SLU: 7

"Aki-senpai! I'm warm!"

"Aki-kun! I made you some hot tea!"

"I'll keep you warm, Aki-kun!"

"Hugs from Aki-senpai now come at a cost!" Kyoya reminded the Aki-Otaku as they gave or got "Aki Hugs".

"Aki-kun is really muscular!"

"I know! He makes me feel so safe!"

"Aki-kun is soooo dreamy!"

"Nii-chan! Why are you putting up with this?" Kano screeched in the background out of anger.

Aki sighed. "Technically, I owe Kyoya-san for providing blankets." Aki replied as girls gawked over her.

Soon the raging fangirls left and the only non-cross-dressing female left in the room was Megumi who was yelling at the Hitachiin twins and their video games. "No! That's wrong! I told you! It's left, up, up, left, right, right, right, A, B!" The model growled. They pressed a few buttons and Megumi groaned as death music played. "Here!" She demanded as she snatched the hand-held from Karou's hands sow she could show them. The video game obsessed girl stuck out her tongue as she stabbed at the buttons until victory music played for her. "Ha ha! Droids! You have been defeated!" She cheered.

The Hitachiin twins stared at her in amazement. "How did you do that?" They gawked.

Megumi smiled proudly. "I already told you! Left, up, up, left, right, right, right, A, B!"

Hani walked up to Aki with his bunny. "Aki-chan! Have you gotten a girl doggie yet?" He wondered innocently.

Aki shook her head but looked over at Megumi. "Gumi-chan! Did you want to go, or are you busy?"

Megumi shook her head. "Sorry, I can't. I have a photo shoot I have to go to. If I didn't I would go." The girl explained.

"Go where?" Hani asked as Mori stood behind him.

Aki focused back on Hani. "The pet shelter, Megumi and I go there when we can and we did before we moved too. I've been looking for a female Mastiff since I got Termite. It's not just the shelter that I've been looking at either." Aki explained.

"Oh..." Hani mumbled. "Are you going today?" Hani asked, now running around looking for sweets.

The cross-dresser hesitated. "Uh... Yeah, actually, I am." She admitted softly. "Why?"

"I'll go with you! So will Takashi!" The blond boy chimed happily.

The giant spoken of seemed to be taken aback, but it was hardly noticeable to Hani and slightly visible to Aki. "Mitsukuni, don't you have to teach your karate class today?" Mori asked, it was the first full sentence or question Aki had ever heard the nearly silent boy say.

The chipper boy stopped mid-step to think for a moment. "That's right! I do! Takashi can still go with you, Aki-kun!" Hani sang happily. "I hope it's okay with you, Takashi, 'cause I don't want Aki-kun to go alone!" He added.

Aki sighed to herself. "If you have other things to do, I understand. You don't have to go if you don't want to, Senpai." Aki told Mori in a hushed voice so Hani could not hear her.

Unfortunately for Aki, the small teenager did, in fact hear what she had said to his cousin. "Takashi is going with you." The blond declared defiantly.

"It it's because I'm a girl, you're being unreasonable. I have muscle, I know self-defense, and I go as a guy." Aki defended, now getting mad at Hani.

"I want Takashi to go with you!" Hani told her as he grabbed her wrist.

Fear poured into her expression like a flash flood, and unwanted anger took over her sense of reason and self-control. Aki forced her restrained wrist forward then yanked it back, successfully getting her out of Hani's grip, then slapped his hands away so he could not get his hands on her again. She then spun around and made a mad dash out of the room and down the hallway.

Kano was paralyzed from shock for a moment. "H-Hani-senpai, how hard did you grip her...?" He asked slowly. Hani showed him by gripping his wrist. "Dammit!" Kano growled and raced after his sister. "Onii-chan!" He yelled as she fell against the wall and curled up. "Aki!" He whispered and grabbed her hand as he knelt down by her and the rest of the Host Club came into the hall to see what was happening.

The girl growled lowly at his touch and rolled onto her back only to kick him in the face with both feet. "Get off of me dammit!" Aki screamed angrily. Her face was red and hot with tears.

Megumi suddenly hugged her from behind and Aki froze. "Aki, calm down. No one is going to hurt you. It's okay."

Aki curled up and hid her face in her knees as she tried to even out her breathing and stop her hyperventilating. "Blanket?" The girl mumbled, and soon one was tossed over her.

"What's wrong with Aki-chan?" Tamaki and the twins asked.

Megumi looked up at the three "She's got a fear of people, more so of males than females..." She explained softly.

"But why's she breathing funny? Tamaki wondered.

This time Kyoya spoke up. "She has an anxiety disorder, and the fear of being trapped. And, Tamaki-san, she is hyperventilating, no 'breathing funny'." He corrected his air head friend.

"Mori-senpai, please go with Aki-chan to the shelter, she'll probably be a little less aware after this and wont realize if something bad is happening." Megumi told Takashi, who simply nodded in response.

Bump! Tap! Tap! Aki had gotten up and fell into the wall then almost fell backwards. "Oops..." She mumbled from under the blanket that she was now tripping on. Takashi soon followed her down the hallway and pulled the blanket up so it did not drag on the floor.

After they turned the corner farther down the hallway the twins said, "They make a good couple."

Megumi nodded in agreement, "And the height difference brings out Aki's cuteness!"

"You're right!" The twins agreed in unicine.

"Are you saying I look like that too?" Kano growled, obviously mad at them for calling his sister cute.

"Actually!" Hikaru stated.

"Aki is more buff than you." Kaoru pointed out. "So technically," He continued.

"You are more cute than Aki!" Hikaru finished proudly.

Kano's jaw dropped. "What?" He gawked at their conclusion.

The twins did one of their poses. "You heard us." They said. "You are cuter..." Kaoru started. "Than Aki." Hikaru finished.

"It's true." Kyoya stated as he pushed up his glasses. "Even the clients agree."

*~*~*~*~Back With Aki*~*~*~*~

"Hihi!" Chii, one of the girls who worked at the shelter, said happily as Aki walked through the doorway.

Aki looked up from her feet. "Huh? Oh, hihi, Chii-chan." She said to the girl who thought Aki was a guy.

"Is everything alright? You look really tired, and you're acting pretty distant, too." Chii pouted.

The cross dresser gave her a soft smile. "Everything's fine, don't worry about it. I just stayed up a little too late last night, that's all." She lied easily.

"I can take care of feeding the animals!" Chii offered.

"No, no, it's alright! If I need any help with food bags I can have my friend help me with it." Aki said as she pointed back at Mori. The other girl blushed, obviously admiring Mori. This made Aki want to say, "Chii-san, he's gay." But instead she left the room to feed the animals among other things. When she went back to the dog kennels she saw one that was supposed to be empty was fulled with a female Mastiff that was about a year old. Aki's eyes lit up and she flew back to Chii. "Why didn't you tell m?~" She demanded cheerfully. Before Chii could answer Aki was already on the phone with her dad. "Why not?" Aki was talking to her dad, arguing with him. Her words went from Japanese to German so no one around her could understand.

"Aki," Mori's voice suddenly cut through her German curses. "I could keep her at my house." He told her.

The last thing Hiro heard was Aki squealing, "Arigato, Senpai!" In all reality Aki tackled him to the ground with a hug. "Danke! Danke! Danke! Danke!" She exclaimed as she hugged Mori, swinging him around like a rag doll.

By the time Aki let him go, his face was red, but it went unnoticed by Aki, but not by Chii. "Chii-san, did the Mastiff have a name?" Mori asked her.

"Not that I know of." She answered quickly.

"Is 'Pudding' okay?" Aki asked him.