"Kazu-chan, I think I found them!" Honey exclaimed in delight.
"Go ahead, I'll catch up," she told him, knowing that, in her condition, she won't be able to walk any faster.
Honey climbed a tree and grabbed a vine strong enough to support his weight. Kazumi was aware that she should've probably chastised him and be concerned, but that boy was Haninozuka Mitsukuni - if anyone could play Tarzan safely, that person was him.
She arrived just a few moments later as, apparently, they were way closer than she had expected. Honey was about to finish knocking down the last of Ootori's Black Onion Squad, but what disheartened her was seeing Takashi holding Haruhi's body close to his bare chest.
She tried to rationalize that Takashi was most likely protecting the young girl from the wilderness of the jungle and the misunderstanding of the Black Onion Squad, but her heartache lasted. It didn't matter that Takashi put Haruhi down soon after their arrival.
Kazumi averted her eyes.
"Don't go being so reckless," Honey scolded them, "picking on my friends is a no-no!"
"Haruhi!" Tamaki yelled, dashing towards them alongside the twins and Kyoya. "Haruhi, are you all right?"
"Ah, Tama-chan!" Honey greeted.
"Honey-senpai?"
"Kazumi-senpai?"
"Haruhi!" Tamaki cried in happiness, rushing to embrace the short brunette girl. "I was worried about you!"
Honestly, Kazumi couldn't even start to comprehend how he couldn't notice that he was completely head over heels for her.
"Not sure what happened here, but they seem okay," concluded Hikaru, poking at one of the fallen soldiers.
"Well, Honey-senpai was the one who did this, right?" Kaoru argued, poking at another man.
"He was holding back," declared Kazumi, who was slightly afar from the group, leaning against a tree. She was still in overwhelming pain, but their presence distracted her from it, and, somehow, her body knew that she needed to remain conscious for a bit longer until she reached home.
"What do you mean by that?" Haruhi asked in confusion.
"You don't know?"
"The Haninozukas have been famous for their martial arts for generations. They've instructed not just the police and SDF, but overseas military forces as well."
"In particular, Honey-senpai has been called the dreadnaught of the Haninozuka family. And by the time he was in middle school, he was the national champion in both karate and judo," explained Kyoya.
"Incidentally," added Tamaki, "Mori-senpai also became the national champion in kendo when he was in middle school."
"Honey-senpai, Kazumi-senpai, what are you doing here?" Kaoru asked.
"We reached the end of the current pool, so we went looking for everyone," Honey told them, leaving out the fact that Kazumi protected him and got injured in the process. He was still concerned about her but wanted to respect her wish and not mention it.
The Black Onion Squad kneeled before Honey and apologized profusely for their actions. Afterward, Honey pulled Takashi down by his wrist and patted his head as if he was a dog.
"Takashi, you did very well protecting Haru-chan," he praised his cousin. "You didn't get lonesome without me around, right?"
Takashi sideglanced Haruhi. "I wouldn't say that."
Kazumi looked downwards, hating that she was feeling like that because of a boy. She clenched her jaw and took a deep breath, deciding to forget about her classmate and move on with her life as if she wasn't falling in love with him already.
Honey would glance at Kazumi from time to time from Takashi's shoulders as they headed back to the entrance to get ready to leave. She barely said a word since they reunited with the others.
He opened his mouth to warn the others of her condition but was interrupted by the twins suggesting to go to the beach next time.
"I might not mind going to the beach," Haruhi enjoyed the idea. "This obviously artificial location may not be any fun, but the beach would be nice. It's pretty there."
That declaration officially settled that they'd be going to the beach next time.
"That'll be fun, huh?" Honey said happily, leaning on Takashi's head.
"Yeah," he smiled.
Haruhi watched the interaction between Honey and Takashi closely, smiling softly for having the cousins back together.
🌸
Kyoya's driver took the group back to Ouran.
Kazumi bid them a brief farewell and went on her way, not sparing them a second glance. The hosts didn't argue even though they noticed how Kazumi kept her distance from Takashi and wondered why she wasn't even looking at him.
The maids and butlers who welcomed her return immediately knew something was off when the young lady walked past them without replying to their greeting, heading straight to her room, where she locked herself up.
The employees of the Tokimatsu manor learned to recognize when Kazumi was in a bad mood and that the best course of action was to give her space. They all cared very much for her, as she took her time to get to know them. She was very respectful and kind, and they only wanted the best for the young lady.
Usually, Kazumi's mother, Tokimatsu Emi, was the one to fetch her daughter for dinner, but she was working until late that night. In her place, one of Kazumi's personal maids went to her room.
She knocked three times but didn't receive a reply.
"Kazumi-sama, dinner's almost ready!"
Silence.
"Please, excuse me, I'm opening the door," the maid warned before entering. The room was pitch black inside. With the moonlight shining through, she spotted the empty bed. "Kazumi-sama?"
She roamed the room, but there was still no sign of the Tokimatsu heiress. Did she leave? But where would she go? She knew that the library was empty, and no one was in the gardens. She noticed a shadow on the other side of the king-sized bed.
"Kazumi-sama? Are you sleeping on the floor?" She sounded a bit exasperated with the young lady's recklessness. She reached for Kazumi to shake her awake when she felt something wet on the back of her skull. "What?" The moonlight reflected her hand covered in red. "Blood?!" She shook the girl. "Kazumi-sama?! Kazumi-sama?!"
Kazumi's limp body rolled onto her stomach, revealing the scratch marks on her back. She felt Kazumi's pulse, and relief washed through her.
"Please! Help! Someone call a doctor!" The maid screamed in desperation. "Kazumi-sama, please, wake up!"
🌸
They were worried.
Worst-case scenarios ran through their minds. What could've happened to make Tokimatsu Kazumi not go to Ouran for a week? In the first couple of days, they believed she had the flu. As the fourth day arrived, they were getting desperate.
Not even the teachers seemed to know what happened to her, as all they said was that "Tokimatsu-san won't be able to attend classes for a few days."
"What if she was kidnapped and trafficked to Somalia? What if the Yakuza got her for money?" Tamaki wondered, always being the optimistic one. "Mommy, where's Auntie?!" He shook Kyoya aggressively.
Kyoya adjusted his lenses and sighed.
"I tried to contact her home, but the butler said that they weren't allowed to display any information about the family." He was frustrated.
"What about her cellphone?" Honey suggested, guilty eating him inside.
The hosts blinked at him before Haruhi asked, "does anyone have her number?"
The awkward silence that passed through was enough of an answer.
"She looked fine at the pool, so maybe something happened at home?" Haruhi tried to reason.
"I don't think," Hikaru started.
"That everything was fine," Kaoru finished.
"What do you mean? Do you guys know something?" Tamaki pressed.
"Well, Kazumi-senpai seemed to have been avoiding Mori-senpai."
"And she wasn't even looking at him on our way back."
"Please tell me, Mori-senpai, did anything happen between you and my Onee-san?" Kyoya's voice got cold, and his eyes darkened.
Takashi shook his head in denial, feeling a bit guilty after hearing the twins claiming that she was avoiding him. He's been ignoring her that entire day because he couldn't look at her without feeling aroused. After glancing at her fair skin and those beautiful tattoos, he was wildly craving to touch her, and the only way to contain it was to not look at her whatsoever.
A sob broke his train of thought.
"It's my fault!" Honey sniffed, "Kazu-chan got hurt when she protected me in the pool, and now she's going to die!" He wailed inconsolably.
"What do you mean, Honey-senpai?" Haruhi asked.
"Her head was bleeding, but she said she was fine," he sobbed.
"Well, if she bumped her head, maybe she got a concussion," reasoned Kyoya. "If that's the case, then she could be resting at home. There's no need to fret."
"We should make sure she's okay!" Tamaki said resolutely. "We're going to visit her after school!"
It didn't take long for Kyoya to find out the location of the Tokimatsu Manor, but it did take them a while to arrive there as the Tokimatsu household was in a more isolated area with a lot more trees and nature than buildings.
"Don't tell me that Kazumi-senpai lives in a hut or something!" Kaoru exclaimed, watching all the trees passing by.
Tamaki punched him on the head.
"Don't be stupid! As if a lady like Auntie would live in a place like that!"
Conquering the distance obstacle to reach Kazumi, the Host Club faced a new challenge - security. The car stopped in front of the tall and imposing steel gates adorned with golden details at the top. Tamaki pressed the interphone button and told the guard that the host club was visiting Kazumi.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't informed of any appointment of the sort."
"It's a surprise visit. If you say that Suoh Tamaki, Ootori Kyoya, Hitachiin Hikaru and Kaoru, Fujioka Haruhi, Haninozuka Mitsukuni, and Morinozuka Takashi are here, I'm sure she'll let us in."
Tamaki hoped that throwing their family names into the equation would make the guard comply. He didn't seem to acknowledge them, though, and asked them to leave and return only with a scheduled visit.
"Now what?" Haruhi sighed, knowing that nothing could be so simple with the host club.
Another car joined theirs. A window rolled down, and the host club met the familiar figure of Nekozawa Umehito in his usual black coat and brunette wig.
"Nekozawa-senpai? What are you doing here?" Tamaki asked him.
"Huh? The Host Club? What are you guys doing here?" He asked in surprise. "I came to deliver Umi-san her homework."
"But aren't you guys in different classes?" Haruhi asked.
"Our families instructed Ouran for the teachers having me delivering Umi-san's homework when she's unable to attend classes. And vice-versa."
"Damn rich people," Haruhi grumbled under her breath.
"That's perfect! You can help us get in, then?" Tamaki beamed.
"Huh? Didn't Kazumi warn the security about your arrival?"
"Ah, you see," Honey looked sheepish, "it's our first time here. She doesn't know we came."
"Oh, well," Umehito pressed the interphone button. "Hi, sorry, it's Nekozawa Umehito. I forgot to call about my visit."
"Ah, Nekozawa-sama, of course! No problem!"
"And, huh, I brought some friends as well, if that's okay?"
"These boys? Are you sure? I can call the police if they're forcing you to do this." Albeit misplaced, the guard's suspiciousness was quite thoughtful.
"No, no, it's okay, they're colleagues."
"If Nekozawa-sama says so. Lady Emi will be informed about your arrival and your company."
The guard opened the gates to let their cars get in.
Tamaki grabbed Umehito's hands. "Oh, thank you so much, Nekozawa-senpai!"
"Ah, don't thank me yet. You guys still have to go through Umi-san's mother."
"What do you mean?" The twins asked in unison.
"She blames you guys for what happened to Umi-san. Emi-san is overprotective, and no matter how charming you are, she'll devour your souls." He chuckled darkly, making Tamaki, Haruhi, the twins, and Honey shiver in fright.