Episode 7

Attack of the Lady Manager!

Haruhi looked around the music room as she waited for her next customers, looking for her sister. She wasn't over by Tamaki, who was being his usual overdramatic self, or any of the other hosts that she could tell. She must be in the back. Kyoya sure works her hard.

The thought made her pout. Ever since Kyoya and Jin had had their little spat a week ago, there had been a slight amount of tension in the air at the host club. Of course, the guests were either ignoring it or they were completely unaware, but the hosts could tell that those two were clashing just a tad, especially Tamaki who had them both in class. Apparently, during school hours the two ignored each other except to spout out a quip or two against the other. Haruhi could easily understand it, as Kyoya-senpai and her onēchan were very different. But then again, they were also a bit alike. Enough alike, perhaps, that they could become friends later on.

If only Kyoya would stop adding money to our debt for every little thing. He's going to get punched in the jaw if he keeps that up!

"Haruhi!"

Two girls scurried over to their host, "Sorry for running a little late!"

"You look so cute in your kimono!"

"Really? Thanks."

"Haruhi?" Kyoya called over from his spot just beside her, "I've just finished recalculating how long it should take for you and your sister to pay off your debt. By the looks of things, if your popularity continues to climb at its current rate your debt should be completely paid off before Jin graduates in two years."

A sudden cold wave washed over Haruhi's entire body. How on Earth do so many girls at this school like him? As soon as she thought that, however, two of Kyoya's own guests appeared between them.

With the shadow king now occupied, Haruhi turned her attention back to her customers, "Well, ladies, thanks for coming over to talk to me. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please!"

Haruhi poured out two tea cups and saw out of the corner of her eye a few empty plates she had had to set to the side earlier. And empty plates meant-

"Hello, Jin!"

Haruhi quickly spun around and saw her older sister walking up with an empty tray balanced expertly against the right hip of her green, white, and blue kimono. A green rose was tucked behind her left ear, a signature accessory that Tamaki had first insisted on and had the precise endearment effect he'd been hoping for.

The elder Fujioka sibling smiled and waved at the guests before ruffling her sister's hair affectionately, "Hey girls, are you enjoying yourselves today?"

"Mhm!"

Jin looked down at Haruhi, "And you?"

"Never better, Nēchan."

"That's great! Well, don't let me distract you, I'm just here to collect any dishes you're done with!" Jin expertly bent down and scooped up empty plates, never fumbling with the tray or wrinkling the kimono for even a moment. She lifted the teapot to see if it needed a refill and began asking the girls about their day. Haruhi took the time to admire her older sister while her customers were distracted. Only a week after she had come to Ouran and she was already used to how the Host Club worked and operated, and the guests just loved her.

"So, Jin? How are your classes going?"

Soft brown eyes shifted from the mat to the guest, twinkling slightly in the light as she smiled, "I'm doing very well. Thank you for asking, Princess Kiyomi." The girl squeaked and covered her face with her hands, trying (and failing) to hide her sudden blush.

Her companion decided she also wanted some praise, "I hear you're almost at the top of your class! Tamaki said that your grades even surpassed his!" Jin's gaze flicked to the other guest, except now they held the sheen of mischievousness in them.

"You've heard right, Princess Hiromi, all except for one thing. If you can keep a secret…" she looked to her left and right before leaning in close, "I'm actually tied with Mr. Ootori for the top of the class." Jin backed away with a wink and walked away as the girls giggled together. Even Haruhi was smiling softly.

Maybe the reason Nēchan and Kyoya are clashing so much is because he sees her as a threat-

"H-Haru-chan!" Haruhi quickly lost her train of thought when Honey-senpai shuffling closer with his bare feet, voice thick with unshed tears, "I -sniff- I lost one of my sandals!" She quickly stood up and walked over to the crying boy. She reached him just as Jin re-appeared and pulled the blond into a hug, her tray of dishes gone.

"Shhh… don't cry Honey-senpai. It's alright."

"But you were just wearing them, weren't you?" Honey didn't respond, only crying harder into Jin's shoulder.

"Mitsukuni."

Mori-senpai padded over to the group of three and slipped Honey-senpai's missing sandal onto his right foot. The smaller boy's whimpers quieted and he looked away from Jin.

"Takashi?"

"I noticed that you dropped it."

"Takashi!" Honey quickly jumped from Jin's arms and into Mori's. Jin stood up and assessed the damage done to her outfit.

"Mmm… just some tear stains. It'll come out."

Haruhi slipped up to her sister's side, "Speaking of tears, haven't you noticed that most of the boys are crying today?"

"Yeah, a bit. You think it's on purpose?"

"Maybe. I just don't know how they do it so easily."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyways. You should go back to your guests. I left the other dishes on an empty table. We don't need Kyoya to see that, now do we?"

Haruhi merely nodded as she walked away, still staring at the third years that were embracing on the floor behind her. And it was for that reason that she bumped right into Kaoru. Something small clattered onto the floor. She quickly went down to pick it up, an apology on her lips, when she noticed exactly what kind of bottle it was. Well, this certainly explains a lot.

"...Eye-drops? Please tell me you're joking."

"Oh, please, Haruhi. No need to act so insulted."

"After all, no woman alive could resist a man on the brink of tears." Oh ho ho… Haruhi wanted to say 'Wanna bet?' so badly…

"By the way, Haruhi." A candy was suddenly placed into her hands, "This is for you."

"Me? Why-"

"I didn't know you liked sweets, Haruhi!" The heart eyes she was getting from the girls answered her unspoken question.

"Well, to be honest with you I'm not the biggest fan of these store bought ones. But…" an idea clicked, "I think this would be a nice memorial offering to my mother." The girls let out quiet little gasps or clasped their hands over their mouths. Haruhi couldn't help but smile. I may not be willing to use eye-drops, but I suppose a "tragic backstory" works here too.

"Such devotion to your mother's memory!" Haruhi leaned backwards before Tamaki was able to get too close to her face like he did during the physical exam snafu. He started piling sweets into her hands. "Please, take as many as-"

"Tamaki, we won't be able to fit all of those in our school bags to take home." Jin swooped in again and laid a restraining hand against the blond's shoulder, "One will be just enough, but thank you." A quick smile later, and Haruhi once again had only one sweet in her cupped hands. Nēchan saves me again.

"Thanks, Nēchan. I wasn't sure how to tell him."

"Well, it's for Mom." Jin pressed a kiss to Haruhi's forehead, "I don't blame you one bit."

The guests stumbled away to different sides of the room, cooing about the adorable sibling love. Even if it wasn't like the twin's usual standards, Haruhi and Jin were always cute together without even trying. Something of which Tamaki seemed to like.

"Incredible! Both Jin and our beloved Haruhi are such masters at the art of hosting! No training ever required! It's always a pleasure to watch your sibling love at its height!"

"Let me take a guess and say that those tears of yours are fake?"

Tamaki sucked in a breath, "H-how could you! My tears are always genuine, Haruhi. Being able to cry without the use of eye-drops is the mark of a true host!" He spun around, accidentally brushing Jin a little further away from her sister, "Tell me, do I impress you? Have you fallen for me yet?"

"You wish."

As Tamaki continued to ramble along to himself, Jin snorted softly and tapped her sister's shoulder, "Uh, Haru? What does he mean by fallen for him?"

A deep red blush darkened the short brunette's cheeks, "He doesn't mean anything by it, Nēchan."

Jin had a hand pressed against her mouth, her entire body quivering, "Are… are you sure?" If possible, Haruhi's blush darkened and she looked away. Her eyes landed on the doorway, where a lone figure stood, peeking out into the room shyly. Haruhi reached back and touched her Nēchan's arm, which drew both her attention as well as Tamaki's to the door. Soon, every host had noticed the strange girl.

"Looks like the host club has a brand new guest." The twins zipped over to the doorway, roses outstretched.

Noting the way the girl was quick to withdraw from their advances, Haruhi tugged at her sister's arm again, "They're scaring her. Nēchan, go-"

But it was too late, Tamaki was already over there with a rose of his own. Jin smiled and whispered back, "It's alright, Haru. This is Tamaki's element." Despite Haruhi's gut feeling that Jin should be the one speaking to the shy girl, she couldn't help but agree with her. Tamaki was a bit more used to comforting nervous or shy girls. Perhaps he was-

"No! Don't touch me! You're phony!"

The whole group gasped as Tamaki stumbled backwards, holding one of his hands to his face where a red mark was starting to show, "What do you mean… I'm phony?!"

"Just what I said, you're phony! I find it hard to believe that someone like you is the prince character of this Host Club!" The entire host club went silent as the girl continued verbally bashing Tamaki until he fell flat on his back. Once he was lying still, the others looked up at the girl with the annoying voice. She was panting a bit, apparently a little winded by her screaming, but seemed pleased with herself. Haruhi could feel Jin tense up behind her. Uh oh.

"Excuse me, but... you are..?"

At Kyoya's words, the girl's attitude made a complete one-eighty, "It's you~! Kyoya~!" Without further preamble, she wrapped her arms around his middle and clung on for dear life, "Oh, how I've longed to meet you! My one and only prince charming!"

The other hosts and their waitress stared at the vice president.

What?

*\/*

"Kyoya-senpai-"

"-is your fiancé?"

"Of course!" The girl was now seated on a couch, acting perfectly calm as she introduced herself, "My name is Renge Houshakuji and I'm transferring into Ouran Academy's first year class A tomorrow." Haruhi felt a bead of sweat appear on her neck. She wasn't nearly this calm when we tried to pry her off of Kyoya-senpai a few minutes ago. And now she's in my class? This school just gets more terrifying by the day!

"Tamaki-senpai, you can stop sulking now."

"Yeah, we get the point."

Jin frowned at the sight of Tamaki wallowing by himself in the far corner of the room and walked over, beckoning her sister to follow. She knew Haru would. The sisters always helped each other out, no matter what. Crouching down by his side, Jin poked Tamaki's shoulder until he finally looked up at them. The girls noted the pink mark still on his right cheek from where Renge had hit him.

"Tamaki… is Renge really Kyoya's fiancée?"

"I... What? Jin, it seems a little obvious that she- why are you- why are you asking me?"

Jin sighed and tucked her legs underneath her, gathering her thoughts. Her black skirt was spread out around her on the floor, covering up the black sandal wedges she had put on when they had changed into their usual uniforms for the rest of the day. Jin had certainly raised a few eyebrows from the rest of the student body at Ouran with her strange uniform, but no one could deny the fact that she could pull the blazer off well.

"Well, Kyoya looks really uncomfortable sitting over there by her and he didn't even recognize her when she came into the room. That doesn't seem like a happy couple to me."

Haruhi looks over at the French girl who was now babbling on about her romance with Kyoya, who seemed just as lost as the others, "You have a point, Nēchan…"

Jin rested both of her hands onto Tamaki's shoulders, "Tamaki, think real hard about it. Does Renge seem like the kind of girl Kyoya would actually propose to? You're his best friend, so be honest."

The blond looks at the ground for a moment, appearing to be in deep thought until, "You're right, Jin. She really isn't the type of girl Kyoya would be-"

"He looks like the star of the popular dating sim 'Uki-Doki Memorial'! You're my real life Ichijo Miyabi!"

The entire room grew quiet and the three people in the corner turned around.

"Uki-"

"-Doki?"

"OTAKU!"

While Renge started flailing about the room, jabbering about getting married to Kyoya, the host club regrouped by a set of couches. Haruhi watched the French girl in confusion. While she'd never say it out loud, Haruhi couldn't understand why Renge was so excited about the idea of marrying Kyoya.

"Does that mean she made the whole thing up?" Tamaki looked over at Jin in awe, "How on Earth did you call that?"

Jin shrugged with a small smirk, "I notice the details. That's where the story is."

Kyoya looks at the brunette girl, "You knew?"

"From the moment you didn't immediately recognize her when she walked through the doors."

"What are you guys talking about?" Renge hopped down and sat on the couch, as close to Kyoya as she could. The others, noticing just how uncomfortable the ravenet actually looked, stayed close. The twins sat down on the opposing couch and Jin moved around to sit on the arm of the same couch as Kyoya and Renge. The rest were content with standing.

"Kyoya? I did do a little research on my way down from France, is it true you're the manager of this club?"

"Well, Kyo-chan is more like our director-"

"You're the club's director? That's perfect! I can help advertise your business, maybe even wear a sandwich board! Ah! It's going to be so exciting!"

"We don't advertise."

"And you actually want to wear a sandwich board? That's one of the most boring positions in a business I would think." Jin popped a red jolly rancher into her mouth with a shrug, "Well, to each his own, I guess."

"But I'll need a title if I'm going to help my precious Kyoya run this business! Oh, I've got it! From now on I'm the manager of this host club!"

Haruhi grimanced at the thought of seeing this girl not only in her classes, but also in her club. She leaned down by her sister's ear and whispered, "How long do you think she's going to be here?"

"I honestly don't know. There's not much here she can manage… but I'm worried about what she plans to do to this club. Especially since she ignores everything she doesn't want to hear..."

"Well boys, I can't wait to work with you!"

One look at the others and Haruhi knew it was time to go home, "Come on, Nēchan. Let's go home and start dinner."

Jin stood up and suddenly Renge called out, "Wait!" The sisters froze as their new lady manager walked up to them. She was a little shorter that Jin, and the difference in height was even more pronounced when they stood in front of each other. Renge was staring at Jin, as if just now realizing that she was there.

"Who are you?"

"Jin Fujioka. Haru's older sister, the waitress, and part-time hostess in this club."

Renge blinked, "Hostess? Do you serve to boys?"

"No, just other clients if they want a nice girl chat."

"What's with the uniform?"

Jin looked down at her clothes, tugging at the fabric of her black skirt, "No real reason, I just like the boy's uniform better. I figured I probably wouldn't get away with wearing both the top and bottom, though that's what I would prefer, so I just went with the top and my own skirt as a bottom. I'm still technically wearing the uniform, so I'm not breaking any rules."

"Hm."

The two girls stared at each other for a little longer, tension starting to rise between them, though no one could figure out why. Haruhi reached out and touched her sister's hand, "Nēchan, we should go home."

The two long-haired brunettes eyed each other for another second before turning away at the same time. Renge marched off to corner Kyoya again while Jin faced her sister.

"Yeah, let's go."

Jin's face was scrunched up slightly as they walked out of the music room with their school bags, like she usually looked when she was trying to work through a word problem. Haruhi knew better than to disturb her sister's thoughts now. And she had a feeling that her Nēchan was trying to answer the same question she had.

Does Renge have a problem with Jin?

*The next day*

"So… Tamaki wants a meeting with everyone before Renge shows up today."

"Yeah."

Haruhi shifted her bag in her grip a little, "Do we still have some of those cookies you made at home?"

"Mhm."

"Good. Maybe we could have them for dessert tonight."

Jin smiled softly at her before looking forward again, her eyes shifting back into a far off gaze. Haruhi watched her sister in concern as they walked down the school hallway. Ever since they had left the host club the day before, Jin had been oddly quiet, thinking hard about what Renge had said to her the day before. So had Haruhi, but neither of them could come up with a reason behind it.

Rich people are weird.

The girls opened the club doors and walked in. The boys had already gathered and they were waved over. Since there was only one seat left open, Jin remained standing and leaned her arms on the back of Haruhi's chair.

"Okay, now that everyone's here, I'd like to begin. I thought about it a lot last night, and maybe having a lady manager isn't such a bad idea. After all, Renge just transferred into the same class as Haruhi. So, maybe if Haruhi has a girl friend around it could bring out the female within her!"

"Good grief."

"But Haru-chan's got Jin-chan!"

Tamaki waved off Honey's comment, "If Haruhi is this out of touch with her feminine side, even with an older sister, then it's likely that Jin needs the same help as her." Jin let out a puff of air through her nose, but kept her mouth shut.

Just then, the doors creaked open and a now familiar face poked inside, "Hey everyone! As a gift for welcoming me as your new manager, I've baked you all some cookies!"

Understandably, Honey-senpai was the first to jump off his couch at the prospect of sweets, but Renge passed over him in order to appeal to her 'fiancé'. She murmured something about burning a few of them, but quickly disappeared off into her fantasy land. Kyoya took one look at the pile of cookies in his hands before promptly handing them off to Honey-senpai. The blond boy nibbled the edge and almost immediately spat the crumbs back out.

"She wasn't kidding, these cookies really are burnt."

"Don't eat those, Mitsukuni! It's bad for you!"

The girl froze before letting out a loud shriek of fury. She started chasing Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai around the room, the small blond crying out in the taller boy's arms. Jin, who had remained in her original position behind the chair until then, suddenly pushed herself up and took off after the three. She easily passed the other girl and plucked Honey-senpai from Mori's grasp. The two then split off into different directions, which made Renge pause and look heatedly in both directions, not knowing who to chase.

The other hosts had been watching the scene with what could only be described as contempt and Haruhi looked down at the cookies that had been thrown into her hands. She plucked one out to inspect. It didn't look too burnt. Okay, well, it wouldn't be winning any cooking show anytime soon, but only the edges were dark. The center looked pretty golden brown.

She took a bite big enough to get some of the soft center and chewed it slowly, "You know… these aren't half bad. I mean, they're a little burnt around the edges, but the center is pretty good. Not super soft, but not bad all the same."

The cookie was suddenly plucked from her fingertips and pushed past her lips. Haruhi tried to jerk her head backwards, but her chin was being held tightly as it was tilted upwards. Taken by surprise, Haruhi couldn't do anything other than watch as Hikaru leaned in close to her face.

"May I try?" He then took the other end of the cookie in his own mouth and broke off a piece. What…

"Uh oh, Haruhi. You've got crumbs on your face." The next thing she knew, something warm and wet was touching her face. It was Kaoru's tongue. Haruhi felt a shudder trickle down her spine. Ew.

The twins smiled at the reaction they'd pulled from their classmate, but the feeling was short lived. One second they were grinning smuggly, the next they were being tugged harshly backwards, being forced to lean back to avoid falling down. Turning their heads around, the redheads looked up at a certain Fujioka who had their shirt collars clenched up in her fists. "Excuse me… what was that?"

The word 'oops' was written all over their faces.

Haruhi rubbed her cheek off calmly, "It's alright, Nēchan, you can let them go. I'm sure they were just trying to get a rise out of me. Where did Honey-senpai go?"

The brunette girl released her captives with a warning glance and took a step back, "I sent him into the kitchen to get some milk. He needed to calm down."

Tamaki suddenly grasped Haruhi and spun her around, "That's not the way you're supposed to react, Haruhi! You have to stay strong and reject them, then casually brush them to the side!"

"This is sexual harassment, in case you were unaware."

The only thing louder than Tamaki's sudden shouts of denial and disapproval was Jin's laughter as she slung an arm around her sister's shoulder, "Haru, your bluntness never ceases to disappoint!"

"Every single one of you!"

"Hm?" The group looked over and saw Renge having another one of her little acts. This time, however, she was upset and shrieking about their 'characters'. Haruhi found herself confused, yet again, by rich people. Characters? Does she not understand that we're not acting? We are literally behaving exactly as we would anywhere else... Unfortunately, it looked as though Renge didn't understand this.

"As your manager it's my duty to change your character background, starting with you!" Honey-senpai let out a loud whine as Renge thrust her finger into his face, but she ignored his discomfort, "If all you are is cute inside and outside, then you're no different than a baby! Therefore, from now on you're the 'Baby-faced thug'!"

"WHAAAAAAA!"

"And Mori-senpai, you're his childhood friend, the drop-out! The twins will be basketball players who feel exorcised by the world by looking identical! Haruhi, you're the new-kid honor-student who is constantly being bullied!" The hosts stood frozen in place, completely baffled as Renge turned her cold gaze to her next victim.

"And as for you, Tamaki, you're the school idol who is admired for your good looks but you actually have an inferiority complex! The Lonely Prince!"

"You'd better stop there." Renge stiffened and turned her head to meet Jin's stare.

"Whatever do you mean, Fujioka-senpai? You've already got a troubled backstory, so there's no need."

Jin cocked an eyebrow, "I have a tragic backstory? What makes you say that?"

"I did some digging last night and came across an interesting piece of information. Both you and Haruhi received scholarships to this school, but only Haruhi received a full scholarship. Your story is obvious. You're the older sister who is constantly being outshined by your younger brother, who was always loved more than you were by friends and family because he was smarter, kinder, and more attractive. So you use your only weapon at your dispense to cope, which is to act as the perfect older sister in the hopes that you'll be noticed due to your brother's praise, but deep inside you're insanely jealous and wish to be half as great as him!"

The room went silent. Even the twins and Kyoya, who had been in the middle of a quiet, yet intense conversation a short ways away were watching the two girls in a mixture of shock and surprise. Half of them were expecting a fist fight to break out.

What they weren't expecting was for Jin to smile sweetly at the French girl, "Oh, silly Renge, you've obviously done your research wrong. Yes, I only got a half scholarship, but did you ever read what my scholarship would've been if I hadn't studied abroad in America last year and instead came directly to Ouran?"

Renge fidgeted, "No."

"No, I figured. What about the actual exam scores, did you read those?"

The other girl adverted her eyes, "No."

"Again, that was fairly obvious," Jin walked forward and bent down so they were face to face, "For your information, Haru and I both scored 100% on the entrance exam. And when I told the school that I would be studying abroad, they offered me a half scholarship if I came back to Ouran for the last two years."

The brunette straightened up, "Well, I think I've made my point. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." And with that, she walked off, her steps echoing off the tile floor.

"Uh… Renge, do you think these poses work for a lonely prince?"

The girl tore her glare from the waitresses' back and watched Tamaki strike a few movements. Instantly, her mood flipped, "Wow, you're good at that!"

With the new girl distracted, Haruhi turned around and looked at her senpai, "Kyoya-senpai, don't you think we should do something about those two? If Renge has an issue with Nēchan-"

"Let's just see how things play out." Not satisfied, but not willing to argue, Haruhi merely turned around and followed her sister into the kitchen. One way or another, someone is going to snap. And I sure hope it's not Nēchan.

*\/*

Screams echoed around the gymnasium as the school's basketball team regained possession of the ball. One of the team's stars, Hikaru Hitachiin was dribbling back down the court towards the hoop. Not that any of the fans would know that it was him and not his twin brother. Then again, it wasn't like they cared either. The screams intensified as he tossed the ball through the hoop.

Swish!

He grinned, despite the fact that the fans were refraining from shouting out a name, for fear of saying the wrong one. Hikaru tried to laugh it off, tried to feel some pride for scoring, but there was a notable absence from his side. Where was the hand that always clapped his shoulder after every perfect toss?

The screams died down and were replaced with a gasp just as Hikaru saw the medical team rushing onto the court. There was a player lying down on the wooden slabs. Someone from his team. A teammate with red hair that stood up in every direction.

"Get a stretcher! Take him to the infirmary, immediately!"

"K-Kaoru? Kaoru!" The med team lifted his brother onto a stretcher just as he was able to push past the stupid people blocking his way. Hikaru threw himself down next to his injured brother, "Kaoru!" A hand touched his shoulder, but it didn't belong to his brother.

Therefore, it didn't matter.

"You've got to get back in the game, Hikaru! We need you!"

"Shut up!" Hikaru swatted the hand away. The only reason you know I'm Hikaru is because I was just calling out my brother's name a few seconds ago! He probably would've said that out loud too, if it wasn't for a softer voice speaking to him.

"Hikaru, listen to me," He looked down at his brother, whose eyes had opened again, thankfully, "Please don't worry, there's nothing you can do. You can't share my pain." Kaoru cupped his older brother's face, "You're not the one who got hurt…now go on..."

Hikaru felt the tears start, so he squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his brother's hand, "I can't! It hurts! It hurts, Kaoru!"

Your pain is my pain. It doesn't matter to me if no one else understands. As long as we have each other, we can go on living.

"Hikaru? Hikaru! Hikaru, are you alright?"

The boy's eyes snapped open as large drops of water struck the back of his skull. He looked up at his twin's face just as all the right memories fell into place. It was just… a memory. That's right.

"Hikaru." Kaoru cupped his face, "Where are we, right now?"

"We...we're on the school's outdoor basketball court."

"Right. Now, why are we out here?"

"Practicing. For next week's game."

"And what happened just a few seconds ago?"

"It started to rain… and the ball slipped out of your hands so you went after it… and you tripped. I don't… I don't remember much of what happened next."

Only then did Kaoru sigh and drop his hands back onto his lap, "Hikaru, you've got to stop doing that. That injury happened last year. This can't go on."

"But you got hurt. And I couldn't help you! How am I supposed to forget that?!" Hikaru was pulled into a tight embrace and he buried his face into his brother's shoulder, letting the angry tears roll down his cheeks, disguised by the rain that had soaked the brothers through.

"As long as I'm here, you can forget about the rest of the world. The past, and the future. And as long as you're here, I'll do the same." Kaoru pulled away enough to look at his brother, "Think we can manage that?"

"I...yes. Kaoru. We can."

A low chuckle interrupted their moment and the boys quickly looked towards the edge of the court. The darkness and the sudden heaviness of the rain made it hard to make out exactly who it was, but the next moment the figure spoke and took a few steps forward.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your moment, but I'm envious. The way the two of you support each other like that…"

Hikaru squinted as the figure came into clearer view, "Suoh-senpai?" Yup, it was Ouran Academy's number 1 pretty boy. He was devoid of his school jacket and looked drenched from head to toe. He must've been out in this rain for as long as they had been. It took a moment for what he said to register in the redhead's brains.

"How would you be envious of... us?"

"Yeah, basketball members are one thing, but to be the school's idol..."

The blond chuckled, the sad look never leaving his eyes, making them look more grey than their usual bright purple, "An idol, right. I hate that they all worship me for something as superficial as my appearance. If only they would just leave me alone-"

"Oof!"

The three boys look back at the edge of the court to see yet another boy out in the storm. It took less time for them to recognize this person, as the rain was starting to let up. It was the honor student, Fujioka-san or something. He was on his knees, probably from tripping over a tree root or something, and for two seconds, the brunet boy stared up at them all. His big, brown, girlish eyes seemed to be pleading with them.

But if Fujioka-san was out here, then that could only mean one thing.

"I'd suggest you keep running, little one. He won't hold back, even if there are others present."

The honor student's shoulders deflated before he scrambled back to his feet and took off again, heading deeper into the woods. What he didn't know was that Suoh remained still, watching him take off into the trees. And what Suoh was unaware of, was that Fujioka had heard everything he said when he had been hiding behind that tree, only to slip and fall onto the ground when he had leaned closer to hear better.

One lonely heart meets another. They pass each other, wounding one another. What are the hearts of these young men made of?

Haruhi's shoes slapped the muddy ground. His legs were so weak, and his uniform was weighted down with the cold rain that was clinging to his body tightly, restricting his movements greatly. There were mud stains on his knees and the palms of his hands, but he dare not stop. Not stop. Not stop. Not…

The brunette had to stop. He stumbled to a drier piece of dirt and pressed his hands against a tree, taking in deep breaths and trying to not hack up a lung. I'm going to catch pneumonia...

"You can't run away forever." Haruhi spun around, ready to run, only to have his legs slide out from under him. He had no energy left. The last of it had been spent when he'd silently begged for help from the star basketball members and the school's idol… only to be turned away and left to his own devices. There was no point in running any longer. This… this was inevitable.

"I'm gonna show you what happens to anyone who crosses me." Haruhi fought the urge to scream at the small blond boy. To argue that he had only bumped into his shoulder when they had both attempted to enter the bathroom at the same time. But there was no point.

"Don't do it, Mitsukuni." Haruhi sucked in a quick breath as Mori-senpai came up from behind them. He must've followed us. It was known by everyone that Hani-senpai's only childhood friend, who had flunked out right before high school, was the only person in the this world who could hold back the boy's rage every once in awhile. Please, let this be one of those times.

"You should've realized by now that whenever you hurt others… you're only hurting yourself."

"I didn't ask for any advice. You want me to put you over my knee again?" The tall boy looked away, not answering, but Haruhi knew that he'd get no more help from the flunkie. His fate… was sealed.

Will it be the light of salvation that ultimately awaits these boys? Or will it be something else?

"You know… it really pisses me off when people don't know their place." Haruhi swallowed and stared up in fear at the eyes that mirrored his own so very well… Until they teared up and the serious face fell away to fear and sorrow.

"Wahhhh! I can't do this anymore!"

And just like that, the scene was broken.

"CUUUUUT! CUT CUT CUT! What is wrong with you? You've got to stick to the script! Do you want this movie to fail? Incompetent little-"

"I can't! Stop yelling!"

Renge growled, "Stop rolling already! We'll be taking a short ten minute break, or until someone can keep themselves together long enough to actually do their job!" And with one last glare in Honey-senpai's direction, she moved on to the other men around the set, shouting things about the scene.

Honey whimpered in Haruhi's arms for a moment before Mori scooped him up and escorted him to the buffet table, where there were thankfully a lot of sweets. Someone handed Haruhi a towel as she walked off set towards the twins and Kyoya.

"How did we go from changing our characters to shooting a movie about them?"

"Yeah, and why is there an entire film crew here to shoot it?" What happened to a plain old handheld video?

"Apparently, she flew them in from Hollywood. Don't you recognize the director? He directed the number 1 grossing box office hit in America last year."

Damn these rich people.

"Hey guys, how's the movie going?" Haruhi turned and gave her sister a smile. Despite the obvious tension going on with Renge, Jin had still turned up to help out with the movie. Of course, Renge hadn't given her a part. She was merely mentioned in passing about two thirds of the way through. Even so, it was clear that Jin didn't mind.

"Hey, Nēchan, where'd you go? Last I saw, you were talking to one of the camera men after you finished putting up the last tree for the forest set."

Jin grabbed Haruhi's towel and started rubbing her sister's hair with it, "I was. Turns out, he didn't get a lunch break earlier so I took over his position for a while so he could grab a bite to eat. I even filmed one of the angles for the twin's basketball flashback scene." She flashed the twins a thumb's up, "Nice acting, by the way. I was impressed."

"Thanks!" The twins attempted a smile, but it was short lived as Hikaru thumbed through his script.

"It's alright, but this stupid thing portrays Kaoru as the 'pitcher'! What's the deal with that?"

"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing."

Jin shook her head, "I did some research last night on the dating sim Renge was talking about. Turns out, all of your "characters" are the mirror image of the characters in the game, with Haru being the exception. She's trying to turn Ouran Academy into her own real version of Oki-Doki Memorial. This script is a pile of her own fantasies, nothing more."

"Wait, what does 'pitcher' mean?"

The twins snickered, "If you don't know, nevermind."

Jin hides her smile by kissing her sister's damp hair, "Oh, little Haru. Still so innocent."

Haruhi narrowed her eyes, "Wait… it's something dirty?"

"Ms. Fujioka? I'd like to point out that if Ms. Houshakuji had overheard your little comment about playing out her own fantasies, she would've been quite upset with you."

"More than she already is? I highly doubt that's possible." The twins nodded in agreement, but that just reminded Haruhi of the question that had been on her mind since the french girl had arrived.

"Exactly why is Renge acting like this, Nēchan?"

Jin shrugged, "I honestly have no clue. She's acting almost threatened by me, but I'm not sure why."

"Maybe it's because she thinks you're going to steal Kyoya from her." Hikaru mused. He, Jin, Haruhi, and Kaoru all made eye contact with each other before bursting into loud laughter. They laughed so hard some of them even had tears in their eyes, and they didn't stop until the ravenet behind the twin's chairs cleared his throat.

"And why is that so hilarious? I understand it's ridiculous, but why is it funny?"

Jin gasped for air, "Number 1, Renge would need to think I'm interested in you. Number 2, she'd then need to think there was a possibility of you being interested in me in return. Number 3, you have to remember that she's under the delusion that you're Ichijo Miyabi, who would never do something like that. And if any of this is true, then she's more deluded than we originally thought!"

The four started laughing again until a cameraman walked up, "Excuse me, Ms. Fujioka?"

"Yes?"

"The rest of the camera crew would like to discuss where to cut in your angle for the scene you shot, since Ms. Houshakuji has extended our break for another half an hour."

"Alright." She ruffled her sister's hair, "I'll be back in about ten to fifteen minutes, okay, Haru?"

"Yeah, just go impress them already!"

The girl walked away and Haruhi turned back around to face the boys, only to have them looking at her intensely, "What?"

"We've been curious about something that happened yesterday."

"It's about what Renge said about Jin's 'character'."

The redheads leaned forward, "Is any of what she said true?"

Haruhi blinked and tried to recall everything that had been said the previous day, "Um, well… not that I know of. I've never really been better at Jin in anything. There are a lot of things where we're equal, as well as a few areas where I'm equal to where she was my age, but… no. There's nothing I can think of that I'm better at her than. Except, of course, looking like a boy. For some reason, without heavy make-up Nēchan is never mistaken as a boy. She's even bound her chest and tied up her hair during a play before. Didn't work. I think Renge was just trying to spite her."

After that explanation, Haruhi walked away to find a chair to sit in. Even though she hadn't really been running for half an hour, she still wasn't a very good runner. Or actress. She needed a break.

A break that was cut short five minutes later by Tamaki running up to her, "Haruhi! Haruhi! So, what did you think? Do you think I nailed it?"

Haruhi smiled up at the blond, "It was very well done, Senpai. I'm surprised you had it in you! But that last line… I didn't think you had a line there?"

"I didn't, I just had a feeling that if I only looked away it wouldn't have truly captured how withdrawn my character was supposed to be, so I improvised!"

"Very impressive. Your performance made your character really believable. I'm surprised you're able to get into your character so easily."

"Ha, I'm discovering a new, darker side of myself. Maybe we should keep these characters up for awhile?"

Haruhi tilted her head in confusion, "You think so? I'm sure the girls will like this movie just fine but… if we keep up these characters, wouldn't your character hate having the girls fawn over him? If the clients come to that conclusion, they could stop coming to the Host Club." The blond stopped rubbing his wet hair.

"Oh, I never thought of it that way. Perhaps… a happy medium could be reached?"

"Maybe. But with clients aside, I think you're fine just the way your are right now, Senpai, without all the pageantry of being all lonely and sad. If you 'explore' your character too much, you might just lose yourself along the way."

"Uh… really? Well, if you say so, Haruhi."

The brunette quickly looked to the side, hiding her smirk. As if the Tamaki right now isn't so much trouble already. None of us need to see a 'darker side'.

"Haruhi! You're on!" What?

Renge was waving at her from around the corner of a building, away from the cameras, confusing the brunette even more, "But we still have twenty minutes left in our break!"

"Just get over here!"

Sighing, she dropped her towel back onto her chair and walked around the corner as Renge shouted at someone else, "Where'd my cameraman go?"

"He's with the others discussing the angles for the first scene of the movie."

"Well get him back here! Tell him it's the first big conflict scene with Haruhi!"

"Yes, Boss!"

"Hmph. Oh, Haruhi, here you are! Come on, this way!" Renge walked around the corner with Haruhi in tow. For a moment, Haruhi was completely confused. Why are we back here? There's nothing but some extra planks, some lights, and-

The death glares she was receiving from the two boys she just noticed cut Haruhi's thoughts short. Renge, however…

"These two gentlemen have just agreed to make a special appearance in our film!"

"In your film?"

"What are you talking about?"

Haruhi relaxed her shoulders when she learned they were just some more actors, but something itched in her brain. Like she didn't have all the variables for something.

"After all, we're going to need some tough guys for the big climax!" At the words 'tough guys', the boys made surprised noises. Tough guys? What do we need tough guys for? And why do these guys sound just as lost as I am?

"What sort of climax are we talking about?"

"Didn't you read the script? We're going to have all of the club members come together to fight off the real villains in their school! According to the script, these two are from a wealthy family that got their wealth by being a part of the Japanese Mafia! Don't you think that's a brilliant casting choice?"

The boys shifted into defensive poses, "What's with this girl?"

"Whatever my dad does has nothing to do with me!"

Haruhi's eyes grew wide. Oh no… Renge is being insensitive again, but this time it's with the wrong people!

"Hey, hold on a second!"

Of course, Renge ignored her and grabbed one of the boys by his shirt sleeve. She dragged him towards the camera with a smile, talking about cue's and lines, unaware of the look of agitation the boy was sporting.

He ripped himself out of her grip, "Let go of me, psycho! You think you can order me around? You don't even know me!" And he struck, shoving Renge away with all his strength towards the extra wood planks and metal poles.

"WATCH OUT!" Haruhi jumped behind Renge and stopped her from hitting the wall at full force. Unfortunately, the power behind the shove still pushed her against the poles leaning on the wall. The impact knocked the breath out of her for a moment as pain erupted in her back. Nothing… too bad. But it certainly didn't feel good. And ohmygoshwhatgotinmyeye?!

The girl in front of her stood up on her own, giving Haruhi a chance to pull away from the wall. She took a deep breath and crouched down to her knees, holding a hand to her face as her eye watered in pain.

"Are you okay, Haruhi?"

"That guy was right, Renge. You're stereotyping. That's not who we are!"

"Haruhi!"

"Haru! I was told to come video something but then I heard-"

Haruhi turned her head when she heard both Tamaki and her sister's voices. Both of them were a little blurry, which answered the reason behind her eye hurting so badly. But she can see just enough to watch their faces change. Tamaki's eyes narrowed and he shot forward…

But Jin was faster.

Haruhi's eye gave a painful twinge and she shut them just as she heard a foot connecting with someone's gut. A few grunts and shouts later, Haruhi managed to call out around the ache, "Nēchan, stop! They were provoked!"

Her eyes flickered open to survey the damage. Tamaki and Renge were standing to her left, mouths agape and eyes wide. Jin was standing directly above the two boys, who were curled up in little balls on the concrete. There didn't appear to be any blood or major damage, and Jin wasn't even winded. Her hair was a little disheveled, but that was it. Jin looked up from her adversaries and stared right into Haruhi's eyes, the soft glow in them all but completely gone. In its place was something cold and hard. When she spoke, it was in a short, demanding tone.

"Why? What for?"

Haruhi stood up, holding one hand to her left eye still, "They were brought into the movie to play the bad guys, but they didn't want to. It got physical when Renge tried to force them into it."

Jin watched her sister for another moment or two, her eyes softening before growing hard again as she looked back down at the boys, "Get out of here." She nudged them with her toe and they took off at full speed to the front gates. Haruhi rubbed at her left eye until she felt something in the corner. A pair of hands cupped her cheeks.

"Haru? What hurts?"

"Ugh, this thing," she pulled out her contact, "Must've gotten knocked out of place when I hit the wall. Other than that, I'm fine."

The two second year students stared at the contact perched on her finger before her sister huffed a laugh and leaned up against the wall, "You scared me to death, you little jerk!"

Tamaki also started laughing, "Well what do you know? You are a full-fledged host! Crying without eye-drops...hilarious." Haruhi thought it over a bit, and couldn't help but join in on the humor. Wow. That conversation was from before this whole craziness even started. How about that?

"You… you… please tell me you got that, cameraman!"

"Yes, Boss!"

"Other than Haruhi's contact falling out and Jin-senpai rescuing him instead of one of the boys, that was the perfect final scene! All we need to do now is photoshop Tamaki in Jin's place! After all, we can't have a girl saving a boy, can we?" Jin's eyes darkened again as Renge started laughing along with the camera crew. Haruhi felt all the blood rush to her feet. Oh boy.

In one smooth motion Jin swooped down, grabbed a rock about the size of her fist, turned around, and flung it towards the group of cameramen who had been shooting the scene. It zipped between Renge and the boom mic guy before shattering the camera lens that had taped the fight. And standing not ten centimeters away was Kyoya, who had his own rock in hand that looked ready to swing.

For a brief moment, everyone was quiet save for a quick simultaneous intake of breath.

"W-what… what was that for? You nearly hit me!"

Jin dusted off her hands, "This is starting to become more that just annoying, Renge. So I'm going to put a stop to it."

"...Annoying?"

She stalked over to the girl and didn't stop until they were no more than a centimeter apart, her neck craning to stare her down, "You've been nothing but trouble since you've arrived at this school, Renge, and I think it's high time that you realized that. You know nothing of these boys and have about as much of a right to tell them how to act as I do, which is why I haven't said anything until now, but your last comment crossed a line, I'm afraid. My brother was put in danger, and I reacted as I should've. Telling me and telling your viewers that women are not allowed to be strong and be able to defend their family is about as wrong as you could go, and you will never see me not stand up for my brother. Just keep that in mind from now on."

Jin took one step back, breathed deeply in and out, and turned on her heel and walked around the corner of the building. Everyone watched her go, none of them daring to make a sound until she had been out of view for at least ten seconds. Tamaki broke the silence.

"Haruhi… should you go after her?"

"No, she'll be fine. She just has to calm down for a bit. She'll probably get a drink of water then jog around the set."

"I… I didn't realize that your sister could be so… so…"

"Tough?"

"Yeah."

Haruhi felt the barest trace of a smile fight its way onto her lips, "Hell hath no fury like a raging Fujioka."

Renge took a few more deep breaths before whirling around to face Kyoya, "Kyoya… why are you holding that rock?"

*Several days later*

"Alright, gents! It's time to invite guests in for the day. We're going to start out with everyone around this couch, so make yourselves comfortable!" The hosts pulled close and settled down into their opening pose. Jin was with them, standing on Mori-senpai's right side. The girl had returned to her naturally calm appearance, but Tamaki would still sneak glances at the older Fujioka girl, searching for traces of-

Creak!

The blond whipped his head around to face forward, "Hello, ladies. Come on in!"

"I bought the video of that film you made!"

"I bought it, too!"

"And so did I!"

The host's collectively stiffened, "You… did? Ho-"

"That scene in the rain was just phenomenal!"

"I loved the lonely prince!"

"And the loving relationship between Hikaru and Kaoru was so sweet!"

As the guests continued to gush over the movie, the hosts watched in silence, every single one of them coming to the same conclusion.

"Kyoya…"

"Ms. Fujioka may have broken the camera's lens, but the film inside of it remained unharmed along with everything we had already shot and put together. After some editing and removing all traces of violence, I was able to put together a final product. It seemed a waste to put a whole afternoon of our time in the garbage. Sales have been pretty good so far. That Hollywood film crew did a fantastic job, but then I guess that's to be expected. I might even consider hiring them again to produce a sequel someday."

"Renge and Jin-senpai nearly tore each other's heads off!" The twins caught a certain brunette watching them with a quirked eyebrow, "No offence, Jin-senpai."

The girl smirked and shook her head, "None taken. I probably could've handled that better than getting all up in her face about it. So much for being the mature one. But Kyoya, exactly when did you start calculating all of this?"

The ravenet leveled a cool gaze at his classmate, "Early on enough to deal with the girl hanging off my elbow every second of every day telling me what kind of flowers she wanted in her wedding bouquet."

Jin chuckled, "If you were willing to suffer like that, then do whatever you want with that footage. But I doubt you'll be getting a sequel out of these guys."

Kyoya opened his mouth again, probably to deliver some sort of rebuke, but another voice beat him too it, "Good day, everyone."

The hosts were quick to look at the new arrival, "Renge? But I thought that you had gone back to France already."

In per Renge style, the girl completely ignored Tamaki's question, "I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner. It was so chivalrous of you to risk your life to protect me. I could feel the love when you lectured me about judging people. When you said it was fun to get to know people little by little you were talking about getting to know me!"

"Uh…"

"Woah! Woah, woah, not happenin-"

"And Jin-senpai," Renge rested her right hand on the taller brunette's shoulder, "I'm so sorry for how cruelly I acted towards you. I simply didn't understand how much pain you were enduring when I made my mistake! But the way you put all that aside for other people's happiness has shown me a different way of living! I'll never forget your lesson!"

"Um… good?"

"From now on, I'll stay out of your way! I hope we can become good friends later!" The Fujioka's exchanged a glance. Doubtful.

"Come on, Haruhi!" Renge pulled the smaller of the two away towards the door, "Let's go to my house! I think it's time you got to know me better!"

"What?"

Jin's jaw dropped before she started to follow, but Honey grabbed onto her uniform sleeve, "Jin-chan, what did she mean by you being in pain?"

"I… have no clue, Honey-senpai."

"NO IT ISN'T!" Tamaki's shout caused both of them to jump in place.

"But I thought you were the one who wanted here to have a female friend-"

"Yeah, a female companion, NOT A GIRLFRIEND!"

"Come on, Haruhi, let's go play together!"

"Wait! Don't take Haruhi from me!"

"Haru!"

"Nēchan, help!"