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Hikaru POV

I tapped her lightly on the shoulder and she swung around with a bright smile. Our eyes met and blinked once, twice, before her smile faded and an eyebrow rose. "Hikaru? I thought I was meant to be meeting Kaoru?"

"I don't really know what happened," I shrugged. It was true for the most part. I had left my brother tucked in at the pension, thermometer sit sticking out of his pouted lips. "He said he felt sick just before he was supposed to leave and wanted me to come in his place, so here I am."

Understanding lit up her eyes and the smile returned. "I guess that's reasonable enough."

"So, um… What is it you want to do?" My hands found their way into my pockets, burying deep into the fabric.

Her face scrunched up in thought. "I didn't have anything really in mind. Kaoru said he had a plan so I haven't given it much thought."

"Well then, think it over." An irritated sigh escaped my lips as I snapped at her. "There's an outlet mall somewhere in town. How about that?"

Her deep brown eyes blinked up at me."Why? Do you want to go clothes shopping?"

"Why would I shop in a commoner's clothing store when my mother's a world famous fashion designer?" My condescending tone drawled out as I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Alright. Alright." Her hands waved defensively.

"Have you got any suggestions?" I slammed my back up against the wall of the closest store, narrowing my eyes at her. Why did Kaoru put me in this stupid situation in the first place? I'd much rather be with him, making sure he was feeling better than skipping about in this crappy town.

Shrinking back from me subtly, she turned to look at the stalls that littered the town's main square. "Let's just sample the market. Then we can head back I guess."

Shrugging, I follow her like a sheep, trailing to look at food after food. Most stalls sold some form of local produce but with the odd crafts or clothing stall slotted in between. Every now and then something would catch my eye but I didn't bother mentioning it as she browsed quietly amongst the hordes of other shoppers. If she was keeping her opinions to herself then so would I.

Taking a few steps away from her, I picked up a small bag of candy to inspect. They were cherry flavoured, Kaoru's favourite. I wasn't entirely sure what they were so I just dropped them back onto the table and waited for Haruhi to finish perusing the selection and move on.

But instead she reached out and grabbed the bag that I just returned and held out a few coins to the stall owner. Moments later, the bag was again in my hands as I blinked at her in rapid procession.

"Uh, why'd you buy these?"

"I thought they might be nice to take back for Kaoru."

Eyes downcast, I fumbled with the small plastic bag of candy. "How'd you know I was thinking of Kaoru?"

"I could just tell." She wandered past me to look at another food stall, almost drooling over the strawberry cakes that were on display. A soft smile graced my features as I went to join her, passing over the coins to buy a portion of the strawberry laden sponge.

Kyoya POV

"Haru-chan looks pretty cute, huh, Takashi?"

"Ah."

"I had our maids dress her up this morning. I wanted this to go perfectly!"

"He's standing too close to her, Kaoru! Get in there and break it up!" Tamaki had a firm grip of the wall as we all peeked around the corner at our unsuspecting friends. They were sitting at a bench nearby, digging into a small variety of cakes Hikaru had purchased.

"I'm meant to be back at Misuzu's in bed ill, Tono. And don't even think of going over there yourself." Kaoru took a firm grip of Tamaki's collar as he was about to bound out towards his daughter.

"Why did you drop out, Kaoru? Just out of curiosity, of course." I try not to sound too interested in why I was being forced to watch my girlfriend on a date with one of her best friends. It was quite infuriating especially saying as they seemed to be enjoying themselves to some extent now. I would have preferred they spent the day in awkward silence and avoiding each other. Yes, that sounds much satisfactory.

The younger of the twins leans up against the wall, still keeping his tight grip on our king as his eyes traced the cracks in the pavement. "Hikaru needs to learn to open up and interact with other people, other than myself. He struggles with it much more than I. And I know he cares for Haruhi but he just doesn't know how to go about showing that without treating her as a toy. He needs a lesson in respecting people's feelings and decisions. He's never relied on anyone other than me, and vice versa, so we can be quite self-centred. Think of it as a learning experience disguised as a date."

I let some of the frustration of the situation ebb away as I take in Kaoru's side of the story. "I think I follow your reasoning. However, wouldn't it have been easier having him go out with someone out with the host club? It would have saved us all a fair share of earache." I jut out my chin in the direction of the distressed blonde, to which the red head smirks half-heartedly.

"That would be throwing him in at the deep end, don't you think?" His eyebrows furrowed together as he watched the pair leaving the bench for another round of shopping.

"And this isn't?" I catch his eye and try to mentally pass on my point to the more observant of the Hitachiin twins. It didn't take long for his eyes to take on a distant look, glazing over as he contemplated my words fully.

Tamaki tried his luck at breaking free, snapping Kaoru out of his trance like state. With a shared look between the five of us, we began to manoeuvre into a new discreet spying spot. We kept on their tail, always maintaining a small amount of distance in the shadows.

With each stall they paused at, the more the pair seemed at ease with each other. Jealousy panged deep in my chest, making me want to grimace at the sight but I held it together fairly well. In fact the more I thought it over, the more I wanted to just tell the rest of the hosts that Haruhi was all mine. Then they would forever keep their hands off. But I knew deep down that it would only cause complications at this moment in time. I suppose I should talk it through with Haruhi at a later date, mainly to avoid any more situations such as this.

Occasionally Hikaru would hold up at item, face bright and inquisitive, and Haruhi would explain how it was made and what it contained. Then he would either turn his nose up at the item or purchase it immediately. With each stall I felt my restraint slipping and the urge to interfere grew stronger and stronger. It should be me out there with her, treating her to whatever her heart, or stomach would probably be more accurate, desired. I would be walking hand in hand with her, strolling down the street in companionable silence and hidden glee about showing the world that she in fact belonged to me.

Kaoru turned to us all, shuffling away from his spot beside Tamaki. "I don't think we need to be out here any longer. They're getting along much better than I had expected. Wouldn't look good if they caught us now."

Tamaki still had his headed pointed around the corner, eyes tracing their every moments. It took both Honey and Mori to dislodge him from the wall and drag him along with the rest of the group.

I even found myself allowing the others to walk on ahead slightly as I watched over them for that little bit longer until a chirpy voice called on me.

"Kyo-chan! Hurry up! Usa-chan's tummy is crying out for cake now."

My feet dragged as I reluctantly obliged.

Hikaru POV

The clouds were rolling in overhead at an alarming pace. I kept glancing up at them in annoyance, they would end up cutting this little excursion short and I was actually enjoying myself now. But it couldn't be helped now. Better to get back and be dry than catch a cold out here, regardless of how much fun I've been having.

I tap Haruhi on the shoulder, her expectant eyes meeting my own. "Maybe we should head back soon."

Her eyes followed mine as they rose up towards the greying sky. Cowering slightly at the sight, she mutters out, "Yeah, think we can grab a taxi now?"

"Why not? Just keep walking, there has to be one around here somewhere, right?" Taking off down the road, my eyes scanned the street for taxi cabs but there were none in sight. Her pace seemed to have quickened and she kept looking up to the sky with a concerned expression.

"Haruhi, slow down will ya? I'm sure we've got plenty of time before it starts pouring down." It wasn't all that hard to keep up with her but it didn't explain the rush. A little rain never hurt anyone.

"I hope so," she mumbled as we stopped to search the street for taxis again.

A voice called out behind us, "Haruhi?"

Spinning on the spot we came face to face with that guy from her middle school. "Oh, Arai! Is this your uncle's shop?"

Oh great, this guy again. Just the sight of him made my blood boil in my veins. I turned away from them to keep an eye out, and hoping he wouldn't try engaging me in this pointless conversation.

"Yeah. So what are you guys up to? Shopping?"

"Just finished. Trying to find a taxi to get back to Misuzu's before it starts raining," Haruhi still seemed a little on edge, but I couldn't explain why.

"If that's the case, let me go ask my uncle if he would give you a ride. It wouldn't be any trouble." She seemed to relax at his suggestion, relief flooding her adorable face.

I decide I can't let this go on any longer, realising I would have to sit in the same vehicle as this boy. "That's fine, we said we were getting a taxi right?"

Her eyes shoot over to me, fixing onto my own with a slight desperation hidden in their depths. "Maybe we should take up his offer?"

"Hmph, you can do whatever you want. But I'm not. I'll just go find a taxi." I began striding away from the pair. I could hear Haruhi's calls for me but I ignored them as I broke into a run. A couple of stray tears betray me and drip down my face as the rain begins to hammer down upon my shoulders.