The small group that stood in the middle of the hall looked up in unison when they heard a door slam and firm, quick footsteps above them. The next moment, a rather angry-looking Hikaru appeared on the landing above them.
"What the he- ," he began to curse as he descended the stairs, then stopped abruptly when he saw the young woman in their midst. "What are you all doing here?"
"We all came to see Kao-chan," Hani replied, stepping forward, a large boquet of flowers in one hand, and a pink box in the other. "Would he like to have some cake?"
"NO!" the other four boys chorused together.
"I think Kaoru would like it if you ate it for him," Mori said to his smaller cousin.
"Oh, okay. Can I give him the flowers then?"
"Kaoru's asleep," Hikaru said, looking pointedly at Tamaki and Kyoya.
Hani's face fell and Mori instinctively placed a hand on his shoulder. Hikaru sighed, resisting the urge to tear at his hair in frustration. He had not planned on entertaining any visitors, but he couldn't exactly kick them all out, especially since they had the young woman with them, whom he figured was Kyoya's older sister.
"We brought some watermelon for him, too!" Tamaki remarked, holding up a bag. "We bought it at a commoner's fruit and vegetable fair! Can you believe it? I didn't even know they held those things on weekends!"
A glance at Kyoya confirmed this to be true as Hikaru took in the other boy's bemused expression. Well, at least one of them didn't want to be here, so then why was Tamaki still here and not bound and gagged in the back seat of his limo?
"Oh yes!" the young woman – Fuyumi, her name was, if Hikaru remembered correctly – said, nodding in enthusiastic agreement. "It was amazing. The vibrancy of it all! The colors! The smells! And everything at such cheap prices too! We really must take you all there some day."
Ah, that was why. Kyoya raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged, all but saying that this was Hikaru's problem, not his, and he'd better do something about it. With a look that promised certain death to Tamaki later, Hikaru forced a smile.
"Would you like to stay for lunch? Kaoru might be awake by then," he half-growled at the group.
A glance at one of the kitchen staff said it was alright, so the older twin ushered the group into the living room, after passing the cake and watermelon to one of the maids. Hani kept a firm, almost protective, hold on his boquet of flowers though. As soon as they were seated, Tamaki jumped up and began to pace – one arm folded and the finger of his other hand tapping against his chin.
"Well, since we're all here, we might as well have an impromptu Host Club meeting," he declared.
Hikaru let out a silent sigh of relief. Without the steadying presence of his brother around, he hadn't had the slightest idea of where to start entertaining guests, so maybe he wouldn't kill the king just yet.
"What do you want to discuss, Highness?" he asked instead.
Tamaki spun to face him, blue eyes bright. "Mon petit ami!" he began. "We should not let a brilliant idea go to waste!"
"I'm not your little friend," Hikaru growled. "What idea are you talking about? And keep your voice down for goodness sake."
"Why, my idea of all-for-one and one-for-all of course," Tamaki replied.
"Oh, so that was YOUR idea." If the older twin could shoot daggers from his eyes, his club president would have been pinned to the carpet by now.
"Well, if you were as good at Literature as your brother is, you'd know that it wasn't MY idea per se. The phrase comes from Alexander Dumas' greatest French story of all time – the Three Musketeers. I just happen to be very familiar with that beautiful piece of writing."
Seeing that Hikaru was on the verge of leaping up and throttling the flamboyant blond second-year, Kyoya smoothly cut in.
"So what are you proposing, Tamaki?" he asked.
"The Host Club shall bring the masterpiece to life! We shall have a Musketeers themed day some time next week. I will be D'Artagnan of course, and for the rest of you, I believe Hani can be Porthos and Mori would therefore be Athos. You, Kyoya, would be ideally suited for Aramis," Tamaki rambled on, eyes glinting. "You, Hikaru, shall play the villainous King Louis XIV of France, and Kaoru, your long-suffering twin brother Philippe. Haruhi shall be my beautiful princess."
"And how much is all this going to cost exactly, taking into account the need for costumes, weapons and set-dressing?" Kyoya's voice broke into Tamaki's ramblings.
"Cost? What does cost matter compared to the joy and rapture it would bring to our customers! Need I remind you Kyoya that the happiness and satisfaction of the ladies is the main goal of our club."
Hikaru rolled his eyes.
"I agree Kyoya," the sweet voice of Fuyumi cut in, and Hikaru looked up to see which way this would swing. "Women love the tragic stories of undying friendship, loyalty and brotherhood between men as they go forth and fight for their nation on the fields of battle. Tamaki has a beautiful idea here, you should help him achieve it. Think of what it would mean to the ladies."
The older twin shook his head. No matter how terrifying Kyoya was, the poor bastard was no match against the combined onslaught of his sister and best friend. He probably wouldn't have to dirty his hands after all. The icy-cool expression on the Shadow King's face meant that Tamaki would pay very dearly for all of this before the day was over.
Hikaru didn't envy the poor sap one bit.
While all this was taking place, Hani carefully slipped off his chair and made his way quietly out of the room, unseen by all except Mori, who dutifully looked the other way. Scurrying back into the main hall, he stopped a passing maid and asked for a small vase with a little water in it. Unable to say 'no' to those big, brown eyes, she obliged him, returning in about five minutes with a slender pale-blue vase, half-full of water.
"Master Kaoru likes the color," she said.
Hani gave her a wide smile, before slipping the flowers in and turning to run up the stairs.
"Turn right at the top, it's the fourth door on the right, after that," she called softly after him.
The little senior flashed her a thumbs-up, then bounded up the steps, following her directions till he came upon the door he wanted. He twisted the knob and quietly pushed the door open, peeking around to see if all was well for him to enter.
The coast clear apart from the sleeping boy, Hani softly entered and shut the door behind him. He trotted almost silently up to the bed and carefully placed the vase of flowers on the little table next to it where he was sure Kaoru would see them when he woke up.
That done, he went over to the window and leaned against the sill, letting the breeze ruffle his pale-brown hair while breathing in the faint floral scents that wafted up from the garden below. It was quite relaxing.
He heard a slight movement behind him and turned to see Kaoru stirring, turning onto his back and bringing a hand up to rub his eyes. Hani left the window and clambered up on to a chair beside the bed, just as Kaoru opened his eyes. He reminded Hani of a little kitten opening its eyes for the first time. The boy looked at the little third-year and blinked a few times before registering who it was.
"Senior Hani, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Paying you a visit, Kao-chan," Hani replied with a smile. "I brought flowers too."
Kaoru propped up his pillow against the headboard, then pushed himself into a sitting position. "Thank you, they're pretty. Where did you get them?"
"From my garden. I picked them myself this morning."
"Are you here alone?" Kaoru asked, wondering where Hikaru was.
"Oh, no. Takashi and the others are here too. Tama-chan decided to have a meeting till you woke up, so Hika-chan is down there as well. I wanted to bring you the flowers, that's why I came up alone." Hani beamed as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on the side of the bed. "How do you feel today, Kao-chan?"
"Much better actually," he replied. "I think I might be able to come to school on Monday." Then he frowned slightly. "What happened to your wrist, Senior Hani?"
Kaoru gently placed a finger on the dark bruise that peeked out from under the edge of the white long-sleeved shirt Hani wore, marring the otherwise flawless fair skin. The bubbly senior's smile faded just a bit and did not go unnoticed by the younger boy.
"Just blocked a little too hard during training this morning," Hani replied, tugging the sleeve down over the bruise again. "Its nothing Kao-chan."
"Did you fight with your brother again?"
The older boy sighed. "I tried to tell him that the flowers were for you, but I guess he just jumped to conclusions."
Kaoru squeezed his hand lightly. "You can't always allow him to hurt you, Senior Hani. You're his brother, he shouldn't talk to you like that."
Hani's smile went away completely. "I don't know what else I can possibly tell him that wont make him hate me even more." He looked down at the sheets.
The younger boy gently rubbed the older's arm. "Why don't you cancel your plans for tomorrow and spend the day with him instead, in a non-combative way. Just get to know each other again, and do the things brothers do – watch movies, play video games."
"I don't know if he'll want to have anything to do with me for one whole day."
"Make him. Beat him in combat again to make him agree if you have to, just try and spend some time with him."
Hani slid off the chair and climbed up on the bed, leaning over to give the younger boy a gentle hug. Kaoru put an arm around him, then blinked when he felt a little splash on his bare shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Kao-chan," Hani said, hastily brushing away another tear before it escaped his eye.
"Its alright," Kaoru replied. "Just tell Chika you love him, even if he hates you. He can't possibly say anything to that."
Hani sat up and regarded the younger boy. "You look fragile Kao-chan, but you're really very strong inside."
"I could say the same of you, Senior Hani," he said.
At that point, the door opened and Hikaru came in, frowning slightly when he saw Hani sitting beside his twin, but then calmed at a look from Kaoru. He was followed by the three other boys, Fuyumi having opted to remain downstairs to watch the maids set the table.
"Lunch is ready Mitsukuni," Mori said, before turning a small brief smile to Kaoru.
"How do you feel?" Kyoya asked, strolling up to the bed as Hani jumped off to join Mori.
"Better, thanks," Kaoru replied.
Kyoya was then brushed aside as Tamaki came running up, stooped and cupped his face in his hands, bringing their heads close.
"Are you sure you feel better?" he asked, blue eyes etched with concern. "You still look so frail, and why are you still hot? Oh, my poor Kaoru, have you been taking your medicine on time?"
Kaoru winced as Tamaki's voice boomed in his ears. "Highness, please lower your voice," he replied. "And I probably feel hot to you because you have just washed your hands."
Hikaru yanked the overly-enthusiastic boy off his twin before the blond could formulate a reply.
"All of you, get out of this room and let my brother rest!" he snarled, challenging any one of them to defy him.
Knowing better than to cross an enraged twin, Kyoya and Mori each laid hold of one of Tamaki's arms and all but dragged him to the door. Hani followed with a wave to Kaoru.
"Bye-bye Kao-chan, get well soon!" He pulled the door shut just as Tamaki began to protest his dismissal.
"You should go and have something to eat, too," Kaoru told his twin.
"After I take care of you. What would you like?" Hikaru asked.
"Well, how about the rest of that chicken soup?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Terribly sorry for the long wait... i was side-tracked by a couple of long school assignments and a few non-Ouran fics that were demanding my attention... Nonetheless, here's chapter 10 for your reading pleasure...
It was surprisingly easy to find characters in the Three Musketeers to suit the boys' styles and personalities in fact..