"Heee? Sponsors, uh?" Mitsukuni mused as he leaned against his chair, his arms wrapped around Reiko. He carefully listened to Ren's explanation. Supposedly, last week while he was away playing around— cough, trying new bakery shops with Takashi, Gakushu, and the other top students went to find some sponsors for the upcoming school festival.

Kunugigaoka Junior High's school festival isn't on the scale of a nationwide event, but its aura, as well as its reputation, isn't far from one. Every year, hundreds of visitors from all over the capital and neighborhoods flood the school to have a taste of this peculiar festival. The festival is part of Kunugigaoka's reputation, and while the Junior High edition cannot compare to the High School one, it remains a must-see when one visits the capital at this time of the year.

Students work hard to come up with outstanding stands and entertainment, finding ingenious ways to attract customers, and have them spend their money in their booth. Although the money doesn't fall in the students' pocket and is instead donated to a different association each year, the credit given to the best class is enormous and easily makes up for the money. Students that rank at the top of the chart receive recognition from the industry, and having the fact added to your CV can most of the time tilt the scale in your favor.

That being said, the festival was just around the corner, and students from the main building were bustling left and right as they hurried to prepare the best booth of the year. Currently, Sakakibara was explaining the latest events to the strawberry blond teen, a proud and admirative smile on his face as he explained the feat of the Student Council President.

"Yes, sponsors," he echoed, feeling like the notion didn't fit the event, yet when Asano was the one to bring it up, it didn't seem so strange anymore. "I was quite surprised too when Asano brought it up, but I have to admit it's a great idea. I didn't think he would be able to find some on such short notice either—"

"But aren't sponsors a given though?" Mitsukuni cut, not feeling impressed by his childhood friend's accomplishment. He wasn't trying to act all high and mighty and to put down the other, but to Mitsukuni, who used to attend Ouran High at some point in his life, having sponsors truly was a given. After all, Ouran Academy was a school for the elites, with most students being heir to grand corporations, they were used to fighting for sponsors to build the best booth at each festival.

Only Haruhi felt surprised at the time... Maybe it was the commoner mindset that he hadn't totally grasped as of yet?

Ren paused, a wry smile on his face as he gave an uncomfortable chuckle. "Is that so?" he asked, feeling both baffled and embarrassed by the teen's lack of reaction. Baffled as Mitsukuni usually was hyper and always up to something new, sponsors should make him marvel. Embarrassed, seeing the boy's lack of reaction, he wondered if he was doing too much.

Mitsukuni hummed, he inhaled Sweets' fragrance before looking up at the male. "That's right, what kind of booth are we holding?" he chirped, going back to his childish ways as he curiously glanced up at the taller teen. "Are we doing a Host Club this year?" he wondered, somewhat giddy by the idea.

Ren quickly followed the shorter's pace. Going back to his previous mood he shook his head apologetically. "I don't think so. From the template Asano gave me, we should be holding some kind of two-roomed café. Each room with a different stage and performance. From comedy to theater and idol group, Asano gave me a list of the things he thought up," he explained as he bent down to look for his portfolio. Soon, he pulled out a sheet and handed it to Mitsukuni. "If you want to have a look."

Mitsukuni accepted the paper with a hum, face slightly despondent as a pout adorned his face. "But I wanted to do a Host Club," he whined as he slumped over his desk and held the list in front of him. His honey-brown eyes skimmed the paper in minute boredom. He recognized most of the performers listed there as they were either up and coming idol groups or well-established comedians and handed the sheet back to Ren.

Ren received the paper with a chuckle, his handsome face morphing into a benevolent expression. "Well, you can always try to ask, Asano," he reminded as he stored the sheet away in his portfolio before putting it back in his school bag. "You never know, he might say yes," he said, and when he saw Mitsukuni's eyes lit up in excitement, he chuckled.

And so, here Mitsukuni was, standing in front of the Student Council President's desk, his eyes boring into Gakushu's one. "Let's do a Host Club!" he told him, a fired-up look in his eyes as well as an enthusiastic grin on his face.

Gakushu wrote a few words down before setting his ink pen aside. He lifted the sheet, reviewing what was written before gazing up from it to look at Mitsukuni. He raised a questioning eyebrow. Although he knew Mitsukuni had a weakness for Host Clubs, this since young, he didn't think his childhood friend would walk up to him and ask for it to his face.

He flickered his purple eyes to look at his secretary who kept his eyes down as if he hadn't seen or heard a thing. Ren's lips were stretched into a forced line, and Gakushu easily guessed who gave his short friend the idea of asking. He sighed. "For the school festival?" he rhetorically asked, nonetheless. Mitsukuni's answer was a nod accompanied by a loud hum. "No."

Mitsukuni deflated, he pursed his lower lip out and squeezed Reiko harder. "Awww, come on, Shu-chan!" he whined. "Say yes. Please? Please? Please?" he tried, adopting an overly spoiled and childish voice as he fluttered his lashes at the male, showing off the roundness of his doe eyes. "Pwetty pwease?"

Gakushu had to admit that Mitsukuni had a knack for acting spoiled and cute and that had he not developed some type of immunity after all these years, he would have conceded. Gakushu steeled his nerved before resolutely staring into Mitsukuni's doe honey-brown eyes. "No," he curtly uttered one again.

"Mou," Mitsukuni pouted as he huffed, trying to appeal to Gakushu once again. This time, his childhood friend ignored him. "You're so mean Shu-chan!" he cried, acting spoiled and childish in front of the Student Council President.

Gakushu sighed, he rubbed his temples in a circular motion. "Mitsukuni, I still have some work to do. Let's talk about that later, okay?" he proposed as he gestured to the stack of paper that sat at the corner of his desk. Mitsukuni spared the pile a glance, he could understand how tiring paperwork got, but he still felt annoyed.

He harumphed, crossed his arms, and spun on his heels. Swiftly, he picked Sweets up and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Then I'll ask Takashi," he petulantly mumbled.

"He's not even a student."

Mitsukuni glared at Gakushu, but seeing as this was more of a look to gather pity, it wasn't really effective. 

Whatever, he would ask Uncle. 

Uncle always said yes.

::

That's how Mitsukuni came to sit at the terrace of his favorite café, with Takashi in front of him, and Kyoya on his way. He was out of his school uniform as it was the weekend, and instead sported some casual looking clothes. A pair of jeans with a white t-shirt and yellow, bunny-eared sweater on top.

Takashi took a sip of his coffee, silently observing his former childhood friend as he scarfed down his chocolate parfait, leaving nothing but the spoon and glass behind. He could see from the way Mitsuni swallowed bite after bite that the blond was in a sour mood. And although he didn't know the reason, Takashi guessed Mitsukuni waited for Kyoya to arrive before saying the word.

Speak of the devil and he shall arrive. The bell of the shop jingled, to announce the door opened and entered a tall man clad in mostly black. His dirty-blue eyes swept the tables before settling in theirs with ease, and with long strides, he arrived and took a seat between to Reiko and Takashi.

"Good evening, Mori-senpai, Honey-senpai," he habitually greeted as he pulled the chair to sit. The two now-younger males nodded in greetings. One because it's what he usually did, the second because his mouth was stuffed with chocolate sauce and ice-cream.

Kyoya didn't take offense in the lack of vocal answer and called up a waiter to order another plethora of pastries and snacks, as well as some tea and an expresso. The food and beverage quickly arrived. The raven head first downed his expresso, rinsing his mouth with water afterward, and then poured a cup of tea for each member of the table.

Mitsukuni wasn't about to finish his parfait, the XXXL size, so the two adults began to converse. Takashi broke the silence. "Did you breakthrough?" he monotonously asked, referring to the researchers the male left to accomplish some weeks ago.

Kyoya gave a nod. "I must say, I am more than satisfied with the results. The commission was quite interesting too, you should see the toy in action soon enough," he mused a sly smirk on his lips as he took a sip of his tea.

Takashi merely nodded. From what he knew, Kyoya was tasked by the government to create some kind of new weapon to fight against their target. He wasn't aware of the details, but judging by Kyoya's reaction, it should be something quite good indeed.

"Anyway, Honey-senpai, I didn't expect to receive a text from you as soon as I landed in Tokyo," Kyoya resumed as he looked up from his cup to gaze at the blond that sat on the other side of the round table. "Is there a problem?"

Mitsukuni swallowed the last bits of his parfait before taking a large gulp of water. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and cleared his throat. His doe eyes narrowed, getting sharper, he laced his fingers together and rested his chin atop of them. The two adults easily spotted the change in his demeanor and grew serious at once.

"Mitsukuni?" Takashi probed, his voice tinted with worry.

"A Host Club," Mitsukuni uttered, leaving an awkward silence to settle between them as the two adults let his words set it. "I want to open a Host Club."

Kyoya was the first to get out of his stupor. With his wrist, he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "A Host Club, Honey-senpai?" he echoed, feeling somewhat incredulous. When was the last time he did some hosting activity? Oh my God, thinking about it didn't do much to make him feel young again.

"Why?" Takashi asked.

"For the school festival, I wanted to open a Host Club but Shu-chan said no!" he explained as he brought a slice of apple pie to his plate and began to aggressively cut it with a spoon. "It would have been soooo fun!" he lamented. "Like when Tama-chan led the club!" he chirped.

"School festival," Kyoya muttered. "Do you mean the one Kunugigaoka uses to raise funds?" he asked as his glasses began to glint. "There is no profit in such an event," he curtly reminded.

"Pff, I knew you'd say that Kyo-chan," Mitsukuni pouted as he changed his spoon for a fork and brought a piece of apple to his mouth. "Tama-chan would be sooo disappointed," he accused, bringing a piece of pie into his mouth.

Kyoya rolled his eyes. "I only stated facts, Honey-senpai," he countered. "Anyway, to do a Host Club like in Ouran, you would need Hosts, and skilled Hosts do not fall from the sky," he reminded.

Mitsukuni grumbled at the point. True, within 3-A, Ren was obvious host material, but he didn't know for the others. There was Meg in 3-E, but he didn't think she would agree. He sighed in defeat.

Takashi gave his former cousin and a sidelong glance. "Do you have an authorization, Mitsukuni?" he asked after getting a serving of apple pie.

Mitsukuni hummed, lightly nodding his head. "Yeah, I asked Uncle and he said I could, so long as I didn't go against school regulations," he muttered as he finished his apple pie. He really liked how crusty it was, and the sweet aftertaste the cinnamon sprinkled atop the well-cooked apple brought.

Kyoya finished his cup of tea. "Did you perhaps plan on having Mori-senpai and I join your Host Club?" he asked as he set the cup down. His answer was a sheepish grin on Mitsukuni's part. "While it is a good idea, as we have the necessary skills and experience, I do not think that three hosts will be enough to satisfy the customers," he explained before pouring himself another cup of tea. "The selection is too limited with the three of us and we won't give the customers enough attention," he continued.

"That's true," Mitsukuni sighed, somewhat disappointed by Kyoya's words. They weren't unexpected as he thought of them too, but he hoped Kyoya or Takashi would come up with a solution.

"Anyway, we would need drinks and snacks, as well as some merch and crockery," the former vice-president seriously listed. "I do not know how far your network goes, but mine shouldn't extend in those fields, not too much at least."

Takashi listened to them with one ear as he kept his focus on his drink. His eyes looked around the shop for a moment, he felt observed, and although Kyoya hadn't reacted, he knew the male was aware. This type of thing came with the job. The observer was quite discreet, not looking insistently, and he was practically sure that Mitsukuni hadn't spotted them yet.

His eyes met a girl's, he paused, letting them widen in surprise. The girl with the café uniform wasn't better off, the moment she met his eyes she too paused to have a better look. The stare-off lasted until she was called by one of her colleagues to attend another table.

"Is something wrong, Mori-senpai?" Kyoya asked as he flicked his gaze to look at the now-empty space. Mitsukuni followed Kyoya's motion, trying to understand the sudden oddity in his friend's movement.

Takashi blinked, he looked back at the other male before slightly nodding. "I think I saw Haruhi," he said, unsure.

The two's eyes widened.

"Haru-chan?"

"Haruhi?"

Takashi nodded, he pointed at the back of a brown-haired girl that was walking around with a tray in hand. The boys followed his finger and sure enough, the moment the girl turned around and they got a good look at her face, they felt a sense of familiarity.

They decided to wait until she finished her shift before going out. Anyway, they had tons of cake on their table for Mitsukuni to mostly finish. Like that, they spent more than an hour in the café, ordering tea after tea, and cake after cake, until they couldn't eat or drink anything anymore.

Fortunately, as Kyoya and Takashi were about to forsake the grand quest of eating cakes, leaving Mitsukuni behind as the only soldier still standing, the girl came up to them. She had changed out of her working attire, and instead of a butlerly outfit, she now wore some simple legging, black t-shirt and wool cardigan, a simple scarf wrapped around her neck, and a strange pink ring around her finger.

Takashi and Kyoya with their years of training spotted her before she even reached their table, while Mitsukuni noticed her after finishing yet another slice of strawberry shortcake.

There was an awkward staring between the trio and the girl until the girl cleared her throat. Her eyes fell on Reiko, and her confidence seemed to grow. "Uhm, excuse me, are you perhaps from Ouran Academy?"

There was a beat of silence until Mitsukuni jumped into her arms for a hug.

"Haru-chan!"

:)