This is the story of a certain feared and most respected corporate lawyer Haruhi Ootori and her husband the shrewdest businessman of all times Kyouya Ootori and how they fell in love.
Couple of weeks later:
Yoshio Ootori wasn't pleased with himself. Not even the least. After establishing the fact to Suoh that he wanted Haruhi to become Kyouya's bride in the future, he wasn't sure as to what the relation between Kyouya and Haruhi was.
Apparently, all his research about the girl indicated that she was quite close to Tamaki Suoh and the Hitachiin twins. From what he had found out, the relationship between Kyouya and Haruhi was something like that of a tax collector and debtor. It seemed Suoh was having the upper hand in this. For the first time ever in his life, he was thoroughly disappointed in Kyouya.
Kyouya was never interested in girls. Sure he was polite, charming and gentlemanly enough to make any girl's heart flutter,('well apparently that's what they do in that stupid club of his, so no wonder he had gotten quite good at this' he thought) but that's only when there was benefit involved in it. Otherwise, he was always indifferent towards them. Even Yuuichi and Akito showed interest in women. ( Yuuichi had even tactically convinced him and manipulated the situations so that he could get engaged to the girl he loved and he knew that Akito has a love interest as well). He couldn't help but smile,Kyouya had taken after him even in this aspect. He had also been indifferent to women, but that was until he had met his wife. She was the only woman to have captured his heart and the only woman he ever loved. He had even gone through a hell of a trouble and made some powerful enemies to get her hand in marriage. He knew that Kyouya was as passionate as he was, but he had yet to find the right girl.
That's why he never pushed Kyouya towards any of the daughters of his rich associates. So far, the only girl that Kyouya had even bothered to care about was his sister Fuyumi. That's why he was bent on getting Haruhi as a bride for Kyouya. Sure, the girl had defended Kyouya in front of him but that wasn't the only reason he had zeroed in on her. The girl had spunk, spoke her mind, and wasn't bothered in the least about money, power or name. That much was apparent with the way she stood up to him. However, the hidden aspect of her act was the respect, understanding and a hint of care that she held for Kyouya. Only a person who understood Kyouya on many levels would defend him and for that matter get upset when he was not, being appreciated for the exceptional person that he is. It was always Fuyumi who stood up for Kyouya whenever he reprimanded him and to see someone else who held same amount of care for him, caused him to choose her as Kyouya's bride .
If only he could order Kyouya to date the girl. However, he knew that it wouldn't be fair to both the Kyouya and Haruhi. If anything, he wanted to Kyouya to take this initiative and go through with it until the end, on his own. He simply shifted through the pages of report about her on the table. The girl turned out to be more than what he expected. The girl was intelligent, hard working, witty, sincere, genuine and ambitious and cared a lot for the people around her. He still was a bit unsettled with the fact that her father was an okama, but he felt that her character was for more important than what her father was. The silver lining here was that her late mother was a lawyer and the girl had decided to follow her mother's footsteps. All her teachers from her middle school and high school and even Yuzuru Suoh, believed that she had the potential to become an exceptional lawyer.
He looked at the photo of her father; all see saw was a beautiful middle-aged woman with a wavy auburn hair and red pouty lips. 'At least he is good at what he does' he thought. Then his eyes flickered towards Haruhi's photo. 'The girl is quite beautiful' he thought. It was not the plastic kind of beauty, which the girls of this age sported, but rather an innate beauty that he felt was oddly familiar. Now that he thought about it, the way she talked to him without any fear, the confidence in her stature and the elegance with which she put forth her view was oddly familiar as well. He did have a sense of déjà-vu when he met her. Not even his wife had ever dared to speak to him like that. There was only one other person apart from Haruhi, who could have pulled the stunt that she did and got away with it, but she was not alive anymore.
A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in" he said
A maid opened the door and delivered the package that she held and left the room.
'It's from Yuzuru. What's he up to now? This better not be one of his pranks.' He thought .what was unknown to the business world was that Yuzuru loved to pull pranks on him as much as he loved to taunt his son. Nevertheless, he being an Ootori always made sure that the pranks backfired on Yuzuru. If at all there was someone who could pull prank on him then it was…. 'What's with me today? I am suddenly becoming nostalgic. It's probably because the girl's parents' first names are the same as theirs. However, their ancestry thoroughly was thoroughly checked, there was no connection whatsoever. It is just a mere coincidence. I shouldn't be keeping false hopes. She's never coming back and he hid himself with his daughter after her death. Both of them always wanted to be away from this treacherous world of business and they got their wishes. I shouldn't even bother about them when they did even trust me enough to seek or for that matter accept my help' he thought.
Grudgingly he opened the packet. It contained a CD with a note stuck on it.
It said 'my friend, it seems I have lost the race before it even started. Unfortunately, the Ootoris have a knack for attracting the best. Nevertheless, I think Kyouya deserves her and truth be told he is the one who is actually worthy of her. But I am really glad that at least Tamaki found a friend who is ready to do anything for him- Yuzuru Suoh'
For the first time since the morning, he smiled. 'This is something about the girl and way Suoh has put it, it seems that relationship between Haruhi and Kyouya had more to it than what meets the eye' he thought. He quickly inserted the CD into his laptop and played it. It was a video of the host club during its active hours. He couldn't help but smirk when he saw that the heirs to the most influential and wealthy families of Japan were all there together in this club. There was a swell of pride in his heart when he realised it was Kyouya who called the shots. From what he could see, they all accepted his authority without any qualms. Now he really felt bad that he had slapped his son in public. Even though the entire idea of the club was stupid, he could see how well Kyouya ran it. 'Why the hell is he vice president again, when he practically controls every movement in there' somehow his fatherly instinct couldn't digest the idea of his son being second to anyone.
For others it was a mere host club, whereas for Kyouya it was nothing short of a business arena or rather play ground to hone his skills. He saw that even during the active hours of the club,Kyouya had completely refrained himself from talking to the girls unless when it was necessary. He couldn't help but sigh 'even in a club solely dedicated to flirting with girls, Kyouya pays no heed to them' he thought. But as the video rolled on he was slowly getting annoyed. There was nothing worth seeing at all. It really irked him that Tamaki was practically pawing the girl and Kyouya was doing nothing to stop it.
He was about to close the video thinking that this was some sick joke played on him by the elder Suoh, when something caught his attention. Haruhi was discreetly passing a note to Kyouya when she served him the tea. This had piqued his curiosity and he decided to watch through the entire video. Nothing could have prepared the Ootori patriarch for what he was going to see and hear from now on.
As the video ended, Yoshio learned a lot more about his son and the girl. Apparently their relationship was based on mutual trust, respect and understanding. It had all the ingredients and in the right proportions for love to blossom between them. The girl was not just intelligent but also witty enough to capture Kyouya's attention and keep it completely on her during the entire conversation. She also had such a deep understanding of Kyouya's intricate persona that she was able dissect all his actions, reactions and was able to read his basic and deeper emotions, just like that.
He could also see that Kyouya treated her like an equal. He seemed like he was having the time of his life talking to her, challenging her, playing with her mind. He had even gone through the trouble of making sure she had enough rest. He was just Kyouya, striped of his usual façade in front of her. On closer inspection, he realised that, Kyouya was indeed teasing the girl a lot with his wit and trying to elicit all sorts of reaction from her.
Their conversation seemed more like a game of cat and mouse between two intellectuals which both of them were not willing to lose. Nevertheless, he was really shocked that Kyouya was willing to throw away all this just for the sake of his friend. Tamaki's friendship must mean a lot to him. Luckily the girl had not shown any interest whatsoever in the blonde.
She had in fact helped Kyouya to realise something important as well, something that Kyouya failed to see while he was trying to surpass his brothers. Yoshio had thwarted all competition in the business arena and was currently the one who reined it and he knows he is something of a legend. If anything, he wanted one of his children to be the next legend, not anyone else. That was why he made all of his sons work hard and diligently. He knew that all three of them were capable enough to run the zaibatsu single-handed. In reality, what he actually expected from them was to make a name on their own. Now that she had planted the idea in Kyouya's head, he knew that he would do everything in his power to become the successor of the business legend Yoshio Ootori. The timing couldn't have been any better! Just when Kyouya had willingly given up on becoming the heir, she had led him to the right path.
To say that the elder Ootori was pleased with this new development would be an understatement. If his years of experience had thought him anything at all about human nature then he knew that Kyouya and Haruhi were bound to fall in love.
Therefore, he took his phone to call the Ryoji 'Ranka' Fujioka just to make sure, as usual, that nothing stands in the way of his son's bright future. He may not be outwardly affectionate that doesn't mean he doesn't care for them. He would be damned, if anything stopped him from giving his children all that they deserved.
Little did he know that this phone call was going to give him the shock of his life if he hadn't already had it!
Ranka woke up around eleven o'clock thinking that this was going to be another usual morning. He had work yesterday night, and had returned home at only three in the morning. His daughter it seemed had left for her school. She had left the breakfast and lunch for the day in the fridge as usual. He took a warm bath and just about finished his breakfast, when his phone was ringing.
Cursing under his breath, he went and picked up the receiver "moshi, moshi. Ranka here" he said.
There was a pause and the voice on the side came bit uncertainly but with formality "is it Ryoji Ranka Fujioka"
He couldn't help but roll his eyes 'must be those creepy guys from bank, talking about credit cards' he thought "well smart ass, I did say I am Ranka…. Who else do you expect, my nanny" he snapped. He was certainly not in one of his good moods today.
He could hear a light clearing of the throat on the other side "I am Yoshio Ootori"
Ranka stood their rooted to the spot 'did he find out?' he thought 'no that's not possible. I made sure that no one would be able to find out, not even my mom.'
"Hello..."
'Then again he is an Ootori, there are chances with the resources he has at his disposal'
"Hello….." The voice from the other side was tainted with a hint of annoyance.
'Maybe ... I think the best thing to do is play innocent' he thought just as he heard the voice on the other side filled with annoyance "HELLO…."
"Look here bastard… I don't know what you are trying to pull here… Ootoris don't have time to call random commoners and I tell you this from experience as I have personally met the youngest Ootori on more than one occasion" he said 'that's right play it easy and cool. You are an Okama whose daughter had somehow befriended an Ootori. Now that in itself sounds weird.' he thought.
"Well, Kyouya had met you on various occasions because he is friends with your daughter Haruhi Fujioka who goes to the same school as him on a scholarship of course, and is the member of a club of which my son is the vice president."
"Alright I now know that you are the real deal. Now what do you want" he said with too much sass hoping that the Ootori will get pissed at his rude behaviour and cut the call.
"You were right when you said that I don't call random commoners and an okama no less, but I am calling you as the father of Kyouya… but if you insist I can deal with you as an Ootori. Whichever you prefer Ranka-san"
Who was he kidding, if Yoshio had called him in the first place then there must be a reason which means he will not cut the call before he conveys what he has to say. Thanks to his rudeness, now Yoshio was apparently pissed, he was not dumb to miss the threat. 'Kami, help me to sail through without any hurdles' he prayed.
"May I know why you called me" he tried this time politely. He could hear a mumbled 'that's better' from the other side.
"I'll get straight to the point. Couple of weeks back, I had the chance to meet your daughter. She had the audacity to stand up to me in public..."
"What" Ranka panicked "look sir, she's just a child… she probably didn't mean any harm... I hope you have it in your…."
"If it was any other situation I would have made sure that she was shipped off from Japan" the voice interrupted " but the truth was I was the one at fault there. She was just defending her friend, Kyouya when I was being unreasonably harsh towards him"
'So that's why he called, just to give a warning. For a moment, I panicked. Well then I'll play it smooth and end the call' he thought "well that was very kind of you sir, you really have big heart. I'll tell Haruhi not to do such stupid things and will ask her to apologise if she happens to see you another time. Thank you. Have a good day." He concluded and was about to put the receiver down when the voice on the other side rang out harshly
"I am not done yet"
After a pause the voice from the other side flashed "listen, Ranka-san, your daughter piqued my curiosity. There aren't many who would have the courage to do what she did. I really admire her for that. From what I can see both my son and your daughter respect and admire each other. I believe that they might end up falling in love with each other. If that happens then I want to make sure that you'll accept it whole-heartedly. Besides, this is just to inform you not to make any plans for your daughter for her marriage. You are not to get her engaged with anyone else. Even if you do anything of the sort, it will be of no consequence, as the Ootoris are known for getting what they want, no matter what"
Ranka couldn't believe it 'perhaps he found out who I really am and is just pulling an act to make me spill it out' he thought
"As lucrative as your proposition sounds, shouldn't you forbid your son from associating with commoners let alone allow him to fall in love with them. It is really weird that you'll want the daughter of a okama to be your daughter-in-law. Kyouya may be your third son and as such not in a position to inherit your family business, but that doesn't mean you'll be shipping him off in a commoner boat when there will be abundant marriage proposals in your business world for Kyouya that could lead to some major mergers. Something about this doesn't sound right!"
"Well all of a sudden you turned out be critical analyst of the world of businessmen" came the sarcastic reply.
After a pause, the voice came again "look Ranka-san, as a father I know you are just watching out for your daughter. But, please do understand I am doing the same thing for my son. Kyouya maybe my third son, but I have high expectations of him and I believe he would succeed me one day. I just don't want him to be a successful businessman, I want him to be successful in all aspects of life. So far, no girl ever had captured the attention of Kyouya other than Haruhi-san. In fact, she had made him realise many things that he had never realised before. It doesn't matter if you are a okama, your daughter has intelligence, spirit and a warm heart and that's all Kyouya needs from your daughter. And that's …."
"You know you haven't changed a bit, big man Yoshi, you never expressed your affection openly but you always cared for your wife and children a lot. But let me tell you are dreaming if you think Kyouya is going to succeed you, he's going to surpass you from what I can see" Ranka said with a smile on his face. He knew that Yoshio would catch on quickly. After he found out that Yoshio values his daughter as a person, in spite of her status he didn't have the heart to hide the truth anymore.
"Suddenly you seem to get all familiar with me… hey wait a minute…did you just call me big man Yoshi…. Yoji, you bastard! So that's where you were hiding all these years, perfect guise as a okama. Even I couldn't identify you. You know, you're a fool, an imbecile.., Wait a minute Haruhi is your daughter, which means Toko is her mother! No wonder Haruhi had this nagging familiarity about her."
There was loud laugh on the other side of the line "She takes after her mother, you know. Not just in looks but in attitude as well, so far only she and Toko have ever succeeded in talking to me like I am some ordinary guy they have met at the market place and getting away with it"
"I must admit that I was a bit shocked when you said that Haruhi stood up to you, that was a stunt only Toko pulled so far, even I wasn't allowed to do that"
"Please be kind enough to remind me again, what you weren't allowed to do. You had the gall to pull a fast one on me every time we met and escaped from my wrath unscathed and in fact you remained hidden you bastard, for all these years. Even my private police force couldn't trace you."
"I wouldn't be an Akiyama if I couldn't at least keep my identity a secret. But I am really glad that you saw Haruhi as a person, not just as a mere commoner"
"I couldn't see her as a commoner even if I wanted to, considering who her parents are! If you ask me, her personality just screams your names! So, do you think Kyouya and Haruhi would be a good match for each other?"
Ranka sighed, "It's not that I haven't noticed Kyouya and Haruhi's interaction. Yes, they remind me of Toko and me. However, their relationship is quite formal so far and I sure as hell hope that Haruhi falls for Kyouya instead of that French bug Tamaki. That guy is only infatuated with her and it is not going to last long and I don't want Haruhi to fall for him and have her heart broken when he moves on."
At this he could hear a chuckle from the other side "at first, even I thought it was to too formal to be anything else. But thanks to my friend Suoh, I hold a video here that proves otherwise"
Ranka gasped "A video, don't tell me they both are in a secret relationship"
"You are being your usual dramatic self" the voice chided, "It is nothing of the sort"
"Then why would Suoh willingly send you a video unless it is a scandal or something serious"
"Well, you see your daughter is quite popular. Technically, Suoh and I were after her for the same thing! Suoh wanted her to end up with Tamaki and I wanted her to end up with Kyouya. But as you see in this video here, Haruhi blatantly denies any feelings for Tamaki, which is why Suoh sent me this acknowledging his defeat"
"Hearing she's not into Tamaki, somehow makes me relieved! But I am really a proud father you know; even with the status of a commoner my sweet Haruhi captures the attention of a two powerful business magnets. Maybe I should keep my options open, you know there might be better proposals if her true status were revealed" Ranka joked. If there was one thing he wanted, it was for Haruhi and Kyouya to fall in love.
"Like I said before, you can do whatever you want, but remember you are dealing with an Ootori here. As soon as Kyouya realises his feelings for her, I am positive, he'll stop at nothing to get her"
"Like how you stopped at nothing to get your Ayano, you even made enemies out of the Akiyama."
"Yes, some enemy you are" he chuckled "by the way open your door, I'm waiting outside"
"Wait how did you….. forget it" he put down the receiver and walked to front door.
Standing there was Yoshio Ootori himself his usual smirk in its place.
"You Ootoris are a menace, you know" Ranka said allowing space for Yoshio to get in.
"Sounds like something your mother would say. But coming from you I take it as a compliment" Yoshio said stepping in.
Kyouya had been in a grumpy mood for the past two days. But today, he was sending angry vibes to anyone who had even dared to look at him. Anyone who was misfortunate enough to go near him or reckless enough to annoy him were treated to his death glares,acid replies and anything that could thrown at people (Tamaki was still cowering in his emo corner, sporting a fresh bruise on his forehead where Kyouya's cell phone had landed). Haruhi had heard that Kyouya was a 'low blood pressure Evil lord' when he woke up. 'Perhaps he had instinctively changed in to that mode when he is sleep deprived as well.' she thought.
She couldn't help but notice that there were light purple shadows under his eyes. By the stiffness of shoulder and posture, she could tell that he hadn't slept for at least two days in a row.
'It must be something really important and tedious if it had kept him from sleeping' she thought. In an attempt to reduce the number of victims to Kyouya's Evil lord mode, she went into the kitchen to prepare some coffee.
Neither the twins nor Tamaki followed her like they usually. Somehow, after her talk with Kyouya she was able to have 'twin and Tamaki' free moments in quite a good proportion. Maybe without Kyouya's involvement, Tamaki seemed to lack the zest to follow her throughout the day. Without Tamaki's dramatic outbursts to fuel their mischievous nature, the twins probably deemed her as boring. She couldn't help but wonder if Tamaki unconsciously relied on Kyouya to do most of the things, so much so that when Kyouya was not there to back him up, Tamaki seemed to have drastically given up on pursuing her. Not that she's complaining. 'These small teacups wouldn't be enough. I need something big like a coffee mug' she thought. Finally, after a thorough search that took some time, she found an old coffee mug. She washed the cup thoroughly and filled it to the rim with strong and hot coffee. 'Hmmm….this should do the trick' she thought as carefully lifted it.
The hosts (except Kyouya who paid attention only to his laptop) were surprised when Haruhi came back into the room with a coffee mug. The host club had closed some 10 minutes back, so there was no one to serve and they just sat there playing some random games while Kyouya finalised the budget for the graduation party of Hunny and Mori sempai. 'Maybe she's just tired after the day's work' thought Hikaru.
However, when she passed them and walked towards Kyouya, they were shocked. Tamaki was about to scream and go rescue Haruhi when Mori's strong hand landed on his shoulder. He may be dumb, but he knew it was his cue to, not interfere. Hunny and Mori were sporting smug smiles when Haruhi had precariously placed the cup on Kyouya's table and moved away without a word.
Kyouya was cursing under his breath as he could hear some shuffling and scuffling. 'Can't those idiots keep quiet for at least five minutes? All this noise is increasing my already pounding headache. If they don't stop now, I'll….' His thoughts were abruptly cut off, when he saw a small hand placing a coffee mug on his table. He turned just in time to see Haruhi flashing her trademark smile. Somehow, the aroma of coffee soothed him and without a word or a glance, he took the mug with his left hand and sipped the coffee as he was still typing away furiously at his laptop with his right hand.
Hikaru just had a strange look in his eyes when he saw the way Haruhi had prepared coffee out of her own will and had wordlessly placed it on the table and the way Kyouya had wordlessly accepted it. Kaoru was afraid what his brother's reaction might be after witnessing what just happened. He didn't find the anger, hatred or jealousy that he expected. Instead, Hikaru had a sober and dazed expression that didn't sit well with him. Since the week after the Ouran fair, Hikaru had tried to isolate himself when they were at home but when they got back to school, he had become his usual self, Kaoru had thought that it would pass with time, but right now he felt uneasy with Hikaru' strange reaction. 'He had been acting strange lately; he is not his usual self. Not even trying to cling to Haruhi or trying to annoy Tamaki too much. Somehow, I find it strange. I have to confront him about this' he thought
Tamaki couldn't digest the fact that Haruhi would show such a caring gesture towards Kyouya when she batted him away every time he tried to get closer to her. He jumped at Haruhi and started wailing loudly "why is only mommy getting coffee from my dear Haruhi? I want it as well"
"If you want to get another bruise on that forehead of yours then be my guest and complain how much ever you want" she said and Tamaki sobered up in an instant that is as sober as Tamaki can ever be.
"You know you should do something productive instead of sitting there and complaining." She added.
"Well the most productive thing to do would be to dump Tono outside the room" Hikaru supplied.
"WHAAAAAAAT. How can you say that I am the host club king and I demand….."
"Forget it" Haruhi mumbled and turned her attention to Hunny successfully tuning out Tamaki's rant "Ok, sempai…. Tell us what would like as your graduation gift from the host club"
Tamaki piped up and threw his overbearing self at their short senior
"So what do you want for your graduation party, anything you ask, we'll make it happen for you! Consider it as your parting gift" trying to show off Haruhi that he was indeed doing something.
"As long as, it is not ten foot cake." Kyouya added before Hunny could open his mouth to respond.
"Kyo-chan, that's not fair!" he whined but once he got a look from Mori, he sobered up
"What Takashi and I want is to tell the entire school that Haru-chan is a girl. She cannot be forced to spend the rest of the high school as a boy now that her debt has been paid"
Kyouya had announced a few days after the Ouran fair that her debt had been paid and that she chose to be a part of in spite of that.
"Oh no, we cannot do that Hunny sempai! Then everyone will know Haruhi is a girl" Tamaki wailed
"That's the point Tono" Hikaru added in a matter-of -fact tone
"Then she will not be our secret princess anymore. All the guys will be after Haruhi. No, daddy will not stand it" Tamaki said dramatically. By now, everyone had tuned him out.
"Funny, you'd ask that sempai. The chairman had made the same request of me a couple of days ago. Very well then we'll see to that Haruhi true gender is revealed with a minimum impact whatsoever so that people don't hold any grudges against her."
Tamaki was shaking Kyouya's shoulder and said "mommy you can do that. Then all the guys will ask Haruhi on a date. Then she'll no longer belong to us" Kyouya didn't get any sleep at all last night and he was in no mood today to deal with any crap. His patience was almost non-existent right now. Till now he was just doing fine, but starting his own business meant that he had to meet people and go places and on top of that he needed to do his school work to retain his position and he had to deal with host club itself. Somehow, his schedule seemed rather tight.
" I don't belong to you sempai" Haruhi's monotone voice cut across the awkward tension that hung between Kyouya and Tamaki " yeah, even I am getting sick of pretending to be a boy. I think it's about time everyone knows I am a girl"
He was too busy fretting over the issue that he did not sense the impending danger that was signalled by Kyouya's dark aura. "Kyouya, what are you thinking? We cannot let Haruhi go. We cannot let them know that she is a girl. Then everyone will….they will" he stuttered.
"Tamaki, there's no 'we' here" he said in clipped tones "In case you haven't noticed, it involves Haruhi. She has clearly expressed what she wants a while ago. For once would you just stop acting like a selfish idiot?"
Everyone there stood still. Kyouya was rather annoyed and if anything, Tamaki's constant whining only aggravated his anger.
He added, "It is a crime in itself that she has been pretending to be something she is not. Do you want the rest of her life to be marred with it? Moreover, Haruhi hasn't planned to leave the host club, so she is not going anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, that's good enough for all of us. But if you are obviously worried about other guys dating her, too bad, that's your problem!"
"Oh no" Tamaki started wailing "mommy just yelled at Daddy. No, we cannot fight in front of our children. That will set a bad example" he suddenly pulled a magazine titled 'Family Issues' out of nowhere and started flipping through the pages quickly.
"Tell me one good reason…. One reason that I shouldn't yell at you, moron" he asked Tamaki.
However, it was Haruhi, who answered his query "because he's your best friend, the one for whom you'll do anything no matter"
Kyouya calmed down remarkably after hearing this. Something about what she said or rather, her voice got him to calm down. After all, it wouldn't do good to get angry with Tamaki when all he did was just being his usual annoying self. What really irked him was that Tamaki just danced around Haruhi not realising his feelings for her and at the same time not willing to give her up either. 'How long does he think this club or the setting of family will last? Even though they might stay as friends, eventually Haruhi would want to move ahead with her life and he was going to keep acting like a blithering idiot, it will only cause him pain' he thought and couldn't help but notice how his heart clenched at the idea of Haruhi being with someone else. It made him jittery.
Pulling himself together, he said, "Although her gender will be revealed Tamaki, as long as she is with the host club, no guy would have the confidence or should I say the courage to go after her"
Haruhi knew that Kyouya's statement literally translated to scaring anyone who even thought of pursuing her as a love interest. What shocked her though, was that was that the others didn't seem averse to the idea, in fact everyone seemed to be completely agreeing with him. Hunny even had that steely glint in his eyes that was associated with letting out his inner martial artist.
Tamaki couldn't have been any happier and instantly abandoned the magazine and launched himself at Kyouya yelling 'mon ami!'
"Hey sempai, when I said that you'd do anything for your friend, I never meant scaring of any guy who is not in the host club' Haruhi yelled.
"I don't see why you are complaining, it would keep you from being pursued by random guys and you wouldn't have to deal with telling them not to do so. If you ask me it is a win-win situation for everyone"
"Do you always have some sort of justification under your sleeve for all the schemes that you hatch?" she said, slumping unconsciously
"No, not usually! Only when it involves you"
"Well, I don't think I am not flattered, sempai" she answered with a sigh.
"I guess then I am probably losing my touch a host" Kyouya deliberately drawled his statement. He, for some strange reason wanted to see Haruhi's reaction to his words. He couldn't help but smirk at flustered reply he got from Haruhi "why do I have feeling that you are hosting me right now"
What the couple didn't notice was that they were slowly being pulled into their own conversation, each taunting and teasing the other with words. The way they were interacting seemed so casual yet intense. Kaoru could sense that even though they were talking aloud, their words were only meant for the other. They looked almost like a couple talking about some kind of an inside joke which no one besides them knew about.
Over the few weeks both Haruhi and Kyouya had gotten closer to each other. Though it wasn't as obvious, it was still apparent. He also knew that both Hunny and Mori supported this new development. Afraid of what Hikaru's reaction might be to this, he quickly decided to barge into their conversation and change the subject.
"But how are we going to let everyone know that Haruhi is a girl without having them, hate her for the rest of her high school life"
"That should be not a trouble as long as you are ready to spend some gruelling afternoons with Renge, Haruhi. If all goes well, we can even make some profit out of this" Kyouya said nonchalantly as if he hadn't been side tracked in the first place.
"Why am I not surprised" Haruhi replied.
"Actually we are in a financially tight situation, thanks to Tamaki's extravagance during the Ouran fair" he threw a dirty look toward Tamaki who was quietly standing next to him "and after paying for the damages to the shipped in carriage and the school property which, we hardly have any money left for your graduation."
Everyone knew that the situation must be really bad if Kyouya was openly admitting it. They knew that as long as Kyouya could handle any situation, he would not utter a single word no matter how bad their situation was. Now with Kyouya openly declaring it, it seemed like the doomsday had finally hit the host club. No one spoke for several minutes.
"You mean that we won't be able to hold their graduation party" Haruhi asked concerned. She didn't want their seniors to graduate without a celebratory party that was due to them. Haruhi usually scoffed at the extravagance of all the things they did in the host club, but for once, she looked forward to doing something exuberant for her graduating sempais.
"We won't be able to a graduation party that lives up to at least our usual standards. I would have usually put in my own money in such tight situations until the profits were blooming enough to take back my invested money. But currently I myself am in a tight situation" Kyouya sighed.
"We didn't know we were in such a bad situation." Kaoru said breaking the unusual silence that settled over the host club. 'No wonder that Kyouya sempai was pissed lately' he thought.
"It's okay Kyo-chan. You don't have to hold a graduation party for us. It doesn't make a difference as long as we are together" Hunny said not wanting to burden Kyouya anymore when he has been doing a lot lately to keep their club intact in spite of this financial crisis. It looked like he hadn't slept for at least two days. Hunny couldn't help but smile at the thoughtfulness and effort Kyouya showed toward their graduation party even though he pretended he remained friends with them only for his own benefit. Somehow, the long faces of the host club members after hearing the sad news seemed to have greater meaning than any graduation party they could give!
Mori placed his calloused hand on Kyouya's shoulder to show that he completely agreed with what Hunny had said earlier.
Kyouya noticing Mori's gesture and pushed his spectacles up so that the light seemed to glint of it. "That's why I had asked the all the members to stay back so that we can discuss about how we can gather enough money in time so that we can have a graduation party"
"So sempai, let me guess somehow letting everyone know that I am a girl is a part of making money for their graduation party" Haruhi asked
Kyouya just smirked "you prove that you are a not just honour student for no reason." He said his glasses glinting "yes I am going to use your secret to the best of my ability to rake in profits that would be put into honey and Mori sempai's graduation party"
"But how did you guess that Haruhi" Hikaru asked bewildered as to how Haruhi was able to deduce what was running in their Shadow king's mind
"Well Kyouya sempai seemed quite unperturbed about revealing my secrets earlier, which meant that he must have given it some thought and that seemed a bit unlike him because naturally he would devote all his energies to get us out of this tight spot, unless revealing my gender was his way to do that" Haruhi said.
All except Hunny and Mori and Kyouya of course gasped audibly. Hunny and Mori were quite used to this as they had their dose of shock when they overheard Kyouya and Haruhi's conversation. Kaoru couldn't help but notice that Hikaru once again had this melancholic yet wilful expression on his face.
Tamaki was still his goofy self, still trying to think of ways to prove to Haruhi that he could do something productive as well.
"So, let us begin, shall we?" Kyouya said immediately gaining everyone's attention
"Haruhi it is your task to convince Renge that you are a girl."
"You do realise that even after realising that I am a girl, she'll still be in denial for a long, long time to come" Haruhi sighed. Dealing with Renge was not on the top of her priorities list.
"Well, do whatever you've to do in order to get her out of her denial and make her accept the fact by the end of the host club session tomorrow. I trust that you'll handle it well because it is essential that we have Renge's support throughout this and her adoration for you remains intact even after she finds out that you are girl"
"I can already tell that tomorrow is going to be a long day"
"Why do we need Renge's help in the first place, Kyouya Sempai?" kaoru asked
"Ne, Kyo-chan, just a day will not be enough for Haru-chan to do that seeing as how Renge-chan can get sometimes" Hunny said already fretting for Haruhi. It is not going to be walk in the park for all he knew.
"You'll understand it in due time." Kyouya as usual brushed of their queries sticking to his usual inscrutable self "Now since that's taken care of, we have to think about the many theme-hosting that we have to do before the party. However, we cannot do anything extravagant, as we have to keep our budget in mind. It must be minimal yet interesting"
"Can't we relive some of our earlier themes? Now I know that we don't repeat themes but given that Hunny and Mori sempai will be graduating in a few weeks we can have something like a trip down the memory lane kind of a thing where we'll be just reliving some of our most popular themes"
"Interesting. Yes, we could actually do that. That would save as a lot of money as we don't have to order new costumes" he said as he was writing in his notebook. "But it would only be good and interesting enough if we do it a week or so before the party. Any earlier than that, it wouldn't have the desired effect. So we have to do something for the couple of weeks before that"
"Ahhh…Kyouya sempai" Hikaru piped uncertainly
"Yes Hikaru" Kyouya asked
"You order costumes for from one of our mother's boutique right?"
"Yes most of the designs are created by your mother herself. But sometimes it's done by designers working for her. There's never been any compromise in the quality of work. So I do always order from them, even though it is not the cheapest option!"
"Well. We could design the costumes for the upcoming themes at a lesser price." Kaoru who knew what his brother was thinking almost all the time was taken aback at this. He had absolutely no idea as to where Hikaru was going with this.
"What …." Hikaru added defensively, feeling uncomfortable with the weird looks he was getting from Hunny and Mori and Kyouya was looking at him as if he was seeing him for the first time. Haruhi was looking at him with something akin to pride in her eyes.
'Hika-chan has really matured over the time. Even though he is still his mischievous self, he has started thinking about the future' Hunny thought.
"Well, I cannot make a payment in advance. Even though both you and Kaoru are the sons of a famous designer, I'm yet to see your work. This also means that you'll show me your design, two weeks prior to the theme giving me enough time to order the costumes from outside if I am not satisfied with your work. If you agree to this, I'll consider your proposal." Kyouya said.
Hikaru was pissed off at Kyouya's reply 'I'm offering a way for us to cut down on our expenses and he's treating me like some kind of novice. Who does he think he's dealing with, I'm not a Hitachiin if I cannot design some stupid costumes for the club' he thought. He was about express his thoughts verbally, when Kaoru cut across wisely "don't underestimate the Hitachiin brothers, sempai. We will work under your conditions but remember, since this is our first business venture we would also like a pay worthy of our effort"
"Of course you have my word Kaoru" Kyouya smiled for the first time that day. "That settles it then, if we can cut down our expenses on the costumes then we can have no issues left to deal with. As they promised Hunny and Mori sempai would be visiting, the host club at least twice even after their graduation. I have acquired the chairman's permission for this, so there shouldn't be any problem during the next year. Now, there is this aspect of telling everyone that Haruhi is a girl. I'll arrange a meeting for you with Renge tomorrow, Haruhi" Kyouya summarised everything. He felt thoroughly exhausted but there was something; he had to talk to Haruhi about.
Everyone bid their goodbyes and this time before anyone can offer Haruhi a ride back home, he stated, "Haruhi, I'll drop you home and on the way we'll discuss about your meeting with Renge" No one commented on it and just filed out of the room. Haruhi knew it was an offer rather an order. She didn't protest it she knew it would of be no use.
When they were finally seated comfortably inside the limo, Kyouya offered her a large gift-wrapped packet. On Haruhi's enquiring look, he plainly stated "congratulations. You are promoted."
"What are you talking about, sempai" Haruhi was totally clueless as to what was going on inside that head of his. He simply gestured her to open the package.
Quickly getting rid of the ribbon and wrapper, Haruhi found a brand new laptop which was very similar to what e owned and a cell phone. She was bewildered and speechless. Kyouya didn't simply give gifts to anyone randomly without any reason
As if reading her mind he said, "You'll need them as from today you'll be working as my secretary"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. When did I ever agree to that?" She blurted out.
" well if my memory serves me right, you did promise me that you would anything that I ask you to, ANYTHING AT ALL" putting the emphasis on the last three words
"Besides seeing as true gender will be revealed soon enough, you'll need a reason to be a part of the host club. Once everyone knows you are girl, you cannot carry on being a host now, can you?" Haruhi was sitting across him looking rather blanched.
For some odd reason, he liked eliciting all sorts of reaction from her.
After a few moments of silence, Haruhi finally gave in, "what would I have to do as your secretary?"
"Well now that I am starting my own business, I have a lot more work to do than before. I would have to meet people and have lunch appointments and talk about deals…. Therefore, I won't be around most of the time from now on, which means that I won't be able to host club finances single handed like usually did. That's where you come in…you'll draw out our budget, keep a tab of all the expenses with appropriate vouchers and of course aid me organizing the themes for the club. And of course you'll also manage my schedule, and do some other secretarial stuff like going over quotations and contracts and other legalities."
"That's a load of work!" she blurted out. She knew what he gave her was only half of what he did. 'The entire work load must have taken its toll on him. Probably that's why he needs someone to support him and handle some of the tasks.' She thought.
She didn't mind the work though, she would choose Kyouya's offer any day over hosting. But what really surprised her was the fact that he had chosen to rely on her. Kyouya wasn't the type of person to rely on anyone except himself. This showed, how much he trusted her and it warmed her heart. It also didn't escape her notice that he had told her what he wanted in a straightforward way. The usual Kyouya would have just made her agree to become his secretary without offering any explanations as to why he was doing it. Now that she thought about it, he had stopped hiding behind a mask whenever he was talking to her, lately. She was looking at Kyouya sans pretences, stripped of his façade.
"Well, once you stop hosting you can use up that time to do all this work. I strongly advise you to learn more on corporate law as that would not only interest you but I'll also be asking for your advice on certain issues whenever I deem necessary."
"I see that I have no other option. Errand boy to host and now the shadow king's secretary just when I thought my life couldn't get any weirder" she sighed.
Kyouya smiled at this "unlike your previous positions you'll be paid for your work, Haruhi"
At this Haruhi's head snapped up and before she could say anything, Kyouya said, "it wouldn't do the Ootori name any good if my first employee doesn't get a salary. Your salary will be deposited in a bank account to which you'll not have any access to until you graduate from Ouran. So, You'll don't have to worry about the school rules."
She couldn't help but smile. Kyouya always thought about everything and was prepared was all contingencies. That was one of the traits of Kyouya, which had attracted her. 'Wait… Attracted...Where did that come from?' the stopping of the limo pulled her from her musings. She opened the door and started climbing the steps to her apartment with Kyouya following her.
When she opened the door to her apartment, she got the shock of her life. There, sitting and chatting over a cup of coffee was Kyouya's father.
Kyouya was wondering as to why Haruhi was standing still stuck to the spot in front of her. So, he stopped right behind her and cocked his sideways to get a good view. Every cell of his body tensed and he instantly stiffened. He pushed Haruhi aside and barged in.
"What are you doing here father?" he asked calmly though his posture indicated otherwise.
Yoshio knew the moment he saw his son that he stayed a bit longer than necessary. He was amused when he saw how angry Kyouya was. Thus, he decided to play along.
"Since you are here, I might as well go back home with you." he said.
" I am glad that you had taken some time off of your busy schedule to meet with Haruhi's father even though I don't see as to why you would do that" he said anger lacing his voice in spite of his control. He knew that his father being here meant that Haruhi and her father would be facing the brunt of his wrath for the way Haruhi had behaved towards him.
Haruhi didn't know what to do. She knew that Kyouya's father was a very strict man who had slapped his son in the public just because he was a part of a silly club. Kyouya was not in his calm and collected state that much she could infer from his posture and the clenching of his jaw. She was surprised that Kyouya was slowly losing control and attributed it to his fatigue. She slowly entered the room and stood beside Kyouya brushing her hand slowly against his. (Though this act did was noticed, by the two older men in the room) she bowed slightly and said "good evening Ootori-san" Yoshio nodded towards acknowledging her.
When he felt Haruhi's hand against his, he instantly cooled down. He realised that his anger will only cause more trouble for Haruhi and Ranka-san and decided to take in the circumstances first before reacting.
"I thought it was obvious, Kyouya. I wanted to meet up with the father of the famous Honour student, after all Haruhi-san here seems to be quite a promising young lady."
"Oh my, my Ootori san you are being too generous with your praises. She's just another regular student. But I am really glad that you have taken a keen interest in my baby girl." He cooed in a gleeful manner and went completely into his fan-girl mode.
Kyouya saw through Ranka's act but he also sensed that Ranka was calm and at ease. Thus he concluded that his father didn't' threaten Ranka-san in any way. For that, he thanked Kami.
Nevertheless, there was fishy about the entire situation. His eyes flickered to something glittering on the table near the coffee cups. He casually walked into the room and said, "Now you're being rather modest Ranka-san. Father is right; Haruhi is a promising young lady, who had entered the Ouran academy because of her intelligence and diligence. She shines in not only academics but also in people's heart. No girl could make herself an irreplaceable part of lives of six young men who are from wealthy and highly influential families in a short amount of time, like the way Haruhi did. Six young men who would do anything, anything at all for her even if it involves facing off against someone powerful." Though he had addressed Ranka-san, his words were directed at his own father.
Yoshio smirked knowing that his son had clearly packed a warning with his last statement. He never thought Kyouya would ever dare to such a thing. Probably he cared for Haruhi more than thought. This made Yoshio feel victorious and he sent a glance towards Ranka who was grinning. Ranka turned his eyes toward Kyouya when he noticed some movement near the table. Kyouya stood up straight after picking up a wallet, which he had dropped accidentally.
"Well I think I should take my leave. I don't want to keep my father waiting. I'll take up Haruhi's used stuff some other time"
"Oh. Goodbye, Kyouya. It was nice to meet you Ootori san. Please do visit us if you have any time to spare. And oh, Haruhi you should apologise to Ootori san. You have him disrespected him by speaking to him in a rude way in public. Yet he has been kind enough towards you" Ranka said just to keep Kyouya's suspicions at bay. The boy clearly didn't take anything that was happening here at face value.
Haruhi slightly bowed her head and said, "I apologise for the way I behaved Ootori-san, but I will not apologise for what I said"
Yoshio couldn't help the smile that curved his lips 'She's like Toko to the core' he thought. "Haruhi-san what you did that day was to defend an Ootori. Sticking to an Ootori is never a mistake, therefore I don't expect you to apologise for it"
Kyouya was both pleased and shocked to hear his father's words. After the incident at the Ouran fair, his father had not even uttered a single word to him. 'Did he just call me an Ootori now? I thought he had considered me disgrace to an Ootori name' he thought. However, he kept his face impassive and followed his father out of the apartment but not before giving a Haruhi a look of assurance.
Ranka was glad that it was over. He had asked Yoshio to keep his true identity a secret as Haruhi had no idea about it. He knew that Yoshio would keep his promise. So, he had no worries about it at all, until Kyouya showed up. He had never been so glad to see Kyouya leave his apartment. He knew Kyouya would not let this incident rest unlike Haruhi and would definitely get to the bottom of it. The boy's guarded expression indicated that from this moment he will be target of his suspicions as well. Man the way he was moving around the room slowly and casually like a predator gave him the creeps. "Hey wait just a second. Why did he move around the room….oh shit' he thought. He turned around to see the table and knew instantly what was missing.
Kyouya was half way down the stairs with his father two steps below him when he heard Ranka's yell. "Wait a minute Kyouya"
Kyouya stopped and so did Yoshio wondering what the matter was.
"Kyouya, you had taken something that belongs to me by MISTAKE when you had picked up your wallet" emphasising on the word mistake.
Yoshio couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Kyouya reluctantly handing back a CD to Ranka. 'Maybe Yoji was right, he may indeed surpass me' he thought and cast a final look towards Ranka before heading towards the waiting limo.