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Kagome blew out a long slow breath as she leaned back against the window seat she was occupying. For some strange, unknown reason to her, the boys wouldn't let her leave. And because she didn't want to actually spend any time with them (hint hint 'money she couldn't afford' hint hint), Kyoya had set up a comfortable little spot for her to lounge in until they were all ready to close up.
"Stupid, chivalrous 'Protect the little princess because they think she can't take care of herself' crap!" the miko hissed to herself, growling lowly when another round of squeals and giggles resounded through the room. She just didn't understand these girls! "I'm so ready for this Cultural Festival to be over, damn it!"
Nearly an hour later, and several escape attempts that were foiled by a very watchful Mori, the door closed on the last of the girls that had been roaming around. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and took out the earplugs she'd managed to wheedle out of Kyoya. He'd spoken of charging her for them, but she'd simply flipped the boy off, and slobbered all over them in a way that had made the very orderly second-year twitch.
The door opened; the boys instantly in their places. It was near the end of the club, so they had to wonder who would join them at such a late hour.
"Welcome!"
The two girls just inside the door were staring at the Host Club with nothing short of disdain on their delicate features.
"Well, well! I see you're not from our school," Tamaki spiritedly continued, waltzing towards the duo with a smile.
'No kidding, genius,' Kagome thought blandly, her emotionless mask very firmly in place. She knew those uniforms. She'd almost chosen that uniform over the current one she'd been forced into today.
These girls were from the elite Lobelia Girl's Academy.
'But why did they come to the Host Club?'
After several minutes of debate back and forth between the two parties, with a third woman joining them and Haruhi cluelessly in her possession, the shrine maiden had seen enough to know that she definitely didn't like these girls. At all.
It was soon apparent, though, that the boys still had a lot to learn about their female Host, and the miko rolled her eyes at the ridiculous drama unfolding before her as the Lobelia girls left and Haruhi stormed off in a rage, leaving the rest of the Host Club up in arms about the situation.
"We have to do something!" Tamaki cried out, pulling at his blonde hair as Honey burst into tears. She saw the way Mori's eyes went wide as he knelt next to his much smaller cousin. Huh, he really did care about the Haninozuka boy.
It made her wonder how he would act towards a girlfriend... if he ever decided to date, that is.
'Which, by the way, is not any of my freakin' business!' Kagome thought, shaking her head visciously and making the decision to get the hell out of there right now.
Especially after watching that platform in the middle of the room rise up out of the ground. Not to mention the girl that claimed to be the club's manager. She'd long ago come to the conclusion that this school was completely insane.
"Haru-chan is gonna leave Ouran!" Honey wailed unhappily. The miko rolled her eyes.
"Maybe if you didn't take her stuff without permission, she wouldn't be so upset," she murmured, opening the door and starting to leave. Her arm was yanked and she was shoved onto a couch, surrounded by highly interested boys that were watching her like a bug on a pin. She hated being put on the spot like this!
"Can you help us, Kagome-senpai?" the taller blonde in the group sniffled, watery violet eyes staring at her.
"Nope. You guys figure it out for yourselves. I don't want to get involved," the former time traveler replied, shaking her head rapidly as they shuffled closer.
"Please, Kagome-nee-chan!" the twins begged. That simple form of address made her blink, first in shock, then in a perturbed manner. That... was just creepy.
"Don't call me that."
"But nee-chan!"
"No! You're not my siblings!" she snapped, making an x with her arms.
"It would be nice to get an unbiased opinion from an outside source," Kyoya put his two yens' worth in as he scribbled in his little black notebook.
It was his way of asking, she knew that. All eyes were on her and it was making her incredibly uncomfortable. She could feel the sweat trickling down the back of her neck, and her face was getting warmer by the second.
"S-Stop looking at me like that!" Kagome snapped, cheeks bright red as she scrambled towards the door. Small hands tugged her to a stop and she gasped out a breath as she was forcefully sat onto the ground with a sobbing Honey in her lap.
She couldn't...
"... Oh, fine. Stop crying! I'll help you!" The miko was immediately sandwiched in a group hug with the entirity of the Host Club. Spying Kyoya on the outside giving her a smirk, she subtracted one person and blew out a breath that moved her bangs out of her face. As she was jostled around with exuberent voices in her ears, her cheek was pressed to a defined chest that smelled distinctly of a cologne that made her want to hyperventilate. 'That's... Morinozuka... Oh.' The former time traveler managed to glance up to see him staring down at her with a surprised expression, his cheeks reddening suddenly.
"Get. Off. Me. Now."
"Come on, nee-chan!" the twins cackled, smiling right in her face.
"I'm going to kill all of you!" Kagome snarled, struggling to remove herself from these needy idiots.
They scattered like leaves in the wind. Taking a few deep breaths to let go of the anger and her jittery nerves, she leveled a glacial look at every one of them. "If this is going to work, you have to do exactly as I say. Get it?"
"Got it!" the boys fell into line, saluting her like a general.
"Good." Kagome smiled darkly.
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She leaned against a window seat, watching the drama unfold with a sense of fascination. These boys really did care about Haruhi. They'd been willing to dress up like girls to keep their female Host.
As Haruhi laughed uncontrollably at their worried expressions, Kagome blew out a slow breath and had to wonder.
'Will I ever find people like that to care about me again?' Then, a more important question followed, 'Will I let them, if they come along?'
The Host Club congregated around the tiny brunette, celebrating their victory with an enthusiasm that made her heart ache. For some reason, her blue eyes kept straying back to Mori; it made her frown in consternation.
She didn't know, and she was afraid to find out.
"When did I become such a coward..." Kagome mumbled to herself, looking away from the happy group and staring out the window at the setting sun.
"Higurashi-senpai?" Haruhi's voice made her snap back to attention. The brunette was in front of her, the Host boys not far behind. Everyone... they were all smiling at her.
"What," she answered in a bland voice.
"I'm not sure why you decided to help, but thank you," Haruhi replied, bowing politely to the surprised miko. Straightening up, the short-haired girl gave her a happy grin. "They're idiots, but I think you help balance them out."
"It wasn't for them," Kagome muttered sullenly, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks out. She could feel her face getting hot from all of the attention. "It was your decision in the end."
"That may be true, but you saw them in need and you helped them, even when it didn't benefit you. If anything, you've made them want to be around you more."
The shrine maiden sucked in a breath. She hadn't considered that...
"... I... " she was at a loss for words. Then she saw the boys' expectant faces as they gathered close, still in their horrendous costumes. "... Don't assume I'm always going to be there to save your asses!" she finally spat out, glaring at them in an annoyed fashion. "And this doesn't mean anything!"
"Awww! Look! She's totally embarrassed!" Hikaru chirped, reaching out and messing with Kagome's hair.
"Don't worry, nee-chan! We won't tell anyone that you're actually a softie," Kaoru chuckled as she sneered at him.
"Of course. We wouldn't want to destroy her carefully crafted image, Kaoru," Kyoya spoke up, smirking when she snarled something in French at him that made Tamaki scream like a little girl and the twins flush horribly.
"It's okay, Kago-chan. We love you too!" Honey giggled happily. He was grateful the rest of the Hosts had decided to accept the girl, razor edges and all.
Mori nodded, not one for words. Besides, everyone had already said anything that he would have. He would keep an eye on her, though, and hope she wouldn't try to smack them around as much as she had when forcing them into these costumes. Catching sight of a feather sticking out of his back, he smiled in exasperation as their President berated the raven-haired senior for her awful language.
Their Host Club had just gotten more interesting.
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A/N: Ummm, hi to everyone that is still reading this. I'm sorry about how long I've been out of action on here, but you guys all know that things happen. So, as the world burns and goes crazy around us due to this pandemic virus, I have suddenly found myself with a small bit of time to be able to do some updating. I can't at all guarantee that this is a complete resurgence on my part, but I do want to pick up writing again.
So, to all of you that have been so very very patient with me, thank you as my inspiration flares again and fuels me to try and continue.
