Ouran Academy's gardens practically showcased the prestige of the entire school. Magnificent fountains and statues, the greenest grass you could ever find, the most gorgeous spring flowers. Not exactly a subtle place for a rendezvous, but probably as good a place as any at this school. Keiko strolled through the garden, looking all around for the person who had written the note. The gardens were fairly large with lots of nooks and crannies, so it was more than likely going to take a little bit of searching.

After a thorough search around the area, Keiko decided that whoever had wanted to meet her hadn't arrived yet… or someone was just playing some dumb trick on her. She felt silly as she took a seat on one of the elaborate marble benches near the rose garden, taking in all of her surroundings. There were several rose patches there, each of which containing a different shade of the flower. One patch had roses of deep reds, one with swirling pinks, blues and oranges, lavenders and pale greens. The roses were in full bloom, idyllic and yet not showing even a hint of their somber fate. Unwittingly, Keiko found herself seated next to the patch of roses that were probably the most vivid shade of yellow she had ever seen. They were nothing like the pale yellow, borderline obnoxious shade of yellow of Ouran Academy's high school girl's uniform. She leaned down to pick one for herself, momentarily mistaking the delicate petals for pure gold. They must be golden, Keiko thought to herself, for that was surely the only explanation for how they managed to appear so radiant.

No matter how beautiful these roses appeared to be now, here in this garden in the height of spring, Keiko knew that they would surely wither away in the coming months of fall and deeper into the winter. The very thing that had made these flowers so beautiful would be stolen by the seasons, left with nothing but the dead remains of what was, and what could've been. It was a stupid thought, but… was she going to wither away into nothing like this flower, leaving behind nothing of merit or virtue? Would she find herself shining for a brief moment, only to have it all snatched away right from under her?

Keiko was so engrossed in her silly thoughts that when someone had tapped her shoulder, she nearly fell from her seat. She got back onto her feet and whirled around to see Haruhi standing there, looking a little shocked.

"Uhm… Sorry about that, Keiko-senpai. I didn't mean to scare you!"

"H-Haruhi? You're the one who left that note?"

Haruhi looked at her sheepishly. "Yeah… did I forget to sign it? Sorry about that, I was kind of in a rush this morning. I had to ask Kyoya-senpai to help me figure out where your locker was, and then it took me awhile to find it. The student locker area is pretty far away from my class."

Keiko sighed in relief, glad that it was only Haruhi and not one of the Host Club boys. She didn't know most of them very well, and some of them (especially a certain blonde) seemed sort of intense. Haruhi was easygoing and seemed to put Keiko's nerves at ease just by talking to her.

"It's alright, Haruhi," she said, noticing that the other girl was also carrying a bento box with her. "Why don't you eat here with me?"

"Sure," Haruhi said, taking a seat on the bench next to Keiko. "I brought leftovers from this weekend, we made some pretty good food, Keiko-senpai!"

Keiko smiled. "We sure do, Haruhi. In fact, I brought some of our leftovers for myself!"

They sat for a while, casually chatting and pecking at their food and enjoying their surroundings.

"It's pretty magnificent out here, huh? I've only been going to Ouran for a little while, but I still can't believe what I'm looking at sometimes. I guess I'm not used to such grandeur, you know?"

Keiko nodded faintly, opening her leftover gyoza from her and Haruhi's cooking session the other day. As she stared at the bento's contents, she realized that she and Haruhi were pretty different but… also kind of similar.

"You know Haruhi… I don't mean to be strange, but I feel comfortable around you and… well, we're pretty similar. Just think about it, you're a commoner getting used to living the life of a high-class student, while I was born into aristocracy, but now I'm getting used to the life of an everyday commoner," she paused, glancing at Haruhi.

"I think you're right, Keiko-senpai. Maybe there's a lot we could learn from each other."

She nodded, smiling warmly at Haruhi's friendly words. It was nice to be able to talk to someone casually, without false pretenses for the sake of who they were, or what affluently family they were from. "You know Fujioka, you aren't so bad for a commoner," she joked, smiling at Haruhi's feigned look of irritation.

"Watch who you're calling commoner! You just might end up as one yourself someday," teased Haruhi back at her. The two girls laughed aloud, their smiles real and genuine.

Unknowingly to the pair, a small group of boys were crouched nearby, inching closer and straining to hear what the two girls were saying to each other. It was the entirety of the Host Club, although some of them looked like they'd rather be somewhere else.

"What are they saying, Hikaru?!" demanded Tamaki. "Daddy wants to know what's so funny!"

"Maybe if you'd stop whining so I could hear them, Boss," grumbled Hikaru. He was leaning on Kaoru's shoulder, trying to listen in on Haruhi and Keiko's conversation while Kaoru watched his back to make sure that Hikaru wouldn't be seen if someone looked over at them.

"I don't know why you dragged me over here with you on your senseless endeavors," Kyoya was saying to Tamaki. "I'm not even sure what you're hoping to gain out of this, anyway."

"Shhh! They're talking about… commoners or something," whispered Hikaru. "We need to get closer!"

Tamaki and the twins crept forward even more while Kyoya, Mori, and Honey stayed where they were. Haruhi and Keiko carried on with their conversation, completely unaware of the nearby spies.

"Keiko-chan, I wanted to come talk to you because you forgot to take the cookbook with you when you left my house this weekend. I didn't even notice you leaving, so I forgot to remind you to grab it!"

"Oh!" Keiko gasped. "I completely forgot that you had said I could borrow it…"

Haruhi just smiled. "I thought so. I brought it so school with me, but I left it in the club room this morning when I went to find your locker number, so if you want to stop by and pick it up later during club hours, you can."

Ah… there was the catch. Keiko did want to borrow the book, but she seriously didn't know how she felt about being around those boys and their crazy fangirls. Apparently, Haruhi caught the look of apprehension on Keiko's face, so she continued.

"The Host Club isn't so bad, you know," she said honestly. "They can be a little intense sometimes, like the other day at my home, but they're really good people. I'm mostly saying this because… well, they found the note you left me the other day, and now I'm pretty sure they're coming up with some plan to see what it meant. They may go overboard sometimes, but just don't get too surprised if they ask you any questions. I really think you can trust them with your secret-"

As Haruhi went on, Keiko's face was growing paler by the second. Damn it, she knew she should have left that note somewhere more discreet, but she really didn't think that any of the boys would have gone in the kitchen. There was one thing that Keiko knew and that was that these boys could absolutely not be trusted with her secret. She had been hoping to keep anyone from finding out and telling Haruhi about her situation was bad enough, but the prospect that the Host Club could find out was horrifying. The Club was comprised of some of the biggest names of the school: Suoh, Hitachiin, Ootori, Haninozuka… there was no way they wouldn't tell their families if they found out, and that would be a disaster. Some of the most influential families would know there was some kind of discord in the Ishida family, and that would certainly affect the family's reputation… especially if the media was somehow involved. The whole school and their families would know what had happened.

Haruhi stopped, seeing that Keiko's mind was only full of hellfire. Her panic was only worsened when two familiar twins stepped in behind them seemingly out of nowhere, their mouths contorted into two sadistic smirks.

"What secret would that be, now?" They voiced together, sending Keiko over the edge. She really did fall off the bench this time, her face flaming.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" demanded Haruhi. They immediately tried to look innocent, while the rest of the Host Club revealed themselves, only further provoking Haruhi's anger. Keiko stood back up, trying not to look sheepish. She wasn't jumpy, but it had been the second time within only an hour she had gotten the wits scared out of her. Maybe I need to start paying more attention to my surroundings…

Haruhi was fuming. "Please tell me that you guys didn't follow me here. Please tell me that you're just out here for some other stupid reason."

"Of course we didn't follow you!" cried Tamaki, hurt by Haruhi's words. "We were just, ah, admiring the flowers here! I thought that watching the flowers in their graceful beauty might help me to perfect my own technique! Maybe you should be doing the same, Haruhi!"

Tamaki and Haruhi began to argue, while the twins cornered Keiko.

"So, Keiko-chan, care to enlighten us about this secret of yours?" asked one of them, getting uncomfortably close to her face.

"Would it possibly have anything to do with the fact that you're eating from a bento box, like some kind of commoner?"

"Has the Ishida family gone bankrupt? If so, why are you still attending Ouran Academy if you can't even afford proper food?"

Keiko grew more flustered and angry by the second. Why did they have to butt into her personal life like this? Why couldn't they just leave her alone?

"First of all, please don't call me Keiko-chan," she started. "Second of all, no, my family is not bankrupt or going bankrupt any time soon. Third- will you please kindly leave me the hell alone!"

She was surprised by her own tone, and even more so when the twins backed a few steps away, giving her some space. Keiko was usually fairly unassertive, but it felt like the twin devils knew just how to push her buttons. Hikaru and Kaoru were a little taken aback, but recovered quickly.

"Come on, don't be such an idiot. We're just trying to help," said one of the twins, the one with a slightly deeper tone, taking her by surprise. Sure they were just trying to help, and she was a three-headed unicorn. She did relax a bit, not without realizing that she probably shouldn't be so rude to the sons of such an influential family. Maybe this is what my parents were talking about… I should probably be more careful speaking to these guys.

Tamaki, who had apparently finished whatever argument he had been having with Haruhi butted in. "The shady twin is speaking the truth, my princess! We only want to know why you have been acting so strangely, and if we can do anything to help you! After all, it is our duty as members of the Host Club to make sure that every girl is happy."

Haruhi shook her head, a small smile creeping onto her face. She wished that the entire Club hadn't followed her to figure out what was going on with Keiko, when she told them to just ask her if something was wrong. As annoying as it was, she knew that Tamaki's intentions were genuine. He was always helping those who came to him, without a second thought. Tamaki had gone out of his way to help Kanako with her fiancé, the elementary kid whose crush was moving away, the doctor, even Renge. His selflessness was probably his best quality, but she wouldn't dare tell him that. Tamaki's ego was already inflated as it was.

Hang on… how did they know I was going to meet Keiko here, anyways? Haruhi thought to herself, turning to look at Kyoya, asking a silent question.

"If you're wondering how we knew you were planning to meet with Ishida-san, it wasn't too difficult to figure out. Your intentions were quite obvious after you asked me to find Ishida-san's locker number."

Haruhi sweatdropped, turning away quickly. Right… of course it was the Shadow King. What else did I expect? She glanced at Keiko, whose resolve seemed to have been momentarily broken by Tamaki's words.

"Come on, princess," Tamaki said, placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "I can hear your cry for help just by looking at you. You can trust us," he assured. The rest of the Host Club was looking on earnestly.

Keiko looked up at him in shock. She didn't really know the guy outside of class, and she had been mostly convinced that Tamaki was just a bumbling idiot who had a way with the ladies. She felt tears threatening to prick at her eyes, and pulled away quickly before anyone could see them.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, scrambling away from them. She grabbed her bento and hastily left the gardens, leaving them all behind.

Haruhi was the first one to break the silence with a sigh. "I get that you guys are trying to be helpful and all, but did you consider that maybe she doesn't want your help?"

Later that day, Keiko was considering forgetting about the cookbook and just asking Haruhi to let her pick it up elsewhere, but she supposed she should apologize to them all for just running out on them like that. It had been pretty childish of her, but she hadn't known what to do. Why did they want to figure out her secret so badly, anyway? It made no sense. Tamaki and one of the twins had said that they just wanted to help, but were they telling the truth? They barely even knew her.

Despite her reservations, she found herself walking to the third Music Room anyway. She had made sure to come after the Club's guests had started arriving, so that all the attention wouldn't be on her again. She was able to enter the music room quietly enough, but it didn't take the boys very long to notice that she was there. Keiko made her way over to where Tamaki was hosting, and he excused himself from the girls for a minute (earning her several jealous glances). Soon enough, the rest of the hosts were standing there with him.

"Um…" she started, unsure of herself. "I just wanted to say sorry, for running out on you guys earlier. I kind of panicked," she said, trying to stop the blush from creeping onto her face from all of them staring at her. "If you guys really want to know what's been going on with me that badly, and why I was at Haruhi's house this weekend, then I will tell you."

They looked pretty surprised at this admission, but Kyoya interrupted before she could say anything more. "There's no need, Ishida-san. After lunch, I spoke over the phone with one of your family's drivers. As it turns out, he used to work for my family, but was offered a better salary by your own family. He told me that you had been asked to leave the Ishida household, and have since been living as a commoner."

The entire Host Club and Keiko stared at Kyoya in shock.

"What? You asked one of her family's drivers?" asked Tamaki. He looked back at her, completely shocked. However, Tamaki's gaze held none of the pity that Keiko had been so afraid of, just surprise. "Is it true, Keiko?

She sighed and couldn't help but grin. She had been so stressed out about them finding out her secret, and Kyoya had gone so out of his way that now, it just seemed funny. What did it matter if they knew, anyway? "Yeah… there it is I guess. I was asked to leave, as Kyoya put it, and move into commoner housing until I could figure out some way to prove that I'm serious enough to inherit the company. It was pretty surprising, but-" Keiko was interrupted by Tamaki's loud cry of happiness.

"Don't worry, Keiko-chan! We're going to do everything we can to help you prove yourself to your parents! What's more, we can take you with us on some of our commoner field trips! We're all learning more about the lives of commoners, and it could help you!" Tamaki was speaking so quickly, getting more and more excited about this idea by the second. Keiko just stared at him in shock, while the rest of the Host Club looked pretty surprised.

"Um… Boss?"

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, you know," said the twins, to which Tamaki glared defiantly at them.

"I haven't made any promises! I'm simply saying that we all will do whatever it takes to help Keiko! It is our duty as members of the Host Club!"

Keiko took a step back, a little taken aback by his energy. "It's okay, Suoh-san… It means a lot to me that you say that, but I can figure it out on my own. Living as a commoner has gotten a little easier since Fujioka-san showed me some recipes. Really, I can cope!" she assured him, but he was having none of it. He quickly ran off to a table, dragging Kyoya along with him and leaving her with Haruhi, the twins, Mori, and Honey.

"What's he up to?" Keiko asked Haruhi, a little unsure about where this was all going.

"Who knows, really," said Haruhi with a shrug. "With his whims, it's pretty hard to guess. I know he's a little intense Keiko-senpai, but don't let him talk you into anything too crazy."

"Kay-chan!" cried Honey, throwing himself into her arms. "If you're living all by yourself, then who is making you cake?"

"Well… Nobody, really. But that's okay Honey-senpai, I don't eat cake very often anyways." She meant to say it as if it was no big deal, but to Honey, not eating cake pretty much sounded like the end of the world.

"Come have some cake with me and Takashi! We have so many different flavors, I know you'll love them all!" Keiko could hardly say no to him, and was whisked away to enjoy said cake before she knew it, leaving Haruhi with the twins.

Haruhi watched as Keiko picked out a slice of cake, and actually relaxed to enjoy it with them. The girl had been so tense the past few days that seeing her relax was like watching a whole new person blooming right in front of them. She wondered where the Host Club was going to take Keiko. She had been around the club long enough to figure out that getting involved with the Host Club could be a pretty big deal.

Before she could muse on it any longer, Tamaki marched back over to Haruhi. "I've decided, Haruhi! At the next Host Club meeting, we are going to create a plan that will help Keiko win her parent's faith! I'm calling it: Operation Help Keiko Prove Herself and Not Have to be a Commoner Anymore! What do you think?"

Haruhi groaned. "Well, it sure is a mouthful."

New chapter since the last one was so short! Just for your own reference, this story starts shortly after episode 10 in the anime, and chapter 12 in the manga. I plan to follow the storyline somewhat, using both the manga and the anime as basis :) I do want to include some manga stuff the anime left out, but no worries if you haven't read the manga, I'll do my best to keep everything clear!