"Alright. I can do this. I won't get lost. Again..." Haruhi was trying to be opptimistic, but she still managed to take a good ten minutes of wandering around aimlessly to find Hikaru. Finally she found him hiding in an oddly shaped bush. "There you are." She smiled down at him and offered him a hand. He gratefully accepted it, and after a few wobbly moments managed to stand up correctly. He walked around for a moment, stretching his sore and aching muscles. "How long were you hiding in that bush?" she asked, eyeing him incredulously.
"Oh, I don't know. Since I ran off after talking to you." He said nonchallantly.
"Hikaru," she gave him a stern look, "that was at least an hour ago." He leaned against a tree with folded arms and shrugged.
"And no one found me, did they?"
"I did."
"You don't count."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't mind seeing you." Both blushed. He looked at the ground and she the ceiling. After a slightly awkward moment, Haruhi said, "I talked to Karou." He looked back at her. "He told me everything. Everything you were keeping from me." He looked away again. "Look, I know you are worried about Tamaki, but you shouldn't be. He's just... Well you shouldn't be so worried about what he thinks. You should live you life the way you want to, not the way he tells you to. That goes for what Kyouya says as well." She took a step towards him. "You should just be yourself. You are a really interesting guy, at least, you have been today. Don't worry so much about what other people think, and just be friendly with them. They'll like you just the way you are, I certainly do."
"But...What if Tamaki thinks you should be with him? After all, you were a couple."
"Well that's too bad isn't it? I'm no longer the same person I was before; I don't even know him! How could he possibly lay claim to me like that?" Hikaru looked at her, renewed hope in his eyes. She smiled at him. "So when do "club activities" end anyways?"
Together, Hikaru and Haruhi walked out of the undergrowth. Tamaki and Kyouya were talking together up front, and when Tamaki saw them, he looked downright depressed. Now that Haruhi knew about the past, she felt a little bad for him, but she meant what she said before. Just because they had been together did not mean they he had the right to know everything she did every second of the day. In her opinion, he was just too clingy for anyone's good.
Mori and Honey were making their way towards the front, and Karou could be seen a little ways back. Hikaru and Kyouya turned to Tamaki. Obviously, they were expecting him to say something, but the words didn't seem to be flowing as well as they usually did.
"Well... that went..."
"Well." Kyouya quickly interjected.
"Yes, I guess that did go rather well, didn't it?" Haruhi could tell from this terrible "conversation" that things had gone terribly. Why they were trying to pretend otherwise was beyond her. The rest of the club came up and grouped around.
"Well, what an interesting day. I think would she get going, don't you Hikaru?" Karou said quickly.
"Yeah, probably"
"Lots of homework from that darn math class, huh Haruhi?" Karou asked, unthinkingly. He turned to her, and seeing the blank look on her face, remembered the bigger problem at hand.
"I think she will need an escort home." Kyouya said. "Oh, and before I forget," he said to Hikaru and Karou as he procurred two cell phones from his pockets, "two kind ladies gave these to me, we figured they were yours."
"Our phones! These would have been so helpful an hour ago!" Hikaru excalimed.
"Right, as the king of the host club, I'll take her home!" Tamaki butted in, completely ignoring the previous conversation as he made an egotistical pose.
"That sounds like a terrible idea." Kyouya said. Tamaki fell elaborately to the ground.
"Why?"
"For one thing, her father hates you."
"Oh! And you were the one with her when she got amnesia, so it's kind of your fault." Honey added. Tamaki left to sulk in a corner, his pride ruined.
"Does he always do that when you say no?" she asked Kyouya.
"Pretty much." Hikaru answered. Kyouya gave him a dirty look.
"Maybe I should take her." Kyouya said. Haruhi gulped. She did not want him with her. Besides being manipulative, he was pretty creepy, and he didn't want someone creepy and untrustworthy in the delicate situation of going home for the first time with amnesia.
"But what about the money?" Hikaru said.
"Who will put it away and count it?" Karou added.
"That's what you always do." Hikaru finished.
"Well, I could take her after I do that." Kyouya tried to fight back.
"Oh, don't worry about it." Hikaru said.
"We can take her!" Karou exclaimed.
"After all-" Hikaru said.
"We're leaving right now." They both smirked. Although it was sometimes annoying when directed at her, Haruhi had to admit it was pretty awesome how the twins managed to pull off finishing each others sentences like that. Kyouya had been defeated, the twins triumphant. If he fought this any more, it would come off pretty weird, so he was forced to surrender. Haruhi would have to thank Hikaru and Karou later. Kyouya sighed.
"All right. I leave the task to you two then. Make sure to explain the situation to her father." Hikaru grabbed Haruhi and Karou opened the huge front door.
"Sure, yeah, don't worry about it. See you later!" Hikaru and Karou each said parts of their last jumbled sentences as they ran out with Haruhi. They closed the door so quickly Kyouya barely had time to finish his last thought.
The trio ran down the hall, the twins pulling Haruhi behind them. Eyes wide, she called out, "Why are we running? Can we slow down?" They laughed.
"No!" They called, grinning like madmen. They ran her down many ornate hallways and magnificent stair cases. She barely had time to see the school, most of what she saw looked blurry because of all the running. She wanted to stop and explore, but the twins wouldn't have it. "Come on, come on!" They said, even when they had been forced to start jogging. They had run so long that they were all pretty winded, but they seemed to want to leave pretty desperately. After what felt like ages of wandering around the huge buildings, they made their way to the front courtyard. From there, Haruhi could see how gigantic the buildings really were. Behind her, the twins had sprawled on the grass, their chests heaving. She was winded as well, but she was too enthralled in the sights around her to sit down. She leaned her head up to look at the elaborate gate to the school. It was connected to a wall that encircled it, making the whole place feel even more domineering than it had felt inside. She walked over a few feet to get a better view of the buildings, completely oblivious to the twins behind her. They sat side by side, watching her every movement. There were four buildings, she noticed, each one about four stories high. After some more visual detailing, she noticed an odd fact. It was something that had bothered her before, but things had gotten so hectic back there she had forgotten to ask. She quickly turned around to face Hikaru and Karou. Right as she turned, they noticed the movement and hastened to look natural, pretending to play patty-cake together so they wouldn't be caught staring. She ogled at them, wondering why they were playing patty-cake. Dismising it as just one more weird thing the host club was in to, she asked her question.
"Why is everything in and out of this school pink?" she asked seriously. They looked at her, looked at each other, and burst into laughter. They laughed so hard they were clutching their sides, tears streaming down their faces. Haruhi stood in front of them, completely unamused. She was forced to wait some five minutes before they could calm themselves down. Once calm, they both stood up seriously, and started to walk away. "Hey! Wait you jerks! You didn't answer my question!" She ran after them, and they started running as well. Together, the trio ran off the front of the campus towards the main road.
From a small window on the second floor, Tamaki looked out at the group, his expression unreadable.
Sorry it's late! Hope you like it, and thanks for waiting!
