章 1: Episode 1
Starting Today, You Are A Host!
A short haired brunette peeked into a crowded library with a grimace. It was filled to the brim with students who were grouped up in twos and threes, discussing anything but education and schoolwork. Haruhi groaned and shut the door before resting her head against the cool wood. She's been hunting for a quiet space to study for what felt like hours. Her usual study spot, which was her classroom, was currently holding a session for the debate club while their usual room was stolen for the use of a school board meeting. Nothing Haruhi could do about it.
So, now she was standing outside the fourth library she'd found, only to discover all of them were in different stages of fullness.
You know, if Jin were here, she'd have an absolute fit over how loud these libraries are. She might actually write a letter of complaint once she gets here.
At the random thought of her sister, the brunette's grimace eased into a small smile. A voice different than her own echoed across her mind until the tension melted out of Haruhi's shoulders. In less than a month, her sister would be back home and Haruhi would be be able to hear her voice not coming out of a phone or replaying in her mind. Backing away from the door in a bit more of a positive mood, Haruhi adjusted her grip on her school bag before setting off again in search of a quiet place to study. But where else could she possibly look?
As she continued walking down the north hallway, Haruhi saw a flock of birds flying past the window. She stopped to watch, remember how her mother had enjoyed pointing out different birds during their outings, telling Haruhi and Jin what type they were.
Haruhi sighed before continuing on her way, praying casually as she did so. Hi, Mom. How are things in heaven? How long has it been since I last saw you? Nine... ten years? I can hardly believe it. Well, things are doing okay down here, I guess. This rich school might not actual be all we've heard about. It's like rich kids only come to school to have a good time... and it's a little hard doing this without Jin by my side. I guess all I can ask is for you to keep watching over her, Mom, until she comes back home.
Haruhi zoned back in just before she walked face-first into another pair of grand-looking doors. They were such an anomaly that Haruhi could only stare at them for a moment. Because... well... there was nothing but silence coming from behind the door. Every other place she had walked past had at least a few whispers leaking out through the cracks, but this one seemed complete abandoned. A sign above her head read "Music Room 3".
Huh... of all the luck.
She opened the door and was blinded by bright white light. Wincing, Haruhi inched further into the room. Who the heck puts such bright lights in a music room! Where's the light switch? Thankfully before she had to thrust the room into complete darkness the light died down into a more natural brightness. Haruhi squinted to get her first look around the room and found-
"Welcome."
...a group of six boys, posing around a chair. Surprise made her whole body seized up and the door handle slipped from her fingers, letting the large door fall shut. Haruhi didn't react until the door let out a soft 'boom' as it shut. She jumped slightly and backed up against the door.
"S-sorry! I-I didn't know this room was taken..." her hands frantically scrabbled for the handle behind her, "I'll just get going. Sorry again..." Where is that stupid handle?!
At least she wasn't the only one who was confused. The boys she was staring at were either staring back or having whispered conversations with each other. Haruhi caught a few words such as 'boy', 'shy', and 'sociably', but just then a puzzle piece fit into place in her head. She recognized two of them. The twins. They were in her class. Oh boy. Time to leave!
She spun around and grasped at the door handle just as a voice called out, "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club... Mr. Honor Student."
A second voice followed, "What? You must be Haruhi Fujioka!" More words followed that statement, but they didn't register for Haruhi. Because how did he know my name? She slowly turned back around to look at the boys and decided to ask. The first voice answered her, coming from the boy who was wearing glasses.
"Why, you're infamous. It's not every day a commoner gains entrance into our academy."
Aaaaaaaaand... I don't like him very much. Haruhi drew her lips into a half-pout, keeping herself from saying anything she'd regret. After all, she's only been at this school for a short while, where as the rest of the student body had mostly known each other since Preschool. No need to give herself the title as the-
"You must have an audacious nerve to work hard enough to fight your way into this school as an honor student, Mr. Fujioka."
Audacious? Haruhi scowled and almost responded with some "well-chosen" words herself, but she stopped herself just in time. Instead, she muscled out a 'thank you', though it sounded incredibly painful to get out.
"You're welcome!"
Or, perhaps not to everyone.
"You're a hero to other poor people, Fujioka! You've shown the world that even a poor person can excel at an elite private academy!" Haruhi quickly scooted away, biting her tongue. However, the idiot followed her, continuing with his speech.
As they made a full back and forth across the front of the room she managed to squeeze in a few words of her own, "Hey, do you think you can tone down the whole 'poor' thing? I'm only middle class." The blond didn't listen. Clearly he lacked some essential social reading skills, because instead of backing off he grabbed Haruhi's shoulder and made a grand gesture towards her. She stared at him as he welcomed her to the world of the rich, wondering if he was making fun of her.
Deciding not the stick around and try to figure it out, she turned around and walked to the doors. While she might still be feeling a sort of drive to sass the boy into next week, she decided it would do more harm than good at the moment. And besides, Jin would be proud of Haruhi for hanging back this time. If she had been in Haruhi's place, this guy would probably have a broken ego. Of course, that wasn't to say that her sister liked being mean, but Jin could definitely put a person in their place if she needed to.
"Hey! Come back here, Haru-chan!" A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around Haruhi's right arm and tugged her backwards, "You must be like a superhero or something, that's so cool!"
Haruhi yanked her arm back, small licks of anger tinging her voice, "I'm not a hero, I'm an honor student! How did you even get into the High School?" The small blonde merely giggled and pranced back to the rest of the group, pleased about something. Haruhi shook her head and started making her way back to the door when another sentence interrupted her.
"I never would've imagined the famous scholar... would be so openly gay." Haruhi stopped. Processed. Considered. Then turned.
"Hold on. Openly... what?" Is he joking? He has to be joking. He's not really... is he-
"So tell me what kind of guys you're into!"
The blond started gesturing to each of the boys, listing what 'type' they were. Haruhi's jaw dropped lower and lower as he continued. This accident was slowly spirally further down into an outright social tragedy.
"Okay! Time for me to go now!" Her voice sounded unusually weak as Haruhi backed up against the door, away from the blond boy who was clearly out of his mind. He calls me a poor boy and a commoner and now he's trying to throw me at all these other guys? What is with this school?!
"Or maybe..." The boy slipped his hand under Haruhi's jaw, stroking her from neck to chin. An embarrassing high noise chirped out of her mouth as he leaned in really close to her face. "...you're into a guy like me. Whaddaya say?" Haruhi felt his fingers gently stroking her jaw line.
NOPE! Nope nope nope nope nope!
Equal parts flustered and terrified, Haruhi jerked away, "It's not like that! Oof!"
That little 'oof' came from her bumping into something. A sharp pain exploded from the small of her back and for a moment Haruhi wondered if she'd backed up into one of the couches. But no, she'd hit something harder. It tilted behind her… and a strange weight imbalance told her something had been resting on whatever she had hit. With a gasp, Haruhi turned to see a very expensive and beautiful vase falling to the floor.
The world moved in slow motion as she twisted her body around, throwing an arm out in an attempt to catch it. Her fingertips brushed at the edge of the ceramic… before the vase shattered into a million pieces. Haruhi stood still, shocked and horrified and frozen in a bent position over the stand. That vase had been beautiful… and she'd damaged it beyond repair. Oh no… Oh no...
"Awww." Haruhi heard the twin's voices from behind her. As if this couldn't get any worse...
"We were going to feature that Renascence vase in an upcoming school auction!"
"Oh, now you've done it commoner; the bidding on that vase was supposed to start at 8 million yen!"
Oh. I guess it can.
"WhAT!? 8 MILLION YEN!?" Haruhi groaned and collapsed her upper body onto the now vacant pedestal, muttering to herself, and attempting to do the calculations in her head. The tiny calculator she 'kept' up there exploded soon enough.
She propped herself up onto her elbows and gave the twins, who were the closest to her, her best 'I'm-so-sorry' face, "Uhrm… I'm going to have to pay you back."
"What what money? You can't even afford a school uniform." Haruhi felt her heart stop at the twin's statement. It was true… her family didn't have that much money to begin with. She might be able to pay it off in a few years… but what was going to happen if these rich boys didn't accept 'IOU's'? Would they take the money anyways? Had Haruhi just sent her family into bankruptcy!? Her heart pounded solidly in her chest, terror making her body shake violently.
"Well, what do you think we should do, Tamaki?" Haruhi let out a terrified noise. When did he get back there?
"There's a famous saying you may have heard, Fujioka." Haruhi turned to see the blond, Tamaki apparently, back in his chair. He crossed his legs and pointed an accusing finger at her, "When in Rome, you should do as the Romans do. Since you have no money, you can pay with your body." Haruhi's body grew cold as if her soul just left her body.
"That means starting today… you're the host club's dog."
Haruhi's jaw dropped as Tamaki's words processed in her brain. It was a better scenario than what she had previously imagined, but still…
Nope.
She toppled over in a dead faint.
*\/*
Haruhi woke up a few minutes later in the nurses office, and for a split second after waking up everything was fine again.
Then she remembered why she had fainted and she almost passed out again. Unfortunately she didn't and was quickly sent on her way back to class. Normally she'd be grateful that she wasn't being sent home, because her admittance at this school solely relied on her grades in class, but now her classroom was the last place in the world she wanted to be. Mostly because she was suddenly hyper sensitive to the fact that the twins from the Host Club sat beside her. It didn't help that they kept making creepy faces at her and smiling maliciously throughout her lessons.
And low and behold, when the final bell rang, those two devils grabbed her under her armpits and dragged her back to Music Room 3 before she could even think the word 'wait'. Haruhi didn't bother struggling. There wouldn't have been any point to that at all, but she did make a few extra prayers to her mom in the hopes that she would make it through at least today with her dignity intact.
Thankfully, the very first thing she was instructed to do? Go shopping. Kyoya handed over the credit card and the shopping list and she was sent on her way. For a moment Haruhi wondered how much trouble she'd get into if she took her time with the shopping and 'unfortunately' only made it back to the club once activities were over, but the honest part of her turned down the idea as soon as it came to her.
That didn't stop Haruhi muttered about the club under her breath the entire time, however. But really, who would blame her? She had much better things to do than be these boy's errand boy! Or, technically, errand girl.
Despite everything, Haruhi was slightly amused that the boys thought she was a boy too. Sure, it wasn't like it bothered her at all, she didn't really care about being identified by her gender. It was just the way she had grown up: Your gender doesn't define you as a person, your personality does. Being genderqueer just came naturally to her.
Her good mood didn't last long. 20 minutes later she was sneaking back into the music room, and a loud voice called out to her.
"Thanks for doing the shopping, little piglet! Did you get everything on our list?"
Haruhi stopped walking and stared incredulously at the blond. Was that an insult? I feel insulted right now. Did he even mean to insult me? I don't think his tree goes all the way to the top branch so maybe not, but still... The name calling actually disoriented Haruhi enough that she didn't notice Tamaki plucking a coffee tin out of her bag and sitting back down. He started at it, confusion all over his face.
After tilting it this way and that, he finally looked up at Haruhi, "What is this?"
"Just what it looks like. Coffee." Or can't you read?
"I've never seen this brand before. Has it already been ground? I've never tried it before..."
"What are you- never mind. Look, it's just instant coffee. Not exactly rocket science."
"In...stant?" The pair of girls sitting across from Tamaki tilted their heads.
"Whoa! I've heard of this before! It's commoner's coffee!" Tamaki seemed surprisingly excited about the coffee. Enough so that his voice had jumped in volume and attracted other guests and hosts alike. Every single one of them seemed to have something to say about the tin. Price, the reason behind it, heck even it's existence was questioned. Haruhi felt like she was about to grab the tin back just to smack Tamaki over the head with it.
"Fine! You know what? Fine, I'll just go back to the story and get you your expensive coffee."
"No... that's okay, Haruhi," Tamaki held his hand up to keep Haruhi from going anywhere.
The crowd gasped.
He stood up, "I'm going to give it a try."
They gasped louder.
"I'm going to drink this coffee!" He exclaimed as if he were declaring a dangerous quest. And the group applauded him as if that was what he had actually done. Haruhi's eyes followed the group as they walked towards a table by the window, Tamaki ordering her to follow and make some. I wonder if jumping out one of those windows would kill me...
"Oh, Tamaki, you're taking the joke a little too far now." Haruhi blinked and turned to see a redheaded girl still seated on the couch beside her. Tamaki's no where near her. Why is she- "Your palate won't be able to stomach that crap. You don't have to drink it just because he didn't know any better." Whoa, okay, that really sounded like an insult.
Haruhi slowly backed away from the couch and scurried after the group. Not going to mention it. Not going to mention it. Not going to mention it...
A few moments later she was pouring hot water into teacups with the instant coffee powder, if only to shut the blond up. She offered the tray up, "Here. Go nuts." As Tamaki and his collection of clients picked at their instant coffee, Haruhi managed to slip away unnoticed. While she didn't want to admit it out loud, she felt a hint of curiosity at what the Host Club did during service hours. First up, the Hitachiin twins.
Haruhi slipped over and leaned against a pillar to watch. The twins seemed to be sharing a funny story with their guests, and now one of them (Kaoru, if memory served correctly) was a little upset at what had been shared, and now their faces were a bit too close to each others than some might deem 'normal'. Haruhi wasn't fazed by it much. She and Jin had a similarly close relationship. The girls didn't seem to mind either, but they were squirming around in their chairs as if there were invisible ants climbing up their legs. What are they getting so excited about?
Now wanting to watch any longer, Haruhi looked around to see who to watch next. She drifted towards the middle of the room and saw three girls sitting alone with an empty couch in front of them. It looked like someone was running late. But who- Her thoughts were cut short by Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai walking through the doors, the small blond on the taller boy's back. Haruhi watched for a while, not quite believing that they were both 3rd year students.
"Honey-senpai may seem young and childish, but he's a prodigy." Haruhi turned her head to see Kyoya standing beside her. Again, she repressed the natural instinct to shudder. He's like a ghost. I can never hear him sneaking up behind me!
"Uh…"
"HARU-CHAN!" Honey's sweet yet loud voice was the only warning Haruhi received before the boy grabbed her right arm and swung her around. When she stopped spinning… Haruhi wasn't quite sure she had stopped spinning.
"Hey Haru-chan, do you wanna have some cake?"
"Thanks… but I don't really want any… cake." Sure, maybe she was a bit hungry from the small lunch she had packed earlier, but at the moment Haruhi was more concerned about stopping the world from tilting beneath her feet. She pressed her lips closed with her fingertips. Haruhi, listen very, very closely. You are not going to throw up in this Music Room.
"Then how would you like to hold my bunny, Usa-chan?"
"Um... I'm not really into stuffed animals."
"You mean... you don't like Usa-chan?" He held up the stuffed pink bunny and Haruhi instantly knew she was a goner. She had seen 'Usa-chan' earlier that day, but she hadn't been given the opportunity to view him close up before. His little face...
"I guess he is kinda cute, huh?" Honey lowered the bunny, gasping a bit before suddenly putting the stuffed animal into Haruhi's arms and running back towards his guest with a giggle. The short-haired brunette looked down at the bunny then back up at the two 3rd years sitting down on the couch in front of her. There was something... some memory tickling her brain when she looked at the two of them. But, for the life of her, she could not remember what it was.
Kyoya hummed beside her before opening a tall black journal he had been holding underneath his arm, "You might notice, Mr. Fujioka, that our club utilizes each man's unique characteristics to cater to the desires of our guests. Just so you know, Tamaki is number one around here. He's the King of this club. His request rate is 70%."
Haruhi couldn't do anything but scoff. The 'King'? Really? That guy's ego does not need any more inflating.
"In order for you to pay off your 8 million yen debt with us, you will act as the Ouran host club's dog until you graduate." Kyoya-senpai turned fully with a fairly unnerving smile and chuckled, "Terribly sorry, I meant our errand boy. You can try to run away if you want to, Haruhi, but just so you know my family employs a private police force of over 100 officers." His cold smile never falters as he turns away again, adjusting his glasses, "By the way… do you have a passport?"
"Um, no…"
"You're going to have to work hard to pay off that debt, my little nerd." A puff of cold air on her neck caused Haruhi to gasp and jerk away. Is every boy in this club a ninja or something? Should I invest in a couple bell collars?
Once she caught her breath, Haruhi rubbed a hand over the still prickling spot, "Don't do that again. Ever."
Seemingly unfazed by what he had just done, Tamaki straightened up and rested his fists on his hips, "You need a makeover or no girl's going to look twice at you."
"Well, it's not like that's what I'm aiming for. I just don't think it's all that important. Why should I care about appearances and labels anyway? I mean, all that really matters is what's on the inside, right? I've never understood the allure of Host Clubs..."
"It's a cruel reality, isn't it?" Haruhi groans and glares up at her senpai. Does he never listen? Sure, maybe reality isn't quite ready to give up on the impression of physical beauty yet, but by promoting it like he is we'll never get past it!
It's not often that God creates a perfect person like mwah, beautiful both inside and out."
"Say what?"
Tamaki begins striking his usual poses and Haruhi stopped listening. I feel like there's a word to describe people like him. Hm… what was it again? It's on the tip of my tongue. She stared at the flailing blond for another moment before shutting her eyes. It's not a pain in the neck, even if he is one. Nope... it's definitely one word I'm thinking of. Moronic doesn't really fit either. Come on, I know there is one.
Tamaki sauntered closer and got right down next to her face, talking about a glance to the side. Suddenly, everything clicked.
"Huh! That's it!"
"Oh, has my lesson rea-"
"Obnoxious."
Immediately following that word, Tamaki is hunched over beside a table, drained of all his healthy color, clearly not taking Haruhi's view on him very well. Whoops, that came out meaner than I intended.
The twins suddenly materialized at her sides, patting her head and calling her a hero. At this point, Haruhi has already added '6 bell collars' to her next shopping list. They all are a pain in the neck. Still… making people upset wasn't Haruhi's favorite thing in the world to do, so, "I'm sorry Senpai. Er, your lesson did strike a small chord with me, I guess."
The moping boy slowly stood up… then spun around with a charismatic smile on his face, "Really, it did? Let me teach you more…Friend."
"Well you got over that quick."
"Boss?"
"Call me King!" King? There goes his ego again.
"You can teach him all the basics of hosting and everything if you really want to-"
"-but he's not going to get very far looking like that, you know. I mean, he's not exactly the best-looking guy around, but," Haruhi let out a small gasp as her glasses were slowly removed, "perhaps if we took off his glasses..."
"Hey, give those back! I need them!" Haruhi reached out blindly, as her vision was now horribly blurred to the point where she couldn't tell which twin was holding her glasses. "I used to have contacts but I ripped one of them on the first day of school! I haven't had any time to get more, yet!" No one answered her, but suddenly the redheads were pushed to the sides of her vision and blond replaced them.
Tamaki's blurred hand came back into her vision and she heard him snap his fingers, "Hikaru! Kaoru!"
"Got it!"
By the time Haruhi understood that now would be a good time to run, it was too late. Two hands gripped her forearms tightly and pulled her, screaming, towards the back of the room. Being as she couldn't see a damn thing, Haruhi continued to scream until the three of them stopped abruptly. The two hands gripping her arms shoved her past some yellow curtains.
"Stay here." And then they left. Haruhi took a moment to catch her breath and regain her bearings as best as she could. For a moment she contemplated running away, but didn't Kyoya-senpai say something about… a police force of 100 officers? She sweatdropped and made her way further into the curtained off area, her hands outstretched so as to not bump into anything. Her fingers eventually came into contact with a cool, smooth surface. Squinting a bit, Haruhi saw that it was a mirror.
Is this a changing room?
The curtain behind her moved and Haruhi turned around quickly, "Here, change into this uniform."
Uniform? "What? Why?"
Instead of answering like normal people, the twins lunged at her. Four hands were now trying to pull off her sweater and her shoes and whatnot, chanting the word 'change' over and over and over again.
"Hey! Let go of me! Seriously, this is harassment!" When the boys didn't stop, Haruhi shouted, "Okay, fine I'll change but you two have to get out!" She grabbed the uniform and pushed the boys away as best as she could. They tumbled out of the changing room and after a few more seconds she heard them walking away. Good.
It didn't take long to change or put her new contacts in, but the hairstylist that came in took at least half an hour trimming her hair! Seriously, her hair didn't even look that different! Still, at the end of it all, Haruhi guessed she did look pretty good. The uniform fit well and everything. Speaking of...
"Um, Senpai? You out there?"
"Yes. Have you finished changing yet?"
Haruhi pushed the curtain to one side and looked out at the group of boys waiting for her, "To get this straight, you're letting me keep this?"
Tamaki was immediately idiotic, holding his face and gushing about how cute and pretty she was, and how much she looked like a girl. That's because I am a girl, idiot! But apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought that. The rest of the boys chipped in their two cents on Haruhi's new look. Kyoya rounded it off by wondering if she'd draw in some customers looking like she did now.
Tamaki perked up, "You know, that's just what I was thinking." Bullcrap. I call bullcrap.
He pointed a finger right in Haruhi's face, "Starting today, out little errand boy is an official member of the Host Club! I will personally train Haruhi to be a first rate host. If you can get 100 customers to request your service, we will completely forget about your debt to us."
Haruhi felt like passing out again, "A host?"
"Let's go! The guests are waiting!" Haruhi let out another scream as the twins pulled her back to Music Room #3. Not even a prayer to her mother would save her now...
*\/*
Two minutes later, Haruhi found herself in the hot seat. Why did she already have three girls to talk too!?
"So… tell me, Haruhi, do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do?"
"I'm curious, what kind of products do you use on your skin?"
"Yes, it's so pretty!"
Haruhi did her best to not scream. I can't do this! What am I supposed to do? You'd think me being a first timer they'd give me some help! How am I supposed to answer their questions?
Without waiting for a response, all three girls leaned forward and asked in unison, "So why'd you join the host club, Haruhi?"
"Uh…" She licked her lips. Okay, think this through. All I need is to get 100 guests to request me and the host club will forget about my debt. But how to get the girls to like me? How about… oh... I know just the story.
Haruhi took a breath and gave the girls her saddest smile, "Well, ladies, I suppose I joined because I was lonely. My home just feels so empty and since I'm new at this school I don't have many friends, yet."
The three girls let out little gasps, "Oh! Haruhi, why does your home feel empty?"
"Well…" she told them about her mother, how she'd gotten very sick and passed away 10 years back. Sadness nearly overwhelmed her, weighing down her heart, but she didn't cry. She'd already cried out all her tears years beforehand.
"I see… I'm so sorry, Haruhi."
"Yeah, I hardly remember her now, but my childhood was still hard, like you'd expect after losing a parent. I can only image how it must've been for Jin."
The three girls tilted their heads, "Jin?" Instantly, Haruhi brightened up. She smiled and the girls gasped. Finally, a happy topic. This is just what I've needed after a long day.
"Yeah, my Onēsan! Nēchan is a year older than I am, so she remembers Okāsan better than I do."
The girls share a glance, "So… you have an older sister?"
"Yeah!"
"Wow… how did she take it when you got accepted into Ouran?"
"Did she try to get in too?"
"Are you smarter?"
Haruhi actually laughed, "Under no circumstances am I more intelligent than Nēchan! She's consistently been at the top of her class ever since she started school, and the only reason she didn't come to Ouran last year was because she's been studying abroad in America since last July. Actually… she's coming home in a month, and I'm really excited. She's also been accepted into Ouran Academy."
The girls stared at Haruhi's excited grin with hearts in their eyes. Another Fujioka? More sibling love? A more open Haruhi?
"We can't wait to meet her!"
"Really? I bet she'd love to meet you girls, too!"
The girls sitting directly opposite of Haruhi leaned forward, "You must really miss her, huh?"
"Yeah… I do. But, I just need to look on the positive side of things, you know?"
The three girls are now completely captured by Haruhi's devotion to his sister. So much, in fact, that-
"Um, so it okay if tomorrow-"
"-we request to sit with you again?"
Haruhi's face lit up again, "Y-yeah! I'd really appreciate that, ladies!" Three off my quota! Little did she know, only a little ways away a certain blond host king was staring at her.
"How did he manage that so quickly?"
"He's a natural," Kyoya responding, hiding his amused smirk behind his black journal.
"No training needed," Kaoru followed up.
"We didn't even have to teach him how to pull the 'sibling love' card." Hikaru actually sounded a little impressed.
"Speaking of... Kyoya, did you know about Haruhi having a sister?"
"Not until a moment ago. Haruhi was never a client and I've never needed to research him before, but I do recall hearing about a second Honor Student who will be joining later in the year, due to conflicts with the school in America she was attending. Unfortunately, until she arrives I won't be able to research much of Miss Jin Fujioka."
"Have you forgotten about me?"
Tamaki whipped his head to the side, "Hm? Oh, no. Sorry, princess, I'm just a little bit concerned about our newest host."
The redhead chuckled without humor, "Well that's obvious, Tamaki."
"Is it? I don't mean for it to be, but I have to keep my eye on him. After all, I'm training him to be a gentleman like me. His actions will reflect direction onto me as a host." Thinking his regular customer might be feeling a little left out, Tamaki snapped his fingers, "Haruhi?" The incessant giggling from the table behind him stopped, so he made a beckoning gesture, "Come here for a minute."
Haruhi excused herself from her guests, stood up, and walked over to the other couch, a little curious about why her senpai wanted to talk to her again.
"I'd like you to meet my regular guest, Princess Ayankoji." Tamaki gestured to the redhead sitting beside him and Haruhi felt her lungs seize up a bit. It's that girl from earlier. The one who called the coffee I bought 'crap'. Well, might as well be polite.
"Miss, it's a pleasure to meet you."
The next thing she knew Tamaki was squeezing her in the tightest headlock she'd ever experienced! She struggled against his vice grip, attempting to breathe, but it was no use. Tamaki continued to ramble even though not a single word reached the brunette's ears. She couldn't breath!
Haruhi pushed at his chest and managed to gasp for air, but he squeezed around her middle as she attempted to escape. Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai were seated only a little ways away and she called out in blind hope.
"Mori-senpai! Help!"
The tall boy moved faster than Haruhi thought possible and lifted her out of Tamaki's arms and into the air. Her head lolled forward as she caught her breath. Once she did Haruhi was set back down on her feet, but she stepped closer to the 3rd year as Tamaki clearly still wants to cho-er... hug her.
"Come on, little one, let Daddy give you a big hug!"
She rolled her eyes, "I've already got one Dad, I don't need another one."
Slipping away to get back to her guests, she spoke about random things for the next ten minutes. After that, a client rotation is called and Haruhi's first ever customers wave goodbye as they leave the room. She leaned further back into her chair and sighed.
Well, that was an adventure. And since I don't have any more customers at the moment, I can study now! Haruhi walked over to the far corner of the room where the host's left their book bags during hosting hours. She paused a few steps away as she counted the bags. Hers had been put down furthest from everyone else's… but now the only ones left belonged to the boys.
Hey, what happened to my bag?
Haruhi got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as she turned and looked out an open window that had been closed a few minutes ago. No... no way. Her school bag, with everything from her classes and everything she needed for when she went home, was in the fountain. "But... but how did-?"
Once she got feeling back in her legs she ran out of the club room and down the hallway without hesitation. I didn't think there were bullies at this school. Her frown deepened as she remembered her sister coming home some days with tears in her eyes. Hm, guess they're everywhere.
She brushed past a girl and would've kept going... if she didn't recognize the voice that spoke up afterwards.
"Oh, you again." Ayankoji kept her back to Haruhi, but she had a feeling the red-headed girl was smiling to herself, "I bet you love having Tamaki giving you that makeover and fawning all over you. I hope he realizes it's useless soon, though. No matter how he dresses you up, you're always going to be a second-class citizen."
Haruhi didn't move as the redhead walked away, like she did nothing wrong. Tears threatened her and she licked her lips. What did Jin say to do again? Breath in...2...3…4... Hold...2...3...4... Out...2...3…4... Hold...2...3...4... Calmed down a bit, she continued her way to the fountain, blinking the tears away. Okay, Haruhi, relax. You don't have an older sister around right now to wipe away your tears. You've been strong for this long, you can handle another month.
Two minutes later Haruhi was fishing around in the fountain, pulling out her soaking wet books and school bag. She set them on the dry concrete and assessed the damage. Her books were all but ruined, and her notepad was now just a collection of smeared ink running down the pages. The prospect of tears threatened again, and Haruhi performed the breathing exercise again. I'm not going to be some weird kid crying in the pond water.
She climbed back into the fountain, unsure whether she was angry or just worn down. I kind of want to tell someone that she threw my bag in the pond, but that won't solve anything. Besides, which one of us would they believe? Ugh, I wish I could just find my wallet! Come on… where is it? If I can't find it I won't have any money to go shopping tonight!
The Fujioka's were always pretty good at keeping to a budget. Every week when their food pantry was running low, the girls would go grocery shopping after they got home from school. And besides, Jin had always been a stickler for Haruhi getting enough food to eat, considering how often she herself went without either a breakfast or a lunch during her middle school years. By eating healthy and not skipping meals Haruhi always felt a little closer to her.
The thought of her sister brought another small smile to the short girl's face. It was like a warm feeling was growing in the center of her chest, wiping away the bad thoughts and emotions.
Then her hand touched something slimy.
"Ick!" Haruhi quickly withdrew her hand from the water and eyed the area around her again. Was she positive that there was nothing living in here?
"Hey, Commoner!" Haruhi gasped and straightened up fully as Tamaki called out to her, droplets of water splashing against her new uniform in her haste, "You've got some nerve skipping out on the club like that." He glanced down to his right, probably trying to look cool, but his eyes narrowed in confusion as he noticed her bag, "Why is your bag all wet? Are those your books?"
Haruhi turned around again, refocusing on searching the fountain, "Uh, it's no big deal. Just an accident. I've got it." Yeah, it's all peachy keen and whatever, I just can't find my food money.
She figured that Tamaki would watch her search for a bit to make sure she didn't actually skip out on the club, or even just up and walk away, so she tried to pay him no mind. However, a few seconds later something made a splashing noise to her right. Haruhi looked over to see Tamaki actually in the water with her. Why… is he helping me?
"Hey, you don't have to do that, you'll get wet!"
"A little water never hurt anyone. Oh, hello?" Tamaki straightened up and held out her wallet, "Aha! This what you're looking for?" Haruhi could help but stare as he walked a little closer, taking a second glance at the blond boy. Okay. New information. He's actually a nice guy on the inside, I guess. He was mad at first, but when he realized I had lost something he helped me look for it. He even got into this filthy fountain water. I guess, he can be a pretty cool guy when he wants to.
"What's the matter, you're staring off into space. Hold on... you're not falling for me, are you?"
Haruhi jolted out of her thoughts and swiped the wallet out of his hands, "No way!" Geez, he might've done one nice thing to me, but he can be a real snob sometimes.
"How did your bag end up in the pond anyway?"
"Uh…" I can't tell him it was Ms. Ayankoji… I don't have any proof. And I doubt he'll just take my word for it. "Well, uh, I guess I accidentally dropped it out the window at some point." Weak. Weak, weak, weak, that was a freaking lame excuse, Haruhi. She could actually see her older sister in her mind's eye face-palming and shaking her head in disappointment.
Before she could be called on her obvious bluff, Haruhi quickly exited the water, "Uh… well, thanks for helping me find my wallet. We should probably get back to the club, right? The girls are probably waiting!"
"Oh, yeah. Let's go."
*\/*
"Tamaki. Haruhi. There you two are, I've been looking for you!" Kyoya was on them the moment the doors opened. His face was calm and neutral looking as ever, but his voice had underlying tones of relief and annoyance.
"Sorry, Kyoya. There was an incident. It's taken care of now."
"Good. Well Tamaki, I've extended your current client's allotted time by five minutes due to your absence, so you'd best head over there now." The blond nodded and took off in the direction of his table, not once casting another look in the new host's direction.
Kyoya narrowed his eyes slightly at the brunette, "Haruhi, I would normally add to your debt for leaving the club before our hours ended without instruction, but you didn't have any clients at the time, so I'll let this incident slide. However, someone just requested you for a one-on-one segment." Kyoya walked away, gesturing to a two person table where a certain redhead watched Haruhi with cold grey eyes.
Heart in her throat, she approached Ayankoji and sat down, "Hello."
"Hello, Haruhi." Silence enveloped the two and the new host found herself extremely uncomfortable.
"Uh… tea?"
"Yes, please." Haruhi nodded, glad to have something to do with her hands as Ayankoji leaned forward, "I merely wished to know why you left the host club so suddenly earlier."
Haruhi froze. She wants to know if I'm going to tell them the truth. Swallowing thickly, she handed over the filled tea cup, "I accidentally dropped my bag out the window and into the pond without knowing it."
"Oh, really? That must've been terrible. I can't imagine what I would do if my bag fell into the pond." Haruhi worked hard to keep her face blank. "And you actually made Tamaki search that dirty old pond with you, how astonishing! And extremely big-headed. You do realize he's a blue blood and not a commoner, don't you? The only reason he's paying attention to you is because he's trying to turn you into a gentleman, no matter that it's a lost cause. Don't start thinking he cares about you just because he's doting on you. It would be a waste of your time, and his."
"You... you were watching." Haruhi straightened her shoulders and gave the girl her best 'haha, caught you' glare, "Now I understand. You're jealous."
Ayankoji's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. The look was actually a bit frightening on her, like a cornered wild animal ready to rip the danger apart. Suddenly, her arm shot forward and grabbed a hold of Haruhi's jacket, pulling her forward. The table was knocked to the side and she heard the sound of shattering tea cups beneath Ayankoji's screams. Something hit her left hip and she winced in pain. By the time the world stopped moving she found herself propped up above the redhead who was screaming at the top of her lungs.
"No, Haruhi, leave me alone! Somebody help, he just attacked me! The commoner attacked me!"
Haruhi froze, now terrified of the situation she was in. Here she was, surrounded by rich kids who had no reason to take her word for what had happened, and if they believed Ayankoji, then what would they do to her?
"Someone do something, teach this commoner a lesson!"
*Splash!*
Water dripped down her face and back, soaking her new uniform in uncomfortable ways. But the shock of the cold water reminded Haruhi she could move. Leaning back, she looked up at the twins who had empty vases in their hands, still posed like they were dumping water onto the two girls. But why...
"Why did you do that?" Is she asking me or the twins?
Haruhi clenched her hands as Tamaki lifted the other girl to her feet. Instantly, Ayankoji lost the hard, scary look and went back to her weak appearance, like she truly was the victim in this situation. "Do something, Tamaki, Haruhi just assaulted me. Get rid of him!"
Tamaki paused in his stroking of her hair, "I'm disappointed in you. You threw his bag into the pond, didn't you?" All the air left the room.
Ayankoji's eyes grew wide again, "You don't know that. Do you have any proof that I did? How could you even say that I'd-"
"You know, you may be a beautiful girl, but you are not classy enough to be our guests. If there's one thing I know... Haruhi is not that kind of a man."
For a moment, Ayankoji can't seem to find her words before she suddenly shoved past Tamaki and ran for the doors, "W-why Tamaki… You idiot!"
As soon as the doors shut, Tamaki turned back to Haruhi, "Hm… now how am I going to punish you, because it is your fault after all." MY FAULT!? IS HE NUTS!? "Your quota is now 1,000!"
An embarrassing squeaking sound fell past Haruhi's lips, "One… thous-and…"
"Come on," Haruhi looked in surprise at the hand being held out to her. She took it and was pulled to her feet, "I've got high expectations for you, little Haruhi. Hope you're ready." He winked at her, which confused the poor girl even more. What is with this guy…
Pulling her hand free, she turned to see Kyoya holding out a pink bag towards her that had a spare uniform for her to change into. Haruhi took it and peeked inside. It was yellow. The girl's uniform. Well, won't they be surprised.
"Thanks guys, I'm going to go change." She walked to the back of the room, passing by clients who were walking towards the front doors of the room and gossiping about the drama that just went on. Club activities must be over. Good. I just want to go home.
She slipped into a changing room, thankful that there were already a few towels waiting for her. Sighing in relief, she pulled the wet clothes off of her, dropping them to the floor. I'll fold them when I'm no longer cold and wet. At once, Haruhi started to quickly towel dry her underclothes. She didn't have any extra on her or anything, but thankfully the uniform was thick enough to not let the water drench her underclothes too bad. Besides, she'd be heading home in a bit anyways.
"Haruhi? I brought you some more towels if you need them." The familiar shink of the changing room curtains sounded behind her and she gasped as a wave of cold air hit her bare, wet shoulders. Haruhi looked around, hoping against hope that she wouldn't see what she thought she'd see.
Tamaki stood there with a blank, yet horrified expression on his face, staring at her very exposed form. For another two seconds they just stared at each other.
"Drop the curtain, Senpai."
He did and Haruhi made quick work of changing, working on keeping the blush from her cheeks. After a moment, he finally spoke from the other side of the curtain.
"Haruhi?"
"Yeah?"
"So, you're a girl?"
Haruhi smirked and chuckled a bit, "Biologically speaking, yeah, I am." She pushed aside the curtain and stepped out in the pale yellow dress. She didn't especially like this one as much as the other uniform, but beggars can't be choosers. Still, it was pretty hilarious when Tamaki literally freaked the flip out.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Haruhi bit back a smile and readjusted the red bow on her neck, "Listen, Senpai, you guys can address me as a boy or a girl or even as an it. I'm not all that picky. In my opinion it's must more important for a person to be recognized for who they are, not for what's between their legs. What really matters is what is on the inside." And again, it looked like nothing Haruhi had said had gotten into Tamaki's rather thick head. He was still gaping in complete shock.
Kyoya looked down at his journal with obvious disinterest, "Well, isn't this an interesting development."
The four other boys stood to Tamaki's right while the twins shared a look with each other, "Oh yeah."
Haruhi glanced at the other boys. I have a feeling they all figured it out before now. Huh. Guess they're not all hopeless. She returned her gaze to the blond boy in front of her with a slight smirk. You know. They're not that bad, I suppose.
"Hey, Senpai, I just thought you should know, I thought you were pretty cool earlier when you helped me out. That was real nice of you."
Tamaki's eyes grew impossibly wide and he shrunk back a bit, his entire face growing red, probably from embarrassment considering Haruhi was also mentioning him bringing her towels while she was only wearing a singlet.
"Well, I guess since I'm going to be a host for a while, I might as well get used to it. Besides, being fussed over by a bunch a girls might not be so bad… I'm used to Jin doing it when I was a lot younger, so it won't be much of a difference, I suppose. But how am I going to pull it off?" She tapped her foot and bit her lower lip, two thinking habits she had learned from her sister.
"Oh, I got it! I'll just call everyone dude and bro, now!" Wow, now I really sounded like a host. With that thought, Haruhi started laughing. It felt good.
Well, Jin, this will certainly make our high school years interesting. Hope you're up for it!
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