Hana tapped her fingers against the railing as she waited for Haruhi. They were right on time, but she couldn't help but feel nervous. Haruhi was the only person who Hanako could count on for this event. Her junior had accepted her invitation easily, and it really wasn't too much to ask, especially because they weren't going too far from her apartment.

The door opened and shut with a soft click, and Haruhi greeted her while locking the door, "Hey, senpai. Thanks for inviting me. Where's Kyoya-senpai? Will the others meet us there?" When Haruhi turned, she found that Hanako was dressed in light wash denim and a lilac button down, stylishly disheveled and loose on her lithe figure. It was probably one of the most casual outfits Haruhi had ever seen her wear, and she wondered if her khaki capris and pink blouse were too much for this party. After all, when Hana said the dress code was casual, how was Haruhi supposed to know that she didn't mean business casual?

"They won't be joining us today," Hana answered on her way down the stairs. "I'm hoping to avoid a social disaster today." Haruhi nodded in understanding and followed her to the car waiting on the curb. Hana's driver came around to hold the door open, and the older girl slid into the luxurious interior without hesitation, thanking him in passing just as Haruhi scooted in beside her.

"I guess that makes sense. Are you sure it's okay for me to come with you? I know you said it was a birthday party, but I don't want to intrude."

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's not an intrusion at all since the family is always nagging me to bring friends."

"The family?" Haruhi repeated.

Their destination really wasn't a terribly long drive away from Haruhi's home. The suburban neighborhoods passed by quickly in a monotonous blur, but Haruhi recognized each one that they drove through. The car came to a stop in front of a plain looking house decorated with rainbow streamers and balloons that was only a few blocks from the middle school Haruhi used to attend. The driver opened the door for them, and Hanako followed Haruhi out, holding a gift wrapped box by its picture perfect ribbon.

Hanako unlatched the front gate and led the way into the house. Haruhi followed close behind as they entered. Hana slipped off her low-ankled boots and left them at the door, "We're here!" It was an oddly mundane thing that almost felt like a weird movie to Haruhi, as if Hana was an actress playing the daughter in a middle class family's home.

"In the kitchen," a woman's voice called back from deeper in the house. Hana followed with ease, knowing the layout by memory. Haruhi straggled behind, still trying to wrap her head around the alternate universe she seemed to find herself in. As she entered the foyer, she noticed a series of photographs along the wall. It seemed that this home belonged to a young family of three. The father was a clean-cut looking man with combed dark hair. The mother smiled at the camera widely, and the daughter stood between them flashing peace signs. Something about the man in those photos struck Haruhi as familiar, but she couldn't quite place why.

Haruhi inspected the pictures all the way through the hall. She found several with a group of four men in black suits, and then some that were clearly more recent that featured Hanako standing between three of the adults. It seemed that Hanako could be found in quite a few of those pictures. She appeared quite young in some of them, maybe as young as four or five, carried by a stunningly beautiful woman or one of the four men.

"Haruhi?" Hana's voice summoned, "We're in the back. Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah!" Haruhi yelped and hurried into the kitchen. The kitchen wasn't particularly remarkable. The Western style table wasn't particularly impressive, and the appliances seemed fairly common. A woman who seemed to be in her thirties helped some of the young guests put cardboard party hats on. A small girl with short, fluffy tufts of black hair danced around Hana's legs, It reminded Haruhi of how Hanako interacted with Mitsukuni, but compared to that, this was actually pretty normal. Somehow, that thought only made Haruhi feel more weird.

"Happy birthday, Kaiya," Hanako greeted the energetic girl and placing her perfectly wrapped present on the table.

"Kaiya, what do we say?" the woman prompted the girl who was already shaking the box in an effort to gather clues as to what she received.

"Thank you, Miss Hana," the birthday girl recited, still shaking her birthday present. Her mother sighed heavily, and Hanako laughed good-naturedly.

"Tachibana-san, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Haruhi Fujioka. Haruhi, this is Nozomi Tachibana."

Nozomi rose and walked over to Haruhi, taking the girl's hands in hers, "Thank you for taking good care of Hanako. I've heard a lot about you. It's so good to finally meet you! I can't remember the last time Hana brought someone by."

Nozomi had a little bit too much of an easy going personality for her own good. The last times Hanako brought guests to the Tachibana household, they had barraged the family with questions about their lifestyle, insulted the entire abode, and broken furniture. Hana just found it easier to attend by herself.

"You look familiar," a deeper, gruff voice sounded in passing. Haruhi looked over her shoulder and found a man wearing khaki shorts and a buttoned up short sleeve shirt. He had short dark hair with patches of gray at his temples and harsh lines on his face that would have appeared more menacing if his demeanor was less conversational.

"That would be because Haruhi is the student your squad mistook for Mitsukuni Haninozuka," Hanako stated. It hadn't been through any fault of theirs, really, but the entire incident had been overkill. Itou was a good captain. He had once worked as a bounty hunter before her father recruited him, and he rose through the ranks with surprising speed. The older man was a good employee. He followed orders well, but there were two characteristics of his that Hana took issue with. The first was that he had a tendency to go overboard. Every order he received, more often than not, was taken to the extreme. While effective, the approach tended to be rather costly. The second was that he seemed to think orders that came from men took precedent over the ones that came from her. She assumed that it was a generational defect, and she delivered her orders through the other members of the alpha squad anyway, so she let it be as long as he didn't undermine her authority outright.

"Oh, is that so? Well, sorry about that mix-up again… wait a minute, are you a girl?"

"You're just figuring that out?" Tachibana remarked from the doorway. Without the dark lenses covering half of his face, Hanako's teammate looked significantly more ordinary. Dark haired and dark eyed, he didn't stand out very much, but that was, of course, one of his many strong suits in their field. Seizaburo approached his daughter and delicately took Hana's gift from her hands, placing it on the table in perfect alignment with the others. "Thank you for coming, Fujioka. It's good to see you again."

"I'm sorry, have we met before?" Haruhi asked cluelessly.

"Tachibana is part of Kyoya's personal security unit," Hana elaborated as little Kaiya redirected her attention to the teenager and tugged on her hand for attention. "You may have seen him driving the Ootori car from time to time."

Recognition illuminated her face, and she bowed deeply, "Right! Sorry, thank you for having me, Tachibana-san."

"Don't worry about it, Fujioka. Why don't you two go ahead and keep an eye on the kids out in the back? We can take care of everything in here."

Kaiya squealed happily and shot off with Hana and Haruhi in tow. The other members who weren't working that weekend all brought their families to Kaiya's birthday. Hana recognized most of them, and they acknowledged her as she passed them. There were others, friends of Nozomi's and schoolmates of Kaiya's, who she didn't know personally. Given the nature of the party, nobody outside of Hana's employees gave a second thought to the two girls, and she had to admit how much she liked the anonymity that came with the middle class.

The Tachibana family did rather well on Seizaburo's salary, but they took care to practice discretion. Although they lived in a good neighborhood, the Tachibanas lived modestly. It was only the small yard behind their house and the imported tree planted by the patio that suggested how much Tachibana made.

Kaiya was still at that age where birthday parties were more for the parents than for the celebrant, and only a handful of children were running around with balloons and playing in the dirt. To Haruhi's continued surprise, Hana sat on the ground while Kaiya ran off to fetch something. Haruhi joined her and took in their surroundings more judiciously.

There was something comfortable and relaxed about the way Hana carried herself in the Tachibana household, almost as if it was her home as well. Her usually perfect posture seemed less rigid, and Haruhi thought that there was a sligh curve at her shoulders. Hana's long legs were crossed under her, and she clearly didn't care about sitting in the dirt. Even the way that she maintained a vigilant eye on Kaiya seemed different as the round faced girl ran back with colorful bottles spilling out of her little hands. The sharpness of the body guard's attentive gaze wasn't there. Haruhi thought that Hanako looked less like a seasoned security guard and more like an everyday baby sitter.

Kaiya handed each of the girls a bottle, dropped the rest on the ground, and seated herself on Hana's lap. Hanako uncapped one of the bottles and blew into the small, plastic wand. Iridescent bubbles floated into the air, and the trail dispersed slowly before quickly popping into non-existence.

"I didn't realize you were so close with your employees, Hana-senpai." Haruhi tried to unscrew a particularly stubborn plastic lid as the other girl blew another perfect line of soapy bubbles.

"The members of my alpha squad are a special case. I believe the boys refer to us as Team Kyoya," Hana elaborated for her friend. "My father was born into a wealthy family, but it wasn't nearly anything on par with the likes of anyone at Ouran Academy. Papa had been a student of the Haninozuka dojo, and he was a part of his father's security company. At the time, it was just a small company, and Tachibana worked with him. Papa wanted to expand the company's services, and he decided to do that by carefully vetting the people who he wanted to work with. He chose people who shared the same values he did, and somehow, a lot of those people were ones who needed a second chance."

Hana paused to blow more bubbles into the air. The other children had joined them by then, and Kaiya stood at the gront of the small crowd. When the bubbles passed overhead, the kids jumped to catch them. Giggles erupted as the bubbles burst or got stuck to their clothes, and Hana smiled at how easily entertained they were.

"Tachibana knew Papa the longest," Hana continued once the children lost interest in catching bubbles and decided that a balloon would be much more fun to catch. "He had been with my father from the start. Believe it or not, members of the Black Onion are rather close to each other."

The Tachibanas were always going to be special to Yuudai, and so, they were special to Hanako as well. She always thought that her father wanted good people in his company entirely for the sake of their company, but as she gained more experience in her position and worked more intimately with the people she had to work with, Hana found that it was Team Kyoya who kept her grounded. The support they provided to her and to each other set them apart from the superficial, deceptive world of the elite. Real people reminded them of what mattered.

"So," Haruhi mused, looking around. "does that mean everyone here works for Kyoya, then?"

Hana laughed and shook her head as if it wasn't a possibility, "There are a good number of my men here today, but no, there are some people here who I don't recognize. Actually, I suppose nobody here works for Kyoya."

Haruhi's brow wrinkled in confusion, "Huh? What do you mean, senpai?"

The corner of Hana's lips curled slightly with an amused sort of pride, almost like she was about to reveal a secret that she wanted to keep to herself just a little while longer. "The Black Onion belongs entirely to me. Kyoya and I purchased the company back from Ootori-san on the last day of the Fair. That's why we've been so busy lately. A new contract needed to be drawn up with the Ootori Group."

Haruhi gazed at Hana with a combination of awe and incredulity. How much could that have costed? Haruhi couldn't even think about how much work she had to do to pay back the broken vase. How hard were Hana and Kyoya working to buy back a whole company? "Wow," she breathed in admiration, looking upon her senior with new clarity. "That's amazing, Hana-senpai. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Haruhi." The gratitude Hanako felt for her junior radiated from her face, and when she spoke, Haruhi knew she meant it.

The girls sat outside for a few hours, chatting easily and entertaining Kaiya and her friends with the perfect ease of practiced hosts. It was much later in the afternoon when they were approached again by a young man. He was broad chested like many of the other attendees but seemed younger. He wore his hair spiked with gel, and Haruhi guessed he couldn't be much older than them.

"Nozomi said dinner's going to be ready, soon," he informed them despite speaking directly to Haruhi as if making a conscious effort to avoid Hanako.

"Uh, thanks," Haruhi replied uncertainly under his assessment of her. She wasn't particularly self-conscious, but something about the way he wasn't acknowledging Hanako put her off.

"You don't look like the rich bastards she usually hangs out with." The brash comment caught Haruhi off guard, and it almost seemed like the atmosphere around Hanako sponged the heavy tension coming from her silence.

"No, I'm just an ordinary person," Haruhi looked between her friend and the other person, wondering what was going on. "We're in the same club together at school."

"Haruhi is the honors student admitted to the school this year," Hanako supplied in a clipped voice. Recognition dawned on the young man's face, and he shook his head like he was disappointed.

"Good luck at that place," he said before turning back to join his other colleagues for dinner.

"Well that was weird," Haruhi commented. Hanako shrugged although she didn't disagree. "What's up with him?"

"Kenzou is part of the squad you saw during the Ouran Fair," Hanako explained. "After you and the twins left to catch Tamaki, I issued a blanket punishment to the delta squad that resulted in a few probations and demotions for insubordinance. It's not surprising that some of the Squad might not be very happy with me at the moment."

"But you all still got invited to this?"

Hana shrugged again, "Some are better employees than others, but we all try not to let our professional lives cloud our personal ones too much. Now, come on. Let's go have some cake."

Hanako led Haruhi back into the kitchen, and the girls enjoyed the food Nozomi cooked and ordered for them. The cake was the kind that came from a local bakery, and it wasn't as rich as the cake they served at the Host Club. Still, it was good, and Haruhi wasn't one to be too picky about her food. Curious, she glanced over to Hanako and saw that the girl was eating her own slice without a fuss despite the spread of meats and vegetables in front of her.

"Hana, you have to eat more rice than that," the man beside her scolded, trying to paddle more onto her plate.

"I've had enough food already!"

"But you skipped dinner last night and had a light breakfast this morning."

Haruhi found Hana's interactions with her colleagues outside of Kyoya interesting. The other girl was significantly younger than people who were her subordinates, and it seemed like her dynamics with them varied from person to person. While Haruhi was getting to know the Black Onion Squad, she noticed that Hana seemed to spend the most time with the members of Team Kyoya who were present, and Hana acted more familiar with them and their families.

The girls stuck around as the party began to wind down, and Hanako insisted on helping Nozomi clean up once the house emptied more. Hanako went outside to clean up with Aijima, and Haruhi offerred to help with the dishes. She could see why Hanako fit so well in her position at the Host Club. It was like finding another piece of the puzzle that made up Hanako Negida. Haruhi had wondered what it had been like for Hanako without her parents, and while the loss obviously hurt her deeply, Haruhi was beginning to see the people who came to fill those roles in her life.

"You remind me a lot of Hana's father," Seizaburo's voice sounded over the clinking plates that he set on the counter. "I thought he lost his mind when he started hanging out with Aki and the others."

A ghost of a laugh sounded from Haruhi at the comparison, "Sometimes I still don't know why I do, either."

Nozomi entered the kitchen area with her hands full of glassware, and Seizaburo dutifully took them from her and brought them to the sink. "I'm happy that Hana and Kyoya have someone like you in their lives," the body guard told her. "They need us more than they let on."

Haruhi wasn't sure what he meant by that, but somehow, she got the feeling that she understood exactly what he was talking about even without the words to describe it. Nozomi smiled and handed Haruhi a towel, gently easing the girl away from the sink with a maternal touch, "I can take over from here, Haruhi. Thank you for helping."

"No problem." Haruhi worked her hands over the towel, watching the way Seizaburo and Nozomi started to laugh and joke while taking over the dishes. A twinge twisted in Haruhi's chest, and she felt some kind of emotion well up in her throat. For a moment, she wondered what it was, and then realization dawned on her. When was the last time she was in a place like this? It felt like ages since she was last in a full and happy home.

"Haruhi," Hana called from the dining room before coming into the doorway, "the driver's here. Are you ready to go?" She didn't expect Haruhi's chocolate colored eyes to be so glassy when the younger girl turned around, and concern pulled her elegantly shaped brows down before Haruhi blinked rapidly and nodded.

"Yeah! I'm all set. Thank you again for having me," Haruhi graciously turned to their hosts.

"Any time, Fujioka," Nozomi said, taking Haruhi's hand in hers and squeezing it lightly, "you're always welcome here."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Hana," Seizaburo said to his commander. "Let us know when you get home."

"Of course," Hanako replied easily before saying her goodnights and goodbyes. The ride back to Haruhi's house wasn't particularly chatty. Hanako pulled out her sleek, black phone and began to check her messages. Haruhi didn't bother to do the same, knowing that she was going to have a full inbox because of the twins and Tamaki. Haruhi noticed something as she looked at Hana's phone, though. Dangling from a string, a cheap looking accessory bobbed with every type of Hana's finger. It was just a small figurine and didn't seem like the sort of thing Hanako would buy for herself.

"I didn't know you liked cats," Haruhi commented. Hana paused and turned to Haruhi with a questioning brow raised. Haruhi pointed to the trinket, "The accessory on your phone."

Hana caught the resin cat between her finger tips and laughed a little bit, "Oh, this? It was something Kyoya picked up when I got sick before the term started. Honestly, he's the worst at apologies. I wouldn't say it's particularly my style, but it's kind of cute."

What Hana said triggered a memory for Haruhi, and she remembered when Kyoya stopped at the stand selling phone accessories. So, it had been a gift for Hanako all along, Haruhi thought to herself as the car slowed to a stop. "Yeah, it is," she said, although she was thinking about what Renge said the other day.

"Thank you for coming today, Haruhi," Hanako said earnestly to her friend as the driver opened the door.

"Sure thing. Thank you for inviting me. It was nice to meet everyone. I had a good time."

Hana smiled brightly. "I'm glad. We should do something like this again. We can leave the boys at home."

Haruhi laughed and said that she would like that, and the two parted ways for the night. The drive back to the Ootori estate seemed longer now that it was dark, and the street lights in the night passed hypnotically, almost lulling the girl to dreamland. Somewhere along the way, she surrendered to sleep. She only woke up because the car came to a stop, and she yawned into her hand just before the driver opened her door.

The heated garage did nothing to help wake her, so Hanako decided to take the long way up. She walked around from the garage to the front of the Ootori family home, knowing that it was perfectly secure thanks to the colleagues who gave up their weekends so that their clients could enjoy it in peace. The cool night air reminded her that the seasons were changing more rapidly than they noticed and, soon, it would be winter.

Hanako made her way up to Kyoya's bedroom, thinking about all the things they wanted to get done before the end of this term. When she opened the door, she found him working exactly in the same place she left him earlier in the day. He glanced up when he heard her and went back to work, "How was the birthday party?"

"It was fun," she replied, walking over to the tea and coffee bar. "Haruhi enjoyed it."

"That's good to hear."

"Thank you for suggesting I invite her," Hanako continued as she prepared a cup of tea for herself.

"Anything to avoid pesky activities for common children," he replied dispassionately.

"You say the same thing about Ageha's birthday."

"Maybe I just don't like children," he countered.

Hanako laughed from the counter, "Haven't you thought about having children of your own? What are you going to do when that happens?"

Kyoya's hand stilled over the paper, and he seemed to consider the possibility seriously for a moment before promptly returning to his work, "I'd do the sensible thing any person of our station would do – hire a nanny." They had gone too far off subject. "How did they take to her?"

"It was certainly better than the time I brought the twins." Although, that wasn't a difficult feat to accomplish. Kaoru and Hikaru had a terrible habit of overexciting Kaiya and offending Tachibana and Nozomi when they joined her. Hanako set her teacup on the table and sat in her usual place, turning a discarded piece of paper so that she could read it. "What are you working on?"

"Take a look," Kyoya answered, passing the page he was working on to her and leaning across the table so they could peruse it together.

{OR}

A/N... Thank you for reading! These chapters may feel kind of short, but I wanted to make sure I take time to set the stage for this next installment of the story. Things should get more exciting from here on out so I hope you stick with me! I just wanted to let you all know that I don't have a planned schedule for updates because my schedule fluctuates a little bit more than it used to. This story is completely planned out, but I don't have all of my chapters pre-written, so they're going up as I finish writing them. Also, I don't have my grammar or spell checks on because it's not very conducive to creative writing of fanfiction.

I'm going to start replying to reviews soon! Sorry if you haven't heard from me yet :) Those of you who know me know that I love interacting with readers and receiving feedback on my work. Please review! I find that I'm feeling more motivated to keep working on a project when I know that people are counting on me to finish it, so I'll do my best to keep on top of this!

What do you think of the Black Onion?

Next time: A change of order