Chapter Twenty Seven

Kana

Everything hurt. My head, my legs, hell, even brushing my teeth was a struggle. I had never been one to enjoy physical activity, despite having grown up with a personal trainer. I hadn't worked out since arriving in Japan. Even when I was back in America, I had the tendency to find excuses to skip out on my regular sessions. Not even the pleasant soreness between my legs could bring me out of the foul mood I had woken up in.

It didn't help that it was just after 6 am on a Monday, that was for sure. Mori had unintentionally woken me up when he got out of bed. To do what, I wasn't sure. I could hear him moving quietly through the house while I was getting ready.

I wasn't up to looking nice. I wanted nothing more to wear an old pair of faded jeans and a plain shirt. Instead I reached for the easiest thing I could put together-yet another of ridiculously fitted jeans, a red camisole, and a long black cardigan. I knew that Hikaru and Kaoru would scream at me for not making use of the more feminine skirts and dresses they had given me. I mentally vowed to start wearing them once the weather grew warmer.

And then there were shoes. I had so many now, but I found myself wearing the same black flats on a daily basis. So much so that they had a permanent place beside my front door.

I found Mori in the kitchen, still wearing the white muscle shirt and long athletic shorts he'd slept in the night before. Much to my surprise, he appeared to be making rolled omelettes, and a large amount of them, judging from the size of the mixing bowl he was using.

Mori sensed my presence behind him. He gave me a cautious glance over his shoulder, as if he were expecting me to protest.

"I could've asked my maid to make something. She'll be here in about an hour." I gave him a reassuring smile. "Not that I mind."

"Mitsukuni." He gave a small shrug and turned his attention back to the stove, where he was carefully folding the eggs into their characteristic shape.

"Do you live with him?" Not wanting to wait for Meimi to make my morning dose of caffeine, I decided to join Mori in the kitchen to begin making my typical weekday breakfast-black coffee.

He answered with a short affirmative noise. I heard him slide the first omelette onto a plate before moving to a second one.

"Something tells me he'd eat nothing but sweets unless you cooked for him."

"Yeah." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Would you like one?"

I stifled a yawn. "I normally don't have time to eat before class."

I felt his familiar touch on the top of my head. I turned to face him. The look on his face told me he was mentally calculating something. It was a look I often saw from him whenever we walked together in the mornings. I let the silence stay between us for a bit. Conversational lulls came naturally with Mori and I. There wasn't a constant pressure to come up with the correct words to say.

I poured myself a cup of coffee once the machine had clicked off. "Coffee, Mori-senpai? Or should I make tea? I think I've got juice, too."

"Coffee, thank you." He had finished a second omelette and was eying me almost expectantly.

"Would you make me a smaller one?" I was hungrier than normal, probably because of yesterday's activities.

Mori seemed satisfied with my request. I watched him cook while I took a few sips of coffee, immediately feeling a small relief from my normal morning headache. I had trouble sleeping from a young age-I can't remember a time where I ever woke up feeling truly rested.

I found a small bento box for Honey's food while Mori finished preparing our meal. Despite my request, I noticed he'd made my portion as large as he'd made his own. I wondered briefly if Kyoya had gone into more detail about what Amelia had said about me, or if Mori was simply being kind. I was in no mood to discuss either of them, so I decided not to comment.

We sat at the counter to eat. I felt his eyes on me as I took the first bites. I wasn't the least bit surprised that he'd manage to find a perfect flavor balance between the salty and sweet profile that the dish normally possessed.

"Another thing you're amazing at." Was I flirting with him? Did I even know how to flirt? "Thank you for making this."

"Hm." Mori hummed happily and started in on his own food.

"Thank you for yesterday too. All of it." I stared down at my plate, my face suddenly feeling hot.

"Kanami."

My head snapped up. I turned to see him staring at me with the same intensity as the night before. He slowly leaned forward, as though he were giving me the chance to move away. When I didn't, he kissed me roughly. Even with the distance between our bodies I felt the spark once more light up inside me. Every fiber of my being seemed to react to him. Despite my body's exhaustion I wanted him again.

He broke away all too soon. There was a faint flush on his cheeks, a hint that he shared the same feelings. "Finish eating."

I couldn't resist a smirk. "Of course."

Honey was waiting for us whenever we arrived at the school. It was almost obnoxiously early-Mori requested that we left before Meimi arrived as to not give her any reason to report she'd seen a man in my house. While I didn't believe that she was the one who clued Mother in to Kyoya's visits, I respected his feelings.

"Good morning!" Honey was chipper as usual. His attention immediately went to Mori. They were quite the odd pair between their height difference and clothing styles (Honey's flamboyant attire seemed even more outlandish compared to Mori's simple black blazer and pants), but the two of them clearly fit together. "Did you miss me while you were at Kana-chan's?"

"Yeah." Mori handed Honey the small bento he'd packed before taking my backpack. His fingers lingered on mine for a brief moment as I handed it over.

"Did you cook for Kana-chan too?" I couldn't help but sense an ulterior motive behind Honey's questioning.

"Kana-chan is quite full." I could feel Mori stiffen beside me as I spoke.

"I knew I liked you." Honey flashed me a wicked grin. Mori seemed to relax again at his cousin's words. Honey reached for my hand. "I'd like to talk to you before class, 'kay?"

"'Kay." I found myself echoing Honey's sweet manner of speaking.

Honey laced his fingers through mine as we walked. Mori stayed a step behind us, moving quietly for a man his size.

"You're walking slow today." Honey was leading us to a secluded area behind one of the larger buildings.

"Sorry. I'm a little sore." I quickly added, "Mori-senpai spent a lot of time teaching me how to defend myself."

"Don't be sorry, you just need to practice more!" Honey's fingers tightened around mine. "So you know why I need to talk to you?"

I nodded. We had come to a stop in what I knew to be one of the few smoking areas around campus. It was a typical smoking site, even for Ouran, with a concrete picnic table that had traces of ashes littered across the top. Mori was already holding my bag out to me with a knowing gaze. Still, I waited for an approval before lighting up.

"Does the name Kasanoda mean anything to you?" Honey sat with his legs crossed at the ankles, a feminine gesture.

"Isn't he Italian?" My gaze travelled between Honey and Mori. Mori had turned away from us, as though he were keeping watch.

Honey's lips pressed into a wry smile. "Kas-a-no-da. Not Casanova."

"I haven't heard the name, then."

Honey's demeanor darkened a bit. "The Kasanoda Syndicate is one of the highest ranking yakuza families in Japan. Takashi mentored their leader, Ritsu. He came to us a few days ago asking about a job they'd been asked to take on involving a student here."

"Am I that student?" I asked quietly. "What was the job?"

"We normally don't ask for any details, but when we heard your name we had to know." Honey took a breath. "They weren't asked to kill you. But they were supposed to torment you until you had to go back to America, by any means necessary."

"That isn't the Kasanoda way." Mori spoke firmly.

"Takashi's right. Ritsu would never allow his family to torture an innocent woman." Honey's efforts to reassure me weren't going unnoticed. "But they're one of the good ones. He was worried that someone else would be hired."

But I'm not innocent. I wanted to scream. I was a criminal in my own right. What if someone that I had exposed caught wind of this 'job' the Kasanoda Syndicate was asked to do?

"Was it my mother?" I tried to keep my voice even. I had smoked my cigarette down to the filter. I squeezed the tip tightly, welcoming the stinging burn as the flame died between my fingertips.

"The person that came to Ritsu was working for someone else. He's asking his men to find out as much as they can." Honey was suddenly on me. He pulled me into a tight hug, nearly smothering me against his chest. He was stronger than he looked. "I didn't want to get you involved, Kana-chan. But with everything that happened Takashi and I had to say something."

I was shaking. I couldn't bring myself to return Honey's embrace. So many thoughts were spinning in my head. I knew my mother was evil, but would she really turn to the yakuza to get rid of me? Who else could it be? Who else would want me back in America?

A lot of people would. I shouldn't have made friends. I knew I was suddenly coming into the spotlight thanks to my being seen with the Host Club members. They were well-known. All it would take was someone doing a quick Google search of my name to reveal what I'd done.

"We haven't told anyone else. Tamaki would overreact, and Kyoya-"

"Kyoya would lock me in a bomb shelter until the end of time." I mumbled.

"Mitsukuni." There was a hint of warning in Mori's voice.

"Someone's coming. Put on your brave face. We're right here." Honey whispered. He rubbed my back soothingly before he broke away.

"What're you three doing?" I looked up to see Kaoru approaching us, a lit cigarette in his hand.

"Takashi made Kana-chan get here early, so we were just talking before class." Honey was back to his cheery mood. It was a mask he wore, I realized. Either that, or he had two personalities. "Where's Hika-kun?"

"Still asleep, probably. We were up too late." As Kaoru got closer I could see the dark circles beneath his eyes. I didn't have the words to greet him. Instead I moved away from Honey and lit another cigarette. There wasn't enough nicotine in the world to deal with this.

Kaoru saw right through me. I had never been good at hiding my own emotions, no matter how hard I tried. It had always made me an easy target for Amelia; she always knew how to get a rise out of me. I watched as his eyes went from Honey, to Mori, then back to me.

"Does this have anything to do with the surprise you mentioned yesterday?" I managed to ask.

"That's a secret." He stood in front of me, looking down at me with a guarded expression. "Kana, you look like you're about to have a nervous breakdown."

"That's a possibility." My voice came out in a high-pitched squeak.

"Don't tell me the dragon reared her ugly head again." Kaoru rubbed his face tiredly. "I swear I'm going to-"

"You're starting to sound like Hika." Honey giggled. "You like Kana-chan too, don't you?"

"I'm just tired, Honey-senpai. But seriously, Kana, are you okay?"

I shook my head rapidly. Why did it have to be Kaoru of all people to ask me that? Kyoya wouldn't make me talk, and I could easily dodge Tamaki's questions, but Kaoru wasn't the type to back down.

Mori was at my side in almost an instant. "It isn't something we can tell Hikaru."

He was right. Hikaru's temper was worse than Kyoya's in some ways. I watched as Kaoru processed this thought. He chewed the inside of his lip for a moment.

"Hikaru won't know then."

"I can't sit through this again." I found myself leaning into Mori's side, my legs threatening to give out.

"Take Kana-chan to class, Takashi." Honey's voice returned to the dark tone I'd heard earlier.

"Are you sure you should be going to class?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow.

I couldn't respond. Everything was threatening to come out in English. I gave him a small nod, hoping it was enough to ease his concerns. I had to pretend things were normal until we had more information from this Ritsu person. There had to be someone to pursue before we could take action, that much I understood.

I took a last look at Kaoru and Honey before I willed myself to continue the walk to my first class. Mori walked quietly beside me, not saying anything until we reached the classroom. He stopped me before we walked in.

"Are you sure?"

"Honey told me to put on a brave face." I sucked in a breath. "How am I doing?"

"Not the greatest."

"Okay." I forced a wide-lipped smile. "How about now."

"Kanami." Mori touched the side of my face lightly. "What is it called when a business analyst assesses the potential effects of a change?"

I knew what he was doing. "A business impact analysis."

"Focus on something else." He nodded.

"Business Analytics 220 will be my only focus for the next hour." I promised. With that, I led us into the classroom, where he once again took the desk directly behind mine, no doubt shielding me from what was to come.