Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. If I did, I'd be a character and marry Kyouya.
Yuri finally takes action on her discovery of Haruhi's identity. Meanwhile, Kyouya turns to his sister, Fuyumi, for advice on the emotions he is feeling. What is Haruhi's reaction and what does Fuyumi tell her little brother?
2:00 PM
Tuesday Afternoon
Akiyama Household
It was the perfect day to be out and about. The sun was not too hot and there was a cool breeze blowing. Out in the backyard, in their Kendo gear, were Yuri and Kaori sparring. The grass crunched underneath their feet as they moved in perfect sync to each other's moves. Grunts and wood crashing against wood were the only sounds heard. Not noticing a root in her way, Yuri tripped on it and fell on her back. Kaori took the opportunity to place her sword underneath the young girl's chin, triumphant. Yuri groaned in defeat.
"That was great little cousin," Kaori said, helping her up. "But you seem a little distracted today. Mind telling me what's up?"
Breathing heavily, Yuri bit her lip before answering, "I guess I'm still in shock about what I found out about Haruhi."
And the fact that I got my first kiss from a Dare, she added to herself, a small blush tinting her cheek.
They began to walk back to the porch were a pitcher of lemonade was waiting for them.
"But didn't you ask your team to look into her files?" Kaori asked, pouring lemonade into tall glasses.
"Yeah, but they didn't answer yet."
"It's only been a day." The older woman smiled, placing a comforting hand on Yuri's shoulder. "Give them time. Now, I have to run to the doctor's office for my check-up. Will you be okay?"
Yuri grinned. "Excited for the baby, huh?"
When she arrived home yesterday, Yuri was greeted by the news that Kaori was three months pregnant, which explained her sudden cravings. Kaori was really excited and the teenager couldn't be any happier for her cousin. She and Ryou deserved the gift awaiting them in six months and this was officially Yuri's first nephew or niece.
Kaori giggled. "You bet."
"You sure you don't need me?"
"I'll be fine. Aiko will be with me. Oh, that reminds me, she might be coming over for dinner tonight. Is that okay?"
Yuri scrunched her face. "Why are you asking me? This is your house."
"Well, you're cooking so…"
The teenager chuckled. "Which means I have to run to the store then."
Laughing and talking animatedly, the two cousins returned inside.
Because it was Spring Break, there were hardly any people at the grocery store. Yuri walked down the aisles, picking up items for that night's dinner. She was thinking of making some pasta, Kari had been craving spaghetti and meatballs. As she examined the cheese aisle and debated whether to get cheddar or parmesan, a familiar bob of brown hair caught her eye scanning the meat aisle caught her eye.
She raised a hand and waved. "Hey Haruhi!"
The brunette looked up and seeing her friend, waved back. "Hey Yuri. Nice to see you here."
Deciding on parmesan cheese, Yuri placed a jar of it inside her basket before walking over to the meat aisle. "Kaori's friend is coming over for dinner and she wanted spaghetti. Oh, that reminds me, great news! She's pregnant!"
Haruhi's eyes widened. "Really? That's great! I'm happy for her!"
"Thank you. I guess that explained the cravings."
"Does her husband know?"
"No, he hasn't called yet and she's waiting until they can do video chat so she can tell him face-to-face. She's really excited."
"Can't blame her. They've waited long for this, right?"
"Yeah."
Smiling and laughing, the two discussed Kaori's pregnancy as they shopped together. However, the whole time, Yuri was trying to gather enough nerve to ask Haruhi questions about her mother's side of the family. As the two waited in line for the cashier, Yuri cleared her throat.
"Hey Haruhi," she casually said. "I've always wondered. What was your mother like? I mean, you rarely talk about her. But when you do, I can tell that you really love her."
Haruhi smiled, softly. "Yeah, I do. I was only six when she died but I remember her very well. She was lawyer, a very good one I heard from Otou-san. That's why I want to be as good a lawyer as she was. I want to make her proud."
Yuri smiled back. "I think you already have." She proceeded with her questions. "So, uh, what does your mom's relatives think? I bet they're pretty happy that you want to be just like your mom."
Haruhi furrowed her eyebrows then shrugged. "I'm not really sure about that."
Yuri tilted her head to the side. "Why's that?" Then deciding that she sounded nosy, she backtracked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I'm butting into your personal affairs."
The brunette just shook her head and laughed. "Oh no, not at all. The truth is, I never really knew my mom's side of the family. Otou-san told me that they never really approved of her marrying him so they lost contact with each other."
"Oh, I see. "
Haruhi looked at her. "I hope you don't mind me asking Yuri but, did you tell your father that you're here yet?"
Yuri froze then shook her head. "No. Mama's going to have a fit if I tell her he doesn't but I… I guess you could say that I really don't want to see him while I'm here."
Haruhi placed a hand over her arm. "No matter what, he's still your father."
"I know." Yuri shrugged. "I guess I'll let him know when I'm about to leave."
"Which is when?"
She shrugged again. "It depends. Besides, all I'm concerned right now is finishing what I'm supposed to finish."
Her friend gave her a curious look. "Finish what?"
Realizing too late what her statement implied, Yuri immediately racked her brains for a reply. "You know… Finish school and stuff; that's what I'm here for."
When Haruhi seemed to accept this answer, the raven-haired girl breathed in relief.
When Yuri arrived home that day, she proceeded to make dinner. While the pasta simmered in the pot of boiling water, she began forming the meatballs. As she continued to make dinner, she thought back to her conversation with Haruhi. The brunette's story certainly fit the ambassador's story; Ranka had not been approved by his wife's parents and the ambassador's father did not approve of his daughter's husband; Haruhi not knowing her mother's side of the family and the ambassador's family not knowing Haruhi; and Haruhi's mother died in an accident, and so did the ambassador's sister. It all fit. Now all she needed to do was wait for any news from her team.
After molding enough meatballs and seeing that the pasta was done simmering, Yuri mixed it all together with tomato sauce and meat sauce and added a pinch of salt. After tasting it, she turned the stove off and left the pot on top of it and went up to her room to get changed; she smelled like meat now.
When she was changed, she decided to check her e-mail to see if her team had responded yet. Nothing, but she did receive e-mails from each member of the Host Club of pictures taken from their weekend in Okinawa. Thinking about Okinawa, Yuri's stomach gave a small lurch; she got her first kiss in Okinawa… From Kyouya Ootori… The least person anyone expected to give Yuri her first kiss. Unconsciously, Yuri lifted a hand to her lips, remembering the feel of his lips against hers. That night, she felt something she had never felt before: fireworks. She must admit, he was a good kisser. A very good kisser. And she couldn't deny the fact that he was good-looking either.
Taking a deep breath, she clicked on his e-mail. There was a full folder attached, labeled "Okinawa Weekend." He wrote a small letter too:
Yuri,
These are pictures from this weekend. I hope you enjoy looking at them. Oh, will you log in to our website and post them under "Host Club Vacations?" I'm rather busy with family affairs today, so I don't have the time. I'll check tomorrow to make sure you have indeed posted them.
Kyouya
Yuri rolled her eyes. Typical. Nevertheless, she logged into the Host Club website and posted the pictures as he requested. The pictures were both nice and hilarious; there were some of Hunny eating countless ice cream cones with his Usa-chan in his arms and Mori next to him; there were a couple of the twins building sand castles with their customers; some of Haruhi picking up shells; Tamaki taking walks with his customers; and Kyouya sitting with his customers at the refreshment stand. Yuri was in many of the pictures too; there were some of her just sitting under an umbrella with her guitar; some were of her in the piano; there were even a few of Yuri and Karou together (yes, even the one when he was carrying her towards the ocean). There were pictures from the Truth or Dare too and Yuri almost didn't post the one where she was beet red from embarrassment. But knowing Kyouya, he would know something was missing, she went ahead and posted it anyway; hopefully nobody would notice.
She was about to turn off her computer when she decided to check her e-mail again, just to be sure. Seeing an e-mail from Jake with the subject IMPORTANT!, Yuri's heart began beating in a fast pace in anticipation. Immediately, she clicked it and she scanned the message quickly:
Kathy,
We looked into Haruhi Fujioka's personal files and we found that she has things in common with the ambassador's niece. The most obvious of course is her father's name, Ryoji. Second, her birthday; the ambassador's niece was born during spring, so was Haruhi. Third, her address; the ambassador said his sister and her husband lived in Honshu before moving to Tokyo after their daughter turned two; so did the Fujioka family around the same time. Fourth, after giving up politics, the ambassador's sister pursued Law; Haruhi's mother was a lawyer. And fifth, the ambassador's sister and Haruhi's mother died at about the same time in a car accident. There are a couple more but we think there are enough. The rest is up to you.
Also, we talked to the ambassador as soon as you told us what you got. It took a while to convince him but he finally gave us a picture of his daughter. It's attached here. Let us know as soon as possible if this is your friend's mom. 'Cause if it is, then you need to get a DNA sample and send it to us IMMEDIATELY. We really hope this is the break we've been looking for. Fingers crossed!
Love,
Team One
Biting her lip, Yuri took a deep breath before clicking on the attached file. The picture popped up and the sixteen-year old almost stopped breathing. The picture was of the same woman whose picture she saw in the shrine at Haruhi's apartment.
Yuri didn't know how long she sat there, staring at the screen. It was not until Kaori burst into her room with a wide smile and enthusiastic, "Yuri-chan, I'm home."
The older woman paused at the look Yuri flashed her.
"Kaori… Will you go with me to Haruhi's tomorrow?" Yuri asked in a blank voice. "We have to talk to Ryoji Fujioka."
8:00 PM
Ootori Mansion
Tuesday Night
Seated on the floor next to his bedroom couch, Kyouya busily worked on his laptop. After waiting a whole day, he finally had the time to finish uploading videos taken from the Host Club's weekend in Okinawa. Yes, he took videos, without everybody else knowing of course. It would be a surprise once it was posted on their website. He could make some DVD's as well and sell them for five hundred yen a copy. Now those would stock up their club funds.
Scanning through the different videos, one caught Kyouya's eye. He cracked a small smile; he knew this video. He clicked on it and waited for it to load. When it began playing, he sat back on the couch. It was of Yuri, secretly taken on their last night in Okinawa, after the whole Truth or Dare fiasco. Remembering the kiss, Kyouya unconsciously raised a hand to his face and touched his lips. Why could he still taste that vanilla and chocolate?
Shaking his head free of the thoughts, Kyouya focused on the video; the twins had brought a boom box and was playing random commoner songs as their customers danced to them; Yuri was minding her own business, plucking on her guitar when Tamaki grabbed her arm and brought her among her dancing peers. It reminded Kyouya of the Spring Ball, in which she stood awkwardly among everybody else… until she started moving to the music. For someone who said she didn't dance in front of people, she was very graceful that it amazed Kyouya how she carried herself with the music. The way her dark, pink-streaked hair swayed with her body and the wide smile on her face fascinated him.
The video ended and the Shadow King opened another one; in this, Yuri was playing the piano during dinner. The hidden camera was close enough to catch her softly singing as everybody else around her chattered, not even listening to her play. But Kyouya listened; even in the noisy club room, he was close enough to hear her. He often found himself captivated by how her fingers fly over the keys, just like how his fly over his keyboard.; her eyes would sparkle along with the soft, contented smile on her face. On top of being reckless yet selfless, Kyouya couldn't deny the fact that Yuri Inoue was an attractive girl
"Hi Kyouya!"
His train of though broken by his sister's excited voice, Kyouya blinked several times before raising his head.
"Nee-san, I thought you were in bed already?"
Fuyumi's husband was out of the country on business and whenever this occurred, she would feel lonely and sleep over at their place until he came back.
She smiled widely at him. "Oh, you know I can't go to bed without saying good-night to my favorite baby brother!"
Kyouya sweat dropped as a faint blush tinted his cheeks. He was not a baby!
"Alright then, good-night," he simply said.
Fuyumi pouted. "You're throwing me out already? How about we talk for a bit? How's school and the Host Club?" Then, his laptop caught her eye and the piano music reached her ears. Her eyes sparkled. "Oh! Watcha watching?"
Quickly, Kyouya closed the window. "N-Nothing."
Nevertheless, Fuyumi walked over and seated herself next to him. The video was still highlighted so she clicked on it. Seeing an unknown girl on the screen, her face held a look of surprise before her lips upturned into a grin.
"Oh, who's this?" she asked, a faint giggle evident in her voice.
"J-Just a new club member," he stammered, moving quickly to exit the window. "I was just checking if all the videos worked."
"Now, now otouto. Though you're a very good liar, I know you well enough to determine when you lie." Her eyes sparkled as she wiggled her eyebrows at him. "So… who is she?"
Kyouya looked at her then breathed in deeply. "Yuri Inoue."
His sister's eyebrows raised. "Inoue? Is she a relative of Otou-san's business partner from The Inoue Technology Industries?"
He shook his head. "I doubt it. She goes to Ouran on government sponsorship."
"Oh, I see. I'm glad."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
Fuyumi smiled. "I know you, Kyouya. You would only make friends with this girl if you knew you could get close to Otou-san's partner. I'm glad that even if she's not, you're still friends with her."
"I'm friends with Haruhi, aren't I?"
"Yes, but Fujioka-san is a different story."
"Hardly, they got into the club the exact same way."
"Hmm… How interesting. Tell me all about her."
"You already know Haruhi."
"Not Fujioka-san, you silly goose. This Yuri Inoue, what's she like?"
Unknown to Kyouya, a soft smile had appeared on his face, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Fuyumi.
"She's the club's servant and pianist. Destroyed a 900,000 yen aquarium and 2 million yen worth of fish the first time we met her…"
"I see."
"She's reckless too. Climbs trees to rescue trapped cats; goes down wells to rescue little girls; even beats up some possible rapists to protect other girls."
Fuyumi smiled at her brother. "She seems like a very nice girl.
"She's sarcastic, loves taunting me, and a huge pain in the neck."
"Sounds quite like you."
Kyouya paused. "She makes me feel different."
At first, Fuyumi was startled. "Different? How do you mean?"
Kyouya leaned back on the couch and stared at his spacious ceiling. "Whenever she's around, my heart begins beating rapidly. Whenever she smiled, I never want to see it disappear. Her laughter sounds like music and I do what I can just to hear it. I get angry at her whenever she's risking her life for someone else because I'm afraid that she would be the one who will get hurt. Whenever we fight, I always feel like it's my fault, though in some ways, maybe I am at fault." He closed his eyes. "And whenever other boys pay attention to her, I feel like kicking them out of the club room and tell them never to come back again." He opened his eyes. "What's happening to me Nee-san?"
Fuyumi scooted closer to her brother and ruffled his dark hair, affectionately. "The same way I feel for my husband. I believe you're in love with her, otouto."
Her words struck a chord into Kyouya. Him? In love with Yuri? Preposterous.
He chuckled in reply. "You are mistaken, Fuyumi-nee. I am not in love with Yuri Inoue."
His sister giggled and stood up. "Denial is the first stage." She kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, Kyouya."
And with that, she left.
Kyouya continued to sit on the floor, staring blankly at his open laptop. After what felt like hours of just sitting there, he grabbed his cell phone and began to dial a number he came to know well. She picked up on the third ring.
"Hello? Kyouya-senpai?"
Kyouya didn't answer.
"Senpai? Helloooo?"
Sighing, Kyouya hung up and leaned back on the couch again, placing an arm over his closed eyes. No… His sister was wrong. He was not in love… He was not in love…
Meanwhile…
Yuri stared at her cell phone, confused. Kyouya just hung up on her, without saying anything.
I guess he dialed the wrong number, she thought, sighing sadly. And here I was thinking that he actually wanted to talk to me. The least he could do was tell me so. She tossed the phone on her bed, went to the window seat, and leaned her head against the glass pane. Stupid bastard. Why are you making me feel this way?
12:00 Noon
Fujioka Household
Wednesday
"We're glad that both of you were able to join us for lunch," Ranka said, pleasantly. "We hope you enjoyed the food."
From across the table, Kari smiled. "Oh, it was delicious, Ranka-san, thank you," she replied. "And again, we're so sorry for dropping by, unannounced."
Ranka shook his head. "No, no, not at all. You and Yuri-chan are welcomed in our home."
Beside him, Haruhi smiled. "So, you guys said you were here to talk to us about something."
"Yeah." Biting her lip, nervously, Yuri reached into her backpack and took out the photograph. "This is your mom, right?"
Haruhi took the picture and nodded. "Uh, yeah. But, I've never seen this picture before."
"That's because it was taken before your mother met your father, before she was Kimiko Yanagisawa," Yuri answered. At the thunderstruck look on Haruhi's face, she knew that this would take some time to sink in. "This picture was taken when she was still known as Hinata Watanabe, the only daughter of Daichi Watanabe, the previous ambassador of Japan to the United Nations, and the only sister of Hirohito Watanabe, the current ambassador of Japan to the United Nations."
Kari turned to Ranka, who had begun to look pale. "Ranka-san, forgive me for saying this, but you don't look at all surprised at this information."
The cross-dressing man gulped, nervously as his daughter gave him a suspicious look. "I-I… H-How do you know this?"
Yuri took a deep breath. Here we go, she thought, reaching into her bag again and taking out her wallet. In one of the pockets, she took her official Junior CIA Agent Identification Card and placed it in the middle of the table.
"My real name is Katherine Yuri Inoue," she said, maintaining a calm, professional-sounding voice. "I'm a Junior agent from the Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA. I was sent here to find the daughter of the Japanese ambassador's only sister. For the past three months that I was here, I've been investigating every possible candidate that fits the description. To my disappointment, as well as my team's back in America, none of our clues point to any of those girls. Until, the ambassador was able to provide us with the information that his sister married a man named Ryoji."
"But my dad's not the only Ryoji in Japan," Haruhi protested, suddenly sounding unsure.
Yuri nodded. "True. But prior to this fact, we were informed that this niece goes to school at Ouran Academy in an academic scholarship. You, Haruhi, are the only person in Ouran who has a father named Ryoji and goes to Ouran on an academic scholarship. Not only that, forgive me for saying this, but your mother died in a car accident, ten years ago, the same time as the ambassador's sister's death."
"So… This whole time, you were investigating me?" the brunette, exclaimed.
Yuri shook her head. "The truth is, you weren't on the list at all. For some reason, my team thought you were a boy, which was surprising to me since it's so easy to tell that you're a girl."
"People at Ouran don't seem to think so," Haruhi mumbled and Yuri couldn't help but laugh.
"Anyway, as I was saying, you weren't on the list. Until only a few days ago when we were at Okinawa when my team called and told me this piece of information on his sister's husband. So what I did was that I made my team look up some of your files." Yuri bit her lip. "And the information matched. Also, this picture," she gestured to it. "Was provided by the ambassador himself. Which means that you are his missing niece."
With this final sentence, everything was quiet. Not a sound was released. Yuri could feel her heart thumping wildly in her chest. She had never done this before. Sure, she had done interrogations; she was an expert at those. But to reveal something like this that could possibly change someone's life, well, this job was left to either Camille or Mandy; the two girls were experts at reveals.
"I'm so sorry, my dear Haruhi." Ranka broke the silence as he turned to his daughter. "Your Okaa-san and I were going to tell you, but she died before we could decide when. Her family didn't like me, you see. And I wasn't sure how to tell you so I kept making excuses and pushed it at the back of my mind, until I forgot that it even existed. Please, forgive me."
For a while, Haruhi just looked at him in disbelief. Then, she cracked a small smile and placed an arm on top of his. "It's okay, Dad. I understand. I'm not mad. I'm just… I guess, confused? I mean, this is all so sudden."
Yuri and Kari smiled.
"It's perfectly understandable," Kari said. "But you don't have to worry at all. Your maternal side simply wants to meet you. They're not gonna take you away or anything."
Yuri nodded then remembered something. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I need to take a DNA sample, just an extra precaution. We need to be certain. Is that okay?"
Haruhi turned to her father who nodded. "She deserves to know," Ranka said.
"Wonderful!" Kari took Yuri's bag and took out a folder. She opened it and showed him some papers. "Since Haruhi is underage, we need your consent."
"Of course."
Ranka took the papers and once everything was signed, Haruhi plucked a few hairs from her very short hair and dropped them in the small plastic bag Yuri provided. Having done what they needed to do, Yuri and Kari decided that it was time to leave. Haruhi walked them to the door.
"This doesn't change anything between us, right Haruhi?" Yuri asked, shyly. "I mean, I had to do my duty. I hope you don't feel like I lied to you. Most of what I told you about my life is true."
Haruhi simply smiled. "Don't worry, I believe you. And thank you… For telling me the truth. You're still a friend, no matter what."
Happily, the two girls hugged and when Yuri left, she felt a light burden lift from her shoulders. She was getting closer and closer to getting home.