A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, I was having some computer problems. Luckily, I was able to get it fixed and not lose any of my document files in the process. Unluckily, it took days to get the necessary disks because this happened the day before New Year's Eve.
With that in mind, I hope you all have a great 2012! :)
Wind blew through his hair, gently tickling at the nape of his neck. His smiled softly, enjoying the feel of it. He loved nights like this, not too cold, but still with a distinctive air that signaled the coming winter. He turned his eyes to the starry sky that he studied every night until the need for sleep overwhelmed him.
He shifted positions, sitting on his right leg before the left could fall asleep. Closing his eyes, he was content with laying under this tree all night, listening to the wind and the running water behind him and the hooting of a nearby owl.
Tomorrow, he'd have to go back to his day job, what a pain that would be. His head, chest and behind hurt just thinking about it. But that was a while away, and for right now, he could be at peace with himself and with his life. This was by far his favorite part of the day.
Another gust of wind hit him, but a cold chill ran up his spine for a much different reason. His eyes snapped open, recognition hitting him before he'd even seen anything. A loud crack rang out, ruining his beautiful peace. His neck snapped up, taking just enough time to note the heavy branch barely hanging on by a few twigs, before it started to fall.
Honed reflexes sprung into action, and he shot forward, putting all his weight on his hands. He rolled over, doing an awkward flip as the branch smacked to the ground where he had once been sitting. Breathing heavily, he stumbled to his feet, surveying the scene with a growing sense of ire. He could feel eyes on him from behind, something else he'd gotten used to after so many years of this.
"You're going to have to do better than that," he cried out over the wind that roared louder. "You're losing your touch!"
The remaining branches shook harder. If he didn't know any better, he'd say they were answering him, but then he wouldn't put much above his bothersome friend. He shook his head and started walking, the cool breeze he'd once enjoyed becoming unpleasant all of a sudden.
'And yet another perfectly good night is ruined,' he added in his thoughts. 'I actually might have been able to stay awake this time too…'
The accident had happened over a week ago. By the time Tamaki and Miyako found themselves there, the wreckage of the car and everything inside it had long been removed. Not a speck of blood or even foreign dirt could be found anywhere in the immediate area. The clean-up crews had done a very thorough job, that was for sure.
None of this did much to relieve Tamaki's nausea. He wished he had a pair of horse blinders he could wear, anything so that he wouldn't have to look around and imagine the horrible way the car must have bent around that lamp post. He kept his body stiff, refusing to look away from the ghostly, smiling face of the woman before him.
"We'll see to it that your boyfriend receives the message," Miyako said. "You can count on us."
"I can't thank you enough," she said, clasping her hands together. "I think now I can finally rest peacefully."
He'd heard that line many times now, so much that it was fast becoming a cliché. But it never failed to bring a warmth to Tamaki, setting him more or less at ease. He relaxed a little, a calm overcoming him.
"It's our pleasure," he answered. "I think I can speak for Miyako here when I say that nothing brings us more joy than to see lovely spirits such as yourself so happy."
The ghost made a face he often saw on his client's. He imagine she would be turning bright red right now if she still could.
"Thank you," she said again. "You're too kind. I just hope Shiro-chan can move on and find someone else."
She became wistful upon bringing up her boyfriend. Tamaki could feel his own eyes clouding with tears at the mere sight of her sadness. It made him think of Haruhi, and how devastated he would be if he ever lost her. He couldn't and wouldn't try to picture it. Instead, he thought of her happy, smiling face and how much he looked forward to seeing it on their date tonight. A familiar light shined down right then, and the ghost was engulfed in it, disappearing with time to give only a nod in farewell.
Tamaki became aware of hard eyes on him once the light was gone. He turned, and his smile and general cheery mood faded when he saw Miyako's dry frown.
"We're not hosting, you know," she said. "You don't need to get all flirty like that with dead women."
Tamaki felt like her words were stabbing into him, causing physical pain that existed only in his overactive imagination. He followed Miyako to the car, his own today, and watched her closely as the engine started and the trees began to blur together. The first thing Tamaki assured himself of was that no blackness surrounded Miyako, meaning there was currently no danger. Then he studied her body language, her lidded eyes and her head resting on the palm of her hand. That was strange, she usually had better posture than this.
"Are you okay?" he tentatively asked, reaching out slowly when he got no answer. "Miyako?"
He tapped her so gently it was like touching air, and yet she still jumped to attention muttering incoherently before looking at Tamaki.
"Suoh," she said, her words slurring a bit. "What are you doing?"
Ignoring the severity of her tone, Tamaki inched closer.
"You don't look too good," he said with concern.
She 'hmed' and rubbed her eyes hard, as if just now waking up from a long sleep. Miyako inhaled slowly and deeply through her nose, not removing her hands until she was ready to let out the breath.
"I'm fine," she said. "I didn't get much sleep last night, that's all."
"Are you sure?" Tamaki pressed.
Miyako gave him a look, but there was nothing behind it. No fire, no anger, nothing. Tamaki could only stare right back. It looked like she really did need some more sleep.
"I'm sure," she answered, looking away from him and out her window. "I just want to spend the day in peace, and then go home."
The car drove past familiar landmarks- a bank, a bento shop, a large tree that desperately needed trimming- all the way down to the entrance gate of Ouran Academy. Even from there, Tamaki could easily spot the crowd of (mainly female) students gathered around the square. He could even hear their voices, all speaking and squealing with enough volume to be potentially heard from space. Tamaki wasn't the only one to notice either, as an audible groan alerted him to.
"Why did I say that?" Miyako asked herself, replacing her hand on her forehead.
"What's going on out there?" Tamaki wondered aloud, pressing his face against the cold glass to get a better look.
The car drove down the stretching path, alongside identical limousines, many of whom's occupants sprang out the door and into the dense crowd the very moment the vehicle came to a halt. Now up close the sea of voices, both loud and small, were honestly starting to make Tamaki's ears hurt. He found he couldn't blame her when Miyako started fishing through her school bag, repeating 'earplugs' over and over again with increasing veracity.
The noise only grew worse when Tamaki stepped out of the car. His eyes clenched shut, though it obviously had no effect on the volume. He didn't even hear Hoki coming up behind him, and almost jumped out of his shoes when the ghost whistled in his ear.
"Some party today," he shouted over everyone.
"What? What was that?" Tamaki yelled back, bringing a hand to his ear.
"I said, SOME PARTY TODAY!" Hoki bellowed in his face.
"NO, WE'RE NOT HAVING A PARTY TODAY!" Tamaki roared. "WHATEVER GAVE YOU THAT IDEA?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT, FORGET IT!" Hoki answered.
"WHAT?"
"Both of you shut up!" Miyako screeched at them, glaring daggers.
"WHAT?" Tamaki and Hoki screamed together.
Miyako ran a hand through her hair, groaning low.
Tamaki looked around for a student-free spot where they could hopefully talk without developing severe laryngitis. He stood on the curb for a better viewing point. It was a good thing he was tall and most of the crowd was made up of female students. That in and of itself was a clue to what was happening here. Perhaps an idol was coming for a surprise concert and no one had told him. It would at least explain the crowd, but wouldn't his father, or even Kyoya know about that and tell him?
Speaking of which, Tamaki's scanning eyes picked up a lone figure far off to the side of the building, far away enough to be out of the mob, but close enough that Tamaki could make out the unmistakable shine of glasses and a black notebook at his chest.
"Come on," he said to his comrades, not wanting to wait another moment for this crowd to grow bigger and swallow them up.
"WHAT?" Everyone shouted at him, but he had already taken off running, leaving them to throw their hands up and follow him.
Tamaki hurled past screaming girl after screaming girl. They were, he realized, a lot like the fangirls the Host Club saw every day. It amazed him how bothersome they could become when screaming over someone else, whoever it may be. Near the tail end, the mish-mash of voices died down enough that he could actually make out what some of them were saying.
"…Great Seiya!"
"I love you, Seiya!"
"WHEN WILL SEIYA GET HERE!"
"SEIYAAAAAA!"
"Who the hell is Seiya?" Hoki screamed, voicing the thoughts of everyone as they honed in on the apathetically standing Kyoya.
"Hey!" Tamaki called out. "Kyoya!"
The Shadow King looked up from his notebook, where it appeared he'd been going over club spenditures for the last month. He cast a weary glance at the unruly crowd before Tamaki waved a hand in his face.
"Kyoya, what is going on?" Tamaki all but demanded. "Who is this Seiya person everyone's waiting for?"
Kyoya said nothing in response, and for a moment, Tamaki was afraid the crowd had mutated further and per his fears, and now nobody would ever hear him or anyone else speak again! Then Kyoya reached into his back and pulled out a magazine, which had been marked on a certain page Kyoya opened it to. Tamaki leaned in to get a better look, Miyako and the ghosts looking over his shoulder.
The advertisement featured a man, likely around 20, smiling at the camera, offering a peace sign. His shoulder length black hair was windswept, giving his admittedly handsome face more emphasis. The man wore an all black jump suit, with various phrases and symbols written on it in kanji. He stood atop a huge ramp, a motorcycle between his legs, like he was about to ride it into the air and fly across to the other side. Underneath it was writing in big, bright red letters.
COME SEE THE GREAT SEIYA! EXTRAORDINARY DAREDEVIL! LIVE IN TOKYO!
"He's an up and coming showman," Kyoya said. "A professional stunt man, if you will. Since his debut several months ago, The so-called Great Seiya had gained quite a following, particularly among young woman in our age bracket."
Tamaki looked again at the crowd, and spotted one girl standing on the fountain, who had forgone the usual uniform for a rather suspicious looking white dress. In her hands was an even more suspicious bouquet of flowers.
"I see," he muttered. "So what does that have to do with Ouran?"
"It seems that The Great Seiya never finished High School. That's what my sources say, anyway. He's decided that he'd like to go back and finish school, but rather than attend night courses or work towards a GED, he'll be attending a regular school for the next month or so."
"This one," Miyako supplied, earning a nod from Kyoya. She then exhaled deeply though her nose, looking more tired than ever all of a sudden. Tamaki discreetly stepped closer, just in case she fell over and needed to be caught or something.
"Well," Elissa spoke up. "I don't know much about this Daredevil nonsense, but I hope all this ruckus will end soon."
While everyone present was agreeing with her, a funny sound sailed through Tamaki's ears. Brow furrowing, he focused on the sound, hearing it grow louder and louder with each passing second. It was some sort of humming, almost like a… helicopter?
"HE'S HERE!" Someone shouted. "THE GREAT SEIYA IS HERE!"
The helicopter appeared behind the massive Ouran building. It's harsh sounds were almost non-existent amid the screaming that followed it's arrival. Tamaki groaned and shoved his hands into his ears. He wasn't the only one bothered by it either.
"It's too loud!" Naru whimpered, tugging on his pants leg. "Mr. Tamaki, make it stop."
"Thank God I'm dead," Hoki shouted. "Or else my ears would've exploded by now!"
The helicopter slowed and began to dip, several ropes shooting out which five burly man shimmied to the ground on. The second their feet were on land, the bodyguard types were all over the crowd, shouting at them and pushing them to the side, A hole was made in the center as the chopper flew even lower. Out from the open doors came a sixth figure, this one dressed not in black like the others, but the standard black pants and blue blazer. The crowd erupted a second time.
"HELLO, OURAN ACADEMY!" the young man said in a booming voice. "IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE. I, THE GREAT SEIYA, AM HONORED TO SHARE THESE HALLOWED HALLS WITH ALL MY ADORING FANS!"
The Great Seiya leapt out of the helicopter, a gloved hand grabbing hold of a forgotten rope and sliding all way down. Not once did he lose his composed air.
"Impressive," Miyako said flatly.
"Hm," Kyoya replied.
The crowd jumped and cheered as Seiya greeted them with blown kisses and smiles. People fainted and swooned and Seiya just stood there, basking in the undivided love and attention. From the very edge of the crowd, a pair of redheads forced their way though. They pulled a brunette out after them and a tall man with a small blonde on his shoulders brought up the rear.
"What the hell is going on today?" Hikaru cried as he and the others stopped in front of their club leaders.
"There's a celebrity at school today!" Hunny pointed at the still preening Seiya.
"He's rather ostentatious," Mori observed.
Hikaru and Kaoru snorted. "More like pretentious."
Haruhi was about to nod in agreement, when a blonde headed bullet shot at her, grabbing in it's clutches and squeezing hard enough that she missed a couple of breaths.
"Haruhi, thank goodness you're alright!" Tamaki said, enormous tears streaming down his face. "When I saw you come out of that awful mob, I was sure you'd been gravely injured in your struggle for freedom!"
"It wasn't that bad," Haruhi shrugged, moving her arms back and forth to slowly worm her way out of Tamaki's grip. "Listen, can we talk? It's kind of important."
"Of course," Tamaki cried, spinning her around twice before dropping her. "Anything for you, my lo-"
"Senpai," Haruhi said sharply, the smile on her face devoid of any joy and filled instead with annoyance. It took several tiny head gestures at the oblivious, yet close enough to hear his yelling, crowd, but Haruhi's message came across clearly and Tamaki went red at his near error.
"Uh- yes of course, Haruhi!" he said with false bravado. "Let us take a walk and discuss some club business."
He gently put an arm around her, a not so intimate act that could easily be mistaken for mere friendship while simultaneously allowing Tamaki the joy of holding his beloved, if only partially. Haruhi did nothing to stop him, but gave no positive reaction either.
"We'll be right back," she called over her shoulder.
"Have fun," the disinterested Kyoya answered.
Though he said nothing, Hikaru did give the couple a lasting look, one that didn't escape his brother's view and made him sigh under his breath.
"God, I'm tired," Miyako yawned, even less aware of her surroundings than anyone else present in the mob or out of it. This was saying a great deal.
Tamaki and Haruhi walked away from the chaos. Slowly and in time with each other, their footsteps slapped against the smooth white concrete. Once they were out of sight, Tamaki pulled Haruhi closer to him, and she responded by leaning a tiny bit against him.
"So, what's on your mind?" Tamaki asked, watching a bird land on the angel statue's head and curiously picked at the stream of water flowing from it, before flying away.
"Well, it's about tonight," Haruhi answered slowly.
Tamaki grinned at this, images of the wonderful date they had planned swimming through his mind's eye. He could just see her in a cute little dress (which she usually never wore), walking through the park with him under the moonlight and discussing a wide variety of topics. From historical debates to commoner culture to current events to-
"Is it okay if we postpone our date?"
Tamaki stopped walking, thinking and smiling. It was as if his entire world- no, universe- had frozen solid. He was literally like an alive block of ice, only able to move his eyes and look down at Haruhi's innocently sweet face staring back up at him.
"Why?" he said, somehow not of his own volition.
Haruhi shrugged, smiling apologetically. "I would rather not, but my English Professor sent out an email this morning that he was going to be giving us a surprise test tomorrow, and I really need to study for it. You understand, right?"
It was an achingly slow process, but Tamaki managed to relax his stiff muscles and slump over slight, a sad sight that he was lucky only Haruhi could see. She waited patiently, though clearly wanting an answer soon. Tamaki's eyes found her, the look she wore, if he didn't know any better, was almost pleading with him. Any objections he might have been able to muster died before even beginning to form. That face would always be Tamaki's greatest weakness.
"Of course it's alright," he said, standing up straighter and grinning widely. "I know how important your studies are. We can go out on any night, it doesn't matter when."
Her face broke out in a smile, one that light up her features the way he so dearly loved.
"Thanks, I'm glad you understand."
Tamaki nodded as Haruhi stood up on tip-toes and planted a chaste kiss on his lips just as the bell began to ring. She pulled away as the mish-mash of noise a distance away began to swell, signaling that the mob was on the move, as was their oddly beloved Great Seiya. Haruhi moved away from Tamaki, not wanting to risk being spotted in an, however small, romantic embrace.
"We'd better go," she said, walking back the way they came with the expectance that Tamaki would follow.
And though he did, his pace was noticeably slower than before.
"Ms. Kita, are you sure you're feeling alright?"
Miyako, up until now staring aimlessly at a window that looked in need of cleaning, glanced at Ootori, noting the Hitachiins standing behind him three steps down from the top of the stairs. Neither twin paid her any mind, as they were too busy watching The Great Seiya and his entourage approach, ready to enter the School building and likely cause even more of a ruckus.
"I'm fine," Miyako answered, rubbing her eyes for the umpteenth time. "I had a bad night's sleep, that's all."
She moved away from the banister that she'd been leaning on, her yellow dress puffing back out where it had been flattened. Miyako brushed Ootori's odd concern off and stepped back, still talking the whole way, though mostly to herself.
"I just need to get through the day and go home, but I hope we don't have any more surprise tests, I'm in no mood to deal with that. If only I could just lay down-"
Her verbal thoughts stopped there. They wouldn't have, were it not for an unfortunately placed hunk of rock, likely left behind by some careless students messing around at the Gardening club's place of rock. In slow motion, Miyako's foot landed in it's sharp edge. It rolled beneath her shoe, pitching her forward. Ootori said something, but Miyako was no longer paying attention to anything besides the line of concrete stairs coming closer and closer.
She didn't hear the crowd of girls gasp, nor the thumping of rubber soles against sidewalk as someone ran at light speed. She was unaware of all this, and only knew something had happened when she found herself not sprawled against the staircase, bloodied and bruised, but held in the air by a strong pair of arms. Her rescuer adjusted his hand on her back, his other one snaking around her cloth covered legs. Now held in bridal style, Miyako came back to her senses and looked up. She found a pair of hazel eyes staring back at her.
"You should be more careful," he said in a stereotypical 'hero' voice. "Those stairs can be dangerous, and it wouldn't do to mar your face with scars, my dear."
All around them, the fangirls between to squee and talk amongst themselves.
"Wow, I can't believe The Great Seiya saved that girl! Who is she anyway?"
"I think her name is Kita or something."
"She's so lucky. I was Seiya would hold me like that."
"He's so cool and nice!"
"I know!"
"Is this really that big of a deal?" the Hitachiins muttered.
"Um, okay," Miyako said, unable to keep eye contact with the obnoxiously grinning Daredevil. "Thank you very much. Can you please put me down now?"
She tried to push away from him, back all it led to was Seiya pulling her closer to his chest and his fangirls either squeeing more or fuming in barely repressed jealously. Miyako looked to Ootori and the Hitachiin's for any sort of help, but found that they were also too busy paying attention to Seiya, though not quite as blindly love struck as the girls.
"The Great Seiya, was it?" Ootori addressed him while pushing his glasses further up his nose.
The 'Great' Seiya chuckled. "Please, call me Seiya. Around here, I'm not a wealthy TV personality and Tokyo's current most eligible bachelor. I'm just a regular High School student like the rest of you. I hope you'll all accept me as one of your own."
After a pause, Hikaru leaned in to Kaoru.
"You know, I'm not sure yet, but I think this guy might manage to out-Tamaki Tamaki."
Kaoru nodded in agreement.
"So," Seiya boomed, returning all attention to himself as he so clearly wanted it to. "Ms… Kita, was it? I hope you'll be more careful next time."
He then turned around, coming to the second to last step and, much to Miyako's immense relief, set her back down on her feet at the very top. She stepped back, but the implications of this didn't seem to reach Seiya, as he continued to grin at her.
"I'd hate to see a young lady get hurt," he went on. "Especially beautiful ones like you. By the way, would you so kind as to go on a date with me?"
All sounds ceased. In that instant, it was quiet enough to hear birds singing from a tree roughly ten miles away. Miyako stared at Seiya, while Seiya in turn stared at her. All his fangirls, as well as the three Hosts, stared at them both. Miyako's mouth fell open, her body numb with shock over what she had just heard.
She doubted anyone outside her family had ever called her beautiful. Even without her one or two pimples (she refused to believe more existed), she was really nothing special to look at. And then he had to go and ask her out. Where the hell did that come from? Even worse was how obviously sincere he was about it. She doubted he would just randomly decide to do this as a joke, not when over 200 perfectly willing and much prettier than her girls were right behind him, taking turns fainting and glaring at her.
It was absurd. It made no sense. It made Miyako want to get as far away from Seiya as humanly possible. Sure enough, he was oblivious to all this. He couldn't even interpret her stunned and maybe even horrified reaction properly.
"I said, would you please go on a date with mmmph!"
Miyako's hand shot out, shoving Seiya's face in and muffling his words. Breathing deeply, she slowly pushed him aside and headed into the building as fast as she possibly could without breaking into a run. Seiya, a light red palm mark on his nose and mouth, watched her go with a complete lack of surety.
"What did I say?" he asked Ootori and the Hitachiin.
But they had long since followed Miyako inside.
Throughout the requisite two hours of hosting, Tamaki was off in his own world. A world that revolved solely around Haruhi and everything that had been said earlier that day. He could hardly focus on his guests, leaving them confused by his distant behavior and unsatisfied when they left. The girls weren't the only ones to notice either.
"What is with him today?" Hikaru wondered aloud, crossing his arms and eyeballing Tamaki as he slouched in his seat.
"Maybe him and Haruhi had a fight or something," Kaoru suggested while stirring sugar into his tea.
"You think?" Hikaru asked, sitting up a little straighter.
"And why does that make you happy?" Kaoru muttered suspiciously.
He would never know if Hikaru heard him or what his answer would be, because at that moment, their next appointment arrived. Expecting one or two regulars, the twins were stunned when they realized a light clacking sound accompanied the approaching footsteps. She sat down on the couch, resting her cane beside her.
"Good afternoon, Hikaru and Kaoru," Li said, folding her hands over in her lap like a trained lady.
Both twins glanced at each other, unsure of what to do and thankful that she couldn't see the anxiety in their features.
"Hello, Li-san," Hikaru said shakily. "How are you today?"
"Just fine," she said cheerfully. "It's nice to hear your voice again, Hikaru-kun."
The elder Hitachiin twin cleared his throat, stretching his shoulders back as if that would relieve the growing tension. Kaoru had gotten over his momentary shock already, offering Li a cup of coffee with ridiculous ease. Hikaru glared at him, knowing he would get no response, yet not caring. He had no idea how his brother could be smiling right now as Li politely refused the drink.
"So, I hear your mother is a fashion designer," Li said. "That must be so fun."
"It can be," Kaoru answered, visibly relaxing even more. "Unless you're dealing with no it all design students and idiotic models. Right Hikaru?"
But Hikaru was in no condition to answer beyond an emotionless, "Yeah."
Kaoru frowned and elbowed his brother gently, yet firmly in the rib. Li was oblivious to all this, settling back into the couch and folding her hands over her lap like a perfectly trained lady.
Hikaru eyed her, then his brother. He then spent the rest of their time together staring at the far wall over Li's head and wondering why her presence bothered him so much. And more importantly, just how long before her appointment was over already?
Unbeknownst to Hikaru, he wasn't the only host off in his own confused world at the moment.
Tamaki ran his fingers around the ring of his coffee cup, watching the steam as it lifted from the hot, brown liquid. A red line was indented in the pad of his finger, but he hardly noticed or cared. He couldn't get Haruhi's face out of his mind, nor their conversation. He remembered every little bit of it with perfect clarity.
'Is it okay if we postpone our date?'
He drew a deep, ragged breath and fell back against his chair. He was lucky not to have another client for at least five more minutes, giving him ample time to think things over.
"This isn't a big deal," he said to himself. "It's not! Haruhi's never broken a date before now, but it's not like she doesn't have a good reason. Her studies are very important to her, and I want her to succeed in her dreams. I'd do anything to make that a reality because I know it's what she wants and after all, she'd be an amazing lawyer!"
He slowly placed the cup back on it's coaster.
"Besides, it's not like she's breaking up with me. Why would she? I've been a perfect boyfriend, haven't I?"
A cold chill went down his spine as this line of thought brought out a plethora of new fears.
"Oh no! What if I did something wrong and this is only the beginning? Sure, she has homework now, but what about next time, and the time after that, and the time after that! Oh, what could I have done to upset so?"
"Mr. Tamaki?"
Tamaki stopped right in the middle of another answerless question. He realized now that he'd gotten up somewhere in the middle of it and began pacing, drawing several odd looks from nearby guests. Naru-chan was in her usual spot next to him, watching with an equal amount of question in her wide, unblinking eyes. Tamaki's shoulder slumped as he quickly took his seat again before anyone (namely Haruhi or Kyoya) saw him making a fool of himself. His head fell miserably, and he caught sight of a tiny hand hovering over his leg.
"Are you okay, Mr. Tamaki?" Naru asked.
Tamaki forced his neck up and smiled as wide as he could without looking too fake. The last thing he wanted was to scare the poor little ghost or give her more cause to believe there was a problem.
"It's fine, Naru-chan," he said. "I just have some things on my mind right now. Grown-up things. Nothing for you to worry about."
Naru tilted her head to one side, examining him in a way someone her age probably shouldn't be able to. Adding to the oddness of this behavior was Naru's next question.
"Is it about Ms. Haruhi?"
The balloon in Tamaki's stomach swelled uncomfortably. His phony cheer vanished immediately, but Naru was unaware as ever of how her words had achieved this affect. As taken aback as he was, Tamaki still found it in him to answer, and answer fast.
"Well- well yes. Haruhi and I had an important discussion earlier and I was just thinking it over. That's all."
To his immense relief, Naru seemed satisfied with this. In fact, she gave a happy laugh and clapped her hands together, as if she'd just made an amazing discovery and couldn't be more proud of herself for it.
"I really like Ms. Haruhi," she said, kicking her legs out into the air and letting them phase through the cushion every return trip. "She's nice and pretty! And I like you a lot, Mr. Tamaki, but I know you and Ms. Haruhi like each other a lot too, so it's okay."
Tamaki could only chuckle in response. The implications of Naru's statement were not lost on him, but he had other things to worry about that were more important. Unfortunately for him, his next appointment, a bubbly and sometime over excited young lady who came to him every other day, arrived right then. As she sat down and issued a love struck greeting to her favorite host, Tamaki was forced to slide back into the role of 'Host Club Prince,' something that was easier said than done.
This went on all throughout the rest of the day, until club hours came to a merciful end and Tamaki was able to see his last customer of the day off. Once cleaning up duties were complete, Hikaru and Kaoru were the first to head home. For whatever reason, they both looked rather stressed. Hikaru more so.
Tamaki gathered his things together, arranging them neatly in his bag and trying hard not to glance up at the corner by the double doors, where Haruhi was quietly talking to her father on the phone. He couldn't hear what she was saying, mainly because Hoki and Elissa were loudly bickering about something the former had said that the latter, correctly or not, interpreted as an insult directed at her singing ability. It was a common occurrence that Tamaki had mostly gotten used to by now, but now was so far beyond not the time that it was almost laughable.
Haruhi clicked the phone off and grabbed her bag, stopping in the middle of pulling the door open to turn around and bid Tamaki a silent goodbye. He nodded and tried to look cheerful, but he had no idea if she bought it. Regardless, Haruhi was gone a second later, and Tamaki was left more alone than ever with a pair of arguing spirits, another spirit who was too young to understand, and Kyoya.
Speaking of whom-
"Something is troubling you, am I right?"
Tamaki sucked in a breath. Just how long had Kyoya been standing there? How did he miss that obvious scritch- scratching of a pen against notebook paper. Slowly, Tamaki spun around on a heel and looked his best friend in the eye, trying to maintain the mask of contentment that had been slowly failing him for hours now.
"It's nothing," he said in a wavering voice. The look Kyoya gave him was all the answer necessary, and let Tamaki know more than anything else that there was no way around this. "Haruhi has extra studying to do tonight, so she postponed our date and… and well, what if I did something wrong and she going to do this again because she's angry with me? Or what if she just breaks up with me all together, I couldn't bear that! What if-"
"What if you stopped and listened to yourself for once," Kyoya interrupted calmly without raising his voice a fraction. "You said it yourself, Haruhi needs to study. If you know and understand that, then all of this is just your over active imagination talking. Haruhi loves you and accepts you for the dumbass you are, so there is no reason for her to leave you."
"Y-you think so?" Tamaki sniffed.
Kyoya rolled his eyes. "Of course, and you know it too. If you'd just listen to your common sense a little more, you wouldn't have these problems."
Before Tamaki could answer, a low and sinister laugh pierced the atmosphere and made the hairs on his neck stand on end. Tamaki shivered involuntarily as the laughter grew, and a horrible aura began to slither about.
"Why yes, Suoh, that's quite true," a voice said.
Tamaki gasped and jumped back as a black cloaked figure slid into view, seemingly from nowhere. Their face was covered from the mouth up, but it was enough for him to know that a horribly scary look was currently pointed in his direction, courtesy of his upperclassman. As usual, Kyoya was completely unaffected and unafraid, barely glancing up from his writing to acknowledge the new arrival.
"Good afternoon, Nekozawa-senpai," he greeted. "We haven't seen you around recently."
"I've been busy," the Black Magic club said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "But I've paid close attention to your misadventures regardless. I see Suoh and Fujioka are having relationship problems, what a shame. You two make quite the couple."
"Wha-WAH!" Tamaki shrieked, sailing into the air as if on a rocket and dropping back down without the slightest reaction from anyone present. "How do you know about that?"
"Oh, I know everything you seven do," Nekozawa answered with a degree of mirth, likely some sort of sick pleasure he took from Tamaki's pain. "We are practically neighbors after all, and my specialty is the occult after all. Speaking of which, how have your spiritual encounters been going? Where it not for your dedication to the Host Club, I would invite you to join the Black Magic club. We've never had someone with a connection to the land of the dead before."
"Huh- bu- wha-" Tamaki couldn't find a single way to get his tangled voice box working again, and so he turned to Kyoya, silently begging for help or an explanation. Just from the smile his friend now wore, Tamaki knew he was only too happy to give it.
"It's fine," Kyoya said. "I've already sworn him to secrecy."
"Yes," Nekozawa agreed, sounding less happy all of a sudden. "Such a shame…"
Tamaki's head whipped between the two over and over again, fast enough to give him a massive neck ache. He want all at once to yell and Kyoya, scream and run, and grab a bible with which to banish Nekozawa back to whatever underworld he'd come from. When none of those came to be, he merely sighing and nodded his head.
"Alright," he muttered under his breath. "Okay if- if you're sure, Kyoya," He cleared his throat. "What can we do for you, Senpai?"
"I think the appropriate question is, 'What and I do for you?'"
Tamaki took another step back as that fear from before came back with a vengeance. He didn't like that tone. That was not a pleasant tone. That was the kind of voice a person used when they were about to do something that would scar you for life. Tamaki wrapped his arm around his torso, a purely defensive act. Over Nekozawa's shoulder, Hoki and Elissa had finally silenced and were now staring at the back of his cloak with a bewildered awe.
"I- Excuse me?"
Nekozawa inched closer. "It's not hard to understand. You are worried that you're losing Fujioka's affections, yes? I know that would devastate you, so how about I show you a little, shall we say, experiment I've been working on?"
Tamaki gulped.
"It's very simple," Nekozawa went on, still moving forward at an agonizingly slow rate. "Just a potion for the heartbroken lover. One drink and Fujioka will be all yours forever, and you'll never have to worry about losing her or broken dates again. What do you say?"
By now, Tamaki's mouth was hanging so far down, he was sure it had completely dislocated. Nekozawa had lifted his head a tiny bit, his wig covered eyes now barely visible. Tamaki staring into the void, unable to string even two words together.
"I- I-"
Perhaps it was the way Nekozawa's shallow breathing kept him on edge, waiting for a strike. Perhaps it was Hoki's much to loud whispering in Elissa's ear ("I wonder if we pulled that hood down, there'd be a skull head underneath"). Or perhaps it was Kyoya's incessant indifference to it all.
"I- I- I-"
Whatever it was, Tamaki's flustered mind was coming close to an implosion.
"I- I… NO!"
Nekozawa frowned.
"Are you insane? I'd never do that to Haruhi!" he shouted, all fear vanishing in an instant as if it had never been there in the first place. "Now, if you'll excuse me!"
Tamaki took off at a quickening pace, Kyoya stepping out of his way as he passed and not reacting when the door opened and slammed shut behind him. He only glanced at Nekozawa, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Thank you, Nekozawa-senpai," he said. "Hopefully that idiot's learned something."
"Anytime!" was the answer.
Tamaki ran down the hall with no idea where he was going. He was alone, the vast majority of his peers having gone home ages ago, but still caught sight of a few stragglers here and there. Paying them no heed, he kept moving. The air whipping around, creating a dull roar in his ears that steadily rose in volume. That was good, he needed something to drown out the sound of Nekozawa's creepy voice in his head.
He skidded to a halt upon entering one particular hallway. A head of brown hair that bobbed as it's owner walked had his full attention. Tamaki was directly behind her, his hands grasping her shoulders and spinning her around before he even knew he had moved.
"What?" Haruhi cried out.
"Haruhi, I'm sorry!" Tamaki said, tears welling up fast. "I've been acting so selfish. It's not right for me to impede on your studies, there're far too important for you!"
"Huh?" Haruhi was completely at a loss for her boyfriend's strange behavior. "Tamaki, you're not-"
"You and I can go on a date whenever, and I mean it this time! I promise you I will never burden you with anything, and if you ever feel I am, or if I do anything you don't like at all, you can tell me, okay?"
"Uh…" Haruhi glanced around a few times. "Alright, that sounds great. Are you okay, Tamaki?"
He answered with a smile and a deep, relieved exhale. Tamaki then pulled her into a hug, holding on tight and lightly resting his chin on her shoulder.
"I'm fine," he answered. "I feel great."
Though still clearly confused, Haruhi figuratively threw her hands up and returned the hug, silently enjoying the feel of being in Tamaki's arms. When he suddenly pulled away, Haruhi furrowed her brow. Looking up, she saw Tamaki glancing around in all different directions, as if dedicatedly searching for something.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Just making sure we're really alone," he replied airily.
'Maybe you should have thought of that before you hugged me,' she thought. Of course, she should have known better than to let him in that case. Granted, a hug could be seen as purely a gesture of friendship, but with the giggly, gossiping nature of quite a few of the school's students, there was always a chance even that could be seen as something not quite friendly. All these thoughts and any further ones vanished from Haruhi's mind the instant Tamaki answered her unposed question of why he was doing this.
His lips pressed firmly against hers, showing no sign of removing themselves anytime soon. A tiny sound erupted from Haruhi's throat, but neither she nor Tamaki paid it any heed as she closed her eyes and returned the kiss. It was true they couldn't spend the day together, but Haruhi supposed her homework could wait a couple of minutes.
Despite Tamaki's assertion that no one could see them, there were in fact three witnesses to the impromptu meeting. Hoki, Elissa and Naru watched from their spots at the end of the hallway. Elissa was needlessly dabbing her eyes and murmuring about 'such beautiful young love' and whatnot, while Naru was visibly cringing.
"So that's what people who like each other do?"
Hoki grinned cheekily. "It takes a special kind of 'liking' for this sort of thing. For example, I would never do that with Big Mouth over here, and I… okay, bad example."
"Silence, Cretin."
"Grown-ups are really weird," Naru observed as yet another fight broke out and Tamaki and Haruhi remained in an oblivious embrace.
Miyako ignored several students whispering as she walked by. The usual nonsense about 'he saved her and she's so ungrateful' and 'doesn't she know how lucky she is how could she throw it away like that?' They weren't the first and they certainly wouldn't be the last, not after this morning.
She hadn't seen Seiya for the entire rest of the day. It turned out he'd been enrolled in the third year class, which meant she only had to deal with his rapidly growing fan girl base and not his ridiculous preening all day. As far as Miyako was concerned, it was the lesser of two evils.
'I guess I could have been a little less harsh,' she admitted to herself. 'I mean, he caught me by surprise, but maybe if I'd just said no instead of walking away?'
'And almost smashing his face in,' the annoying voice of her reason said.
Miyako's lips tightened into a line and she breathed hard through her nostrils. Her practical shoes slapped harder against the floors as she quickened her pace unconsciously.
"It's not like he was serious anyway," she reasoned out loud, then groaning even louder as another thought hit her. "I hope Kenji and Rika don't find out about this, they'd never let me live it down."
"Whose Kenji and Rika?"
Miyako's head whipped around so hard it made her neck hurt. While she was rubbing it, she glared hard at the cause as he moved as if on air to walk beside her. She wondered how long it would be before the squee brigade appeared, if they weren't already lying in wait behind the curtains or in the row of lockers.
"Are they friends of yours?" Seiya went on, either unaware of Miyako's pointedly ignoring him or just not caring. "Are they your siblings? Cousins maybe? Do they work for you?"
"I'm sorry," Miyako said, easily drowning him out. "Really, I mean it. It wasn't my intention to offend you before, but if you'd just-"
"Woah, wait a second," By now, Seiya had stopped, and he placed himself in front of Miyako, forcing her to do the same. "You think I'm… oh no, you've got it all wrong. If anything, I should be apologizing to you, Kita-san."
Slowly, her eyebrow went up. Miyako had no idea how to approach this, nor what to make of the grin on Seiya's face that, in spite of her desire to see some fakery or showmanship behind it, looked very genuine.
"Seriously," he went on when she didn't answer. "It was wrong of me to put you on the spot like that, especially after that near miss of yours. Speaking of which, I meant what I said about you being more coordinated, that I'm not taking back."
Miyako's cheek twitched, and if she didn't know any better, she'd think she was about to smile. She even felt an odd stirring in her stomach that could have been misconstrued as a laugh. It was all very strange.
"Okay," she said finally. "Thank you for apologizing."
He grinned wider. "Does that means you accept? Awesome! So now will you go out with me?"
Any potential desire to laugh or smile disappeared, and what replaced it was undeniable and not open for debate.
"Excuse me?"
Seiya shrugged. "It wasn't fair to ask you in front of all those people. Things like this should be done in private, especially since it would be our first date and the last thing I want is to appear inconsiderate. That wouldn't be a good first impression at all. So, what do you say?"
The pause that followed was long, awkward, and made all the worse by Seiya's massive and painful ignorance to Miyako's disbelief. She almost hoped that his fan girls where around, as their mass screaming and fainting would provide an apt distraction for her to make a clean getaway. Not that their lack of appearance was going to stop her.
"No."
It was a quick, clean answer that she didn't bother to let sink in before swerving around Seiya and getting as much space between them as humanly possible without outright running.
"So… should I take that as a maybe?" he called after her.
"You take it as a no."
As she turned a corner and vanished from sight, Seiya sighed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Next time, I'll have to try a different tactic," he muttered to himself. "Maybe if I complimented her hair or some… thing…"
His wandering eyes had found the window, and the person who stood unabashedly on the other side of it. She stared right back at him, emotionless as ever. Her black hair was in ringlets today, flowing down to her lower back. Pale skin stretched over a thin, yet beautiful face that could entrance any man, just as it had once for Seiya. She was frowning, but that wasn't new. In all the time Seiya had known her, she never once cracked an honestly happy smile. It was a shame; he imagined she'd look even more beautiful if she did, but that was neither here nor there.
Seiya pursed his lips. "Found me already? Damn, I thought I stumped you this time."
She gave him a look, the meaning behind it clear as if she'd actually spoken.
"Don't even try," Seiya said, shaking his head slowly. "Not now. These kids have nothing to do with you and me. Leave them out of it."
Hands pressed on the glass. Her almost white skin that clashed with the scenery and made his eyes hurt. Seiya left, knowing that if he stayed any longer, she might finally catch him, and he simply couldn't have that.
Cold blue eyes followed him, the only part of her that moved an inch even as the sun died away and left her in growing darkness. She picked out the sound of a car engine, and it distinguished itself from all the others she had heard, because it was his car. It was his car driving past and it was him in the back seat staring out the opposite window. She watched the reflection in the glass, then turned around to face the night.
"Don't be foolish, darling," she said softly. "I'm only here for you. And no matter where you go or how fast you run, one day very soon, I will have you."
She was gone before another car could pass.