Author's note: Welcome to chapter 16, dear Reader! Wow, 16 already. I truly hope you're enjoying the ride so far just as much as I am! Hold on tight, now, things get a little bumpy here. Also, this kind of ran long. It's the longest chapter so far, woo.

Trigger warning: There's some intense bits here, but nothing too horrifying (unlike some earlier chapters!). A certain (stuffed) bunny undergoes surgery, and the twins play an innocent prank with drastic consequences. But a lot of this chapter is pretty fluffy, so everyone should be alright. *Hands out lollies and tissues just in case*

As always, I don't own Ouran or the Hosts, much as I'd like to. Reviews and PMs are always welcome! Enjoy!


-Sunday, two weeks later-

Sky bolted upright with a little squeal, wondering what jolted her out of the lovely dream she'd been having. It took a moment for the sound to register as her phone's ringtone. She snatched it off the bedside table with a curse. Who the bloody hell is calling me so Goddamned early on a freaking Sunday? She blinked bleary eyes at the readout, then cursed again.

"Tamaki, chardonneret, unless this is a real-life emergency, I just might have to murder you."

"You can't, ma cherie! This is an emergency! You've got to help me, you've just got to!"

Sky held the phone away from her ear for a moment, waiting for Tamaki to finish his high-pitched hysterics. She groaned and rubbed her eye, then stifled a yawn. After a moment, she put the phone back to her ear.

"Are you finished shrieking yet, Tamaki?"

"This is serious, ma cherie! He's going to kill me!"

"Oh hell. What did you do? Don't yell, just tell me what you did, who's going to kill you, and why I should help you."

There was silence for just a moment, then Tamaki took a deep breath and launched into his confession.

"Honey-senpai left Usa-chan at school Friday, so I took him home for safe-keeping. I don't know how it happened, but Angelique got hold of him this morning, and...and...and..."

Sky pulled the phone away again as Tamaki burst into tears on the other end, wailing emphatically. This was bad. This was very bad. She was already out of bed and opening the closet as she spoke.

"How bad is it? Tamaki? Tamaki! How bad is the damage?"

She shifted the phone from hand to hand as she threw on the first clothes she could reach as Tamaki went on a lengthy rant about carnage and fluffy destruction. Knowing the over-active imagination of her friend, Sky was unready to believe the true extent of the stuffed bunny's damage. She shook her head and issued a loud, high-pitched whistle, cutting off his ranting.

"Dude, switch to decaf, seriously. Bring Usa-chan here and let me see how bad it really is, ok? Do not say anything to anyone until then. I mean it, if Honey thinks you let your dog murder Usa-chan, you are dead. They'll never find your body. Just get your ass over here, ok?"

"You're a lifesaver, ma cherie! I'm on my way!"

Sky shuffled down the stairs, dragging her fingers through her hair and muttering expletives in every language she knew. She staggered into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, grabbing the first soda she saw. After gulping down the life-giving caffeine, she wandered outside to get the travel sewing kit from her studio, stifling another yawn.

Mere moments after coming back in the main house, she heard a car pull up outside. She managed to open the front door before Tamaki could pound on it, and wasn't shocked to see him completely disheveled. He hadn't even thought to put shoes on, and Sky was pretty sure those were pajama pants he was still wearing.

"Ma cherie, look! It's awful! He's going to murder me, I just know he is!"

She rolled her eyes and took the toy from his trembling hands. It was dirty, and a little damp in places. Angelique had definitely had it for several minutes before her silly human had noticed. Sky made a disapproving sound as she examined the beloved bunny.

"Oh, for the love of - Tamaki, I may just kill you yet. None of this is that bad. Damn, dude. Try toning down the hysterics and shit, ok? I can fix this, no problem."

"Really?! You mean, I won't die? Honey-senpai's not going to kill me after all?"

"Well... I didn't say that. I mean, Usa-chan's pretty filthy and stuff. We'll see, though. Go in the kitchen and drink some water. Absolutely nocaffeine for you."

She gave him a shove toward the kitchen as she pulled out her cell phone again. Rolling her eyes at his theatrics, she dialed the familiar number, and wasn't surprised to get an immediate answer.

"Sky, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine, mo mac tíre, but Honey might end up murdering Tamaki. We have...a bit of a situation."

There was a groan on the other end, and Sky explained the situation with Usa-chan. She assured him that she could fix the tears easily, but she didn't want to be the one to inform Honey. There was no way she was going to be the one to incur his wrath. When Takashi promised to tell Honey himself, she breathed a sigh of relief. They hung up, and Sky went into the kitchen.

Tamaki was sitting at the table, clutching a glass of water with both hands, taking nervous little sips. When he saw Sky, he started to speak, but Sky simply pointed one long, slender finger at him. He gulped and wisely stayed silent. Sky fished another soda out of the fridge before sitting at the table.

There was plenty of sunlight streaming through the floor-length windows of the kitchen as she opened her sewing kit and started searching for the proper shade of pink thread.

"Ok. Takashi's going to tell Honey what happened. They'll be here soon. Before you start wailing, don't. I'm going to fix Usa-chan and hopefully wash him. I'll do my best to keep Honey from killing you, but don't expect any miracles."

For once, Tamaki stayed silent. He nodded and took another tiny sip of water, watching Sky go to work. Once she found the shade she wanted, she swiftly threaded a needle and started sewing. She paused occasionally to take little drinks of her soda, and to get more thread, but there was silence in the bright kitchen.

After a few minutes, they were startled by her phone's ringtone. She couldn't help the automatic smile when she saw the readout, and answered immediately, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder.

"That was fast. Is Tamaki safe, or should I drag him outside so I don't have to clean up all that blood?"

"I convinced Mitsukuni to let him live. At least until we see the damage. We're almost there."

"Well, that's good at least. I'm not in a cleaning mood, anyway. Come on in, we're in the kitchen."

She hung up and stuffed the phone back in her pocket before reaching for the thread again. She threaded the needle again and started on the last tear. She thought it was lucky that the little toy bunny hadn't lost any stuffing, because she didn't have any in stock. She spoke lightly as she put in the tiny stitches.

"So, you just might live after all."

Tamaki gasped in relief and looked ready to cry. Sky rolled her eyes and continued to focus on her work. She had almost finished sewing up the last tear when she heard the front door open, and running footfalls.

"I need calm, if you please. Surgery is still in session."

Honey climbed up onto the table to watch Sky work, his big eyes full of genuine tears. He sniffled and whimpered quietly, but otherwise stayed silent. He stared as if in a trance, watching her nimble hands put in the tiny, almost delicate-looking stitches. She finally snipped off the last thread and carefully examined the little pink bunny, double-checking for even the slightest rip. After a moment, she nodded, satisfied, and looked up at her heart-broken friend.

"It's alright, precious. Usa-chan came through surgery with flying colors. He'll be fine. He just...needs a bath."

"Really? He's ok?"

His voice was choked with tears, and Sky's heart melted for him. She knew exactly how special the toy was, and she was grateful that she was able to fix it for him. She reached out and tugged the little blonde onto her lap, setting the bunny in his arms.

"See for yourself, darling Mitsukuni. He's fine."

Honey turned the beloved toy over and over in his hands, examining every inch of the bunny. After several tense moments, he let out a joyful squeal and clutched Usa-chan tightly. When he finally got over his emotional outburst, he very carefully set the bunny on the table and flung his arms around Sky, hugging her just as tightly.

"You saved him, Pixie-chan! It's a miracle! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Sky held her friend gently and stroked his hair as he kissed her cheek repeatedly. She couldn't contain her laughter after a moment, and nudged him into the chair beside her.

"God, Honey, I think you cracked a rib. Wow. Um, so... I didn't have the exact right shade of thread, so Usa-chan's got some little scars now, I'm sorry about that."

"That's ok, Pixie-chan. Now he can be a warrior, like you!"

She let out a very unladylike snort of laughter at Honey's comment. She shook her head and ruffled Honey's hair. She was so glad that he was feeling better. He gave her a radiant smile, and she grinned broadly in return.

She stood and stretched, then gingerly flexed the fingers of her right hand. She was supposed to wear the stupid brace for another week, but she couldn't manage to force herself to put the vile contraption back on. Her hand was sore, but she could use it, so she dealt with the pain. She thought that everything would be fine, just as long as she remembered not to overdo anything.

She wandered over to where Takashi was leaning against the counter and leaned her head against his shoulder. She was delighted when he rested his head against hers, and she slid an arm around his waist.

"Thank you, mo mac tíre. I was so worried about how he'd react."

"Me too."

He curled his arm around her shoulders for a moment, which gave her a secret little thrill. She gave him a little squeeze before straightening up with a yawn. Rubbing her eye, she hopped up on the counter and glanced over at Tamaki, who had remained silent and almost completely motionless.

"You can breathe now, chardonneret, I think your life is safe for now."

Tamaki's eyes were wide and he shook his head slowly, then risked looking over at Honey, who was once again cuddling his Usa-chan. He popped up and bounced over to the terrified boy, still clutching the toy to his chest. He reached out and patted Tamaki on the knee.

"I'm so sorry, Honey-senpai, I'm so so sorry! It was an accident, I swear! I would never ever hurt your beloved Usa-chan!"

"Don't worry, Tama-chan, I won't hurt you. I know it was an accident, and Usa-chan is fine now. Everything's alright."

Relief flooded Tamaki's face and he fell to his knees before the shorter boy. Tears fell from his pretty eyes, and he grasped the small hand tightly.

"Thank you Honey-senpai, thank you! Please, please, please don't ever leave Usa-chan at school again!"

"I won't! Never ever!"

"Well. Now that we've gotten that settled. Since I'm up, and you're all here, how about some breakfast? I was thinking about waffles with fresh whipped cream and fruit."

Honey let out a joyous squeal and pranced over to hug her again. She knew that would work. She patted the little blonde head and grinned.

"You don't have to cook for us, ma cherie. It's all my fault you're even up this early."

"True enough. But I'm up now, and actually hungry for once. Besides, when do I ever turn down an opportunity to spend time with my boys?"

She flashed a broad smile at the lads and wandered to the pantry to gather her things without waiting for an answer. She hummed to herself for a moment, then had a thought.

"You know, we might as well see if Kyoya and the monkeys are up, invite them over too. And Honey, dear? Could you check the fridge, see what kind of fruit we have?"

"I'm on it!"

"Um, Pixie. Ma cherie, I've already had one near-death experience today, I'm not about to risk waking Kyoya."

Sky rolled her eyes and muttered about Tamaki's cowardice. But the lad had a point, Kyoya was quite grumpy if woken early. She huffed out a little sigh.

"Ok, fine, I'll text him myself."

"Again, you're a lifesaver, ma cherie. I owe you my life twice over now."

"Yeah, yeah. Just stop almost getting murdered, and we can call it even."

She walked out of the pantry with her arms full and strode toward one of the long counters. Takashi immediately took the bowls and assorted ingredients from her and set them on the counter. Sky gave him a grateful little smile as she dug her phone out of her pocket.

Good morning, little owl. If you're awake and not feeling murderous, want to come over for breakfast? Takashi, Honey, and Tamaki are all here, and Tamaki's calling the twins now. You should come, it'll be fun, and I'm making waffles.

She tucked her lower lip between her teeth as she looked at everything on the counter. Hrmm... It looked like she had everything but the fruit, which would stay in the fridge until it was time to eat. What was missing? Oh, duh. She slid across the floor to switch on the stereo, nodding when one of her favorite One Ok Rock songs came on. There, much better.

A few minutes later, she was vaguely surprised to get a reply from Kyoya. She opened the text with a shocked look, then laughed and grinned.

Since you did the asking, I suppose I'll come. As for murderous, well, we'll just see how the morning goes.

"So, Kyoya's coming. Did you get hold of the twins, chardonneret?"

"Yeah, they're probably on their way already. They sounded entirely too excited, I think those shady devils are planning something unseemly."

"Yeah, but you always think that."

-After Breakfast-

Sky looked around at her boys with a tender smile. They were gathered in the little theater again, the twins and Tamaki once again arguing over movies. She stifled a little yawn and stood to stretch. Rolling her neck, she wandered into the attached kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

She leaned against the counter and took a long drink. She wanted another soda, but the caffeine was already starting to make her jittery. She glanced over as Kyoya walked in, shaking his head.

"Those idiots are going to be the death of me one of these days."

"Aw, poor little owl."

Kyoya leaned beside her and copped her bottle for a drink, then sighed quietly. Sky grinned and patted him on the shoulder lightly.

"Your lack of sympathy isn't helping any."

"Oh, I'm sorry, darling, was I supposed to be helpful?"

Kyoya turned to stare at her, and she smirked, completely unabashed. She bumped his elbow with hers and reached up to ruffle his hair.

"Come on, you know life would be way too boring without those so-called idiots. You know you love them."

"I wouldn't say that."

"Of course you wouldn't. Doesn't make it any less true though. You can't hide the truth from me, little owl."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sky let out a little snort of laughter at the tone of his voice. He was trying so hard to be nonchalant, but she could read him like a book.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Kyoya."

She flashed a cheeky grin at her friend and went over to open the fridge again. Since he'd copped her water, she went for another soda after all. With her boys here, it was bound to be another very long day. Even though it made her a bit jittery, she needed the caffeine.

She slung an arm around Kyoya's shoulders as they walked back into the theater. She gave him a little squeeze before settling back into her spot. Honey had insisted she sit with him again, so she tucked her long legs under her on the sofa beside him. He gave her a sunny smile and very carefully laid his head against her shoulder.

"So, boys. What's on the agenda for today? Have we decided yet?"

"Actually, we were kind of hoping you'd have a good idea."

Sky raised an eyebrow at Hikaru. She hitched her good shoulder up in a little shrug.

"What makes you think any ideas I have would be good, little monkey?"

"Aw, Pixie-chan, you have lots of good ideas! Like the waffles!"

She grinned and ruffled Honey's hair. Of course he would say that. In his mind, sweets were always a good idea.

"Well, yeah. Waffles are always a good idea, little bunny. But how about something that doesn't involve food, hrm?"

"How about a trip to the beach?"

"Um... How about something that doesn't involve giant bodies of water and massive shrieking crowds, Kaoru?"

Several more ideas were tossed around, but no one could agree. Finally, Sky threw her hands up in mock frustration.

"Alright, that's it. If somebody doesn't make a damned decision right now, I'm just going to go work in my studio. I have shields to finish."

There was a gasp, and Tamaki bounced to his feet. A joyous smile lit up his face, and Sky cringed. Oh hell, what now?

"You're making shields, ma cherie? Like real shields, the kind knights used?"

"Oh. Damn. Yeah, kind of, I guess? I've been working on some new designs based off that dragon warrior series I lent you."

"Oh, oh! Can we see them? Please, ma cherie, please?"

"Well, sure. It's not like I've got anything top-secret in the studio, you guys are always welcome."

Tamaki let out a joyful whoop and took off at top speed. Sky snickered as she stretched her long legs out and got slowly to her feet. Honey and the twins hurried out, but she noticed that Kyoya and Takashi were both taking their time, as well.

"No worries. He can't damage anything if he can't get in."

She flashed the boys a cheeky grin, tugging a keyring from her pocket and twirling it around her finger. The trio shared a small laugh and followed the others at a slower pace.

They walked outside, and Sky once again stayed far from the pool, keeping her eyes on the stone walkway to the studio. Takashi noticed, and matched his pace to hers, shielding her from the crystalline water without comment.

Tamaki was bouncing in place, anxious to see Sky's latest creations. Honey and the twins were excited too, but none were as hyper as Tamaki. Ok, no more caffeine, dude. Damn. She shook her head and grinned a little as she nudged the silly blonde out of the way to unlock the door. She had barely flipped the light switch when he swept past her.

"Whoa. Simmer. I'm telling you, Tamaki, switch to decaf. Seriously, dude."

Light laughter followed as the others filed into the studio behind her. There were several types of shields in various stages strewn about. Some were still only drawings tacked up on the walls, vaguely detailed and half-colored. A few looked to be nearly completed, sitting patiently in little stands for their finishing touches.

Tamaki was immediately drawn to one that was nearly finished. The shield had a traditional shape, and it looked to be made of sturdy wood with some strange, oddly-colored metal overlay. A fierce dragon emblem was etched into the metal, and it was surrounded by evil-looking spikes. Tamaki gingerly touched a fingertip to one of the spikes, and was shocked when it gave easily.

"It's soft!"

"Well, yeah, it's foam. If I'd used real spikes, it could cause some serious damage. None of my pieces are made to actually cause harm, even the weapons. Especially since silly people like you insist on touching the pointy bits."

She reached over and tousled his hair, laughing quietly at her silly friend.

"It looks so real, ma cherie!"

"He's right, you know. Your talent knows no bounds, my dear."

Sky blushed at Kyoya's words, and shrugged lightly. She picked up the dragon shield and ran her fingertips over the etching.

"I'm not so sure about that. I couldn't get the metal to look the way I wanted. It's supposed to look like a scorched dragon scale, but... It's not...quite right. The books didn't say how big the scales are supposed to be, maybe I need to remake it with several overlapping smaller scales. But... I don't know, then the emblem wouldn't look right."

She let out a small growl in frustration, and was sorely tempted to pull her own hair. She had finally given up and done the etching, even though the metal annoyed her.

The frustration showed on her face, and Kyoya patted her shoulder lightly. He took the shield from her, surprised at it's weight. It looked like real wood, but was actually very light. Sky shook her head, clearing the negativity, and grinned at Kyoya.

"Yeah, not real wood. A real shield like that would probably weigh about thirty pounds or so. No way anyone's going to want that for cosplay."

She chatted with the boys for several minutes, discussing shields, metal-work, and all manner of cosplay subjects. After a surprisingly animated debate about the merits of one material over another, she stifled a yawn and stretched her arms above her head.

"Man, you guys get intense over the weirdest shit. Tamaki, don't think I don't see you over there. Stay away from that torch, you'll burn the whole place down."

"I was just looking, ma cherie, I wasn't going to do anything."

"Uh huh, sure. Whatever you say."

She walked over and put the torch out of the blonde's reach. He started to pout, but she patted him on the head with a little grin, and all was fine. He gave her a sunny smile in return. She clapped her hands once, lightly.

"Alright, boys. We've seen the shields, now let's have some fun of some kind, shall we?"

She shooed the lads outside, glanced around to make sure everything was in its place, and flipped the light switch. After locking the door, she stuck the keyring back in her pocket and turned to her boys. The twins dashed to her sides and hooked their arms through hers, pinning her between them. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity, and they responded with matching devious grins.

"We have a great idea, Pixie!"

"Yeah, it'll be so much fun!"

A chill went up Sky's spine at the tone of their words, and she was suddenly worried. They were coming up the stone walkway from the studio, and the twins were far too close to the edge of the pool for her liking. She tried to drag her feet, dig her heels in, anything to stop.

"Um, guys. Wait. Seriously, that, that's...um... Wait. This isn't... come on..."

It was too late. With a hoot of laughter, the twins had shoved her right over the edge, tossing her into the deep end of the pool. She let out an involuntary shriek, unable to hold her breath before hitting the water. Panic overshadowed rational thought, and she thrashed, flailing her arms and legs in a frantic attempt to reach the surface. She choked and swallowed more water, her vision going gray around the edges, then black.

She came to, retching and coughing up what felt like gallons of pool water. And possibly a lung. Strong arms held her, and a gentle hand rubbed her back. Once the last of the water was finally out of her system, she looked up, trying to force air down her sore, swollen throat in rusty gasps. Tears streamed from her eyes as she met the gaze of her savior.

Once again, Takashi had come to her rescue. He had jumped in only seconds after she hit the water. She couldn't speak, but threw her arms around him and held tight, weeping against his broad shoulder. He silently cradled the terrified girl on his lap, continuing to rub her back soothingly.

Kyoya, on the other hand, had plenty to say. As Sky's weeping tapered off into gasps and little sobs, she could hear his enraged voice clearly.

"What the hell were you two thinking?! Don't you know anything?! She could have died! Do you really think drowning your friend is funny? How could you do something so completely idiotic?!"

"We didn't know! We had no idea she'd freak out like that!"

"Yeah, come on, we'd never hurt her on purpose!"

The twins sounded horrified and near tears. Sky's heart hurt nearly as much as her throat. She coughed and cleared her throat gingerly, sitting up. She wasn't sure if her legs would hold her just yet, and stayed curled up in her wolf's lap. Her voice was hoarse and scratchy, but she was determined to speak.

"Kyoya... Don't kill them..."

She grimaced and rubbed a trembling hand over her neck. Talking hurt. She looked up at her friends, and the anguish on their faces broke her heart. Hikaru and Kaoru rushed over and fell to their knees before her, both of them nearly in tears.

"We're so sorry, Pixie. We didn't mean to hurt you. We didn't know, we had no idea. We're sorry. Please don't hate us, Pixie. We'd never hurt you, not ever."

She only caught about half of what they said, they were babbling so fast and their voices overlapping. She gave up after a moment and waved her hand at them. She spoke quietly, reaching a hand out to each of them.

"Shh. Don't freak out, I'm alright."

She coughed violently, belying her statement and racking her whole body with pain. Letting go of the twins' hands with a whimper, she pressed one hand to her sharply aching shoulder. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on just breathing.

Without a word, Takashi stood effortlessly, scooping her up in his arms and cradling her close. He strode off toward the house, and Sky put her arms around his neck, resting her head against his shoulder. She finally opened her eyes as they neared the main staircase.

"Hey, wait. Put me down."

He didn't reply, but kept walking, ignoring her request. She groaned and wriggled in his grasp.

"Come on, you don't need to carry me up the stairs. You'll hurt yourself."

He stayed silent, tightening his grip on her and continuing toward the stairs. She finally laid a hand on his cheek and rested her head against his, her voice soft as she tried one last time.

"Please, mo mac tíre."

He made a quiet, disapproving sound, but relented. He set her carefully on her feet, but kept one arm firmly fastened around her waist. She was grateful for that, because her legs were still rather unsteady. She curled her arm around him and held the banister tightly with her free hand as they slowly made their way upstairs.

Takashi held her close as they approached her bedroom, ready to scoop her up at a moment's notice if she so much as hesitated. She was trembling, and he knew she was unsteady. She had to try twice to open her door, and made a soft, frustrated noise.

He slid his arm from around her waist, but was shocked when she took his hand and held tight. She pulled him into the room and kicked the door closed. She flipped the lock and turned to her friend. With fresh tears in her eyes, she put her arms around him and clung tightly, hiding her face against his neck.

"I can't... I just...I'm afraid to be alone right now... Don't leave me, ok? Please?"

Takashi's arms curled around her again and held her close. Her trembling increased, and her tears were warm against his skin. Her hands twitched against his back, clutching his shirt in tight fists. Without the slightest hesitation, he picked her up and settled into an overstuffed chair surrounded by bookshelves. He cradled her on his lap, one hand rubbing her back in gentle circles. His voice was soft as he finally spoke, his words tender and full of emotion.

"It's alright, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. You're not alone, I've got you. I won't leave you, Sky."


A/N again: Woo, that was...intense. What will happen next? Will Kyoya let the twins live? What's going to happen behind that locked door? Just where were Honey and Tamaki while Takashi was fishing Sky out of the pool? And just WHY is Sky so wigged out about the pool anyways? Stayed tuned, dear Reader, and we'll find out together.

Also, dear Reader. One Ok Rock (generally written ONE OK ROCK) is indeed a real band. Go check them out on YouTube, you won't regret it! Taka's voice is rawrr.