I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA OR OURAN HIGHSCHOOL HOSTCLUB

Enjoy~

Veni Vidi Amavi

Chapter 20

Of Plans and Risks

It takes a lot for someone with a sincere, gentle heart to feel such a tremendous amount of rage and anguish. And it was then that Tamaki learned of his own limit as he was forced down to his seat by the twins the moment he showed signs of bolting out of it.

He didn't utter a sound, no dramatic wailing, no theatrics, he was silent and oh how bad did he burn. His breath came out in harsh pants and he felt the sting of pain against his palms when his nails pierced through the soft skin.

"Stop it tono!" Hikaru hissed as he struggled holding the blonde down. "Kagome's plan will end up in flames if you barge in now!" Kaoru said from the other side.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh continued and the twins put their own anger into good use, teeth gritted together to the point of pain as they kept Tamaki contained. They could feel their hearts beating wildly inside their chests, bruising ribs and pumping way too much blood for their brain to handle.

Yet, they persisted.

"Settle down Tama-chan." A new pair of hands fell on top of the still enraged president and it only took Honey one simple push to get Tamaki situated and seated. His small hands fisted over Tamaki's blazer and the senior took one look at his cousin and smiled dangerously.

"You get out of that seat and I won't be happy Takashi." The shota's voice was pleasant and light as usual. However, the smile on his face spoke of danger and simmering wrath, brown eyes steady with silent waves that contradicts the storm brewing from within.

Calm and waiting. Furious but steady.

Mori drove his fist against the armrest of the chair he was sitting on and the sound of bending steel was thankfully drowned out by the commotion happening at the stage. Mori met Honey's gaze and held it with his own darkened orbs, obsidian eyes ablazed with righteous anger.

Will you stop me? Mitsukuni?

"I'm serious. Don't test me." If not for the sheer promise that had bled into Honey's tone, Mori would've been up and running. But he knows quite well that he won't be able to reach far.

Honey was resolute to contain everyone should they snap.

And they all know he was more than capable of apprehending everyone should they fight.

The sound of swivelling equipment suddenly squeaked as Kyoya fiddled with the settings of the high end camera, eyes hidden by the glare from the spotlights lit upon the stage. "Control yourselves." He said cooly. His deft fingers were flying at neck breaking speed, pushing buttons and connecting wires. He turned his back to the spectacle from a few feet below the moment he situated the scope of the gadget properly, busying himself with setting up the necessary systems in his laptop to finally put an end to this morbid game of princesses in ragged silks.

He cursed as one of the keys from his laptop broke under the might of his finger.

"I hope you will not be causing any type of complications, Mitokado-senpai." The Ootori nonchalantly stated amidst the rapid clacking of keyboards, somehow feeling the Taicho's steadily approaching limit.

With nostrils flaring, Ginmaru gripped harshly at his hakama and vividly burned every hit, every strike Kagome took in his memories. He will not let this incident pass.

Blood dribbled down his chin when his teeth ripped through the already abused flesh of his lip, incisor piercing down as copper bloomed from within his mouth. He only has himself to blame. He'd been lax, been too lenient. Ginmaru was aware that he has very passionate admirers but never did he think that they're obsession with him runs this deep. He should've nipped everything right from the start and now here he was, helpless as the woman of his attention was forced to accept and be shamed simply because they were all too powerless to protect her from these creatures of envy.

He feels as if he's going to snap in half at how rigid his spine was.

"You have no right to look at me like that! I'm a queen! Bow down before me you peasant!"

Everyone watched with individual pools of anger as the blasted Nakamura heiress hissed and clawed at their hostess, muscles bunching as they saw Kagome spat out a stream of blood by the heiress' feet.

They made her bleed.

"Tama-chan." Honey reprimanded when Tamaki once more tried to fight out their hold, face so dark he almost looked unrecognizable with pupils shrunken down into pinpricks.

Another squeak of metal was heard and Mori inwardly noted to replace the now damaged chair he was sitting on.

"We never should've agreed with this." The guttural hiss that came from the blonde prince was low and ragged. Full of pain and unadulterated fury.

Had he known that people are capable of harming people like this, he would've never allowed Kagome to go through with this scheme of hers.

"Whoever's behind this, they have no idea what they're getting into…"

Kagome flicked a hand to toss a lock of hair over her shoulder, blue eyes swimming with the promise of retribution.

"I guess I'll have to proceed with my next ploy. I kind of wanted to play with them first until they beg but I guess, I won't drag this out anymore."

Haruhi looked at her friend. "What do you mean Kagome?"

"I did say I have everything under control did I?" Her smile was anything but sweet. "Come on, let's discuss this in the host room."

She turned to her other club members and pointed at the pile of unconscious bodies. "Clean this up for me?"

With grumbles and a halfhearted wave, the gardening club sent their female member off, not quite keen on keeping her from biting the head off of whoever's suicidal enough to clash with the obviously deranged girl.

The trip to the host club was silent, mainly because no one was quite sure on how to fill in the space of silence that fell upon them. Kagome was leading on the front and they could tell from the way how heavy her footfalls were and the rigid line of her shoulders that she was not in a pleasant mood despite the eagerness she'd shown earlier.

She was downright vengeful and they can feel it.

Somehow, it finally dawned to them that this was nothing compared to the brief female spats they'd encounter here and there, this was not something they could simply take care of with blackmails and halfhearted threats-.

This was a real battle and Kagome was the prize and warrior at the same time.

"Like I said, I have everything under control and I decided that it's time to put my foot down." She said the moment everyone was situated comfortably inside the third music room.

"What are you planning?" Kyoya was quick to notice the scheming gleam flashing in her eyes, - a strategist can smell it when someone's plotting and Kagome was surely reeking of it.

A knock suddenly intruded upon their conversation and Tamaki glanced towards it.

"We're not expecting anyone-?"

"I am." Kagome said. She stood up and twisted the knobs of the twindoors open. No one expected the Ayanokoji heiress to be the one stepping inside and away from the doors, eyes aimed at the floor as she flinched at the shocked noises coming from the host club.

Kagome laid a hand companionably on top of tense shoulders and shot the hosts with a warning look.

"Come, have a seat Seika-chan." The confused gasps she heard was a clear indication of her friends' confusion at the familiar way she addressed her supposed enemy, eyes watching in surprise as the redhead sat gracefully beside the hostess who now held her hand in a show of support.

"I know you're all confused but here me - us, out." She suddenly met Ginmaru's confused eyes and briefly gave a quick explanation about the hosts' reaction to the Ayanokoji heiress. Seika stiffened and she apologetically tapped her fingers against hers in comfort.

"It might come as a surprise to anyone but Seika-chan has already apologized to Haruhi and me from that incident ago."

Haruhi's eyes flashed in recognition, easily recalling that time when the redhead asked for her time during lunchtime. Kagome was naturally defensive then and it was Haruhi who calmed her down and gave Seika the attention she wanted.

It truly did surprise the both of them when Seika genuinely apologized for the horrible things she had done to them both.

Something snapped in place inside of Haruhi's head and she raised her eyes at the two, a pool of growing dread slowly growing in the pit of her stomach.

Kagome can't possibly-?

"And why are we not notified about this?" Kyoya asked, quite outbalanced by not knowing about said contact between the three girls.

"I-I told them not to say it to everyone." Seika stated, eyes still downturned as if afraid at the reaction she'd garner from the hosts she had- no, still, admired.

"I don't want them to think that I apologized in order to get back into your good graces Tamaki-sama. I know what I did was vile and cruel and I fully accept the punishment you gave me." a bittersweet smile appeared on Seika's lips. "It certainly taught me a lesson and I'm actually quite thankful for Haruhi-kun for showing me so."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" The twins were quick to push and prod. This girl had hurt two of their members after all and her last impression certainly did not help and now, with people going after their hostess, it won't be easy to get their trust back.

"Tell them, Seika-chan." Kagome gently urged. With a nervous look towards Tamaki, the heiress raised her chin up and met the prince's violet orbs with her own.

"I was worried for you, Tamaki-sama. I fear that Haruhi-kun was only using you and that you will get hurt and betrayed… like…. Like how my father did." Fingers tightened against balled fists and Seika relayed the story of how her family suffered because of a commoner who barged into their life and left everything in shards of broken hearts.

Her father was a widower, having lost his wife when Seika was brought into his world. Despite this, he never blamed her and loved her unconditionally. They were generally happy, despite the lack of wife and mother figure but Seika knew that behind closed doors, her father was lonely.

So she was happy, when he found someone new to love.

A commoner.

Someone who had caught his eye during a rainy day when the family car broke down amidst the crowd of commoner faces.

Seika didn't like her. But she pretended that she did. Because her father finally felt truly happy and even if she doesn't approve of the way she looked at him when she thought no one was looking, Seika simply plastered on a mask and whispered fake whispers of affection towards her soon to be stepmother.

Then, more strangers came.

Her sister, her mother, her brothers, and even uncles.

A myriad of commoner faces swarmed the walls of their once upon a time comfy home and Seika felt adrift in the sea of greed. They were relentless, and her father was too blind and she felt as if she's against the world because how can she do something when it was obvious that her father had fallen so deeply in love with this two-faced woman?

So still, she pretended. Her mask was perfect, her acting flawless, and Seika thought that everything would soon fall into place. She just had to wait and keep pretending.

It never did.

Instead, everything broke in a shower of fragile dreams and fantasies.

The woman was caught, she was with a man. Married even. She was merely using her father to fuel her vices and desperate thirst for riches and vanity.

Her father had been used.

All those commoners did.

And again, her father was lonely.

But this time, he was also angry.

Seika lost two things that day. She lost the idea of a complete home, and she lost her father.

The commoner had stolen everything that Seika had wanted and ever loved.

Commoners are greedy.

Commoners are cruel.

They cannot be trusted. They should be driven away at every moment.

But then, finally, Seika managed to find a new thing to love.

Tamaki.

He was wonderful. He was magnificent. He was everything Seika admired and it didn't take long for her to crack against the radiance of Tamaki's kindness.

Finally, she can stop using her mask.

Finally, she can smile genuinely again.

Until Haruhi came.

The mask came back on as quickly as Seika vowed to save Tamaki from this commoner who will hurt and take and abuse his kindness.

She won't let this monster hurt Tamaki.

She won't sit and watch as this beggar sinks his claws into Tamaki.

This time, she'll take matters into her own hands.

...But once again, Seika lost everything.

Why? How? She only wanted to help. Why was she the one who was driven away?

Was she doomed to suffer the path of loneliness like her father did?

Already, she can feel the clutches of isolation creeping in. People drew away from her, not wanting to be caught with the girl who cried wolf, the girl with the different masks.

So she simply watched. Observed from afar, waiting for the impending heartbreak that was Tamaki and Haruhi. But it never came. Instead, it appears that Tamaki was happier more than ever, with Haruhi and the other commoner girl who was the cause of her downfall.

Then she heard everything. She heard how Haruhi helped people with their problems, heard of things about how the host club was thriving, how Haruhi and Kagome shone like beacons drawing people in more than ever.

Was she… mistaken?

Were commoners not cut out from the same cloth after all?

Did she dig her own grave?

Did she made a bed of nails and laid on it for naught?

The hysteria came first followed closely by guilt. The knowledge of her vile, cruel deeds was a heavy toll to carry and it simply worsened when it dawned on her that she got nothing worthwhile in return. She was ready to be the villain as long as Tamaki remained safe and unharmed but it turns out, her help was unwarranted, unneeded.

Haruhi was never the criminal.

There was never a criminal.

Seika simply turned herself into one.

So she did the next best thing.

She apologized. It's the least she can do and when Haruhi offered to convince Tamaki to lift off her banishment, it simply made her feel even worse than before.

Haruhi didn't deserve all the things that she did.

Seika, like her father, was blind.

Surprisingly, she felt immensely better after reconciling with the two students she had hurt, the uneasy ball weighing her down finally vanished and made her breath a little bit easier.

'If you need anything, tell me.' she said back then.

So here she is, spilling everything to the people she had treasured and still held dear to her heart. Kagome decided that it was time to take her up on the offer given, and Seika was more than happy to finally have the chance to make amends.

This time however, she's finally fighting on the right side of the battlefield.

"I'm willing to act upon Kagome-chan's wishes. It's the least I can do for all the troubles that I have caused." she bowed as low as she could in her position, waiting with baited breath as everyone processed the story she had relayed, heart beating wildly as she held unto the warmth of Kagome's hand laid on top of hers.

"Oh I greatly apologize for acting so harshly, dear princess!" Her world shifted and her heart suddenly jumped to her throat, the familiar sensation of Tamaki's lively embrace making her breath hitch pleasantly.

Something similar to a thread snapping echoed from within her and Seika found herself tearing up as she laughed despite Tamaki's theatric apology.

Redemption had never tasted so sweet like this.

It took quite some time forcing Tamaki to calm down, the blonde prince feeling quite horrible for treating the heiress horribly despite Seika's constant reassurance that she understood and does not harbor any ill will any longer.

"You're going to use Ayanokoji-senpai to lure out whoever's behind this… Aren't you, Kagome?" Eyes turned to the brunette host and Kagome smiled at the sharp scholar. "That's why you mentioned her name… You planted it, knowing people will look for allies to take you down, especially now that you've fought them off twice." Pride blossomed within Kagome at how fast Haruhi saw through her strategy. Her friend truly is one of the sharpest people she have ever met.

She nodded. "Seika-chan already relayed to me that people had started sniffing around her, asking subtle questions here and there." Kagome chuckled in amusement. "I'm quite certain they'll be knocking on her door anytime soon."

"You plan to frame her. Like what you did with Ijiwaruna." Kyoya spoke up from beside Tamaki, an amused smirk twitching on his lips.

"Oh, it won't be that simple." Kagome shifted and straightened her posture, knowing that the difficult part is to come. "These girls won't stop at nothing and I don't intend to draw this little game even more than it already has. They want me, so they'll get me."

"Woah woah hold on-" Hikaru spoke and Kaoru soon followed. "Are you going to bait them using yourself?"

"I need to hold something over their heads that will completely annihilate their will to strike back. Something that will destroy them permanently. And I need your cooperation to pull this off."

"I feel as if this is something very reckless Kagome-chan." Ginmaru uneasily stated.

"Seika-chan will drag out the root of this problem under the guise of knowing my weakness. I'll present myself to them and allow them to do whatever they want with me." She raised a hand to silence the various shouts of indignation. "-And you guys will have to record everything on tape and you will be my witnesses. These heiresses will be forced to back down the moment they are aware that I have something to hold over their heads."

Kagome smiled. "Case closed."

Unsurprisingly, the host club was quick to push her plan away.

"Absolutely not! We don't know what these people are capable of! Kagome, please reconsider." Tamaki pleaded.

"They don't know what I'm capable of either."

"Can't we just figure out their identities and report them to the admin?" Hikaru asked despite understanding the efficiency of Kagome's plan. Kaoru nodded. "That's what we all need right? Their identities?"

Kagome let out an exasperated sigh. "You don't understand. I need to do this or this won't stop."

"But Go-chan, you'll be in danger and you might get hurt." Her eyes softened at Honey's distraught voice and she reached over and patted the senior's cheeks.

"I'm sorry Mitsukuni but this is the only way."

The sound of hands banging loudly against the table boomed all over the room and everyone looked at the club president.

"I refuse." He said with a tone of finality. Kagome stood up and met Tamaki's angry eyes with her own.

"We don't have a choice Tamaki."

"Of course we do!" The uncharacteristic shout from the blonde had the twins and Honey shuffling away from him. "Father can do something about this! You don't have to do something so reckless!"

"Just do as I say Tamaki!" The atmosphere started spiraling out of control and everyone watched as the two battled it out.

"And I say we won't do it! I can protect you! We can protect you!"

"I'm doing this for Haruhi you idiot!" She shrieked and the room fell into a dead silence.

What-?

Kagome glared through her bangs at Tamaki, teeth gnashed together in a snarl.

"I can protect myself. All of you can protect yourself - can't you understand?! They will go for Haruhi next!" She breathed harshly and practically growled at the blonde host. "Your father might hold jurisdiction over them but that hold is gone the moment those people take a step outside the Ouran grounds. I don't care if they go after me - I know how to fight. I can protect myself." If she has to beat some sense into Tamaki, she would.

"You are all untouchable because your families hold power." Her face fell into a stoic mask as comprehension dawned upon everyone's face. "So who do you think they will go after next?"

...Haruhi.

A commoner who has no means of fighting back.

A literal sitting duck.

"So tell me Tamaki, do I have a choice?" His answer was a defeated, depressed slouch, form folding into a sitting position between Kyoya and the twins.

"Your plan has a flaw Kagome…" Haruhi suddenly stated with an eerie calmness that made their hackles rise. "They know you can fight. Won't it be odd if you just let them do whatever they want? They'll see through you and you'll fail." Brown eyes met with Kagome's blues and the priestess recognized the gleam of danger inside those russet orbs.

"They need to feel in control. Something that they can hold over you so they'll think they won." Haruhi stood up and Tamaki almost fainted at what fell upon her lips.

"Your weakness is me, and we'll use it so you can win."

Blinking through the red haze that fell on his vision, Tamaki glanced at the corner of the stage and watched with unbridled fury and concern as he laid eyes on the struggling form of Haruhi. Seika was standing protectively over the brunette, her perfect mask slipping bit by bit as the blows continued and he could almost see the way her lips moved as she whispered words to calm the host down.

It was Miharu's next order that had everyone almost flying out of their seat however, a single command that collectively marked her as absolute filth in their books.

"Strip her." As if feeling their impending explosion, Kagome's head snapped in their direction and the fire blazing from her blue eyes successfully froze them in position. Her look was as clear as the blossoming bruises painted on her pale skin and all they could do was to swallow the embers of their fury and listen.

Down boys. How she managed to collectively make them heel with a look, nobody knows.

The girls' hesitation in following the vile heiress did manage to alleviate some of the tension lining their forms however. Although, the brief reprieve they got was dashed almost immediately when the Nakamura scum marched on to do the deed herself.

And then Haruhi was across the stage and upon Miharu.

They gaped, anger momentarily forgotten as they watched Haruhi descend upon the other girl with a certain level of aggression they never thought she was capable of. The sheer intensity of the brunette's wrath was palpable from the way she threw Miharu away from their hostess, the heiress' head snapping back from the vicious hair pull.

"H-holy shit Haruhi." Hikaru mumbled almost hysterically with a shocked, choked sound.

It was chaos from then on.

The way how Kagome easily beat every single one of them in submission was almost toe curlingly satisfying and everyone watched with bitter amusement as their hostess finally fought back.

The end was near, so they sat back, and watched the grand finale.

"You absolute wretch!" The sound that came from Miharu's throat was shrill as it was frenzied. No one knows to whom it was aimed for but nonetheless, it was clear that the heiress did not take lightly to the revelations that had come into light. She was played, and now she fell, like a marionette with its strings cut off, finding out that the control she has was only an illusion pulled over her eyes like a veil.

The air surrounding the female was almost vibrating with sheer anger and humiliation, Kagome noted. She was sure that if the girl was yokai, she'd already shed her humanoid form to let out the beast from within, ready to cause chaos and murder in her wake.

But sadly for Miharu, she was only but a mere human.

And Kagome has no qualms stomping over her fragile imaginations of control.

The rush she got wasn't as strong as when she cleaves an opponent in half but she supposes, at a time like this, surrounded by mortals, she's a beggar who has no ability to choose. The feeling of victory might not be as potent but it's liberating enough to get her blood singing.

"I'm not as cruel as your little queen here so I'll give all an option." Hope flickered on their faces and she almost laughed at how pitiful they looked. "I'll hold unto this video for now and as long as you all play by my rules, your secrets will remain safe with me." While she did tell them about her ability to bring their lives crumbling down to their ears, she will never go through with it.

Ouran will suffer a scandal of great proportions and she will never allow that to happen.

She won't do that to Tamaki.

But that was something these girls aren't aware of so she'll continue to hold that threat over their necks.

"I've dealt you the cards needed to end this game, now it's all up to you if you want to keep the ball rolling." The dark glint and chilling atmosphere hovering over her were still present and the girls whimpered when she levelled her glower upon them one by one, as if urging them to do the wrong thing just so she could devour them wholly once more. "But do remember, I play to win. I have nothing more to lose, are you all willing to take the bet and risk losing the same?"

The tension inside the auditorium was near suffocating and it was only then that they regretted crossing paths with the Higurashi girl.

They never knew they were fighting against a monster.

"You'll pay for this! All of you will pay!" Kagome's eyes lit with a spark of finality as Miharu spat and hissed at her, still adamant to regain the chess pieces she has despite her chessboard burning into cinders by her feet.

For her, it was far from checkmate still.

So instead, Kagome turned to the rest of Miharu's entourage, recognizing defeat in each of their gazes.

"Let me make things clear for the rest of you for the final time then." The smile she gave them did little to calm the girls down and to be honest, she was quite happy that she had struck the fear of god in them. "You will not touch anything around me, you will not approach people around me, and you will not clash with me." Her voice had fallen into a dull, low drawl - something she had gotten from her champion, once upon a time ago. It was effective as he says and she almost wept at how suddenly sad she felt remembering the times he leveled her with the same exact tone whenever she overstepped her boundaries.

It never did faze her, however.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of or what I've done in the past. Do not push me." Her teeth glinted and a collective flinch was made. "It's best to not fight a battle you have no hopes of winning."

Then, in a blink of an eye, the domineering aura from the blue eyed beauty vanished like the wind, her gentle smile once more taking residence upon her bruised face.

"Good. It looks like you all got it." Footsteps came from behind her and she turned to see the boys walking down the stairs towards their position. Judging by the various dark looks upon their faces, she already knows she's going to suffer an earful the moment they get out of this damn forsaken room.

Haruhi's already discreetly pinching her by the waist and it took great effort not to hiss at the treatment.

"If you'll excuse us, we'll be going ahead now." She clashed gazes with Miharu once more as she strode past the group of girls, blue eyes blinking at the still defiant voidlike eyes of the heiress.

She underestimated the stubbornness of the girl.

This was not good.

Behind her, the host club silently followed except for Ginmaru who stood over the ashamed group of students, normally kind eyes frigid with indifference.

He leaned down to Miharu's level and whispered something only for her ears to hear. The devastation in her eyes pleased him to no end and he straightened before following after the group of pissed hosts and hostess.

"It's not yet over." He froze at the words that greeted him the moment he took a step outside the room.

The auditorium doors closed with a click and everyone watched as Kagome took her phone out, blatantly ignoring the shell shocked students staring at her bruised form.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean it's not yet over?! I thought that's it?!"

Kagome clicked her tongue and felt a headache starting to pound at her temples. She recognized Miharu's kind. The type of people who does not care about consequences, choosing to fight as much as they can until they manage to secure a victory, regardless of the risks and losses they would have to face.

Pride is a sin Kagome's all too familiar with.

And while irritated, she still has her final resort up her sleeves.

Ignoring the harping chatter of her friends, Kagome punched out the needed numbers and turned her back to them.

The line picked up almost immediately and she didn't even wait for his usual greeting.

"Sojiro, I need your help."

(Unbeta-ed and unchecked)

As Kiba says; REDEMPTION, YOUR NAME IS AYANOKOJI!

I'm getting grey hairs writing this story I want out. To be honest, I want to settle this issue right now but alas, Sojiro-papa needs to be introduced so here he is, cleaning up after his daughter like usual.

The Hokkaido arc will be the climax arc of the story and I can already feel the build up killing me on the spot. I'm stressed because I keep on writing about stress but this story revolves around stressful situations and gdi why did I make everything so dramatic anyways?!

R&R~

「And thus I wither」