Eyes Wide Open

Mori nodded slowly to Kiyomi's words, absorbing the information silently for a few moments. "Well, you don't have to worry now," he decided to tell her, nodding slowly once more as if confirming his own words. "I'll make sure that they don't harm you or trouble you in any way."

Admittedly, he wasn't certain over why he wanted to make sure that she was okay. He decided that it was because she was a nice girl, a kind one who seemed to care more about others than herself. She deserved to be safe and well. "What time do you have to go there this afternoon?"

---

A blush quickly filled Kimi's features after she heard Tamaki's words, but she forced it away by sticking her tongue out childishly instead. No need to let idle chit-chat make her nervous, right? Part of her really couldnt help it, though. Regardless, she shook her head and looked around for a moment.

"Aww, poor Kyoya," she muttered quietly, shaking her head slightly before she smiled. "You two are really good friends, though, aren't you?" she asked, figuring it was best to let the previous conversation drop; there was no reason for her to continue teasing the poor boy.

Kiyomi blushed darkly "T-thank you," she said breathlessly, unable to hide the fact that she was happy though she tried her best not to show it in case Mori picked up and questioned her about it, thinking about it now she realized she'd just managed to make a reason for her to spend more time with Mori, which was the exact opposite to how it usually was.

"Straight a-after school, but we'll be back before the Host Club starts," she added quickly, hoping Mori wasn't worried that he might accidentally miss it. Kiyomi fiddled with her fingers wondering what was taking Honey so long to begin with. Knowing him he's probably gone off so that Mori and Kiyomi could have some alone time and with that in thought Kiyomi realized he probably wasn't coming back.

---

When Tamaki saw Kimi pull a face and stick her tongue out at him he couldn't help but laugh, "Well aren't you a playful kitten," Tamaki smirked, teasing Kimi lightly as he continued to eat his lunch, slowly but carefully, making sure not to get any of it on his uniform or face, now that'd be embarrassing for the prince.

"Though Kyoya would highly disagree I'd say yes, we are quite close, I mean I'm pretty sure not just anyone could get away with calling each other mummy and daddy dearest," Tamaki laughed, waving a dismissive hand at the thought. "What what about you Kimi, have you reunited with any of your friends since you've come back?" Tamaki asked.

(What if Honey goes to bother Tamaki and Kimi now? xD That'd be amusing, for him to rush from pair to pair every now and then, the mischievous little kid.)

It had only then dawned on Mori that he hadn't really been worried about making it back before the Host Club started. Honestly, that should have probably been one of his first priorities to think about, but he found that hard to do. He was more so worried about Kiyomi than he was about the Club and that was definitely a first.

"Right after school, got it," he muttered with a slight nod, figuring that it wouldn't be too much trouble. "Though I wasn't really worried about being late back to the Host Club." He offered a subtle shrug, figuring that there really was no point in hiding that thought, that fact; it was probably obvious for all he knew anyways. "Whether I'm late or not, the others can handle it without me. Honey could even improvise about being worried about my disappearance; it might draw more guests, for all I know."

---

Kimi couldn't help but grin at the mention of being a playful kitten. Mostly just because she adored animals, especially cats. So being thought of as a kitten was definitely welcomed by the young Ootori, though she didn't mention anything about it. Eventually, she shrugged as she leaned back in her seat, grinning even broader than before now.

"Brother-in-law dearest, I'm surprised that my dear brother would deny your love for each other," she teased. "Platonic love, of course, so don't worry. I'm not implying that you love my brother in that manner." She was honestly caught off guard by his question, blinking several times. Eventually, she shook her head slightly. "Not really. I wasn't really close to all that many people before I left." Well, aside from Hikaru and Kaoru, but they hadn't talked much since her return.

(That sounds good! xD )

Kiyomi tilted her head slightly and observed Mori, "If I didn't know any better I'd say it sounds like you don't feel like your presence would be missed Mori," Kiyomi wanted to reach over and give his hand a squeeze but resisted the urge while fighting a blush. She looked away quickly but muttered a "I'd miss your presence if you weren't around," and as a quick after thought she added "Honey would also miss you a lot Mori," she laughed nervously.

---

Tamaki noticed Kimi's demeanour perk up when he said something but he couldn't figure out what. Blinking he mirrored her grin, happy that Kimi was happy. He chuckled when she called him 'brother-in-law' but decided to play along as well. "You see dear sister-in-law you brother seems to be quite shy when it comes to declaring his love for people, surely you of all people would understand where I'm coming from,"

When Kimi mentioned not having reunited with her friends he shook his head "That's no good, I'm sure they missed you dearly," He was surprised at the mention of the devil twins and shook his head "You don't want to be friends with those devilish monsters anyway Kimi, they'll taint your sweet innocence!" he declared stubbornly.

(Woot! xD)

"Well, I don't really do much, if you didn't notice yesterday," Mori said honestly, offering a slight shrug. "I'm not exactly worried over if they'd miss me or not. I just figure that my presence isn't an absolute necessity since I barely say anything during the club." Admittedly, speaking to her the day before was the most that he had said during club since joining the club.

Turning his attention to his food, he tried to concentrate on eating, though he found himself wondering where Honey had gone off to. Hadn't he said he was going to the restroom? That shouldn't have taken too long. Forcing the thought away, he was a little happy to hear that Kiyomi would miss his presence.

---

Kimi blinked with obvious confusion as she stared at Tamaki, having ignored his mention of her brother being shy. Instead, she was more concentrated on what he said about Hikaru and Kaoru. "They wouldn't taint my innocence," she eventually decided, offering a slight shrug. "I've known them most of my life, after all.

Before she could say anything else, she spotted a flash of the familiar short blonde rushing over. She hadn't really spoken much to him the day before, she realized, having only figured out his name, but he seemed fairly hyperactive, from what she could tell.

(hehe xD )

"I've heard that you work hard in kendo club though," Kiyomi pointed out, "besides, just because you're less active in one club doesn't make you useless or replaceable." Kiyomi states matter-of-factly, remembering Honey mention how dejected Mori was when someone said he had no purpose in the club.

Girls definitely took notice of Mori's presence as well, Honey was always mentioning how girls would confess to Mori every other day. "You have to tell him sooner or later Kiyomi!" Honey wailed as he witnessed another girl confess to his companion yet again, "And if I vouch for you he'll definitely say yes!" Honey exclaimed. Kiyomi shook her head firmly "No and you can't vouch for me either Honey, I don't want Mori thinking I'm just using you to get to him," Kiyomi clenched her hands into fists and sighed at the thought. Kiyomi knew Honey meant well but sometimes he overlooked the important details.

---

Tamaki smile graciously and chuckled "Hey, don't worry I was just joking, though it seems to be a poor joke now," he laughed at himself for not being more considerate. He wasn't really surprised that Hikaru and Kaoru had never mentioned Kimi before, they were after all still quite reserved about their lives, though Haruhi seemed to be doing a lot of good for them both.

Tamaki turned to see Honey and he hummed "Hello honey-senpai, are you looking for Mori-senpai?" Tamaki asked, looking around the room but stopping when the lolita boy smiled deviously shaking his head. "No, Takashi's with Kiyomi~" Honey purred before glancing over to Kimi "Kimi-chan do you like Tamaki?" Honey asked innocently.

Hearing the way Kiyomi put it made him slightly wonder if she was right. The only people who really tried to reassure him that he had a good role in the club were the other hosts. Or, at least, those were the only opinions that mattered to him for the most part, anyways. A few stray comments did get to him every now and then, but Honey usually tried to cheer him up afterwards.

Taking notice of her clenched fists, he blinked several times. "Is something wrong, Kiyomi?" he asked quietly, trying to avoid seeming like he was staring at her. How else would he have noticed her clenched fists so easily? Even he hadn't been aware he had been staring at her after hearing her kind words until then. "Thank you, by the way. Not many people tell me things like that."

---

Kimi had gone to reply Tamaki, only to be surprised to hear Honey speaking to her. Looking down at him, she blinked several times, a light blush tinting her features at the rather blunt question, regardless of how innocent it had been. "Now, I could never, not with him and my dear brother having such a connection," she joked lightly, clearly dodging the question as well as she could.

Smiling, she shrugged and glanced around, trying to distract herself whilst she waited for her blush to disappear. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of Tamaki's and nii-san's love, after all. That would be horrible of me."

Kiyomi was pulled out of her thoughts to notice her fisted hands, she undid them, flattening them, she turned to Mori with a serious expression, she opened her mouth partially wondering if what she was about to say was smart, but with Honey not around it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

"There's no denying I've been avoiding you Mori," Kiyomi stated nervously, "I know that you know as well," Kiyomi took a breath "I like you," her heart skipped a beat and she swollowed the lump in her throat, "Honey's been telling me to tell you for a while now, I didn't want to, because I don't want you, or anyone to think I was using Honey to get to you, because I'm not," Kiyomi's eyes stay intensely focused on Mori before she glanced down at her empty lunch and begun to pack away, "T-that's all I have to say," Kiyomi got up and quickly walked away, her heart in her throat as she fled back to the committee room.

---

Honey's eyes furrowed "Kyo-chan and Tama-chan are together together?" Honey's eyes widened, he'd always thought they were joking, but he was clearly mistaken. Tamaki watched Honey closesly before the boy suddenly squealed gleefully before running away.

Tamaki had frozen in horror, reaching out to the already gone Honey, "N-no, she was, was being sarcastic," Tamaki whimpered, now they whole school would think him and Kyoya were actually lovers, yes, it would bring more guests, excite already existing guests but "I'm not Kyoya's lover!" Tamaki yelled.

Mori sat frozen in place, though every fiber in his being was telling him to go after her. He wasn't even sure where she had fled to, though, and he replayed her words in his mind. Kiyomi like him? It wasn't the first time that a girl had confessed to him, but it was the first time that he actually cared. Especially since she had said that it was why she had been avoiding him.

It hurt a little to know that she had been avoiding him because she had an attraction to him. It hurt more to know that he hadn't managed to get his own confession out before she had rushed off, likely thinking that he wouldn't feel the same way. Shaking his head of the thought, he stood up, no longer interested in his food, and went to search for her. If it came to get too difficult to find her, he'd just have to wait until after school when he was supposed to meet her to go to the other school.

---

Kimi found herself staring after Honey, feeling rather bad for Tamaki. If she had known that Honey was completely oblivious to jokes, she wouldn't have said anything at all. She chewed on her lip, admittedly feeling guilty over the entire incident. "S-Sorry, that was my fault, wasn't it?" she murmured before she let out a sigh and moved to stand up, offering what she could manage of a smile.

"Yelling wasn't exactly the best idea, though," she added, knowing that he had probably caught the attention of several people around them and that would likely cause suspicion. "I'll go explain to him that I was only joking." With a slight nod, she went off to find Honey, though she wasn't really sure where he had run off to.

Kiyomi felt like an idiot now, she had just confessed to Mori and had been too scared to wait for an answer, would things be awkward between them now? With a heavy sigh Kiyomi entered the committee room, glad to find it empty, she took a seat at her desk and buried her head into her arms, she went through a range of emotions but what she really wished was that she could reign them in to be more calm. "Stupid Kiyomi, why'd you have to open your big fat mouth," she whispered to herself.

---

Tamaki saw the guilt on Kimi's face and gave her a warm smile "Hey, don't worry about it, Honey will believe anything he hears, really, why don't we go find him before he makes matters worse though?" Tamaki suggested, glad he had just finished eating lunch as Honey had come over.

Waiting for Kimi he quickly grabbed her hand and tugged her into the direction Honey ran away in, he could faintly hear the lolita boys yelling so it made it a little bit more easier to follow him. Once they had found the childish boy Tamaki grabbed him and sighed "Honey, Kimi was only kidding, me and Kyoya aren't like that." Tamaki tried to explain to the innocent boy.

(Sorry, I haven't been on lately. :/ )

Mori wasn't entirely sure over where to go to find Kiyomi. If he knew where Honey was, he'd probably ask him, but he couldn't bring himself to go searching for the small blonde, too focused on searching for Kiyomi instead. His attention forced ahead, he made it out into the hallways, glancing between rooms.

After a few moments, he began wondering if she had made her way to the student council room. It seemed likely since she seemed to like being on the committee so much. With that thought in mind, he made his way there and entered the room, not too surprised to find her but fairly relieved. "Kiyomi," he greeted quietly, "Are you okay?"

---

Kimi found it hard to concentrate, her attention focused on the fact that Tamaki had grabbed her hand. Really, it shouldn't be something that she paid so much attention to, but she couldn't help it. She was only brought from her thoughts when she heard Honey ask, "Were you really only kidding, Kimi-chan?"

The girl blinked several times and lifted her gaze to see Honey staring at her with curiosity. "What?" she asked before remembering the conversation and nodding vigorously. "O-Oh, yes! I was only joking, sorry."

(That's okay! I started a new job and it's been hella crazy I'll try reply to our other role-play but I might end up falling asleep like last time )

Kiyomi had finished what paperwork she had to do and had resorted to burying her head into her arms and closing her eyes. She didn't hear anyone come in so when Mori spoke up she jolted up, looking tired she fell from her chair and crashed to the floor before scrambling to get up and rubbing her tired eyes.

When she realized it was Mori standing in front of her she blushed darkly and looked away, "M-mori, what are you doing here?" she asked, not expecting to see him, how long had she been asleep? Did she sleep through her afternoon classes, surely not. Kiyomi bit her lip unsure and nervous, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

---

Honey looked between Tamaki and Kimi before a wide grin spread across his face, deciding he'd make it his mission to get them together, with one final look he nodded his head and turned, skipping away while swinging Usa-chan, content that he wasn't being lied too.

Tamaki let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in, turning to Kimi he gave her a small smile, "we may have avoided this type of incident but he's still planning something devious, he isn't as cute as he may seem," he mused, giving Kimi a small helpless smile.

(Oh, it's fine! :) It's 5am and I really should be asleep right now, but my sleeping schedule's so messed up. xD Get some sleep if you need it!)

Mori was surprised to find her awake and he felt bad when he realized he had woken her - and shocked her enough to make her fall out of her chair. "Sorry," he told her quietly as he sighed and made his way over, eyeing her carefully. "Are you alright? If you're that tired, you really should rest in the nurse's office..."

To her question, though, he blinked as he tried to come up with a proper answer. "Well... You rushed off so soon after telling me how you felt... I got worried." It wasn't the full explanation, no. But he had been worried about her - even more so now that she was obviously exhausted.

---

Kimi nodded slightly as she watched Honey rush off before glancing up to Tamaki and offering a small smile in return. "Well, hopefully, if he is planning something devious, it's not too devious," she mentioned lightly before turning her attention back to the direction Honey had run off in.

Part of her wondered if she should worry. But the other part reminded her that she had at least tried to clear the joke she had made. So if Honey spread a rumor about Kyoya and Tamaki, she decided it wouldn't be her fault.

[I'm half asleep but I'm loving this rp atm ]

Kiyomi waved a dismissive hand "I-i'm fine, really," she stated, she tried to swallow the large lump in her throat as Mori stepped closer and she gave a nervous laugh. "D-don't worry about it," Kiyomi wondered why he was really here, why would he be worried about her after she confessed to him. Kiyomi fiddled with her fingers, distracting herself from the tall stoic boy in front of her.

"Why would you be worried about it? I'll understand if you reject me, because Honey is the most important person to you and he's really important to me as well," Kiyomi realized she was stammering on and covered her mouth, blushing darkly and avoiding eye contact, wishing she had continued with her normal routine and avoiding Mori, then she wouldn't be in this kind of situation, it could only end in heartbreak, right?

---

Tamaki shook his head and gave her an uneasy smile, "Anything is possible with that boy," he chuckled before shaking his head "What class do you have next?" he asked "I have a free so I can take you to your own if you want, I wouldn't be a true gentleman if I didn't ask." Tamaki stated matter-of-factly.

In fact thinking about it now, both him and Kyoya had free next period, then would be the perfect time to go into further detail about the upcoming Host Club trip, thinking about it now Tamaki had had an idea in his mind for a while, the thought excited him and he couldn't help but grin happily.

(Haha, so am I! xD)

It was true, Honey was important to Mori. But that didn't mean that he didn't care about other people. He wanted to say that, wanted to explain that he cared about her, that he liked her, too, but he wasn't sure how to phrase it. He wasn't the best with words when it came to emotional things like this since the only thing he ever had to do was protect and care about Honey.

Eventually, he let out a sigh and rubbed at the back of his neck slightly. "Why do you think I would reject you?" he eventually asked, though he supposed she had already answered that. The realization made him feel a bit daft and a slight blush covered his cheeks at his sudden embarrassment. "I never said that I rejected your feelings."

---

Kimi blinked several times before she thought about it, eventually offering a slight shrug. "I've got Gym next," she explained, though she wasn't really the type to enjoy classes like that. She wasn't exactly a physically capable person. Exercise and things like that weren't something that she enjoyed because she got exhausted easily from it.

Looking up at him, she shrugged again. "You don't have to walk me to class, though. I mean, I can handle walking on my own." Still, she was rather thankful for the offer. But she was a little worried about her previous nervousness since she hadn't quite understood it and she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad kind of nervous.

When Mori said he had never rejected her Kiyomi's eyes widened. Kiyomi knew Mori wasn't the type to joke around about these kinds of things, he was to honest to do that kind of thing, at first all Kiyomi could do was open and close her mouth like a fish. She watched his cheeks turn slightly red and then she paused, trying to collect her thoughts.

At this point and time, neither of them would get anywhere because they both knew Mori wasn't good with talking. "A-actions speak louder than words," Kiyomi thought aloud her face a bright red as she closed the gap between them, making sure not to have second thoughts. She tugged Mori down to her height so he had to stoop down as she reached up on her tiptoes, their lips meeting in a chaste kiss.

---

Tamaki could sense that she wanted some space so he nodded his head, "sorry, I know I can be smothering sometimes, but it's only because I care," he chuckled but he wasn't sure how to feel, usually he didn't care about how his personality was affecting others so it was odd for him to feel worried about if he was smothering Kimi or not, heck he didn't even care if he was smothering Haruhi or not and she was his daughter.

Tamaki smiled one final time to Kimi before excusing himself before he could get worked up over his thoughts and end up becoming a nervous wreck in front of Kimi, once out of sight he let out a sigh and decided to go find Kyoya, hoping he'd take his mind off of things for awhile with the talk of the trip.

Mori's eyes widened at the sudden contact between their lips but he was hardly complaining. His light blush from just moments ago darkened and he returned the kiss while it lasted, his eyes closing before he pulled away, nodding slightly. "I suppose they do," he muttered quietly, eyeing her carefully, though a small smile formed on his features and he placed another quick, chaste kiss to her lips.

If he could, he knew he would probably kiss her several times, but whatever this was had only just started between them and he didn't want to ruin it by being overbearing. With that thought in mind, he pulled away again, nodding once more.

---

Kimi stared after Tamaki, surprised that he hadn't really given her time to respond to his words. It wasn't that she thought he was smothering her or anything - she just didn't understand that flutter of feelings from earlier when he had taken hold of her hand. Even if he had only done it so that she would follow him to finding Honey, it still confused her quite a bit.

With a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair, feeling a little bad. Tamaki had seemed a little upset, though she wasn't sure of the exact emotion. Looking around, she chewed on her lip before she began making her way to where she supposed was the direction of the gym.

Kiyomi wondered if she was dreaming when Mori kissed her back but she knew she wasn't, when they pulled away Kiyomi was still nervous but she was a happy nervous. She couldn't believe what had happened. She was about to say something to break the silence but a giggle interrupted her.

Turning she saw a flash of blonde before Honey appeared beside Mori, clutching his leg and grinning like he'd won a great war. "H-honey?" Kiyomi's eyebrows furrowed together but before she can react he lunges for her, tackling her into a tight hug as he squealed "It's about it~" He giggled, squeezing the air out of Kiyomi. "C-can't breathe," Kiyomi gasped.

---

When Tamaki arrived to his destination he started to relax finding Kyoya he quickly took a seat, "I don't understand," he said quickly, eyeing Kyoya up as Kyoya hummed in reply, "Kimi, she makes me nervous, I've never felt nervous before toward a girl, I mean, I'm a host for goodness sake," Tamaki ranted, not understanding his own feelings.

"My little sister makes you nervous? Perhaps you like her," Kyoya replied "Of course I like her, she's your sister, and she's cute," Tamaki stated "Not that type of like Tamaki," Kyoya stated bluntly, waiting for it to click in Tamaki's mind, he always had been a little slow Kyoya concluded with a disappointed shake of his head.

At the realization that Honey had caught them, Mori's cheeks heated up all the more. Clearing his throat, he glanced away, placing a hand over his face in hopes of preventing his flustered feelings to show too much. When he heard Kiyomi, though, he blinked and glanced over. "You should loosen your hold on Kiyomi," he muttered quietly, placing his hand gently on Honey's head.

He glanced back to Kiyomi, a little worried about her. Would it be bad that Honey was depriving her of air, especially with her health conditions? On top of that, his thoughts went further - what if the host club guests found out about his attraction to Kiyomi? It would cause a bit of trouble, he realized, but he tried not to think about it.

---

Kimi let out a sigh as she approached the gym. Making her way inside, she glanced around, seeing that others had started to come in. Before long, she went to change into her gym clothes before it was announced that they'd be running on the field at the back of the school.

She visibly cringed at the announcement, but she followed the group outside anyways.

Honey listened to Mori and loosened his grip slightly before nuzzling into Mori himself. "BUt see, didn't I tell you, Takashi and Kiyomi are my daddy and mummy so I'm happy that you finally got together," Honey said deviously, making Kiyomi blush and look away.

Soon it was time for Kiyomi to get to class, she parts ways, telling Mori to meet back at the committee room after school. She went to her class and sat through it, taking notes. The class dragged out but before Kiyomi realized it, it was the end of school and she was waiting for Mori outside the committee room, papers ready as she placed them inside for the other president to sign when they got to the public school.

---

Tamaki hadn't noticed the time pass so when the final bell rung signalling pack up he blinked, gathering his things and leaving for Music room three, even though the Host Club didn't start for another couple of hours he was too excited about the theme to not start preparing for it immediately.

Along the way he bumped into Kimi and he glanced down at her, "Will you be visiting the Host Club this afternoon?" Tamaki asked curiously, wondering if Kimi would be forced to because she was sharing the family car with Kyoya or if she'd come for the hell of it. Either way he was curious.