A well maintained, meticulous separation seemed to suddenly form within the Third Music Room, and Haruhi quietly admitted to herself that she was rather impressed as she watched silently from Mori's side. Unsure how to help, other than by engaging a girl that scowled the moment the raven haired beauty neared, she was left mostly to watch as Kyoya orchestrated the show.
A clear, definitive motion of his hand, and Honey appeared to act as an adorable buffer.
A pointed look, and the twins took over coffee distribution in an area with snickering barbs.
A glare shining across his glasses, and Tamaki fluttered into view, turning feminine heads before they even had the chance to realize something was amiss.
A tilt of his head, and Mori finally left her side, silently steadying the tray a girl had purposely bumped with her elbow.
Meanwhile, the Higurashi girl seemed rather oblivious to the whole fiasco happening behind her. She smiled prettily at each and every client that happened to thank her for helping out or commented on her voice, and thanked them in return for visiting the Host Club for the day. She slipped easily into the role of Hostess, seemingly ignoring the few jealous filled eyes that followed in her wake in favor of the heiresses who seemed to be thrilled by her presence.
Then she fluttered her way to where Ayano stood, and Haruhi found herself frowning when another girl bumped her along the way with a clipped, tense apology. The raven haired beauty only smiled tightly, her lips thinning, and blamed her own clumsiness on the near mishap as the other girl snorted. She continued on her way as if it had never happened in the first place afterward, and Haruhi could not help but feel her stomach clench at the realization that even the Host Club could not be everywhere at once.
A sudden, ominous cloud appeared, and Haruhi realized how tense the room had become with the division. Stuck in a conversation with a regular client of her own, she could only flicker her eyes toward where the raven haired beauty was laughing as the first year choir member turned red around the ears. It seemed like a relatively safe place for her to be at the moment, Ayano's soft, appreciative expression displaying how much she admired the older girl, but the feeling twisting her stomach into knots refused to leave.
Kagome pulled Ayano away from her own little corner, despite her protests, telling her that she should make the most of being able to visit the Host Club with their own club canceled for the day. Her attention entirely focused on the sputtering, embarrassed first year that she was dragging toward where Tamaki was causing girls to faint dramatically, she did not have time to react when it happened.
A regular of Kyoya's stepped purposely into her path.
Glass shattered, coffee drenching the front of her dress.
Ayano put her hands over her mouth, crying, "Kagome-senpai, are you alright?" The younger girl quickly began to fret over the raven haired beauty, obviously distressed by the sight of her now covered in coffee and shards of deadly glass that had scattered across her shoes.
Haruhi whipped her head back around to see that Kyoya's attention had been drawn away by another girl with a tight, pleased smile on her face now that the Shadow King was turned toward the sound. The look on his face was dark, dangerous, and the room became deathly quiet beneath the possessive, deadly wave that resulted from him lowering his head and shadowing his eyes at the sight. He was suddenly stalking across the room then, not even bothering to acknowledge the girl he had left behind, and the sea of bodies parted without a word as a feminine, outraged cry filled the silence.
"How could you?"
Turning her attention back to where Kagome was blinking down at the sight of her ruined uniform, dark brown spots quickly staining the luscious material, she watched as the older girl slowly raised her head to stare at the customer that had yelled at her.
Another guest was holding up Kyoya's regular customer, as the girl made a good show of crying from the fall. She was holding her arm close to her chest, staring up at the slowly darkening expression on Kagome's face and flinched as if in fright. The other guest twisted her lip at the sight, snapping, "Why weren't you watching where you were going, you stupid commoner?"
Haruhi felt her fist clench at the insult.
"Tch," and Haruhi found herself blinking at the scoff. Kagome's stance shifted in one fluid motion, her clenched fist resting against her cheek, as the smile on her face turned into a vicious little upturn of the lip. The happy, radiant girl gone in an instant, a dark, shadow eyed demon reminiscent of their resident Shadow King stood in her place, and Haruhi felt her eyes widen at the change. "Another one of your jokes, Sakae? How many of them did you put up to it this time?"
Sparks flew.
"I do hope you plan on paying for this one this time," Kagome barreled on.
Ayano took a step back, cowering behind the Choir Club head with a knowing, wide eyed expression on her face.
Sakae practically snarled, holding the other girl underneath her chin and stroking her hair as she began to cry into the collar of her dress. "Me?" she snapped. Her gaze narrowed, jealous hatred contained only by the hooded expression, she refused to be looked down upon as she yanked the wailing girl to her feet alongside her. "As if I would pay for it, you clumsy idiot."
The Higurashi girl took a step forward, heedless of the glass at her feet, and something about the way she moved reminded Haruhi of an ancient samurai preparing to draw the blade they carried. The faint shift of her toe, and she was certain that that imaginary weapon would have been flicked from the sheath as she readied for battle. "An idiot, really?" Then it was like she swung, going for the kill, as she leaned forward with a vengeance. "I don't think I need to remind you which one of us is in Class 2-A."
Sakae sputtered, outraged, as she snapped, "Do you think I'm a fool?"
The look on Kagome's face said enough.
"I know who your father is!" Sakae pushed the girl she was holding into someone else's arms, not seeming to notice when the Host Club's bespectacled member joined the fray beside the raven haired beauty she was yelling at. "The only reason you're in Class 2-A is because he paid for it after you flunked out of middle school, you stupid commoner!"
Haruhi moved forward alongside the rest of the Host Club, as Tamaki's hand settled onto Sakae's shoulder. She watched as the girl whirled around, her enraged expression shattering at the sight of the Host Club's King staring down at her with narrowed, displeased purple orbs. Her lip immediately trembled, her eyes darting toward where Kyoya was pushing up his glasses, settling his other hand comfortably on the small of Kagome's tense back, and she looked absolutely devastated in that moment.
"T-Tamaki-kun," she pleaded, turning on the waterworks. "She knocked that poor girl off her feet, I was only—"
"I believe this is the seventh time now," Kyoya interrupted her, his voice clipped.
"The eighth, actually." Kagome shrugged, looking up at him, as she said, "I guess I should have expected this, but I honestly didn't notice she was here."
"Ah," Kyoya's glasses flashed. "I must not have been privy to one then."
"I think I was heading to rehearsal," she replied. Her hand brushed at her coffee stained dress, and her features slowly started to soften back out into that easygoing smile she usually wore. "I was able to get it fixed without my father knowing, but I don't think this is going to come out quite as easily."
"Someone will have to pay for the damages." Kyoya's head tilted in her direction, and the softened edge to his eye was immediately hidden by the smirk that dominated his face at the calculations beginning to take place.
"I'm sure that that cup she shattered was rather expensive, too, right?" Her finger settling on her lip, Kagome's vicious little smile reflected back at him. It was almost downright scary, as she nodded excitedly up at the Ootori boy. "Think of the loss, Kyoya!"
"Oh, I am," the Shadow King seemed breathless at the thought. "No need to worry, though, Kagome, I'm sure that Furutani-san has more than enough credit to pay for both."
"Me?" Sakae nearly screeched. She pulled away from Tamaki, throwing her hands into the air and looking around the room in disbelief. "Why would I pay for anything? It was her that—!"
"Of course, we could always call her mother," Kyoya tutted. "I'm sure that she'd be happy to hear about all the trouble her sweet daughter has gotten into lately."
"Oh!" Kagome beamed. "Can we?"
Haruhi felt a chill rush up her own spine, as both of them slowly turned toward the seething girl that backpedaled beneath the attention. Not having expected the sweet, radiant Higurashi girl to suddenly turn into a vicious, darkened warrior herself, she suddenly felt like she could understand what exactly had kept the Shadow King coming back to such a sweet commoner beauty.
"What? You can't just—!" Sakae sputtered, before trying to yank herself away when Mori's hand found her arm. "Mori-senpai, what are you doing?! Didn't you see that she—?!"
Tamaki flicked his hair, as he said, "I think it's time you leave, Furutani-san," and prompted the silent senior to take her away.
"This is ridiculous! You can't—!"
"Awful girl," Hikaru huffed nearby.
"Who let her in anyway?" Kaoru asked, holding onto his chin in thought.
Together, they said, "Probably tono."
Tamaki's hardened features swiftly reverting back to normal with the declaration, he cried, "It wasn't me, you devils!"
Haruhi only rolled her eyes at them, curiously watching as Kyoya offered his hand to the pretty girl pulling at her dress now that her rival had been removed from the scene. Kagome melted immediately back into that soft, sweet smile she wore naturally as she took it, and she could hear the soft feminine sighs behind her that resulted from the girls not put off by Kagome's presence.
"I'm sorry for the trouble," Kagome sighed.
Kyoya only shook his head, "It's our fault. We should have realized she managed to slip through with some of the other customers." He started to lead her away then, the hand settled on the small of her back slowly slipping down to hold her waist as she stepped closer to him. "Allow me to find you something more suitable to wear until someone can get you a new uniform, Kagome. I'm sure we have something in the back that can be adjusted to your size."
She started to flush, breathing, "Okay."
Then they were gone, alone in the back again.
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