Author's note: I apologize in advance for what may be a Western puking scene. How/where would the Japanese puke? Do they puke in toilets? In-ground toilets? The sink? A trashcan? After considering this for a while, I thought, "You're thinking too hard about puke and toilets - not the biggest concern here." So a good ol' fashioned puke scene, it is. :)

Chapter 11 - The Unexpected Patient

The moron's room was at the end of the South hall—the furthest possible room from Kyoya's, which was near the end of the East hall. The Host Club had gone on many overnight excursions and Kyoya knew from experience that Tamaki liked to pester whoever was nearby. As Kyoya led Tamaki to his room, the Shadow King took a moment to adjust his glasses and smirk because he arranged for Mori and Honey-senpai to be next to Tamaki. A black aura flickered in and out as he fought the urge to chuckle darkly. He suppressed it, but just barely.

It was as they arrived at Tamaki's room that Kyoya realized the king had been quiet the entire walk.

"Your room," Kyoya said, waiting. He knew Tamaki must have something to say.

"Thank you, Kyoya." Tamaki stopped moving and seemed to hesitate, looking lost. "I... I don't know what to do about Haruhi. She's so..." he floundered. "...So stubborn."

Dumbfounded, Kyoya just stared at his best friend. Tamaki thought that Haruhi's stubbornness was the problem? A moment passed as Kyoya tried to formulate the best response—or at least one that didn't have the word idiot in it.

"She will be fine, Tamaki. The boys are talking to her now and I will make time to talk to her later."

Sooner than you might think... he thought smugly. His momentary lightheartedness fell away as he turned back to the situation at hand.

He straightened and stared intently at Tamaki. "You should really give some thought on how you handled this disagreement with Haruhi. Clearly, you don't like the outcome of this situation, so figure out what you could have done differently instead of blaming Haruhi for what you perceive as stubbornness."

With that, Kyoya turned and left a bewildered Tamaki.

Debating the merits of returning to dinner or going back to his room, Kyoya decided on the latter as he wanted to clear his head before the big event. He glanced out a window as he walked. It was getting darker and the clouds he saw earlier were beginning to look ominous. Things were starting to pick up. He hurried the rest of the way to his room.

Once inside, he took off his clothes as he headed to the bath. If anyone questioned him as to why he was taking a bath, he would have pointed to his aforementioned need to clear his head. The reality, however, was mortifying, even if he was only admitting it to himself. His sister Fumino often liked to irritate him by shoving shoujo manga in his face, specifically choosing scenes to try to embarrass him. The cliche he was desperately trying not to recall, but emulating anyway, was when a girl made sure her underwear wasn't white or beige before knowingly putting herself in a risqué situation.

He stopped on the threshold of the bathroom, pushed his glasses up, and exhaled in embarrassment. It was the exact same thing with this bath. He didn't expect anything of a risqué nature to occur that evening (sorry Ranka!), but better clean and prepared than not, right?

He bathed quickly, not daring to think about anything. He got out of the bath, pulled on a pair of pants, and went into his room to dry his hair and cool off with a bottle of water.

Just as he sat, his door slammed open, hit the wall, and closed again as Haruhi ran by racing to his bathroom. He stood, shocked, as she fell to her knees and threw up in his toilet.

Muscle memory from taking care of Fumino had him moving before he realized it. He got a washcloth and turned on the faucet, fully focused on helping her when it suddenly dawned on him that she might want to be alone in this type of situation. He quickly glanced over at her.

Other than looking at him from the corner of her eye as she continued to retch, she didn't react negatively to his presence at all.

Taking that as assent, he wet the washcloth and wrung it out. He walked next to her and knelt, putting the washcloth on the back of her neck. He hesitated and then ran his fingers through her bangs and the front of her hair, gathering it out of her face. He tried not to focus on its silkiness or how intimate this seemed, despite the situation.

Remembering Fumino's accusation that Kyoya's silence seemed judgmental during such times, Kyoya very quietly breathed the same chant he sang to Fumino, "Pain, pain, fly away. Pain, pain, fly away." Not wanting to seem like he was treating her like a child, he switched to humming to the same rhythm.

It wasn't long until Haruhi had nothing left in her stomach and she began to dry heave. At this point, she had enough control that she was able to get out a strangled "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Kyoya said. He flipped over the washcloth on her neck, wishing he could do more. Haruhi's dry heaves subsided fairly quickly after that.

He stood and got another wet washcloth to hand to her. She took it and sat back against the door frame to recover. Kyoya watched as she wiped her face, noting clinically that her color was better. He excused himself and stepped out of the room to give her privacy.

Kyoya sat in a chair that was next to the windows and peered out beyond the green curtains. It was completely dark and had started to rain. Not much time left. He put his towel over the top of his head and began to dry his hair.

Haruhi opened the door, looking sheepish. Kyoya tried to guess if it was because she was embarrassed at having thrown up in front of him or simply lamenting the waste of a good meal. Probably the latter.

Wanting to set her at ease, he asked, "Are you okay?"

She bowed. "I apologize, Senpai, I didn't mean to intrude."

"Don't be silly; it's only me."

"Kyoya-senpai... Senpai, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to make everybody worry about me today." Her sincerity was obvious.

Kyoya glanced at her sidelong, wondering what happened with the other hosts that had resulted in this epiphany.

He was glad she realized that they had been worried. It was a first step towards understanding that she had limitations. He wondered how to respond.

He stood up and took a drink of water to buy him time.

Should he take this chance to teach her the lesson about limits and asking for help? Kyoya remembered his earlier fantasy about the topic. He could answer her that he wasn't especially worried, bring up her debt, and then force her on the bed, pretending to have his way with her. His baser instincts said Doooo itttt!! You bathed, didn't you? Snarky baser instincts. And as it had earlier that day, his intellectual side agreed, reasoning that doing so would definitely teach her about limitations and relying on others.

But where would that get him? It would put distance between them and she would be less receptive to what he had to say tonight.

It's not like she'd say "Gee golly, Senpai, I never realized what a nice guy you are. Obviously you're trying to prove Tamaki's point. Tee hee, tee hee." No one would react like that.

No. He needed to respect her by being honest and admitting he'd been worried.

He lowered his water bottle and looked at Haruhi.

"Thanks. It was..." Terrifying. Awful. Heart wrenching. "...unsettling to not know whether you were okay." He paused, wanting to say more, but decided against it. "Since you caused me to worry, you can pay me back by allowing me to escort you safely to your room."

She gave him a deadpan look. "Senpai, my room is at the end of this hall. You don't need to walk me there."

"I insist."

"It's literally two doors down."

Kyoya guided Haruhi to the door as he said, "Haruhi, you're exhausted, you've had a trying day. Can you accept that I too am trying to look out for you in my own way?"

A stunned look appeared on her face and the fight went out of her.

"Okay, Senpai." She followed him out the door.

"Just a moment," he said and locked the door.

"Aren't you coming right back? Why are you locking your door?"

They started walking the short distance to her room.

Kyoya looked at Haruhi from the corner of his eyes and then closed them as he adjusted his glasses. "I understand that this is your first overnight experience with Tamaki and the twins, but I would think that you know them well enough to imagine the chaos that could ensue. Might I recommend that you also keep your door locked at all times?"

A beat of silence, then a grimace appeared on her face. "You're absolutely right. Good advice, Senpai."

Haruhi turned to open her door.

This was it. According to his plan, Kyoya needed to enter her room without raising her suspicions.

He spoke quickly, but kept it casual. "Actually, I have something to discuss with you."

She turned back to him.

"May I?" He asked and gestured to her door. He was counting on her naïveté to let him into her room unchaperoned. Though he felt conflicted about that. He shouldn't be able to count on that naïveté. It shouldn't even exist. But that was one of the points of tonight's interactions - to help with realizing her limitations. And now he was rambling. In his own head.

He could admit it. He was nervous. Ranka had prepped him with what to expect from one of Haruhi's episodes, but he had never personally witnessed an attack. He was about to share that he had been talking with Ranka since the first day she entered Music Room 3. That he had entered her private life without her knowledge and without her permission. She would probably be embarrassed, angry, and resentful, possibly distancing herself from him. The happy balance of the host club, the future of the two of them together that he hoped for, everything was being risked by what he was about to do. He couldn't predict the outcome of the next couple of hours. He could only hope that his plan to even the odds would work.

"Yes," Haruhi said, and held the door open for him to enter.

He swallowed nervously and walked through. No turning back now.

End Chapter 11 - The Unexpected Patient

Next up is the final chapter! For those of you who are devastated not to read our favorite scene in this chapter, never fear! Would I pass on the chance to write that scene? :) I can't wait for you all to read how it all ties together. Until then!