Chapter 4 : Uh, is this a date?

And so, it was after a hectic and confusing day full of letters and more Prom info (though not as bad as the previous day with the robot) that Haruhi found herself home…only to find another surprise. Kyouya had arrived at her house that night.

Alone.

"Kyouya," said Haruhi, trying to overcome her shock. "What are you doing at MY house?"

He flickered her half a smile. "To visit you of course." He was amused to see her looking grumpy.

"I don't like this," muttered Haruhi, "the only reason you would visit me would be something to do with my debt or something just as sinister."

"Kyouya," gushed Ranka, "You visited us just at the right time. You can stay over for dinner! I'm sure you've had a tired day, and you would simply LOVE Haruhi's cooking."

"Oh no," said Haruhi, staring at Kyouya in horror.

"Well," Kyouya considered, his fingers tapping his chin lightly, "it wasn't my initial plans but-"

"Say no, say no, please," Haruhi muttered under her breath.

"I would love to stay!" Kyouya gave his most beautiful smile. Ranka was delighted.

"So what were your initial plans?" Haruhi asked in a resigned voice. She thought that Kyouya would have refused, seeing as he wouldn't really want to eat commoner food commoner style, especially since all the others weren't around. Though, that other time I spent with him at the supermarket, he did eat McDonalds,…but that was because he was too hungry to care. What is he doing this time? She ladled out the steamed fish onto each of their plates. Their best plates of course, she noticed. Ranka had set the table.

"Not that it really concerns you-" Kyouya started to reply carelessly.

"Huh," thought Haruhi sarcastically, "I bet it actually does."

"-but, I wanted to talk to Ranka about the Prom."

"The Prom?" Ranka asked. He looked at Kyouya curiously.

"Well you know that Haruhi must hide her gender at school while she works for us," Kyouya said in a matter of fact voice.

"I knew it, it was about my debt…" thought Haruhi, narrowing her eyes at Kyouya.

"-and, that she must cover her debt that way," Kyouya added and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Oh, yes!" Ranka agreed.

"I wanted to ask you, as the father, whether you would permit Haruhi to be her true gender at the Prom."

"OH!!!" Ranka's eyes went to stars. "That's perfect! I wanted Haruhi to wear a fabulous dress."

Kyouya smiled. "Yes, well I thought I had to inform you, especially since our president did not think of telling you."

"GAH!" said Ranka, afresh with the telephone call he had earlier, "Yes, that president is an idiot. He didn't even think of mentioning that to me…not to mention…"

"Did Tamaki do something stupid?" Kyouya asked Haruhi lightly, over her father's angry rant.

"I think so," Haruhi said exasperated.

"Haruhi darling," crooned Ranka, now finished with yelling at an imaginary Tamaki, "We have to get you a dress. I think that one on the magazine would be brilliant!"

"I could take Haruhi out to search for the perfect dress if you like," Kyouya suddenly offered.

Ranka's heart melted at Kyouya's kindness. "That's beautiful. Thank you Kyouya."

"Why would you even offer to help me find a dress?" Haruhi eyebrows rose in a suspicious manner.

"We can go after dinner if you like, Ranka," Kyouya said ignoring Haruhi.

"Yes! Thank you. At least I know my daughter is in good hands."

Kyouya turned and gave Haruhi a smile.

That has got to be the creepiest smile I've ever gotten from him. Haruhi looked at her father. Then looked at Kyouya. They both nodded cheerfully at her. I don't think this is a good thing...

"Where are we going?" Haruhi puffed, as she struggled to keep up with Kyouya, who was taking long strides ahead of her. She wrapped her coat around her and shivered. Her eyes were watering at the millions of tiny flashing lights on the thousands of shop signs around her. Men in suits and ladies in fabulous evening attire loitered past them. She could smell their perfumes, and hear their shoes tapping smartly on the pavement.

"I'm taking you to the best dress shops," Kyouya replied. Haruhi tilted her head upwards to stare at the high storey buildings, and tried to read the shop labels. She thought she recognized a few. They were in the heart of a bustling night city, home to the most expensive and famous brands of clothing in the world. "Here," Kyouya waited for Haruhi to catch up and then pushed her roughly through a sparkling revolver door made completely of glass. As soon as she stepped inside, Kyouya disappeared among the aisles.

"Oh, thanks…" huffed Haruhi, "for leaving me. I feel completely out of place." She took a few tentative steps and her footsteps echoed on the white marble floor. The entire shop was full of aisles and aisles of clothing, and beautiful ladies were stacking the shelves with the latest fashion.

"Try these," Kyouya suddenly appeared over her shoulder and pressed a stack of dresses into her hands. Haruhi struggled under the weight of them all. The jewels on them must weigh tons.

"Hey Kyouya sempai," wondered Haruhi, a little bit puzzled, "Why are all these dresses blue?"

"Hmm?" Kyouya glanced at her, his face unreadable, "Oh, my Prom tie is going to be dark blue."

"Your tie is dark blue?" Haruhi wrinkled her forehead and frowned. Then she happened to look down on the price tag dangling before her.

"8 MILLION YEN FOR ONE DRESS????!!!!!!!" She almost fainted. "T-THAT"S THE SAME PRICE AS THAT ANTIQUE VASE I SMASHED!"

Kyouya's glasses flashed. "Well, yes. What did you expect? These are the best dresses."

"Did you think I could afford this?" gasped Haruhi.

"No."

Haruhi turned her head around and glared at Kyouya. He pushed his glasses up his nose. "I knew it," she muttered under her breath, "you're going to add this to my debt. This way, I'll be slaving under you guys for the rest of my life…"

He was standing directly behind her and she heard him give an amused cough. "No," he said softly, "I'll pay for it."

Haruhi was freaked out by that tone. "I find that even more sinister…ah ha ha," she pushed the dresses back into Kyouya's arms, "I think I'll just go get a normal dress."

"I'll buy your dress for you, out of my own purse." Kyouya repeated.

Haruhi stared at him. Does he really mean that? She suddenly remembered the afternoon she once spent with him at the supermarket. She picked a dark blue dress from his arms, and headed for the dressing rooms. "I'm glad you're not really an egoist, Kyouya sempai," she smiled and closed the dressing room door.

"Not an egoist, eh?" Kyouya gazed after her, "am I an egoist?"

Tamaki was racing through the street. The cars on either side of him were too fast. The traffic lights kept turning red. And he was running out of time. The post office would be collecting the letters to send tomorrow very soon and he had to stop them! No, he had to stop a certain letter from ever reaching the post office; the letter with instructions, the letter Haruhi's father had threatened to send!

"NOOO!!!" he moaned, "I will go to Ranka and apologize. I will get there in time". Tamaki felt himself lurch sideways, but he blasted his mind clear of his dangerous mission, and focused it on one thought, I will get to Ranka and apologize. He had never felt so determined in his life. It's because Haruhi is at stake and-

He lifted his head up and screamed. "I CAN'T BE FORBIDDEN TO TALK TO HARUHI ALONE, FOREVER!!!!!!"

He moved his legs faster and cycled for his life. Tamaki was riding a bicycle, well tricycle, but it was so broken and worn that he was balancing quite precariously on it. He had dug it out from his shed and threw himself on it, ignoring the fact that he had never really ridden a bicycle before and that the vehicle was just a tad small. The wind whipped through his hair, and his legs ached, but Tamaki didn't mind. He was out to make first impressions, and riding a commoner bicycle, instead of being chauffeured in an expensive limousine, he thought, was the best way to do it.

Anyway, soon he found himself pedaling through the city shops because he had no idea which way was the shortest.

"I-Isn't that Souh?" The rich people were looking at him curiously.

Oh No, thought Tamaki, If word gets to my grandma… But then, he happened to glimpse something which turned his insides cold.

"Kyouya? Haruhi?"

Hunny and Mori were inside their limousine, ready to go to an evening kendo and karate class in the city, to give a demonstration.

"Takashi," began Hunny, "Where were you while I was sleeping this afternoon?" Mori turned around slowly. "I know because the servant told me," added Hunny in reply to Mori's expression. His long time friend looked down and did not answer.

"I know about your feelings," Hunny said seriously. "Takashi? You like Haruhi don't you?"

Mori cleared his throat and looked up. "Uh…" His throat stopped working.

"It's ok. You don't have to say," Hunny reassured him. But Mori was looking pointedly behind him, out the window of the limo. "Huh?" Hunny turned around. He saw Tamaki riding a mini kid's tricycle, zooming past them and down the street. "Chauffer!" instructed Hunny, "Follow that man. And ring the classes, we won't be able to do our demonstration tonight."

"Yes sir," the man at the front replied. Their limo zoomed after Tamaki.

"Hikaru!" Kaoru yelled. He hurried after his brother who was clambering into their black limousine. "Where are you going?"

"Kaoru!" called Hikaru. He held a thick blue book in his hands. "Come on! Come with me." Kaoru grumbled and put his shoes on. He ran across their huge garage and climbed in the limo with his twin. The limo speeded off.

"Where are we going, Hikaru?" he asked breathlessly. Hikaru looked excitedly at his twin brother.

"I thought we'll go look at some Prom fashion."

"Oh really?" Kaoru peered over Hikaru's shoulder. He was flipping through the book. It was a fashion book and it featured hundreds and hundred of dresses. "Dresses…" Hikaru was preoccupied by one picture, and looking at his brother's expression, Kaoru felt his heart lurch. I think he's aware of his feelings for Haruhi. Why else would he be looking at dresses? He looked down at the photo Hikaru was gazing at. "That one's nice…" he murmured.

"Yeah, it is," replied his twin. Hikaru was never much into fashion and design; it was always Kaoru who was better in that aspect. But this dress captivated him. He felt his insides squirm just to look at it. Maybe it was because the dress brought out the model's deep brown eyes and delicates features that looked all too familiar. He felt slightly confused, why could he feel his cheeks heat up by just looking at a picture? THUMP. Hikaru looked up startled. "Did you just throw something out the window?"

"Oh no," Kaoru hastily said. Hikaru stared at his twin. He's lying. He chucked something out. On impulse, he glanced behind them. The window was fogged, and the colorful lights of the city blinkered at him. He let his eyes wander.

"Hikaru?" Kaoru was concerned. Hikaru had gone rigid and he was staring at something behind him. "Hikaru are you ok?" The limo screeched to a stop. Kaoru turned around and followed Hikaru's line of sight. "Tamaki?" he said in amazement. The door slammed behind him. Startled, Kaoru whipped his head back to see Hikaru rush out of their limo. Then he saw, reflected in the car mirror, Kyouya and Haruhi. "NO!" he yelled after his brother, "HIKARU, WAIT!"