Natsu woke up five times that night. It was quite hard to fall back asleep, but the lavender surprisingly worked. She ended up with six hours of sleep the next morning. It was a miracle she even fell asleep at all. Most nights, if she were lucky, she'd end up with two or three hours. On the worst nights, she'd get none at all. It was so weird and so frustrating, because no matter how tired she was, she just couldn't. Fall. Asleep.

It's been a while since she had more than three hours. All six hours of sleep were amazing, and it heavily affected her attitude and the way she carried herself. The brothers were amazed to see her up and about in the morning, making breakfast. And Iori, well, he was beaming, watching her slide three slices of golden-brown french toast onto two plates, adding a huge heap of fruit and whipped cream. 

Tsubaki had swiped at them when he came downstairs that morning, aiming for a slice of toast. His face was met with the cold, hard, ground. 

"What the hell was that for, bastard?!" He seethed, standing up to point an accusing finger at her. "Just because you can't get you beauty sleep doesn't mean you can start acting all arrogant."

 "Don't you think you're being too harsh?" Azusa reasoned, coming to Tsubaki's rescue, "After all, you do  have two plates, don't you?"

Natsu glowered, sitting down at the table. She placed the two plates down, one for her and one for Iori. The latter looked up at her quizzically, as if he was asking nonverbally, Is this for me?  

Natsu nodded, giving him a look that said, Of course it is, who else would it be for?

Iori smiled, taking the plate graciously. His expression said it all. Thank you very much.

Don't mention it, Natsu shrugged, adverting her eyes her away. Sitting down, she stabbed a chunk of toast and began to eat it. 

She turned to Tsubaki mid-chew, waving her fork at him lazily. "First of all, did you ask for some? No, you didn't, you just lunged at me. What was I supposed to do, let you tackle me? " Natsu bit back, now turning to Azusa, "Second of all, did I  ask for your opinion? Just give me a minute, let me find where I asked. Like, please let me use satellite images to find where the hell I asked."

Natsu left the house feeling good, leaving a pissed Tsubaki and Azusa in her wake. 

All in all, a pretty good day so far.

She's glad no one noticed the bandage on her hand (except for Iori, who nervously glanced in her direction every now and then).

She thinks that she aced that science test.

The day zipped by, and at the end, all she wanted to do was get home. Six hours of sleep could do only so much. The train ride home felt like it took longer today. When she got home, Natsu pulled it out her phone, checking her messages. Oh, a text from Haruhi. 

[ HARU ]

hey, are you alright? the host club and i haven't heard from you in a while

[ NASA ]

oh its nothing

ig I've been a little tired lately

but its really nothing

[ HARU ]

really? are you sure

[ NASA ]

just havin a little trouble falling asleep ykno

[ HARU ]

if you can't sleep i can ask kyoya-senpai to recommend you something 

i'm sure he wouldn't mind

Her panic levels spiked up for a moment. There was no way in hell she could bother the host club. They were plenty busy with their... hosting duties. Natsu was sure they didn't need a bothersome, sleep-deprived girl like her to pester them. Besides, what if Kyoya decided to charge a consultation fee? She shivered at the thought of having to fork over thousands and thousands of yen just for a few minutes of talking.

[ NASA ]

i wouldnt want to bother you guys

besides 

kyoya senpai would charge a consultation fee

and

(i'm broke)

my brother is a pediatrician

[ HARU ]

whatever you say

get well soon

get some sleep 

(im broke too in fact i'm in debt)

[ NASA ]

yes i will

thanks for you concern, I appreciate it

[ READ ]

On the other side of the screen, the twins peered over Haruhi's shoulder, Hikaru on one side and Kaoru on the other. "We know club activities ended, but you immediately rushed over to your phone." they chimed, "Who are you talking to that could be more important than us?"

"Oh, it's you guys." Haruhi looked up, unbothered by their close proximity. "I'm taking to Natsu."

"You shady twins!" Tamaki screeched at them, his mouth gaping like a wild banshee. He raised a shaking finger at the three. "Get away from my Haruhi right now! Daddy simply won't allow it!"

"You're not my dad," Haruhi deadpanned. Tamaki recoiled, absolutely mortified, looking as if he had been stabbed in the back.

"Whoa," Kaoru whispered (in what Haruhi placed as awe? Shock?), reaching out to scroll up, "Your messages are so dry! What do you two even talk about?"

"Boring," Hikaru yawned, "With personalities like you two, there wouldn't be much to talk about anyway."

"It's not boring," Haruhi defended, pulling her phone back, "I'm actually concerned about him. He said he was having trouble sleeping. Sounds pretty rough."

"Nacchan can't sleep?!" Honey wailed, being brought over in the arms of Mori. He was clutching on to his stuffed rabbit, fat tears welling in the corners of his eyes. "Oh no! Is he going to be okay?!"

At this point, everyone was crowding around Haruhi and her phone. 

"I've got to give it to him," Kyoya noted, placing a hand on his chin, "At least he thinks ahead."

So he was going to charge a consultation fee...

"I know! I know what we should do!" Honey suddenly pipped up, looking as if he just solved world hunger (because Natsu is the fucking world and deserves everything-), "We should send Nacchan a care package! Doesn't that sound fun, Takashi? It'll make him feel so much better!~"

"Yeah."

"That's right!" Tamaki sprang up from the dead, a newfound charge to his actions, "The host club simply cannot stand by while an individual suffers, a lady or not! We shall make Natsu a care package!"

. . .

4:12 pm.

Ukyo was gone, away for another trial of his. Well, Natsu wasn't surprised. He was a lawyer, after all. And everyone knew what that meant. No dinner. And since none of them wanted another repeat of the picnic incident, they all opted to stay home. Natsu had took it upon herself to cook, seeing as she was the only one in this goddamned house that could cook. And for some reason, Ema managed to tag along for the ride as well.

"Huh, who's up for katsudon?" Natsu asked, pulling out large cuts of pork from the fridge, "If I can find the eggs, I think we'll be all set to go..."

A series of jumbled grunts and approval could be heard from the living room. Natsu rolls her eyes at their reaction. 

"Is there anything you want me to do, Natsu?" Ema smiled sweetly. Oh, that's right. Natsu forgot she was even there. Ema wore a pink apron, much like Natsu's black one.

"Yeah, you can... cook the rice. When you're done, beat... like, five eggs in a bowl for me. While you're at it, find the mirin stock for me. Should be in the pantry, left of the bread rolls." Ema nodded at the instructions, sauntering off to do as told.

The ravenette turned to the counter, assembling the rest of the ingredients. She pulled out twelve slabs of pork on the cutting board, sprinkling them with salt and pepper. She remembered that Wataru had no tolerance for spice, so she left his alone and set it on a plate. She'd cook his later, separately. 

"Natsukkun, I'm done," Ema came back with two bottles of stock in her hands. "Is there anything else you'd like me to do?"

"Uh... I guess you could put a pan over the stove. Add oil on there. Medium heat." 

Ema did as told, pulling out a large cast-iron pan and setting over the stove. She flicked on the fire, pouring a reasonable amount of oil in. Natsu dusted each cut of pork with flour, she beating three eggs in a plate and dipping each slice of pork in. She transferred them into a plate filled with panko breading, making each side was fully coated, until all the meat was done.

In a large bowl, Natsu mixed the stock in, along with some soy sauce and sugar. Ema was tasked to cook the pork cutlets. The ravenette finely chopped two whole onions, setting them in a large bowl. Of course, someone had  to be a picky eater. Natsu had them all memorized. Tsubaki, Yusuke, and Wataru could not stand onions at all. Azusa and Fuuto hated chives. Subaru needed the largest portion of meat because he was an athlete. Everyone else could eat anything. Easy. 

When the two were halfway done with the meat, the doorbell rang.

"Tsubaki, get the door."

"Make Yusuke get it."

"Yusuke, get it."

"What? No! Tell Fuuto to get it!"

"I don't-"

"I'll get it."  Natsu yelled over the banter, causing everyone to grow quiet. When she was out of the brothers' earshot, she muttered something along the lines of "I gotta do everything  around here." Washing her hands, she wiped them on her pants (like any civilized person would do) and marched to the door. Who could it be right now?

"Ah."

There they are, in all their glorified... uh, glory. All seven of them. They're out of their school uniforms and in casual wear (as casual as you can get when you're filthy rich). Natsu has to admit, they're like a breath of fresh air in a toxic environment. Honey isn't being carried by Mori, Natsu noted, instead he's on his own and he's holding a basket in his arms. It's one of those Easter baskets, used to store eggs. A purple ribbon was tied at the handle of it. The basket was stuffed with essential oils, vitamin gummies, tea bags, candles, and one eye mask. In the middle of it all was a stuffed rabbit plush, a lavender one that closely replicated Honey's Usa-chan.

"The host club. What brings you here?" 

"Why, it is you, of course!" Tamaki explained. "When we heard you couldn't sleep well, we were very worried, especially Honey-senpai. That's when he suggested that we send you a care package!" 

"Yeah! That's right!" Honey beamed, handing the basket over. He pointed to the purple bunny that rested inside, "This is 'Mura-chan!' She's a bunny too! Now we match! Mura-chan and Usa-chan will be really good friends!"

"This is..." Natsu stammered, overwhelmed with emotions. She tried her hardest not to let it show that her eyes were watering. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me..!"

"Of course, nothing comes for free," Kyoya smiled, "That'll be 2000 yen. Since Honey mentioned it, I've been considering advertising this during host club activities. In a way, you made this happen. I'll have to thank you."

Ah, I should've known.

"I'm sorry. I even asked him to lower the price for you," Haruhi apologized. "There's nothing more I could've done."

"That's right. She did," Kyoya confirmed, "The package was originally priced as 4500 yen. I've given you a 55 percent discount."

"Gee, thanks... It's the thought that counts, I guess?" Natsu tried to convince herself of those words, pulling out a 2000 yen bill out. "It'd be rude to send you guys back home with this, anyway."

Kyoya slid the bill in his shirt pocket. "It's a pleasure doing business with you, Asahina."

"Natsu is fine," She snorted. The girl looked over her shoulder, where her brothers sat in the living room. Some of them were playing video games, the others chatting and reading and what not. Rubbing her neck tentatively, she turned back to the host club. 

"Would you guys like to stay for dinner? We're having tonkatsu tonight."

[ A/N : i'm so hyped for next chapter i'm gonna have a fucking stroke

also who here thinks kaneko shoko is dead 💀💀💀 

WELL SHE AINT HAHA you wont see her in a while BUT SHE'LL BE BACK ]