(a/n) – random shoutouts, not sure how many of you noticed but i have a new story also being worked on. considering i've been dumping everything into this one, i'm not surprised people wouldn't check my profile. see "Scrapped" (.net/s/7445882/1/Scrapped), a sekirei prequel-fic about our favorite canon kuudere. anyhow, it's not an EC-centric story, hence why it's not here, go check my profile. i'll probably being going back and forth between the two, unless i find myself without much classwork and can work on them both during the week.

second thing is a new EC series by maximorph1 "Black Knight" (.net/s/7449423/1/EC_Black_Knight). it's kiri-centric with at least 2 major story arcs + a few character building snippets. i find it notable for the Clan Wars arc, which was the long discussed but never pulled off 5th HGW using the EC children
(img684. imageshack. us/ img684/ 8025/ ecfateclanwarsv2. jpg) here's a minor teaser

now, regarding the actual ouran plot, probably my own fault, but since i'm pulling random story arcs from the manga i find myself writing the events in that storyline too closely. i try to shuffle it a bit, but more often than not i find myself shoe-horning in takeshi's contributions and sidelining tamaki's interactions with haruhi. although part of that is inevitable if we're replacing our OC as the romantic interest, i'm not entirely happy with it. let me know if you agree, or if you think i'm doing fine. aaanyhow...

The ninety-ninth repetition is completed and I set the quill to the side to let the ink dry. Shaking my hand out to work out the kinks – quill nibs are much harder to write with than a ball-point pen – I lean back to inspect my handiwork. My target's name is scrawled across the page in several neat columns, leaving an open space ready for the one-hundredth iteration. It's written on parchment – real parchment – since this is too important to allow for artificial stationary to enter the mix and the ink was created from scratch using imported oak galls and iron.

I sense the presence over my shoulder shortly before the man behind me speaks up in delight. "Ah! I see you have completed another curse, Hime. Is this the same target as your other ones?"

On the far side of my desk lies a stack of papers, parchments, cards, and other simple objects. Each of them have my curse's target written on them in neat handwriting, the product of my labors for the past several days. The curses have been chosen with great care, designed to steal away the soul of my target. Once this final piece is completed I should have enough for my purposes. To shower my target with curse upon curse and achieve my goal. Perhaps he will run away after the first several curses, as many recipients in the past have done so. Then again, these are special curses, and I've chosen my target with these spells in mind.

I don't know what I'd do if the curse failed, but the idea is so abhorrent I'd rather not think about it. Instead I turn my head and level a stare at the man behind me. "You're friends with the club members; have you given them adequate warning, Nekozawa-kaichou?"

"Indeed," a smile emerges from the others' hooded face. "Though I am curious to know, what sort of grudge do you have against this individual?"

I turn back to stare down at the drying parchment, avoiding my Club President's gaze. "Actually, he... " I paused for a few moments, try to sort out how I could best put this into words. "He has captured my soul... "

ooo

Emiya Clan – Ouran 11

Takeshi was in the clubroom, as usual. However, instead of actively entertaining his guests, he had begged Kyouya for the day off so he could study for an upcoming test. It wasn't that he was falling behind in his grades, he just felt like he wasn't where he wanted to be in regards to his schoolwork. The Host Club's vice president was remarkably understanding, however he did suggest that Takeshi make use of a spare table in the room, rather than finding a different place to study.

"As you probably know, aside from you almost all of our members are in the Top Three rankings for their grades," the bespectacled boy had said. "I'm sure we could assist you in your studies should you ever find the need."

Takeshi had appreciated the gesture at the time, but after several hours the real reason for Kyouya's request became apparent as another shrill voice cut into his reading.

"Kyaa~ Takeshi-kun looks so serious when he studies!" exclaimed one of his regulars. Her voice was lowered into what she probably thought was a whisper, but her excitement kicked the volume to a level where it was easily distinguished from the background conversation.

"He's so handsome when he's serious!" another voice squealed.

The pencil Takeshi had been taking notes with snapped in his hand and he lowered his head into the now empty palm with a grimace. Apparently his new position resembled what he privately liked to call a 'Tamaki-Pose', because the couch behind him erupted with more squealing.

"Would any of you ladies like more tea?" he heard the Shadow King speak up. Despite having several full, lukewarm drinks on their tables already, the distracted students readily accepted the offer. Since Takeshi's normal customers couldn't put in their usual payments unless they designated a different host for the day – which wasn't possible simply because most of the hosts were booked days in advance – Kyouya had clearly connived the third-year into sticking around... and then went about making up the lost income with sales from the club's minibar selections.

On one hand, Takeshi really had to admire the Ootori's ability to adapt to the situation and make the most out of it. On the other hand, he was becoming rather annoyed at the distractions keeping him from his studies. And if it wasn't these girls...

Almost as if the thought had been a signal, a large group of girls across the room began shrieking in happiness as Hikaru and Kaoru concluded one of their little plays.

That's it, break time. He fought the urge to slap his notebook shut and storm out of the room, controlling himself enough to carefully pile away his books and notes into a neat little pile and rise gracefully from his chair. Fortunately he didn't have to acknowledge his stalkers; in fact by ignoring them he allowed them to believe they had been successful in their surreptitious observations. The hushed squeals that erupted as he passed them let him know he'd guessed right. He sighed quietly as he realized – not for the first time – just how much he was getting used to the antics of the girls who populated the Host Club.

As he walked over to the door, he idly scanned the room for his Ashikabi. Haruhi appeared to be engrossed with her own set of customers, but as his gaze fell upon her he noticed her eyes flick over towards him as she tilted her head. He looked away evasively and shook his head briefly as he continued walking towards the front desk. From the corner of his eye he saw her leaning back into her couch with a smile as her customers giggled happily to whatever she had just said to them.

The whole exchange was lost by the rest of the room, her actions perfectly in keeping with fielding and responding to a question from one of her own customers. Had she not been his Ashikabi, even he might have assumed her motions were completely unrelated to their exchange. As it was, he doubted anybody else in the room would have been able to notice the silent conversation. It was no wonder she was hailed by the club members as a 'Natural-type'.

Are you alright?

It's nothing, don't worry.

He felt the dark mood he'd been nursing evaporate in the face of her concern, but he squashed down his response as Kyouya looked up from where he was sitting. "Emiya-sempai?" he asked curiously.

"Just going for a quick walk to clear my head, Kyouya-kun," Takeshi replied. "I should be back shortly."

Before the other student could respond, Takeshi had swept through the door and out into the hallway. As he did so, he nearly knocked over a female student who had been reaching for the door handle. His arm snapped out reflexively for her own, keeping her from falling, but the collision knocked several items out of her arms where they dropped to the floor with a clatter. "Ah! I'm sorry about that," he said.

The female student immediately dropped to her knees to sweep them back into a neat stack without a word. Takeshi also knelt down to assist her, when he suddenly noticed a small wooden doll to one side. A very familiar wooden doll.

The student was just reaching for the figurine when Takeshi snatched it off the floor before she could grab it herself. There was a soft outcry from her, but Takeshi ignored it as he gazed into the carved face of a Beelzenef cursed doll. Suddenly, Nekozawa's warning several days ago flooded back into his mind.

...You should beware of a female who plans terrible curses for one of your number. . .

Takeshi looked up at the female student glaring at him. Her long, black hair was parted down the middle to frame a stoic-looking face. She wore the uniform of a first-year student, but despite that she did not seem nervous to be stared down by a third-year. Instead, she held out her arm expectantly. "Please return that item to me," she said quietly.

Takeshi held it out of her reach, narrowing his eyes. "Do you even know what this is?" he asked carefully. He could be wrong, maybe this wasn't the person Nekozawa had been warning him about; maybe she simply thought it was a cute thing to carry around. Girls sometimes did that.

Her next words disabused him of that notion. "It is a very powerful cursed item. I need it for... my own purposes." Her own eyes narrowed at him. "And it is not meant for you. Please, return it to me before you accidentally bring misfortune down upon yourself."

He still held it away. "Who is this for?" he asked. "Whatever they might have done, you might still be able to work things out with them. This is not the way to solve things." He didn't really think that Nekozawa's little toys had any power whatsoever, but he did share Haruhi's belief that people shouldn't be trying to bring down curses upon those who had wronged them. If they were allowed to hold on to that mindset, in the rare event a real cursed item showed up it could prove to be disastrous.

The girl's eyes flicked over his shoulder to the door behind him. "My only target lies behind you. Please, return that item to me." Her face was still expressionless, which cost him a split-second of reaction time when she suddenly lunged forward to snatch it out of his hand.

He smoothly swung the figurine to the side, dodging her grasping fingers and brought his arm up to where he could see it. Inwardly he grimaced. This was probably a girl similar to Ayanokouji-san, holding an unhealthy crush on one of the Host Club members, most likely jealous at the attention a specific customer had been receiving from that particular Host. He'd have to let Kyouya know so he could take the appropriate steps. But first he needed to know who this girl's target was. He absently dodged a few more retrieval attempts as he flipped the Beelzenef figurine around in his hands so he could see the name written down on its back.

He froze as he read the characters placed down in neat handwriting. "Huh... " he said.

ooo

"Reiko Kanazuki," Kyouya said as he tapped away at his laptop. "First year student, from a fairly respectable family, but her grades are unimpressive. She's assigned to Class D." His fingers stilled as he came upon the next section in his database. "She's a member of the Black Magic Club."

""Well, that explains all of this."" The twins motioned towards the piles and piles of trinkets, papers, and totems now spread out along the table. They stared at the girl now sitting quietly at the far end, looking nonplussed at the attention she was currently receiving. She had remained there quietly until the Host Club ended its activities for the day. ""And we thought she was your typical, reserved, long black-haired bishoujo.""

"How unfortunate, it seems curses are her hobby and specialty," Kyouya adjusted his glasses. He flipped over one of the sheets of paper, the name 'Mitsukuni Haninozuka' clearly written in bold lettering.

"Wahh!" the tiny blonde wailed. "Why am I being cursed? Am I going to be killed?"

Mori immediately stood up from his chair and stalked over towards the girl. "...I'll have a talk with her," he said darkly. He began to roll up his sleeves.

"Mori-sempai!" Tamaki barked, "You musn't use violence!"

"Indeed," whispered a dark voice. Nekozawa appeared out of nowhere to drape his arm over Tamaki's shoulders. "Interfering with a curse will cause great misfortune, isn't that right, Suoh-ku~un?"

The taller blonde shrieked and threw himself to the side.

"Nekozawa-sempai?" Haruhi blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Why wouldn't I come to my cute, little club member's defense?" Nekozawa turned and leaned towards Hani, oblivious to Mori looming over his side. "What about it, Haninozuka-kun? What have you done to earn our Curse Mistress's attention? Kanazuki-kun has said you captured her soul... " He leaned over and picked up one of the totems. "She plans to get even with you by capturing yours in turn."

Takeshi turned towards the girl, sitting quietly by herself. "Is this true?" he asked, the air behind him darkening slightly. Nekozawa gasped happily.

Kanazuki nodded calmly in the face of the threat. "It is," she confirmed. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a small object, displaying it for everybody to see. "This is a type of curse that captures a person's soul, by writing their full name like so."

Hikaru leaned forward. "Isn't that... "

"... an eraser?" Kaoru frowned. "Yes, yes it is... "

Nekozawa picked up a hand-mirror from the table, "And as you can see here, she uses a mirror – one of the strongest objects for reflecting an individual's soul – and applies her curse using pink nail polish!"

Takeshi's technique fizzled as he suddenly blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry, what?"

Haruhi poked at a different part of the mirror, "And what are the hearts for... ?"

"Here," Kanazuki had joined them at the table and held up a crude drawing of an umbrella, with her name written to one side of the handle. She slid the paper towards Hani, "This is an incomplete curse, Haninozuka-sempai, if you could write your own name on the other side, it will complete the spell."

"Um," Kaoru was poking at the eraser now. "Is this what I think it is... ?"

"If I recall correctly," Hikaru said, "Some of the girls in elementary school would often do things like this... "

"Oh!" Nekozawa looked pleased. "So you know of it!" He pulled a small tome from his sleeve and displayed it's brilliant pink cover. "As far as curses go, even this one seems popular amongst the masses!"

"Girls in Love, Win his Love" Haruhi read the title in a disbelieving tone. Hani peeked his head around her arm to look at it.

""That's not a curse book!"" the twins exclaimed.

"No," a quiet voice said from behind them. "It is a curse," Kanazuki insisted. She briskly walked up to the blonde third-year and bowed respectfully. "Haninozuka-sempai, a strand of your hair, if you please." Without waiting for his reply, her arm shot out to grab at his head.

"Ahh!" Hani wailed in pain. He quickly rushed over to hide behind Mori as the female cultist inspected the bright yellow hair she'd retrieved.

Kanazuki pulled a strand from her own head, not even flinching at the sharp pain it must have brought her. She brought both hands together and began to fiddle with the two strands awkwardly. "If I intertwine this with my own hair, it creates a powerful curse which will bind our souls together," she explained.

Almost nobody could respond to this sudden chain of events. At least not in a coherent manner.

"Ah... " Tamaki stumbled over. "Kanazuki-san, could it be... you actually... like Honey-sempai?"

Kanazuki looked up for a long moment as she thought about it. She shook her head and pulled out a handkerchief to store her newly-made charm. "Technically speaking, I am merely capturing his soul."

"Right... so you're trying to steal his heart."

"Hm, if I had to put it into words... I suppose you could say Haninozuka-sempai occupies nearly nine-tenths of my thoughts and causes my heart to race," she said with a completely straight face.

"So all you need to do is just think about Honey-sempai... " Haruhi said.

"He's very small and good-looking, just like a pixie, which I find I am drawn towards."

"You've got a fetish for small, handsome things?" Kaoru asked.

"He has captured my soul, so I must capture his in turn," she continued, ignoring the side comments. "Therefore, until I have succeeded, I will continue to curse Haninzoka-sempai." Her face remained impassive, but a light blush now dusted her cheeks.

"She's obsessed," Hikaru concluded.

ooo

A few days later, Haruhi walked in to find Honey chomping morosely on a large cake. It seemed no matter what his mood was like, he nevertheless found time to indulge in his favorite treat. She looked around briefly, then walked over to a nearby table where Takeshi was going over his schoolwork again. "I thought your test was today," she said. "Why are you still studying?"

Her Sekirei – she mulled over the unfamiliar word for a few moments – looked up with an annoyed expression. "I think I flubbed one or two of the questions, I'm just going over my notes to see if I can figure out where I made the mistake."

"I see." She dropped into the seat across from him and nodded back the way she had come. "Honey-sempai seems to be pretty worn out."

Takeshi grunted, "That's putting it lightly. I guess since she was found out, Kanazuki-san feels she can move around more openly. She's been visiting him during the breaks between classes, asking him to sign his life away or some other sort of curse." He spun his pencil around his fingers idly. "Half the class thinks it's kind of cute, the other half is just getting worried about his mental health. A Hani-kun that's not bouncing around like he's on a sugar-high is... disturbing to be around."

"Shouldn't we do something about it then?" Haruhi asked.

""We could push them together."" The twins dropped into the leftover seats between them and leaned back. Takeshi started packing up his books, apparently concluding he wasn't going to be getting any work done while the two of them were around.

"When you think about it," Kaoru said, "Their compatibility must be pretty high."

"Opposites attract and all that." Hikaru leaned his head onto his hands with a grin. "Also, if you're the type of person who would like Honey-sempai, then it suggests you might do well with kids."

"You guys," Haruhi let out a long-suffering sigh. "Try putting yourself in his shoes for a moment... "

The two redheads fell quiet for a few moments, then shuddered. ""Boring,"" they finally announced.

"I do wonder though," Takeshi said thoughtfully. "Since Kanazuki-san resembles one of my sisters."

"Which one?" Hikaru asked.

"Probably the one you'd never pay attention to," Takeshi said flatly. "Heck, even I sometimes have a hard time noticing when she's around. She's always quiet and doesn't seem to make friends easily." He frowned, "In fact, I'm not sure she has any friends other than her sisters."

"Hm, is that the one with the doll? Or the one with blue-hair?" Haruhi asked.

Takeshi opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted as Honey walked over to their table.

"Takeshi-kun is right," Honey said. "I've been watching her too these past few days. Aside from the Black Magic Club, I don't think Kanazuki-chan has any friends." He nibbled on his fork thoughtfully. "It's rather sad, actually. What would you do in my place?"

"Well, I don't know about Kanazuki-san specifically," Takeshi rubbed his chin. "But my sister – sisters," he corrected with a glance towards Haruhi. "If either of them found somebody they cared about, they'd probably latch onto them in a heartbeat and do whatever they could to make their ashi– to make their crush understand their feelings. If they couldn't outright say it, they'd find some other way."

"So maybe it's the same for Kanazuki-chan," Honey said. "Maybe it's because she's really bad at socializing, but I think curses and spells are her only ways for communicating her feelings."

"You could be right."

Honey fell silent again as he stabbed at his cake. "Seeing it that way, I guess I can't be upset at Kanazuki-chan. She's just trying so hard, I can't be angry at her for that."

The door to the clubroom clicked open and the girl in question poked her head through the gap. "Excuse me, Haninozuka-sempai?" She looked around the room for a few moments, then her gaze fell on the table where he'd been eating his cake previously. She walked over to the table, then picked up Honey's plush rabbit where he'd left it in his chair. "I will be borrowing this, if you don't mind."

"What? What are you going to do with Usagi-san?" Honey nearly dropped his plate.

"I think he can angry at her for that," Hikaru snarked.

"I will be using a curse that works when you cast the spell on an important item of theirs," Kanazuki explained. "I will return this to you tomorrow, so if you'll excuse me... "

"No! No!" Honey wailed.

Kanazuki suddenly blinked as Mori loomed over her and deftly plucked Usagi-san from her hands. The tall boy stared down at her with an expression of disapproval. "...If you really wish to capture his heart, shouldn't there be other methods you can use?"

The cultist narrowed her eyes at the tall third-year. "Hand me the stuffed animal, please. If you interfere with this spell, then I will have to cast a curse of misfortune on you."

"Mitsukuni's not the type of person who would be swayed by the threats of someone who doesn't think of others' feelings," Mori said. "It doesn't matter how many curses or spells you would use, such things wouldn't have any effect on his heart."

The other Hosts fell silent at the sight of the normally taciturn student lecturing the first year. As Mori spoke, they noticed Kanazuki's eyes widening, then she lowered her head, hiding her face underneath her bangs.

"It's... not like I haven't considered his feelings," she said quietly. "And I don't expect anybody to understand my situation – I don't expect that he'll really start to like me or anything."

She looked up at Honey briefly, then ducked her head again. Her hands shook against her sides. "But, I'm no good at... talking... like this. It's impossible for me, so... I can only use a curse to—"

"That's not it, Kanazuki-chan!" Honey bounced over to her. "If you need somebody to understand you, you can only talk to them!" Honey reached out and grabbed Usagi-san back from Mori, clutching the plushie to his chest. "If you want somebody to like you, then you need to talk to them a lot!" He knelt down so he could look at her face with an unobstructed view. "Takashi is right, I don't like people who try to change others with curses or spells. But if you wanted me to know about what you like or what you're not good at, I'll be happy to listen to you!"

"Honey-sempai," Hikaru was saying in a low voice. "That sounds like something Tono would say... "

Haruhi smiled warmly as Kanazuki's face went red. She suddenly felt a bump against her shoulder and looked over to see Takeshi next to her, his face turned away. She grinned again and leaned against him briefly to bump him back.

"Kanazuki-chan," Honey said, standing back up. "I like people who try their best at things, even if they're not very good at it."

"That really is something he'd say!" Kaoru whispered back.

"Honey-sempai is being so manly and cool!" Tamaki sobbed.

The others jumped back, "Where did you come from?" Hikaru demanded.

"I like..."

They fell silent again as Reiko Kanazuki lifted her head again to look Honey in the eye. Fortunately, since she still towered over the diminutive third-year, she didn't have to raise her head very far.

"I like... c-curses," she said softly. "I'm not good at socializing, so I don't have very many friends. But then... one day, I fell in the hallway. Of all the people around, you were the only one to stop and see if I was okay. And then... you smiled at me..." She blushed and looked away again. "It made me... very happy," she finished.

Haruhi looked up as Takeshi suddenly groaned.

Honey blinked, then tapped a fist into his palm, "Ah! I remember now! You're the girl that tripped over Usagi-san after I accidentally dropped him that one time!"

Takeshi face-palmed while the others blinked in surprise. ""Huh? So it was Honey-sempai's own fault to begin with?""

ooo

"So how much of that was true?"

Takeshi looked up from his notes to see Haruhi standing over his table with a pair of drinks in her hands. "Huh?" He accepted one of them, then waited for her to circle over to the next chair over and drop into it. "What do you mean?"

"The story about your sisters, how they were like Reiko-san," Haruhi said.

Takeshi took a sip of the offered beverage, lifting an eyebrow appreciatively at the taste. "Everything," he said. "Every single word. I was mostly thinking of Koyuki, but you reminded me of my own Reiko." He frowned. "Koyuki probably has it just as bad as Kanazuki-san, except part of her problem is she's introverted by choice. She's just too scared too make any friends outside the family. She might be alright later, since she's a half-Sekirei like me. Sooner or later she'll have to open up once she Reacts."

Haruhi winced. "Doesn't that worry you, though? You seem pretty well adjusted, but you didn't seem to have a good reaction when you uh... Reacted. From the sound of it, she might have a much harder time suddenly trying to find a way to express herself."

Takeshi shrugged, "We'll figure it out when it finally happens. I'm actually more worried about our Reiko. She's even more quiet than Koyuki is, but she's Scrapped. She wont even have the chance to get Winged."

Haruhi tilted her head, "Scrapped?"

Takeshi blanched. "Ah, well..." He looked down dejectedly at his notes. Was he ever going to be able to finish his studying? He sighed and closed his notebook... again. "Well, it's kind of like this. . . "