Chapter 27: Covering the Famous Host Club!

"Who's ready for summer vacation?!" Without waiting for a response, Hikaru and Kaoru simultaneously chucked two water balloons across the courtyard. Before they struck their target, Jin shot her hand out and caught the blue and red balloons. Intact. With only one hand.

The twins groaned as the girl withdrew her hand that wasn't encased in a cast into her long sleeves, hiding their summer weapons within the multiple layers, "Jin-senpai…"

"You're ruining our summer…"

"Hm, well, considering summer break doesn't start for another two days, I think I can live with that. Besides, the guests will be arriving soon. Do you really think Kyoya would go easy on you knowing you made me miss the welcoming because I had to change?"

The redheads sighed in defeat, but continued to follow the 2nd year student across the grass, "Hey, Jin-senpai?"

"We have a question for you."

The brunette nodded, prompting them to continue as she pulled the balloons back out of her sleeve. She threw the wet things at the base of a cherry tree, finally breaking them open over the bark.

"Do you and Haruhi have any plans for the summer?"

"Uh…" the girl hummed, her brow furrowing, "Not at the moment, but I have a feeling our dad has something planned for us. He's been awfully quiet at dinner for the past few nights… So I suppose I should say yes, we do."

"Awww…"

"But we wanted you to come with us on our vacation!"

"Really? And would this place happen to be within Japan considering Haru still lacks a passport?"

"...No."

"But Jin-chaaaan!" Honey jumped out of nowhere and pulled on the top layer of Jin's Juni-hitoe, "Takashi and I want you to come on our vacation!"

"Let me guess. Out of the country? No can do, Sweetie."

"Well then, why don't you join me at one of my family's resorts?"

Jin really hoped her cheeks weren't red as she turned to Kyoya, "While I appreciate all of your offers, I really think my dad already has something planned. Besides, I've already spent a whole year away from my family, I'd like to spend as much of this summer with them as I can." Even if the thought of spending the whole summer with Kyoya does sound rather appealing…

"Gentlemen! What are you doing over there?! The guests will be here any moment!" At Tamaki's shout, the five of them hurried back across the grass to the front doors of the courtyard. Jin eyed them with curiosity as she ran. Why are there a pair of doors outside? I mean, I could understand a gate, but why doo- "Waaah!"

Her right foot snagged at her robe and she stumbled, barely being caught by the twins who grabbed her arms, Hikaru being delicate around her broken wrist. Pulling her foot back out so she could stand on her own two feet, the brunette scowled and harshly yanked at the green and red fabric surrounding her, "I hate this thing!"

"Understood, but it's the best fit for today's cosplay."

"I don't care! It's hot as Hell in here and I can barely walk! I'm gonna trip and fall on my face before today's over, mark my words!"

Kyoya smirked as he took his spot beside Tamaki, "Strange. You're usually so graceful, Ms. Fujioka…"

"Har-de-har-har. I'm pretty sure you aren't always at the top of your game either , Mr. Ootori." Jin tucked her hair behind her ear, standing on Tamaki's other side so she was behind her sister. Haruhi looked behind her and smiled tugging at a strand of Jin's hair. She smacked the hand away and playfully glared at the small girl.

I know it's getting long! I think it looks fine!

I didn't say it didn't, but maybe you should consider getting a haircut before the summer.

Hm… maybe.

"Alright men, smiles on!"

The doors creaked open in front of the group, forcing them all to quickly abandon their conversations and grin towards the slowly growing crack between the double doors.

"Welcome back, ladies!"

"Oh, it's Jin!"

"Jin-senpai! Over here!"

"Hm?" Jin sat back on her heels, pulling away from the Iris flowers she had knelt down in front of. Four girls were waving over to her from further down the yamamizu channel, which was running along Jin's left side. She smiled and waved back, smiling at them and the host they were with.

One of the girls stood up and ran over. It was Arisu Nijo, a 1st year. She was one of Kyoya's usual customers who sat with Jin perhaps once a week. She was on the other side of the channel, but she didn't seem to mind.

"What are you doing over here all by yourself, Jin-senpai?"

"Just admiring these Irises… they're so lovely. And since only Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai have a table for tea and cake serving, I had some free time."

Arisu nodded, shifting over for the other three girls who had come to join them, "Wow, you must really like flowers, huh, Jin?"

"Yeah! It's like every other time I see you you're staring at the host club's roses or the flowers growing in the commons!"

Jin smiled softly, gently tracing one of the flower petals, "I've always appreciated nature. It's very peaceful here, just watching the flowers bloom in different colors and patterns. Oh…" She carefully moved two of the plants aside, revealing a dead Iris that had been ripped out of the ground. It must've died recently, because the petals were still soft and a bright purple color as she scooped it up.

"Oh no… it must've be pulled up by something. Perhaps a squirrel…"

The girls gasped sadly, watching as Jin slowly plucked petal by petal off the dead plant and placing them in the water. They watched them drift down with the current. It was a very pretty sight.

"You know, it is said that these channels would help those who wished to experience the seasons better by them watching the flower petals or autumn leaves drifting along in its waters. Usually during this time of year you see neither of those, so it would be hard to understand. Thank you for this opportunity, Jin."

The brunette looked up at her friend, smiling, "I just wanted to give it a proper send-off. And weren't you the one who had this made?"

Kyoya smirked, bowing his head, "That I did. I was hoping that it would help show how I wish to spend every season with you wonderful young ladies. Speaking of, we will be having an Autumn Leaves tea party soon after school resumes. There are limited invitations..."

The girls gasped, clutching at their hearts, "Sign us up!"

"Jin-senpai? You'll be there too, right? I'm sure Kyoya meant that he wanted to spend all four seasons with you as well!"

The brunette laughed, "Of course! And I already know he included me, too. After all, he did just invite me to spend the summer with him. Right, Glasses?"

Kyoya turned away as the four guests squealed, clearing his throat into his fist, "Well, perhaps. And what about your current pastime? Are you particularly fond of purple flowers?"

His guests were now rapidly fanning themselves, unable to not see the symbolism Kyoya was heavily implying in his question. Jin, however, merely grinned again, "So it would seem. I may be particularly partial towards cherry blossoms, but my next two favorites would have to be the Iris and Wisteria. I love the color schemes nature comes up with. Where purple and green anywhere else might not make so much sense, it is nothing but completely beautiful."

Three of the girls were fanning Arisu, who was laying backwards in a blonde's arms as the two hosts smiled at each other for a moment longer. Jin suddenly stood up, her cheeks a light pink.

"I, um, should probably go check up on Haru or Honey-senpai. Who knows what kind of trouble they're getting into, right?" She quickly left, sneakily holding up the fabric around her legs so she wouldn't trip during her retreat. This is getting to be almost too much. What if he realizes I'm actually flirting with him and not just for show in front of the guests? What then?

A whooshing sound passed by her ear just as Tamaki's unmistakable voice called out, "HARUHI! DUCK!"

Jin watched as the blond pretty much tackled her little sister into the grass. She went to run forward but a hand caught her upper arm before she could move. The grip pulled her backwards into a strong chest.

"Jin, are you alright? You weren't hit, were you?"

The brunette hoped her cheeks weren't bright red, "I'm fine, Kyoya. It didn't hit me. What was it, though?"

The ravenet released the girl, looking over to the mounting argument between Tamaki and the twins, "The usual, it would seem. Hikaru thought it would be a brilliant idea to start a Kamari game to entertain their guests and roped Tamaki into it as well."

Jin sighed and ran over to her sister, dusting her off, "You alright, Haru?"

"Yeah… it's just not a day at the host club until I'm being tackled into the ground. How about you, Nēchan? I saw it pass by your head pretty close. It didn't clip you at all?"

"No. I guess I was just lucky."

"Tamaki-senpai didn't try to smash you flat?"

"No. But Kyoya gave me a quick medical examination."

"Mm-hm. Well, what are they shouting about now?"

The girls watched as the blond began screaming about 'proving himself' before grabbing the ball that nearly took their heads off and pretty much punting it out of the courtyard. Jin's mouth fell open.

"I've never seen someone kick that hard before! Che cazzo! "

"That was… really impressive actually!"

The hosts stared off after the ball before Kyoya sighed, "I suppose we should go track it down and make sure no one was hit with it. Ladies, it would seem as though the host club will be closing now. Have a lovely rest of your day."

The girls left without complain, gossiping about Tamaki's strong kick all the way out the doors. The hosts grouped up, heading towards the other end of the courtyard in the direction Tamaki had kicked.

Jin took a few steps forward and stopped, looking around the courtyard, "Actually, you go on ahead. I'm going to quickly pack up all the food and drinks so no insects or animals get into them."

"Nēchan? Are you sure?"

She patted Haruhi's head, "There wasn't much stuff out in the first place. Just send me a text when you find the ball and I'll get there as soon as I can, okay?"

Haruhi nodded and continued walking after the others. It didn't take long for someone to realize they were short a certain girl.

"Haruhi? Where's your sister?"

"Nēchan's going to pack away the food and tea so they don't attract animals or bugs. She'll be with us shortly."

Kyoya looked behind them, his steps slowing, "Perhaps someone should stay and help…" Thankfully -in Haruhi's opinion- Tamaki came up and got his friend moving along again.

"No time, Kyoya! If our mari ball hit someone we'll need your medical expertise to save them!"

"You realize my family simply owns hospitals and that we're not actual doctors, correct?" Despite his dry tone, Kyoya kept walking. Haruhi sighed. I need to stop acting so jealous around Kyoya-senpai. I thought I finally put that behind me… but I guess knowing that there's someone else who's vying for Nēchan's time still bothers me a bit. Maybe I should talk to her about it...

"Hey, Boss."

"Take a look."

Haruhi looked over in the direction the twins were pointing. There was a window on the second story of the nearest building that was completely shattered. A few shouts and screams were coming from that direction as well.

"Oh… guess we found it."

* Time Skip *

Tamaki's lower lip was trembling as he bowed to the Newspaper president, "Really, I'm so sorry about what happened." He couldn't see the slight lip curl the boy had before he smiled calmly. However, after years and years of reading certain people like a book, both Kyoya and Haruhi noticed the gleam in the Newspaper Club president's eyes as he watched Tamaki bow to him. The brunette leveled a glare at the boy before returning to her chore of sweeping up the glass shards that had fallen into the room.

"Oh, don't you worry about that. It's not that big of a deal, right? Just your mari ball flying through the air, shattering a window and hitting me directly on the head. It could happen to anyone I'm sure. "

"Please, accept our apology!"

The president hummed lightly, "Actually, this works out in our favor. I was thinking about approaching the host club for a cover story for our next edition. I don't suppose you'd be… interested?"

Haruhi looked up from the glass again, "Ouran has a newspaper club?"

"Eh, it's more gossip than anything."

"Nothing fact based at all. Basically it's a poorly done tabloid and no one bothers with it anymore."

"It used to be extremely popular until about a year ago, then it suddenly declined because of all these trashy stories."

The brunet boy jerked in his seat, "Now listen here!"

"Hey, I'm back! Was anyone hur-Woah!" Jin took one step into the room and tripped over her robe again. Kyoya darted forward and caught her.

"Jin, you alright?"

"I'm fine, Glasses. Just this stupid…"

"Excuse me, but who is that?"

Tamaki returned his attention to the person he was supposed to be apologizing to, but the words got caught in his throat. Haruhi was pouting. And while it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen in his life, he did happen to notice the direction she was aiming her unhappy face. Hm...

"Oh, sorry about that." Jin was back on her own two feet and walked around Kyoya to wave at the Newspaper club, "I'm Jin Fujioka, Haru's older sister and the Host Club's waitress. Haru told me someone got hit in the head with our mari ball, is everyone okay?"

"I-uh… um, well, I was, erm, I was the one who -ahem- who was hit. I'm fine, Ms. Fujioka. Ah, allow me to introduce myself: Akira Komatsuzawa, 3rd year." Akira frantically introduced his fellow club mates, unaware that he was now receiving a fairly powerful death glare.

"So! You were going say something to us before Jin-senpai came in, right Komatsuzawa- senpai?"

The 3rd year jumped in his seat, "Oh, was I? Right! I wanted to, um," his eyes flicked up to Jin and back down at his desk, "I realize that in our attempt to reach more viewers our newspaper has lost sight of what the truth is. Which is why I'm glad our paths crossed today. If we do not reach more readers with our last edition before the semester ends, our club will be shut down."

He stood up and lead his club members in a bow, "Please help us. Let us do our cover story on the Ouran Host Club!"

Jin slipped to the side, quickly sweeping up the last of the glass while keeping an eye on the president and vice president of her own club. Tamaki was smiling… but so was Kyoya. And those spoke of very different answers.

"You can count on us-augh!"

"Unfortunately, we must decline your offer. Apologies, but we have a very strict policy regarding our personal lives and the general public. I'm afraid that all personal information can only be shared with our guests and must remain in the club room. Otherwise what would be the point of our club? Terribly sorry, again, but we would be more than willing to pay for any medical expenses regarding your injury that we caused… within reason."

Jin cocked an eyebrow as the twins chipped in their two cents, talking about drama and gossip. Her lips pressed closer together. There was something she was missing here, and she didn't like it.

"I… I understand. I suppose you can't erase the sins of the past, especially when no one will give you a second chance! I... ooooohhh, my head is killing me… "

"President!"

"I'm okay, I just… oof… need to keep my head down. Well, I suppose we should just disband with grace. It would save you two the humiliation of being a part of a failed club. Perhaps… once I am gone you two can restart the Newspaper Club with a new purpose, to inform the school of important events and remain true. But I'm just a lost cause…"

"No! Don't think like that!" Tamaki clenched his fist, that crazy sparkle in his eyes, "We will rally our club to help you stay active!"

The twins grabbed Haruhi under her armpits and started walking away, "Count us out then."

"You're too trusting, and for once we're not going down with you and the ship."

Jin felt an arm slip around her waist and start steering her out of the room, "We're leaving too, Tamaki. If you need us we'll be holding an evaluation meeting, mostly about you."

"But have fun with the Newspaper Club, Tama-chan."

"Hold it right there." They stopped, and by the looks on their faces Jin assumed it was against their better judgement. "How could you all be so heartless? So cold ? These men are about to lose their club. Wouldn't you do anything for your club? Such hypocrisy! Their family is breaking up, and none of you care? "

Kyoya, Hikaru, and Kaoru turned their heads.

" We're not going to do it. "

They left him alone in the room, screams echoing down the hallway even though the doors were closed. Jin finally had enough and pulled Kyoya's arm off of her, "That was mean, you guys. What did they do to deserve that?"

The brunette tried to walk away but Kyoya quickly grabbed her unbroken wrist, "Jin, you don't understand."

"Then explain it to me! Don't expect me or Haru to go along with everything you guys say all the time, because in case you've forgotten; sometimes Tamaki's plans do pan out. He's not as dumb as you all think he is."

"Of course he's not, Jin-chan!"

"We weren't saying that!"

"Yeah! It's just the Newspaper Club we don't trust!"

"And why is that? Is it some sort of rivalry?"

Kyoya sighed and released the girl, pushing his glasses up, "I suppose you could say that. In the past, Komatsuzawa-senpai has made it clear that he is not the Host Club's biggest fan, or Tamaki's. In fact, he appears to have a certain vendetta against him."

Honey climbed up his cousin's shoulders, "Aki-chan became the club's president last year when the eldest member went away to study abroad in Italy. That was when the paper became more of a tabloid. I'd heard that he was always getting pressured by his father, who runs the Komatsuzawa publishing firm in Tokyo, to make the Ouran paper even more popular to prove he could run the paper when he graduated college."

"But when he failed and he was passed over for his younger brother…"

"And some else grew in popularity at Ouran…"

"He thought he found his reason."

Jin tapped her toes, "So… it was a 'correlation not causation' thing? And now Komatsuzawa-senpai hates the Host Club? And Tamaki?"

"Tamaki? Don't you want to change out of that outfit? We could all go home early." The blond didn't look away from his ball, lower lip sticking out. Jin rolled her eyes, "Fine, be that way." She ignored the whimpers coming from behind her as she went to stand by Kyoya.

"Any luck?"

"He's being stubborn."

"Hm. He must've learned it from you."

"Watch it, Glasses."

They watched him for another moment or two, but he didn't even look at them. Haruhi was the first one of them to sigh, "Look, as much as I hate to give in first, how bad could it be to help the Newspaper club with one story? Besides, even if they write something bad about us, no one's going to read it, remember?"

"Hey!"

"Since when are you taking his side?"

"Since never."

Jin shrugged, "I agree with Haru. There's a very slim possibility anything negative will happen to our club if we go along with this. Besides, they know they've only got one shot to keep their club open, so maybe they'll actually try."

"Oh, not you, too. I thought you'd be the voice of reason."

"Who says I'm not?"

"Nēchan, as much as I enjoy watching your unintentional flirting with the guy who controls our debt, I feel like we should make a decision pretty soon or else Tamaki-senpai is going to start using his 'Puppy-dog' eyes. And Nēchan, if you're already on board with helping the Newspaper club then there isn't anyone here he can't convince with them."

The twins rolled their eyes, "Yeah, right. We'd like to see him tr-" Tamaki flashed his eyes over to their group for a split second, effectively cutting them off. Everyone in the room was now staring at the blond by the window.

He looked over at them again, eyes somehow wider and more 'begging' looking than usual.

That's them right there….

Tamaki went back to staring at the ball. Back again.

Puppy-dog eyes…

"Mm?"

…

"There will be some conditions."

Jin giggled at Tamaki's cute bark, gently leaning against Kyoya's side, " There. Giving in isn't so bad after all, hm? " The soft pinch to her side was answer enough.

"The outline for their story will be submitted by us, and Jin will be our representative during the final edit. One on one interviews are strictly prohibited and are only allowed if I am present for overviewing. And the identities and information of our clients remains confidential. Do you all agree to these terms?"

The twins sighed, "Well, if Kyoya-senpai and Jin-senpai both agree-"

"-then I guess we can't really argue."

"I'll do it if Kyo-chan says it's okay! And if Jin-chan thinks we can trust them then we might as well give 'em a shot!"

Haruhi looked over at her sister who was slipping Kyoya's journal out of his hands to go over how they'd present their terms to the Newspaper club without sounding offensive. Huh. The Shadow King and his Queen. My dream really wasn't that far off then. They are a power couple. I wonder what will happen when everyone else realizes it.

* Time Skip *

"Do you agree to our terms?"

"Absolutely. If you allow us to cover you we will follow your rules to the letter! Thank you for this opportunity."

"Very well. You may start tomorrow. We have prepared our events for the evening to coexist with your presence."

"Excellent."

Kyoya regarded the boy seated in front of him, "Have you gone to the nurse's office for that bump on your forehead, yet?"

"No. The headaches receded and I didn't feel the need."

"Hm. Well, we are still truly sorry that it happened. Here," he pushed a small medical kit onto the desk, "this is a first-aid kit made by my family's company. Think of it as an apology for the nasty way our clubs came together."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

"That's good to hear. Please excuse me, I must head home now."

Kyoya turned back towards the door, pleased that the exchange had gone well when a voice stopped him, "Hold on, Ootori-san, I have one quick question before you leave."

"Yes?"

"Why is Ms. Fujioka in charge of our final edit? I would've assumed you would have taken that position."

The ravenet allowed for a genuine smile to appear on his face, "Because while our classes have enhanced our professional writing skills, Ms. Fujioka is quite talented in creative writing. She won third place in a national essay contest when she was merely twelve years old and her brother has claimed that she is a 'walking spell-check'. I imagine that these skills would be more help to you than mine."

"Hm, I see. She does sound like a true interesting specimen… I can't wait to work with her. I do hope that we get along well." Akira couldn't help but notice how Kyoya's shoulders had tensed up and smiled, "Oh, don't mistake my friendliness for flirtation like your guests do. Ms. Jin simply seems like a very fascinating person, very beautiful too… but I highly doubt such an amazing young woman has been at Ouran for this long without finding someone ."

Kyoya slowly turned back to face the club president, "That is where you'd be wrong. Jin is quite unattached, and it would appear she wishes to remain that way."

"Hm… and would you be speaking from experience?"

The boy turned and started walking away, "No, I just know my friends very well. Please excuse me."

Slam!

"...Sir? Were you attempting to anger Ootori-san just now?"

"Mr. President, that might not have been a wise move."

Akira scoffed, "This is why I'm the president of the club and you are my underlings. Clearly Ootori has a thing for Ms. Fujioka, but he's been shot down. Now that he knows I know, he won't say a word to Suoh in fear I'll let his secret out."

"But Sir, why would Suoh care?"

"Be cause Jin Fujioka is the most beautiful girl on campus. Tamaki Suoh has probably had his eyes set on her since she set foot here. After all, he believes he is entitled to the best of everything, so he would believe that the two most popular students should be together. And if he found out that his number 2 man was making doe-eyes at his claim? We wouldn't need to print out the story for it to become a school-wide scandal. And just so we're clear… the next time either of you two wish to question my methods, please remember that it would only take one phone call from me to eliminate all ties between our family's publishing firms. Have I made myself clear? "

Chikage and Tomochika bowed their heads, "Yes… Mr. President."

"The Daruma doll fell o...ver! The Da-ru-ma doll fell o-ver! The Daruma doll fell over!"

Tamaki groaned in frustration and started repeating the sentence faster and faster, whipping his head around trying to catch some sort of movement. Finally he saw an arm twitch.

"I saw you move Hikaru and Kaoru! I saw you! I saw you!"

"No you didn't! No you didn't!"

Jin was trying her hardest not to laugh, which was really hard with Kyoya standing right behind her skillfully poking at her back in such a way that the parts of him visible to Tamaki were still. Her hips shifted just as Tamaki pranced off to talk with the newspaper club boys.

"You're a jerk, Glasses."

"Can you blame me for trying to win?"

"This is che-EEating! Stop it!"

Kyoya's grey eyes glinted with humor, "Hm… are you ticklish, Jin?"

"Kyoya… don't you dAH! KYOYA!" Giving up all pretenses of playing the game, the ravenet shot his hands forward and started tickling the brunette girl in earnest, who shrieked with laughter. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered exactly when in his life had he started indulging in such ridiculous activities because he wanted to and not because someone (read: Tamaki) had worn him down. And he was actually enjoying himself.

"Kyoya! You moved first! That means you have to stand up with me now!"

The boy sighed, his wriggling fingers stopping just long enough for the giggling girl to escape his grasp, "Fine."

Jin was crouched behind her sister, still giggling as she slowly recovered from the surprise attack. Despite herself, Haruhi smiled. While she was still on the fence about the whole Jin and Kyoya thing, it was nice seeing her sister so happy and having fun.

"Excuse me, Mr. and Ms. Fujioka? Would you mind if I asked you two a few questions?" Akira smiled in what he probably thought was a winning fashion, but the sisters could see the annoyance and desperation hiding beneath those white teeth.

Jin frowned, "If I recall correctly, I believe that all interviews without Kyoya around to monitor are prohibited?"

"Oh? They are? I apologize, I must've misunderstood. I was under the impression that only one-on-one interviews were forbidden, and that I would be able to conduct a joint-interview of the most popular siblings on campus."

"Well, glad to clarify. Now, if you'll excuse us, I think our next game is about to begin."

The two began walking away as Akira called out, "I'm surprised that the two of you are so into this kind of stuff. After all, they are children's games. You two seem far too intelligent to indulge in such… senselessness. It seems like Suoh must've done something drastic to get you two to agree to such mindless games." He quietly pressed the record button on the tape recorder behind his back as the siblings stopped.

"Well, I am a little bored right now, but at the same time it's fun being here with these guys. I didn't think I would ever play these games again, but how about it?"

"Uh huh. And what about you, Jin? I bet Suoh took a long time getting you to agree to this?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. I'm having a really fun time right now! I didn't play a lot of these games when I was younger, I was always too busy with other things, so I'm glad to have the opportunity to play them now. Especially with Haru."

The tall brunette looped her arm over Haruhi's shoulders and lead her away to where the boys were still playing. Kyoya raised a questioning eyebrow, but Jin waved away his worry. Even though their answers had probably been recorded, they hadn't given away anything that would reflect badly on the club or Tamaki. She just wished that she could've told Haruhi what was really going on…

"Next we're playing what Americans call, 'Kick the Can'! And you're 'it', okay, Kyoya?"

"If I must be."

"Staaaaaarliiiiiight KICK!"

The poor blue can went streaming past Akira, making him let out a rather embarrassing high pitched scream. Jin laughed as she raced across the courtyard. She knew where she was supposed to 'hide', she just had to wait for the can to stop moving. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tamaki take her sister's hand and pull her through an opening in the hedges and she smiled.

Kyoya crouched down by the can and began counting. That was her cue, so Jin began running down the path that lead back to the building the newspaper club was in. About halfway between the two places, she stopped beside a large Wisteria tree. The hanging purple, pink, white, and blue flowers were so lovely she just stared for a moment.

That's enough admiration for now. Let's get to work.

* With Tamaki and Haruhi *

"It's a good thing you made Kyoya-senpai 'it', Tamaki-senpai, or else there's no way anyone would find us."

"Bark! Bark!"

"Okay, now you're just messing with me. But, since we have some time on our hands, I wanted to say thank you."

Tamaki dropped the dog act immediately at Haruhi's somber tone, "Really? Why?"

"Because… you made Nēchan really happy today. She never got to really play these types of games when she was a kid."

"Oh? Did her friends live too far away?"

"Not really. Nēchan didn't have many friends in grade school, at least none who were in her own grade. And that was mostly my fault."

"Your… fault?"

The brunette nodded, "When my mom died, Nēchan really took on a mother-like role in my life. She cooked for me when Dad was working late. She and I went shopping together. She helped me with my homework. She made sure that I had the childhood she believed I deserved… but that meant she never really allowed herself to enjoy it herself. It was because of me that Nēchan never got to be a kid. But now she has friends that she sees every day, everyone likes her, no one is bullying her for being intelligent, and she even has the opportunity to play these simple games. I don't think you can comprehend how much this means to her… and me. So, thank you."

Tamaki smiled softly, "Wow… I guess me and your sister have more in common than we knew."

"Hm?"

"My mom… when I was growing up she was always really sick. I'd stay inside most days, playing the piano for her or reading or just staying by her side. I didn't have many friends in grade school either, and some of the crueler children would make fun of me because I was a halfer or because I didn't have any parents for 'Bring your parent to school' day. It wasn't easy, but I'm here now with all of you… and, as it turns out, there's also someone who can understand what I went through unlike anyone else. Do you think that Jin would mind talking about it with me?"

Haruhi had gaped at the blond during his whole story. This sunshine-and-ice-cream-world boy had gone through that? She hadn't known that could be possible. So, he's not an idiot… he's just doing his best to see the world as a brighter place than he knows it to be.

"You know, I think she'd like that. We sometimes talk about it, but I always feel like we just scratch the surface. And we always break the conversation whenever a certain question comes up… and it's not like we can avoid it during that kind of talk."

"... What question?"

Haruhi sighed, leaning over the stone to rest her chin on her arms, "How different would my life have been if my mom had lived?"

Tamaki leaned back in his seat, "That is a fairly loaded question. But… speaking of loaded questions I have one for you."

"Hm?"

"You've been a little… short with Kyoya lately. Is something wrong?"

"Ah!" The girl turned away, pulling her hands back into her lap, "There's nothing wrong! I just… he's just been… how do I… uh…"

"Do you think Kyoya and Jin have fallen for each other?"

"..."

* With Jin *

Jin shifted on her perch, the rough bark digging into the soft skin behind her knees. Sighing, she leaned slightly to her left, pulling her skirt up and under her leg. Where is he?

Click. Click. Click.

Freezing in place, Jin looked down from her tree branch. Standing beneath her on the sidewalk, Kyoya stared up at her.

"Found you."

"Seems you have."

Inching her way forward, Jin slid off the branch and fell back down to the ground. She brushed her skirt off, picking away at the few slivers of bark that had lodged themselves into the fabric. The boy beside her watched with curiosity.

"While I commend you for your choice of hiding spot, I must ask how you managed to get yourself up there with only one hand."

"Are you kidding? I've been climbing trees for years. With branches so close to the ground, it was really easy, even with only one hand to help me out. Let's go." The two continue on their way, spotting a pair of boys with red hair a ways ahead of them. "Want to run your plan by me again?"

"We will confront the Newspaper Club in a private location and set the record straight regarding Tamaki and his reasons behind creating the Host Club. If Komatsuzawa-senpai does not see reason, then we shall, how do the American's put it, 'hustle' them?"

Jin snorted, "I feel like I should've recorded you saying that."

"I'm glad I amuse you. And what do you think of the plan?"

"It's solid. But I think you should also try to be clear with them that even though you could ruin their names, you wouldn't. And neither would Tamaki. But…" the brunette reached up to tug at a lock of hair, "I wish we could've involved Haru in this."

"It's not your fault Tamaki dragged her away."

"Fair." The two had entered the building and were now walking up a flight of stairs. The room they were heading for was on the 2nd floor. Kyoya held the door open for his companion before continuing down the hallway.

"Jin, I want you to be on your guard when we're talking to Komatsuzawa-senpai. I think he fancies you."

"I was afraid of that… why do the weird ones always want me? Ukyo-san or Sakyo-san I could've handled, at least they're nice. But Komatsuzawa-senpai? Ugh!"

"You really think the other two are nice?"

"Well, yeah. They seem less shifty than their 'President'. I have a feeling they're only following along with him because of their family's companies. Didn't you write down in your journal that their families are employed by the Komatsuzawa printing firm?"

"Yes… but I still believe that you are far too kind to people, Jin. Sometimes there is no good beneath the surface."

They stop just outside a pair of double doors. 'Newspaper Club' is written on the sign hanging above them.

"There was with you."

Kyoya's eyes widened as Jin pushed open the doors, walking inside to find a perch on the newspapers stacked to her right. In front of them were the twins, already settled in on the desk and just waiting for them to show up. They stared at their Vice-president who remained frozen out in the hallway until their 3rd-year club members popped up behind him, bringing all three of them into the room and shutting the doors behind them.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked across the room where Jin was sitting with her legs crossed and her eyes trained on the doors.

" Did you hear that? "

" Yeah… no wonder Boss thinks there's something going on. "

" You don't think… "

" ...that he's right… "

" ...do you? "

" Everyone be quiet! They're coming! "

The six of them quickly shut up, turning to face the door. From somewhere down the hallway a bit, three distinct voices were shouting at each other. There was one that was clearly angrier than the others. Komatsuzawa.

"I will expose Tamaki Suoh for the twit he is!" The doors burst open. The twins smirked at the looks of shock they were faced with.

"So…"

"We were right all along…"

The 3rd year gritted his teeth, "You two… how'd you get up here so quick?"

"Oh, that's not the question you should be concerned with."

"Yeah, you should be asking what will happen if you threaten Tamaki."

"Because if you do… there will be consequences."

"I… you… how dare -"

"Did you really think that having the Hitachiin, Morinozuka, Haninozuka, and Ootori families as you enemy would be a good idea?"

Akira stumbled backwards at the threat, "I… knew it! Suoh is holding his family name over your heads! You're nothing but his protection service!"

"No , you've got it all wrong." He spun to his left, where Honey, Mori, and Kyoya were standing in the shadows, "We hang out with Tama-chan because he's our friend! We all love him and enjoy being around him."

Kyoya smirked and leaned back against the newspapers piled up behind him, "After all… he may be a hopeless idiot, but even so..."

Jin tilted her head, "He's our idiot." The boys all smile, remembering the very first time they'd met the spastic blond. Who would've thought...

"I can't believe it. I can understand how they would want to be close to the Suoh family… and all the power that comes with that name, but you , Fujioka? I expected better from you!"

"Better?" Jin gracefully jumped down from her seat and walked out of the shadows a little bit, "I fail to see how I could find anything better than this. All I've seen and heard all day were a couple of friends having a good time and standing by each other. I may not have known Tamaki for as long as the others, but I do know that he is a good person. He's kind, thoughtful, and is always looking out for others, especially if they need someone. I think it takes a special person to be able to touch all the lives he's made an impact on, idiot or not, and you need to stop trying to hurt someone who's done nothing but love and accept people since he's arrived at this school!"

For a split second, the host club and two thirds of the newspaper club think she finally struck a chord with Akira. His face is blanketed with surprise and he doesn't speak for a moment.

Then his expression turns thunderous, "I can't believe it… he's tricked you, too! You know, I actually had some hope that you hadn't fallen for that moron like every other shallow girl at this school, but I suppose finding a host club regular with actual intelligence was a little too much to-"

He doesn't get to finish his thought, because Jin decided to punch him in the nose.

As the boy shouts out curses from behind his cupped hands, Jin shakes out her right hand, "One, never insult my intelligence like that ever again. Two, I am not in the host club because the boys are cute. And three, pull that selfish, ego-inflated head of yours out of your ass, turn your attitude way down , and please realize that the world doesn't revolve around you and your problems. Just because things haven't gone the way you planned doesn't mean the universe owes you an apology."

Akira screamed once more, pulling his hands away and checking for blood. Finding that there wasn't any, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'LL RUIN ALL OF YOU! YOU'LL RUE THIS DAY!" Jin rolled her eyes, noticing that the two 2nd years of the newspaper club had yet to rush to their president's aid.

"Go ahead, if you want to." Kyoya walked over to the first aid kit that was between the twins, "But, what do you think we should do about this little recording? You know... the one that's been here since yesterday?" He pulled a small disk out from the bottom of the kit, turning it in different ways to catch the light shining through the window.

Akira finally fell to his knees, staring up at the other glasses wearing boy who suddenly bared down on him, "Let me explain this to you. While the Ootori group and Hitachiin family alone could remove your father from his position as president from the Komatsuzawa printing firm, we would never do such a thing. We are not like you. You would do well to remember this." He looked up at the two other boys, "As for you two… I have a feeling you have some very different ideas about the stories a school newspaper should print. Please clean up his mess."

Chikage and Tomochika nodded firmly, shoulders set and backs straight, "Ootori-san, we would like to request permission to still print off an edition starring the Host Club… using your outline, of course."

Kyoya smirked, "We'd be honored."

The host left quickly after that, heading back down to the courtyard to find the other two members.

"Nice job with punching him in the face, Jin-senpai."

"Yeah, that was great."

"Eh. He had it coming. Maybe I knocked the stupid part out."

Kyoya notices her still shaking out her hand, "Did you injure yourself again? "

"No, I stayed away from the bone. His nose may bruise but I didn't break anything. My hand just aches a bit. They say 'Never hit a man with a closed fist' but it is, on occasion, hilarious."

" So~ "

" You think we're cute~ "

Jin closes her eyes in a suffering way, pushing the twins arms off of her, "No, not all of you."

Her eyes flickered across the face of the boy walking beside her and thought with a small blush, Some of you are hot .

* Time Skip *

"I found you~"

Tamaki and Haruhi's heads jerked up, seeing the rest of the club standing in front of the gazebo they'd been hiding in. The blond ran out of the cement structure and looked around.

"Hey, where'd the Newspaper club go?"

"They said they got enough information to write their article, so they left."

"Oh, really? Well, I'm glad they got what they came for! That's good news!"

"Yeah. Aki-chan's even going to let Tomo-chan and Chi-chan write the article all by themselves! I bet their families are going to be proud of all of them! Let's celebrate with some Victory Cake!"

Jin chuckled as the club glossed over the rougher details for Tamaki's sake, looking at the many different rose colors they were passing by. Clearly a few of their guests had come through and moved some of the colors closer through the hedges. There was a light blue and orange pairing for the twins, a dark blue and pink for the cousins, red and white for Haru and Tamaki, and… a green and purple rose twinned together. She blushed and looked forward again.

"Hey, Kyoya-senpai?"

"Yes?"

"Is the Suoh family a really big deal around here? I got a feeling that Komatsuzawa-senpai wasn't a really big fan of Tamaki and his family…"

"Well, they mainly deal in corporate financing, but they do own much of the high-class real estate in Japan. And they've had a hand in school management. Ouran Academy, incidentally."

"Woah, really?"

Jin leaned in to their conversation, "Didn't you read your scholarship form? Tamaki's father signed off on it. Mine too. He's the chairman of the board here at Ouran. And it's because of their family's money that we're getting any financial aid at all."

Haruhi froze, "W-wait… so Tamaki-senpai… is the chairman's son? "

"Haruhi~ hurry it up or you're going to get lost again~"

The brunette whined, but was cut off when her sister gave her a smile, "Want a piggyback ride back in?"

She tilted her head. Her sister was thinking about something that pleased her. Does it have something to do with the green and purple roses we just passed by? I wonder if Kyoya found her first during this game? Well... if Tamaki thought they'd be a good couple even before I did... then how bad would it be for me to share her from time to time? Of course, as long as Kyoya remembers who she belonged to first...

"Of course I do, Nēchan. You always know exactly what I need."