Episode Nine: Blind Date, Wrong Date

Tamaki's mind had been, for the past few days, a crock pot of ideas that boiled together to make what seemed to him to be the best idea he'd had in quite a while. He picked the night of a festival with plenty of wonders to see, excitement to be felt, new and wonderful smells to smell, delightful music to be heard, new foods to taste, and an enchanting finale to seal the deal. For the entire day, the same smile would snake across his face and he couldn't wait to put his brilliant plan into action.

Around noon on Saturday, Grimm and Iggy had been lounging in their house (déjà vu?) when a knock came at the door (yes.). Iggy answered to find Haruhi waiting for them. They had all been invited by Tamaki to go to the festival that day. The three girls decided to walk and headed out to meet the boys at the planned destination.

"First things first," whispered Tamaki to himself as he placed a tiger and panda figurine on a table near Grimm's line of sight and a bunny on the table next to it.
Grimm was next to Iggy when she saw an adorable panda figurine next to a tiger figurine. She glanced at Iggy before not giving a damn and walking over to the table anyway. She was looking at the figurines when she saw the price tag and put them down before she broke them. She glanced back to where she had left Iggy but couldn't spot her. Being Grimm, she didn't care that much and thought she'd catch up with her later when she noticed something strange. A table over had a bunny on it that looked eerily like Usa-chan. She picked it up when she heard crying somewhere off in the nearby distance (*treasure noise* Paradox unleashed~!). Her instincts kicked in and she knew immediately who it was and what the commotion was as well. She called out to Honey and didn't even bother to look for a price tag on the bunny.

Mori felt completely turned around and awful as he searched over the crowd. Mitsukuni had started yelling about something he couldn't even make out and ran away before Mori could do anything. Now, he couldn't find Mitsukuni anywhere and a kind of fear rose up in the pit of his stomach. He turned round and round in a mad search to just catch a glimpse of the direction he may have gone but in the end, found himself utterly lost.

Iggy noticed Grimm had disappeared since they had arrived in the throng of people. She turned around to see if she could find her but couldn't find her dongsaeng. When she turned back around, Haruhi was gone too. She wasn't really worried about either of them—especially not Grimm—but felt a little lonely without company. She decided to keep walking around with a sinking feeling as she recognized no one.

Tamaki smirked with pleasure when he saw how well things were going. He spotted Haruhi and Iggy quickly enough. He waved at Haruhi who seemed genuinely glad to see him which raised a hope in his heart. He ran up and started babbling about something that sounded exciting. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from Iggy. He led her around and soon convinced her that Iggy would be just fine on her own as a strong individual.

Iggy was feeling lonely when she spotted a dark head, much taller than the crowd. She thought she recognized it and as she got closer, she squealed with delight. She called out to Mori and ran to hug him. After a moment, she realized that he looked dazed and lost. She asked him the matter and he told her how Honey had run off. She tried to comfort him by saying she was sure he was okay and that they would definitely find him when they heard a familiar voice yell out in despair and another, "MITSUKUNI! I HAVE USA-CHAN!" Mori was immediately more relaxed at the sound of the voice yelling the last part louder than the festival noises. He was able to calm down and both knew that the two voices were fine now that they had found each other. Iggy and Mori smiled at each other and somewhere, Takashi smiled at the things falling into place.

Honey heard a voice that sounded like Heaven itself when he heard the words. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw the greatest thing he'd ever seen. There was the lost Usa-chan moving through the crowd towards him. Honey ran forward and grabbed the little bunny with Grimm's hand still holding onto the back. He squeezed until Grimm thought he would break her hand. Once he let go, she asked if he was okay to which he responded that he was now that Usa-chan was safely in his arms again. Grimm smiled at the adorable older boy and they decided to walk around until they found Takashi. Tamaki smiled with glee as he and Haruhi wandered around, looking at things and without her really noticing, holding hands.

Kaoru and Hikaru were walking around, seeing all the sights and just looking around, buying little things they liked, or in Kaoru's case, things he thought Iggy would like. They were happy and Hikaru could tell that Kaoru was excited to meet up with someone. Hikaru was smiling at his brother who was trying to figure out which item Iggy would like better when he looked up. Hikaru saw Iggy and Mori standing together. She seemed to be having a good time with him. Mori reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet as Iggy picked up a little tiger figure. Kaoru was still trying to decide when Hikaru pulled him in the opposite direction. Kaoru was upset at first but soon forgot about it, deciding he had all day to buy things for Iggy.

Ever since the day at the zoo, Kyoya had felt miserable but he didn't know why. He felt like sulking and was rather snappy. He tried to seclude himself for a while until he felt better but it only made him feel worse. He couldn't stop thinking about how Grimm had run away without giving an explanation and for some reason, he kept seeing a picture of Grimm with Mori and it drove him crazy with miserableness. He couldn't shake the horrid feelings that he could barely describe so he decided to walk around the festival by himself for a while. There was a hope, deep within, that he might catch Grimm by herself, he thought, to ask her advice. He sighed and turned his head to see Grimm with Honey. They were looking at a vendor's table and picking up a little elephant. Honey waved some money around and Grimm nodded her approval at one of the figures. Kyoya felt a burning sensation within him and clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. He angrily stormed through the crowd and went back towards his limo.

Tamaki and Haruhi stood on a sidewalk as a parade marched by them. They would point out their favorite floats and Haruhi seemed very excited to see the parade, clapping along with the music while holding tightly to Tamaki's arm. He blushed madly.
"Haruhi…"
"Yes, sempai?"
"Haruhi, I want to go out again. Just me and you though…" Haruhi smiled, "…you know, like father and daughter?"
Haruhi stopped smiling and the feeling that was boiling up within her subsided. She was lightly aggravated but stopped herself and laughed. She nodded but seemed confused as to why she would want to go out with Tamaki again. The word "date" floated by in her mind and she blushed and looked away while Tamaki did the same.

"I think JP will be mad," Iggy said with a smile.
"Hn?" asked Mori.
"She doesn't like it when people 'waste' money on her," she used her fingers to make quotation marks in the air.
"Waste?"
"She thinks it's a waste when people buy things they don't need. She hates it when I buy her expensive things like this."
Together, the two had bought twenty overpriced items all for Grimm. Iggy knew that Grimm wouldn't have minded one or two, three at the most but this was going to upset her. Iggy smiled again, pleased with her and Mori. She began to skip along and started talking to Mori again about Grimm. That was the only thing they had talked about along with Honey. Mori smiled.

Kaoru and Hikaru had run into Kyoya while wandering around. He seemed angry and was headed for the parking lot. He had said that he was going home and the twins decided to hang around with him for a while, not feeling up to celebrating as long as their friend was feeling down. They went with him to his limo and got in. He said that he might not be so very kind to them and they said they'd understand if he was unnaturally rude. They asked him the matter but he didn't know.
"What's been eating at your mind?" Kaoru asked.
"Yeah, you've been in the same mood since we went to the zoo," Hikaru said.
Kyoya told them about the images and thoughts racing through his mind day and night. How he couldn't rest without an anger searing his heart. How he never felt like eating or really even living with the burning sensation coursing through his veins. He hadn't slept at all the night before and was exhausted but didn't even feel it. He felt almost on the verge of tears when the twins smiled mischievously at one another which didn't make Kyoya feel any better. They snickered as a twinge of fear rose in the back of Kyoya's mind.

"She'll love that one, Mitsukuni-sempai," Grimm said.
"Think so? I'm glad," Mitsukuni smiled.
"She's going to be surprised."
"Why?"
"Unni knows how I hate to blow my money on little things like this but she'll like it from you."
Mitsukuni blushed as he picked up his eighteenth gift for Iggy. Grimm had bought two but declared that she would spend no more money on the festival except for a meal. Mitsukuni wasn't sure if she'd keep up that deal but she was doing very well on keeping her word. Of course, she was suggesting the items she knew Iggy would like to Mitsukuni.

"Sempai! Look!" she tugged his sleeve excitedly.
"What's that, Haruhi?"
There was a stand with twenty fishbowls and little goldfish swimming around in them. The man at the kiosk smiled at them and said one of those fish could be theirs. Haruhi smiled up at Tamaki who immediately bought a round of shots. Haruhi tried once but missed horribly. She blushed and smiled sheepishly. She tried again but couldn't make it. She offered a try to Tamaki with a nonchalant look. Tamaki knew that she would really like the red fish on the top and aimed carefully. Haruhi squealed with delight as Tamaki held up the little fish bowl.
"We'll keep it at the Host Club, okay?" he asked.
Haruhi nodded excitedly. Tamaki held the fish under one arm and reached for Haruhi's hand with his free hand. She let him take it in hers and lightly blushed. She felt awkward but deep down, she knew she was happy. Tamaki blushed at Haruhi's embarrassment and smiled.

Iggy basically dragged Mori into a large tent. She had said that if Honey and Grimm were anywhere, it might be there but she really just wanted to go inside. Her eyes brightened as she found the table of her dreams. It was a tent that had a bunch of exotic and foreign foods. The one Iggy had found was the Mexican candy table. She rushed towards it and picked up a package of her favorite. She looked over and saw a kind of spicy lollipops.
"Mori! Look at these!" she said excitedly waving them in his face.
"Hn?"
"These are JP's favorites next to regular red ones!"
She shoved one in his face. He took it and pulled the wrapper off as Iggy bought a small bag of them. Mori popped the lollipop in his mouth. When Iggy turned around, Mori's eyes had gone wide and he looked as if he was going to throw up. He pulled the lollipop out of his mouth as quickly as he could and searched frantically for a drink. He saw a bottle on the table and picked it up. Iggy stopped him saying that he'd just picked up Tabasco sauce which was hotter than the lollipop he'd just tried. He found a water fountain and stayed bent over it for a good minute or two.
"Well, at least you didn't bite into the middle part. JP doesn't like that part either. It's hotter than just the top part," Iggy said lightly when Mori walked back over.

"What?" Kyoya asked with light fear as the Hitachiins stared at him with their devilish smirks.
They exchanged glances and their smiles grew wider. Hikaru began to laugh as the limo travelled farther and farther away from the festival. Kyoya started to get annoyed. He thought he shouldn't have told the twins anything and scolded himself in his mind for telling them anything at all. The twins wouldn't say anything and Kyoya felt even worse than he had before.
"Alright. Well, I let you in on the secret so tell me what's going on right now," he said in an annoyed tone to which the twins smiled at, unmoved.
"Kyoya-sempai, I think we know your troubles," Hikaru smiled slyly.
"Well?"
"Think about it, sempai."
"Look at the facts. Number one—" Kaoru said.
"You can't get her off your mind," Hikaru finished.
"Number two."
"You can't stand her hanging out with other guys."
"Number three."
"You don't want to leave because you're afraid she'll talk to them."
"And finally."
"You want to spend all your time with her."
"JUST her."
"Who?" Kyoya asked with a suspicious glare.
The twins stared at him with equal annoyance and raised an eyebrow. Kyoya leaned back in his seat and glanced between them and the floor. He crossed an arm over his chest and put a hand on his cheek, leaning on that hand. He sighed heavily as he stared at the floor and looked up at the twins with a defeated kind of look.

It was getting darker earlier with the change of seasons so early in the evening, darkness was already setting. Everyone at the festival was wondering where their day had gone, surprised that they'd spent hours walking around and just looking at all the things they could buy. Mitsukuni and Grimm had found a little petting zoo and couldn't resist walking around in it and petting all the little goats and Grimm seemed quite taken with the little donkey. They had been having an excellent time when Mitsukuni noticed the lack of light and a rumble in his stomach.
"Grimm," he said with a frown.
"Yes, Mitsukuni-sempai?" she said in the respectful way she did, never treating him like a small child.
"I'm hungry and it's getting dark."
Grimm understood the last part perfectly and walked around with him until they found a perfectly lit little kiosk with some delicious looking food. They ordered and ate comfortably in the lit area. Grimm even spotted a kiosk with cake for Mitsukuni who was perfectly delighted. Grimm found the jar of lollipops for individual sale on the counter by the cake stand just as she finished the last one she had brought. Mitsukuni and Grimm were very happy off.

Now, the festival goers were getting antsy and beginning to bunch up. They crowded through an area and before Mori could do anything, Iggy was on one side of the crowd and he couldn't see her. He looked around, not really worried about her being on her own but a disheartened about being alone again.

Mitsukuni had seen Grimm fall down after getting pulled a few feet away and didn't know what to do. He couldn't see her anymore and didn't want to be left alone in the crowded darkness. Before he could really start to worry, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Grimm pushed herself up onto her elbows and saw Mitsukuni standing by a lamp with Iggy at his side. They had hugged and Grimm smiled. She stood up and started to walk away to leave them be when someone shoved by her again and knocked her over. She heard her name being called somewhere ahead of her. She saw Takashi coming towards her quickly. Grimm looked back towards Mitsukuni and Iggy but they were already gone. Takashi was by her side and helping her up.

Iggy and Honey were trying to get away from the crowd so that they might hear each other as both had something to say. They found an empty side street that had a tall street light and went to stand under it. As they reached the lamp, a loud bang sounded behind them. They jumped and turned around to see it.

Tamaki and Haruhi were in the middle of the crowd that had pushed them close together. Tamaki put his arm around her shoulder to protect her from the people bumping into them. They stared up at the sky and occasionally at each other. Haruhi jumped when a loud bang erupted and Tamaki held her tighter.

Takashi pulled Grimm up to her feet. She tried to say something but all he could make out was "Mitsukuni" and "Unni" with her hand pointing in a direction. He understood, grabbed her hand, and pulled her in the opposite direction of the crowd. She had to run to keep up but pretty soon, the crowd thinned and they were on the outskirts of the festival. It was dark but the noise level had died down. They sighed and a loud bang shattered the quiet.

The sky was littered with sparkles and color as the fireworks blasted off. The sky would burn alight with color again and again, mesmerizing everyone. The lights showed up in the crowd's eyes and faces sparked with smiles.

Tamaki and Haruhi looked into each other's eyes for a moment. Both of their stomach's churned over and knotted up, butterflies floating within. They smiled, Haruhi leaned on Tamaki's side, he blushed, and they stared back up at the sky. It was a good day.

Kyoya watched the fireworks from his window and knew the Hitachiins were right. He felt the pang of what he now recognized as jealousy. He knew she was there somewhere. And she wasn't alone. She would never be alone. And that bothered Kyoya because he knew he couldn't always be there.

The Hitachiins watched the fireworks from the porch of their house. They smiled at one another and jumped up and down at all the pretty colors. They cheered just as if they were at the festival and they liked to think that they could hear the crowd there cheering too.

Honey and Iggy saw the sky all lit up with color and sparkles and their eyes grew wide. They looked at each other and started clapping after every color shone. They cheered a little as the crowd in the street over cheered loudly too. They looked at each other and laughed, nervously scooting closer together. The booms were loud and they quieted down but the excitement stayed. When Honey grabbed Iggy's hand, she blushed and the booming seemed to subside a little as the electricity shot up her arm. They too had had a wonderful day.

Grimm and Mori turned around to see the sky brightly and colorfully lit up. They smiled and then looked at each other and smiled again. Mori had let go of her hand when they turned around in opposite directions and now, as he stared more at her than at the fireworks, he took it up again. They watched the fireworks quietly hand in hand.

When everything was over and done with, the parking lot emptied quickly. Tamaki's limo was one of the last cars there. Tamaki and Haruhi showed up with Tamaki's arm still wrapped around Haruhi. He was helping her in the car when he noticed Honey and Iggy skipping towards them holding hands. Tamaki became frustrated, wondering how his excellent match making for Iggy and Mori had gone wrong. He was about to let it go when he saw Mori and Grimm walking up hand in hand. He sighed with frustration as Haruhi looked out the back window of the limo. "They seem to be having fun," Haruhi had said when Tamaki realized that that was what it was all about anyway. He let it go and was told that Kyoya and the Hitachiins had gone home early. Everyone was a little disappointed to hear that but thought little of it as they presented the gifts to each other. Grimm scolded Iggy and Mori for carelessly spending their money on things she didn't need but smiled anyway at all the cool stuff. Iggy was very happy with all of Honey's gifts and blushed at the amount. The group chattered their way home, Tamaki to Haruhi, Honey to Iggy, and Grimm to Mori—in their own special, little to no talking kind of chatter—and as soon as they got to their homes, each fell asleep with a smile on their face. It had been a good day indeed.

END Episode Nine!