A/N: last chappie! brace yourselves Hitachiin fans, don't get blood all over the screen from your nose-bleed. *sigh* fanservice is wonderful. enjoy!

Chapter 26: Business as Usual

"Mariko," Sakura called to her sister as she sat at the desk next to her in homeroom and the other girl looked at her with wide eyes. "How did your father take the news about what you told me?"

"He took it…ok," Mariko replied, having a flashback of her father yelling and then sobbing with joy. She had told him during lunch after the weekly meeting at the firm Sunday, and she was glad he didn't make all that much of a scene in the restaurant. "He's just glad you don't hate him. He's also glad it's all out in the open. Maybe you can come over for dinner again?"

"That would be wonderful!" Sakura grinned and Mariko smiled, then glanced back at the twins sitting in the back.

They were talking and laughing until Hikaru caught sight of Mariko giving eyes at Kaoru and nodded his twin's attention to her. Kaoru frowned and looked at Mariko who smiled, sweetly, making him smile in return and wink at her. She giggled but suddenly caught Hikaru leaning on his desk and looking at Sakura. Mariko grinned, mischievously and leaned toward her sister who had no idea she was being ogled at.

"Hey, Sakura," she whispered, catching the blonde's attention and she leaned toward Mariko to hear her better whisper, "You had a little too much fun on Saturday, didn't you?"

Sakura suddenly blushed, staring at Mariko with wide eyes then sat up and turned her nose up at the question.

"N-No," she sputtered, but Mariko could only smile, knowingly at the blush over her sister's cheeks.

"Right," Mariko hummed, skeptically with a huge nod. "Sure. You couldn't possibly have fun with one of the Hitachiin twins doting on you the way he was. You know, I think he's even staring at you."

Sakura turned her still wide-eyed gaze at Mariko who ignored it and began flipping through a book in front of her. However, Mariko didn't fail to notice Sakura slowly turn around to see Hikaru still staring at her. She notice Sakura jump and turn back to facing forward, her face redder than it had been before, and Mariko smiled to herself.

"Good," she thought. "I'm glad she's crushing on someone else. Even better, Hikaru. He'll treat her right, I know it."

The bell rang and the girls gathered their things to head to the door, but before they could even stand, a pair of identical figures sat on their desks in front of them, smiling down at them.

"Good morning, Princesses," the twins grinned at them and Mariko smiled, glancing away from Kaoru only for a moment to see Sakura's blushing face.

"Good morning, boys," they replied together, then looked at each other in shock, but giggled at each other as they stood together.

"Will you be coming to the Host Club after school, today?" the twins asked, following the two out the door.

"Of course," they replied together and smiled at each other again.

"Will we be having the pleasure of your company as a customer of ours, Princess Maddock?" Hikaru wondered and the girls stopped, turning to the boys as they stopped as well.

"If I was given a good reason, perhaps," Sakura replied, making Mariko look at her in shock. This was a bit unlike her. Still, she couldn't help but smile at her sister's new found mischievousness.

"What would a good reason be?" Hikaru wondered with a smirk.

"I am sure you will think of something," Sakura smiled with a small shrug then took Mariko's wrist in her hand and hurried down the hall.

"See you later, boys!" the girls grinned, running down the hall.

"Sure thing!" the boys called, waving to them as they left.

"Sakura! What's gotten into you?!" Mariko laughed as they still ran down the hall.

"I do not know!" Sakura grinned. "But I will tell you this: I had a wonderful time Saturday!"

"I'm glad!" Mariko smiled, then stopped them. "Oh! And I found out from dad…" She trailed off and pulled Sakura close to whisper, "You are my younger sister, as I thought."

Sakura grinned and couldn't help hugging the other girl fiercely.

"I am so glad I have a sister now!" she whispered.

"Me too," Mariko smiled and they hurried off to class together.

After school...

"Well, are you gonna designate the twins with me, now?" Mariko wondered at Sakura as they walked through the halls to the Third Music Room.

"I do not know," Sakura sighed, thoughtfully. "I would not want to distract Hikaru from being with his other guests."

"They don't seem to have a problem with keeping their clients and myself happy," Mariko shrugged. "Why would it be any different with you?"

"Perhaps, I should just stay where I am," Sakura decided as they reached the door. "Otherwise, they will think I am unsatisfied with any Host. After all, I was one of Tamaki's customers for some time before I switched to Honey. Besides, if I left Honey he would so hurt, I'm sure!"

"Alright," Mariko nodded with a smile as they stood in front of the door. She glanced at it for a second then at her sister. "What craziness do you think they've planned this time?"

"I thought you liked their themes?!" Sakura gasped. "I have always enjoyed them."

"Oh, I do," Mariko corrected. "But sometimes, it's a little crazy, don't you think?"

Sakura thought for a moment as they each grabbed a handle on the doors and she smiled, "I suppose you are right."

They giggled as they pushed open the doors and they were met with a chorus of "Welcome!"

Mariko and Sakura smiled widely as they noticed ears and tails of different animals on each of the club members.

Opening the door, they found a room full of cute and cuddly creatures.

"Saku-chan!" Honey grinned, hopping like the bunny he was dressed as toward her. "We have some carrot cake just for us! It's so good!"

"I am certain it is, Honey!" Sakura giggled as he grabbed her hand and hopped her toward his table. On her way, she couldn't help but look at the twins, dressed as a pair of cats and heading toward Mariko. She blushed when Hikaru winked at her then turned away when Honey entreated her to sit down.

"Welcome back, Mariko," the twins grinned together and Mariko smirked at Hikaru.

"Well, you two have certainly gotten attached quickly, haven't you?" she smiled, slyly, pulling Kaoru's arm over her shoulder but facing Hikaru who stared at her with wide eyes and a slight blush.

"W-What do you mean?" he sputtered and Kaoru matched Mariko's sly smile.

"I mean, you were staring at her during homeroom, Hikaru," Mariko replied. "I saw you. And she kind of liked it, too."

"Did she?" Kaoru wondered, honestly and Mariko nodded.

"Unfortunately, she won't be designating the two of you," Mariko said as the twins slung their arms over her shoulders and led her toward the couch.

"Why not?" they wondered, but Mariko noticed a more disappointed tone from Hikaru than from Kaoru.

"Because, she doesn't want to get Hikaru in trouble," she replied as the three sat down. "I'm sure if the two of you were paying more attention to us rather than your other customers, the other girls would be very upset."

"That's true," Kaoru agreed but Hikaru gave a slight pout. So slight that only Kaoru and Mariko noticed it.

Mariko smiled and nudged Hikaru slightly as she urged, "Cheer up! It's not like you can never see her. There's homeroom, and break, and lunch, and I'm sure the four of us will hang out on weekends."

That seemed to cheer him up as he nodded and Kaoru quickly pulled Mariko close from behind to nuzzle her behind her ear and whisper, "You're so thoughtful, love."

"I'm glad to see him and Sakura happy now," she smiled, turning to lay her head on his shoulder and look up at him. "Maybe now he won't feel like a third wheel?"

Kaoru nodded and Mariko quickly sat up when she saw other girls coming in.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, your ears and tails are so cute!" one of the girls smiled sweetly as they all sat on the couch.

"Thanks," they grinned together.

"We were supposed to wear collars with little bells on them too," Hikaru explained. "But we decided not to."

"We were, Hikaru?" Kaoru wondered in a meek voice, a slight blush on his cheeks. "Why did you decide not to?"

Hikaru suddenly pulled his twin close and placed the palm on his hand on his cheek and murmured, "Because seeing you like that would have been so cute, and I wouldn't have been able to resist you."

"I felt the same way when I saw you trying the costume on at home, Hikaru," Kaoru nearly whimpered.

The girls gave squeals of delight, but Mariko only looked away with a slight blush. It wasn't the Brotherly Love that was getting to her, it was the fact that she agreed with Hikaru: Kaoru would have looked adorable with the ears, tail and bell collar put together and…maybe even wearing nothing but his pants.

"Stop thinking like that, Mariko!" she warned herself. "Something' gonna come out of your mouth and you'll regret it later, or end up getting the twins in trouble!"

"Did you hear?!" one of the girls next to her whispered in a gossiping tone to another girl, and Mariko was jolted from her thoughts. "That new boy, Yukio Hayate and Rose Destler were transferred to another school in Kyoto!"

"Really?!" the other girl chirped. "What happened?!"

"Apparently, they plotted something at the Masquerade Ball last week, and it was really dastardly!"

"Hey, Mariko?" Kaoru whispered into her ear and she jumped, but didn't turn around. "How long are you staying today?"

"The whole time, I guess," Mariko replied. "I'm not being punished anymore."

"Good," he murmured. "I want to show you something after all the girls leave."

"Alright," Mariko nodded and she gave a little smile when she felt him kiss the shell of her ear, quickly. She was glad that it was business as usual in the Host Club.

"Well, Mariko, I see you're not being punished anymore," Tamaki smiled, rubbing one of his floppy puppy ears as she sat on the couch with the twins.

"Nope," she smiled then glanced between the twins. "What did you wanna show me?"

"They were going to show you something?" Tamaki wondered and the twins looked at Mariko with wide eyes and slapped their hands over her mouth before she could say a word.

"No! Nothing! It's nothing, Milord!" they said, quickly and Tamaki narrowed his eyes at them in suspicion as Mariko struggled to get their hands away from her mouth. Tamaki walked away anyway, and once he did, the twins let go of Mariko who glared at them.

"What was that?!" she hissed.

"Milord doesn't know," they whispered back. "It's a surprise for you and Sakura but we have to wait till everyone leaves!"

"Oh," Mariko muttered then snapped, "Well you could've told me!"

"Well, we're leaving now," Tamaki called then asked the twins, "Are you guys coming?"

"We'll follow in a minute, Milord!" they replied.

"Tamaki?" Mariko called, "Why are you still wearing your puppy ears and tail?"

"To show Haruhi my unswerving devotion and loyalty!" he grinned then shot out the door and Mariko chuckled.

"Wow, he really likes her," she smiled then suddenly noticed Sakura walk up to them.

"Well, they have gone now," she smiled. "What is it you wanted to show us?"

Hikaru smiled and stood to take her hand and she stared at him with wide eyes as he pulled her toward a door leading to an inner room as he said, "It's in here."

"What? Are we going in there one at a time?" Mariko wondered at Kaoru as they still sat on the couch and he only smiled.

"No," he replied then stood, holding her hand and standing her up with him. "The thing I want to show you is in here."

He led her to a different door and Mariko frowned in confusion as he opened it and ushered her inside. She couldn't tell what the room had ever been used for, or what its purpose was now, but she didn't have time to ask.

"Now, close your eyes," Kaoru whispered into her ear and she frowned at him, but did as she was told. "No peeking."

"I'll try to restrain myself," she smirked, half-joking. She frowned when she heard shuffling and a soft, jingling sound. "Kaoru?"

"Hang on…" he said, knowing what she was going to ask. A moment later she felt his arms wrap around her waist and he pulled her close. She gasped when her hands touched bare skin and trailed up a smooth chest to land on bare shoulders.

"You took your shirt off again?!" she squeaked with a blush staining her cheeks and she heard him snicker.

"That's not all," he murmured, seductively and her face flushed even more as she wondered what he meant by that. "Open your eyes, Princess."

She hesitantly let her eyes flutter open and when she looked up into his eyes, she noticed he was still wearing the cat ears he'd been wearing before and he was wearing a black collar with a golden bell on it. She chanced looking down to see he was still wearing pants and he stepped away to model for her, making her notice he was still wearing his tail.

"What do you think?" he asked, with a smirk, knowing what she thought of his appearance by the blush over her cheeks.

"It---" she choked, and swallowed. "It looks very…you."

"But do you like it?" he smiled, stepping toward her again and sliding his arms around her waist to pull her close.

"Do I…?" she trailed off, still blushing then looked away and finally muttered, "Y-Yes."

"I knew you would?" he murmured, nuzzling her cheek and pulling her closer. "That's why I didn't wear the collar out there. I wanted to surprise you thoroughly."

"G-Good job," she admitted and he snickered, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out a long strip of leather.

"Here's your leash, master," he murmured, placing it in her hand and giving her a cat-like lick to kiss her cheek. "Where will you take me?"

He took one end of the leash and clipped it to the metal ring on his collar then looked up at her even redder face and wide eyes. She ran a hand up the leash, still looking into his golden eyes and when her fingers reached the end where the clip was attached to the metal ring on the collar, she gripped it and yanked him onto her lips, both moaning at the contact. Tongues tongued in passion for power as she dropped the leash to smooth her hands onto his back and he pulled her closer by the waist.

When they pulled apart he started trailing kisses along her jaw and down her neck as she smiled and asked, "Is this what Hikaru is doing to my sister in the other room?"

Kaoru chuckled on her neck and replied, "Well, the outfit is the same. What happens after that is up to them."

"Why did you do this?" she wondered, honestly. "And how did you know I would like this so much?"

"The way you blushed when Hikaru mentioned how I would look so adorable in the whole ensemble," Kaoru smiled, giving her neck a cat-like lick. "I just decided to take it a little further with my shirt off. And I did it, because I wanted to show what things would be like when we were married."

Mariko's eyes shot wide and she shoved him away just enough to look him in the eye, his eyes wide with confusion at her action.

"M-Married?!" she sputtered.

"Yes," Kaoru smiled, warmly. "I love you, Mariko. I wanna marry you when we're old enough."

Mariko had no clue what to say to that. Had he just proposed?! Well, yes, but did he really mean that?! Of course he did! Mariko thought. Kaoru wasn't like that! He wouldn't toy with her feelings.

"Oh, damn, I did it wrong, didn't I?" Kaoru wondered. "I should've gotten down on one knee."

"No," Mariko finally breathed and he looked at her with a frown. "No, that was perfect." She slid her arms back around his neck and smiled, slowly, her eyes still wide and sparkling now. "Yes, Kaoru. I'll marry you. I love you, too."

Kaoru's mouth burst into a grin and he planted his lips to his. He was so happy he was going to marry his new princess.

A/N: please don't hate me because i had him propose! anything can happen! they could end up hating each other later and break up, ya know?! oh, hell with it, they make such a cute couple! you don't like it, tough! lol! and, i figured sending Yukio and Rose to school in Kyoto would keep them busy so as not to bother our lovely couple and their growing romance. (oh, lord, here comes the Tamaki influence again) anyway, thank you so much for all the reviews and the adds and for readng this story to the end! i really appriciate it a lot! and for the last time, i'll ask...reviews, anyone?