Hi everyone! I've just returned with another chapter of 'The Mind is a Beautiful Thing'! Once again thank you for your reviews! I'm sorry that I haven't updated but my coursework didn't give me much time to write this semester and with the pandemic happening I kept getting assignments thrown at me. Thankfully I managed to finish this chapter. Stay safe and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club. It belongs to the great Hatori Bisco!

Notes: This-Isane's thoughts

'This'- Thoughts of others

This- text messages

Chapter 11: Weekend at Fujioka's

Isane's POV

"I hope I've got the right street." The metal frame of my bike vibrated with every crack and pothole in the asphalt that the tires bounced over. Saturday seemed to have arrived in the blink of an eye and this morning found me hurrying to get dressed and rush towards the nearest market to purchase some oranges for my visit to Fujioka's house. Even though she didn't seem to be the type who liked to partake in sweets very often (that honor goes to Haninozuka-senpai), I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't enjoy receiving fruit as a gift.

"This is block 3 but where's the market she was talking about?" I swiveled my head left and right trying to find the supermarket she told me to look for while we were chatting on the phone. Fujioka lives in one of the residential areas a decent distance from Ouran Academy, at least an hour walk seeing as it took me a good 20 minutes or so to get here by bike. Its a nice neighborhood that reminds me of Takuya's area. Shops and condominium apartments line the streets, ginkgo trees are planted here and there along with shrubbery. Adults and children are milling about going through their day.

'There's a sale today at the market for salmon. Hopefully I'll make it in time.'

'Where are you kicking the ball baka?! That's the wrong way!'

'Good grief if I'd left any later I'd be late for work!'

Thoughts entered and left my mind as I continued to bike down the street. Finally a small supermarket appeared at the corner of the sidewalk. "Ok she said to turn left over here and bike down block 2." Continuing down the road, more apartment buildings appeared as well as a small playground where mothers were watching their children play. "Brown roof, brown roof." I kept muttering to myself as I looked for a specific complex in question. "There we are." The building with a brown roof and beige walls came into view. Luckily for me there was also a bike rack nearby so I proceeded to chain my bicycle up and added padlock around the front wheel for good measure. You never know who's going to try to steal your bike and although I can afford to get a new one, I happen to really like this model.

A quick walk up the stairs led me to the second floor of the building and I studied the characters on each door trying to find the Fujioka apartment. "... Takao... Echizen... Oh! Fujioka!" My mood perked up upon reading the characters on the door in the middle. I gave a few quick raps against the solid wood door and waited. Stumbling and the sound of someone grumbling could be heard from inside.

'Who the hell's knocking... Ugh it better not be another damn telemarketer... We get them enough as it is...' A man's thoughts came through sounding thoroughly displeased. Suddenly my good mood dropped and anxiety replaced it.

Oh crap don't tell me I got the wrong building... I couldn't help but squirm in place. To stay or get the hell out of there, that is the question. On one hand if I leave there's a chance he'll think someone pranked him and I'll feel bad. On the other hand if I don't, I might have to deal with an angry old man shouting at me for whatever reason.

As I continued to weigh my options, the door opened and a man with long auburn hair and bleary dark eyes peered from the other side. It seemed as if he'd been sleeping before I knocked if the 5 o' clock shadow and sweats were anything to go by. His gaze landed on me and he spoke with a gruff voice. "What do you want?" 'At least it isn't a damn salesman... This better not be a stupid prank either.'

Annnnd that's my cue to get out of here. "Um... my apologies sir, it seems I got the wrong apartment." I bowed deeply and began speed walking away. At least he didn't start yelling.

'...Wait... didn't Haruhi say something having a friend over yester- OH SHIT!' "GAH! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! You wouldn't happen to be Haruhi's friend would you?! Ah... Ko… Koganegawa-chan!" He managed to blurt out before I could reach the stairs.

…I've heard that voice before... I turned around raising a brow. "...Ranka-san?" My voice was hesitant.

'I can't believe I nearly chased off Haruhi's friend... Good grief I really needed to wait to sleep.' Ranka dragged a hand down his face and nodded. "Dear, I am so sorry about that. I completely forgot Haruhi was inviting you over today and I came home from my shift not too long ago." 'Even worse, I'm not wearing makeup and I'm not even in my nice pajamas...' "Haruhi went to pick some things up from the market but I think she should be on her way back by now. Would you like to come in and wait for her?" 'I'll put some tea on the stove while I'm at it. It's the least I could do... I probably gave the poor girl a fright!' He began to berate himself.

Makeup? I was still a bit hesitant to be invited in by him but the honesty of his thoughts won me over. He was very apologetic about the first impression. "If that's alright with you Ranka-san. Do I need to take my shoes off before entering?"

A tired smile appeared on his face. "Yes please if you don't mind. I'm afraid we don't have slippers but we have tatami mats so that should be ok."

*Third person POV*

Ranka watched the young girl place her backpack down before unlacing her sneakers. She was quite tall by Japanese standards, almost as tall as him actually. Her tawny hair had been piled up into a messy bun held together by a metal hair stick with glass beads strung at the end of the knot. When she stood at full height again, he was surprised to see a pair of copper colored eyes look around the small kitchen before they landed on him.

'What an unusual color...' He thought idly to himself as he brought out the teapot. "I'm afraid all we have on us at the moment is green tea Koganegawa-chan. Is that alright?" 'She probably drinks the expensive stuff. This is probably one helluva downgrade.'

Isane nodded though she wanted to frown at his berating thoughts. "Green tea is just fine Ranka-san. I brought oranges by the way." She mentioned pulling out the bag of fruit from her backpack. "I wasn't sure if either of you liked cake so I thought fruit might be best."

The father blinked at her in surprise and smiled. "Why thank you Koganegawa-chan! I'm sure Haruhi will appreciate it too. She's never been particularly fond of sweets. The sitting room is over here, why don't you go and sit down. I'll have the tea done soon." He ushered her out of the small kitchen.

Isane took a look around the sitting room. It was a small apartment but it was cozy. Meant for two, maybe three people as most Japanese apartments were. A little television stood away from the low table in the center of the room and she could see a shelf against one of the walls near the entryway. At the furthest wall...

Isane paused as she took in the Butsudan altar set up at the furthest corner of the room. On the bottom most table, a bowl of incense sat in the center flanked by a small vase of greenery, a candle and an empty plate meant to hold fruit. Sitting at the center of the top table, was a picture of a woman, the shot taken while she was in mid-laugh. Her eyes scrunched up and mouth in a wide open smile. It didn't take a genius to see her resemblance to Haruhi though she was much paler and her hair near black instead of the teenager's chestnut.

Her mother then. Isane silently opened the bag of fruit and placed an orange on the plate before bowing deeply.

"Hello Fujioka-san..." Her voice came out in a soft whisper. "Pardon me for entering your home. I hope you don't mind. I'm a friend of your daughter and she invited me into your home today." The teenager smiled slightly. "She's a good person. You should be very proud of her." A chuckle left her lips. "She's the first friend I've made over there." I hope you're watching over her.

Just as Isane took a seat at the low table, Ranka walked in with a tray of cups and set it down between them. Isane began placing a few of the oranges on the tray for them to eat as they waited for Haruhi to return.

"Sorry for the wait. I had to see if we had milk. I'm afraid we don't, but luckily we have sugar." Ranka lips quirked up as he spooned some into his cup. Isane merely took a sip letting the bittersweet taste dance on her tongue. "So how did you and Haruhi meet? She only said that you gave her some help." 'After that she looked like she swallowed a lemon.'

Probably because she ended up meeting the hosts. "Her books spilled on the floor and I was the only one who gave her a hand picking her stuff up. She mentioned she was looking for a place to study and I recommended an empty room on the second floor. After that... well I think we both know what happened..." Isane scratched at her cheek.

Ranka sighed, amusement dancing in his eyes. "I just about had a heart attack when she told me she owed 8 million yen. What made it even worse was that it wasn't even her fault that she broke it." He frowned deeply. "That brat of a president kept coming on to her when she made it clear she came in by accident and went as far as thinking he knew her preferences." 'I know she doesn't necessarily mind being mistaken for either gender but still...'

Isane half smiled feeling a bit sheepish herself. "Even though I think Suoh was definitely in the wrong, in his defense, your daughter makes for a convincingly effeminate guy. I mistook her for a boy on the first day until I saw her ID."

Ranka pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "Her first day of high school, I wake up thinking I'm going to make her breakfast and wish her a good day. Literally the first thing I see is my daughter sitting on the floor in my old clothes with a pair of scissors and a bunch of her hair on the floor!" 'And she did it without her contacts on! I know so because she left wearing her grandfather's glasses!'

Multiple sweatdrops appeared on Isane's head as Ranka lamented the loss of his daughter's long hair. "I think that would shock anybody..." She mumbled seeing the memory flash through his mind.

*Flashback*

"Haruhi?! What on Earth happened to your hair!?" Ranka screamed as he found his daughter in the sitting room kneeling on a towel. Long locks of dark hair surrounded her and what was left on her head was a shaggy mess. Haruhi was also dressed in some old clothes of his. Actually Ranka was pretty sure he hadn't worn that jumper since her 2nd birthday!

"Oh, good morning dad." Haruhi greeted seemingly unaware of the tizzy she was sending her father into. She looked like a mess! "I'm heading out." She placed on a pair of large glasses (wait weren't those her grandfather's?) and left the apartment with her father still reeling in shock.

"WAIT A MINUTE! HARUHI! YOU CAN'T GO LOOKING LIKE THAT!" He ran out of the apartment yelling and scared several people outside. By the time he'd snapped out of it though it was too late. She'd already been down the street.

Isane chuckled under her breath. Haruhi looked so nonchalant about it too. I know my mom would have kicked my ass if I'd done that. And Obaa-san would probably complain about me cutting it so short.

"Apparently one of the neighbor's kids thought it'd be fun to stick gum in her hair and she just decided to cut it all off." Ranka slumped over as he remembered the shock. "She didn't even tell me. We could have just gotten it out with a bit of mayo."

"Well she did say she didn't mind people mistaking her for a guy when I apologized." Isane piped up taking an orange and peeling it.

"Oh Haruhi's always been like that." Ranka said popping an orange slice into his mouth. "Every time I take her clothes shopping and tell her to pick something she likes it's always 'whatever's cheap and comfortable dad'. Never let Haruhi go clothes shopping by herself Koganegawa-chan. I love my daughter to pieces but she quite literally has no sense of fashion. I can't tell you how many times I've had to sneak into her closet and exchange some of the things she's bought. I think she got it from her grandfather. He always was on the frugal side..." His eyes drifted to the wall behind Isane and he paused.

'An offering?' The copper eyed teen turned around and saw his eyes were trained on the orange she left on the shrine.

Shit... should I not have? Isane inwardly panicked. "Um... I thought it would be rude of me not to place an offering when I brought fruit. I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds Ranka-san. That wasn't my intention..." She toyed with the sleeve of her soft gray hoodie feeling her face burn with shame at possibly offending her friend's father.

Ranka's eyes widened and he waved his hand quickly. "Oh Koganegawa-chan I'm not upset! I'm just surprised! There's nothing to be sorry about!" He smiled tenderly. "I'm sure if Kotoko could, she'd thank you for it. She's my late wife and Haruhi's mother." 'That was incredibly kind of her...'

Isane's mouth curled up into a tiny smile relieved that Ranka wasn't upset. "I could tell. The resemblance is uncanny."

Ranka sighed wistfully. "Yep. Haruhi inherited a lot of things from her. Kotoko's drive especially."

"Oh I-" Isane's sentence was cut off by Ranka who waved it off.

"It's fine dear. I don't mind talking about Kotoko." He reassured. "I like to recall the good memories. My Kotoko was headstrong and determined. She was a lawyer and she was a damn good one, always working hard to help her clients. When Haruhi was born, she fell sick for a period of time but she persevered. Unfortunately she fell ill again when Haruhi turned eight and she never recovered."

Isane stared at him somberly. "I'm sorry you lost her like that Ranka-san. I hope it was a peaceful passing at least."

Ranka was about to open his mouth when the door unlocked. "Hey dad? I'm back with the groceries." Haruhi's voice called out. "Hopefully I can get these away before-" Upon entering the sitting room, Haruhi paused seeing Ranka and Isane sitting at the table. "Koganegawa-senpai comes over..." 'Crap. I thought she was going to be here a little later...'

Isane waved at her awkwardly. "Hey Fujioka. Ranka-san told me you went out for groceries and invited me in to wait."

Haruhi mentally shook herself out of her thoughts. "I'm so sorry senpai! I went to step out to grab some things we needed for the house! I thought you'd be here a little later." 'I thought she'd be 'fashionably late' or something.'

Isane took a sip from her cup. "Well you said to come over around noon. It'd be rude if I wasn't punctual." Besides, your dad's nice.

Ranka stood up and nudged his daughter towards the table. "Now, now Haruhi, why don't you sit down and chat with Koganegawa-chan and I'll put these away." He walked into the kitchen and the two teens could hear him humming a tune as he began putting groceries away.

Haruhi poured herself tea. "I really am sorry about that senpai." She apologized once more. "We were running low on some stuff for the week and there was a sale I couldn't miss. That doesn't make up for it though." The younger girl sighed to herself. 'They had a sale on peppers today and I figured I could make beef with them for lunch.'

Isane merely offered her an orange. "It's fine Fujioka. I wasn't waiting very long and your dad is a good conversation partner. I feel bad for waking him up though." Although he did give me a helluva scare.

"It's quite alright Koganegawa-chan!" Ranka called from the kitchen shuffling around. "If you hadn't you would've been stuck outside waiting for Haruhi!" 'Or probably left!'

"Dad are you sure you don't want to go back to bed? You have an early shift at the bar tonight right?" Haruhi asked as her father emerged from the kitchen to sit back down with the two of them. 'His shift isn't starting until 7 but he has to start getting ready at 5. I should probably start cooking again around 4:30.'

Ranka merely waved off his daughter's concern. "Oh I'll be fine Haruhi. I another hour or two awake isn't going to kill me."

Isane cocked her head curiously. "Are you a bartender Ranka-san?" That would explain why he was sleeping this late into the day.

Ranka nodded. "I work as a bartender for the transvestite bar downtown." He placed a hand to his face and sighed comically. "Although I'm a little ashamed you had to see me like this. I don't have my makeup on and I'm not even wearing my nice pajamas." 'I hope she doesn't find that strange. Not many people are kind about when they find out where I work...'

Isane on the other hand was undeterred. In fact she seemed to perk up. "It sounds interesting. Do people dress in costumes? I remember one year my eldest brother's high school class did a reverse cafe and he had to wear a flapper girl dress." She laughed a little at the memory. Ryuuji and Jun hadn't been able to stop laughing when they took her with them to their eldest brother's culture festival and even now they continued to rib him for it (at the expense of Yukinosuke wrestling them into chokeholds). Isane on the other hand thought it looked fun.

That seemed to surprise both Ranka and Haruhi and the older beamed while chuckling. "Yes some of us do actually wear costumes with it! Oh let me tell about the time I..."

The rest of the visit was spent with Ranka telling them stories from the bar he worked at and Haruhi talking about some of the host club antics while she began cooking lunch. While eating Haruhi was telling her father about Renge and the whole video game debacle.

"And then Honey-senpai showed us this video he found of the game character that Renge-chan was obsessed with. He looked so much like Kyoya-senpai it was creepy. It was worse when he spoke because he sounded exactly like Kyoya-senpai too." Haruhi explained.

"How did everyone react?" Ranka wondered. "I'd find that a little strange myself."

"Actually the twins broke down laughing and Tamaki-senpai squirted coffee out of his nose." Haruhi snorted. "I still wonder where Honey-senpai found that." 'I'm still surprised he had the guts to show that to Kyoya-senpai.'

"Oh I sent that to him." Isane piped up and Haruhi nearly choked on the food in her mouth. "Fujioka don't die on me." I mean I don't think it's that surprising. She thought as she offered the other her tea cup.

"S-senpai, that was you!?" The younger teen finally managed to get out after she gulped her tea down. "Where did you find that?!" 'And how did Honey-senpai not blab it out?! No offense to senpai but he doesn't look like the type who can keep a secret.'

At the Haninozuka household, Honey suddenly let out a series of loud sneezes that echoed through the dojo.

Mori turned to his cousin offering a tissue. "Mitsukuni you're not catching a cold are you?" Concern danced in his eyes as he assessed the shorter.

Honey shook himself and rubbed his nose thoughtfully. Those sneezes had come out of nowhere! "I don't think so. Maybe it's allergies getting to me? It is getting warmer."

Back at the Fujioka household, Isane chuckled seeing the perplexed look that formed on her kouhai's face. "I was talking about the phone call from that day with my friend Kiraz and she mentioned trying the game out so I looked it up out of curiosity and ended up sending the video I found to Haninozuka-senpai. He asked if he could show the rest of you and I gave him permission but he couldn't tell you guys that I was the one who sent it. I refuse to give Otori a reason to hunt me down." She said matter-of-factly.

Ranka smiled in amusement as his daughter and her friend continued to banter. He felt elated that Haruhi managed to make one good friend at her new school. Isane Koganegawa was not only polite but he could see that this girl was also down to earth and honest to a fault. A rare trait in the elite. 'I hope you'll continue to be friends with my daughter Koganegawa-chan and watch over where I can't. He thought to himself. My daughter is strong-willed and intelligent, but I have a feeling she'll need support from good people when it comes to Ouran.'

Unbeknownst to him, Isane heard his plea and the copper eyed teen smiled softly to herself. I can't promise that I'll be able to watch over a lot Ranka-san, but I can promise I'll do my best to show support and lend a hand.

"Thanks for inviting me Fujioka. I had a lot of fun." Isane thanked the younger girl as she unlocked her bike.

Haruhi smiled in return. "It was no problem senpai. I had a good time too. Maybe we can do this again sometime?" 'I think dad ended up having the most fun in the end.'

Isane's mouth quirked up. "My house next time?" She watched the brunette's face pucker as if she'd eaten a lemon. I guess that's a no.

"No offense senpai but I don't think I'll be ready to enter a huge mansion anytime soon." 'If I break something I don't want to know what'll happen. Her face paled at the thought and she shook her head slightly. No... Koganegawa-senpai isn't like that.'

Isane shrugged. "If it helps, my place is tiny compared to the other estates." Seriously some of those buildings have like 80 rooms. There's no need for that much space. "If you don't want to though I won't push it Fujioka." She reassured and held back a chuckle as Haruhi slumped with relief.

"Thanks senpai." Then Haruhi appeared thoughtful. "You know, you don't have to keep calling me by my last name. We're friends right?" 'I wonder if she'll find this too informal...'

The older raised a tawny eyebrow and nodded slowly. "Yeah?" Where are you going with this Fujioka?

"What I'm trying to say is, I don't mind if you just call me Haruhi." Haruhi explained and Isane's eyes widened.

No one's asked me to call them by their given name since Takuya. Kiraz doesn't count because Westerners don't go by their surnames. After a moment, Isane spoke, hesitance lacing her voice. "Is it really okay for me to call you Haruhi?"

The other girl beamed. "Only if it's okay to call you Isane-senpai or is Koga-senpai more preferable since Honey-senpai the twins already call you that?" 'I have to agree with the twins, her surname is a mouthful to keep repeating but I don't want to tell her that.'

At that thought Isane couldn't the laugh that escaped her lips. "Alright I give my permission to let you call me Koga-senpai." I wonder if she'll mind me teasing? "Is my name really that much of a mouthful?"

Rising to the challenge Haruhi teased her right back. "Isn't calling Honey and Mori-senpai by their full surnames a mouthful?"

Isane smirked. "Touché."

"See you in school then Koga-senpai!" Haruhi called out to her as the older teen pedaled away.

"Later Haruhi!"

"So they all call you 'Koga-senpai' and the senior calls you 'Koga-chan'? That's so cute!" Kiraz exclaimed as the three of them were on a group call. Isane called her and Takuya up to tell them how her day with Haruhi had gone. Needless to say, the two were both elated and proud of their shared best friend. Elated that she was slowly stretching out her friend circle and proud of the fact that she was going through with it regardless of her ability.

"Glad you had fun Isa." Isane could practically hear Takuya beaming through the phone.

"I think you guys would really like her. Maybe one of these days we can meet up and I can introduce Haruhi?" Isane still had some reservations regarding letting Haruhi close, but despite her unease, she wanted to be good friends with the younger girl. She wanted her to like her friends and vice versa.

Kiraz hummed on her end of the line. "We'll have to see Isa-chan."

"Yup." Takuya popped the 'p'. "She'll still have to go through 'the test'."

Isane groaned, burying her face into her pillow. "Guys don't scare her away! Sheesh! If its not you guys its Obaa-san!"

"Hey good idea! Double team effort!"

"GUYS!" Dammit you two! You're having way too much fun with this!

From the sitting room, Setsuna Koganegawa giggled softly to herself as she heard her granddaughter's thoughts.

"Something funny Setsuna?" Hisao, her husband, asked as they both watched the afternoon news.

Setsuna shook her head, a few silver and black strands escaping from the hold of her hair clip. "Nothing my dear. I just have a feeling that this is going to be a good year."

Author's Note: Finally done with this chapter! Again sorry about the long wait, but I had assignments due left and right, we got a new puppy (I love her so much), and this pandemic has been making me stir crazy the past couple of days. Good news is the semester is over so I have some more wiggle room to write!

See you guys next chapter!

Ja'ne- Kitsune to Tenshi-chan