Author's Notes: Well, I wanted to get this chapter out during the New Year and greet you guys with it but I guess I'll have to settle for February. Hope everyone had a good holiday and are enjoying 2020!

Happy (Late) New Year!

I bring you guys, yet, another chapter for my story. 3 years, huh? And I'm still not done… Wow. I have such respect for people who are able to make and finish such high quality writing in a year or less. I have only the utmost respect for those guys. And thanks to everyone who's still sticking with me!

(Side Note: Remember *.~.* represents a "screensaver" moment.)

Enjoy.

Kagome took a shaky breath as she tried to keep herself from wringing the neck of the blonde teen in front of her. "Let me just recap what you've told me."

She kept her head down, trying not to look at Tamaki for fear she might snap just by seeing his unnecessarily concerned face.

"You called me...woke me up...at 8 a.m in the morning. On a Sunday. You said, and I quote, 'Kagome, no time to explain!'" Kagome mockingly imitated. "'It's an emergency! Meet us in town, we'll pick you up and explain everything on the way there. It's URGENT!'"

Tamaki sunk his fingers into the car's leather upholstery, fearful of the venom dripping off of Kagome's every word.

She took another deep breath before continuing, cupping her hands on her forehead.

"I told you where to meet me, threw on my nearest clothes and rushed out as fast as I could. A car drives up to me and the window rolls down where I see everyone else is here too. I think, 'Oh no. This must be serious.'" She lightly laughed to herself at the genuine anxiety she'd held minutes before. But now, that feeling was long gone. "I get in the car and you tell me, all with a serious expression, that you had a dream that Haruhi was living in a rodent infested, germ ridden dirt mound with no food or water. And said that we needed to go over to her house and save her from her life of poor squalor."

She finally looked up and locked eyes with the feverishly perspiring boy.

"Is that correct? Am I missing anything?" She asked, giving him an empty smile.

"Well I..." Tamaki tried to speak but his mouth had quickly run dry. They could barely make out what sounded to be incoherent mumbling under his breath.

Her smile vanished and her eyes narrowed at him. "I'm such an idiot." She laughed at herself again. "I don't know why I ever take you seriously anymore."

There was silence in the back of the car. All of the other hosts awkwardly sat in the immensely uncomfortable atmosphere. No one knew what to say nor were they sure there was anything they could say to remedy the situation. There was a wordless pact amongst everyone to stay clear of putting any attention on themselves.

"The only thing keeping me from hurting you right now is because your blood would stain my white shirt." Kagome said aloud.

They didn't think it was possible, but the air in the car was even more tense than it had been before.

The car came to a gradual stop and before the driver could tell them they had arrived, the twins were already hurriedly jumping out.

"Wait! Let me out first!" Tamaki yelled, scrambling for the door behind the two.

As the others began to file out, Mori looked over to see Kagome hadn't moved an inch.

"Kagome."

She didn't acknowledge him.

He put his hand on her shoulder, waking her from the anger-induced stupor she'd fallen into. "Come on." He gently tugged her arm, signaling her to follow him.

It took a moment before she let him guide her out the vehicle. As they got out she straightened her outfit. She was wearing an off one shoulder white shirt, a black wide strap tank along with her signature necklace. Her skinny jeans were magenta and the sneakers she'd thrown on were white and black. The entire outfit was only a smidgen of everything Kagome and Kimi had gotten on their shopping day after they'd realized the lack of clothes Kagome could wear in public given her current situation.

Kagome was surprised her clothes resembled an outfit. She'd hurriedly put on anything her hand first touched in her closet because Tamaki claimed it was… Kagome grit her teeth. 'Urgent.' She thought, replaying the entire scenario in her head.

Meanwhile, as Kagome silently fumed to herself, the others surveyed the apartment building in front of them.

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Haruhi happily hummed to herself as she walked back home from town.

'What a sale. There's no better time to go to the supermarket than on a Sunday morning.' She thought with a pleased smile. 'Now all I have to do when I get home is-'

As she got closer to her apartment complex, she could hear and see a group of people chattering right outside of her building.

"Huh?" She stopped, curious as to what everyone was circled around.

In front of the gate were seven horribly familiar people.

'No…' She thought.

"So this is where she lives?" Hikaru asked.

"It's bigger than I thought it'd be." His brother commented.

"This building is what you might call an aggregate commoner dwelling." Kyoya corrected them. "Haruhi only lives in one of the many units of the building."

Tamaki continued to pace back and forth worriedly. None of the others were taking this as seriously as he was.

"Kyoya!" He turned him around to face him. "Why did you suggest we invite them!? I knew we should have just left them!"

Kagome crossed her arms and lowly growled as she watched Tamaki continue to openly badmouth them in front of their faces. "Maybe Inuyasha knows a good way to get blood out of clothes." She muttered to herself.

Suddenly, there was a low but distinct metal clang behind her.

"Huh?" Kagome looked over to see a very annoyed Haruhi with her head smacked against a metal pole.

'Why in the world are they here?' Haruhi groaned and closed her eyes, partially hoping this was all a bad dream. "So much for a quiet and productive Sunday."

She heard a rustling sound and when she opened her eyes again she saw Kagome standing there, picking up the grocery bags she'd dropped on the ground.

Kagome looked at her. "Morning." She simply greeted her.

"Oh...Hey, Kagome." Haruhi said.

She followed behind Kagome as they walked towards the hosts who were still being ogled by an ever growing crowd of people.

Tamaki turned around with a determined look and pointed at his fellow club members. "Now, remember men. We are not here to judge the Fujioka family's lifestyle. The words shabby, cramped and run-down are absolutely forbidden!"

"Yes sir!" Honey and the twins saluted him.

Kagome coughed into her hand in an attempt to stop him before he said something unnecessary again.

They turned around to see a fuming brunette literally shaking in anger. "Go away." She sternly told them.

"Haruhi…" Tamaki said, surprised.

"That pink dress is really cute." The blonde duo and the twins gave her a thumbs up.

"Shut up. Get the hell out of here!" Haruhi yelled at them.

Tamaki loudly gasped with a painfully shocked expression. "Haruhi's so mad she actually cursed at us!"

Kagome held in a faint snicker at Tamaki's pained face. She glanced at the irritated girl beside her. "For whatever it's worth, the dress really does look cute on you." She complimented her.

"Thanks." Haruhi tried to politely say but still did it through clenched teeth.

"Excuse me, Haruhi." A visibly worried older woman tapped her on the shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh. Hi Miss Landlady."

The woman whispered in her ear. "You're friends are so flashy and have such fancy cars. They-they're not yakuza, are they?" She stuttered.

Tamaki lightly ushered Haruhi to the side before she could answer and took the woman's hands in his. "Please to meet you, ma'dam."

"Ugh." Kagome gagged at the sickeningly sweet princely charm he was radiating.

"I'm a friend of Haruhi's." He introduced himself.

The woman blushed. "Oh my. Is that so? Well, you are so adorable." Her attitude took a complete 180 from the fearful concern she'd held moments before.

"And~ he's got her." Haruhi and Kagome both sighed.

"We only came to stop by." He flipped the hair out of his face, kneeling down to her height. "I'm sorry if we created any trouble for you."

"Oh no no no. You're no trouble at all." She giggled. "Haruhi, I'll stop by with some snacks for your friends." She bashfully laughed as she walked away. "See you later~"

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Haruhi pulled out her apartment key. "Okay. Here's the deal. I'll let you guys come in but only a quick peek. Then you go home. Got it?"

Before she opened the door, Honey held a small bag up for her to see. "Look, Haru-chan. We brought gifts! I know how much you like cake. There's chocolate and strawberry!"

Haruhi sighed. "Fine." She conceded, turning back around to put her key in. "I'll make some tea."

They held their breath as she opened the door.

Tamaki glanced hurriedly around the area and relaxed when it was far better than what he'd envisioned in his dream.

"Hm. A wood paneled two bedroom apartment. Quite common for a two person household." Kyoya said.

Kaoru snorted. "Haruhi's so short, at least we don't have to worry about her banging her head on the low ceilings."

"I think Haru-chan's house is really cute!" Honey said.

Haruhi's eyebrow twitched. "You don't have to force yourselves to say something good about it."

Honey looked down at the pair of shoes in front of the door. "Oh. Should we take our shoes off too?"

"Oh. Yes, if you wouldn't mind."

Honey laughed. "Whoa! Did you hear that?! We take our shoes off. It's kind of like going to the dojo, huh?" He directed to Mori.

"Yeah." He answered.

Haruhi tried not to listen as they freely began discussing their inspections of her home shamelessly between one another.

"Where are the slippers?"

"Wait, the floor is covered with tatami mats."

"Oh, then we don't need them."

"Well, thanks for inviting us in." Honey and the twins said as they walked further into the apartment.

"Thanks." Mori said.

"It's greatly appreciated."

"Yes, thank you Haruhi."

She watched them with a dull look as they walked by her.

"Wow. This room's so small!" Honey said in fascination.

"Uh, Takashi?" Kagome called to him. "Watch out for the-"

"Ow."

"Be careful! There's just a light bulb hanging from the ceiling." One of the twins said.

As Kagome walked in, she handed the groceries back to Haruhi. As she took them, she looked at her and comfortingly patted her arm. "I'm so sorry." Kagome apologized preemptively.

They both knew whatever was going to happen next during this trip was not going to be fun.

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Kagome blinked at the group of hosts who were hugging their knees to themselves around the dinner table.

"What are you idiots doing?"

"We're sitting gym style as to conserve space. It's a very popular commoner technique." Tamaki explained. "You should try it as well, Kagome."

"Right…" She trailed off. Kagome looked over to Mori who was, to her surprise, playing along with their antics.

She scrunched her eyebrows at him with a confused look, wordlessly asking "What are you doing?"

He shrugged.

Kagome scratched her head. "Whatever." She said. "Haruhi, can I use your bathroom?"

"Kagome!" Tamaki jumped up and covered Kagome's mouth. "What are you doing?!"

"Wah er you doihn?" Kagome tried to say with her widened eyes looking up at the blonde.

"You can't assume Haruhi's home has a bathroom!"

"Wait, is that really a possibility?!" The twins asked.

"What if we need to use the toilet or...or" Kaoru said.

Kagome grabbed his wrist and pushed him away. "You're being ridiculous. Of course they'll have a bathroom. Can't you stop making a fool of yourself for two seconds?" She wiped her mouth. "Unbelievable."

"You know" Tamaki dramatically turned away with teary eyes. "words hurt, Kagome. They really hurt."

"Uh-huh. I'll start worrying about your feelings when you start to act like a competent person." Kagome blandly told him, not affected by his wet eyes.

"I just don't understand why he's so mean to me." He mumbled to himself, a black aura surrounding him.

Kagome clenched her fists. "If you actually took the time to listen you'd understand! I just explained why!" Kagome yelled.

Haruhi walked back into the room from the kitchen, blocking out Kagome's screams and Tamaki's sobbing. As long as they didn't break anything she didn't particularly care about their bickering.

Her eyes landed onto an orange and yellow paper bag the twins had in front of them. "What's that?"

The twins turned to her. "It's black tea that our father brought back from Africa as a souvenir."

"It's best served as milk tea. Do you have milk?"

"Um. I think so." She put her finger to her lips. "When was the last time that I bought milk?" Haruhi asked herself.

Tamaki whipped his head around, completely back to normal, and grabbed the twins by the neck. "What the hell are you doing?!" He loudly whispered to them.

"What the fuck! You weren't listening to me at all were you?" Kagome yelled again. She could feel the anger bubbling inside of her. She was one insult away from popping.

She felt a hand on her back and looked over to see Mori beside her.

"Sit down with us." He didn't wait for an answer and immediately started directing her towards the table, letting her sit between him and Honey. However, Honey seemed a little more preoccupied with the bag of sweets sitting next to him. The struggle on his face to restrain the sugar-craved monster inside of him was painfully obvious.

Kagome still had her arms crossed with an unsatisfied look over the fact she'd once again been interrupted before she could allow her malicious intents to become reality.

'He always steps in when I'm about to hit my limit.' She thought to herself, slightly angry she wasn't able to let loose and go off on Tamaki.

It wasn't that she typically cared for fighting, but there was only so much one person could take. And she'd noticed, ever since she'd began to learn to fend for herself over her travels, even before Sesshomaru had properly began training her, her temper had gotten worse. Admittedly though, it had still been rather easy to irritate her before she turned fifteen. But now with a certain someone always looking over her shoulder, she noticed she'd began to miss the satisfaction that came after winning a fight whether verbal or physical. He'd always stop her right before she could do any damage.

'Am I really that easy to read?' She thought, dispirited.

"He doesn't do it on purpose."

Kagome looked up at Mori, who'd suddenly began to speak.

"He jumps to conclusions because he wholeheartedly believes in his instincts, he makes impulsive decisions when he suspects a loved one needs help and is overly benevolent to anyone who he thinks needs aid without regard to what others think." He looked at her. "But in a way, aren't those also redeeming qualities?"

"I.." Kagome looked away and sighed, bringing up her legs and hugging them towards her. "I know." She mumbled.

She took a second to think and grumbled to herself.

"That's no fair." She told him.

He looked at her, confused.

"Using logic and reason like that to make a point…" She turned her head to him, her cheek resting on her knees. "What am I supposed to do with all of this aggression now?" She joked.

He blinked at her for a second before turning away, a small but still visibly amused smile on his face.

It wasn't much but it was enough to give her a small sense of victory. She enjoyed seeing him make an expression apart from his usual emotionless blank stare. It almost seemed like an accomplishment for her to watch as he became more comfortable around them all. It felt...good.

Haruhi placed a tea cup in front of each of them. "Here's the tea, guys. Sorry. The cups don't all match."

"Go on Haru-chan! You can choose your cake first." Honey smiled.

She sat on the long end of the table nearest to Mori. "Are you sure, Honey-senpai?" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah, go on. We eat this kind of stuff all the time. After all, we're rich." Hikaru told her.

His brother and Tamaki shushed him, scolding him behind Haruhi's back.

"Sorry sorry! I was trying to be considerate."

"Well, if that's the case…" Haruhi thought. "I'll take the strawberry."

"She's so cute." The three of them said.

"I wish we could tell her how cute she is but I can't tell what might offend her!" Tamaki complained, conflicted.

"Traps of the commoner's world are terrifying!"

Kagome laughed and put her hand on Haruhi's head. "Of course you picked strawberry. How cute."

"I don't see what's so cute about it." Haruhi said.

The three hosts gasped.

"Boss, does this mean we're allowed to say stuff like that too?"

"I...I don't know!" Tamaki gripped his hair in frustration. "This world is so confusing."

Kagome took a bite from the chocolate cake on her plate. 'Wow. It's really good." She thought, immediately taking another bite.

Mori picked up a strawberry with his fork and placed it on Haruhi's plate. "You like strawberries, right? You can have mine."

Kagome watched him as he continued to move all of the fruit onto her plate and held down a snicker. She could practically feel the outrage Tamaki and the twins were directing onto Mori. 'Serves him right.' Kagome thought, seeing Tamaki's immediate displeasure.

She turned to Mori to jokingly congratulate him on a job well done for pissing them off.

Haruhi smiled brightly at him. "Thanks! That's really sweet of you Mori-senpai."

He unconsciously gave her a sweet smile. "Hm."

"Why didn't we think of that?!" The twins cried.

"I should be the one sharing strawberries with her!" Tamaki banged his hand on the floor until it turned red.

Mori couldn't help but think that the three of them were always too serious when it came to Haruhi. They fight about her so openly and yet when they try to talk to her they can't even properly hold a conversation with her. There's no point in sobbing about it if they never make their feelings clear to her. 'Ah. Maybe Kagome's rubbing off on me.' He thought, rubbing his neck.

He looked to his side, expecting to see an entertained Kagome, but was surprised to see an empty spot where he'd last been.

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Kagome turned on the kitchen sink to let the hot water run over her cup. She unmindfully began to trace her fingers over the cup's grooves, trying to get her thoughts together.

'Why did I…'

She couldn't wrap her head around what just happened. Everything had been fine up until a moment ago.

Her mind replayed the recent exchange between Haruhi and Mori, the cute expression on his face, and her chest tightened all over again.

She gripped the pottery tighter in her hand as her eyes narrowed in frustration. 'Why the fuck did that bother me?' Kagome thought, as if asking herself more threateningly would derive an answer. Just a second ago she was thrilled Mori was growing closer to the Host Club. None of it made sense.

A sudden spot of yellow in her vision caught her attention and she looked down to see a curious Honey looking over the sink, watching her hands as she rinsed it.

"Uh…" Her eyebrow raised. "Honey?"

"What are you doing?" Honey asked.

'Shouldn't I be the one asking that?' She thought.

However, his comment made her realize she'd only rinsed it. She'd been so distracted she hadn't actually done anything else. There was a small bottle of dish soap to the side of the sink and what she assumed to be the dishcloth beside it. "I'm washing the cup." Kagome said as she put a dot of soap on the soft cloth and started to clean it.

Honey sharply gasped in surprise. "Are we supposed to do that too?"

"You don't have to. It's just polite to clean up after yourself in another person's home."

"...I want to try." Honey said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Honey ran off before she could say anything and hurriedly scampered back with his cup and empty plate in hand.

Kagome softly laughed at his enthusiasm to clean a few dishes. She ushered the wet cloth to him. "Knock yourself out."

Honey happily took it and began gently scrubbing on the plateware. "I think I'm learning a lot about commoner lifestyles today."

"Glad to hear." Kagome smiled.

"Yep! Takashi and I were super excited to learn more about Haruhi, especially since Takashi gets really interested in small and cute things."

Kagome involuntarily tensed, an uncertain emotion washing over her. "What...do you mean?"

"Oh, Takashi always gets drawn towards stuff that's small and cute, like Haruhi. I don't know if he's noticed that or not."

Her stomach suddenly twisted, nearly making her drop the cup.

Honey noticed her reaction and looked at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

She looked back at him, her hand on her forehead but mustered a smile to put him at ease. "I think I might be coming down with something, but I'm fine. Nothing to worry about."

He bought her answer and didn't question any further. "So, what do I do now?" He asked, looking down at the cup in his hands.

"I'll do it." Kagome told him, her hand held out for the cup.

"Okay!" Honey happily handed it over and quickly ran off as fast as he'd appeared.

Kagome shook her head with a chuckle at Honey's carefreeness. She easily placed the three dishes in the drying rack but found herself still standing there. She leaned over the counter, her head resting in her two hands with a breathy sigh. 'I'm out of sync today.' Kagome thought. The day had barely started and yet she was sure nothing was going to turn around for her.

'Whatever.' She ran her hand through her hair. There was no reason to mull over it.

As she leaned back up, her upper hand banged the underside of the kitchen cabinet and she held a prolonged grunt in her throat. "Son of a..." She whimpered, hitting the counter with a hard thud with her other hand.

There was a clattering sound as the cabinet door above her creaked open. She found herself diving for a plate falling from the cabinet as if it had a death wish. "Fucking hell." Kagome grunted in frustration, the plate safely in her grasp while the other hand throbbed by her side.

"You've got to be kidding me." Kagome grumbled. "Is the world just giving me the middle finger today?" And of course, the stacked dishes inside the cabinet made her hand just out of reach of placing the plate back. No stepping stool in sight.

Kagome continued to curse quietly to herself. "Goddamn cabinets….dumb stomach bug…"

She hoisted herself up onto the counter for her knees to comfortably rest on top. She grabbed the plate and opened the cabinet back.

"...Stupid Tamaki...I'll kick your butt."

As she reached for the cupboard, a hand came from behind her to stop her.

She could feel the weight of their body on her back as they leaned over her to take the plate out of her hands and placed it safely back onto the stack. Their other hand was placed on the edge of the counter on her other side.

Kagome didn't need to look to know who it was. She could easily recognize the type of hold she was in, making her wonder how many times they'd been this close for her to have unknowingly registered the feeling in her memory.

"If you needed help, you should have asked." She could practically feel the rumble in Mori's voice with how close he was to her ear.

Immediately, she could feel the blood rushing to her face. She didn't know how to respond. 'Dammit Kagome! What's wrong with you today? Why can't you be normal for one second?! Get it together."

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Mori looked at the side of Kagome's face. Well, as much as he could see with his long hair in the way. Why wasn't Kagome saying anything? He'd been expecting him to counter back with an "I could have done it myself." or at least defiantly grumble about it.

"Kagome?" He asked, a little more concerned than the first time. His silence was unsettling him. It wasn't like him to not give a retort back.

After a second, he could hear Kagome softly say something but it was too low to understand. Without thinking, he leaned in closer to him. "What?" He asked.

He could tell he mumbled something again but it still wasn't loud enough. Mori gently pulled the barrier of hair behind Kagome's ear and put his hand underneath his chin. "I can't hear you." He told him, slightly turning him so they could see each other.

*.~.*

Mori was slightly shocked when he saw the state he was in. He had no idea why Kagome was so red with embarrassment and refusing to meet his eyes but Mori sure wasn't complaining about it.

Reluctantly however, Kagome's eyes finally drifted to him and Mori found himself holding his breath again.

"Thank you." Kagome quietly said, this time she made it loud enough to hear but just barely.

He had the heavy desire to cup his hand on his cheek and turn him closer to him but, thankfully, he fought it off. However, he couldn't get himself to lean off of Kagome.

He continued to stare at Kagome who was patiently waiting on him, probably thinking he had something else to say given the fact he couldn't get himself to Move. Off. Of. Him.

There was a sudden crash from the room beside them. They were momentarily snapped out of the moment, now readily alert. They simultaneously swiveled themselves to look into the direction of the sound.

'What in the world was that?'

As they rounded the corner, back into the main hallway, they came upon an unexpected scene.

A tall woman with long auburn hair slammed her foot down on Tamaki's back, grinding him into the ground. Tamaki screamed bloody murder as he looked to Haruhi for help.

'What in the…' Kagome thought.

On closer inspection of the violent woman who'd suddenly appeared, it was clear it was actually a transvestite. But what really caught her attention was the hole in the wall with a perfect outline of Tamaki's face in it.

Kagome picked up a piece of rubble from the newly formed crater in the wall. She twirled it around her fingers and took a second glance at the crumbling structure with an impressed look. "Nice." She mumbled to herself.

Mori just stood with a casual attitude. There was no reason to get involved in a fight that didn't concern him in the slightest.

The twins peeped their heads from outside the front door. "What's taking so long?" They asked.

"Hey, check it out. It's that tranny that passed us on the stairwell. Guess that's Haruhi's father."

Tamaki cried out for help. "Hikaru! Kaoru! Please help me out h-"

The twins proceeded to walk on top of his body, holding out their hands to Haruhi's father as they introduced themselves. They shook hands and "apologized" on Tamaki's behalf.

"Sorry about Tamaki. He's a little bit of a lady's man if you catch our drift."

Her father grit his teeth through a smile. "He's a lady's man, huh?"

Tamaki whipped around, fully recovered from being trampled. "No! It's not like that. I care about her!"

The twins and Kagome looked at him in astonishment.

'Is he confessing?'

Tamaki dropped to his knees and bowed his head respectfully at her father. "I'm being completely honest. I truly love her as if she were my own daughter!" He yelled with full conviction.

It was quiet.

Kagome clenched her fist and, before she could think, she threw the rubble in her hand directly at Tamaki's head with a quick wrist flick. He was knocked out cold.

"Ah. He's an idiot." The father whispered under his breath.

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Later

"Oh~ You must be the Host Club I've heard so much about."

Everyone was seated around the dinner table, apart from Tamaki who was in the fetal position, reflecting on his earlier mistakes in a corner alone.

"You're all such a fine batch of young men. I don't know which of you I like best." He looked to Haruhi who was watching Tamaki with a tired yet incredulous look on her face, not aware her father was talking to her. "What about you dear?"

He turned back to the hosts. "I know. How about you boys go ahead and call me Ranka. That's the name I use at the transvestite bar I work at."

"Oh, you mean like a stage name?" Honey innocently asked.

Ranka smiled. "Exactly Mitsukuni."

He tilted his head. "Wait, how did you know my name, sir?"

Ranka gave a cocky 'hmph' with a wide grin. "You two are third years Mitsukuni 'Honey' Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka."

Honey looked at him as if he'd just performed the most amazing magic trick.

Ranka looked to the twins.

And the two of you are first years in the same class as Haruhi. You're the Hitachiin twins. Although I'm not sure who is who. I've heard a lot about you."

"And you." He looked to Kagome. "You're the new first year who is also in the same class as Haruhi. Kagome Higurashi. She's told me everything about you."

Kagome flinched for a second. "Everything?" Kagome asked.

"Everything." He smiled again, giving her a quick wink.

"I-" Kagome stopped herself and instead she chuckled. "Of course she did."

He didn't mention that Haruhi hadn't exactly brought Kagome up at first. She'd wanted to know if he knew any reasons a person would cross-dress even if they didn't particularly enjoy it. He'd had no idea what caused Haruhi to ask such a thing but was able to get her to explain the situation. And he to was curious as to what exactly was going on to cause Kagome to go down such a route. He was glad to get a face to match the name today.

The others looked at one another, hoping one of them could share some insight on what exactly they were referring to. Was there something being kept secret from them?

"So, Haruhi told you about us?" One of the twins asked.

"Not really. Kyoya told me about all of you over the phone."

She turned to Kyoya and locked hands with him.

"You know, you really are a beautiful person, Ranka." Kyoya told him, turning his charm level to eleven.

"Say what?!" Everyone in the room exclaimed.

Tamaki inhumanly stretched his arm out to grab onto Kyoya's shoulder from his current position. "Kyoya…!" He questioned menacingly.

"We've been trusted with the care of his precious daughter." He coolly responded, taking a sip from his teacup. "It's only natural we introduce ourselves and give him periodic reports. Ordinarily, isn't that your job?"

Tamaki was physically jabbed by his words. Ranka began to join in with Kyoya as they continued to relay passive aggressive comments towards the blonde as he was struck by every single one of them.

"You never mentioned this to me dad!" Haruhi yelled at her father. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting calls from Kyoya-senpai?!"

Kagome watched as Ranka exclaimed how cute she was when she was mad and Haruhi walking away from him as he attempted to hug her.

'No wonder she's so good at handling Tamaki.'

"Wait, where are you going?" Ranka pouted as Haruhi opened the front door.

She looked at them over her shoulder. "I'm going shopping and I'm doing it by myself." She stated and closed the door behind her.

"Wait! We want to go to the commoner supermarket with you too." The twins shouted.

Ranka took a long sip of his tea and put it back down on the table with a happy grin on his face. "Well, now that introductions are out of the way-" He rested his hand under the bottom of his chin with a mischievous expression. "How would you boys like to have a little bit of fun?"

"Oh wow. Look at those guys."

"They're so handsome. Are they shooting a film or something nearby?"

The so called "handsome men" did their best to stay unseen as Haruhi walked down the sidewalk.

"So we're following Haruhi to the supermarket?" The twins peeked from behind a skinny pole.

"This was your idea of fun?" Kyoya asked.

The sunlight glinted off of Ranka's shades. "I call it the stalking game." He told them and gave a thumbs-up.

"It feels like we're dancing on the line on what counts as an arrestable offense." Kagome spoke up. "I'm not sure we should do this…"

"Don't be so yellow-bellied, Kagome." Ranka said.

"I'm not yellow-bellied." Kagome protested. "I'm just not ready to go to jail!"

He hushed her, making Kagome grumble.

"To be perfectly honest…" Ranka straightened his back and put his hand on his hip. "I have a more selfish reason for wanting to bring you out with me today. I want to be seen with a bunch of cute boys!" He proudly proclaimed.

"Sure enough. Tamaki and him are definitely cut from the same cloth." The twins confirmed.

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

"Faster Kaggy!" Honey exclaimed as Kagome ran, swerving him around the aisles in a shopping cart. "Weeeeee!" He squealed.

'It's a good thing not many people are here today.'

Kagome turned down the main center of the store and gave themselves a good running start before she hopped her feet onto the cart's bottom carrier and let the wheels do the work as they zoomed down the pathway.

Kagome smiled with enjoyment as Honey excitedly laughed.

Down the way, she could see Ranka standing behind some stacked boxes placed at the front of an aisle. As they neared him, she could see the look of sadness on his face and her eyes locked onto him even after they'd passed.

"Kaggy!"

Kagome snapped back to see them headed right towards a huge pyramid of cans.

She cursed to herself and dropped her feet down, attempting to stop or at least slow their momentum. She gripped the handlebar as the cart slowed down, the front of the cart making a faint clink sound as it barely touched the pyramid.

They both sighed in relief as they narrowly avoided the crisis that had been set directly in front of them.

"I can't believe we got away with that." Kagome mumbled.

The intercom came to life with a little static before a voice sounded throughout the store. "Attention customers. This is a reminder to please refrain from running in the aisle ways, especially with carts. Thank you."

'Busted' They both thought.

Something pushed the cart away from the aluminum cans and they looked to see Mori looking at them disapprovingly.

'Double busted.'

Kagome coughed in her hand. "Well, I think that's enough fun for me today." She said, letting go of the cart and taking a few steps back.

"Aww." Honey whimpered disappointedly.

"Don't worry." Kagome told him. "I'm sure Takashi will do it for me. I bet he could even go faster than me."

"Really!?" Honey asked ecstatically.

"Yep." Kagome promised him, turning away, not even sparing Mori a glance but chuckled at the expression she imagined he was making behind her back.

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Kagome walked over to Ranka in order to get a closer look at the situation.

Kagome looked at the bittersweet smile on his face as he watched the fitting dynamic between Tamaki and his only pride and joy. She could practically feel the conflicting bag of emotions he was experiencing.

"Ranka." Kagome said, catching his attention. "For the record, Tamaki truly cares about her." She told him.

He looked back at the two teens in front of him but she could still tell he was listening to her so she continued.

"I'm sure your first thought when you met him was that he must be the biggest idiot you'd ever seen." Kagome told in jest, earning a small laugh from the man. "But…" Her tone turned serious. "I can tell she isn't very open about herself, especially about her problems. He may be the only one capable of getting her to share and lean on others. Tamaki may be stupid. So so so stupid." Her brain brought back the memory of that morning and she could feel her body begin to heat up in anger but was able to compose herself, clearing her throat before she continued again. "Haruhi is always his number one priority. He'd do anything for her." She looked at him with a smile. "I'd be proud to have someone like him protect and stand alongside my child."

She could still the the unsureness on his face.

"He…" Kagome thought for her second. "He jumps to conclusions because he wholeheartedly believes in his instincts, he makes impulsive decisions when he suspects a loved one needs help and is overly benevolent to anyone who he thinks needs aid without regard to what others think." She looked at him. "But in a way, aren't those also redeeming qualities?"

"You...might be right." He confessed. "That was quite eloquent for someone as young as you."

Kagome nervously laughed. "Haha. Yeah…" She trailed, not telling him those weren't exactly her words.

"Just do me a favor." She said.

He looked at her again. "Hm?"

"Don't tell him I said that. If he found out I actually saw him in a positive light, his ego would blow sky high. He's a fun guy to tease."

Ranka gave a hearty laugh at her request. He put his finger to his lips and gave a quick wink. "My lips are sealed."

"I probably sound like a kiss-up right now." Kagome said, shyly rubbing the back of her neck. "But I'm glad I met her. You raised a wonderful daughter."

"Well, I can't take all the credit. Haruhi was always insistent on being independent." He admitted.

There was a moment of silence.

"It's been a while since Haruhi brought friends over. I'm glad I finally got to see everyone in person." Ranka brought up.

"Really?" Kagome said, a little surprised. "I didn't expect that. She's friendly to practically everyone. Heck, I spilled my secret within an hour of meeting her."

"That's what a lot of people say." Ranka giggled. She's got a real magnetic aura. It works on anyone."

As they talked, Kagome looked back over to Haruhi just in time to see Mori walk over to her and stand by her side as she delightedly talked to him.

"Anyone…" Kagome softly muttered to herself. She felt her chest squeeze the same way from earlier in the afternoon. 'Maybe I really am getting sick.'

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

He watched as her smile disappeared, replaced with a somber expression as she watched the two in front of them.

Mr. Fujioka did his best to restrain an amused smile. 'Puppy love. How cute.' He thought. 'Reminds me of Kotoko and I when we were younger.'

Witnessing the display of one-sided love in front of him touched his heart. He felt sympathy towards the poor girl.

"You know" He put his hand on her shoulder. "Haruhi said the same thing about you. She's always been impressed with how quickly you befriend people."

A light shade of pink dotted her cheeks. "Really?"

He turned her to him and began to ruthlessly rub her cheeks. "She also told me about how adorable~ you are!"

Kagome would have laughed if it hadn't been for the man currently pinching and smushing her face together. "I'm willing to bet Haruhi didn't say that."

He chuckled, graduating from kneading her face to softly ruffling her hair. "I wish I'd been this lovable when I was your age."

Kagome looked up at him with a blushing cheery face, happy to see that she no longer looked depressed.

"Kagome."

Before she could react, her hand was tugged back, pulling her away from the Ranka. Kagome turned around, a prepared glare for whoever dared aggressively grab her.

"...Takashi?" She asked, surprised.

"Mitsukuni ran off. Help me search." He simply said.

"Oh, okay."

Her answer didn't have much significance as he was already leading her away by her hand. It wasn't like him to be so demanding but she ruled it off as his concern for Honey shining through.

She looked down at Mori's hand wrapped around her's and a wave of embarrassment swept over her. "You...can let go of my hand."

Kagome guessed he must not have heard her because his hand showed no sign of letting up. In fact, Kagome could almost swear she felt him grip tighter but knew it was only her mind playing tricks on her.

The father rested a hand on his cheeks. 'Oh my. Maybe I spoke a little too soon about it being one-sided.' He thought, smiling mischievously to himself. 'I'll have to make sure Haruhi gives me some status updates on those two from time to time.'

After returning to the apartment, the hosts joyfully chowed down on the stew pot Haruhi had prepared for them.

"Wow. This is really tasty."

"Not bad."

"Uh…" Tamaki silently watched in despair as Ranka piled his bowl up with chrysanthemum.

"Haha. I know how much you like chrysanthemum, Tamaki. Eat up!" Ranka encouraged.

If Tamaki's face was any indication of how he felt at the moment, it was clear he was not looking forward to digging into his dish which had now been stacked with mounds of the green vegetable.

Kagome ate the last spoonful of her share, finishing with a content expression. She glanced at the hosts as they talked with each other and looked at them with a light smile.

When she thought no one would notice, she quietly stood up and slipped away.

She would have gone completely unseen if it hadn't been for the tall host watching her from across the table.

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Kagome walked outside, softly closing the front door behind her. The sun was still out but the air was starting to get cool. She guessed it had to be mid-evening.

'Time really did fly today.' She thought to herself as she walked to the floor's railing. She gave a satisfying deep breath. 'Can't wait to go home.' Kagome held in a yawn as she thought about how long they'd spent at Haruhi's. Hopefully Haruhi wasn't too upset about how things transpired today.

The apartment door behind her opened and she turned around to see Mori walk out towards her and stop by her side.

They both looked at each other and Kagome immediately answered his wordless question.

"I'm okay." She turned away. "I wanted some fresh air so I left."

He grunted, accepting her response. Mori rested his arms on the barrier, one hand holding his head.

They stood outside together for a minute. It was silent except for the occasional car zooming past or a thump or two from the other residents' apartments.

Kagome looked down at the passersby below them, her hands clutched onto the apartment railing. "Takashi, can I ask you something?"

He turned his head to Kagome a little, enough to clearly see her, waiting for her question.

She nervously tapped her fingers on the iron bar. "It's weird though."

Mori wasn't the slightest bit fazed by her remark. It couldn't be any odder than the other things he'd witnessed Kagome say or do.

"Is there anyone you would describe as…"

She stopped mid-sentence. Mori guessed Kagome was debating whether she should continue, making him rethink the accuracy of his previous assumption.

Kagome took a deep breath. "Is there anyone you would describe to be cute and small?" She quickly said, almost running her words together.

.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Mori was wrong. He was dead wrong. This had to be in the top five weirdest things Kagome had ever asked. What in the world was he asking him that for? And how would someone come up with that question in the first place?

'What am I supposed to say to that?' He thought, completely taken off guard. 'Cute and...small?' He tried to think of a good answer, repeating the two words in his head.

Unintentionally, his eyes began to gravitate towards Kagome. He tried to hide his surprise as he found himself locking eyes with him.

"Well?" Kagome spoke up again, giving him a side glance as he waited for Mori's answer.

Mori squashed down the panic that dared try to seep through. 'Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't fucking say it.'

"Mitsukuni." He replied.

Kagome looked back over the street. "Oh. Really?"

Mori quietly congratulated himself. For a second, he was sure his mouth would betray him and say something he couldn't take back. 'At least he seems satisfied with that answer.' He thought.

"So…"

*.~.*

Her eyes were half-lidded as she angled her head down, brushing the hair in front of her face behind her ear. "No one else comes to mind?" She asked.

As Mori looked at him, he tightly gripped both his hands on the bar in front of him. He was fresh out of ideas. He had no clue what Kagome wanted him to say or even why this question seemed to be so important to him. 'What response is he looking for?' He tried to imagine.

There was only one other name that really came to mind but…

No.

No, that couldn't be a possibility. The atmosphere would undoubtedly become uncomfortable. And there was no way that was the answer Kagome was looking for. Not to mention it wasn't something you'd typically want to hear from a friend, let alone another guy. 'Then again…' Typical wasn't a word you'd use to describe Kagome. For all he knew, he was completely wrong on what Kagome wanted. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd misinterpreted something about the long-haired guy.

'And if I don't say anything he'll get offended and argue until I do respond with something.'

He only had one other answer but his mouth refused to say it. It was almost impossible to get out. Almost.

He swallowed and took a long breath.

"...you."

"I think Haruhi fits it well." Kagome said over him.

He blinked at her, surprised

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Did you say something."

"Uh." Mori turned away, covering his face with his hand. "Nothing. I didn't say anything." He tried to assure her.

He silently groaned. 'I really said that.' He told himself. 'I overanalyzed and thought that's what he wanted to hear.' Mori could almost laugh at himself.

One of these days he was going to get a panic attack.

"What do you think, Takashi?" Kagome questioned. "Does Haruhi...fit that?"

Mori sighed, still trying to get over what had happened just a second ago. "I never thought of Haruhi in that way." He truthfully told him.

Kagome took a step back from the railing. "That's...good. That's good." The relief in his voice was very evident but he wasn't conscious of it.

Mori looked at him, puzzled to see the ease on his face.

"I'm gonna go back in now." Kagome said, already walking back to the door, a noticeable extra pep in his step.

Mori watched Kagome leave, still very much bewildered.

'...What just happened?'

The pure calmness radiating off of Kagome after he'd said that confused him. He tried to think of any reason that reaction could be warranted.

Had Kagome thought he was interested in Haruhi? If that were the case, Kagome was checking how he felt about Haruhi because...he likes her?

Mori had watched Kagome mess around with Haruhi before but thought it was more so to irk Tamaki than anything else. 'I didn't think he was being serious.' He rubbed the back of his neck.

The idea of the two of them together was something he never thought he'd imagine. It...didn't sit well with him. There was no reason he should have particularly cared who they dated but still found himself disliking the probability of them in a relationship.

'I hope I'm overthinking this again.'

He stood there, a thousand times more confused than when he left the apartment.

Kagome heard a small gasp as she cracked the door open. She peeked her head in to see Mr. Fujioka in a squat position, his legs not sure whether they should walk forward or back.

"Ranka?" Kagome asked, closing the door back. "Sorry, were you trying to get through?"

He stuttered. "Uh. N-no! I was just looking for my…" He looked around the room, before finally reaching down and pinching something off of the ground. "My earring! Must have fallen off. Haha."

"There's nothing in your hand."

He cleared his throat. "It's a really small stud." He told her, hiding the invisible earring in his hand. "Anyway, you should come join us in the other room."

Immediately, Kagome was pulled off back into the dining room. Things were just as chaotic as when she'd left them, giving her an entertained giggle.

'Today, wasn't too bad after all.' She admitted.

Author's Notes: Maybe some good really did come out of Kagome's day. But let's see how well the hosts do when a young visitor enters their club room.

I've been thinking about how I could incorporate Kagome into the other episodes without it sounding like a blatant revision of the episodes that just includes Kagome into the mix. So, I may or may not skip some episodes. I apologize ahead of time if I skip an episode that you may have been looking forward to. Such as the Haruhi in Wonderland episode which I'm most likely skipping over. I have some individual ideas for each episode but nothing too big that would seem very significant.

I used to have an entire document with all of the ideas I could come up with for my stories but...thing is...they were Word documents. I didn't have any back ups and one day my laptop just went 'Kaputs'. In the words of the dude at the electronic store that looked at it for me, "Yeah. It's dead. Like, dead dead." Wouldn't turn on at all and unless I pay an insane amount of money just to get it looked at, I'm not getting the documents etc. that I had on there. I also had a little comic strip that was designed like a Webtoon story almost fully sketched for this chapter with Kagome and Mori talking outside the apartment but that's gone too.

Honestly I'm over it at this point but I'll admit I lost some of my drive after that happened which is the reason I hadn't updated in a while. I'm truly sorry about that. I'm trying to do better. I know I've had a lot of excuses for not updating regularly etc. and I used to make a lot of promises I couldn't keep. I definitely underestimated the work that writers and artists do to have a regular upload schedule. It's a commitment and you can't let little things throw you off your rhythm. That's something I've been trying to work on for myself and I hope one day I'll be able to exhibit that same type of dedication and skill that others make look so easy.

I didn't mean to go on a mini rant or whatever you might call this. Don't get me wrong however. I'm devoted to this story. I don't care how long it takes me. I'm finishing this one with a bang. And that is a promise I know I can keep.

See you next time.

Oh. And one more thing. Another certain Ouran X Inuyasha story I started a while back may be getting an update soon… We'll see.