For our break, Haruhi invited me to work at a family friend's bed and breakfast in Karuizawa. Wanting to spend some time with her, I excitedly agreed.

I was hanging some sheets out to dry with Haruhi when my phone rang.

I checked the caller ID. Tamaki.

"Hey, Tamak-"

"ANNA THANK GOD YOU'RE OK I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND HARUHI AND I THOUGHT SHE WAS MISSING THEN I COULDN'T GET AHOLD OF-"

"NO STOP TAMAKI! Now, Haruhi is fine. We're only hanging out for the break out of town. A little gal pal time. Okay? I gotta go. Bye."

"But-"

I hung up before he could get another word in and turned to Haruhi with a smile on my face,

"Crisis averted huh?" I joked.

She laughed,

"Yep. If he knew where we were..." She shuddered, "I don't even want to think about it."

I laughed and we went back to hanging sheets.

Unfortunately, the peace only lasted for a few minutes because, after a while, I started to hear a quiet sound and stopped,

"Do you hear that?" I asked Haruhi as the strange sound got louder and louder. She stopped and the colour drained from her face,

"You don't think..."

We looked up at where the sound seemed to be coming from and saw a helicopter coming in our direction.

"No, of course not," It came closer and the sound got louder, "I mean, he wouldn't..."

The helicopter came even closer and a blond boy stuck his head out while holding a megaphone.

"Of course he would," I sighed.

"HAruhi!" He yelled, "Daddy has come to save you!"

Haruhi buried her head in her hands and groaned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, let me get this straight. You called up everyone in the host club at 7 in the morning, got them all to hop on a helicopter with you, and flew all the way here, just because Haruhi didn't answer two calls?"

I asked Tamaki. He flashed me that smile again,

"Yep!" He beamed. I stood blank-faced before getting an idea,

"Wow Tamaki, I didn't realize you wanted to suppress Haruhi's girly side so badly," I smirked.

A chorus of "huh?"s came from the host club.

"What, no, of course not what do you mean?!" Tamaki exclaimed.

I feigned shock,

" Oh, you didn't know? I told you, Haruhi and I were planning on some gal pal time. That means us both getting in touch with our girlier sides and maybe even Haru coming back to Ouran a little girlier. But, I mean it's clear that's not what you wanted..." I trailed off with a huge smirk on my face.

Tamaki sunk to his knees dramatically,

"Noo! I ruined my chance!"

Just then, the owner of the bed and breakfast, Sonoda, came up to us,

"Oh my, Haruhi! Are all these cute boys friends of yours?" He asked.

Sonoda was dressed in drag and seemed to go out of his way to make everything he did overly motherly and cutesy. He began dancing about and mumbling about how refreshing it was. I didn't have time to question it because Kyoya spoke up,

"He was a friend of Ranka-san when they worked at a shop together, way back." He said,

I raised an eyebrow and smiled,

"You just stalk everyone don't you Yoyo?"

"How do you know this?" Asked Tamaki.

"Yeah, really." Added Haruhi.

"I started this business here, two years ago," Sonoda interrupted, "It was my dream, you know? Running this adorable pension!"

"But why are Haru-chan and Anna-Chan working here?" Asked Honey.

"Ranka-san is away on business, and while he's away, he's worried about Haru-chan. So he had him take her in. Then, Anna was most likely invited to come with her." He stated and pushed up his glasses.

"Like I said, how do you know this?" Repeated Tamaki.

"Yeah, really." Repeated Haruhi.

"Didn't Ranka say they speak regularly?" I asked.

" Take her in, he says! I still can't afford to hire any employees, so having these two coming here has been a tremendous help!" Sonoda grabbed Haruhi and I and began swaying us, "They're such hard workers, I feel sorry their pay is so low! Oh, you two are so cute in those aprons! I made them both by hand!" He exclaimed.

"And you did such a good job, at that, Misuzu-chi!" Exclaimed Tamaki.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So this is why you both turned down our offer to go to Maui, huh?" Asked Hikaru.

"And Switzerland." Added Honey.

"Well, I don't really have a passport so..." Replied Haruhi.

" That's why I suggested a resort in the area." Interjected Kyoya.

That's when Tamaki started getting extra dramatic about everyone betraying him and wanting Haruhi for themselves.

I walked over to Kyoya,

"So, how did Tamaki get you all the way out here?" I asked.

He shrugged,

"I had nothing better to do for once."

"Okay, can you guys please all leave, now? We're all going to see each other come the new term anyhow whether we want to or not. We're all free to spend our vacations on our own, right?" Haruhi spoke.

Just then, Kyoya pulled out a complete Ouran handbook from inside his little black book. It would have been comical if he hadn't followed it up with what he said next,

"School Rule#9: Part-time work is prohibited."

The colour drained from my face. Would Kyoya sell us out to the school? No, he wouldn't, right? Oh! No, he wouldn't because then we'd lose our scholarships and I'd have to go back to America. He's thought this through.

"Is that so?" asked Haruhi.

I snickered and Kyoya looked at me.

"What are you laughing about."He asked.

"I almost fell for it."I smiled.

"What?" He furrowed his eyebrows together.

"Well, I doubt you'd rat us out to the school because we'd lose our scholarships for breaking a school rule. Technically, that scholarship is one of the only things letting me stay here in Japan, so I'd probably end up going back to America. Some of the other things would probably be you guys, but I mean, if you got me kicked out of my dream school, I'd probably not stop to think about that. Then I'd be mad at you and on another continent. Normally, that situation doesn't blow over too well and I doubt you'd risk it."

I put my elbow on the table, rested my head in my hand and looked at him with a triumphant grin,

"Did I miss anything Yoyo?" I batted my eyes innocently.

He blinked at me for a few moments trying to think of a comeback before looking at his black book,

"Well damn." He mumbled and wrote something down in his book. I laughed at his loss of words.

"It is true you are free to spend your vacation as you like," Tamaki began loudly, "In which case, you have no grounds to stop us. Let's all stay in the V.I.P. guest rooms here at this pension."

Haruhi put her hands on her face in horror,

"Nooooooooo!" She yelled. That was probably the most dramatic I've ever seen Haruhi.

I smirked at Kyoya before going to comfort Haruhi,

"It's going to be okay, Haru. They're not that bad when they really want to be." I patted her on the back. She sighed.

"I'm sorry boys," began Sonoda, "but unfortunately, I only have one guest room available."

"Then I, the club president, will have to stay and vouch for everyone," Tamaki announced with a big smile on his face.

"That doesn't exactly seem very fair Tamaki," I said, "Why don't you do something a little bit more inclusive. I mean, come on."

"Hey sir," Began Karou,"we just came up with a fun game. Want to play with us?"

"We call it the 'Guestroom Refreshing Job Contest in Karuizawa'." Hikaru continued,

"We'll work all day at this pension, where they say they are shorthanded."

"And whoever leaves the best impression on Misu-san gets to stay as a guest."

"SOunds fun! All right, all right, I'm in on the plan!" Sonoda began dancing around," Yes I will choose the most refreshing of you and it will undoubtedly increase popularity here! I will work you to the bone!"

Haruhi sighed, "So much for a relaxing vacation."

After that everyone began running around, doing basic tasks for Sonoda. Tamaki tried to fix a fence, the twins were put on greeting guests, Honey was eating cake, and Mori just quietly accepted any task that was given to him.

Kyoya was the only one not working. He was sitting at a table in the shade relaxing with a drink and his black book. I walked over to him,

"Not participating, Yoyo?" I asked.

"No. Even if I did win, it wouldn't do me any good to stay here. I'll just stay as long as I want then head to the cottage." He said. I nodded,

"Makes sense. I'd be surprised if at least one of you didn't have a cottage in the area, to be honest." I replied.

"We all do." He told me. I rolled my eyes and sat down at the table,

"Figures."

"Well, about this contest, who do you think will win? Shall we bet on it?" He asked.

I laughed, "No thanks. You have a reputation for being ruthless when it comes to these things. As for the winner? I think, despite all of his sweating right now, it will come down between Tamaki and the Twins. If Tamaki realizes that there is a piano in the lobby, he might be able to boost his score. What about you?"

"I agree. Looking at how everyone's doing, I'd say Mori right now, but if Honey drops out then so will he, so he's out of the question for the room." He replied.

"Which means that it cinches it for us, all right," Hikaru said. I hadn't noticed the twins sit at the table next to us.

"Oh, yeah. I noticed that the only room left is actually only a singles bed." I told them.

"Oh that's ok," Replied Karou, "we'll just bring a bed over from our cottage."

"Even if we don't, we can squeeze in and sleep together," Hikaru added.

I raised an eyebrow,

"You guys really are always together, huh?"

"Yep. It's always been that way. Up until a year ago, Karou and I only spoke to each other. Now we have a group of friends and are winning contests left and right." Hikaru told me.

"The contest hasn't been decided yet. There are always ways to make this more interesting." Said Kyoya.

"Hey, Kyoya, are you thinking of assisting his highness? Even so, we don't intend to lose." Karou and Hikaru said in unison.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While the Twins were raking in point after point, Tamaki was pretty low on the scoreboard so Kyoya decided to tell him about the piano.

The sound of the piano filled the building. People began to file in through the front doors.

I was taking the dry sheets inside when I saw Karou standing by himself looking at the yard.

"Whatcha doing out here by yourself pup?" I asked him.

"Waiting for Hikaru to come back with a garbage bag." He replied, " That Kyoya really threw the game huh?"

"Yeah, when Yoyo puts his mind to something, very rarely does it not get accomplished." I laughed.

Above us, two girls opened the window to their room to better hear Tamaki's piano, accidentally knocking down a flower pot in a process.

"Anna, look out!" Karou yelled as he tackled me out of the way.

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground and Karou was above me. He had a gash on his cheek.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

I reached up and skimmed my fingertips just below the cut,

"You're hurt," I said.

Just then, Hikaru ran around the corner,

"Karou!" He yelled.

"Hikaru!" Replied Karou as he turned and ran to him.

Then they began doing something that seemed strangely scripted. Immediately after they finished, Sonoda began clapping and cheering,

"Bravo! Bravo! A perfect score! 100 points! Hikaru and Karou win the room!" He shouted.

I got up and Karou and Hikaru were bowing. I laughed at the realization that they had planned the whole thing,

"Well, you guys can plot ahead, I'll give you that much. We still need to clean that cut of yours though, Karou." I told them, suddenly serious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Karou and Hikaru came down the stairs arguing about how Hikaru accidentally knocked Karou off the bed.

"Morning pups. Want some breakfast?" I asked them.

"You're oddly cheery. What is this sorcery?" Asked a tired Karou. I laughed,

"Coffee. Want some? Sit down." I led the two to a nearby table and brought them each a cup of coffee. Or commoners coffee as they call it.

"Thank you, Anna. For breakfast, I'll have toast with breast butter and Garney seal syrup" began Hikaru.

"Also bacon, eggs, and I'll take some Beasley cereal-"

I interrupted Karou,

"Woah there pups. That's not on the menu here." I told them.

Just then, Tamaki came up to us and began lecturing the twins. It wasn't until he put a platter on the table and started describing each dish in full detail that I got suspicious.

I circled around the back of Tamaki and saw a cue card labeled BREAKFAST in his back pocket. I grabbed the cue card and read it. Tamaki was reciting what was on the card word for word.

"-highland vegetables and the finest smoked salmon-" Tamaki spoke. I started reading off the cue card,

"-cooked slowly over wood chips, the pride of the community." Tamaki looked at me in shock and I held up the cue card, "Tamaki, how early did you get here? Don't you have better things to do?"

Suddenly, a bell rung, signaling the door opening. A familiar voice called out,

"Arai produce!"

I turned,

"Oh my gosh."

The person standing at the door was none other than my childhood friend,

"Jakob!" I exclaimed.

I ran over and hugged him,

"Annie!" He replied just as enthusiastically.

I pulled back after a few moments,

"You should have told me you were going to be here, sir!" I scolded him.

He put his hand on his hip and wagged a finger at me playfully,

"Look who's talking, madame!" He replied.

I felt the twins lean on me from either side and Tamaki protectively stand behind me,

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "Jakob, these are some more of my amazing friends! This is Karou, Hikaru, and Tamaki." I said, gesturing to each one respectively.

"Hello." Greeted Jakob.

I stepped forward and turned around so I could address the three,

"Tamaki, Pups, this is Jakob. He is one of my very best friends."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, you have, what, six, really hot guy friends, and an extremely precious female friend? How are you single?" Jakob gasped, "Are they gay?" He asked excitedly.

I rolled my eyes,

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" I accused.

"Hey. I'm just keeping you safe. No boy can have you without first passing me. Those guys were all inferior, they dumped you after only a week! So now I have to ask, who do I test next? Do you even like anyone?" He asked.

Across the room, Hikaru scoffed,

"Who is this guy, playing the protective friend card? God, it's so obvious he has a crush on Anna."

Hearing this, Jakob and I looked at each other for a moment before bursting out in a fit of laughter.

"Hikaru, I can promise you that's not the case," I replied in between giggles.

"I mean, don't get me wrong," began Jakob, "Anna is an absolutely amazing woman and any man should feel honored to even be graced with her presence, but she's not exactly my type."

Just then, Tamaki took both of Jakob's hands in his own,

"You think that much of my little girl? Don't you worry! I shall never forget your gallantry!" He exclaimed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, okay, I have a good one. So, this one time in 5th grade, Anna really liked this one guy named Ty-" I interrupted Jakob's attempted embarrassing by jumping up from my chair and covering his mouth with my hand.

I was sitting with Jakob and the rest of the host club (excluding Hikaru and Karou) around a table.

"N-no no no no no. Jakob, don't you dare. You promised we'd never speak of the T-word incident ever again." I reminded him. He smiled and I felt something wet and slimy against m palm. I quickly pulled my hand away, "Ew! You licked my hand!"

Tamaki stood up and waved Karou and Hikaru over,

"Come over guys! We're about to hear a rare forbidden story from Anna's middle school days!"

"I don't especially want to hear it," Said Hikaru, "Or should I say, how stupid are you? Why would anyone want to hear stories about the past? And doesn't he get that Anna doesn't want anything to do with him?"

I grit my teeth and began walking over to him.

Hikaru continued, "Anna doesn't have any room for you in her life-"

I smacked him in the back of his head,

"Hikaru! Stop talking out of your damn ass! That's not up for you to decide! That man has been with me practically since birth and I love him, but not in that way. I thought you at least would understand that, pup." I grew increasingly less loud.

Hikaru stood up angrily,

"What is this? What do other people matter! Aren't we your friends!?" He stormed off.

Karou shot me an apologetic look before following Hikaru.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Listen, Jakob, I'm sorry about Hikaru. He's just... a tad possessive, but he'll come around eventually. " I explained.

He smiled and waved me off,

"Don't worry about it. If you think he's important enough to vouch for, then he must be pretty damn great."

Just then, Hikaru- no Karou came out the door wearing Hikaru's clothes.

"Hey Jakob." he greeted then looked down with an ashamed look on his face. "Listen, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. It was really uncalled for."

   Jakob smiled,

   "Don't worry about it. I completely understand being protective over this little fire hazard." He patted my head with his hand.

   "Who are you calling a fire hazard?! They were your fireworks ya douche!" I replied 

   Jakob laughed,

   "Your idea." He looked at his watch, "Well, my break's over. Bye guys. See you later Annie."

   He drove off on his bike as we waved goodbye. 

   Once he was out of sight, I raised an eyebrow,

   "Karou, why are you pretending to be your brother?"