BLOOMING HEARTS ▹ T. MORINOZUKA [✔]

fourteen.

"I see. You guys are the host club I've heard about! My, what a group of handsome men! I can't decide on who I should pick. Right, Haruhi?" Ranka cheered as the Host Club and Kazumi sat by the center table where they just had tea and dessert. "And you must be Kazumi-chan, such a beautiful woman you are! Oh, look at this glowing skin and shiny hair! You must tell me your secret, dear!"

"But your hair is gorgeous, Fujioka-san. The color enhances your eyes."

"Oh my, you flatter me! You can call me Ranka-san. Ranka is my Genji name at the okama bar I work at."

"Genji name? Is that like an alias?" Honey asked.

"That's right, Mitsukuni-kun."

"Huh? How come you know my name?" He asked in surprise.

"The seniors. Haninozuka-kun, Morinozuka Takashi-kun, and Tokimatsu-san." Kazumi bowed slightly in greeting. "Then, the freshmen that are in the same class as Haruhi. Hitachiin Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun, right? I wonder which one's which. I've been hearing a lot about you guys."

"Haruhi's been talking about us?" Kaoru asked.

"No, I've been talking with Kyoya-kun on the phone a lot," he smiled brightly.

"Ranka-san, you're such a beautiful person," Kyoya complimented.

"What?!" The twins, Honey, and Haruhi gasped.

"We're taking care of his precious daughter. Of course, a greeting and periodic reports are obvious things we should do. It should have been your job originally, Tamaki," the bespectacled boy jabbed.

"What a fine president you are!" Ranka praised Kyoya. "Oh, sorry, Kyoya-kun, you are the vice-president. The president must be someone pretty worthless."

Kazumi coughed to cover up a laugh.

"Just a minute, dad!" Haruhi intervened. "I never knew that you were connected with Kyoya-senpai!"

"But, Haruhi, you never talk to me about school," he pouted.

"That doesn't mean you can secretly--"

"Haruhi, your angry face looks cute!" Ranka clung to his daughter, just like Tamaki often did.

"I'm going to the supermarket alone. I'll be right back, so, everyone, wait here quietly."

Hikaru tried to stop her, but the girl had already left.

"She won't change her mind once she says it," Ranka said. "She decided to go to Ouran and did all the admission paperwork herself. I want to respect her independence, but I do want her to fawn on me from time to time."

The elder Fujioka narrated about Haruhi's independence, even as a little girl at age seven, telling Ranka that she didn't inform him about Parent Visitation Day because she didn't want him there. He assumed it was because she was embarrassed by him, but it turned out that she wanted him to use his time off to rest, making their loving relationship obvious.