Chapter 7

A/N: I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I was playing a game on my computer, just letting my mind wander (best way to think on the plot of a story) and suddenly, boom! The ending of this fic exploded into my brain. So that made me happy, to know I'll have an ending. That's at least a couple chapters away though. I mean, I technically knew how the story would end, but I'm really happy that I know EXACTLY what's gonna go down. Mwahaha! Maybe that'll inspire me to crank out this chapter!

Also, everyone seemed to handle the last chapter pretty well (and by pretty well, I had people tell me they cried, and I love when my stories provoke emotional responses, so win for me!). Thanks for all the support so far, and I hope everyone enjoys the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran Host Club.

When Haruhi arrived at Music Room 3 before class two days after Honey's funeral, she felt a small fissure of alarm. Mori wasn't there… and other than a few rare occasions when he was ill or hospitalized or on a trip, he was always one of the first ones there (Haruhi had never been early enough to discover whether Mori could beat Kyouya… she wasn't entirely sure the bespectacled boy even went home). Kyouya was at his usual seat, typing away on his laptop. Haruhi put her bag down and pulled out a book, not voicing her alarm lest Kyouya scoff at her paranoia.

She needn't have bothered. Kyouya could read her moods at a glance. She'd no sooner seated herself when Kyouya looked up at her. "He'll be here. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried," she said, blushing fiercely and cursing her flaming cheeks.

Kyouya just gave her a knowing look before returning to his work. Haruhi ducked her head over her book, refusing to make eye contact with the older boy.

Tamaki and the twins arrived shortly after, and then it was time for class, and Mori still hadn't appeared. Haruhi was getting more and more edgy. "Where is he?" she asked herself as she trailed the twins to their homeroom class.

"What's up, Haruhi?" they asked in unison as they sat down on either side of her at their desks.

"Nothing, just… thinking…"

"You do that all the time," Hikaru pointed out.

"And you don't usually look like that," Kaoru said.

"How do I look?" she asked, confused.

"You look…" Hikaru began.

"Worried," Kaoru finished.

Haruhi wrinkled her nose, cursing her expressive face. "Fine, I am worried… Mori's didn't come to the music room before class… do you think he's out sick or something?"

The twins looked at each, shrugging in unison. "Good question," they said.

"We could check the senior hall during break," Hikaru suggested.

"Yeah, someone up there will know," Kaoru agreed.

Haruhi nodded agreement, then ignored them in favor of listening to their teacher. But she was distracted all morning, her notes lacking their usual precision as she worried. Finally it was time for break, and she was surprised when Hikaru and Kaoru immediately hauled her to her feet and started dragging her off.

"What the heck, guys!" she yelped.

"You're not taking notes with your usual accuracy," Hikaru said.

"And if we want to copy them later, we'll be in trouble," Kaoru continued.

"So we figure it's better to hurry up…"

"…and figure out if Mori's here so you can pay attention in class."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "How noble and selfless… really…"

"We live to serve!" the twins declared proudly.

It only took a few minutes of inquiry among the seniors to determine that Mori hadn't shown up at school that day.

"Now I'm really worried," Haruhi admitted as she walked back to class with the twins. "Do you think he's sick?"

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. "Who knows," they said together.

"Well, someone should text him and make sure he's okay," Haruhi said, already digging into her pocket for her phone.

"Haruhi…" Hikaru began.

"No one has Mori's number," Kaoru finished.

Haruhi blinked. "Oh yeah… I certainly don't have it…" she realized. Then she looked up at the twins. "And you guys don't either?"

"Nope," they said together.

"And Tamaki doesn't have it either," Hikaru added.

"Kyouya might… but I thought only Honey had it," Kaoru said.

"Well… I'll text Kyouya and ask him then," Haruhi said with a sigh, flipping through her short contact list. And then she saw a new entry… Her eyes widened.

"Haruhi? Earth to Haruhi!" Hikaru called, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"Haruhi? What's up?" Kaoru added.

"Huh? Oh… sorry… Nothing's up," Haruhi said quickly, even as she started composing a new text message.

"Don't give us that," Hikaru argued.

"You looked really confused," Kaoru put in.

"It's… nothing," Haruhi tried to argue.

"Don't lie to us," Kaoru said, stealing her phone.

"Yeah, we can always tell," Hikaru agreed, leaning over his twin's shoulder.

They stared at her phone, then at Haruhi. "You said you didn't have Mori's number," they accused simultaneously.

"I… didn't," Haruhi said at last. And then she remembered Mori handing over her phone after she'd lost in at Honey's funeral… "Wait… did he…?" she murmured to herself.

"Did he what?" the twins asked.

"Nothing… never mind," Haruhi said. They were nearly to class, so she put her phone on silent and typed a quick message to Mori. "Hey, is everything okay?"

She sat back down at her desk, ignoring the way her phone was suddenly bombarded with text messages as the twins nagged her and tormented her. But finally… finally… Mori's name appeared on her screen, and she opened that message, letting the twins' messages go unopened and ignored.

"Feeling unwell."

Haruhi frowned down at the phone, but she was relieved it wasn't anything serious, so she typed back, "Okay. I hope you feel better. Sorry to bother you."

She bent her head back over her notes, trying to pay attention to the teacher while still ignoring the messages from the twins, who were growing increasingly agitated as she refused to look at them or their texts. And then she saw a second text from Mori, which she hadn't expected.

"Didn't mean to worry you."

Haruhi blinked, then reread the messages she'd sent him. 'What did I say that made him realize I was worried?' she asked herself.

"It's okay," she typed back. "Do you need me to bring you anything after school?"

"I'm fine. Thanks."

And that was that. Haruhi waited a few more minutes to see if he would text her again, but he didn't, so she turned off her phone and put it away, ignoring the indignant huffs of the boys on either side of her.

As soon as lunchtime rolled around, Haruhi turned her phone back on and hurried off before the twins could catch up with her. It didn't take her long to find Kyouya, his nose buried in his laptop as usual.

"Haruhi," he greeted her. "Have you talked to Mori yet?"

"How… did you know?" Haruhi asked at last.

"It's simple," he replied. "Mori is very careful about giving out his personal information. Even I have never discovered his personal cellphone number. But he does recognize the need to be reached by the Host Club on occasion. With Honey gone… you were the next logical choice."

Haruhi felt as though her knees might give way, and she had to grip the edge of the table for support. "Me?" she asked quietly.

Kyouya glanced at her over the top of his glasses. "Of course it would be you. Who else would it be?"

"But… what about you?"

Kyouya allowed a small smile to appear on his face. "Mori and I do get along, I'll grant you that. But we get along the way coworkers might get along. We don't see each other socially outside of the Host Club, for example."

"I don't either…"

"Well, you didn't before. But he had Honey then." Kyouya closed his laptop, then leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table, fingers steepling together. "Haruhi, I don't think you realize… just how much he trusts you."

Haruhi's jaw dropped open.

"Do you think Mori trusts me? Or Tamaki? Or the twins?"

"I… but you've known each other for so long…" she stammered.

"He trusts you far more than he trusts any of us. He's opened himself to you in ways that he hasn't opened himself up to anyone but Honey. I might even go so far as to say that he likes you, but don't take my word for it."

She blinked.

"You don't find it at all odd that you are the only one he'll talk to? That you were the only one allowed to comfort him at the funeral? That he gave you his personal cellphone number?" Kyouya demanded.

"I… I hadn't… I didn't think about it…"

"Of course you didn't. But maybe that's why he likes you so much," he sighed. "You simply… you accept people's actions for what they are, you're not looking for deeper meanings or ulterior motives. It might lead some unscrupulous people to take advantage of you if you aren't careful," he added with a smile.

"Like you, perhaps?" she teased. Both of them knew that Kyouya would never take advantage of her. He'd be the one protecting her from the scams and cons.

"Continue being yourself. It's what he needs right now," Kyouya advised.

"I… hadn't planned on changing," Haruhi said softly.

"Good. Don't." Kyouya opened his laptop again. "You're excused from Host Club duties this afternoon. Stop by the room before you leave though, and collect Mori's homework."

"What? Why?"

Kyouya gave her a pitying look. "It makes a nice convenient excuse to stop by Mori's home uninvited, unless you had another excuse."

It hadn't even occurred to her. She stared at him, mouth moving soundlessly. Kyouya just smiled.

"We can spare you for an afternoon. Go to class. I'll see you later."

"Um… of course…" she said, slowly backing away. Then she hastily bowed. "Thank you, Kyouya-senpai." And with that, she turned and hurried out of the room. Kyouya just smiled as he watched her go.

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I'm running out of steam with this one. There's definitely gonna be one more chapter and then either an epilogue or a full chapter after that… Not sure which. I won't know until I see how the next chapter goes. I was hoping to get this one to ten chapters, but I just don't know. I want to finish this one and Healing Bloody Wounds so I can move on to my new projects…