The marriage contract between Kyouya and Haruhi became the elephant in the room. Everyone was thinking about it, but no one was talking about it. If it was just Haruhi, then all of them could relently tease her about it. It also involved Kyouya, though, and no one wanted to upset their evil leader and so only quiet gossip was murmurred in the Host Club. Tamaki took the passive aggessive route whenever he could, though, which really got on both Kyouya and Haruhi's nerves.

"Is that a new tea cup or is there something else you are keeping from me?" He'd say one day.

"A family should always be close to one another, and share their troubles, isn't that right, Kyouya and Haruhi?" He'd say another day.

When the passive aggressiveness wasn't satisfying anymore, Tamaki came right out and asked Kyouya, "Why were you keeping this from me?" He sounded very angry and he kept his blond head held low.

"Because if you knew you'd act like an idiot, much like you are right now." Kyouya told him bluntly.

"You'd think an engagement wasn't something important to tell the family?"

"First of all, you are not my family. Second of all, engagement is a bit premature considering I haven't actually asked her. Again, it was merely arranged by our fathers as a probable outcome."

"Why are you being so casual about this?" Tamaki couldn't believe Kyouya would take this so lightly. Didn't he see what he was doing?

"Because someone in this club has to remain sane."

Tamaki then punched Kyouya right in the face. Kyouya's glasses flew off his face, across the room, and into a cup of tea held by one of the pretty guests. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the two.

"That's it, Suoh. I've had enough!" Kyouya ran at Tamaki and knocked him backwards and into the wall. A picture fell off the wall and onto Tamaki's head. Tamaki felt dizzying for a moment before he lunged at Kyouya, and then they brawled upon the floor in a huge cloud of dust.

Honey looked to Mori. "Should we stop them?"

"No." Mori said simply. "Let them work it out."

"But they aren't very good at it."

"No, they aren't, but still."

The girls, having never seen any of the host club fighting before, were strangely drawn to it. Then they started to form their own little teams in order to cheer for their favorite with screams of "Tamaki! Tamaki!" and "Kyouya! Kyouya!" Though, honestly, none of them had any idea what they were fighting about. They only knew that them fighting was pretty exciting.

Haruhi's voice was what finally stopped the brawl. "That's it!" The two stopped fighting and turned to Haruhi, who was standing nearby. "I am sick of this. Both of you are acting like idiots." Haruhi slumped her shoulders in defeat. "I hate to see you at each other's throats. It's tearing us all apart and I can't stand to see that anymore. Since you are fighting because of me then it only makes sense that I am the one who needs to leave the host club."

"What?" Hikaru stood up in alarm.

"Haruhi, no." Kaoru stood up beside him.

Tears began to well in Honey's eyes. "Haru-chan, you can't leave us."

Tamaki also looked like he was going to cry. "You are..." He swallowed hard. "leaving us? Haruhi...no." He stood up, as did Kyouya. The young maiden cleaned and then gave Kyouya back his glasses, which he accepted graciously. "I don't want you to leave." Tamaki whispered, taking a few steps forward and reaching his hand out to her, which every guest still thought Haruhi was a boy.

"I don't want to leave either, Tamaki-senpai, but right now I see no other choice. Please, for the sake of the club and yourselves, try to forgive each other." Haruhi looked at Tamaki then to Kyouya, who looked as surprised as everyone else there. Haruhi then turned and walked out of the front doors.

"Now you've done it. She's gone." Tamaki grumbled, obviously aimed at his vice president.

"I believe it was you that started this nonsense."

"Okay, girls, it's been great, but Host Club is closed for the night. Hope you enjoyed our very fake and phony fight! We'll reimburse you. See you tomorrow!" The twins ushered all the girls quickly out of the room and shut the doors. "Whew!"

"If you hadn't honed in on Haruhi..." Tamaki started angrily.

"Shut up, Suoh." Kyouya snapped and glared at Tamaki. "I've been throwing her at you for a year. Sometimes quite literally." Kyouya crossed his arms as Tamaki looked at him in surprise. The handsome prince straightened up. Now that Kyouya had the host club's attention he went on. "Of course you were too dense to notice or to take advantage of your fortunate circumstances. The beach house? She was in my room, but I left just so you could make your move-which you didn't. Hide and Seek? You honestly think no one knew where you were? You hid in the same spot every time. Not to mention my pointing out the piano at Karuizawa just to give you an edge so that you could win the competition and stay at the bed and breakfast with her. Even at the fair I literally spun her in your direction. Still, you were too stupid to admit to yourself that you were in love with her. Now you have the nerve to accuse me of taking her from you? You are an imbecile."

Having said his piece, Kyouya looked to Tamaki, who was now speechless. He'd had no idea that Kyouya had been behind all of that. He'd had no idea that Kyouya was behind the scenes, manipulating, playing, pulling strings like the expert puppet master that he was, and he had been doing it for Tamaki's benefit.

When nothing else was said, Kyouya stated, "I have a headache. Do what you want today. I really don't care." Kyouya would then turn around and leave them all standing stunned in Music Room #3.

It felt weird to not be at the Host Club every day. Haruhi got a lot of homework done. She did a lot of studying. She also washed and folded a lot of laundry. Hikaru and Kaoru still called her and invited her out with them, but she didn't hear anything from the others, notably Tamaki and Kyouya. She wondered how they both were doing and one day in homeroom she finally decided she'd ask the twins.

"It sucks." Hikaru answered bluntly. "Tamaki is all depressed and Kyouya is being more indifferent than usual. For instance, there was Tuesday..."

Flashback to Tuesday:

"Tamaki, what's wrong?" The girls hovered over Tamaki, who wore his uniform rumpled as he sprawled out on the couch dramatically.

"My lovely ladies, I apologize that I cannot be at my best for you. My family is falling apart."

"Stop being so melodramatic." Kyouya quipped in passing.

"It's really putting a downer on everything." Kaoru explained further. "Wednesday we had a 'Rain' party. The umbrella hats were a bit much."

Hikaru leaned his chin on his hand. "Then Kyouya just stopped coming. Tamaki said we didn't need him and tried to run the club by himself. It's pretty sad. He really sucks at it."

Haruhi's eyes widened. "Kyouya-senpai left?" Haruhi lowered her eyes. That was the same night her father told her that Kyouya had declined the arrangement.