Chapter 8: Decisions, decisions. By Tigyr.
Kyoya sighed as he looked through the files on his laptop. He could hardly believe the current expenses that the club had racked up. He sighed again and was startled when Haruhi asked him if he was okay. As he nodded his head, he couldn't help asking about her past. He knew something had to have happened to have made her forget about their previous friendship.
"Haruhi, I overheard you telling some of our guests that you lost your mother at a young age. How old were you when that happened?"
Haruhi smiled at him and he stared at her. This was the person he knew and remembered. That smile was just as he saw it in his memories. The bright brown eyes, the smile that encompassed her whole being.
"I was only five at the time, and mom was my best friend. She was a lawyer, but she was my mother first, and she always made time for me and my dad. I think losing her hit my father more than it did me, but we had always been close. It was a hard time for me and dad. He couldn't work for the longest time and by then his boss had fired him. One of his friends suggested that he try working at the bar, and he's been there ever since."
Kyoya nodded as he took in that bit of information. If her dad had emotionally collapsed, then what had happened to her grandparents? As if she had picked up on his thoughts, Haruhi glanced at him as she said, "I don't remember much about my grandparents. I do know that my grandfather had the same eye problems that I do and that's why I am able to wear his glasses when I can't find my contacts or when we can't afford to replace them. As for any other relatives, Dad never mentions them, so I'm not sure that I have any. If we do, they never call or visit; I don't think I've ever seen a card from anyone either."
Kyoya didn't respond and she looked up at him. He was lost in thought and she smiled at the distant look in his eyes. It was times like this that her mind started to remind her of that imaginary friend she'd had as a child. The dark haired little boy with grey eyes and a shy smile. She often wondered what Kyoya had looked like as a child. Then again, it was hard to imagine the Shadow King as a child.
"What is our next campaign going to be Kyoya-senpai?"
Her question brought him out of his reverie and he smiled as he pushed his glasses back up on his nose.
"I believe the others mentioned something about going to the beach." He wanted to see her reaction and was a bit surprised by the lack of enthusiasm in her response.
"Well, yeah they did, but I didn't think you would take them up on it." Her statement gave him pause and he typed a few nonsensical words into his laptop as he struggled to find an appropriate answer.
"Well, it is outside of the club's budget, but we might be able to make it work. I just have to see what we need for an outing. As you said, it's not something I would normally agree with, but we do need to keep up our own moral as much as we need to think about our guests."
Haruhi stared at him as he started punching figures into his calculator. "Uh, senpai, do I have to go on this outing with you guys this time?"
Kyoya gave her a sideways glance, "Is there a reason you shouldn't be going?"
She sighed and shook her head, "I guess not, I was just looking forward to a weekend studying, that's all."
Kyoya shut his laptop down and put his calculator to one side as he turned to look at her.
"Are you worried about your studies?"
Haruhi started to shake her head no, then nodded. "I haven't been able to concentrate that much with the recent club activities, and if I can't keep my grades up then I can't keep my scholarship, and that means I can't honor my promise to my mother."
Kyoya drummed his fingers on his laptop as he considered what she was saying. If she didn't maintain her grades, then she would not only lose the scholarship, she would be ousted from Ouran as well.
"What classes do you need help with?" His question surprised him as much as it did her.
Haruhi shrugged as she started to put her books into her backpack. "It will be fine senpai. I just need a few days to study before the next exam, that's all."
Kyoya narrowed his eyes as he watched her leave. He started to get up to follow her but a noise from the back of the room had him spinning back to see Honey sitting there a sleepy look on his face.
"I thought you had left already, Honey-senpai," Kyoya said as he approached the smaller host.
"Takashi had a late practice, so I stayed to take a nap. Are you worried about Haru-chan? She sounded like she was worried about her classes. She won't have to stop being a host will she Kyo-chan?"
The worry in Honey's voice seemed to echo his own thoughts, and Kyoya shook his head. "We can help her, but I'm not sure that she will accept our help."
"Why wouldn't she?" Honey sounded almost indignant, and Kyoya smiled at him.
"I'm not sure that she knows how to rely on anyone else, Honey-senpai."
The boy lolita turned his blue-eyed gaze onto his younger friend, "What do you mean?"
Kyoya sighed and looked at his laptop. Sometimes Kyoya forgot that none of the others tended to look into the background history of their friends and clients. That was all part of Kyoya's role in the club, but right now he needed someone to talk to. He looked at Honey, and instead of the child-like look that he was used to seeing in the club, there was the mature, young adult, martial arts master who cared about his friends and family.
Kyoya shook his head and motioned for Honey to walk with him to the door. As they left the club room, they met up with Mori who said nothing, just followed silently behind the other two. Kyoya saw Tachibana waiting for him and motioned for the bodyguard to follow him to Honey's, then he climbed into the limousine with the other two boys.
On the way, he told the older boys what he had discovered so far and that he was concerned about Haruhi maintaining her grades. Mori said nothing, just turned even more thoughtful as Honey and Kyoya started making plans to keep their princess from failing high school. As they approached the Haninozuka residence, Kyoya looked at Mori who met his gaze steadily.
"I'm sure you've both heard that we're supposed to go to the beach for one of our next club activities. Haruhi's already asked to stay behind. I was tempted to tell her yes, but I almost think that she needs to get away as much as anyone does. I'm asking for your honest opinions. Do you think we should go or not?"
"Yes." Mori's answer was short, but held a ton of meaning behind it.
"Can Usa-chan come too?"
"I don't see why not." Kyoya replied as he watched Mori's expression. The stoic young man just nodded in agreement as Kyoya continued. "I do most of my studying at night, and I know that you two maintain good grades, despite your schedules. My question is how do we get Haruhi to study with us, or to ask us for help?"
"She won't, not until she needs us." Mori's reply stunned both the other two. "Haruhi never had anyone before she came here. As you said, she is not used to asking for help. We need to remember this."
Kyoya stared at Mori in surprise. The fact that Mori had uttered more than two syllables was part of the reason, the other was Mori's insight into Haruhi. He glanced at Honey who was beaming at Mori.
"You're right partially right Takashi; Haru-chan didn't have anyone to rely on. We just need to prove that she can rely on the host club for assistance from now on. Maybe we could just suggest that we're going to do some studying, and ask her if she'd like to join us?"
Kyoya nodded at both of them, and for the next few hours the three conspired, trying to determine the best way for them to show their female counterpart that she wasn't alone anymore.
Haruhi sighed as she thought about the conversation she'd had with Kyoya that day. His unexpected offer to help with her studies had been tempting. She suspected that out of all the club members, he was the one who actually studied. While she didn't know exactly what courses he was taking, she knew he had to be in some business classes and that he was exceptionally intelligent.
She sighed and inwardly acknowledged that she was fascinated with the grey-eyed boy. He wasn't like Tamaki and the Hitachiin twins. He was quiet and studious, he was manipulative yes, but it wasn't malicious. He was concerned about the club and its members. He wanted the club to succeed, even if it meant that he had to be a bit conniving in order to make ends meet.
The phone rang and she answered it, knowing instinctively that it would be her father.
"Hey Dad, yeah I'm home and no nothing happened today. What would you like me to fix for supper tonight? Don't be so worried, I'm a big girl now and can take care of myself. Yes, I'll make sure the door is locked before I go to bed. Oh we're supposed to go to the beach one of these weekends, is it okay with you if I go? No, I don't want you packing my bags, you'll make me wear those frilly things called dresses. No, Dad, no, I'll be okay. I'll let you know just when we're going. Okay, love you too Dad."
Haruhi smiled as she hung up the phone. Her dad loved her, she knew that, but sometimes he tended to go a little overboard when it came to her clothing. He just couldn't understand why she preferred wearing boys clothes when she was a girl. The fact that he wore women's clothes and was a male hadn't crossed his mind apparently. She laughed as she made sure the door was locked and the windows were all secured.
As she prepared her supper she wondered again about Kyoya's unexpected offer of assistance. She thought about that as she fell asleep and when she woke the next morning she decided that she would take the Shadow King up on his offer of help. Even though she was still wary that Kyoya might find something else to tack onto her mountain of debt, she didn't think he'd do it in a way that would make her lose her scholarship. There wouldn't be any merit in it.
Kyoya spent the next few days figuring out the expenses needed to take the hosts to the beach. Haruhi didn't have a passport, so that meant any foreign travel was out of the question. Of course they could always get her a passport, but that would mean talking to Ranka about taking his daughter out of the country and he doubted that Ranka would approve. Kyoya tapped his finger against his mouth as he tried to come up with another option.
A knock on the door, and a quiet shuffling had him looking up, and he smiled at the boy who entered the room. From the dark clothing and shadowed features, it was hard sometimes to realize that Umehito Nekozawa was actually a nice person, just very shy and afraid of the sunlight.
"Nekozawa, what brings you into our hallowed domain?"
The older boy blinked nervously and swallowed hard several times before he finally said, "We have vacation time coming up, and I wanted to know if anyone would like to join me at my summerhouse for the weekend."
Kyoya was about to say no, when he remembered that the Nekozawa's summerhouse wasn't too far away from his own. He motioned for Nekozawa to sit down, and the two made arrangements for the club's upcoming visit.
"I won't have room for too many guests," Umehito said apologetically when Kyoya mentioned bringing some of their female clients along.
"Hmm? Oh, don't worry about that aspect. It will be just the host club staying at your residence, while we entertain our guests on the beach. I can make hotel arrangements for our guests. I will have to ask that we put Haruhi in a separate room though if that's possible."
Nekozawa nodded and promised to bring Kyoya a layout of his house within the next few days. Kyoya thanked him, and was rewarded with a shy smile and quiet thank you in return. Once Nekozawa left, Kyoya rubbed his temple and grinned as he plotted the trip to the beach. He started to send out the email invitations, then stopped. He wanted to see if the rest of the club still wanted to go to the beach before he invited any guests along.
The afternoon passed quickly enough, and Kyoya was actually looking forward to the club meeting. Tamaki noticed his good mood and commented on it, but Kyoya shook his head, saying that he'd explain once all the other hosts had arrived. Haruhi showed up soon after with the twins tagging on her heels. She dashed into the room and hid behind the cupboard where they kept the tea cups and other club supplies. Kaoru and Hikaru tried to follow her, but a stern glance from Kyoya had the twins retreating from that area and turning their attention to Tamaki instead.
"Hey boss," Kaoru said.
"When are we going to the beach?" Hikaru continued.
Tamaki looked at Kyoya who shrugged his shoulders. Haruhi peeked around the corner and silently asked Kyoya if she was supposed to go with them and he nodded. She sighed and her shoulders slumped a little, but then she shook it off as she prepared tea for the hosts.
"Well, men, it will all depend on what locations we can go to."
"There's always the Bahamas," Kaoru stated.
"Or France," Hikaru chimed in.
"We could go to Spain or even Italy." Kaoru grinned at Hikaru who nodded enthusiastically.
Haruhi said nothing as she listened to the exotic locations that the others were mentioning. She knew that she didn't have a passport, and didn't dare to say anything to the others, because they'd find a way to buy her one and then tack it onto the debt that she was already trying to pay back.
Kyoya raised his eyebrows as Tamaki and the twins kept raving about this location or that one. He silently shook his head as he imagined having to come up with the expenses for even one of those locations. He typed more notes into his laptop as they all waited for Honey and Mori to arrive. Today was one of their off days, where they spent the time in collaboration, bouncing ideas off each other as they tried to find new ways to entertain their clients.
Kyoya smirked as he cleared his throat. Haruhi brought him a fresh cup of tea and he thanked her as she handed it to him.
"Senpai, do I really have to go?" she whispered and he nodded.
"Yes, we all need a break and you need one too." His reply was a bit louder than he'd intended, and it garnered the attention of the other three.
"Haruhi, you weren't trying to stay behind were you?" Hikaru asked, and Haruhi nodded.
"You can't do that, we have plans for you." Kaoru said, and Haruhi grimaced at the excitement she could see in their eyes. She could just imagine what some of their plans might entail, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be part of it.
"We are helping our mother with a new swimsuit line, and you were one of the first people we thought of when we were designing it." Hikaru said proudly. Kaoru nodded in agreement, and the twins started their spiel about the swimsuit they had planned for her. How the ruffles would hide her lack of bosom all the while emphasizing her small waist. Honey and Mori came in during the explanation, and Honey immediately showed her the swimsuit he had picked out for her, a blue and white one-piece that the twins immediately shot down.
Kyoya let the hosts squabble for a few more seconds, then emitted an ear-splitting whistle.
"Now then, as you can see, we have a few more days to decide what Haruhi will be wearing. I do advise that everyone bring sunscreen and your best attitudes. That being said, I will start making the travel arrangements and will let you all know the itinerary by this time tomorrow. Haruhi, I do need to speak to you and Honey-senpai after the meeting is over. Mori-senpai, you are welcome to stay as you and Honey-senpai travel together. In the meantime, we need to figure out what theme our next role play will be. Tamaki, I assume you have some ideas on this matter?"
Kyoya tuned out the rest of the conversation, knowing that Tamaki would be calling him later that evening. He calmly started inputting the trip expenses into a spreadsheet, and wondered briefly if Nekozawa knew just what he was doing by inviting the host club for a retreat.