A/N: Hey it's image! (My pen name in short) This is my VERY first fanfic! YAY! Oh yeah… Some characters have been slightly altered to fit the characters of Ouran High School Host Club. So please bear with me. And take note of the sudden lighting of light bulbs.
Disclaimer: I DON'T own ANY characters. They belong to CLAMP and Hatori Bisco
Thoughts are in italics
The Entrance
A peasant-looking scholar stared into a highly polished room. The ceilings stretched up to 35 feet high; old, antique bookcases stood against pale, peach walls; and a grand chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling, lighting the 2nd library room. Ladies who were dressed in their uniform, which consisted of a soft, yellow cashmere dress, gossiped about the latest happenings in the Host Club. Gentlemen wore $300,000 uniforms, consisting of a light blue jacket with a white button up shirt, a tie made of the finest Italian silk, and black pants.
This was the high school the peasant student went to: Tomoeda Private School. The school ranged from grades K-12. Tomoeda was one of the finest schools in the country, had the world's most famous Japanese leaders, and gave birth to graduates who were of a different ethnicity. In order to enroll into this wealthy academy, one must either be a part of a powerful, rich family, or he/she must take an entrance exam. These exams were extremely tough; only one student could make it into the school once every two years. And to make it even more complicated, the prospective scholarship student needed to keep the top score in his or her class, or else he or she would be kicked out of Tomoeda Private. So how did this pauper make it into this super-rich school? Well here's the story…
I opened the huge, majestic doors. I took a peak inside to see if it was empty. But of course it was loud and noisy. Definitely not a place to study. I closed the door with a sigh and started to walk off. There's like, four libraries in this high school building, three music rooms, and that's all I can think of that should be quiet. But I have already checked the two libraries and the first two music rooms… maybe the 3rd music room is empty and unused. I walked over to a touch screen map and looked for the 3rd music room. I still can't get used to the fact that this high school takes up only 1/8 of the whole school's campus. Ah! There it is. I zoomed into the floor the room was in. I memorized the route I would take and went off.
Climb up to the top floor of the South Wing; go to the room at the end of the North Hallway… All right. Here it is.
I surveyed the door of the room, wishing that it was unused and abandoned. I reached out towards the gold handle, and turned it. I opened the doors to find… the Host Club. There was a chestnut haired member who sat on the chair, a pair of twins standing behind him, and a short, blond kid who stood next to the chair. The other two members stood beside the twins, both of whose arms were folded.
"Welcome." All 6 of the handsome men said.
I staggered back. Mom… This room is DEFINETLY not unoccupied. It seems I have stumbled across the popular Host Club: Li Syaoran, Hiiragizawa Eriol, Hitachiin Hikaru and his twin brother Kaoru, Mori Takashi, and Honey Mitsukuni. Oh, by the way, the Host club is a group of men, who have too much time on their hands. So they monopolize women's free time, and profit off of them, in case you didn't know Mom.
"… It's a guy…" One of the twins stated. He's my classmate; he and his twin are real pranksters. But everyone seems to love them. I find them awfully loud.
"Oh! He's that special student in our class…" The other twin said.
"Hmm… So you know this person?" Eriol wore rimless glasses, and held a mysterious, sinister presence. His dark blue, almost black, hair gave him a look that screamed cool.
"Yeah. But he doesn't get along with others very well…" "So we don't know him very well." The twins said after one another. They had the most peculiar hair color. It was a cross between timid orange and peach. But strangely, it fit their personality, annoying and outspoken. A light bulb went off in the glasses-wearing member's head.
"That's actually quite rude, Hikaru and Kaoru." The cool guy smirked. "Welcome to the Host Club, special student."
The member who was previously sitting was now right in my face. His chocolate eyes practically burned holes into my thick-rimmed glasses. I backed up against the door, trying to get away from this mad dog. I slowly reached up for the gold door handle that dug into my back.
"What Eriol? He's that special scholarship student, Sakura Kinomoto?"
I froze. How did he know my name? How did he know I'm a scholarship student? How does he even know I'm from this school? I'm not even wearing the proper uniform. I couldn't stop asking these questions to myself while he stared at me. But finally, I managed to say something.
"How do you know my name?" I asked curiously, I pushed the over eager puppy from me.
"Well… We only accept one commoner student to transfer here once every two years. So everyone knows about you. And since you passed the exams, you must be a very studious commoner, are you not?" Eriol said in a matter-of-fact voice.
I looked away. Man is this guy observant. I glanced up to see his glasses flashing in the light with satisfaction. Then, I felt a hand clasp my shoulder.
"Yes, Kinomoto! You are a hero to all commoners out there. And even though you are number one in your class, you are still the poorest student in this whole school!"
I inched as fast as I could away from Li. But that didn't stop him from following me and talking. This club truly was troublesome.
"Well… I'm not as bad as you make me sound…"
He ignored my comment, and, again, put his hand on my right shoulder.
"All hail poverty! Welcome to our elegant world, pauper!"
Yeah, he definitely is a commoner fan. It's like he can't stop talking… Oh right. I still need to study. I shoved his perfectly tanned hand away from my shoulder.
"Please excuse me. But I need to go study…" I walked towards the door. But a pair of arms circled around my slender arm.
"Saku-chan, Saku-chan. What Syao-chan said… Is it true that you're a hero? That's totally awesome!" Two huge, brown eyes stared up at me.
"I'm a scholarship student. Not a hero. Wait… WHO ARE YOU CALLING 'SAKU-CHAN'?!" I shrieked into his face. I panted a little and slumped. I am totally worn out from all of this. The senior ran away, crying to his bodyguard, the stoic Mori.
"But I never expected the famous bookworm to be gay." Syaoran pondered over out loud.
Gay? What the hell? Why does this guy think I'm gay? He doesn't even know me. I rubbed my temples as I sorted out my thoughts through all of this confusion and madness. This is all happening WAY too fast.
"So what type do you like? The Silent Type?" I looked up in time to see Syaoran point at the mute, tall member. He seems nice enough. Ahh!! This isn't the time to get distracted Sakura. THINK. How do I escape from here?
"The Loli-shota (A/N: a Loli-shota type is a kid who is between the ages of 4 and 16 and who looks, well, incredibly cute) Type?" Now he nodded towards the four feet something, elementary school kid. Why IS he in the high school building? Shouldn't he be in the elementary building? He looks like a 7 year old…
"The Brotherly-Love Type?" He gestured over to the twins, who both grinned at me like the cat from Alice in Wonderland. Who knew the famous pranksters were in this freak-show club.
"The Cool Type?" Syaoran looked over at Eriol, who was now writing something in a black notebook. He seemed like the guy you wouldn't want to mess with. Maybe he's blood type A…
"Or me, the Prince Type? You want to give it a go?" He bent down to my height and trailed his finger up my neck to my chin.
Oh my god… These people are just too much, Mom! There's even this pervert who thinks I'm gay. I'M NOT GAY FOR HEAVENS SAKES. I drove his finger away from my chin, and started to back up.
"Look. I was just looking for a quiet place to study. I never intended to come into this room. And if I could go back through time-" I bumped into something. I turned around and everything started to become like slow motion to me. The thing I bumped into was a stand with a priceless-looking vase sitting on it. The blue vase started to fall down. My hand reached out to grab it, but missed by a centimeter. SHIT. I closed my eyes, anticipating the crashing noise of glass.
CRASH!!
We all stared at the mess on the floor. Crap… This is BAD.
"Ahh… Naoko's flower vase that was the center of attention in our auction…" "It's now broken! What are we going to do now?" Kaoru and Hikaru said in a mocking voice. "And we thought we could've reaped up to eight thousand dollars with this."
SHIT!!!
"EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS?! Um… About paying for this…"
"Can you even do that? Someone who can't even buy our school's uniform." The twins looked at each other, then at me. They were definitely getting on my nerves. "Besides what's up with that stupid outfit?"
"So Syaoran… What do you think we should do?" Eriol gently picked up a glass shard.
"Have you ever heard of this saying, Kinomoto-kun? 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do?' So, starting today, you're going to be… the Host Club's DOG!" Syaoran pointed at me.
A dog? This is so terrible, Mom… It seems that I have gotten myself into a HUGE mess. And it's with the Host Club!
Host Club opening hours
A room filled with young ladies, all seated at oak tables, with the finest chinaware. Tea sets with lovely decorations, red roses centered in the middle of the tables, and delicate pastries planted on white porcelain dishes.
"What music do you like Syaoran-kun?"
"But of course. It's the song we share in our dreams."
"I've made some cake, Syaoran. Would you like some?"
"If you would feed it to me mouth to mouth." He replied immediately.
"I've heard Syaoran-sama… That you've taken in a stray cat?" A female voice calmly said.
"Eh… I wouldn't exactly call him a cat. But rather- Oh! Here he is now."
I entered the room carrying a heavy paper bag. I don't get why they couldn't just buy coffee by themselves. And how much coffee do they consume? I probably bought a TON of this stuff from the store. I looked up to see Syaoran calling me over. I slowly dragged my feet over to him.
"Little piggy! Good work with your errand. Now, did you buy the correct items?" The junior smiled at me.
Little piggy? I seriously need to give him a piece of my mind sometime. I handed him a container of instant coffee.
"And this would be…?"
"Coffee."
"I've never seen this maker before. Is this the already ground kind?"
"No… It's instant…"
"Instant? What does 'instant' mean Li-kun?" Two of Syaoran's regulars wondered. They cocked their heads to the side.
"OH! You mean this is the kind of coffee where you just add in hot water? The so-called… Commoner's Coffee?" Syaoran started to get excited and was at the edge of the couch he was sitting on. A crowd, that included the twins and Eriol, started to form behind the couch.
"Oh… So that's the coffee commoners drink, because they have no time to ground their own coffee beans?" one of his regulars said in a pitiful voice.
"Fine! I'll go buy it again. Sorry for not buying expensive coffee nuts…"
Damn you rich bastards…
"No! Wait! I'll try it!" Syaoran stood up and raised the container up, like it was a god. Everyone started to clap. "All right Sakura! Go make us three cups of commoner's coffee!"
The whole crowd started to trail behind Syaoran as he walked over to a table. I stood there wondering how I got into this mess, until a voice sliced through my thoughts.
"Syaoran-sama is dallying too much. No way can coffee, that's been bought by a lowly pauper, suit his taste." Syaoran's customer calmly said. She set down her cup of tea. I stared at her and knew that she was the obsessive kind of person.
"Hm? What?" I pretended to not hear her.
"Ah. I was just talking to myself." She gave me an artificial smile. I stared down at her, but that lasted for only a few seconds, because Syaoran was calling me over. I took one last peek at her and walked over to him.
I put in one spoonful of the instant coffee into each of the 3 Ginori teacups. Then I poured in hot water and stirred each one a little bit. I set down the fragile teapot.
"Enjoy." Li said, flashing everyone a smile.
"I don't think I should be drinking this…"
"My father will be extremely mad if I even touch this…"
"See? They already doubt the coffee. Now can I go home please?" I begged the, now, evil junior. Syaoran waved my comment aside.
"Will you drink it if we go mouth to mouth?" Li gently took the customer's hand and held it up to his lips.
"Yes… Yes I would drink it." She said in a small voice. All the girls started to squeal and blush at the same time.
Oh man. These people need to get a life.
Over at Hikaru and Kaoru's table
"And then he said that he woke up shocked from a nightmare-" Hikaru chuckled.
"Hikaru! Speaking about that… Is so… Mean…" Kaoru started to tear up.
The two customers started to blush a little. They held each other's hands in anticipation. Hikaru and Kaoru's faces were now right in front of each other.
"I'm so sorry Kaoru. You just looked so cute like that. I just…" The freshman stared into his brother's hazel eyes.
"Hikaru…"
The two fan girls started to scream, and they hugged each other.
"IT'S THE BEAUTIFUL BROTHERLY LOVE!"
Great. The end of the world starts right here in this very room. I surveyed the twin's predicament. Shouldn't they be the ones who are gay? Not me? I looked up, startled, when I heard the door open, and then close.
"Sorry guys… I fell asleep while Takashi was doing kendo." The little kid sleepily rubbed his eyes. His blond hair was in disarray, but he still looked really cute. He was mounted on Takashi's back, together, they seemed like Ying and Yang.
"Ah! It's alright Honey-kun!"
A girl gasped. "Hi Mori-kun!"
"Aww! We've waited for so long!"
Mori sat Honey down on the couch, and then he took a seat across from Honey.
"I'm still kinda sleepy…" The senior rubbed his eyes even more. Hearts floated in the air.
"AWWW!! YOU'RE SO CUTE!"
Over at where Sakura and Eriol are standing
"Is he really a senior? He doesn't look and act like one…"
"He may not seem like it. But Honey-senpai is top in his grade, and is a genius at math." Eriol wrote in his notebook some more. "And Mori-senpai's top selling point is his taciturnity."
I looked at him. He's probably the sanest out of all of the members in this group, along with Mori-senpai.
"Sa-ku-chan!" Honey jumped over to me. He really does act like a kid. "Do you wanna eat some cake with us?"
"No. I don't like sweets that much…"
"Then I'll let you borrow my Bun-Bun!"
"Um… I don't really like rabbits either…"
"You don't like my Bun-Bun?" His voice took on a scary tone and he held up a large, pink bunny. I stared at it for the longest time, then I started to blush a little.
"I-It's REALLY cute!" I bent down to Honey's height. A light bulb went off.
"'Kay! Take good care of it!" He shoved the stuff animal into my arms, bounced back to the couch and started to roll on his costumer's laps.
"This club uses everyone's unique traits, and uses them to satisfy our customer's needs. By the way, Syaoran is our number one host since he is the King. 70 of our customers designate him as their host."
You also profit off of your "unique traits."
"Well, since your debt is eight thousand dollars, you'll be the club's dog until next year." The junior looked over at me. "You may run away, but keep in mind that my family has around a hundred talented policemen."
"That's right. Work hard little piggy." Syaoran blew softly on my ear.
What the… Where the hell did he come from?
"EW. Please don't do that."
He sighed. "You won't be popular with the girls if you act so pathetically."
"I'm actually NOT interested in that." I said, holding my ear. That was really disgusting.
"What are you saying?! It's a VERY important issue! A man making a women happy is everything!"
"It doesn't really matter does it, whether they look good or not. It's what's on the inside that counts. I'm clueless as to why this club exists." Li started to tear up. Oh jeez. He's going to blow.
"It's such a cruel thing… God sometimes creates things that are both beautiful on the inside AND outside…"
I tuned the irritating voice out of my head. What word did I think of that perfectly described him? Loud? No… Annoying? No… Let's see… AH! I know!
"Didn't your heart just skip a beat?" He asked, deep brown eyes looking at me from the side of his bronzed face.
"Obnoxious!" The twins who were passing by started to crack up. The leader of the club crawled into a dark corner and squatted there. "Uh… Li-senpai…?"
"Haha! That'll definitely teach Milord a lesson."
What a troublesome narcissist.
"Oh yeah, definitely. I thought my heart skipped a beat." I lied through my teeth. The egoistic brat got up from his dark corner.
"I see, I see! Then let me teach you even more techniques!"
What is he? A girl? Is he PMSing or something?
"Milord… Even if you did teach him the basics for becoming a host, he still doesn't pass the visual test."" Hikaru took my glasses off. "See, he's the type where you take his glasses off and his eyes will look extremely small…" Kaoru trailed off.
"Hey wait! I can't see without those glasses, because I lost my contacts on the first day of school!" I saw a blurry Hikaru and Kaoru looking at me with wide eyes. Then a loud running noise echoed throughout the whole room and Syaoran pushed the twins aside. His eyes, too, widened. He snapped his fingers.
"Hikaru, Kaoru!" The two twins first tossed my glasses to Syaoran, and then they dragged me at top speed to the changing room.
"Eriol! Call the hair designer!" Syaoran ordered, pointing at the already dialing junior.
"Mori-senpai, please get us some contacts from the nurse." He tossed the running member my glasses.
"Syao-chan! What about me?" Honey asked cutely.
"Honey-senpai you… can go eat… cake…"
He sat at a table dejectedly, and started to eat some strawberry cake.
"I just wanted to help… ya know… contribute and stuff…"
Hikaru, Kaoru, and Sakura
"Umm… Yeah I can put the uniform on by myself." I quickly took the uniform and ran behind the curtains. A sign on the curtains said changing. The twins nodded curtly. I turned around to see a woman standing there next to a chair in front of the gigantic mirror. My eyes widened and my mouth opened, but it closed when I saw her put her index finger against her mouth.
"Eriol-sama already has told me that you're a girl, so it's okay." She whispered.
I nodded numbly and sat down on the seat.
"Oh yeah! By the way Sakura, the hair designer is already there so you can first get your haircut, then change."
I glared at the curtain. Already too late you rich bastards. After she finished layering and cutting my auburn hair, she handed me the box with my contacts in it.
"Here's your contacts, I met up with Mori and he gave them to me." I thanked her and inserted them into my emerald eyes. They were perfect. She packed her equipment and exited the makeshift changing room.
"Is he done yet, is he done yet?" The twins, Syaoran and Honey asked eagerly. She laughed and left the room.
"Not yet. He still needs to change."
I quickly put on the outfit and opened the curtains. I haven't felt this trimmed in quite a while. It felt really nice. The whole group stared at the new me. My auburn hair was now layered a little bit, and I had side bangs. And the uniform fit me perfectly.
"Wow! You look just like a girl!" Syaoran said giggling.
I stiffened a little and started to laugh. Wonder when they're going to figure out that I AM a girl?
"Why didn't you tell us sooner that you looked so good?" The twins asked.
"He might actually get a customer like this." Eriol said surprised. The amber-eyed junior pointed at me abruptly.
"You've graduated from trivial chores. You are now… A Host member!" Li continued. "If you can gather a hundred customers, your debt will be considered paid."
"A host?!" You've got to be kidding me. Please say this is a joke. A mixture of confusion and shock melded in my brain. I half expected them to say "SURPRISE" and the other half was just plain numb.
Back to their neglected host doing business
"Kinomoto-kun, what are your hobbies?"
"Sakura-kun, do you take care of your skin in some special way? It's so pretty."
"Why is your name Sakura? It's such a beautiful, feminine name."
"Sakura-kun, why did you join this club?" All three customers said in unison.
Oh right. The whole "if you get a hundred customers to designate you your debt will be paid" situation. Time to get your act together and wing it Sakura!
"Oh my…"
"Your mother passed away from an illness when you were three?"
Syaoran looked over at me, to make sure that everything was going all right.
"Who takes care of the chores?"
"Oh, I do them myself. My mom wrote down all kinds of recipes when she was in the hospital. It was incredibly fun learning each and every one of them. My dad becomes especially happy when I master a recipe of hers." My face took on a gentle, small smile.
Syaoran and the three girls started to blush.
"Um…"
"Can we designate you for tomorrow Sakura-kun?"
"AH! Yes, that would be quite helpful!" I began to smile widely. This is pretty easy! From afar, to where Syaoran was sitting, Eriol, Hikaru and Kaoru joined the spying fest.
"He's a complete natural" Eriol mused.
"No tricks at all." The twins said stunned.
The four of them stared at me, until someone interrupted the silence.
"Syaoran-sama…" Syaoran turned around to look at his customer.
"Ah! I'm very sorry princess, but I was checking up on our rookie. Sakura, come over here!" Syaoran beckoned for me. I looked up from my conversation.
"Excuse me for a moment." I said, smiling shyly. The three girls started to blush, but I had no idea why.
"No-No problem!" They said a little too loudly. I walked over to the couch where Syaoran and his customer were sitting.
"Meet my regular, Princess Ayanokoji." He said.
"It's very nice to meet you." I said, putting on a smile. It's the fraud lady again. Syaoran started to blush a deep red.
"VERY GOOD! VERY GOOD! GOOD, SAKURA, GOOD!" He hugged me and started to twirl about. Pretty soon, I started to see stars and felt like I was about to puke.
"Syao-Syaoran-sama?" He stopped.
"Oh! I'm very sorry." He put me down on the floor and I breathed in relief.
"Don't do that!"
"Ah sorry! I couldn't help myself. You were very cute like that!" A pair of jealous eyes bore into me and I started to shiver.
End of the Host Club hours
SPLASH"A-re? Where's my bag?" I mumbled quietly. I looked out the window, and there it was. All spread out on the pond. And I thought there weren't going to be any bullies at this school. I rushed out of the 3rd music room and headed for the stairs. There, Princess Ayanokoji stood.
"Ah, you now look tamed thanks to Syaoran-sama, huh? Maybe you should fix your horrendous personality also." She murmured, quiet enough for me to only hear. She stalked off, leaving me to go back to sprinting towards the pond.
"I'm absolutely sure she's the one behind all of this." I panted out loud. Finally I reached the pond. I rolled my pants up and my shirt's sleeves. I gingerly stepped into the cold water; icy pins stabbed my right foot. I inhaled sharply and relaxed a little, and then I put my left foot in and started to take my bag and pencils out from the pond.
"Hunh. You have some real nerve to go into the water like that." A familiar voice said. He saw my things on the ground, beside the pond. "Why are you washing your bag?"
"I dropped it in by accident." I said, making up a lie as fast as I could. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, in case I was wrong. "Oh no… I can't find my grocery money for this week." I accidentally said out loud. I heard some splashing noises. "Ah! It's okay, you don't need to get wet…"
"It's okay to get wet. As they say, 'handsome men can't be hurt by water.'"
I stared at him in wonder. His messy chestnut hair was everywhere, and his amber eyes looked even more enigmatic to me. Something bubbled at the pit of my stomach, but I ignored it.
"Ah! Isn't this what you were looking for?" He said, winking at me. I continued to stare at him in astonishment. He walked up to me, "what's wrong? You're daydreaming, you know? Have you fallen in love with me?" He joked.
"No way! Why would I?" I snatched my moneybag.
"But why are you doing this?"
"Uh… I dropped my bag from the window." I replied in a fast manner. The same eyes bore into me. I quickly looked up at the same window I was looking through earlier.
"What's wrong? Let's go already."
Next day
"Oh my, that was unfortunate. A bag getting into the pond all by itself." Princess Ayanokoji said in a mocking pitiful voice. She took a sip from the Wedgewood teacup.
Why did this person designate me?
She set her teacup down. "But you know… You just dirtied Syaoran-sama's hands with your filthy bag. You really do not know your place in society do you? Syaoran-sama is only concerned about you, because of your unusual background. Nothing else."
Hang on… Could it be that she's…
"Don't mistake it for love." The Princess said in a brash tone.
"Could it be that you're jealous?"
The atmosphere immediately transformed into a silent and menacing one. Ayanokoji pushed the table and moved it out of the way, so that I landed on her. Red rose petals were everywhere, the Wedgewood tea set crashed into little tiny shards, and the sound of a woman's screech alerted everyone.
"Sakura-kun… He started to become violent!"
"Eh?" I started to panic inside. But I-
"Somebody help me! Get this commoner off-"
Bitter, cold water landed on the Princess and I. The frosty water bit through my uniform and onto my skin. I looked up to see the twins holding two pitchers of water. They probably think I'm some disgusting thing.
"Wh-What are you two doing?"
Syaoran walked over to Ayanokoji. He helped her up.
"Syaoran-sama! Sakura-kun wanted to-"
I shut my eyes tightly together. Here it comes…
"It's a shame that such a beautiful woman like you would do such a thing like this." He brushed her dark red hair back. "But you were the one who threw his bag into the pond."
I looked at him again with dazed eyes. I was absolutely sure he would believe in what the snake had to say.
"Do you have proof?" Ayanokoji asked in a hurtful tone.
Eriol held up several pictures of her emptying the bag, and throwing it into the pond. He then tossed it, distastefully onto the floor, so she could get a better look.
"I'm sorry. But you are not allowed back here." Syaoran said severely.
Ayanokoji scampered out "I HATE YOU SYAORAN-SAMA!"
"Now for you…" He turned towards me. Uh oh…
"Now you have to get a THOUSAND customers!!" He said, jutting his finger out at me.
CRAP. This can't be happening, Mom!! He extended his muscular hand out for me. I took it and got up.
"But I'm sure you'll do just fine." He winked at me.
A/N: So? How was it? Reviews are greatly appreciated.