A/N: Sorry it's taken forever but this was originally going to be a sequel...
Part Two: Chapter One **A week into summer break**
(Ash's POV)
We walked into the private terminal for private jets at Japan International Airport. Danni, in her (Hitachiin Approved) Cargo pants and her black (also twin approved) spaghetti strap top with big loopy cursive lettering that read 'Ouran Host Club: Maybe you're my Love', was on my right and was flanked on both sides by Mori and Hunni. On my left was Jody, who was being flanked by Tamaki and an uncharacteristically happy Kyoya (mostly because his competition was being removed from both the picture and the country…and he didn't have to have him deported! Behind me were the twins and a walking mountain of luggage that was supposedly Haruhi. She had somehow been stuck with our numerous suit cases, despite my attempts at carrying my own stuff.
When we finally reached the gate for the Otori Family's jets (yes…as in plural), the staff relieved poor Haruhi of our literally dozens of bags…Several of which had not been with us when we had flown here Coach on an Air-Japan flight… that were packed with expensive gifts from the Ouran Host Club. The twins gave me countless outfits that I had little to no use for and were made from fabrics that were so rare and valuable that I was actually a little scared to actually wear them. The only reason I excepted the gifts was because I didn't want to offend rich people who most likely owned any company that may someday wish to hire me.
Now it was time to say goodbye…which was sadly amongst the few things I was actually uncomfortable to say. In my experience, the words Good-bye were not to be taken lightly. I never actually said them to anyone I want to see again, because in my own opinion, goodbye was what you said when you were talking to someone you would never see again. Danni and Jody didn't even know I thought this. That's why, if someone leaves, I say 'see you later' instead of goodbye, or if I'm talking on the phone I just hang up. This moment had me at a loss for that reason. This isn't a phone call could hang up from, this wasn't a 'see you later' situation…but at the same time I knew I wanted to see these people again. Really though...what chance did I have of seeing them again…Kyoya, Kaoru, Hikaru, Tamaki, Mori, Hunni, Haruhi, Nekozawa, the customers…There was still a tiny chance that I could eventually see them all again…right?
Kyoya must have been just as uncomfortable with this whole thing as I was. I say that because he did this lame little hand wave thingy and said "Good luck. I wish you well." I watched as stuffy business man Kyoya took over the teenaged American pervert in disguise that I had learned to love over the past year.
"Nuh-uh…nope…not working for me." I said.
"I beg your pardon?" You mean other than me wanting to tear you a new asshole?
"In America we hug when we say goodbye to friends." As I wrapped my arms around Kyoya in a Friendly-not-flirty, I'll-always-remember-you way…not that he'd ever admit it, but it took some convincing before either of us was ready to let go.
"Good-bye." He said as we finally broke our contact. It didn't hit home until that moment just how much I wanted to stay…or how permanent our leaving might actually be. I had told myself I wouldn't cry, and I didn't, but behind his glasses Kyoya's eyes were slightly more moist than normal. The annoying perverted Japanese millionaire teen had become like a brother to me, I just wished that I could have realized it sooner.
"Bye." I barely managed to choke out. Then I glanced at Tamaki the Baka King and whispered in Kyoya's ear. "You better make a move before all the good ones are taken." He blushed lightly and nodded as I moved on to the King Baka himself.
"Tamaki." I said, hugging him tightly. "Wonderful, strange, eccentric Tamaki…take care of yourself sempei."
"Yes of course!" he said like a true Lonely Prince, "and you as well my darling little daughter."
"You do realize that we're not really related…Right?"
"Yes, but it's more fun this way!"
"Ah…" I said, as if it actually made a whole lot of sense. It didn't though…Tamaki never had, and probably never would. Suddenly I turned to Haruhi and said "You'll keep everyone out of trouble for me…right?"
"I'll do my best!" she said with a soft laugh, as four soft muscular arms embraced me from behind.
"Boys, boys, boys." I said, laughing for the sole purpose of keeping the tears from falling down. "I'm not sure that my life—or sanity—will never be the same without you…then again…that might not be a bad thing."
"Good-bye Ash." Hikaru. I thought as I felt a pair of arms slip away.
"I'll miss you." Kaoru. And the second set of arms was gone.
I tried to catch him, "Kaoru…I…" but he was already standing clear across the gate with his brother. Hunni and Mori said their good-byes quickly, and Jesse pulled me into his arms.
"What will I do without you?" It was whispered…as if he were afraid to actually say anything.
"Rest peacefully knowing that Danni can't kill you in your sleep?" I offered…I didn't want to cry…making jokes made it easier to avoid the waterworks. "At least I don't think she'll be able to…" Smiling, Jesse kissed me…it wasn't one of those passionate I love you type kisses, it was more of a so this is it kiss. It just made it that much harder not to cry. "You guys ready?" I asked as Danni and Jody finished their good-byes (have I mentioned yet how much I truly despise that word?).
"I guess," my two best friends said simultaneously.
We started to walk away, but Kaoru shrieked suddenly. "Wait! Don't leave…Please. I'll miss you too much!"
We turned around, "Listen." I told him, my hands grasping his shoulders. "We don't want to leave any more than you want us to… but our time here is over. For us…this has been like a dream…surreal yah-know? But it's time for us to wake up and smell the grass clippings…we don't belong in your world…the nice clothes and fancy parties…we're not meant for that stuff. It was nice to know you…know all of you…but we can't stay here forever…we don't belong here, we'd just get in the way of you reaching your full potentials." I paused…trying to find the right way to wrap things up. "Besides, any one of you can afford to fly out and visit us whenever you feel like it." I began to walk away…turning over my shoulder I added, "And Kaoru…I'm really sorry." I don't know what I was apologizing for…for leaving? For coming in the first place? For dating Jesse? For loving him? For wanting them both? For all of it combined? I'm still not sure.
We walked towards the loading ramp when suddenly…the Private Otori Family Jet that was supposed to take us back to our lives in middle class America…Exploded…Blew Up…Spontaneously Combusted right before our very eyes.
"So I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this means you'll be enrolling back at Ouran next year." The voice belonged to Kyoya Otori, I noticed right as my eyes rolled into the back of my head and the world went black…the last thing I though being 'were our bags on the plane yet?' then there was complete and utter nothingness.
(Kaoru's POV)
Someone once said that 'all is fair in love and war'. This was both…at least that's what I told myself as the private jet exploded.
Kyoya walked over to me. "You had something to do with this…didn't you." It was hardly a question at all.
"Well…"
****FLASHBACKS****
~*~Theater of Kaoru's Mind~*~
"Hello? Yes, this is Kaoru Hitachiin. I'm a friend of the Otori Family. I need you to blow up a plane…" Stroking a mustache. "YES I KNOW IT'S AN OTORI JET!Just do it! I'm paying you good money…And remember…that money will be substantially less if their bags are on the plane when it goes…understand? Why? BECAUSE THOSE BAGS WILL HAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF GOING AWAY PRESENTS THAT WILL NEED REPLACING IF THEY GET BLOWN UP, THAT'S WHY!"
Suddenly Danni showed up. "You weren't wearing a Hitler mustache… For Real?"
"No! It's fake…See?" I ripped it off…and shrieked shrilly. Rubbing my now peach Fuzz less upper lip as I glared at Danni as I realized something… "Wait a minute! This is MY flashback…What are you doing here…you weren't even there!"
"That you know of…" She echoed as her body faded into the shadows.
****END FLASHBACK****
"ah." Said Kyoya…"and I assume you will be paying for the damages to my families Jet…Am I correct?"
"Yeah, Sure…" I said as I thought to myself 'anything for one more chance…anything for Ash.'
(Jody's POV)
Jesse looked at me…Poor dude. My cousin seemed to be at a loss, but heck if I knew how to help his passed out girlfriend wake up. It's not like this happened to Ash very often. She and I were pretty much immune to the weird shit that makes normal people just faint into oblivion…that kind of came with the territory of being Danni's friend.
Ash had known Danni since they were too little to really remember anything…and I've heard that Danni was Danni-ing people for at least that long. So you would think that having a jet blow up just before you get on it wouldn't be as bad as having a best friend who has to be some sort of ninja ghost assassin thingy…Right? I mean a plane exploding is plausible…you know…people can imagine a plane exploding. On the Other hand, we have Danni…and unless you are a serial murderer or a stalker the image of Danni showing up out of thin air is pretty unlikely to be popping into your head.
Anyway… Kaoru rushed towards Ash's unconscious form screaming bloody murder at my cousin… This was something that happened on a daily basis. This time however, with Ash being too busy being unconscious to break them apart, Kaoru actually had a valid point…and for the first time in any matter involving Ash...Hikaru was actually agreeing with him.
"Are you completely USELESS!" screamed Kaoru. "Go to the bathroom and get a wet paper towel, cold water! Mori…carry her to that couch!" we pretty much just did whatever Kaoru told us to at that point. Danni had a satisfied grin on her face as she and Mori kept "accidentally" bumping into each other as they worked. It was one of those grins that made you wonder just what kind of evil she had brewing in her head.
(Ash's POV)
"Wake up…" I heard some distantly hazy Japanese voice say…Wait! I'm supposed to be on a Private Jet heading to the US. Wait! The Jet EXPLODED! Wait! All my expensive clothes got blown up! Wait! That is not Jesse's Voice! My head was doing some serious spinning…and all I really wanted was to be safely on my way back to my safe home where I would safely enroll into a nice safe commoner's high school…filled to the brim with nice safe non-millionaire commoners like me. No clubs full of Multi-millionaire High school Gods and spontaneously combusting airplanes…thank you very much.
There was that voice again…It kind of sounded like… "K-Kaoru?"
"Yes, Ash, it's me…" Weakly, I looked around. Everyone, save Kyoya, was crowded around looking worried. I grabbed Kaoru's arm tightly…
"Are my clothes alright? Tell me their alright!" I said, ignoring Jody and Danni as they rolled their eyes and smiled at each other.
"I-I'm not sure." He said.
Kyoya came over to us, snapping his cell phone shut. "If you need somewhere to stay, you always know…" he let the invitation hang. His way of saying he couldn't care less what we decided…let alone myself in particular…but the glint in his glasses told me a different story…he'd been worried…I'd have to confront him about it later.
Looking at Jody and Danni, I instantly knew that they wanted to stay. I smiled at Kyoya. "Thanks…" and I really meant it.
"I need a place to stay…" said Danni…She sounded sickeningly sweet…something was up…
Mori looked at her with an almost nonexistent laughter in his eyes…and a shadow of a smile dancing on his lips, "No you don't, and you know it. You can always stay with me or Mitsukuni."
"Yeah, Dan-chan," Hunni added, "you're always welcome at me and Takashi's places."
The rest of us just stared on in amazement…even Kyoya was visible distraught by what had taken place. Mori had said more than one syllable, Danni was looking genuinely shy (I had seen her fake shy hundreds of times at that was not it), and Hunni wasn't in a bloody heap of corpse for calling Danni 'Dan-chan'. All in all, it was in fact a once in a life time thing, and everyone was either taking mental photos to commemorate this moment (Jody, Jesse, and Haruhi) or they were trying to figure out whether or not they either died in the explosion or are having some sort of head injury they don't remember getting (Kyoya, Kaoru, and Hikaru)...and then there was me who was doing a little bit of both.
Kyoya's phone rang. He answered it with a, "uh-huh? Uh-huh. Thank you…I'll let them know," and hung up.
"Well?" Tamaki pressed.
Leveling the "king" with a cool stare, Kyoya said, "That was our staff. Apparently, none of your belongings were on the plane yet. I'll have them sent to your current residences. So, Ash, your 13 suitcases will be sent back to your room at the Otori Estate. Flash, your things are being sent back to your cousin's apartment, and Danni, since you are a free and roaming spirit…" he looked her up and down then glanced at Mori, " I'm sending your belongings to the Morinozuka Family Dojo. You don't mind that right?" I had a bad feeling that he was making up for all the times she had pestered him about his love life over the past year in that one statement.
Danni muttered something I couldn't hear since I was still really freaked by the spontaneously combusting plane thing, and Kyoya pushed his glasses up to hide his blush. This gave me this satisfactory feeling that she had discretely called him out on my own suspicions. Eventually, Mori, after having whispered with Danni in a corner for close to thirty minutes, suggested we all go out to lunch.
As I slumped in the limo, Haruhi smiled at me, "are you okay, Ash?" her soft brown eyes boring into my soul, disarming me with a calm and collected smile.
I lied unconvincingly, "Yeah, I'm fine. How about you, Haruhi? It must be frustrating to learn that you carried all those bags into the airport for no reason."
"You're not fine." I looked at her with my teal eyes wide in shock. I know that I wasn't all that convincing, but was she so clueless that she didn't know when to drop the topic. "It's written clear across your face. You're angry, confused, upset, and a little sad too."
"I just wanted to sleep in my own stupid bed!" I started crying…which I hadn't done properly since first time I met the twins' mother (Not that she had anything to do with why I was crying that time mind you it was purely a coincidence). "I'm so sick you stupid rich people and your stupid money! And your stupid parents paying for every stupid thing you want to do and buying every little thing you want to have! You're all so blind to the fact that every time you open your rich little mouths I feel like a complete moron…because if I ask you how we're going to get somewhere you say 'that's what the chauffeur is for' or 'the limo' as if I should know because I'm some rich little Japanese girl and go to Ouran with daddy's money like the rest of them. NEWS FLASH! I'm a middle class American! I DON'T HAVE JACK SQUAT! All I really want right now is to be safely on my way back to my safe home where I would be safely enrolled into a nice safe commoner's high school…filled to the brim with nice safe non-millionaire commoners like me. All I want is some peace and quiet for once, without it being ruined by Jesse and Kaoru fighting over me."
I just sat there, letting the tears fall, and letting everyone stare at me in shock as Kyoya pulled me close to him and whispered soothingly, "I might have a surprise that will cheer you up, Hinadori-chan…"
I pulled back a little, without breaking out embrace, as I wiped my eyes with one of Jody's handkerchiefs…I mean, really, why the dude couldn't use disposable Keenex brand tissues like the rest of modern society was beyond my knowledge… I asked softly, "Wh-what kind of surprise?" I was trying to avoid traumatizing the others any further, and the stuttering could be blamed on Kyoya calling me by that ever so embarrassing pet name…Baby-bird.
"A trip," Kyoya announced, "For the whole club (Jesse that includes you) to the Otori Family Private Beach this summer. What do you say?"
I sat there, until I had a horrid thought… "It won't spontaneously combust… will it?" I asked timidly. They all just sat their laughing at me, Jody, Danni, and Jesse laughing the hardest out of everyone. Jerks.
After lunch we went straight to the Otori Beach house, which was reached with little to no problems…unless you count the twins bugging Tamaki (they poked him the entire ride up), and since I can't think of any who does count the twins bugging Tamaki…I think we're good. When we got there I went straight to my room, one of my thirteen suitcases dragging behind me. I dropped in hap-hazard on the bed, I dug through and grabbed a (surprise-surprise) Hitachiin design bathing suit and began to change. With my skinny jeans around my ankles, I heard the door creaking open.
"Oh, sorry!" It was Kyoya…Who had returned to his teenaged-American-pervert-in-Disguise self after banishing the 80 year old business man Kyoya half way between the airport and the beach house.
"Chillax Kyoya-nii-san!" I said in a very Jody-esque manner. Kyoya laughed.
"You're going Jody on me…lovely…as if one wasn't bad enough." He teased.
"Shut up!" I said, tossing a pillow at him lovingly. "And what is so bad about Jody anyway?" Not that I didn't have a few ideas…
I wondered momentarily if I should tell him that Jody was only hitting on Tamaki to make Kyoya jealous enough to confess… I decided that I should just tell him after he finally got around to confessing and he and Tamaki could be mad at us together, because at that point, it wouldn't really matter what they thought of us. Instead, I simply rolled my eyes at Kyoya as he looked me up and down.
"The twins have a swimsuit for you to wear…"
"tell the twins to take the swimsuit and shove it up their collective…actually no, don't, just tell them that I am already in a Hitachiin Swimsuit design."
"If you insist."
"Oh, I insist." I insisted he keep those annoyingly sexy twins away from me…
"I found the answer to my Question…" he added nonchalantly.
"Oh?" I replied.
"The one about you dropping you skinny jeans."
"Really? And what's the answer?" I asked. Secretly I was afraid of his answer.
"Yes…you drop them before the guy gets the chance to ask…" He stepped out of the way of yet another pillow hurdling at his head.
"Teenaged American Pervert in Disguise!" I said in a sing song tone.
"You would know!" he replied equally as sing-song… "I'm sure you've had your share!"
