Chapter 13: Media Crazy and Scandals Emerging

"At the 10 o'clock news, the conflict on who owns what of Howard Wolfe's company is finally solved! Miss Amelia Wolfe, 16, is in fact still sole owner of the company her father Howard Wolfe ran as stated in the will. Previous rumors claiming Amelia's inheritance false has been rightly proven to be a publicity scandal. Normal plans Mr. Wolfe's provided his partners about the company will proceed as planned before his passing. This will continue until his daughter is of the legal age of 18…but the question is where is Amelia Wolfe now in Japan?"

…

"Something is up with one of the students at our high school," Komatsuzawa, president of the newspaper club mentioned to his colleagues, holding one of his father's newspapers in his hand.

"What do you mean sir?" Ukyou, another member of the newspaper club, asked.

"Other than Suoh spreading his power, he is also hiding something from the school. Or rather someone…" Komatsuzawa replied. "If we prove it, not only can we bag Suoh for the twit that he is. But we can reveal the student's real identity and possibly get them out of Japan."

"That's too risky president! You could get us expelled and shut down our club!" Sakyou warned.

"We must risk it…for the benefit of our club surviving. We have to take the risk and…talk to the most infamous club in our school…" Komatsuzawa declared, looking out the window seeing the Host Club pursuing activities outside onto the school grounds.

…

CRACK!

The Host Club remained in their ceremonial costumes as were cleaning up the mess. Their ball fell through into the Newspaper Club's office window. It was launched significantly from Tamaki's kick that it shattered the window into pieces, spider cracking the rest of the frame.

"I'm sorry! Please accept my heartfelt apology!" Tamaki begged. The Newspaper Club's president, Komatsuzawa, was the victim, hit in the head by the flying ball. Amelia stood next to the twins looking around seeing the various piles upon piles of newspapers.

"Nonsense, it was actually good timing. We were hoping to get an interview with the Host Club for some time now," Komatsuzawa informed, with Ukyou holding an ice pack into his head.

"So…we have a newspaper club?" Amelia questioned. "Looks like tabloids to me from the layout."

"I didn't know we had a newspaper club," Haruhi mentioned.

"Well we do but Imai's right, they are mainly tabloids, scandals, love affairs, class divisions due to rivalries in the family, etc.," the twins explained.

"Yes we failed to gain readership and lost sight of the truth in the newspaper business. However, our club is going to a close and we ask you to please lend us your aid!" Komatsuzawa begged. "We want to bring about the charms of the Host Club in our spring edition. Call it In the Steps of the Host Club 24/7!"

"Really?" Tamaki questioned with enthusiasm. "We accept your request!"

"No we don't," Kyoya intervened flatly.

"But Kyoya! It was my fault he got hurt!" Tamaki protested.

"The information of our club as well as our customers is strictly confidential so we must decline," Kyoya stated professionally.

"Besides there's no merit to helping a scandalous newspaper," the twins agreed. "We have a reputation."

"Oh I'm sorry. I guess we can't erase our past after all," Komatsuzawa whined, gripping his head. "I honestly regret having to shut down the existence of our club."

"No! We'll make sure that doesn't happen! Everyone deserves a second chance. We'll make sure of that!" Tamaki shouted enthusiastically.

"No way," the twins rejected bluntly.

"What?!" Tamaki yelled in disbelief.

"Come on Tamaki, we're meeting in the clubroom," Kyoya beckoned.

"I order you to help!" Tamaki screeched.

"We refuse to help in this," Kyoya and the twins objected bluntly, grabbing Tamaki dragging him out of the Newspaper Club. Amelia was about to head out when Komatsuzawa stopped her.

"Wolfe is it?" he questioned boldly. Amelia glanced back noticing Komatsuzawa suddenly grin. "The American music company in Tokyo, yes? Your father was the great Howard Wolfe? He's quite a sensation around here."

Amelia swallowed hard. The twins came back in grabbing Amelia.

"Come on Imai you want to stay away from the big bad writers," Hikaru commented, as they finally dragged her out in which she followed them gratefully.

Does he know…who I really am?

…

Amelia felt very bothered for the rest of the day. The club eventually gave into Tamaki's wanting to "help the family" of the Newspaper Club. However, after the incident of Komatsuzawa asking her about her father, she wanted nothing to do with them. Kyoya made sure to limit conditions to no interviews and customers were not to be bothered. But what was she already going to do? She didn't want to really be exposed to the media at the school. It was hard enough to get away from it at home. The fact that paparazzi at least backed off from her house within the past few months didn't eliminate her father's wishes still being seen in the news.

Kyoya was about to drop off the conditions to the Newspaper Club while the other members planned what to do for the following day. Amelia noticed him leaving and followed him out quickly.

"Kyoya!" she called out, as he started walking out. Her voice stopped him in his tracks outside of the Music Room #3's door. She looked around nervously, stepping out with him, closing the door behind her.

"I need to talk to you about something," she whispered looking around the hallway making sure no one was around.

"Sure, let me drop this list of rules to the Newspaper Club first," Kyoya accepted, starting to walk but Amelia grabbed his arm stopping him again. Kyoya looked at her seeing a very worried look on her face.

"Wait…it's about them," Amelia objected lightly. Kyoya furrowed his brows in curiosity at her.

"Is there something wrong Amelia?" he questioned.

"Who is the president of the newspaper club?" Amelia asked letting go of his arm.

"Akira Komatsuzawa, his father runs the Komatsuzawa Newspaper Company," Kyoya replied. "Why?"

Amelia looked away thoughtfully. So he knew of my father through the papers because his family runs it…

"He…mentioned my father," Amelia answered hesitantly. Kyoya's eyes narrowed. "Should I be worried…because of you know?"

She motioned to herself. Kyoya looked down the hall before looking at her, smiling.

"Oh don't worry. You have nothing to worry about my dear," Kyoya reassured her as he turned walking down the hallway. "I'll make sure of it…"

…

The next day…

Amelia was late for the interview that day with the Newspaper Club. She tried to avoid going to the club but Kyoya insisted since everyone else was to be there that she'd come. She noticed Komatsuzawa talking to Haruhi as she approached. She ran up to the others.

"Sorry I'm late," Amelia greeted.

"YAY! Just in time to play another game!" the twins greeted about to pull her for another game.

"May I borrow your friend for a moment Hitachiin?" Komatsuzawa questioned grabbing Amelia's arm. The twins narrowed their eyes at Komatsuzawa as he lightly dragged Amelia to the spot where Haruhi was interviewed. Kyoya came up to the twins.

"Keep an eye out. I have a feeling that Komatsuzawa is doing more than just a special edition story," Kyoya warned. The twins looked at him seriously, nodding in agreement.

"You two will be coming with me when the time comes. For now keep your eyes and ears open," Kyoya added, before walking over to Tamaki to play the next game.

"So Mr. Wolfe," Komatsuzawa began with his notebook. "Did you know your father and Mr. Suoh were good friends due to the music industry?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Amelia questioned, crossing her arms about her chest.

"Your father got you into the school, yes? Through Tamaki's father I'm assuming," Komatsuzawa replied matter of fact way ignoring her.

"I got that scholarship on my own. My father and mother just told me about the school," Amelia spat.

"Did you have to pay a few deeds in order to get into the program? What about favors from the Host Club and Tamaki personally?" Komatsuzawa continued to question without hesitation.

"I had enough of this interview. You're just going to slander it in your own tabloid anyway," Amelia growled. "You're worse than the paparazzi."

"Speaking of, did you know that an Amelia Wolfe was sole heir of the company?" Komatsuzawa inquired, as Amelia began walking away. She stopped in her tracks; her back turned at Komatsuzawa, trying not to flinch.

"What was your first name again Mr. Wolfe? I apologize I never did catch it…" Komatsuzawa pushed. She was frozen, almost terrified. Suddenly, before she could react, Amelia was swept away by the twins.

"Hide Imai! We're playing hide and seek!" the twins chimed, pushing her forward in which she started running. The twins glared darkly at Komatsuzawa and his lackeys as they ran off with Amelia. She glanced seeing Honey counting and she looked around.

"Where can we hide?" Amelia asked looking at her surroundings. The twins noticed the shed for the garden club empty.

"Hide in here," the twins whispered, shoving her lightly into the rather small shed with gardening tools and bags of mulch. She put herself against the wall, allowing the twins to squeeze in (thankfully there was enough room to fit the three of them and the tools but barely). Amelia was lucky she found a bare spot on the wall that way she wasn't getting poked by something in the shed. Although the cramped space made it hard without having Kaoru's shoulder almost into hers as he stood sideways facing the door, Amelia's back against the one wall and Hikaru's back on the other side. She could hear Honey doing the "ready or not here I come" from a little ways out.

"Nice job guys, I can barely fit here with the two of you," Amelia whispered. It didn't help that the shed was crowded with stuff.

"Don't blame us. Normally we'd be able to fit," the twins objected. Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Wait I have an idea," Hikaru grinned at Kaoru and Amelia. "You two stay here, I'm going to lead Honey somewhere else and come back for you two."

"What?" Amelia questioned but Hikaru was already out of the shed, closing the door behind him. Amelia shook her head.

"Idiot," she whispered. Kaoru shifted so his back was against the other wall where Hikaru was standing. It was still rather close. "Damn it's cramped in here…"

"Heh. Sorry," Kaoru laughed under his breath. She started feeling her back go further against the wall, almost as if to avoid touching Kaoru. Kaoru noticed looking at her oddly.

"You all right, Amelia?" he whispered.

"Yeah…I just want to be able to give you room. Personal space and all that," she whispered, keeping her eyes out the door to look for Honey. Kaoru laughed a little under his breath.

"You really worried about getting too close to me?" Kaoru asked amused. Amelia suddenly blushed without realizing it.

"Oh no that's not what I meant," Amelia swallowed hard, clearing her throat. Her face was still red. Kaoru smiled putting a hand under her chin making her face him. She turned redder as he looked at her. She couldn't figure out why but her heart started racing. He was about to say something when Hikaru came to the door crouched to the ground making Amelia jump.

"I got Honey on the run but I think we can avoid being found if we work as a team. Come on Kaoru lets go," Hikaru whispered. Kaoru put his hand down, pushing the door slightly open sneaking out.

"Wait, what do I do?" Amelia questioned as he was pushing the door back slightly. He cracked it open enough so she doesn't get locked in. Amelia put her hand on the door.

"Don't worry we'll be right back," Kaoru informed reassuringly. He put his hand over hers for a moment before running after Hikaru. Amelia swallowed hard as she watched them run down the garden courtyard away from the shed. She had no idea that they were going to have a few words with the Newspaper Club.

…

"Those idiots are hiding their power, and the fact that Wolfe is in their group only proves it. I will put this scandal on the front page," Komatsuzawa growled as he and his members reached the clubs meeting room.

The twins sat on the desk as they entered.

"Well, well, we knew you were up to something," Hikaru grinned mischievously.

"It was so obvious," Kaoru agreed.

"You two!" Komatsuzawa growled angrily.

"It's not wise to be picking on our friends. Milord is dense, he would never think of you as an enemy," Hikaru smiled.

"Every family of each member of the Host Club will strike you down and be an enemy if you bother writing your slander," Kaoru warned.

"Suoh has your families wrapped around his finger because of his power…" Komatsuzawa stated angrily. "Suoh ordered you to take me down!"

"Wrong, Tama would never tell us to do that," Honey disagreed at the door with Mori and Kyoya. "We love Tamaki."

"What about Mr. Wolfe? Or as I should say, your darling girl Amelia Wolfe in disguise? She has no family to go against us. With her father gone she has no power in this country. I can send her back to the states if I pleased," Komatsuzawa growled feeling victory at his fingertips. The twins' eyes widened, then instantly giving a dark glare to the president.

They stood hovering over Komatsuzawa angrily, grinning evilly.

"You even go near her and the Hitachiin family will be sure to smear your face on the printing press," the twins threatened.

"Why do you wish to threaten the Wolfe family too, Komatsuzawa?" Honey questioned.

"My father has been searching for Amelia Wolfe ever since she moved to Japan. The fact that she's a girl taking over her father's company is a selling point to his paper. If the Newspaper Club prints a story of her hiding amongst the boys of Ouran Academy, her name will be all over the news, giving my father the perfect advantage of that reputation," Komatsuzawa explained.

"Not in your lifetime," Mori disagreed.

"You wish to sabotage the Wolfe name, yet you forget that Tamaki's family is great friends with them, deceased and living," Kyoya warned. "We are blessed with the connections of the Suoh family in grand information."

The twins stood with Kyoya looking at Komatsuzawa and his partners rather seriously.

"So? What shall I do with this recorded disk of things you have plotted the past few days?" Kyoya asked, smiling.

Komatsuzawa immediately freaked, seeing that his plans were foiled, giving into the Host Club's demand.

…

Amelia was sitting in the shed curled up against the bare wall as she waited for the others. Wonder what's taking them so long? She couldn't think other being confused. Why was she so nervous earlier when Kaoru was so close in the shed? What was her deal all of a sudden?

"I found you Imai!" Honey announced outside the door. She looked up seeing Honey with the others outside of the shed. She crawled out tiredly.

"Finally. What took you so long?" she questioned as she picked herself back up, brushing herself off.

"Honey had a hard time finding you," Hikaru pitched in.

"Come on Imai! Let's have some cake!" Honey declared as they all walked back up to the building. Tamaki and Haruhi were in the back of the group, Haruhi seeming to be rather quiet (finding out Tamaki's family is who gave her the scholarship is a shock to say the least).

They finally made it back to the music room as Honey went to the back room to get some cake for everyone.

"So what did happen to the Newspaper Club?" Amelia questioned sitting herself down on couch. "Did we ever give them a story?"

"Nah, they canceled," the twins replied.

"Canceled? They seemed rather pushy when talking to me," Amelia remarked in disbelief.

"Seems like they honestly thought that they'd be better off doing more realistic articles in the future," Kyoya explained.

"Seems unlikely but okay…" Amelia gave up with a hint of disbelief. She grabbed a slice of cake, noticing the twins grinning at her rather strangely. She tried to ignore it, finishing her cake.

...

6:00pm…

"Hey Imai, why don't we take you home today?" Hikaru suggested as she threw on her coat grabbing her bag.

"It's a little out of your way, I'll just call my driver," Amelia began to protest but the twins wrapped their arms around her shoulders. She looked between them puzzled. "You two have been acting weird since hide and seek. What's going on?"

"Come on Amelia," they ignored, each one grabbing her hand as they led her out to the courtyard where their car was waiting for them. Kaoru went in first, Hikaru pushing Amelia in as he came in behind her. They shut the door allowing them to head out.

"What is with you two? You want me to play hide and seek, leaving me in a shed for an hour and then you're acting weird for the rest of the afternoon," Amelia listed a little annoyed.

"You should be nicer to the ones who protected you from being in the tabloids," Hikaru commented, smirking. Amelia looked at him, swallowing hard nervously.

"Tabloids?" she repeated bewildered.

"Komatsuzawa was planning on revealing who you were to the school. Gender wise anyway," Kaoru added.

"You're lucky you have the Hitachiin family behind you," the twins remarked. Amelia looked at the floor stunned. They…helped me from a scandal?

She blushed red.

"Not to mention that the others are willing to pitch in too," Hikaru added with a sly smirk. "Do we always have to come and rescue you?"

"I…" Amelia began but she couldn't find anything to say. She was speechless. Hikaru grinned at her rather thoughtful expression, silent.

"If you don't say thank you soon, we're playing a penalty game until you say it," Hikaru smirked mischievously.

"Oh come on Hikaru, leave her alone. She's just speechless is all," Kaoru laughed putting an arm around her shoulders. "Don't sweat it Amelia."

She swallowed hard, closing her eyes, her face turning red.

As they approached the estate, the car at a stopped. However, she couldn't get herself up. She felt…stuck, her cheeks still flared red.

"Hey, you okay there Amelia?" Kaoru asked. Amelia looked between them, jaw tightening. "You're still quiet."

"Still having a hard time talking? Well maybe this'll-" Hikaru began, lifting up his hand as if to pinch her in the side but she grabbed his hand, leaning in and kissing his cheek catching him off guard. Hikaru's face immediately went tomato red. Amelia leaned back looking at Kaoru.

"Well that was definitely something different," Kaoru commented rubbing the back of his neck amused at Hikaru's expression. Amelia leaned in kissing Kaoru's cheek as well. He turned the same tomato red as his brother.

"Thank you…both of you," Amelia said, and then jumped out of the car embarrassed, closing the door behind her as she quickly went into the estate.

The twins looked at each other swallowing hard.

"Well…that was not what I was expecting, eh, Hikaru?" Kaoru asked nervously.

"Yeah…no kidding," Hikaru agreed. They looked at the ground. Now they were conflicted. The first thing that went out of both of their mouths was the same train of thought. It was a very big question as the car began to head back to the Hitachiin mansion. The same question even Amelia had as she headed up to her room, shutting the door, face red her heart racing. The same question over and over and over again…

Now what?