Hey Hey! Sorry for the sudden pause in uploading! I wanted to take some time and get away from writing for a bit. I had gotten a bit burnt out by the end of last year and knew that I needed a break, for both my creativity and mental health. I'm doing better now so hopefully this, and other fics will start to be slowly updated.

I am also back in school, so while I love writing school has to take priority for me, and I appreciate your understanding. I know this fic isn't one of my more popular ones, but it allowed me to have a brain break and rewrite something I had made in the past, which is great to help me get back into the flow of writing. I hope you all enjoy :)

-Sin

***

An afternoon of following around Hikaru and Haruhi seemed to be the most useless thing Setsuko had done in a while. After stopping to get some ice cream, the tides of the date turned and Setsuko was forced to watch as the two of them had an enjoyable afternoon, while Setsuko was reminded how she wouldn't be able to have a relationship like that with her current work as an idol. It was suffocating to watch those two all afternoon.

On the upside she had been able to visit quite a few cafes and get her fill on coffee and tea.

After watching the two of them walk away from a small handmade jewelry stall, Setsuko decided she was okay to head back to the group, if only she could find them. After a few minutes of walking around, she pulled her phone and flipped it open, going to Kaoru's contact number and dialing it.

"Hey Itsuki." The voice on the other side of the line said.

"Yeah, uh, where the fuck are you guys?"

"Oh, right, I knew I was forgetting something. Yeah, sorry, we all decided the date was going well so we decided to head back to the pension."

"So, in short, you left me here?"

"Yeah, sorry. You can come back if you want."

"If I want to? Of course I want to. I think I want to stop being reminded on how painfully single I am. And I want to get out of this skirt." Setsuko hung up the call and slid the phone back into her pocket. It was time to head back to Misuzu's Pension.

"I couldn't help but overhear your call earlier, if you want, I can help you get out of that skirt."

Setsuko turned and immediately her mood turned sourer than before. Walking up to her was a man looking down to make eye contact with her, a sleezy grin on his face.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm pretty sure I can manage that. Alone. " Setsuko snapped, not wanting to deal with a creep, she already had the stalker on her hands she didn't need anything more on her plate.

The guy, however, didn't seem deterred by her refusal. Instead, he stepped even closer, reaching out with one hand and touching her shoulder softly. "I'm a great helper. I promise!" he leaned in, eyes shining with desire.

Setsuko felt sick to her stomach at what he was saying. Gritting her teeth she gave him a slight smile, "Keep that hand on my shoulder for one more second, and any hopes of having any future kids- let alone any future 'flings' will vanish, because your dick will be so far up your-"

"Woah, woah!" The man took a step back and raised his hands, "Fine, I get it, you don't want company." He scoffed and shoved his hands into his pockets, "Crazy bitch," he muttered as he walked away.

Rather be a crazy one then a dead one. Setsuko thought, placing her hand in her pocket and wrapping her fingers around her phone as she turned and started walking towards the main street, hoping to catch a cab to take her back to the pension.

As she walked, there was a loud crash from before, and suddenly the sky opened up and rain started pouring, soaking her entirely in just a few seconds of walking. She needed to get a cab fast. She picked up the pace until she got to the main street. After a few minutes of getting soaked and trying to wave down a cab, Setsuko decided to give up and just walk to the pension, it was only a ten-minute walk, and she was already soaked anyways so what was a little more rain?

It seemed that the rain got heavier with each minute that passed by, until she was forced to take cover under the trees, the was lucky there was so much vegetation on her path from the town to the pension. She was so going to murder Kaoru once she got back.

A chill ran through her and Setsuko quickened her pace, even under the trees the rain made its way to her.

"You shouldn't be walking in weather like this." Someone said, and Setsuko turned to see a man wearing a red ballcap standing behind her. "Especially someone as pretty as you."

Another creep? Just my luck. "I don't need your flattery, or your help." Setsuko said, turning back and continuing to walk.

"Don't be like that." He said, following after her and grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her around to face him. His grip tightened, "You know, you look a lot like my darling love."

"Let go of me." Setsuko snapped, pulling herself away from him and feeling her shoulder hit the bark of a tree. "Why don't you pay attention to your 'darling' instead of some random girl you see walking through a forest?"

"Feisty. You might share similar looks, but you're nothing like my Setsuko."

Thunder crashed overhead (the timing would have been comical if this situation were any different), and Setsuko's heart skipped a beat. She tried to examine his face, but the cloud cover made it too dark to see, and the cap wasn't helping. The most Setsuko could get was that he had shaggy blond hair and stubble.

He looked like a drowned rat.

Before Setsuko could even think, her foot lifted into the air and she kicked him, watching as his hands went down and he fell to his knees. Instead of shouting in pain, he looked up at her and smiled, "I think I like feisty. I think I really like it."

Setsuko resisted the urge to vomit and slid away from the tree and took a step back; her mind was racing, and she was having a million thoughts per minute. Her instincts were on overdrive and all she knew was that she needed to get out of there, so, she turned, and she ran. Sure, not the smartest thing to do, maybe she should have snapped a picture of her, or gotten a closer look, but she wasn't really thinking clearly.

Her legs had started to grow sore, but she didn't allow her to stop running, not until she reached the pension. She almost felt like crying the moment she saw the gates to the building, and she sped up, her feet splashing once she got out from under the tree's cover. She ran past the gate and through the door, falling to her knees the moment she was inside. She looked at the ground with wide eyes, working on calming her heart rate and stop her head from spinning.

"Itsu-chan! You made it back safely!" Honey exclaimed, hopping to Setsuko with a grin on his face and flowers surrounding him.

"You don't look look good, are you okay?" Kyoya asked.

Setsuko looked up at him, her heart was still racing and she could tell she was trembling but both of those could be ridden off by having just come from pouring rain, though she was still shaken up from the encounter and, admittedly a little pissed they left her behind in the town. "I'm fine." She said sarcastically. "Must have been nice to be inside the bed and breakfast while it was raining cats and dogs out there."

"Yeah... sorry about that." Kaoru said, placing a hand on the back of his neck. "It won't happen again, promise."

"It'd better not. Next time I dress as a girl, don't be surprised if you hear the news talk about someone who got their manhood ripped of." She said, watching a look of sight horror come across everyone's faces- even Mori looked slightly perturbed.

"Alright, dear, we need to get you into some dry clothes, stat. We don't want you catching a cold." Misuzu said, helping Setsuko to her feet and stopping any more horror Setsuko could bring with her words.

She looked at Misuzu and nodded, "Yeah, dry clothes will be nice, that and a warm shower." She let Misuzu lead her to a back room, from first glance it looked like a staffroom, but due to Misuzu being unable to hire paid staff right now it was pretty empty.

"There's a shower right through that door, I'll bring some extra clothes and leave them out here for when you're ready."

"Thanks."

"Not a problem. Now, get yourself all warmed up, I don't want a handsome boy like you to get sick from the rain." He giggled and walked out of the room.

Setsuko let out a sigh of relief, it was time she got out of these wet clothes, soaked hair extensions, and runny make-up.

***

There was nothing like a scalding hot shower after getting stuck in the rain. Though even though it was making her skin red, it wasn't able to wash away her nerves after encountering her stalker. Right now, he was in the same town as her, and she needed to contact the cops, as fast as she could. Stepping out from the shower, she grabbed a dry towel and wrapped it around her before stepping out into the staff room. On the bench there was a pile of dry clothes waiting for her. A large t-shirt, some sweatpants, a black hoodie, and a pair of boxers. On the floor there was a pair of slippers. Examining the clothes, she decided the hoodie looked thick enough to cover her chest, though not entirely- if she slouched a little, she could hide her chest a little more from view. She'd just have to make do with what she had and hope the hosts were too tired or oblivious to notice.

Setsuko took a deep breath, right now, all she wanted was to get into a bed and get a good night sleep. She walked out of the room and headed back to the lobby, where the hosts were all still waiting.

"You look to be doing better." Kyoya said as Setsuko got back into the lobby.

"I need to talk to you. Alone." She said, with those words, the hosts in the room looked at the two in interest.

"Yes, I understand. Excuse us everyone please."

The two of them walked into the empty dining room, far enough away to be out of the hosts earshot. Before speaking, Setsuko glanced around to make sure that nobody was around. It felt strange actually going to someone aside from Kuwata for help, but Kyoya knew her secret, and he could help, and after the evening she just had, she needed help.

"On my way back, I encountered a creep, well, two. The first one ran away like a coward after a simple threat, the second one..." She trailed off, fidgeting with the skin between her fingers. "It was him."

Kyoya's eyes widened slightly, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. The simple gesture seemed to calm Setsuko just a bit. "Akemi, did you manage to get any details?"

"It was hard to see, but he had stubble, blond hair, wearing a red cap. Tall, lanky."

At the description, Kyoya placed a hand to his chin before writing what Setsuko assumed were the details of the man in his notebook before snapping it closed. "I'll make a few calls, he must still be in town."

Setsuko nodded, relief washing over her as her eyes started to involuntarily water. There was a chance this might all be over.  "I hope he gets what's coming to him." She muttered. Then she sighed and turned to leave, "Thanks for talking, now let's get back before the others come looking for us."

"Akemi, one more thing."

"Hm?" Before Setsuko could turn to face Kyoya, there was a warmth on her back and arms around her shoulders. Her face turned red, but she made no attempt to move away. "W-what are you doing."

"Warming you up, I don't want you getting a cold."

"That... that's not necessary." Setsuko muttered. They stood like that for a few more seconds before Kyoya pulled away, a chill seeping in in the spots where they were making contact. "I-I- Kyoya- I think we should really go back now." She kept her face down, hoping to hide the red that was fore sure creeping up onto her cheeks.

"Yes, we should." Kyoya said, and for a second, Setsuko could have sworn she heard the hint of a smile in his voice.

As the two of them walked back to the main lobby, they passed by Mori, who looked to coming back from the bathroom.

They returned just in time to watch Tamaki pull out his cell phone and dial a number before putting it to his ear and start shouting. "You idiot! I want you to turn around and start looking for Haruhi, right now! What kind of jerk would leave a girl out in a thunderstorm like this by herself?! Now you listen to me, Haruhi is terrified of thunder! Whenever she hears it, she gets so scared she can't even move! Why don't you spend less time concentrating on your jealousy and worry about someone else for once!" He flipped the phone shut and huffed.

"What did we miss?" Setsuko asked.

"Arai called to see if Hikaru and Haruhi come back safely, apparently Hikaru left Haruhi just before the storm. That was the boss yelling at Hikaru. " Kaoru said, "Hey, Itsuki, about earlier-"

Setsuko held a hand up to stop him, "It's fine, shit happens. Water under the bridge." She said. Sure she was a little upset over the group forgetting her there, but hey, if it can lead to them catching whoever was out there it might have been worth it.

Kaoru nodded, almost looking relieved that she didn't hate him. Setsuko didn't blame him, after all she still hadn't fully forgiven Tamaki since the beach chapter, though it didn't help that Tamaki kept making reasons for Setsuko to dislike him.

Speaking of the blond, she watched as he continued to pace nervously as the hosts moved towards the window, watching as the rain came down, and thunder crashed overhead.

"It's really coming down hard." Kaoru said.

"Those two might have to find shelter and wait out the storm. Or at least wait until the rain lets up." Setsuko said.

"At this rate, I'm afraid I can't let any of you head back to your cottages, it's way too dangerous to be out there right now." Misuzu said. "I should have some extra blankets laying around somewhere.

"Yeah, you all can sleep in mine and Hikaru's room."

"That sounds like an excellent idea!" Misuzu clapped his hands together, "Mori, you mind helping me out?"

Mori nodded, and Setsuko watched as the two walked off to find some extra blankets for the hosts to sleep on tonight, and while they were doing that, the other hosts waited down in the lobby.

Setsuko was sitting in a window nook, leaning against a window as she watched the torrential rains come down. The other hosts all talked behind her. Setsuko's mind was still reeling with everything that had happened earlier that afternoon. With everything that's been happening, maybe she should just tell the host club everything. They've managed to keep Haruhi's secret this whole time who's to say they wouldn't be able to keep her secret. She could trust them, right?

In the midst of her thoughts, something outside caught her eye, two figures running towards the pension with a blue jacket over them. "Guys, they're back!" She called out, getting the attention of all the hosts.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki shouted the moment the two of them got inside the pension. He wrapped his arms around her and completely discarded Hikaru, who just scoffed and walked over towards the others of the club.

"You two made it back all right!" Misuzu exclaimed, "Now that the two of you are back, I'll show the two of you the showers the two of you should take some showers and warm up, then get to bed." He looked at everyone else, "You all go up and get some sleep, you're all still growing boys."

With that, they were all pushed up to the twin's room, being met with blankets and pillows spread out around the floor and a small section separated by a bedsheet held up by some clothespins, probably where Haruhi was going to sleep for the night.

Setsuko just walked to one of the beds laid out on the floor and let herself fall onto it, laying on her side and letting out a sigh of relief. It was so nice to be under the covers after the day she had. Around her, all the hosts got into place as well, Haruhi and Hikaru returned from their showers, Hikaru joining his brother in the bed and Haruhi taking the area that had privacy.

She had chosen the spot next to the wall, and on her other side was Mori, who was already laying down with his eyes closed.

One by one, each of the other hosts started to fall asleep, until Setsuko was the only one left awake. Despite how tired she was, every time she closed her eyes, she saw him. She could feel his hands on her shoulders, hear his voice. It terrified her.

She flipped onto her other side and faced the wall, hugging the covers close to her and bringing her knees up to her chest. She was going to be fine, Kyoya made the calls, and, if things went well, her stalker was going to be arrested by the time the sun rose. Everything would be okay. Everything will be okay. That thought ran through her head as she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, she felt as if she hadn't even slept. It was still dark out and the rain still pelted at the window. Sitting up, she leaned her back against the wall, looking over at all the hosts. They were all sleeping soundly, their dreams probably void of a delusional stalker.

She rubbed at her eyes, there was no way she was getting back to sleep after that nightmare. As quietly as she could, she got up, slipped on her slippers, and walked out of the room. The hallway lights were still on, and it sounded like there were a few people down in the lobby- probably late-night check-ins.

When she got down to the lobby, she saw Misuzu humming happily as he organized some paperwork at the front desk.

"Oh, Itsuki, it's so late, what are you doing up?" Misuzu asked in concern.

"I just couldn't sleep, thought a walk around the pension would tire me out enough." Setsuko lied. She wasn't about to dump her nightmare onto him. "Is there any tea I can get myself?"

"Some tea? Of course, let me make some for you, dear. You just sit tight, and I'll be right back."

"Ah- I can make it myself, you don't have to-"

"Nonsense! You are my guest, so all you need to do is just need to sit here and relax." Without letting Setsuko get another word in, he turned and rushed to the kitchen, leaving Setsuko to sit in the dining room, watching as rain pelted the window. It would have been comforting if there wasn't any thunder.

Misuzu soon returned with a tray, a small tea kettle, and two teacups, for the next half hour the two of them sat and enjoyed the tea, talking together about anything and everything they could think up. Setsuko told Misuzu about what Ouran Academy is like, and some stories about Haruhi and the host club, and Misuzu told her stories about his life, from before he opened the pension. It was comforting.

After the teacups were empty, Setsuko thanked him for the tea and the conversation before heading back up to the room and getting into bed. Only a few minutes after she laid down, her eyes fluttered closed, and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

***

The next morning, Setsuko was standing at the top of the stairs beside Kaoru and Kyoya, talking as they watched the others crowded around Arai, who had brought them a watermelon.

"By the way," Kyoya started, "A question about your strategy, did you ever consider the possibility the date might go too well and those two might fall in love?"

"Nah, it's still too soon for that. Hikaru's kind of a dummy."

"He's not the only one." Setsuko said, looking at Kaoru with a tired look.

"I thought you forgave me." Kaoru said.

"Hey! Come down here you three! It's time for some melon!" Tamaki called up.

"It's not just you, the entire club is full of dummies." Setsuko stuck her tongue out at Kaoru and moved to run down the stairs, leaving Kyoya and Kaoru behind to watch as she joined the rest of the hosts.

_____

Nyheheheheheheheheehheheheeh

*

Setsuko: I want to wake up with you every day for the rest of our lives

Kyoya: I wake up at 4:30 AM

Setsuko:

Setsuko: I want to see you at some point every day for the rest of our lives

*

Tamaki: I currently have 7 empty notebooks and I have no clue what to put in them. Suggestions?

Hikaru: Put spaghetti in it.

Tamaki: I'm currently taking suggestions from literally anyone but you.

Setsuko: Put spaghetti in it.

Tamaki: I'm currently taking suggestions from anyone but you two.

Kyoya: Put spaghetti in it.

Tamaki: I'm no longer taking suggestions.

*

Setsuko: Who the fuck added me to a fucking group chat?

Tamaki: >:O language

Honey: Yeah watch your fucking language

Kaoru: OKAY WHO TAUGHT HONEY-SENPAI THE FUCK WORD?

Haruhi: 'The fuck word'.

Tamaki: Are you stupid? You guys use the f word all the time

Hikaru: Oh my god he censored it

Kaoru: Say fuck, Tamaki.

Hikaru: Do it, Tamaki. Say fuck.