The Host Club didn't stay long after they found out that Kohaku was going to be fine and it wasn't long after that her mom left, realising that she had to work night shift at the convenience store. Kohaku wasn't mad that her mom had left her alone in the hospital; she knew that she couldn't afford to miss a shift at work and she had been lucky enough to find someone who would swap her afternoon shift so she could come to the hospital.
As Kohaku lay in her bed, she ran over the events of that day. It should have been a normal day, go to school, practice piano and violin before going home to study but when she walked into that room, it messed everything up. It was her fault of course, she could have just rested for a day and practiced another time or if she didn't have an anxiety attack she could have just left and they wouldn't have felt that they had to make up for causing it.
It wasn't their fault that she hated being crowded by men or touched by them, they weren't to know that. Not even the one with glasses, Ootori – San, knew the true reason for her anxiety attacks. Yes being crowded was part of the reason but if it was females then it wouldn't be as bad. Oh well, hopefully she would never need to see them all again, yes she had class with Suoh – San and Ootori – San but they didn't take any notice of her, no one did, and she liked it that way. She was left alone to focus on her studies and on her music.
It didn't take the girl long to fall asleep, the stress on her body from the attack tired her out and allowed her to sleep soundly throughout the night. When she woke up the next day, she found her mother quietly talking with the doctor.
When they both noticed she was awake, her mother smiled as the doctor began to speak;
"Good morning, Nakamura – San. I was just discussing with your mother here that you should be able to go home soon. Your bloods came back normal and it seems that you haven't had a reaction to the adrenaline, if your final check-up is all clear then I have no problem with allowing you to go home."
After being giving that okay from the hospital and dealing with the bill, Kohaku and her mother left the hospital and headed home to their apartment.
"I'll pay back the money for the hospital bills mom." Kohaku said, breaking the silence.
"No you won't. You're my daughter; I will pay your hospital bills until you have left school. Besides you don't have the money to pay me." Shiori brushed away the suggestion easily.
"I get paid on Friday. I can give you the money then!" Kohaku argued causing her mother to roll her eyes.
"Kohaku, you work hard for that money and you already give enough of it to me to help around the house. I said no, I'll simply take on an extra shift or two next week. I don't mind paying the bill as long as you are alright." Shiori's tone gave Kohaku no room argue and she simply sighed.
It didn't take the pair to walk home, although Shiori looked exhausted by the time she stumbled in.
"Mom you aren't working today are you?" Kohaku asked, warily eyeing her mother.
"No, no. Today is my day off, good thing too. I'm exhausted." Shiori yawned as if to back up her statement.
Kohaku shifted guiltily knowing that it was partially her fault, if she hadn't eaten the cake then her mother wouldn't have had to swap her shift with someone because she had to go to the hospital.
"Oh no, I know that look. Don't you go feeling guilty, it was an accident what happened yesterday, yes you should have checked what was in the cake but everyone makes mistakes. Don't go blaming yourself!" Shiori scolded her daughter before pecking her cheek.
"Right, I'm going to go sleep for a few hours. Wake me up when you want dinner, darling and since neither of us are working tonight why don't we have our mother – daughter night in?"
Kohaku smiled gently at her mother and nodded before ushering her mother into her room.
Kohaku spent most of the day looking over her schoolwork and her sheet music, she really couldn't afford to fall behind and spend the day lazing around. She was lucky that she didn't have to work tonight, her mother would have forced her to call in sick despite being given the all clear from the hospital. It was also lucky that her mother didn't have to work today either, neither of them could afford to miss a single day of work. The end of the month was nearing and that was when all of the bills arrived, money was tight most of times but with the hospital bill it would be even tighter, they didn't need the extra worry of missing a day's pay.
By six o'clock, Kohaku's stomach was growling and she knew that if she didn't wake up her mother Shiori would definitely be mad at her. Especially if Kohaku tried to cook something, things had gone very badly the last time she tried it. It wasn't her fault though; she didn't mean to burn the rice… or the pot.
As she rose from the floor, her mother padded into the living room barefoot in her pyjamas.
"I was just coming to wake you," Kohaku said surprised. On Shiori's days off, she tended to sleep most of it, to catch up on the little sleep she got on the other days.
"Well now you don't have to, I was going to make curry rice for dinner okay?"
Kohaku simply nodded and returned to the math book in front of her. Math was always her weakest subject, she did alright in it but she was nowhere near the best. In fact, if her math grades slipped in the slightest then her scholarship would be in jeopardy.
After eating dinner with her mother, the pair watched an old black and white film before having one of their mother and daughter talks.
"So how did you meet those charming young friends of yours?" She asked with a devilish smile.
Kohaku frowned before answering; "They aren't my friends, I only met them yesterday mom."
"They seemed pretty worried for people you had just met," Shiori pointed out.
"I don't know why they were worried; they run a host club after school in one of the music rooms. The rooms that I normally use to practice in were being refurbished so I accidently went into theirs thinking that it would be empty. They thought I was a new customer and started crowding around me and you know how I react to when people crowd around me."
Shiori nodded silently as she listened to her daughter talk.
"Well, I had an attack and I guess they felt bad because it was their fault and offered me some tea and cake and you know the rest…"
Shiori patted her daughter's knee before speaking; "Well either way, they all seem lovely. They didn't have to come and check on you but they did and they did seem rather worried, especially Honey – Kun."
Kohaku raised her eyebrow at how her mother addressed Haninozuka – Senpai but didn't comment on it.
"All I'm saying is that I approve if you want to be friends with them."
"Mom, they are all guys. You know how I am around guys…"
Shiori cupped her daughter's cheek and looked at her in the eye. "Not all men are like your father, Kohaku, you need to realise that. You can't let what happened with him stop you from living your life. Come on, time for bed. You have school in the morning and I have the early shift at the store."
The next morning Kohaku walked the short distance to Ouran and sat down at the back of her class in her normal seat. As usual no one spoke to her during homeroom or in any of her classes, something she had grown used to. Most of the people here were very aware of who they were friends with and what they would gain from it and there was nothing to be gained with a friendship with a middle class scholarship student.
During lunch as she sat with her homemade bento, a shadow loomed over her. She looked up in shock to see Kyoya standing in front of her, looking serious. Swallowing her mouthful of rice, she pushed her chair backwards to put some distance between them before she spoke.
"Yes, Ootori – San?"
"Nakamura – San, I would like it if you could come to the Host Club after school, there are some things that we need to speak with you about." His voice was calm but only loud enough for Kohaku to hear.
Gulping nervously, she asked; "Can we not discuss it here?"
Fixing his glasses, he sighed; "This is neither the time nor the place. If you come to the club room after seventh period, we will be able to discuss it then."
Without giving Kohaku a chance to reply, he walked off. A part of Kohaku was curious, what could the Host Club want with her? Another part was angry at the fact that they pretty much demanded to speak with her in private. She could refuse to go of course, but then they all might corner her and that wouldn't be good. No, if she was in that room, she could try and control the space between them. She would know where the door was and she was sure that they wouldn't do anything to harm her… would they?
No… if they were found out to have assaulted a female student then they would lose all of their customers.
But what did they want to speak with her about?
The last three classes of the day passed slower than Kohaku would have liked, it didn't help that every so often she would glance at her watch or shift nervously in her seat before glancing at the clock on the wall thinking that her watch was broken.
Quickly walking to the third music room, she adjusted the violin case on her back before entering the room. Unlike her previous visit, there was no sign of any betting games and instead they were all dressed normally in their uniform.
"Good, you came."
Kohaku looked at Kyoya before nodding; "What do you want?"
Her voice came out quieter than she wanted and it quivered slightly. She had forgotten how tall most of them were… They were really tall… and walking towards her or well… Ootori-San.
"We need to discuss your debt."
Kohaku looked confused at Kyoya's statement, what did she owe them? Did she have to pay them for the cake she barely ate? Or the water she drank?
"What debt?" Her voice was quieter as Kyoya loomed directly over her, they really were tall, she took a step backwards when they had stopped.
"When you were rushed into hospital, we were forced to close Host Club for the day. It is expected that you will cover any and all losses that happened that day."
Kohaku was in shock… He really wanted her to pay them money because she lost them a day's work? Surely they could make up the loss easily; they probably spent more money on tea and cakes than she owed them. Of course, while these thoughts raced through her mind, she could only ask one thing.
"How much?" Her voice had become slightly hoarse and her hands trembled slightly.
"The total loss for that one day was 500,000 Yen. Of course we know that you can't afford that so we have come up with a compromise." Kyoya smirked as he said compromise.
Kohaku could barely wrap her head around the figure, even with her and her mother's wages they didn't make that much in a month. What 'compromise' would allow her to pay such a vast amount?
"You can follow after Haruhi here and work off your debt."
Kohoku glanced at the small boy who grimaced at the girl; "I'm not a boy, I can't be a host." With each realization her voice became quieter.
"No but you can entertain customers with your music, according to my records you play piano and violin. I have also heard that you sing?" Kyoya asked.
Kohaku merely stared at the cunning boy in front of her in shock; they wanted her to… play? No, no she couldn't. With practice, her part time job and studying, she had no time to entertain their customers.
"No… I can't. I can't agree to this, I have other priorities but I will pay back the money I owe."
"Can you afford to pay back 500,000 yen?" One of the twins asked.
Still staring at Kyoya she answered; "I will find a way."
Turning, she quickly fled the room and jogged home with only one thing on her mind.
'How the hell will I find a way to pay them back?'