~Chapter Six~

Intrinsic

What I Really Meant to Say:
Is I'm Sorry for the Way I Am.
I Never Meant to Be So Cold…

To You, I'm Sorry About All the Lies.
Maybe in a Different Light,
You Could See Me Stand On My Own Again.

~Cold, by Crossfade

Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.

I watched in amazement as each twin wrapped an arm around the small blonde, pulling her in between their taller bodies, where she relaxed, oddly enough. And I wasn't the only one. Because suddenly, it made sense. She was the tape, the glue, the strength that held them together. The three of them – Hikaru, Kaoru, and Sammy – fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

And she was the missing piece.

Crash!

Takashi's P.O.V.

The three friends startled and looked to the left, to the heart of the commotion: Haruhi-san had broken the vase that Kyoya had decided to place (rather ostentatiously, I might add) on display for the auction this weekend. It was a Rene – blue with green detailing – and had been rather expensive. This was probably not a good sign for the commoner…

The Twins smirked at each other before slinking away from Sammy and towards their prey. "Ah…" Golden eyes lit up with amusement.

One twin, Hikaru maybe, happily said, "That was a Rene. And it was the target of our auction."

The other Hitachiin immediately added his opinion. "That's not good, not at all! We had hoped that we'd gain a fair amount of money for this. ...Around, maybe, eight million yen?" he mused.

Or was this one Hikaru? Ah… I give up. I sighed.

A small scream filled the air. "Eight million yen?" Haruhi shrieked.

His face had paled drastically in a manner of seconds and he began mumbling to himself, counting on his fingers to calculate the cost. The faster he counted, the faster his face drained of color. Haruhi finished his calculations after a few seconds. He now resembled a ghost.

Considering that Kyoya was about to stick his (probably poisonous) claws in him, I couldn't say that I blamed him for this reaction. Not a damn bit.

Sammy was apparently thinking along the same lines because she winced in sympathy. "Poor Casper. I suppose that the only thing left for this poor soul to do now is to become a slave to the Ghostly Trio."

This was obviously a reference to a fictional character of some sort – in a movie, perhaps? And it was yet another one that I didn't understand. But Sammy was shaking her head sadly, so I knew that she felt sorry for her friend. I assumed that her conclusions of the situation were similar to my own. Simply stated, Haruhi was in deep trouble.

Haruhi gulped as he turned to face the Twins. "About…the cost of this vase…"

"Well, you probably won't be able to pay us back," they said thoughtfully, "seeing as you couldn't even afford to buy our designated uniform." The pair grinned mischievously as they began commenting – if insulting every minor detail could be called commenting – on his outfit.

Meanwhile, Kyoya had picked up a piece of the vase, smirking in an amused manner. His finger trailed over the jagged edge as he asked, "What should we do, Tamaki?"

The King had promptly jumped into his role, seating himself on an expensive chair. "Have you ever heard of this saying – When in Rome, do as the Romans do?" With an exaggerated flick of his blonde hair, the Frenchman pointed to the Haruhi.

It was obvious that he had not. But the commoner was about to find out what it meant, of that I was sure.

"If you do not have the money, then you shall work it off!" Tamaki explained in a lofty manner.

His eyes were closed and I feared that he had drifted into yet another daydream. I bit back a sigh; Tamaki needed to be more serious at times. As he looked up, however, his sapphire eyes were lit with conviction. It was easy to see that my kohai had taken a more serious stance on the matter. At this, I felt a brief flash of pride well in my chest.

"Starting today…" – Please insert smirk here – "You are the Host Club's dog!"

…or maybe he would continue to act like an idiot. Yes. That seemed much more likely in his case.

Haruhi seemed to fade into the shadows at this declaration. His body language resembled that of my defeated Kendo opponents and it practically screamed DEFEATED. The young man was currently staring at the ceiling, as if praying to some unknown deity. And he would need all the help he could get if Tamaki continued with his shenanigans, especially if Kyoya went along with them.

The Host Club and I gathered around the young man and Sammy squeezed by to pat her friend on the shoulder. "Let's look on the bright side once again, shall we? At least you have the opportunity to make some new friends!" A cheesy smile stole across her lips. Obviously, this had been meant as encouragement.

A chill crept into the room and the air grew stale. A dark aura surrounded Haruhi as he turned to glare at the blonde. "I've been captured by this…bizarre 'Host Club.'" Here, he spoke using air quotes, doubtful of our club. "And you want me to befriend these crazy people?"

Sammy gulped. "Um…" she squeaked, a tremor apparent in her voice. Her own eyes were wide with terror as she nervously met the eyes of her younger friend. "…y-yes?"

"You're just as crazy as the rest of these idiots," Haruhi mumbled weakly. He didn't seem to be feeling so well.

Sammy sighed in relief, having escaped to live another day. Her friend, however, appeared to be debating something. When he reached an answer, his skin tone began to gray. Curiously, Mitsukuni reached forward to poke the commoner, as one would poke at a strange animal in the zoo. Haruhi briefly swayed on the spot before falling over without a sound. The other Host Club members stared at the fallen individual in shock; he had fainted.

I spared a glance a Mitsukuni – who smirked for the smallest moment – before looking away. For some reason, I felt that this too was a part of his plan. What that plan was remained a mystery at the moment.

"Well," the Twins drawled, "we might as well stick him on the couch until he wakes up." With a sigh, they dragged their classmate over to said piece of furniture, where they promptly dropped him.

Sammy scowled at the younger boys. "Hika-chan! Ru-chan! That was incredibly mean!" she snapped at them. The boys shrugged in unison, and this only served to make her more irritable. "I've told you time and time again that actions like those are unacceptable when dealing with other people! Remember the Golden Rule: 'Treat others as you would like to be treated'?"

The Twins nodded hesitantly. "Yeah…"

"Follow it!" she barked. Her blue eyes narrowed and sparked in anger. Once again, she resembled Pome. I felt the strangest urge to soothe her wild hair down, like one would an irritated animal.

Kaoru, or maybe Hikaru – I really should try to remember which is which… – hesitantly raised his hand.

Sammy eyes him warily. "What is it, Hika-chan?"

Note to self: Hikaru is the one with his hair parted towards the right side, noticeable when facing him. Kaoru is the opposite.

"But you let us pick you up and tote you around like a cheap purse!" Hikaru protested, obviously lost as to why he was being fussed at.

I watched in interest as the blonde's face turned beet red. "I…I…uh…"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her response, or rather – lack thereof. He scribbled this information in his notebook, probably under a carefully labeled section called 'Relationships.'

I frowned at Sammy's reaction to their question, an odd feeling of jealously welling in my chest. I tried to shake it off, telling myself that I had nothing to be jealous of, but I couldn't. Dammit. I thought to myself. What the hell is wrong with me? I really need to snap out of this! But…how?

"Um…that's why I said 'other people.'" Sammy coughed into her hand. After taking a minute to analyze this weak retort, she cringed and muttered to herself, "Yeah, that's it… Good excuse, Sammy."

The Twins rolled their eyes at Sammy's ramblings and chose to ignore them. They started over to claim their table for hosting hours. Clearly, they were used to her antics.

Sammy grinned at their departure and made an odd motion with her arms; it looked like an X at first. "Safe!" she declared with a relieved sigh.

I glanced at her curiously and, to my immense surprise, she turned to look back at me. Her blue eyes widened as she noticed me and her mouth dropped open slightly in shock. After a moment, she caught herself staring. A blush spread across her cheeks like wildfire and she offered me a timid smile.

"Um…hi!" she chirped. The blonde cocked her head to the side, obviously awaiting a response.

In return, I gave her a tiny smile, but said nothing. Instead, I followed after Mitsukuni and offered my help in setting up our table. I knew that, in doing so, I had hurt her feelings. But at this point, I was only acting out of a desire for self-preservation. As the first son of my parents, I had a duty to adhere to, and marrying such a strange girl would not bring honor to my family – only disgrace. So my instincts were urging me to leave the taming of this wild creature to another man.

Because falling for her… That would only bring me heartache.

The snacks were quickly placed on the table and I did my best to slow my actions as I focused on cutting a chocolate cake into sixteen carefully crafted pieces. Next came the setting of the china. I stared into a delicate teacup, doing my best to ignore the hurt expression on my classmate's face as she walked away. After handing my cousin a few slices of cake and pouring us both some tea, I settled down to await our first designation.

***Author's Note***

Sammy: Why is he being so mean to me? *Sniffle*

Twins: Don't worry, Sammy-chan! We'll beat him up for you!

Hikaru: *Swings a Baseball Bat in the Air*

Kaoru: *Points a Hockey Stick at Takashi*

Takashi: *Sweatdrop* ...? *Walks Away, Shaking Head*

Twins: Yeah, you better run!

Shadowsammy: AND THE PLOT THICKENS! LE GASP!

P.S. Anyway, back to Sammy's POV next chapter. See ya then, guys!

P.P.S. And thank you all SO MUCH for all of the wonderful reviews, alerts, and favorites! :D