Rated T for Language

Edited: July 12, 2014. Chapter 11 has under gone extensive editing. FYI.

Song Inspiration

"Let it go, Let it go

Can't hold it back anymore,

Let it go, let it go

Turn away and slam the door

I don't care what they're going to say

Let the storm rage on

The cold never bothered me anyway."

- Let it Go performed by Idina Menzel (from the Disney movie, Frozen)

Chapter 11 – Ouran School Race and Festival

A black car rolled up beside Reina and honked twice. She jumped away startled. She almost dropped all the mail she was carrying. She eyed the car and watched it as it rolled to a stop. Raiden stepped out of the vehicle. She took her book bag and hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" He winced. "What are you carrying in there?" He closed the car door.

"You scared me!"

"Rei-chan!" The car's window rolled down and Hani's head popped out. "We gave Rai-chan a ride home."

Raiden gave Hani a nod and walked through the front gate of their home.

"Oh? That was so kind of you," she stared after her brother.

"The school fair is coming up in two weeks…will you be going?" Hani asked sweetly.

She filed through the mail. "Yes! I'm going to try my best to make it. It's on a school day but who cares!" she grinned. "I like going to school functions."

"Great! We'll see you there then."

She nodded.

"Bye, Rei-chan!"

Fourteen days until the school fair and all of Ouran Academy was busy preparing for the big day.

Raiden gathered the remaining plans into his arms. The class theme was a mystery-solving event. He's never been so excited for a school festival before, but this year was different. He was determined to make it different. He wanted to take more initiative with the class plans and the planning. The organizing and relations. Everything.

He walked by Haruhi and noticed her awestruck face.

"You okay, Haruhi?" he readjusted his paper rolls.

"Isn't this supposed to be an amateur type of thing? Why are there so many merchants around?"

"Oh!" he realized what she was referring too, "well you see this gives us all a chance to impress –"

"It's all about leadership," Hikaru and Kaoru interrupted.

"And it's not all for us," Kaoru furthered, "it's for our parents. This event isn't like Halloween or Christmas. Our parents can come and see how we're doing."

Raiden nodded. "The guests look at how we carry out plans and how we use our money effectively."

Haruhi placed a hand to her chin, "now that you mention it, most of the students here are heirs to important conglomerates. How bothersome."

Raiden couldn't help grinning.

A classmate burst into the room yelling about the central salon.

"What's so great about the central salon?" whispered Haruhi.

The class rep stepped up. "It's all about the importance. The grand ballrooms are used as lounges for our families. The central salon gets the most attention and who ever gets chosen to use it gets the most attention," he explained, "essentially whichever group holds the central salon reigns over the school festival! The race to get the central salon is one of the biggest events of the year!"

"Eh?"

###

"Of course we're joining the race," Kyouya said matter-of-factly, once Haruhi had asked him about it.

The host club gathered in their usual room, but their guests were visibly absent.

"Last year's winner," Hani said between bites of cake, "were decided by a chess tournament, right? We lost in the final round with the student council."

"You guys lost?" Haruhi inquired. "That surprises me."

"I didn't even know you guys were capable of losing," Raiden noted.

Kyouya placed his book bag on the table, "well the son of a very important business associate for the Hitachiin's was on the student council last year, but we stayed until the finals for PR reasons."

Haruhi and Raiden both groaned. Kyouya was always the honest one around, but his candor wasn't always appreciated.

"We'll win this year though," Tamaki pumped his fist, "right?"

"Yes, but I think we might have a problem," Kyouya lifted his bag and stacks of paper fell out.

The boys and Haruhi opened up the papers and began to read.

Withdraw from the salon race. Or else!

"This is hate mail!" Haruhi yelled.

"Why are you barely telling us now!" Tamaki yelled this time.

"I didn't seem important until we got this letter," Kyouya brandished another piece of paper, which read:

Prepare to die!

"The person is probably someone who gets angered easily," Kyouya contemplated.

"You've made them angry!" Tamaki accused.

Kyouya turned toward his best friend and glared, "I said, I'm sorry."

"No you didn't!" Tamaki and Haruhi yelled.

Kyouya ignored them. "We'll find the culprit and crush them. That's all. We are not withdrawing from this race."

The hosts all stared at him a little wide-eyed.

"Haruhi, if you can't find the culprit your debt will be doubled. Tamaki, you'll become my slave for the rest of your life."

"My sister would love to be here right now," Raiden said, mostly to himself.

Raiden burst into the clubroom. Eleven days until school festival and Raiden was beginning to feel a little stressed. He was trying to finalize one of the last few mystery games for his class's activity. The class president had assigned him the story background and character profiles.

Heads turned to face him. He noticed the club wasn't alone in the room. Renge was present plus two members of the student council.

"The student council are dropping out of the race," Hani explained to him.

"Will the host club be withdrawing as well?" Kanan Mitsuyama, secretary of the student council, asked.

"No," answered Kyouya.

She nodded, "alright then. Good luck." The two members left the room as swiftly as they came.

"There is one person who might be responsible. The paper smell of citrus. If we can deduce-"

"What are they talking about?" Raiden whispered to Hani. Hani pointed to the hate mail that littered the table.

"—the culprit will probably be…"

"So…" a new voice entered the room. "The student council is dropping out."

The football club had sneaked into the room. Takeshi Kuze, the president of the football club, bounced an orange in his hand. "It's a good decision since the race this year will be a one on one battle between our club and the host club."

Kuze stood in front of Kyouya. He gave his head a haughty nod. "Hey, Ootori. There's a rumor," he gave his orange a bite, "you guys threw the chess tournament on purpose. Is that true?"

Kuze gave him a fake grin. "You know, ever since last year's race, we've been a joke. It's an embarrassment to us. My fiancée has even heard the rumors."

Kyouya returned the fake grin. "If you were respected in the first place people wouldn't laugh at you.

Kuze chomped at his orange. "Are you saying it's my fault? You have some nerve," he seethed, "remember when we were kids? Even in preschool, you've been like this…"

"I don't remember what happened while we were kids," Kyouya added.

Raiden looked back and forth between Kyouya and the boys who just entered the room. The football club was well known around campus and were national champions. He couldn't quite place the connection between the president of the football club and Kyouya. He couldn't figure out whether they were old friends with a friendly rivalry or plain old rivals.

Kuze cleared his throat, "anyway do you really think a member of the great Ootori family should be involved in a club like this? Oh," Kuze chucked, "sorry. It doesn't matter what you do. You're only the third son, you'll never be heir, will you? No wonder," Kuze's eyes flicked over to the hosts who were gathered together," you follow the chairman's son around like a lost puppy, licking the glory right of his feet."

Raiden felt a breath escape him. He'd never seen anyone act so cruel in Kyouya's presence.

"Hey," Tamaki's stern voice interrupted, "that is none of your business. We'll settle your grudge during the race."

"Fine. We'll see who is the more talented."

"Nee-chan!" the video call on his cellphone was becoming blurry.

"Hey, Raiden," she droned.

"Hey, Rei-senpai." Kaoru's head bobbed behind Raiden's.

She waved. "So, two more days until the festival and the central salon race is today?"

Raiden nodded.

"Today's the big day, Rei-chan!" Hani's head popped in.

Her eyes instantly brighten at the sight of the short blonde. "I'm wishing you guys the best of luck! I know you boys will defeat them." She giggled, "and with Haruhi's brains I'm sure it'll be easy. Don't take things too literal," she warned.

Soon enough the rest of the club gathered around Raiden's phone.

"Where are you, Rei-senpai?" Tamaki asked.

"Hi, Tamaki-kun! Oh," she turned to look around, allowing the host club a generous view of St. Lobelia's campus, "I'm at school…Well, good luck you lot. Not that you need it of course," she gave them her best smile, "you'll blow them out of the water." She gave them a thumbs up.

# # #

Raiden sat down on the front steps. His sister sat down beside him.

"It sounds like it was a fun day," she leaned on his shoulder playfully. "Where's everyone else?"

"They're confronting the chairman. Apparently, he's the one who's been sending the other letters." Raiden fingered is still wet hair. He had fallen in the pool above the west gym, where the prize for the central salon was located.

The final obstacle had them running around campus and into the third year's section, Sunset Venice. The host club and football club originally thought the crown was there, but Haruhi quickly deduced it was at the pool.

"Why aren't you up there, you know, confronting the chairman?"

"Why haven't you come to the host club, you know, in like a month?" he mocked.

"Hey," she shoved him away. "I've been really busy you know. First, my cold and I had to catch up with school. Now, I have a lot of work to catch up with. That's all."

"Are you avoiding someone?"

She knocked her knee into his. "I'm just trying to do my best. For you. For me."

"What are you talking about?"

Reina stood up from her seat and dusted herself off. She looked up at the school. The large expanse of the high school wing still amazed her. As a little girl she used to dream what it would be like to finally be in the upper-tier - one of the top dogs on campus (with no mention to the college section, of course). That dream never came to fruition though. Her eyes landed on a window two floors above them. She thought she could recognize dark hair.

"Nee-chan," Raiden groaned.

"I'll see you in two days."

Raiden straightened his vest and bow tie. He looked around his classroom. He believed his classmates did a great job in decorating and organizing their event. He couldn't wait for his sister to see their hard work. He couldn't wait for her to try out one of the mysteries, he was sure she was going to enjoy it.

Hikaru and Kaoru stood near the door and greeted the people who entered. Haruhi was stationed at the help desk for any visitors who needed help with their mystery.

Once it started to get crowded, Raiden couldn't help looking around the crowd searching for his sister.

"Mom!" Raiden's eyes landed on Hikaru and Kaoru who skipped over to their mother. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked over to the commotion.

The woman was standing next to man a little taller than her. He remained quiet.

"It looks very nice," the twins mother said. "The interior looks good also."

Hikaru and Kaoru dragged Haruhi over to their mother. "Look mom, this is Haruhi. We're going to adopt her one day, okay?"

Their mother laughed lightly. She gave Haruhi a good look. She straightened her shoulders and fixed her bow tie. "You should trim your hair," she commented, "did two measure her correctly?" she aimed her question at her sons.

"Of course!"

Kaoru's eyes landed on Raiden who was standing back. "Mom, this is our classmate and he's in the host club too."

Raiden stepped forward and bowed. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Raiden-"

"Moriyama!" their mother finished. "It's nice to meet you. Awe, you have your sister's eyes."

Raiden became confused.

Realizing his confusion she continued, "My name is Yuzuha Hitachiin. Your sister is one of my models. Is she around? I asked her to wear something of mine and I can't wait to see how it looks on her." Yuzuha stretched her head over the crowd.

"She's not here yet. If I see her, I'll let her know you're looking for her."

"Would you? Thank you."

Yuzuha turned back to Haruhi, "be sure to visit us soon. I want you to try some of my designs," she turned to the man next to her, "right, darling? Wouldn't it be nice?"

Raiden stood back in surprise.

Haruhi bumped into him. "That's their dad," she whispered under her breath.

"We're going to the central building now," Yuzuha waved, "see you guys!"

The foursome led the Hitachiin couple out of the room. Once they were well away Haruhi asked, "what does your father do?"

"Oh, he's an executive for a software development company. He married into the family," Kaoru answered.

"We come from a long line of strong women," said the twins, "but since we're shy like our dad we are very worried about our future."

Raiden narrowed his eyes. "Your sarcasm is not appreciated."

Mori and Hani joined them. "We brought cake!" Hani announced.

"They look delicious," Haruhi admitted with a smile.

"10,000 yen each," Hani beamed.

Haruhi's smile dropped instantly.

"Moriyama, Fujioka and Hitachiin, you guys can go on ahead now. I know you have club activities to attend too. We'll take care of things here," the class rep told them.

The group left and headed toward class 2-A's event.

"Hani-senpai, Mori-senpai, are your parents here too?" Haruhi asked. They had been walking through the hallways silently.

"Yeah they're here but they're at the middle school right now too see our little brothers' events."

"Little brothers?"

"I didn't know you had little brothers," Raiden piped in.

Mori nodded.

They arrived at 2-A's area and found it lined with common street fair stalls.

Tamaki ran up to them. "Isn't this great?"

Raiden gaped, "wow."

"Toya! Look, takoyaki! I want some. Oh! Cotton candy. Get me some of that too."

"Reina, if you eat too much you're going to throw up."

Raiden and the others heard the short conversation.

Raiden's ears immediately perked up when he heard his sister's name. He searched around and found her standing in front of a cotton candy stall. He raced over to her.

"Nee-chan!"

She turned around swiftly, "Raiden! You look adorable."

The others followed up closely behind him.

"Look at you guys. You look great. Morinozuka-kun. Haninozuka-kun. I like your costumes. Tamaki-kun," she eyed curiously, "you look weird."

"Rei-senpai," Hikaru pushed past Raiden and eyed her up and down.

"You look amazing," Kaoru finished. "Is this the dress our mother was talking about? Because you look hot."

"Hey!" Raiden pushed them away, "don't talk about my sister that way."

Reina felt her face heat up. Her eyes landed on the floor.

Raiden looked at the dress she was wearing. He had to admit she did look pretty. She was wearing a red short sleeve dress that stopped a few inches above her knee. It had a lace like overlay in a flower pattern. She was even wearing heels, making her taller than her brother.

"Here's your takoyaki," a male voice interrupted.

They stared at the newcomer.

"Oh? Hello," He greeted.

"Toya, this is my brother and his friends," she introduced swiftly. "Toya, this is my brother, Raiden," she wrapped an arm around her brother, "isn't he adorable?"

Toya's eyes brightened and he grinned a wolfy smile. "He is adorable!"

Raiden blushed under his gaze. "Nee-chan…?"

"I work with him," she whispered.

Raiden nodded with understanding.

Toya laid a hand on her elbow, "I'll leave you with your friends. I have to get back to the west gym." He handed over her takoyaki.

"Oh thank you. I'll be over there later. I can't believe you guys remade Venice."

"Well, I took your idea and ran with it," Toya grinned. "I'll see you later. Bye guys, nice meeting you." He gave them a wave before leaving.

Raiden stared after him unconsciously. Reina nudged him in the ridge, interrupting his thoughts.

Reina grinned and then took a bite of her takoyaki. "This festival has been amazing so far. Where are you guys headed?"

"We're headed toward the central salon. Hopefully, we'll find Kyouya on the way. Would you like to join us?" Tamaki offered.

"Sure!" she walked alongside her brother. She handed him her cotton candy and told him he could eat some. He remained silent but took a bite of it anyway.

She finished up her food and threw away the container before speaking to anyone. They walked along the outside corridor of the school. They walked across a corner when a voiced stopped them.

"Hey," Kyouya stopped in front of them. "I was about to look for you guys. Is the carriage ready?"

"Yeah we're going to the courtyard to make the final check right now," Tamaki announced.

"Carriage?" Reina eyed her brother, "you guys have a carriage?"

He shrugged, he wasn't aware of any carriage.

"Grandmother!" Tamaki veered around and walked over to an elegant older woman wearing a kimono. Two assistants followed behind her. "You took the trouble to come today."

Raiden felt his sister gasp beside him. She took a hesitant step back.

"That's Tamaki's-" Haruhi began but was silenced by Hani's hateful tone, "I hate her."

Reina glanced toward him.

"She's a cruel woman."

Reina took another step back but bumped into Mori.

Raiden, Mori, and Kyouya were the only ones who seemed to notice Reina's hesitant movements.

They watched Tamaki reach out to his grandmother. "My club's activities are about to begin, if you'd like-"

"Don't touch me," she seethed. "You're filthy."

Tamaki scratched his head. "I'm sorry I probably smell like food right now.

His grandmother looked at him from the corner of her eye, "even if you bathed you'd still be filthy. It's shameless," she walked past him, "the deserted son of a harlot."

She walked by. The host club and Reina watched her walk by, but Tamaki' grandmother stopped briefly a few feet away as if in passing.

"Moriyama," she said strictly.

Reina stood up straighter. Tamaki's grandmother's eyes landed on her.

"Suoh-sama," Reina breathed as she bowed.

The others looked at her strangely. They couldn't believe she was acting so proper and formal considering what the woman just said to their friend.

"The eldest Moriyama child. Hm? You look quite beautiful today. No surprise there," she said coldly. "Tread lightly now," her voice sounded venomous, "I know my son allowed you lot to return to this school but I won't have you defiling it's name again."

"Yes, ma'am," Reina said quietly.

Tamaki's grandmother left it at that and left.

Reina let out a long breath. Her eyes began to water.

"Reina?" Raiden questioned her. "What is she talking about?"

She shook her head. She gripped her stomach. After a few moments hesitation, she finally looked to her brother. "I'm going to head over to you class now. I heard it was a lot of fun."

"Nee-chan– "

She looked over the others briefly. They all had concerned looks.

"I'll see you later. There are still some other events I'd like to see. Like Sunset Venice. I heard great things about that too."

She took another step back and this time Mori was blocking her. She shook her head again. She turned around and walked away briskly.

"What? What was that all about?" Kaoru asked.

# # #

Reina lifted a piece of food from her plate and placed it in her mouth. She was watching Haruhi and Tamaki make a scene. The people around them whispered behind covered hands and stared. Sometimes she wondered why she would do this again. Why would she let herself be dragged back into the world of the rich and famous?

"Rei-senpai." Kyouya walked up and stood next to her. He followed her gaze and his eyes landed on Tamaki and a disguised Haruhi.

"Have you enjoyed your day?" he asked. He was standing a lot closer than she was used to.

"Oh, very much." She placed her plate onto the tray of a servant passing by. "My brother's class did such a great job in designing and organizing the mysterious. I had a lot of fun over there. Sunset Venice," she gripped his forearm. "It was beautiful. It was like the real thing. Well, I think it was. I've never been to Italy."

"You've never been?" Kyouya asked, surprised.

She shook her head. "Your class did a great job as well, Kyouya-kun. The food was delicious."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

People bumped around them. Their whispered and hushed voices enveloped them like a blanket. She could feel some people's stares landing on her. She even caught a few roving eyes. The fact that Kyouya was standing next to her, so close, didn't go unnoticed either.

"Kyouya, I wanted to—"

"Reina, what a pleasant surprise." Kyouya's father appeared next to them. He stood tall and overbearing even though the two teens had at least four or five more inches to him.

"Ootori-san, it's good to see you," she bowed.

"There's no need for you to be so formal with me. I've known you since you were a child," he said lightly.

"Of course, Ootori-san."

"How is your family? Your grandfather, is he well?"

"He's terrific considering his health concerns. Thank you for treating our family so kindly.

"Of course. It is nice to see you out and about as well. It's been awhile."

She aimed a slight grimace to the floor. Kyouya noticed one of her feet tapping at the floor softly.

She moved a strand of hair behind her ear. After a moment, she lifted her face up and stared into The elder Ootori's eyes confidently. "Yes, it's been awhile."

A.N. - Thanks for reading!