"C'mon Kaori, pick up!" Mana leaned back against the lobby wall and glared at the attendant who'd been eyeing her suspiciously the last twenty minutes. She didn't care how odd it looked to be out here alone, she was not going back to that room. Like the last ten calls, this one clicked over to voicemail and Mana ended it before the cheerful voice telling her to leave a message ended. No point in sending another email, it was unlikely the twelfth would be answered any better than the first.

The doors of the lobby swung open admitting a blast of cold air along with two tall young men. The taller, darker haired of the two reached her in five strides of his long legs. "Mana-chan, are you okay?" He engulfed her in a bear hug which pinned her arms uselessly by her side.

"Ease off, Satoshi, the girl can't breathe." The brunette eased his grip but kept his arms locked around her. The fair-haired man shook his head with annoyance before turning a disapproving gaze on Mana. "Where're the rest of them?" Condescension dripped from his tone.

Mana wanted to protest that this wasn't her idea, but knew it would fall on deaf ears. "Up the stairs, third door on the right." He'd bounded up the stairs before she'd finished.

"Sorry about Chika, he's in a bad mood tonight." Satoshi had dropped his face against the top of her head and her hair muffled the sound of his voice. What had gotten into him? They were only barely acquainted through Kaori, certainly not well enough for impromptu physical affection.

Except… he had talked with her for thirty minutes at his cousin's wedding. He'd even danced with her twice and tried to get her phone number. But, he probably did that with all the girls.

"Um… Satoshi-sempai, do you think you could let me go?" He released his hold and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Mana looked around, but with her back to the wall there was no discrete way to retreat if he decided to hug her again.

Satoshi shoved his hands in his pockets, slumping his shoulders forward. It made him look much younger than a second year university student. "Sorry. I was just relived you were okay."

"I'm fine. Just worried about Kaori, she's not picking up her phone." She checked her phone one more time, but still no emails or texts.

Satoshi's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, right! Onii-san found her, she's okay. He said he'll make sure she gets home safe."

Mana wilted against the wall as the weight of worry lifted off her shoulders. "Oh, thank god. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened. This was such a stupid idea in the first place."

Satoshi leaned his right side against the wall and reached out to tilt her face towards him. "You know none of this was your fault, right?"

Mana felt comforted by the concern in his eyes. She sighed. "I know, but I still feel responsible."

"I'm glad you were here." Satoshi dropped his hand. Mana looked so unhappy and all he wanted to do was make her smile. "Just wish it didn't take a near abduction to get you to call me."

Mana lowered her eyes and flushed under his teasing grin. "I've been busy with exams." She wasn't lying, but it wasn't exactly the truth.

He stepped away from the wall and turned slowly and deliberately in a circle that seemed to encompass the entire lobby. He caught her gaze and gave a broad wink. "Yes, I can see that."

Mana flushed deeper and took one step toward him with fists clenched. "I only came because I didn't like the setup and was worried about Kaori!"

Satoshi laughed and held up his hands in mock surrender. "I know, I know, just teasing." He put his hands down and his expression softened. "You're a good friend, Mana-chan."

She felt flustered when he looked at her like that; being around him made her feel off-kilter. It was one of the reasons she hadn't called after he badgered her into accepting his phone number at the wedding. "Don't you need to go help Chika-sempai?"

Satoshi shrugged. "Why? There're only four of them, right? He needs to blow off some steam anyway. He'll make sure your friends get home safe." Besides, he had told Chika he'd be taking this chance to spend some time with her. His cousin had just rolled his eyes and said, "It's about time. You've been staring at your phone and moping for the last six months."

Mana looked at her watch, it was still early but there was no longer any point in sticking around. "I should probably get home too. I have more studying to do."

Satoshi was not about to let this opportunity pass him by. They'd never spoken much in high school; she'd just always been in the background. But, when he'd seen her again at the wedding smiling and laughing with Kaori, it had felt like his brother had whacked him in the gut with his shinai. While he wasn't wearing armor. "Do you want to go get some coffee? Or tea?"

She was hesitating so he pushed his advantage ruthlessly. "Just a quick drink? C'mon, isn't there supposed to be a reward for rescuing a damsel in distress? That's what Tamaki-sempai always says."

Mana shook her head, but with a smile. It was impossible to continue her resistance in the face of his unrelenting cheerfulness. "Alright, but not too long."

~oOoOo~

The door bounced a little against the wall as it banged open. The room wasn't the den of depravity Chika'd been expecting, but it still didn't look very good. The redhead in the corner sitting on wannabe rock star's lap was probably okay, at least she seemed so from the tonsillectomy he was trying to give her with his tongue. The two brown-haired girls with identical bobs being crowded by the three remaining guys looked less happy. They were huddled as close together as they could while the boys encircled them on all sides like wolves.

Chika looked at his watch. "Any girl who doesn't want to be here has exactly five minutes to get their things and head to the hallway."

"Chi…Chika-sempai?" said Yui with a dazed expression. Rio was already leaping up and lunging for her purse.

The emo kid who'd been caressing Yui's shoulder leapt to his feet. "Oi! This is a private party. Who are you?"

He unleashed a facial expression that had caused competitors in a thousand karate matches to quiver in fear. "I'm just a guy who should be prepping for a four hour practicum tomorrow but instead is here because your asshole friend tried to Rape. My. Baby. Cousin."

That got the attention of everyone in the room. The redhead finally broke of the kiss that even his appearance hadn't stopped. She jumped off her date's lap and looked uncertainly back and forth between him and Chika. "Kei? What was that about Souta-kun and Kaori? You said he was taking her and Mana home!"

Kei didn't have the grace to look ashamed. "Well I had to say something, babe, you wouldn't shut up about it." Chika hoped the man tried to fight, this was the kind of trash he didn't mind using his skills against.

Emo kid got up enough nerve to make a move, swinging a wide right hook at Chika's face. Instinctively, he raised his left hand to block it and simultaneously swung his right elbow at his attacker's chin with enough force to send the man sprawling backwards across the room right into the friend who'd been perched on the table in front of both girls. Glasses and plates of half-eaten food crashed to the ground.

The friend took a closer look at the intruder, eyes widening in recognition. "Oh man, he's one of the Haninozuka brothers! He beat my older brother in the Tokyo-wide Karate Championship last year. C'mon Tomo, let's get out of here" Chika stepped further into the room, clearing the doorway, and the friend grabbed the failed attacker's elbow and scrambled with him out to the hallway.

The remaining wolf rose up from the bench next to Rio and pushed the table to the side with his foot, clearing a path between the two of them. His eyes were hard and he balanced nimbly on the balls of his feet with his weight evenly spread. This guy was no stranger to violence. Chika wasn't surprised when he tried to feint a jab to the chin followed by a kick aimed squarely at his knee, both of which he easily blocked. Losing patience, this time he grabbed and held on to the attacker's right arm and delivered three strikes to his opponent's torso before letting him drop to the ground. The wolf pulled himself up using the wall and stumbled out of the room, glaring at Chika with a mix of resentment and fear.

Kei stood, looked between Yuki and Chika and then shrugged. "Sorry, babe. You weren't a good enough lay for this hassle." She sunk down to the bench and buried her face in her hands while he headed nonchalantly for the door. Chika let him go, all four of them plus Kaori's attacker would be getting a visit later. It was nothing the girls would need to see or know about.

Chika looked at the wreckage of the room and the three distraught girls before him. There were so many other things he'd prefer to be doing on a Friday night than this, but they were his kohai and friends of his cousin. "Get your things, I'll take you home," he said as politely as possible.

Rio looked happy to leave, but Yui was nervously clenching at her friend's shoulder. "Chi…Chika-sempai? Are you going to tell our parents about this?" she asked tremulously.

Chika's patience gave out. After all that, how could they only be concerned over what their parents knew? "What on earth were the three of you thinking?" he yelled at them. "Do you have any idea how reckless this was?"

Yuki looked up, obstinacy shining through her tears. "We were only trying to have some fun, is that a crime?"

"Have fun if you want, just take basic security precautions!" He wrestled his temper back under control and assumed the same demeanor he used with some of his students. "Points for going as a group but who else knows you're here? Family? Friends? Security teams?"

The averted gazes and shuffling feet told him the answer to that question.

"Did you know anything about these guys?"

"They…. they're in a band and go to Toudai…" offered Rio.

He stifled a groan. "Do you know anything beyond that? You all come from very wealthy families; being leered at for a couple hours is the least of what could have happened. Situations like this can be a setup for a kidnapping or blackmail. At least tell me you all have fully charged and turned on cell phones."

Their renewed interest in the floor answered that question as well.

He crossed his arms, lips hardening into a grim line as the thing which most offended him rose to the surface. "But, it really doesn't matter what else you did or didn't do because you broke the number one rule – you allowed your friend, my cousin, to be led off by someone She. Didn't. Know!"

All three of them flinched at his outburst. Yuki's defiant shield cracked and he saw the beginnings of remorse in her eyes. "Is Kaori-chan okay?"

Chika almost regretted yelling, had it not been for that chances were they would have just looked back on this evening as a slightly disappointing bit of teenage rebellion. "She's fine, thanks to Mana-chan's quick thinking." Relief washed over all three of their faces, making them look very young and very vulnerable.

Sometimes it seemed to him that no matter how many personal security seminars Ouran held, they never stuck. What made it more annoying was that he had taught the high school workshops for the last two years. This fiasco was in part a failure of him as an instructor. He could inform their parents, or the school, but yelling and punishment wouldn't provide the lessons they needed to learn.

"I won't tell your parents or the school." Rio blanched at the thought of the school being informed. Yui gave a broad smile and started to thank him but he held up a hand to cut her off. "But, I'll expect all of you at the main Haninozuka dojo in Bunkyo every day at six a.m. sharp starting Monday."

The two brown haired girls just nodded eagerly but the redhead crossed her arms and glared at him. "Why?"

"It's when I teach my 'Self Defense and Personal Security Techniques' class. This time I'm going to make sure the lessons stick." He turned abruptly and headed out the door without a backwards glance. "Follow me if you want a ride." As they walked down the hallway, the three girls trailed behind him like dispirited ducklings.

~oOoOo~

Mana was looking at the table, the surroundings, the waitress - everywhere but him. This was so hard! Girls had always hung around him and competed to attract his attention. How were you supposed to get one to be interested in you back? It didn't help that she was just as cute as he remembered. Her straight black bob was a little shorter, just grazing her chin, but it was those big, serious brown eyes hidden behind her glasses that he liked the most. In her black turtleneck and red plaid jumper she looked perfect.

Why oh why was he only wearing a faded t-shirt and jeans? He and Chika were just planning on getting some studying in tonight so he hadn't dressed up. He made a surreptitiously sniff to check if his shirt smelled. Shoot, was that a stain?

When the waitress came by, Mana hesitated over the menu but only ordered tea. Satoshi asked for a cup of coffee and a piece of both the vanilla and chocolate cake.

This wasn't good; she hadn't said anything except to order since they'd left the karaoke place. He needed to say something to keep her attention. Anything.

"I'm happy you called me. Wait! I mean I'm not happy about why you called me but… Um… I've wanted to see you again since the wedding."

Anything but that. Now he sounded desperate.

Mana had a hard time looking at him. "I… I wasn't trying to be rude. This is my third year so I've been concentrating on my studies. I haven't even spent much time with my friends until today." She'd dialed his number a hundred times but never pressed 'send.' What would be the point? Guys like him didn't go for girls like her.

He scratched his head and looked puzzled. "Aren't you first in your year? You should only need to worry about the exams for the program you're interested in."

"Only if I were staying at Ouran. Toudai has a better program for what I want to do."

"Mana-chan, you have a dream?" Satoshi reached across the table and clasped her hands excitedly. His face looked like a kid's on their birthday. "That's so cool. It seems most of our classmates just do what their families want or go for the high-paying fields like medicine."

"Well, I am planning on medicine, but not because of the money." She discretely extracted her hands from his. Why did he keep trying to touch her? She didn't exactly dislike it, but he should only do that with someone he cared about. "I'm interested in orthopedic surgery and the person I'd most like to eventually study under is affiliated with the Tokyo University Hospital."

Satoshi propped his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his now empty hands. "What made you decide on that?"

Mana blushed a little under his rapt attention. He made her feel like she was the most interesting person in the room. Nobody ever asked why, they just assumed it was because it was a good career. "Kaori. I became interested when she had her last series of surgeries in middle school."

"The one where they replaced her knee?"

Mana nodded. "And rebuilt some of her tibia. The extra mobility it gave made her so happy. I just thought, wouldn't it be great to be able to help people get back activities they thought they had lost or make easier the things that are difficult because of physical limitations."

"That's incredible. I like people who have a dream and strive for it." He really shouldn't look at her like that, so intense and approving. She would misunderstand.

The waitress came by with their drinks and Satoshi's cakes. As soon as she'd left, with one lingering 'please let me know if I can do anything else for you' aimed at Satoshi, he pushed the chocolate cake over to her. "Here. Turns out I'm only hungry for one piece after all. You said you liked chocolate at Mitsukuni's wedding , right?"

Liar. How had he known she had just felt too awkward to order what she wanted? She took a bite of creamy chocolate that melted in her mouth. "What about you? Will you be working for your family after university?"

"I'm not the heir so I have some freedom. What I really want to do is be a teacher."

Mana bit back her surprise. She knew he had been second in his class, but he never seemed the scholarly type. "Like a professor? What subject?"

"No, I want to teach middle school and I don't care about the subject. I'm good at both English and biology, but I'm more interested in the sports clubs."

It wasn't a typical profession for someone from Ouran, but she could see him surrounded by middle schoolers. The girls would all have crushes on him and the boys would adore him. "Why teaching and why that grade?"

Satoshi hesitated. His family and friends knew of his goal, but only Chika and his brother new the full extent of his plans. Would she understand or consider him naïve? "One of the dojos I teach classes at is in Kabukicho. I see a lot of kids there who need something in their life to give them focus and confidence."

"Isn't that pretty dangerous? I thought the Yakuza ran most of the area."

Satoshi nodded. "It could be, but Ritsu-sempai is a friend of Onii-san's and the heir to the Kasanoda syndicate. He's put the place under his protection. Also, a lot of my students are from Yakuza families. Most of them are just poor. I'd like to teach at a school with kids like that who need the self-discipline Kendo, Judo, and other martial arts can bring. Plus, if I can build the school's programs so that they are competitive at a national level then it opens the door for athletic scholarships to good high schools."

Mana smiled at him for the first time that night and it took his breath away. "I see, you want to help kids go after their own dreams."

The admiration he saw in her eyes swelled his chest with pride and a touch of embarrassment. He rubbed the back of his head, hoping his cheeks didn't look as hot as they felt. "I just think it would be fun. Plus, I have experience with difficult middle schoolers. Chika turned out okay, in the end."

"What does he think of your goal? I suppose I always thought you'd end up working with him."

Satoshi pounced on her statement. "So you do think about me, ne?" He winked and felt encouraged by her blush. She wasn't as ambivalent to him as she'd been acting. "Chika's decided to become a vet. He plans to work for a wildlife rehabilitation center and will take over administration for his family's dojos in whatever location he ends up. I can teach anywhere so I'll help him out and do the same thing for my family."

Mana smiled wistfully. "It must be nice to have your family's support."

"Your family doesn't want you to be a doctor?" He knew her family was from newer money, didn't they own a chain of convenience stores? Most in that class were thrilled about their children pursuing medicine or law.

"My parents don't really care." She shrugged. "They don't care about anything I do. They already have my brother to take over the family business, I was just a mistake."

"That can't be true."

"It is. Mother only agreed to have the one child; she didn't want a second ruining her figure and risking her acting career. Father wouldn't let her get rid of me because he hoped I'd be a second son. I'm not important to anyone."

The thought that anyone could have considered snuffing out the life of this girl before she was born made his blood run cold. If her family couldn't see how amazing she was, they didn't deserve her. He reached out and covered her hand with his. "You're important to me."

Mana wouldn't meet his eyes, but she didn't pull her hand away. "You barely know me. I'm just Kaori's friend," she whispered.

"I know enough. You're smart, serious, kind, and a good friend."

"I'm not. I'm really not that good a friend." She lifted her free hand and tucked her hair behind her ear before looking up at him with those beautiful, brown eyes. "I lied; I didn't just go tonight to look after Kaori. She's been so happy lately and I was jealous. I guessed the guys would be interested in being more than friends and I… I wanted to see what it would be like to have someone pay attention to me that way. I suppose I'm not that good a person after all."

He squeezed her hand before letting go. "Yes you are, Mana-chan. Both a good person and a great friend." He leaned back in his chair and smiled warmly. If she was thinking along those lines then she wasn't only focused on her studies. He just needed to convince her to consider him. "Nothing wrong in wanting attention, you just picked the wrong guys. You should go out with me."

Mana head rocked back in shock. All she could do was blink at him as her mind went blank. "What?"

Satoshi laughed at her befuddlement. She was just too cute. "I like serious girls. Why don't you try going out with me?"

It was so tempting. He was sweet and kind and funny and unexpectedly purposeful. But, he would break her heart. She shook her head. "I… I don't think it would work. I am the serious type; I don't think I could play around."

"Good. I'm not the type to play around either."

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows in skepticism. "Then why are you always surrounded by girls?"

He shrugged. "I'm friendly and I like to have fun, but that doesn't make me a playboy. Onii-san would kick my butt if I were!"

"Would your brother actually do that?" She tried not to smile. His brother-complex bordered on adorable.

Satoshi caught her amusement and smiled back. "No, but he'd give me his 'I'm deeply disappointed with you, little brother' look and that's even worse." He held her eyes for a minute then let the smile drop from his face. He didn't want any misunderstandings between them. "My family… we aren't exactly devout but we are Buddhist in more than just name. I don't play around with girls. I wouldn't date someone if I didn't think it could become serious." He reached and took her hand in his again. "I like you Mana-chan, please be my girlfriend."

In eighteen years she'd never had anyone say that to her. No man had ever seen her as anything other than a friend or someone to borrow notes from. It was all just a little too overwhelming. "I'll… I'll think about it." She didn't pull her hand back.

Satoshi grinned so broadly it looked like it could surpass the boundaries of his face. "That's great! You won't be sorry."

She couldn't help but laugh. He was already weakening her resolve to not to agree to anything without consideration. "I didn't agree. I just said I'd think about it."

"But that's not a 'no.'" He leaned forward, eyes darkening with an intensity that made her very aware that he was a man and she was a woman. "Prepare yourself! Now that I know you don't dislikeme, I'm going to be going after you with everything I have."

Ba-dump.

A/N: I'll get back to Mori's story next time, but I didn't want to leave what happened with the other girls dangling out there. Plus, the Satoshi in my brain kept pestering me to hook him up.

Chika's just going to have to wait until after he graduates, moves to Hokkaido and falls in love with a dairy farmer. Oooh - Ouran/Silver Spoon crossover potential!

Thanks again to Jessi Darkfox and Crazyangelgirl21 for the reviews and also to new reviewer BarelyRamsey1450. Thanks also to the new followers and favoriters – I swear getting an email in my inbox is almost better than cake!