The Way Forward

by MollyMuffinHead

Sequel to 'The Next Phase'. Join us as we travel through Haruhi's senior year and everyone learns more about life, love, business, and friendship. Each host's strength is tested. Will they come through to the other side? Love is in the air as relationships get more serious, but will they all withstand the pressure? Rated for Language and Smooching.

28. Chapter 28 - Problems in the Factory

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I always call Dad and read them to him. Makes us feel like we're not writing this just for ourselves. Enjoy this new chapter. I think it answers some questions.

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xXx

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Date Posted: 4/3/2021

Trigger Warnings: Language and a little smooching

The Way Forward - Chapter 28: Problems in the Factory

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Thursday, June 30 (Continued):

Petto Chinmi:

"I think they would be perfect decorations, if," he paused, hesitating, "if we sold our products in Korea."

"What?"

"Fujioka-sama, we don't sell products in Korea. We only sell in Japan."

"Then what are those?" I pointed at the cans on my desk. "They have our logo."

Tanaki-san picked up a can and examined it. "I don't read Korean, but I agree, it's clearly our logo."

"I knew there was something funny going on at that factory." I plopped down in my chair and frowned. "Now what?"

"Let's get Sato-san in here. We're going to need a lawyer."

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xXx

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Kaoru's Studio, Hitachiin Fashions:

"Shit!"

I crumpled up another sketch and tossed it across the room. It landed with dozens of others.

"What's the matter with me today?"

Fall is coming fast, and I'm already behind schedule. I need a long-sleeved blouse that looks good under the vest, and the sleeves are making me crazy. No matter what I try, I can't get the shoulders right.

Everything is pointed and rough. Whatever I draw looks angry.

No surprise there. I'm so pissed at Naoko, I could scream. I'd like to think I wouldn't want to hurt her, but she deserves a tennis ball to the face.

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xXx

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Petto Chinmi:

When Tanaki-sama and Fujioka-sama finished briefing me on the food and factory, I knew we were headed down a long road. I looked up from my legal pad and warned them, "This will get ugly before it gets better." I met her eyes, "But must be done."

She nodded. "Definitely. No one defrauds this company, and we must make that abundantly clear."

"I suggest a department head meeting right now. We're going to need marketing, accounting, and tech/security."

She tasked her assistant, and the heads came quickly.

I caught everyone up, then she took over. "First, this stays within this group. I will not tolerate a leak to the press or anyone else." She met everyone's eyes and continued, "I need to tell you all that I hired an outside accounting firm to review our accounts with the factory." The head of accounting started to speak up, but Fujioka-sama kept going. "I wanted fresh eyes and someone with forensic accounting experience. Plus, I knew your department had a full workload."

She turned to me. "Sato-san, what should we be doing?"

I'd already begun a list and read it off. "First, we'll need a law firm in Korea. One that's familiar with manufacturing and product sales. Next, we need to stop production and find a new factory."

She broke in before I could go on. "Definitely. I don't want them able to bill us for one more yen."

Everyone around the table nodded, and I continued. "I'll review the contract and find a reason to halt production. Finding a new factory might be best left up to the new law firm."

"I want to go to Seoul for that first meeting."

"Of course, Fujioka-sama." I took more notes. "This group should meet with the accountant you hired and see if they've found anything. We'll have to decide if we want to keep them on the project, if they add value." She handed me their business card. "Thank you. I'll have my assistant set up an appointment for tomorrow."

And that's when Gorou-san cleared her throat. "I apologize for interrupting…"

"Please don't apologize, Gorou-san. We need all opinions for this. If I didn't want your input, you wouldn't be here. Continue," and she gestured with her hand.

She bowed her head slightly to Fujioka-sama. "How do we know that's really our food in the can? Couldn't they have just put our label on anything?"

Fujioka-sama grasped the implications immediately. She practically fell back in her seat, and her shoulders slumped. "How do we know any of our cans contain our food?" I heard the panic in her voice.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Tanaki-sama kept his voice calm and gentle. "We'll need to test one of these cans right away. Once we know what's in there, we'll decide on the next step."

Fujioka-sama took a deep breath, and I could tell she counted to ten. "It's already more complicated than I thought."

Just then, her phone beeped, and she blushed a slight pink at the interruption.

"Excuse me, but I need to leave soon to make an important dinner appointment. I must be there. I'd cancel if I could." She wrote a few more things down in her ever-present blue notebook. "Tanaki-san and I have a breakfast meeting tomorrow morning. I'd like an attack plan briefing then, including how much this is going to cost us."

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xXx

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Kaoru's Studio, Hitachiin Fashions:

I practically waded through balls of paper to get to Kaoru's table. "What are you doing? Redecorating?"

A twinge of guilt hit me when he jumped at my voice. I thought he'd heard me kicking the trash around.

"Mom! You scared me."

"Sorry," I ruffled his hair, and he huffed like a little kid. "What is all this?" I gestured to the floor.

"I'm trying to design a blouse for under the vest, and I can't get the damn shoulders right."

Now is not the time for a joke about his language. Besides, I don't really care, just enjoy poking at them.

"Have you been drawing horns on all your models?"

"I'm angry."

"Of course, you are. No one's expecting you not to be."

"I can't believe she had such a warped idea of our relationship."

"She's a warped individual."

"Yeah." The latest sketch was crumped and joined the others on the floor.

"Let's go. The Morinozuka's and Haninozuka's are coming to dinner tonight. If we leave now, you can beat something up in the gym before they arrive."

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xXx

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Morinozuka Limo driving to Hitachiin Estate:

I can't eat anything tonight; my stomach is rolling. How could this have happened? How could our products end up on a pet store shelf in Seoul?

And if that isn't our formula in that can…or any can we have on the shelves. I made a frantic call to Tanaki-san from the SUV asking if we should pull all the food from our store shelves. He talked me out of it, but until we know what's going on, anything could be in those cans.

Why were we giving the factory the responsibility of quality control? Never again. An independent lab will check each lot from now on.

I was scribbling in my notebook as fast as I could when I heard Takashi's voice. "We're here, Haruhi."

Great. Now I have to deal with Watanabe. My face still hurts and I'm not sure anyone's going to like what I have to say.

I left my notebook in the car. I must give this meeting my full attention. I have no idea how, but I must.

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xXx

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Dining Room, Hitachiin Estate:

We just finished the first course as Yuzuha told us about the phone call with Watanabe's mother. Most were commenting about the nerve of the woman, but I tuned them out.

My opinion of how to handle this changed over the last few days. I knew I definitely didn't want to press charges for the assault. It wasn't worth it, not for the likely light punishment. I don't believe it will teach her a lesson.

I focused back on the conversation when Chika started talking. "It would be difficult to devalue their business to the point of bankruptcy, but relatively easy to hurt them in a significant way." He looked back at his tablet. Does he carry that everywhere with him? "I've purchased stock in their two main competitors. That can be used as leverage as this progresses.

"The first wave will be to stop patronizing their businesses. The families of the extended Host Club would then spread the word to other families about a 'questionable experience' they had at a spa and suggest they check out their competitors." He swiped up to see the next part of his plan. "Next would be to stop using them as incentives. I know several of our family businesses give away spa packages and weekend getaways as gifts to prospective business partners and as rewards to employees. We would shift those to their competitors."

That's when Kaoru broke in. "Is all this really necessary?"

"Hell, yeah Kaoru. I still think the rats are a good idea."

"No rats," Akira-san said in that firm kendo master voice. Hikaru stopped talking.

"This is only one suggestion, Kaoru-senpai." Chika scrolled down, "There are other options including a civil suit and criminal charges."

Things quieted down while we ate.

I hesitated to bring this up, but I have to follow my instincts. I hope he'll forgive me. "Hikaru, where were you a year and a half ago?"

I immediately wished I'd kept my mouth shut. His head snapped up to face me, and his eyes grew huge as the color drained from his face. I jumped in. "You don't have to answer. I'm sorry I brought it up, but I want you and Kaoru to think about why you were there, what led up to it, and then think about what Watanabe was saying last week."

Takashi, who was sitting next to me, put his hand on my shoulder and leaned to my ear, "If you're going where I think you're going, I agree." I nodded my thanks.

We all jumped when Kaoru's silverware clattered to his plate. "Shit. I was so busy being mad…"

"I was too," Hikaru mumbled.

From the looks on all the adult's faces, I could tell they'd caught up with me. "I'm angry and hurt, and I want her punished, but I keep going round and round that no matter what the punishment, she won't learn the lesson."

That's when Honey-senpai started nodded, and I knew he was with me too.

"I spoke with Yuki yesterday as we were leaving the bakery," Takashi glanced around the table, "and asked if she thought Watanabe's parents knew about all this while it was going on. Her answer was no."

"That agrees with what Yuki told me today at lunch." I'd long abandoned my food. I never really had an appetite. "She'd had time to calm down and spoke with Akito-san about all of this. He helped her sort out her thoughts and feelings. She told me she was concerned about her ex-best friend."

The room went silent again as everyone's thoughts followed certain paths. Was she mentally ill or was she just a spoiled brat who wanted what she wanted?

Chika spoke up. "I based my devaluing plan on the assumption her parents knew what was going on. If they are ignorant of all this, hurting their business has no purpose."

Yorishia-san agreed with his son. "It would be dishonorable."

"But it could be used as leverage." Yuzuha-san tapped the table with her long, red fingernails. "We threaten to go through with it if they don't get her the help she needs."

"And if it turns out that she's an entitled twit and not a nutcase?" Hikaru asked.

"Then they ship that entitled twit off to marry some foreigner," his mother answered.

.

I'm both relieved and proud that Haruhi came to the same conclusion as I did. I wasn't there to hear the fight, but the whole thing sounded unbalanced. Watanabe clearly needs help, and her parents shouldn't be punished when they weren't aware.

"Takashi?" Everyone else was discussing next steps when Haruhi leaned over and spoke softly. "Thank you for the support. I know that if I hadn't gotten there myself, you would have talked me into it."

I returned her smile with one of my own. "Anytime, Haruhi."

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In the end, we decided to invite the girl's parents over this weekend to discuss our proposal, probably Sunday for tea. Not a meal, it shouldn't take that long. Because of her admitting the tennis ball was on purpose, they would be invited to the Morinozuka estate as she's our ward.

The discussion would take place without the children.

Hopefully, they will do the right thing.

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xXx

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Friday, July 1:

Breakfast, Café near Petto Chinmi:

The waitress just put our coffee on the table just as Fujioka-sama came in. She looks dreadful with bags under her eyes and pinched skin around her mouth. She's too young for that. Guess she didn't sleep much last night.

Despite her weary appearance, she was asking questions before she even sat down. "Where are we, Tanaki-san? Is there a plan? Will this bankrupt us?" She pulled out her notebook and flipped to a blank page.

"I have answers for you, but first, would you like something to go with your coffee."

"Thanks, no. I grabbed something on my way out the door." I wasn't surprised when she gulped about half of her coffee down. I hope she ate some real food.

"Sato-san and I found an international law firm with offices here in both Tokyo and Seoul. I'll be talking to them this morning and setting up a meeting with them this week. What's your schedule like?"

"I can make any day at any time work. Just let me know so I can give my teachers notice."

"I'll try for something late afternoon first. I'll text as soon as it's decided."

She drank the rest of her coffee and signaled the waitress. "Can I get another in a go cup, but a large?"

"Sure. Just a second."

She turned back and raised her eyebrow at my questioning look. "Next?"

"The lab we used originally to analyze the food for the nutrition information is my next call after the law firm. Their records will have the correct breakdown for comparison. I'll send over a can for a rush analysis. Once we know that, we'll go from there."

"Alright." She's writing so fast, I hope she can read it later. "What about the budget?"

"Sato-san and I agree that if we find evidence the factory's liable, then the monetary settlement will be quite substantial. The issue is financing this until the court ruling."

"What are the expected expenses?"

"The law firm will be substantial. There will be costs involved in shifting our business to another factory, including costs for a rushed startup. If that can comes back from testing with problems, we'll be testing quite a few more cans, and we'll want the results quickly. We'll lose revenue if we pull our food from the shelves and will have our supply chain impacted."

I handed her a draft breakdown from our accounting head. "Here's a best- and worst-case scenario."

Her pen clattered to the floor as the notebook slipped off her lap. "This much?" she gasped. "We don't have this much."

"No. Not for the worst-case."

"We barely have enough for the best-case. Not with the way we've rolled the profits back into the company."

"Haruhi-sama," we both looked up at her security guard, "if we don't leave now, you'll be late for classes."

"Thank you, Eiji."

After stuffing everything in her school bag and grabbing the go cup of coffee, she turned to me, "Text me updates throughout the day. I'll check in between classes." Then, she practically ran out the door.

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xXx

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Before 3A World History Class (First Class), Ouran High School:

"Where is she?" Kaoru's voice had a worried edge.

"I don't know. She had that breakfast meeting this morning. Maybe she got hung up."

He leaned towards me and whispered, "Look at Naoko, Hika. Does she look pleased with herself? That can't be good."

"Let's go look for Haruhi."

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Haruhi's Locker:

I'm going to be late. I slid to a stop in front of my locker and dialed the combination but couldn't get it open. I yanked, and the door flew, spilling dozens of tennis balls.

There was writing on all of them.

He's mine

You deserved it

Bitch

You're too ugly to model

Flat chest

And on and on.

I don't have time for this.

I slammed the locker door shut and leaned against it.

I don't have the energy for this.

I slid down the locker and sat on the floor.

I don't want to deal with this.

I pulled my legs up and wrapped my arms around them.

I don't want to think about her.

I dropped my forehead onto my knees.

I don't want to be here.

Too much. It's too much right now.

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"Haruhi!"

"Shit!"

We flew down the hall and knelt in front of her.

"Haruhi?" Kaoru gently touched her shoulder. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Her eyes were blank when she looked up. Creepy.

"No. I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"They were in my locker," she waved a hand at all the balls. "They fell out when I opened it."

"That bitch!"

Haruhi heaved a huge sigh. "They're just tennis balls and words. Neither can hurt me." Her calm voice scared me. It's like she checked out or something.

That's when the bell rang.

She slowly looked around and said, "Guess we're late." The Haruhi I know would never be so casual about being late to class.

"Kaoru, why don't you get her to class. I'll do something with these tennis balls."

After they rounded the corner, I shoved all of them into my locker. I'll get a bag later and give them to Haruhi's security. Watanabe's parents need to see them.

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xXx

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Late Morning, Bun Bun's Bakery:

"Everything's ready, Haninozuka-sama."

I nodded to Kaneko-san, my head of marketing. I've been waiting for this for weeks, but I never thought I'd be so nervous. We're opening ten bakeries in this prefecture today, all remodeled and with the new menu.

What if nobody comes? What if they hate the food?

I squeezed Usa-chan and took some deep breaths. Everything will work out. It will. I've got a great management team. They want this to work as much as I do.

"There's a line outside, Haninozuka-sama. This will be a success."

That was Tanaka-san, my CEO. I gave him a huge smile. "If it is, it's because of the terrific team you put together. With university and the Haninozuka Board meetings, I haven't been as involved as I wanted to be." I bowed my head slightly. "Thank you for all your hard work."

"A privilege and a pleasure, Haninozuka-sama."

"3…"

"2…"

"1…"

"Welcome to Bun Bun's Bakery!"

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xXx

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Lunch, Ouran:

"Where's Haruhi?"

"She said she had to return a call to her office."

"So, what happened this morning? You said you'd tell me at lunch," Renge-senpai asked the twins as she ate her salad. I hadn't seen Haruhi-senpai today, so I have no idea what's going on.

Kaoru-senpai leaned forward and lowered his voice, "She was running late because of her breakfast meeting, but when Hika and I went looking for her, we found her on the floor in front of her locker."

"There were tennis balls everywhere." Hikaru-senpai sent a death glare at Watanabe-senpai across the room. "Watanabe obviously put them in there. She wrote a bunch of horrible shit all over them."

"Haruhi was weird. Like she'd gone numb."

That doesn't sound good. It also doesn't sound like Haruhi-senpai.

"I took her to class, and Hika took care of the tennis balls." Kaoru glanced at him. "What did you do with them?"

"I put them in my locker. I'll bag them up and give them to Haruhi's security. They need to know what happened, and Watanabe's parents should see them."

"Yeah. Alright."

I'd been on my tablet this whole time, just listening to the conversation, but half of lunch is gone, and she's still not here. Maybe I should go look for her.

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xXx

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Music Room #3, Ouran:

To Do List:

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There are so many things, I don't even know where to start. I could list a hundred things just for the food factory. Then another dozen for the photoshoot. And another dozen to deal with Watanabe. At least twenty for school and another twenty for my personal life.

What personal life?

I can barely remember how relaxed I felt in Karuizawa…at least before Arai messed it up.

Two weeks until our trip to the beach, and I'm not going to complain about money or anything. I want to sit and do nothing. Not even think.

I have to trust Tanaki-san and Sato-san because I'm way out of my depth right now, and I don't have the time to catch up. How many CEO's would be in the day to day activities of a problem like this? Problem? More like crisis.

Where am I going to get the money?

There's the warning bell. Art history. Just where I want to go.

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xXx

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After Classes, Bun Bun's Bakery:

"Amazing, Honey-senpai!"

"Smells so delicious."

"I'll have to bring some back for Akito-kun."

"I thought he moved back to the Ootori Mansion."

"He did," she blushed, "but we're going on a date tonight."

"Where?"

"He said it was a surprise."

"Sounds romantic."

"Are you and Tamaki-senpai doing anything tonight?"

"Dinner at Suoh Mansion #1 with his father."

"That's not very romantic."

"It will be afterwards. He's going to play me his new musical composition that he did for class." And I can't wait. I'll sit in front of him on the piano bench, and he'll nibble on my neck while he plays. There better be a piano in our honeymoon suite. I can think of many wicked things to do.

"What about you, Shinobu?" She'd walked up to our group, eating a cupcake.

"Work."

"Oh." I know better than to ask about what kind of work.

"Have you tried the cake coffee?" Cho asked as she bounced up to us.

"Don't you mean coffee cake?"

"Nope." Her coffee cup is huge. "Smell this. It's coffee with cake flavored creamer."

It did smell good, but I'm sure it's overly sweet. She and Honey-senpai are made for each other.

"Where's Haruhi?"

"Outside," I pointed out the front window. "She's on the phone with her office."

"She was really out of it today."

"I'm sure she's off balance by all the Watanabe stuff. She'll get some sleep this weekend and be fine on Monday."

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"What do you think, Hika-chan?" Honey-senpai hopped over to me with a balloon Usa-chan on his head. "Isn't it great?"

"Incredible, Senpai…and so pink."

"Of course. It's Usa-chan's favorite color!" He handed Kaoru and me each a plate with a small bunny cake. "Taste it. It's the best, and it's from my bakery!"

The sugar smell hit my nose as soon as I cut into it with my fork. The frosting was at least a centimeter thick. The creamy texture surprised me, and it wasn't as sweet as I expected. At least I didn't think my teeth would fall out on the way home. "Very good." Kaoru just hummed and chewed.

"Enjoy! I'll bring you a Bun Bun balloon hat."

"That's alright, Senpai. We don't…"

"Forget it, Hika. He's already bringing them back."

We both were stuck wearing balloon bunnies until we left.

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I can't believe Bu dragged me here. Yeah, we came to support Honey-senpai, but just look at this fucking place. It's crazier than that monster café.

I'm going blind from all the pastel colors. Pink, yellow, blue, pink, purple, green, pink, and pink. Did I say pink? That bunny is everywhere. On the walls, the chairs, the dishes. Guess Honey-senpai thought he'd be lonely because there's a couple different bunny friends hopping on the walls too.

Maybe I should have gotten plastered before coming in here.

"Hey, Asshole."

I turned around to give her a piece of my mind, but the crazy chick shoved a cookie in my mouth. A bunny cookie. A pink bunny cookie.

"Will you stop looking like you want to skin all these rabbits for a coat. It's batshit crazy in here but look around…the kids love it."

I finally managed to swallow. "Whatever." I leaned in and licked her earlobe, "Are we still on for tonight?"

"Hell, yeah. You think I want to inspect one of my love hotels with anyone else?"

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Satoshi walked up to us with a huge grin. "Guess what I just heard Shinobu-senpai say?"

He just stood there waiting. Hika finally gave in, "What?"

"That she and Kasanoda-senpai are going to inspect one of her love hotels tonight."

"Her hotel?"

"That's what she said."

"Doesn't make sense. They're legal."

"Don't try to understand it, Kaoru. I'm not sure anything with those two makes sense to normal people."

"Are you implying you're normal, Hikaru-senpai?"

"Shut it, Satoshi, or you'll be wearing this bunny cake."

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This smell alone is making me nauseous. I think I'm slipping into a sugar coma. It's perfect for the Alien. He even thanked me earlier for buying them for him.

One effective revenge plan.

Too bad I can't ruin the Watanabe's. I was really getting into the planning. I'll keep the competitor stocks until this thing is resolved. No one hurts Haruhi-senpai and gets away with it.

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"Thanks, Tanaki-san. I'll read the report tonight, and you let me know if anything comes up over the weekend. Otherwise, I'll see you Monday after my appointment."

Haruhi hung up her phone and stared into space. Satoshi told me about the tennis balls and that she wasn't at lunch. That's not like her. I came to support Mitsukuni but also to check in with Haruhi. I have a training session later tonight.

"Takashi, why aren't you in there eating cake?" The smirk in her face told me it was a joke, but her eyes were still off.

"I'm sure I'll being eating plenty later." No response. "Are you alright?"

"I'm tired." Not a lie, but not the whole truth. What else must I do to assure her she can talk to me about anything? She said I was her best friend.

"Eat a cupcake. That will wake you up."

That earned me a small chuckle. "I don't want to ruin my appetite for dinner, but a coffee doesn't sound bad."

"Let's get you one." With my hand on the small of her back, I guided her back into the bakery.

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xXx

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Family Dinner, Dining Room, Morinozuka Estate:

"You have another training camp next week, do you not Takashi?"

"Yes, Father. Next weekend in Orlando, Florida is the last world cup of the season. I'm going early for a training camp with the Americans. They invited a few of the top ranks."

"I was invited too but couldn't because of school." Satoshi furrowed his brows, "It's too bad. That's the one I actually wanted to go to."

"Are you sure your teachers won't let you go?" Haruhi-senpai asked.

"I already tried. I've missed a lot so far and there's a test next week." We've both missed a lot of school so far. Takashi's lucky he could take the semester off.

Dinner continued in silence for a while, but I could tell Haruhi-senpai was nervous. I hope Uncle and Aunt don't bring up the tennis ball incident. I'm sure she doesn't want to go talk about that.

Finally, she broke the silence. "May I ask for all of your opinions regarding something at the office?"

We all agreed, and she started telling us about her tour of the factory, the odd feeling she had, finding the food in a Korean pet store, and the accountant she hired.

"And then Thursday at the office, I finally remembered to bring in the cans. I wanted to display them on my desk. That's when Tanaki-san saw them and told me we don't sell our products in Korea."

Dammit.

"You didn't know?" Uncle Akira asked.

"No," Haruhi-senpai flushed, "we sell directly to many different breeders around Japan, and I supposed I just assumed…" Wonderful, now Uncle has embarrassed her.

"What did you do?" I asked, hoping to move this along and help her get past the slight reprimand.

"Tanaki-san and I called in our company lawyer and department heads. I had to leave for dinner last night, so I asked them to come up with a plan, and Tanaki-san would tell me about it at breakfast this morning." She took a sip of tea and calmed down a bit. "He found an international law firm with offices here in Tokyo and in Seoul. We're meeting with them next week. He also sent one of the cans I bought over to the lab that did our nutritional testing. They're going to test the contents and confirm it's our food." She glanced quickly at her watch. "I'm waiting for the results. They were able to squeeze us in at the end of the day."

"Which law firm?" She told Uncle Akira, and he nodded. "That's the one I would recommend. We've worked with them and been satisfied."

Just then, Haruhi-senpai's phone beeped.

"Excuse me. I'll take this in the other room." But Aunt Umeko stopped her and suggested she read the text at the table.

She lost all color in her face. "Oh, no."

"Haruhi-chan?"

"It's not our formula in the can."

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xXx

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Lady Crystal, Tokyo Bay:

"It's beautiful."

I smiled watching Yuki-chan's head swivel around trying to see all of Tokyo Bay.

"You're beautiful." It popped out, but I meant it. The golden tones of the setting sun lit up her face, making her look both younger and older at the same time. It's hard to explain.

She turned her radiant smile towards me, and the sunlight glinted in her eyes. "Thank you. For everything."

The Ootori's are members of the Cruise Club, and I booked an entire level of the 'Lady Crystal' for a dinner cruise. We have it all to ourselves and are currently sitting on a sofa facing off the ship. Her head landed on my shoulder and I warmed up instantly.

Ever since we discussed our insecurities, we've been getting closer. Emotionally and physically. It's time for a talk about our future. Because Kyoya agreed to a non-political wedding for us, we can have it before she graduates if we wish.

It's tempting. Once you know what you want, you want it right then.

"I've never been on a cruise of Tokyo Bay."

"Never?"

"I've gone through it, but never took the time to enjoy. The sunset makes everything so golden." Interesting how we're thinking the same thing.

The waiter announced dinner was starting, and we headed for our table.

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xXx

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Family Dinner, Dining Room, Morinozuka Estate:

"There's almost no nutritional value. It's mostly filler."

Satoshi, probably the least business minded in the room, asked, "What's that mean? What are you going to do?"

"It means that not only is someone using Haruhi-chan's company to sell food illegally, but that they are substituting an inferior mixture." Uncle Akira was angry on her behalf, but I knew he'd let her figure it out on her own unless she asked for help.

"What's next?"

She typed a quick response and set her phone down. "Now we implement the next part of the plan. All of this particular dog food will be removed from store shelves. One can from each store will be sent to the lab for testing, along with one can from each lot sitting in the warehouse and any coming in at the docks." She caught Uncle Akira's eyes, "We can't take any chances that we're selling harmful food." He nodded in approval. "After those results are in, we'll know what the next step is."

"And the factory?"

"Clearly, the problem is there. Our lawyer has shut down production, and the new law firm will assist us in finding a new one, the speed of which will be determined by the test results."

"Sounds expensive," Satoshi mumbled.

"Yes. It will be." Her voice was strained. "Getting a settlement depends on many different things going our way. In the meantime, we have to fund this ourselves." She'd long since set her chopsticks down. Now she pushed her plate away. "I'm not sure we can afford it. I'm hoping to qualify for a loan from a Suoh bank."

.

xXx

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Lady Crystal, Tokyo Bay:

"French?"

"I thought something different would be nice."

"It's delicious." And it was. French is one of my favorites. Trust Akito-kun to remember.

"How are things with Watanabe?"

"Getting worse." Earlier in the week, Akito-kun and I talked about everything that happened. She'll never be my best friend again, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried for her. I never knew she had this side to her, that she was capable of this. It scared me. "This morning, Haruhi's locker was stuffed full of tennis balls, each with a threatening message."

"When we talked about this, I mentioned I was afraid something like that would happen. Revenge can be quite ugly."

"Yes, it can."

We enjoyed the appetizer for a few minutes before I broke in. "Do you know what the Morinozuka's and Hitachiin's are going to do?"

I watched her eyes as they gazed up at the bridge we sailed under. "No, but I know they're discussing it. Hikaru told us they have a plan."

"Sounds like they can't wait much longer."

"The parents will be talking to hers this weekend."

"Good." I reached out and took her hand. "I'm sorry this is happening, and you're losing your best friend. Just know I'm here for you."

By now, the sun had set, and all the buildings were lit up. We watched them slip by as the appetizer plates were cleared.

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xXx

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Love Hotel, Tokyo:

"Take off your shoes and join me, Ritsu." She hit me with a dirty smirk, "I swear it will be fun."

"Not what I was thinking when you said, 'love hotel'."

OK, so I knew we weren't coming here for sex, but I didn't think we'd walk into a room with trampolines as the floor. Bu was jumping on in the middle of the room. This crazy chick is going to kill me. She's wearing those legging things and no bra under her t-shirt. I couldn't pull my eyes away.

"Would you just take off your shoes and get up here."

Two can play this game. I took off my shoes and my shirt. With the same dirty smirk she gave me, I joined her.

Another night playing with fire.

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xXx

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Lady Crystal, Tokyo Bay:

"I've got an English short story due Monday. I wanted to do something different, so I wrote about vampires."

Akito-kun almost choked on his tea. "Vampires?"

"No one else is going to write about it." I basically took one of the 'Vampire Knight' fan fictions I'd written and changed the characters and settings to original ideas. The original story got some good reviews when I posted it.

"Do you like horror movies?"

"Not really. This is more of a romance."

That's when the crème brulee appeared, and I dove in. "Mmmm." I swallowed. "Delicious."

I love his smile.

He waited until I was half through before talking again. "I have an ulterior motive for bringing you here." My mouth was full again, so I raised an eyebrow. "They hold weddings on this ship."

Now it was my turn to choke on my food.

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xXx

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Family Dinner, Dining Room, Morinozuka Estate:

"A loan? Why would you need a loan?" Haruhi-chan shot me a look, not understanding why I wasn't seeing the obvious. Has she not done anything with the investment account we gave her? "What about the account we gave you?"

I instantly regretted my harsh response when I watched her face blaze red. "I…," she swallowed to clear her throat, "…I want the company to handle this on its own."

Pride and independence. Her fingers circled the rim of her teacup, and she looked down at her plate. Pride and independence have their place, but stubbornness can cause problems. I must remember she's not like my sons. They were raised to make their own decisions but ask for help or advice whenever they needed it. Depending on others is not a weakness.

"You could loan the company the money from the account, and it could pay it back as it can."

"I'll think about it." Although, I doubted she would. If things go wrong, I'm sure she'll take the money out to save the company. Her pride wouldn't hold her back that much.

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xXx

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Love Hotel, Tokyo:

"Ritsu…"

I tugged on his hair.

"Ritsu…"

"Mmmmm."

"We need to stop."

"Mmmmm."

"Dammit, Ritsu!" I pulled his hair has hard as I could, and his lips left my chest with a pop. "We have to stop. Now!"

"Shit." He rolled off me onto the trampoline floor. "Sorry. Got carried away."

"Me too, but we have to stop." I have no idea how all of our clothes are still on. He only lifted my shirt.

He bounced over to the media center, and I held back a moan watching his ass. "Let's get some food and watch a horror movie."

"Now you're talking."

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xXx

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Lady Crystal, Tokyo Bay:

"Weddings?" Her face was flushed from either the choking or the embarrassment. Either way, she's beautiful.

"I was wondering if you'd like to talk about our future."

Her smile was radiant. Guess I've been reading the signs right.

"Before we get too far into the discussion, I want to make sure you know that we can stop talking at any time and that we don't have to decide anything tonight or anytime soon if you don't want to." I reached over and squeezed her hand. "We'll go at whatever pace you're comfortable with."

The blush deepened again. "Thank you for that, Akito-kun." I nodded.

"Are you finished with dessert? We could move back to the sofa?" Maybe sitting side by side looking out over the water would be easier than staring at each other.

"Alright."

I was surprised and happy when she snuggled up to my side and put her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her waist.

"Why don't you tell me where you see us going?"

Yuki-chan was quiet for a minute, then reached around and grabbed my hand. "I'm falling for you, Akito-kun. I see us married with an amazing life."

"So do I."

She looked up, and I kissed those beautiful, red lips.

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xXx

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Evening, Library, Morinozuka Estate:

I knew I'd find her here. Her nose in a book, and her cat curled up in her lap.

"Haruhi-senpai?"

She looked up, "Chika. What's up?"

"You remember I'm a Petto Chinmi shareholder, right?"

"Yes."

I sat down opposite her at the table. "I thought you'd like some advice from someone with a stake in the company." I held up my hand to stop her objecting. "Advice only."

"Alright. I need all the help I can get."

Leaning back in my chair, I started what I'd thought hard about. "You've got several options about money. First, would be to use your investment account. You could invest the money outright, or loan it to the company. Second, would be a loan from a bank. Petto Chinmi is solid. There should be no problem getting the loan. Third, would be to ride it out and hope for the best. I definitely don't recommend that one. Forth, you could get a loan from a stockholder, namely me."

"You?"

"Think about it. It's your second-best choice after the investment fund. I'll set up the loan as a bank would with the current interest rate, but I'll hold payments for six months with the interest on the principle starting then. You'll be able to focus on getting this cleaned up, finding the right factory, and building your funds back up before your first payment is due. If you are awarded a settlement, you can pay me back in full without penalty."

I watched her think about it. I don't understand her reluctance to touch her fund, but I respect her choice. If our roles were reversed, and I found myself with nothing, how hard would it be to ask for help? Hard. I wouldn't want to take advantage of anyone offering me a kindness. I suppose it's similar.

"Thanks, Chika. I'll take you up on that offer. I'll have a better idea of how much I'll need with the tests come back."

"Just let me know. I'll have the papers drawn up and leave the amount blank."

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xXx

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Ouran High School Host Club. I do, however, own any original characters and the plot of this story. I also do not own, nor am I making any money from, the following: Olympics, Lego, Duplo, any real restaurant, business, food product, or really anything else that exists.

Author's Note:

Finally, we know a little more about what's going on with Haruhi. Much more to come, but I won't have her neck deep in the day-to-day stuff. That's not the purpose of this arc.

When I read what Kaoru's mom said about drawing horns on all the models, dad spit is soda out laughing so hard. It's good to give him a chuckle by surprise.

About the dinner and what they decided to do about Naoko…I read the reviews, and Dad and I talked about it. It's completely Haruhi to compare this to Hikaru's problems and want to not only do what's best but what will do the least harm. I know it was a little mean the way she brought it up, but she needed to shock the twins into realizing what she was talking about. The meeting with Naoko's parents will be in the next chapter. I hope you like where I'm taking it. As for the tennis balls – I wanted Naoko to do something else, but not physical. She already hit Haruhi in the eye.

Rather than have Haruhi cry or get angry, I thought I'd have her just kinda check out. I do that when I'm overwhelmed. It's easy to get so tired and want to zone out. I thought maybe she was at that point.

The bakery opening was fun. Poor Ritsu and all the pink.

So, love hotel…In my research I read stuff about couples going for first dates and not sleeping together. They'd get a theme room that sounded fun and have dinner and watch a movie or whatever. Trampolines sounded fun.

Are we hearing wedding bells for Akito and Yuki? Anyone want them to get married before she graduates? Any other ideas? There will be an engagement in the near future. How should he propose?

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Next Chapter:

Huge surprises on the horizon…and not good ones. Some fluff for Akito and Yuki. And Haruhi finds out about the rest of the cans.

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