Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews, favs, and follows. I had no idea the lawsuit would spark such strong opinions. I've posted a response as a review.
Disclaimer: Don't own it, never will. But, sometimes I borrow Mori and Kyoya for my dreams.
Trigger warning:
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Date Posted: 12/31/2017
Chapter 25 – Now What?
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"SHIT! Is she kidding? I can't talk to her or touch her for a week? A whole FUCKING WEEK!?" Hikaru was screaming and pulling frantically on his shackles. "Let me out of this DAMN CHAIR! NOW!"
"Hikaru – shut up and calm down and we'll let you go." Kaoru turned to Kyoya, "Right, Kyoya-senpai?"
At this point Ootori security had come in, wondering what the screaming was about and to protect Kyoya – Hikaru had punched him yesterday, after all. Kyoya motioned them all out except Tachibana. Kyoya told him to call off the surveillance on Haruhi and the entire Compound.
"You are not getting out of that chair until you behave yourself. You should be glad if I ever let you out of that chair!" Kyoya was disgusted. What were they going to do about Hikaru? "No matter how many talks we have with you, no matter how many times we seem to make progress, no matter how many times it looks like you understand – you SCREW IT UP! Now, SHUT UP and let the grown-ups think. Don't think I won't gag you!"
"To be fair, Kyoya, Haruhi was extremely upset about the debt, which was your doing," reminded Kaoru.
"NO!" Mori barked. "We will not play the blame game. We are all at fault. We are NOT rehashing that again. We need a strategy for this next week. Focus!"
Throughout all this Tamaki had been stunned. "How can my darling Haruhi demand that? She couldn't have meant me as well? She is my one true love, of course I must talk to her, hold her hand, give her gifts, and kiss her adorable face. She meant the evil doppelgangers and you others." He looked around the room, ending on Kyoya. "How could she expect me to not be with her?"
"Tamaki," Kyoya said through gritted teeth, "she's not your girlfriend. You may know how you feel about her, but you have no idea how she feels about you. However, you do get an indication from her telling us – ALL of us – that she wants to be left alone for a week. Left alone for a week or more, or she'll file a lawsuit and transfer schools. She was being serious. This lawsuit is real. If it goes public, it could ruin Ouran as a school and certainly tarnish all our names. Read it," he threw the papers at Tamaki. "She's suing the school and your father, along with the rest of us.
"If this comes out, I can forget about being the heir. Your grandmother could disown you. Mori-senpai's and Honey-senpai's honor would be in tatters, and we'd all most certainly be expelled."
Kyoya looked around the room and saw horror on their faces. "Look, we're all tired, frustrated, and hungry. Let's order dinner and cake," he nodded at Honey. "We'll eat and then talk about it."
"If we're going to eat, you have to unchain me from this STUPID CHAIR!"
"Tachibana…"
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"How did they take it?"
"I went further than I was going to. I was too angry over the debt and something stupid Kyoya-senpai said. You should have seen their faces: shocked, frustrated, angry, and disappointed. But, right now, I really don't know what do to. I opened up my big mouth and went too far."
We were in Ritsu's car, driving away from the restaurant. I had mixed feelings about what I'd said and done to the guys, but they deserved some of it. The more I'm away from them and think about what they did, the more I realize they really have some growing up to do.
"I'm starving. We never did order dinner, things were just too heated in there."
Ritsu looked at me and asked, "Noodles?"
After a quick chuckle and nod from me, we were on our way. That place is additive. During the ride, which was a long one because the noodle place is on the other side of town, I told Ritsu what was said and what happened.
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We sat at our usual table and I ordered for both of us. I was getting to know what she likes and enjoyed showing her that I knew.
I need to get her mind away from her worry and focus on what happens next. It really didn't go the way she thought it would.
"Do you really think they'll be able to do what you asked them to do? Leaving you alone for a week is a tall order."
"Yeah, I know." She looked so tired. I wonder if those jerks have any idea how much this is hurting her, or are they just thinking of themselves.
"I hope they can keep themselves from getting to 21 days. I really don't want to transfer. Ouran has become my home of sorts, and I do have real friends here." She reached out, took my hand, and I squeezed hers back for reassurance. "Ultimately, I want to repair my friendships with them and maybe go back to the Host Club. I know I'm going to miss them. They just need to change."
"I don't want you to leave either. I can feel myself getting smarter when you help me with my math, and now that you have some extra time, I'm hoping you can keep tutoring me." Anything to have more time with her. Maybe if we start some kinda scheduled sessions, she'll keep them up after she goes back to the club – if she does. She's going to be staying with me through the week, so I have that long to make myself indispensable and an important part of her routines.
"Of course, I tutor you in math, Ritsu. I'd be happy to. Anything for a friend."
Friend huh? There's that word again. Ritsu…calm down…don't rush. It's only been five days since she left the club. You have at least two weeks, because those assholes WILL screwup, to become a bigger part of her life. Then think about moving past friends.
"Haruhi, what do you want to do after school for the next week? You won't be going to Host Club, so do you want to go to the gardening club with me?" Maybe if she likes that, it will be even harder for her to go back.
"Well, I can guarantee it will be longer than a week before I go back to the Host Club – if I do at all. They won't have proven themselves in just a week. It could even be a while before I go back.
"During the next week, when I'm staying with you, I'd assumed I'd study in the library until you were done with your club. I guess we'll play it by ear – it will depend on the amount of homework and studying I need to do. It might be nice to see how other clubs are run."
"Well, the gardening club only meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Do you want to go straight back to the Compound on Tuesday and Thursday, or we could both study at the library?" If we studied together at the library, word would get back to those assholes – that would make them angrier. Does that mean they'd work harder to get her back or they would explode and screw up? They need to screw up a couple of times, so I get more time with her, but they can't too many times or she'll transfer.
Then she smiled at me – that beautiful smile that lights up her eyes. That natural smile that charms the girls so much they don't realize she's a chick too. That amazing smile that made me wonder if I was into dudes. That honest smile that reminds me what a wonderful and authentic person she is.
"I have some more research I need to do for a history paper, so let's go to the library after school tomorrow. I can get the research done and go over your math with you."
"Sounds like a plan." Yea! Imaginary high-five with myself.
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"Kyo-chan, what are we going to do about the Host Club? Are we going to close until she comes back? If not, we need to tell the girls something about why she's not there." Honey was stuffing his mouth with cake.
"Good point. I assume Haruhi wants us to keep the club open. She would want to show us what it will be like without her. But, just telling everyone she's taking a break wouldn't work." Kyoya sighed, "Ideas?"
Mori pulled out his cell phone, "I'm going to text her and ask. This is her reputation we are discussing, so I believe she won't mind."
A couple minutes later, Mori's phone chimed…
Text from Haruhi: Thank you for asking me, Mori-senpai. Remind the customers I am a scholarship student and need to keep my grades up. I am taking some time to catch up on my studying.*
Tamaki nodded, "All right, we'll present it as temporary while she catches up on her studies. We can also emphasize that she has asked not to be disturbed so she can focus. That will explain why we aren't eating lunch with her and why we aren't around her as much."
"We have to leave her alone. We need a plan for enforcing that among our more troublesome members," Mori stated. "We need to stay together as much as possible to prevent contact. None of us want her to transfer."
"Hikaru, Tamaki…what is it going to take from the rest of us to keep you two from screwing up?" Kyoya asked.
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Later that night after the Hosts had gone their separate ways…
Haninozuka mansion…
"Mitsukuni, you need to read this lawsuit."
"Takashi, it's over 100 pages long, with the evidence statements. Can't you just summarize it for me? Do we really need to read the evidence statements? We know what we've done to her."
"We know what we've done, but there are some interesting things in here that others have done. Beyond the obvious, do you know of an incident that happened at the Ootori beach house between Haruhi and Kyoya?"
"Not that I can think of. Kyo-chan was really the only one to not confront her about going after those boys."
"Apparently something happened that rises to the level of sexual-assault, but there aren't details. I wonder why?"
"Sexual assault? Kyo-chan? That doesn't make any sense. I assumed she meant the twins and Tamaki when that was mentioned."
"That's why I wanted to read the lawsuit. It alleges assault (physical and sexual), invasion of privacy, emotional abuse, and kidnapping. What would be the most damaging to our reputations? The sexual assault. I wanted the details. She details numerous instances where the twins grabbed her, hugged her, kissed her against her wishes. She also lists that time they licked cookie crumbs off her face and ate a cookie from her mouth. There are instances where Tamaki grabs and hugs her too. All these have dates and details. But there aren't any details about the incident with Kyoya."
"Takashi, how bad do you think it was for her not to list details?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm worried. Do you think she'll really file it? She's not vindictive and filing it wouldn't get any of us what we want."
"I know. I just don't see it. She's always been a good friend to us, even if we haven't all reciprocated."
"I can't imagine it happening either. Maybe it was supposed to prove a point and got out of hand. She was really angry about the debt. Speaking of, I know Kyoya's not telling us everything and the way you asked that question gave him a big loophole, Missukuni."
"I know – I did that on purpose. I wanted to see how he answered that. It was obvious to me that he didn't tell us everything. You saw it too, right?"
"Yes, I did. With all his manipulation and scheming, he could be a much bigger problem than Hikaru."
"We need to keep an eye on him. We need more details about Okinawa. We'll have to ask Kyo-chan this week, but without the twins and Tama-chan around. We also need to find out why he was so rude to her today. There were times when he seemed purposefully antagonistic. Buy her off? That thing about the security and that she should know why they are still in the room? Saying she was being petty to transfer? What was he trying to accomplish?"
"He needs closer watching. He's capable of worse than we realized. Face it, Mitsukuni, we have no idea what he's up to."
"True. But the details of the lawsuit and Kyo-chan's manipulations aren't as important as keeping Haru-chan from filing that lawsuit - at least not immediately. What are we going to do about Hika-chan and Tama-chan?"
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Hitachiin mansion…
The boys are in bed, backs to each other, with several feet between them. Both tired of fighting. Both tired of each other. Both frustrated that the other doesn't understand – Except Kaoru does understand. He understands Hikaru's selfishness and desperate need for Haruhi. But, he also understands that if Hikaru doesn't change, doesn't work with the rest of them, they will all lose her. And, Hikaru understands that he must do better, or he will lose her. But how…
Kaoru – I can control myself. That shouldn't be a problem. The only thing I'll be fighting is habit. I've realized what I've done wrong and I know what I need to change to correct it. I'm not worried about me.
I'm worried about Hikaru. What do I do about him? I'm going to have to stay on top of him every second. She sits between us. That's going to make it difficult. Maybe I can figure out a way to switch seats with her so she's sitting next to me and not next to him. I just have to stay on top of him and keep reminding him that his childishness can drive her away.
Hikaru – I have to keep it together. I have to show her I can be what she wants. Stay away for a week? How the hell do I do that? She's everything to me. Outside of Kaoru, she's my best friend, she's my anchor, she's my center. I have to be around her. I have to touch her. I have to talk to her. I have to. I have to. I have to get her back. What do I have to do to get her back? I'll pay any price. I'll get her back. I'll show her I'm what she wants. I can be everything she wants…
If I can be everything she wants, she'll want me, right? She'll want just me…not Kasanoda, not the Boss, not Kaoru, not anyone else. Just me. I can be what she wants. What does she want? I thought I knew. I thought she wanted me. I can make her want me. I just need to be what she wants. What does she want? What? She wants someone who can respect her wishes. I can do that. I can do that for her. What did she ask us for? What did she say she wanted? She commanded me to stay away – I can do that for her. I can do that for me. I don't have to do it for anyone else. Screw the club, I'm doing all this for me. I can do it. I can do it. And, when I do it, I will have proven myself. I'll have shown her I'm everything she wants. And then she'll want me. Me. Just ME!
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Suoh mansion #2
Haruhi…My darling Haruhi…I can't wait for you to be my girlfriend. I just need to prove myself to you and then we can be together. I don't understand why you want us to leave you alone, but if that's what it takes for us to be together later, then that's what I'll do. After we're together, you won't have to worry about a thing. I'll never let those evil twins around you again. You'll have the best of everything. It will be beautiful.
This next week will be so hard. I want you back. It will be heartbreaking to not see you at your table entertaining the other princesses. Not looking over at me and smiling. Not being there. We'll get through this hardship and come out stronger on the other side. Our love will light up the Host Club and make everything perfect.
Your wish is my command. I will admire you from afar this week. You are beautiful at a distance, just as you are beautiful standing in front of me.
Haruhi, my princess…it will all work out.
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Ootori mansion
That could have gone better. I told them telling her about the debt was a mistake. We should have just told her it was forgiven and left it there. No one else had the power to keep her here with us, so I did it. That's what they expect of me, no matter what they say. They are glad I'm the Shadow King. I do the dirty work and they don't have to worry about anything. They have plausible deniability and I get things done. How are any of them going to make it in business with their rosy outlook and inability to do what needs to be done behind the scenes?
And, that lawsuit. None of them seem to realize the seriousness of that. Well, I think Mori-senpai does, but none of the rest of them. Sexual assault! Kidnapping! Emotional abuse! Why am I the only one that can see the headlines. That lawsuit gets filed and I won't just lose being named heir, I'll be disowned. So will Tamaki – there's no way his grandmother does anything but throw him to the wolves. The Hitachiin fashion business might make it thorough, but their software company will take a huge hit. The Haninozuka and Morinozuka families will be tarnished, forever.
We have to calm her down enough to keep her from filing – permanently. If we can prove ourselves – significantly prove ourselves – hopefully we can get her to drop the idea completely. That involves making Hikaru and Tamaki fall in line. They must follow her instructions. At least she gave us a chance to make a couple mistakes before she acts. I have a feeling we're going to need them.
It ultimately comes down to this…Will Haruhi actually ever file that lawsuit? Will she actually pull that trigger? Can she really do that to us? Or is it a bluff? It may be an unconscious bluff – she may not realize that she won't be able to actually do it. I don't see it. She's mad at us, but not enough to ruin five families and close down Ouran. She's never been spiteful. I can see it as something that got out of hand. If I could just talk to her. Would it be worth two more days? Would she let us have an actual conversation or would she just walk away and add two days? Something to think about.
And, let's not forget Kasanoda. She's still staying at the Compound this week, so, at a minimum, he'll be driving her to and from school. People will see that. Will he be hanging around her during the day, too? Eating lunch with her? How is that going to play against what we are saying about her needing to focus on her studies? He's not in her class, so they aren't studying subjects on the same level. There's no way to say he's helping her. I know they've been good friends since they met, and have hung out together, but it will be more than usual. At least Haruhi is still pretending to be a boy – they won't be touching each other – so rumors of a relationship won't start. Or, will they? Shit, this is Ouran and Moe sure does set the girls off. I can just hear some of the rumors now…tossed out of the Club because we don't approve of 'his' relationship…left the Club to spend more time with him…Kasanoda's trying to make his move…and on and on and on. Most of them will make us look like fools.
Looks like I've got a lot of planning to do…with several backup plans as well. I won't be getting any sleep tonight.
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And over at the Kasanoda Compound…
Haruhi
I am exhausted. I'm so happy to finally get into bed. What a nightmare, that meeting. Sure didn't turn out like I thought. I can't believe those rich bastards did that to my debt. No, not all of them…just Kyoya-senpai. He needs closer scrutiny. He gets away with all kinds of things because everyone is afraid of him – well, not me! If I go back to the Club, and they recognize me as an equal member, I will demand transparency into the books, planning, and website – to include the auctions. They won't be sneaking anything past me.
That's if I go back. I shouldn't even think about going back until we've fixed all our friendships. I can't see it working without being true friends with all of them, and that might take a long time for Hikaru, Tamaki-senpai, and even Kyoya-senpai. If they can be fixed at all. Like Ritsu said, I need to think of them individually and work on them individually, even the twins. If I start with the easiest one first, maybe the harder ones will take inspiration from it.
Do I even want to be friends with them? Any of them? I guess the crazy thing is is that I still do consider them my friends. Just complete idiots who don't know how to be friends back. It's actually been hard to act as cold as I've been. I am very angry, but I know, deep down, that they didn't do any of it on purpose. They aren't bad people, just ignorant, selfish, egotistical, and thoughtless. But, that's the way they were raised and the way their society trains them to be. They need to unlearn that for me to forgive them and give them another chance. Despite all that, I do want to give them a shot. How many chances do those guys get at having true friends that care about them as themselves.
I can't believe I let myself get so angry I went against the plan. They are probably the only ones that can do that to me. The debt and Kyoya-senpai's attitude were such a surprise. Can I walk any of that back without looking like a complete coward. Will they ever take me seriously again? I've got to figure that out and decide how to move forward. At least it's a good lesson for a future lawyer.
Tomorrow will be difficult. I'm expecting one of them to talk to me. At least I'm going to have a lot of time to study for that Trig test on Friday – I've heard it's a killer…
Kasanoda
Fucking idiots – on one hand, it's great they did this. It's great they finally went too far. I'm getting to spend more time with Haruhi and, if nothing else, we are getting to be even better friends. But, since they did this, she's distracted by them and being put through so much shit. I feel like my head is going to explode – I just want to help, but I can't fix it for her.
Haruhi is one tough chick. Tough as nails. The way she barked at that Ootori security guy to let us all in – never heard her use that tone before. Hardened yakuza would have obeyed that voice. As tiny as she is – and she's so tiny I bet I could pick her up with one arm…hmmm…might have to try that…. Anyway, with as tiny as she is, it is easy to forget how powerful she can be. I want to help her – do things for her, but it's also fun to sit back and watch as she takes someone down a peg. She's beautiful when she's fierce, and I've got her to myself for at least a week! Including another weekend! Her arm should be better by then…we should go out! I can plan a couple dates that would also leave time for studying. That sounds like fun. Plus, that jerk Ootori won't have his guys following us anymore.
If I could just get those jerks to transfer…Wait a minute…is there something I can do to them? Is there something the Syndicate can do to them? To their families? I could tear their honor to shreds. I could set it up to show that all their businesses have dealings with the yakuza… Then I'd have Haruhi all to myself, forever. Yeah, that's a good fantasy to go to sleep to…
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Author's Note: Kasanoda and hormones…it's a fun thing. A couple reviews implied that I was writing Kasanoda as a creep. That wasn't my intention. High School was a long time ago and I really didn't date much (big surprise), so my memories of boys is not that great. He reminds me so much of my brother in HS, kind of a dork, basically lost with girls, didn't like his future, and lots of trouble with math – trudging through the days without a plan. I tend to write him like what I think of as a typical HS boy who isn't cool and smooth like the host club boys and doesn't really know what to do about girls. He respects Haruhi, I'm just not getting that through in the writing. I'll work on that. He's supposed to be amazed that she wants to be around him and that makes him think of future things, but not in a creepy way, in a "damn, I didn't think that was a possibility, but cool" way.
Took quite a departure with Hikaru on this one. Him going nuts like that could be OOC, but I believe he's got that potential. After what happened in Kaurizawa, I don't put much past him, and the way I've been writing him so far does lead up to something like this. I tend to think of this as an extension of his character, when confronted with new situations, rather than changing his character. He's the one that's supposed to come off as a creep.
Tamaki is hard to write with his flowery speech. Tried to make him sound no more crazy than usual, just talking about a girlfriend instead of a daughter. For some reason, I see him being even more protective of a girlfriend, to the point where he's also protecting her from himself.
* OK – I know she texted in complete sentences and correct grammar, but so do I, and it seems like something she would do.
Next Chapter: First day with no interaction.
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