Chapter Thirty-Two: Mother, Love and Return.
"Tono's mother came to Japan?!" the Twins wore the same shocked expression that Kiiro had when Kyouya had told her.
"Yes, it's been three days and she is staying at the Rio Grande Hotel." Kyouya continued.
The remaining members of the- quite possibly ex- Host Club stood in a quiet corner of the hallway. Today marked their tenth day with no contact from Tamaki.
"Then that's great! If Tono meets with his mother then he will definitely cheer up!"
"Well, it's not so simple..." Kyouya sighed.
"Tamaki refuses to see her before his grandmother forgives him." Kiiro absently fiddled with her hands.
Everyday one or more of the group would go to the Suoh's main house, trying to talk to Tamaki. So far, nobody was able to coax him out. This time, they all went.
"Yes?" the speaker asked.
"Excuse me for coming so many times...this is Ootori." Kyouya spoke into the speaker.
"I'm sorry, for the time being, Tamaki-sama said he doesn't want to see anyone."
Kiiro caught the expression on Haruhi's face, her worry and disappointment. Though, Kiiro missed her friend, she felt worse for Haruhi who was probably feeling more anxious than the rest of them. Even if he did have good cause, he could at least tell them he was okay.
With one last look at the Suoh's closed gates through her car window, Kiiro tried to pass along some telepathic encouragement, 'If anyone can gain someone's favor it's you, Tamaki. Now, hurry up so we can have our idiot back.'
"I'm saying that, here, everyone is aware of the problems related to Suoh-san's birth and about how he was never accepted by the president."
Kyouya and Kiiro sat in the middle of class 3A, both utterly speechless as Ayame Jounouchi revealed this to them.
"I merely did an investigation due to my hostility towards Suoh-san when he first transferred here." she continued. "But, I think a majority of the Host Club's regular visitors found this out very early on. After all, it's pretty normal for fans to want to know any possible information on the person they like. When I found out, I was shocked. But, I don't believe anybody cares, seeing as how Suoh-san is the way he is. I don't believe any Host Club member cares either. That's why, we thought we might be of some help, too."
Kyouya looked around the room, finally noticing how everyone in class quietly listened and agreed with what Ayame said.
It seemed that everyone at Ouran was awaiting Tamaki's return.
'If only he was here to see all of this.'
"Kyouya-senpai! Kiiro-senpai! Hikaru! Kaoru!" Haruhi barged into the room where everyone, including Hani and Mori, were gathered.
"Haruhi!"
"Haru-chan~!" Hani jumped up. "I heard you were called to the headmaster's office! What happened?"
"Hani-senpai, Mori-senpai." she greeted them calmly. "There were some documents... But, more importantly, we have a problem! It seems that Tamaki's mother will be leaving for France on a plane that departs tomorrow at noon!" she screeched.
There was a heavy, shocked pause.
"What the hell?" Kaoru broke the silence. "She hasn't even seen Tamaki yet!" he jumped up, fists balled.
"Actually, she shouldn't have been here in the first place! They got permission from her doctor for only a short stay!" Haruhi added. "She is still not completely recovered, yet! So she can't stay for a long time overseas!"
'So...she's just another one of the chairman's victims...?' everyone deadpanned.
"Anyway, Tamaki said he won't see her until he gets his grandmother's permission! His mother says she wants to respect his wishes and will go away like that! And, the chairman is depressed and won't do anything!"
"I-isn't there anything we can do?" Kiiro thought aloud.
"Should we kidnap him?" Hikaru said seriously, surprising even his brother.
The plotting began: "If we take him away by force and he sees his mother, maybe something good will happen!" Hikaru continued.
"I know! We should sneak into the main house!" Haruhi agreed.
"We could probably get our hands on some blueprints..." Kiiro joined in, tapping a finger to her chin.
"And we should tie him up with ropes if he tries to resist!" Kaoru offered.
"Yes! Yes!"
"Stop, stop, you four idiots." Kyouya interrupted them. "Do you think they don't have security in the main house?" he sighed. "Even if you happen to get inside by luck, they'll just catch you right away..."
"Still, we have to make them meet now!" Haruhi yelled at him with determination. "Because she is finally so close!"
"Kyou-chan, Takashi and I will take care of bringing Tama-chan." Hani stated.
Mori crossed his arms and nodded.
"But even so...you two..."
"Don't worry, I have a plan. But, even if we do our best, I think we will only be able to make it at the last minute."
Kyouya sighed, he looked around the room at everyone, so dead set on making this happen.
His gaze fell on Kiiro, who smiled sweetly and said, "We should at least try."
He turned to the window and pulled out his phone, "Tachibana, find the shortest route from the Souh house to the Narita Airport. I don't care what means you need to use."
Everyone's eyes widened with his indirect permission.
"Kyouya-senpai..."
He looked over his shoulder at Haruhi, he smiled, closing his phone, "That's incredible... Sometimes you're just as reckless as Tamaki..." he faced them, like general giving his orders, "Do you get it? At any cost, no matter what, we will have Tamaki go to the airport tomorrow morning!"
Kiiro was rather impatiently checking her phone, "It's already ten-forty a.m., have Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai went to Haruhi and the Twins yet?" she wondered aloud.
"Be patient. They're sure to get to the Suoh residence soon." Kyouya tried.
"How can I be patient? I'm worried." she whined.
"What have I told you about worrying?" he drew closer. His phone rang. "Hello?"
Kiiro could here Hikaru from where she was standing, "Kyouya-senpai! Kyouya-senpai! What should we do? Tono's mama is already at the airport!"
"Calm down, Hikaru. Since the flight leaves at noon we still have time." he sighed. "Regardless, things on your end are fine. I already took into account that you three would be nervous."
"Augh! Your perfection pisses me off! Anyway, what are we supposed to do when Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai get here?" The phone suddenly cut off.
"Hn, it seems like Hani and Mori-senpai just arrived." he commented.
"Good." she sighed. "I hope he'll make it to the airport in time."
"He will. Have a little faith, remember?" he smirked quoting her from the other day.
She glared at him, "At least one of us isn't nervous."
He raised an eyebrow and whispered in her ear, "No, I am nervous. I am often nervous."
She turned back to him and smiled small, "You don't act like it."
"Of course I don't, I'm nowhere near as nervous as you."
She sighed, "How is that possible?"
He smirked.
"Kyouya-sama!" Tachibana called from the car. "Tamaki-sama is in the helicopter!"
Kiiro could feel her heart skipping a beat, everything was finally in motion.
Over the radio, the helicopter's pilot could be heard, "Hikaru-sama! Kaoru-sama! The fog is suddenly moving in from the west very quickly! We may have to turn back!"
"No way! We can't! We've already wasted too much time taking this detour! We have to keep going!" Hikaru and Kaoru yelled.
"We can't! It's too dangerous!"
Kyouya spoke into the radio, "Hikaru, Kaoru, calm down."
"Kyouya?" it was King.
"Tamaki, listen to my instructions..." he ordered. "Once you land, we'll be there to meet you, okay? You'll only have a few minutes, but I... Hello? Tamaki? Tamaki?" he sighed, having lost connection with them. "What the hell?"
"What happened?" Kiiro asked.
"Interference? I'm not sure."
Kiiro whipped open her phone and called Kaoru.
"Kiiro-senpai?" it was hard to hear him over the sound of whirring blades.
"Kaoru, what's happening?"
"It's good news, Renge and a lot of others overheard our plans for today and every single one of them is doing their best to help. Right now we're heading to Tokyo Heliport. From there Tamaki will be arriving by boat to the place where you and Kyouya-senpai are waiting."
"Did you catch all that?" Kiiro asked Kyouya.
"Yeah."
"Good. Thank you, Kaoru."
"We're right over the heliport, he should be there soon, goodbye!"
She hung up.
"Okay, so he'll be coming up the river." Kyouya turned towards the river. "It'll be close, but if we hurry, he'll have just enough time."
"I hope."
"I know." Kyouya smirked again.
It was almost eleven-thirty-five a.m. by the time the speedboat- which belonged to Kuze's family- carrying Tamaki, Haruhi, and the Twins came up the river.
"Tamaki, over here!" Kyouya yelled.
"Kyouya! Kiiro!"
"Come on! Come on!" Kiiro urged.
"Geez! Get a move on you guys. Listen to me!"
"Sor-Sorry!"
They rushed up the stairs to the car, Kyouya sighed, "I normally would have prepared a helicopter for this kind of urgent matter..."
"Eh?" Tamaki prompted.
"But, for me to do such a thing...would deprive me of the chance to bask in the glow of my own supreme ability to calculate."
Kiiro resisted the urge to roll her eyes, frankly, she was impressed, too.
The road they were taking was monitored by police, both in squad cars and on motorcycles, and the sidewalks were lined with people bowing and both lanes were completely clear.
"I prepared this route long ago. We will be at the airport in fifteen minutes."
Kyouya sat in the front passenger seat. Haruhi sat in the middle at the back between Kirro and Tamaki.
Kasanoda and the Twins yelled their encouragement to Haruhi as they drove off.
"Tamaki, head for Terminal 1 Gate WI5." Kyouya instructed. "The flight started boarded long ago, so if the worst case arises and you have to board the plane, my staff will back you up. Kiiro and I will be waiting in this car. I wonder if this reunion will be as grand as the reunions usually portrayed in the movies? Frankly, I'm not fond of things that are deeply good." he smirked.
"Kyouya..." Tamaki stared at him. "Thank you."
"You are very welcome." they bumped fists.
"For the two of you to do this..." he trailed off, big tears forming in his eyes.
"It's the least we could do." Kiiro smiled.
"Um, what about me? Should I stay in the car, too?" Haruhi asked Tamaki.
"Haruhi...stay with me until the very end." he grabbed her hand. "I haven't seen my mother in three years and my hands are shaking."
"Tamaki! Haruhi! We're here!" Kyouya announced.
"Good luck!" Kiiro yelled as they got out of the car.
"Run you two!"
When Kyouya and Kiiro had gotten out of the car, they watched a plane take off into the sky. The two of them wondered if it was Anne-Sophie's plane, and if Tamaki and Haruhi had reached her in time.
"You know I would have followed you all the way to America." he smirked at her. "Just to bring you back."
Kiiro recalled the time her father wanted to name a new heiress, she laughed, leaning against him, "I'm glad I saw reason before any of that happened, then."
"I'm glad you did, too." he kissed her, warm and soft and sweet. "Because I love you, Kiiro Harper."
"I love you, too, Kyouya Ootori."
Tamaki's reunion with his mother only lasted five minutes, but the emotion in their embrace would last anyone a lifetime. While Tamaki and Haruhi watched as Anne-Sophie's plane took off, Haruhi confessed her feelings for Tamaki and they shared their first kiss.
"Kyou-chan~! Kir-chan~! Hika-chan~! Kao-chan~!" Hani and Mori caught up to them as they waited at the airport's entrance.
"Hani-senpai! Mori-senpai!"
"Where are Tama-chan and Haru-chan~?"
"I think they're still in the airport." the Twins answered.
"Did Tama-chan meet his mom~?"
At this time no one knew for sure, "If they couldn't meet after all the things I made people do, I'd be half-dead." Kyouya smiled.
Hikaru was looking through the doors, "Haruhi... I wonder if that girl confessed to Tono?" he hid his face.
"Hikaru..." Kaoru had a small, sad smile.
"I'm sure she did."
"Then, if that's the case...you did a wonderful job encouraging her. I'm sure she properly told him."
Everyone jumped up to Hikaru as he started crying.
"Hika-chan! My heart weeps for you!" Hani hugged him.
"..." Mori patted his head.
"That was a very mature thing of you to do, Hikaru." Kiiro rubbed his back.
"Would you like to borrow my handkerchief? For a fee, of course..." Kyouya offered.
It was later that day that Kiiro had been filled in on all of the parts she had been absent for. How Mori and Hani had gathered all of the disbanded staff of the Suoh's second mansion to get more information on the first mansion's security system. How Mori had grabbed Haruhi and jumped through a window to reach Tamaki. How Haruhi had lectured Tamaki about his need to talk about how he felt more. How so many students had volunteered for Tamaki to use their car or helicopter or boat to reach his destination. How Nekozawa and Yuzuru Suoh had both tried their hardest to stall Anne-Sophie from boarding the plane. And, amazingly, how Tamaki's grandmother had urged him to go see his mother off, and had asked him to apologize on her behalf for her discourtesy.
Four days later, via earnest petition, the Host Club was reinstated.
Finally, when the doors opened, there was the world of Greek mythology.
In the small amount of time that lie between the announcement of the reopening of the club and the actual reopening, Kiiro had gone into overdrive, ordering, fitting, decorating and fixing the many things needed to restore the Host Club in style. And she had done it happily. Thus the boys- and Haruhi- were all adorned in brilliant togas, magnificent robes and sandals, gold and silver arm bands and bangles glittered here and there, Tamaki and Haruhi even wore circlets of laurel. The Third Music Room had been decorated with pillars and vases depicting short stories. Swathes of fabric ran along the edges of the ceiling, as if they were surrounded by gauzy clouds at the peak of Mount Olympus. Sitting back at the end, idly chatting with the waiting guests, she realized she would never get tired of doing this, and she was so glad that things had returned to normal.
Meanwhile, all of the Hosts sat around entertaining the guests in their togas.
"Tamaki-sama, welcome back! Your absence was like parting from the sun!" one girl stated.
"Oh princess, you were sad? I'm very sorry! But, did you know? Without the goddess that draws dawn's curtains, Apollo cannot soar across the sky in his glittering chariot." Tamaki fluttered about, full of energy and in fine form. "Those of you who led me out of darkness are truly the sun! You are all my dawn goddesses!"
"Hikaru-kun and Kaoru-kun are perfect as the Gemini twins Castor and Pollux!" the Twins' guests squealed. "Gods and humans were separated at birth. However, because of brotherly love, the Gemini twins wanted to stay together, and they prayed to the gods to split their godly power between them!"
"Well, I must admit, of the Greek myths this one is the most interesting." Kaoru said. "This is of course because of the themes of incest and homosexuality, as well as the myth's message about the curse of jealousy and the turbulence of love and hate."
Hikaru pulled his brother close, "If we were born into the world of mythology, we too couldn't be separated from each other, right Kaoru?"
"Don't say such things, Hikaru... Didn't we promise if we were reborn we would be a single star!"
"Speaking of mythology, Mori-kun as the hero Perseus and Hani-kun as Cupid are perfect!" another girl remarked, referring to the bow Hani carried and the faux leopard pelt Mori wore over his shoulder.
"Thank you~! By the way, did you know~? In ancient Greece, sports were only played by males~! And, in those days, it was a rule to play sports in the buff~!" Hani cheered.
'Why did he bring that up?'
"Look! Look!" another girl started, pointing over to where Haruhi was talking to Kyouya. "That kind of outfit highlights Haruhi-kun's androgynous nature."
"It really does. He's like Aphrodite's beloved Adonis."
'Didn't Adonis die in a squabble between gods?'
"He's more like the beautiful boy Apollo favored." Renge pointed out. "Hyacinthus, his loss was greatly mourned by Apollo."
'Hyacinthus also died in a squabble between gods.'
Renge prompted, "And then Kyouya, with his coolness, who does he resemble?"
"What?" Kyouya asked Haruhi, who was looking at the guests oddly.
"...Actually, this is the first time I've seen people so correctly correlated with Greek mythology. Like the gods, everyone is too arrogant and devoted to hedonism."
"Ah, I see. But, that is why so many people have handed down the stories. People fear the thought of their own personal knowledge exceeding the power of the gods, while at the same time, because the gods are so full of human traits, the stories serve as cautionary tales that are easy to relate to, right?" his innocent smile warped into something more wicked. "Incidentally, do you know the tale of Kronos, the youngest son of Uranus, who usurps the power of his heavenly father, is of great interest to me?"
Kiiro couldn't help but chuckle.
As the Twins dragged Haruhi off to talk to her Kyouya walked over to Kiiro, "What's so funny?"
"Kronos? Here I thought you were Narcissus." she teased.
"The man who falls in love with his own reflection?" he smirked.
"Yes, you're arrogant enough for the role." she smiled.
"And, would that make you Echo, the wood nymph who always lusting after me? Hm?" he whispered.
"Hm?" she raised her eyebrow, grinning like a thief.