A/N: OK, I was reviewing my notes on this story and the pranks I had written down to use and somehow I missed one that I wanted to do before my finale. So you get one more chapter. This one and two more (finale and epilogue). Enjoy!

PS… I am working on the holiday stories, so look for Kyoya's starting probably this weekend.

Chapter 9 – Sticky Fingers and Ice Swimming

That was it! It seemed no matter what happened Kyoya and Haruhi got closer, and it didn't even need to be the twins that were dishing out the pranks. No, even if Tamaki tried his hand at imitating he twins (they say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, however, the twins were not flattered), somehow Kyoya played hero, rescued Haruhi, and they would have an intimate moment. HOW?! There was no hope for it. Desperate times called for desperate measures; and this time, Hikaru and Kaoru would call in allies. There was no way this next prank would affect the budding relationship of the Shadow King and commoner of the Host Club. They were sure of it. How were they so sure? Well, they were going to take both of the players out of the equation… and this time they would make sure Haruhi had no special lessons they did not know about.

Now the readers of this story are probably thinking, "How? What are they going to do? Who is going to be their ally?" Continue reading and you will find out.

Two weeks after what the Host Club is calling the "Poor Misguided Tamaki Incident", Hikaru and Kaoru called the one person they knew could aid them and then swore him to secrecy. They hadn't called earlier in the planning stages because it took them that long to think of their next "mission" and work the kinks out of it. It had to work this time, and adding the third conspirator would add to their success because they were sure a blond idiot would provide the perfect distraction.

Both would admit that they wanted to pay Kyoya back, but revenge would have to be put on the backburner for now since the vice president always seemed to foil their plans or show up at just the right moment for Haruhi, plus someone else had to pay first. No, for now they would just work on trying to actually be successful without getting caught, and if someone did catch them, then they had the perfect scapegoat: Tamaki. Granted they may have left several bits of key information, but it was a need to know basis and Tamaki only needed to know that he would play hero to Haruhi this time. Well, at least that's what they told him. It didn't matter if it was true or not.

Hikaru and Kaoru had everything planned out. Everything would work this time, or so they thought. What they didn't factor into their calculations… how unbelievably spontaneous and spastic Tamaki could be. Yah, they should have thought about that too.

It was well known that the many sports teams at Ouran did not particularly care for the Host Club. Why? Well that was simple, because the hosts could get almost any girl they wanted. Yes, the other teams were jealous and had tried different approaches to undermine the Host Club. One such incident occurred during Hikaru and Kaoru's planning stages of their latest prank, drawing the attention of the two redheads and thus their need to teach the football and swimming team a lesson in manners… or so they said and somehow convinced Tamaki of the same; however, they left out many of the facts when explaining their plan to the blond.

Arriving at music room three just days after the "Poor Misguided Tamaki Incident", the Host Club found the room devoid of furniture and everything painted black. At first everyone believed the twins had pulled another prank, but soon realized it had not be the redheads. A fact only realized when the captains of the football and swimming teams appeared suddenly and made several cracks about the Host Club going over to the dark side. Kyoya, knowing he had to think of something quickly or risk closing the club for the day, borrowed robes from the Black Magic Club, lit a few candles, and the hosts had a surprise cosplay day. Nekozawa tried to convince them to keep the décor as is, but the Host Club chose to return the music room back into its previous state of decoration.

First up, the American football team. Since the twins still had some leftover glue from the bus incident, they painted all of the footballs with the glue so that when the players grabbed hold of the ball to throw it… it never left their hands. Some were smart enough to wear gloves while playing and were able to remove the ball from their hand by slipping off the gloves, however, as soon as they took off the glove and tried to pry the ball from the glove, their bare hand got stuck to the football (thanks to a minor adjustment in the glue, the adhesive didn't immediately dry, but still had super holding power). Just as the twins had planned, no one outside of their plans showed up unannounced.

And then there was the swimming club. The twins had a personal bone to pick with this club since not only did they help destroy the music room, but the captain kept trying to hit on Haruhi and had attempted to kiss her more than once… without Haruhi realizing it. In addition, when the Host Club had wanted to use the swimming pool for a club function, the swimming team had the pool drained and refilled with saltwater and added fish. The girls thought it was exotic, but the Host Club knew better. The twins wanted paybacks!

Arriving at school early in the morning the day after the football conspiracy (and yes, they made Tamaki come in as well), three figures could be seen carrying three canisters into the swimming club's territory. After making sure they were truly alone, Hikaru and Kaoru made Tamaki stand guard as they emptied he contents into the water. Soon a fog filled the air and made it hard to see, so it was probably a good thing that they tied a rope around their waists with the other end tied to the front entrance. Now the trio just needed to get out of there and wait. Easier said than done. Their timing was a little off, so as they were about to open the door and leave, voices floated toward them from outside. The captain and vice-captain were earlier than anticipated, earlier than normal (according to the twins' research).

"Quick! Hide!" Kaoru ordered in a loud whisper. His brother grabbed the blond as he untied the rope and they disappeared into the mist.

"What is going on?!" Tamaki demanded, but a hand over his mouth prevented further arguments.

"Shh! Someone's coming. Do you really want to be busted?" Hikaru snapped.

Tamaki struggled and then when his mouth was free, he whispered, "But I thought I was going to save my daughter!"

"You will. Now shut up!" The older twin told his leader. Saving Haruhi really wasn't the plan, but how else were they supposed to get their scapegoat and lookout… by lying of course.

The echoing clang of a door opening and closing could be heard mere feet away from the three conspirators. "What the hell is going on?" The captain growled. When he walked into the building, he had not been expecting this.

"Just turn on the fans. I'm sure someone just left on the heater and stuff last night," the vice-captain suggested. He didn't care what was going on, he just wanted to start his training.

"Yah, you're probably right," the captain still sounded skeptical, but what else could it have been? Surely… "It's Suoh and those cronies of his!" He yelled after he had time to think about it for a moment longer.

"Tamaki Suoh? Why would he…? I mean, yah we did that to the music room, but he doesn't seem like the type to do this. Ootori or the Hitachiin could though." As the vice-captain spoke, he realized just who he was dealing with. "What do you think they did?"

Looking around at the pool house (what they could see through the fog), everything seemed normal, "I don't know."

"Let's just go and worry about it later. Just keep your eyes peeled and be careful."

The twins were going to release Tamaki and make a break for it, but another clang caught their attention. They had to wait.

"Excuse me, but I was asked to bring this to the swimming captain by Suzuki-sensei," a female voice spoke.

Two of the men in hiding had a sudden intake of breath, and one believed it was his turn to play hero. Haruhi had just walked into the building bringing something from the swimming club sponsor. This was not good!

"Oh thank you, Haruhi," the captain smiled at the girl before him and grabbed her hand, "Hey Haruhi, what are your plans for lunch today?"

"I'm going to study in the classroom."

"How about eating lunch together?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm a guy and you're a girl…"

"Yah, so? I always see the hosts and they're guys too."

Time for another tactic. The captain said, "What if I said I like you?"

"Well you seem like nice guy… I like you too. I think we could be good friends," Haruhi grinned and pulled her hand back. She was not as obtuse as she once was. She knew what the captain was implying, but she also knew there was only one man she wanted. Playing the part of naïve girl, she was about to turn around and leave when he caught her hand again and tugged her forward. Unfortunately, she stepped on something slick and started to slide forward and would have gone in the water if it hadn't been for someone catching her. Believing it was the captain, she released a breath of relief and looked behind her. Standing there with his arms around her waist was Kyoya, "Kyoya-senpai?"

"Are you alright Haruhi?" He had seen her walk into the building and knowing how the captain felt about the natural host mixed with the fact he knew the twins were plotting revenge, Kyoya followed; and it was a good thing he had. He had seen everything, heard everything, and something inside of him wanted to punch the other man.

"I… I think so," she stared at the floor and noticed a few icy patches. "Why is the floor frozen?"

"Why indeed," Kyoya muttered still not releasing Haruhi and tried to survey the surroundings to see if anyone else was there or what exactly was going on. He saw nothing, but given the fact there was still fog inside the room, there was no way of telling exactly what or whom was inside the building.

In hiding, three men turned white and their souls started to drift out of their mouths. They had lost again!

"We need to cancel practice this morning," the vice-captain stated from the couple's right.

"Why?" The captain inquired and then watched as his teammate used a net to hit the water. No splash, but there was a crunch. "What the hell happened?"

Kyoya pushed up his glasses and smirked, "It would appear, given the state of the water and how much mist exists, that either dry ice or liquid nitrogen was added to your pool water." Releasing the girl in his arms, he grabbed her hand and stated, "Come Haruhi. You have a test first period and I know you will want to review before you take it." He pulled her out of the building and escorted her to first period.

On their way, Kyoya continued to hold her hand, even when she tried to pull it out of his grasp. Girls were looking at them, and some were glaring. Haruhi could already see people whispering. Did the Shadow King not realize what kind of gossip this would create? Yes she wanted this and yes it felt nice, but she was sure he didn't feel the same, so why would he do this?

Depositing Haruhi at her classroom, the cool host walked away, his hand still tingling from the feeling of hers in his. He saw people talking and he noticed the stares they received, and for one of the first times in his life… he didn't care. He only wanted to be with Haruhi. "Soon… I'll tell her soon." Yes, he felt a bit guilty for confessing to her when he knew how Tamaki felt, but it had gotten to the point that Kyoya could no longer hold back; and if he was right, then Haruhi held no feelings beyond friendship for the blond. The Shadow King had to take the chance on love, and he would.

As for the trio who had duped the swim club, their souls returned to them and they quietly made their escape without another word. They were still in shock and trying to absorb it all. How had Kyoya and Haruhi gotten involved again? They had been so careful! Next time… definitely next time.