Episode Eight: Zoo Chaos

It had been a month or two since the two girls comprising the band Lucifer had been recruited as hostesses and the Host Club turned co-ed. They had been through their share of adventures and Tamaki's stupid ideas. Relationships were budding and flowering beautifully amongst the hosts now and bonds were stronger every day. And then Tamaki got another idea. He had seen Grimm outside with a bag that Iggy had given her earlier. She was feeding a little homeless kitten and promising to take it home after Host Club was over; she didn't care "what that stupid guy" said, she was going to "help a brother out" and that was that. She had pulled a can of tuna out of the bag and a little cat treat. The kitten happily dug in while you could almost hear her customers in the host club room freaking out with Renge.

Grimm walked into the Host Club and reported to Iggy that the kitten was just fine and would most likely be there when club was over. They high fived and Tamaki ran in for an "important" announcement for the hosts. He ran to Kyoya and begged and pleaded. Things were looking down until Grimm walked by and her ears pricked up, "Did I hear something about the zoo? I love the zoo~" Iggy ran up with a "Kawaii!~" and a hug as Kyoya decided Tamaki's idea was rather brilliant. After the customers were all gone, Tamaki announced his brilliant plan.
"We are going to the zoo on Saturday!"
"Yayy~" Grimm quietly cheered.
"I haven't been to the zoo in a long time," Haruhi pondered.
So they decided to go to the zoo on Saturday. This might be a moment to remember as Tamaki's one idea that everyone completely agreed on for once. And as soon as it was decided, Iggy and Grimm raced off to go get their new kitten that was happily named Gozschirra. He grew up to be an adorably lazy cat with about a hundred other cats, dogs, birds, and whatever animals Grimm decided to pick up along the way.

Saturday rolled around and everyone showed up in the high school parking lot after Iggy, Grimm, and Haruhi told everyone of the importance of carpooling on the environment. Everyone was just on time except for Tamaki who was late to his own event. Soon enough they were pulling out of the parking lot and on their way to the zoo. The ride over was full of excitement and anticipation for all the adorable little animals. Grimm could hardly hide her incredibly weak spot for animals and Tamaki decided to keep that in mind for the next time he might need Grimm on his side.

The zoo was not very crowded that day and the group started out together. They stood by the front entrance as Grimm and Kyoya tried to develop a strategic way to go through the zoo so everyone could see just what they wanted to see—that is, everything. As Kyoya and Grimm collaborated, Tamaki and Haruhi slipped away to go see the birds, Hikaru and Kaoru ran off to see what they could see, and Honey and Iggy ran off to go look at the elephants with Mori following. By the time the strategic plan was all thought up, Kyoya and Grimm were the only two left.
"Damn it! Well they can go do whatever; I'm going to see the fucking tigers," Grimm said darkly.
She walked off after throwing the map on the floor dramatically. Kyoya picked it up and followed with a smile, deciding this trip wouldn't be all bad after all.

Haruhi was commenting on the beautifully colored birds while Tamaki was making a pass for her hand. She looked up with a smile at Tamaki who thought his heart might stop as his face burned a bright red and his lungs struggled to fill themselves with air. He turned to look at another bird as Haruhi's expression faded into confusion. When Tamaki turned back around, there was some guy trying to flirt with Haruhi. She was happily ignorant of the fact, thinking they were just talking about the cute little birds. Tamaki became enraged by the man's rude behavior and began yelling about how Haruhi was there with someone and how rudely he was speaking to her. He ended up telling the equally angered man that he was Haruhi's father and sent Haruhi off in a shout. The man became nervous and left the two to argue. The birds started screeching and from across the zoo, their friends knew where Haruhi and Tamaki were, "He must have said he was her father again."

Grimm finally arrived at the gate with the tigers in it and smiled happily. Kyoya had followed her the whole way and stopped now that he saw her. She was leaning on the exhibit fence, smiling as if in a daze. For a reason he couldn't identify, he blushed. He cleared his throat and closed the few feet to stand next to her. She looked up at his noise and scooted over so he could look too which made him smile. Grimm sighed and said she wished she could be an animal like that and just laze around all day but quickly took it back not wishing to live in a cage all her life. Kyoya didn't think she would tolerate such a thing and that no one would be able to tame her if she'd been an animal. He said as much and Grimm laughed. For some reason, Kyoya felt it was a special moment to see her laugh like that. He reached out and nearly grabbed her hand but he partly stopped himself and she turned around. She announced that she was going to see the pandas—her "brothers"—and started to walk away. He had to run to catch up with her to which she apologized, saying that she wasn't used to nice guys that would follow her around.

Hikaru and Kaoru had been running through the zoo without stopping to see a thing. They ended up running into Tamaki and Haruhi. They were pleasantly surprised to see Haruhi. From there they walked with the duo and saw all the animals. They were having an excellent time except for Tamaki who wanted this moment with Haruhi all to himself.

Iggy and Honey ran ahead of Mori who just walked along behind them, watching a butterfly that, for some reason or another, floated around him the whole time. Honey and Iggy got bored with running and decided to walk. Along the way, Honey blushed and asked Iggy if she would do him a favor. She nodded and wondered what he could have in mind with that blush on his face. He held up his hand and asked her to hold hands with him. She did so delightedly and the two skipped towards the elephants. Honey seemed much more comfortable now that he'd asked. Honey and Iggy ran to the gate of the elephant exhibit and leaned over. They were so excited to be there that they had leaned too far over the rail. For some reason, they climbed higher on the fence so their balance was barely kept.

Kyoya was too distracted by Grimm standing next to him to pay much attention to the animals when she cocked her head to the side and turned around. He only had a fraction of a second to wonder what she was doing when she said, "elephant" and ran off faster than his eyes could keep up.

Iggy was falling when she grabbed Honey's hand. They both fell over the edge of the rail. Mori had been watching the butterfly and noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He saw Honey falling and stood up. Before he even reached the fence, which was only two of his steps away, a shadow passed over him. Grimm landed in the elephant exhibit looking pretty bad ass. She stood up slowly and looked up to see her unni standing with Honey and brushing dust off of themselves. She nodded, "Oh elephants!" Grimm walked over to one with her unni and somehow they became elephant whisperers, getting the elephant to give them a ride on its back. Honey was picked up by the leg and Mori freaked out though Honey was laughing.

Kyoya started running in the direction of the elephant exhibit feeling disheartened. He met up with Tamaki, Haruhi, and the Hitachiins along the way but didn't stop to greet them. He ran past them and they, being concerned for their friend, ran after him. They all wound up at the elephant exhibit where Honey and Iggy were skipping back out of the exhibit while Mori helped Grimm off of the elephant's back.

They made their way out of the exhibit and started to head back to the parking lot to go home. Honey and Iggy were holding hands again and skipping ahead which everyone thought was adorable. Grimm and Mori were walking behind them smiling and making light conversation—it was the most Mori had ever said to anyone, though it was mostly Grimm talking and Mori every now and again making a little sound of understanding. Hikaru and Kaoru walked with Tamaki and Haruhi, annoying Tamaki. Kyoya walked behind all of them, staring ahead at Grimm and Mori, not understanding why she had run off.

The group was nearly out of the zoo when they heard a noise like, "Kawaii" from a very deep, serious voice. Everyone turns to Mori to see him smiling at the kangaroos. They looked nervously at him and shocked but decided to let it alone. They finally reached the parking lot, went back, and went their separate ways. They each decided it was a good day, except Kyoya who felt oddly upset.

END Episode Eight!