Chapter 34: A Stressful Dance!

'Ouran's Summer Baseball Team makes it to SemiFinals!'

Jin smiled and flipped the page, continuing to read the main article of the Ou Spot Newspaper. It had made a surprising comeback just before the first semester had ended, selling out surprisingly quickly considering it's history. Maybe the reason it became popular again was because of the Host Club on the front cover, but that clearly wasn't the case for this edition. As far as Jin had read so far, there hadn't been a single mention of how the Host Club had spent their summer vacation together -though she wondered if Kyoya had yet been approached over a segment for next week's paper- and the stand she had picked this one out of had been nearly empty by the time she got around to it.

Her eyes drifted to the end of the text. Editor- Tomochika Sakyo.

Hm. The corner of Jin's lips twitch in amusement. She had yet to see the 'chief editor's' name in this issue at all, all of the stories reported and edited by Sakyo-san and Ukyo-san. Perhaps the 'editing' involved taking Akira-san's crazy stories and putting the truth back in?

She went to read about the fall sports starting to recruit when her vision was suddenly filled with a blond head of hair and purple eyes.

"Yes, Tama-kun?"

"We need to throw a party. A 'Welcome Back' for our guests!"

Interest piqued, she lowered the newspaper, "Oh, yeah… you guys throw parties too. Haru told me about the last one you did in the spring. But, why are you telling me? Shouldn't you be discussing this with Kyo-kun instead?"

"Not before you say you want a party, too."

"Uh… Why?"

"Because if you're onboard, Kyoya will agree no matter what!"

The brunette snorted softly, but hoped her cheeks weren't flushed, "You really think that would work? Even for something as sudden as this? I think you're over exaggerating the impact of my input."

The boy winked, "Watch."

Curious, Jin set her paper down on the desk and crossed her arms over it. She watched as Tamaki crept closer to the classroom door, ducking behind other empty desks, lying in wait. Kyoya walked into the room a few moments later, not suspecting a thing. He adjusted his glasses further up his nose before noticing the brown eyes trained on him. A smile graced his lips as he began making his way to her desk.

Only to be tackled after two steps by his crazy best friend.

"MON AMI!"

"Ah! Tamaki!

"Mon ami, we need to throw a 'Welcome Back' party for our guests! Can't you just picture it? Friday night we open the doors to our sad little kittens who are missing their summer vacation and show them a last minute summer bash! And to top it off-"

"No."

The blond froze at the cold tone, slowly sliding off his friend and landing on the floor with a 'thump'. He wrapped his arms around the leg of the nearest desk to him and whimpered as Kyoya took his seat. He ducked his head down to the side, propping his school bag up against his desk. The wood shifted and his eyes flickered up to see Jin had taken residence upon his desk once again.

"Good morning."

"Yes it is." The boy leaned back in his chair so he wouldn't strain his neck looking up at her. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. Looks like the Newspaper club is still up and running. Sakyo-san is actually very good at writing."

"Well, that's nice to hear."

" Mon ami… please… "

"No, Tamaki. Perhaps we can host a party next Friday, but to try to organize such an event on such short notice would be catastrophic."

"But Kyoyaaaaaa… We wanted it this week! It won't be a 'Welcome Back' party if it's not after the first week of school!"

"We?"

Tamaki turned away sharply, taking Jin's hands in his own, "I'm so sorry, Jin. I know you were excited for your first ever Host Club party. I'm sure your dress will be just as beautiful next week."

"Hey… hey, hey, don't be upset, Tama-kun. Kyo-kun made some good points. I can wait."

Unfortunately, Tamaki's plan was already working it's magic. Kyoya's face hardened as his mind was torn in two. Common sense yanked at one half of him, shouting about how there was no way they could host a school-wide party with only five days to bring in the food, decorations, musicians (not to mention decide the music), send out the invitations, rent out the school hall, set up everything in the hall assuming they get it, and ensuring that the club doesn't throw out all of its savings in the space of the week.

The other half of his brain is supplying his thoughts will pictures of him twirling Jin around the dance floor. Her dress fluctuates between different styles, sometimes fanning out and brushing against his own legs as she spun around or clinging perfectly to her shapes, flashing in multiple colors as her hair jumps between elegant curls and elaborate buns. But no matter how her looks change every second in his mind, her brown eyes are always trained on him, the biggest grin on display just for him to enjoy. His mind-play expands out to include the host club watching from the sidelines, giving him encouraging thumbs-up, and of the male population at Ouran Academy wailing as Jin gives up her first kiss to him.

In the real world, Tamaki is trying not to make it too obvious that he knows what's going on in Kyoya's head.

"You know Jin… Kyoya's probably on edge with this whole plan because he thinks he's going to have to organize it by himself. "

The brunette scoffed, pulling her hands back to herself and turning towards her crush, "I wouldn't mind helping out if that's what you need."

It doesn't take too long before Kyoya is giving his consent.

Wednesday pulls around just in time for the entire host club to realize what a horrible mistake Tamaki has made, the blond included.

A short brown-haired girl looks up from her touching knees to peek at her host for the evening, "Tamaki… where are Kyoya and Jin?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen them around since you guys opened, and the host club is about to close!"

The boy ruffles his own hair, giving it a carefree sort of edge to his charm, "My dears, don't worry about those two. They asked to be excused from club activities for the remainder of the week in order to make the party as perfect as it can be!"

"They're still making plans? This close to the party?"

"Hey now, give them a little credit! My parents spent almost a whole month planning our last party."

Tamaki stiffened as the two girls continued talking about how long party plans take. He knew he was really pushing this party… and at the moment both of his classmates hated his guts, but he felt it was important to have it.

It was also very important for the two of them to be put into a stressful situation together to see how they managed. You know… as a potential couple and all. But then again…

The front doors slammed open.

" No , I said twenty-four floral arrangements… No. The eight rose colors I listed only ." Kyoya frowned deeply, pressing his phone closer to his face as if it would make the person on the other line understand better. "I know you're having a sale on cream roses, but I don't want the cream colored- No, I don't need a wedding discount! "

The blond boy quickly stood, "Well ladies, it looks like our time here is up for the day! Please join us tomorrow for another fun day of hosting!"

Thankfully understanding that the subtle insistence was for their benefit, the last group of guests quickly skedaddled out of the room. Kyoya didn't even turn his head, still growling into the phone receiver. "I have been a customer of your shop for over a year now. I know what you can offer, at what price, and I know much better than you do what. I. Need. So before I physically go to your store and have a little chat with your manager, Mr. New Employee , I would think it would be in your best interest to put in my order and stop wasting my time with your cheap sales pitch. "

He waited, then straightened his back, "Thank you very much. Have them delivered to Ouran Academy's front steps this Thursday evening, I will pay then. Mhm. You, too. Sayōnara."

Hanging up, the ravenet let out a small breath before turning to face the rest of the club. They were all cowering behind the nearest couch. His eyebrows twitched in irritation. Here he was, being nearly driven out of his mind with the stress of making this stupid party, and they couldn't be bothered to help?

Kyoya was completely unaware of the purple-aura-of-death currently surrounding his form, but his friends weren't. No one made any sudden moves as the cloud of irritation slowly grew, spreading out along the floor.

The only person who wasn't shaking in obvious fright was Mori, who lifted his left hand and pointed at the door to the changing rooms, where the Host Club was storing all of their party supplies until Friday, "Jin is in there."

Instantly the aura began to fade away, retreating back into it's owner. Kyoya turned to face the doors indicated, life coming back into his tired eyes. "Thank you, Mori-senpai. I'm sure the two of us have much to discuss-"

"No! Please don't hang up! Please ple-DANG IT!"

One of the doors was kicked open for Jin to run through, her phone clenched in her hand still, "Tamaki, I hate you and your stupid plans!"

"Nēchan? What's-"

"Those 'musicians' you begged me to hire refuse to bring their own music stands, so they quit! You've got stellar judgement, I must say, President. "

Kyoya looked fit to explode, "They what? "

"I'm heading to the elementary school! Kagome-sensei! He'll know what to do!" And she was gone. With a sound that was more similar to a growl than a groan, the ravenet marched to the changing rooms and slammed the door behind him.

"Well…"

" They're certainly a joy to be around."

Haruhi sighed, taking a seat on the couch they were originally hiding behind, "Nēchan's been completely swamped with this party planning. She hardly has any time to eat in between phone calls and homework."

"Jin-chan's never been this short with us before…"

"And don't you think Kyoya is acting darker-"

"-than usual?"

Tamaki stood up, then smacked his forehead, "I'm an idiot!"

"Well, as glad as I am that you've finally figured that out, Senpai, could you maybe clarify why you're telling us this now? "

The blond slid back to his knees, throwing his arms out over the top of the couch to hold him up, "Oh, my sweet Haruhi, I was such a fool! I made sure that Jin and Kyoya would be in charge of this stressful situation so they could learn how to handle stress together, like all couples will encounter at some point, but my plan has gone horribly wrong! I don't think they've spoken more than five words to each other since we started talking about the party!"

The others were silent as they traveled back in their memories, trying to pinpoint the last time the two had really spoken to each other about something besides the approaching Friday.

Haruhi sat back against the cushions, "Oh my gosh… they haven't even texted each other at all. Nēchan's phone has been ringing off the hook since Monday afternoon, and none of them were calls from Kyoya-senpai."

"I think they've been communicating party plans with their notes in the back room."

"And didn't you see the way Kyoya-senpai relaxed when we told him where Jin-senpai was?"

"It's like they can't function and interact kindly without their fixes of each other."

The twins started laughing, joking about how 'whipped' their two Senpai's were. The others couldn't help but agree it was both cute and head-shake-and-an-eye-roll worthy.

"Okay, all jokes aside, we know what needs to be done before one of them explodes on some poor delivery boy."

* The Next Day *

"Haru, why won't you tell me where we're going?"

"Because you've been working yourself way too hard and I'm worried about you, so you are taking a break whether you want to or not."

Jin immediately stopped walking, only to be scooped up in a bridal carry, "Mori-senpai! Put me down! Guys, I don't have time for this!"

"Make time."

"What Takashi means, Jin-chan, is we'll take care of the party for a while! We've planned parties with Kyo-chan before!"

The brunette groaned, body growing limp in the tall boy's arms, "Don't say that! Now I'm terrified of letting you do anything!"

"You and Kyoya-senpai have pretty much finalized everything already, right? Today is all deliveries and making sure the dance hall is set up, right? Let us handle that, at least. We'll come get you guys if something comes up." Haruhi receives another groan, but it looks like Jin wasn't going to make any more complaints… out loud. She was glad, because she was pretty sure her older sister hadn't been getting much sleep lately. An afternoon nap was probably a good idea.

"Tamaki, if you do not tell me where you are dragging me I swear- "

"We're almost there, Kyoya! Look! There are the others!"

Jin let her eyes open a crack to see her planning partner being pulled along down the hallway in front of them. Oh… so that's what Haru meant by 'you guys'.

From between the two groups, a door opened up to reveal the twins, "There you are!"

"We've been waiting for ages ."

"Ten minutes is not ages , Hikaru."

Carefully maneuvering through the door, Mori carried Jin over to the closest couch and set her back down on her feet. The brunette patted his arm before collapsing backwards onto the cushions. She reached down to yank at her sandals, making upset noises when the straps wouldn't come loose.

Having been pushed into the room himself, Kyoya sat down and started helping her, though he had to admit he was growing tired the longer he was off his feet, too. They didn't even hear the door closing, leaving them alone in the room.

Jin sighed as her heavy sandals finally dropped to the floor, curling up on one half of couch, "I'm just gonna take a 20 year nap." The boy didn't argue, leaning his head back against the couch and shutting his own eyes. An hour of sleep wouldn't hurt. We've earned it, after all.

* Time Skip *

"Kyo-chan? Jin-chan? Haru-chan said you two can come out and help now if you want." Honey slowly peeked his head into the empty classroom. He was sort of hoping the two of them would still be asleep or wouldn't hear him so they'd have to stay for a while longer. They'd been working so hard on this party that they hadn't stopped to take care of themselves. Honey felt the two underclassmen deserved more than just an hour long break.

Not hearing any response, he poked his head further through the doorway. Still silent.

They must still be sleeping.

A look at the couch the host club had left them on proved his assumption true. But… not quite. The blond smiled at the sight. Clearly the boy and girl must've shifted a little over the course of the last hour, Jin now resting on her back and Kyoya covering her body with his own, his head resting on her stomach. While the position certainly didn't look comfortable, the two didn't appear to be in any discomfort.

Jin shifted a little in her sleep as Honey withdrew. I think Haru-chan will understand if I let them stay for a while longer.

"It's been such a long time, my fellow students! The Host Club wishes to bid you… Welcome back! "

Just like she remembered from last time, Haruhi was momentarily blinded by the sudden flash of lights as Tamaki began the welcome ceremony. Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, the short girl quickly bent over in a bow towards the guests. Peeking out at her sister next to her, she saw Jin curtsying with a huge smile on her face.

Wow. I guess she was more excited for this than I thought.

They straightened up and Kyoya and Jin stepped forward.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight in celebration of a new semester in each other's company! We invite you to dance to your heart's content!"

"As your identities are to be kept a secret tonight…" the congregation giggled and nudged each other, extravagant masquerade masks glinting in the light, "We will be holding a vote for tonight's Queen!"

"You may vote in the back corner of the hall, and we encourage you to include the name of the Host you wish to crown King for the night!"

Jin leaned forward, "Tamaki won't mind for this one night."

The large crowd laughed, and Kyoya swung an arm around the girl to his left while gesturing outwards with his right arm, "Let the festivities begin!"

At once, the Tokyo City Philharmonic began their first piece, an even paced waltz. The guests applauded before dispersing. A few went to admire the decorations, the rose spires, and the amazing buffet splayed out on the right side of the hall. There was even an ice sculpture of a blossoming rose in the center! A decent fourth of the party-goers went to vote in the back. Some of the female guests giggled with each other before shoving one of them towards a boy.

Yes, the Host Club had invited boys to their dance. This time, they had allowed up to 100 male students to sign up before going over each and every one. In the end, only 20 were invited. They were milling around, not forcing anyone to dance with them but certainly not saying no when another guest tapped their shoulder.

Jin sighed and leaned against Kyoya's side, "We… actually did it."

The boy chuckled, "The night's not over yet. Remind me again how we got the Tokyo City Philharmonic at half their usual asking price?"

"Kagome-sensei. About a third of the musicians sitting over there used to be his students. Besides, their conductor owed him a favor from back when they went to college together."

"Ah ha, so now do you see the benefit of gaining favors?"

The brunette scoffed and pulled away, "You know exactly how to kill a mood, don't you. Well, I'll see you around mysterious stranger."

Kyoya watched as she appeared to float down the steps in her emerald green ball gown. There were diamond clusters sewn into the fabric where it bunched up on her skirt, as if they were the reason her lower half looked folded over. It wasn't nearly as frilly as some of the other dresses down on the dance floor, adding an extra bit of grace and elegance to her appearance. Jin turned her head as one of the boys they had invited asked her to dance, her smooth curls swaying gently across her shoulders as she accepted.

"So, are you gonna ask her to dance tonight?"

"I certainly hope so. Well, come along now, the guests are waiting."

Kyoya took maybe one step when his phone went off. He answered, turning his back to the crowd, "Yes? Speaking. What?! " He held the phone by his ear for maybe another five seconds before snapping it shut.

"I'll be back."

And then he calmly went back up the steps and through the door.

This continued to occur until late in the evening. Kyoya had lost count of the many emergencies he had been forced to diffuse. Between explaining how voting the Hitachiin twins as King and Queen was not the purpose of the voting booth to a stubborn fangirl and quickly fitting Honey-senpai into a brand new suit after "someone" accidentally spilled cake frosting on his lap, Kyoya was slowly losing it.

It didn't help that, throughout all of this, he was forced to watch as Jin danced one song after another with boys and girls and hosts alike. It was like everyone was dancing with her but him. He had gotten close once that night, but had been intercepted by one of his personal guests who wouldn't take 'Later' for an answer.

Now it was almost ten at night. The King and Queen were to be announced soon, and Kyoya had been cornered at one of the empty tables by Sakyo-san and Ukyo-san.

"This is probably the most impressive event to ever take place at Ouran Academy, Ootori-san! Perhaps more for the time crunch than the event itself! Is it true that you planned this entire party in the space of five days?"

"Well, I was not the only planner this time around. Jin Fujioka was a big help. She's actually the reason we have the Philharmonic here tonight. I wouldn't have been able to do this without her." Unless his imagination was playing tricks on him, Kyoya could swear that the two boys were smiling softly at his response.

"I see."

"And have you thanked your partner with a dance this evening?"

The ravenet stiffened in his seat, "No."

Okay, now the two of them were definitely smiling, "Well, don't let us hold you back."

Before he could ask what they meant, a group of about five girls suddenly crowded the table, "Kyoya! You have to come with us!" Before he could process a respectful response, Kyoya was hoisted out of his chair and pushed towards the dance floor.

"Ladies, I was in the middle of-"

"We know!"

"Just trust us!"

Confused, Kyoya shut up and looked around. Perhaps Jin would be the one to come to his rescue? She did seem like the type to do so, after all.

Of course, when he saw her, Jin was actually being lead towards him by three boys.

The girls surrounding him giggled with each other as Kyoya began walking forward on his own accord. It finally comes to his attention that not only do the hosts ship him and Jin together, but most likely the rest of the school did as well.

This used to be a simple joke the twins made because we couldn't stand each other.

Kyoya smirked at the thought, fingers curling around Jin's warm hands. Her brown eyes were dancing behind the green and white butterfly mask as the two fell right into step with the pulse of the foxtrot playing throughout the hall.

"What's that smirk for? Did you bribe them to do that?"

"Not at all. Just comparing my thoughts of you now to when we first met."

He spun her around and pulled her back in just in time for her to laugh out loud, "Wow, you're right. I did not like you way back then."

"Words can hurt, you know."

She laughed again, allowing him to spin her twice more. The two continued floating across the dance floor, unaware of how the entire congregation had stopped to watch. There was one group of girls who were sitting at a table, arms crossed and huffy expressions on their faces, but the rest were cooing and melting against each other.

The music slowly began to wind down, Kyoya moving his hand from Jin's to wrap around her back instead, holding her close. Tamaki stood up from his chair, leaning over the white tablecloth of the table. The redheads sitting beside him said something underneath the mounting tension in the room, smug smirks in place. Tamaki rolled his eyes but responded anyways.

Grinning, Hikaru stood up with a microphone suddenly in hand, "Ladies and Gentlemen, that was our final song of the evening!"

Kaoru stood next, watching with mixed emotions as Jin and Kyoya jolted, taking half-steps backwards into their own personal spaces, "It's time for us to announce the King and Queen of the Ball!" Haruhi suddenly found herself with a microphone in one hand, envelope in another, and Honey-senpai standing beside her. She glanced behind her while Honey opened his envelope just in time to see Tamaki unhappily handing a small pile of Yen into the twin's hands. Oh. That's why they interrupted. How shallow.

"Jin-chan has been voted Queen of the Ball! Congratulations!"

The entire room applauded like crazy. Jin was the only one who looked shocked when Mori-senpai walked up to her and placed the silver tiara on her head. She looked at Kyoya is shock, but he simply smiled and applauded her as well.

Realizing it was now her turn to make the announcement for the King, Haruhi fumbled with the envelope lip as the applause began to simmer down, "Uh… the King of the Ball is…" She stopped and stared at the paper. Then she started laughing, "Me! Sorry, Kyoya!"

The room clapped again, loud laughter now added into the mix as Mori set the golden crown atop of Haruhi's head. Jin walked over to her 'King' and kissed Haruhi's cheek, bringing out another huge applause. The siblings turned and waved at the crowd who continued cheering.

Bang! Bangbang!

Everyone turned in awe as large fireworks began exploding above the courtyard. They quickly run out onto the balconies to watch, oohing and awwing at the colors. Jin is leaning against the railing, side-by-side with her King.

"Nēchan?"

"Mm?"

"Are you upset that Kyoya-senpai wasn't voted King?"

The taller brunette looked down at her little sister, "Not really. Why?" Haruhi only offered a shrug, but her expressions said otherwise. Jin sighed, nudging at her sister with her hip, "Haru, you need to get it out of your head that Kyoya replacing you, or whatever it is you're thinking. I might like him, but it's not like he's going to make me love you any less. I'm actually a little glad that you're my King instead of him, because then we'd be pressured to kiss."

"Oh… so you don't want to kiss him." Haruhi laughed as she was smacked on the shoulder.

"I don't want my first kiss to be because we have to!"

"Have to, what?"

Jin turned to smile at her most recent dance partner, "It's nothing, Kyoya. Haru's just being a jerk."

"Hey!"

The sister's laugh together before returning their attention to the fireworks. Jin feels her left hand slowly becoming enclosed within Kyoya's, fingers gently lacing together as a large green firework is shot up into the air, changing into purple sparks during its descent. She sees Haruhi offering a thumbs up out of the corner of her eye and hopes that she's not imagining this.

"Jin?"

She turns her head, trying to mentally prepare, when the entire group lets out a gasp of horror.

"SOMEONE CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT!"

The two 2nd years look back down at the courtyard to watch as a bush is set alight with the ashes from the fireworks. Jin rushes back inside to grab the fire extinguisher while Kyoya starts dialing the number. Tamaki is running around, screaming at the firework handlers to stop the show, and just freaking out the guests in general.

"TAMAKI!"

The blond gulps. Goodbye, cruel world.