One hundred men comprised the current Black Onion Squad. Three of them operated directly under Hanako Negida as the alpha squad, otherwise known as Team Kyoya. Nine of them operated directly under Tachibana, Honda, and Aijima as the beta squad, and they primarily functioned as personal security for Kyoya's siblings. Thirteen men made up the gamma squad, responsible for the safety of Ootori-sama and Madame Ootori, and they answered directly to Hanako. Twenty five men belonged to the delta squad, and the remaining members of the Squad belonged to the epsilon and zeta squads.
For the upcoming Ouran Fair, the entirety of the Black Onion Squad would be on the school's grounds. It would be the first time that Hanako commanded her Squad in its entirety. Other students would showcase their talent for upward mobility, and she would prove to everyone watching that the Black Onion Squad had returned to its former glory.
She stationed Aijima and Honda at the golden front gates. After the incident during the physical exams, she learned not to trust anyone other than her immediate team members with screening. She found herself as busy as the rest of her peers, and for the first time in a very long time, she felt like a student at Ouran Academy.
"Negida, what's the security plan for the sunset tea party in the south gardens?"
Hanako flipped through the binder balanced across her forearm, walking briskly with a small crowd of concerned students who were coordinating outdoor events following the parade, "I've arranged a team of thirty for each of the gardens, that includes school security and Black Onion officers."
"Ah, great! Thanks, Negida!"
"Hanako, have you had a chance to review the Art Club's plan for the canal?"
"Yes," Hana nodded and flipped to another page, "We'll have an inconspicuous security team along the canal, and each of the team members also functions as a lifeguard along the canal."
"You're a lifesaver, Negida!" The crowd slowly thinned out as Hanako answered questions and completed her final walk through to ensure every one of her men would be in place. She started earlier than anyone else that morning, and by the time the independent contractors showed for construction and delivery, Hanako's men were already in position.
A hand turned the cover of her binder shut just as she was reviewing the central salon schedule, and Hanako lifted her gaze, obvious annoyance directed at the young man holding a glass of ice water before her. Kyoya's eyes regarded her knowingly, "Here. You look more stressed out than usual."
She eyed the glass for a moment before relenting and allowing Kyoya to trade the glass for her binder. "What do you expect?" she heaved a sigh and rolled her head from side to side, stretching the muscles in her neck, "Every student and Ouran alumnus is going to be at this event. I have to ensure that it's the safest place on Earth."
Kyoya nodded once in acknowledgment. These past few days had been some of the worst for the two yet. They worked nonstop, and the obstacles seemed to pile up faster than they could get through them. In the end, it had to be worth it. The sleepless nights, the sacrifices they made…
"It's going to be perfect," Kyoya stated. A graceful smile tugged on the corners of her lips, and she allowed the satisfaction of his confidence to fill her. Hanako passed her empty glass to a server catering to the busy students and took her binder back from Kyoya as they walked towards the main building.
She hoped it would be perfect. Her anxious mind listed all the possibilities of what could go wrong, and her nerves felt far to sensitive to her surroundings to be considered at ease. The Host Club had experienced what she would consider an easy few weeks recently. There hadn't been so much as an unexpected guest since they met Kasanoda. The Host Club was riding high, soaring on the tailwinds of good fortune.
"Are you going to take part in the fair this year?" he asked her lightly. Hana had fulfilled different roles in the past few fairs. She had been a door guard, a personal guard, and now, she would be head of security. Kyoya found himself hoping she would shed the onyx and ivory uniform and join them as a member of their club – the club she helped bring to life. It had been far too long since she enjoyed the event like her peers.
"Hey, Hana!" Kaoru's voice called out before she could answer, "Did the Art Club have their sculpture delivered to the salon, yet?"
The girl standing beside Kyoya flashed him a quick smile, only partially apologetic, "Looks like it's back to work." She flipped her binder open and joined her godbrother in directing the foot traffic. Kaoru thrived in leadership roles, and of the club members, he put in as much work for his role as Kyoya and Hanako did for theirs. He oversaw the design for the salon and personally worked with his mother to create the costumes for the club.
Hana hummed thoughtfully as he instructed another mover towards the salon, "I knew it."
"Knew what?" Kaoru blinked at her in confusion.
"You're perfectly capable of overseeing the club's special event details on your own! You lazy little sneak!" A playful light shined from her irises as she criticized him, and Kaoru flushed with embarrassment at her teasing.
"What're you talking about? I do all the costumes and keep meeting minutes and…" Kaoru flailed helplessly as she grinned back at him. A horse whinnied in the background, and Kaoru resigned to Hana's victorious expression, feeling very much like he did when Hana gloated over the twins when they were children.
Hana turned to see the carriage that they had ordered. Hikaru held the reigns in his hands, and his topaz eyes were alight with excitement as he brought the horses to a stop on the brick path. Beside him, Takashi smiled proudly at the successful trial.
"They look magnificent," Hanako said to Takashi, running her hand along the flank of one of the horses. The Equestrian Club kindly entrusted the horses to Takashi, and he had spent the better part of two weeks bonding with the animals. As she walked around the carriage for a final safety inspection, it did not escape her how well-groomed the steeds appeared. He had always been good with animals.
"Climb on board! We're rehearsing for the big Ouran Fair parade," Tamaki announced giddily from atop the carriage. It had been an expense which Kyoya griped about ever since he placed the order, but seeing how happy it made Tamaki, Hanako thought it was worth the trouble. Besides, the authentic piece would only benefit the club's appearance during the parade.
One by one, Hanako helped her club mates climb into the carriage, and once they were comfortably seated, she kicked off the cobblestone and balanced on the mounting step, holding on to the rail for support. With a stern command from Hikaru, the horses trotted forward. Rose petals danced in the autumn breeze, and tendrils of Hanako's hair got caught up in the dance, lifting and falling freely around her.
The Ouran princes acknowledged their admirers as they passed, and the school's former reigning princess basked in the contentment shared by her friends. Her soul, once roiling with anger, hate and sorrow, felt at peace. She tilted her head back and turned her face to the sun, soaking up the rays while she could. For a moment, all of her worries melted away, and she was happy.
Hana wasn't the only one enjoying this moment on the carriage. Mitsukuni held Usa-chan in his arms and smiled softly, listening to the leisurely exchanges taking place around him. "It's kinda neat having all of us together like this for a carriage ride, huh?"
"Yeah, whatever," Haruhi grumbled from between Kyoya and Tamaki.
"Oh, and for the actual parade tomorrow, we'll all be in eighteenth century French costumes," Tamaki announced, excited by the homage to his homeland. "Your outfit will be especially opulent, Haruhi."
"Oh, wonderful."
"Does that mean you'll be getting dressed up with us, too, Hana-chan?" Mitsukuni questioned.
The model lowered her chin to address the third year, and she wore the same indulgent and apologetic smile that always took over her face when he asked, "I'm going to be working throughout the parade." Mitsukuni's smile faltered, and Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged a look of concern, realizing that as much as things changed, there were some that would stay the same.
Then, the clock tower bell sounded.
"Ah. The fair's opening ceremony has started," Tamaki commented.
"We should get you all back to the club room and changed," Hana advised, checking the watch on her wrist and the face towering over the campus. Excited chatter broke out around her as the club discussed the start of the Fair. Hana cast her gaze to the young man seated in front of her, glasses pushed up on the bridge of his nose and arms crossed across his lower abdomen. He looked at ease despite the inevitable events on the horizon.
"Are you sure that you're ready for today?" Hanako asked him. Her gold flecked, caramel irises regarded him seriously, and he didn't so much as look up at her. Still, she could see the nuanced shift in his expression, thoughtful and considering what she said. He never answered her, and she relented. It was better for them to have this moment in the company of their friends than to address what would happen next.
{OR}
The morning flew quickly. String music reverberated through the halls, and rose petals continued to shower students and their families throughout the ceremony. Happy couples waltzed in the courtyard, and the salon was flooded with guests eager to meet the Ouran High School Host Club. The students changed into their best clothes, and even Hanako changed from her daily uniform to a more lustrous obsidian colored suit and shiny leather shoes. She pulled her hair into a high ponytail and tied it with a rose red ribbon. She fit in with the well-dressed crowd and disappeared among them.
The Host Club entertained families and visitors, and Hanako committed herself to personally overseeing the central building salon during the event. Tachibana stood outside as the door man, Aijima lingered by the kitchen doors, and Honda walked along the walls while she wove in and out of the crowd.
Generally, the lively atmosphere reflected the high spirits of the attendees. She saw smiling faces all around, charmed by the club's pleasant nature. Hana caught fleeting frowns of disapproval and stern gazes directed at the young men in passing, but Tamaki wove his spell around them as quickly as he caught sight of their frowns. Laughter and chatter filled the room, but she could hear the hushed tones just under the surface.
Hanako would never be able to ignore the whispers. She heard them as she passed, but they were, at least, discreet.
"Is that her? Akina's girl?"
"She's the spitting image of her mother."
"Poor thing. Why, my son says she's quite the personality."
Apples so rarely fell far from the trees.
Hanako caught Honda's gaze from across the room. Stone-faced as usual, nobody else would have been able to decipher the question in his expression. He worried for her, as they all did. She nodded stiffly, and he continued his loop around the room. She could handle this.
This was as much a time for her as it was for any other student. The Ouran Fair would never be just another school fair. It was a time for networking and strengthening relations between the current generation of leadership with the next. In a room where guests were catered to by the heirs to the Ootori Group, Suoh Enterprises, Hitachiin Fashions, the Haninozuka dynasty, it was impossible for the heiress of the disgraced Spring Onion International to escape scrutiny.
She had never seen her friends so charming. They played their roles better than ever, and she couldn't help but laugh a little bit at Haruhi's dry expression as the male dressed host pushed the trolley across the floor. Hana continued through the crowd, careful to not disrupt any of the guests.
"Hanako, would you join us for a moment?" she heard her young employer call and made her way to his side dutifully. "I must give credit where credit is due, of course. This is Hanako Negida, our historical consultant. Hanako, this is the chairman of the Ninjima Group."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Hanako greeted with a deep bow.
"Hanako oversees all of the club's day to day activities and coordinates all of the security for our events," Kyoya continued.
"Oh, that's right! My daughter told me about you," a woman spoke up. "You saved her from some ruffians during a beach event in Okinawa. I really must thank you, Negida."
"Please, madame, I'm fully committed to the safety of our dear guests. There's no need to thank me." Hanako lowered her gaze respectfully. She navigated the introductions expertly, as if she had never stopped occupying the role of a young debutante. Kyoya graciously facilitated the introductions, taking care to ensure that she could leave her card with potential clients. The pair found a rhythm, and wherever one needed support, the other was quick to offer it. Together, they had mastered the politics of the elite.
They were speaking with Renge's father when Hanako's cell phone started to buzz in her jacket. She excused herself and checked the message. Just like that, it was time for Kyoya and Hanako to get back to work. They excused themselves, and Hanako followed Kyoya to a secluded table aside from all the bustling activity. The body guard watched the room with her eyes peeled, but she always gave more attention to Kyoya. He loathed these kinds of events, but he tolerated them for a plethora of reasons that all suited him. He was on edge, and his patience wore thinner and thinner as the day drew on.
Hanako took her place standing behind him, reading over his shoulder as figures flew across his screen.
"This is a bit too much, even by our standards," Haruhi commented, but neither of the two second years looked up. "You could buy a small country with all the money we're wasting."
"What nonsense!" Tamaki glided to the skeptical girl in disguise. "That's not the Host Club way at all…" Hanako looked up from Kyoya's screen to the starkly contrasting pair.
Something felt strange.
It was not uncommon for Hanako to feel the prickling sensation of eyes on her person. She had eyes stationed all over the room, but her intuition drove her to look. Tamaki and Haruhi were so engrossed in his speech that they didn't notice. Kyoya couldn't be bothered to leave his work. She cast her gaze beyond her friends, to the other side of the room, and she was surprised to find herself looking straight into a pair of opera lenses. For a moment, she held the gaze of the intrusive spectator. Then, Hanako concluded that the obsever had not been watching her. Rather, she had her eye on Hana's friends.
"Besides, think of all the exposure!" Tamaki was saying, "We'll… Aaah!" The blonde's whimsical proclamations turned to a screech when Haruhi pinched him. Hanako took the opportunity to subtly put herself between the observer and the pair of hosts.
"Haruhi, now isn't the time," Hana chastised lightly, glancing over her shoulder at the well groomed young woman watching through the lenses.
"No," Kyoya drawled from the table, "Haruhi's right, you have overshot the budget." All three of them looked to Kyoya in surprise at his stern tone.
"Kyoya," Tamaki started pitifully. Hana's heart ached for him. He was so sensitive – almost too sensitive for their lifestyle. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but she wouldn't get the chance while Kyoya was in this mood.
"The use of this salon notwithstanding, you had a period style carriage shipped in all the way from France," the vice president cut him off pointedly. "Must you always be so capricious? Your impulsiveness overwhelms my accounting skills."
"Typical," Haruhi dropped her shoulders and walked off as Tamaki defended himself. They moved past Kyoya's cutting criticism the way that they always did, treating it like banter between two friends. Although, something about Kyoya's tone felt different this time, and Hanako couldn't quite place why.
"Whatever! Capricious is just another word for creative!"
"He has a point, you know," Hana leaned over to say in Kyoya's ear. "We've never restricted the budget before, and this certainly isn't the event for frugality. I hope this isn't because of business." Kyoya's lips tightened into a line.
"Father!" Tamaki exclaimed in surprise. Hanako's attention snapped to the main door where the chairman of the school board made his appearance. She rarely ever saw him in person, but she knew from pictures and Yuzuha's stories that the Suoh family patriarch shared his son's sense of flair. She could see from his pristine suit how this held true, but that was where their physical similarities ended.
Yuzuru Suoh stopped dyeing his hair blond in his adulthood. He wore his natural color in a combed back, clean style and carried himself with authority and grace. He spoke to Tamaki as if his son was a stranger to him, and Hanako could see Tamaki's back trembling from where she stood beside the table. Kyoya's chair slid against the floor, and Tamaki's best friend immediately moved to greet the chairman.
"Ah, very good! Welcome, sir." Kyoya plastered his false smile onto his face, and Hanako stopped just behind him. Discretely, her fingertips brushed Tamaki's elbow. A small show of support for their leader. He had been there for them, and now, they would be here for him. Nonetheless, the tension didn't leave his body.
"Please, let me show you to your seat."
"Thank you." Hanako fell into step with Yuzuru's secretary as Kyoya led the man to a sofa. She returned to the shadows alongside the rest of the personal assistants and body guards in the room. In the privacy of their kingdom, she could be more – their clubmate and their friend. Here, out in the open, Hanako couldn't be anything other than the position that was assigned to her.
While Yuzuru spoke to Kyoya and praised his old friend's son, Hanako stood silently beside the woman working for the chairman. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that the secretary spotted Tamaki spying on his father from the chandelier.
"Please, don't worry. I've had all the fixtures foritifed for his safety," she informed the older woman before slipping away, taking a position under the chandelier.
"Haruhi, you're needed," Kyoya called from over by the sofa.
"What?" Tamaki shrieked, losing his grip on the fixture. He plummetted to the floor and fell into Hanako's waiting arms. She braced herself for his weight, and once she had a hold on him, she helped him to his feet.
"Please stop climbing so high if you're just going to let go like that," she sighed heavily, righting his vest on his shoulders.
"Yes, of course. My apologies. If you'll excuse me, I need to spy on my father and Haruhi." His sentences came out fast and clipped, and he was gone before she could get another word in.
Hanako was left alone in the open, and that's when he approached her. Yoshio emerged from the faceless crowd like the shadow of death. The sharp planes of his face were cast in harsh disapproval and the frown he wore seemed carved into his face. Hanako felt her heart thundering in her chest as he approached her. She forced her feet to stay in place and drew her back as straight as it could be, hoping that he wouldn't see the tremble in her hands.
"Negida," he called to her sharply. "What is this?"
"Ootori-sama, welcome, sir. This is the Host Club's contribution to the Ouran Fair." She steadied her voice and kept her response as distant from Kyoya as possible, but he already knew. She could see it in his beady obsidian eyes, and she felt afraid. A fear that was not for herself rushed through her, forced through her veins by a heart beating double time.
Yoshio scanned the crowd slowly, unimpressed with everything he saw and dissatisfied with what he was unable to find. "Where is my son?"
Her mouth went dry. She couldn't get away with lying to his face, but maybe, she could buy Kyoya a few more minutes to gather himself. They knew this moment would come, but as she faced the imposing figure of Yoshio Ootori, she felt horribly unprepared. She had just seen Kyoya speaking with the chairman. He may have gone to greet other guests. She opened her mouth, meaning to tell him that she wasn't certain.
"I'm right here, father," Kyoya's mellow voice sounded behind her. Her heart sank with every step he took closer to her. Hanako clenched her fists so tightly that she thought her nails would draw blood. She watched helplessly as Kyoya's head snapped to the side, his glasses flying to the floor at her feet. The sharp staccato bounced off the walls and drew a collective gasp from the other guests turned onlookers.
Kyoya's body twisted from the force, and his body swayed.
Hanako's breaths came out in short huffs, as if she could fan the burning fury rising in her throat. She couldn't speak like this. A spotlight was turned on them – the Ootori father and son… and the ward taken into their home. Kyoya knelt to the floor beside her, and she dug her nails deeper into her palms until they burned.
"Is this how my son has been wasting his time?" Yoshio's voice rumbled dangerously. Kyoya put his glasses back on his face and rose to his feet. "You are an embarrassment to the Ootori name, and you. Is this how you repay my generosity? You're allowed to attend this school only because of my good graces. You disappoint me. Both of you."
Humiliation and indignance fought for dominance, choking her as both emotions wrestled to come out. She seethed in silence, working her jaw and biting her tongue lest she make another scene. Beside her, Kyoya adjusted his glasses.
The Host Club banded around them at the first opportunity.
"Kyoya, are you alright?"
"Your dad is so mean!"
"You should never, ever hit someone who's wearing glasses."
"I don't think it's really about that."
He was numb to their remarks. She could see his face, no matter how he tried to hide behind his lenses, and it was like marble. It dawned on her, then, why she found his criticism of Tamaki disconcerting. He had reminded her of his father.
"He wasn't upset with you 'cause of the Host Club, was he?" Haruhi questioned, prompting Tamaki to gasp.
Brusquely, Kyoya strode forward, forcing Tamaki to side step out of his path. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I haven't been expecting this." His subdued voice sounded deadened to all of them, and no matter how well he steeled himself against his father's harshness, the toll it took on Kyoya couldn't be hidden by his mask.
The rest of them turned to Hanako questioningly. She knew Kyoya better than the rest of them, and if something was really wrong, she would know. For once, they couldn't read her expression. Her caramel gaze was glued on Kyoya's retreating back, somehow icy cold and blazing hot at the same time.
"Because of… the Host Club?" Tamaki repeated.
Hanako stepped forward and set her hand on Tamaki's shoulder. Neither of them looked away from Kyoya's back, but she tightened her hold supportively, "It's not your fault, Tamaki."
She didn't wait to see if she got through to her friend. Instead, Hanako took brisk steps after Kyoya, following behind him in silence. They left the salon, and Tachibana saw the pair, the mark on Kyoya's cheek on full display. Hanako shook her head slightly in passing, and the man stood his ground, trusting that the two of them could handle this on their own.
Beyond the salon and other centers of entertainment for the Fair, the school was completely empty. The lights were on but dim in the long corridors, and their footfalls echoed around them in the grandiose maze of Ouran's interior. Neither Kyoya nor Hanako spoke a single word as they made their way to the music room. Kyoya threw the doors open, and Hanako didn't bother to close them as she followed. The door to the kitchen swung twice when they entered, and Hana flipped one of the lights on.
Kyoya loosened the ribbon at his neck and unbuttoned his vest, breathing deeply as he reigned in his frustration. His chest rose and fell with great effort, and Hana retrieved an ice pack from the freezer, wrapping it in a dish towel. His head was hung so low that his chin touched his chest. She stood toe to toe with him and pressed the cold pack against his cheek where it turned an angry, aggravated pink.
"I'm sorry."
Kyoya's fist slammed onto the counter top, and his head shot up immediately. His sharp gaze found hers, trapping her in the stony irises behind his glasses. "Stop," he grit out angrily, his frustration spilling over at an apology that wasn't hers to give. She pulled her hand holding the ice away, and furiously, he reached for her. He covered her cold fingers with his and pressed them back in place. "Stop taking responsibility for me."
Her heart insisted on beating wildly, and there was nothing she could do about it. "Your father gave me the responsibility of keeping you safe," she reminded him. Her free hand reached for a lock of dark hair out of place, falling onto his forehead. She brushed her fingertips along his hair line, and his eyes darkened, smoldering like coal behind his lenses.
"I can't keep you safe from him, Kyoya," she snarled, the gold glittering ferociously in her molten caramel gaze. The panther couldn't find a release. She was collared and leashed by her duty to the Ootori family, bound by a contract that she traded away her freedom for.
"It's not your fault," he insisted, squeezing her hand tightly over the ice. They were so close that he could smell the chrysanthemum on her skin and feel the warmth of her body. If he moved his leg slightly, she could be standing between his.
"Why do you do so much for me? Why keep secrets from my father?" he demanded harshly, hoping that it didn't sound like desperation. "Why do you stand by me when you know I have nothing to offer you?"
Hanako had the most to gain from the Host Club. He had known it from the start. Her brothers, her husband to be, her role model… but Kyoya had never been anyone to her. Their relationship was purely business, and that no longer rang true. He was the third son of the Ootori family. He would never succeed his father, and there was nothing he could offer her that anyone else couldn't.
She ground the ice pack into his face, and he hissed in pain. Kyoya snatched it from her and glared into her face. Her indignance had won, and she glared right back up at him with unshed tears of fury in her eyes. He was reminded of a day in their childhood when he had seen that very expression while the media camped around her home. His gaze softened immediately and his arms fell to his sides.
"Never say something like that to me again," she hissed. "You were the one who promised that you would help me. You gave me your word, Kyoya."
He scoffed derisively, "Did you really believe me back then?" He couldn't be sure that his plan would work, and if it fell through, what then? His word would be meaningless if this failed.
"I asked you for the favor," she reminded him. "You're the one who came through for me." Her resounding confidence never wavered. Anyone else would have had the sense to call it off, but there was something about her. Something that wasn't quite her mother's influence convinced her to believe in him.
Kyoya scowled and his hand wove through the silken strands of her hair, cupping her face and looking into her eyes with something so fierce that her she felt fire in her veins. "He can't speak to you like that," Kyoya let his head fall forward until his forehead rested upon hers. His fingertips twitched at his side, but he restrained himself. This was already more than he should have been allowed.
"We both know what's really going on here," she pointed out. It wasn't just how his father perceived her failure as Kyoya's guard. A part of his outburst had been due to the same thing that had caused Kyoya to cut down Tamaki's enthusiasm for the event. The Ootori family was under duress, and they dealt with it the same way that they always did. The Ootori patriarch kept his family with a firm hand, as his father and his father's father did before him.
Beyond that, there was the constant suspicion surrounding Kyoya's relationship with Hanako. Yoshio had been explicit in his expectation that they never cross the line between professional and platonic, and once they did, he only ever looked upon Hanako with distrust. He trusted her with Kyoya's safety, nothing more and nothing less. Her placement at his side had been for convenience alone. It was no secret what he thought of her.
Hanako and Kyoya lapsed into a defeaning silence in the club room's kitchen. Complex emotions radiated from them, tangling around them into a caged mess of confusion and frustration. She was the one to step back and let the air open up between them, "We should go back to the others."
He agreed.
{OR}
"Tama-chan isn't coming back, is he?" Mitsukuni presumed from his place around the small table the club shared next to the one where Kyoya and Hanako set up their work station.
"So, does he really plan to spend the entire fair escorting some stranger?" the twins took turns posing the question.
"Éclair, right? Or something like that."
"Who is she to him? That's the mystery."
"I could tell you," a familiar voice joined them.
"Oh, Renge."
"Éclair Tonnere," the girl stated in the most subdued tone Hanako had ever heard from her. "She's the youngest daughter of the renowned French Tonnere family. They descend from royalty." Hanako scoffed. Royalty didn't mean much of anything in their circles. It was the ruthlessness of the Tonnere family's practices and their sheer wealth that bought them such regard.
"Indeed, the family has quite a history," Kyoya stated. "Their wealth is something of a legend among financial heavyweights. In fact, just being associated with them makes you part of a very elite group. They also own Grand Tonnere, a firm that's been buying up a lot of businesses in Japan lately. Of course, that doesn't explain why Lady Éclair has come here to visit Tamaki."
"I think we can at least take a guess. Why else do young ladies monopolize a young man's attention?" Hanako questioned. It was always the same old story, an equation with the answer always set in stone. Deep down, they all knew. A dark cloud cast its shadow over the Host Club as they considered the implications of what had been said, but there wasn't time to dwell on it.
Hanako checked her watch, "It's time for your costume change."
"Already?"
"What about the boss?" Kaoru questioned skeptically.
"Kao," Hanako silenced his protests sharply with a gaze so pointed it could have cut through diamond, "he wouldn't want us to hold up the Fair." The twins deflated and trudged up to the club room. This was not how any of them wanted the fair to go. They had prepared for everything, but this was a wildcard that nobody saw coming.
Hanako herded the hosts back upstairs, and while they changed into their next costumes, she helped them with the finishing touches. "Are you okay, Hana-chan?" Mitsukuni asked her earnestly while she adjusted his tie. She had been lost in thought for a while. Her proverbial plate was full, and it seemed as if troubles just kept piling up. "Are you going to change and joing the Fair?"
That somber and apologetic look came onto her face again. "No, not yet, Mitsu-" she stopped. They were past this, weren't they? "Mi-nii."
Mitsukuni's eyes widened when he heard the old nickname, and for some reason, it sounded oddly final. "Hana-chan, everything's going to be alright, you know."
It certainly didn't feel that way. The walls around their kingdom couldn't hold much longer, and the foundation would give out from under them. This wasn't the time for promises and empty reassurances. She forced a smile onto her face, "We should go back to the others."
Mitsukuni joined Takashi, and the hosts filed out of the music room. Kyoya waited for Hanako to catch up, silently counting the club members who passed him. "Where's Haruhi?"
"She needs a little bit more time to get ready," Hanako reported meaningfully. Kyoya nodded and followed the rest of the club. Haruhi would join them whenever she was done. The Host Club emerged from the doors as a unit, and they waited nearby for the member who hadn't walked down to the floor with them. Hanako and Kyoya returned to their table, immediately setting out to complete what little they could accomplish for the time being.
Later, a series of gasps alerted Hanako to Haruhi's arrival. She lifted her gaze from the binder, observing the fanfare.
"How dashing!"
"Oh, my!"
Haruhi looked quite handsome in the cream colored jacket with its long tail and the stylish trousers paired with it. She was lovely despite the sadness in her eyes.
"Haru-chan looks great!" Mitsukuni declared, and Hanako's attention swiveled to the hosts. These past few months, Hanako had been harboring her own thoughts regarding the changing relationships within the Host Club. For a long time, she thought she would lose her place among them, but it was clear that there were places in their hearts where she belonged and places she could never fill.
"She does," Takashi agreed. She watched his eyes soften as he gazed upon the female host, cute as a button and beautiful in her own right. It felt like a lifetime had passed since she shed tears over the footage from the Aqua Gardens.
Hanako's gaze flickered to the pages in front of her before settling on the young man seated across from her, catching how his eyes slid over to watch Haruhi's entrance, fingers hovering over the keyboard, and Hanako let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She resigned to the suspicions that she had been harboring, accepting what she saw for what it was. A Negida knows a losing battle.
"Not bad."
"So, where did the boss go?"
"He was looking forward to this the most."
"Our king is lounging in music room three," Haruhi stated dryly. "He's entertaining Lady Éclair."
"Well, well, well," Hikaru drawled.
"Sounds like someone's a little jealous," Kaoru prodded.
Hanako's fists dropped on each twin's head, and they yelped over the cousins' agreement behind her, "Butt out. It's none of your business."
"Like I said," Haruhi said in an too-casual voice to be natural. "I'm not."
"Like you said?" the club echoed.
"Look, I-I just think that he's being even more irresponsible than usual today. You said it yourself, Kyoya-senpai. He's impulsive."
"True, he certainly is," Kyoya agreed. "But in this instance, he's obeying the whims of his grandmother."
"Um, you know, now that I think about it, Tamaki-senpai's grandmother seemed really cold toward him earlier. Is there some special reason for that?"
Hanako set her pen down on the table, "There is."
"Well, everyone else knows about it," Hikaru stated.
"See, Tamaki-senpai is illegitimate," Kaoru revealed.
It always surprised Hanako when she remembered how new Haruhi was. Not just to their world, but in their lives altogether. She knew so little about the going ons of their families and had such a limited scope of knowledge that she couldn't even be faulted for her ignorance. Yuzuru Suoh's story was not uncommon. Internal family politics drove their lives, and they had built a bubble around Haruhi to shield her from that reality.
The rumors of Tamaki's illegitimacy had overshadowed the rumors of Hanako's virtue when he first arrived in Japan, and everyone knew the gist of the circumstances surrounding his birth. However, it was only the Host Club with whom he shared the entirety of his experience.
"His childhood seems to have been a happy one," Hikaru shared.
"But as time wore on, the family business on his mother's side went belly up, and they were forced into debt."
Families like the Suohs and the Matsuras were cut from the same cloth. Shizune Suoh and Shiori Matsura valued their families' reputations and successions so much that they were willing to barter and alienate their own children for the sake of the family. When Tamaki came into her life, Hanako found more than a kindred spirit. He was the first person who truly and genuinely understood what she was going through. He recognized her pain because he had felt it himself, and he promised her the world because there was no way for him to regain his. It was a debt that she would spend the rest of her life
paying back.
"Wow," Haruhi voiced with heavy emotion.
"The current patriarch may be Chairman Yuzuru Suoh technically, but for the time being, all of the family's assets remain under the control of Tamaki's grandmother."
"Frankly, Shizune-sama has been in complete control of the Suoh family since before Yuzuru-sama took over the role of patriarch. Her regard for the thoughts and feelings of others is next to insignificant."
"What's more, with his mother's health being so frail, Tamaki understood the grim prospects facing her if she were left to live in debt. So, not long afterward, either out of anguish or just plain guilt over bartered her son away for financial security, Tamaki's mother left France in shame and went into hiding. Her current whereabouts are unknown. To this day, he's never seen her again. Not once."
That wasn't to say that nobody had looked for her, but wherever she was, Tamaki's mother did not want to be found. It was like chasing a ghost, and while Hanako had done her fair share of chasing after ghosts of the past, somehow, this broke her heart more than anything else she had done. If her mother was alive – if her father walked the earth – she knew in her heart of hearts that she'd never be able to do what Tamaki had, and Hanako could see, through the cocoa colored windows into Haruhi's soul, that the other girl finally understood Tamaki.
"It's easy to feel sorry for him," Kyoya stated knowingly, "But the hardships that he endured as a child helped mold him into the person he is today. He'll be fine. The Host Club is his refuge, which means, when all is said and done, he still has us."
Tamaki laid the cornerstone of their kingdom, but they were the ones who built the wall. It had been slow to realize, but they loved him as much as he loved them. They would go to the ends of the Earth for him, and if the world ever threatened to put him through hell, they would follow him into its fiery depths to pull him out themselves because that was what he had done for every single one of them. They were a family, and that was what family did for each other.
Haruhi realized this as she gazed up into the faces of every single member of the Host Club.
Then, the doors magnificent doors opened into the salon.
"Tama-chan!" Mitsukuni exclaimed happily at their president's return. Hanako squinted against the harsh glare of the sunset against the two figures.
"Everyone, I have an important announcement. As of today, Lady Éclair Tonnere and I are officially engaged. Furthermore, the Host Club will be permanently dissolved after the Ouran Fair. That is all."
Hanako had never seen Éclair Tonnere in person. The young woman was captivating, certainly, and her eyes were the bluest shade that Hanako had ever seen. She was well-manicured in a way that Hanako recognized could only be the product of fine breeding.
"What?! You can't be serious!"
"Boss, do you really mean that?"
"Tama-chan!"
The hosts cried out their protests, and the triumphant expression on Tamaki's new fiancee's face never wavered despite the empty look in his gemstone eyes. Hanako had been sitting on the fountain, and when she stood, every single host fell silent, even Haruhi, who had never seen them defer to the shadow before. Éclair carried herself with an air of entitlement that reminded Haruhi of the bully who had been banished from the club way back when this all started, but Hanako could rival them both to a T.
"I'd like to speak with Tamaki," the Japanese beauty stated, and her eyes narrowed into slits, glowing in the sunlight that flooded in from behind the new couple. "Alone."
With that single word, the Host Club dispersed. Takashi took Mitsukuni by the hand and led him to the secondary entrance. Kaoru and Hikaru followed, and Kyoya guided Haruhi after them. After a moment of hesitation, Haruhi surrendered to the gentle pressure on her back from Kyoya's hand and followed the others out.
Hanako regarded Éclair with a completely bored expression, as if she had seen and bested a hundred women just like the French girl. Éclair looked down her nose at Hana, but the raven haired girl wasn't bothered by it. Hanako had had enough. Enough of women like Éclair and Seika. Enough of elders like Shizune and Shiori. There were very few things left that were sacred to her, and she didn't have the patience left for this.
"I won't repeat myself," Hanako said in such a cold and regal voice that Éclair felt the twinge of intimidation that only her older sisters had ever been able to evoke from her.
"I don't think so," Éclair countered.
"My lady, it's okay. This will just be a moment. You have my word," Tamaki listlessly promised. It was enough to satisfy the French aristocrat, and Éclair turned and exited from the room. Tamaki shut the doors gently behind him and cast the room back into darkness.
He descended the staircase with his head hung in absolute defeat, avoiding Hanako's gaze as he collapsed onto the edge of the fountain. His crumpled form broke her last thread of composure.
"What the hell is happening?" her voice shook with outrage.
"Lady Éclair has made me an offer that I simply couldn't turn down."
"There isn't an offer in the world that could pry you away from the Host Club," she shot back.
Slowly he lifted his head from his hands and brought his gaze to meet hers. He looked tortured and guilty, and she knew that look on his face because she had seen it so many times in her own whenever she passed a mirror. "We both know that isn't true."
Just like that, she knew what Éclair had said to him.
Hanako's body stilled, and love for him replaced the fury. She approached him with an empathy that so few people could show him, and she seated herself beside him on the ledge. The ferocity drained from her entirely, and she just felt exhausted. "I understand, now. Are you going to tell the others?"
The humorless laugh from him sounded more like a strangled cry. "I'm not sue I can."
"Tamaki, there is nothing you can say to us that we would stop loving you for," she assured him vehemently. They were better because of him – kinder, truer, braver. They protected him against a world that threatened to drag him down. They loved him as if he was blood. There wasn't a thing she would do for Hikaru and Kaoru that she wouldn't do for him, and she knew the same was true of them. Takashi and Mitsukuni thought of him as well as they thought of each other, and Kyoya regarded him more highly than his own blood. "You know I'm right."
He shook his head, denying what he knew was true because if he were to acknowledge how selfish he was being, he wouldn't be able to pull himself together. He smiled sadly at her. There was something about Hanako that always reminded him of himself. They were two sides of the same coin, two distinct outcomes of the same brand of tragedy.
"Do you remember how we all started?"
Of course she did. They were empty shells of people who they had once been, lost in the valley of despair. Without him, they never would have found themselves, much less each other. "I'd never forget."
"I'm sorry, Hanako. I wasn't able to keep my promise. I think I was able to make every girl in this school happy except for the two who matter most to me." She looked at him carefully and saw tears pooling in his eyes.
There were different degrees to which the hosts hid their pain, and there were those who thought Kyoya was the most deceptive host. Anyone who believed that would have been wrong. Behind his cheerful demeanor, channeled into his empathy, Tamaki had a soul fractured far worse than any of them. It was in the way he played the piano and in the faraway look in his eye when they brought together other families and mended other broken hearts.
Hanako pulled him in by the shoulders, wrapping her arms around him tightly. It didn't take long for the wetness to seep into her jacket and shirt. She didn't know how often Tamaki let himself cry over his trauma, and she knew that Tachibana's advice didn't apply here. There was nothing she could say that could make this better, not when they were plummeting into the unknown like this.
"It's going to be okay," she said as he gripped onto the fabric on her back, trying to anchor himself through the whirlwind of emotions threatening to drown him in the abyss. "It's going to be okay, Tamaki. Everything's going to be fine."
She repeated the words until they lost all meaning to the both of them, and the kindred spirits held to each other as if it was enough to keep their family together.
{OR}
A/N... not me crying while I write this. My update schedule is a mess, I'm so sorry that this is going up right now, but I cannot wait to get this chapter to you guys!
There is one more chapter left to this story, and I cannot express how thankful I am to you all for sticking with me through it.
Special thanks to swishyla, everylittleflowers, xmichikox, springcrazy, purplekittycatofthemoon, and kaigirl16 for your reviews on the last chapter!
I'm considering either doing an author's note to delve into Hana's character a little bit after I finish the next chapter and talk through the ending or putting together a playlist with a song dedicated to each chapter if you guys are interested. If you'd be interested in either of those, please mention it in a review or a direct message so that I know what the interest levels are :)
If I were to write an AU special of this story, what would you like to see?
Next time: A promise fulfilled...