Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran. Bisco Hatori owns Ouran. I'm only borrowing the characters for entertainment, not monetary purpose. Please do not sue me. Thank you.
CHAPTER 10: HOPES
Haruhi sighed in relief as she finished her makeup calculus exam. She wasn't that worried about the results since she already knew the material and had made it a point to review briefly before the test. Her sharp, intelligent mind had kept her at the top of her class, and she wasn't about to let the loss of her home or the terrible aftermath affect her.
She thought for a moment that if she had indeed achieved her dream of becoming a lawyer, she could help to influence her community in helping the victims of the fire as well as any future victims.
Maybe when I'm done with Ouran. Haruhi smiled at the thought. Then she glanced at her watch. One more class before I'm off to the Third Music Room.
Entering the 1-A classroom, she took her usual place between Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin and glanced about the room. The teacher had not yet arrived, so classmates were whispering around them.
"Poor Haruhi-kun. I hear his father got burned pretty badly."
"I hope they can get back on their feet soon. It must be rough living without anything. I don't even want to imagine."
"Well, commoners have always had to make more with less, so I think Haruhi-kun and his neighbors will be able to handle themselves."
"I wonder if we should try to help."
Then the bell rang for the class to begin and the teacher entered the room. Everyone stood up and greeted her as she set her books down at the desk. Then she told the class to be seated, but took a moment to look Haruhi in the eye.
"Fujioka-san, I am sorry for your loss, and I hope your father and neighbors can make it through this difficult time."
Haruhi stood up and bowed for her teacher. "Thank you, sensei."
Then she took her seat and opened her book to the chapter that the teacher had indicated. Of course, Haruhi had to point out the correct chapters in the book to Hikaru and Kaoru, since paying attention wasn't in their repertoire of appropriate behavior.
The class passed by relatively quickly, and Haruhi hurriedly yet carefully copied down the homework assignments that the teacher had laid out.
As the day progressed, she noticed that many students were giving her sidelong glances. Some were offering looks of pity toward the cross-dressing commoner; others were in awe at her (or his) bravery in the face of such a loss. Still others turned away and whispered amongst themselves in small groups as she and the Hitachiin boys passed them in the hallways. No one addressed her directly, since they weren't sure what to say.
How would this affect the amount of customers who showed up at the Host Club?
"Fujioka-san!"
Haruhi glanced down another hallway at the sound of the rough voice that had come from the 1-D classroom. A tall first year with long messy crimson hair and a somewhat fierce expression ran toward her. But Haruhi saw that there was a certain gentleness hidden in the young man's facial features and she turned towards him.
"Kasanoda-kun!" Haruhi gave the yakuza student Ritsu Kasanoda a brief smile, causing an ever-so-slight blush to well up on his face, giving away his not-so-secret crush on her. But before he could get too close to the scholarship student, the twins each stepped in front of Haruhi and blocked his view of her.
"We have to get to the Third Music Room now, Bossa Nova," Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison, with a tinge of jealousy in their voices. They then grabbed each of Haruhi's arms and hauled her toward the stairs, leaving Kassanoda behind.
"Come by later if you want," Haruhi called back toward Kasanoda, who stared at the trio dumbly.
The blush was still on his face, along with a few drops of sweat.
Later in the Third Music Room
"Ah, my lovely little daughter has arrived at last!" Tamaki ran to hug his proclaimed "daughter" just as Hikaru once again got between them and Kaoru pulled Haruhi away as she addressed the Host Club King.
"Senpai, shouldn't we get ready for the customers? They'll be here soon, and we've got tables to set and instant coffee to make."
Tamaki opened his mouth and looked a little sad that he had not been able to show his usual affection, but he quickly bounced back upon noticing the clock in his peripheral vision.
No time for the corner of woe. Right now.
The club members, excluding Kyouya, wasted no time busying themselves with putting exquisite porcelain on tables, flanked with the finest imported silverware known to humanity. Haruhi started setting out saucers and cups at Tamaki's table while noticing Kyouya vigorously typing on his laptop and occasionally giving her a strange look. What could he possibly be hiding from the young natural host?
After she finished placing some ornate teacups down in some equally ornate saucers, she finally approached the Shadow King, who continued to type as if pretending to be oblivious to her presence.
Even though he most certainly was not.
"Kyouya-senpai? Is something the matter?"
The Shadow King finished up a sentence, hit the enter button on the keyboard, and stopped typing. He looked slightly uncomfortable, despite trying to keep his expression as neutral as possible.
"I was…talking with some of the doctors in charge of your father's treatment. He's going to need to learn to walk again and it won't be easy for him. And because he suffered burns to his face, he will probably need some cosmetic surgery to repair it before he can return to his line of work."
Haruhi nodded, but still couldn't shake the fact that Kyouya wasn't giving her the whole story. She also noticed that he broke eye contact with her rather quickly instead of giving her one of his usual semi-benign mental appraisals.
The sound of customers starting to file into the Third Music Room then prompted Haruhi to move back toward her table to welcome her regulars as they approached her.
"Welcome ladies, please sit down," Haruhi greeted the three girls with her usual natural smile. She picked up the exquisitely-painted porcelain tea pot and began to pour a smooth exotic oolong tea into each of their cups. Even though she was effectively hiding her anxiety over her father and her situation in general, a small amount of fear seeped through.
The girls accepted the tea graciously and were chattering with their favorite host, but seemed slightly uneasy around her. They were unquestionably fond of Haruhi, but they still couldn't comprehend the idea of having lost all material possessions in just a few hours. The three girls all had more than abundance in their lives and were finding it hard to comfort the destitute Haruhi.
Nevertheless, they tried.
"Haruhi-kun, I'm so sorry that such an awful thing happened to you. Are you doing okay?" Mikoto, a dark-haired second year student inquired.
"I will admit, it hasn't been easy for me, but I've managed," Haruhi responded while staring at her own cup of tea. "I've lived in that apartment since I was born. We were always so happy, and I know there are a lot of memories that surrounded our home."
Haruhi began to speak from the heart, partially to keep up her reputation as the "natural" host, but also because her words resounded from her soul. She swallowed hard.
"I'm just sorry I couldn't get my mother's ashes out. It feels like a piece of me is gone now, and I'll never get it back. Mom's gone forever now."
Tears sprung up in the girls' eyes when they heard this. All they wanted to do was give their favorite host all the moral support that they could. They thought of their own rich lives full of material wealth but lacking in familial love. The parents of these wealthy young ladies were always so busy with their own lives of work and social gatherings, often leaving their daughters in the care of the servants.
"Dad is still at the hospital," Haruhi continued, interrupting the girls' thoughts. "He's still suffering from his injuries, but I gave him a picture of us as a family when I was little. We went to a beach and that made him smile a little, even though it hurts because of his burns. I hope that's enough."
Mikoto spoke up, "You're so brave, Haruhi-kun, and so caring. Your father is lucky to have such a wonderful son."
The other girls nodded and sipped their tea. They knew their Haruhi was handling this awful situation much better than they ever could.
Suddenly the door burst open, revealing a sweaty, dirty Kassanoda carrying a flower pot with some small purple flowers in them.
"Fujioka-san!"
Haruhi turned at the sound of his voice, as did the customers. The red-haired yakuza crossed the room and tried to keep the blush off his face as he presented the pot to her.
"I-I planted these orchids, Fujioka. Maybe they can be planted as a new memorial for the people who…who…" Kassanoda could barely stammer out anything because of his nervousness, so he tried again.
"Please take these flowers and know that I support you, Fujioka-san."
Haruhi looked at the orchids in the pot. They were still pretty small, but she figured that they would be a lot prettier and larger in the not-too-distant future. She smiled for the sweaty yakuza and graciously accepted his gift.
"Thank you, Kassanoda-kun. You're nice to give me these flowers."
Hikaru and Kaoru walked up to the table and eyed what they saw as pathetic little buds compared to the magnificent orchids their grandmother had planted not long ago. They were about to comment on how immature the flowers seemed when Tamaki spoke in his lordly Host Club king voice.
"How nice of Bossa Nova to grace us with his presence, wouldn't you agree my little princesses? Perhaps we should decorate the whole room with these lovely flowers to match the beauty of our customers."
The twins looked at the Host Club King and wondered just how lame his ideas could get.
Kyouya spoke next, "Perhaps, Kassanoda-kun, more flowers would be a charming addition to this otherwise plain-looking music room. After all, if the customers like the flowers, they will come more often, and we will gain more of a profit margin. Wouldn't you agree?"
Kassanoda looked at the glint behind the Shadow King's eyes and took it as a hint to go get cleaned up and come back as a paying customer. He stared with more than a little fear at the slight tinge of annoyance on the dark-haired host's face.
"Well, I'll go start planting some more flowers. Please excuse me," he stammered. He bowed and skittered toward the door, leaving the flowers on the table. As soon as he was gone, Hani and Mori came over. They had finished taking care of their customers and were curious as to what was growing in the pot.
"Wow, they're so little aren't they, Takashi?" Hani cooed over the delicate little purple flowers. He picked up his pink rabbit and put the stuffed animal's face near the side of the pot. "Look, Usa-chan. They're still growing."
Mori looked at the flowers in the pot and nodded, agreeing that the flowers were still pretty small. Haruhi set the flowers near the center of the table for the customers so they could see them.
"I should show these to Dad when I go see him."
The other hosts agreed, even if Hikaru and Kaoru were just barely managing to keep a tactless comment about Kassanoda's gardening abilities to themselves.
In the meantime, Kyouya typed a few things into his laptop, calculating the expenses of the meeting as it continued. When he was certain he was not being watched, he clicked up another window on the screen as he eyed the report from one of his lieutenants from his family's private police. After the fire at Haruhi's apartment had been extinguished, Kyouya had sent several members of his family's police force to work with the investigators and the firefighters who were salvaging what they could from the building.
The report he read made him wonder about what they had found among the debris.
How did the landlady get her hands on explosives?
TBC.
Author's note: Okay, I admit I suck at updating. But I just have to write through Writer's Block. That and my real life as well as a couple of computer upgrades have made me delay. Feel free to chuck cyber-pebbles at me if you like. Or boulders. Whatever.
Anywhoos, read, review, and I'll see you next time.
P.S. Let me know if I should bring back Kassanoda or any of his gang. Maybe a bunch of orchids as well. They're so preeeeeeeeettyyyyy.