Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. Yayayaya...

Please read and review

'Two, we can allow Kaoru to resign as a club member.'

The words echoed through all of the members heads as they stared at Kyouya in shock. Tamaki was the first to react. 'What?!' he protested, appearing in a flash at Kyouya's side. 'But, that's impossible! Kaoru can't leave!'

He turned to Kaoru quickly. 'Kaoru, tell him! You can't leave!'

Mori watched passively as Kaoru stared down at the ground in silence. He knew that the boy was seriously contemplating this option. Tamaki zipped over to Kaoru's side, tugging agitatedly on his arm. 'Kaoru?! Kaoru, speak to Father!' He frowned as the boy didn't respond. Kaoru looked up, his eyes serious.

'I-I'm not...needed here anymore so-'

'NO!' Tamaki shook him hard. 'Kaoru, you can't leave! I forbid it!' He shook him again, glaring angrily at him. 'You. Can't. Leave!'

Mori was –to put it mildly- a little stunned at Tamaki's reaction. He had rarely ever seen Tamaki this panicked before, as he usually took a very simplistic view on matters. He wondered briefly why the boy was so worked up at the possibility of Kaoru's resignation. Was it because of his obsessive pride in looking after all the club members? Maybe so.

After all, Mori thought, Tamaki may look to be rather immature and over-dramatic at times, but Mori knew that underneath the surface, the Host King had a zealous passion for the club that he had formed, and would do anything to keep it together. Not many were aware of this fact, as Tamaki hid it well beneath his fanciful gestures and frivolous perspectives, but he had formed the Host Club with the blood and tears of his own tragic past.

Poor boy. Mori watched as Tamaki tried to knock his own perspective of sense into Kaoru -which included glomping the life out of him before running off in tears to his private little dark corner of the hall. Perhaps Tamaki was not the best of people suited for the art of manipulative persuasion. No...a better person for this job was Haruhi. Mori looked on in approval as the young girl slid tactfully over to Kaoru's side in her effort to convince Kaoru to stay.

'Kaoru.' She stared gently up into his eyes, her tone soft and comforting. Mori felt a pang of unwanted emotion pierce through his heart.

No. This was for Kaoru, he thought to himself sternly. It was for all the club members. He watched as Kaoru looked up, to gaze into her earnest face. 'Please Kaoru,' Haruhi persuaded. 'Tamaki needs you. We all need you. Please, don't go.'

Kaoru stared at her for a while, his eyes flicking over her face, towards Tamaki, to Hunny, Mori and Kyouya who were watching in tense anticipation.

'But...Hikaru's gone…'

Haruhi shook her head firmly. 'Kaoru, just because Hikaru's not here, it doesn't mean we don't want you anymore. In fact,' she said softly, 'it's the opposite. We need you even more now. The clients come second,' she stated firmly. She stared resolutely into Kaoru's eyes. 'You come first, Kaoru. Okay?'

'Uhuh!' Hunny glared determinedly up at Kaoru. 'Kaoru, you have to stay! You can't go!'

Kyouya sighed. 'We can see how the clients will respond to Hikaru's absence. If there is not too much of a drop in popularity, Kaoru can stay.'

'Well, I suppose…' Kaoru looked a little doubtful.

Tamaki appeared beside them, back from his ever-expanding mushroom farm. 'Kaoru! You're staying!' he cried, tears streaming from his eyes, as he engulfed Kaoru in a giant glomp of emotion. He let out a big heaving sob -and proceeded cried his heart out, right onto -a very annoyed- Kaoru's school shirt.

WHACK!

Mori sighed. Well, the boy had had it coming. He watched as Tamaki withdrew faster than a rattlesnake, rushing over to hide behind Kyouya. He looked indignant. Kaoru stuck out his tongue.

'Mother! Control your children!'

Kyouya ignored him completely. He stepped away briefly, pushing his glasses up higher as he rifled through his notebook. 'Okay, now that we have established that Kaoru is still staying, we need to decide on when to reopen the Host Club to our clients. This should be relatively simple, but what may be a little more complicated is explaining Hikaru's sudden departure to them in a way that will not affect them too much and that will cause them to sympathize with Kaoru. Any suggestions?' He looked around at the remaining Host Club members. There was a pause as the members all stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

Finally it was Haruhi who spoke. 'I think that we should just tell them the truth,' she said honestly. Tamaki let out an exaggerated sigh. 'Oh Haruhi, you are so naive!' he declared, stepping towards her. He was stopped efficiently by a defensive Kaoru. And, on second thoughts, also by a jealous Mori.

'Wah! So mean!' Tamaki pouted, hurrying back to Kyouya's side.

'Well,' Kyouya said, ignoring Tamaki and going back to the previous suggestion. He thought in silence for a while, going over Haruhi's idea in his mind. 'Telling the truth is all very well, but we could do it a little more…tactfully?'

His glasses glinted devilishly. 'Keeping in mind that we need to raise Kaoru's popularity to ensure he doesn't lose customers.'

'But can't he just create a different appeal from the one he had before? I mean, Kaoru and Hikaru's selling image was good, but Kaoru is just as good on his own, right? He has lots of good qualities.' Haruhi frowned back at Kyouya, her disapproval of his implication evident on her crossed her arms for good measure, earning a squeal of delight from Tamaki.

'Wahh! Haruhi's so cute!' Tamaki once again tried to run over to hug her. Mori winced as the Host king received yet another whack to the head. It seemed that Tamaki never gave up did he?

'Well,' Kyouya returned calmly, 'that's all very well, but sometimes our clients tend to go for different tastes, Haruhi.' Kyouya countered her protests as smooth as silk, smirking slightly at the frown that appeared on her face. He turned back to Kaoru. 'Kaoru, what do you think?'

Kaoru frowned as he thought. He seemed to be more quiet and introverted without his compulsive older brother, Mori noted, as he and the club members waited for him to speak. Or perhaps it was just because he was still getting over his loss. No matter, as long as he wasn't still hurting.

Kaoru began to speak, shrugging his shoulders dismissively. 'I don't really know. I guess that I'll have to think of a new selling point.'

'Okay then!' Hunny jumped up and down, waving Usa-chan around to attract attention. 'Let's help Kao think up a new image!'

'Okay.' Haruhi turned to Kaoru. 'What about Normal type? I bet that lots of girls would want-'

'Oh Haruhi! You are so naïve!' Tamaki let out a snort of laughter from his spot next to Hunny, causing Haruhi to frown slightly in confusion. He rushed to Kaoru's side. 'Let Daddy find you an image that will make your popularity soar to the sky! I am after all, the King of-'

WHUMP.

'Stupid Tono.' Kaoru sighed as he stared down at Tamaki who lay whimpering on the ground. 'You'll probably think up some perverted idea of making me cross-dress or something.'

'But Kaoru?!' Tamaki sprang to his feet, looking hurt. 'Daddy thought you liked dressing up as a girl.' Mori watched on as Tamaki began flapping around Kaoru, aiming ridiculous ideas at him from all angles. It seemed that since Hikaru had gone, Tamaki had taken it upon himself to adopt Kaoru as well. The problem with the Host King was that he cared deeply for all of the members, but he just didn't know how to show it properly. So, he simply displayed it in the best way that he knew how.

Unfortunately, his ways of showing concern were often very loud and flamboyant, and usually resulted in his tearful retreat when the members got overly fed up with his antics.

No matter, Mori thought, the instinct was there and in the end, he did a good job of keeping them together. He watched in mild amusement as Kaoru attempted to swat away Tamaki's oncoming blows -with no success.

As perceptive as Tamaki was about other people's feelings, he seemed to be remarkably slow when it came to him own. It was obvious to all the members –except the two in question- that Tamaki had feelings for the young girl. However, he seemed to think that his feelings for Haruhi were those of friendship, and had thus attempted to turn the Host Club into a big happy family.

Mori frowned at the idea. This had not gone down very well with the club members, least of all Haruhi. It was -admittedly- quite a childish notion, and had only caused Haruhi to think him even more obnoxious. He watched as Tamaki gave up trying to get a reaction out of Kaoru, and instead turned his attention to Haruhi with a cry of eager joy. Mori looked over to see how Haruhi was faring. She was looking rather strained -probably Tamaki's antics were starting to get on her nerves.

Tamaki just had trouble recognizing his affections for the girl.

It was most likely the same in this case as well, Mori mused. Tamaki was undoubtedly concerned for Kaoru, just like the rest of the members. Thus, he had decided to show his care and support for the boy in his usual way, which involved using his attempt to attract his attention in the form of loud flamboyant gestures and merry-making.

All which would result in ear-splitting migraines for the other members and lots of bruises for Tamaki. Mori predicted that at the end of the day there would be a lot of cleaning up to do, as Kaoru would most likely blow his fuse and begin chasing Tamaki around the room, beating him with whatever object he laid eyes on first.

He sighed. His job would be to assist Haruhi in the cleaning.

He gazed fondly towards Haruhi. She was protesting weakly to Tamaki's attention, and it seemed that Kaoru had joined in with the mix as well, obviously not happy with Tamaki's choice of action. Haruhi was the one who had made it all happen. Without her…

He wondered briefly what life would be like without Haruhi. No doubt, the Host Club members wouldn't be the people they were today, were it not for her.

She was so...

It suddenly dawned on him that he probably wouldn't be able to live without her in his life. But…why? He had no idea.

There was something about her presence, something about her that made the room light up whenever she came in. When he was with her, he felt so...happy, for some strange reason. Her presence was like when storm clouds cleared from the sky and the sun came out.

Lighting up his world.

He found himself staring at her, and quickly blinked a couple of times, snapping out of his thoughts

'How about Shy type?' Hunny had decided to voice his opinions at that moment, causing Tamaki to freeze in mid-flap as the members considered the idea.

'Hmm,' Kyouya frowned. 'Yes, but the change in character may be too sudden for the clients and they may suspect that it is a fake act he is putting on. Kaoru doesn't really seem to have a 'Shy' type of persona either.' Hunny visibly drooped as Kyouya continued on ruthlessly. 'Also, we are trying to boost or maintain his popularity now that Hikaru is gone. Using an introverted characteristic may not be a good idea for this as these personalities tend to not be very well noticed. Shy type is a definite no.' He closed his notebook with a snap.

Hunny sniffed tearfully. 'Kyouya, so mean…'

Kyouya ignored him, turning back to the rest of the members. 'Any other ideas?' There were none. He sighed, taking off his glasses to wipe them with a cloth. 'Alright then, let's vote as to when to begin hosting sessions again.'

'Okay, I vote on Monday!' Tamaki struck a gallant pose as he thrust his hand in the air. Apparently, his enthusiastic tone had affected the other members as well and Hunny was nodding happily.

Kaoru shrugged off-handedly. 'I don't really care.'

'All right then, it's decided!' Tamaki declared, tactfully not letting Kyouya get a chance to voice any opposing opinions. Kyouya sighed, pushing his glasses up as he surveyed the assemble. 'Okay, Monday it is.'

'Yay!' Hunny jumped up and down, tugging on Kaoru's sleeve. 'Good luck, Kao!'

'I know what we should do!' Tamaki sprang forwards in excitement, obviously hyped by the energetic mood. 'We should go somewhere in the weekend to celebrate Kaoru's recovery!'

Mori smiled at this. The Host King was still so childish sometimes. Well, at least the club was back to normal again.

'No.'

Tamaki visibly drooped under Kyouya's stern gaze. He rushed to his side, ready to begin one of his nagging episodes. 'Why, mother?' he whined, tugging on Kyouya's sleeve.

'It's a waste of time. We need to be organizing for the reopening, and deciding on what will attract the clients' attention towards Kaoru.'

'Easy! Pure charm.' Tamaki struck a pose, causing Haruhi to shudder. 'Please! Moth-er!! Pleeease?'

Kyouya let out a long and suffering sigh. Kaoru and Hunny looked a little concerned. And rightly so, Mori thought in alarm as the normally calm club member began to steam. There was a reason why Haruhi had dubbed him 'The Shadow King.'

'NO!'

Despite all odds, Tamaki had still not given up. He composed himself, doing his best to be as tall and intimidating as possible. Mori actually thought that he looked quite formidable...that is, before he plunged headfirst into one of his insufferable speeches -causing Kyouya's hands to twitch by their sides.

'But it will be a good chance for us to attain inspiration! Stimulus! Eureka moments! What better place to chance upon insight than on a beautiful night where the stars rain down from heaven-'

'Tamaki.' Mori spoke, spurred into verbal communication by the dangerous glint that was coming off Kyouya's glasses. Tamaki stopped in mid sentence, glancing in surprise at the sound of the voice. His jaw dropped to the ground as he stared at Mori in shock.

He was over-reacting slightly, Mori decided, that is -until he looked around at the other members. Kaoru was staring at him in wide-eyed disbelief, as was Haruhi and even Hunny looked a bit surprised –which was strange as he'd heard him talk many times in the past. Mori sighed quietly. Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea-

'Mori!' Tamaki was at his side is a flash, staring in awe as if he'd just performed some amazing act of talent. Which –to the rest of the members at least- perhaps he had. Mori frowned slightly. Tamaki did have a strange knack of being able to suddenly appear at one's side in no time at all. At that moment the Host King seemed to be overcome with a strange bout of emotion. He was dabbing once again at his eyes, sniffing as he did so. He looked up at him, his eyes bright and watery. 'Mori, my good man! Your words are an inspiration to us all! Your voice, it is so wise, so inspiring! So-'

'Tamaki, you know Mori only said one word. And that was your name.' Haruhi rolled her eyes, obviously fed up with Tamaki's immature antics. Tamaki frowned defensively at her. 'I know Haruhi, my dear child! But was it not said in such a way that lifted your very heart to the rooftops?'

Haruhi pretended to ponder the thought for a moment. Then she stared directly into Tamaki's eyes.

'No.'

Tamaki ran sobbing into his corner. Hunny bee-lined after him, holding Bunny out in front of him. The four other members watched on in dumbfounded silence, each with their own doubts. That boy… Mori sighed, certainly not for the first time that day, and not by any means the last. Tamaki was such a strange boy, so unpredictable in his actions. And so emotional… Mori glanced sympathetically towards Tamaki's corner, where Hunny was comforting him. The poor boy seemed to be going there more and more often lately, as the members became increasingly frustrated and short-tempered with his theatrics. Of course though, Hikaru's sudden departure had also played a significant role in it, causing the members to be on a shorter leash than usual.

Next to him, Kaoru smirked softly as he looked over towards the forlorn Host King. Well, it was good to see he was back to normal. Kaoru saw him looking and glanced at him, his eyes still amused. Mori regarded him for a while, before nodding slightly and turning away. Kyouya looked a little exasperated as he tried to get the meeting back into order. He scribbled a few notes into his book before motioning to the other members. 'Next Monday. Kaoru, you heard me, correct?'

'Uhuh.' Next to him, Haruhi looked up at Kyouya. 'What will happen if Kaoru loses popularity?'

Kyouya didn't even twitch. 'He gets kicked out.'

Kaoru flinched. 'Ouch.'

'It is a necessary course of action. If Kaoru has no more clients, then what's the point of keeping him?'

'But what about us?' Haruhi looked determinedly up at the calculating club member. 'What about friendship?'

'There are no friends here. Only colleagues.'

Haruhi looked displeased. Mori gazed at her sadly. She was so loyal to the members. She cared about them so much. She was so…

'Kyouya! We're back!' Hunny sprang out from behind them, tugging a still tearful Tamaki behind him. The Host King was hugging Bunny to his person, lent to him generously by Hunny. Mori looked down proudly at the small boy. He was learning to share now, that was a good sign. Maybe he would even brush his teeth without reminder after a while- But of course, that was still some time away.

'Mother…' Tamaki walked numbly over to Kyouya, tugging half-heartedly on his sleeve. He mustered up the best puppy eyes he could. 'Please?' Hunny joined in, combining the two to make a double attack of puppy eyes.

Evil Puppy Eyes of Doom… Kyouya finally snapped, unable to hold his will under the power of a double attack of cuteness. Mori shivered slightly at the thought.

'Fine. But it has to be short.'

'Do not fear, Mother! I have just the thing in mind!' Tamaki leaned in conspiratorially. 'We'll go stargazing!'

'What?'

'That's right, my dear!' Tamaki plucked Haruhi's chin between thumb and forefinger. Mori felt a pang of annoyance. He tried squashing it down as Tamaki continued on. 'We will come to escort you at seven o'clock precisely on Saturday.' He turned to the rest of the club members, releasing Haruhi's chin. She rubbed it, shooting Tamaki a look of pure exasperation.

'Has everyone understood? Seven o'clock, we meet at Haruhi's house! I know a perfect little commoner's hill that will be perfect for stargazing! And such a beautiful art it is too, is it not?' He turned, beaming towards Haruhi. 'You must show us all of the commoner's shops on the way. Be sure to point them out to us-'

He was cut off abruptly as Kaoru punched him in the face. Mori looked on blankly as Tamaki began spurting a torrent of indignation, chasing the boy around the hall with much gusto.

'Come back here! Stupid Kaoru!'

'Tono is an old pervert! Hitting on Haruhi like that!'

Mori watched the scene with a mixture of disbelief and familiar amusement. Before he could stop him, Hunny gave a squeal of delight and began running after them, intent on joining in with the fun. He looked down. Haruhi was standing beside him again, regarding the scene with undisguised disbelief. And shock. And perhaps horror.

No doubt, Mori thought as he looked fondly down at the young girl, she was imagining the amount of tidying up she would have to do after they were done. He thought he saw some white hairs appear as her brain began working in overdrive, imagining the possibilities. He gave her a comforting pat on the head, walking away to leave her staring after him in surprise.

AN: Review please! Soz I updated later than usual, I was struck by a plague of author's block, plus a mountain of stress and homework and exams etc, etc... -shudders at the thought-

What you think? Criticism is regarded as gold and diamonds here, so please don't hesitate! Other comments appreciated too!