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

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE BEACH TRIP

"So what are we doing?" Asami asks, adjusting the dress Kaori and Hikari chose for her to wear for this date—an A-line, powder blue dress adorned with floral patterns and accompanied by white kitty heels. Kuroo gives her a cat-like grin and holds his hand out. She eyes it before slowly taking it. Kuroo finally cashed in that date with her since he was in the area for volleyball practice.

"You'll see," he replies mysteriously. She raises an eyebrow but shrugs and follows him through the bustling streets of Tokyo. He shields her from incoming traffic as they bolt across the busy street. They walk for a few minutes until he stops and releases her hand to dramatically gesture to the place behind him.

"You're taking me bowling?" She asks, eyeing the bowling place before them.

"I want to see if you have a competitive side." He smirks. "Are you ready to show off your bowling skills, if you even have any?"

"I'm a pro at bowling, I use to go all the time with Hikari and Kaori. It was the one thing we could do to entertain ourselves in a small village." She scoffs, playfully flipping her hair over her shoulder as she walks by him and into the bowling center. Kuroo laughs and follows after her. The two take their time getting their bowling shoes and balls, selecting a lane to play their game.

"Let me show you how it's done, kitten." He winks at her and wiggles his body in a weird way while getting ready to bowl. He aims for the middle of the pins to get a strike, but he fails as a two pins on the left side stay standing up. He pouts and she laughs at him.

"You got a bit too overconfident there." She teases. He grabs his bowling ball once it comes back up the rack and throws it at the two pins left behind, missing it completely. He groans and she steps up to the challenge, grabbing her ball and waiting for her pins to set up. She smirks at him and throws the ball, getting a strike. She spins on her heel and spreads her arms out, taking a dramatic bow.

"Wow," he slowly claps and shakes his head in disbelief. "You're gonna show me up." She laughs at his words and they continue their game of bowling. She gets a few more strikes, making a dramatic show of returning to their seats after each one. Kuroo continues to struggle to even get more than three pins down each turn. Their game comes to an end with Asami scoring a total of 143 points compared to Kuroo's measly 104 points.

"Watching you lose that game was like watching a cat trying to catch a laser pointer; you were close, but it slipped through your paws!" Asami jokes, giggling at her cat related roast as they make their way to grab some food. "Don't worry about losing, just consider it a warm-up before you pounce back stronger next time."

"You're right, that game was just me practicing my big leap to success. I'll bring more cat-itude to our next one." He smiles at her. 

"You know, losing that game is like spilling milk, there's no need to cry over it." She snickers and pats his back in fake sympathy.

"Spilled milk or not, I'll clean up my game and make sure I'm purr-feet next time." The two of them continue to make cat-related jokes. They grab some pizza and soda, heading over to a table when Kuroo freezes after his eyes land on a group of people. "Oh no," he sighs.

"Something wrong?" She asks, looking over at the group of people with a raised eyebrow. She does not recognize any of them, but it seems like others do because some girls are swooning over one of the males.

"Those are just some idiots I know because our volleyball teams play against each other." He grumbles. "Let's sit far away—"

"Kuroo!" Suddenly, one of the males—having a neatly styled, dark brown hair that complements his dark brown eyes—bounces over with a vibrant smile on his face. "What are you doing here? And with such a stunning girl at that." He winks at Asami. Asami scrunches her nose up, taking a small step backwards. "Hello beautiful, my name is Oikawa Tōru, but you can call me your future boyfriend."

"Please don't talk to me like that." She states. "You're making me uncomfortable." Kuroo bursts out laughing and bends over, struggling to breath. Oikawa stares at her in shock while another male—this one has shorter dark brown hair, with dark sharp looking eyes—approaches and karate chops him in the neck.

"I'm terribly sorry for him," the male apologies. "I'm Iwaizumi Hajime, please ignore this idiot." He grabs Oikawa by the neck and pulls him up so they're face-to-face. "Obviously, Kuroo is on a date with this girl and you've made things uncomfortable, Shittykawa."

"Iwaizumi to the rescue like usual." Kuroo jokes as he finally catches his breath and stands up. "Oikawa, Iwaizumi, this is Souh Asami." He introduces the two to her. 

"You can just call me Asami," she informs Iwaizumi, "but you can't." She sends Oikawa a dirty look.

"It's nice to meet you, Asami. I'm sorry that we interrupted your date," Iwaizumi comments to them, "I'll be taking Shittykawa back with me." He tries to drag the male off but Oikawa digs his heels into the floor.

"No! I need answers! How can you not be falling for my charms? I'm the Great King!" Oikawa shuts in despair, reaching pathetically out to her.

"Great King? That sounds dumb." She states and an imaginary arrow pierces Oikawa's heart. Oikawa opens his mouth when another new person joins the fray.

"Oikawa, are you here to develop more strength in your wrists to better your serves?" Asami immediately sees the demeanor change in Oikawa as he glares harshly at the new male—who is towering over everyone and has practically black hair with dark eyes. "You should've come to Shiratorizawa. You wouldn't have to resort to such activities to develop wrist strength because of our harsh practices." Asami deadpans at how serious and blunt this person seems.

"Who are you?" Asami interrupts, narrowing her eyes at the tall male.

"Ushijima Wakatoshi." He replies as his attention shifts over to her. "And you are?"

"Souh Asami," she greets.

"I do not recognize you. Did Nekoma get a new manager?" He asks Kuroo.

"Nope, she's my date." Kuroo throws an arm around her shoulder and pulls her into his side. "Which all of you are currently interrupting." He stares at all of them in clear annoyance. Oikawa and Iwaizumi at least have the decency to look apologetic, but Ushijima merely furrows his eyebrows.

"You should not waste your time on such mindless activities." Ushijima shakes his head. "You should be playing volleyball and preparing for our upcoming practice matches against one another; though, I suppose it does not matter to you considering Shiratorizawa will once again triumph over your teams."

"Okay," Asami pulls Kuroo's arm and begins to walk away, "it was nice meeting you all, but I am quite hungry and would like to eat this found we bought." Her annoyance levels toward everyone is slowly rising to the point where she is about to explode.

"Oh," Ushijima blinks and turns to look Asami up and down as if suddenly just recognizing her from somewhere, "you go to Ouran Academy and your father is Souh Yuzuru, correct?" Asami stops and stares at him with wide eyes.

"How do you know all of that?" She asks. She prays to say that he read about her in the newspaper or online somewhere due to her history; however, she truly wasn't expecting his answer.

"Your father and grandmother haven't told you about me?" He frowns in confusion. "That is quite strange since our families are looking into a possible future engagement between us."

"What?!"

•••

During Host Club hours, various concerned eyes observe Asami's gloomy playing. She has been playing an array of sad songs on her harp for the guests today: starting off with The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel and is now finishing up with Yesterday by the Beatles. "Haruhi," the twins approach the girl studying in between guests. "Do you know what's wrong with Asami?" Kaoru asks, frowning. He honestly feels like everything happens to Asami. One day, she's happy and everything is falling into place and the next day, something terrible happens or she finds something bad out and is back to being sad and angry. Haruhi looks over at Asami and shrugs.

"I know she had a date this morning before host club hours started," she informs them, "I wonder if something happened during it." The twins exchange a glance. Kaoru looks genuinely upset about her going on a date while Hikaru looks a bit amused at Kaoru's reaction.

"A date?" Hikaru questions. "With who?" He smirks at Kaoru, clearly making fun of him in his head for being too slow in getting Asami.

"I don't know, it wasn't anyone who goes here. She met him at a volleyball match at Nekoma High School." She answers, staring at Kaoru with a knowing glint in her eyes. "He had the guts to ask her out straight to her face within moments of meeting her." Kaoru frowns and Hikaru snorts, patting his brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, some people just have the right confidence to go for what they want while others are too shy and wither away in the shadows." Hikaru jokes. Kaoru gapes at the duo as they laugh knowingly at him.

"Well," he shots a glare at them, "are you excited for the beach trip?" He quickly changes the subject. He does not need to be lectured on how to improve his love life. When the time is right, he'll confess to Asami—but that time certainly isn't now.

"The beach?" Haruhi repeats questioningly.

"Yes, the beach!" The twins look at her in astonishment that she already forgot about the conversation after the incident at the water park. "You said it before!"

"That you wouldn't mind going to a real beach." Kaoru comments.

"Did I?" Haruhi scrunches her face up in thought. She tries to think back to when she would've said such a thing.

"Yes, you did. And so..." Hikaru and Kaoru show Haruhi an array of swimsuits. "... we've prepared swimsuits for you." Kaoru smiles.

"They're cute, aren't they?" Hikaru sighs dreamily, eyeing the string bikini in the corner. Kaoru backhands him and smiles, feeling a bit better after hitting his brother.

"I think... that this kind of swimsuit would suit Haru-chan!" Mitsukuni takes a nice, one-piece swimsuit and shows it off. The twins tsk and shake their heads in disapproval.

"You don't really get it, Honey-senpai." The twins state. "With her "flat board" chest, she can fool others just by wearing our uniforms." Hikaru says, gesturing to Haruhi.

"And so having her wear a one-peice to expose her meager body would just draw tears." Kaoru adds on.

"And so! This separate swimwear type we carefully chose does a good job covering this problem with frills!" They present their bathing suit with a smirk.

"How dare you two keep sexually harassing my precious daughter That's quite enough!!" Tamaki shouts in anger, launching himself at the twins.

"So we're not going to the beach, then?" They asks, dodging his attack.

"Who ever said we're not?" Tamaki questions.

"Oh, so you do want to go!" They send him an evil smile.

"Can my bunny come along?" Mitsukuni inquires while holding Usa-Chan. He looks over at Asami and frowns because she is not participating in the conversation like usual.

"I guess there are no objections?" Kyoya asks while looking up from his notebook. Takashi shakes his head no. "Asami," he calls out and catches the girls attention. She walks over, standing rather close to Takashi. "Do you have objections to going to the beach?" She shakes her head no. She could really use a beach trip.

"Huh? We're really going?" Haruhi asks.

"Now then... to the beach we go!" Tamaki dramatically points a finger and marches off into a pretend sunset.

"Asami," the twins appear on either side of her and lead her away from Takashi's side. "We found the perfect bathing suit for you." They rip away two curtains to reveal a two piece, lavender colored bathing suit with gold intricate details and lace.

"Thank you guys," she smiles at them, "it looks beautiful." She likes the change in color that they usually pick for her.

"No!" Tamaki appears, shielding his sister from the twins. "That is too impure for you! Those shady twins are trying to pull a fast on you! I will not let them!"

•••

Asami gazes around the courtroom from her seat on the plaintiffs side. The judge sits on an elevated area with a microphone and gavel on top of a podium. Next to the judges bench, is the witness stand on one side and one the other side sits the court reporter. She turns to see various possible jurors sitting in the public gallery with numbers taped to their chests, some whispering to each other after they notice the Souh family. She winces, not appreciating the attention and turns to look at her brother. "This is weird." She whispers to him.

"I agree," he mumbles back with an uncomfortable look on his face. "Do you want to talk about what's truly bothering you? You have been acting like you're grieving something or someone all day." He reaches over to grab her hand and gives it a tight squeeze. She makes sure her father is busy discussing things with Yoshiro and their official lawyer before turning back to Tamaki.

"I'm grieving my future. Father and grandmother have apparently been searching for suitors for me." She informs him, the dread at the situation settling in her chest. She does not want to be forced into a loveless marriage. His eyes widen in shock.

"Already?" He questions. "I'm the heir, they should be focusing on my future before they even consider looking for a suitable suitor for you." He seems genuinely confused which creates a sense of comfort in her chest. She knew in her heart that her brother would know nothing about this suitor business for her, but seeing his reaction calms any doubts her brain came up with.

"I'm assuming grandmother thinks I need to be more tamed or something like that." She rolls her eyes before directing her attention on her father. "When is he going to stop lying to me?" She mumbles, turning to put her face in Tamaki's chest. "There are boys out there who know everything about me, yet my father doesn't even give me the courtesy of telling me about their existence. How many suitors are there?" He gently pats her back. She tenses when their father takes the seat next to her. Suddenly, an influx of policemen enter the courtroom with Emica and her lawyer in tow. Emica's eyes immediately land on Asami and a smile breaks across her face.

"My little butterfly!" She cries out in happiness. "I've missed you so much, come give mommy a hug." The policemen tug harshly on her handcuffs and force her to sit in her assigned seat on the defendants side. Kenichi sighs, rubbing his face in irritation at his clearly deranged client.

"Don't worry," Yuzuru whispers, "Mr. Okano is one of the best lawyers in the country. He'll put her away for good," he glares at Emica while resting his arm on the back of Asami's chair in a protective manner. Asami shuffles a bit in her seat, bringing it closer to Tamaki. Yuzuru pauses and sighs before lifting his arm off her chair. He assumes she is still angry about the affair he had with Emica (if only he would stop doing things that piss his children off but that's inevitable). "They are going to start questions jurors and choosing which ones will be apart of your trial." The gavel sounds and everyone turns their attention to the judge.

"Let's begin with the jury selection. Kenichi, you may proceed with your questions." Judge Sasaki orders. Kenichi rises, scanning the potential jurors with a thoughtful expression.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your presence here today. We understand the gravity of the charges against our client, Emica. Now, let's delve into some questions to ensure a fair and impartial trial." He begins questioning each potential juror, exploring their backgrounds, beliefs, and any potential biases. "Juror number three, have you or anyone close to you ever experienced a similar situation to the one in question?"

"No, I haven't." Juror number three is a middle-aged woman.

"And juror number five, do you have any preconceived notions about the case based on what you might have heard?" Juror number five, another middle aged woman, straightens her back up a bit.

"I've heard a bit about it, but I'll base my judgment solely on the evidence presented in court." Asami  snorts a bit, knowing that they probably heard more than a little bit about this case considering all the media coverage that surrounded it. After rejecting a few jurors and selecting others, he takes her seat, and it's now Okano's turn.

"Thank you, Your Honor. Now, ladies and gentlemen, the prosecution seeks a fair and just trial as well. Your honest answers are crucial." He proceeds to question the potential jurors, aiming to uncover any biases that might favor the prosecution's case. "Juror number nine, do you believe that the age of the victim at the time of the kidnapping might influence your perception of the case?" Juror number nine is a much older man.

"It might, but I'll do my best to focus on the evidence presented."

"Juror number twelve, have you ever worked in law enforcement or any related field?" Juror number twelve is a younger looking male.

"Yes, I was a police officer for several years."

"Given your background, do you think you can set aside any preconceptions and assess the evidence objectively?"

"I believe I can, sir." After thorough questioning, both attorneys present their challenges, and the judge finalizes the selection. Asami watches the entire process in confusion and awe. She feels a bit intimidated by how strict and fast everything is going. Emica has been quietly giggling in her seat which causes Asami to frown. Sure, Emica demonstrated bipolar tendencies but she never truly acted crazy. Despite everything that has happened between them, Asami feels a bit concerned and worried for Emica.

"The jury is now seated. We appreciate your commitment to justice. The trial will commence in two days." The judge announces and hits his gavel. He raises from his seat and leaves with a few policemen escorting him. Asami stands up with the help of Tamaki and the two start to head for the door.

"No!" A raged scream emits from Emica as she struggles against the policemen. Asmai jumps and grabs onto Tamaki's hand for comfort. Her eyes stare wildly at Asami, "I will not let you take my daughter away from me again! Let me go!" Tamaki tucks her head in his chest, quickly escorting her out of the court room.

"Thank you," she mumbles softly.

"Anything for you," Tamaki mumbles back while gently squeezing her hand. The two frown when their father joins them. The trio head back home in complete silence. Yuzuru continuously glances between his children, debating on what to say to them. He can never find the right words to say to them. As they get out of the car and walk into the house, he pauses in front of them.

"You guys know I love you, right?" He asks, turning around to face them.

"How can you love us when you hide secrets from us?" Asami questions with a harsh look overcoming her features. "Tell me, father, how many suitors have you looked at for me already?" Yuzuru seems to freeze at that question. "Yeah, I met Ushijima today and it was very weird to meet someone who already knew stuff about me yet I didn't know anything about them."

"Shizue is the one who pushed for a list of suitors to be made for you," he explains slowly, "we planned on having luncheons with each family to introduce you to each suitor before we arranged for hang outs between you and them to get to know each other. Your grandmother wanted you to have a choice between your suitors." Asami laughs humorlessly at that.

"A choice? It really isn't a choice when I'm being force fed the options. Who are they?" She asks. "I deserve to know their names."

"Shizue doesn't want you to know yet in case you decide to meet them without her present." He winces at the angry gleams in his daughter's eyes.

"I need time away from you," she informs him, "please do not speak to me until I'm ready." She grabs Tamaki's hand and goes to leave when Yuzuru's next word stops the children in their tracks.

"Shizue will be here next week. She will begin to arrange the luncheons." Tears swell in Asami's eyes as she realizes just how quickly her free will is being ripped away from her. She quickly leaves with Tamaki in tow. Yuzuru sits on the staircase and sighs, placing his head in his hands. Why did he ever think that having children would be a good idea? Parenting is hard.

•••

Asami relaxes on a beach towel in the sun with the bathing suit the twins picked out on along a white hat and sunglasses on. She enjoys the warmth of the sun on her skin. Emica took her to the beach a few times which Asami loved because she was never allowed to go anywhere else. She lifts her hat a bit to see the twins approaching her and Haruhi. "Can't we have one moment of peace?" She grumbles causing Haruhi to laugh.

"I don't think I've known a moment of peace since I was forced to join the host club." Haruhi comments, now causing Asami to laugh. The twins approach after finishing their volleyball game, curiously eyeing the laughing girls.

"We didn't know we would be fooled like this. We thought he wouldn't dare bring the clients along." Hikaru grumbles. "You can't even wear the bathing suit we picked out." Haruhi looks a bit thankful for not being able to wear it. "And why did we even choose Nekozawa's private beach?" Haruhi gasps and gestures to a cat looking rock, slapping Asami's arm. Asami looks over and shrugs, nodding her head and the two head over to the cat rock while everyone else is too busy talking. Haruhi gets on her knees and hands and leans over the edge of the rock to gaze at the water below. Asami observes the scenery, wondering why there are swords and skulls all over the sand.

"Everyone having fun?" Tamaki screeches in fear as Nekozawa appears out of thin air.

"Kyoya! I told you I wanted to borrow your private beach!" Tamaki shouts while sending wary looks at Umehito—still completely convinced that the male cursed him.

"It was a sudden plan and Haruhi wanted to go somewhere close by domestically," Kyoya looks bored, "especially since she does not have a pass port." Hikaru, Kaoru and Tamaki grumble to themselves, all of their private beaches are overseas so Haruhi could not go there either and Takashi and Mitsukuni do not have private beaches.

"The cat rock is where each generation of the Nekozawa family's offerings are placed to worship our family's guardian deity...there's a legend that says if you jump off into the sea from there, you will never again come back up." Umehito creepily informs everyone. "Oh look, there are two brave challengers over there." The host club members look over to see Haruhi and Asami in the cat rock.

"Haruhi! Asami!" The twins and Tamaki screech, bolting towards the girls. Asami shrieks when she is suddenly being tightly hugged by Kaoru while Hikaru holds Haruhi done and Tamaki dramatically leans against a graveyard stone.

"Dangerous, almost lost my precious daughter and sister," he whimpers.

"I tried to create a more artistic atmosphere for everybody's enjoyment. It would be an honor if it's to your liking." Umehito informs them, appearing once more behind Tamaki. Tamaki seems to die in fear as his figure turns white. "I wanted to establish a closer friendship with Tamaki." The said blond boy screeches in response. Asami wiggles out of Kaoru's arms and walks over to Umehito with a smile.

"I like it! It's got that horror movie beach vibe." She exclaims.

"Thank you," Umehito says to her. "How are your cats doing?"

"They're such bundles of joy, I love them. It's great seeing each of their personalities come through." She informs him. "It's nice to see you again, senpai." The twins glower at the blush that appears on Umehito's face. "We should go to a cat cafe together sometime."

"I would like that," he stutters.

"Haru-Chan! Ami-Chan!" The girls turn to see Mitsukuni and Takashi approach them with buckets and shovels. "You wanna go hunt for clams?"

"Clam hunting?" Haruhi questions.

"Ohhh, that sounds fun," Asami claps her hands together. Takashi hands the girls their own shovel and bucket.

"But it's not in season and it's high tide," Haruhi expresses her clear confusion on the matter.

"Don't worry, we loaded the beach." Mitsukuni grins. Asami pauses and exchanges a look with Haruhi, both thinking 'these damn rich people.' They begin to look for clams by the shoreline. Asami hums to herself, happily moving the skulls and bones out of her way. She grabs one hand and playfully hides it behind her fingers.

"Hey Haruhi, can you give me a hand and help me up?" Asami asks. Haruhi, without looking, reaches out to grab Asami's hand and help her up except she accidentally grabs the bone hand. She blinks in surprise, staring at the bone hand in her hand before looking over at Asami who is laughing loudly at her prank.

"As long as Haruhi and Asami are enjoying themselves," Tamaki mumbles. "There's a lot of strange objects scattered around too." He sweat drops as he watches Asami's prank unfold.

"Yeah, you're right." The twins mumble back, all three staring at the girls.

"Asami," Kaoru sits next to her with his own shovel and bucket. "Do you need help?" She looks over her shoulder at him and smiles.

"I'd love the help." She says.

"I bet I can find more clams than you," he smirks at her. He enjoys watching her competitive spirit come to life. He normally only sees it in the classroom when she's trying to correctly answer the most questions in the quickest amount of time.

"Challenge accepted, let's see who the true clam hunter is." The competitive gleam enters her eyes as she returns the smirk. "Ready, set, go!" With that shout, the two head off to hunt for clams. They stroll the shoreline and carefully look for any signs of clamshells in the sand. Asami wiggles her toes in the raising tide, enjoying the salt water washing over her feet with the sun beating down on her skin. She is biting the corner of her lip while hurriedly scooping out clams to put in her bucket.

"I heard these clams are ancient warriors and have been buried here for centuries. We're unearthing a clam army," he jokes as he finds some clamshells.

"Maybe we can get Nekozawa to bring them back from the dead so they'll be our new army." She muses.

"And what would we use our clam army for?" he asks.

"First, we take over the host club. Then, the world," she comments. The two loomkover at Tamaki who still seems absolutely terrified of everything around him. "It'll be pretty easy to overcome him," their eyes drift over to Kyoya who is writing in his notebook, "and maybe we can recruit him." Kaoru chuckles and pauses when he finds a fairly large clam.

"Oh, look at this one!" Kaoru holds it up for Asami to see. "Now this is the king clam."

"All hail the king clam," Asami dramatically bows, "thank you for the bountiful hunt." She raises and reaches out for the clam which he willingly hands over. "I am the new King!" She shrieks, holding it high above her head. Customers send her weird looks along with the other host club members.

"Look, it's a huge crab!" Tamaki holds up a crab towards Haruhi, "you like crabby crabs," suddenly, a centipede crawls over Tamaki's fingers.

"Centipede!" The customers shriek and run away in fear. Haruhi rolls her eyes, grabbing the centipede form the crab. Asami skips over and holds out her hand for the centipede. Haruhi hands it over.

"I know you'd just throw it away and hurt it," Asmai says with a look at Haruhi who shrugs. "Come on, little one. Let's put you somewhere safe." She skips over to the cat rock and rests the centipede on it. She watches it scurry away.

"It wouldn't have died if I threw it." Haruhi comments.

"Yeah, but that's mean." Asami pouts. The customers surrounds them, praising for how they acted towards the bug.

"King, king," the twins whisper and grab onto Tamaki, "we've thought of a good game to play. It's called, who can find haruhi and Asami's weakness game." They smirk mischievously.

"You guys are the worst," Tamaki dismisses them.

"Sorry, sorry, seems like you don't have any confidence. After all, your weaknesses are never shared with someone unless you're real intimate with each other." The twins comment, "so it goes without saying that it'll be too difficult for the king because while Asami may trust him, Haruhi surely doesn't." The twins try not to laugh at how quickly Tamaki changes his mind. They truly know what to say to get on his nerves.

"The rules?" He asks.

"By tomorrow evening, whoever finds their weaknesses first is the winner."

"And the winner gets?"

"Assorted pictures of Haruhi and Asami in middle school." Kyoya interrupts them, showcasing the middle school photos of them. Kaoru gapes and reaches out determinedly for Asami's pictures while Hikaru and Tamaki do the same for Haruhi's.

"I wanna join too," Mitsukuni states while giggling. He may not have strong feelings for the girls, but they are certainly cute. Takashi raises his hand to also join the game. "How did you get those, Kyoya?"

"Through certain routes." He replies vaguely. "Thanks to this, I won't be so bored anymore." He muses.

•••

Asami crosses her arms and stares at the twins as they escort the girls to the cat rock cave. She knows something is going on because she can sense the mischievous nature from them. "It's okay, it's okay." Hikaru assures the group. "According to the map, it says that the cave in the cat rock leads to a regular road."

"Although the townspeople seldom come here. Because whatever anyone might say, the cursed members of the Nekozawa family are buried in the cave walls in here." Kaoru creepily says.

"Night after night, a bony, bloody skeleton hand will grab anyone passing by and drag them into the walls," Hikaru finishes and a bony hand appears to grab Haruhi's shoulder. The guests scream and huddle close to each other in fear. Asami rolls her eyes at the twins, comforting the guests ("it's just the twins being dumb, they get off to the screams of girls.")

"Were you not listening to the story?" Hikaru asks the duo, holding the hand.

"I was, it was a good story to tell around a campfire." Asami states.

"I did listen too, but I tend to not believe things until I actually see it myself. And I figured you were up to something like this." Haruhi tells them.

"Failure," Kaoru grumbles in disappoint.

•••

"Look here, you can climb up to the eyes too!" Mitsukuni excitedly states as they trek up the cat rock. Asami gazes in awe at the ocean, watching the waves roll in and the seagulls dive into the water to grab some fish. She blinks in surprise when she is suddenly lifted up into the air with Haruhi. She glances down to see Takashi staring up at them.

"What are you doing?" Haruhi asks, no amount of panic in her voice.

"Thank you," Asami directs her gaze back out to the ocean, "now I can really see everything. Isn't it beautiful?" She sighs happily. The boys glance at each other.

Another fail. 

Asami stands in the dark with Haruhi and the boys. She reaches out her hands to slowly find her way to someone. "I cannot see at all, can someone help me—oh." She stops when her hands land on someone's chest. "Who is this?"

"Me." Takashi says.

"Takashi, can you lead me out of the cave? I can't see very well in the dark." She tells him. He gently leads her out of the cave with his hands.

Fail.

"Pointy," Asami goes to touch the spear that Takashi is pointing at her and Haruhi. Takashi quickly pulls it away from her. "I just want to touch it," she whines.

"That sounds so wrong," Haruhi snorts, covering her mouth.

Fail.

The twins head off to bother Tamaki while Takashi comforts Mitsukuni after their last weakness test. Haruhi walks off in a random direction and Asami goes to follow when a voice stops her. "Asami," a group of girls appear and smile at her, "do you want to join us up at the cat rock?"

"Sure," Asami grins at them and together, the group of girls head up to the cat rock. "This may be rude, but I don't believe I know your names."

"That's not rude, it's understandable," one guests laughs. "You're usually busy helping the hosts with good and drinks or playing music during club hours. I'm Nakamura Haruka, I'm in Class 3B."

"I'm Ito Kanna," the other girl grins at her. "I'm in the same class as your brother and Kyoya-kun."

"And I'm Ishikawa Ayaka." The last girl introduces herself. "I'm in Class 1D."

"Oh, so I normally wouldn't cross paths with any of you during the school day," Asami observes and the trio nods their heads in agreements. They make their way to the top of the cat rock and lounge.

"I'm so happy that the host club decided to have an event here," Ayaka closes her eyes as she relaxes in the sun, "this is a nice break from typical Japan city life."

"Plus we got to see them all in their bathing suits," Kanna giggles and leans over the edge to gaze at Tamaki. "This may be gross to hear, Asami, but your brother is my late night bedroom fantasy." Asami scrunches her nose up while the other girls laugh. "He's such a gentleman, I wonder if he's more rough and wild in the sheets."

"Gross, you're only what? Fifteen? Sixteen? You shouldn't be thinking about that kind of stuff." Asami shakes her head in disgust. The trio exchange looks, giggling at the purity of Asami.

"The twins are mine," Ayaka smirks, "can you imagine taking them both in bed? That'll be so hot."

"Takashi is mine," Haruka eyes the said boy, "he's so silent normally that I wonder what kind of sounds he would make in bed."

"This is not what I had in mind when I agreed to come up here with you guys." Asami sighs.

"Don't lie to yourself or us," Haruka comments, "you definitely have had impure thoughts about at least one of the host club members. I mean, who wouldn't about their brothers' best friends? That's like the perfect love trope besides enemy to lovers."

"I don't know how many times we have to say this but real life isn't a book. Tropes don't exist here." Ayaka informs her.

"I mean, you can apply book tropes to real life," Asami disagrees. "Let's take the host club for example. Tamaki is the romantic hero, Kyoya is the brooding intellectual, the twins are the dynamic duo, Takashi is the silent guardian, Mitsukuni is the adorable sidekick, and Haruhi is the reluctant hero."

"Where do you fit in?" Kanna inquires. Asami pauses and overlooks the hair club, watching as the twins and Tamaki cause after a python, Takashi and Mitsukuni are back at clam hunting, and Kyoya is lounging in a chair with a cup of coconut juice. She does not see Haruhi anywhere and briefly wonders where the girl could've gone.

"Asami?" She breaks out of her thoughts and looks to see the trio staring at her in concern. "Are you alright?"

"I don't have a trope," Asami admits, "I don't think I'm suppose to be apart do this story, I don't belong." Before the trio could argue, a group of men appear from the cave.

"Hey, let's play together," four males approach the group with evil smirks. Asami jumps in front of the trio with a glare painted on her face. "Oh look here boys, we have a fighter." They laugh mockingly while advancing toward her. Asami's eyes sweep the ground and finds nothing that she can use as a sword. She tries to remember all the lessons Takashi taught her concerning kendo. The first guy rushes in, but Asami expertly sidestepped and landed a swift punch to his shoulder.

"She's fast!" One shouts. She smoothly dodges a punch from the second guy, delivering a counterstrike that sent him stumbling backward.

"Alright, enough of this!" The third guy charges, but Asami skillfully executes a judo throw, leaving him momentarily disoriented. She gets distracted and claps her hands excitedly.

"Takashi is going to be so proud that I just did that!" She gushes, knowing that she has been struggling to perform a judo throw for the last two weeks during their lessons. Turns out, she just needed a real life dangerous situation to execute it perfectly.

"You're not taking us down that easily!" Asami, regaining her composure, faces the fourth guy. They circl each other, exchanging cautious glances.

"No need for anymore unnecessary aggression. Let's end this peacefully." She tries to resolve the matter; however, the fourth guy lunges with unexpected speed, catching Asami off guard. He manages to overpower her, and with a forceful throw, she found herself hurtling towards the edge of a cliff overlooking the roaring ocean. She groans in pain and struggles to get back up to her feet in time to deflect a kick to the head. The trio of girls are screaming for help, clutching onto each in horror at what is occurring in front of them. Asami fights back, attempting to regain control, but the fourth guy's strength is overwhelming. She gasps in pain as he gets her into a headlock.

"Not so tough now, huh?" He whispers in her ear. "You look young, I can't wait to feel you—" he gets cut off as a clam is thrown at his head. He winces, but his grip on her does not loosen.

"Let her go!" Asami turns to see Haruhi standing there. "Stop pestering her." Haruhi glares hatefully at the male. Unknown to the group, another girl had seen the commotion and had run to grab help from Tamaki and the others. Two of the girls that Asami beat earlier are waking up, stumbling to their fight.

"Get that one boys!" The male holding Asami shouts, gesturing toward Haruhi.

"No!" Asami struggles, "don't touch them!" The man places his knee between her legs, pushing upwards and smirking as she stills. His one hand slowly trails up her stomach.

"I'll be willing to leave them alone if you come have fun with me." He licks her ear and wraps his one arm around her stomach, bringing her in closer to his body. "And of course, my friends will have their fun with you too." Tears swell up in her eyes at the sight of the two males hurting Haruhi.

"Haruhi! Asami!" The host club members appear on the rock, all looking quite angry at the situation. Asami relaxes in relief at the sight of them.

"You know, little kids like you should enjoy swimming." The two males push Haruhi over the edge. The male holding Asami smirks and lets her go, kicking her in the stomach and causing her to go over as well. Tamaki and Takashi bolt over the edge, reaching out to the girls. Takashi tucks Asami protectively to his chest as they hit the water and Tamaki does the same with Haruhi. 

The other host club members gather on the shoreline, waiting impatiently for the two to come back with the girls. Takashi and Tamaki come out of the water, holding their respective girl in their arms. Asami coughs up a bit of water, her eyes weakly glancing over at Kaoru. "Those bastards." Tamaki snarls.

"I just confiscated their IDs and politely asked them to leave." Kyoya informs them, wrapping both girls in towels.

"You should've arrested them," Asami comments quietly, "they were planning on..." she closes her eyes as she registers how dangerous the situation truly was. If Haruhi didn't get there...if the boys didn't get there in time, Asami and those other girls would be suffering right now.

"Kyoya and Hikaru, prepare to take the clients back to the hotel." Takashi gently placed Asami in Kaoru's arms while he takes Haruhi out of Tamaki's. "Honey-senpai, please consult Nekozawa-senpai and call a doctor."

"I'm okay, I don't need a doctor." Haruhi weakly says.

"I just need a therapist," Asami mumbles, tucking her head into Kaoru's neck. Tamaki's entire body language goes tense and rigid.

"Are either of you marital art experts like Honey-senpai or won any diving competitions?" Tamaki angrily asks.

"No." Haruhi replies.

"Well, no, but Takashi is teaching me," Asami defends herself, already knowing where this line of questioning was going.

"Then what? We were right here, but neither of you even called for us. Trying to face four men by yourselves, as girls, is dangerous! Where do you get off being so foolhardy?" Tamaki reaches out and grabs their towels.

"A man...a woman...those things don't matter, do they?" Haruhi scoffs. "When you encounter such a situation, you don't have the luxury to think about something like that." Asami nods her head in agreement.

"Still think about it!" Tamaki shouts.

"I apologize for causing any trouble but I don't understand why I need to get scolded for something more than that. I didn't do anything wrong! Asami didn't do anything wrong! We stepped in and tried to help those girls!" Haruhi yells, angrily defending herself and Asami.

"Then do whatever you want, I'm never talking to you again until you realize your mistake." Tamaki snarls at Haruhi. He pauses to look at his sister. "Do you understand what you did wrong?" Asami solemnly nods—her actions made them worry. She knows how Kazuki, Kaori and Hikai reacted to when things happened and she didn't tell them. She knows how her brother and the host club members are feeling. Tamaki nods his head and goes to leave.

"But," Tamaki pauses, "I'm not apologizing for my actions. I'm sorry that I made you worry, but those girls needed my help. I wasn't about to step aside and wait for help." She stares. Tamaki clenched his fists in anger before leaving. She tiredly rests her head back down and breathes in Kaoru's scent—a blend of citrus and musk. It comforts her. They all head to the house silently.

•••

"Tadah! The crabs are all cooked and ready." Mitsukuni excitedly announces while he places plates of crab down with Takashi. "Takashi, go call Haru-chan and Ami-chan."

"Okay," Takashi says and heads out to grab the girls.

"It's really dark, isn't it?" Mituskuni comments, gazing out the window and at the darkening sky. "It looks like it's going to rain."

"If you want to talk about dark..." Hikaru trails off while looking at Tamaki.

"... there's a much darker presence in here than compared to the darkness outside." Kaoru finishes. Tamaki is sulking behind a pillar.

"If he was going to be that depressed..."

"...he shouldn't have started a fight with them in the first place." The twins continue. Takashi arrives with Haruhi and Asami in tow. Asami waves happily at the twins, showcasing her pastel purple dress. The boys seem a bit shocked at seeing Haruhi in a pink dress.

"Haruhi, are those your own clothes? Did you borrow that from Asami?" The twins chorus in confusion.

"It seems my father repacked my suitcase." Haruhi sighs. She grabs Asami's hand and drags her to sit next to her at the table. "He always wants me to wear this kind of clothes."

"Good job, Haruhi-papa!" The twins laugh.

"Haru-chan, you're so cute!" Mitsukuni gushes before gasping and turning toward Asami. "You look cute too, Ami-chan! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to neglect you!" He cries out.

"It's okay," Asami smiles in amusement, "you guys see me in feminine clothing all the time. It's a rare sight to see Haruhi in some." The other host club members sit down for dinner. "Is Nekozawa-senpai not joining us?" She asks, looking around for their host.

"He is resting." Kyoya informs her.

"Yeah, we were playing a game and it said he was going to be struck by lightning and then he felt strong shocks so he went to bed," Kaoru tells her, "crazy right?" She hums in agreement. A few minutes pass of silence as everyone eats their food.

"The mood is kind of... dead here." Hikaru states.

"It's kind of tense, too." Kaoru mumbles. Haruhi is quickly snapping crab legs and devouring them loudly, which is angering Tamaki. Asami warily looks between the two, unsure of what is happening.

"This crab is delicious... Something like that." Haruhi says. Tamaki reaches for his crab but can't bring himself to. He watches as the pile of empty crab leg shells gets larger by Haruhi.

"Don't you think you're eating too much?" He asks.

"Huh? I thought you weren't going to talk to me." Haruhi snips.

"Urk! S-So not cute!" Tamaki gets up. "All right, I get it. You're not going to reflect upon what you did."  He looks angry and disappointed at Haruhi before glancing over at Asami and his gaze softens a bit. "I'm going to bed. Kyoya, take me to my room."

"Alright. Please excuse me." Tamaki and Kyoya leave the room.

"Maybe I should go learn some karate or something." Haruhi muses and turns to look at Asami. "Will you include me in your kendo lessons?"

"That'll be fun, but that's up to my teacher," Asami says and looks over at Takashi who merely shrugs.

"What? So that's on your mind?" The twins shake their heads. "Yet, that's your train of thought?" Hikaru asks.

"We won't stop you from learning or anything..." Kaoru continues.

"...but that's not the issue here." They finish together.

"Huh?" Haruhi gazes at everyone in confusion.

"At least Asami knows what this is about." Kaoru sighs. Haruhi looks at Asami for guidance. Asami smiles a bit at her.

"They were worried about us. That's why they're upset." Asami informs her.

"You were all worried about us?" Haruhi asks. The members present sigh at her oblivious nature. "I'm sorry." Hikaru, Kaoru, and Mitsukuni hug Haruhi.

"Aww, you cute little animal!" Hikaru gushes.

"We'll forgive you because you're so cute!" Kaoru yells. Haruhi suddenly becomes ill and Asami slides away from her with a scrunched up nose.

"You ate too much crab." Asami scolds. "Hurry, go to the bathroom."

"Haru-chan, hang in there!" Mituskuni yells after Haruhi's fading figure as she rushes to the bathroom. Asami raises from her seat and cracks her back.

"I'll be heading to bed as well. Goodnight everyone." She bids them farewell and begins to head to her room that Nekozawa showed her earlier when the twins appeared on either side of her. "Hey guys—woah!" She blinks in surprise when they both hug her tightly.

"We're sorry." Hikaru mumbles.

"We promised to not let anyone touch you and we broke that promise today." Kaoru whispers, tucking his face in her hair. Asami is frozen between them as the girl's earlier comments wanting to take both twins to bed pop into her head. A blush creeps onto her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" Hikaru inquires, curiously eyeing the blushing.

"I'm fine," she shakes her head to get rid of the dirty thoughts, she's too young to be thinking about that. "I'm just surprised you guys are blaming yourselves. It's not your fault those boys showed up and wanted to hurt us. It's not your fault that I got involved and got thrown off a cliff. I shouldn't have reached so impulsively." She tells them.

"Can we have a sleepover?" Kaoru asks, nervously shuffling his feet.

"Yeah, we can." She takes their hands and the trio heads off to her room. She turns on the television, hopping onto the bed with the twins following her. Her blush deepens as her thoughts once again drift to sexual ones as Hikaru and Kaoru relax on either side of her. Hikaru sends a smirk at Kaoru, amusing the blush may mean that she likes Kaoru. She decides to turn Disney+ on and chose a Marvel movie, The Avengers, to watch. 

"Who is the best Avenger?" Hikaru asks.

"Thor." Asami answers quickly.

"Captain America." Kaoru replies.

"Okay, you're both wrong. Iron Man is clearly the best Avenger." Hikaru scoffs.

"Are you kidding me? Captain America embodies the spirit of heroism and justice. He's the real deal." Kaoru shakes his head in disbelief.

"Hold on, both of you. Thor's strength and the whole Asgardian mythology add a unique dimension to the Marvel universe. He's the best." Asami argues.

"Sure, Thor is great, but Iron Man's inventions make him unparalleled."

"But Captain America's shield can deflect anything!"

"Who cares about any of that? Thor has actual powers! Those two are lame compared to him." The argument grows heated and soon enough, a pillow fight ensues. "Thor is a King!" Asami screeches, nailing Hikaru in the face with her pillow.

"His realm was destroyed, what a great king he was!" Asami throws the pillow to the side and goes to tackle Hikaru as Kaoru reaches out to grab her when a knock sounds at the door. They all freeze and the door opens to reveal Kyoya.

"Are you quite finished in here? Tamaki has gone to comfort Haruhi and I assume you three would like to see the end result as well." Kyoya comments. Asami shrugs and heads over to Kyoya, the twins following behind her. They warily eye the door because they do not hear any talking. 

"Was it really okay..." hikaru starts to say.

"...to let them be alone for this long?" Kaoru finishes the question.

"This is Tamaki we're talking about. What kind of mistake do you expect him to make?" Kyoya asks.

"Many." Asami snorts. "You don't see how creepy he is at home with her pictures."

"My lord! We're coming in." With those words from Asami, The Host Club members knock on the door and open it. Haruhi sits on the floor with a blindfold on.

"See? If you put a blindfold on, you won't see it. And if you put on earplugs for the noise --" Tamaki is speaking in a low voice.

"Ah, it's true!" Haruhi states.

"This guy is the worst." Hikaru scoffs in disgust.

"What kind of play is this?" Kaoru crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows at Tamaki. 

"I'm never letting you be alone with her again." Asami grumbles.

"N-No, you're wrong! It's not like that!!" Tamaki waves his hands around in a panic.

"Sure, it isn't." Asami sarcastically says. "I'm telling dad about you being a pervert again."

"No!"

•••

The next day. The Host Club is getting ready to go back home. Asami looks around for Nekozawa and frowns, once again not seeing him.

"Be careful, Haruhi." Hikaru glares at Tamaki.

"Apparently, our lord has some S&M fetishes." Kaoru comments.

"I said it's not like that!" Tamaki shouts with crocodile tears running down his face.

"I see. So that's S&M?" Haruhi muses. "He made me do stuff without me knowing it. Haruhi rolls up the car window. Asami quickly gets in on the other side and shuts the door on Tamaki's face.

"No! I was doing it for your sake!" Tamaki yells. "Asami, let me in!" She shakes her head.

"Drive." Kyoya orders.

"Hey!" The car drives off. "Hey! Don't leave me behind! Wait!!" He bolts after the car, reaching desperately out for it. Asami cackles in her seat, watching her brother struggle to keep up. She turns back around and blinks as she feels a hand grip here. She glances down before glancing up to see Kaoru staring straight ahead with a blush on his cheeks. She smiles softly and leans her head against his shoulder.

A sadness overcomes her heart as she realizes that one day, she'll be forced into a marriage and won't be able to be with the one person she genuinely likes.