"You may now unbuckle your seatbelts and gather your belongings. On behalf of all of us here at Delta Airlines, we'd like to thank you for flying with us today."

Haruhi stretched out, releasing the tension in her body as she slowly roused herself from sleep. The flight had been decent and had been much less nerve wracking then the flight to the United States. That had been her first time flying and though the members of the Host Club had told her all about getting into an airplane, she hadn't properly been prepared. She had always assumed she would take her first flight at their side, she hadn't thought it would be after breaking Tamaki's heart.

It took less than twenty minutes for Haruhi to gather her belongings and make her way to the baggage claim where she was able to spot Ranka immediately. He was wearing a brightly colored jacket and dark pants, an even brighter colored scarf wrapped around his neck as he waved a large sign that had her name written all over it.

"Haruhi!" He called, beaming brightly and with pride as he tried to flag down his more than embarrassed daughter.

As much as his antics annoyed her, the small girl had to fight back the beginnings of a smile as she was reunited with her flamboyant father for the first time in four years. There were many things she had missed about Japan; her father was definitely close to the top of that list. "Hey Dad." She spoke, finally allowing just the edges of her lips to pull up into a smile as she was wrapped into his arms tightly.

"My darling daughter, returned from her triumphant conquering of the Americas. Take no prisoners! Leave no man alive!" Her father cried out dramatically.

She rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath as she glanced around Ranka carefully. A part of her had known better than to expect anyone else to show up for her return. But another part that was buried deep and almost smothered had hoped they would have learned of her homecoming and come to make amends.

No one else was there.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired?" The questions were shot at her like rapid fire. Ranka barely gave her time to process one before another was shot in her direction. How had school been? Did she miss America already? Had she made many friends? They were all questions Haruhi had answered time and time again while on her many phone calls with her father but something about being together again made him want a refresh.

She half nodded and half mumbled nothings in answers to most of his questions as she allowed him to pull her through the airport and towards the public transportation that would bring them back to where her new apartment would be waiting for her.

"You'll have all of tomorrow to unpack then," Ranka beamed, patting his daughter on the shoulder as they sat side by side on the trolley. "I'll of course come over tomorrow after work to see how I can help."

"You really don't have to do that, Dad." She had envisioned her first day alone in her apartment to just be that; a day alone. She would have a few hot cups of tea, put on some soft music and organize the mess that had been her life. Then she would startfresh. She was returning to the comforts of home without needing to return to the places that held such haunting memories. She had a new apartment, a new job and a new life. Eventually she would find new friends and maybe even a new boyfriend all of which would one day fill the gigantic Host Club sized hole in her chest.

"Of course I do. I'm your father. It's my job to help! I can... hang up shelves! And build your bed!" He stood triumphantly from his seat, drawing the attention of half the trolley car.

A deep red crimson crossed over Haruhi's features as she tried, unsuccessfully, to sink back into the chair and disappear. "Do you even know how to hang shelves?" She asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

For a moment Ranka looked lost in thought, racking his brain for any knowledge of shelf building. "I can learn." He grinned as he began leading her by her shoulders towards the exit of the airport. "You're going to love your new place, sweetheart. But you know you could always come back and live with me if you wanted. It's not too late to change your mind."

Haruhi smiled gently at her father, leaning lightly into the familiar warmth. "I just need a fresh start, Dad. You can come visit any time you want..." Taking note of the glint in his eyes, Haruhi quickly revised her offer. "Within reason."

"I would never overstay my welcome," Ranka smirked, a sure sign that he would in fact be bothering her on a rather frequent basis.

"Where have I heard that before?" She rolled her eyes, her heart hammering in her chest slightly at the memories of her father and the Host Club meddling in her personal business. Her father had belonged in that group of boys just as effortlessly as she had. How long would it be before she ran into them? How long could she pretend she was never going to see them again?

"Let's get you home, shall we?" Ranka grinned, helping Haruhi bring her bags up into the trolley.

XXXX

"That's the last one!" Ranka practically sang, folding up the last cardboard box and rubbing the back of his arm over his forehead.

"I can't believe we unpacked it all." Haruhi breathed in relief, letting her body fall onto her couch.

"Are you ready for work tomorrow?" Ranka asked, grabbing two glasses of water from the sink and handing one to his daughter.

"I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. It will be interesting to see what kind of work they have me doing and what type of clients I'll be working for."

"What kind of law do they practice?" Ranka asked.

"Mostly business law. It's not my end goal but from what I've heard they write amazing reference letters for their interns." Haruhi explained, pulling out an envelope from one of her now organized drawers and handing it to her father. "That's got lots of information in it on my new bosses and some of the work I'll be required to do."

"It looks like you'll be very busy for the next couple of months." Ranka yawned, already bored by the information presented before him. He made an effort to flip through a couple of the pages she had given him before sealing up the envelope again and placing it on her coffee table. "I want to know what you're wearing to your first day! Come on!" He leapt from his seat, grasping Haruhi's arm and dragging her towards her bedroom. "Show Daddy what you're wearing!"

XXX

I am going to be so late! Haruhi practically screamed at herself as she threw on a pair of two-inch solid black heels and checked her hair one more time in the hallway mirror. Her father had spent too much time diving through her closet and drawers the night before and the small girl had barely gotten any sleep.

She couldn't blame Ranka for everything; her nerves had been a bigger part of why the small dark haired girl had barely gotten any sleep. She had tossed and turned for a good portion of the night worrying about what her boss would be like and what would happen if she suddenly blanked on all of the information she had been taught in college. This was the big league now, no margin for error, and on her first day Haruhi Fujioka was running late.

She couldn't remember the last time she had been this late for anything and as she sprinted from the front door of her apartment building towards her new office two blocks away she could only worry more. What if she failed? What if they fired her for being late? The what if's were going to be enough to kill her.

The air conditioning inside the new office building hit her with a sense of calm relief. There was only so much she could do to change what was to come. She needed to enjoy the moments. This was the first door opening to the career she had always dreamed about. She wasn't going to let fear or worries stop her from keeping the promises she had made to her mother.

She would not let breaking Tamaki's heart be in vain.

"You must be Fujioka?"

Haruhi snapped her eyes to the warm and comforting gaze of a beautiful boy with dark black hair. He tilted his head to the side slightly, waiting for a response from her, looking her up and down as he tried to assess her. "Yes, that's me." She smiled, bowing slightly before him.

The boy bowed in return, keeping the files he was holding clutched tightly to his chest, "Welcome. My name is Ishibashi, Reiji Ishibashi. I'll be your handler for the entire duration of your internship. If you have any questions or run into any problems I will be here to help."

"Will you be showing me around for the day?" She asked, straightening up and running her fingers over the soft fabric of her dark grey work suit.

"We have to attend a meeting this morning with the entire office and then I'll show you to your cubicle and around the place. You're going to be the only intern this semester so the boss is going to expect a lot from you. Mostly you'll be working on paperwork and attending preliminary meetings with our clients. I hope you're good with a computer." Reiji smirked, gesturing for her to follow him down the hall.

She wanted to scoff; of course she was good with a computer. She had been top of her class in Ouran and as it stood in that moment she was second in her graduating class at Boston University. Haruhi could learn anything if she put her mind to it. Instead, she gave a weak smile and nodded her head. "I think I can handle it all."

Grinning, Reiji opened the door to the conference room and let her inside, motioning towards a couple of seats towards the back of the room. Interns didn't get chairs at the main table, and Haruhi had been expecting that. She was just glad she was going to be part of the meeting at all.

"Welcome, Welcome!" Boomed a loud voice.

Haruhi's attention was drawn to a tall and lanky man who stood at the head of the table, addressing the room. He was well dressed in a dark blue suit, his hair beautifully disheveled around his face. First Reiji and now this man? What was it with Haruhi working in places that surrounded her with beautiful men?

"We're going to get right into business but first, I was told that we have a new intern joining us today." He spoke again, causing a violent blush to cross over Haruhi's features. "Miss Fujioka? Would you care to rise?"

Her feet instinctively obeyed his request, lifting her from her chair to stand before the room. In a fluid movement she had bowed low and respectfully to her new coworkers. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"I'm sure you'll do well here." The man smiled, waving towards her in a dismissive manner. Her time in the spotlight was done. In a flurry of movement he was off, discussing problems that had risen over the weekend and new clients who were bringing their business into the firm. He discussed court cases and new laws whose information needed to be distributed immediately.

Haruhi tried to listen, but it all seemed to be too much.

"That's Akiyama. He's the big boss here. Just remember to always get your paperwork turned in on time and to be respectful when you see him in the halls and you'll have him eating out of your hand," Reiji explained in a hushed whisper. His body leaning so close that his arm practically rested against Haruhi's.

Her first thought was that he was far too comfortable around her; her second was that he was just being nice. She was the new girl and he was trying to teach her the ropes, trying to keep her from getting herself into trouble.

"And Reiji?" Akiyama called, snapping both Reiji and Haurhi out of their inner thoughts.

"Yes sir?"

"You and Miss Fujioka will be sitting in on the lawsuit against Monpetite in ten minutes." He stated with a smile. "Welcome to the firm, Miss Fujioka."

Once Akiyama had exited the conference room, Haruhi let out a sigh she hadn't realized she was holding. She had been waiting for this day all her life and now that it was here she felt overwhelmed. Ten minutes on the job and she was already going to sit in on a lawsuit? Her experience here would really give a new meaning to hit the ground running.

"The Monpetite lawsuit?" Haruhi asked once she was again alone with Reiji.

"A couple of the bigger companies here in Japan were swindled out of a lot of money by the Monpetite family from France and luckily enough three of them have chosen to use our law firm to process their legalities. We haven't met with any of the families who lost money yet, but the first is going to come in today to meet with us." Reiji explained, once again motioning that she should follow him out of the conference room and down a hall.

"How much did they lose?" Haruhi asked.

"Just over two billion yen." He explained, grimacing slightly. "And that's just the company that's coming to visit with us today."

Haruhi breathed out an astonished whistle. "That's a lot. Is it likely we'll be able to get any of that money back for them?"

Reiji shrugged his shoulders. "Probably not. But we're going to do our best. Akiyama has put our top lawyers on the case. At the very least they'll get something back when it's all said and done."

"Who is the family?" Haruhi asked as she was led to a chair in the far side of the room. A place where she could observe yet not be a distraction to the lawyers all huddled around the table. Some she recognized from the meeting just a few minutes prior and some she knew were there to represent the Monpetite's.

"Here they come now." Reiji grinned, gesturing with his shoulder to where a group of well-dressed men were entering the room, chatting quietly to themselves as they entered. One man in particular caught her attention. He was shorter than the rest, with perfectly tousled blonde hair. He took no notice of her, but Haruhi Fujioka was completely transfixed with him. "The Haninozuka's."

Her heart stopped dead in her chest as the representative from the Haninonzuka family took his place at the table, his eyes skimming the room before landing upon hers.

Seemingly in unison their eyes widened in recognition and Haruhi barely whispered his name, "Honey...."