Comes up Roses

Chapter 12: Karuizawa

Ootori had disconnected the feed from his microphone for everyone but Suoh, but it wasn't hard to figure out what they were saying to each other. Even over the barbaric noises of the helicopter, those two were as transparent as glass.

Someone– somehow– had let Suoh sit near the microphone. Ootori had grabbed the spot next to it, but that hardly mattered. As the Host Club entered Karuizawa, Suoh's puppy dog eyes only got worse.

Ootori said something that looked a lot like, "Calm down."

And Suoh nodded vehemently, but he'd never been calm about anything in his life. The landscape of Karuizawa was in view now, but in a shocking show of restraint, Suoh stayed calm. They could make out buildings, now. Shops, houses, trees; and still Suoh held fast. When the dingy little inn Haruhi was working at came into view, he struck.

It was a catlike finesse that earned him the helicopter's microphone. He snatched it off the wall and looked out onto the inn, where the wind from the helicopter was blowing laundry off the line.

"Haruhi my darling!" He shouted when the crossdressing Host came into view. His girlish cries into the microphone were piercing, and Masae was not the only one who flinched. "Daddy's come to save you!"

Ootori's lips formed words that were undoubtedly profane.

The helicopter found a place to land and touched down. As it whirred to a halt, the Hosts filed out. Suoh was at the front of the pack and rushed out to barrel a less-than-amused Haruhi into a hug.

Masae, who stood further back in this procession, could only watch.

"Wow, Masa-chan! It's so cool you have a whole helicopter! And that you loaned it to us!" Honey cheered, no worse for wear after their loud and tiring journey. He was cute as ever. "That has to be the coolest ride we've all caught together."

Masae didn't doubt that the others owned their own helicopters, but she'd learned not to question her senior's adulation. As far as she could tell, the praise was his way of encouraging her to keep trying with the Hosts; his verbal gold star, as it was.

Every now and again, she would give into him. Masae affected an indulgent smile. "Yes, Honey. I am pretty cool, aren't I?"

"Super cool!" Honey giggled as he ran off, leaving Masae to walk up to the inn alone in the group.

She wouldn't be allowed to say her thoughts on the inn, so thinking them very loudly had to suffice. The grass was green but there were no pavers to walk on; the inn itself was small but not quite ramshackle; the flowers in the window boxes were very fragrant. Masae breathed in deeply, tilting her head back to try and block out Haruhi and Suoh's argument.

It didn't take long for the proprietor to come out. As was the theme in Haruhi's life, they were a crossdresser, wearing a flouncy yellow gown with a quaint little apron.

"Oh my, what dashing young men you are!" They cried, flocking to Morinozuka like their life depended on it. "These hunks must belong to lovely Haruhi!"

Taking the hint, Haruhi introduced them. "Misuzu, this is the Host Club I've been working with. Guys, this is Misuzu Sonoda. He runs the inn."

"It's nice to meet you all! And you can call me Misuzu-chi– cute, no?"

It... wasn't. But she would call Misuzu whatever he wanted to be called, because he wasn't making a fuss about the helicopter still in front of his hotel. It would stay for as long as the pilot needed to take a bathroom break and eat, but until that was finished it was an eyesore in front of an inn that was trying its best. The rules of propriety were shaking in their boots.