NXT4eva: Now you see my point, no? XD Glad you sorry feelings spread throughout the cast (that's a werid thing to call them) and no I make your wish come true by giving you the next long chappie ;)
Shadowonground: Awe, you really think so? I love this chapter too and I can only wish it was an anime cause we'd make millions :D
Redrover65912: yes, it bombed and got trampled on by a heard of water buffalo then got nuked XD Just wait til you read this chappie ;)
Tenten628: Beach and Sonic never go together without chaos somewhere inbetween XD I'm sure Hikaru appreciates your concern :D
sotorohenge: Well wouldn't be the word I use but look at the bright side, now you can find out what happens! :)
Forsaken Avenger: No kidding, huh? XD At least The Host Club is nowhere near as annoying as Chris was and I actually like the club members...well most of them anyway ;)
TG101: Your review oozed happiness, thank you :D Hee hee I guess it did seem like they couldn't stand each other, much. I updated :P
kassehface: I liked that chappie more ;P And I like this one tooooooooo :D We get reviews cause people recognize our awesome. Dur :P Hee hee, flying dog. Then again we have a flying fox so hee hee x2
Darkspineshadow: Rollercoaster indeed, there was just about as much yelling as a material one wasn't there? Too many good things = awesome on paper plate :
Frogs4dindin: Lolz. I like your penname. frogs ftw. Outrageous you say? First time someone's said that...also the first person to cry (tear, whatever) at this story who admitted it ;)
Mr. Blank name person: Thank you XD
Lol: didn't it though? Gotta admit you expected as much though, right? can't put all these crazy people together without something like a chandalier falling on them...or getting pushed of buildings (cough, cough)
Butterflysfree: I love snapple 3 Keeping the people in character seems to be our strong point, according to everyone who said so :P And I'm pretty much Sonic always has a "la la whatever" attitude, that's what makes him so 'special' I think you might be surpised to see what The Host Club does ;)
SoBe-Yummies: Congradulations! You hold the trophy for the longest review submitted to this ffic 3 And with so many nice things to say about it too. I'm glad you love it (each and every chapter of it) and took the time to look deeper into it than either author did XD Hope you enjoy this chappie as well :D
Come morning time the Host Club awoke finding that all traces of the chaos that had erupted last night had seemingly vanished, along with the ones who caused it. Search as they did the Host Club could find no trace of their fuzzy pals which lead to unneeded worry and more tension among the group then ever before in their short history. For the majority of that day neither Hikaru nor Haruhi were heard from much, both not quite ready to face each other or the others despite Tamaki's best efforts. Kaoru spent most of the day at his brother's side and avoiding the others, who could all tell something was wrong but weren't bothered enough to ask (not that he'd tell them either way).
In fact no one seemed too talkative that day, each keeping to themselves (except Tamaki, who had passed the whole day talking to Kyoya in a rambling fashion about how much trouble they'd be in if The Fuzzies were found and ratted them out).
"I just don't get it!" The King shouted towards the day's end. "Where could they have possibly gone?"
"Maybe they ran away because they were scared we'd be mad at them for last night..." Honey suggested, hugging his stuffed bunny from his curled position on the couch where he had been nearly all day. The lack of his foxy playmate had left him in a momentary, almost depression until he had his daily helping of cake.
Tamaki paused his pacing for a moment, in thought.
"You could be right, Honey-sempai..." Tamaki folded his arms in a dramatic thinking pose. "But, in a way, it was their lack of self-control that unfolded last night's events...and the roof."
"Not necessarily." Kyoya stated from the other couch, lifting his eyes from his laptop to look at Tamaki, who had a puzzled look on his face. "You see, this building has long since been forgotten and therefore neglected by my family. In fact, the Host Club have been the only ones in this place for quite some time. My father has been speaking of selling it or simply tearing it down."
"So it wasn't their fault after all!" Honey sat up, suddenly excited. "That means they're not in trouble, right?"
"Unfortunately, no." Kyoya blunted, typing. "While it may not have been their fault, per se, they still managed to do a fair amount of damage that could have easily been avoided had they not acted so recklessly. If anything, you could say they owe my and my family a handsome sum of money for repairs..." An evil gleam flashed in Kyoya's eyes as he continued typing. "In other words, they're in debt."
Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. That'll show them," she muttered. "If we're all lucky they left for good."
"Don't say that!" Tamaki cried grasping Haruhi's face. "We were all beginning to be the best of friends!" He sobbed openly into his arm, and Haruhi sighed.
"I was just saying they're more trouble then they're worth." Her hand wandered to her forehead where a fresh bandage had been placed that morning. Kyoya had told her she wouldn't need stitches as long as she didn't hit her head again. Hikaru glanced her way for a fraction of a second, but Kaoru noticed anyways. He glared out the window remembering their conversation that morning.
"You could have died last night," he had explained as calmly as he could, but his voice cracked on the last few words.
Hikaru massaged his own neck and winced lightly. "But I didn't." He shrugged which made him cry out. Kaoru was at his side, his hands outstretched to his brother, but Hikaru shot them down. "Would you relax?"
The twin's heart sank, but only for a second. "Oh, like you don't act like a woman when I ever get hurt. Don't forget Karuiza-"
"Could you not?" Hikaru interrupted quietly, turning to the window. His brother puffed his chest and shouted, "If it wasn't for that red mole, you would've been crushed!"
Hikaru scoffed. "You sound like mom. Besides, if it wasn't for them, it wouldn't have happened at all." With that, he stood and got dressed gingerly.
Kaoru glowered. He didn't usually react this way about anything, but last night's incident was tooclose.
His brother sighed, rolling his shoulders. He didn't know what was going on. Last night was so bizarre, almost unreal. He didn't even remember jumping for Haruhi. He didn't know why his body acted nearly without his consent. But when he remembered the look on her face when the chandelier was plummeting, his whole self went cold.
And what was Kaoru's problem, anyways? It's not like he'd died ( he refused to grasp how close to it he really was). And if he hadn't acted, Haruhi would definitely not have been so lucky.
The sudden urge to punch something flared in Hikaru's chest. She wouldn't have been so lucky. He turned in her direction again, but looked away quickly.
What's my deal? he asked himself. Nothing's changed.
He sighed and closed his eyes.
"You okay?" his brother's voice was soft. Hikaru opened his eyes and saw \Kaoru wasn't even looking at him but out the window.
"Yeah. Just a little tried."
"You should rest." Kaoru turned to his twin and smiled, but Hikaru declined.
"I'm alright."
And that was all.
It was silent in the room again except for Tamaki's pacing. Even Honey was solemn, squeezing Usa-chan almost viciously. Haruhi smiled at the idea of the rabbit's eyes exploding out of its stuffed head.
"You look pleased, Haruhi."
The girl's imagination burst and her smile disappeared. "Wut?" She blinked and turned in the direction of the voice.
Kyoya smiled slightly. "You seem happy our new 'friends' are MIA."
"Why's everyone picking on me?" Haruhi scowled.
"You're the only one who wasn't very fond of them."
"Like you're mister social." The female crossed her arms. "I wouldn't say I miss them is all."
"Haruhi, how could you say that?" Tamaki exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "They all may have their unpleasant, and scary, sides but I believe somewhere deep down they're all good people!"
"Well they sure weren't showing it," Haruhi mumbled. But I would like to know exactly howthey managed to get rid of all that debri without so much as a sound to wake us up. she thought, finding it unusual and highly unlikely that the fuzzy trio would've been able to silently cooperate that long.
"Do you think they'll ever come back?" Honey asked sadly.
"Why, there's no doubt in my mind!" Tamaki breezed giving Honey a reassuring smile. "After all, they're all alone in this world. Our world. Who else could they possibly turn to besides our brilliant little host club? They will be back in no time, I guarantee it!"
Despite that little promise, it was almost a full week before there was any sign of the missing trio and by then Tamaki was having a breakdown while everyone else remained convinced they had left for good.
"Why haven't they come back yet?" Tamaki exclaimed, apparently to the ceiling several days later. No one paid him any mind, each of them spread throughout the room doing their own things and taking care not to notice The King's outburst. "It's almost been a full week and we haven't seen eye or tail of them!" A sudden grave look downed on Tamaki's face. "Oh no! What if they were abducted?"
"Who in their right mind would want to kidnap a bunch like them?" Hikaru wondered in tones that said he sure wouldn't.
"Talk about biting off more than you can chew..." Haruhi stated flatly.
"What do you have against them?" Tamaki whirled on them. "Your attitudes better change once they return. I won't have your petty hate jeopardizing the work of out three newest hosts when they return!"
"If they come back." Kaoru muttered.
"Besides what happened to keeping those three a secret?" Haruhi questioned, wondering how this sliver of common sense managed to slip Tamaki's mind. "I'm almost sure our usual chatty guest will have a field day with our 'new' hosts."
Tamaki was about to answer this question when a strange noise filled the room. Something that sounded like a bee mixed with an electrical zapping of some sort that grew louder and louder still until stopping completely. The hosts looked at each other, or rather Tamaki looked at everyone while they all looked up. Had it been their imaginations, or had the ceiling just...glowed?
"Oh, perfect! Now where are we?"
And, had the ceiling just talked?
"We're backthat's where. See? I toldja, third time's the charm." A new, familiar voice arose proudly.
"Take a look around, Sonic. You got it wrong, again. This is why you're forbidden to even think about instant transportation!"
It was then everyone of the hosts looked at each other with either shock or excitement (the latter outnumbered one-to-six). In a way that could only be described as 'down right creepy', Tamaki turned to his fellow club members with a grin that threatened to take in his ears and a jubilant gleam in his eyes. "They're ba-ack." He sang in a voice high with excitement.
"Actually, Sonic's right. We just ended up in the air ducts somehow..." Tails' voice corrected.
"So, ha!" Sonic laughed as Knuckles groaned. "Now apologize for saying I was wrong, Knucklehead."
Instead, there was the sound of heavy footsteps signaling the echidna had gone for the exit. He found it as well, it hadn't been more than ten feet away, and he effortlessly kicked off the metal cover and crawled out of the duct, dropping to the floor and into an unexpected, bone-crushing hug from Tamaki.
"I knew it!" The King exclaimed excitedly, crushing the echidna even more until it looked like his head would explode at any given moment. "I just knew you guys would come back! I had faith in you all along!"
For the third time that day, the Host Club members, currently not hugging a someone that was bound to kill them all once released, looked at each other in a mix of emotions.
"Well, it's nice to see one of you is happy to see us," Sonic said from the duct's entrance though he sounded none to hurt or surprised.
"Tails!" Honey's exclamation managed to overshadow Tamaki's by a long shot as the little blonde raced over and hugged/ tackled the fox the second he hit the ground.
"This is perfect!" Tamaki yelled. "Now're all together again!" The King span around a few times before Knuckles finally had enough sense to break free from his grasp and was, luckily for Tamaki, to winded to seek revenge.
"Not that I care or anything, but where exactly did you three go?" Hikaru asked, trying not to sound as curious or as relieved as he really was.
"Just around..." Sonic replied slowly with a grin.
"Around?" Kyoya echoed, lifting his gaze from laptop to hedgehog. "Overseas is hardly what one would call 'around', Sonic."
"Overseas?" Honey repeated (Haruhi was seriously wondering if there was an echo in the room). "Why'd you go there?"
"Obviously you guys don't watch the news..." Knuckles rolled his eyes, still somewhat breathless.
"The news?" Tamaki cocked his head, looking at the large T.V. in the room.
With a heavy sigh, the echidna grabbed the slick black rectangle that served as the remote and clicked the on button, bring the screen to life. Considering the club never watched the news, Knuckles had to flip through the channels a bit before the familiar news cast appeared, talking blandly.
"That's great Lisa. Hope you brought an umbrella to work, folks." His false laughter etched through the speakers and nearly everyone rolled their eyes.
"That's right, Greg." a flamboyant blonde chimed. "And in other news, our famous blue buddy came back after a long absence. You all remember Sonic the Hedgehog." said fuzzy's picture appeared on the screen, his face smug.
"Do we ever, Lisa." Greg's chuckle pierced everyone's brain, and Hikaru rubbed his head.
Lisa's smile looked menacing as she shot it toward her co-host. "Sonic and his slightly smaller gang appeared last week in Central Square, where everyone welcomed them back with open arms." A shot of a mob of blue haired people of all shapes and sizes started playing, and the chant of the hedgehog's name grew louder and louder with every syllable. Sonic grabbed the remote from the fuming echidna and shut the television off.
"That's enough of that." He chuckled awkwardly.
Knuckles rolled his eyes and sunk away, not saying a word.
"Well," the twins chimed. "Guess keeping you guys a secret for so long was pointless." They leaned into the hedgehog's face, their eyes glaring. "The fact you guys are famous would've been nice to know."
"'S not my fault you guys don't pay attention to anything," Sonic shot sourly. "Besides, we were only there to see a couple people. It's just hard to stay unseen by everyone, y'know?"
Knuckles scoffed. "Don't act like you don't love every minute of your fame." He stared out the window, his arms crossed tightly.
"What the hell is your problem?" Sonic snapped.
"You know Sonic doesn't like the publicity," Tails added from under Honey, who had taken to laying on the fox like a pillow.
The red, spiky creature turned towards the group, and Tamaki flinched and scurried to Haruhi's side. "You really believe I'll swallow that crap?" He shot.
"You'd better 'cause it's the damn truth," Sonic snarled.
"Oh, please don't argue!" Tamaki wailed.
The bickering couple actually shut up, much to everyone's surprise, but they still stared at each other darkly until Knuckles turned away and headed for the door. "Whatever." And he left.
Sonic sighed and crossed his arms. "He's hopeless."
"Like you're any more tolerable," Haruhi muttered, and the twins laughed, thought, Kaoru's fell short.
"Well you can't please everyone," the hedgehog stated, flicking his nose with his thumb.
"Clearly," Kyoya added simply. "Just a whole city."
Sonic looked away. " I never meant for that to happen. You be a nice guy, save a few people, and you're like hero!" He flew his hands in the air and waved them mockingly.
"You saved everyone, 'member, Sonic?" Tails popped in, trying to be helpful. "That huge Chaos monster was destroying everything, but you stopped it!"
Sonic shook his head. "Like I said, just trying to be a nice guy."
"Oh, of course!" Tamaki exploded, and Haruhi nearly jumped. "You're so nice!" The King bounded to the rodent and squeezed him tightly, flinging him on his feet. "That's why we're all the best of friends, and you're staying with us!"
"Why does that sound fishy?" Sonic half-asked, half-croaked as he tried to squirm out of Tamaki's grasp.
"How is Sempai not getting his arms sliced off?" Haruhi wondered aloud. In spite of her seeming dislike for The Fuzzies she had been around them more than enough to know the damage their little spines, or quills or whatever they were, could cause.
"And we'll get to be even closer when you guys become hosts with us!" Honey said cheerily, feeling Tails twitch below him.
"Wait-" The fox began only to be cut off by his older brother's high-pitched outburst.
"What?" Struggling uselessly against Tamaki's all-powerful hug, Sonic would have greatly enjoyed continuing his outburst had The King not abruptly switched his grasp to his neck and hugged the rodent closer to his face.
"That's right!" Tamaki shouted, unable to contain his excitement any longer. "Starting the second we return to Ouran all of us will be one big, happy, hosting family!"
"You do, after all, owe me and my family for destroying a good portion of our vacation home," Kyoya pointed out.
"Can't you just take a check?" Sonic managed to worm his way out of Tamaki's hold and straighten out his fur.
"What? You mean you don't want to be a host?" Haruhi asked mockingly.
"Unfortunately the choice isn't your's to make," Kyoya continued blandly. "From what I understand from my research the last time you and your friends came to this planet you requested no pay for your actions."
"In other words: you're broke." Hikaru blunted.
Sonic and Tails looked at each other, amused. The twin's statement might be full truth when it came to this planet but their own was a different story by far.
"Alright, fine." Sonic shrugged carelessly. "I'll play along in you little game-"
"Me too!" Tails shot in.
"-But don't expect too much," the hedgehog continued casually. "Not from me or Knucklehead, considering he ever comes back and doesn't massacre The King over here." Sonic jabbed a thumb at Tamaki who suddenly paled at the thought.
"Then it's settled." Kyoya said with finality. "Your quota will be one thousand and five hundred guest. Each."
"Fair enough." Sonic and Tails agreed.
The deal was done.
It was decided the newly expanded club would return to school in a week. just a couple days before it started up again. Excited for the Host Club's future with the newly appointed celebrities, Tamaki began spewing new, more idiotic ideas for the club that seemed to get more and more ridiculous the more he rambled. That same afternoon and despite their clear relief at having The Fuzzies back, Hikaru and Kaoru took to distancing themselves from their third little prankster, not that it mattered because the hedgehog seemed to have something on his mind that was more important anyway and disappeared before night had even fallen.
On the opposite end of the distance meter, Honey and Tails continued where they had left off, almost as if the last week of their separation hadn't even happened or existed. Come nightfall, in fact waypast nightfall into the early hours of morning where the sun would rise in just hours, Haruhi awoke from her slumber while the rest of the club members lay peacefully asleep.
Not knowing what it was that had made her suddenly restless, Haruhi figured a short walk would help settle nerves and hopefully the sound of the ocean would put her to sleep again.
It wasn't until she had stepped outside and onto the sand that Haruhi remembered the events of their last visit here and the dangerous strangers that somehow managed to get on the beach. Figuring she could at least checkif anyone else was awake and wanted to walk with her (though she'd very much enjoy silence) Haruhi was all set to go back inside when she spotted an all-too-familiar blue figure atop one of the poles used to raise the volleyball net above the sand. Odd, he hadn't been there a second ago...
Then again, what do you expect from a guy that can move faster than sound? Haruhi thought with a mental shrug and, against all the power of her better judgment, walked over to the net.
"Isn't it past your bedtime?" She asked when she arrived and was surprised when Sonic actually jumped at the sound of her voice, blinked a few times then turned to her.
"Is is past yours?" The hedgehog countered automatically. "What are you doing out here?"
"What are youdoing out here?" Haruhi couldn't help it. She didn't know why all she ever felt like doing when she was around The Fuzzies was being sarcastic towards them, at least they tried to be friendly, when they weren't dropping ceiling on people.
"Meh. Nothing much. Just thinkin'." Sonic shrugged then noticed the look on Haruhi's face and asked, "why? Did you want something?"
"Well, since you asked..." Haruhi tried not to sound so desperate. "I was just about to take a walk for a bit, in case you wanted to come along or something."
Sonic's expression went puzzled.
"And you're asking me?" Sonic quirked an eye ridge.
"You arethe only one out here." Haruhi said shortly. "If you don't want to then I'll just-"
"Who said I didn't?" Sonic cut in, jumping off the pole and neatly onto the sand in front of the female with his ever-so-cocky grin on his face. "I was just a little surprise you, of all people, asked since you hate me and all."
"I never said that!" Haruhi defended lamely and Sonic shrugged.
"You don't have to," he said simply "I'm used to people hating me so don't mind it too much, sweetheart."
Haruhi twitched. "What did you just-"
You heard me." Sonic cut in then took a few steps back. "We going, or what?"
Haruhi motioned for the hedgehog to go first, and the walking commenced. It was silent except for the waves crashing and their crunching footsteps in the sand. Haruhi felt the awkwardness ooze between them, but tried to ignore it and started at the ocean. Sonic decided to slice through the weirdness first.
"So...um. Sorry about y'know..."
"Dropping a ceiling on me and bailing?" The hedgehog could feel acid in her words, though the female had none intended.
"Well, yeah..." he glanced her way and noticed she wasn't even looking at him. "You're okay, right?" Haruhi's bandage on her head wasn't need, though there was the tiniest sliver the rodent could see in the moonlight, right where her hair parted in the wind.
Haruhi shrugged. "I'm alive."
"Thanks to Hikaru," a pause. "Oh. and Knuckles," he muttered.
For some reason that made Haruhi laugh, only for a couple seconds. Sonic's face was confused and on the verge of fear.
"I haven't heard that out of you," he pressed. "Probably ever."
The girl sighed out her last laugh. "You really expect me to believe that angry, spiky...thing saved me? You guys caused all that chaos."
Sonic snorted at the last word, then his face grew serious. "So, you don't believe me?"
She shook her head. "I'm not that stupid. He doesn't even want to be here. It's obvious." She turned his way and was shocked to notice he wasn't right next to her. She turned around to find him a couple paces behind, his arms crossed.
"So you think he'd just leave you to die?" He scoffed. "He maybe an asshole, but he has some class." He shook his head, then looked toward the water.
Haruhi sighed. "I guess I just didn't expect it."
"Oh, but it's so believable when it's Hikaru? He's such a selfish brat and you expect something from him?"
She hesitated. It was true what he said. She'd never expected anything from anyone. She was always a one-man show. "Well," she began. "He's my friend."
The last word fell between them like a rock, and Sonic had gotten what he needed. "You mean he cares?" The wind blew again, and the waves inched ever closer to their feet.
"I guess."
"You care too." It wasn't a question.
Haruhi faltered. "Like I said." She crossed her arms. "He's a friend." Her gaze flew to the ocean again, avoiding the hedgehog's piercing green eyes.
"Some friend," he shot. "You haven't even spoken ever since we got back. I bet it's been the same since we left." He crunched past her in the sand and kept walking without waiting.
Haruhi dropped her arms and watched him go. She was suddenly very tired, and she wanted to crawl into bed and stay there all day. Every time she spoke to this guy, it was like he knew something that should be obvious. He talked to her like she was stupid or blind.
Maybe I do hate you, she thought at his back as he kept going. She sighed as she turned back to the beach house.
Sonic didn't want her to follow, so he didn't know why he was walking so slowly. His feet itched to go faster, but the rest of him refused. Everyone here is, like...Retarded! He shouted at himself. He looked to the sky and sighed. Earth was so tiring sometimes. Humans were nearly insufferable.
So why do you stay? His head mocked, and he laughed aloud when he remembered his 'debt' and the promise he made. He shook his head and turned to the dark mass that was the beach house.
He understood Knuckles' problem with humans, but at least he saw the good too. They were all really close, almost like a family like Tamaki kept saying. They were amusing, if anything, and Sonic smiled. Tails was enjoying himself.
The hedgehog turned back around and ran. He didn't know what for, but it always helped him clear his head. Just feeling the wind hit his face was enough to wake him up. He grinned as he sped up and ran around the island a few times. Being surrounded by so much water didn't bother him when he didn't think about it.
He skidded to a stop when the sun began to rise and took in the landscape, and he didn't leave that spot for hours.
Everyone at the house freaked out when Sonic was nowhere in sight.
"Who was the last one to see him?" Tamaki cried. "We just got him back!"
Haruhi hesitated, then spoke up. "We took a walk last night."
"Sonic doesn't walk," Tails butted in, hovering over her head.
"What did you say? You scared him away, didn't you?" Tamaki sobbed before her, nearly falling to his knees. "How many times does Daddy have to tell you to play nice?"
"I didn't say anything!" She defended.
"Don't blame her," Knuckles grated from his usual spot by the window. "Sonic lives by no one's rules and could careless about the results of his actions as long as he gets his kicks."
The pure concentrated venom in the echidna's voice was enough to shock the room into silence for a few moments.
"As long as he shows up before we leave, there's nothing to worry about." Kyoya stated carelessly.
"But what if something horriblehappened?" Tamaki freaked, fell to the floor and looked up at Haruhi teary-eyed. "Are you sure you don't know where he went? You went for a walk along the beach, right?"
"Oh, I get it." Kaoru raised an eyebrow. " You walk along the shore, late at night, no witnesses, and push. Bye-bye hedgehog."
Everyone, mainly Tamaki and except Knuckles, turned terrified looks to Haruhi. They were all well aware she had a dislike for the hedgehog but surely not enough to...
"Quit looking at me like that!" The female snapped. "I didn't kill anyone!"
"If you didn't then who did?" Tamaki wailed and Haruhi was just about to point out that no one said the hedgehog was dead for real when a sudden bark alerted everyone to the recent arrival of The King's yellow-like dog, who came strolling in through the kitchen with as much stuck up richness as her owner.
Tails yelped and darted behind Knuckles, who rolled his eyes but noticeably tensed.
"Where does that dog keep coming from?" Haruhi sweat dropped and watched as said canine ran to Tamaki's outstretched arms and tried to lick his face.
"I was wondering where you ran off to, girl." Tamaki laughed delightedly as the dog's tongue brushed against his face. Then, as if someone had just pressed some mystical button, his face went from 'la-la happy' to 'dead glum' in an instant.
"Great, now what?" Hikaru rolled his eyes, already knowing what was coming.
"I think she ateour little blue friend." Tamaki whispered with a look of woe on his face.
Knuckles snorted. "Please, even I can tell your mutt has more sense then that."
"There are deadthings lying out there that are probably healthier than Sonic..." Kaoru agreed flatly.
"Jeez, what do you guys say about me when I'm not in the room?" At the sound of the hedgehog's voice, everyone turned to see him standing right behind them.
"You're alive!" Before Sonic had time to react, Tamaki had rushed over and pulled the rodent into one of his trademark, and loathed, hugs. "I really thought we'd lost you for good!"
"We could only be so lucky..." Haruhi sighed the froze when she made eye contact with Sonic until Tamaki started spinning around with the hedgehog in tow.
"Alright, enough of that." Sonic broke Tamaki's hold and attempted to return some air to his lungs as The King pulled a thoughtful look.
"Where did you disappear to this time?" Tamaki wondered.
"Around-" The hedgehog looked at Kyoya. "-For real this time. It's not like I can leave anyway so quit freaking out every time I'm outta sight. okay?"
"I think Sempai would feel better if we had someway of contacting you." Haruhi suggested without making eye contact with Sonic. "Or at least knowing you were around."
"I don't see what the big deal is..." Hikaru muttered. It wasn't like Sonic was just going to leave and not come back, especially after making his promise to settle the debt. He maybe a lot of things but somehow a shirker just didn't seem to fit.
"After all, you can't expect to keep a guy like him tied up for long," Kaoru added. "That'd be just as impossible as getting the mole over here to show an act of kindness or love."
A sudden drop in temperature told the twin this wasn't the wisest thing to say.
"Except for the fact that if it weren't for him, Haruhi and Hikaru could've been killed, right?" Tails asked, utterly puzzled by Kaoru's remark. Sure, Knuckles wasn't the most open, honest, fun or loving guy out there but he hadn't killed anyone yet, so wasn't that at least something to consider?
"He wouldn't of had to save them if the three of you hadn't caused a scene." Kaoru said boredly then looked away from the group. He wouldn't have gotten hurt if it hadn't been for them...He thought.
"There's no point in living in the past," Sonic said, mostly to break the silent tension that had filled the room.
"So do you promise not to run away again?" Tamaki asked hopefully.
"No. But I do enjoy your sense of humour." Sonic answered honestly and with as straight a face as he could manage, then shrugged. "And if you really want to make sure I stay around I have a suggestion."
"A leash?" Haruhi quipped, not entirely to herself.
"Preferably short?" Kyoya stated more out of common sense than humour.
"No." Sonic narrowed his eyes heatedly. "With this."
The hedgehog withdrew a large gemstone that would have almost been a normal sight for the humans of the Host Club had it not been for it's slightly larger size and the fact there seemed to be a bright light flaring inside it.
"Whoa!" Honey's eyes threatened to overtake his whole face as he gazed at the blue gem, awed. "What is it?"
"A chaos emerald." All three Fuzzies replied in unintentional chorus.
"Chaos?" Haruhi echoed skeptically. "What is it with your world and disarray?"
"No clue." Sonic shrugged. He had wondered the same thing for years and had always wanted to know who had first named the emeralds but wasn't too bother to look. "But at least this way His Royalty can relax."
"What's it do?" Honey asked, not moving his eyes and near panicked when the hedgehog handed it to him.
"Tons of stuff." Tails replied vaguely. "It's too much too go into detail now but each emerald has a special power and react to each other in a different way."
"When close to each other the light in them glows brighter, if you get my drift." Sonic finished.
"Wonderful!" Tamaki squealed as he gazed at the gemstone. "It's like a lil' hedgie detector! And in such a beautiful image!"
"Sonic." Knuckles hissed for reasons all-but-unknown to the hedgehog.
"Hey, I trust them." Sonic whispered in an aside. "We'll talk about this later, Knucklehead."
To Sonic's surprise, the echidna dropped the subject with a grunt and turned back to the window.
"I just got a terrific idea!" Tamaki clapped his hand together to gather everyone's attention before continuing. "Since we have limited time remaining together and alone I think we should take this chance to head out to the city and do a little shopping in a last attempt to become more like a family!"
Everyone groaned (well, minus Kyoya) and rolled their eyes.
"Just give it up already!" Knuckles shook his head.
"Face it, boss, we hate each other." The twins shrugged.
"Not true!" Tamaki rejected. "You all love each other! You're just too proud to admit it!"
"Oh yeah, proud. That's the word..." Haruhi sighed, already it was shaping up to be one of those days.
"That's it! That will be today's goal!" Tamaki exclaimed suddenly. "We will express our love for one another by the end of today!"
Without waiting for rebuttals, Tamaki gathered everyone of the Host Club members up, new and old, and forced them through the door, onto the beach, aboard some ferry-type thing and off to the city were they would be forced to spend the day in the largest mall they could find which even had an all-day special on the roof that day.
"Can we take a break?" Honey leaned against a nearby wall, several hours later, with a tired sigh.
"But we haven't even reached the roof!" Tamaki pointed out excitedly. "And that's the best part! C'mon!"
Grabbing the little blonde, Tamaki rushed to the stairs leading to the roof, leaving the others in the dust.
"Someone want to explain how weended up carrying all this crap?" Hikaru asked acidly, gesturing to the hundred and one bags divided among the remaining members.
"That's Tamaki for you," Kyoya said. "Let's continue, everyone."
And they did, albeit reluctantly, and were secretly amazed by the assortment of items laid out on the roof.
"We're so high up!" Tails awed, looking over the midget-like fence that was apparently supposed to ward people from the edge and their would-be deaths.
"Is this even safe?" Haruhi eyed the edge warily as she put her half of the bags on the ground and walked over. "Did they even consider the fact someone might fall?"
"I don't think they consider anyone to be that stupid." Knuckles grated. "Then again, who knows when it comes to humans?"
"What is thatsupposed to mean?" Kaoru turned to the echidna hotly.
"I think you know." Knuckles said shortly. Kaoru's earlier comment was all-but-forgotten by the echidna, who wasn't about to let it go without some price to be paid.
"I'm sensing tension here," Sonic eyed the echidna pointingly.
"Kaoru..." Hikaru looked at his brother warningly. "I don't know what your deal's been lately but it's really starting to get on my nerves. If something's bothering you just sayit." Hikaru demanded and getting an incredulous look from his twin.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kaoru gave a short laugh and pointed to the problem in question. "Those damn animals are changing everything!"
"Kaoru!" Haruhi snapped, hoping to snap the reasonable twin out of his sudden rage but feeling that he was somehow right.
"Don't defend them, Haruhi. You're the one who can't stand them the most out of us all!" Kaoru shot with far more truth than he realized. "Ever since they got here all they've done is cause trouble and almost killed us! When are you guys going to realize we don't matter to them? They could care less what happens to us!"
"That's not true and you know it," Sonic said in dangerously level tones. "And we're not the only things bothering you, are we?"
"You're afraid of change in general." Knuckles followed up in the same air. "You don't want anything or anyone to change the way things are now because you're afraid you won't be able to coup, right?"
Kaoru blinked. They had hit the nail on the head just then. He didn't think it had been that obvious all this time but those two had managed to find his one fear so easily...
"Kaoru..." Hikaru repeated in far less angry tones and reached over to put a hand on his brother's shoulder but as to what happened next no one was really quite sure. It happened too fast.
All that was known for sure was that at that second, Kaoru had lurched to avoid his twin's touch and had taken a step back to further avoid it when his foot caught onto one of the bags Haruhi had placed near the midget-like fence. Caught off-balance the twin stumbled backwards and before anyone had even blinked, disappeared from the rooftop.
There was total pandemonium as everyone hurried to the edge. Hikaru cried his brother's name, nearly falling off the roof himself as he reached hopelessly for his twin.
"Oh, hot damn," Sonic muttered.
"Shut up!" Hikaru erupted. "Just shut up!" he turned an accusing finger to the hedgehog's face. "He's right. About you, about everything!" He shook slightly, but Sonic seemed unbothered by this outburst.
Haruhi looked to Tamaki, wishing for some intervention, but none came. The King's face was blank, his eyes not really seeing anything even though he was facing where Kaoru fell.
"Everything that's happened to us," Hikaru continued, "is all. Your. Fault." With every word. he jabbed Sonic in the chest with his finger, by the rodent stayed indifferent. He even seemed bored.
Haruhi seemed on the edge of cracking, seeing Sonic's bored face. He grabbed the hedgehog by the neck, lifting him enough that his toes barely reached the floor. "You bastards," he muttered quietly.
"I believe that's enough," Kyoya stated, appearing next to the drama.
"What?" Hikaru nearly growled. "Have you lost. Your. Mind?" Tears appeared in the twin's eyes, but refused to spill over.
As response, Kyoya pointed (with his pen) behind him. Everyone turned and saw Tails massaging his namesakes and Kaoru sprawled on the floor next to him. Hikaru quickly let go of Sonic, dropping him unceremoniously on his rump, and rushed to his brother's side. Sonic dusted himself off impatiently and zipped to Tails who was whining lightly.
"You okay, bud?" he asked his little brother.
"Yeah," he whimpered. "He's just a lot heavier than Honey."
Sonic breathed a laugh and reached out for the fox's other tail. The little kit sighed audibly as the muscles relaxed. "You did good, little bro." the fox's face visibly lit up as he smiled widely, and Sonic smiled back.
Hikaru was sobbing on his brother's chest, his brother still out like a light.
"He'll be fine," Kyoya said calmly. "He just got scared."
Honey tackled Tails, wailing. "Thank you, Tails! Thank you, thank you, thankyouuu!"
"Yeah." Mori grunted, patting the fox's fuzzy head.
Haruhi wiped a couple tears from her face. She wanted to comfort Hikaru, but she knew he wouldn't want anyone to bother them. She kept her distance, standing next to Tamaki who still hadn't said or done much of anything.
When Kaoru finally came to, Hikaru smothered him, still crying but much less loudly. Once everyone was calm enough (even if not toward each other) they decided to leave without seeing anything else in the mall. They grabbed their share of bags and took the ferry back to the beach house where packing commenced. School break didn't end for another couple of days, but the want to leave radiating from everyone was clear.
The limo packed in less than an hour, and they were off. It was silent among everyone, and no one dared to break it. The twins seemed to put up a wall around themselves, ignoring everyone else and everything. Honey clung onto Tails the whole way, and Sonic and Knuckles stayed on opposite sides of the car.
The tension was nearly suffocating, and Haruhi couldn't help but feel that this trip had made everything worse. She sighed as she stared out the window, wondering if anything would ever be close to 'normal' again.
"You alright, Haruhi?" Tamaki asked. He spoke like he was scared his voice would shatter the windows.
The female nodded, but said nothing. It was quiet again until Tamaki whispered, "you don't hate me, do you, Haruhi?: His voice sounded so hurt, she couldn't help but look up. He was gazing out the window, his voice serious.
"Of course not, sempai." She paused. "Why?"
The King closed his eyes and he shook his head. "This didn't work the way it was supposed to..." He sighed. "I thought I could make everyone at least civil. I failed you all. It would make sense for you to hate me. Everyone else does."
Haruhi glanced at everyone in particular. Honey couldn't hate Tamaki even if he tried. Mori was so indifferent and independent ( except for his relationship with Honey) that it didn't matter. Kyoya, well. He wasn't very fond of anyone. And he and the twins never got along. Nothing seemed different.
But everything was changed.
"We don't hate you, sempai," Haruhi stated matter-of-factly.
She heard one of the twins scoff and turned their way. "You have something to say?" She glared at them.
They both looked up simultaneously. "Well, yeah." They chimed.
"It's pretty weak of you guys to keep these creatures a secret at first," Hikaru blunted.
"And then force us all together these past couple of weeks." They looked back at their handheld.
"And wondering why we don't get along magically." The sarcasm dripping from the last word seeped through the air, and Tamaki's head drooped slightly.
Haruhi picked up a glass from the mini bar (no alcohol, of course) and threw it at them. "At least Tamaki-sempai tried!" She erupted. "Which is more then I can say for you!" She shot a finger in their direction and continued. "You pick a favourite and ignore the rest. And when something, anything, happens, you drop them like a hot coal!"
The duo's faces were riddled with confusion as they looked from Haruhi to the broken glass round them.
"I thought you weren't fond of our new members, Haruhi," Kyoya interjected.
She nearly burst. "I never said I hated them! I just don't know why they hung around, and it would be silly to make friends if they're just gonna leave soon." She blinked at the realization of how true those words were.
"Sure," Sonic nearly laughed. Knuckles didn't even show he was listening to anything. Honey and Tails sat wide-eyed as the argument continued.
"You're insufferable," Haruhi snapped and Sonic shot her a look.
"You're definitely no better," he rebutted. "At least I have a sense of humor. Or eyes." As emphasis, he pointed at both of his with his hands.
"Sonic," Hikaru hissed.
"Oh, please." The hedgehog unbuckled and zipped to Haruhi. "In case you haven't noticed or are just completely oblivious, these guys all adore you." He shrugged his shoulder and put his hands out to face her. "Why, I've no idea, but none of them want to say anything, so someone had to!"
Haruhi blinked and looked at everyone. Tamaki interrupted before anyone had a chance to say anything.
"What you're saying is completely absurd!" he announced. "Haruhi's our little princess! Of course we'd dote on her!" He patted her head in his fatherly matter, and the awkwardness seemed to fade a little.
Sonic rolled his eyes and tapped his foot. "Whatever. Believe what you want."
Thankfully, they arrived at their destination at that moment. The limo jarred to a stop, and the hedgehog jumped out, zooming out of sight.
"Sonic!" Tails called after him, but he made no real effort to leave the vehicle. Knuckles left silently, as usual, after Kyoya asked him to tell Sonic to be at school the following Monday. The echidna didn't acknowledge him with a response, but everyone knew he couldn't pass up being bossy to Sonic.
No one said goodbye, except Honey to everyone, and they all went their separate ways.
Haruhi sighed when she got in the limo Tamaki offered. She needed some time to herself after so much time with all those lunatics, and she tried to fall asleep as the car brought her home. She couldn't help but think about everything that was going on. The twins were being so angry lately and Tamaki was being extra dramatic.
When she got home, she made some rice then slept the weekend away.
Monday came too soon. Haruhi yawned through the morning until the club meeting started. She almost didn't expect to se anyone, but hey were all there, albeit unhappily.
"Hello, Haruhi!" Tamaki shouted. No one else seemed so excited, though Honey and Tails were giggling over cake in the corner. The twins had been in class, but neither of them had said anything to her all day. Everyone was concerned.
Haruhi waved at everyone half-heartedly and turned to Sonic. "Look," she started. " I think we got off on the wrong foot. And though you're blue and abnormally large for a hedgehog-"
"Oy." Said creature rose a hand. "It's cool." He smiled and winked at her.
She sighed, glad to get that off her chest, then turned to the twins. "Same goes for you guys."
The two looked at each other then smiled, shrugging their shoulders. "We don't even know what you're talking about!" And they patted her head.
"I'm sorry, though." Kaoru said softly.
"Me too," Hikaru muttered.
"Good! You guys have been, let's say, insufferable." Sonic winked up at Haruhi again, and she smiled.
Kaoru didn't say anything, but his brother gave the hedgehog a noogie.
"Wonderful!" Tamaki bounded to the group and wrapped his arms around everyone he could reach. "We'll be able to start today positively!" He tried his best to spin the twins and Sonic (Haruhi had narrowly escaped), but they all toppled over instead.
"You forget we're introducing our new members today?" Kyoya said almost blandly and Tamaki's blonde head shot up from the pile.
"Oh, yeah!" His worried face appeared.
"I'm sure the ladies will love them!" Honey announced from above, clinging to Tails who was hovering over everyone's heads.
"What're we doing, exactly?" Knuckles asked from the window.
"You mean you don't remember?" Tamaki whined.
"Last time I remember being here for a meeting we were in a closet," the echidna snapped.
"Wasn't very pleasant." Sonic rubbed his head as he recalled the chaos that occurred.
Nearly everyone laughed. Kaoru just smiled, remembering the day to be a bit less enjoyable then everyone else made it seem.
The group kept chattering excitedly about everything that came to mind until there was a knock on the door, and it was realized that the Host Club was about to be open for business.
"This is it!" Tamaki gasped, straighten up and turned to the new host. "Are you ready?"
"As we'll ever be." Both Sonic and Knuckles replied then looked at each other.
"Just remember to treat every guest as a fragile butterfly that holds the key to your eternal happiness and you'll do fine!" Tamaki instructed as he ran to the door.
"This is going to be a long day..." Knuckles sighed. While he would usually just say that and take it upon himself to just leave and save everyone a couple thousand dollars in repairs as a result of his irritation, this time was different. He had a debt to pay off and his honor wouldn't let him leave, no matter how demeaning a task 'hosting' was.
"Alright!" Tamaki grasped the door handles and put on his trademark host smile. "Let us begin!" And he opened the doors.
All at once the shrills and dreamy sighs from half the guests erupted as the room suddenly filled with half a hundred guests either staying near Tamaki or making their way to their favourite host.
In a way, Haruhi would later realize, it was almost funny when the first girl noticed the non-too-subtle Fuzzies just sitting on the couch. She just sort of froze, mid-sentence to Haruhi, and her eyes bugged out like she'd just seen a ghost and just stared at the techni-coloured aliens. Like a domino effect her reaction spread throughout the room until there was complete silence, all eyes focused on The Fuzzies.
Fearing a sudden freak, Tamaki ran out into the center of the circle that had formed around the new hosts. "Now, now," he said calmly. "There's nothing to be afraid of ladies."
"Tamaki..." One girl breathed, awed. "Is that...?"
"It couldn't be!" Another girl shook her head. ""Why would he be here, in Japan?"
"Well, why not?" Yet another guest asked and it didn't take long for a clamour to break out among the guests concerning the newest hosts.
This noise continued for a few more moments before a shrill whistle filled the room, shattering the females' noise and knocking the room into silence.
"Could you not do that when I'm right next to you?" Knuckles shot a glare at Sonic, still with two fingers in his mouth on top of the couch.
"Sorry." Sonic shrugged carelessly then turned to the crowd of wide-eyed females. "Is this how you girls act around celebrities? And here I thought rich people were supposed to be sophisticated."
All the guests looked at each other, suddenly excited as they realized just who had spoken to them. Excited chatter broke again and the girls started saying things along the lines of "Then it's true!", "How did they get here?", or "Go talk to them!"
Seeing there would no longer be a freak from the guests, Tamaki relaxed and cleared his throat. "Ladies!" He announced. "I proudly introduce to you our newest members of the Host Club, brought to us by a lucky turn of events! Their goal is to entertain you as proper hosts to this school."
With that the girls cheered and it only took a nano second before The Fuzzies found themselves gobbled up by the crowd. It took every inch of self-control Sonic and Knuckles owned to not run away (Sonic by habit, Knuckles by dislike) and allow the girls to bombard them with questions.
"Are you really the same Sonic from the TV?" One asked, somewhat nervously.
"You know another Sonic?" Said hedgehog raised an eye ridge. "If you do, someone owns me trademark payment."
The girls around him looked at each other before squealing with delight.
"Are you really as fast as they say?"
"How did you get here?"
"What made you want to be a host?"
One-by-one questions flew at the hedgehog, who was already feeling a little more than irritated and a creeping claustrophobia but remained still and did his best to answer the questions at hand.
Knuckles on the other hand, stuck true to the 'silent and unmovable' image and added a piercing glare to the mix for good measure. The result being the group of girls finding him more suited than the hedgehog (a more notably smaller group) keeping their distance. One brave soul spoke up.
"So, um..." The girl lowered her eyes and blushed as she fiddled with a strand of her blonde hair. "Are you and your friends staying long?"
Knuckles, who had visibly twitched at the word friends, just grunted and turned back towards the window. Just because he had agreed/ be forced to be a host didn't mean he was going to play the nice guy role. A second later he wondered if it mattered when he heard the girls giggle explosively and sighed.
Unlike his two companions, Tails seemed to have a knack at not noticing just how annoying the people around him could be (one could say he had plenty practice). With his plushie-like appearance and naive personality the cub was probably the most fitted for this task and it definitely showed.
"Well, I'm impressed..." Haruhi admitted from where her own group of guests had noticeably shrunk. "Who'd thought they actually had it in them?"
"Don't forget, their popularity in America is also reason for their popularity here," Kyoya reminded, not looking up from his notebook.
"Yeah...I guess that's a point." Haruhi figured and when Kyoya said nothing more, went back to her own guests.
And that was the last anyone saw of her for the rest of the day. In fact, even when all guests had left for the night leaving only the Host Club members, human and Fuzzie alike, there was still no sign of her. Tamaki was near a breaking point when Tails added the fact that Sonic was nowhere to be found either.
"Why does this keep happening?" Tamaki cried, falling to the floor in woe. "I'm starting to think my little angel and hedgie don't enjoy being around us!"
"Imagine that..." Knuckles muttered.
"Still, why didn't they tell us they were leaving?" Honey wondered looking at Tails, the fox shrugged but turned to sniff the air.
"Do you guys smell flowers?" The cub asked, puzzled. There was no flowers even in the room and none of the guest had brought any that day.
No one did, (then again considering the circumstances Tails was bound to smell more then anyone else) and that fox tilted his head thoughtfully.
"Kinda...Smells like...Lilies." Tails continued thoughtfully.
There was a shocked silence among the Host Club, broken by Tamaki's gasp.
"Wait..." He began wide-eyed and panicked. "You don't think Haruhi and Sonic were taken by...them? Do you?"
"Who?" Tails asked.
The Host Club members filled the next word with as much sarcasm and acid as six people could possibly manage (which was alot): "Lobelia."
DUN DUN DUN. Bet 'cha can't guess who will be starring in the next chapter ;) All I'll say is get ready for more of the wackiness that comes with this story, same place but not necessarily the same time :D