"Hmm, I think Milord looks just a bit depressed," Hikaru Hitachiin commented. He glanced over to his twin brother, Kaoru. "What do you think, Kaoru?"

"I think you're right, Hikaru," Kaoru replied.

"What shall we do?" Hikaru asked. "He's not much fun to pick on when he's like this."

The two of them watched Tamaki stare out the window morosely. He didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular.

Just then, Hunny and Mori came up behind the twins. "Tamaki's still depressed about Haru?" Hunny asked.

"That what he's depressed about?" Hikaru asked. "What else is new? He should be used to her ignoring him by now."

"Well yeah," Hunny said. "But with Haru having to study even more lately, she can't even stay long after Host Club hours. So he gets to see her even less now."

"Where does she run off to, anyway?" Kaoru asked. "I thought she said that it was too noisy at her house for her to study there."

"She found a place in the gardens to study," Hunny said.

"Well, that's no fun either," Hikaru said. He put his chin in his hand and leaned against the wall.

"And between Tamaki being depressed and the possibility of Haruhi getting sick from studying outside, it's bad business for the Host Club." Kyoya walked up to the group with his clipboard in his hand. He wrote some comments on the paper attached to it, and then turned his attention back to the others. "In addition, my information shows that Tamaki's grades are slipping due to him not paying attention in class. That reflects badly on both his family name and the Host Club."

"Well, what do you suggest, Kyoya?" Hunny asked.

Kyoya gestured for the others to follow him. "We need to talk to Haruhi," he said. "She's going to be the deciding factor here." He led them outside and to the gardens where Haruhi was studying.

Tamaki watched with disinterest as they left. He didn't know what they were up to, but he also really didn't care at the moment. His thoughts were still on Haruhi, and the fact that she had run off yet again without so much as a glance in his direction. Every day had been the same lately – as soon as Host Club hours were over, Haruhi would gather her books and dash out the door for her study sessions. He had tried to follow her once, only to be blocked by her lethal glare. Now, he just sat in his window after Host Club until the others decided to leave.

Outside, Kyoya and the others found Haruhi reading a textbook in a far corner of the garden. She looked up with a mixture of annoyance and apprehension as they walked up to her.

"Pardon us for interrupting your study time," Kyoya said, "but we need to talk to you for a moment."

Haruhi bit her lip. "Great, what did I do now?" she wondered.

"You might have noticed that Tamaki has been rather out of sorts lately," Kyoya continued. "We've determined that he's lonely and upset that he gets to spend even less time with you than usual."

Haruhi glared at them. "If he could quit grabbing me for ten minutes, I could study in the Club room," she said. "He's the one making himself lonely."

"There's that problem too," Kyoya said. "If you keep studying outside, it's inevitable that you'll end up sick. That would be bad for the Host Club and for you being able to pay off your debt."

"Don't remind me," Haruhi muttered. She was already annoyed that she hadn't been able to pay off her debt during the spring semester. Even with the requests that poured in every day, she still was nowhere near 1000. Then on top of it, the curse of the Host Club still struck time and again, and she found her debt raised rather than lowered.

"If my information is correct, you take the train to school every day," Kyoya said. "That cuts into available study time substantially. On top of that, you mentioned once that it's too busy at your house for you to get any studying done there, so the hours between the time you go home and the time you sleep are also wasted."

"And?" Haruhi asked. She wasn't quite sure where Kyoya was going with this line of thought.

"I've put together a solution that will address both problems," Kyoya said. "However, it requires some cooperation on your part."

Haruhi sighed. "All right, let's hear it," she said.

"My suggestion is for you to move in with Tamaki," Kyoya said. He raised his hand to silence Haruhi's protest. "Tamaki's house has plenty of guest space. However, his parents are rarely home due to their business dealings, so it's also quiet there. And, if Tamaki thinks that you want to spend more time with him, it will improve his morale."

"No way!" Haruhi exclaimed. "What do you think people are going to say about that? And that's even if Tamaki manages to keep his hands to himself!"

"Only those of us in the Host Club know you're a girl," Kyoya replied. "Anyone else would think that you and Tamaki were just friends. And, if anyone were to question it further, you could just explain that Tamaki lives closer and his house is quieter so you have a better place to study. No one will think twice with you being a scholarship student."

Haruhi frowned and looked at her books.

"And, of course, I wouldn't ask you to make such a big move without some compensation on your end," Kyoya said. He leaned in close to Haruhi and set his hand on her shoulder. "Do this for us, and I'll cut your debt in half," he said quietly.

Haruhi started. Cutting her debt in half would go a long way toward freeing her from the daily insanity of Host Club life. Still, to live with Tamaki…

"I'll do it on one condition," Haruhi said. "He has to keep his hands off – if he's fine with me living there as a roommate or friend, then I'll do it."

Kyoya smiled. "I'm sure that won't be a problem," he said. "Despite his sometimes unstable behavior in Host Club, Tamaki is actually a well-bred gentleman. I'm certain he won't have any problem treating you well."