Haruhi pulled the ninja mask off of her face and slumped down into the couch. I suppose dressing up in cosplay all the time is fun, but I'm really exhausted from today Haruhi thought to herself. She felt some movement beside so she opened her eyes to see who it was. Ugh, Tamaki what's with the face? Maybe if I ignore him, he'll go away…

"Haruhiiiiiii-" Tamaki leaned over with both of his hands by his mouth in excited anticipation.

No such luck, well maybe if I stay quiet he'll-

"Would you put your mask back on?"

"WHAT? You want me to put my mask on? That's not a very nice thing to say! Just because I'm a commoner doesn't mean you can just insult my looks like that!" Haruhi sat straight up in her seat and raised her chin indignantly.

"It's just that it covers everything but you eyes, and they are so beautiful, I thought it would give me some time to study my daughter's captivating feature without any other distractions…" Tamaki said as he leaned in even closer and began poising himself to stick the mask back over Haruhi's head.

Haruhi leaned back and put both of her hands up trying to signal Tamaki to stop making his advance. Then the twins intervened. They hoisted her out of her seat leaving Tamaki to grasp at empty air. Kaoru had his arm around her shoulders and Hikaru around her waist, they were essentially trapping her. Kaoru stroked a finger across her chin and said:

"Distractions? You mean like her face, yes, I suppose the whole package is very distracting..."

Hikaru brushed a stray lock across her forehead "Boss, who are you to deprive the rest of us of Haruhi's gorgeous face?"

"Don't you two little monsters talk about my precious little girl that way!" Tamaki stood up in overly theatrical outrage. "Since she is my daughter I have a certain ownership of her!" Tamaki struck his dramatic pose with one arm pointing straight up in the air and the other resting on his hip.

"Tamaki, you are nowhere close to being Haruhi's dad! Besides…" Hikaru started

"If possession is 9/10s of the law, we have all of our classes with Haruhi so we are spending waaaay more time with her." Kaoru finished.

Hunny bounced into the middle of the conversation

"If anyone were to own Haru-chan, it should be me! Because she is so sweet and I LOVE sweet things! And I share everything, unless it's REALLY sweet, then I don't really like to share, or if it's my favorite cake, or if I've had a really tough day, so I should be the winner, don't you think Takashi?"

Mori raised on eyebrow "Uh, yeah"

Kyoya sat at the table typing on his laptop. He slid his chair out a few inches, letting it make a scraping sound across the floor and grabbing everyone's attention. The light glared across his glasses making his eyes impossible to see. A smirk spread across his mouth as he spoke:

"If we are talking about ownership in its truest form, as in slavery, and Haruhi is indebted to our club, and I am the accountant for said club, I do believe that ownership would be handled by me"

That comment sent the group over the edge. Kyoya turned back to his computer and began typing again, smirk intact, while Tamaki, Kaoru, Hikaru and Hunny all began yelling at the same time. Mori sat down on the couch and rested his head on his hand that was propped up on the arm of the couch.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU STUPID RICH PEOPLE? YOU CAN'T OWN A PERSON, A PERSON OWN'S THEMSELVES! YOU'RE ALL SUCH INCONSIDERATE JERKS!" Haruhi screamed at the top of her lungs. Everyone froze. Haruhi's shoulders rose and fell with each exasperated breath she took "Of course, what could I have expected from all of you? I am indebted to your club, first you wanted me as a dog, now as a host…I can't believe you guys." She turned and ran from the 3rd Music Room. She didn't stop till she was outside in the rose garden maze.

She was stewing in a gazebo. How in the world could that conversation ever happen in reality? Oh that's right, I'm the only one at this school who lives in reality.

"There you are."

Haruhi knew by the voice that it was Kyoya. No doubt he planted some sort of tracking device on me so that he would know where his property is at all times Haruhi thought bitterly. She didn't turn to look at him. He leaned his back onto one of the thick marble pillars of the gazebo and let the silence wash over them. Haruhi was getting nervous that they weren't speaking so she broke the quiet.

"I can always get a part time job somewhere to pay off my debt. The Host Club is proving to be a bit of a hostile work environment."

"Haruhi, I don't think you really have any reason to be upset. You see, we may be fighting over who 'owns' you…but it's really you who owns all of us. Hunny is bonded to you because he has found an equal to his sweet and kind spirit. Mori has found another person to protect, who can also perceive his feelings even without any words being spoken. You probably know Kaoru and Hikaru better than anyone else in the world and on top of that you can tell them apart. Tamaki's heart is yours in a way that he can't comprehend. As Kaoru would put it, Tamaki may have been the one to 'cast the spell', but I believe you are the magic that keeps it going."

Haruhi was dumbfounded. Her mouth was slightly agape. Kyoya then took a seat beside her.

"Kyoya-sempai, what about you?"

"Well, it's very important to me to get the books straightened out so your continued participation in club activities holds me hostage as long as you remain so popular."

Haruhi let out an annoyed sigh and looked at him out the corner of her eyes. She stood up and pulled his arm up till he was also standing and facing her.

"Come on, really now?"

"Every one of us everything to gain, and yet everything to lose by being the one to 'own' you. He put his hand on her shoulder "The truth is I gain something, not tangible from our relationship." Kyoya ran his hand through her short chestnut locks and let his hand rest at her neck with his thumb stroking her chin "To me, ownership would be a very interesting notion, in its own way, but I'd hate for this spell to…"

END