Mizuki: Domo arigatoh gozaimasu for the reviews guys! I really appreciate it! It just simply delights me! –throws you all kisses and bear hugs-

Kaoru: Eek! Do you really have to do that!

Mizuki: Urusai baka! Why with the reaction? It's not meant for you!

Hikaru: Because he wants it for himself.

Kaoru: Shut up Hikaru!!! –chases Hikaru-

Mizuki: -raises an eyebrow-

Kyouya: Really sorry for Haruhi's OOCness. Well, she really felt heart-broken so Mizuki's just trying to emphasize her feelings. She does hope she can get Haruhi's character back. Please, if you can, help her. Just give her some tips on Haruhi's character. Gomenasai for everything! –watches the Hitachiin twins banging each others head, smirking rather taking pleasure from it-

Tamaki: Mii-zuu-kii! Why am I not appearing yet?! –whines and weeps-

Mizuki: Don't worry, you, Kyouya, and the engagement will be appearing soon.

Tamaki: Kyaaaaaa! The beautiful ME will be appearing! Your story will surely bloom! –gives sparkly eyes-

Mizuki: Right… -stares at Tamaki with disgust- Anyways, I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.

3: Confession by the Shore

The school cafeteria was packed, as usual. The clattering of expensive silverware and chinaware echoed throughout the vast room. People can be heard chattering around. The Hitachiin twins can be seen with their devilish smirks feeding Haruhi their own food. Haruhi, who never really enjoyed being fed, can't resist the lavish crab in front of her.

On a corner, Mori was observing her. He gave a half smile thinking 'Haruhi, you really can't resist sea food.' He was eating alone. It was a weird sight, people commented, for he's always with Hani-senpai wherever they go. They know by fact that the Morinozuka family had protected the Haninozuka family for many generations. The two families were joined by marriage two generations ago; the families became related to each other, thus breaking the master-servant tradition. Nevertheless, Mori still faithfully protects Hani and is always by his side, attending to his wishes and watching out for him. It's as if the scene wasn't complete without Hani. The taciturn boy never paid any attention to the students' continuous gossiping and remained quiet.

2 months ago:

Haruhi was about to go home. She has a train to catch. She sighed warily after a long day bearing with the twins' mischievous acts. She was partially delighted that, at last, it was the end of the week. She's looking forward to a peaceful, chore-packed weekend. She spaced out after, but instinctively knows where she was supposed to go. She's in deep thoughts. 'I need to wash the dishes the moment I go home. Otou-san won't be home tonight. He has a date with that -dude- he met at the okama bar.'

Haruhi was really admirable. She didn't care that her father is a transvestite.

Anyways, she's still pondering about the grocery sale on tomatoes when suddenly, out of nowhere, Mori grabbed her.

Alarmed, the girl snapped back to reality then tried to shove Mori's grip away, but couldn't. 'He's too strong!' She realized then turned to plead the tall boy to let her go.

Mori remained silent. Haruhi, who knew perfectly well that he would not talk, tried with all her might to lose the odd boy's grip on her wrist. Mori froze, Haruhi also stopped struggling. She looked at him with her huge brown eyes. 'Now what?' She wondered.

Mori, still grasping her wrist, dragged her then carried her in his arm. Haruhi was shocked. 'What the-?' She thought of asking him, but didn't bother for she knew he probably wouldn't answer. And so, she let him carry her. Knowing Mori, he probably has a good reason why he did so. She did not object because it would be a waste of time and effort. 'Maybe he needs something. It's not like Mori-senpai to just drag someone out of nowhere. Maybe it's something important.' She sighed. 'I guess I need to put off my chores for today.' She looked at him questioningly; he did not meet her eye. 'I guess I have to get this over with. Hmm…Where are we going anyways?'

As they pass, people stared at them with confusion. Mori, expressionless, Haruhi, looking bored, said guy still carrying her as if she was a baby.

Half an hour later, Haruhi was becoming extremely bored. Mori has been carrying her all along and doesn't seem to be tired. Haruhi, who had had enough, turned to him then asked him, quite annoyed, "Senpai, where exactly are we going?"

The boy did not answer.

"Why do we have to -wait, scratch that- you have to walk? You do have a car don't you?" 'Rich bastards!' She thought slyly.

"Its way fun like this…" the guy mumbled.

"Huh-?" Mori's answer startled Haruhi. 'He-he spoke!'

Mori looked at her, and much to her surprise, he gave a one-sided grin. Her brown sparkly eyes widened. 'Forget speaking! He smiled!' She was astonished. 'He's smiling! It's so weird seeing such a scary man smile. But then again, he looks really –good-.'

"Haruhi?"

"Hu-?" Haruhi snapped back. She abruptly looked away, a light blush spreading across her cheeks. She has been staring at him -who knows how long! She was embarrassed. He caught her, staring.

Mori, seeing the said girl blush, grinned wider, and then continued walking. There was uncomfortable silence. Haruhi still embarrassed for staring at Mori. 'I've never felt this embarrassed before. Surely I've stared at a lot of people, but he's –different-' She looked at him. Mori was expressionless, concentrated towards the road.

Not long after, Mori stopped then put Haruhi down. 'We're here?' the girl thought. They arrived at a restaurant by the shore. It seems they serve seafood because their decorations are mainly sea creatures.

The smell of fresh seafood being cooked tickled Haruhi's nose. She observed the restaurant as they entered. Before the door for entry, there stood a small stand wherein fresh sea food caught at the sea nearby are being sold. The seller came to them and asked them to pick the sea food they will be cooking. 'Wait—we will be the one cooking?' She was clearly confused. But then Mori chose the fattest, healthy-looking fishes, shrimps, crab, squid, etc.

She looked at the prices 'Whoa! They charge 1,000 yen for HALF a kilo of shrimp!' She glared at the people around. It seems they're all extremely wealthy. 'Damn these rich bastards!-Wasting money when they can buy a KILO of shrimp for 30 yen in the grocery sale!' She scowled at them.

After picking their main ingredient, they proceeded inside.

The restaurant was an open-aired one. It has two floors. The first floor was rather different. Instead of chairs and tables, it consists of mini-kitchens with complete utensils, stoves, counters and other ingredients for cooking. There were at least 6-10 mini-kitchens in the first floor. Some were being occupied by customers, some with their own cook beside them.

The second floor is roofless. It has a clear view of the beach and the pleasant-smelling fresh air away from the exhausted aroma of the city. Unlike the first floor, the second floor now consists of elegant chairs and tables, with soft music as background for dining.

Haruhi was dumb-founded. 'Such an exquisite, unique place!' She looked around, eyes wide. 'And…and…and they serve SEAFOOD!!!' She was drooling, a grimace spread across her face.

A waiter approached them and bowed lowly.

"Morinozuka-sama, shall I accompany you to your reserved counter?"

"Hmm…" Said guy nodded.

'Reserved counter? Mori-senpai made a reservation?-Since when? It means this whole thing was planned?' She was deep in thought as they approached a counter/mini-kitchen (as what Haruhi calls it) at a corner with a great view of the beach, left and right.

As they were about to start cooking, which isn't so hard for Haruhi because cooking was one of her hobbies, or so she thought… The recipes were foreign to the scholar. All of them seems expensive cuisines that she, as a commoner (as what the twins call her), doesn't know about. Mori noticed, by her twitching eyes as she glanced at the recipes, that she's beginning to panic.

"Waiter…" He called a nearby waiter and whispered something in his ear.

"Will do as you please Morinozuka-sama…" He bowed then took off.

"Ah…Senpai, I don't know any…" before Haruhi could finish, a cook removed his toque and bowed.

"At your service, Morinozuka-sama" He chanted.

Haruhi was astounded. Mori hired a cook for them. She was clearly confused why Mori had taken her to this place.

And so they began cooking…Haruhi can cope up with the chef. She was proud and pleased that she was learning to be able to make such expensive cuisines. Mori on the other hand was having trouble in everything that he was told to do. He wasn't a good cook after all. Haruhi was busy correcting the said boy's mistakes but having fun doing so.

"Ah…Haruhi…How do you slice a tomato?" He asked, confused.

"Oh..you cut it by quarters then slice it into smalle…Senpai!" she grabbed the knife off his hand.

"Peeling is different from slicing! Peeling is taking the skin off, as what you were doing." Haruhi guided him.

"O-Oh…Hai…" sweat drops can be seen all over his face. Haruhi knew he was having a hard time, and chose to help him.

"Slicing on the other hand…" She continued to lecture. Mori gazed at her. 'She's really enjoying this. This is good for starters. Should I really continue? What if she doesn't feel the sa-'

"Senpai? Mori-senpai?" She waved a hand on his face. He regained consciousness then took his stare aware. An unusual blush spread throughout his face. Mori's blushing? Surprising, eh?

"Gomene…" He said, trying to hide a very obvious blush.

Haruhi giggled. "You're really weird today, Mori-senpai." She continued to giggle.

Her laugh made Mori smile.

It was 6 in the evening. They finally finished their cooking and were accompanied to their seats on the second floor by the waiter. The table was lit by candles around and soft lampshade on each corner. Again, a soft, pleasant violin concerto was played as a background. The waiters placed their cooked food one by one. It was bountiful, all seafood. Haruhi, who has a clear obsession for seafood, gave thanks then started to dig in, so did Mori.

As they were eating:

"Senpai…-chomp chomp swallow- I'm really curious" She looked at him tentatively.

"Hmm…?" He paused for a moment then looked back at Haruhi.

"Why did you take me here?" She asked curiousy. "It's not even my birthday." She joked.

Mori froze, trying to think how to say his reason. He tried to talk. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He can hear his heart beat faster. He's clearly nervous. Despite the cool surrounding, he was unusually sweating.

"Err…Haruhi…I…err…I need to…uhm…tell you" He stuttered.-Very unusual for Mori to stutter, eh? He was being weird, talkative and unusually showy of emotion.

"Oh…before that…Where's Hani-senpai by the way?" She asked him.

Mori gave a deep sigh of relief and answered.

"He went to train martial arts somewhere."

"Eh?-Martial arts training?-without you?" Haruhi was confused.

"Hai…" he answered back.

"Odd…"

"Eh? Why is that?"

"Well, this might be the first time I didn't see you not together. You're always with each other. Really bizarre…"

He gave a reserved laugh.

"Where did he go, Senpai?" The girl asked, interested.

"Okinawa"

"Why didn't he take you with him?" the girl asked once more.

"He did not want me to…" He said rather gloomily.

"O-oh…" There was uncomfortable silence. This time, Mori seems down-hearted. 'He must really miss Hani-senpai that much.' Haruhi thought.

"Senpai!"

"Eh?"

"Try my ootoro! It's really good! Try it!" Haruhi gave him some of her food.

"H-hai.." Mori tried the great tuna. And loved it! The girl was delighted and gave him more.

"You should eat Senpai! Or else you're abnormally big body will shrink into a shrill lifeless form. You won't be able to be the Kendo Champion anymore!" She fed him more, stuffing different kinds of food into his mouth. She gave him her infamous natural rookie smile and her sparkly large brown eyes gazed at him. Mori smiled endearingly at the sight of this.

During desserts:

Mori ordered a special chocolate filled pastry with chocolate syrup spread across the dessert. 3 enormous scoops of variations of ice cream occupied half the plate. He also ordered fruit salad and pudding garnished with chocolate bars. If Haruhi were to eat these kinds of food everyday, she would be qualified to fight as a sumo wrestler. It's too damn plentiful, and heck it's delicious!

"Uh, Senpai –scoop lick stuff- You haven't answered my first question yet."

"-choke- ahem…eh?" He grabbed a glass of water and drank. 'This is it. She remembered!' He's sweating once again, even if the roofless floor was very cool and airy. His heart started racing. This is it, the reason why he took her here. He took in a deep breath, waiting for Haruhi to ask the question again.

"You're quite strange today. You seem talkative and you show emotion, which is very odd. You smiled a while ago-" She paused, having thought of the way he smiled back then, then smiled. "-and you took me here with no purpose. Do you have something to say?" She stared at him all knowing, as her natural instinctive logic came to run again.

Mori was surprised. He didn't expect Haruhi to comprehend that fast. 'Well, she is Fujioka Haruhi, the famous scholar of Ouran Academy.'

Once again, he took in a deep breath, stood up then moved closer to the girl. He turned her seat, so that the girl is now facing him. He kneeled because Haruhi was really low having been seated. He moved his face close to hers only inches away, his eyes directly meeting hers.

Haruhi's heart beat faster. She can feel Mori's warm breath sweeping across her face. He was so close. She could have shoved him away like what she does to the twins when they play uncanny jokes on her, but she didn't. She didn't want to. She can feel her face warm. She was flustering?

Mori took her hand, and gently held it.

"I have a confession." He looked sincere.

"Err…uhm…eh?" That was all that came out from Haruhi's mouth. She can hear her heart beat. It was loud, roaring in her ear. Something about this made her nervous, why? But a large portion of her emotion states that this incident made her somewhat glad.

"You are…uhm…one of a kind. I have met other girls before you, but none of them I was attracted to. Of course, many more girls I've met are…err…more…uhm" he's thinking of the appropriate word. "…good-looking." He paused. 'Just what does he mean by that?!' Haruhi raised an eyebrow.

"Ehehe…" He giggled, nervously. He's clearly not good at this kind of stuff. Well, this really is his first time to…say it…

"But none of them are nearly as bewitching as you. You're captivating, comely, very wise and logical, and very kind-hearted. I've never thought of a girl as much as I've thought of you. I can't sleep at night without stammering about how you're doing. If you're sleeping, if you ate, etc. 'How come?' I always ask myself. It took me a long time, but with the help of Hani, I realized that…"

—Flashback:

"Your thinking of her, aren't you, Takashi?" Hani gave the said boy a serious glance.

"Huh?"

"You've been staring dumbly, not the stare I know."

Mori remained silent.

"You know, Takashi, you should tell her sooner, before it's too late."

Mori looked at him confused.

Hani giggled. "Mori-chan! You still haven't realized, eh?" He giggled more.

"Eh?"

Hani giggled once more. "Here's a clue, Mori-chan…'e-mo-ti-on'…"

They never talked about that until the day Hani will be going to Okinawa for martial arts training.

"Mori-chan! Did you figure it out?" Hani beamed widely.

"Eh?"

Hani chuckled. "Oh well, you'll soon find out!" He walked away after that, entering the departure department.

"Hani!" Mori called.

"Eh?" The loli-shota turned around.

"Are you sure I can't come?"

"Takashi…" Hani now serious, "I told you…no…" he said then turned around and continued to enter. He left without another word and left Mori down-hearted.

—end of flashback

"I…uh…" He stammered and then paused. Haruhi feels what was coming next. But instead of fidgeting, she sat there calmly. She can't prevent smiling. She's overwhelmed.

He took another deep breath then continued, this time more confident. Haruhi now looking at him intently, as if expecting he would say…that…she smiled lovingly.

"Haruhi, I—I love you."

End of Chapter

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Please review! Constructive criticisms are welcome! Flame if needed!

JM.Rio