Hey there, sorry for the wait, I’ve been at college. I would first like to apologize to the people who I told that this story would be updated for Christmas. This chapter has been giving me some problems. Thanks for the reviews and before I start the story, I'd like say something. I got a review a while back signed from Rose. Her review was a critique of my story and she apologized for flaming me. I don't regard the review as a flame, but constructive criticism. Not once did she say "You suck." or anything like that. She pointed out some things that I could do better and I thank her for it. Hopefully, she'll read this one day and realize that I'm very grateful.

Disclaimer: Host Club was created by Bisco Hatori.

New Item

Chapter 9

Thoughts of an Unintentional Cross Dresser

Today was a special day for the Host Club; Hunny was returning. As he entered while on Mori's shoulders, customers squealed in delight. Kyouya sat in the corner, writing in his book with a slight frown on his face. This was most likely because of the fact that large amounts of money would be spent on sweets again.

Since it was a special occasion, some of Hunny's regulars brought him gift baskets filled with sweets. As his eyes lit up at the sight, the customers squealed even more. Even through all of the current chaos, Haruhi was still able to be in deep thought.

The memory of Mori’s lips on hers kept replaying in her mind. That was her first kiss (from a boy that is) and she was at a loss on what to make of it. Was it the spur of the moment that prompted her to kiss back or was it something more? After the kiss, she had felt so... happy?

"Haru-chan!" Hunny cried jumping on her. "Are you happy to see me?"

"Yes."

"I heard your kendo lessons have been going well." There was something about his smile that she could not place. "Can I watch you sometime?"

"Sure."

"I'd also like to watch." Tamaki said coming up behind her.

"You just want to see what she looks like in her practice uniform." Kaoru whispered in his ear.

"For your information, I'm interested in seeing the progress my daughter has made!" As the two proceeded to argue (and Hikaru later joined in), the female host went back to brooding.

"Maybe he was tired." Whenever Mori was sleepy, he would undergo a complete personality change, much like Hunny, except he was not deadly. The silent host became more talkative and was sweet.

Her biggest concern, however, was that the rest of the Club would find out about the incident. The night before, she did not care, but yesterday she had done a number of things uncharacteristic of her. If the Club found out, she knew that her life would be even more chaotic.

"You seem deep in thought today." Kyouya commented, suddenly appearing beside her. Not only was he a rich bastard, but a sneaky rich bastard.

"It won't affect my time with the customers." Her intent was to end the conversation, since the shadow king was known to pick up on things quickly. After all, he was the first one to realize Haruhi was a girl.

"I decided to hack off some of your debt since you were Mori's 'item'." This caught her by surprise. She was not even sure how much she owed anymore and every time she asked, Kyouya would somehow evade the topic.

"Thank you." The shadow king smiled (which could sometimes be a scary thing).

"Just try not to add it back on." With that, he resumed his place at the table.

Truthfully, when the others hosts had asked if they could watch her sometime, she did not think that it meant today. It was very distracting when Tamaki was constantly making oohs and ahhs during her matches against Mori. That, and she was certain that Kyouya was figuring out how to make money by taking pictures. The twins sat there, surprisingly not saying a word. Hunny, on the other hand, was studying the fighting pair intently.

Finally, after three matches, she had won. As she was taking a drink of water, the twins sat on both sides of her.

"You seem to have gotten pretty strong. Are you going to continue your lessons?" Kaoru asked.

"Until I'm able to beat Ta...Mori-senpai more often, then I need to continue training." Neither of the twins seemed to notice her slip.

"We don't get to see you as much." Hikaru said after he wiped water off her chin with his mouth.

"What are you doing to my daughter?" the self proclaimed king demanded.

"Time to get back to practicing." she muttered.

While sparring against Mori, she noticed that he seemed even more focused than usual. It was probably hard not to go full force on an opponent. She did not even notice that Mori's father, Hiro, had come in.

"How about trying to use a real sword?" he questioned. Tamaki began to have one of his classic episodes in the background.

"Is his highness worried that Haruhi might use it on him?" Hikaru whispered.

"Of course not! What if she hurts herself?"

"Don't worry, Takashi will be there." Hunny said.

The feature now showing in Tamaki's Mind Theater was one involving an injured Haruhi being cradled in Mori's arms, his face close to hers.

"Ah!" He began shaking his head. "Mom, aren't you worried about our daughter?" he asked Kyouya.

"Like Hunny said, Mori will be there. Besides, Haruhi knows how to handle herself." This answer seemed to calm Tamaki.

"It's close to dinner, why don't all of you join us?" Hiro inquired.

Despite the fact that all of the Host Club was there, dinner was relatively normal. The twins had pushed their King out of the way to sit next to Haruhi. Mori's eyes had returned to their usual look, but when they made eye contact, they appeared to be regarding her intently. Something was definitely on his mind.

Thankfully, the hosts took their leave after dinner. If she was going to be using a sword, she needed concentration. It was a little heavy at first, requiring her to use both hands. She had read that sword handling eventually led to calloused hands.

"Before we spar, you need to practice using the sword first." Mori said. He indicated bundles of straw standing up. "Cut them." She looked at him quizzically. That was all she had to do?

Taking her stance, he inhaled and then swung her sword at the nearest bundle. She was not even close and ended up on her knees.

"You're putting too much power into your swing." he said as he helped her up. "Try again." She did so and managed to send a few pieces of straw into the air, stumbling in the process. Mori said nothing and she took this as a sign to continue.

Tightening her hold on the hilt, she took a deep breath and swung. More straw went into the air this time. The sword was beginning to feel lighter in her hands. Now, the only obstacle was the judgment on the length of the sword. She took a moment to study it, and then swung again. The top half landed on the floor. It was not a perfect cut, but decent for a beginner.

"Is everything all right Takashi?" she asked after seeing him stare intently at her. He remained silent for a moment, as if in deep thought. "Is it about what happened yesterday?" She took his slight head movement as a yes. "You must've been tired."

"No, I wasn't." She tilted her head. "Haruhi...Would you like to go out with me sometime?" The female host was dumbfounded.

"Takashi just...asked me out on a date." she thought. How was this any different from the other times guys asked her out? Oh yeah, she just happened to like this one. "Yes, I would."

Oh boy, I can't help but think that last bit was OOC. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. I apologize again for taking so long to update. Hope you enjoyed it.