Disclaimer: I do not own "Ouran High School Host Club" or any of the characters in this wonderful manga/anime in any way.
Shelter in the Storm
Previously in chapter twenty five: But he knew that he could trust Haruhi. His mother soothed his nerves by explaining that if she saw anything that looked like it was planning something such as that, she would pull Haruhi aside and change the kimono at once. He felt better after talking to his mother.
Chapter Twenty Six
That night when Ranka arrived home from work, both girls had just turned in. They had worked well into the night making sure that their homework as completed, the housework as done, and them worked on dishes for the party. It was 5 am, and Takeshi would be there in 7 hours to pick them up. Kimiko was stumbling to the bathroom when she saw Ranka kneeling at his wife's shrine for a few moments. "Kotoko, she's really grown up. Our baby girl has the strength to fight off attackers, yet is gentle enough to tend to her friends needs as she lovingly wiped crumbs off of one's face. Honey, I don't know how you did it from up there, because I know I have been floundering around down here like a chicken with it's head cut off. I don't know how she did it. She's raised herself to be an amazing young woman. You really did bless me with a beautiful and truly astounding daughter." Kimiko had stopped to listen. She hadn't really intended to ease-drop. But her admiration for the young lady, who had been entrusted to her care, had grown. Not only was she resilient, after all, she was recovering from a brutal attack that left her in a coma just a month ago. She was also a natural born care-taker, as evident in the way she cared for her friends and also by how she insisted on making some of the dishes for the party coming up. The girl was strong of muscle in order to survive the attack, but also strong in character, as shown in how she didn't want her friends to be hurt by her decisions. And now, here was the girl's own father who had raised her alone, confessing to her mother that the girl had raised herself, as he waivered nearby. Kimiko felt honored to be in the girl's presence.
Shortly before noon, everyone was up and getting everything ready to go. The dishes for the party had been gathered, and everyone was up, bathed and dressed in casual clothes so that they could put on the kimonos once they got where they were going. Takeshi arrived right on time and helped everyone get everything in the car. They explained to Ranka why Kimiko rode up front once the car started moving. Once they arrived, everything was in place. The dishes that the girls had worked so hard on were moved out to join the ones that the Morinodzuka staff had provided while everyone went to dress for the occasion. Haruhi, who was not quite as worried about Kyoya pulling a stunt as Takeshi was, still mentioned it as she was helped to dress. She showed the innermost tag that Kyoya had put into the kimono to Takeshi's mother, who set her mind at ease. If Kyoya showed up in a matching kimono, he would be made to feel like a fifth wheel, because as soon as she had seen Haruhi's kimono, she pulled Takeshi aside and gave him one that would compliment hers. In addition, if he did do such a thing, Haruhi's Obi could be changed to compliment another color in the kimono, as could Takeshi's. Haruhi had nothing to fear. She would be made to match Takeshi's kimono but not Kyoya's even if it meant completely changing kimonos.
Takeshi introduced his parents to Ranka, after having made sure to forewarn them about his extravagances in advance. The gathering went smoothly. Kyoya arrived early, but his kimono had nothing that would indicate any ties to Haruhi's. And, true to Kyoya's style, Haruhi's kimono was perfect for her as it brought out her true beauty. Everyone settled down before being served and Haruhi got up to speak. She spoke about how grateful she was to everyone to taking care of her while she was at the hospital, especially while she had been in the coma. She talked about how changes had been made in everyone's lives because of her, bringing up the schedule everyone followed in order for her to not be left alone at all during her stay. Then she talked about how she had grown closer to everyone. "Having time alone with each of you has allowed me to get to know you each better, and to develop a closer relationship with you. But before we attempt to return to normal tomorrow… well as close as we can get for right now, I just wanted to make some of you aware of some changes in my life. "
She paused, afraid to go on, but she knew that she had to. "I know that some of you had confessed to me while I was in the coma. Some did it to try to shock me out of my coma, while others did it because it was their true feelings, but they didn't know how to tell me when I was awake. Some continued to confess to me after I woke from the coma. For that, I want to say thank you. The confession that I first recognized meant more to me than anything had before. I knew that I was loved. That confession also mentioned everyone else in the host club, so believe me when I say that I knew that the love I felt was not only from the one confessing, but from everyone in the club. So I want to thank all of you. If you hadn't felt that love for me, I might not have recovered as quickly as I have. Thank you all. But I also want to let you know that the one that confessed to me, while knowing that I was fully awake and not in a coma or asleep. I accepted his confession. It wont change me coming to the host club, and I hope that it wont change my friendship with each and every one of you. But I wanted to let you all know before I started coming to club tomorrow."
Silence ensued. She wasn't sure how to interpret the silence though. She looked at each club member to try to figure what was going through his mind. The only one that was obvious was Huni-senpai, but she couldn't tell if he was happy for the couple or happy that they would soon be getting cake. Tamaki's face was blank, like he hadn't heard a word that she had said. Kaoru's face looked like he had just been hit in the gut at full force, and he was about to be sick. Hikaru's face looked as if he had been splashed with a can of tomato sauce. He was red! Kyoya's face had the same mask he always had, as if what he had just heard did not affect him in any way.