Only a half hour after Atsuhiro had dropped off their luggage and the groceries Kairi insisted on sending along, Haruhi placed the last of her school supplies in her desk. Turning to survey her stocked and orderly apartment, she sighed happily. "I've almost achieved my goal. Just one more year and then the bar exam. Dear Mother in Heaven, I hope you're proud of me."

She walked over to the refrigerator and touched the piece of paper held in place by a magnet, the list of therapists Takashi had given her on her birthday. "I wonder if anyone knows I came here several times during the summer to see my therapist. First because of Seiji's death and then my feelings of inadequacy that sent me running off to Kariuzawa without telling anyone." Smiling softly, she remembered, "At least I found out they were perfectly normal reactions to the stresses I was feeling."

Taking another look around, Haruhi decided to make a few changes before heading upstairs to see how Rene and Kyoya were doing. She swapped the wardrobe trunk from its place by the desk with the small table next to the fold-out sofa. Haruhi chuckled at the memory of constantly knocking over the table when her alarm went off and then wasting valuable time searching for her phone after it went flying. "The wardrobe trunk will be less likely to move if I make an aggressive grab to turn off my alarm."

Rene grinned as he made his bed, artfully arranging the three throw pillows Chisato had given him as a back-to-school gift. The bold blue, red, and yellow pillows blended well with the rainbow linens. "I remember our first trip to the home center when I bought these. It was so much fun."

Opening his suitcase, he started to put away his clothes when he was distracted by the golden retriever plushy from that trip sitting on his dresser. "I'm glad okaa-san let me buy that. It made the day that much more special."

He was startled out of his thoughts by a knock on his door. "Yes?" he called.

"Would you come help put the groceries away?" Kyoya asked. "I think Kairi got carried away with those puddings you like."

Rene hurried into the kitchen to help before the puddings got too soft. "I really like Kairi's puddings, but they are better if they're not soupy."

After all the freezer and refrigerator items were put away, they worked together to transfer the dry goods into the storage containers. Looking around, Rene commented, "We shouldn't need to go grocery shopping for anything but fresh meat and produce for nearly a month."

Before Kyoya could reply, there was a knock on the door and he went to answer it. Seeing it was Haruhi, he pulled her inside, closed the door, and gave her a quick kiss. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Don't you need to get your apartment in order?"

"Already done," she replied. "It's so small, I even had time to rearrange some things. One of the perks of having a studio apartment."

Rene called from the kitchen, "We just finished putting groceries away. I still need to finish unpacking my suitcase and cleaning my room before I can help clean the rest of the apartment."

Haruhi looked around the apartment. "How about I dust and sweep while you two put your things away and clean your rooms?"

Smiling broadly, Rene was about to agree with her plan when Kyoya said, "Why don't you go check on the twins and the Beringar sisters first? If there is anything that still needs to be done, you can help when you get back?"

Considering his suggestion for a moment, Haruhi finally said, "That sounds like a plan. I'll let you two get back to work while I check on the others. See you in a few minutes."

Hikaru and Kaoru grinned at each other from behind their masks as they crossed dusters like swords. "So, who won?" Hikaru asked mischievously.

His nose tickled by the dust despite wearing a mask, Kaoru sneezed. "The dust," he commented sarcastically, rubbing the back of his hand across his mask-covered nose.

Facepalming, Hikaru grumbled, "I forgot to bring the air purifier."

Kaoru snapped his fingers. "Wait a minute. I know I saw you pack it." He went into the kitchen and started rummaging through the boxes. "Ha, found it." He set it on the counter, plugged it in, and turned it on.

"Why don't we go check on Estee and Coco while that clears up the dust?" Hikaru asked, heading for the door.

Kaoru sneezed and then followed him.

Coco stood back and contemplated the two collages she and her sister had just hung on the wall. They were created during an art class they took together the previous spring. Both included a picture of the London bombing memorial in a top corner and a picture of the memorial to their parents at Hinansho in a bottom corner. In between, each had included photos and magazine ads from their parents work as well as photos of home life.

Hearing a soft sniffle, she turned to see Estee sitting on the sofa, her hand covering her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs. Coco walked over and sat down next to her, wrapping her in a hug.

"I can't believe how much I still miss them," Estee whispered through her tears. "Even though we're here in a foreign country, there are still times I expect to see them walk through the door with wild tales about their last assignment and all the over-the-top personalities they had to deal with." She buried her head in her sister's shoulder, no longer trying to hold in her sobs.

Tears slid quietly down Coco's face as she whispered gentle assurances in French. They had been sitting like that for several minutes when there was a knock at the door. At first, they just ignored it, not wanting to let anyone intrude on their grief. Then they heard an explosive sneeze as Hikaru's voice called, "Are you two okay?"

The sisters exchanged a glance before Coco got up, handed Estee a box of tissues, and went to open the door. Estee mopped her face, trying to remove most of the evidence of her crying.

When Coco opened the door, Hikaru looked at her worriedly. "Is anything wrong?" he asked as he looked around the apartment for Estee. Seeing her sitting on the sofa, he followed her gaze to the other side of the room to the collages. "Oh," was all he could say as his voice tightened and eyes misted with emotion. He moved to sit on the sofa and pull her into his lap.

Taking in the scene in the apartment, Kaoru pulled Coco into his arms and gently kicked the door closed. "It's been nearly four years and that feeling of loss still sneaks up on me at times, too," he murmured into her hair as he rubbed her back.

Haruhi knocked on the twins' door and waited for them. After a moment, she tried again. Shaking her head, she muttered to herself, "They're probably at the Beringars' apartment. I'd rather not walk in on anything, so I'll just go back to help Kyoya and Rene."

The two couples were unaware of time as they silently comforted each other in their shared grief. Suddenly, Estee's stomach growled, and she couldn't contain her giggles. Hikaru looked at her with a raised eyebrow that just made her giggles turn to laughter.

Kaoru looked at the time and remarked offhandedly, "I guess it is time for us to meet the others for lunch." Coco rolled her eyes and swatted playfully at his chest.

Just then, all their phones chimed with a text alert.

***Waiting for you out front to go to lunch***

Haruhi, Kyoya, and Rene were discussing wedding gifts for Takashi and Chiharu when Hikaru, Estee, Kaoru, and Coco finally joined them. Rene asked, "Where should we have lunch?"

"We could go to My Place," Haruhi offered.

Hikaru and Kaoru draped their arms over her shoulders as they sandwiched her between them. Hikaru chuckled as he said, "Even though we have four fewer people than last year, I doubt we could fit comfortably in your little studio apartment."

Grinning, Haruhi shook them off. "I didn't mean my apartment, I meant My Place. Remember our favorite restaurant near campus?"

"Yeah, so?" Kaoru questioned looking puzzled.

"Well, last February the owner decided to retire," Haruhi started to explain.

Rene interrupted, "So the new owner changed the name to 'My Place'?"

Kyoya quelled the group with a frown. "Why don't we let Haruhi explain?"

"Thanks for the back-up," Haruhi whispered as she kissed him on the cheek and squeezed his hand. She turned to the others and continued, "I bought the restaurant with a few conditions. One was for him to hire and train a new manager. Another was that the employees would not be informed until I officially took over at the end of the school year."

Coco piped up, "Why not just tell the employees?"

"I casually talked to them about their thoughts on new management since the owner was talking about retiring. They told me a lot of horror stories about management changes other places they had worked. I wanted to let them get used to the new manager with the old owner around to ease the transition." Haruhi paused for a moment to catch her breath.

Smirking, Kaoru teased, "I think Kyoya's business acumen is rubbing off on you."

"I take that as a compliment," Kyoya stated smugly, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it with a wink.

"I do, too" she muttered under her breath before ignoring their shenanigans and continuing. "So, I closed the restaurant for a day and called a mandatory meeting for which they were paid. The former owner informed them I bought the restaurant and the need to change the name. One of the timid young ladies suggested calling it 'My Place,' but I misunderstood thinking she meant 'Haruhi's' or 'Fujioka's.' She clarified that she and her friends had always wished when a guy aggressively demanded they take him to their apartment, they could take him to 'My Place' and pretend to misunderstand his meaning and escape."

"That…is a really smart idea," Estee commented thoughtfully.

"I told her as much," Haruhi replied. "Her comment was also a great segue into informing them about the security training they would be receiving from the Haninozuka and Morinozuka dojos."

Just then, Estee and Coco's stomachs growled loudly. They exchanged a look and were reduced to giggles.

"We can finish discussing this over lunch," Haruhi said. Turning to the twins, she added, "You two need to take better care of your significant others."

The group laughed as they headed to the restaurant.

OHSHC

Classes started and the group settled back into their routines. Kyoya did not have classes, so he spent his time conducting business. At first, he simply worked on the dining room table However, constantly unpacking and packing up his work for every meal made the situation less than adequate. He decided to lease an office space in the building across the street from 'My Place,' which made lunches easy. If work occupied him through lunch, he would have something delivered. If he needed a lunch or dinner meeting, he just had to cross the street. In either case, it was an easy commute home at night.

Haruhi was engrossed in her law studies, fascinated by all facets of law, but ultimately deciding to concentrate on contract law. Kyoya insisted that Tuesday nights would be set aside for spending time together. The whole group agreed that they would have brunch together Sunday mornings in one of their apartments.

The terms seemed to be going along well when four weeks into the term Hikaru, Kaoru, Estee, and Coco each received a summons to the Dean's office. They were not informed why, they were just given a day and time to appear.

On the appointed day, they walked into the Dean's office twenty minutes before the scheduled time. Hikaru walked up to the receptionist and said, "Hikaru and Kaoru Hinan and Estee and Coco Beringar reporting as directed."

The receptionist gave them a sour, suspicious look as she waved to some chairs. "Have a seat. I will inform the Dean you are here. Will your parents or guardians be arriving soon?"

Kaoru looked confused as he asked, "Why do they need to be here? We have no idea why we were summoned."

Looking up at him as she waited for the Dean to answer his phone, she replied arrogantly, "Since you are going to be expelled, I'm sure they will want to know." She ignored them as the Dean answered and she relayed, "The Hinans and Beringars are here."

The quartet exchanged a perplexed look. "I'm calling Kyoya and Haruhi. I know she's at his office studying so I only need to make one call," Kaoru stated, pulling out his phone and tapping Kyoya's contact.

"Good afternoon, Kaoru. To what do I owe this call?" Kyoya said as he answered the phone.

Taking a deep breath, Kaoru explained, "We're in the Dean's office with Estee and Coco because we all received summons. The receptionist said we should have our guardians here because we're going to be expelled. We have no idea what's going on."

"We'll be right there," Kyoya responded, anger evident in his voice.

Kaoru visibly relaxed, saying, "Thanks. We'll be waiting," before he ended the call.

Slipping his phone into his pocket, Kyoya reached across the table and tapped Haruhi's hand. She looked up from the law book she was reading and making notes from with a questioning expression. "Okaa-san, that was Kaoru. The twins and Beringar sisters are being threatened with expulsion."

"Expulsion?! We'll see about that." Haruhi tossed her pen on the table, stood up, and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's go, otou-san."

Within minutes, Kyoya and Haruhi were at the Dean's office. Haruhi headed to the quartet while Kyoya approached the receptionist.

"How may I help you?" the receptionist asked in a bored tone.

"I am Kyoya Hinan. I am here as guardian for Hikaru, Kaoru, Estee, and Coco," he replied authoritatively. "What is the meaning of this threatened expulsion?"

"You'll have to wait for the Dean." Ignoring him, she picked up the phone to inform the Dean of the additions to the meeting.

Kyoya's back was ramrod straight as he joined the others. Haruhi placed a hand on his arm and studied his expression. "Rather rude, wasn't she?" Haruhi whispered.

Pursing his lips to bite back a comment that could be taken the wrong way if overheard, he finally muttered, "It certainly has me rethinking some investments and partnerships I was considering with the University."

Slipping her arm around his waist, she gestured for the others to join them. "Come on. We'll get through this, no matter what."

As the group wrapped arms around one another's waists, forming a circle in the corner of the waiting area, Hikaru murmured, "Thank you for coming so quickly. This really caught us off-guard—and we're not even sure what 'this' is."

They had been standing there for several minutes in silence, supporting one another, when the receptionist called condescendingly, "The Dean will see you now."

Haruhi bristled at the receptionist's smug smirk but Kyoya placed his hand in the middle of her back and applied light pressure to urge her into the Dean's office. Haruhi paused briefly before moving as directed.

The Dean stood and frowned as the group entered his office. "Who do you two think you are, claiming to be their guardians?" he demanded.

This time Kyoya bristled at the animosity. "Despite our youthful appearances, we are the guardians of The Hinans and Beringars. That is beside the point." Before the Dean could interrupt, Kyoya continued, "They were summoned and threatened with expulsion, but not informed of the reason. They can hardly defend themselves if they have no clue as to the accusations."

Wrestling control of the conversation away from Kyoya, the Dean dropped back into his chair and declared, "They are guilty of trademark infringement and plagiarism. I am just waiting for the representative from the affected company to arrive so he can confirm my findings."

The expression on Haruhi's face shifted from indignation to comprehension. She quelled her amusement and used her most businesslike tone to say, "You should examine their internship paperwork."

"I have," the Dean replied haughtily. "That's how I knew that these were violations and who to contact."

At the word 'internship,' the Beringars exchanged a glance and started to grin. It took a moment longer for the twins to put the pieces together. Then they had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing.

Kyoya and Haruhi stood shoulder-to-shoulder watching the Dean in silence as they waited. The Dean tried not to twitch nervously under their scrutiny. He jumped slightly as his phone rang. "Send him in," he ordered testily.

The door was thrown open and a flamboyantly dressed person announced to the room, "Masao Himejima of Hitachiin Fashions at your service, but you may call me Oscar." The Dean was struck dumb by the display of exuberance, so Oscar looked around the room at the other occupants. His smile brightened as he noticed the twins and Beringar sisters.

Kaoru grinned in response to his greeting. "Hey, Oscar, I didn't know you were back from Milan."

"Just flew in last night, but I drew the short straw when someone was needed to represent the firm, boss," he answered, stepping forward to grab Kaoru's offered hand and pull him close to slap him companionably on the back. He repeated the gesture with Hikaru. Then he turned to Estee and Coco.

"I have a message for you two from Adrien," he purred as he took Estee's hand, placed a sensual kiss on the back of it, then pulled her into a tight embrace. Estee was blushing when he released her and turned his attention to Coco.

"That's enough," Hikaru and Kaoru growled in unison, approaching Oscar menacingly.

He released Coco and stepped away from the ladies, holding his hands up to ward off the twins. "Don't kill the messenger."

Hikaru looked him up and down. "Somehow I doubt Agreste sent that greeting." He chuckled before continuing, "Unless our hinting around made him finally realize that he's head-over-heels in love with Marinette."

Oscar gestured as if brushing the idea away. "Nope, he's as oblivious as ever." His expression turned serious. "There was a call to the office to verify trademark infringement of the Fall line and plagiarism of the marketing campaign. It's good to see the University protecting your intellectual property."

The Dean sputtered and then demanded, "What do you mean by that? They are the ones stealing from Hitachiin Fashions."

Facing the Dean and raising an eyebrow, Oscar replied in a clipped tone, "Kaoru and Hikaru are the co-owners of Hitachiin Fashions. Kaoru heads the Fashion Division, while Hikaru has created the Cosplay Division."

"But what about the photos and marketing campaign," the Dean complained.

Haruhi tapped the photos on the Dean's desk. "Although we were wearing items from the Fall line in these, they are not part of their advertising." She looked over her shoulder and fixed her gaze on Estee and Kaoru. "That is me in the picture and I have not signed a release for my likeness to be used."

"Those photos are not for the ads. They were some test shots I took while showing Haruhi my studio set up at Hitachiin Fashions," Estee explained. "They turned out so well, I thought they were perfect for my assignment in my photography class."

"But you are in these photos," the Dean pointed out. "How could you be taking the picture?"

Estee stood up straight and raised her chin. Looking him in the eye, she stated, "If you had bothered to read the accompanying paper, you would know about the set-up that allows me to appear in the photos while also taking them. Something very thoughtfully created by Hikaru and Kaoru to give Coco and me greater latitude in creating her marketing campaigns."

Kyoya clapped his hands once to draw everyone's attention. "I think we have established that neither trademark infringement nor plagiarism has taken place, correct?"

Sourly, the Dean replied, "You are correct."

"Then we are done here." Kyoya gestured toward the door for the group to precede him.

Haruhi walked over to the Dean's desk, placed her fists on it, and leaned forward to look the man directly in the eyes. "Next time, have your facts straight so you won't be making baseless accusations."

Kyoya stood behind her, adding the weight of his displeasure to the handling of the situation.

Before the Dean could respond to the intimidating pair, Kaoru called, "Hey otou-san, okaa-san, can we take Oscar to lunch at 'My Place' now that we're done here?"

Haruhi and Kyoya smiled in satisfaction as the Dean leaned back in his chair to distance himself from the powerful personalities, confusion written on his face. Kyoya offered with a smirk, "Appearances can be deceiving. Always check the facts."

As the group headed out the door, Haruhi said, "Yes, we can have lunch at 'My Place.' Don't forget to call and tell Rene so he can join us there."

"Yes, okaa-san," the twins chorused as they sandwiched her between them.

OHSHC

The next weekend, Rene left Friday afternoon when he decided to go to Hinansho and check on Chisato. They were working on plans to bring her family to Hinansho for Christmas.

The twins and their significant others were booked solid at Hitachiin Fashions for the weekend. First, they had a scheduled meeting with the Asahina triplets, one was a video game designer and the other two were voice actors. They wanted to discuss cosplay designs for a much-anticipated upcoming release of their newest adventure through Eden Games.

They planned to spend the rest of the weekend meeting with their managers to organize as much of the travel and show schedule as possible so they could concentrate on University.

Kyoya and Haruhi decided to spend a quiet weekend together. One of Haruhi's classes was discussing international law and law in other countries, so Kyoya offered to let her read through all the paperwork from his Hong Kong trip during the summer.

Sitting at the dining table in his apartment, Kyoya looked up from the report he was reading to watch Haruhi sitting on the sofa. "I hope this is what our future will be like. Simply spending time together, each getting our own work done while looking forward to spending time together afterward." He smiled softly at the thought.

Her brows were furrowed in concentration as she read through the court transcripts, transfer contracts, and after-the-fact due diligence from the three companies Kyoya had been awarded. Kyoya smiled as she pulled a pen from behind her ear and made a note on one of the legal pads piled around her.

Her brow wrinkled in concentration, she compared notes she had been making on two notepads. "Hey, Kyoya?" she asked distractedly.

"Yes?" he responded.

"This is just an aside, but I wonder if the issue was more than just embezzlement." She stood from the sofa and walked over to his desk. Laying the legal pads on it, she pointed to each one in turn as she said, "I noticed these groups of deposits looked suspicious because they are far too large for the company's products. Then I noticed several large payments to a vendor that specializes in products the company doesn't use or sell. Based on the routing numbers, all the activity went through Suoh bank accounts, but the vendors in question are not located anywhere near Suoh branches. It almost looks like the executives were 'laundering' money for someone."

Quirking an eyebrow and gesturing to the notepads, Kyoya asked, "May I?"

"Be my guest." She pushed the legal pads closer to him, then retreated to the sofa to focus on the issues of law in the contracts and court documents.

After several minutes, Kyoya commented, "Now that you mention it, these do seem to be unusual for this company. Good catch. I'll have my investigators check into it." He looked up to see her smirking at him.

"I may not be an accountant, but I do notice details that seem out of place," Haruhi offered as she looked up from the court transcript. After pondering for a moment, she added, "In some ways, it looks more like those three companies were not so much purchased, as given in 'payment' for the laundering."

Nodding, Kyoya replied, "Interesting thought. I think I will also send this information to Li Hui. He is a friend's uncle who has been taking care of the Hong Kong assets for me." After sending off the message, he pondered aloud, "I should probably go to Hong Kong to meet with him in person soon."

Haruhi looked in his direction and then went back to her reading, her shoulders slumping slightly.

Kyoya noticed her change of posture. Hiding a smile, he said nonchalantly, "What time to your classes end on the Friday before my birthday?"

"Ten o'clock. Why? Do you need me to take care of things while you're out of the country?" she replied as she tried to hide disappointment of him taking yet another trip without her.

"Why don't you accompany me to Hong Kong when I meet with Li Hui. He could even make arrangements for you to do an informational interview with one of his lawyers while he and I talk business." He sat still, practically holding his breath waiting for her reaction.

Haruhi left her papers on the sofa, walked over, and sat down in his lap. "I thought you'd never ask." She kissed him softly.

He responded in kind as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Let's not tell the others. This trip will be just the two of us."

"Just the two of us and Tachibana, you mean. There's no way we're going there without security," she whispered before she ran her fingers through his hair and continued kissing him again. "Otherwise, it's okay by me."

During the dinner break, Oscar commented, "I really enjoyed meeting Kyoya, Haruhi, and Rene." After taking a sip of his beer, he declared, "I absolutely LOVED the story about how you call Kyoya and Haruhi otou-san and okaa-san."

Coco remarked excitedly, "Kyoya's birthday is coming up soon. We should give him a surprise party and make a whole weekend of it."

"Coco and I could do the dinner, movies, and cuddle pile in our apartment on Friday night," Estee suggested.

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged a mischievous grin. "Kyoya hates surprises. Let's make it a whole weekend."

"That Sunday will be Rene and Kyoya's turn to host the Sunday brunch," Kaoru offered.

"Then we'll take care of Saturday," Hikaru added. "What do think about karaoke? I know Haruhi can't sing and Kyoya would rather have a root canal, so let's do it!"

11