Series: Ouran High School Host Club

Mangaka: Bisco Hatori

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. No one would believe me even if I claimed to.

May contain Spoilers.

Some details have been altered for my own convenience.

This story is based post-manga.

Chapter Four: First Meeting

All in all, negotiations with Noriko had gone surprisingly well. She was still cold and snippy throughout the whole thing, but did nothing to hinder the actual process. In some respects, she actually tried quite hard to get things to work, despite her obvious hope that everyone would change their minds and cancel the whole thing. Through this, Yuzuru was once again able to feel the woman's tremendous love for her son, and her desire to make him happy. How could he stay annoyed with someone whose love for her child and desire to make him happy was so genuine? He just couldn't.

As for what they had arranged, they'd decided at the time that Tamaki and Yuzuru would come over and visit for two weeks in one month's time. Depending on how the initial meeting went, the two of them would stay either with Noriko and Mamoru, or at a hotel. Obviously the option to stay in a hotel was for if things went badly. Or if Noriko became absolutely intolerable. To be honest, Yuzuru didn't like the idea of housing with Noriko one bit. But for his son- sons- he would do what he had to. Even put up with a temperamental woman who so obviously hated his guts. After all, Noriko would have to put up with someone she detested in that timeframe as well. Even though that person was himself, they were somewhat in the same boat.

Tamaki's friends had, of course, been very surprised and even a little shell-shocked when they found out about this development. Then again, they reacted with absolute shock to most things they found surprising. They were very supportive of Tamaki's decision to meet his brother, and did their best to help him and calm him down whenever he started to get anxious about the meeting. Thus, the month passed. Sometimes the days of waiting seemed to fly past, while the mind was occupied with something else. Other times, every minute felt like an hour, where the ticking of a clock was audible, and the anxiety growing with each tick. And finally, it was time to depart.

The entire former Host Club (although Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru were still at Ouran Academy and continuing the club) gathered at the airport to see Tamaki off, and to request presents from Hokkaido.

"Don't worry," Tamaki's girlfriend Haruhi assured him. "Everything will be fine. Just try hard, do your best, and be yourself. Most times, that's the best thing you can do." She gave him one signature sweet, reassuring smiles which always gave him comfort and made him marvel (and often squeal) about how cute she was.

"Right, right. It's as Haruhi says." Said the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru. Hikaru was still dyeing his hair a dark ash colour, and was leaning on his brother's shoulder, as he so often did. "Haruhi's hardly ever wrong about pretty well anything. You know that."

"Besides," Kaoru chipped in, "If he really wants to meet you guys this bad, I highly doubt he's going to just hate you right off the bat."

"They're right, though it's mostly pointless to keep repeating the same things. Just remember not to embarrass or disgrace yourself too much while you're there. You do enough of that here as it is." Were Kyouya's oh-so-sympathetic words.

"Be brave, Tama-chan!" Honey said encouragingly in his typical childish manner. "And bring me back lots of sweets from Hokkaido!" He added. Of course he had to mention sweets, which were practically as important as air to the short youth.

"Yeah. Be brave." Mori added solemnly to his cousin's encouragement. He talked a little more sometimes as of late, but he clearly felt that it wasn't necessary right now.

"Of course, don't forget the presents!" They all, besides Mori, chorused.

These encouraging words (and requests for presents) added to Tamaki's courage. He gave each of his friend's a hug, sometimes a little teary (or a lot teary. It was his personality, after all), and gave Haruhi as kiss. And with that, he and his father boarded the private jet which would take them to Hokkaido, and Tamaki's waiting brother.

The plane ride was nowhere near as long as the trip from France to Japan had been, but it had still been quite boring, and plagued with worry. Nevertheless, they arrived safely in Hokkaido and stepped into the car that was waiting for them, both of them bracing themselves for the confrontations about to occur.

The car pulled up to a nice, large house on a decent slab of property. It was chilly in Hokkaido this time of year, but not entirely too cold. The garden was very nice. The house wasn't near as large as they'd expected, and was definitely far smaller than the main Suoh Mansion, as well as Suoh Mansion 2, both of which Tamaki was very familiar now. It was neat and well-kept, and there were no signs of disrepair. Yuzuru had heard that Noriko had been estranged from her family some time after her divorce from him, for reasons he had not cared to investigate. He was unsure whether he played any part in the reason, but if he had it would certainly be a contributing factor for Noriko's dislike of him.

They sat in the car for a few moments after their arrival in order to gather their courage, something they'd had to do a lot in the past month, before getting out of the car and starting towards the door. They didn't know what to expect. It was hard to tell a person's personality from a photograph. Some things could be told easily from looking at a picture, but it was impossible to gather the deeper details. That story could only be obtained by meeting the actual person. Something they were about to do.

It was Yuzuru who reached out and gave a decisive knock on the door, and then they waited, sweating, for a response. It didn't take long in coming. They could distantly hear the song of footsteps approaching from inside, and then the door opened. And there he was, the boy from the photo. The person they knew as Mamoru. He really did look just like in the photo, the dark, dark brown eyes, the long curly black hair, and the short stature. He really took after his mother, but he had also without a doubt inherited the Suoh good looks. At that moment, as he opened the door, he was leaning forward slightly and brushing a strand of hair out of his face to tuck behind his ear.

"Ah." He said when he saw them. "Hello."

And then all three froze, none of them having any idea what to say or do now. This was the meeting they'd all been anticipating for such a long time now, and now that it was actually happening, they were at a loss. The silence became awkward. At last, Mamoru cleared his throat.

"Um, come in then." He said, a tad uncertainly. His nerves didn't much show on his face. It seemed he'd also inherited his mother's poker face. That made Yuzuru wonder if he'd also inherited his mother's temper. He hoped not. One lighted fuse was about all he could handle. If he could handle Noriko. They would have to see about that.

Mamoru moved out of the way, and they both stepped inside, courteously removing their shoes. Tamaki had completely clammed up upon seeing his half-brother, and didn't seem to know what to say to the boy. Up close, he could see that the other boy had rather soft features to his face, though the catlike eyes and stubborn set of his jaw indicated that he could be difficult to handle. So far, it was hard to tell entirely what they thought of one another. It would take a little more time before they decided whether they liked one another or not.

The inside of the house was pleasant, though not overly extravagant. It gave off a homely feeling, and it helped them to feel more at ease. "This way. Mother's over in the sitting room. She told me to bring you." Mamoru said, his voice still betraying the whispery hints that Yuzuru had detected the first time he'd heard his voice over the phone. It was pleasant to listen to, though hard to hear since they boy always seemed to speak so softly.

Mamoru led them down a hallway, and they followed obediently. There were some pictures on the wall, some of it just meaningless pictures of parks and cherry trees, and others of Mamoru and what Yuzuru knew and Tamaki guessed to be Noriko. This was when it hit Tamaki for the first time that he'd be meeting his father's ex-wife, someone who may in fact be very displeased with his existence. Tamaki was scared. He wasn't so sure about this anymore. What if the woman hated him? Even if she let the brother's meet and talk to one another, would he really be alright staying in a house with someone who could possibly hate him? He wasn't so sure.

Mamoru seemed to pick up on Tamaki's worry and looked back at him curiously. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Tamaki looked away, feeling shy as well as being afraid to reveal his feelings. He glanced back at Mamoru after a moment, and the dark-haired boy smiled at him, soft and gentle affair that helped to soothe Tamaki's frazzled nerves. He beamed back, delighted at both the acknowledgment and the pleasant interaction. He seemed like a good person! Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Yuzuru watched the small interaction between the two boys with some relief. Mamoru exhibited a very gentle aura when dealing with Tamaki, so maybe the two of them would get along well. He hoped so. He knew Tamaki would be delighted with having a sibling, particularly one he could get along with. Yet that still left Noriko, and Yuzuru was worried about that. He knew how cold the woman could be, and he wasn't certain yet of her power over her own son. In a few short moments, he would be seeing Noriko again for the first time in nineteen years. He wasn't entirely certain he was ready.

Here is the fourth chapter of Tough Decisions. Thank you for reading this far. At the moment, this story has no reviews. I would like some, as I have ventured out of my usual writing style in order to write this, and I would like to know what you guys think of it. Do you like it, or does it compelely turn you off? Is the story line good? Is there anything I can improve on for the next chapter? How's the chapter length? Please let me know! I love to hear from you!