Hey guys! we're back in this! I wrote and rewrote this a/n several times because i am like 80% anxiety (and 20% crying dsjgvndxfljbdcg) I think my brain gets ahead of itself sometimes ahah;;

A special thanks to frog & to the same few names for reviewing/checking out this fic (and my other fics too?) i see y'all and thank you!

i did talk to someone from my school who did reassure me about getting my files back, though i think the writing is gone gone because of the program i used (which was saved locally on browser but not hard drive) before moving to google docs;; aha

This chapter is something a little different :3c aha,,and I thought i'd finally get to the scene i've been hoping for but other plot stuff happened and then the rest of the chapter fought me;;; So i wanted to go ahead and get something out;; ahhhhhhh so here we are, and hopefully next update comes not long after!

Thanks for reading, and Enjoy!

Haruhi was never really a person that you would call a sports enthusiast. Or even athletic.

She was average at best, if not a little under average when it came to gym activities and was more than glad that it was an elective option at Ouran.

Academics had always been her priority, and even when she wasn't studying she was reading books upon books, upon stacks of books. Her mother had shared with her the joy of literature as a child, and aside from cooking, it was what made her feel like there was still a living connection towards her. Even if her mother wasn't physically there, she'd be there in her heart and in her memories as she did the tasks they once did together.

Haruhi had friends, but between her propensity to prefer books and her father's habits with drag, she didn't find herself surrounded with friends but never found herself outright lacking in them either.

Ouran was an experience, in breaking a vase, she broke through the walls she had unintentionally set up. She had always been straightforward, blunt, passive to events, but she found herself getting pissed by the scope of the rich people. Entertained by the dramatics, and enjoying the friendship and relatability with Sota.

Sota found a way of breaking her out of the shell she didn't even know she created, and grounding her back to the present instead of worrying over a future yet to come... She only wished he didn't also seem to get such a joy out of teasing the wits out of her.

It was unfair really, Haruhi worked with a host club, all the members had their own attractiveness about them, they were all charming in their own way. So why did she get so flustered and beet red around Sota?

Was it the familiarness?...

But that couldn't be it..., because the minute she was alone with the hosts, she found that the twins tended to be a bit touchy grabby.

Well,...so did Tamaki-sempai if she was being honest...

She knew she was called the "natural" host, but Sota was a real natural, it was probably those damned dimples of his. Not many students seemed to have them, and the way he smiled specifically, sometimes in a way that a person could only see a hit of a dimple in the corner of his smile, compared to his bright exuberant laugh and bubbly smile, seeing the full thing in action, was rather endearing...and added to his charm.

That and he was generally sociable, maybe that was it...

The relatability, unlike the host, where it was almost hard to approach them outside of classes, Sota carried an energy that was warm and easy to interact with...

Haruhi wondered if it was a family trait...

It was funny, by pure chance she had run into the elder Higurashi sibling...

Haruhi rarely ventured outside of the markets on her side of town, but parsnips and other greens were always fresher at the market on the bus ride over, and the owners were always willing to strike a deal. Still, if it hadn't been for the other girl coming over to her, she probably never would have been formally introduced.

And wow, Kagome...

The siblings both seemed to radiate a dazzling aura, it made Haruhi wonder what their mom was like...

' "Oh! Fujioka-san! Right?"

Looking up from the produce, weighing the cost of squash versus the stalk of broccoli in her head, she looked up surprised to see Kagome approach.

"Ah..yes..?" Haruhi blanched in her head, she didn't know what to say, and she was sure she didn't remember if Sota had actually introduced her by name, he was too busy shoving her back out the doors to the cafeteria...

Kagome laughed lightly, and standing closer now, Haruhi could really get a better look at the differences between the two. They shared similar eyes, but Kagome's jaw was slightly softer, she had a heart-shaped face compared to her brother's sharp jawline and diamond face.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to bother you while you were out shopping, but I thought I come over to introduce myself! Sota's talked about you some, and I couldn't help but be curious, he's told me quite some interesting stories..."

'oh boy...' Haruhi fought the urge to sweatdrop, with all her inane adventures, she wondered what exactly Sota decided to share..

"Feel free to call me Kagome!" her eyes seemed to sparkle, and if Haruhi was slightly more aware she could have seen the hint of mischief twinkling in her eyes and upon the lips of her smile.

Haruhi flushed, "Ah, yes. Nice meeting you Kagome-san, you can call me Haruhi" '

They had conversed lightly, mostly on what the other was getting, Kagome asking more about what the school structure at Ouran was like, surprisingly Sota seemed tight-lipped, usually brushing off his day and questions about school with an "it's fine", or a, "it's going well".

...The next time Haruhi got a chance, she'd lecture him on using full sentences and communicating more with his family, though Kagome didn't outright ask, Haruhi got the feeling she was asking questions to see if he was adjusting well and acclimating to the high ranked school that was near infamous.

Kagome was nice...

Sota didn't talk much about his family, it was clear he had a sister, but he also had his mother and "jii-chan" who was a retired priest. Haruhi felt like, despite their (close?) friendship, she only knew a handful more about him than anyone of his admirers. He lived with his family on the shrine, he was duel sports scholarship, although he had to keep himself in the honor ranks like Haruhi herself but overall was under slightly less pressure in comparison; at least in terms of grades. He liked tamagoyaki, it was always in his bento, and sometimes he'd steal it from her bento before she'd pinch his cheek hard and he'd offer up an extra riceball, 'as if that made up for it jerk!'.

What they had in common besides being middle class amongst a sea of upper-crust highbred students, was that their pursuits had often left them without many friends. Sota had his teammates, but he had admitted once you reach a certain level, it became more of a competition amongst members to stand out to highschool scouts...

They also both enjoyed math, though Haruhi had a more general appreciation for literature than Sota, the only subject he seemed interested in or at least the most knowledgeable about...was the Edo period...which was odd. He had brushed it off as being raised on a shrine.

He was also the perfect go-to anytime she brought up a "commoner" custom to the hosts who didn't know what she was talking about, bringing it back to him, they'd recall memories of their childhood and laugh at each other's antics...

Still...there were some things even he couldn't get...

It was funny, Haruhi hadn't realized she hadn't really had any female companions to just talk to. Sure she had her female customers, but they were all under the assumption she couldn't relate, that she was a guy.

It left Haruhi with some situations she couldn't really easily bring up with her male co-hosts, or her female customers without invasive questions. Haruhi didn't really care about gender, gender expectations, or ideas regarding gender. Gender identity and expression was a spectrum, and she would know best after all. She was always willing to befriend anyone of any gender or expression.

Unfortunately, at least in her eyes, there were still some situations tied to gender presentation, and Kagome was that third-party person who was easy to talk to and just seemed to get it.

Kagome just emitted big sister energy, and it was so nice...

Often, because of Haruhi's mature level headed nature, she had to be the one dependent upon, but with Kagome, she found herself admitting to small worries and concerns and what her thoughts were the last few days. Kagome would listen, and it was never full out advice, but neither was it sweet cloying comforting words. Just examples of her own life experiences and how Haruhi could relate it to her own situation and apply it. It was a weight lifting experience lifted from her shoulders as they did something as simple and mundane as grocery shop.

She almost felt sad saying goodbye outside the store, that was when Kagome invited her to come to the shrine the weekend after the match, the family was going to have a big celebration dinner; "win or lose", though Kagome assured her they'd likely be celebrating a win.

Haruhi just had to ask though, pausing at Kagome's wording...

"How do you know if he'll win?"

Kagome's eyes that had sparkled before, seemed like jewels now. She gave an enigmatic smile,

"Higurashi's never lose..."

Later that night Haruhi would be unable to forget the near glow of her eyes or the cryptic words...she would also come to wonder when and how Kagome was able to slip a box of strawberry pocky in with her groceries...

Snacking on the treat, she once again pondered what she had gotten herself into...

~/~

"Your match is this friday right?"

Sota gave a hum of a response, half a rice ball stuck in his cheek, "mmhmm"

Haruhi made a face and he wanted to laugh.

Finishing his bite, clearing his throat, "Yeah, you coming? Gonna cheer me on?" he said with a teasing twinkle in his eye.

...

Despite his teasing, Sota had genuinely seemed to be hoping for her to come to the game and cheer him on, and really how could she say no to that?

Plus, she had never really felt the need to go to a sports game before. Most people went for school spirit, supporting their home team, or a classmate they were close with. Haruhi had never really felt compelled to do such, seeing as she never held an interest in it nor the people around her.

Her father didn't really watch many sports games at home either, he did talk about games occasionally playing at the bar. But at home, the sound of late-night comedy shows and talks shows often played in the background.

The most she knew about soccer was, they kicked around a ball and tried to get it into a net. Like most sports with a ball, you do the thing to get it to the goal, and thinking that to herself, she settled her resolve not to mention it... less she angers legitimate sports fans...

She still had a few days before the match, and she was always one open to learning more..

So if she checked out a couple of books about the sport, and watched a few games on her computer at night applying the terms to the visual...it was nobody's business but her own...

~/~

Haruhi didn't intentionally set out to keep the fact she was planning on going to the sports game from the other host club members...she just...didn't want them to know...

She had step by step gotten used to the absurdity of her club mates.

They were great...it's just they seemed to harbor some unwarranted hostility towards Sota...

It was as if they hadn't quite grasped the concept that she could be friends with both them and him at the same time, which honestly they probably hadn't. But seeing as Haruhi was a rather blunt, straightforward honest person, she couldn't see that they didn't grasp it, or why they couldn't tell her the issue directly.

The thing was, it was never direct or outright obvious their disdain for the other boy. It was always sly digs, under the breath comments, not meant for her to hear. The twins were especially vicious about it, and the ones most often to pull her away during class break time.

Thursday, the day before the match, she had let slip to one of her customers she did intend to go.

Haruhi could feel the atmosphere slightly dip amongst some of the host even as the patrons cheered, telling her they were planning to go, and couldn't wait, and then it delved into questions about soccer, more questions via her relationship with Sota...and of course if she had plans to meet up with him after the match...

Haruhi could only sweat drop...

Cleaning afterward once the guest had left was an awkward affair.

She tried steadfastly ignoring it, hoping that if she pretended as if there were no elephant in the room, she'd be able to go home early with no issue.

Hearing Kyoya's deep sigh from across the room, she said goodbye to her freedom and further resigned herself to her fate.

"I hear you're going to Higurashi-san's game tomorrow..."

'Well,...it seems like he was just going to jump straight to it...'

And with that,,i leave it at a mini cliffhanger,,,

I've been rather worried that i haven't really done the show don't tell with this story;; I try my best to give equal insight on the chara/vs actual you know, story, hopefully with every update it gets fluffed out a bit more.

i was looking at my more recent fics, and wow, i didn't realize i published this in 2018! and i've only got 8 chapters? ahh ;_; did i leave it at 5chs for so long? ahh,,

essentially,,,i have a lot of worries about this story, how it's perceived and how it's going aha,,im just a natural born worrier i guess, but! i am thankful for the more recent love/support it's been getting, so, thank you all for chugging along with me! and i'm sorry about lull in updates, i hope you keep along with this story a little while longer ;v;/

if you liked this chapter, please review!