Haruhi threw herself down upon the couch, stretching upon its comfort in a desperate attempt to release her muscles of her stressful day. Reiji had been working her harder than she had expected and many nights she had skipped lunch and dinner all together to finish typing notes, sending faxes and making coffee or tea for the clients. She had always imagined that being an intern would be a glamorous life. She had pictured all the networking she would do and all the friends she would make. Realistically, the only friends she had made were the two boys from the Host Club she had accidentally run into and the only networking she had done was with this couch.

Only twenty-three weeks left to go.

For a long time she lay still with her face pressed into the soft suede of her couch. She imagined getting a cold and spending tomorrow wrapped in blankets and sipping bowls of hot soup. It wasn't until her phone vibrated loudly on her glass coffee table that she remembered Ranka and the glorious release of the weekend.

Tomorrow was Saturday, which meant no intern work and a picnic in the park with her over eager father and Honey. The two had missed each other almost as desperately as she had missed the Host Club and who was she to keep them apart?

Pulling her face from the soft couch, Haruhi opened the text message from her father and scowled slightly. Of course she would be expected to do the cooking for tomorrows outing. But what exactly should she cook?

Honey would be easy. She could make him any type of sweets and he would be placated but Tanka would be more difficult to please. All her father had ever complained about while Haruhi was away was that he couldn't eat her delicious cooking. She would have to make something extra special for her father.

Rising to her feet, the small girl shuffled across her living room and into the kitchen. She paused, momentarily, in front of the refrigerator to prepare herself for its blinding light before pulling it open and inspecting the goods inside. She glanced from shelf to shelf, her face falling as she realized... she had nothing to cook with.

A weeks worth of to-go containers reminded her just how busy her intern life had been and just how little time she had for shopping and cooking and other personal necessities. Groaning audibly, the small girl ran her hand along the line of her face, stopping to gently massage her temples. I guess I'll go shopping then. She thought, turning on her heels and heading towards the door.

She slid her feet into a pair of worn but comfortable penny loafers and pulled a light sweater over her shoulders. All she needed to do now was find the closest grocery mart.

It only took her ten minutes of walking to find the cute little produce store nestled three blocks down from her little apartment and by the time she had reached it she knew exactly what she was going to cook for the picnic the next day.

Busy searching the isles for the necessary ingredients, Haruhi barely noticed the small girl following her up and down the lanes. She didn't notice the incredulous glare or the shifting feet and it wasn't until someone reached out and grasped her arm that Haruhi took notice to anything at all.

"Excuse me, Miss. Are you Haruhi Fujioka?"

Glancing around at the newcomer, Haruhi immediately recognized the uniform as being the predecessor to Ouran. But the blonde haired girl standing before her was unfamiliar. Had the Host Club really left such a legacy behind?

"Who are you?" Haruhi asked, once again looking the girl over. Haruhi hadn't made a habit of meeting elementary schoolers before her departure to the Americas.

"I didn't think you would remember me," She laughed, tilting her head to one side as she smiled, an adorably Honey-ish trait. "We met a few times when I was very little and you know my older brother. Allow me to introduce myself properly." Grasping the edges of her skirt, the small girl gave a polite and respectful bow towards her elder. "I am Kirimi Nekozawa."

Haruhi blinked back her surprise. "Neko... zawa?"

Kirimi nodded, a bright smile upon her gentle features. "I should have known you were a girl. I think my big brother always sort of did."

Haruhi felt cornered and shocked. Four years out of the country and she never once heard from anyone in Ouran. One week back in Japan and she had bumped into Honey, Mori and now Nekozawa's little sister? What else did her new life have in store for her? "You've grown up."

"Yes!" The petite girl grinned. "I'm thirteen now and I'll be going to Ouran next year!"

"Kirimi? What are you doing here?" Haruhi asked, gazing around the grocery mart. It was rare to ever see anyone from the Ouran families out running their own errands. It was even rarer to think of Kirimi being allowed out on her own without the supervision of her over protective brother.

"Big brother likes commoner chocolate. Tamaki gave him some once and now he makes me stop here for him sometimes when he wants it." Kirimi explained. "In fact! Big brother is in the town car right now! Come see him!"

Before Haruhi really understood what was happening her basket of goods fell upon the floor with a clatter and Kirimi was dragging her through the middle aisle of the store. Kirimi was babbling along about middle school and Ouran Academy and how she had always known there was something strange about Haruhi. But the small girl being dragged was barely listening. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her nerves grating against her. If people kept finding her like this it wouldn't be long before her secret was out to everyone.

"Kirimi," Haruhi began to protest as the large black town car with darkened windows came into view. "I don't know if this is,"

But Kirimi merely waved her off, opening the back door of the town car and clambering inside. With a firm yank of Haruhi's hand, the small commoner girl tumbled into the back seat and flinched as the door was slammed behind her. It was dark, too dark for Haruhi's eyes to adjust quickly, but she could hear the surprised intake of breath from the other side of the back seat.

"Kirimi what do you think-"

Haruhi recognized the voice immediately as Nekozawa, the Prince of the Black Magic Club.

"Look Big Brother!" She laughed, adjusting herself in the seat beside Haruhi. "I found a friend. Do you remember Haruhi Fujioka? You all went to High School together. Remember? She was friends with brother Tamaki!"

"Haruhi?" He asked incredulously.

Her eyes were beginning to adjust, focusing in on the darkness that surrounded them. The first thing she noticed was that Nekozawa was no longer wearing the dark black clock he had donned every day of High School. Instead, he was dressed in a form fitting black suit similar to the ones Honey and Mori had been wearing just days before. His blonde hair was let loose in messy sweeps over his alabaster forehead and the way he sat, legs apart slightly with his arms crossed over his knees breathed nonchalance and a new comfort with his body that he had lacked when she had known him.

"Nekozawa? Is that really you?" She blinked back her surprise, now fully adjusted to the darkness. It was obvious that his photophobia had not passed but he seemed to have grown into it and become more comfortable with it.

A lithe and somewhat sadistic smile crossed over his lips. "It is. But look at you. I always knew there was something strange about you. A girl pretending to be a boy so she can entertain young women? What a scandal."

Haruhi felt the color leave her face. "It wasn't quite that scandalous."

He reached behind him, rapping his knuckles against the window that separated his compartment from the driver in the front. "Do explain."

"I owed the Host Club a debt. Brining in clients was the easiest way to repay them." The car lurched into motion, causing Haruhi to cry out in slight distress. "Where are we going?"

"To the Nekozawa Mansion, of course." He stated, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

"But... I was shopping..." She groaned, her face falling as Kirimi nudged her arm gently.

"Mama is making dinner and we can't be late. I'm sure she won't mind guests." Kirimi explained.

Dinner with yet another set of rich bastards... how does my life always come down to this? She heaved a heavy sigh, relaxing back in her seat as she waited for them to arrive at their destination.

"I've heard many delicious rumors about you, Haruhi. Most of them make sense now." He smirked.

"Yeah? Like what?" She asked, her voice deadpan.

"Like how Tamaki Suoh fell madly in love with you and you broke his heart." Again Nekozawa spoke with such nonchalance it cut the small girl to the core. Had everyone heard of her heartbreaking romance? It was Tamaki Suoh after all.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she rolled her eyes, feigning innocence as best she could. "But I would prefer if meeting me today remains between us. I'm doing my best to avoid the Host Club."

"Then that rumor at the very least is true." Nekozawa smirked as the car pulled to a stop outside of his elaborate mansion.

"And what rumor is that?" She asked as the vehicle pulled beneath the building into a darkened garage where it would be safe for Nekozawa to exit the vehicle and enter into his home.

"That you never showed for graduation because you tired of us... how did you state it? Rich bastards and that you ran off to some fancy college in some other country." Again with the nonchalance. It was really starting to grate on Haruhi's nerves.

"At least part of that is true." Haruhi huffed once again begin grasped by the arm and pulled from the town car by an overly eager Kirimi.

"Come and see my room!" Kirimi giggled, yanking on Haruhi's arm and pulling her from the garage into the main mansion.

"I don't think I've got much of a choice." Haruhi groaned. "You've practically kidnapped me. Haven't you?"

"Yes!" She grinned.

Nekozawa followed behind them at a slow enough pace, leisurely pulling his cell phone from the pocket of his suit jacket. He scrolled through the names until he came to one in particular that caught his interest.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings.

"What do you want?" Came a harsh voice from the other end of the line.

"Relax. I'm calling one business partner to the next. You'll never guess who came for dinner tonight." He grinned, his sadistic smile crossing over his lips.

"Who?"

"Haruhi Fujioka."