Chapter 9

Operation: Win Haruhi's Heart! Part 2

Haruhi glanced up at the clock in the Third Music Room.

Oh, is it that time already? She thought.

She stood up from her seat, picked up her bag and said to the other members, "I have leave now. There's a sale at the supermarket that I don't want to miss."

Tamaki stood up as well. "You're going to the supermarket? Can I come as well? I want to get a cheap toy for Antoinette!" He asked excitedly.

Haruhi thought for a moment. "Oh, all right. But we will have to stop at my apartment first since I need to get my wallet."

"Yeah! Commoner supermarket! Commoner supermarket!" Tamaki chanted happily.

He and Haruhi left the room together, leaving the other members alone.

Kyoya turned to the twins. "Why didn't you boys ask to tag along as well?"

"The author said we couldn't." Hikaru said with a monotonous voice.

"Since we got our chances with Haruhi in chapter seven, she said that Tamaki had to have his turn." Kaoru added. "It is understandable."

Both brothers were sitting on the opposite ends of the table. They glared at each other without blinking as if they secretly challenged each other to a staring contest.

"It certainly is torture that we have to wait until the end of the chapter to find out who gets to be with Haruhi." Hikaru replied.

"Ah, are the two weeks almost over already?" Hunny asked. He shoved a handful of cake into his mouth.

Kyoya glanced at the camera. "What are you doing, focusing on us? Get back to Tamaki and Haruhi!"

"Oh right!" The author exclaimed.

(- -)

"So how are we going to get to your apartment?" Tamaki asked. "If you want, my driver can take us there!"

"Well, we could walk there as well, but that would take too long. I prefer to take the train—"

"Yeah, yeah! Let's take the train! I have never rode on a train before, nonetheless a commoner train!" Tamaki replied.

Haruhi smiled. (Again, she is under the influence of three potions. Of course it would change her attitude somewhat.) "Okay. I was planning on taking the train anyway."

Tamaki blushed. She's…she's so cute! Tamaki thought joyfully.

Tamaki was so fascinated and excited to be at the train station that Haruhi had to hold his hand and guide him. He was acting like a little kid again with his commoner fantasies.

Finally, the pair arrived at the apartment complex where Haruhi and her dad resided. As they were walking up the stairs, a thought came into Tamaki's mind.

"Haruhi?"

"Yes?"

"I know a lot of guys have liked you in the past and now, but…have you ever harbored a crush for anyone else?" He asked. "Those unscrupulous twins and me don't count."

Haruhi thought for a moment.

"Actually, there was one person I did like, but that was a long time ago." She replied.

"Who was it?"

Haruhi unlocked the door to her apartment and both stepped inside.

"I don't know. I never knew what his name was." She answered.

She smiled at the memory.

"When I was four and before my mother died, my family and I went out for lunch to celebrate the success of her latest case." Haruhi recalled. "I remember wearing this brown dress. My mom bought me a matching brown ribbon and tied it into my hair. I loved my mother very much so the ribbon felt special.

"I remember it was a cool day. It was a little windy as well. We ate lunch outside in front of the restaurant. It was going fine when there was a strong breeze of wind. It undid the ribbon in my hair and it blew off. I almost ran for it, but my dad held me back. I was so close to crying because I thought the ribbon was special. But then, a boy approached me.

"He was holding a teddy bear in his arms, and around the bear's neck was a green ribbon. The boy undid the ribbon from his teddy bear and tied it into my hair. He smiled and said, 'Pretty!' He soon rejoined his own parents and I never saw them again."

Haruhi smiled again. "I still have the ribbon, too. It was a sweet memento of that day. That boy's kindness was hard to explain. That must have been why I liked him."

Tamaki smiled curiously at her. "What a touching story." He commented. "What else do you remember about this boy?"

"I remember seeing the faces of his parents. His dad was Japanese and his mom looked like a foreigner. She was gorgeous, too. She had wavy blond hair and blue eyes." Haruhi answered. "But the boy…I can't quite remember his face. Each time I try to remember his face, it always is blanked out. But the boy looked a lot like his mother."

Tamaki smiled and chuckled. "I don't know if this is fate or coincidence."

"What do you mean?"

"I was that boy in your story!"

Haruhi gazed skeptically at him.

"That was my first time ever in Japan. My dad was arguing with my grandmother about bringing my mother and me to Japan. He managed to slip us through one time. We went shopping through the districts, and we stopped to eat at a restaurant. We also ate outside. Just as we were planning to leave, I heard a girl crying. When I turned around, I saw that the ribbon in her hair had blown away. I had my Beary with me at the time. He had a green ribbon tied around his neck so I undid the ribbon and tied it into the girl's hair." Tamaki explained excitedly. "That was my last memory of Japan and of that visit before returning to France. My mother got sick and we had to go back."

Haruhi thought about that beloved memory of hers. She remembered the face of the boy and the teddy bear he held in his arms. The boy was Tamaki. His face was of an innocent and adolescent child, and his teddy bear had a blank face that only Tamaki Suoh would love.

Haruhi looked at Tamaki and smiled brightly.

(- -)

Hikaru and Kaoru sat together on a couch in the Third Music Room. They were watching Tamaki and Haruhi together. While Tamaki still acted like an idiot, Haruhi didn't seem to mind anymore. The love potions' effects had worn off, and the winner was Tamaki. Tamaki said that it was from fate that they were together.

"We got beat, didn't we?" Hikaru asked.

"Oh, yeah. Big time." Kaoru commented.

"I guess you can't fight it. They met each other a long time ago." Hikaru replied.

"Yes. I guess this is what you would call destiny." Kaoru commented.

The twins glanced at each other.

"I don't think our relationship will be the same ever again." Kaoru said slowly. "But we could try to mend it as best we can."

"Sure thing. Sorry, Kaoru."

"It's okay. I'm sorry as well, Hikaru."

"So, do you want to bet on how long these two will last?"

"Why not?"


Well, this arc is finally finished! Next up is the conclusion for Kyoya and Nanami, and then the epilogue. What inspired the whole ribbon ordeal was a picture on the back of the Ouran High School Host Club volume 5. There is a picture of the twins as little kids and the lower panel is of Tamaki and Haruhi as little kids together. Tamaki has Beary with a green ribbon and Haruhi was holding Bun-Bun and it had a brown ribbon. What if Tamaki and Haruhi did meet when they were little kids? This chapter holds that they did. (Although, it would make sense that Haruhi might have met the twins when they were little. Hint: the flashback of when they were kids and in the snow.) Well, I already have chapter ten finished, but it requires some editing. It won't be long. I BLOODY PROMISE!