Whoo! Took me over a week to type this up with my sibling constantly bugging me, but it's finally done ^^ Now i know there's a lot of you people out there a little frustrated with my lack of story updates and i will let you know at the bottom of this how that's going to work from now on. Other than that, i hope you enjoy this chapter and watch out for that ending there. The next chapter is going to have a really big change going on and try not to kill me for it, okay? it needs to be done...but anyway, please review and let me know what you think or if you have any questions about the update or anything. :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing other than Shindo, Fu-kun, and Kohaku. Not Ouran or the songs listed below.

"The Reason"
By Hoobastank

"I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know"

"Until It's Gone"
By Linkin Park

"A fire needs a space to burn
A breath to build a glow
I've heard it said a thousand times
But now I know

That you don't know what you've got
Oh you don't know what you've got
No you don't know what you've got
Until it's gone"

My stay at the hospital took far too long. Sure, I was only there for three days, but those three days were the longest days of my life. Due to my surgery, I was stuck on a soft food diet and, while that meant I could eat as much applesauce, yogurt, and pudding as I wanted; it also meant that soda, sweets, and anything good was on the banned list. So, as happy as I was that everyone came to visit me-Kasanoda even visited once-I was not pleased when they came to my home the moment I was released in order to raid my house and remove said contraband, replacing it with the dreaded healthy food.

Needless to say, I was clinging to Mori's legs, bawling my eyes out, when he poured all my soda down the drain. After that, it was up to Haruhi to convince them I'd be fine as I sat in a corner with a dark cloud of depression and anger floating over my head. School was a bit hard to deal with after that as well. I had class work to make up and exams to study for, not to mention all the calamities that came up with the Host Club.

For one thing, we were visited by a princess of sorts. The hosts weren't too happy when Tamaki started serving her, but I understood and did what I could to help. After she left though, Tamaki caught a cold, which was apparently so shocking that the whole school was in an uproar. I would've helped him, but Kyoya was adamant about me staying away because I had just been released from the hospital.

Not long after that, Honey was being supposedly cursed by someone from the Black Magic Club. It was nice to see him go from a childish Lolita to a mature 18 year old who cared for this shy girl though, and I personally thought that they were good for one another. However differently Tamaki thought, being too afraid of the Black Magic Club to have a solid opinion. I probably didn't help in that matter either, having asked Nekozawa about curses I could place on the hosts for getting rid of my soda.

Already, I was having withdrawal symptoms, being fidgety and cranky due to not having my usual stress reliever. I had replaced it with grape juice, but it wasn't the same and it caused Tamaki a mini heart attack whenever I crushed my empty juice boxes. Along with that, Haruhi demanded that I join her and her father for breakfast and dinner in order to keep me from sneaking off and eating poorly. It helped keep me fed before morning kendo practice-which had been going well, by the way-but I still didn't appreciate being scolded by Ranka first thing in the morning about what had happened.

"I told you that you were too stressed, Ko-chan. You need to stop pushing yourself as hard." He said, eyeing me over his morning paper. "It's a good thing the hosts were around to help you. Who knows what could've happened!"

Haruhi walked in then, rolling her eyes. "Dad, leave her alone. She's been scolded by everyone since she woke up."

I scowled, taking the bowl of rice from her and eating quietly in frustration as Haruhi brought something up.

"What? You want to work in Karuizawa again this summer?" Ranka asked, surprised.

Haruhi nodded. "Yes. It'll keep Kohaku occupied too. Will Misuzu-chan open his pension this year? I was so busy with final exams I forgot to ask if he needs any help."

"I suppose I can ask him, but…" Ranka pouted, bringing a finger up to his lips. "Oh, but it might not be possible. Misuzu-chan has been acting weird lately."

Why does this sound familiar? I mused, eyes closed in a thoughtful frown. My memory of the plot lately had been getting worse now that things started heading into the manga direction. Hm. I'll figure it out sooner or later.

Ranka smirked then, assuming he'd figured it out. "He must have found a new lover! Maybe instead of running the pension, he'll take his lover on a romantic getaway!"

A 'new' lover? I wonder what his last lover was like…I thought, when I heard rapid footsteps approaching and the door suddenly burst open, revealing a crying Misuzu holding an armful of luggage.

"Wah! Ranka-chan!"

"M-Misuzu-chan?"

Haruhi deadpanned along side me as I realized what was going on. Oh man. How could I forget? Misuzu's rebellious daughter… I groaned quietly and stuffed some rice in my mouth as Misuzu wailed.

"Help me! I don't know what to do! M-My daughter is being rebellious!"

Sounds a lot like Blondie. Fu-kun yawned, slumping over my shoulders as a new voice shouted up from down the stairs outside.

"Wait up, you old fart!" Misuzu's daughter burst into the room, making me choke on my rice in surprise at her sudden appearance. "You ran off with my luggage!"

"But if I let you have them, Mei-chan, you'll run off!"

"Duh! Who'd want to stay at your rotten place?!"

Haruhi finally managed to help me stop choking and I chugged down a glass of water as we turned back to the quarreling duo.

"You promised your mother that you'd stay with me this summer! I didn't raise you to break promises!"

"You didn't raise me at all! How can you even call yourself a father? You stupid drag queen!"

I felt a tick mark appear on my forehead, a weight landing in my stomach as I thought about my own father, and calmly set my empty bowl back down on the table, struggling to keep my mouth shut.

"Hey, I don't know what's going on, but you shouldn't-"

Haruhi was cut off as Misuzu spoke.

"Haruhi-chan, Ranka-chan, Kohaku-kun…please…fix this for me!" He shouted, tackling Haruhi and Ranka, I myself having escaped just in time to avoid a chokehold.

"Kohaku!" Haruhi called out to me as I picked up my bag from by the front door, turning to her with a blank, slightly-annoyed expression.

"Tell me what happens later." I said, turning away. "I have kendo."

With that, I shut her door-a little harder than I should've-and headed off to school. Something wrong, kid? I frowned slightly, frustrated that I was still feeling this after so long.

"She doesn't know what she has." I muttered softly, heading the rest of the way to school in silence.

(No one's POV)

Haruhi stared at the door in surprise and continued to stare even after Misuzu had left. I wonder why Kohaku looked so angry…Even though I know she's upset about the whole food thing, I don't think that's what made her leave the way she did. Mei was still sitting at the table, having started to eat breakfast with them once her father had left, but she frowned at the door as well.

"So what was that guy's problem?" She said, taking a bite of her food.

Haruhi turned back to her own food, a slight frown on her face as she shifted her rice around in her bowl.

"I…don't really know."

Ranka sighed, catching their attention. "I believe it may have been what Mei-chan said about Misuzu-chan."

Haruhi's eyes suddenly widened as she realized what may have happened. "Oh no…"

Mei looked between the two in confusion. "What?"

Haruhi shook her head, looking down at her food in worry, upset that she hadn't caught on sooner.

"You might want to be careful of what you say around Kohaku, Mei-chan."

"Huh? What for?"

"Kohaku lost his family recently." Ranka explained. "And, while I'm sure you didn't mean it, it's possible that he was offended by what you said to Misuzu-chan."

Mei looked surprised, slowly looking away in shame. "Well…how was I supposed to know?" She muttered quietly, Ranka sending her a kind smile.

"Just be sure to apologize later, Mei-chan. Ko-kun probably didn't mean to get angry. He just…doesn't know how to express himself very well. And remember not to take what you have for granted, because some people don't have it, okay?"

Mei nodded, frowning a bit and chewing on another mouthful of her breakfast. Her and Haruhi went their separate ways for school and afterwards, Haruhi made sure to drag Kohaku along to go pick up Mei, giving them both a chance to apologize to one another. They seemed to get along pretty well after that, if the squabbles were anything to go by, and for the next few days leading into summer vacation, Kohaku and Haruhi went to Mei's school to pick her up. After two days of this though, the hosts were beginning to wonder what was going on.

"Whoo!"

"The semester is over!"

"Summer break starts tomorrow!" The twins cheered, excitedly, but then they caught Haruhi hurrying off in a rush.

"Hey, Haruhi?"

"Where are you going?"

"We've got the last club meeting before the break."

"Sorry. I'm in a hurry." She said, turning to look at them from the doorway. "Tell everyone that Kohaku and I won't be there."

"Absolutely not!"

"Yesterday and the day before! If we don't drag you to club, Milord won't resurface from the abysmal depths of his ocean of despair." Hikaru said, wrapping an arm around Haruhi.

"That's right." Kaoru replied, placing a hand on her head. "He thinks you won't come because of him. And Honey-senpai is upset since Kohaku isn't showing up either, though Tamaki's the one taking it the hardest.

"He's like…" Hikaru released Haruhi, turning to his brother and holding up a finger. "…an abandoned puppy?"

"A kappa without water?" Kaoru mimicked.

"A monkey without a banana?" The both laughed, before realizing Haruhi was gone. "Hey, where'd she go?"

The class president, who had been nearby, sweat dropped. "Haruhi-kun left a while ago. Nishimura-senpai took him."

The twins shrugged, palms up as they started walking.

"Looks like we're just…"

"…going to have to tell him."

Once they'd reached the club room and informed Tamaki what had happened, they settled back to play video games as he put on a fake smile.

"I understand! Even though it's the last day before summer break, Kohaku and Haruhi decided to skip club again and go home." Tamaki suddenly reeled backwards, tears streaming from his face as Honey and Mori tried to cheer him up. "It's no use. I'm sure she's avoiding me." Tamaki moped on the ground, having forgotten Kohaku hadn't shown up either. "She talks to me, but keeps her distance. Next, she won't want to mix her laundry with mine."

No one knew what he was talking about, but Honey held his Usa-chan close, also teary-eyed. "Ko-kun didn't come either! Do you think he's still angry about us taking his soda away?"

"Why?! Why?!" Tamaki wailed. "Why were we too strict with them?!"

"Maybe it's because it's summer, fervent lord?" Hikaru mused,, playing a game.

"Haruhi has always kept her distance from you, milord. It's nothing new."

"But Ko-kun's been really upset too!" Honey said. "Even Takashi's worried!"

The hosts all turned to the blank-faced Mori, unsure how his expression showed 'worry'.

"Ko-kun was super angry at kendo practice." Honey clarified. "Takashi had to punish him by making him do sword swings. And Ko-kun hasn't talked to him since!"

"That's normal." The twins said, bored.

"Kohaku's usually angry."

"He's always thinking too, so no surprise if he doesn't talk for a while."

"It's different." Mori said. "The day before yesterday, he broke the wooden practice dummy."

Everyone paled at those words, silent wondering if by dumping Kohaku's soda, they had incurred her wrath. Each host thinking something along the lines of 'she hates us' or 'she's going to kill us'. Kyoya was the only one who thought something else; not really caring for the conversation. Idiots. The hosts behind him began panicking and, having had his fun, Kyoya decided to fill them in.

"Ah, you guys don't know. For the past two days, Haruhi and Kohaku have been going to pick up Misuzu-chan's daughter from a high school in a neighboring town."

Tamaki immediately grabbed Kyoya's shoulder, not happy about his friend not telling them sooner.

"Kyoya…"

"Misuzu-chan was divorced seven years ago. His daughter is a freshman in high school. She grew up with her mother and step-father." Kyoya said, ignoring Tamaki. "This summer, they're overseas on a business trip. The daughter was going to join them, but then she decided to stay at Misuzu-chan's."

"We never knew Misuzu-chan was divorced." The twins said, but Honey was confused.

"Why did Haru-chan and Ko-kun get involved?"

"His daughter used Misuzu-chan as an excuse to stay in Japan." Kyoya said with a sigh. "The truth is, she can't stand him. She tried to run away as soon as she arrived. Misuzu-chan, in tears, went to the Fujioka's."

Tamaki looked surprised and a little worried, taking a step forward. "A-And Kohaku?"

"He's actually the one who called me." Kyoya replied, eyeing Tamaki and pushing up his glasses. "Though he didn't sound pleased about this whole situation. He was with them that morning as well, but according to Ranka-chan, he ran off not long after the daughter insulted Misuzu-chan."

Tamaki bowed his head. "…I see."

"But why would Haruhi and Kohaku pick her up at school?"

"Huh? Is Tamaki crying again?"

Tamaki suddenly turned around tears pouring dramatically down his face

"I understand…I understand Misuzu-chan's sorrow so well it hurts!" He then stopped crying, looking determined. "As a fellow father, I cannot turn my back on him! Let's go, everyone! Let's bring back the loving relationship between Misuzu-chan and his daughter!"

Everyone went ahead with what he wanted, deciding that it would be fun for now, and it wasn't long before they showed up at Mei's school; courtesy of Kyoya and his vast information network. Trying to be sneaky, something the hosts have proven is extremely difficult, Tamaki peeked around the wall at the school across the street.

"So, this is the place. Is Haruhi here?"

"According to my calculations, we should have arrived just ahead of her and Kohaku." Kyoya answered dully, not really interested in what they were doing.

"Oh! There they are! Haru-"

Honey cut himself off upon seeing Haruhi and Kohaku, who were dressed far differently than the hosts expected. Haruhi, for one, was wearing the skirt and bow associated with Mei's school. Kohaku though, was leaning against the wall yawning, wearing some dark grey shorts with orange suspenders hanging from them, a grey Barbour ear hat, a black undershirt with a black sleeveless shrug riddled with holes over that, and black fingerless gloves. And while that wasn't odd for people like Kyoya and Haruhi-who had seen her dress similarly at the mall-it was surprising to those who hadn't seen her more…rebellious side. They didn't have long to think about it though, when Mei walked over to Haruhi and Kohaku.

"Hi, Mei, I'm glad I found you."

Mei didn't look as glad. "You two again? You don't have to come everyday! I won't run away!"

"But Misuzu-chan asked us to…"

"Who the heck is Misuzu-chan? It's Isao. I-sa-o! That big boned girly drag queen!" Mei snapped, causing the hosts to slump, not used to women being so rude and outspoken.

Kohaku wasn't too happy about the insult either, and glared at Mei, who stiffened and turned to her, chuckling nervously.

"Heh…sorry…"

Kohaku rolled her eyes and turned away, hands in her pockets as Mei looked back at Haruhi.

"What, uh…What's in that awful paper bag?"

"My and Kohaku's Ouran uniforms. We changed in a restroom." Haruhi explained. "You didn't want us to wear it here, so I wore what clothes you lent me and Kohaku wore what he brought…Though I don't understand why…"

"Well, duh!" Mei said loudly, putting a finger in Haruhi's face. "If you two hang around me in a rich school's uniform, people will gossip! Just look at him!"

She pointed towards Kohaku, who was already being surrounded by chattering girls, not too far from them.

"I'm lucky he's keeping his distance and no one's connecting him to me. And you, your regular clothes are totally lame! Besides, you're a girl! You're a girl, so dress like one!"

Tamaki, having liked the sound of that, headed over with the others-Ouran jackets hidden in the limo-and brushed his bangs from his face.

"You're right on that point, miss. I think we might get along. Hello!" He said, holding out a hand. "I'm Tamaki Suoh and these are my agreeable friends!"

"What the…" The twins muttered, not too happy with what Tamaki said, though the damage was already done.

Ignoring them all for a moment, Mei turned to Haruhi and grabbed her shoulders.

"They're all so handsome! Do you know these guys?!"

"Didn't you just say they're out of your league?" Haruhi said, confused.

"You must be Mei-san, am I right?" Tamaki asked, cheerfully.

Mei hurried over to him with a smile. "Yes, I'm Mei Yasumura! Nice to meet you!"

"You have such a nice tan!" Tamaki smiled, completely clueless. "Did you travel somewhere? Maybe Hawaii?"

"No, haha…" She laughed off. "It's from a tanning salon."

Tamaki just grinned like nothing was wrong. "And that special-effects makeup is very sultry. Are you performing on stage soon?"

Not realizing that what Tamaki said would be taken as offending, the other hosts went over and began saying similar comments.

"That skirt is really short. Aren't you cold?" Honey questioned.

"It must be a tennis skirt." Kyoya mused.

"Hey, you've got such long fake eyelashes."

"Underneath all that, you're quite plain." The twins commented, before delivering the final blow.

"Actually, she looks just like Misuzu-chan."

"Who…" Mei began trembling, frustrated with their comments. "Who are these rude people?" She asked Haruhi.

"Well, um…" Haruhi didn't really know what to say and the hosts spoke before she got the chance to elaborate.

"Mei-chan! You're staying at Haruhi's home, right?" Honey chirped.

"Three people in that house?" Hikaru said. "What a brutal regimen."

"What about your own house? You could have stayed there alone." Kaoru replied right after.

"As if!" Mei shouted. "Mom would freak if she found out! I thought I could crash at a friend's place for a month, but-"

She was cut off as the hosts all spoke at once.

"If it's only a month, why not stay at a hotel?"

"Please, just stop talking." Haruhi muttered, as Kohaku wandered over, finally free from the pack of girls that mobbed her earlier.

"It may not be much for you guys, but even one day at a hotel is expensive." She said, removing her hat and pulling a hand through her hair.

"Hey, why don't you just stay with Kohaku?" Kaoru suggested, making Kohaku snap her head to him with a glare, immediately causing him to hold his hands up in surrender and turn away with a sweat drop. "N-Never mind."

Mei grabbed Haruhi then and began dragging her away.

"Whatever! Let's go!"

"B-But this isn't the way home!" Haruhi called after her, sending Kohaku a pleading look.

"I need to blow off some steam at karaoke! It's your fault, so it's your treat!"

Kohaku sighed. "I'll pay."

Just then though, the hosts pulled up beside them in their limo.

"Eh? Karaoke, you say?"

"I've never been there before!"

"So the common folk do love karaoke!"

"Alright." Mei gave in. "You better be giving us a lift."

The three of them climbed into the limo and Mei gave them directions; Haruhi stuck between her and Tamaki, Kohaku stuck between Kyoya and Mori, both just wishing that they could go home already.

(Kohaku's POV)

I'm not a singer. Though I do sing occasionally or on my own, I don't like singing in front of others. And due to my liking music so much, it's easy for me to hear mistakes in different things. Pitch, tone, wrong notes, things like that. So karaoke? Not really my cup of tea.

"Contestant number ten, Tamaki Suoh." Tamaki announced himself. "I'll be singing 'Never Stop: Love'!"

I groaned quietly, tossing my hat onto the couch and cringing when Tamaki sung too flat or too sharp, slumping down in my seat beside Haruhi.

"You alright, Kohaku?"

I pouted. "I want a soda."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "You don't need one, Kohaku."

I frowned, glaring at the wall and facing away from her as she sighed.

"You're so childish."

Mei spoke then, probably not liking the atmosphere around us.

"He looks like a foreigner." She said, talking about Tamaki. "So why all the old songs?"

"I-I…don't know."

Because of all the old dramas he watched as a kid. I thought, not bothering to say it out loud.

"And he stares at you when he sings."

"You think so?"

I scoffed, Haruhi elbowing me harshly in the ribs with what looked like a light blush on her cheeks. Oh? Maybe she's progressing? Fu-kun mused, stretching tiredly on my shoulders. Who knows. Maybe…

"Aren't you going to sing, Kohaku? Haruhi?" Kyoya asked as I scowled.

"No."

He raised a brow, most likely questioning my rotten mood, when Tamaki bounded over excitedly.

"B-But it's a great experience! How about a duet with your father, Haruhi?"

"No. Forget it." She looked at me as I slunk further down into the couch with a frown, her sweat dropping as she got up. "Excuse me. I'm going to the restroom and I better get Kohaku something from the vending machine before he sinks further into a depression."

"I want a soda."

She sighed, holding the door open. "I'm not getting you a soda."

I stood up, stuffing my hands in my pockets after I'd plopped my hat back on my head. "Then I'm coming too. I'll pick my own drink."

Haruhi rolled her eyes again. "Fine, but no soda."

The two of us left the room and headed down the hall to where the restrooms were quietly until Haruhi couldn't stand it anymore.

"What's your problem, Kohaku? You've been like this for days now. I know you use soda to relax, but are you really still upset about everyone cleaning out your fridge?"

"No one's fixing Honey-kun's food problems." I whined.

Haruhi raised a brow. "Really? That's not what this is about and you know it."

I dropped the childish pout and sighed, pulling a hand down my face. "You always see right through me…I'm not angry because of that. At least…not completely."

"Then? What is it?"

"It's just…Ugh!" I groaned, putting a hand to cover the right side of my face. "I should be over this already, but what she said just frustrates me."

We both stopped walking, standing just outside the restrooms.

"You mean what Mei-chan said before?" Haruhi asked, looking at me in concern. "I'm sure she didn't mean any harm."

I leaned against the wall, shaking my head slightly. "No. I know she didn't mean it but…what happened…it was ages ago. I shouldn't have been so upset by it and it pisses me off at just how easily it was for it to get under my skin." I sighed, sliding down to the ground with my knees propped up in front of me. "Haruhi…when does it…when does it stop hurting?"

I heard her kneel down in front of me and I looked up, desperately searching for the answer I needed to know, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear.

"It doesn't." She said softly. "It never stops hurting, Kohaku…but that doesn't mean you let it stop you from doing what you want to do. Don't let it bring you down." She smiled at me and plopped a hand on my hat, shoving it forward to cover my eyes. "Isn't that what you're good at?"

A smile slowly formed on my face and I chuckled, pushing my hat back up on my head. "Y-Yeah. You're right. Now go do your business."

She laughed a bit as well and stood, smoothing out her skirt and heading to the bathroom. Just as she opened the door though, I stopped her.

"Oh, and Haruhi?"

She turned slightly. "Yeah?"

I grinned. "Thanks."

Standing up, I brushed off my shorts and turned away, pointing down the hall.

"I'll just go on ahead."

She eyed me and I held up my hands in surrender, closing my eyes.

"And I promise I won't get a soda."

"You better not." She said, before heading into the restroom as I walked down the hall to the vending machines we passed earlier.

Glasses would probably skin you if he saw you with one. No kidding. I frowned a bit, looking over at him. You've been pretty quiet lately, Fu-kun. You better not be sick or anything. I doubt you'd enjoy a trip to the vets. He stayed quiet as I brought myself some grape juice from the vending machine, his silence worrying me before he spoke. It's nothing, kid. Don't worry about it. I wasn't convinced, but dropped it for now as I walked into the room where everyone was at. Everyone, but Kaoru. I must've missed him then. Oh well. Haruhi will take care of it…sort of.

"Ko-kun! You're back!" Honey cheered and I nodded with a grin.

"Yup! Couldn't miss out on you singing." I said, having spotted him with the microphone.

His smile, if possible, seemed to grow brighter and he started singing as I sat beside Kyoya and punched the straw into my juice box; tossing my hat to the side.

"You seem…happier."

I turned to him and nodded. "Yup. I just needed to talk something out with Haruhi."

"You could've talked to me."

I froze, eyes wide. Did I hear that right? Kyoya pushed up his glasses and turned away slightly, his expression hidden from me so I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"T-Talk to…you?" I questioned, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees in an attempt to get a look at his face. "Why would I talk to you?"

I mean, last I checked, he doesn't care for me too much…Then again, I am getting mixed signals.

"You're right."

My head snapped up to see Kyoya standing, not even looking at me.

"Why would you talk to me?"

He opened the door to leave as I realized how bad I sounded, and I quickly stood to try and stop him.

"Kyoya! Wait! That's not what I-"

He slammed the door behind him, making me cringe, and I slowly lowered my outstretched hand with a sigh as I bowed my head.

"Looks like I did it again." I muttered, noticing how the room had gone quiet.

Great. I made him angry…again. I didn't mean it like that though. I just…didn't expect him to say something like that…Fu-kun, what should I do? How should I know? He said, jumping off my shoulder and onto the couch, not looking at me. I don't have all the answers. You figure it out. I looked at him in shock, not having expected him to react that way, but before I could try and figure out what was wrong, the doors opened and Haruhi and Kaoru returned.

"I'm back!" Kaoru called, before noticing the tense atmosphere. "…Woah. What'd we miss?"

Kyoya… "Gah!" I said loudly, messing up my hair before grabbing my hat and shoving it back on my head, rushing towards the door. "Sorry! I have to go! I'll be back in time for dinner, Haruhi!"

"What?! Kohaku, what's going o-"

Haruhi's voice was cut off as the door shut behind me and I hurried off to the lobby of the building. Skidding to a halt, I turned to the startled looking receptionist frantically.

"D-Did you see a high schooler come through here? Dark hair, glasses, white shirt, slacks, black tie with a purple stripe, v-very…uh…good looking?"

I flushed a little at the last bit, scratching my cheek nervously as the young woman nodded.

"Y-Yeah. He just left. Got in a l-limo and went that way."

She pointed to the right and I nodded quickly, thanking her and rushing out the door, just catching what she called out to me.

"G-Good luck!"

I'm going to need it. I thought, beginning my long run to where I assumed Kyoya was headed. Let's just hope I'm right.

(No one's POV)

Kyoya sat in his room, typing away violently on his laptop as he worked out the calculations needed to balance the Host Club's accounts. He was still calming down after what had happened at the karaoke place and, though he'd received numerous texts from Tamaki asking about what happened, he would rather just be on his own and work things out in his head.

'Infatuation' he calls it. Please. Pain in the ass is a better term. He mentally growled. I'd be better off not even attempting to please him. He's no different from a child wanting to be pacified. Here I am, believing he is frustrated with me, yet he converses like everything is normal. Then, he has the nerve to talk to others about it when I'm right there! And even said, 'why would I talk to you' like I'm not even worth his time! Kyoya pushed his chair away from the desk and pressed his palm to his face as he grit his teeth. It's more than frustrating! Infatuation or not, I'm just about done treating him as my equal.

Kyoya stopped, frowning. When did I come to that conclusion? Kohaku being my equal? He's been nothing more than a pain in my side. Getting hurt, testing boundaries, plotting, getting hospitalized, challenging my father… He paused, feeling odd as his heart seemed to skip a beat. That's it? He challenged my father and became my equal? No…There's more to it than that…Challenging him, manipulating people, working hard, that hidden confidence, challenging me… Kyoya sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Infatuation, huh? Suddenly, his door opened a bit and his sister peeked her head in, knocking lightly.

"Kyo-kun, your friend is here."

Kyoya fixed his glasses and turned back to his computer to resume typing. "Tell him to leave. I could care less about what that idiot blonde wants to tell me."

Fuyumi pushed the door fully open, marching over to Kyoya with her hands on her hips. "Don't be such a Scrooge. He came all this way to talk to you so go listen to what he has to say."

Kyoya thought the way she worded that sentence was odd, but he just assumed it was his sister being weird. Sighing, he pushed himself away from his desk once more and reluctantly stood.

"Fine. I'll speak to him as long as it gets him out of my hair."

Fuyumi smiled and followed him cheerfully out of his room, only stopping when he went down the stairs; giving her the opportunity to spy on Kyoya and his guest from the top of the staircase. Oh, this should be good. Kyoya headed over towards the couch and, upon not seeing anyone from over the back of the couch, turned to Fuyumi in confusion. She just smiled and made a 'go on' motion with her hands. Rolling his eyes, Kyoya folded his arms across his chest and spoke.

"What do you want?"

"Kyoya?!"

The person on the couch suddenly sat up, taking a wet towel off from over their eyes, but it wasn't the rambunctious blonde, Tamaki, like he expected. Kohaku stood up from the couch and hurried towards him, but her legs suddenly gave out and Kyoya just managed to catch her before she face-planted into the marble floors.

"S-Sorry." She chuckled, a bit out of breath. "I kind of ran here so my legs are a little…heh."

Kyoya sighed, helping her back to the couch. "Idiot."

Once seated, Kohaku put the wet towel back over her eyes and leaned her head back. Kyoya, however, didn't sit down and just pulled out his phone.

"I'll call you a car."

"I didn't mean it that way, Kyoya." Kohaku said, ignoring Kyoya's silent 'I want you to leave'. "I just didn't expect what you said. It was a, uh…surprise."

Kyoya was silent for a moment, before speaking into his phone. "Yes, I have someone here I need you to take home."

Kohaku lifted the edge of the towel to see Kyoya, eyes sad as she watched him finish calling a car to take her home.

"Your ride will be here in ten minutes." He said, turning around and heading up the stairs.

Kohaku turned, looking over the back of the couch. "I didn't mean for it to sound that way, Kyoya! It was unexpected! I just…I'm sorry!"

Kyoya continued up the stairs, ignoring her, and she slowly turned back around, leaning forward with her head bowed. As soon as Kyoya reached the top of the stairs though, he was met with his older sister's glare.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed, keeping her voice down. "You were supposed to talk with him, not destroy the poor guy!"

Kyoya scowled, moving around her. "It's none of your business, nee-san. This is between us."

Fuyumi frowned, grabbing Kyoya's arm and pulling him back to the top of the stairs, gesturing at Kohaku's defeated form. "Look at him! He's crushed!"

"And that is his own fault." Kyoya snapped in return, trying to pull away from Fuyumi.

She refused to let go. "He ran all the way here, exhausted himself, to apologize and you won't even give him a chance?! I thought you cared for him!"

Kyoya froze at that, not moving or saying anything, so Fuyumi continued, speaking softer this time.

"He ran here, Kyoya. Just to apologize for a misunderstanding. He could have waited until tomorrow to apologize, but he ran after you. And as much as I know you are trying to please father, you can't keep putting his happiness over your own. I can see how much you care for Kohaku-kun and he looks at you the same way, but if you keep pushing him away like this, you're both going to end up hurt." She let go of his arm and glanced down at Kohaku. "Him especially."

Kyoya sighed, pulling a hand through his hair at his sister's words. "You are far too nosey for your own good."

"Hey!" She scolded, turning with a pout, when Kyoya pecked her on the cheek and walked past with two soft spoken words.

"Thank you."

Lowering the hand that had flown to her cheek in surprise, Fuyumi smiled down at Kyoya's back as he descended the stairs. She'll be good for you, Kyoya, and maybe one day, you will realize just how much you care for her. Deciding that she had done her part, she turned away and left the two on their own, glad that Kyoya had finally found someone he could care for that cared for him just as much. Though who knows when she'll figure it out.

(Kohaku's POV)

Ugh, I'm so stupid. I moped, upset at what I had done and at how Kyoya reacted. I didn't mean for it to come out that way, but I probably should've thought of a better way to phrase it before I just went and blurted it out. Leaning back once more, I put the wet towel back over my eyes and let out a sigh.

"I'm such an idiot. Dumber than dumb. A moron. A heartless piece of crap who can't do anything right."

"You forgot a useless, blubbering, crybaby who needs to learn to think before he speaks."

I lifted the edge of the cloth and peeked out at Kyoya with a small frown.

"That's not very nice." I dropped the cloth back over my eyes. "Didn't your sister ever teach you to talk nicely to your senpai?"

"I thought you were here to apologize?"

"I was…and I did. Last I checked, you weren't listening and I was waiting for my ride." I snapped, though in reality I was mentally panicking. W-What am I saying?! Do I want him to be even more upset with me?!

I felt the couch I was sitting on sink down a bit and I frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"Sitting. This is my couch, after all."

"R-Right…"

Things grew quiet between us, before I felt a hand on my leg, making me jump like a frightened cat and pull the towel off my eyes.

"T-That is not sitting!" I said loudly, practically half over the back of the couch.

Kyoya raised a brow. "I was checking to make sure you didn't tear anything on your run here." He suddenly smirked then, something that sent chills up my spine. "You thought I was doing something else, didn't you?"

My face turned red at what he was insinuating. "W-What? I-I-I don't know w-what you're talking about."

I shifted my gaze away, nervously, as my thoughts ran wild. I-I wasn't thinking that! No way! I couldn't see Kyoya being all touchy-feely. Caressing my leg or holding my hand o-or… I grew even redder and shoved Kyoya suddenly.

"L-Look at what you did! Now I'm thinking about it!"

He laughed. Genuinely laughed and, after a bit of staring, I started laughing too. There was no real reason for it. Kyoya thought something was amusing and, in return, his laughter was contagious and I found myself laughing. It was nice and relaxing, in a way. I had been so pent up lately that I hadn't really had a chance to enjoy myself up until now. And maybe, just maybe, the whole reason I was brought here, was to make friends and enjoy myself. Then again, maybe I was thinking into it a bit too much.

"Good to see you two made up." Fuyumi said, walking over and placing a tea tray on the small table in front of us.

"T-Thank you, Fuyumi-san." I said between laughs, accepting a cup of tea.

"I wasn't sure what you liked…" She said. "So I made all of them!"

I choked on my tea as soon as the taste hit my tongue and proceeded to cough and set the tea down as Kyoya pat my back.

"Not good?" Fuyumi asked, tilting her head childishly with disappointment.

"N-Not…really." I coughed out, accepting a glass of water from a maid as Kyoya scolded his sister.

"How many times have I told you, nee-san? Let the maids do their job."

Fuyumi hung her head as I finally stopped choking and waved my hand with a small smile.

"I-It's alright, Kyoya. She didn't mean it and it's not the first time I've nearly been poisoned by someone's-" I coughed. "-generous offer."

They both looked at me, confused, so I elaborated.

"H-Haruhi made me drink one of her mom's old stomach ache remedies." I grimaced. "It wasn't the best tasting thing in the world."

"I…see." Kyoya said, before things grew quiet.

"I know!" Fuyumi suddenly said. "Why don't you stay for dinner, Kohaku-kun?"

I looked at her in shock, waving my hands. "Oh, no! I-I couldn't do that!"

"Nonsense!" She chimed. "Father's not here and my brothers are busy with work, so it'll only be us three! It'll be fun!"

"B-But…" I glanced over at Kyoya, hoping that he'd help me out, but it seemed fate was against me.

"Yes, hello? About the limo I called…Yes, I would like to cancel it. Our guest is staying for dinner." Kyoya said into his phone, smirking at me.

"Kyoya!" I whined, once he was off the phone. "You were supposed to be on my side!"

He gave me a look. "Why would I be on your side? This way, I can make sure you're eating properly."

I groaned. "What is with you and taking away my good food?! The surgery was over a month ago!"

"How is soda and ramen considered 'good food'?" He questioned. "And eating right will help prevent further visits to the hospital. Something we all want to avoid."

"But can't I have at least one soda a week?" I complained. "I'm going through withdrawals."

"You going through withdrawals only proves that my decision was a correct one."

I gave up the whiny child act and huffed, sitting back with a frown, arms crossed over my chest.

"Pompous ass."

"Language." He scolded. "Or soap will be added to your diet."

My frown grew as Fuyumi stifled a chuckle behind her fist, moving towards the dining room doors.

"Well, come on you two lovebirds. Let's have the chefs whip us up some food."

"What makes you think I would like him?!" We both complained, pointing at each other.

"He's a jerk!" I said, followed by Kyoya.

"He's an idiot!"

She chuckled as we turned to glare at one another, before I started to stand, only for my legs to remind me of the long run they had to go through and making me stumble. Kyoya grabbed a hold of my upper arm, keeping me from face planting once again, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks." I muttered as he rolled his eyes, pulling me up and wrapping an arm around my waist to hold me; something that had heat racing up my face.

I swear I saw him smirk at my reaction, but the smug grin was gone as soon as I saw it, so I wrote it off as my imagination. Dinner ended up passing by fairly quickly and there was only a little more playful arguing before the limo arrived and I was sent back home. There was only one thing I forgot.

"Where have you been?"

I had forgotten to tell Haruhi I wouldn't make it to dinner. Oops.

Summer break. Something everyone looks forward to for different reasons, be it hanging out with friends, going to the beach, or just sleeping in. The last one is my personal favorite, which probably explains why I am so frustrated right now.

Tak tak tak tak tak.

I peeked my eyes open and glared at the wall in front of me. The noise continued and I blindly reached my hand out from under my covers and moved my alarm clock to where I could see it. The red numbers of 6am stared back at me and I felt my lips tug upwards in a snarl, before I chucked it at the wall. It hit with a loud 'thud', the screen breaking and the batteries falling out, but the noise stopped…only to start again. I don't care if I knew this was going to happen, waking me up this early is a death sentence.

I threw off the covers and grabbed a dark blue robe, pulling it on and stomping my way to the door; not bothering to tie the robe closed to cover the shirt and boxers I was wearing, in my frustration. I slipped on a pair of sandals and left my apartment, marching to Haruhi's and pounding my fist loudly on the door. The noise stopped and there was some shuffling and arguing, before the door swung open and Mei stood there, shouting back at Haruhi somewhere in the back of the house.

"Stop complaining! You act like letting him in is a bad thing!" She rolled her eyes and turned to me, but before I could get angry about being woken up, her mouth dropped open and she screamed before slamming the door shut in my face.

Feeling my frustration grow, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my keys, finding the one for Haruhi's apartment that she had given me, and opening the door. Upon seeing me trying to enter, Mei ran over and tried to shove the door closed.

"Get out!"

"Why should I?!" I shouted back, shoulder pushing up against the door. "You're the one who woke me up! Take responsibility!"

"P-Put some clothes on!" She stuttered, but I could care less about my state of dress.

"I'm wearing clothes! If you don't like it, don't wake me up at six in the morning!"

The door was suddenly opened and I fell forward, bashing my nose into the small step that led into the living room, and immediately letting out a 'yelp' and bringing my hands to my face as Haruhi and Ranka hurried over; Mei having froze from where she had stumbled back and landed on the floor behind the door.

"Kohaku! Are you okay?!" Haruhi shouted.

Ranka helped me sit up and upon seeing the blood dripping out from under my hand and the tears pricking the corners of my eyes, told Haruhi to grab me some clothes and for Mei to get a towel from the kitchen. Once they had hurried off, he turned to me.

"Kohaku, let me see it."

I cringed, gritting my teeth against the burning pain in my nose, and pulled my hands away. Judging by his expression, it didn't look good.

"I think it's broken." He said with a wince as I put my hands back up to my face.

"I-I'm really sorry."

We both looked over at Mei, who held out a towel that Ranka passed to me to try and staunch the blood pouring from my nose.

I gave her a small smile, cringing as it hurt. "I-It's alright. I know you didn't mean it."

"But your nose…"

"Oh, this?" I pulled the towel away, only to hurriedly replace it as more blood dripped out, chuckling a bit. "I'll be okay. You tripped, right? So it's not your fault. I actually thought I'd get my nose broken a while ago."

Ranka rolled his eyes as he helped me stand and Haruhi returned with some jeans for me to wear.

"He does boxing." He said, assisting me as I struggled to pull on my pants with one hand. "Though perhaps he'll think a little more before he goes about trying to push in people's doors. Now, let's go get your nose reset."

The trip to the hospital and back was relatively uneventful, but once I was back, Mei and I were seated at Haruhi's table being lectured about our misconduct earlier that morning.

"And you two should know better! People get hurt when you mess around like that!"

I sighed, looking off to the side and scratching at the bandage on my nose, when Ranka suddenly slapped my hand.

"Don't scratch at it!" He huffed and stood, moving to the bedroom. "Now, it better stay quiet. I have work tonight. Keep an eye on them, Haruhi and make sure Kohaku ices that to keep the swelling and bruising down."

"Okay."

Seeing that she was distracted, I took this as my chance and got up, hoping to sneak out, but Haruhi quickly turned and glared at me.

"Where do you think you're going?" She stomped her way over and grabbed a hold of my ear, pulling me over to the kitchen sink. "You're going to stay here and start on the dishes so I can make breakfast, to make up for the mess you caused."

"What?! But I was the one who got hurt!"

She frowned. "Last I checked, your arms are fine. Now get washing."

I pouted but did as she said and got started on the dishes as she made breakfast and Mei began the daunting task of finishing her make-up. I spotted Haruhi watching her and bumped her hip playfully.

"Don't worry. You'll figure something out."

She rolled her eyes and bumped me back. "Shut up. Do the dishes."

"Yes, mother." I chimed, returning to my chore when Mei suddenly spoke up.

"You know Tamaki-kun?"

Haruhi headed in to the living room with breakfast and I went to go in as well, when my phone rang. Haruhi raised a brow, but I just waved her off and moved back to the kitchen and answered my phone as Haruhi and Mei talked about Tamaki.

"Nishimura."

"Kohaku, this is Kyoya."

I raised a brow, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Uh, hey. Why are you calling me?"

"I'm assuming you know about Misuzu-san's daughter joining us for an outing?"

"Yeah…"

There was a pause. "Your voice sounds off. You better not have gotten sick."

Oh crap, I forgot about my nose. He's not going to like this… "I-I'm not sick, but…uh…I may or may not have…possibly…b-broke my nose?"

I cringed, waiting for the explosion, but it never came. Instead, I received a long sigh.

"You always manage to hurt yourself, don't you? Did you at least go get it reset?"

"Y-Yeah. Ranka-chan took me to the hospital. Doctor said the swelling should go down in about a week, but the bruising might take longer…but, uh, why did you call again? Something about Mei-san going somewhere with you guys?"

"You're coming with us."

My foot slipped out from under me and I barely managed to catch myself before I hit the ground.

"W-What?!"

"Is everything okay, Kohaku?" Haruhi called out as I stood. "Your food's getting cold."

"Y-Yeah, no. Everything's fine! Just give me a minute." I then went back to speaking to Kyoya. "What do you mean I'm going with you?"

"How else could you interpret that?"

I slapped a hand to my face on reflex and immediately regretted it as I yelped in pain. "Ow, ow, ow."

"You face-palmed, didn't you…"

"S-Shut up." I grumbled. "Why are you telling me I'm going?! I never agreed to that!"

I could practically see him rolling his eyes on the other line.

"You're the only semi-tolerable person who could go. There's no doubt that Mei-san won't let Haruhi go, seeing as she appears to have feelings for Tamaki. So you're the only other option."

I groaned. "What if I have other plans?"

"You don't."

"Ugh, You're a pain. I hope you know that."

"I'll let the others know you're joining us." He said confidently, before hanging up, leaving me to grumble under my breath as I returned to the living room table and began stuffing my face full of food.

"What was that about, Kohaku? Work?"

I shook my head at Haruhi, swallowing as I frowned. "Seems the hosts are making me tag along with Mei-san on her little trip."

"Oh…"

She looked a bit disappointed and I felt bad that she was going to be left behind.

"If you want, Haruhi, I left Fu-kun next door. I don't plan on taking him, so I could bring him over to keep you company."

"Alright."

Mei checked her phone then and quickly finished off her breakfast as I did the same, begrudgingly. I got up and went next door to grab Fu-kun, returning just as Mei was walking out and Haruhi handed her an energy shot.

"I'm not worried about you running away, but you must take this with you."

"Wha?!"

I rolled my eyes, taking the shot and shoving it towards Mei. "Take it. Trust me."

She hesitantly took it and tucked it away in her purse, before we both said bye to Haruhi and started to leave, until she stopped me.

"W-Wait! Kohaku, can I talk to you really quick?"

I nodded and headed over, a little confused as to what she wanted to talk about.

"What is it?"

"About Mei-chan…" She fidgeted. "Do you, um, know if things will turn out okay? Between her and Misuzu-chan?"

I scratched the back of my head nervously. Be careful about what you say, kid. I know.

"I, uh, can't really tell you. I mean, I would, but it could really mess things up. Sorry."

She nodded solemnly. "Right. I understand."

That bad feeling returned and I skimmed through my mind about what I could tell her, and smirked.

"But~ I can tell you that you will have a pretty big part in all of this. So good luck, Haruhi!" I said with a grin, making to go now that I had cheered her up, but she stopped me once more.

"Ah! Wait! Let me get something! Wait here!"

I blinked in confusion as she scurried back into the apartment, but when she returned, I was absolutely shocked at what she handed me.

"I was going to give you an energy shot too, but remembered how you said you didn't like the taste so…I figured this would work instead."

I took the sodas from her in shock, probably acting a bit melodramatic as I cradled the six bottles close.

"Y-You got these…for me?"

"I'd figured you'd been tortured enough." She said with a smile. "Just don't let Kyoya know I got them."

I proceeded to tackle her in a hug. "Have I ever told you how much I love you, Haruhi?!"

She chuckled. "You could do with telling me a bit more."

I pulled back with a grin, stuffing the sodas in the small backpack I had grabbed earlier, and hurrying down the steps with a wave.

"You're the greatest, Haruhi! I'll bring you back a souvenir!"

I continued to grin as I met up with Mei, despite the slight pain it brought to my face, and even when we met up with the Host Club, answering their questions about my nose with ease. The rest of the day went by quickly with me either running around with Honey and Mori or trying to drag Kyoya into some fun things. Though, by the time we returned to Haruhi's, I was tired and extremely hungry. Although, Mei was taking it a lot harder than I was.

"Welcome back. Have you two eaten supper?"

"No." I grumbled as Mei collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.

"I figured since they're rich, they'd take me shopping to an expensive boutique or we'd go to an exclusive club…"

"Right…" Haruhi looked at me and I shrugged half-heartedly.

"I tried to tell her."

"But then Tamaki-kun said, 'Why don't we do a lap on the Yamanote line?' So we rode the commuter train." Mei continued, sitting up dejectedly.

"Uh-huh…"

"What's wrong with them? Haven't they ever ridden a train before?! They were squealing with delight and waving at passing trains." Mei complained, moving to the table as Haruhi grabbed some food for us. "Then they imitated the conductor's announcements. It was so embarrassing!"

She buried her face in her hands as I snickered, leaning over and nudging Haruhi.

"I stuck with Kyoya and pretended we didn't know them. You should've seen their faces."

"Yeah." Haruhi sweat-dropped. "I can imagine… Here's your dinner."

I dug in with thanks, spotting Fu-kun sleeping in front of the TV, and even Mei seemed to enjoy the food for a moment before remembering the rest of our day with the hosts.

"Speaking of food…I thought they'd take me to an expensive restaurant for dinner…Tamaki-kun said he wanted to go see the Togenki Jizo statue in Sugano. They had anmitsu, senbei, shaved ice, dango. They were surrounded by old ladies. Even him!"

She pointed at me and I lifted my head, a little lost.

"They were just asking for directions and I didn't want them to get lost. So I went with them. Respect your elders, right? Oh! I almost forgot!" I dug through my backpack and passed Haruhi a small tanuki keychain. "Your souvenir! The hosts helped me pick it out."

I chuckled at the look she gave me, but she reluctantly took it as Mei set down her chopsticks.

"But you should've seen how kind Tamaki-kun was to the old folks. It made me realize how great he is."

"Yeah." Haruhi agreed with a smile. "I can imagine that too."

Mei looked shocked. "You-"

She was cut off as the phone rang, and Haruhi went to grab it, leaving Mei to turn to me, openmouthed.

"Does she…"

I calmly sipped my tea and set it down with a small smile. "Perhaps…but you should ask her yourself, don't you think?"

Mei frowned, putting her chin in her hand. "It's weird when you get all philosophical like that."
"Oh, 'philosophical'? What a big word~" I teased, a tick mark appearing on Mei's forehead.

"Why you little-"

"Hey, Haruhi!" I chirped, cutting Mei off as Haruhi walked back in. "Who was on the phone?"

"Uh, it was the landlord. I'm going downstairs for a second." She said, looking over at Mei nervously before heading out.

Must be meeting up with Tamaki, which reminds me… "Hey, Mei-san?"

"Hm." She grumbled.

"You should know Misuzu-chan's number, right? I need some extra cash and was hoping to help out at his pension for a couple yen, but forgot to ask while he was here."

She rolled her eyes and rattled off the number, and I took my phone call outside.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Misuzu-chan, it's Kohaku. I was wondering if I could help out at your pension for a little extra money."

"Of course! You're more than welcome to help, though I won't be able to pay you a lot."

"That's fine." I said. "I can help Tamaki out too, since he's there. I'll make him give me a ride home."

Misuzu chuckled. "That sounds perfect! And perhaps you can help better than he can."

I rolled my eyes with a shake of my head, leaning on the railing and watching Haruhi bid farewell to Tamaki down below.

"I'll do my best to fix his screw-ups."

"I shall see you tomorrow then! Bye Ko-chan!"

"Bye." I hung up and then skimmed through my contacts until I found the one I was looking for.

"Uh, hello? Kohaku?"

I smirked evilly. "If you don't want me blabbing your plan to Mei-san, you better start giving me rides home."

"W-What?! Home from where?!"

I held back a snicker, watching Tamaki as he panicked down below with a confused Haruhi.

"From the pension, of course. You don't think I'd let you get away with this on your own, did you?"

He let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay…but how did you know?"

"For one thing, I can see you from here. You two aren't very sneaky."

I watched as Tamaki turned around and spotted me as I waved with a grin.

"K-Kohaku!"

I chuckled. "Now, now. Don't get your boxers in a twist. It's not like I can hear you or anything. I'm psychic, remember? I saw this coming."

Tamaki began whining about me teasing him, but just then I heard the door click open behind me and I quickly turned around.

"How long are you going to take?" Mei complained as I spoke loudly, tucking my phone away, though not yet hanging up in order to give Tamaki a heads up.

"Mei-san! Perfect timing! I just finished." I said with a grin, hanging up my phone. "Let's head back in. I know where Haruhi hides the mochi~"

I turned her around, pushing her back into Haruhi's apartment despite her complaining, and proceeded to distract her until Haruhi returned. Once she did, she gave me a look as I put my dishes away and went over to pick up the resting Fu-kun.

"Well, I'm going to head home." I announced, looking over at the two of them. "Don't expect me to be around until dinner. Though…I may end up seeing you, Mei-san, depending on whether the hosts try to drag me along again."

She scoffed, eating some more, but Haruhi gave me a pointed look.

"Don't scratch at the bandage on your nose and make sure to ice it some more, Kohaku. It takes more than a day to heal." She chided. "And if it hurts, make sure to take some pain medication."

"Yes, mother." I sang, waving over my shoulder as I headed out, knowing that the next couple of days were going to be a pain. Early mornings, dragged around by the hosts…I sighed, but underneath all of that annoyance, I was glad to have the friends I did.

I lied. I mentally groaned, eyes tired as I slammed my alarm clock off. There's absolutely nothing to be grateful for in all of this. I got up, getting dressed and popping some bread in the toaster, pulling my last soda bottle out of the fridge. I'm going to need to get more at this rate…I wonder if Haruhi will get me some…Though this is all Tamaki's fault. the past few days had been rough. After getting up early and going to the pension via train, I worked on cleaning up all of Tamaki's screw ups and serving the guests since the bruising of my nose wasn't too bad. Then, the hosts dragged me with them to wherever they planned on going that day.

First, we went to an arcade and the hosts had to try every claw game they found. The next two days after that, we spent at the zoo, which was fun and all, but it was a lot of walking. Mori was too nice, and bought me a stuffed lion when he caught me eyeing them. It was odd though, because I received a stuffed ring-tailed lemur at my apartment a day later. I had no idea who sent it, but when Tamaki asked me about it with a knowing smirk, I had a pretty good guess. Though I don't know why he would do that…

The next day after that though, I opted out of going karaoke and headed home after work, only to get a call telling me about my next deadline and another call about setting up a meeting with Daisuke Takahiro about getting a script written for the movie that would start being filmed not long after I graduate. The amount of work I'm getting is ridiculous. I mentally complained, grabbing my toast and chewing on the end of it as I grabbed Fu-kun and locked up my apartment. When I turned to go, I jumped with a 'yelp', not expecting to see Haruhi there and dropping my toast on the ground.

"Haruhi!" I whined. "Don't do that!…You made me drop my toast…"

I looked down at the piece of bread with a pout as Haruhi apologized.

"Sorry, Kohaku. I'll…uh…make it up to you?"

I gave her a tired glare. "Buy me taiyaki."

"A-Alright." She stuttered out, holding her hands up in surrender. "But could you come with me to Tamaki's? I think I know what you two are doing."

I stared at her blankly, watching her fidget nervously, before turning away with a lazy wave. "Sure. Whatever."

She trotted after me and was quiet most of the trip until we stopped at a small café where she bought my fish shaped pancake and a hot chocolate.

"You look tired, are you alright?"

I nodded, chomping down on my taiyaki happily. "Yeah. Just a lot of work issues coming up and dealing with the hosts is a pain. The sodas help, but I finished them. Could you possibly…"

"No." She said with a sweat drop. "That was a one time thing. Go back to the grape juice."

I pouted, tearing the head off my fish pancake with an incomprehensible grumble.

"But you mentioned work issues? Your manager didn't move up a date or anything, right?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing bad. He called yesterday to get me writing again for a deadline next month, but…uh…you remember when I didn't stay for club that one time back when Kasanoda-kun was around?"

"Yeah." She said, a bit confused.

"Well…I had to go to an author get-together and happened to have landed a…movie deal?"

"A what?!"

"Sh!" I shushed with a wince, not liking the looks we were getting from the train passengers now that we'd boarded.

Haruhi saw this as well and lowered her voice. "You got a movie deal?!"

Nodding, I let out a sigh, passing a hand through my hair. "I, uh, don't want the hosts knowing just yet, but they called yesterday to set up a meeting about getting me to start on a script." I paused, biting my bottom lip and lowering the taiyaki. "Haruhi, I don't know how to write a script! What if I ruin the whole thing?! Or I can't convey the feelings I want it to?!"

"Maybe that's what the meeting's for!" Haruhi said, still surprised. "Ask them to help or something. Don't get stressed out over it though." She said in worry as we got off the train and walked to Tamaki's. "We don't need you collapsing again."

"I know." I muttered. "I just don't like disappointing people and the whole reason I write is to get people to connect to the characters and their feelings. You know?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "And you expect to get normal, everyday people to connect with a samurai from the Sengoku Era?"

"But it's so much more than that, Haruhi!" I said, throwing away my trash as we got off the train. "There's the daring adventures and trials he goes through, the friends and enemies he makes along the way, and the one-sided romance from a woman he doesn't even remember! Not to mention the fact that one of his best friends has turned out to be one of his greatest enemies all because of a misunderstanding! The heartbreak he has to go through is astounding!"

Haruhi was silent for a moment before speaking. "Did you just…pull a Tamaki?"

I turned to her with a blank expression. "I'm tired."

"Obviously." She muttered back as I held my palms up lazily.

"Hey, if anything, I want my stories to bring people together. You know? Families, friends, strangers, all with something in common. I've even gotten the rich and poor to find a common interest other than money." I chuckled, just as we arrived outside the gate of the Suoh's second mansion.

"Speaking of money…" Haruhi grumbled.

I let out a low whistle. "Nice place."

Makes me wonder what the first mansion looks like. I turned towards Haruhi, but instead of gawking at the building with me, she was looking around in a panic.

"Uh…Haruhi?"

She set her eyes on me, looking a little embarrassed. "D-Do you know, um…how to let Tamaki know we're here?"

Fu-kun, Fu-kun…Hm…I felt my lips twitch upwards. Look at Haruhi. Look, look. He shifted on my shoulders and looked, a slow ferret smile forming on his face to match mine. Aw~ Right? Isn't she just adorable when she's all flustered like that? Most definitely. I need a picture. I quickly dove my hand into my pocket and snapped a picture, drawing her attention to us as Fu-kun and I looked down at the phone with silent 'aw's'.

"Hey!" Haruhi said loudly, getting more embarrassed. "S-Stop it! What's with that look?!"

Fu-kun and I continued to smile, and I lifted my phone to show her the picture I took. "But look, Haruhi! You're so cute when you're frustrated~"

Her face turned beet red and I couldn't help taking another picture, looking at it with a coo.

"Aw~ I should send these to Tamaki."

"N-No!" She shouted, face cherry red as she lunged for my phone. "Delete it!"

I chuckled, using my height to my advantage and holding it up out of reach. "But you're so cute! Imagine his face when he sees these!"

"Kohaku!"

Just then, I caught sight of the chief of staff standing just inside the gate as she cleared her throat.

"May I help the two of you?"

I smiled politely, being sure to keep my phone out of reach still. "Yes, sorry. We're here for Tamaki. We're friends from the Host Club."

She nodded. "He isn't yet up, but will be soon. Would you like to come in?"

Haruhi shook her head, speaking up. "N-No. That's okay. We'll wait here."

The woman bowed; Shima, my mind reminded me. "Very well. I will let him know his friends are waiting."

"Thank you!" I chirped after her, before chuckling as Haruhi tried to jump for the phone.

After a while of frustrated jumping, Haruhi gave up and settled for pouting and giving me the silent treatment. Thankfully, Tamaki came out not too long after that, breaking the tense silence.

"Haruhi? Ko-kun? Good morning." He said slowly, looking lost.

"Are you going to Karuizawa again?" Haruhi asked, causing him to freak out and look at me.

"You told her, Kohaku?!"

I raised a brow. "Why would I tell her?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but Haruhi spoke first.

"Kohaku didn't tell me. It was easy to figure out. I've tasted Misuzu-chan's jam before and the recipes were in his handwriting. You're working at the pension on weekday mornings and weekends, right?"

"I-It's not really a job…" Tamaki said, before cheering up. "It's a…you know! It's the 'Help Misuzu-chan Express Fatherly Love to Mei-chan Through His Recipes' plan!"

I rolled my eyes with a small smile as Tamaki's limo pulled up and Haruhi grinned as well.

"What a great plan. I'd like to help too."

"Don't regret it." I muttered with a yawn, climbing into the limo before smirking evilly. "And if you're nice, Tamaki, I have some pictures you'll love to see~"

He tilted his head in curiosity. "Pictures?"

Haruhi caught on then and clambered in after me with wide eyes. "Don't you dare!"

I laughed as I help my phone out of reach once more, and Tamaki climbed in, even more curious now that Haruhi was so against it.

"What pictures? I want to see! You shouldn't hide things from your father!"

"Yeah, Haruhi!" I chuckled, sprawled across the seat as Fu-kun curled up on another a bit further away. "You shouldn't hide pictures of yourself from daddy!"

"Kohaku!"

Tamaki's eyes lit up and he too struggled to get my phone. "Darling pictures of Haruhi?! I must see them!"

Needless to say, after a bit of scuffling, Tamaki sat beside me with a blush spreading across his face as we looked over the couple of pictures. Haruhi wasn't too happy about me offering to send the pictures to his phone, but she was even less pleased after we reached Karuizawa and she realized how much of a mess Tamaki made. Add that to her newfound anger with me, and it was understandable why Tamaki and I were currently begging for our lives to the twins; who had just shown up.

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" We both shouted, smothering our panicked faces on the window of their limo before the two of us tried to climb in over them.

"I knew it when I saw your car!" Tamaki shouted.

"You've got to save us!" I yelled right after, looking over my shoulders and panicking upon catching sight of Haruhi heading our way. "T-Tamaki! She's coming!"

"Ouch! That hurts!" The twins complained, as Tamaki basically climbed on their laps to try and get in the limo.

"Scoot in! Hide me! The dark lord number four is after me!"

I began shoving Tamaki further in, as Haruhi grew closer. "I should probably be offended that I'm dark lord number three, but that doesn't matter! Tamaki! She's practically on top of us!"

"Tamaki…Kohaku…"

Tamaki and I flinched, shivered racking our spines before we grew even more frantic.

"You two must be quite courageous thinking you can escape cleaning duty!"

"Gyah!" We both screamed as she pulled us out of the limo and began scolding us, though we both covered our ears to lessen the blow.

"Tamaki! The floor of the guest room is all wet! How many times do I have to tell you to wring out the rags when you're cleaning the floor?! The beds you made are sloppy and the flower vases are overflowing with water!"

At least she's not yelling at me. I thought, lowering my hands just a little too soon as her devilish scowl shifted to me.

"And you…"

My eyes widened as I scooted back, ready to clamp my hands over my ears once more.

"It's your fault he's screwing up in the first place! He's so distracted by those stupid pictures, that he's even more useless than usual! Combine that with how slow you're being as far as taking orders, and the guests will be getting breakfast when it's already lunch time! Have you two been any help during these last ten days of summer break?!"

I knew better than to give excuses to Haruhi, but Tamaki still gave it a shot with tears in his eyes.

"B-But Misuzu-chan said I helped a lot."

Haruhi spared him no kind words. "He's just being polite. He's got a soft spot for you. There'll be no more slacking off now that I'm here."

She grabbed the two of us by the back of our collars, dragging us back to the pension as I hung my head dejectedly and Tamaki reached out pleadingly to Hikaru and Kaori. Thankfully, they were willing to stand up for us.

"Wait, Haruhi! Cleaning guest rooms is too difficult for Tono!"

"T-That's right! And Kohaku's a hard worker, even if he is a little lazy!"

"How is that helping?!" I shouted at Kaoru as the two of them pulled us out of Haruhi's grip.

"Listen! Tono would be a good waiter and he can play the piano! Then, Kohaku's good at cleaning and with a bit of music, he will work harder!"

"Hm." Haruhi hummed, before her face suddenly turned dark. "So I guess you two are volunteering for cleaning duty?"

Misuzu came out then, hands clasped together as tears of joy pricked the corner of his eyes. "Wow! Hikaru-kun and Kaoru-kun came to help too? I'm so happy! I'll be counting on you~"

We were all quickly pushed into the pension then, Kaoru and Hikaru too shocked about the sudden change of circumstances to resist, before they were handed a couple of rags and a broom. Tamaki was led over to the piano and Haruhi shoved a notepad at me for me to take orders, giving me a glare to let me know she wanted me to get my job done quickly. I childishly stuck my tongue out at her, before getting to work, hearing the other hosts-who had been here for a while-teasing Hikaru and Kaoru.

"I see the new help has arrived. Would you get me another cup of tea?" Kyoya smirked, Honey joining in with his teasing; feeding Fu-kun a strawberry on his shoulder.

"I'd like cake and more cake!"

I rolled my eyes with a smile as the twins headed off to start cleaning reluctantly and I moved over to figure out what kind of cake and tea the two other hosts wanted. As I went on working though, I couldn't help but spot Haruhi sneaking peeks over at Tamaki. She's definitely fallen for him pretty good…wonder how long it'll be before she figures it out. Says you. I sent Fu-kun a pout from across the room. At least I know I like them! The hard part is figuring out who I like in a…different way. And meanwhile, their feelings for you are growing. How long are you going to wait to figure this out? Glasses is even sending you gifts now! I let out a long sigh, sitting down on a stool in the back room and sprawling out over the kitchen island, remembering the stuffed lemur that he sent to my apartment after the zoo. What am I supposed to do? If I hung out with one, the other two get jealous. Choosing between them isn't as easy as you think. Shindo's nice and silly and knows what it's like to be me. He understands me…and Mori's kind and strong and knows how to listen and is comforting. Then Kyoya…he's smart and a hard worker and keeps me on my toes, but he also has that softer side and…and how am I supposed to choose?!

"Oh? Are you having love problems, Ko-chan?~"

I jolted upright, very nearly falling from my stool as I rounded to the person who spoke, only to see that it was Misuzu. I let out a sigh of relief, pulling a hand through my hair as I relaxed slightly.

"Don't do that, Misuzu-chan." I whined, giving him a look that said I wasn't amused by his sudden appearance. What is it with people popping up behind me lately?

He just laughed, grabbing me a grape juice from the fridge and taking a seat across from me; giddy in excitement, with his chin resting on his palms.

"Oh, I do like a good love triangle. Or square, in your case."

I groaned, dropping my face into my hands. "Does everyone know?!"

"With the way they look at you, it's not really a secret, Ko-chan~" He chuckled, wagging his finger at me. "Now tell me…" He leaned closer. "…which one do you fancy the most, hm?"

I sighed deeply, dropping my forehead onto the counter. "I don't know. They're nice and all, but…choosing is…"

Sighing again, I gave up trying to explain it and just looked up at Misuzu in worry.

"What should I do, Misuzu-chan?"

"Do you know what you're looking for?"

I went from worried to confused in an instant. "Huh?"

He smiled. "What do you look for in a man?"

Frowning, I had to think for a minute. "I haven't really thought about it. I've never really been interested in guys up until now, but…maybe nice, understanding and…safe."

Misuzu grinned brightly. "Good! Now look for the opposite of that!"

I sat up, throwing my hands out in disbelief. "Where's the logic in that?!"

He chuckled, standing and moving towards the door. "Opposites attract, Ko-chan~"

"Misuzu-" I was cut off as the door closed behind him and I dropped my head with a sigh.

The opposite of what I'm looking for? I looked over at the juice in front of me, listening to the liquid swish around in the box as I moved it around. So…instead of nice, understanding, and safe… An image of Mori quickly flashed through my head. It's…mean…stubborn…and cautious? There was a brief flash of a familiar glasses-wearing jerk and I paused, before shaking my head and moving to leave the room. The last thought going through my mind being: No…that can't be right.

(No one's POV)

"Okay, everyone! Fate has transpired to bring the Host Club members together in this very spot!" Tamaki shouted, posing with a finger pointed at the group. "We will now use our work break to hold a Host Club meeting, Karuizawa style!"

Hikaru raised his hand. "You say 'work break', but Haruhi, Kohaku, Kaoru and I are the only ones working!"

Kaoru nodded. "Anyway, what's this meeting for? No one has told us anything."

The others on the couch all wondered the same. Mori was sitting on the arm of the couch with Honey and Haruhi behind him, whereas the twins were actually seated on said couch and Kyoya and Kohaku either sat or leaned on the other couch arm. Tamaki seemed to be the only one who knew anything, though silently, Kohaku knew what was going on too.

"It's for the 'Mei-chan and Misuzu-chan Reconciliation' plan, of course." Tamaki announced. "I apologize for my clandestine behavior, but I couldn't risk Mei-chan divining our intent! However…from now on, I need everyone's help. Okay? Stage one consists of delivering Misuzu-chan's love to Mei-chan through his recipes. We're achieving excellent results due to the magnificent teamwork by Haruhi and me."

"Yeah, me sneaking the recipes to Haruhi didn't help at all." Kohaku grumbled sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, though Tamaki ignored her.

"Mei-chan might not have consciously realized it, but on a spiritual level, she is definitely missing his cooking. Right, Haruhi?"

Haruhi gave him an odd look. "Well…I don't know about spiritual levels…bit it's clear that Mei-chan doesn't really hate him. At first, I didn't know what to do because I didn't understand how she felt, but then I noticed how she reacted to the food I made using Misuzu-chan's recipes."

The twins scoffed, shrugging with their palms up. "Hmph! Then the results aren't due to Milord's plan. They're due to Haruhi's culinary expertise."

Tamaki smirked smugly. "And now that stage one has melted the ice around Mei-chan's heart, it's time for stage two…in which Kyoya will play the part of a lowlife and attack Mei-chan, then Misuzu-chan will save her!"

The twins liked that plan and gave Tamaki two thumbs up. "Nice plan!"

"Idiot, is that your solution to everything?!" Kyoya complained as Kohaku sighed beside him.

"I was about to say the same thing."

"I just want to try the lowlife plan!" Tamaki complained back.

"But Tama-chan, where would we do that?" Honey asked, not sure when or where they could pull off such a plan.

"Great question, Honey!" Tamaki said, having cheered up quickly. "Next week, Haruhi's neighborhood is having a summer festival at the local shrine."

"They are?" Kohaku questioned, rounded on Haruhi. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I didn't think you'd be interested!" She replied nervously, but before Kohaku could get upset about it, Tamaki continued.

"Misuzu-chan told me he took Mei-chan to the festival when she was two years old."

"She won't remember if she was only two."

"I told you, we're reaching her on a spiritual level!" Tamaki wailed, but Hikaru was already fed up.

"Spiritual levels, souls…You're just leaving it up to fate, Milord."

Kaoru didn't even care anymore and was talking to Kyoya.

"Are you going to dress up as a lowlife, Kyoya-kun? We'll be your stylists!"

"Not I." He said with a sigh. "As the saying goes, we need the right person for the right job. Surely someone is better for the part."

All eyes turned to Mori, but he held up his hands. "Not me."

Eyes turned to Kohaku then, and she scowled, folding her arms over her chest.

"Really? I'm not that frightening."

"I don't know, Kaoru." Hikaru said, turning towards his brother. "Remember when Kohaku broke that table?"

"You're right, Hikaru." Kaoru replied, eyeing her warily, though the mischief in his eyes betrayed him. "He nearly punched that Lobelia girl too."

"Scary." They both said, hugging each other in fake fear.

Kohaku rolled her eyes with a groan. "You guys are impossible! I'm not that scary! And even if I was, Mei-san knows who I am, remember? Your little plan won't work with me."

They all hummed in thought, when Hikaru and Kaoru snapped their fingers.

"We got it!" They paused dramatically with evil smirks. "Bossanova."

"Kasanoda." Kohaku corrected, though it didn't matter.

Everyone was already thinking the same thing and all the normal hosts sighed, each regretting hanging out with a group of idiots. Here we go again…

(Kohaku's POV)

Next week came by far too quickly for my liking. Weird, right? First life's moving too slow, and then it's moving too fast. I should've expected as much, with everything that was going on. I had been very busy with work, after meeting up with Daisuke about writing the movie script, and had actually completely forgotten about the festival until the twins showed up at my door. Which is what I was dealing with right now.

"What do you want?"

"Woah…"

I glared at the twins with tired eyes. "If that's all you have to say, then leave. I have work to do."

I moved to close the door, but they both stopped it with their feet.

"Aw, come on, Kohaku!"

"Don't tell me you forgot!"

It clicked in my head then and I groaned, slapping my hand to my face and cringing slightly as my nose was still a little sore.

"The festival…"

"Glad to see you remember!" They chirped, forcing their way in and walking maybe two steps before stopping.

"Woah, what's going on, Kohaku?"

"Yeah. Your house is a mess!"

I shut the door behind them and walked through the piles of papers and failed attempts easily, though the twins probably saw it as more of a circus act. Once at the center of the mess, I sat back down on the ground in front of my typewriter and lightly perched my glasses on my nose, returning to my work; and by work, I mean glaring at the blank page in front of me and waiting for inspiration.

"So what do you two want? You could've just reminded me about the festival over the phone." I grumbled, starting to type.

"Where's the fun in that?" Hikaru said, trying to walk through some of the mess.

"We came to help you get ready." Kaoru replied after, also trying to get through.

I sighed, ripping the paper out of my typewriter, crumpling it, and throwing it to the overflowing waste basket in the corner.

"Help me get ready?" I questioned, giving them a dull look. "I hope you two don't expect me to wear anything stupid."

"We just brought you the kimono you modeled in before."

"We thought you'd need help with the obi-Wah!"

"Kaoru!"

I rolled my eyes and stood, heading over to where Kaoru had slipped on some of my papers and I picked them up as Hikaru helped his brother.

"You guys didn't have to do this, you know." I sighed, picking Fu-kun up from off a pile and putting the papers under him, before setting him back down. "I could've just worn whatever. There's no reason for you two to come here just to dress me up."

They both watched me in worry.

"Are you okay, Kohaku?" Kaoru asked.

"Yeah, you don't sound like yourself." Hikaru said, giving me a look. "What's your problem?"

I shifted my eyes to Fu-kun before standing with a long sigh, pulling a hand through my hair. "I've just been busy and…have a lot to think about."

Like why Fu-kun hasn't been speaking to me, lately…Or what I'm going to do about Shindo, Mori, and Kyoya…Add this movie deal and graduation on top of that, and I'm a bit…overwhelmed. I took my glasses off and set them down before turning to the twins with a grin.

"Well, let's get this crazy plan over with!"

I could tell that they were still worried, but they went along with my fake cheerfulness and it wasn't long before we were piling up in their limo and being dropped off with the other hosts at the festival. Fu-kun had offered to stay home, still, it worried me at the distance he was putting between us lately. And I guess my fake smile slipped, because a heavy hand landed on my shoulder and Mori stood beside me, concerned.

"You're not happy."

I opened my mouth to lie, but closed it and looked down as I tucked my arms into the sleeves of my kimono, frowning.

"I just have a lot on my plate and…Fu-kun is… distancing himself." Worry flooded my body and I swallowed thickly. "I-I don't think I did anything wrong. I mean, I yelled at him for dumping a cereal box all over the table, but I-I don't think that's-"

I was cut off as Mori put his hand on my head.

"Don't worry. I'm sure there's a reason."

I nodded slowly, feeling heat creep up my cheeks, only to remember what Misuzu had said. The opposite of what I want… Just then, Mei and Haruhi showed up, each sporting their own yukatas.

"Haru-chan! Mei-chan!" Honey shouted, excitedly.

"This place is great!"

"I smell commoner food!"

"I want some greasy yakisoba!"

"Do they have cake here?"

Kyoya chuckled. "Probably not."

"They have other sweet things, Honey-kun." I said, trying to lift my own spirits.

Everyone else though, was more focused on Haruhi's yukata.

"And Haruhi looks so cute!~"

"Hey…I'm wearing a yukata too!" Mei said, jealous of Haruhi's attention, most likely.

I couldn't say I felt any different. While I didn't want to wear the frilly, colorful outfits that Haruhi ends up wearing most days, I couldn't say that I didn't want someone to compliment me. I actually felt jealous of Haruhi a lot. I always shoved the feeling back thinking things like, 'it's because she's the main character' or 'it's because she's actually girly'. And it's not that I wanted to be girly or anything. I just wanted someone to look at me the way Tamaki and the twins and everyone looked at Haruhi. I mentally shoved the feeling aside once more and looked over at Kyoya along with the others as Tamaki embarrass-I mean, distracted Mei.

"Kyoya? Where's Misuzu-chan?" Haruhi asked.

"Further observation is necessary before putting the plan in motion. Misuzu-chan is waiting near the back gate." Kyoya replied, looking awfully happy for some reason. "The operation launches on our signal. Many of my undercover staff are in the crowd. And I talked to the organizers so there won't be trouble if things get a little rowdy."

Haruhi sweat dropped, spotting a couple of Kyoya's security wandering around. "Does it have to be such a big deal?"

I frowned slightly. Perhaps Kyoya's going all out for a different reason…Isn't there a part in the manga where Haruhi gets kidnapped? Is that the reason for all this security here? I glanced over at Kyoya as Honey and the twins commented on his sudden happiness, and I felt myself smiling a bit. For a shadow king, he sure is a worry-wart.

"Things are going nicely." Kyoya said, in regards to the plan. "The rest is up to him now."

I spotted Kasanoda not too far off, but still felt as though I was missing something that had to do with how Kyoya was acting. Then, it hit me and I wandered over next to him as our group began checking out the stands nearby.

"I know why you're so happy." I said, catching his attention and causing him to raise a brow in curiosity.

"You do?"

I nodded with a confident grin, poking him playfully in the shoulder. "You just want to stay home and enjoy your summer in peace, but you can't do that until Tamaki is satisfied with Mei-san and Misuzu-chan's relationship. So you figure that as long as this plan goes smoothly, the Host Club will be out of your hair for a while. Plus, you won't have to keep spending money on trips everyday, like you've been doing. Am I right?"

Kyoya blinked at me, completely silent for a moment, making me think that I was wrong, before a small smirk appeared on his face and he turned away with a brief chuckle.

"You are certainly a very intuitive person, Kohaku."

I perked up, smiling at the praise, only to realize something.

"Hey, hold on a minute! That doesn't answer my question! Am I right?"

He gave me one of those cheesy Host Club smiles, though I swear there was amusement in his voice as he spoke.

"That is something I will not tell you, and is best left up to your imagination."

I frowned, pouting as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Well, what fun are you?"

He simply left it at that, making me wonder why exactly he was doing this and preoccupying my mind enough so, that I didn't see the jealous glare aimed our way.

(No one's POV)

Mori is in no way a selfish person. He allows himself to get dragged along with Honey's whims, doesn't argue, willingly goes along with whatever the hosts are doing, and never asks for anything for himself. He was used to this and found that by being humble, he gained happiness through things other than material objects. But now, for once in his life, he wanted to be selfish.

He wanted Kohaku to himself. No Host Club, no Mitsukuni, and most definitely no Kyoya. Mori could tell, just by watching how the two of them interacted, that he was losing her and he didn't like that. He loved Kohaku. He liked her shyness and her smiles and her strength. He liked everything about her, so seeing her laughing and smiling with Kyoya set a fire of rage in his stomach. He can't have her. I won't let him. Mori headed over then, and grabbed her upper arm.

"Hm? What's up, Takashi?"

…What do I do now? Mori suddenly felt ridiculous, having acted on his instinct to get Kohaku away from Kyoya, but not quite thinking his actions all the way through. He felt as though his heart was pounding in his ears, but then he realized that it wasn't just his heart he was hearing, and that gave him an idea.

"Taiko drums." He said, pointing towards where the sounds were coming from.

Kohaku's eyes seemed to light up. "R-Really?! I love taiko drums!"

Mori smirked ever so slightly at Kyoya and led Kohaku towards the noise, and he wasn't even bothered when Honey and the twins headed that way along with the two of them. They were doing it for Haruhi, after all, not his Kohaku.

"Haruhi! They are playing taiko drums over there!"

"Ah! Okay!"

As pleased as everyone was to be enjoying the festival, Kyoya seemed to have lost some of his previous cheerfulness after what had just occurred. Where does he get so audacious?! There was no need to drag Kohaku away. He was plenty pleased where he was. Kyoya silently fumed. And he actually had the nerve to smirk…What is he playing at?

Kyoya's thoughts were momentarily pushed aside for a moment as he spotted Haruhi trying to stop Mei and Tamaki. At least I know this will go as planned. He mused, letting his security know that they were going to need to keep their eyes on the runaway duo.

"What about the plan?" Haruhi questioned in worry as Kyoya put on a faux smile.

"Don't worry. We won't lose her, so it's alright. Besides, the one who is the most likely to persuade Mei-chan is Tamaki, right?"

"I guess." Haruhi muttered, spotting the others returning from their adventures. "Ah, Kohaku! How was it?"

Kohaku grinned, stirring something in Kyoya that made him start to smile unconsciously.

"It was super cool, Haruhi! You really missed out…Oh! And look!" Kohaku pointed at Mori's head. "Takashi brought his little chicken!"

"And look who we brought~" The twins said, gesturing to a dressed-down Misuzu, who was gathering courage for his part in the plan.

Kyoya's phone rang then, and he picked it up. "Yes?"

"Kyoya-sama, the operation starts at point C-3." His guard, Tachibana, said.

"Got it. It is Misuzu-chan's turn." He told the others and the group started heading over to the meet-up area, where Misuzu dashed in to supposedly 'save' his daughter from a 'lowlife'.

Thing was, she was taking care of it perfectly fine on her own and an argument quickly ensued.

"I-I heard that delinquent was threatening you, so-"

"Huh? I can take care of myself! Anyway, why aren't you working at the pension in some frilly dress?"

"I-I thought you'd prefer a manly father…"

"Huh?! What are you blathering about?! If you could've changed this easily, there'd have been no need for the divorce! Do you have any idea how lonely I've been?!"

Misuzu brought his hands to his cheeks, tearing up. "Mei-chan, I'm sorr-"

"You left mom and me to take the path you wanted! So you should live it to the fullest! Then I'll accept you as girly-girly or…whatever you are!"

"Mei-chan…"

Mei turned away, grabbing Haruhi and a slightly surprised Kohaku. "I'm out of here, and you two are coming with me." She then turned to Haruhi. "For being Tamaki-kun's accomplice in this whole operation, I have to hit you."

"Uh?!"

"And you." Mei rounded on Kohaku with a glare. "You have some explaining to do."

"I-I do?" Kohaku stuttered out, but Mei didn't really give her a say in it as she started pulling her and Haruhi away.

"Mei-chan!" Misuzu cried.

"And one more thing…" Mei said, not looking back. "Next time, be sure to send me you cherry jam. Don't forget. It's one of my favorites."

"Aw~" Kohaku cooed, only for Mei to spin around and punch her upside the head.

"Shut it! Let's go!"

Once the three of them were heading home, Haruhi felt as though she needed to apologize for something that had been bothering her.

"Mei-chan, I'm sorry…but I'm not scheming to get Tamaki-senpai. There's nothing between us."

Mei turned to Kohaku. "You hear this?"

Kohaku let out a sigh, shrugging with a small smile. "What can you do?"

Mei let out a long sigh as well. "Ah, enough. I don't care anymore. I understand that both of you are idiots. It can't be helped! I'll forgive you for one omerice! Don't let the eggs get torn. It better be pristine." She then rounded on Kohaku again, her cheeks tinted a little pink in frustration. "And why didn't you tell me you were a girl!"

Kohaku tilted her head innocently. "You didn't know?"

"Why you-"

Haruhi was forced to separate the two and sighed; Mei still glaring and shaking a fist at Kohaku as the other pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue mockingly.

"Kohaku's very indifferent about how people perceive her, Mei-chan, though she probably should have mentioned it to you."

"Should've but didn't." Mei grumbled as they headed up the stairs to their apartments.

"It's more fun when they figure it out on their own." Kohaku said, unlocking the door to her own apartment. "Though Kyoya doesn't know yet, so try to keep it quiet, Mei-chan."

Kohaku gave her one of Kyoya's devilish smiles and left Mei with Haruhi. It took a moment, but Mei gave Haruhi a look.

"She likes him, doesn't she?"

Haruhi nodded with a sigh. "Him and two others."

"Are you serious?!" Mei shouted, making Haruhi cringe as she opened the door.

"I'll explain in a minute, but be quiet. My dad's sleeping."

Mei grinned deviously, more than excited about getting dirt on Kohaku. After all, it's her job to play match-maker for all the clueless people in the Host Club, right? That, and I just really want to get some blackmail on that brat. Needless to say, Kohaku and Mei's relationship isn't exactly a pleasant one.

(Kohaku's POV)

The second half of summer break flew by…for some. For me, it was once again moving super slow. If I wasn't writing (or attempting to write) my movie script, I was working at the pension. So my days of so called 'relaxing' tended to be long days full of work. I could've stopped working at the pension, I guess, but I was saving up some money to get Fu-kun a gift in an attempt to cheer him up and make up for whatever I had done to upset him. With all the work though, sleep wasn't something I dabbled in much.

I tried…sometimes. I usually ended up falling asleep on the table in the living room as I was writing. Haruhi had caught me that way a few times and proceeded to lecture me about how important it was to rest. I actually think Ranka told the hosts about my sleeping problem too, because I started getting phone calls and text messages from Kyoya about me sleeping.

I was worried though. I couldn't help it. Fu-kun had basically stopped talking to me. I asked him if he was sick, but he denied it, saying he was just tired. Haruhi told me not to worry about it and I confided with Kyoya, but he just said to take him to the vet if I was so worried. It wasn't until a while later that I turned to Mori about my concerns.

With how stressed I had been, Mori was kind enough to continue teaching me kendo over the summer. I couldn't say I was surprised by the size of his home, but it was nice to get some time to de-stress and enjoy Mori's company. I just wish he could help me with Fu-kun. He tried, of course, even offering to watch over him for a time to see if it would help, but nothing seemed to be working.

After a while, I stopped caring. I shoved my depressed thoughts to the back of my mind and started treating Fu-kun like I always did. I smiled and teased him and struggled not to be disappointed when he didn't react. When the last few days of summer vacation approached however, I got a break from the usual when I decided to do my procrastinated homework over at Haruhi's, since Mei did the same as I and completely forgot about it with how busy we were.

"Crap! I haven't done any homework!" Mei panicked as Haruhi brought out some coffee; myself having brought my own stupid grape juice due to the lack of soda. "There's a ton! I'll never finish it! I'm so screwed! And my friends are clueless!"

"That's why I told you to do a little each day." Haruhi said, as I pushed up my reading glasses.

"I always procrastinate like this and I get it done. Maybe you're not trying hard enough." I said with a smirk, watching as Mei started getting angry.

Before we could start an argument though, Haruhi spoke up, having opened up one of Mei's homework booklets.

"Come on, you two…Oh, there really isn't that much. If you pull an all-nighter, you'll get it done in three days."

"Are the two of you making fun of me? Or pretending to be geniuses?"

"Both." I snickered as Mei blew her top.

"Now I'm pissed! You gotta help me, Haruhi! You should do all of it to make up for sneaking around with Tamaki-kun behind my back!"

"Huh? But you said you'd settle for an omerice."

"I'm nice, so I was trying to meet you halfway!" Mei shouted as I spotted Ranka coming out of his room. "You should be happy doing my homework for me, you miser! You refused to model in my fashion show!"

"That has nothing to do with it!" Haruhi yelled back. "And don't call me a miser!"

"Shut up!" Ranka shouted, finally making his appearance and smacking them both upside the head. "Papa is tired and trying to sleep. Noisy children should go outside! Go to the library and do your homework!"

Ranka tossed the two of them out as I grabbed my things and walked out, not earning Ranka's wrath since I hadn't been yelling. I gave him a wave and a small smile as he closed the door and I turned to Haruhi as Mei pouted.

"Now look at what you've done!"

"What?! You started it!"

A cell phone went off and Mei picked it up. "Hello? Oh hi, Hikaru-kun. Yeah, Haruhi is here." Mei glared at me. "He's here too…Souvenirs from Okinawa? We have to come get them? Why don't you guy-What? Your parents? I don't care if they're home or-Huh? Really? Okay. Okay. I got it."

Mei hung up and I sighed, muttering quietly to Haruhi.

"Looks like we're both getting dragged along."

"Huh?" She didn't have long to be confused, before Mei grabbed her arm.

"We've got to get to the twin's house!"

"Why?! What about your homework?!"

"Forget that! Did you know?! Their mother is the famous fashion designer Yuzuha Hitachiin!"

Mei continued to whine and complain about her appearance as we hurried to her home and then to the twin's home, where we were led in by servants while Mei gawked at the place. Fu-kun was with Mori, so I didn't have to worry about leaving him home, but it still felt odd without his familiar weight on my shoulder or him complaining in my head.

"Oh? Kohaku isn't happy to see us?" The twins said, breaking me out of my thought as I realized that I must have been showing a sad expression.

I quickly put on a smile. "Why would I be happy to see you? You're just going to dress me up again."

Hikaru placed a hand to his chest in fake pain. "That hurts, Kohaku!"

"Yeah, we thought you had fun at our sleepover." Kaoru stated, though I could see the concern lacing his eyes.

He always was pretty observant. I mused as they turned their attention to teasing Mei about the tea and snacks. I barely noticed when their mother came over excitedly.

"Hikaru? Kaoru? You have guests?" She smiled brightly. "Welcome ladies!"

I stayed sitting as Mei and Haruhi wandered over, one more excited than the other.

"N-Nice to meet you. I'm Mei Yasmura! I'm a big fan!"

"Oh my, such heavy makeup! Did you get that tan on vacation?" Yuzuha questioned, shocking Mei, until she winked playfully with a finger to her lips. "Hehe! Just kidding~ I like girls who put effort into their appearance."

As Mei fangirled over by Haruhi, Yuzuha wandered over my way and I gave her a polite smile.

"H-Hello, Yuzuha-san. It's nice to see you again."

She paused, staring at me for a moment before putting me in a choke hold. "You're so cute, Ko-kun!"

I chuckled nervously, a bit concerned about what she was planning. Because that's how Yuzuha trapped me last time. She'll act super nice and just when you put your guard down…

"Oh! How rude of me. Haruhi-chan, Mei-chan come over here. Would the three of you like a cookie?"

I let out a silent sigh of relief as she released me, but denied the cookie, knowing that it was a trick. Mei was clueless though and the moment she bit down on the rubber cookie, I couldn't help but laugh with Yuzuha and the twins,

"It's made of rubber! I bought it in England the other day!" Yuzuha said between chuckles as Haruhi sweat dropped.

"She's definitely their mother…"

Once Haruhi sat down to drink her tea, Yuzuha decided that she wanted to play dress-up again and went to gather some help.

"Say, Hikaru…No…I mean, Kaoru…" She put a hand on her chin. "Or are you Hikaru? Hm…"

"I'm Hikaru." The twin said and Yuzuha laughed.

"Haha, sorry! Hikaru, can you help me get my latest design ready for Haruhi-chan to wear?"

"Sure." Hikaru said, shrugging with his palms up.

"I-I want to help!" Mei said, following after them as Yuzuha paused in the doorway and looked over at me with a devilish smirk.

"I've got a little something for you too, Ko-kun." She turned around, waving over her shoulder. "So no running off~"

I let out a long sigh. "And here I thought she would've forgot about me."

Kaoru chuckled. "How could she forget? Your magazine debut was extremely popular."

I dropped my head onto the table with a groan. "Don't remind me."

Kaoru laughed and I shifted my head so that I was resting my chin on the table, and spotted Haruhi still looking over at where Yuzuha had gone.

"Oi. Only I'm allowed to be depressed." I said; Kaoru standing up and moving behind her, placing his hand on her shoulders.

"Haruhi, we should go too!"

"Kaoru…"

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. You're upset that she didn't know who was who, right? My mom's particular about fashion, but careless about everything else. Or rather, she's carefree. It's a guessing game every time."

"Oh, I see." Haruhi murmured, not looking convinced.

I got up and went to walk with them as well.

"We used to sulk about it a lot when we were kids, but now we know it's just an expression of her love. We realized that thanks to Milord and the others."

"Right…"

I sent her a look as we approached the changing rooms. "Think of it this way. She's trying to tell them apart and has been their whole lives. Because she's still trying, it shows she loves them, since she's not giving up."

Haruhi frowned slightly, confusing me. "You know, I always wonder where that silly, shy Kohaku goes when you say things like that."

I grinned. "Perhaps he goes on vacation."

She shook her head with a laugh. "You're so weird."

"Got it from you~"

Kaoru chuckled, pushing us into our changing rooms where we were forced to face whatever outfits they prepared for us. Mine wasn't too bad. It was a torn up pair of black skinny jeans, a black printed tank top with an assortment of wild cats on the front, a pair of converse, a red plaid over-shirt, some spiked bracelets, and some sort of dark green military cap. Walking out of the changing room, I expressed my confusion.

"Hey, uh…how am I supposed to wear this?" I asked, holding the cap on the back of my head. "Does it go on the back?"

The twins began taking pictures, making me frown and gesture towards them with the cap.

"Hey, I better not see my face in another magazine."

"Aw, but we just want…"

"…to commemorate the moment!"

I placed the cap roughly on my head with a glare, turning back towards the changing room. "No."

"Aw! No fun!"

I could care less, remembering how hard it had been for me to just go to the grocery without having the people there questioning on whether or not I was the model in the magazine. Such a pain. Just as I entered the changing room, I scowled. My clothes were gone and had been replaced by another set with a note attached. I pulled the note off with a sigh.

You're welcome to keep this set!-Not that you have a choice-

Can't wait to see how you look in it! I want pictures~

-Yuzuha

Groaning, I switched outfits and put on the white under shirt and dress shirt, rolling up the sleeves and tugging on the dark blue jeans, black combat boots, and grey vest. Once I'd attached the wallet chain to my pants and put in the diamond stud earrings, I reluctantly exited the changing room; planning on asking for my other clothes back, though I did like these.

"Oh! How handsome, Ko-kun!"

"It'd be better if he wore his glasses." Hikaru said, as Kaoru ruffled through a bag that most likely had my things in it.

"Found them! Here, Kohaku. Put them on."

I sighed, but took my glasses from Kaoru and put them on. Immediately, Yuzuha cooed and grabbed the camera. There were a few flashes as she took pictures, but she stopped with a pout.

"Your pictures would be better if you smiled a little, Ko-kun."

"Yeah, Kohaku-kun! Smile! Don't make Yuzuha-sama wait!" Mei said, getting angry with me.

That didn't take long. I mused with a sweat drop, just as Haruhi came out of her changing room, saving me from having to smile for the camera.

"Oh, how cute! She looks just like a little doll!" Yuzuha cooed.

"That's what we've been telling you!" The twins said, fixing another outfit on a mannequin nearby.

"Use the camera, Mei-chan!" Yuzuha said, tossing the camera to Mei, who caught it excitedly.

"Yes, sensei!"

I rolled my eyes, digging through my bag of things that Kaoru left lying around and pulling out my homework. Might as well get this done while they're distracted. Taking a seat at the table not far away from where we were, I sipped at the tea a maid left on the table and went to work. Not long after I started said work, did the rest of the hosts arrive to make Haruhi's torture that much more torturous.

"Haru-chan looks cute!" Honey shouted, since it seemed Tamaki was too shocked for words.

"Hm, Yuzuha-san truly is a pro." Kyoya glanced at me then, smirking. "Seems she got a hold of Kohaku too."

I scowled at him. "Not like I had much of a choice. She stole my clothes."

I noticed Haruhi trying to sneak away then, out of the corner of my eye, and watched in silent amusement as she tried to get away unnoticed. That's not going to work, Haruhi. She made a bolt for it, but wasn't quite quick enough to evade the eyes of the twins, thus enticing a game of 'Catch Haruhi'. The hosts all ran off after her except one, leaving him and I alone to sip tea and get some work done.

"You're not going after them?" I asked, filling out a question on the Battle of Okehazama for my Japanese History class; one I was pretty familiar with due to the research involved in writing my stories.

"Why should I? Either way, they'll all be returning here." Kyoya mused, taking a seat across from me. "Are you…doing homework?"

I glared. "Yeah? And?"

He scoffed out his nose. "I didn't see you as someone who waits last minute to complete something so important."

I gave him a look. "You're kidding…Have you not seen me before a deadline? I procrastinate for a very good reason. I work better under pressure. If the deadline isn't for a whole month…sure I'll work on it a little when I feel like it, but I do all the brunt work a week or so right before. Keeps me focused, I guess." I shrugged, going back to my work.

"I…see…"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure you do."

Things grew quiet between us for a moment, but Kyoya spoke up again.

"You appear rather irritated today."

Frowning, I gave him a look. "You would be too, if you got dragged here for no real reason…Oh wait, you did."

He raised a brow. "Very irritated, it would seem. Have you eaten this morning?"

I deadpanned. "Not everything can be fixed with food, you know."

He smirked ever so slightly, pushing up his glasses. "With you, it usually can."

"Yeah, well…" I glanced back down at my homework, sadly. "Not this time."

"…Have you taken him to the vet yet?"

"Hm?" I looked back up, a little lost.

He sighed. "Your ferret. I'm assuming that is what you are so upset about?"

I sighed as well, moving my glasses up to rub my eyes tiredly as exhaustion seeped it's way into my body. "No. He said-I mean, he doesn't look sick and I don't want to go down there and stress him out further if it's nothing."

"If money is an issue-"

I shook my head, waving my hand as I picked back up my pencil. "It's not that. I have a good amount of money stashed away for things like that. It's just…It's almost like he's purposely avoiding me, but I can't figure out why."

"You…You do know he's just an animal." Kyoya said. "There is no need to get this upset over it."

I suppose I should have been offended at what Kyoya was saying, but there was something about his tone that told me he wasn't trying to be patronizing. He was simply…confused.

"Kyoya, you…You've never had a pet before, have you?" I asked, watching as he moved to push up his glasses, but placing my hand on his to stop him and get a good look at his expression before he could hide it.

I blinked as he stared back in surprise and…Is that embarrassment?

"You haven't…"

He pushed my hand off as I leaned back in my seat.

"I simply didn't find the point in having one. That, and my parents would have never allowed it."

"Oh…" I murmured, not really sure how to continue. "W-Well, after a while, pets become almost like family and…" I trialed off, getting upset again as I thought about Fu-kun.

Kyoya let out a quiet sigh. "And you would rather not lose another family member."

I nodded solemnly. "I just wish I knew what I did wrong."

"Aw man. I can't find her anywhere." Hikaru's voice rang out as he rounded the corner with Mei.

"I can't believe she would just run off! She should be grateful to be wearing Yuzuha-sama's clothes."

"That's alright, Mei-chan. We still got some good pictures and it's about time I headed out anyway." Yuzuha chirped, rounding the corner with them.

"I'll see you off, mom." Hikaru said as Mei excitedly nodded.

"Me too!"

Yuzuha smiled. "Alright. Oh! Ko-kun?"

I glanced up from my work, all traces of my previous mood wiped off my face. "Hm?"

"You're still welcome to keep those clothes and I'll have the twins send you the others too, since they suit you." She winked.

I gave her a small smile. "T-Thank you, Yuzuha-chan. And…perhaps I-I will model for you sometime."

Her eyes lit up in excitement and she dashed over and hugged me tightly around the neck, practically pulling me out of the chair and most definitely choking off my air supply.

"You are the cutest little thing ever!" She said, releasing me and rushing towards the door with a wave. "I can't wait! I'll definitely have some great new clothes for you to wear, Ko-kun!~"

I waved back hesitantly, questioning silently why it felt like I sold my soul to the devil, just as Mori, his little chicken, and Honey rounded the corner.

"We're back!" Honey chimed, bounding over and sitting down with Kyoya and I as Mori did the same. "We couldn't find Haru-chan anywhere!"

"No one else has either." Kyoya mused, also having practically forgotten our previous conversation.

More sweets were placed on the table to suit Honey's sweet tooth and the rest of us sipped our tea quietly, the only sound being my pencil scratching on paper as I did my homework.

"What are you doing?"

I glanced up at Mori's deep voice, a little surprised he spoke. "My, uh, summer homework."

He raised a brow and I chuckled nervously.

"I tend to procrastinate a bit…heh."

"You shouldn't do that, Ko-kun!" Honey chided. "You should always get your homework done right away so you have more time to play!"

"R-Right." I went back to my homework, when a shadow passed over my paper.

"What subject?"

K-Kind of close, don't you think, Mori? I swallowed thickly, trying to keep the stutter out of my voice.

"J-Japanese History."

"Do you need help?"

"N-N-No. I-I'm okay." I said, blushing a little until Kyoya cleared his throat, pushing up his glasses.

"Your grade in that class is a 98.7% as opposed to your usual 100% marks. History is not your best subject then?" He smirked, getting me flustered.

"No! I like history! It's just…Japanese History is a lot different from American…"

A heavy hand ruffled my hair as I pouted, and Mori gave me a small smile.

"If you need help, just ask."

I nodded. "O-Okay. Thanks, Takashi."

For some reason, the room suddenly felt colder, like a chill had passed through, but all the windows were closed and Honey didn't seem to notice it at all, just continuing to eat without a care in the world. I noticed Mori and Kyoya were a bit tense but…It can't have anything to do with them, right? Luckily, the tense silence was broken when Kaoru and Haruhi came in, Honey spotting them first.

"Ah! Haru-chan and Kao-kun came back! We couldn't find you, so we decided to have tea."

"Where are Hikaru and the others?" Haruhi questioned, looking at us in slight confusion.

I wonder if she noticed how tense it was a moment ago…

Kyoya stood, not looking too pleased. "Hikaru-kun and Mei-chan are seeing Yuzuha-san off to work. Tamaki is probably still looking for you Haruhi." He waved over his shoulder as he walked out. "I'll go find them. You two have some tea. Try the cookies Misuzu-chan gave Tamaki as payment for his help."

"Alright! Misuzu-chan's cookies!" Kaoru cheered as Kyoya left. "Are there any cherry ones? Those are my-" He cut himself off at the sight of a single cookie on the plate. "Honey-senpai…"

Honey grinned innocently. "Takashi's baby chick wanted some too, so…"

Mori gapped in shock as Honey tossed the blame at him and his chicken.

"But weren't those Tamaki's paycheck?" Haruhi sweat dropped.

This is why I asked for some extra cash… "That's what he gets for leaving them here." I said with a shrug as Kaoru picked up the plate with the cookie, sighing.

"It can't be helped. I'll save this one for Hikaru."

"Huh?" Haruhi questioned, catching my attention.

Oh, we're getting into this part…I looked between Kaoru and Haruhi silently, putting down my pencil and sipping my tea as I listened in.

"I thought you said they're your favorite."

"They are, but Hikaru likes them too."

"Then I guess you have your answer."

"Huh?" Kaoru was the one confused now.

"The other day, you were wondering about what you would do if you and Hikaru-kun liked the same thing. You're so kind, you'd go without for Hikaru-kun. But…I'm not sure that would make Hikaru-kun happy."

Honey and Mori were now paying attention too and Kaoru chuckled, though it felt slightly forced.

"You're so serious, Haruhi!" He ruffled her hair. "What are you talking about? It's just a cookie! Don't exaggerate it's importance."

Haruhi quickly fell for his ploy, but the rest of us weren't so easily convinced. The topic was dropped though, as Haruhi sat down to eat some cake and we awaited the arrival of the other hosts. They all showed up eventually and I watched silently, feeling bad for Kaoru since I knew this was something hard for him to deal with, and what he'd end up doing later. Just thinking about it made me sigh and I suddenly wished Fu-kun was here to cheer me up and give me some advice. Makes me wonder what I'd do without him.

(No one's POV)

Fu-kun laid quietly on Mori's porch, staring into the garden as Pome gathered various nuts and fruits and dumped them around said ferret unceremoniously. Would you stop that?! I don't want your stupid gifts! Pome paused, staring at the ferret blankly, before dropping more at his feet and scampering off. Fu-kun sighed and sat up, pushing Pome's gifts aside and jumping down into the garden.

He headed over to a pond nearby and climbed up onto one of the surrounding rocks, looking down into the pond at his reflection. He didn't see a ferret though, he saw a little boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes. He wasn't more than maybe twelve years old, but he felt a hundred years older.

A koi jumped a little out of the pond, sending ripples over the image, changing it to that of a ferret like it should be. Fu-kun sighed, lying down and letting a paw dangle over into the water. That kid's going to be pretty upset about this. I hope you know that. A large white egret landed not too far to Fu-kun's right, ruffling it's feathers as it walked into the pond.

Fu-kun sighed again, Pome coming up beside him and balancing an acorn on the rock. The egret went over and took the acorn and Pome looked at it in surprise before hurrying off. Don't encourage him! Fu-kun complained, as Pome popped back up with an armful of acorns. Great. Now he'll never stop…Fu-kun trailed off, thinking about a time when Kohaku had said something similar about him. I'm really going to miss that kid…

The egret looked at him and Fu-kun got up from his place sorrowfully, moving back to the porch and lying down with his back facing the garden as the egret took off into the sky. But I don't have a choice…I can't stay.

Okay, now for the update information...

You're Not The Only One: I'm sorry to say, I'm discontinuing this one. If I ever get the itch do continue it, I will, but for now, I'm stuck and have forgotten where I was heading with it. Sorry.

Scarred Skalve: I'm also discontinuing this one. I know the manga series has ended and I should just finish it, but I can't figure out what my character would be doing during everything that's going on. I've tried time and time again to write it, but I feel as though I've completely lost the character. Sorry again.

Nonbeliever: Now, there's a good story for this one...I suck at writing my own plots. I wanted to try it with this one and have been having a difficult time with it. Well, it's not so much that I suck at my own plots, but it's more like...because I know I'm doing my own plot, I can't get myself to keep writing it. Dunno what's up with that, but! I will continue it. I have an idea of what I want to do next and just need to get my butt in gear to sit down an write it. So...expect a new chapter within the next month or two.

Puppet Duras: As for this one, I don't want to do my own plot for it, and want to keep using the manga, but I've just about caught up with the manga and so I'm going to wait until I get a bit more manga chapters before I keep going. So this one is on a hiatus.

Untamed: This one has also caught up with the manga and I know that the Werewolf arc has started and is about halfway done, but I don't want to start a new chapter and have something happen only to find out later that it would change everything that happens later on. So, until the Werewolf arc is complete there will be no new chapter. I'm really sorry, especially since I made it so Damon's alive (killing her off was actually a very spur of the moment thing) at the very end there without an explanation...it will be explained though...you just have to wait. I'm curious about what you guys think though and would love to hear any ideas you have as to how you think she survived.

Street Smarts: This one is an easy explanation...I have major writers block. Sorry! I've tried writing the next chapter a good number of times, but it never feels right. I will get to it again soon though, so expect a chapter in the next couple of weeks. ^^

The Black Panther: For this one, I have the "Reichenbach Fall" episode completely written out as well as the "Empty Hearse" and will be posting chapters either weekly or bi-weekly until I run out of stuff. I'm a little stuck on the wedding and what part Dani will play in it though.

Silent Guardian: I have the next chapter for this one done, but am stuck on the chapter after that because I don't know what Natsu should be doing while Tsuna's fighting the Mosca...I should figure it out soon though and the next chapter will be posted by this week. The next will probably take another week or so.

Amber Leaves: This fanfic is special. because it is always such a long chapter, it takes time to write it. But I will be in school this upcoming week and I usually spend a good amount of time writing between classes, so this next chapter shouldn't take more than a month to write (I'd say sooner, but it takes a while to write over 40pgs/40,000 words a chapter). And I'll warn you now, the beginning will be a bit...sad. Many of you will probably be upset with me for what I'm about to do, but I promise I will explain when the time comes. :)

Now, if you want, please leave me a review for this chapter and/or if you have any questions or ideas or anything about this update thing. Okay? Thank you amazing people! It's nice to know that there's such a number of people reading my stories. :D