Hello again! Back with a reasonably long chapter :)
Enjoy!
(In the UK we have a week off in the middle of the semester called "half term" I'm not sure if that's a general thing, or just here)

Haruhi sat sandwiched in between the two devilish red-heads she was usually rather fond of, however this morning she was not pleased to be spending time with them.
She thought back to two days ago, clearing up after the last hosting session before the school ended for half term. As she left the kitchen she was bombarded by the twins.

"Haruhi!" they chimed in sync "How many bathing suits would you like us to bring for you?"
"Huh? What for?"
"The Host Club retreat of course!" Hikaru ruffled her hair patronisingly.
"I'm not going to the beach. It's winter. Plus I have schoolwork."
"Ne, Haruhi, we're not going to the beach." Kaoru said shaking his head.
"We're going to the Hitachiin Spa Resort!" Hikaru grinned.
"You may be, but I'm not." She sighed as she scooted passed them to retrieve her bag.

"On the contrary, Haruhi, this is a mandatory hosting event. We'll call it Team building."
Gahh, Kyouya always sounds so smug. I wonder how he can possibly make merit off of this… she thought to herself.
"Like I said, I have schoolwork" she lied.
"Haruhi, I am Kyouya Ootori. You could not lie to me in a million years. You are top of your class and ahead of your year group. You can come on this trip."
"What if I refuse?" she retorted.
"See where it gets you."
She remembered her plans with Mori the next day.
"When will we leave? I have plans this weekend."
"Monday" Kyouya snapped his book shut and looked up at her from under his glasses. "You have plans?"
"I haven't planned anything!" Tamaki was genuinely confused.
"No, but I'm meeting with Mori-senpai."
"Why?" Hikaru failed to hide the accusation in his voice.
"We're going to discuss law school over Coffee… Is there an issue?" again they were prying into her private life.
"Nope, no issue!" Kaoru laughed nervously, covering his brother's mouth with his hand. "We'll call you tomorrow evening with the details Haruhi!" he grinned.
"Why? You'll just kidnap me on Monday and anything I pack you never let me use…" she muttered to no one in particular.

Saturday morning Haruhi had a very rare lie in. She figured the hosts would not let her sleep in on the trip and all day Sunday she would have to prepare the house so Ranka could survive on his own. Buying ready-meals, washing his clothes, cleaning up around the house etc.
She met Mori outside the Coffee house, wearing a dark red day dress, a thick winter sweater, thick black tights and pumps.
She wanted to wear jeans and a coat but Ranka guilt tripped her into seeing things his 's only condition was warmth.
Mori was also in a similar winter sweater, but on top of his head was a pair of bunny ear-muffs Hani had insisted on him wearing for "good luck".
Haruhi couldn't help but notice that the boy looked rather cute.
They talked for 3 hours (yes, talked. Mori can maintain a conversation occasionally…), about law school, about host club, about Hani. Till finally, Mori came out with it.
"Haruhi, we kissed." He simply stated after a pause where the girl was sipping her 7th cup of tea.
"We did." She replied, unaware of where this was going. This threw him off.
"Um. So, would you like to start dating?" he stared at her teacup.
Haruhi thought about it. She had the time, Mori was interesting to be around (she was always fascinated when he said more than three words), he shared her dream. She then thought about her mother, how Kotoko was never afraid to try new things. Look up risky loopholes for helping her clients faster, always willing to try Ranka's cooking, and how on her rare days off, she would take young Haruhi around the market, treating it like an adventure.
"Yes, I think that would be fine" she smiled.
Mori blushed in response. Maybe Hani's ear-muffs were lucky after all…

Haruhi got in and ran herself a bath. After agreeing to date him, Mori had not said much (for Mori). He simply held her hand on the way back to her apartment, walked her to her door, and kissed her on the forehead. Haruhi blushed a little, smiled, and went inside. She'd invited him in but he had declined. He had an apprenticeship starting that week and he needed to do some research.

Just before she was about to step into the hot water, her cell phone rang. Hastily putting on her robe she dashed to her bedroom and answered.
"Haaruhi!" the twins sang down the phone.
"Can this wait? I'm about to get in the bath."
"We could join you?" Kaoru suggested.
"No thanks" she said dryly. "What do you want?"
"Just seeing how our toy is doing!" Kaoru said innocently
"And how it went with Mori…" Hikaru added
"Goodbye Kaoru, goodbye Hikaru. I'm hanging up now."
I can't have any privacy…

As the car took the hosts to the Hitachiin spring resort, Haruhi thought about Mori.
Would Senpai mind that I'm here with the hosts? Sure, they're just my friends, but this is an odd situation. I only didn't mention it because he was so excited about the apprenticeship… Oh I'm probably being paranoid.

The spa appeared desserted, until the twins explained that the only staff currently there were cleaners, and they only came in in the mornings. There was a fully stocked kitchen, a rec room, and of course a separate bedroom for each host.
There were spa therapists on call if required, but the teens were mainly there for use of the pools. There were three different bathing areas. The first was Jungle, a rainforest inspired room with a waterfall, fake grass, tropical flowers, and a fish tank. This was the only underground room, and it was the largest of them all. The second was Jacuzzi, a room filled with hot tubs with varying functions, some relaxed your muscles, others worked them, and they were filled with scented oils. The last room was a simple pool with lanes, for exercise or racing, it also had a few slides as requested by the twins.
Haruhi's favourite room was the Jungle room, though it was artificial, it felt much more real that the Ootori resort, and it reminded her of the "Wild type" that she was getting close to.
After a full day of aquatic fun at the racing pool, Haruhi prepared dinner for the hosts, as she refused to let Kaoru bother a chef at such a late hour. Once they ate, they all retired to their rooms, tired out after a long day.

The next evening at dinner, Kyouya mentioned the upcoming storm that night. Before Haruhi could worry, Kaoru told her that her room had been especially sound-proofed for such an occasion, and there were blackout curtains on her window, so she would not even notice the weather. The girl thanked the twins for such a thoughtful gesture and decided to head to bed early, hoping she could simply sleep through it.

Haruhi looked at the bedside clock.
3am? 3am! She thought Why can't I sleep?
She had been awake all night, even though she couldn't hear or see the storm, she still felt she could sense it, and it left her restless.

Finally she decided to leave her room, and went down to the Jungle pools, hoping to relax in the water.
Haruhi sat on the pool edge in her sky blue bathing suit. The only light coming from the pools and the caves. She watched the green reflection dance on the ceiling and thought about how strange it was that 2 years ago, she never would have imagined being in such a lavish resort.

Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from the cave opposite her. She froze, and looked over. That's when she saw a very naked host walking out from the rocks. He was facing away from her, but the fiery red mess of hair and the way he moved immediately revealed him to be Kaoru. He was placing his towel on a rock when the girl coughed to alert him of her presence. He slowly turned his head.

"JESUS! My god Haruhi, what are you doing here?" he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist.
"Sorry!" she cringed "I didn't see anything, don't worry!"
The boy sighed and put his face in his hands.
"No, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I should really keep my clothes on when we have company" he laughed.
"No Hikaru?" she observed.
"Nope, he's fast asleep. But it's nice to take a dip here alone now and again." he smiled.
"Mmhmm" she agreed, it was such a lovely room.

Kaoru put on some trunks and sat down beside the Haruhi.
"So are you enjoying it so far?" he asked
"Very much so. It was kind of you and your brother to invite us all here"
"Yeah. Shame Mori couldn't come…" it was obvious the boy was trying to get information out of her.
"Kaoru, I'm not an idiot. I know when you're prying"
"Sorry. But can you blame me? Hikaru's going crazy. He thinks you guys are dating."
she stayed silent.
"You're not though, right?" pause "Right, Haruhi?"
"Um"
"You are." He answered his own question.
"Well. Kinda, I guess. He asked me on Saturday. I didn't see why I shouldn't."
This is ridiculous Kaoru thought with that logic, she could be dating any one of us by now.
"And you didn't consider the rest of us?" his tone was serious, but not angry.
"The rest of you? Oh! Don't worry, I'll make sure this doesn't affect my secret." She smiled.
"You don't get it do you?" he sighed.
"Get what?"
"You don't think the rest of us would like to date you too?"
"Huh?" struck by that same confused look.
"So, so clueless." He sighed, if he was going to get a chance at all, this would probably be it.
Kaoru turned to the girl, tipped her chin upward and slowly his soft lips met hers. The kiss was slow and passionate. Kaoru was not in any rush, he rested his free hand on her waist, and brought her in closer. Finally, he had to stop for air. Pulling away, he caught his breath and then turned and grinned at Haruhi. Who merely looked puzzled.
"Haruhi. Every one of us has fallen for you. I'm not saying you have to choose… yet. But I am saying that you should be more mindful about the feelings of others."
"But, I like all of you guys. You're my friends."
"Maybe this time with Mori will help to awaken any deeper feelings you possess. I don't believe you have made your choice yet. But just for the record, I hope it's me." He winked at the girl and then stood up.
"I'm gonna head to the Jacuzzi room. I'll see you later!" Kaoru smiled and exited through the cave he'd just came from.

Haruhi got up and stood under the waterfall. She wondered how she had gotten herself into such a conundrum, as the warm, therapeutic water cascaded down her back.

So yeah, coming close to a conclusion. I might have some fun at this resort first though ehehehehe :3
What do you guys think?
You, yes you. The one reading. Review please! :D xx