Hey all! It's been a while! I'm so sorry, but I was busy with this big assignment that was just ridiculously confusing _ It's awful when work isn't clear and then you have to do a bunch of running around and asking whether you're understanding it... sheesh... anyway, enough about mah life! I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far! This chapter was tough to write because I didn't really know where to go with the plot.. but I have it all figured out now ;) I'm so excited!

So with that: please enjoy chapter 14! :)

Dear Sora-chan,

I've been called back to Europe for a business meeting! I'll try to call when I can! Good hit by the way J I think you've really improved! Anyway, I still don't trust those Host Club guys… but I think it's clear you can handle yourself! But just remember that if that Morinozuka boy does anything to you I will avenge you thoroughly! *hearts*hearts* Miss you already! Good luck managing Father! Love, love, LOVE! - Hiro.

Sora shook her head at the letter. It had been left on the front table early that morning. She scanned it again and placed it down gingerly. Her ridiculous brother was back to work finally. It had only been a day since their duel, but he seemed as energized and bubbly as always. Sora was constantly amazed that he was practically the head of their family business. He must put on a damn good poker face during meetings, she thought with a small smile.

Things had been tense between them, but that hadn't stopped Hiro from doting on her all the same. At least he's gone now… Sora sighed and wandered back to her room, glad that things could finally get back to normal. Before Hiro, she'd wanted to do anything to get out of that school and away from the Host Club. But when that life had been threatened… she'd reacted in a surprising way. Even she couldn't fathom why she'd defended her place there so fiercely. Who was I fighting for? Her brief conversation with Tamaki flashed back into her mind. Does it matter? She winced as she sat on her bed, mulling over the thought.

If I am fighting for someone… I should stop, shouldn't I? She nodded to herself, remembering when she'd vowed to shut off her emotions and show only her confident face. Emotion means weakness… isn't that right? Her thoughts jumped to the pain of the past. Yes, when people allow themselves to feel… they get hurt. Her eyes stung, but she ignored them. The brick wall she put up still felt strong. She knew it would protect her. But… she thought back to the hug Mori had wrapped her in. The memory set her heart beating much more quickly. He'd been so strong and stable. Something she pretended to be. He'd been warm, too. The hug had been… Nice. But she shook her head and briskly stood, remembering all too late that her bruises were still there. She winced, rubbing her arms. The closeness to Mori had felt nice. But it set off warning signals in her head. She would keep the wall up to protect herself. She would not let him win. Yeah. Emotions. Not again.

The next day: Music Room #3:

"Welcome Ladies!" The Host Club is now open for business! Rose petals fluttered around the room, while soft harps lent an elegant atmosphere to the spacious clubroom. The hosts dazzled each of their guests with charming smiles. Each was dressed in medieval clothing that looked as if it could have come straight from the pages of a storybook.

"Wow Tamaki! You look so handsome in that!" A girl with dark, curly hair gazed up at the blonde host. He smiled and, with tears in his eyes, cupped her cheek in his hand.

"You shine brighter than anything or anyone in this room, princess," he blinked gently, "I am at an utter loss for words beneath your spell…" (Haruhi: you sure can talk for someone who's "lost for words").

"Wah! Takashi! What would happen if a dragon attacked us!?" Honey looked up at Mori with tearful eyes. His worry was contagious, and before they could help themselves, the girls surrounding them clutched their hands together in concern. Mori looked down at Honey and put a hand on his head.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you." The girls all had relieved tears in their eyes and fawned over the two hosts.

"Kyoya? You always seem so cool!" Two girls next to Kyoya sipped their tea delicately.

"Well, it's all a matter of one's environment," Kyoya replied, pushing his glasses up his nose, "For instance, being around you lovely ladies allows me to draw on beauty and elegance and therefore I can present such qualities… all thanks to you," he finished with a smile and the girls' gasped and blushed.

"Bahahahah! And… and then he said: "It was the maid's fault!" Can you believe it!?" Hikaru laughed and thwacked Kaoru on the back while a group of amused girls laughed along with Hikaru's story. Kaoru lowered his head.

"Hikaru… that's not funny… It was an honest mistake," Kaoru's voice trembled and Hikaru stopped, looking with concern at his twin. He bent his head and pressed it against Kaoru's shoulder.

"I know. I'm sorry Karou." Kaoru put a hand to Hikaru's lowered cheek and smiled.

"It's okay, Hikaru." The girls around them had stars of awe shining in their eyes.

Haruhi sighed and set her teapot down. It was nice to see everyone relaxed and enjoying themselves, but there was something not quite right. She thought it over while brewing some fresh tea. Everything was peaceful, and nobody was being loud or getting into an argument. It was serene. Suddenly, she tapped her fist against her palm. That's it! She looked about the room. Sora senpai isn't here. Oh, Haruhi paused, that makes sense. She should still be recovering. She's probably at home then; relaxing hopefully...

At that very moment:

"Argh! This is getting us nowhere!" Sora slammed her hand on the desk. "Why did you even bring me here if you weren't going to make a final decision!?"

"W-well… w-w…we thought that if… if we got a diverse group…w-we could get a better idea… of…" the brown-haired student cowered in front of her.

"Of whether this is a good idea or not!" Another student cut in, shaking slightly as Sora turned her glare on them.

She sighed and sat back down, looking sharply at the people in the room. At least ten people were present, all of whom she'd never met. Damn. And I was supposed to be taking it easy today. The only reason I'm even here is because I had to get that stupid physics textbook… she cursed her studiousness.

"Anyway," a girl with wide-rimmed glasses spoke up, "Let's continue, shall we?" Everyone either nodded or shrugged. "Alright. So this is the design for the different layouts… we definitely have enough space… but our biggest issue is getting the student body involved. Of course, if we are successful in that… then spectator space is going to be the major problem to solve…" She continued speaking while Sora looked out the window. A Sports Festival huh? Didn't we just do a Winter Festival? What is it with these rich kids and their festivals?

"Hey," the door to the classroom opened and a bland-looking student entered, followed by another guy. "I brought another opinion."

"Oh fantastic!" The head of the meeting nodded to the stranger. Sora looked at him. His most striking feature was his bright, red hair. His face was fierce and tough looking, and Sora could tell that many of the people in the room were intimidated by his very presence.

"Wait… what? Opinion?" He stuttered. His voice was deep and harsh, and it was clear by the looks on the other students' faces that they had not expected him to be here.

"Yes, we are trying to decide if Ouran can hold a Sports Festival. We want to get a diverse group of people to give opinions."

"Sports Festival? I couldn't give less of a damn!" The guy exclaimed.

"I second that," Sora raised her hand and stood, ready to leave.

"W-wait…" The leaders of the meeting looked at one another.

"Tell me, when you looked at us," Sora waved her hand between her and the red-haired guy, "What kind of… diversity… did you see? Hm?"

"W… Um…" The two stammered and Sora shook her head.

"Uh-huh." Sora nodded and moved toward the door. "Don't judge a book by its cover," she said flatly. She exited before either of the students could reply.

Screw them! They think that just because I look like a thug means I'll be one? Okay… well so maybe I am a bit violent… and I do have dyed hair… but that doesn't mean I'm in that class of people! The nerve…

"Hey! Wait up!" Sora turned to see the red-haired guy jog up to her.

"Yes?"

"What did you mean by 'don't judge a book by its cover'?" She shrugged.

"They were stereotyping us to be the type of people who cause trouble," she replied, turning and continuing to walk. She heard the guy follow.

"Say again?" He came to walk beside her.

"I don't know… I think that they thought if they could get people who… look 'tough' to support their ridiculous festival, it might go over better with Administration," Sora sighed.

"I see…" Sora could tell by his tone that he really didn't 'see'.

"Well, whatever," the guy shrugged, "I'm Ritsu Kasanoda, by the way."

"Kasanoda?" Sora raised an eyebrow before adding, "I'm Sora."

"Nice to meet you," Kasanoda smiled. Just by looking at him, Sora could tell he was a nice person. His intimidating features probably gave him a hard time, but deep down inside he was as friendly as Honey. "Oh hey," Kasanoda paused, "Do you know what time it is?" Sora shook her head. "Damn. I hope the club hasn't shut down yet…" he bit his thumb in concern.

"Club?" Kasanoda looked at her and grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah… it's kinda stupid… but I go and visit this… err… Host Club," he ran a hand through his hair, flushing, "B-but it's not like that…" he stammered, "I… uh… there's just someone I visit… y'know… in a totally friendly kind of way though!"

"Ah…" Sora nodded, not sure what he was going on about. "Why have I never seen you there before?"

"You go there?"

"Not willingly."

"Oh, well I was away for a month studying abroad," Kasanoda and Sora continued walking. "You must've transferred, huh?" Sora nodded.

They continued on in amiable silence until they reached the closed doors of the clubroom. Sora hesitated.

"Hey, listen… Kasanoda," she chose her words carefully.

"Yeah?"

"I know it's stupid… but I kind of want to participate in the festival… e-even though only the sports team members will be doing the majority of the events… it sounds fun, don't you think?" At the risk of sounding too enthusiastic, she allowed herself a small smile. She looked up at the red-haired boy. He turned and gave her a wide grin.

"Yeah! I guess it's something worth participating in!" He gave her a thumbs up and opened the door.

6:00 PM:

"Huh? Oh you mean Sora?" Kasanoda looked in surprise at the group.

"You know her?" Haruhi asked.

"N-not really," Kasanoda stuttered, "She and I just met in the hall… uh, actually, I thought she was gonna follow me in, but she turned at the last minute and sprinted off…"

"Huh? Why?" The hosts had crowded around Kasanoda, eager to hear about his foreign adventures, but too distracted by this newfound news of his and Sora's meeting.

"Something about 'Administration' and 'definite approval'… oh it's probably the Sports Festival!" Kasanoda nodded more to himself than anyone else.

"Sports Festival?" Honey tipped his head in curiosity.

"Yeah… a group of students wants to set one up, but it might be tricky with the lack of student participation," Kasanoda replied.

"But we have all the sports teams," Haruhi pointed out.

"It's the audience that they're worried about," Kyoya interjected, "If there is no one interested then there is no one to watch. And if there's no one to watch, then the festival is useless."

"Ahhh…" There was a collective nod of understanding from the hosts.

"But then," Tamaki looked at the group, "Where does Sora fit in with all of this?"

6:00 PM:

"So you agree to our terms?"

"Yes!" Sora clenched her fists in determination.

"Alright. On the grounds that you see to it that nothing goes astray with the preparation, we will allow the Sports Festival."

"Thank you! I will work hard to make sure this is a success!" Sora bowed deeply. The members of the Events Committee nodded and stood to go. The girl who had been running the first opinion meeting walked up to Sora.

"That was amazing! You completely won them over with your speech!" Sora felt a blush of embarrassment creep up her cheeks.

"Oh. Yeah, it was nothing… I kind of just made that up on the spot," she let out a light laugh.

"Well, be that as it may, are you sure you can handle this? It's going to be a lot of work," the girl looked at her in concern. Sora gingerly patted a bruise hidden under her sleeve and nodded.

"You can count on me!"

Sorry for the longish chapter! Actually, I haven't been keeping track of how long they are *blush of guilt* but yeah! Thanks to all who have stuck with me this far and special thanks to you reviewers! *high five of awesomeness and rainbows to you!*

Thanks again and please let me know what you think :D