Blossoming

KibaSin

Summary: Souta decided it was finally time to get rid of his sister's unwanted suitor, and what better timing than when the Host Club visits. [Kyoya x Kagome x Mori]

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters used within this work. They belong to the creators of Inuyasha and Ouran High School Host Club respectively.

Genre: Humor

Rating: K

The young Hojo boy bounced up the shrine steps two at a time, trying desperately to quell the excitement that was already bubbling forth. The journey to the shrine was a well practiced one, and he could not stop the smile from blossoming with the knowledge that he was finally going to get to see the young Higurashi daughter again. It had been several months since he had learned that she had been accepted into the prestigious Ouran Academy through some mysterious benefactor, after all. The opportunity was something he had been both thrilled and devastated to learn about, and he could only hope that she was equally as excited to see him once he found her.

Feeling like he was walking on air by the time he reached the landing, Hojo swiveled his head several times in search of the girl he knew was normally sweeping the grounds around this time. Not immediately spotting her, he felt his heart drop, wondering if he had maybe arrived a bit too early as he fished his phone out of his pocket to recheck the messages he had gotten from Yuka.

4:30 on the dot! the little box blinked.

Mentally calculating the time it took to take the bullet train, plus the walk that may have resulted in several stops depending on the situation, Hojo nodded to himself when he confirmed the time was correct. Having arrived nearly an hour later himself, it was a surprise that she was not already performing her immediate chores, but he quickly decided that she may have skipped them in order to spend more time with her family as he turned in that direction. The little two story house in the back was not that far off, and there was little doubt her mother could point him in the right direction if she happened to have rushed off after realizing the time.

The thought of the raven haired girl fluttering about in her traditional robes, broom in hand as she tried to hurriedly sweep everything as fast as possible, only made him smile wider. Having seen her do it enough times with her schoolwork before class, it really would be just like her to seemingly forget about such a simple task and try to do it all in a flurry of motion that had often caused more harm than good.

Adjusting his collar in the hopes he looked presentable, Hojo paused when he noticed a scatter of tiny, out of season flowers wafting across the ground as he neared the Goshinboku in the back. Watching the tiny blossoms for a moment, he tipped his head curiously to one side. Were they for a festival he was unaware of?

"Look at what you did, tono!"

Startled by the mingling voices, Hojo blinked at the sudden sight of a rather foreign looking boy chasing after the little flowers with a taunting pair of auburn haired twins following in his wake. Recognizing the matching Ouran Academy uniforms almost immediately, he wondered if they were friends of the Higurashi girl he had planned to see. The thought made his stomach twist into a knot, knowing that it was entirely possible, and he immediately regretted that little jealous feeling.

Of course she would have made friends at her new school. It only made sense, after all, given how she seemed to attract nearly everyone with her good natured spirit. He had never known her not to have someone practically attached to her hip throughout middle school, but… Those three boys had been incredibly handsome even from a distance, striking in coloration in a way that most Japanese men were not, and he could not stop the little warning bell that went off when he remembered something Ayumi had mentioned about the girl's previous boyfriend.

That long, silver colored hair.

Was that what she—?

"Oh, hey."

Another voice turned his head, and Hojo nearly sighed in relief at the sight of the Higurashi girl's little brother standing nearby with a broom in hand. The distraction a welcome one, he lifted his hand in a friendly wave. "Souta-kun," he said, "how are you?"

The young boy shrugged, eyeing him suspiciously for a moment, as he said, "Good, I guess."

Wondering what exactly the sudden scrutiny was for, Hojo rubbed at the back of his neck when the silence started to become awkward between them. "Ah…"

"You're here to see sis, right?" Souta asked.

"Well, uh," Hojo felt the tip of his nose heat. He scratched his cheek at the eyebrow the younger boy lifted, feeling like he was being put under a microscope with the way his eyes lowered into an aggravated expression. "I had hoped to maybe catch up with Kagome if she was available, but it looks like she's already occupied with her friends."

Souta's eyes suddenly lit up, taking him off guard for a second.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," Hojo added.

"They're just making flower crowns," Souta said. His lip turned upward at the edge, and he gestured with the broom toward where the Goshinboku stood behind another building. "Sis wanted me to fetch this," the grin widened, "but if you wait a minute, I could get another one for you to help out. Those idiots are getting them everywhere, and gramps will have a fit if we just leave them."

Unable to decline before the boy skipped off, Hojo found himself curious with the slight information he had been bestowed by the youngest Higurashi. They were making flower crowns in the middle of October? He eyed the fresh little blossoms now skittering in every direction nearby, wondering just where in the world they had gotten so many of the out of season flowers and on such short notice.

Souta popped up a moment later, another broom tucked under his arm that he promptly thrust out at him, before he tugged insistently on his sleeve until Hojo found himself following obediently toward where his sister no doubt resided. The look on his face made him grip the broom rather nervously, unsure due to the mischievous little twinkle that the boy kept flicking in his direction as they rounded around the building separating them from the full view of the Goshinboku.

"Uh, Souta-kun, I…" but there she was, sitting in the shade between two equally raven haired teens, and Hojo swallowed at the sight of her expertly weaving together a handful of little flowers that had yet to escape. "I…"

The tall boy on her left was looking down at her, silent and imposing, with a handful of ill woven flowers clutched between his fingers. He was obviously struggling, and the beauty only laughed when she took a peek to check on his progress.

"Takashi, that's not…" Kagome snorted. "Here, let me help you."

Hojo's knuckles turned white around the old broom, his eyes wide at the way she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear when she leaned over to take the bruised blossoms from the boy. Subconsciously putting the bristles to the ground to distract himself, he felt a lump form in his throat at the way Kagome smiled up into the impassive, silent face of the attractive boy as she fixed the little crown.

Were they…?

"That's Mori-senpai," Souta said, leaning on his broom beside him. "He's pretty cool."

"Oh, uh, is he?" Hojo muttered. He tried to fix his gaze on the ground, absentmindedly sweeping at a couple wayward blooms, but another, smaller blonde boy drew his attention as he bounced into the scene to wave his own lopsided crown up at Mori. Hojo felt himself finally swallow the thick lump when the silent boy's attention was drawn away, even if only for a moment, and watched as he reached out to help the smaller boy fit the flowers around his head with a tiny smile. "He must be nice if Kagome's friends with him."

"Oh, totally." Souta's eyes slanted, and he looked downright pleased with himself when Hojo bent the bristles of his broom rather forcibly. "His whole family is pretty kick ass. I'm really glad that sis decided to be friends with him, since she needs someone to look out for her while she's away."

"A-are you?"

"Of course!" Souta grinned.

"That's… good then," Hojo tried to smile, but it never reached his eyes. His attention still focused on the way Kagome effortlessly tucked a few more blossoms into place to finish off the crown, he felt his throat tighten again when she presented it to the silent boy with a stunning smile.

"See?" Kagome said, tilting the flowers around for him to look at. "You needed to twist them all in the same direction as you weave the stems together. You can't just shove them in there and expect them to just stay like that."

"Ah," Mori replied.

Then she held up the crown, gazing at him expectantly, and Hojo felt his eyes widen when the attractive boy lowered his head toward her without hesitation. Feeling like he was watching a scene in slow motion, the boy's face inching toward hers, he had to force himself to breathe when she placed the flowers around the top of his head and poked him in the nose with a giggle.

"Now you match Mitsu-senpai!" she chirped.

A slight amount of color crossed the boy's nose, and he looked away from her.

Hojo almost sighed in relief, until he noticed her turn her attention to the other raven haired teenager sitting on her right. One knee crossed over the other, he only turned his attention away from whatever he was writing down when the beauty beside him reached up to tug on a wayward strand of hair that had shifted out of place with the breeze.

"We're supposed to be making flower crowns, not crunching numbers," she chided him. She looked him up and down thoroughly, before pulling the notebook away from him and tilting it away with a frown. "Why aren't you participating with the rest of the class, hm?"

He smiled down at her, pushing up his glasses slightly, as Hojo quickly realized that he was just as attractive as the other boy. His expression only earned an eye roll, but Hojo stiffened when he leaned into the Higurashi girl without hesitation. His eyes hooded and dark, it looked like he had every intention of—

"I believe you said that other than maybe Haruhi, you were the only one capable of making a proper flower crown," the boy replied, plucking the notebook from her grasp when they were almost nose to nose.

Hojo quickly lowered his eyes, noticing the slight flush across Kagome's nose.

Were they…?

"So, what?" The irritation in her voice drew his attention, and he tried to loosen his grip at the slight glare she was giving the attractive boy on her right. "You're expecting me to make one for you?"

"Merely asking, my lady," he chuckled. "I'd only expect the best from you."

"You're so lazy," she huffed, as she picked up the little crown she had set aside while helping Mori.

"And that's Kyoya-senpai, he's really smart," Souta's voice broke through the fog of despair quickly forming around him. The boy preened beneath the sunlight, as he put his finger to his mouth and leaned forward in sudden realization. "You probably know him, or of him, maybe, Hojo-senpai!"

"O-oh?" Hojo sputtered, looking back at the attractive boy to see if he recognized him as he continued to watch Kagome's nimble fingers weave a few last flowers into the little crown she had rapidly returned to working on. "He doesn't look very familiar… honestly."

"Really?" Souta tipped his cheek into the handle of his broom, saying, "Huh, I thought for sure you'd know him, since his family owns a bunch of medical stuff and yours runs that pharmacy. I was sure you'd peg him as an Ootori the moment you saw him."

Startled, Hojo turned to the younger boy, his voice tense as he asked, "O-Ootori?!"

"Yeah!" Souta's eyes gleamed. "Sis really likes him, I think, and I'm pretty sure he likes her, too. I mean, just look at them. Kyoya-senpai sure knows how to get real cozy, real quick, doesn't he?"

Whipping his head back around, Hojo paled at the sight of Kagome placing the finished flower crown onto the Ootori boy's head and patting down a number of wayward locks as she smiled at him. Close together again, a blush running across the girl's nose, she trailed her fingers lightly across the edge of his jaw and then swiftly turned her head away when he smirked, clearly pleased with himself.

"I thought for sure he'd be the one I had to watch out for," Souta sighed dramatically.

"W-what?" Hojo was pretty sure his brain had shut down at that point.

"Well, he's a crafty bastard!" Souta puffed out his cheeks at the thought. "You turn around, and the next thing you know, he's got sis eating out of the palm of his hand again even when she's mad at him. But…"

"But?" Hojo hated himself for asking.

"It's hard to watch out for her when she likes Mori-senpai just as much, you know?" Souta snorted at the way the older boy tripped over the broom he had been teetering back and forth merely out of habit for a while now. "And he's the one you really have to watch out for. I mean, Kyoya-senpai's pretty obvious about his intentions with sis, but Mori-senpai…? I just never know when he's going to strike."

B-both?! he could hear himself screaming.

It was then that he saw the tall, silent Mori reach over to take one of Kagome's hands, as Kyoya tucked several strands of hair back over her shoulder from where they had fallen. The Higurashi girl blushed prettily, bubbling with giddy laughter as she looked between them.

Not showing one ounce of pity for the boy that looked like his soul was leaving his body, Souta snickered, "Honestly, though, I kinda think sis has a thing for all of them. She pretty much has her own harem at that school, Haruhi included."

There was a girl included?!

"No wonder they call themselves the Host Club, right?"

Hojo fainted.

Souta poked him with his shoe, snickering. It really had been too easy.

Fin