At what price,love?

Chapter 34

It's the last chapter, I think I'm gonna cry.

Rei Inoue sat in her living room, regarding her niece. When the Hitachiins had contacted her again, it wasn't hard to guess where this was going. She was aware that they could offer Haruhi advantages that she could not and that adding another child would not strain their resources the way it would strain hers. But this wasn't about advantages and resources. It was about family and duty. And what was truly in her niece's best interest.

She told the Hitachiins she would not speak to them. But she would speak to Haruhi. Alone.

Rei had to suppress her irritation when Haruhi arrived in Osaka with her six escorts. "I said I wanted to speak with you alone."

The twins started to argue but Kyoya cut them off. "Of course, Madame, we will wait outside." They went to the front yard and prepared to wait.

"They don't take hints very well, do they?" Haruhi's aunt eyed the boys as they left.

"It's more like they don't trust very many people to do the right thing. And frankly, having seen the people they interact with, that's not an unfounded distrust."

"I see." She noticed how the boys clustered next to the open window. "And that excuses them from proper behavior?" Her aunt walked over to the window and closed it. Out on the lawn, Kaoru popped open a device that looked like a small satellite dish, plugged it into his computer and turned it towards the living room. Aunt Rei settled in to her imagined privacy. Her husband was at work. Kimi had been banished to her room, which she protested against until she realized she could sit at the window with her best friend and admire the lawn ornaments.

Rei took a deep breath and considered her niece as they sat facing each other. The girl didn't even have the decency to fidget. "You really think that it's somehow a good idea to move into a house with two boys who lack self-discipline, common sense or any apparent propriety? Who have, so far as I can tell, no measurable level of adult supervision. But who do have a romantic interest in you?"

"It isn't like that," Haruhi protested.

"Really? Because Kimi has 15 teen magazines that say it is."

"That was a misunderstanding."

"You know, I don't speak Italian or whatever language that press conference was in, but I would think 'he has loved her for years' would be hard to mistranslate." Watching her niece wither, Rei softened her tone. "Haruhi, you're very young. I know that living with a pair of rich, handsome boys who adore you sounds like splendid idea, but trust me, there are complications that can arise from that that you are not ready to deal with. And I don't just mean sex," she said, holding her hand up to forestall the objection, "although that is an issue as well. There are personal relationship issues from which, if you are living in the same house, you have no escape. You are awfully young for that."

"I'm awfully young to have lost both parents, too. I was awfully young to take over the household chores at six when my mother died. And I was awfully young at seven to take over the shopping. Life doesn't wait until we're ready," Haruhi said. "And you know what? Everything you've said about the Hitachiins is absolutely correct. Their parents are working people who try do their best for their children but there aren't enough hours in the day and sometimes they fall short. Their sons are stunningly good looking and smart and funny and just bad boy enough to make any woman crazy. But they are my best friends, and that is how I think of them. I am engaged to Kyoya Ootori. I don't know why everyone thinks I am going to walk away from that. He is brilliant and hardworking and focused and observant. He's kind, although he never wants to admit it. You should see the lengths he's gone to to make his friend Tamaki's dreams a reality. He offered to marry me to protect me from an old lady's anger even though that old lady was infinitely more valuable to him and his family than I will ever be. As you said, we're young. There's a very real chance we won't make it all the way to marriage. But right now, he means everything to me and I want to try to make this work. And I can't do that from half way across Japan." She paused for a deep breath. "And lest you think I'm just a silly teenaged girl with romantic ideas, you need to know it's not all about the boy. Ouran is one of the best schools in the country and all the colleges know that. I know you didn't always approve of my father, but surely my mother was everything you wanted: educated, honest, hard-working. The best way for me to follow in her footsteps is to get a first-class education but I need a scholarship to do that. I know this isn't the path that most people take, but I'm not starting from the same place. And if we're being honest, I'm not sure I want to go the same place everyone else is going." Haruhi swallowed hard. "Aunt Rei, you have been trying to take care of me since you found out about my father's condition, even before we actually met. And believe me, I value family loyalty very highly. In some ways, it's all I've ever had. You were willing to take me - a virtual stranger - into your home even at some cost to yourself and your family. And it is a lovely home and a lovely family and it suits you perfectly. But it is not for me. "