Chapter Thirteen: The Festival Unveiled! and Soup.

"Th- Thermotype?" The club shouted after the race.

"What is that?" Tamaki asked Haruhi.

"She means invisible ink." The Twins cleared up.

"In other words it's disappearing ink." Hikaru began with the crown from the race on his head. "It's not visible when you write with it, but by warming it, it shows up."

"We used to use it a lot for mischief..."

"No surprise..." Kiiro grinned at them.

"No. It's just orange juice." Haruhi corrected. She pulled out a lighter. "Thinking that these letters were connected to the other hate mail was a mistake. It's really quite simple. If you apply heat to a blank paper."

She heated one paper. A letter to Tamaki began to appear.

"Just as I thought," Kyouya began. "It's from the Chairman."

"Dear Tamaki, Let's have dinner together! Dear Tamaki, When are you going to write me back? Dear Tamaki, This orange is pretty tasty." Kiiro laughed as she read aloud.

"What the heck? These are all personal letters to Tono?"

"Th... That..."

The entire club went into the Chairman's Office to watch Tamaki and his father bicker.

The Chairman, who looked exactly like Tamaki would if he were fully Japanese and older, seemed completely serious and a tad bit annoyed at his son, "Tamaki you truly are... a very silly boy!" he poked King's cheek. "I received a report that the Host Club was receiving hate mail. I had to contribute immediately." Yuzuru Suoh said with a smile. "So what do you think? I made it more fun, didn't I? I deepened the mystery?"

"You didn't have to make it more "Fun"!' scolded Tamaki. "If you want to say something, talk to me directly!"

'Funny usually Tamaki's the ridiculous one. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess.'

"You say that Tamaki, but..." Yuzuru abruptly looked to the corner with panic in his eyes.

Tamaki turned quickly, Kiiro whipped her head around.

"What, there's nothing there?" they said in unison.

"Oh, I got two." Yuzuru chuckled. "Hello! You're Haruhi Fujioka, right? I heard a lot of good things about you!" he shook Haruhi's hand.

Tamaki pouted in the corner. Kiiro inwardly pondered at how easily she could be tricked.

"I'm so busy, I haven't had time to come by..." Mr. Suoh went on. "How are you getting along at school? Is there anything that bothers you? By the way, are you interested in Webster?"

"Uh... Thank you, I'm quite used to school now. And if you're talking about Jean Webster, I've read her book Daddy Long-legs, but that's it."

"Wonderful!" he snapped. "Miss!"

His secretary gave him a bundle of paper, which he handed to Haruhi.

"Here you go."

'Stationary?'

"You see, the reason I established the scholarship program..." he struck a dramatic, selfless sort of pose. "I wanted to be the "Daddy-long-legs" to deprived but ambitious boys and girls."

"You want me to write letters of appreciation?" Haruhi questioned with an unbelieving voice.

'Just like Tamaki...'

"I'm also quite aware of the reason you hide the fact that you're a girl..." He took her hands. "What a horrible boy Tamaki is to do that to such a darling little girl... I have an idea! What about if this daddy buys you a dress?"

"Dad!" Tamaki yelled hopelessly. "Stay away from Haruhi, please! We're busy, if you'll excuse us! Let's go, everyone!" Tamaki pushed everyone out of the room, save for Kyouya.

Kiiro sat drawing in her studio after school, still smiling over how strange and refreshing her friends could be. Today was such a nice day, she had left a window open and could feel the relaxing breeze blowing in. Stirring the studio's many papers, creating such a soothing sound in the near-quiet.

She breathed deeply, 'I haven't been this calm in so long...'

Abruptly, the door to her studio was opened, disturbing her peace.

"Ne, Mom?!" she squeaked as her mother ran right up to her and hugged her tightly. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Her mother, who was her spitting image but older and blue-eyed, released her, "Oh, Kiiro! Is that any way to greet your mother!" she cried.

Her father stepped into the room behind her, followed by Aneleigh, her younger sister, fourteen but already an inch taller than her older sister.

"What?! You're all here?! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?!" she shouted.

"We wanted it to be a surprise so we can go to your festival tomorrow." he father chuckled, bending down to see her eye-to-eye, "Well, the customary thing to say when you see your daughter after a long time would be, "My, how you've grown!"" he smiled. "But you haven't." he teased.

"Ack! Dad!" she protested as he ruffled her hair.

"Still have a height complex?" Aneleigh, embraced her sister, "I've missed you, sis."

Kiiro smiled, "I've missed you too!" she hugged her, she absolutely adored her younger sister, they were very close.

"She does look different, though, dear." her mother grinned as she watched her children chatter.

"No doubt about it..." her father added.

"It's not fair, when did she grow up?" her mother sighed. "She used to be so backwards, she shouldn't like boys yet!"

"Well, she is seventeen, now..." he slumped. "At least Kyouya is a respectable boy..." he huffed.

"But, I'm not ready to give her up to some boy!" they cried together.

"Ne?!" Kiiro panicked. "What's wrong?! Why are you crying?!" she asked as they sulked.

'Why are my parents so weird?!'

"Everyone! At long last! The 43rd Ouran school festival is now open! Ladies and gentlemen please reference both the pamphlet and the touch screens for information! The touch screens are specially placed in each building! Please relax in the Central Salon located in the Central Building! Also please join us at the Dance Party at 5 p.m.!"

'Tamaki is so odd.' Kiiro thought as she manned a tiny kiosk in 2-A's event "Kiosks of the common folk."

"Oh, Kiiro this is..." her mother doted. "...um."

"You can say it Mom. It's weird." she laughed. "The president of my club thought it up, and he has quite a bit of sway in class and is obsessed with commoner stuff."

"Oh, the Suoh boy! I want to meet these club members by the way!" she laughed. "Enough of this place, Kiiro, join me in the Central Salon!"

"Do I have a choice?" she allowed herself to be dragged away, closing her kiosk. "Hey, where's Dad and Aneleigh?"

"Oh, I think they got caught up in that Venice attraction, they'll be with us soon."

"What an excellent son you have. I heard there were a lot of competitors for the Central Salon this year!" her mother exclaimed. She was speaking to Kyouya's father.

"Is she always like this?" Kyouya asked quietly.

"Yeah, she's uh... like that." Kiiro smiled weakly.

"My daughter told me all about it with such enthusiasm!" she gestured toward Kiiro.

'Me? When?' she blinked and smiled.

"I hear it was rigged to favor the athletic clubs. It was a great victory!"

"How wonderful."

"Rumor has it their strategy was planned by Kyouya! You sure are smart! You're already a top-student, but this required a different expertise!"

"Oh no, not at all." Kyouya humbly returned. "Unfortunately, I was not born to stand above others as a leader."

"How humble you are!"

"It was right to let the Chairman's son take the spotlight at the end." Kyouya's father half-praised. "Well done, Kyouya. It's good to show support for the Suoh family."

"To be honest, I was taken aback when I heard of the Host Club." Kiiro's mother smiled and laughed. "Well, it's rather outrageous, isn't it?"

"In this day and age, changing people's perceptions is also an important technique. Unless one can attract attention, it's impossible to be understood or even recognized." Kyouya's father returned. "I advocate meritocracy. If he has the talent, well... I don't mind naming my third son heir to the family business..."

Kiiro looked up at Kyouya, his eyes hidden by the shine on his glasses.

"Oh, how exciting!"

The smile was clear on his face.

Kiiro's mother looked over at her, she wore a kind of look that said, "See, that's what he wanted to hear."

'My Mom's crazy.'

"You're Kiiro Harper aren't you?" Kyouya's father asked.

"Y-yes, sir." she answered quickly, curtsying.

He looked to Kyouya, "I'll be sure to keep that name in mind. It's was a pleasure talking to you, Mrs. Harper." And, with that he walked off.

'Okay... just don't question it, I guess...'

"What?" her father and Aneleigh found them in the crowd, "Oh, I missed Yoshio..." he looked after Kyouya's father. "I'd been meaning to talk to him..." he shrugged. "Ah! Hello, Kyouya!" he smirked, "It's nice to see you again."

Kyouya bowed, "And you, sir."

"Enough of this formal "sir" business." he chuckled. "You're only reminding me how old I am. You can call me Richard, if you like, or Father." he smiled, "Since you and my daughter are so close." he teased her.

"D-Dad! What are you talking about?!" Kiiro shook him while her mother only laughed.

"Kyouya, I have to thank you for bringing my sister out of her shell more." Aneleigh said bluntly. "She's much more lively since she moved to Japan." she looked to her sister, "It's not fair though, how come you get to come here and hang out with such handsome boys?"

"What do you mean, Aneleigh?" she questioned.

"In the Sunset Venice exhibition, there was this really tall boy, I think he was a senior." she swooned.

"N-No way, you're not talking about who I think you are..." Kiiro conjured up an image of Mori in her head. "Ah! I've had enough of you lot." she straightened up and fixed her hair smoothly. "It's about time for the carriage ride and I'll have to assist with costumes..." she strutted off away from her crazy family, Kyouya excused himself and followed.

"You know..." she laughed. "They're intolerable sometimes..." she looked to Kyouya. "But, I really missed them!"

"I'm starting to see who you take after." he smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Which one is that blond boy?" Mrs. Harper asked as the Hosts rode by the crowd on an elegant carriage that had been shipped in from England. They dressed in brightly colored, and yet again frilly, Regal era riding clothes.

"That's Tamaki Suoh, the princely one." Kiiro laughed. "He's a little peculiar at times, but a good friend."

"And the elementary student?"

Kiiro nearly laughed her head off, "A senior named Mitskuni Haninozuka. He acts like an elementary student, too. He's really good at martial arts, though."

"A senior, really? And that one next to him?"

"Takashi Morinozuka, his cousin and friend, like a guardian. Very silent."

She noticed that Aneleigh watched him in particular.

"And that short, brownish haired one?"

"Ah, Haruhi Fujioka, the scholarship student. A good person, if a tad bit incredulous."

"And there's Kyouya and..."

"The twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, those little doppelganger devils..."

"Oh, yes, those boys." she chuckled, having heard a thing or two about them.

"Student activities are now over, please come to the Grand Hall and enjoy the Dance Party." the intercom announced.

"Haruhi's thinking about something." Kiiro mused, looking over to where Haruhi stood in her dress, pretending to be her own cousin.

"Ah, that, she was told Tamaki's story." Kyouya cleared spinning with her on the floor.

"Oh..." she thought about how Tamaki's mother was separated from him in France, how his grandmother hated him for being illegitimate.

"I believe she compared it to a soap opera."

"That's..."

"A sappy show for housewives."

"Oh, okay, you lost me for a moment." she looked over to where Aneleigh stood, shyly accepting a request from her favorite host, "I think my sister is a closet Mori fan." she chuckled.

"She does sort of fit the type I suppose." he looked to her. "What's your type?" he teased.

"I'm not interested." she held up her head.

He was about to say something when another something caught his eye. "What are they...?"

Kiiro turned to see Haruhi offering something to Tamaki off of her plate.

"It seems she's forgotten her manners..."

"That's not good..."

Some of the people in the crowd were talking about how ill-mannered she was. Even Tamaki's grandmother was watching. Haruhi almost ran to fetch another plate. But, Tamaki ate off of her fork anyway.

'Um...' Kiiro waited for the other shoe to drop, but nothing happened.

She looked up at Kyouya, who was recovering from his slight shock. She chuckled and he soon joined her.

The Festival was over so quickly, and her family had to leave at the end, but not before her father got to embarrass her further.

"Now, Kyouya, know that I'm counting on you to keep my Kiiro safe." he smiled. "Treat her well, because if I find her upset or slighted in any way, I'll be out for blood."

"Of course, sir." Kyouya smiled back.

"Dad! I'm seventeen! I can take care of myself!" she pounded her fists on his back.

"I know, Kiiro," he bent to be face-to-face. "But, sometimes you seem so little that I just can't help but think otherwise." he teased.

"You're such a jerk!" she pouted.

"I'm really going to miss you, though, Kiiro." he sulked, their faces mirrored each other.

"I'll miss you too, Dad."

Kyouya just shook his head.

'Okay, there's no way in hell that it's Spring again already.' Kiiro thought. 'Maybe it's a Japanese thing...'

She was in the Cafeteria watching the Twins as they tried not to order the same thing.

"Lunch "C" please." They said in unison.

"No, I changed my mind, the lamb from Lunch "A", the soup, appetizer, and milk from Lunch "B"! No, never mind! The Lunch "D" and a soda- no! The lobster from "C", the salad from "D" and the soup from "B", please!" They glared at each other. And went straight for the other's eyes. "Stop copying me!"

Thankfully, they were pulled away by Tamaki. "Will you two stop? You're disgracing our club! You're not going to kill time by roping us in! We're on to your mock fights!"

"Wrong! We started this so we could fight over Haruhi's lunchbox to relieve our boredom." they crossed their arms.

Tamaki was fantasizing again.

"It's a good thing Tono's mind's always so busy."

"Tune us in on your wild fantasy frequency."

"It's spring after all~!"

"Wait a minute, I've seen a similar plot before." Kyouya explained.

"Don't break the fourth wall." Kiiro laughed.

"The way things are going, I think what awaits us is..." Kyouya continued.

"Earth to Tamaki! Let's throw things at him!" The Twins threw a fork.

Tamaki artfully dodged, using bridged maneuver.

'Denied.'

The fork landed in the Vice Principal's soup, covering him with potage.

"I have seen this before!"Kiiro held up her hand.

"Members of the Host Club... Please come to the Vice Principal's office later..." the mustached man ordered.

'Does that mean me too...? I didn't do anything...'

"Deplorable! Who on earth do you think you are?" The Vice Principal scolded. "You are supposed to set an example! And yet you've started this questionable club and repeatedly caused chaos! Aren't you ashamed to be hauled in here for causing trouble in the lunchroom? You're high school students! Your actions are absolutely deplorable..."

"What now the elder is livid!" The twins hissed.

"Look, this is all your fault!" Tamaki yelled back.

"I'm guessing he lost it because his soup was potage and not consomme." Kyouya guessed.

"Well, probably not..." Kiiro shrugged.

"It was hot and his clothes got messy." Haruhi informed him.

"Are you even listening to me?" The Vice President attacked Tamaki. "Listen, the issue isn't about Consomme vs. Potage. The point is not to waste any food, whatever it might be. Having been brought up with silver spoons you may not understand but... it was right after the war... During a time when I hardly had enough food to eat I was pursuing a career in Accademia... Unlike you I came from a poor family. One day, I went mountaineering and almost starved to death..."

'Why was he mountaineering when he was starving?'

"When I thought I was dead... I heard a voice, "Don't give up yet- come with me. Please, have some hot soup." I don't know what kind of soup that goddess from the hut gave me with her warm meal but... the food was delicious. It truly tasted out of this world. When I ate it, I felt this energy bursting from me. Later, I became a teacher, as a side project I started researching all kinds of soups. Which is what led me to write this book."

He pushed a copy of Dr. Soup talks about Soups of the World in front of them.

"Huh..."

"But, however much I research, I've yet to find that soup. I mean... I'll probably never come across it again. Because..."

"What a touching story." Kiiro had pulled her knees up to her chest like a child during story time. Her eyes were big and starry.

Mori, Hani, Tamaki and the Twins were deeply moved.

"Sir! Your story touched me deeply. How foolish we've been!" Tamaki started. "Everyone, you heard what he said right?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Vice Principal, please leave the matter to us! We will not let your precious memory go to waste, sir! We will make sure we meet your expectations! We'll recreate the soup of your memory! Men-and Kiiro- are you all prepared?! Let's roll out!"

They exited the office.

The following days became a kind of competition for who could make the soup. So far, all were wrong.

'Though to be fair, the Twins brought one from the Amazon... and Hani-senpai's was chocolate.'

And the prize was Haruhi's lunch box.

'Though, truthfully, I just want bragging rights.'

Currently, Haruhi was showing them how to cook soup, and though most of the Hosts were completely inept, Kiiro could at least chop carrots and mix ingredients, so she was helping Haruhi.

"So, Haruhi, what kind of soup do you think it was?" Kyouya, who was not participating, asked.

"Well, even though western dishes spread rapidly after the war, I think it was Japanese. Soup is basically a stew in Japan after all. Considering the location the ingredients must have been edible wild plants and mushrooms." she deduced expertly.

"Gotta have some meat~!" Hani cheered.

"That means chicken, deer, beef..." Kyouya concluded.

'When did Mori leave?' Kiiro looked about for the vanished senior.

There was a knock at the door of the school's kitchen, "Well, since we don't have it here, we can't add it but... in the mountains there are wild boars." Haruhi opened the door and Mori was revealed with a struggling wild boar over his shoulder.

Haruhi shut the door and locked it, "Let's try some chicken."

"Yummy~!"

"Where did he even ge- ouch!" Kiiro stopped. She had cut her thumb.

"Did you nick yourself?" Kyouya asked.

"Yeah."

"Does it hurt?"

"A little." she pouted, knitting her brow.

He raised her thumb to look at it and then he, "Ew. Did you just lick my thumb?"

"I was getting the blood off."

"There's a sink right here, you didn't have to go all vampiric on me." she whined.

He just smirked, "Don't be such a child."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

While Kiiro was helping with the soup, the Hosts were trying to find side dishes. And they were trying soy sauce on Creme Caramel. Which, is rumored to taste like sea urchin.

'Yuck.'

Too bad it didn't work. But, due to something Haruhi said, Kiiro was tempted to try raw tuna dipped in soy sauce and topped with mayonnaise to see if it tasted like otoro.

She, and the rest of the members, raised the tuna to her lips and bit.

"Kyouya! Mori-senpai!" Tamaki snapped.

"Gotcha."

Kyouya flipped open his phone, "It's me. Find the very first person in the world who said that raw tuna topped with mayonnaise and soy sauce will taste like otoro and immediately banish him from the country."

"Isn't that a little harsh?"

"No."

Mori took off his apron, "Haruhi. Otoro doesn't taste like this at all. You've been deceived."

"It's not like I believed it. Mori-senpai, if you must persuade me so seriously as to throw off your apron to do it- I want to die." she stated bluntly.

Dark Hani surfaced, "Only someone who knew nothing about its true taste would come up with something so ridiculous. Hurting Haru-chan like that..."

"That's right. Could an ignorant person generate a true replica?" Tamaki said angrily. "Of course not."

"Leave it to us, Haruhi..."

"...we'll avenge you."

"For the Vice Principal and Haruhi...we'll protect the true flavor!" the Twins and King announced.

'Idiots.'

Now, to Haruhi's disappointment, they were trying everything they had and ended up making a bunch of gross, messy stuff. And all Haruhi got to take home was the left over natto.

'Poor Haruhi.'

"Let's bring everything to the Vice Principal's office!"

But he was gone on a week long vacation. And then they were forced to eat all of their nasty concoctions.

'Disgusting...'

And, everyone got upset stomachs!

'Yay!'