Disclaimer

: Bisco Hatori owns most (). Leslie owns little (PLOTPLOTPLOT!)

Warning: Polyamory. In other words, Haruhi doesn't get all the fun.

But I confess, she gets most of it. (I blame it on my fangirl tendencies. If I was a fictional character, I would totally be in Ouran High screaming 'MOE!')

The rating is T, PG-13.

TESSELLATION

1 of ?

Chapter One

The Heptagon

A regular heptagon has seven sides, seven corners and fourteen diagonals.

It has two common names. Heptagon. Septagon.

Of the many polygons, it is lesser known. It is an anomaly. It is an enigma.

This, Fujioka Haruhi knows too well.

"Haruhi-kun…" Inoue Eri from class 1-C pouts, dangling a mechanical pencil from one elegant hand and a ruler in another. "I simply can't do this!" she wails. "You must help me…"

Fujioka Haruhi. Homework helper. This is one of the latest initiatives from Ootori Kyouya. Love-love with tea and cake AND a practical outcome. It is sheer utter brilliance, guaranteed monetary return.

Kyouya preens. Haruhi refuses. Kyouya offers a two-for-one deal. Every payment made by customers counts for double in the account of Haruhi's debt. He hides a smirks as Haruhi ponders over the proposal.

Eventually, Haruhi accepts.

Kyouya's glasses glint. "Very well," he murmurs, tapping away furiously in his laptop. When Haruhi turns away, Kyouya allows himself a grin.

On the introductory day for this new program, the line is seemingly endless. There's even a waiting list that extends to the next week.

"Haruhi-kun…" Inoue Eri whines again.

Haruhi blinks to attention. "Yes, Inoue-san?"

"I can't draw this." Eri gestures to her piles of discarded paper. "It looks all wrong!"

Eri's heptagon is really an octagon with hexagonal tendencies. Haruhi hastens to help, demonstrating the proper technique. "You draw a circle first… with angle of separation five-pi-on-seven…"

The heptagon is really a most ridiculous shape, Haruhi reflects, watching Eri tackle the protractor. The other girl's eyes squint in the attempt to determine the location of five-pi-on-seven. "It's hard to estimate," the girl says breathlessly.

"It's approximately 128.5 degrees," Haruhi supplies.

Nearby, Haninozuka Mitsukuni works through eating a mountain of cake. Morinozuka Takashi watches. Occasionally, the calm is broken by feminine squeals when a stray crumb lingers on Hunny's face (Mori wipes it off) or when Usa-chan gets dirty (Mori makes it all better).

A little further away, in the corner near the rose arbor, Hitachiin Kaoru lies sobbing in his brother, Hikaru's arms. The observing girls close dab handkerchiefs to their eyes, crying copiously as the theatrical tale draws to a close.

"I would do anything to prove my love to you, Kaoru!" Hikaru proclaims, amidst loud sniffles from their teary audience.

"I know that, Hikaru… but…" Kaoru's breath is short, his cheeks are pink. "My heart pounds in fear at the thought of the danger you will face!"

The twins draw closer (if possible), as the background music swells. Hikaru rests his forehead against Kaoru and cradles him close. "I know," he breathes. A tear from Hikaru's eye drips to Kaoru's cheek.

"MOEEEEEEEE!" The fangirls are overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, by the window, Suou Tamaki embraces a second year girl. She gazes into his eyes, enraptured. "Suou-kun," she sighs. "Why are our times together always so short?"

"Love," Tamaki intones, in a most impressive and Princely voice, "makes time fly and fade away. It is only in reflection that we can see the greatness of these times we share. It is the times apart, Princess," he gazes back into her eyes, intangible flowers blossoming into full bloom around him; "that makes our time together even more beautiful in comparison…"

The girl melts into his arms.

Back at the table, Eri has finished constructing her heptagon. Ecstatic, she squeals. "Look, Haruhi-kun, LOOK!"

Haruhi smiles encouragingly. "That's a very exact heptagon, Eri-san," she praises.

Eri gazes at Haruhi with starry eyes. "I couldn't have done it without you," she sighs. "Thank you so much, Haruhi-kun, I—"

However, Eri clearly holds all symptoms to the most dangerous illness of all: Wanting-Physical-Contact-itus (also known as the Love-Love-Haruhi disease). While Haruhi does not recognise the signs (or the terminology), someone else has.

Kyouya steps in, notebook in hand. His glasses glint. "Apologies, Eri-san," he murmurs with a small bow. "Your time is up."

Immediately, Eri wilts.

"Best luck with your constructions, Eri-san," Haruhi cuts in hurriedly, her voice warm. She casts a strange look at Kyouya. By her – accurate —calculations, Eri has forty-seven seconds left. "I look forward to seeing you again!"

Eri is instantaneously replaced by Hatano Ayame of Class 1-D. The moment Ayame glances up at Haruhi, she almost immediately ducks her head down again. "Haruhi-kun," she greets shyly.

"What would you like help with today, Ayame-san?" Haruhi asks, pouring out a cup of tea for the new customer.

"In Chemistry, we are working with acids and bases…" Ayame begins.

Haruhi notices that Eri has left behind her sheet of how-to for constructing heptagons. As Ayame babbles, Haruhi finds her mind wandering, strangely drawn to the imperfect shape of the polygon. It has dihedral symmetry, she knows

(Formulas immediately jump to mind)

but more importantly, it does not occur in nature. Which should mean that it should be impossible, Haruhi concludes.

A sudden flash of pain jolts Haruhi from her reverie. She acts on instinct, but in a mere instant later, she finds the left leg of her trousers wet. The remains of Ayame's cup is shattered on the floor.

It cracked on the table. It smashed on the floor. Haruhi vaguely recalls she tried to intercept the fall somewhere in between.

Ayame is in hysterics.

"Ayame-san," Haruhi tries to comfort her. She pats the girl's shoulder awkwardly. "Don't be upset. It's just a cup…" And then she sees the red smears on Ayame's uniform, right where she has just touched.

She feels Hikaru and Kaoru first. They latch to her either side.

"Haruhi, you're bleeding," they chorus in unison.

Tamaki holds her wounded hand. Hunny plops Usa-chan on her lap. Mori is sweeping up the porcelain shards. Kyouya is barking orders on the phone, presumably speaking to the school nurse. Tamaki has her hand swaddled in table-cloth. He brings Haruhi's hand to his lips and brushes a kiss across her fingers wordlessly.

When moments later, the nurse bursts in armed with her first-aid kit, the room is tautly silent.

The cut on Haruhi's index finger, from her attempt to catch the broken cup, is not shallow. However, it does not need stitches. When the antiseptic is applied, Haruhi hisses out a breath. The twins press closer to her. Usa-chan is gripped very tightly in her free arm.

"Will Haru-chan be all right?" Hunny asks worriedly.

Haruhi's finger is bound up tightly. "It is just a cut," the nurse says. Her voice is irritated. "And a small cut, too" she emphasises.

The nurse packs up her kit in a huffy fit. She cannot believe she was dragged down like this for such a trivial matter.

Slowly and reluctantly, the members of the Host Club disperse back to their duties. At last, only Tamaki remains.

"Are you sure you're all right?"

"Positive."

"Honestly?"

"Really."

Tamaki's eyes narrow ever so slightly, but then in a split second, he is grinning and buoyant again. "Don't scare Daddy like that!" he scolds her. "For a moment there, I thought my daughter would be without a finger for the rest of her life!"

Haruhi just looks at him.

Wounded by the fact that she isn't moved by his high order concern, Tamaki disappears to a corner and sulks.

Kyouya has cancelled the rest of Haruhi's appointments for the day. She is left alone by the table, staring at the how-to sheet for constructing heptagons.

Resting her chin on the table, she sighs. It really isn't normal, she thinks to herself. The heptagon.

Haruhi understands

(she will say nothing)

that the small wound was not the issue at hand.

Any excuse would have sufficed.

Any excuse at all.

AN:

When I write is directly proportional to how inspired I feel. I am inspired by many things, but in relation to fanfic, reviews are good. :)

I don't write for reviews, quantity-wise. To be honest, numbers are appealing to me, but it appeals to me less than a review which genuinely reflect interest in the development of the story. (But by all means, a one-liner is gratifying, in that a reader actually bothered. :p)

To cut a long rant short, if you like what you've read of this story and would like to see it continue, review! Criticism (con-crit or not) is always welcome.

To confirm, 'Tessellation' is a Haruhi/Host Club story. I've never actually written anything this quirky before, so it is very experimental.

Till next time!