

"Can't…. breathe…." Aiden gasped. Mori quickly checked to make sure she had her feet under her before letting go. She inhaled but started to fall forward. Mori caught her again, this time not as tight. Tamaki pushed the bench closer, concern etched on his face.

"Are you alright, Aiden-kun?" he asked when Mori helped her sit on the bench.

"Yeah, just couldn't breathe for a moment. Mori-senpai was squashing my diaphragm a little." She leaned heavily forward and almost tipped off the bench before grabbing the edge. Tamaki held her shoulder and Mori caught the back of her shirt, just in case. "Dizzy…" she murmured. Her eyes started to roll backwards.

"Stay with me," Tamaki ordered gently, turning her face towards his. "Focus on me."

With difficulty, Aiden refocused her vision and stared at the purple depths before her.

"Deep breath," Tamaki ordered and took one himself, urging her forward by his example. She did so. "Mori-senpai, please help me get Aiden-kun to the nurse's office," Tamaki requested as he stood, and took Aiden's arms, helping her stand.

Mori looked back at a worried looking Hani who nodded and motioned for him to do so. The taller senior turned around and placed and arm at Aiden's back before pulling her legs out from under her so that he carried her. Tamaki led the two out, keeping a hold of Aiden's hand and talking to her, helping her to stay conscious by giving her someone to focus on.

"Is that part of Aiden-kun's medical history?" Haruhi asked looking up at Kyouya.

"I've never heard of her having fainting spells," he responded quietly. "It could be an effect of her current exhaustion coupled with Mori keeping her from breathing for a few moments. It's very possible that made her dizzy and then all she needed to do was focus on it. More often than not, that will trigger the mind to shut down to an extent."

Haruhi nodded and watched the door close quietly behind the trio. She noticed the restlessness of the girls that had watched Mori and Tamaki take Aiden out. "We need to distract them," she realized, "assure them that everything is alright." She got up from her table and walked over to the piano.

"Aiden-kun's alright," she told those around her. Immediately the entire room turned to listen. "He was sick yesterday and hasn't quite recovered. He'll be alright by tomorrow."

"Well done," Kyouya murmured as he walked past, his nose in his ledger again. The twins were right behind him and thanking her for getting things rolling again.

Sighs of relief sounded through the room and soon the club was in swing again, Tamaki and Mori returning later without the girl.

Once the club time ended, the entire club sighed in exhaustion. "How's Aiden-chan?" Hani asked as he jumped up to sit on Mori's shoulders. He liked the vantage point and honestly liked sitting up there, as if he were truly a small child and Mori his older brother.

"She'll be alright, or so the nurse said," Tamaki replied resting his head on the back of the couch. "My poor daughter," he whimpered. "She's a-an-anam- kaasan, what's the word I'm trying to say?"

"I haven't the faintest idea, tousan" Kyouya responded absently, his mind clearly in the figures on his computer.

"Anemic." The group looked over to Mori. "The nurse said Aiden-san was slightly anemic. It's nothing serious to worry about."

"What's 'anemic' mean Takashi?" Hani attempted to look at Mori's face only to almost fall off.

"Blood deficiency," Haruhi and Kyouya replied simultaneously and looked up at each other. Haruhi grinned slightly before going back to her calculus. Kyouya elaborated to the confused looks.

"She doesn't have enough red blood cells. According to the report on her, it's not bad enough that she has to take iron supplements but she is encouraged to. She does suffer from slight fatigue every once in a while though. The illness she suffered from probably didn't help much in the matter for today."

"I'm so glad you're so well versed in my medical history," Aiden snapped in her soft voice from the now open door. She looked just as terrible as when Mori had carried her out but was at least conscious. "Now stop delving into my personal matters!" She went over to the piano to practice. Hani went over to her.

"Are you angry at Kyou-chan?" he asked tentatively.

"No, not really," Aiden said resignedly. "I'm angrier at myself for pushing too hard on my first day out of bed when I know what I can and can't do than I am at Kyouya-san." She noted his worried look. "I'm alright, Hani-senpai. I just need a little more sleep and maybe something loaded with iron."

"You should rest," Hani told her wisely.

"I should vent anger through playing the piano before I do that," she told him. "Otherwise, I might end up hurting the first person to come across my path tomorrow morning and I don't want to do that."

"But you don't want to miss the trip this weekend because you're too tired or sick."

"I won't, Hani-senpai." She lifted him onto her lap before she started to play a soft melody. "Piano is my passion," she told him quietly as the rest looked on. "I use it for many things. I use it to vent, to relax, to express joy, sorrow, anger. I need this to calm my own nerves now so I can sleep and recover later. I need piano right now more than I need to relax. Everyone has a way to relax; they just need to find it."

Tamaki smiled at the picture they made. The tiny but older student sat on the taller but younger girl's lap. They looked like brother and sister, or nephew with his favorite aunt. "Maybe daughter isn't the proper title for her," he murmured. "She's too much like a favorite aunt."

"Or maybe 'kaasan,'" Hikaru snickered. "She acts more like a mom than Kyouya-senpai." His brother laughed along with him.

"No, she's Obasan," Tamaki decreed. He watched the two for a while longer, smiling slightly.

"She's better than you, Tono," Kaoru and Hikaru chorused. Tamaki's jaw drop and he walked away, sat next to a pillar, pulled his knees up to his chest, and a dark aura surrounded him.

"Way to go," Haruhi said sarcastically. "You just had to send him to his corner of despair."

"Corner of despair," Kaoru repeated looking at his brother.

"I like it!" The two grinned widely and gave Haruhi a thumbs up.

"You two annoy me." She went back to working on her calculus.

Hani and Mori escorted Aiden up to the dorms later that day, making sure she didn't pass out again. When she was safely in her room, the two left her and walked down to the front where their rides awaited them.

"Is there really nothing to worry about?" Hani asked. "I don't want her to have to miss the trip."

"Mitskuni," Mori turned to the loli-shota, "she'll be fine."

He stopped to ponder for a moment, hugging Usa-chan tight. "Maybe we should send a doctor to check up on her."

"Mitskuni, she'll be fine." Mori picked up the smaller youth and placed him on his shoulders. He walked out the front doors of the school.

"Takashi?"

"Ah?"

"C-could you and I spar sometime?" Mori's eyebrows rose even though Hani couldn't see it. "I think I need to find a way to relax, and I think it might work."

Mori thought for a while, staying silent as he pondered all the risks that could be taken in this matter. "Yes," he finally said simply. "When?"

"Today?"

Mori nodded. Within the hour, the boys stood in one of the family dojos, facing against each other.

"Takashi," Hani said, his eyes narrowed as he dropped into a crouch, "you better not go easy on me. I won't go easy on you."

"I know," Mori replied and slipped into his own stance. He watched Mitsk- no, his opponent's torso for movement. A slight shift in the light white shirt was all the warning he had before Hani launched at him.

The two fought, dodging, punching, kicking, landing blows. In the end, Hani landed a risky jumping kick to Mori's chest, sending the taller teenager sprawling onto his back where Hani jumped onto chest and held his fist a mere centimeter from Mori's nose. The small teenager climbed off his cousin's chest.

"Thanks, Takashi," Hani said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I feel better."

"Good." Mori sat up.

"Takashi! I'm sorry!" Hani cried and launched himself at his friend. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard. I just got lost in the fight!" He started to cry.

"Mitskuni, I'm alright." Mori stood, rubbing a hand across his own forehead. He ruffled Hani's hair with his free hand and smiled fondly at his charge.

Kyouya walked into the office building, greeting those around him courteously, all the while heading straight for his father's office. He may now be the head of the Ootori Company, but he still asked for permission and advice on certain matters.

"Father?" he inquired sticking his head through the door. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

Ootori Yoshiro looked up at his youngest son. Rarely did Kyouya ask for something, even so simple as a conversation. Besides, conversation was usually saved until dinner when the entire family was gathered together.

"Come in, Kyouya," Yoshiro beckoned, motioning at the chair in front of his desk. "What's bothering you?"

Kyouya still hadn't gotten used to this new side to his father that spoke of respect and compassion to his son. He was too used to the competition inducing persona he'd always worn in front of his sons except on rare occasions. Shaking such thoughts out of his head, he sat.

"I'm having trouble finding information on a fellow student at school. I don't suppose you would know anything about the family? The name is Scadden."

"Scadden? Scadden Aiden?"

Kyouya nodded; impressed his father knew the name immediately. "Yes."

"Not many have heard of the girl, but she's supposed to be the next great musician, expected to be as great as Mozart. The family keeps her talent quiet."

"Here I thought Tamaki was often referred to as 'the next Mozart.' I wonder how he'll react to this. Probably curl up in his corner as usual," Kyouya mused silently and waited for his father to continue.

"She's Irish by birth but has lived in many other countries, the most time being spent in her home country and America where she has family. She's good enough to be a concert pianist right now, but she refuses, saying she wants to finish her education first. Her family though, is what I know of most." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "Her father bought the first share of the American branch of the Ootori Corporation when it reached the American Stock Market. He now owns more than half of it and thus is the closest one to the top. Be wary of her, she may be looking to push her family's standings up further."

"If she comes from such a wealthy family, why is she going to Ouran on a scholarship?"

"Her family won't claim her. No one knows why except them."

Kyouya's eyebrows rose a little over the top of his glasses. He thanked his father and left, pondering over the matter and another that had been bothering him for some weeks.

Haruhi set down her pencil, sighing as she completed the last problem of her calculus assignment. She'd have to remember to thank Kyouya for showing her that equation or she'd still have five or ten more problems to go. Why did teachers always have to load so much work on you at once? Shaking her head, she went to her kitchen and grabbed a box of crackers out of the cupboard to snack on before going to her room to read a book.
Hikaru and Kaoru leaned over the sheet of paper sprawled on the kitchen table in their home.

"We need a distraction here," Kaoru told his brother pointing at a certain point.

"Smoke screen, do you think?" Hikaru asked.

"No, too easy to get through and you know Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai might over react to it."

"Stampede of rabid fan girls?"

"Perfect."

The two chuckled evilly and added a few more lines to the paper.

Tamaki practiced the piano in the smaller mansion his family owned. The sweet music flowed through the building, tearing up the eyes of some of the servants.
The next day dawned cheerful, at least in the eyes of a certain pianist and the president of the Black Magic Club. Dark rain clouds covered the skies and water poured from the heavens onto the heads of all the students unlucky enough to be caught out side. Haruhi sprinted into the safety of the building and stared back at the soaked grounds and silently prayed that thunder and lightning wouldn't show there faces at any point in the day. She'd hate to have to find someplace to hide at school until the storm passed.

A figure caught her attention. Chestnut hair plastered to the forehead of Aiden as she stood out in the rain, staring at the sky, beckoning the storm to do its worst to her. Her uniform was drenched and she didn't look any better than it did physically. However, a light burned in her eyes that hadn't been present the day before when she'd seemed half-dead.

"Aiden-kun! What are you doing out in the rain?" Tamaki called as he raced under the same archway Haruhi stood in for cover. "Get inside before you get sick again!"

"I'm fine," Aiden responded evenly but turned away from the dark courtyard and moved into the building where they stood. "Morning, Haruhi-san," she said brightly and picked up the book bag she'd left by the doors. "I'll see you at club today."

Tamaki watched the pianist walk into the building. "She's adorable," he stated, "but really needs to think before she acts. She's been sick for two days."

"She's odd alright," Haruhi replied, "but I think she's doing better than she was. She was standing straighter today and didn't need to lean against the wall to stay upright."

Tamaki grinned at her. "You're so perceptive," he said, "and so cute!" He trapped her in a hug.

"Senpai, let go," Haruhi commanded strained.

"No," he retorted and spun her around.

"Let her go, Tamaki," Kyouya ordered, smacking his friend lightly on the back of the head as he came in. "She's turning blue." He folded an umbrella up and shook it off a little.

The blond released his hold on the girl in order to rub the growing lump on his head. "What was that for?" he whined. The bespectacled youth ignored him and kept walking into the school.

"You'll be late for class if you don't hurry," he reminded the two over his shoulder and rounded a corner.

Tamaki chased after him, demanding why "kaasan has to be so mean in the morning" and still rubbing his head. Haruhi smiled slightly, remembering that Kyouya really didn't do well with mornings, something about low blood pressure.

"I wonder if Aiden-kun's grumpiness is due to her being sick…" Haruhi pondered and went into her first class.

"Of course I'll help," Aiden replied cheerfully as she read a book. It was lunch time and the twins were asking for a little cooperation from the girl as she read a book and ate her food.

"Really?" Kaoru asked surprised.

"No." Her voice switched directly to deadpan.

They glanced at each other and backed away quickly.

"We gave her the chance," Kaoru whispered to his brother. "She passed it up."

"This is more fun," Hikaru replied. "Now we get to implement our plan." They grinned evilly at each other, rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

"Let's go enlist Shadow King." The two went in search of the vice president of the club, knowing that, with a high enough price, he would help.

The day continued and the group soon found themselves in the Third Music Room, preparing for club activities for the day.

"Mori-senpai! What happened?" Haruhi asked the senior. He was covered with bruises and a cut showed fairly fresh on the side of his face.

"We sparred," Hani told her as he walked. He too had numerous injuries, just a few less than Mori and not on his face. The loli-shota character looked fresh, and happier than he had in days. "A little exercise is good for you," he told Haruhi solemnly. "We feel great, don't we Takashi?"

"Yeah." He smiled slightly at Hani. Indeed, he looked more alert than he had in a while, a little more spark in his otherwise calm eyes.

"You two are strange," Tamaki told them as he approached.

"You're one to talk Senpai," Haruhi muttered.

"OI! Who did what to the piano!" The group jumped at the sudden voice. For as quiet as Aiden was normally, she could apparently be very loud.

"She noticed," Kyouya told Tamaki a little belatedly.

"Don't you love it?" Tamaki asked the girl as he walked around the instrument. "A little more colorful and cheerful than plain black." He let a hand fall on the pink and purple fabric that covered it, careful not to squash any of the pink, orange, or yellow roses that littered the lid.

"Oh yeah, about as much as I love having a root canal," she retorted sourly, gripping an edge of the fabric, preparing to tear it off.

"We put so much work into that," the boy whined, giving her a tearful face.

"Good for you," she snapped. "It's coming off. You can't lift the lid with it on."

"It's staying on," Tamaki replied, loosing his whining persona for a sterner one. "You need something that will make you look like a happier person. You don't really fit into the Host Club with your current character."

"'Current character?'" she repeated absolute fury rising in her eyes. "I'm not one of you! I'm here to play, to practice. I have no interest in the rest of this club!" A few sharp intakes of breath were heard as she stared Tamaki down. He slowly shrank away and crawled into his corner. Aiden's glare spun on the rest of the group. "Anyone else have a problem with the way I am?"

The twins and Haruhi shook their heads in slight fear, Kyouya ignored the entire situation, and Hani and Mori looked on in slight sadness. Seeing no further objection, Aiden pulled the covering off the piano and propped the lid up. The rest of the group went about preparing for the day, staying out of the pianist's way.

The first of the girl's entered to a slightly subdued set of hosts, and a glowering musician. Undeterred, they went to their designations, all except those meant for Tamaki who was still sulking in his corner.

"These are such beautiful flowers, Scadden-san," a girl commented standing next to the piano. She fingered the petals of the pink roses sitting in a vase on the edge of the piano. Some of the roses on the covering of the piano had been placed in vases and set on each side of music stand, framing the music.

Tamaki's ears pricked up, as he listened, still not willing to come out of his corner unless it sounded like Aiden forgave him a little.

"Thank Tamaki-senpai," Aiden replied absently, squinting at her music, trying to make out the cluster of notes on the paper. "He's the one that insisted on having roses on the piano."

"They add a beautiful touch."

"They do," Aiden admitted glancing at them. "Although I'm fonder of the darker shades. They're still pretty though." She smiled and continued playing.

Tamaki stood, coming out of his despair. It was as much of an apology as he was going to get, he felt, and he better accept it or he'd be hiding in that corner for weeks to come. Instantly, he "turned on the charm" and went to work as a host. The mood lightened considerably with Tamaki's return to the scene.

Half way through the day, Aiden pulled out another book out of her seemingly bottomless bag. She glanced at it and went over to Tamaki.

"You up for duet?" she asked holding the music out to him. He looked at it, took in the intricate fingering already written in, the title, and the composer.

A grin split his face. "I love this piece," he said. "Secando or primo?" he asked.

"Chose which part you want. I know both." Aiden told him.

"Can I play primo?" he inquired hopefully.

"Of course," she replied and went over to the piano, Tamaki next to her. They sat down at the bench and placed their fingers on the keys. Tamaki set the tempo, or speed, and started the piece, Aiden keeping pace with him.

The group went into a hush at the sight of the two approaching the piano and looking so serious. When the piece started, laughter rang out. It was an intricate version of the classic "Chopsticks" that almost everyone knew, even those that didn't take piano lessons.

On it went, getting faster, louder and more difficult to play, Tamaki's arm going over Aiden's and reaching into the area she played in. Finally, he started a difficult portion, and literally shoved Aiden off the bench. She landed on the floor with grunt. Angrily, she jumped to her feet and glared at him. He grinned cheekily at her.

Resisting the urge to strangle him, she went to the other side of the bench and forced him to scoot over so she could start playing again, this time as the primo. They continued as the difficulty increased and finished off with a few loud chords. Instantly, Tamaki was on his feet, pulling Aiden with him. He bowed to the gathered audience, pulling her down with him.

"That was so fun!" A girl squealed.

"Was Tamaki-kun really supposed to push Aiden-kun off the bench like that?"

"It looked painful, but he seems to be okay…"

"It was all part of the piece," Aiden clarified and dusted off the black pants she wore. She had hoped Tamaki would choose the primo. It was her way of making amends. "Sorry" just wasn't in her vocabulary but a kind deed that the other would appreciate never hurt anything.

"You are alright though, right?" Tamaki asked concerned a little.

"Yeah, just fine." Aiden rolled her shoulders before going back to the piano. "That was fun Tamaki-senpai. We'll have to work on another one we can do at a later date."

"Yes, do so!" a girl called form the crowd. Many others took up the call until Tamaki conceded to do so.

Tamaki patted Aiden on the shoulder and went back to business, now having more to talk to the girls about as they asked him questions about his piano education, his skills, his favorite pieces, composers, and so on. Aiden went back to playing the piano calmly.

Hani smiled as he noticed Tamaki and Aiden getting along. Things could have gone badly if the musicians had been angry with each other. The duet had been funny as well. The smile on Tamaki's face had been wonderful and the concentration on Aiden's showed she was enjoying it as well. A spark of fun had lingered behind the depths of emotions she kept inside.

The last of the girls left soon after and the Host Club made a collective sigh. The group slowly crowded onto the two couches set facing each other where Haruhi usually entertained guests.

"That's it for the week," Tamaki said happily, "now we can worry about the trip tomorrow!"

"Where are we going again?" Haruhi asked.

"Another one of Kouya's retreats." Koaru informed her. "It's on the coast."

Haruhi sighed, knowing another play of getting her in a bathing suit would be involved. Instead of speaking her protest, she turned to Aiden.

"You're coming with us, right?"

"I don't know if I should," she responded. "I need to practice." She looked over at the piano. "I should probably stay here…"

"Don't be silly," Hikaru ordered kindly. "Too much practicing will give you problems in your wrists."

"Like carpal tunnel," Kaoru added wisely, nodding his head.

"I practice so much so I won't," Aiden retorted. "It keeps them strong."

"There's a piano at the house," Kyouya said. "You can practice there as long as you enjoy the time with the rest of us in other activities."

Aiden nodded her understanding.

Thunder crashed outside and Haruhi jumped. She glanced around quickly for a place to hide. A flash of lightning illuminated the room and the lights went out. The sound of rain and hail thundered against the windows of the suddenly silent room.

"Blasted power outages," Hikaru grumbled and fumbled for something inside his backpack. The sky outside was so dark it seemed almost as if it were night time.

"This isn't a good thing," Aiden murmured looking out the window. "We need to get to the ground floor, now." She stood and started heading for the door, carefully making her way through the room. She caught Haruhi's arm on the way. "No panicking now, Haruhi-san," she told her. "Keep it together."

Another flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and thunder crashed almost instantly after. "Everyone out of here, now!" Aiden ordered uncharacteristically loud. Hikaru turned on the flashlight he'd been looking for. "Hikaru-san, lead everyone down the ground floor. Stay away from the windows. I'm going to check the rest of the school." She pulled Haruhi over to the group and pushed her amongst them. "Don't let her start panicking."

"What's going on?" Hani asked, a little fear in his voice.

"I've seen this type of storm before in America," Aiden responded. "They're dangerous. Lightning is sporadic, thunder is ear piercingly loud, and soon we'll have hail large enough to shatter the windows. We've got to get everyone away from the windows and near ground floor exists should the need arise."

"Why on the ground floor?"

"I'd hate to think what would happen if the building were struck by lightning and caught on fire. A building as old as this one with so much expensive, highly flammable furnishings would probably go up in flames in a matter of minutes. Now go." She went out the door and headed away from the staircase, looking in every room she came across.

Mori caught up with her, checking rooms on one side of the hall.

"Mori-senpai, you should get down there too."

"It'll go faster with two of us," he replied simply.

Aiden paused, then nodded. "Let's hurry," she replied and opened another door to a dark room. Candles littered the room and a figure in a black robe stood next to one of the windows.

"Oi!" she called. "Get out of there and head for the ground floor," she ordered. The figure didn't move. Impatiently, Aiden rushed in and pulled it away from the window. A young man with bright blue eyes started down at her.

"Scadden-san?" he demanded after a moment, confusion in his eyes and voice.

"Nekozawa-san?" she returned and then shook her head. "No time for memories, get out of here before the hail gets worse or it'll break the windows with you right next to it. It's too dangerous. Get downstairs. The Host Club is there already, follow instructions." She caught his arm and pushed him out the door. He stumbled under her forcefulness before following orders.

Mori and Aiden met up at the staircase on the top floor. "Find everyone?" Aiden asked breathlessly. She'd run through the entire school, checking rooms that were never used, just in case.

"Yeah," Mori replied, barely winded from his own search. "Let's go." He started heading down the stairs.

"Isn't there another staircase?" Aiden demanded eyes wary of the large windows to her left.

"No."

"Great." She caught up to him and they dashed down the stairs. A crash of thunder sounded and the winds picked up. Hail the size of peanuts grew almost instantly to the sizes of golf balls and baseballs. Windows shattered through the school and Mori paused long enough to see the cracks forming in the windows they were passing.

"Aiden!" He caught her shoulders and pulled her back against him, turning so he was between her and the windows.

"Mori-senpai!" she gasped at him, wondering what he was thinking. The windows broke, sending glass pouring onto them, and hail followed driven by high winds into Mori's back.

"Come," he ordered and started a slow pace down the stairs, making sure he shielded her. Once past the section of stairs near the window, he stopped to take a breather, pulling off his jacket and shaking the glass out of it.

"Mori-senpai," Aiden said worriedly, "you're hurt." She reached out and wiped some of the blood dripping down the side of his face away. Glass shards had cut a few gouges in his scalp, the only unprotected area it could reach. One looked fairly serious but she couldn't tell in the darkness.

"Come," Mori ordered and pulled his jacket back on. The stairs leading down from the landing lay near windows as well, already shattered with rain and hail pouring through them.

"We're safer here," Aiden argued.

"Fire?" Mori reminded.

Aiden set her jaw grimly and started down the stairs, Mori once again shielding her. Three more flights went this way before Mori finally dropped to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Mori-senpai?" Aiden turned back to him and saw the stain on the back of his jacket. Cursing she pulled one of his arms over her shoulders. "Come on," she ordered, "two more flights." They started down again, this time Aiden taking the brunt of the storm. Mori didn't make it down the second set. He passed out on the landing. Aiden stared down at him. She couldn't leave him on his own, and they both couldn't stay there. He needed help badly. "Only one option," she decided and rolled Mori onto his chest. She slipped under his form, took both his hands in hers before struggling to stand, keeping his arms looped around her neck over her shoulders.

"You had to be the tallest in the group," she muttered and started dragging him down the stairs as best she could, leaning against the railing to keep her balance as she went. She felt him stir slightly just before she reached the ground floor. "Mori-senpai?" she asked in concern. She received a slight grunt in reply. "Can you lift your legs off the floor for me?" She felt him strain and his legs came up slowly. "Thank you," she murmured and continued her painstaking way to the only room on the ground floor without windows.

"Aiden-kun!" Kaoru cried when she came through the door. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she panted. "Mori-senpai's hurt though." She let him slide to the floor. "Head injury," she told them. She looked at those present. All that remained in the school at that hour were a handful of students, including the Host Club and Nekozawa, and three teachers

"Takashi!" Hani came over, worried. "What happened? Are you alright?" Mori didn't reply. He'd passed out again.

"Anyone know any first aid?" Aiden demanded looking around. Haruhi was the only one to answer in the affirmative as Hani was too distraught over his protector to pay attention.

"Someone call an ambulance," Tamaki ordered as he watched Haruhi kneel next to Mori, Hani, and Aiden, examining the tallest senior's wounds on the back of his head.

"This cut isn't deep enough to have him passed out," Haruhi murmured as she moved Mori's hair out of the way.

"I think that was the start of the cause," Aiden murmured. "It didn't help that he took the brunt of golf ball and baseball sized hail on his head and back. I think they pushed him past the limit."

"Probably," Haruhi agreed and the two girls started a search on something to bandage Mori's head with. When nothing turned up, Aiden pulled a bandana off her bandana that had been hidden under her jacket and proceeded to tie it around the worst of Mori's wounds.

"The ambulance is on the way," Kyouya said as he closed his cell phone.

"Is Takashi going to be alright?" Hani asked, his eyes still fixed on his cousin.

"He should be," Aiden replied and rolled Mori onto his back. He groaned. "See?" she asked. "He's still semi-responsive. I think he'll pull through."

Hani didn't reply, just stayed between Haruhi and Aiden as he waited for Mori to wake up.

Vannen: Well that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all liked it. There's the lovely button at the bottom of the page I'd like for you to push. You don't have to if you don't want to, but I do appreciate feedback as I said in the beginning. Also, I'm still taking votes for relationships. So far I've got about three. Decent considering the amount of reviews, but I do want to know what you all think. Have a good one all and I'll see you in the next chapter! Later much!