It's been a while! But at last, school is done for the year! Hopefully I will have more time to write now. This chapter is a little silly - I'm trying to incorporate more Ouran-style humor instead of it always just being all serious with Rini and everything. Sorry it took so long to update, but as you all know, living comes first, lol.

Chapter Fourteen: Episode Five, Part Two: A Small Dilemma

Haruhi sighed, and stared at the unconscious girl as she turned restlessly on the spacious bed in the nurse's office. After Rini had fainted, the Host Club had rushed her downstairs to make sure that nothing was seriously wrong with her. The nurse had told them that she'd simply fainted from exhaustion and stress, and said that she was free to go once she'd gotten some rest.

As Rini opened her mouth slightly, Haruhi asked gently, "Hey, Rini. How are you feeling-"

"Y-Yuki!"

Rini sounded like she was half asleep. With her eyes only halfway open, she mumbled almost incoherently, "I have to…go home…Yuki…"

"Is he coming home today?" Haruhi asked. Rini's head nodded.

"Please…I have to…go home now…" Her eyes closed again. The twins glanced at each other, confused.

"Are you sure she's okay?" they demanded. Haruhi nodded.

"Yeah." She reached down and brushed a strand of hair off of Rini's face. "She just has too much to do lately."

"Do you think," Tamaki said unhappily, "that maybe we shouldn't have hired her after all?"

"We weren't trying to get her sick," Hikaru pointed out.

"Poor thing," Kaoru added. "She looks really tired."

Meanwhile, Honey was standing on his tiptoes to peer over the edge of the bed, his eyes wide and sad. "Poor Ri-chan," he said. His lower lip stuck out just slightly.

Renge, who was lurking in the back of the room behind the Host Club, took a step forward and blurted out desperately, "This is all my fault! If I hadn't accused her of having inappropriate relations-"

"It's not your fault, Renge." Kyoya was the only other person who had hung back. Haruhi had the distinct impression that he didn't think it was appropriate for him to show too much concern. Never mind the fact that he'd let his emotions show earlier that day. That outburst had shocked everyone, but Haruhi thought that Kyoya had regretted it more than anything else. Now he was determined to revert back to his normal self, and show as little feeling as possible in the current situation.

That was how Kyoya operated. Haruhi supposed that it came from Kyoya being so driven and intelligent. He liked others to think that he always knew what was happening, and that he had ways of obtaining information that was usually kept secret – which, in all honesty, he DID. That's what made his outburst all the more unsettling. Kyoya didn't know what was going on. He didn't know how to deal with his family's relationship to Rini's. Haruhi might have even ventured to say that it was truly bothering him.

Tamaki made a whimpering noise in his throat. "What are we going to do?" he said pathetically, tugging on Haruhi's sleeve like a child. Haruhi heaved a sigh.

"I guess," she said, cutting an irritated glance toward Tamaki, "that we should take her home, like she asked."

"Good idea!" Hikaru said, flipping open his cell phone. "I'll call the limo!" But before he could dial, Kyoya had walked over and put a hand on Hikaru's shoulder. Hikaru froze.

"K-Kyoya?" he stammered. He looked afraid that he was going to be slapped.

Kyoya smiled – but there was something off about it. "My apologies," he said, "But you do realize that one of the main reasons Ms. Rini has been experiencing an enormous amount of stress is because her father doesn't know she's here?"

Kyoya tilted his head slightly. His glasses flashed.

"………"

"BOSS, SAVE ME, HE'S GONNA KILL ME!"

Hikaru and Kaoru dove at Tamaki, who let out a very effeminate screech as the twins bowled him over in the attempt to get away from Kyoya. Even Haruhi's knees began to shake, and Renge and Honey both scooted behind Mori. It was strange – they could almost see an odd, purplish aura surrounding Kyoya's body, as if his suppressed emotions were somehow being conveyed into a physical apparition. Coupled with the way Kyoya's glasses made his eyes look white, and the fact that Kyoya was still smiling pleasantly, it had to be the most terrifying sight any of them had ever seen.

Clearly, he thought all of them were complete idiots.

Recovering slightly, Haruhi stood up from her defensive crouch on the other side of the bed and said, "There's also the fact that Yuki might be home already. He'd probably be really uncomfortable if all of us showed up at once."

The tension in the room dissipated. Tamaki gave a shaky laugh.

"You're right, Haruhi! In that case, I order YOU to take Ms. Rini home!"

"Say what?"

"That makes sense," the twins joined in, sidling up to Haruhi from either side. They put their arms around her shoulders. Haruhi glared at them in turn.

"What makes sense? What are you guys talking about?"

Hikaru and Kaoru sighed. "Haruhi, you're so dense," Hikaru said critically.

"Yeah, for being so smart, you sure miss the obvious sometimes," Kaoru added. Haruhi leaped out from underneath them, enraged.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" she demanded. Tamaki decided it was time to interfere on Haruhi's behalf.

"That's enough, you two! Haruhi is a wonderful, intelligent young lady, and just because she's too pure and innocent to understand your sick and twisted insinuations-"

"Go away, Senpai!" Haruhi demanded. "You're just making things worse!"

Tamaki wilted on the spot. "But-but Haruhi…"

"I'll take Rini home and everything," Haruhi said grumpily. "But I don't need you defending me, okay?"

"HARUHI, I'M SORRY!" Bursting into tears, Tamaki dove at Haruhi and grabbed her around the neck. "ALL I WANTED WAS TO PROTECT YOU LIKE A GOOD FATHER SHOULD! I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE YOU SO UPSET!"

"Ch-choking!" Haruhi gasped. She tugged uselessly at Tamaki's arms. "Can't – b-breathe!"

"C'mon, boss," the twins cajoled. "All we meant was that Rini's Dad might like Haruhi better than the rest of us because they're both commoners."

"Oh…" Now Haruhi understood what they were saying. "You know, you might be right." Then she paused. "But I can't carry Rini by myself. I'll need one other person to come with me."

She glanced around at the other members, studying her options. Definitely not the twins – they were tactless, and Haruhi couldn't trust them to behave properly in a situation like this. There'd be no point in taking Renge, since she wouldn't be able to carry Rini. Besides, Haruhi didn't know if she could handle being with Renge by herself in the car for that long. Certainly not Tamaki – Haruhi sighed and grudgingly patted her sniffling Boss on the head.

"It's all right, Senpai," she said dully. "I understand that you were just trying to help. I'm not mad anymore."

"HARUHI!"

More choking. Tamaki was definitely not coming.

Struggling to breathe, Haruhi's eyes slid over to Kyoya. Ha. That was out of the question. Though Mr. Ikumi seemed mistrustful of all rich people, bringing an Ootori to his house was the worst idea ever.

Which left...Mori and Honey. Both of them were standing next to Rini's bed. Mori was completely ignoring Tamaki's antics, instead choosing to stare down at Rini, rather unnaturally, since he didn't seem to be blinking. But Honey was bouncing on the balls of his feet, unable to keep still for very long.

Haruhi's stomach felt uneasy – Mori might be just the right person for the job, but she wasn't sure taking Honey was such a good idea. Honey might be cute in the Host Club, but to someone like Mr. Ikumi, who already thought that rich people were spoiled brats…Honey might only aggravate the situation.

Finally freeing herself from Tamaki's clutches – "Thank you, Haruhi! I LOVE YOU!" – Haruhi stumbled over to Mori. "Hey, Mori-senpai," Haruhi asked. "Will you come with me to take Rini home?"

Finally, Mori blinked. "…Yeah."

"I wanna go too, I wanna go take Ri-chan home!" Honey squealed, grabbing onto Haruhi's leg. Haruhi's mouth twitched.

"Listen…uh, Honey-senpai-" sometimes Haruhi still found it weird that he was older than her "-I think…I should just take…Mori-senpai with me."

Honey blinked. Then his eyes expanded to twice their normal size and filled with tears. "B-but I wanna go too!" he whimpered, beseeching her with his eyes.

Haruhi squirmed uncomfortably. "It's not that Rini wouldn't appreciate you coming," she said uneasily. "It's just that maybe for right now she needs someone who's a little – er – calmer."

Honey wasn't convinced. Tears began to leak out of his eyes. Though Haruhi was almost positive that they were fake, they still managed to tug at her chest. Darn it all, why did she have to be susceptible to Honey too?

"H-Haru-chan…" Honey sank to his knees dejectedly. "D-don't you love me anymore?"

Something in Haruhi's insides died. "Please, Honey!" she begged, "It's nothing personal, I promise!"

Suddenly, just when Haruhi thought she was going to give in, a miracle happened. Honey felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked behind him, he saw that it was Mori.

"Mitskuni." Mori beseeched his friend gravely. As Haruhi watched, an unspoken communication happened silently between them. Haruhi couldn't begin to guess what Mori was trying to say. But after a few seconds, Honey's mouth opened wide with a gasp.

"Oh…" he breathed. Then suddenly, his face split into a grin, and his tears vanished. "I'll stay here with Tama-chan!" he proclaimed. Excited, he looked around the room for him. "Tama-chan! Where is-"

"He's over here," the twins drolled. They were sitting on the other side of the bed, looking bored. "He's doing something stupid again."

A small giggle of glee floated from the floor space on the other side of the bed. Haruhi was afraid to ask. Turning away, she instead chose to address Mori, who was standing next to the bed like a solider awaiting orders.

From the far corner of the room, Kyoya informed Haruhi calmly, "I called a limo from my estate – they're waiting outside the main entrance."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Haruhi said, "Thanks, Kyoya." Then she said to Mori, "Let's get going."

Mori nodded. Then he bent down – and a long way down it was, given his height – and gently slid his arms under Rini's body. He straightened. Rini looked even smaller and paler in his arms. And yet…

In her sleep, Rini gave a small moan and shifted, turning her head into Mori's chest. Mori stopped blinking again. Haruhi gave a sigh, and tried to disguise her smile.

"Ready, Mori-senpai?"

Mori nodded. He didn't take his eyes off of Rini. He was holding her as if she were a piece of glass. Haruhi turned back to the others.

"See you later, guys. We'll call you when we're done."

Exciting things ahead! As in, in the next chapter! What in the world will happen when Haruhi and Mori - a tall, rich guy- show up at Mr. Ikumi's door? Thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave a review! They are all so encouraging!

*~Suki~*