Author's Note: After how long I made y'all wait for this chapter, I feel like I'm cheating you. Its shorter than intended, and I think its the most boring chapter yet! So sorry you had to wait so long for crap! But I wanted to update and this was the best place to end this chapter. The next one is going to be fun, and I kind of decided last minute to put Haruhi's father in for the weekend, so it should be interesting. And he'll be bringing a surprise guest with him! Remember, they don't know who told him how to get to/is bringing him to the summer home.
And here's a bit of exciting news (for me at least), come April 9th Basket Case will have been going for a year! That's a long time to write something, especially for me. I hope to update at least once before then, and then on (or close to) that day. So look forward to it!
Vote on the poll for this fiction! Don't forget, it's on my profile!
Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or Fruits Basket, nor do I claim to. Any and all characters belong to Hatori Bisco and Natsuki Takaya respectively.
Chapter XII: Weekend Getaway?
The house was exactly the way it was the last time he'd been there—though with the piles of suitcases being brought in the door and the number of people following suit it did seem a lot smaller than usual. And not everyone had arrived yet. Haru and Momiji were waiting until the next day to come. Due to the outburst Haru had earlier at school, he was required to be in detention the rest of the afternoon after school hours. Momiji had offered to wait and go with him, so for the moment they were two people short of the fifteen that would be spending two days and two nights in this little house.
At least it seemed little now. Yuki had never thought it a small house, but taking into consideration the number of people intended to stay there, the building had somewhat shrunk in size in Yuki's mind.
Tamaki wasn't flitting around excitedly as Yuki had expected him to, because he was still unsettled about Arisa's earlier comment. Yuki couldn't help but smile in amusement as he recalled their meeting.
"Welcome, ladies, to Ouran Academy!" Tamaki had said, approaching Tohru's two friends where they waited by the schools front gate as they'd been instructed to do. "As king of the Host Club, I'd like to express our joy in taking two such beautiful—"
"Hey!" Arisa cut him off, stepping defensively in front of Tohru, and jabbed her finger into his chest. "You're the stuck up, snot-nosed rich brat that started this womanizer's club?"
Tamkai's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. "Well, I—I—" he stammered, stumbling for the words that were failing to come to him in his shock.
"Well, listen up! 'Cause I have something to say to you, pretty boy," Arisa continued, crossing her arms. She glared at him, her very stance appearing threatening. "Tohru is the best friend we've ever had, and a d--- sweet girl! If you even think about ruining her, I'll find out where you live and come after you!" Narrowing her eyes as Tamaki shrank away out of shock and fear she added menacingly, "And I'm not afraid to take a fall for her, if you know what I mean."
"Yes, Suoh Tamaki-san, it would certainly be a shame if you were to fall under a curse," Saki added, glaring darkly at Tamaki as she spoke the last word.
At that, Tamaki hid behind Kyoya, shouting something about Arisa being scarier than Kasanoda and Saki being just like Nekozawa. The twins found it hilarious though, despite being considered members of a 'womanizer's club', and saw fit to keep bringing it up during the trip to the lake house. Tamaki was still scared stiff by Arisa and Saki by the time they arrived. Thankfully though, since they'd had to take two limos to get everyone there, Yuki, as well as Arisa and Saki, were separate from Tamaki until now. The trip apparently had given Tamaki time to calm down, or rather for Kyoya to calm him down, but he still avoided contact of any sort with either of Tohru's friends.
"This is a beautiful vacation home," Haruhi commented, awed by the size and elegance of the little lake house. Glancing out the large windows that overlooked the lake her eyes sparkled with amazement and she smiled. "And the lake is beautiful!"
"I'm glad you like it, Fujioka-san," Yuki sighed. He eyed the suitcases spread around the entry way wearily. "I just hope you're still as pleased with it by tonight when we're all cramped together by the sleeping arrangements.
"I don't think we'll have to worry about that," Kyoya said, producing a clipboard from one of his bags. Smiling his signature smile he added, "I took the liberty of making sleeping arrangements for everyone. There's three bedrooms in this house, correct?"
Yuki gaped at him in surprise. "Eh? Um, y-yes, but how—"
"I have my ways," Kyoya cut him off. He handed the clipboard to Yuki.
"Kyoya knows everything," Hikaru and Kaoru surmised simultaneously with a shrug.
"It's scary," Haruhi observed.
Kyoya smiled, almost as if acknowledging their comments as a compliment. "I figured that with you're family's 'condition', I'd try to group most of you together. And even if some of the Sohma's here don't share your secret, better safe than sorry, right?"
Yuki skimmed down the list. Tamaki, Kyoya, Hani, and Mori were in one bedroom. In the second bedroom Kyoya had arranged for Tohru, Arisa, and Saki, as well as Kisa to share. The third bedroom was reserved for Haru, Momiji, and Hiro. At the bottom of the list was marked 'living room floor' and everyone else's names were listed beneath.
"Also, to conserve space, it'd be easier to use bedrolls then beds, so I contacted the maids that keep this house and had them stock the bedrooms and closets with enough bedrolls for all of us," Kyoya explained.
"Hey, how come we get the living room?" Hikaru objected, peeking over Yuki's shoulder at the list.
"Well, as I said, I tried to put most of the Sohma's together. And if I couldn't, I placed them with the same gender. The third bedroom is the smallest, other wise Yuki and Kyo would be in there as well," Kyoya explained. He turned to Haruhi almost apologetically. "Haruhi, you'll be in the living room as well. I would have put you in the room with Tohru-san and her friends, but since they saw you at school in the boy's uniform, I figured it wouldn't be a good idea."
"No, I understand. Its ok," Haruhi assured. She pointed to her suitcase, which she'd long since dropped in the corner when they arrived. "I won't have to move my suitcase very far, that way!"
Yuki couldn't help but smile at Haruhi's logic. The simple things that made her happy amazed Yuki. She was so easily satisfied he wondered if she cared at all about her circumstances like most other people did.
"Haruhi's staying in the living room with Hikaru and Kaoru?" Tamaki exclaimed, snatching the clipboard from Yuki. "That's unacceptable! Kyoya, how could you make such a mistake!"
"I've made no 'mistake', Tamaki," Kyoya said dryly. "This is a necessary arrangement. And Haruhi is fine with it."
"Haruhi, how could you agree to sleep in the same room as those two?" Tamaki demanded, grabbing Haruhi by the shoulders.
"It's not a big deal. I have to or Arisa-san and Saki-san would be alarmed. They think I'm a guy after all," Haruhi explained.
"You say 'those two' like we're criminals, milord," Kaoru observed.
"You are criminals! Up to no good! Devious twins!" Tamaki accused.
"But it's not like I'll be alone with them," Haruhi pointed out. "Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun are in the living room as well, right?"
Tamaki paused and gaped at her a moment. He checked the list again. "Ah, you're right," he mumbled. His brow knitted thoughtfully. Turning to Yuki he proclaimed, "I place you in charge of protecting my daughter! If anything should happen to her due to these two," and he pointed an accusing finger at Hikaru and Kaoru, "then I'm holding you accountable!"
"Eh? Me?" Yuki wondered. He couldn't think of a reason why Tamaki would be so protective of Haruhi when it came to the twins. From what he knew of them, Hikaru and Kaoru were trustworthy. They were devious, definitely but indecent? He hadn't been given a reason to think so.
"You better not lay a hand on her!" Tamaki ordered, waving his finger at the twins.
"Whatever," they shrugged, turning their backs and ignoring him as they retrieved their suitcases from the entrance and carried them into the living room.
"What's all the fuss?"
Tamaki froze at the familiar voice and went stiff. Yuki turned with a smile to see Arisa, Saki, and Tohru standing in the doorway. Arisa, who had spoken, had a menacing look on her face as she gazed directly at Tamaki, almost as if a warning to the blonde.
"And what's that about your daughter? Are you some kind of pervert, too?" Arisa demanded.
"No!" Tamaki exclaimed. "I-I-I was merely referencing Haruhi. She—I mean he's like a child to me—I mean that is, I'm a father figure to him—her—him!"
Arisa narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Yuki began to grow nervous but was relieved when Arisa shrugged. "Whatever, weirdo," she spat throwing her bag down against the wall. "Nice place, Prince!"
Yuki smiled. "Well, thank you, but it is not mine," he said.
"Very lovely indeed. The Sohmas are a fortunate family to enjoy such luxury," Saki commented with a smile. It was a kind smile, but eerie all the same. However, Yuki had gotten used to it and found himself happy whenever she smiled like that, especially when she was smiling at him. Usually she only smiled like that at Arisa or Tohru, so he felt honored to receive such a smile.
"Ladies, you'll be sleeping in the second bedroom on the second floor," Kyoya instructed. He gestured towards the stairs. "You'll find it upstairs to the right. You can leave your suit cases there."
"I'll take our things up," Tohru offered, retrieving Arisa's bag from the floor.
"Let me help with that," Saki said, following Tohru up the stairs.
"Hey, wait for me!" Arisa called. "Tohru, you don't have to carry my bag, it's really too heavy!"
Yuki watched them up the stairs then sighed. "I suppose I should get settled in, as well," he muttered to himself. Realizing Haruhi had drug her bag into the living room, he dug his suitcase out of the pile by the door and went to join her.
After everyone had unpacked, or in Yuki, Kyo, Haruhi, and the twins' cases tucked their suitcases out of the way for the time being, they went their separate ways. Hani and Mori went for a walk around the lake, joined by Hiro and Kisa, merely because Kisa wanted to see the lake and Hiro wouldn't let her go alone with 'two older guys'. Kyo had disappeared after putting his suitcase in the living room, and Arisa and Saki were 'touring' the house. The rest of them gathered in the living room, lounging on couches or kneeling at the coffee table, as there wasn't enough furniture.
"This really is a nice house, Yuki-kun," Haruhi commented again, knelt in front of the coffee table. "Its very roomy, too."
"I'm afraid it isn't as roomy as it usually is," Yuki replied sheepishly, seated next to Haruhi in the floor. "It wasn't meant to hold such a large crowd."
"The main reason it's so large is because of all your 'friends' and family," Hikaru reminded emphatically, flopping onto the couch next to his brother. He had a look of disinterest even though Yuki knew he wouldn't have spoken had he not a slight interest in the conversation.
"Hikaru," Haruhi objected with an annoyed, warning look directed at him.
"No, it's true," Yuki admitted. "If I hadn't of invited Honda-san, no one else would have joined us. The over crowdedness we suffer is wholly my fault."
"There's no need to place or take blame," Kyoya said from where he sat reclined in a plush arm chair, grinning. "Despite Yuki's relatives imposing themselves on our club's weekend getaway, we can still enjoy ourselves. It is a nice house after all, though maybe a little smaller than my family's summer homes."
He does blame me, and he thinks of everyone else as a burden, Yuki thought dryly. "Regardless, I am sorry for the trouble."
"Most of its my fault in any case," Tohru admitted apologetically, seated at the coffee table with her classmen. She bowed her head, her hands folded in her lap. "Kisa-chan came because of me, and Uo-chan and Hana-chan as well. I'm sorry."
"Nonsense, you really don't have to be sorry," Tamaki said, speaking for the first time since he and Arisa had parted ways. He was standing by the window, which overlooked the lake, admiring the view. Glancing back over his shoulder with a smile, he added, "I've always enjoyed entertaining large groups. Its more fun that way, isn't it?"
Haruhi smiled at her sempai, almost as if to say thank you. She began to say something when suddenly she jumped to her feet, stepping back from the coffee table, with and exclamation of "Oh!" before hastily shoving her hand in her pocket and fumbled around to get something out. Producing her cell phone, which was vibrating violently, she placed the palm of her free hand to her chest and sighed. "That startled me. I forgot I put it in my pocket," she explained. Glancing at the caller ID her expression changed to confusion. "Why is he calling?"
"Who is it?" Kaoru wondered, curiously trying to peer over her shoulder, at the same time attempting to remain seated.
"My dad," she replied, opening the flip-phone and placing it to her ear. "Hello?"
Haruhi turned to every one, mouthing, "Sorry, be back in five minutes" and walked to the next room. Yuki could still hear her voice, though it was muffled through the wall, but he couldn't clearly make out what she was saying.
"What is he calling about, I wonder?" Tamaki asked curiously.
"I didn't know Fujioka-san had a cell phone," Yuki commented, slightly absentmindedly.
"We loaned it to her!" the twins chimed proudly.
"That makes sense. She doesn't seem like the type to own such a thing on her own," Yuki surmised. After that the room fell into an uncomfortable silence. Sighing he tried to distract himself from the awkwardness by focusing on what Haruhi was saying. Finally, Tohru spoke, breaking the quiet.
"How about I make some tea while we wait on the others to get back?" she suggested, standing from the table. "Is there a particular kind anyone would like? I'd be glad to bring it out to you."
"Whatever green tea you have on hand is fine with me," Tamaki replied. Yuki nodded his head in agreement.
"We brought a box of Darjeeling tea," Hikaru explained, removing it from his bag and handing it to her.
"There's directions on how to make it in case you don't know," Kaoru pointed out, motioning to the back of the box.
"Yes, of course," Tohru responded, accepting the box with a curious glance as it was shoved into her hands.
"Tieguanyin is fine with me," Kyoya requested. "I believe I saw some in the kitchen earlier."
Tohru, still studying the back of the Darjeeling tea box she'd received, nodded slowly. "Yes, I'll bring that right out," she said, bowing to excuse herself. Pausing in the doorway she glanced back at Kyoya and asked, "That's an expensive tea, isn't it? Do I have to brew it a certain way?"
Kyoya half smirked, rising from his chair. "How about I help you then?" he offered.
"No! Ootori-sempai, that's not necessary," Yuki protested. The thought of the shadow king being alone with Tohru anywhere alarmed him. Tohru was so easily convinced, there were many number of things he could convince her of! Things that would work out to his and the host club's financial benefit, no less.
Yuki started to stand, adding, "I can help her."
"Yuki, let Kyoya go," Tamaki interrupted as he crossed the room. Taking the chair Kyoya had just unoccupied he smiled reassuringly at Yuki. "He makes a very good cup of tea. And he's used to carrying trays full of teacups. He'll make a good assistant for her."
Yuki reluctantly sunk back to the floor. He watched warily as Kyoya walked with Tohru into the hallway and towards the kitchen. He was smiling much in the manner he did when he was hosting, which gave Yuki, in his opinion, all the more a reason not to trust the second year student.
"You can relax. Kyoya's not such a bad guy," Tamaki attempted to assure.
"Yeah, that's true," Kaoru began with a shrug.
"Of course, he has nothing to gain from manipulating her," Hikaru added with a shrug of his own.
"You're not helping, you bothersome twins!" Tamaki scolded. Heaving a sigh he composed himself. "Kyoya isn't up to anything, I can assure you."
"Forgive me, Suoh-sempai, if I don't believe you," Yuki replied uneasily. "It's just that after the way he blackmailed me, I'm a little wary concerning his plans."
"Ah, about that," Tamaki began hesitantly. "I'm afraid the reason he even did that was because of my bidding."
Yuki gasped in shock. It took him a moment before he realized he was gaping at the third-year. Averting his gaze he stammered, "Y-you are responsible for blackmailing me then?"
"Mostly, yes," Tamaki replied. He sighed, a genuine look of repentance on his face. "I was excited; I'd heard how popular you were with young women at your old school and then the rest of the members seemed to think you'd make a good host."
"I see," Yuki said thoughtfully. All this time he'd thought Kyoya the evil mastermind, but in fact it had been Tamaki's idea to begin with. He could almost understand why Tamaki would want him as a host, but as to why Kyoya was so persistent on the matter he was at a loss. "I'm afraid I don't understand entirely. Why exactly did Ootori-sempai blackmail me again?"
"Because I asked him to, indirectly," Tamaki replied. He smiled apologetically when Yuki gave him a quizzical look. "Sorry, let me explain. I liked the idea of having a new host. You can ask the others about how excited I get when it comes to our club. But that's off topic. Like I said, I told Kyoya how I'd planned to get you to join. He, like usual, pointed out the errors of my plan. After we discovered your 'secret', he approached me with his idea of blackmail."
"And you approved?" Yuki wondered with annoyance.
"I suppose that's mainly what I'm apologizing for," Tamaki sighed. "I don't want to cause you grief or stress. So if you don't want to be a member of the Host Club, I understand. You were forced to join us by underhanded means, so I fully understand if you want to leave. The choice is up to you."
Yuki dropped his gaze to the surface of the coffee table, staring at it intently as he thought. He had been forced to join the host club, though not entirely by the person he had been blaming all that time, and at first he'd felt angry about the whole matter. But upon getting to know Haruhi, the hosting and hosts' antics was something he had decided to deal with, if only for the sake of preserving all of Haruhi's memories. Upon further reflection, he couldn't really complain about being a host. Comparatively, it was a fairly easy job to fulfill. Though the room full of young ladies of whom he had to speak to was a little unnerving considering his 'condition', it wasn't entirely un-enjoyable. As Haruhi had told him once, "Its not so bad talking to the ladies," and he agreed.
"Well, you shouldn't worry about it anyway," Hikaru piped in.
"Its not like you're the first one forced to join the Host Club by these two," Kaoru pointed out.
"Didn't I already tell you you're not helping!?" Tamaki shouted, waving his index finger furiously at the twins.
"Its ok. I don't mind so much," Yuki replied. He smiled to reassure Tamaki of his sincerity. "I didn't like it at first, but its bearable. I think I'll remain a Host for a little while longer, if you don't mind."
"That's great! Wonderful! I'm glad you decided to stay!" Tamaki exclaimed energetically.
"What!?" It was the first clearly annunciated word Yuki'd heard from Haruhi since she'd left the room and it was full of alarm, shock, and a bit of dismay.
"No, its already packed enough!" Haruhi protested. "Wait, don't—"
A few moments later Haruhi returned, phone held at her side, head slumped in defeat, and collapsed to her knees at the coffee table. Tohru and Kyoya were returning at that very same moment with the tea and gave her inquisitive looks.
"Can you find room for one more, Kyoya-sempai?" Haruhi wandered warily.
"I suppose. If I make some changes to the arrangements, probably so," Kyoya replied. He cocked his head slightly and asked, "Why?"
"That was my dad," Haruhi explained again, holding up her phone. "He said he has tomorrow off from work and he wants to come up for the rest of the weekend. He insisted and said we'll see him around nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
"Ah, another guest," Tohru laughed. Setting the tray of tea she was carrying on the coffee table she chuckled. "Well, I guess we'll have more than expected."
"Perhaps I should call Momiji and have him bring a camper," Yuki suggested.
Haruhi sighed, but straitened her shoulders anyway. "Well, I guess we'll have to squeeze him in. If worse comes to worse I suppose he and I could share a bedroll."
"Haruhi, why does your dad want to come with you so suddenly?" Tamaki wondered in bewilderment.
"Yeah, and why didn't he just tell you today he was planning on coming up instead of calling you?" Hikaru asked.
"Hmm? Because he wanted it to be a surprise," Haruhi replied.
"Why?" Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison.
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Haruhi inquired, more to herself than anyone else in the room. "Well, he wanted to surprise me because tomorrow is my birthday!"
"WHAT!?" Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru exclaimed simultaneously.
Yuki stared at her, utterly surprised. She seemed to take her birthday lightly, which other people in the world did, but how could she know her birthday was that weekend and leave her father behind to go spend the it with her friends at a summer home? He'd never been close to any of his family, so he didn't care to spend his birthdays with them, to him it wasn't a big deal. But for someone like Haruhi who had such a loving father, as she had described him, he couldn't fathom a reason one wouldn't want to be with that family member on their birthday. The perplexity of it baffled him.
"Haruhi-kun, I didn't know your birthday was tomorrow!" Tohru gasped.
"I guess it just slipped my mind. Its not big deal, I told Dad we'd celebrate it when I got back," she explained, heaving a sigh. "I'm sorry he's doing this, guys."
"Eh, no, its ok, but, Haruhi?" Tamaki began. He sweat dropped at her blank stare. "Does he know how to get here?"
Haruhi shrugged. "I don't know, but I figure he got directions from Kyoya or something like that," she replied.
"Your father hasn't called me in over a week," Kyoya revealed, lifting his teacup from its saucer to take a sip.
"Then how is he getting here?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked one another concurrently.
After thinking about it for a while, Haruhi shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly." They sat and pondered it a bit more before Tohru repeated:
"Your birthday is tomorrow!?"
