A/N

Thanks for all the reviews!!!!!! Wow! (am I repeating myself? Oh well!)

gigi0203: Hehe, thanks a lot for the review! I'm glad that the references to RK don't seem...out of place. Hmm...I don't know if it's because Kyoya thinks he can bully a girl -personally, I think it's because he likes being mean every now and then, you know? Good old Kyoya! But maybe he thought that too many people know about Haruhi's true gender? And Misao's the first girl to know...and she doesn't seem awed by the hosts, which they could have used to get her to shut up. Ahem. Hmmmm...yes, that's a good question, about Aoshi. I reckon he will make an appearance! That's about all that I'm saying about that!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter too - and I'm sorry about the delay!

Chapter Five: Miso and an Unexpected Guest

Haruhi and Misao both let out soft sighs of relief when the classroom doors closed behind the twins, as they had decided to head down to the cafeteria for their lunch as opposed to pestering the brunette commoner for her homemade lunch.

Glancing at the dark-haired girl as she heard her grumbling, Haruhi stood up from her desk and walked towards hers.

"Ano...is it alright if I sit with you here?" she questioned, smiling at her. "Just for now," she added, hurriedly. Misao stared at her for a moment before shrugging.

"Yeah, go ahead," she said. "It's not like I own the place or anything." Pulling a chair up to the desk, Haruhi sat down and proceeded to open her lunch box. As she was doing this, she glanced casually at the dark-haired girl's own food, and smiled.

"Did you make that yourself, Misao?" she questioned, nodding at the neatly arranged food. Misao stared down at the box before shaking her head.

"Iie, Omasu did," she said. "Oh, Omasu works at the Aoiya -you know, Jiya's restaurant?"

"I see," said Haruhi, remembering what their bespectacled senior, Kyoya, had mentioned about the girl's background. "So...she's a servant, then?" She felt a bit disappointed, to think that she was going to have to put Misao in the same category as those 'stupid rich bastards', if that was the case.

Misao shook her head hurriedly.

"Iie," she said. "She's more like...well, an older sibling of sorts."

"Oh."

Misao shot her a questioning glance.

"I know this is completely off topic, but...why do you do it?"

"Eh?"

"Why do you continue to stay with the...host club?" Haruhi sighed.

"Because of my debt," she answered, almost automatically.

"Firstly, those stupid rich kids surely don't mind about some idiotic, expensive vase, do they? I mean, they can easily get another one what with their 'connections' and whatnots." Misao shook her head. "And secondly, isn't there any other way for you to...well, pay off your debt?"

"I'm sure there are other ways," admitted Haruhi, "but...they'd cause me too much of trouble." She smiled once more. "But it's not too bad, being a part of the host club. True, I do get unwanted attention from the girls...and yes, I do have to put up with a bunch of idiots -except for Kyoya-sempai. Oh, and Mori-sempai too. He really is a nice, decent person...but the rest---is something wrong?" She glanced somewhat worriedly at Misao, as the girl seemed to choke on her food.

After gulping down the water that the brunette handed to her, Misao shot her a grateful smile. "Did I say something wrong?" questioned Haruhi, somewhat surprised at the girl's reaction.

"Nice? Nice?" echoed Misao, as she flipped her long braid over her shoulder. "You think he is...nice?" It took Haruhi a moment or two to realize who she was talking about.

"What do you have against Mori-sempai?" She was not the least bit bothered by the glare the girl sent her. Wasn't she used to that kind of thing anyway?

Misao just shook her head. "He's just..." She growled, remembering what had taken place during her first kendo practice yesterday. A faint tinge of pink spread across her cheeks as she recalled...certain events.

Especially ones that involved a certain shirtless dark-haired senior.

Meh! He's just a...pervert.

A sexist pervert.

Fine, he's a sexist pervert who just happens to look...alright without his shirt on. That's IT.

"-sao? Misao...?"

"Uh, yeah...he's just a stupid, sexist, per-" She was interrupted by the doors to the classroom being slammed open, from the outside. Both girls turned around, somewhat startled by the sudden interruption.

The moment she saw the identical grins on their faces, Haruhi had a sinking feeling that something was not right.

"What is it this time?" she questioned, tonelessly, noticing that the twins were staring at Misao and not at her -for a change.

"We didn't know-"

"-That you were-"

"-that kind of girl," finished Hikaru, as his grin got wider. Misao stared from one twin to the other, not looking too amused.

"Whatever," she said, shrugging. "I don't even want to know what the two of you are talking about. It's probably something stupid anyway."

The twins exchanged glances.

"Stupid, Misao?" echoed Kaoru, feigning a hurt expression. "Oh, no, it's not stupid. But, really, you could have told us that you had a crush on him."

"And we would have told you a number of different ways to get his attention..." added Hikaru.

Misao had turned back to the twins, a questioning expression on her face.

"What the hell are you two on about?"

"Don't pretend-"

"-Like you don't know." A vein started to tick on the girl's forehead -like it usually did when she was surrounded by these...stupid rich kids.

"Stop speaking in riddles!" she exclaimed. "Just shut up and tell me!"

"Eh?" Hikaru glanced at Kaoru. "How is it possible to shut up and speak at the same time?"

Kaoru shrugged.

"I don't know," he said, playing along. "Maybe it's a...commoner thing?"

"Iie, even Haruhi wouldn't be able to do that," said Hikaru. "Maybe it's a weasel thing?"

"Don't call me that!" snapped Misao, doing her best to control her temper.

"Call you what, itachi-chan?"

Needless to say, she failed miserably.

Jumping up from her seat, she started towards the twins, her eyes gleaming.

"I am not an itachi!" she growled, a number of veins ticking all over her head. "Get that into your thick skulls before I-"

"-What was it that you two were talking about earlier?" asked Haruhi, interrupting the girl for a moment. "About Misao and some...guy?"

"Ah, well, you see Haruhi, it turns out that our Misao here, and -" Hikaru nudged his brother, shaking his head as he did so.

"-I think it would be best for them to see what we were talking about," he said, before turning to the girls. "Come on, let's go." Haruhi stared shrewdly at the twins, before glancing down at her lunch. As...intriguing as the whole thing might be, she was hungry.

"No thanks," she muttered. "I'll just finish my lunch." Misao shook her head as well.

"I'm not in the mood to put up with the two of you," she said, as she sat back down at her desk, pulling her lunch box towards her. "Just leave me alone."

"But...are you sure? You don't want to know what we're talking about?"

"No."

"Suit yourself," said Kaoru, shooting her a grin, "You'll find out anyway."

Hikaru nodded.

"Just make sure to walk past one of the student notice boards when you're walking out of the building."

"Whatever."

At the host club:

Kyoya looked up from his little black book, turning his attention to the dark-haired senior -much to everyone's surprise.

"Mori-sempai, do you have any idea of the rumours going around?"

Mori shook his head. "Do you have any idea why there are rumours going around?" The senior shook his head again.

"Ne, Mori-sempai, it's alright, really," interjected Tamaki, not seeming to notice the glare his best-friend sent his way for interrupting him. "We understand; we're all going to have to...find someone we love, one day. You've just found that person now. I'm happy for you, sempai."

And this was when tears started to form in the blond's purple eyes, causing them to glitter. Reaching forward, he clasped Mori's hands in his own. "I'm so happy for you," he gushed. "Will you invite me to the wedding? I'll bring my cute daughter with me. Oh, and Okaasan too. And everyone. Will you invite us? Will you? Will you?"

"...Er..." Mori looked to his cousin for help, but found that he looked just as clueless and confused as he felt. "Tamaki..." he tried to reclaim his hands, but found that the blond's grip on them was too tight.

"This means that my 'niece' is now my precious daughter! Ohhhh, I feel so very proud of you all..." sobbed Tamaki; looking every bit the emotional parent - if not a bit silly, since it was Tamaki.

"Sempai, stop acting stupid," said Haruhi, as she slapped his hands off Mori's, earning her a grateful look from the senior (who was really glad to get some sort of feeling back in his hands). "I have to admit," she said, turning to Kyoya just as Tamaki went to his corner of woe. "That I'm confused. What's going on?"

"Are you telling us that you don't know?" questioned Hikaru, as Haruhi shook her head. "Geez, don't you even look at the student notice-boards when you walk past them?"

"No," said Haruhi, "Because the notices on them are rather stupid. If they're not full of proclamations of love for Tamaki-sempai, they're to do with things like a lost, ruby encrusted bobby-pin...and a lost pair of 'designer socks'." She shrugged. "I don't see why I should waste my time looking at them."

"Ahhh...the wonders of a commoner's mind..." mused Hikaru and Kaoru together, causing Haruhi to shoot them an annoyed glance.

"Kyo-chan," started Honey, "What is going on? Why has everyone been looking at Takashi for the whole day?" Haruhi glanced at the short blond in surprise, before turning back to Kyoya.

Pushing his glasses up his nose, Kyoya sighed.

"Mori-sempai, what happened during Kendo practice yesterday?" he questioned.

"Kendo practice?" echoed Honey, turning to his cousin, only to have his eyes widen in surprise. "Takashi?" There was a faint tinge of...crimson on the stoic senior's face.

"...Nothing," said Mori, after a while. He resisted the urge to fidget under the weight of everyone's stares.

"Are you sure?" asked Kaoru, before producing a...notice out of nowhere. Reaching out rather stiffly, Mori took the notice from his hands and started to read it.

As Haruhi and Honey watched, his grey eyes widened as he continued to read from it.

And right before their eyes, their beloved senior seemed to turn into stone.

"Takashi? Ne, Takashi?" Honey poked his cousin, worriedly. "Usa-chan! Usa-chan! Takashi's turned to stone!!" he wailed.

"I wonder..." Reaching up, Haruhi pulled the notice out of his hands and read it herself, allowing Honey to see it too.

"3rd Year heartthrob, Morinozuka Takashi, seems to have suffered from an attempt at seduction, made by a scrawny, asset less commoner who was aiming too high for her own good'," read Haruhi, raising her eyebrows. "...'Sources say that the two were at the fountain, last afternoon, with the seductress clad in nothing but her underwear -'" her eyes widened, "...'-and with a ruffled Mori-sempai.'..."

"...'Despite the vile girl's despicable actions, Mori-sempai was gentlemanly enough to note that it was improper for her to go around in just her underwear, and offered her his shirt. The girl may think she has won the battle, after getting to see a shirtless Mori-sempai, but she certainly hasn't won the war yet. We girls will avenge our beloved Mori-sempai, and save him from the clutches of that she-devil. At all costs! Our new mission; Protect Mori-sempai!!'..."

"Oh, my daughter! You shouldn't read things like that! It's too...cruel for your virgin mind and heart!" protested Tamaki, as he clapped his hands over Haruhi's ears, having returned from his corner of woe (after realizing that no-one was paying him any attention).

Brushing him off, Haruhi turned to stare at Mori.

Who in turn was looking...well, mortified. Or as mortified as stone...blocks could look.

"Sempai?" she asked, drawing his attention to her. "Who's the girl?"

"I---" Before Mori could say anything in his defense, he was interrupted by the doors being slammed open.

"My, my, she is a troublemaker..." muttered Kyoya, to himself, as they saw their new dark-haired friend standing at the entrance to the music room, with a glare on her face that was really starting to became a normal facial expression for her.

"Eh?" Haruhi started towards the girl. "What are you doing here? Is something---"

"YOU!! YOU...YOU...YOU!!" A question mark hovered over the brunette's head as she watched the spluttering girl.

"Ano...who are you---" She watched as Misao stomped her way towards them, unconsciously noting how the customers glared at the girl.

Mori, to his credit, did not flinch as she continued to glare at him.

"I was not in my underwear!" she screeched, causing everyone to wince.

"Oi, itachi, don't screech. We have sensitive ears," growled Hikaru.

"I had clothes on!" screeched Misao, her green eyes narrowed as she glared at Mori. "And, if I remember correctly, who was it who WALKED IN ON ME WHEN I WAS CHANGING??????????"

Honey's eyes widened.

"Takashi...?"

Mori bowed his head.

"Iie," he said, slowly. "It's not...I didn't...no-one told me---"

"-And now, I get DEATH GLARES from all these AIRHEADS, and feel THREATENED simply because you are a sexist, perverted LOW-LIFE!!!" Misao had clenched her hands into fists.

"Misao," interjected Kyoya, calmly. "Please refrain from screaming. None of us here are deaf. And I'm afraid that I'm going to have to point out to you the fact that you're disrupting-"

"-Well?" asked Misao, staring at Mori. "What're you going to do about this?"

"... ... ... ... ..." A vein started ticking on the girl's head.

"Ano would one of you explain to me what's going on?" asked Haruhi, hoping to diffuse the...er, explosive atmosphere a bit.

"That jerk walked in on me-when I was changing! And he saw me half naked! And then I chased him out of the dojo, threatening to kill him."

"Ah," said Kyoya, nodding slowly. "So that's what happened." Misao nodded.

"Yes! He just walked in on me, the freaking perverted---"

"-Mori-sempai didn't know that she had been given permission to join the kendo club, and thus didn't know that she was inside, changing. So he walked inside the changing room, and...well, she was changing inside..."

Misao glared at him.

"What?! That's not what happened at all! He was being a pervert!"

"How dare you! Mori-sempai is the most gentlemanly...man you can ever hope to find!" yelled one of the customers.

"Gentleman? Him? Hah! As if!"

"You're the one who's a pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert!"

"Did you honestly think that you could seduce Mori-sempai? Vile wretch!"

"Why the bloody hell would I want to seduce him?!"

"What did you hope to seduce him with?! Your non-existent assets?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?????!!!"

Honey, Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru stared at Misao, with their jaws, literally, on the ground. Haruhi, Mori and Kyoya, on the other hand, noticed that her face was changing colours rapidly. And that, at the moment, it was a deep shade of purple.

It didn't look healthy.

Sighing inwardly as the yelling continued, Mori took a step forward.

"... ... ..." He shut his mouth. What was her name again...? He knew it started with a 'M'...but...what was it?

Mika? No, that's not it.

Miki...? No.

Mina? ...No...

Misa...? Hmm, no...but it was something like that...

Mis...o? Ah, that sounds right.

"Miso..." he started (wondering why her parents had decided her to name her after soup), "...That's enough." The girl didn't seem to have heard him. Then again, if he had been paying attention, it seemed as though the twins were the only ones who heard him -which would explain why they were pursuing their lips in an attempt to not burst out laughing.

Sighing inwardly, Mori placed a hand on her shoulder, noting how she tensed up almost immediately. "Miso," he said, louder this time.

It got the desired effect, as the room was suddenly engulfed in silence.

Haruhi, Honey and Tamaki's eyes widened as one, as they stared at the dark-haired senior. Had he...did he just call her...Miso?

Misao turned around slowly, her eyes slits in her face.

"What did you-"

"-That's enough, Miso," interrupted Mori, quietly. "It is not proper for-"

"What-did-you-call-me?" asked Misao, through clenched teeth, as she saw, out of the corner of her eyes, the twins roll on the ground, laughing.

Mori blinked. Is that a trick question?

"Miso."

"Why?"

Mori blinked again. ...Did she hit her head anywhere yesterday, when running after me? Iie...I made sure that I took a path that would be less dangerous for her, since she seems to have an affinity for tripping over things.

"Because...it's your name..." Haruhi watched, half-amused and half-appalled (as did most of the people gathered in the room), as a dozen or so veins popped out on Misao's head.

Three and a half minutes of...silence later:

"My...name..." started Misao, at last, "Is-"

"-Miso," finished Mori, wondering why his sixth sense was screaming at him to get as far away from the girl as was possible. "Yes, Miso, we-"

"-NOT MISO!!" was the last thing that Misao yelled before throwing herself at the dark-haired senior, her fists raised. Mori staggered backward, valiantly trying to regain his balance...but failing. Instead, he crashed onto the ground (amidst worried yelps from the girls), with the dark-haired girl on top of him.

Sighing, Kyoya brushed back a few strands of hair that were adamant in slipping into his eyes.

"Oh dear..." he mused, as he glanced at the clock."We're going to lose a fair bit of profit here..."

"Er, sempai, I think you have something else to worry about," said Haruhi, drawing his attention to her.

"Oh?"

"I think she's going to kill him." And indeed, it did seem as though that was her intention, for Misao was on the fallen senior's torso, driving her fists at him as she continued to yell.

"MA (punch) KI (punch) MA (punch) CHI (punch) MI (punch) SA (punch) O (punch)!!!" When she was done with that, she started pulling at his cheeks. Tamaki and the twins stared at her in comic horror; it looked so very painful! "NOT MISO, YOU SEXIST, FORGETFUL PERVERT WITH THE MEMORY OF AN ELEPHANT!!!"

Mori, somehow, managed to quirk an eyebrow at her. Don't elephants have a good memory? And he asked her that. To which the answer was a head-but. "Smartass!" growled Misao, looking a little bit embarrassed. "I meant the memory of a...PEA-BRAIN!!"

Haruhi sighed, before glancing around at the hushed whispers she heard from the girls around them. Looking back at the pair on the ground, her eyes widened slightly. She could understand why the girls looked...scandalized.

"Mi-sao...can you please stop that?"

And it seemed that Mori-sempai understood why too.

"And why the bloody hell would I listen to you?!" snapped Misao, glaring down at him. Mori was surprised to find his face and neck warm.

Idiot. Now is not the time for that.

"Because..." he looked down, pointedly, causing the girl to follow his gaze. In her current position, she was effectively straddling his lap as she punched and...er, abused him for not remembering her name. And since he was on the ground, it meant that she was...sitting on him. And it didn't help matters any when she leant down to scream at him -even though he wasn't deaf- thus bringing the two of them rather...uncomfortably close to each other.

Misao's face turned a brilliant shade of cherry-red as she unconsciously raised her eyes to meet his.

"ARGH!" she yelped, hurriedly moving her hands from where they had been trying to rearrange his face. She started to scramble off him as fast as she could. "I---didn't mean---I---oh!" In her haste to get off the senior, she had somehow lost her footing, and had flopped back down on him.

Except this time, she ended up lying flush against him, much to both hers and his horror.

...Not good...

And to the...surprise of Honey, Haruhi and Tamaki.

Poor Takashi. Ne, Usa-chan?

Oh, and of course to the amusement of Kyoya and the twins.

Miso! M-Miso! He thought her n-name w-was Miso!!! Ahahahahaha!!!

When Misao opened her eyes, she flushed scarlet at the...practically non-existent distance between hers and the dark-haired haired senior's eyes.

It was at that...opportune moment that the doors to the music room opened once more, revealing a jolly-looking, well-dressed, elderly male.

"Hello there young ones!" exclaimed the white-haired male, drawing everyone's (almost everyone's) attention to him. "How are you all doing today?" He turned to the girls. "Oh my, you girls look simply adorable!" he exclaimed, grinning, before turning to the -only- other men in the room.

"Hello," said Haruhi, politely, as she bowed her head to the old man, seeing Tamaki staring at him in horror (the idiot thought that the old man was a 'customer'). "How may we help you, sir?"

The man beamed at her.

"Ahh, such wonderful manners!" he cooed. "If only my granddaughter would learn some of them..." He shook his head. "Anyway, young lad---" he stopped, eyes widening slightly. "Oh my. Pardon me. I did not realize the you aren't a la-"

"-How can we help you, old man?" asked Hikaru, interrupting him, quickly, before he could continue.

"Ah. Right. Well, I have been here for half an hour, waiting for my precious, angelic granddaughter...but she hasn't come out yet. When I asked around, I was told that she came in here a while ago, so I was wondering if you had seen her...?"

Tamaki moved so he was standing in line with Haruhi.

"Granddaughter?" he echoed. "And what might her name---" He was interrupted by the old man, as he saw the pair on the ground behind Tamaki.

"Makimachi Misao! Just what do you think you're doing?!"

Misao was snapped out of her highly volatile and embarrassed state when she heard her name being called out. Turning her head slightly, she glanced in the direction the call had come from.

Green eyes widened in a flash, as Misao tried to scramble off the senior once more.

"Jiya!" She successfully managed to get off him. "I---I didn't -I wouldn't --- it's not what you think!"

A/N

Yes, I left it at that! Hehe, the next chapter will be a continuation of this one...and I hope it will be interesting.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this!

See ya next time!

Siriusgirl1