To everyone's relief the night passed quietly and uneventfully. Kyoya stayed up working on the club's accounts, updating passwords and checking in with his security force. He still wanted to know what exactly was going on with Nekozawa's staff. It surprised him how concerned he was about his senpai, but then again, the older boy had gone out of his way to help the host club and it wasn't Umehito's fault that someone was trying to sabotage his family's estate.

As if in answer to his thoughts, someone knocked on his door. He stood up and went over to see who it was. Nekozawa was standing there, and Kyoya stood back to let him in.

"I have managed to hire back all the inside staff. I can have a maid posted outside Haruhi's door if you like?"

Kyoya smiled at his concern and shook his head. "It won't be necessary. We don't blame you for what happened and from what I can tell, none of us are being targeted. What we need to do now is figure out what to do about your security staff. I have been running background checks and if you want to look at these people as possible recruits, I can have my men put them through their paces, make sure that they won't desert you like the others did."

Nekozawa nodded in agreement and the two boys spent the remainder of the night discussing possible new security staff for the household. Kyoya looked at his watch when they finished and barely kept from moaning as he remembered that the host club would be open for business that afternoon. Nekozawa smiled and yawned in sympathy.

"We have accomplished much, Kyoya-san. Do you need me to set an alarm for you so that you can assist with the host club this afternoon?"

Kyoya shook his head. "I have no doubt that Tamaki will be waking me up around noon. Just make sure that you're not around when he does...I can be a bit of a bear when I don't get enough sleep."

Nekozawa smiled and nodded. "I will see you later then. Good night."

Kyoya waited until the older boy was gone, then he walked over to Haruhi's room and knocked lightly on the door. When she didn't immediately answer, he cautiously opened the door. Haruhi was still asleep, and he padded over to the side of the bed. Kyoya resisted the temptation to run a finger down her cheek, satisfying himself instead with the knowledge that she was sleeping peacefully, and would soon be back to her normal self. He made a mental note to limit her club duties for that afternoon, and turned to leave.

"Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi's voice was soft and sleepy.

"Go back to sleep Haruhi." He waited for a few seconds, then stepped towards the door again.

"Good night, senpai." Haruhi yawned as she went back to sleep.

"Good night Haruhi." Kyoya said as he slipped out of her room. He went back into his own room and drew the curtains shut. He sent a text to Honey and Mori, informing them of the accomplishments that he and Nekozawa had made. He also sent a single text to Mori asking him to please keep the others away from his door until noon.

Haruhi woke up the next morning and yawned. She couldn't remember feeling this well rested in ages. She stretched her arms over her head and looked at the clock. It read six a.m. and she wondered if any of the boys would be up at that time of day. She went into the bathroom and took a shower. She came out of the bathroom, rubbing her hair dry as she wondered what she could wear for clothes since her father had taken all of her boys clothing and replaced it with frilly girly things. The only other clothes she had with her was the long sleeved shirt and pants that she'd worn the day of the attack. She glanced around the room and found the neatly folded pile of clothes that someone had left on the bedside table. She knew that even with the private jets that the Host Club members had, there was no way any of them could have gotten a set of clothing to her this fast, therefore they must have come from their host Umehito Nekozawa. Haruhi made a mental note to thank Nekozawa later that day. She had a feeling that Nekozawa had very similar sleeping patterns to the Shadow King: up all night, sleep most of the day, whenever school didn't interfere.

Haruhi finished getting dressed then went out into the corridor. To her surprise, Mori was there and he escorted her downstairs. They entered the dining room and Mori offered to pull out her chair for her. Haruhi thanked him as she shook her head.

"I need to apologize to you senpai. You and the other host club members have been going out of your way to help me and I don't have a lot to offer in return. Do you think Nekozawa-senpai would mind if I checked out his kitchen and made breakfast? I know most of the others won't be awake this early, but I can make the two of us something to eat and then we can study if you don't mind."

Mori nodded in agreement and the two ate a simple breakfast of toast and orange juice. Mori quirked an eyebrow at her, silently asking if that would be enough for her and she nodded. "It's just to tide us over until the others wake up. I can fix us a full breakfast then."

"Or lunch depending on what time Kyoya and Umehito wake up." Mori said wryly and Haruhi smiled at him in agreement.

"I have a feeling that they didn't sleep much last night." Haruhi said and Mori nodded.

"We've been trying to find out why Nekozawa didn't have any staff here and we're not very happy with our findings."

"Something bad if it kept everyone awake all night." Haruhi surmised and Mori told her what had been happening while she had been ill.

"Poor Nekozawa-senpai, he's been trying so hard to be helpful and all this happened. I hope no one blamed him for any of it?"

Mori shook his head as he explained. "We know that he isn't responsible for anything that's happened so far. He was just as surprised as any of us when he found out what was going on. He even volunteered to go into town and find out if he had any staff that would be willing to come back."

Haruhi smiled into her orange juice as she listened to her senpai talk. It was rare for him to communicate with anything more than a word or two and she liked the sound of his deep, soothing voice.

"Mori-senpai, after the lesson, can we go for a walk on the beach? I want to talk to you about something without fear of being overheard."

Mori slowly nodded his head in agreement. He wasn't certain what the girl wanted to talk about but he had a suspicion that it involved the youngest Ootori. Two hours passed while they worked on Haruhi's studies. Finally, Mori glanced at the clock and motioned for Haruhi to close her books.

"Let's go out for a walk, it will be good for you."

A few minutes later the two friends left the house and started walking along the beach. Mori sighed in contentment; he loved the fresh air and being in the company of Haruhi made his morning complete.

"You wanted to talk to me, Haruhi?"

Haruhi looked up at the dark haired young man and smiled. She really wanted to like him as more than a friend, but for some odd reason her mind and her heart were settled on the enigmatic Kyoya Ootori.

"Senpai, is it possible for one of you guys to be lonely? I mean, you all have what would appear to be everything you could ever wish for. And yet, you all seem to be alone sometimes. Am I imagining things or are you guys actually lonely?"

Mori smiled at the confusion that was reflected in her face as much as her tone of voice.

"Truthfully, we've all been alone or lonely at some point in our lives. Mitsukuni and I have it a bit better than the others due to having younger siblings as well as each other."

Haruhi nodded as she tried to understand.

"It's a slightly different situation where the twins are concerned. They have always had each other, but no one has been able to tell them apart until you turned up. You really impressed them when you did that by the way."

Haruhi smiled and he continued. "As for Tamaki, he refuses to be lonely due to being raised alone, so I guess you could say that he might be the loneliest one but I don't think that he is."

Haruhi glanced up at him. "Are you saying that Kyoya-senpai is the loneliest one out of all of you? But how can that be? He has older brothers and an older sister doesn't he?"

Mori nodded, "Yes, he does, but you must understand that his brothers are both being groomed to be the best they can be so that one of them can take over the family zaibatsu."

Haruhi stopped and sat down on the sand and Mori sat down beside her. "So it's possible that Kyoya-senpai is lonely, but he doesn't show it due to being an Ootori? Because if he showed emotion, his father would see it as a weakness?"

Mori nodded, pleased with her intuition. He looked down at her small figure and smiled when she looked up at him with surprise in her eyes.

"You realize that you've just said more to me in the last half hour than you have the entire time I've been a part of the club?"

Mori nodded.

"Oh, please, you're not going back to gestures and one word replies are you?"

Haruhi's exasperation made him laugh and she stared at him as he reminded her of their conversation from the previous evening: that some things only need a word or a gesture.

"You needed more than just one or two words, and I don't mind talking to you. I just don't always have a lot to say."

Haruhi nodded in understanding and the two sat in companionable silence watching the water for a few more minutes. As if on cue, they rose as one and walked back to the house, just in time for the twins to come bustling out of the front door.