A/N: I know that Bitter3 and A Surprise Suitor should actually be updated before this story, but this one has been plaguing my thoughts and I had to get it down on paper. For those curious, yes, my dad actually did something like that, and when I asked what the chemical compound was, he says he no longer knows. He only remembers that one of the chemicals was sodium iodide. So needless to say, the last chapter was based on an actual prank. In this chapter, I decided to do some reflection. We have been pushing these two together and now you will see what the twins' efforts have done (unconscious efforts). Thank you to Cherry Blossom Shadow for the suggestion. Enjoy!

PS… It is that time of year again. I am starting to plan out my Ouran holiday story, and it is up to my readers to decide who Haruhi will be paired with. I have a poll up on my page for you to vote. If you don't have an account, you can still vote by putting it in the reviews. Thanks!

Chapter 6 – Reflections of You

Today was supposed to be simple. She would go to that god forsaken tap class that her father and Shadow King coerced her into attending and then leave. When she got home, she would treat the wounds she undoubtedly would have gotten during the stupid class, cook dinner, study, and go to bed. Today was supposed to be simple! SIM-PLE! Today was anything but that.

As Haruhi stumbled into her home and closed the door, maybe a little harder than she had intended, she tried to shut out the world. Tried being the operative word. She couldn't stop thinking about his lips, his eyes, his smile, his warmth, his arms, his… She could probably go on and on if she allowed herself. And she refused to allow herself to think about him any further! A feat easier said than actually accomplished.

Throwing her bag in her room, she returned to the kitchen in order to start dinner preparations and to make some tea, willing herself to forget about today if only for a short period of time. Her consciousness would not allow that to happen though.

Her mind was full of Kyoya, not that she didn't think about him often… she did. More than she wanted to admit to anyone. If she had girlfriends, maybe she could talk to them about these strange feelings, but she had never been as close as that to anyone. Yes, she had friends, but no one she could confide in. Not like that, or at least, not about this. The Host Club was her second family and her best friends, and the last thing she wanted to do was talk to them about the fact she was falling for (had fallen for to be exact, dear reader) the one and only Shadow King.

Haruhi recognized the feelings now. Actually, she might have realized what they were before, but she had not wanted to admit it to herself or anyone else. And now… now things had changed. Kyoya had rescued her time and time again, and then there were the two kisses. Bringing her hand up to her lips, she could still feel his upon hers. Today's kiss had been different. When the sulfur bombs had exploded and filled the school with the noxious smell of rotten eggs, their lips had mashed together, forced together by their fellow students. A similar situation happened today, but…

Shaking her head, she returned to her task of chopping vegetables. Now was not the time to focus on what may or may not, and in her book probably not, have happened during her disastrous tap class. However, once dinner was cooked and on the table, she could no longer escape. Her books were just words on pages. Nothing made sense and after reading the same page at least 20 times, she gave up and slammed it shut. Her fingers returned to her lips.

Today's accident felt so different. Or was she wrong? Instead of just the mashing of lips while others pushed them together, Haruhi could have sworn she felt his lips move upon hers, felt his head tilt ever so slightly as he pressed a little more firmly against her. A real kiss. Not an accident. She was probably wrong. This was the Shadow King she was thinking about, and yet, whatever it was had felt so right.

"Damn Hikaru and Kaoru! I know they had something to do with today!" Grumbling aloud, she reopened her book only to slam it shut again. If her crush had been anyone else, she wouldn't feel so at odds with it all. It wasn't that Kyoya Ootori didn't deserve love as well, but… well… the way he acted, he wanted to be with anyone but her. He constantly threatened her with debts, and since she joined the club, he had used a multitude of scare tactics. No, this was a man who as the cool host, could have almost anyone he wanted, and based on the way he treated her, she was the low man on his love totem pole.

The problem in all of this was, she was falling harder and faster for him than previously. The twins for all their devious ways, were unknowingly playing matchmaker… "No, that isn't quite right. My feelings are growing, and his need to create a new debt intensifies day by day," she muttered to the empty room. Looking at it from every angle, left her confused. If it was nothing on his side, why did it feel like a real kiss? Then again, that supplication might only exist in her imagination.

She was a rational, intelligent person. So why did she become more confused the more she tried to think about it all. The facts were: she liked him, thought him to be handsome, and with each passing prank, it was getting harder and harder to hold herself back. The unknowns: his feelings, if today was a real kiss, and the reason the universe kept picking Kyoya to rescue her when she was in trouble. During her first year, each of the hosts had their turn playing hero, and maybe Tamaki more than the others (of course he created many of the problems), however, this year, Kyoya was her would be superhero. The image of him in tights and a cape flashed through her mind and she couldn't help but laugh. He was making her hysterical. Yep, all his fault. She may have even kept up with this current thought process if her phone hadn't rang, "Moshi, moshi."

"Haru-Chan!" Hunny yelled.

Taking the phone away from her ear, Haruhi had to rub her appendage to make sure it was still attached and working. When she was done, she brought the phone back and said, "Hi Hunny-senpai. Is everything alright?"

"I just heard what happened today! The question is, are you alright?"

She should have known her senpai would call her to check on her after they heard what happened. Sighing, she told him, "Yah, I'm fine. I'm not exactly sure what happened. There were sparks and smoke and then everyone tried to run for the door. Kyoya-senpai saved me though."

"Kyo-Chan?"

Crap, she had not intended to say anything, but this wasn't bad. This was just recounting what happened. "Yah. I think he was the closest to me. So when the club rushed in my direction, he blocked them. I'm sure I'm going to have another debt starting tomorrow or something. He keeps having to rescue me." She forced herself to snicker and make light of it all.

"But I thought…" His voice tapered off and he left the words hanging in the air.

"You thought what?" In the background, she could hear her cake loving friend talking to his cousin, but the whole exchange was muffled and she couldn't make out what they were saying. "Hunny-senpai?"

"Huh?"

"You thought what?"

"Never mind. I'm sure Kyo-Chan will punish Hika-Chan and Kao-Chan before he creates a debt for you."

"So they were the ones behind today!"

"That's what I was told. Are you really alright Haru-Chan?"

Something in his tone stopped her. Was she okay? Yes, thanks to Kyoya again, her body was still intact and she had avoided a multitude of injuries; and yet, part of her felt a little bereft. She had feelings for Kyoya, ones that were not returned (or so she believed), and ones she could not share with him. "I'm fine Hunny-senpai."

In his mind, his friend sounded anything but "fine". "I'm sure today was a little scary for you, but at least you didn't get hurt."

Her friend sounded like he was on the verge of tears, and if she allowed herself to really think about everything, she might actually join him. "I know senpai. Thank you."

"Kyo-Chan was so worried about you!"

"He what?!"

Oops, he had messed up. Looking over his shoulder, he found his cousin Mori shaking his head in disappointment. Well, at least he hadn't completely blurted his suspicions. "All of them were. When the tap shoes were causing the explosions…" Smiling, Hunny turned to his best friend and gave him a thumbs up.

"Oh, yah! I'm surprised Tamaki didn't get there first," Haruhi laughed. Even to her ears it sounded a little hallow.

"Hey Haru-Chan?"

"Yah?"

"Don't worry about it. Everything will work out. Trust me! And think about what Kyo-Chan will do to Hika-Chan and Kao-Chan this time."

This time when she laughed, it was full of merriment. Yes, the picture of punishment popped into her head, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, she was not nearly as creative as the Host Club's vice president. He wasn't nicknamed the Shadow King for nothing. "You're right."

"And Haru-Chan?"

"Yes?"

"No matter what, Takashi and I support you all the way. If you need us to get some troublemakers out of the way, you can count on us!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, we got to go. Dessert is ready!" He hung up before he could be interrogated further, already knowing Mori was going to have a word or two with him… or just give him that disappointed look which made him feel more guilty than when his mother tried it on him.

Shaking her head, Haruhi closed her cell phone and dropped it on the table. What had Hunny meant? Haruhi could think of a few people she would like to disappear for a short period of time so that she could have some alone time with a certain bespectacled teen, but that was not going to happen. Bringing her hand to her lips again, she smiled. Maybe a few more pranks and things would change.

Ootori mansion…

"Another kiss… no this time a real kiss. What was I thinking?" Kyoya mumbled as he lay back on his bed. His computer sitting closed beside him. His homework for the next week was already completed, he had already studied for any upcoming exams, his work for the club was also completed, and now he had nothing to occupy his focus as he thought about what happened earlier.

A real kiss. Yes, it had been. As soon as his lips touched hers, he couldn't have stopped himself from deepening and prolonging the touch of affection even if he had wanted to. The temptation had been too great, and thanks to the twins, the wall he had built was starting to come tumbling down. His carefully and meticulously built defensive fortress was apparently no match for a pair of twins with a plan to wreak havoc on Ouran.

A fortress. Ha! He would scoff at others who tried to protect their heart from the petite brunette who could get under the skin of the most elusive in the upper echelon of society. With her defense of him, Haruhi had impressed his father and the Suoh patriarch (not that the latter was a hard thing to do). Yoshio Ootori was a hard man to impress or make an impact on… Kyoya had been trying to do it for years; and then, Haruhi being Haruhi, yelled at the older man and defended the Shadow King. His father had immediately liked her, and that had shocked Kyoya to no end.

Many men (and lady) had fallen for those large brown eyes that had small flecks of gold floating here and there; and Kyoya was no exception. He kept telling himself that this wasn't right, he shouldn't have feelings for her, Tamaki loved her, he owed Tamaki, and therefore, he should back off and allow Tamaki to be her hero; and yet, time after time, he found himself running towards her. And with each passing prank, each rescue, he found himself falling more and more for the girl who had once pretended to be a boy.

Running towards her… Yes, even the day of the sulfur bomb incident. As the class president for the third year students, it was his job to pass on the information about meeting in the auditorium. It was his job to pass the information onto the third years. Instead, he had asked his vice president to ensure all the third years made it to the auditorium safely, and then he quickly made his way down to the second year classrooms. The rooms where Haruhi could be found. It was no accident that he had been in that hall at the exact moment he needed to be. He had to make sure she was safe, and it was a good thing he had. It appeared she might have been trampled if he hadn't. He abandoned his station for this girl.

Did he have any right to her? Probably not, but as many times as he told his heart "no", he couldn't stop it from falling further off course. He had to remember his best friend. Then again, Tamaki still hadn't gotten off the daddy kick and it didn't appear that Haruhi felt anything for the blond besides friendship. "No, Kyoya. You owe Tamaki, and since he had feelings for her…" His chest ached when he thought about that. If Hikaru and Kaoru's plans had an upside, it was allowing him to experience what it feels like to have Haruhi in his arms. The downside, he didn't want to let her go. Now that he had a taste, he wanted more.

Suoh mansion…

Tamaki was still in shock over what he had born witness to. Had he really seen Haruhi and Kyoya kiss? No, that couldn't be right. It was the result of the crowd pushing them together again. That's all. Still, he couldn't help but see the small blush that appeared on both of his friends' faces, or miss how gentle Kyoya was when he held the once secret princess. Did his friend have feelings for the brunette?

Running a hand through his hair, Tamaki had to think about his own feelings. What did he feel about Haruhi? How would he feel if Haruhi and Kyoya really did have feelings for each other? He wasn't sure. He only knew that if he thought about it too much, tears stung his eyes.

Hitachiin mansion…

"Hey Kaoru?" Hikaru hesitantly began. After seeing the Shadow King kiss the only female host today, a medley of emotions roiled through him.

"What?" Kaoru questioned already knowing where his brother's thoughts lie.

"Do you think Kyoya-senpai and Haruhi…?" He couldn't say it. Even the mere thought of such a thing sounded obscene and impossible.

Dropping his gaze from his twin, Kaoru answered honestly, "I don't know, but maybe. I think everyone has at least a little crush on her. It would be hard not to."

"I know, but…"

"I don't know." The younger brother waited for a moment before he asked, "Should we stop our pranks? Every time we do something major, Kyoya-senpai plays hero."

"Yah, well he wouldn't have to if Haruhi didn't get in the way. Who the hell went and decided to allow her to take a dance class anyway?"

"True! She isn't very graceful and might get hurt," Kaoru snorted, laughing at the image of Haruhi attempting a dance routine.

Hikaru laughed with his brother, and then shook his head, "No, we continue, but I think going forward, someone else will have to play hero."

A knowing smirk appearing on his face, the younger twin nodded, "I think I have to agree."