I grumble as my phone continues to buzz. My night was restful in the beginning, but halfway through, I couldn't stop twisting and turning. I was planning on sleeping in today, but no; apparently I need to murder someone for waking me up.

"There better be a good reason for a call," I mumble into my phone.

"Wow, Mitsumi-Senpai is just as grumpy as Kyoya-Senpai," A familiar voice comments, a similar one in the background, chuckling. "Go figure."

"Mitsumi!" A higher-pitched voice shrieks. I groan as a headache starts to come on. "Something terrible must have happened to Haruhi! She must be saved from the absolute poverty she must live in. I can't stand the idea of my little girl living without a matching tea set and commoner's gas station sushi!"

"Tamaki, put me on speaker, please," I yawn, sliding out of my bed. "I'm guessing Kyoya or Mori is with you."

"You think I'd let him do this on his own?" Kyoya clips in, I'm guessing taking the phone for the hysterical blond. "He had a bad dream about Haruhi, we're visiting her at home. We're on our way to your house in roughly fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen?" I squawk, my heart instantly kicking into high gear. "You guys are going to give me an aneurysm. Okay, I'll be ready."

"See you soon, Mitsu-Chan!" I hear Hani pipe up. "Takashi says hi too!"

"Bye, Mitsumi-Senpai!" The twins say in unison.

"See you soon," I grumble. I hang up the phone and press the button to call a maid. "Please help me get ready for the day. I have a feeling it's going to be a long one."

I walk outside with my hair and teeth brushed, my outfit comfortable, and a bag that contains pain medications, a water bottle, my portable heart monitor, and my wallet. I straighten out my shirt as a black car comes up to the door, Hani waving from the inside of it. I wave back and go to slide into the car. Everyone slides to the left to let me in, and I give them a reluctant smile.

"So," I say, getting my seatbelt on. "A bad dream about Haruhi?"

"It was terrible!" Tamaki wails, sliding down in his seat. "Haruhi invited us into this decrepit shack, which she lived in, and then all of her tea cups were old containers and cups not matching! And the worst part; she bought the lowest grade sushi thinking it was premium fancy tuna because of the packaging! Oh, Mitsumi!"

"He then called me and woke me up," Kyoya gives the boy a piercing glare, making him squeal and shrink. "And now we've just been collecting the entire club. I have Haruhi's address, we just need to get there now."

"Wonderful."

I sigh and look at the others; the twins were playing games on some form of technology, while Kyoya tries to calm down the blubbering Tamaki. Hani is messing with Usa-Chan. Mori, thankfully, was seated next to me. I smile at him and he reciprocates. I look once more over the others, but all are absorbed in their own things. I inch my hand closer to his, and he envelopes it in warmth. My face feels warm as well. It's nice to feel this, even if everything about it makes my heart go faster by tens, and my face will permanently be the color of a strawberry. Mori focuses on his cousin's words, his face only having the slightest trace of pink. I'm envious.

"We're at your desired destination, Master," declares the driver, the car slowing down in front of an apartment complex. I look out the window to see curious people and dozens of them. The driver gets out to open the doors, and I try to squeeze myself out as fast as possible. I don't want to be in the crowd too much. I feel a hand around my waist and look up; Mori is holding tight.

"So this is where Haruhi likes?" Muses Kaoru, looking at the complex. I roll my eyes; sometimes my peers are a little too dense on what the world looks like outside of the mansions we're so used to.

"It's pretty big, huh?" Hikaru adds on. "Bigger than I thought it would be."

"Yeah, look at all the rooms!" Hani exclaims, running along the sidewalk, looking at each room individually.

"This building is what you may call an aggregate commoner dwelling," Kyoya supplies, digging his notebook out of his pocket and leaving a note, no doubt underneath Haruhi's page. "Haruhi's home is just one of the many units in this building."

"It's an apartment complex," I mumble. "Don't use big words like that, it'll just confuse them."

"Hey!" The twins say indignantly. "Since when were you all sour puss in the mornings?"

"Since I couldn't sleep last night," I sigh out, slightly leaning into Mori's touch. "Had a lot to think about."

"Like how you and Mori-Senpai are going on a date in two days?"

I look over to Kyoya, who busies himself in his book. Mori stiffens, his hand rigid on my waist.

"Kyoya," I say calmly, or as calmly as I could. "Did you tell everyone about this?"

"Why did you even bring these idiots with us?" Tamaki practically screams at the dark-haired boy. "Especially those two doppelgangers?"

"Well you see," Kyoya starts, snapping his notebook closed and pushing up his glasses. "I knew you didn't have the courage to come here alone. So, I thought it'd be best if everyone came along."

He motions for us to go to the car, leaving Tamaki to his own devices. Which, predictably, made him beg for us to stay. I rub my eyes and try not to sigh too much. This predicament (a word to write down later) is something that I wouldn't have minded avoiding today, but at least it got me out of the house. And now I know where Haruhi lives, so I can start picking her up and we can hang out outside of school. I wouldn't mind studying with her, regardless of our grade differences.

"Now listen up men!" Tamaki shouts, clapping his hands together. "And Mitsumi. Don't you forget! We must be polite, this is a casual 'we just happened to be in the neighborhood' kind of visit. We're not here to judge the Fujioka family's lifestyle. The words shabby, cramped, and rundown are absolutely forbidden."

"Yes sir!" The twins and Hani respond, throwing up a fake salute. Mori does the same, and with his serious face, I can't help but giggle. He looks down at me and I smile at him.

"We've all taken etiquette classes, Tamaki," I say, stifling my giggles. "I think you guys can be nice enough, especially to a friend."

"How true, Mitsumi!" Tamaki says, his happy-go-lucky aura coming back. "Regardless, I have to remind those two imbeciles to not say anything that might offend Haruhi or her father and cause them to ask us to leave."

He reaches to hug me and I tense up. His energy is a bit too much for me. I feel the hand at my waist tighten and Mori holds out his arm to block him. Before he can react, we hear a very familiar voice behind us.

"Well, it's too late for that reminder," Haruhi says, irritation heavily influencing her voice. "Go away!"
"Haruhi!" Tamaki turns his attention to her, eyes practically sparkling in happiness, quickly being shut down by Haruhi.

"Thank you, Takashi," I whisper to Mori. He nods and I wrap my arm around his back. He stiffens before relaxing into the touch. I smile and look over at the mess that Tamaki has created so far.

"Excuse me, Haruhi," A middle aged woman comes up and whispers to Haruhi. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh," Haruhi puts on a friendly face to interact with her, very different from the anger shown moments ago. "Hi, Miss Landlady."

"Those young men are driving such fancy, foreign cars," She continues to whisper, but we can hear the great majority of it. "They're not Yakuza, are they?"

It takes a lot of willpower to not laugh at that. I shake, the effort of keeping it down almost too much.

"Mitsumi?"

"She thinks you guys are Yakuza," I say quietly to Mori, who places a hand over his mouth, the smile evident. "Can you imagine? Tamaki, a Yakuza member? Or the twins?"

"Inconceivable."

"Oh, a good word."

"Hey lovebirds!" I hear Hikaru call over. I jump, my face feeling hot at his word choice. "C'mon,Haruhi's letting us go to her place!"

"Coming!" I respond, separating from Mori. I start up the steps slowly, everyone else ahead of me. Mori heads up, but keeps an eye on me the entire time. Once I'm at the top of the stairs, he takes me by hand and we get to the apartment room quickly, Haruhi holding the door for us, expectantly.

"Thank you," I say, giving her a smile. I take off my shoes and arrange them neatly, compared to the jumbled pile Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki left. "I know we dropped by on such short notice, I'm sorry about that."

"I should have known this would happen in the first place," She grumbled. "I'm happy you're here, at least."

I smile at her and go to sit with the rest, the three knuckleheads talking about who-knows-what. I tuck myself in, my knees underneath, and sit close to Hani. He smiles at us and goes about pulling out a box.

"This place is quite unpleasant, but I think I may have underestimated commoner housing," Tamaki exclaims. My eyes bug out at what he said, the disbelief evident on my face. "I know it's a tight fit in here men, but just pull your knees in and sit gym-style. Commoners have specially developed this position to conserve space."

"Tamaki Suoh, that is enough out of you." I scold, Kyoya slapping the back of his head. "Haruhi's house is absolutely lovely and we are very privileged to be let in."

"I'm going to go make us some tea," Haruhi says through gritted teeth. I feel my face grow warm from embarrassment. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I look up to see Mori. He rolls his eyes and I huff, us unspokenly saying 'of course he had to say that.' Hikaru offers up a tea to brew and Haruhi moves over to her kitchenette. I looked around the room we were in.

I wasn't lying when I said her home is lovely; the room has cream-colored walls with a light brown trim, making the room lighter and seem bigger. The flooring has tatami mats, making it comfortable to sit and walk around in. Little knick knacks and photos are on shelves, showing glimpses of her life we don't see at school. A television was in one corner, right by a little shrine. Incense is unlighted, but there are little treats and blossoms that must have been traded out recently.

"Sorry not all the cups match," Haruhi says, placing them down next to us. Mori passes one to me and I give him a grateful smile. I sit with the warmth in my hands as Hani places the cakes on the table.

"C'mon Haru-Chan," Hani says, looking over at the girl. "You can choose your cake first!"

"Uh, are you sure, Hani-Senpai?" She asks, doubtful. I'm not surprised by this, Hani is very particular about his sweets.

"Go ahead," Hikaru says, waving his hand lazily. "We're rich, we eat this kind of stuff all the time."

Tamaki makes a noise before hitting him over the head, Kaoru and Tamaki scolding him.

"I'll have the strawberry," Haruhi decides, and I slide over the slice closest to me. "Thanks, Mitsumi-Senpai."

"You're welcome," I give her a smile. "Maybe we can check out a new bakery later. My father recently had a publication for the best confectionaries in the city. Strawberry is a popular flavor right now."

"Oh yeah, I'd like that," She says, taking a bite of her cake, the indulgent sweet making her relax a bit more.

"Mitsu-Chan," Hani whines, dragging my attention to him. "Why didn't you tell me about that?"

"I was planning on taking you and Takashi to a few places already," I say, sipping on my tea. "Plus I thought you would have heard of it, considering your love of sweets."

"As long as we're all going together!" He says happily, digging into his cake. I smile softly at the antics of the upperclassmen before setting down my tea and fidgeting with my hands in my lap. The hand on my shoulder shifts down to my waist, the pressure pleasant. I place my head on his chest, the tiredness from the beginning of today leaking back into my system. He seems to understand, shifting just a bit to make the position more comfortable. He takes the strawberries off of his cake and transfers them to Haruhi's, making her smile again. She really is such a sweet person, I'm happy I'm getting to know her better. I cover my mouth as I yawn, making someone near me giggle. I look over to see Hani looking at the two of us.

"Looks like someone didn't get her beauty sleep!" He giggles again. "Are you okay, Mitsu-Chan?"

"I'm fine, thanks Hani-Senpai," I say lightly. "I just stayed up a little later than normal. I'll sleep later."

"Oh, Takashi was talking about staying up late too," He mentions. A couple heads turn at his words. "He was talking a lot, usually we go straight to bed."

My face feels warm, the interest in us making me feel a little embarrassed.

"Oh?" Kyoya says, a smirk gracing his face. "Do tell, Mitsumi. What kept you up?"

"Could it be someone special?" Kaoru teased, his twin resting himself on his shoulder. They grin mischievously. "Someone tall, dark, and handsome?"

"I hate all of you."

The twins laugh at my red face, making Kyoya smirk and Tamaki look around in horror.

"Stop messing with my daughter!" He shrieks, making the twins laugh even harder. I roll my eyes and hide my face in my hands, the comforting arm of Mori not even making me want to show my face. I look up at him when I hear a chuckle. Mori's face had a light dusting of pink, a bit brighter than normal. He tucks a stand of hair behind my ear and I can't help it that my heart beats faster and a goofy smile takes over my face.

"Eating all that cake sure wet my appetite," Hani says, sighing in contentment.

"Yeah," Hikaru starts again. "Isn't it lunchtime about now?"

"Well then," Tamaki starts, the others besides Mori and Kyoya. "What's for lunch?"

I can feel the irritation radiating off Haruhi. I reach out to hold one of her hands and she looks over at me. Mouth 'I'm sorry' and she relaxes a little bit.

"Will you guys quit being so happy-go-lucky all the time?" She asks, the exhaustion clear on her face. "Please?"

"We'll take care of it," Kyoya says, standing up. He rifles through his pockets. "We did drop in unexpectedly, so we'll pay for lunch. Why don't you just order us all some of your favorite sushi?"

Haruhi makes an 'X' with her hands, already denying payment.

"No thanks," She says hurriedly. 'I know if I let you guys pay, I'll only regret it later."

"Oh, don't worry Haruhi, we'll just pay for it using the profits from the photos of you that we auctioned off."

"No no," I grab the golden card from Kyoya, who looks a bit startled with what I did. "I'll pay for it, don't worry about it. It's the least I can do."

"I couldn't ask you to do that," Haruhi says, waving her hands. "Besides, if that's what you want, I do have a friend who runs a nice little sushi shop nearby, so I can give him a call. Their stuff's pretty high quality."

"Mitsumi."

"Yes, Takashi?" I ask, looking up at Mori. He was staring at me, I could feel his gaze on me earlier. "What's wrong?"

"Are you able to eat sushi?"

"I believe so, but I'm not a big eater anyways. Don't worry about me."

"Hmm."

He looks me over before nodding and looking back at the Club. Tamaki apparently said another insensitive thing and Haruhi is angry at him, reasonably so. Hani suggests that Haruhi makes something, and I would love to help her in the kitchen if she'd like me to.

"I'm going to have to go to the supermarket again," She muses, her thoughts making her frown. As she thinks of something to make, the twins and Kyoya start to head out of the apartment.

"Let's go," I mumble, grabbing Mori's hand. "I have a feeling we're going with her, regardless if she wants us to go or not."

"Right."

He squeezed my hand and a blush invaded my cheeks once more.

"Hey Senpai, are you coming with us?" Haruhi goes back into the house to grab the loud blonde, leaving us outside. I look out over the railing of the apartment complex, the buildings varying in height and making a nice view. Mori stands next to me, Hani on his other side. The air is crisp, still a bit chilly from the beginning of this morning, but the sunlight leaves a blanket of warmth that makes a person able to not wear multiple layers.

"Mitsu-Chan, what do you want for lunch?" Hani asks, tugging at my skirt. I look down at the boy, who looks happy-go-lucky, like everyday.

"I'm fine with anything," I say, tapping my fingers on the railing. "I'm not picky."

"Are you still on your diet?" Hikaru asks, his words chosen carefully. "How long are you going to be on it?"

"Yes, I am," I reply, not really thinking too much of it. "And I don't know. Maybe weeks, months. Depends on what happens."

"On what happens?"

"If this diet works out, I will stick to it. If it hinders, I stop."

"No more questions," Mori grumbles, placing an arm around my waist. "It's not your business."

Hikaru backs off, but it leaves us in an uncomfortable silence. I'm itching to leave and go shopping with Haruhi.

"It's okay," I try to soften the mood. "It's something a lot of people have to do. It's nothing."

"Yeah, but-"

A clicking of heels on the stairs makes the attention divert. A young woman ascends and joins us on the second floor of the complex. She looks at us suspiciously, before moving over towards Haruhi's home. I give a smile and wave, she replies with a grin. She looks over the door to see it open, and a panic is evident on the woman.

"Ma'am!" I call, heading towards her. She turns around and looks at me through heavily made up lashes. "I noticed that you were about to panic. The door is open because we're waiting for Haruhi, we're friends of hers from school."

"Oh thank goodness!" She squeals, bounding over toward me. I pause and Mori is instantly by my side. "You're such an observant young lady, aren't you? Gosh, I thought something bad may have happened to my little girl, you know how she is about asking for help. I'll go grab her for you."

"Thank you so much!" I give her another smile and she goes into the house. I turned back to Mori, whose grip on my waist tightened. "What?"

"She has the same energy as Tamaki."

"So true. No wonder how Haruhi can handle it."

I chuckle and Mori smiles down at me. He places a hand on my head and I can't help but cuddle closer to the taller boy. Kyoya looks over at me and looks unamused, but I just pull a face at him.

A scream from the living room makes my hair stand on end. I go towards the door, but Mori holds me back. The twins pop into the home before laughing uproariously.

"What?" I ask, holding tight to Mori. "What happened?"

"It's nice to meet you, Haruhi's dad," I hear the twins say together, as usual. "We're good friends of your daughter, the Hitachiin brothers."

Kyoya sighs and follows them, along with Hani, who looks overly curious. I follow along, Mori still close to me. It's comforting to know he was worried about the exuberant amount of energy the woman seemed to have, and it felt nice with him having a hold on me. My cheeks burn at that thought.

"Are you alright?"

I snap out of my daze to look at the taller boy, a bit of concern shining through his usually stoic face.

"Perfectly fine, Takashi," I murmur. "I'm just happy I have you here with me."

Instead of his usual dusting of pink, a brilliant red covers his cheeks. I grin at the amount of flustered he's showing. He looks away from me and I can see the color has spread to the back of his neck. I tug on his sleeve and he looks down once more. I go on my tiptoes and give him a chaste kiss on the cheek, making his eyes widen.

"C'mon, let's formally meet Mr Fujioka," I pull the boy by the hand once more into the house. "I bet this will be hilarious."