Hi guys!

So, apparently the website either decided to eat two of my reviews or stuck them under an invisibility cloak. Or I suppose the review gnome stole them. No matter what browser I use to view the reviews section, I can only see fourteen reviews. However, I did receive an email alert with these reviews. For those of you that are curious (I'm assuming they're not showing up for anyone else), here are the reviews:

Aqua Lilly: I love your take on the Ouran cast. I love the humor. Keep up the good work!~

Guest: Thanks for the shoutout for the askblog on here! You're awesome, just like this story! ~Admin MJ

My responses are:

Aqua Lilly: Thank you so much! Knowing that I have such enthusiastic readers definitely helps keep me going!

Guest: Thanks MJ! Keep up the great work with the blog-it never fails to make me smile!

Fortunately, I have the rough plot outline for the next ten chapters together and should be ahead of the posting schedule this week! At the moment, I'm not sure exactly how many chapters the fic will be, but it will probably be fairly long (likely over forty chapters at least). Essentially, I am happy to keep working in new subplots, side-quests or backstory as long as my readers want more! And I am always incredibly happy to hear opinions or suggestions. In fact, I would love to hear from Mori fans as to what you would like to see in his backstory chapter (I decided that instead of picking and choosing hosts to dedicate a chapter to, I would simply give each host a chapter to themselves). I may not be able to work every suggestion/idea in, but I will try my best!

The next post should be on Thursday or Friday so check back then!

Now, onto the chapter-in which Haruhi discovers her fan club!

The audience burst into unrestrained applause and cheers as Columbina bowed and traipsed off the stage. Haruhi listened to the ovation with a smile. Her fifth and final performance as Columbina had gone off without a hitch. She had reprised her role in Arlecchino's Fury once before Renge cast her in a new plot. With the initial performance nerves over, Haruhi mastered the new part in two days. However, the audience disliked the act, which involved very little conflict between Arlecchino and Columbina. So, a new plot was devised. This act cast Columbina as a much fiercer character, with the maid boldly taking control of chaotic situations and engaging in rough slapstick with the male characters. Their audience adored this feisty role and Haruhi repeated the act for her final performance.

The applause gradually died down as Haruhi went to change back into her commoner's clothes. After changing, she carefully removed Columbina's maid's bonnet and adjusted a few pins in her hair before donning her knitted cap. When she emerged from the wagon, Tamaki dashed over to her.

"Haruki! Come with me!" Without waiting for a response, Tamaki grabbed her arm and led her out from behind the stage.

"Where are we going?"

"To visit with your admirers!"

"Wait—what?" Haruhi exclaimed. Tamaki ignored her protests and steered her over to a knot of young women standing near the stage.

"Well, ladies, here you are. Just remember—mind the cap," he said with a devilish grin. With that, he strode off to greet the other fans thronging the square.

"Oh, Haruki, your performance was so amazing!" one young lady cried.

"You portray Columbina so well! Sometimes you act just like a girl!" another exclaimed.

"Um, thanks," Haruhi replied.

"How do you do it?" the third inquired.

"Well…I just…sort of do it on instinct," Haruhi answered.

"You mean you haven't had any training at all?"

"Not more than what the troupe has given me."

"Oh my gosh, he's a natural—that's so fantastic!" All three chorused gleefully.

Haruhi offered a smile that she hoped didn't look too awkward. "I'm glad you ladies have enjoyed it so much."

"We did! We can't wait to see your next performance!"

Haruhi's face fell. "Oh…my next performance."

"Haruki—what's wrong?"

Haruhi looked at the concerned faces surrounding her and sighed. "Well…today was supposed to be my last performance."

"What? Oh no! It can't be!" the fans cried.

"I didn't think I had that many admirers," Haruhi explained. "I'm sorry—I didn't know it would cause such distress…"

"Please don't leave! You have to reconsider!"

Two right hands clapped on Haruhi's shoulders. "Don't worry, ladies—we'll make sure he reassesses things," two voices chimed in simultaneously from behind her.

"Kaoru, Hikaru, thank you so much!" the first fan exclaimed.

"Please talk some sense into him!" the second said.

"We'll miss him so much if he leaves," the third added.

"We'll handle it," the twins said. They marched her away from the group and back behind the stage.

"What's this about quitting?" Hikaru asked.

"Yeah—you never said anything about that," Kaoru said.

"Um, well, I already worked out a deal with Kyoya. He said if I performed five times, he would consider my debt paid," Haruhi said.

"What?" Hikaru turned to glare at the illusionist. "You let him off with just five performances? What about interest?"

"Haruki has done more than his fair share of work. And, as he has done it in a timely manner, I see no reason to apply interest to his debt," Kyoya replied.

"But he's just going to leave now!" Kaoru complained.

"Leave? Who's leaving?" Honey walked backstage just in time to catch Kaoru's words.

"Haruki! He doesn't want to hang out with us anymore," Hikaru said.

"Hey—it's not like that!" Haruhi exclaimed.

Honey began to tear up instantly. "Haruki—you're leaving? Do you not like us?"

"Of course I do! But my debt is paid—"

"You don't like us!" Honey sobbed. "You don't want to stay!"

"Mitsukuni, what's wrong?" Mori asked as he returned from the wagon.

"Haruki wants to leave! His debt is paid and he doesn't like us enough to stay!" Honey wailed. Mori turn to Haruhi with an unreadable expression.

Haruhi groaned. "Great—I'm suddenly the bad guy," she muttered.

"What are we supposed to do without him?" Hikaru demanded, looking to Kyoya.

"We've gotten along fine with our court performances without him," the illusionist replied.

"That's different! That's work! This is for fun," Hikaru said.

"What in the world is going on?" Tamaki stopped the moment he strode backstage. He took in Honey's tears, Haruhi's defensive posture and the twins' expressions that made them look as if they had been deprived of a new toy.

"Milord, Haruki wants to leave!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"He can't just leave! He's become too important to the show," Hikaru added.

"Make him stay, Tamaki!" Honey cried.

"But I didn't agree to stay on forever!" Haruhi protested.

Tamaki's head tilted to one side. He let out a short sigh. "Well, this is quite a dilemma."

"Huh?" Haruhi glanced to him in surprise.

Tamaki sat on one of the wooden crates nearby, leaned an elbow on the taller crate next to him and propped his chin in his hand. He leveled an even gaze on Haruhi. "A debt agreed upon and paid is paid. You've done exactly as we've asked. We can't demand more than that. However, I don't think any of us anticipated becoming quite as…attached to you as a troupe member as we've become in the past few weeks. I believe Honey and the twins have demonstrated that. And I would be lying if I said I hadn't become very fond of you as well. You've been a fantastic Columbina and an admirable scene partner."

Haruhi blinked. She couldn't believe she was hearing this kind of gravity from the troupe's leader. And for a moment, the simple wooden crates surrounding him seemed like a throne. Something suited to the actor who proclaimed he was a king.

"In the end, I have no control over your actions. You are not under any debt to us. However, I would hope that perhaps for the sake of friendship, you might reconsider. In fact, I humbly petition you to think further on your decision. But whatever your choice, we will always be happy to have you back should you wish to return."

Somehow, this speech guilted Haruhi more than the twins' anger or Honey's tears did. She bowed her head. "I'll reconsider. Could I give you my answer in a couple of days?"

"Of course," Tamaki replied.

"In that case, I will go ahead and excuse myself," Haruhi said. As she walked away, she heard the troupe members talking.

"We won't see him again. You can give it up," Hikaru said.

"Don't be so hasty to assume, Hikaru," Tamaki replied.

"You really think he's not coming back?" Honey asked tearfully.

"Don't hope too much," Mori stated.

#

When Haruhi returned to the castle, she still felt unsettled over the troupe's reaction. She pushed off the thoughts as she snuck back into her chambers.

As soon as she stepped inside her suite, an alien sound met her ears. Well, two alien sounds to be exact. The first was a mechanical thudding chatter. And the second was someone humming a cheerful tune for a gavotte. She walked into a nook off of the sitting room and found Mei working with a piece of fabric and a strange machine.

"What's that?" Haruhi asked.

Mei, having obviously heard her enter the suite, wasn't surprised. But she turned to the princess with a wide smile. "This machine? It's called a sewing machine! It makes stitches in a quarter of the time that someone could by hand! Renge is letting me borrow it until she needs to make more costumes."

"Oh," Haruhi said.

"I've had our court inventor look at the design and he says he thinks he could copy it! I'll be able to make all kind of dresses for you now! I won't have to wait on anyone else to do the work," Mei exclaimed gleefully.

Haruhi tried not to wince. "That's great, Mei."

"Well, how did your performance as Columbina go?" Mei had gradually resigned herself to accepting Haruhi's ventures into town. The lady-in-waiting said that at least Haruhi was with a group that could be trusted. Haruhi had asked her what the troupe had done to win this trust, but Mei never answered.

"It went really well," Haruhi said. She sank down onto a nearby seat.

"If it went so well, then why do you sound unhappy?" Mei asked.

Haruhi sighed. "Today was supposed to be my last performance. It paid my debt. But I've gotten…admirers that were sad when I told them I wouldn't be performing after today. And on top of that, the troupe was actually upset that I was leaving."

"Well what do you expect? You've been with them almost every day for the past few weeks," Mei said.

"But why would they be so attached? It's not like they know the real me," Haruhi said. But as the words left her lips, a thought struck her.

"It doesn't matter. You're not that hard to like if you just wouldn't be so cold," Mei said, examining the stitches she had made in the fabric she was working on. When Haruhi didn't reply, the lady-in-waiting glanced up. "Haruhi—did you hear me?"

But the princess hadn't heard her. And the thought had led to a decision. Haruhi looked directly at Mei. "I want you to set up a meeting with the troupe. Tomorrow. I think they need to meet the princess."

And the next chapter excerpt is...

"Who's that?" Honey asked, nodding towards a lady in a pink dress who had just walked into the courtyard.

"I don't know. She must be new," Hikaru said.

"Well then, she should be greeted properly," Tamaki declared. He strode over to the new visitor.

"Good afternoon, my dear lady. How may I—" The troupe leader glanced up and the blood drained from his face as his eyes widened.

What's the shock? Why is Tamaki so stunned? Check back Thursday or Friday to find out!