~*~ Part Two : The Host Club Goes to France! ~*~
(Alternatively Titled: Haruhi Gets A Passport.)
Narration POV: Kaoru

I still think about it sometimes, that night. First it was Hikaru, being thrown off the carriage like that, I was sure his injuries would have been severe...then, later to have learned that Haruhi was thrown off of that bridge. Hikaru had a hard time falling asleep for days after that, truthfully we both did...the thought that I could have lost both of them...it was too much.

That was why, when Hikaru decided he wanted to see Haruhi safely home after school, I didn't argue. It might have seemed like too much, but after that night, I think we both decided it was better safe than sorry.

We hadn't even thought about the aftermath for the boss until it was pointed out that day...

"I can see your point though..." Haruhi admitted, and Kaoru smiled at how well she moved right past Hikaru's outburst, knowing that this was the best way to nip it in the bud. "I think you might be right...in a way..." She continued as they rounded the final corner toward her home. "While it is true that we might have been selfishly motivated...the way things happened back then...Tamaki-sempai isn't usually so close-mouthed about things...he'd just abruptly decided to leave without explaining anything to anyone...and I know that he had to dive off that bridge after me...but he was starting to come out of the car even before I lost control of the horses...so he must not of completely wanted to go back to France...at least, not in that way."

He wasn't sure if Haruhi noticed the way his brother's eyes had glossed over for an instant when she mentioned herself having been thrown off the bridge, but before he could even react to that, they were interrupted by the appearance of Kyoya, and the rest of the Host Club...well all of them except the boss...

"That's an interesting notion..." Kyoya's voice toned, and the three of them looked up to see him leaning against the outer gate to Haruhi's home, Renge, Honey-sempai, and Mori-sempai beside him. "...in it's own way."

"What? What are you guys doing here?" Haruhi asked as they walked up to the group of them.

"We thought of a way to help Tama-chan!" Honey-Sempai announced, as cheerfully as ever.

Once inside Haruhi's home, the Host Club, sans their great leader, crammed around the table in her den as she brought in the tea. Kaoru and Hikaru arranged themselves on either side of their female honorary member, and as Tamaki wasn't there, no one objected.

"So...you want to bring Tamaki-sempai to France? Why hadn't anyone ever thought to do that before? It's not like you don't all have the money."

"Yes, but none of us would have known where to find his mother before, now, thanks to Lady Eclair's appearance, it seems we do."

"But all we really know is that Eclair knows where his mother is, do you really think she'd just tell us after we spoiled her plans of marrying the boss?" Hikaru asked, looking bored.

"That's where I come in!" Renge piped in, overly excited as usual. "Operation 'use my father's connections to find Tamaki's mom!" She announced, bolts of lightning taking over the place in her eyes where her iris's used to be. Kaoru, Haruhi, and Hikaru backing away from her and closer to each other in fear of her sudden firery spirit.

Kyoya pushed his glasses further up his nose and cleared his throat, succeeding in bringing order to the room.

"It's true, Renge is from Paris, afterall, and her family is more familiar with Eclair's clan. They move in...similar circles, as you'd say. It was an easy matter to track Lady Eclair down, and with our combined resources, it was only a matter of time before we found her.

The Hitachiin brothers and Haruhi's eyes widened.

"You mean, you've already found Tamaki-sempai's mother?" Haruhi asked, impressed.

"Why didn't we know any of this, how long have you been following her?" Kaoru asked, feeling unincluded. Why had they left them out? On the other side of Haruhi, he could see Hikaru's jaw lock and his eyes narrow slightly. He'd been wondering the same thing.

"We didn't know either until they found her though." Honey-sempai announced. "Kyoya and Renge-chan were doing this all on their own, they didn't want too many club members to know, and risk it getting out to Tama-chan." the lolita-sempai explained, his cheerful childlike tone effectively soothing over the twins moods.

Haruhi, who had been quiet for some time, now spoke up.

"Okay, so it's good that you found her...but then why not just tell Tamaki-sempai? I don't see why we should all go...wouldn't he want some time alone with his mother after all this time?"

"It's been ten years since Tamaki has seen his mother...he may act like it doesn't bother him, but I'd think you, especially can understand the emotional challenges of something like that...you know what it's like to lose a mother, afterall."

Haruhi's eyes widened and she fell silent, her eyes darted to the area in the corner where they had set up her mother's shrine.

"Yes...that's true." She toned. Hikaru put his hand on Haruhi's shoulder, trying to offer some comfort and then looked toward the crowd.

"Yeah, well there's still one problem, Haruhi doesn't have a passport does she?" He commented. "We can't just leave her behind here."

"Not to mention the cost of the airfare." Kaoru added. "I doubt that Haruhi can afford a ticket to Paris."

"Yes, and that's why we're here." Kyoya continued. "We've taken the liberty of getting Haruhi's documentation in order." He lightly tossed the paperwork on the table in front of her. "Haruhi, your passport and ticket...we'll just add that onto your tab."

A large sweatdrop appeared at the back of Haruhi's head for an instant, and was gone just as quickly, as she picked up the papers that Kyoya had provided and examined them as Kyoya gave tickets out to everyone else.

"We purchased the tickets ahead of time and were able to get a group price..." Kyoya was explaining.

"Where exactly are we staying?" Kaoru asked.

"Renge's father has been kind enough to offer us lodging with them for the trip."

"Hey! These flights leave on Friday!" Haruhi exclaimed! Kaoru studied the tickets...looked like they'd be there during their summer vacation.

"Our seats are together Takashi!" Honey-sempai announced happily.

Haruhi was looking wide-eyed at the number on her seat. 3D...3...that was a first class row.

"What's the matter Haru-chan? Is there something wrong with your ticket?" Honey-sempai asked.

"Maybe she's afraid of flying." Renge suggested.

Hikaru and Kaoru were studying her expression, and then an identical sly cheshire cat smile formed on their identical faces.

"You've never flown first class, have you?" they questioned. Haruhi looked up, her face in an expression they'd only ever seen before in response to trying Fancy Tuna.

And that was how the Host Club ended up spending their summer vacation in Paris...