Hiromi had been released a few weeks later and was in Switzerland with Ume. That way, she would be safe from Touma. After Kyoyaband Mori quit, there had been even more chatter; that Mitsu had "sunk her teeth into the Morinozukas". Because of this, the host club had been disbanded indefinitely, as per Tamaki's request. He didn't want to entertain girls that turned out to be rude and didn't care for the feelings of his friends. This brought quite a bit of tension in the school.

"Hey, Mori," someone called. "You got played by Mitsu too?"

He shot the boy a hard glare, irritation rolling off of him. "Kyoya and I were not played. If you want to know what actually happened, sit down and listen."

"O-Oh..."

"She adopted her daughter because her father was abusive. That's why she has a child. She genuinely loved Kyoya as he did her. They were planning on a future together but that's not happening anymore. I love her, ever since she and I met. I never made a move because Kyoya got her first."

"But, it only makes sense."

"No, it doesn't. This rumor is the cause of a jealous little girl who doesn't care about who she hurts. Mitsu's daughter is five. Five. And her life was turned upside down because of this. Mitsu got into this school just like Haruhi. Through hard work and dedication. She works two jobs, at a daycare and a convenience store so she can help pay bills. She's only a freshman and has a lot more responsibility than anyone else I know. And now she won't even be able to study psychology or business because colleges will look at the scandal that wasn't even true. This ruined her future, her life. And I plan to destroy the one behind it."

"How are you so sure it's all a lie?"

"Because I watched her fall in love with Kyoya. I watched her destroy the man that hurt her daughter. I watched her hold another man who threatened to harm her daughter at gunpoint. Everything I know about her is not a lie. She gave herself to a man that she loved and he broke her heart and is suffering the consequences. I was there when she fell apart when we, as her friends, turned our backs on her to protect our asses. I was there when Kyoya broke into tears when he found out she was kicked out, realizing how much of an idiot he was for leaving her. So, if you truly believed that she wanted status, why would she go through all that trouble? Wouldn't she have slept with Sakaki even though she knew what he wanted? Wouldn't she have slowly worked her way up to us instead of instantly becoming Kyoya's girlfriend?"

"U-Um..."

"So no, everything that I know about her is not a lie. You should ask for our side of the story instead of listening to someone who had no part in it."

"I-I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault. You're not the one who started the rumors."

"How do you know."

"Because I'm well aware of the person that did."

"So, I heard that the chairman wants this year's festival to be different," Yuusuke said. The two were out at a small cafe to grab a bite to eat before Mitsu had to head to her rendezvous point with her chauffeur. She made sure to disguise herself, with the help of some the girls. She wore a blond wig that was tied in low pigtails. Her signature blue eyes were replaced by brown contacts, and her make up made her look docile. She was rather happy that it worked rather well.

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, he wants to invite other schools to see us. Like some pretty elite schools."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"And I heard that the main school he's trying to invite is Ouran. He and their chairman were talking about how the students need to know more about the world they're living in."

"I'm not doing it."

"What?"

"You know why I'm not doing it. I've got some enemies that I really don't want to deal with, especially during our festival. I will be targeted."

"And you have our class that will back you up. There is no need to worry about them."

"Yuu..."

"Aoimoku, you're our princess. Besides that, you've been our friend since the beginning of junior high. We're here for you, unlike your so-called 'friends'."

"Come on-"

"Why are you defending those assholes? Some jealous bitch spreads a nasty rumor and now you can't even leave your house. You walk to school and it takes the upperclassmen to keep me from fucking destroying the assholes that treat you like shit." Unbeknownst to the pair, they had caught the attention of three people, all three that Mitsu knew. "And that could've been avoided if your friends hadn't been such pussies and stood up for you. But no. Reputation meant so much more than an actual friendship. You know what? That Ootori prick can go fuck himself. He decided to let go of the best thing that happened to him just to save his ass."

"Yuusuke, please."

"I'm not gonna pretend that everything is okay. You know that I care about you."

"You're not the only one," someone said. The two turned to find Haruhi, followed by Kyoya and Mori. All three were dressed casually, but it didn't take away from their ever-so beautiful presence.

"H-Haruhi..." Yuusuke stammered. He hadn't seen the girl in so long, but still managed to recognize her. Yeah, she lopped her lovely locks off, but she still looked as beautiful as she did in junior high. Despite his feelings for Mitsu, he was able to acknowledge another's beauty.

"Hey, Yuu-kun."

He looked at the two seemingly brooding men behind her, one he recognized to be Mitsu's good-for-nothing ex-in his opinion-and the other he recognized as the talented kendo champion. He was extremely displeased with the former. "I didn't know you were still friends with him."

"Yuusuke..."

"I don't care if they're still friends, it doesn't change the fact he broke her heart, and left her to deal with this bullshit. She was the one that was ruined. She was the one that got expelled because of someone else's jealousy and no one would back her up. She was the one that's getting shit thrown at her. She was the one broke down on her first day back here because reality hit her. He shouldn't even be around her-"

"YUUSUKE!" The voice cut through his next sentence, freezing him on the spot. It came from the blond girl next in front of him, which he came to realize was-

"Mitsu?"