Emiya Clan: Fate School Days Chapter 69: EC: Ouran 13, a Fate/stay night + Sekirei Crossover fanfic

(a/n) — breaking (but late) news. The Emiya Clan now has a TVTropes page!

Emiya Clan – Ouran 13

The dance number ended with a flourish and the orchestra took a short break to retune their instruments. Almost as soon as the last strings vibrated into silence, Tamaki quickly made his way over to his friend. "Kyouya!" he hissed in a stage-whisper.

Kyouya ignored the blonde for a few moments as he bent over the hand of his latest partner. "It has been a pleasure to have this dance with you, Kanada-san. Might I suggest you enjoy some of our alternative entertainment options while there is a lull in the festivities?" He nodded towards the far wall, where Hikaru and Kaoru had set up tables where they played simplified games of chance for the crowd.

"But I'd much rather continue dancing with you, Kyouya-sama!" the girl protested.

"As would I," he shamelessly lied back. "Regrettably, duty unfortunately calls. However I would remind you that if you earn enough points from those games, we may yet be able to spend the rest of the evening together."

That seemed to convince the girl, who immediately giggled and dashed off towards the growing crowd. Kyouya watched her leave, then turned towards the impatient blonde standing beside him. "Yes?"

"Honey-sempai spotted Kasugazaki-san out on the floor," Tamaki reported, referring to the girl who had been teaching Haruhi how to dance the week previous. "Kaoru says he's also spotted Suzushima-kun in the crowd, so we're all set to go. Where's Haruhi?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that." The two hosts looked up as Takeshi made his way over to them. "I haven't seen Haruhi since the opening festivities."

Kyouya and Tamaki traded a glance. "Could she be with our guest, still?" the black-haired host suggested. He searched his memories of the evening. "I don't think I recall seeing her around either."

"Could she have spirited Haruhi away for her own nefarious purposes!" Tamaki gasped. "Haruhi is certainly attractive enough to warrant confusion! I told you we should have let her come as a girl in the first place!"

"Somehow I don't think that would be the reason," Takeshi said flatly.

"You disagree she's attractive?" Kyouya asked slyly.

"What if she took a liking to Haruhi and hauled her off?" Tamaki was muttering to himself, clutching at his head. "One never knows what a British woman would consider proper... "

"Of course I think she's—wait, where did you get that sort of idea about British women?" Takeshi said, suddenly turning towards the blonde.

"He must be channeling his inner Frenchman," Kyouya shrugged. "Still, he is correct that this may delay our plans somewhat."

"What plans?" Takeshi said. He noticed Honey and Mori wandering through the crowd, looking as if they were searching for something and trying not to be obvious about it. Glancing in the other direction he saw Hikaru and Kaoru successfully keeping a large group of women distracted with their games, though Kaoru threw a brief, questioning glance in their direction. He blinked as he sifted through the various behaviors and turned back towards the others. "What did you need Haruhi to do?" he said in a low tone.

"It's nothing harmful," Kyouya assured him. "Do you recall Kanako Kasugazaki-san?"

"She's that one client who's been jumping back and forth between the various hosts these past few months, isn't she?" Takeshi said after thinking for a few moments.

"Haruhi! Otou-san is coming to save you!" Tamaki suddenly shouted. Takeshi was very glad he was unable to follow the train of thought which had led the blonde to say that. Without looking, Kyouya reached out and gently pushed Tamaki in Honey's direction.

"Correct," he said to Takeshi. "Although she wont admit it to herself, it seems she was attempting to incite a jealous reaction from her arranged-fiancé. He's transferring to a school out of the country next semester and Tamaki is under the impression that she requires some sort of closure before they separate."

"Tohru Suzushima," Takeshi said, rubbing his chin. "I was wondering why you were asking Matsu-kaasan for that information. Is the reason why you extended the invitations for this party to the rest of the school as well?"

"Partially," Kyouya admitted. "But it also serves as an opportunity to demonstrate the club's power and resources to the widest range of people available."

"Right... " Takeshi sighed and crossed his arms as he threw another glance around the room. Leave it to Kyouya to come up with an action that would do the double duty of helping his friend while still improving the Host Club's reputation. "So why do you need Haruhi-san?" He frowned as found himself still unable to locate his Ashikabi.

Kyouya adjusted his glasses and flicked his eyes over to where Tamaki was making animated hand gestures at Honey and Mori. "It was decided that Kasugazaki-san's plan had merit but it was simply too subtle to guarantee success. The twins laid out a plan to force the two into a confrontation so they could clear the air with each other, but it requires Haruhi's participation in order for it to even begin. Speaking of which... "

"Kyouya-sempai." Hikaru shouldered his way through the crowd, Kaoru following closely behind him. "Are we ready to start yet?"

"We need to get this letter over to Suzushima-sempai pretty soon if the timing is going to work out right," Kaoru said, holding up a small, unsealed envelope. "Where's Haruhi?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," Takeshi bit out, trying not to grind his teeth in frustration. "Hikaru, Kaoru, while you're here I really need to ask you. Did you ask any of my sisters for favors when coming up with your little plan?"

The two redheads glanced at each other, then slowly looked back at him, casually adjusting their posture so they could dive to the side at a moment's notice. ""Maybe?""

Takeshi narrowed his eyes at them.

"Okay, it wasn't much, we just asked for their input with writing a love letter," Hikaru said quickly. "We just wanted to get a woman's touch; you know, give it a little bit of authenticity."

"It had nothing to do with Haruhi," Kaoru assured him. "Aside from the fact that we were planning on using it to lure Suzushima-sempai to a disused classroom so Haruhi could meet up with him. After that we just point Kasugazaki-san their way... "

"...and bam!" Hikaru snapped his fingers. "Instant misunderstanding that—assuming Suzushima-sempai is the type of person we think he is—will be quickly correctly and resolve both of their unresolved issues!"

The two of them straightened up with pride at their interpersonal problem-solving skills, as Takeshi simply stared at them in disbelief. "...That's it?" he finally said. He turned towards Kyouya, "That's their plan to 'force a confrontation and clear the air' between those two?"

"It does sound rather simple on the surface," Kyouya agreed. "But keep in mind that simple plans often have the best chance of success, as opposed to ones so complicated that even the slightest change in a variable could upset the whole thing."

""How did you know we asked your sisters for help?"" the twins asked suspiciously.

"Because they're here," Takeshi said. "In fact, I'm absolutely certain that Tamaki's 'special' guest, the one who he asked Haruhi to escort, is my eldest sister."

"Truly?" Tamaki suddenly walked up with the remaining Hosts trailing him. "You can't imagine the relief it brings me to hear that. I was afraid Haruhi had been stolen away and forced to—"

"My sisters aren't like that," Takeshi growled. He suddenly took on a pensive look. "Well, most of them aren't like that... maybe some of them... "

Honey perked up from his perch on Mori's shoulders. "Ah!" he exclaimed, pointing behind the group. "Haru-chan!"

...

An hour earlier. . .

Haruhi wasn't quite sure what to make of this situation. Although Tamaki-sempai had asked her to escort the foreign girl for the time being, she was certain that didn't mean letting the girl drag her from the main hall and down the dimly light, disused corridors. She might have found it awkward—another person might have felt the need to carefully explain at some point that she was not exactly the best canidate to have a clandestine rendezvous with—but then again...

"You're one of Takeshi-sempai's sisters, aren't you?"

The blonde broke step slightly, then turned her head towards the host, giving Haruhi an uncertain-looking smile. [What?]

Haruhi frowned. [You are senior Takeshi sister?] she repeated in her own halting English.. She shook her head, "Sorry, my English is still not that great, though I am practicing."

'Lily' slumped and stopped in the hallway. "It's more than I would have expected, actually," she said, switching to completely unaccented Japanese. "Was I that obvious?" she complained.

Haruhi smiled, "Probably not to everyone, though I think Kyouya-sempai might have been a little suspicious." She placed a finger against her mouth briefly, then pointed. "Aika, right?"

"A-ri-ka," the blonde said. She resumed walking down the hallway with a slight huff and Haruhi automatically fell into step with her.

"Sorry, Arika-san," Haruhi corrected herself. "The accent was a nice touch, by the way. It actually sounded authentic."

"Oh it is." Takeshi's oldest sister turned towards one of the doors and rapped against the door jamb. "Kaa-san insisted my brother and I learn it and forced us into lessons when we were younger. A few of the others joined in as well." After a few moments the door opened and Arika waved the host forward. "After you."

"What's this about?" Haruhi asked. She stepped into the room and immediately noticed the rack of clothing on the far end. A portable vanity had been set up against the wall, with a cart full of various make up supplies and dyes. Finally she turned towards the two women sitting in the comfortable-looking chairs in the middle of the room.

"This is a little gift for our dearest older brother," Riko said as she waved them into the room. "It's a shame to have such a grand party and not be able to spend the time with his Ashikabi the way he wants to." She gestured towards the woman sitting opposite her, "You remember Uzume-kaasan, yeah?"

The Veiled Sekirei lifted her teacup in greeting. "Evening."

"Hello." Haruhi tilted her head. "Back up a bit, you've lost me."

Arika left her side to join her sister on one of the couches, helping herself to the tea set that had been placed there. Riko shifted a bit to make room, but kept her eyes on the host. "I'll explain it clearly because you seem like the type who doesn't get subtle," the middle-schooler said, "We're playing matchmaker."

"Oh?" Haruhi took a seat next to Uzume and nodded gratefully as Arika poured her a second cup. She inhaled the aroma of the tea with a pleased expression, then focused on Riko again. "Who are we playing matchmaker for?"

Riko's expression froze and Haruhi could have sworn she almost heard something cracking. She quickly checked her teacup and the rest of the tableware to make sure none of it was damaged. She glanced towards the younger girl and thought she saw a slight chip in her glasses, but then Riko shook her head and they appeared completely whole. "This girl... " the lavender-haired girl growled.

Haruhi looked around to see who Riko was addressing and was slightly put out to find Uzume biting on a finger to keep herself from laughing. She looked the other way and saw Arika slowly stirring her tea with her head lowered, though her shoulders were shaking slightly. She blinked and widened her eyes as the process of elimination reached its inevitable conclusion. "Wait, me?"

"Yes. You." Riko rubbed at her forehead. "Your relationship isn't where we'd like it to be so we're giving you a hand." She leaned forward to help herself to the teapot.

"Ah," Haruhi said. She was quiet for a few moments, then looked up. "With who?"

*CRUNCH*

This time the cup Riko was holding did shatter, fortunately before she had begun pouring. She gave her hand a betrayed glare before she looked at Haruhi in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

Haruhi smiled, "Actually, no. Even if I wasn't sure, there's really only one person we both know that you'd be doing this for."

Riko glared at her. "Just for my sanity's sake, please tell me who you think I'm talking about."

Haruhi nodded agreeably, "You're trying to hook me up with Tamaki-sempai, aren't you?"

The table rattled as Riko's head found the surface while Uzume finally gave in and tipped over laughing, holding on to her sides as she rolled along the couch cushions. The girl lifted her head and brushed her dark hair away from her face, drawing Haruhi's attention to it briefly before she settled back into her seat. "Why don't you go start picking something out, Kaa-san," she grumbled.

The brunette managed to pick herself up, mumbling something about 'Shirou back in the day' as she made her way to the clothes rack in the back of the room.

Haruhi finished her tea and carefully placed it back on the table, looking up at the younger girl. "So, why does my relationship with your brother require that you bring me this far away from the party?"

Riko held up a finger, "First, try to think back to when you first met Takeshi-nii. How did he act then?"

"Hm," Haruhi leaned back into the cushions as she thought. "He seemed to get along well with Honey-sempai, but that's sort of a given considering it's... well, Honey-sempai. Other than that he seemed very polite, almost too polite. I guess I'd have to say he was somewhat... distant. But he was also sick the first day I met him, so that might have affected his behavior back then."

Riko nodded, then spread her hands open, "And what about now?"

"Well on the surface it seems like he's a lot worse," Haruhi said bluntly. "He's a lot more snippy and seems to be annoyed at every one else, especially towards the twins."

Arika lifted an eyebrow. "That sounds a little more like the Takeshi we know... "

Haruhi nodded. "I didn't realize it until we visited your family. But if I had to guess, I'd say he's always felt that way, only now he feels comfortable enough to express it." She shrugged. "I don't think anybody minds, really. Kyouya-sempai seems kind of the same except his berserk button seems to be more along the lines of financial transgressions, while Takeshi-sempai is set off more by acts of impropriety."

Riko grinned, "I suppose Hika-chan and Kao-chan are giving him quite the workout."

"Definitely... " Haruhi sighed. "To me though, he still seems the same: still polite and somewhat distant, though he comes to talk to me sometimes when it seems like he's getting overstressed by the club." She looked up. "I suppose you must hear a lot from him as well, considering he's not talking to the rest of us much."

Arika and Riko traded a glance. "Not really," Arika said. "If he does talk to somebody, it's not us. Kaa-san?"

"He hasn't spoken with Miya about school in quite some time," Uzume said. She was still making trips back and forth between the clothing rack and the couch. "I even asked Matsu about it, she hasn't seen him sit down to talk with anybody in a while."

Riko turned to give Haruhi a smile full of teeth. "Is that so~?"

The host gave the other girl a suspicious look, "What?"

"Oh. It's nothing. Just the idea that my brother seems to be more comfortable around the club as a whole but still seems to act cautiously around you, while still looking to you to set his mind on ease."

"I guess," Haruhi glanced down. "He must be feeling ashamed that he had to React to me."

"Oh my god, this girl is so dense!" Riko slammed the heel of her hand across her forehead.

Arika gave her sister an amused glance, "Well, you were the one that said she didn't get subtle. Yet, here you are trying to be all circular with your teasing."

"Oh, hush, Nee-chan." Riko rubbed her face a bit more then looked up with an aggrieved expression. "Kaa-chan! Have you picked out a dress yet?"

"Almost," Uzume said. She was behind Haruhi once more, holding up two more dresses. "She's too slim for a proper evening gown, I think. I'm trying to decide between these two cocktail dresses." She peered over the back of the couch. "I'm thinking knee length, to show off her legs a bit more."

"Wait," Haruhi stammered. "What's going on? Who are those for?"

"This is our Grand Plan to improve your relationship with Takeshi-nii, of course," Riko said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Well, Plan B anyhow. Plan A was to have Arika dress up in a nice formal suit and have her pretend to hit on you to make him jealous."

"I'd much rather not, thank you very much," the blonde narrowed her eyes at her sister.

"Ah, but you have the perfect chest to pull it off! Look at Haruhi-chan, if she could pull it off I'm sure you could just as easily!"

"Ah, I had the perfect suit picked out for the occasion too," Uzume cried dramatically.

Arika held up a hand and squeezed it into a fist, audibly cracking her knuckles.

For some reason Haruhi felt like crossing her arms over her chest defensively, but fought against the reaction. "Um, but how would having his sister flirting with me make Takeshi-sempai jealous?"

"It wouldn't, because she thinks she got caught." Riko nodded as if everything had become clear with that statement. "That's why we're just going to throw you at him. Subtlety doesn't seem to work on my dear brother either."

"Wait, but, wha—?" Haruhi sputtered as a pastel-pink dress was pressed into her and she looked up to see Uzume with a glint in her eye.

"Get dressed," the brunette ordered. "By the time we get you ready half the night will have already passed. We have no time to waste!"

ooo

At Honey's exclamation, Takeshi was already spinning around, looking for where his Ashikabi had gone. He didn't spot her, but he did spot 'Lily Pendragon' in conversation with a long-haired brunette and black-haired girl with glasses as the trio casually moved through the crowd. He suddenly did a double-take and looked at the dark-haired girls again.

[Ah! Madam Pendragon, it is a pleasure to see you again!] Tamaki moved past them to grasp the girl's hand gently, even as he gave her a dashing smile. [Have you been treated well by Mr. Fujioka? I don't see he—him around here. I hope you two did not misplace each other!]

Takeshi fumed silently as Arika turned amused eyes on him before she looked back at the host with a coy smile. [Oh, your host was a perfect gentlemen,] she replied. [I had her help me with a small favor.]

The other hosts all had their own grasp on English, so they all froze at the same time as Arika's words hit them. Tamaki visibly lost his composure, but seemed to recover almost as quickly. Still, the look on his face set the dark-haired girl tittering and Takeshi had finally had enough.

"Arika, Riko," he growled. The two taller girls turned towards him, both of their eyes still dancing with mischief. "What are you two doing? And why is your hair like that, Riko?"

The attractive-looking brunette sandwiched between the two looked up in surprise. "Ah," she said. "I was wondering about that; I could have sworn your hair was purple the last time I saw it. You dyed it?"

Riko fingered her long locks distastefully, "Purple's an unusual color, people tend to notice it. Black, brown, or blonde seems to be most common here, but I personally dislike how I look with the other two."

The voice, so familiar, caused all of the hosts' heads to snap back to the shortest girl. "H-Haruhi?" Takeshi stammered. He didn't miss the way Riko grinned triumphantly at the lack of an honorific.

The brunette looked down and smoothed the fabric over her legs, then clasped her hands together timidly. Her hair, now nearly twice its usual length, had part of it pulled into a braid in the back of her head, while the remainder was left to hang down to her shoulders. She wore a sleeveless dress with a single strap running over one shoulder. The material hugged the her body tightly before it flared out into a wide skirt, emphasizing and enhancing the slight curves of her body. The skirt was longer in the back than the front, which framed her slender legs. The new appearance, combined with the new posture forced on her by the high-heeled sandals she wore, gave her an appearance that no person could possibly mistake for a boy. Even had she not been wearing her hair long, which Takeshi understood to be a very finely crafted wig, he might not have recognized her with the new look.

He was not alone in that assessment; the twins and Tamaki were completely speechless, the two redheads pointing at the girl in unison, their mouths wide open but no sound coming forth; Kyouya's pen had frozen in the act of writing on his clipboard; Honey appeared even more giddy than usual; and though Mori looked as stoic as ever, Takeshi could tell he wasn't completely unmoved.

Tamaki was the first to recover, "Haruhi, you look absolutely lovely."

Haruhi blushed slightly, while Riko sent a glare at Takeshi from over her shoulder. "Thank you, Tamaki-sempai."

"Otou-san is very pleased!" Tamaki continued, diving forward to ensare his 'daughter' in a fatherly glomp. His forward moment was suddenly checked, though whether it was from Hikaru suddenly latching on to the back of his coat, or the fist hovering just in front of his face was anybody's guess.

Arika retracted her hand as Kaoru added his own arm to his brother's and yank the King back towards the group.

Kaoru was eyeing Haruhi's dress with a professional eye. "That's actually not bad," he concluded. "We were thinking about doing something like that, but maybe a little bit more plain since we weren't sure if we'd have time to adjust everything properly." He reached under his coat, pulling out a medium-sized bag from somewhere. "In fact, I think I have a shoulder-sculp that would look perfect for that."

Hikaru caught a questioning glance from Arika. "Our mom's a designer and our grandma specializes in flower arrangements," he explained as Kaoru pulled out a large, white flower set against a pink ribbon that was matched Haruhi's dress almost perfectly. "We were going to dress up Haruhi too, then have her keep Suzushima-sempai in place long enough for Kasugazaki-hime to come to a mistaken conclusion. This saves us a lot of time now, Tono," Hikaru turned to the other blonde. "We still have to set up for Kasugazaki-hime. You want me to go deliver the letter now?"

"Actually," Arika interrupted him. "We had plans for this girl... and they don't involve any of you."

Tamaki sputtered, "What? But what about reconciling Tohru-kun and Kanako-hime? The Ouran Host Club exists to bring happiness to all of our customers, be they male or female."

"Tamaki-sempai is right, Arika-san," Haruhi said. "I'm glad you felt like helping out your family, but it's true that Kasugazaki-sempai doesn't have much time left with her fiancé." She turned back towards the rest of the club, seeing the relieved smile on Tamaki's face. She noticed Takeshi's eyes completely focused on her, but the other host remained almost as silent as Mori, not betraying his feelings. She gave him an apologetic smile and watched his eyes flash with... something.

Riko broke the mood with a snap of her fingers. "Let me see that letter," she ordered imperiously. Kaoru pulled the small envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Hikaru, who passed it along to her. She slipped it open and read the contents. After a few moments, she smiled happily. "This letter," she declared, "is made of such win."

""Don't you think?"" the twins gushed. ""Kyouya-sempai said it might have been a little too mushy, but he agreed in the end that it would work.""

"Still," Riko said, refolding it carefully and replacing it in its envelope, "it seems a bit out of character for Haruhi-san. You just need somebody to meet with this guy and keep him in place long enough for his girlfriend to show up and think he's about to cheat on her?"

"That's a rather crude way of putting it, but that does sum up Haruhi's role nicely," Kyouya said as he adjusted his glasses.

"I'll do it!" Riko grinned as the others turned to stare at her. "What? I might not be Fuuko-nee, but I'm sure I can create an awkward scene just as well as she can." She handed the letter back to Hikaru, "I think I'll go on ahead and um... prepare the room. Give me about ten minutes and then go ahead and give this Suzushima-san the letter."

"Oh...kay?" the redhead responded automatically.

"Well then," Tamaki clapped his hands together. "Now that this is taken care of, why are we all still standing around here? We still have guests to entertain!" Almost as if on cue, the orchestra had finished their tuning and started to play chords, signaling their readiness for the next dance numbers. As the hosts split up, Tamaki turned back towards Haruhi and bowed. "Does the young lady need an escort?" he asked.

"Um, actually," the brunette glanced towards Takeshi, but he remained silent. At least until Arika gracefully walked up to him and kicked him in the shin.

The purple-haired host jumped, then glared at his sister briefly. "If you don't mind, Suoh-kun," he said quietly, but forcefully. "I... would like to escort Fujioka-san this evening." He held out his hand in invitation and bowed slightly.

" 'Haruhi-san'," his Ashikabi corrected him, taking his hand with a smile.

"Actually you might want to think of a different name for tonight," Arika pointed out. "Say you're your own cousin or something." She grinned as she stepped away slightly. "You two enjoy yourselves now~" She looked at Takeshi and pointed two fingers at her eyes, reversing the motion and jabbing her hand towards him. Then with a wave, she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Tamaki had his hand over his chin as he stared at the two. "Very well," he finally said. "Father will approve of this... for now. Take good care of my daughter...'s cousin, Emiya-sempai!"

Takeshi eyed the blonde as he stepped away and was immediately surrounded by giggling schoolgirls. "He's really hung up on this whole 'family' idea, isn't he?" he commented.

Haruhi stepped in and wrapped an elbow around his arm. "It's not a bad idea," she said. "Family tends to look after each other."

"Yes." Takeshi seemed to stare in the direction where his two sisters had disappeared to. "I suppose they do." He looked down at his Ashikabi, looking up at him in innocent curiosity. He tore his head away and glanced towards the musicians' pit, fighting the blush that threatened to appear on his face. "Well, um, would you like to dance?"

With his head turned away, he didn't see the slowly growing smile that appeared on Haruhi's face. "Sure, I'd love to."

ooo

"Kanako!" Tohru Suzushima shouted as he ran after his sobbing fiancée. They had long since abandoned the warmth of the school's corridors and were now racing across the snow-covered courtyard.

With her high-heeled shoes, Kanako Kasugazaki was unable to maintain her pace, so Tohru was able to catch up shortly and grab her hand with his own. "Kanako!" he repeated, pulling her back towards him in an embrace. Her eyes were vibrating with emotion, tears still pouring over her face as he pressed her into his shoulder.

She reared back and slapped him. "You pervert!" she shrieked.

From a balcony overlooking the scene, Tamaki gulped. "Well, I somehow imagined this going a little bit better," he said.

""Ah, Tono," the twins peered over the edge. ""Do you still want us to hit the spotlights?""

Tamaki looked down in concern as Kasugazaki straddled her downed fiancé and beat him over the head with her scarf. "... Let's just give them a bit of time to work things out, before we call attention to them."

Behind the three concerned hosts, Arika glared at her sister. "What did you do?"

"I invoke Article 38," Riko said evasively.

ooo

Much later that night, Haruhi found herself wandering around the floor, finding herself appreciating the chance to simply wander around the party without having any roles or duties to perform. After the she and Takeshi had monopolized each other's time for a few short dances, he had returned to his duties as a host while she had wandered around to talk or dance with the rest of the hosts. And the buffet. Kyouya had been right about there being some very delicious entrees along the table.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Hikaru drew everyone's attention from atop the same staircase Tamaki had been standing at the start of the party. "The Ouran Host Club hopes you have all enjoyed your evening so... far..." He looked over nervously at Suzushima and Kasugazaki to one corner of the room, both of them bundled heavily in blankets after their long exposure to the snow. Suzushima appeared to have some light bruising over his cheeks and Kasugazaki was dabbing a wet handkerchief against them as she whispered apologies to him.

Still, both of them appeared happier than they had in weeks, so it seemed Tamaki's plan had worked out, eventually. The leader of the Host Club was apologizing profusely and doing everything he could to ensure they suffered no long-term effects from their little tussle.

"Before we begin the last dance of the evening, it is time to announce the winners of tonight's ongoing contest. We'd like to remind everyone that these eight winners get the chance to have the final dance with our Host Club's members, and the top scorer gets a special prize!" Kaoru joined him at the balcony and the two read off a short list of names, the top point-getters in their side games of chance. They'd had some doubts at first about the fairness of the prizes, especially as large portion of the crowd gasped in dismay. But then they realized that for most of the girls to have won as many points as they did, in doing so they had stayed out of almost every dance that night.

""And our number one scorer, the Grand Prize goes to... "" Kaoru unsealed the envelope and pulled out the winning scorecard. He suddenly frowned and showed the card to his brother as both flipped it this way and that to read the name. ""Ah, it just says 'Karin' on it... no family name."

"What?" a familiar voice shouted from the crowd.

Arika glanced over at Riko. "You brought Karin along with you? How come I never saw her?"

Riko fingered her hair. "She borrowed the last of my hair dye and put on some contacts. I think she wanted to bring Keiko too, but since that would have involved getting her a suit, she backed out at the last minute. Literally." The two looked over to where a spotlight was now shining on a beaming girl with her long black hair pulled up into a french twist. "Instead of heading back home, I guess she decided to stay for the games and the chance to spy on her brother."

Hikaru and Kaoru were also eyeing the redhead turned-blackette suspiciously as she made her way up the stairs. "Aren't you a little young for this?" Kaoru asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Im almost thirteen," Karin replied, sounding offended. "Some countries consider that old enough for adulthood."

"Yeah... no." Hikaru said flatly. "I wouldn't feel right letting you near Tono."

"Well, it seems to me Tama-chan is a bit busy," Karin said, pointing to where the blonde was still hovering over the two second-year students in the corner. She smiled cheerfully at the two, "Trust me and follow my lead."

They looked at her dubiously, but Hikaru flicked his microphone back on. "So, Karin has earned the right for a kiss from the Host Club's very own 'King'!" he announced. "However, it appears that Tamaki is somewhat occupied, so we're switching that over to... " he glanced over to where Karin had her computer out and had quickly typed a short note on the screen, "... Takeshi-sempai." He blinked and looked at her in horror and covered his microphone. "Takeshi-sempai?"

"Relax~" she said, tapping at the screen again.

Kaoru recovered first and grabbed the microphone. "But, ah, it seems that the young miss has just informed us that she is actually a relative of Takeshi-sempai, so she has offered to waive her prize and give it to another person."

The crowd erupted into screams and shouts as various girls appealed to the girl to let them in on her prize.

"But we're going to do this impartially," Kaoru said, holding up a narrow-beam flashlight Karin had produced from somewhere. He glanced her in confusion. Just where was she hiding all these things on that dress of hers? She didn't appear to be carrying any bags. "Karin-chan here will be facing away from the crowd and will shine this light over her shoulder. Whoever it falls on will be the new winner of her prize!"

The crowd seemed to accept this, but there was nearly another outbreak of hysteria as they all tried to focus themselves on where they thought she'd be aiming her flashlight. The Hitachiins watched as the girl closed her eyes—she was already facing away from the crowd so why..?—and waved the flashlight around over her head before she steadied it on a particular individual.

"Go figure," Haruhi muttered, closing her eyes against the bright light.

ooo

Hikaru hid behind his brother as he face-palmed. "Okay, what the heck?" he complained. "I know you told me you had a photographic memory but how do you still pick her out of a crowd of nearly a hundred other students?"

"Family secret," Karin grinned.

"And our alternate prize winner is the lovely... " Kaoru hesitated, unsure on how to address the girl-disguised-as-a-boy-dressed-as-a-girl.

"Ah... Natsumi Fujioka!" Haruhi said quickly. "I'm, um, Haruhi's cousin," she said with a wince.

Suprisingly, the crowd accepted the false name quite easily, although a few nearby girls quickly asked her if she had any inside information on 'Haruhi-kun'. She watched the crowd part as Takeshi made his way over to her side. People backed away to give them space and a spotlight shined down on them from overhead.

"Takeshi-sempai," she greeted him nervously. She glanced to the side and found Riko smirking at her.

"Natsumi-san," he returned without even a hint of irony. His expression was as controlled as ever, but now Haruhi could put a label to it. This was the face he used when he desperately did not want to let any of his feelings leak out. Most people had their own versions of a 'game face', but they usually let slip whatever emotions or thoughts they were holding behind it. Takeshi's was notable for being almost completely impenetrable, though that in itself let her know what he was thinking, because she rarely saw him bring it up except when he was around her.

Tamaki was shoving his way through the crowd, evidently having just realized he'd been replaced as the night's 'prize', when Honey sidled up to him.

"Ne," the tiny blonde mused. "Could this be Haru-chan's first kiss?"

"What?" Tamaki exclaimed. He turned towards the girl hovering at the edge of the crowd. "Is this true?"

Arika shrugged. "It's not like I've been following them all night, but I can guarantee they haven't done anything this evening."

"It's just the cheek, right?" she smiled to take the sting out of her words. She was relieved to to see his face light up slightly at the idea there would be a course of action where they both could save face with the minimum amount of exposure.

"If that is what Natsumi-san wishes," he said as if he were the one assuring her. He straightened up slightly, then bowed at the waist as he took her chin gently and turned it away from him. As he leaned in towards her, they both slowly closed their eyes.

Tamaki suddenly charged forward, "Wait! Hold that kiss!" He shoved his way past the last person standing between him and the two hosts...

...then his vision suddenly blacked out and he stumbled, tumbling forward and knocking Takeshi off balance. The resulting outcry caused Haruhi to blink her eyes open and reflexively turn towards the disturbance, just as Takeshi brought his mouth down on her own.

Brilliant white light flared in the middle of the room—overpowering even the spotlights shining over the two—as Takeshi's wings manifested themselves. His eyes had shot open to stare into Haruhi's as soon as their lips had touched and he slowly raised a hand to cup her cheek. His Ashikabi smiled at the gesture and brought up her own hand to rest against his shoulder.

As the light faded and everybody's eyes had readjusted, they pulled away from each other and simultaneously moved their hands to their own mouths, each trying and failing to hide the blush that had bloomed on their face. Takeshi spun around to find Tamaki untangling himself from Riko's hair, where it had flown up to blind him when he'd tried to shove her out of his way. His sister had an extremely annoyed look on her face as she pulled herself free.

"Mou," she complained. "I nearly missed the show!"

Around the two hosts, the crowd was murmuring in surprise.

"What was that?"

"Was that CGI?"

"Man, the things they're doing with glass screens and hologram projections nowadays... "

"Where's the glass though?"

There was a section of girls keening in dismay at the thought of a random girl stealing their beloved Host's lips before they could, although a few were consoled by the fact that it hadn't been Tamaki-sama who'd suffered that indignity.

The remainder of the hosts were now staring at Takeshi with odd expressions. They'd always known he was somewhat unusual, with very odd family, but... wings? Takeshi noticed their stares, especially the piercing glare from Kyouya that let him know the Shadow King was not going to let him get away without some pointed questioning. He sighed in resignation as Haruhi moved back towards him to grasp at his hand.

"Well," she said. "You can relax now. I think there's no point in hiding your secret amongst your friends anymore."

"Who says I'm not relaxed?" He stared down at his Ashikabi, finding her looking up at him with a warm smile. His own mouth twitched, but he was unable to give her one of his own. She didn't seem put out, instead her smile grew even wider and she patted his arm before pulling it around her.

"Nice try, but you can't fool me," she said.

— Ending 1 —

ooo

(a/n) – this was the original ending i had written, but it was deemed somewhat silly. still, the forum seemed to like both equally, so here they both are...

— Alternate Ending —

In another universe, this would have been the part where somebody tripped, or made a loud noise. Something which would have resulted in the two of them looking up in surprise, only to fall on each other as chaos erupted around them. Indeed, Tamaki had been running towards them at that point, attempting to shout something along the effects of 'Father cannot approve of this!' or something like that. He might done so and probably tripped over his feet, had Arika not stepped out from the crowd and into his path to put him in a headlock. No, the kiss on the cheek ended as nothing more than a kiss on the cheek.

However the great Demi-God Murphy—whom many have theorized as the true power source behind the Second Magic—does not like to be denied. And Murphy strikes back hard when he is denied. In some cases there might be a fantastic series of coincidental events which would produce the desired end result. But sometimes Murphy simply does not feel like being subtle.

"That's it?" Riko said in disgust as the two pulled away from each other. "All that planning and work and all we get is this?"

Takeshi frowned as he stared at his sister over Haruhi's shoulder. "What's wrong with 'this'?" he asked. "I'm fine with how this ended up. In fact, given the fact that you and Karin were involved, I'm surprised nothing ridiculous happened."

And with that, Takeshi's fate was sealed. Reality shifted and everyone had the oddest impression of deep, booming laughter in the core of their being.

Riko slapped the heel of her hand over her face, then drew it down slowly. "Takeshi-nii," she grumbled.

"Yes?" he asked, idly patting Haruhi's hand as he made to step away from her, as was proper. He looked up just in time to see Riko lower her hand further... and pull her glasses down with them.

The Daughter of Medusa channeled her magic through her eyes and leveled a piercing stare at her brother. She had no hope of actually transmutating him since her Mystic Eyes had never worked particularly well against living objects, and as a person raised in a magus family Takeshi had fairly high natural resistance to magic. It was still enough to slow him down and force him to focus on running his own prana through his circuits to shake off the effects of petrification, plenty of time for her to simply step forward and give her brother's Ashikabi a quick shove against her back.

Haruhi's eyes blinked open in surprise as she stumbled forward. Takeshi, having instinctually dropped into a combat crouch after the unexpected attack, regained control of his body just in time to catch her face to face.

Literally.

The crowd erupted with gasps and cries. Many from the various females who suffered schoolgirl crushes on the members of the Host Club and were dismayed to see some unknown girl brazenly jumping one of their members. Many other students, high members of society, were in shock at the blatant lack of decorum on display before them. They all were startled by the appearance of glowing white wings that erupted in the air, but oddly enough that mattered less to them than this breach of protocol.

The only people who paid serious attention to the sight of a Winged Sekirei with his Ashikabi were the other members of the Host Club and the other members of the Emiya Clan present. Where the former were in shock at the sudden display, the latter were diving for cover for what they knew what would happen.

"Ri-ko-o" Takeshi growled. Haruhi took one look at his face then quickly moved to put the the boy between herself and his target.

Riko replaced her glasses nervously as several unfortunate students behind her fainted outright. "Eheh... Totally worth it."

ooo

(a/n) — mm this will probably be the last major ouran for a while. unfortunately my muse has been dying a slow death. i blame school.

i'll prolly post a (hopefully) short epilogue next chapter where it jumps to the end of the manga. assume alot of the other stuff in between has been happening here and there, but recall the manga follows ComicBookTime and this... doesn't. only one year at most will have passed, so there wouldn't be a lot of repeated spring/summer arcs.

i may go back to fill in that gap, probably as likely as i might do any post nerima stuffs. for now, some people on the forums seem to have complained about gekkou and kumako disappearing off the face of the earth, and with usagi drop having recently been animated there seems to be some requests to head back to the grade-schoolers. keiko and karin seem to have been fleshed out pretty well by now, and anything with koyuki would prolly be more fun to do in a post-nerima timeline. that just leaves sakuya... hmm...

isn't it sad sakuya? (doesn't quite have the same ring..)