3rd person POV
(Previously)
"Hey, Yamaguchi?" Kasanoda said as he opened the empty club room," Oh maybe he's in the prep room. Yamaguchi? Hey are you okay?" He opened the prep room door to an unsuspecting Ayaka,"I'm sorry about... " Kasanoda blushed wildly as the sight before him. She had her backed turned to Kasanoda as she stood there in her bra trying to put her camisole back on. She turned and saw Kasanoda standing there staring and blushing.
"Get out!" Ayaka blushed and yelled trying to cover herself.
(Now)
Both of them stood frozen for a second before Kasanoda stuttered.
"M-My bad..." Kasanoda dashed out of the room and slammed the door shut. He leaned against it breathing heavily.
"Peeping Tom!" Hikaru and Kaoru screamed in his face with evil glares.
"Aah!" Kasanoda shouted.
"You saw." Hikaru stated.
"Didn't you, Bossanova?" Kaoru added.
"No! I didn't see!" He defended," I mean, I kind of glanced, yeah, but it was all so fast! I didn't! It was just an accident! I swear to you that I'm not a pervert!" Kasanoda cried out.
"Of course, you would say that sure sign of a guilty conscience." Honey said coldly. Kasanoda's legs started shaking as he leaned against the door.
"How is it that the lovely item is the scariest person in the room?!" He asked himself," So then Yamaguchi is a girl?" He asked the hosts.
"So he finally figured it out." Hikaru turned to Kaoru speaking calmly now.
"That's not good." Kaoru concurred.
"So, let's hear it." Hikaru sighed.
"How much of her maidenly terra incognita did you actually see?" Kaoru asked plainly.
"Well, she was changing, so I saw her underwear." Kasanoda looked down, not meeting any of the host's' eyes. Everyone looked to Kasanoda shocked.
"You saw Ayaka's underwear?!" The twins shouted shocked. The hosts looked at Kasanoda dangerously.
"So what do we do?" Kaoru asked viciously.
"There's only one thing to do. We have to induce amnesia." Hikaru said as Kaoru held Kasanoda's arms back," Hold him." He warned his brother.
"That's enough, you two. Leave assault and battery to the professionals." Kyoya said holding his hand out in a stopping way, but really not stopping anything.
"What are you? Made of ice? How can you be so calm about this?" Hikaru asked pointing the bat, he somehow gotten a hold of, at Kyoya.
"Look! Mori senpai so shocked he looks light headed! And the boss is regressing!" The hosts looked at Mori who was being fanned by Honey then to Tamaki who was sitting against the wall with smoke coming out of his mouth, comically.
"Well, now that we know what he's seen, let's talk. Ayaka is the first female host and we can't allow rumors to be spreading about her. While, we can't physically force you to cooperate exactly. There is something I would like you to bear in mind. Coming from the sort of family you do, I'm certain you hear all sorts of juicy little rumors, enough to know what is true and what is not. Take the Otori family's private police force, the Black Onion Squad. It is said that they can be mobilized against our enemies in the blink of eye. You have heard of them, right?" Kyoya pushed up his glasses and looked Kasanoda in the eye with an intimidating aura around him.
"Clearly, this isn't just a talk." Kasanoda noted in his head. The door opened behind Kasanoda.
"Guys, leave him alone. It was an accident. I'm sorry about this, Kasanoda." Ayaka said as she fixed her tie.
"Hey, Yamaguchi." He greeted her stiffly.
"Look, it's fine. I don't care. You can tell whoever you want to, but you'll pay for it." Ayaka playfully punched Kasanoda's arm.
"Well well, Bossanova." Hikaru deadpanned.
"Since you know she is a girl, are you in love?" Kaoru asked.
----
Tetsuya walked into the room after checking if Kasanoda ate his food, which he didn't.
"Tetsuya, how is the young lord?" One of the men asked.
"Did he refuse to eat dinner, again?" Another man asked.
"Yeah." Tetsuya answered their questions, sadly.
"Damn it all! What is wrong with him?! Are we not giving him the moral support like you told us to? When is he gonna slap the hell out of this?" The first man snapped.
"And what about kick the can, huh? Did I chug all those drinks for nothing?! We were supposed to play!" Another man cried, looking at the pile of drink can.
"I mean, did you see his face when he came home from school today? The young lord looked like he just killed somebody." The first man added. They all remember what he looked like as Kasanoda walked toward the house after Ayaka said bye and continued walking home, which they hadn't seen.
"Stop it now, please everyone. You mustn't be discouraged. The emotional support has been getting through to him, I know it." Tetsuya settled the men," It's just..." He trailed off.
"What?" One of the men questioned.
"Well, it's obvious that there's something different weighing on his mind today." Tetsuya struggled the understand what was wrong with Kasanoda.
"Well then, what's the matter?" Another man asked, worriedly.
"As I was bringing the young lord his dinner earlier this evening..."
Earlier
Tetsuya set the food tray with the others outside of the door. He kneeled by the door and peeked in,"Young lord?" He questioned.
"Like... Love... Like... Love... Like... Love..." Kasanoda pulled petals from a flower and gasped,"I knew it! I'm in love with Yamaguchi!" He shouted to himself,, holding up the singular petal.
"So, you're saying he is..." A man started.
"In love?" All the men asked Tetsuya curiously.
"Does the young lord even have a chance?" One of the men followed up.
"Oh yeah, I see the two of them hanging out together at school all the time. They've walked to and from school together for the past few days. Yamaguchi does have an unusually cute little face." Tetsuya puzzled,"I mean, for a guy." He added.
"What does that mean?" A man shouts confused.
"It means he's in love with a dude?" A man answers him shouting just as loud.
"I'm sorry about this, Kasanoda." Ayaka's voice echo'd in Kasanoda's head as he tangled his fingers in his hair.
"This is bad." He said wildly blushing,"Now that I know he's a she, I can't get her out of my mind."
"She's just so cute." He thought back to the smile she gave him as she said bye after they walked home together.
"Look, it's fine. I don't care. You can tell whoever you want to, but you'll pay for it." Ayaka's voice echo'd in Kasanoda's head again.
"She was, she was bluffing. Oh, how incredibly brave! My poor Yamaguchi! She must really be in some kind of desperate situation if she has to dress like a guy and be a host!" He ripped off his shirt and whipped out a marker and wrote down his arm 'Yamaguchi's secret for life'," All right, from this point forward, I'll keep Yamaguchi's secret even if it costs me my life!"
----
The next day Kasanoda slowly walked into the club room. His body swayed with heavy emotion. The girls turned and watched him walk in.
"It's Kasanoda, from Class D." A girl commented to those next to her.
"I heard he made himself Mori's apprentice." Another girl said.
"I wonder if that means he's training to be a Host too?" A girl wondered. They remained silent as he sat down on an empty couch. His body was stiff and he had a slight embarrassed blush on his face.
"I'd like to request Yamaguchi." He said trying to keep his voice from cracking. The girls screamed in shock.
"What is this?" A girl asked her friend.
"Is he for real?!" Another asked as most of them remembered that Ayaka is a girl. Renge rose from the floor laughing loudly.
"The genuine article, at long last!" She looked up with an evil gleam in her eyes.
"Renge, is it true? Does he really?" A girl looked up to Renge on her motorized pedestal.
"Could he really possess that kind of feeling?" Another girl asked.
"What are they going on about?" Kasanoda wondered,"You know, before yesterday people froze in terror if I so much as look at them!" He remembered back to yesterday," But for some reason today is different. However hard I glare, no one is freezing. Just the opposite. All eyes are on me. And it burns!" He realized.
"Welcome, Kasanoda. So you're my guest today huh?" Ayaka smiled as she walked up to the couch Kasanoda was sitting on and sat next to him with the tea tray.
"Well, that's right." He said to her.
"Come on. Keep it together, Ritsu. Don't lose your cool." He reminded himself. His legs started to shake under the table. He put his hands on his knees to keep from bumping the table.
"Would you like to have some tea? How much sugar do you normally put in?" Ayaka asked normally.
"Here. Let me help." Kasanoda offered, but Ayaka poured the tea.
"Now now, you're my guest, it's okay." Ayaka shushed him.
"So tell me. Is this your first time in a place like this?" Ayaka got in Kasanoda face and asked seductively. She chuckled when he jumped," Ha ha, gotcha." She sat back and picked up her tea platter and rested it on her knees as she sipped from the cup.
"You sure have this down, huh?" Kasanoda complimented.
"This kind of stuff comes naturally to me. I like to see people happy, so I just let go and have fun with it. Everything kind of just falls into place on it's own." Ayaka admitted and set the cup on the platter. The twins watch irritatedly from the sidelines as the two make happy conversation.
"Hey, don't just stand there Kyoya senpai! Get him out of here!" Kaoru growled at Kyoya.
"If he's getting along with his goons so well now, why does he need to be here in the first place?!" Hikaru raged.
"He hasn't said anything about Ayaka so far and since he is after all a paying guest, I can see no reason to reject him." Kyoya said coolly as he wrote in his book.
"But the other guests are afraid!" The twins barked.
"Oh no, I think not. Observe." Kyoya replied. The twins turned around to look at the guests. Roses floated in the air as the girls looked at the pair on the couch.
"The look on his face is just priceless." A girl blushed.
"I've never seen someone so in love before." Another girl sighed.
"Hello Sumire?" Renge pulled out her cell and called her friend," Forget about your stupid violin lesson and hightail it to the Host Club! I'm telling you. This is a one in a million chance to witness something truly amazing!" She fanned.
"Hello, Kurakano? You've gotta get to the host club right now! If you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!" Another girl called a friend. The girls watched attentively as the pair talked on the couch.
"See? We're just fine. Thanks to him we may even set a new record." Kyoya said coolly. The twins glared at him angrily.
"Money grubbing enabler." They growled in their heads.
"Can I pour you another cup of tea?" Ayaka asked smiling.
"Ah yes, thank you." Kasanoda replied with a pink hue on his cheeks.
"Oh no, she's giving him the flirtatious smile!" Hikaru raged.
"The one which no man can resist." Kaoru added.
"Wow, usually you guys wouldn't waste any time interrupting the two of them." Honey said smiling.
"Yeah, but our hands are tied. She would yell at us for butting in." Hikaru explained.
"Hey Boss, are you done being shell-shocked yet?"Hikaru asked viciously looking around the column to see a color drained Tamaki sitting there.
"Yeah, we could really use our King right about now." Kaoru agreed. The twins grabbed Tamaki and tossed him toward the couch.
"Go help her!" They yelled. Tamaki landed on his feet and started to walk toward Ayaka and Kasanoda on the couch. Ayaka noticed that Kasanoda was looking past her and looked behind her.
"Tamaki?" He walked up like a robot and sat in between them," Um, just what exactly are you doing?" Ayaka asked confused as to what the hell he was doing. She moved in between the two boys and pushed Tamaki to the the opposite end of the couch.
"Hey, if you want to sit down, do it over there. You can play with this if you need a distraction. It's a little freebie Haruhi gave me when she got the instant coffee at the supermarket earlier. You can have it." Ayaka put a small chain toy in Tamaki's hands then turned back to Kasanoda. Tamaki worked to unlink the small chains and they quickly became unhooked.
"Look, I've solved it, Ayaka." He said in a slow robotic tone.
"Wow, that was fast. Okay now, I think you're suppose to put them back together." She nodded and turned away. Tamaki went to try and put them back together.
"That moron..." The twins said in unison. Hikaru pulled out his phone and dialed Tamaki. In Tamaki's pocket his cell started to ring. He answered.
"Ma?" He said robotically.
"Earth to Boss! Will you snap out of it already?! The longer you sit there like an idiot playing robot, the worse the situation becomes for all of us!" Hikaru said stiffly into the phone.
"Now listen to me carefully! You can't let this happen! If she and that two-bit thug hit it off, she's going to spend her life as a mob wife!" Hikaru yelled into the phone. Honey noticed that Mori had a horrified look on his face. An image of Ayaka as a mob wife popped into Tamaki's head as he snapped his phone in half. His legs started shaking.
"What? No way!" Tamaki said into the broken phone. He slammed his hands on the table and stood up from the couch," Daddy won't stand for that!" He screamed with a glare in his eye.
"Oh, crap. Please don't do this." Ayaka said as the two looked up and the raging Tamaki.
"Bossanova!" Tamaki grabbed Kasanoda by the collar and got in his face. Kasanoda held his hands up shocked at the sudden outburst,"Just what do you think you're trying to do here?! You've established a bond with your henchmen didn't you?! Why aren't you with them right now?!"
"You tell him, sir!" Hikaru cheered, waving his hands in the air.
"Yeah!" Kaoru encouraged him punching the air.
"What about Kick the Can?! You remember that?! You should be out there enjoying life to the fullest with your friends while you're still young enough to appreciate it, before it all slips away right under your nose!" Tamaki continued to scream. He spun Kasanoda around, over the table," Why are you harassing our Ayaka?! As her father, I forbid you to see her!" Tamaki pointed his face, yelling.
"Wait. What? You're telling me that you're Yamaguchi's dad?" Kasanoda looked at Tamaki shocked,"You've gotta be kidding me. That's just not possible." The light in Tamaki's eyes dipped into the shadows.
"Oh no." Hikaru thought.
"He's painted the Boss into a corner." Kaoru thought as well.
"Well, we might not be related by blood." Tamaki muttered.
"Okay, so what? Are you married to her Mom, then?" Kasanoda laid on the heat.
"No, as a matter of fact, I've never met the woman." Tamaki started to sweat as his finger shrunk out of Kasanoda's face.
"So I guess you really aren't her father, are you?" Kasanoda glared up at Tamaki. Suddenly Tamaki swelled up like a balloon and popped flying away from Kasanoda.
"He's right. You know, strictly speaking, I'm not Ayaka's real father." Tamaki said breathily.
"Uh, strictly speaking or otherwise." The twins spoke harshly. Tamaki looked like the world was going to implode.
"Hey look! He's waking up!" Haruhi said. The hosts looked down on Tamaki as he laid on the floor.
"We need to sort this out." Tamaki said horrified.
"Sort what out exactly?" Kaoru asked.
"If, supposing I'm not our Ayaka's daddy after all..." Tamaki said drained.
"We don't have to suppose it, boss." Hikaru said plainly.
"What if she leaves?" Tamaki wondered.
"Ah, what are you talking about?" Kaoru said confused.
"When she's with another man, why is it that we become so insanely protective? WE're not her real family, we have no right to be so protective, no right what's so ever." Tamaki said.
"So then uh, tell me what exactly is with the whole she's my little girl forever thing?" Kaoru asked with his eye starting to twitch.
"I know! Daddies normally want their daughters to grow up, don't they?" Tamaki said drained.
"What about when she gets a boyfriend?" Kaoru asked.
"I only want to preserve this family." Tamaki said sadly.
"Preserve, really? That's a very interesting choice of words, sir. You think everything is absolutely perfect just the way it is now and having this family setting will keep it all from changing, right?" Kaoru said aggressively.
"Hey, Kaoru." Hikaru said concerned.
"I don't understand." Tamaki looked up to Kaoru from the floor.
"He's an idiot! Is he really that oblivious?!" Kaoru yelled in his head, looking at Tamaki angrily shocked.
"Naturally he's got a point. I mean you're delusional, yes. Any half-wit could see that, but who knew that you were so..." Kyoya added.
"Tama-chan is completely blind when it comes to the people closest to him." Honey said with a giggle.
"Kaoru, just what did you mean by things changing?" Hikaru asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just a little theory Ayaka senpai and I have which I'm probably completely wrong about." Kaoru pushed back with a twitch in his eye.
"Uh, you think everything is alright over there? I mean I didn't say anything to set him off, did I?" Kasanoda wonders as the two look over the back on the couch at the hosts gathered around each other.
"Who knows? Although when I think about it, everyone here is like my family." Ayaka admitted.
"Did you hear that gentlemen? Apparently in some ways, I am like Ayaka's father." Tamaki cheered up.
"Well, to be more precise, I think what she's saying is that you act like a father to her, while in actuality..." Kyoya started but was interrupted.
"I've got it! I've got it now! I'm like a father to her!" Tamaki cheered with happy tears.
"And we've lost him yet again." Kyoya sighed.
"Yamaguchi, do you think that we can maybe do this more often? Because I was just thinking since you entertain girls all day long, it might kind of give you a break from all that. You know, if I came around. I mean if, if you want that, that is..." Kasanoda muttered with a slight blush on his face as he looked into his lap.
"Absolutely! That way you and I can get more acquainted!" Ayaka smiled happily. The hosts looked to Ayaka shocked.
"Here it comes!" Renge said. Everyone watched the two in anticipation.
"Yamaguchi, I... I, uh, have something to say! I just wanted to tell you. I just wanted to tell you... that I'm..." Kasanoda stuttered. He gripped the fabric of his black pants.
"That you're excited to have someone you can relate to, aren't you? We're going to be great friends." Ayaka said stopping him in his tracks standing up with a smile. Everyone froze after what she said.
"Uh oh, hung out to dry." Renge deadpanned. An arrow stuck itself in Kasanoda's heart.
"He's totally just got shot down." A girl muttered. Another arrow.
"He didn't even get a chance to confess his love." Another girl whispered.One more.
"Ew, friends thing. That must really sting." Add one more arrow.
"I bet that rejection haunts for the rest of his life." A girl said sadly. Maybe one more arrow.
"Of course, the two of us are gonna be friends! Best of friends! Forever!" Kasanoda agreed stiffly. Ayaka grinned knowingly.
"Bossanova!" Honey, Hikaru, and Kaoru cried.
"Kasanoda!" The girls screamed.
"Kasanova! How lovely! That was absolutely beautiful!" Renge cried into a handkerchief.
"You moved us to tears." The guests cried in unison.
"We'll be your friend!" A girl running toward Kasanoda.
"That was breathtaking!" A girl said as they crowded around Kasanoda.
"Do it again!" A girl egged on.
"We wanna be friends of you, too, Bossanova!" Hikaru cried in Kasanoda's face.
"Let's play kick the can!" Kaoru held up a can.
"I know I'm your senpai, but I'll still be your friend! You can even borrow Usa-chan!" Honey almost smothered Kasanoda with Usa-chan.
"I will include a special on you in Moe Moe Ouran Diaries Volume 11! Adieu, brave one!" Renge cried as her pedestal sunk into the floor.
"What's the matter, Mori senpai?" Kyoya asked.
"When I think about how Kasanoda must have been feeling, my heart goes out to him a little." Mori said stoically.
"That's strange, isn't it?" Kyoya said coldly.
----
"Hyper starlight kick!" Tamaki said loudly as he kicked the can. Everyone scattered as Kasanoda went to retrieve the can with a grin.
"1... 2... 3... 4..." He counted. Ayaka muffled a giggle as she climbed up a tree that Mori had lead her to. He climbed up with her.
Tamaki lead Haruhi to the rose covered gazebo silently. Hikaru and Kyoya smiled as they peeked under the table under the gazebo to see their king and Haruhi hiding.
"Hey, what are you doing? This hiding place is only for Haruhi and me! Got it!" Tamaki defended.
"What kind of rule is that?" Kyoya asked cooly.
"Yeah! And for that matter, why do you and Haruhi always have to hide together in the first place?" Hikaru added.
"Idiot! It is perfectly natural for a father to hide with his daughter!" Tamaki defended.
"Some might disagree." Kyoya shot back.
"Shh!! Would all of you just be quiet?!" Haruhi shushed them. Ayaka giggled as her and Mori watched from the tree they hid in.
"So, Hika-chan may seem oblivious, but deep down he's beginning to understand his feeling? And even though it's clear for the rest of us how Tama-chan feels, he's so completely in dark about himself?
"Yeah." Kaoru agreed.
"Then what about Takashi and Aya-chan? Between the all of them, I bet there's someone even more oblivious than Tama-chan is. Considering that, I wonder if something really big is gonna happen before I graduate." Honey said looking to the sky.
"You never know." Kaoru said looking down into the gazebo.
"Well, for starters, why even kick the can?" Kyoya questioned.
"Hey, stop pushing so hard!" Haruhi growled.
"Get your hands off my Haruhi!" Tamaki defended.
"She doesn't belong to you!!" Hikaru combated.
"Oh yeah?! If it's not me, then who?!" Tamaki questioned.
"I do not belong to anybody!" Haruhi complained. Ayaka smiled down on the hosts under the gazebo then up to Mori, he smiled back.