Chapter 1: How It All Started

I watched with teary eyes as they tore up my letter to shreds. "We could never like someone as boyish as you!" they sneered, looking at me with disgust with their identical faces. The insults didn't stop there, though. One of the twins added, "And what's with your hair? It's so short and messy!"

I looked down in shame, my short, messy hair covering the trail of tears on my cheeks. It seemed like they couldn't leave it at that. I didn't bother to look up from humiliation when they jeered, "Plus, you're so short! It's amazing you aren't mistaken for an elementary student! You're eyes are so dull, too. It's like looking into a dirty lake! And don't get us started on those freckles and blemishes!"

I cried silently. Once they were done, my sadness turned to anger. I looked up at them, my eyes puffy. The first thing I did was slap them, which caught them off guard. "You Bakas!" I yelled at them, my voice still high from my sadness, "I can't believe I ever even thought I liked you! You're no different from what everyone knows you are! Two, annoying, spoiled brats who won't let anyone even venture into your world! I'm glad I'm moving away, then I won't ever have to see your smug faces again!" I didn't regret the harsh words, and I ran to my home before I could see their shocked, identical faces.

I slammed the door to my room shut, and flopped down on my bed. My mom was modeling at a fashion show, and my dad was working late at his hotel. I sighed as I stood up. I wasn't as sad anymore, and I walked over to my walk-in closet. There was a full-length mirror on the door, and I saw myself in a whole new way. Short, tomboy, stupid, dull eyes, ruined skin, flat as a sheet of paper, greasy hair, and pathetic. It was like all the things I never noticed were suddenly large billboards.

"What happened, Seiko?" I looked over to my open door, with my older sister standing in the doorway, worried. She walked over to me and grabbed me in a hug when she saw my tear-stained cheeks and red eyes. I couldn't help but look over into the mirror and analyze her. Misa had inherited Mother's drop dead gorgeous looks, while I was left with a few non-reassuring statements, including, "You'll hit a growth spurt. You're going through a period of change."

My older sister was tall and curvy. Her brown hair was wavy and went to her mid-back. Misa had a face to die for, and skin so perfect and soft, it was like an angel's. Her clear blue eyes shone radiantly, and her perfectly shaped lips hid pearly white teeth that formed a smile fit for a magazine cover. I looked like a drowned rat in comparison.

Misa bent down so she was at eye level. "Tell me exactly what happened, Seiko," she told me, holding my shoulders. Misa was the only one close to me, even though I was in 7th grade and she was a freshman. I poured out everything about the stupid Hitachiin Twins, my sadness long gone. I may not be a beauty, but I was tough and strong. I just couldn't be strong AND pretty like Misa.

She nodded knowingly. Seeing as how I was over the sadness, she grinned at me. She asked as she got up and walked over to my desk, "What's our motto, again?"

I beamed as I recited, "Get hurt, get over it, and get revenge."

"Exactly," she told me, a glint in her eye, "Now, it's time to get revenge." She walked back over to me, a magazine she had given me in her hands. It was Cosmo Girl. Misa pointed to the cover as she explained, "And we have two years before you're a sophmore in high school and we come back to Japan to turn you into everything the Hitachiins want."

My smile never faded. "And then we yank it out from under them!" At any other time, the thought of me changing from a tomboy would've offended me, but after my analysis, it was a win-win. I would be turned into everything I now wanted to be, and I would exact my revenge on Hikarou and Karou.

Two years did not pass quickly enough. We had moved to New York, much to Misa and my pleasure, for it was known as the fashion capital of the world. I breezed through the school year and passed with flying colors. I spent afternoons with Misa to study magazines and take lessons from my practically perfect sister, and to work on our plan. But the one day I will never forget, is when I actually and noticably blossomed.

I had woken up, and as I yawned, walking towards the bathroom, I stopped dead in my tracks. There in the mirror, where a reflection of me was supposed to be, I saw a tall, fairly curvy girl, with golden, silky straight hair that went to her mid-back, perfect skin, and emerald eyes with flecks of brown in them. I yelled, "Misa!"

As Misa ran to my room, she stood, stunned. Then her expression turned from shock to happiness. She hugged me, and I was now only an inch or two shorter than her. She whispered, "See, Seiko, you are blossoming into a beautiful young lady. I'll take you on a shopping spree later, but I'll let you borrow some of my clothes for school."

Now I had a completely different wardrobe, I actually liked what I saw in the mirror, and it turned out that I was plenty girly. I even got my parents to agree to legally change my name to Takara. However, I was never distracted from my mission: to destroy Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin. I kept a close eye on them, using Internet searches to see what they were doing. They still attended Ouran, but now they were a part of a Host Club. Looks like I'm not the only one who's changed.

So now, as my sister and I got out of our limosuine, and stepped onto the campus, I guess that's how it all got started. "I'm back, Ouran," I whispered, feeling like a completely different girl than when I first came to Ouran Academy. This time, though, I wouldn't make the same mistake I had last time. This time, with Misa by my side, I was going to deliver some justice.

As if to confirm, Misa told me, "Those twins won't be able to take their eyes off of you." Misa was already getting a ton of looks from boys, and I had to admit I was getting a few, too. We were wearing the boy's unifrom, but with balck pleated skirts and flats that matched the jacket.

"Remember," Misa told me, walking side by side, "Play it cool and flirty. Be hard to get, but not too hard to get-"

"Okay, I get it," I reassured her, laughing. My voice was still a little low for my liking, and I thought my laugh was stupid, but not according to my family. I added, "Our plan won't work in one day. We need to be patient."

Misa stopped as we stood outside my classroom. She gave me a quick hug, telling me, "I just want you to remember to enjoy the year. And don't get into any trouble with the boys."

"Speak for yourself," I pulled away, a mischievous glint in my fairly large eyes, "You attract boys like a magnet!"

Misa laughed, showing off her perfect teeth. After we bid a final farewell, I turned around to face the door to the classroom. I had come after the Ouran Fair, and there was still buzzing in the air. I breathed deeply, and then opened the door to the noisy classroom.

As luck would have it, I was the last one to enter. All eyes were now on me, but two certain pairs of amber eyes in the crowd brought back memories that those two had probably long forgotten.

My teacher looked up at me, her smile kind. "You must be Takara Uzuki. Why don't you take a seat right here in front?" I followed her orders, nodding and smiling shyly. I ignored the looks I got, but remembered the girl who was sitting between the twins. The computer had told me she was Haruhi. She was wearing the same uniform as me, and was in the Host Club with the Hitachiins, serving boys.

Throughout the day, it was the same. Taking notes, ignoring the looks, and silently observing the Hitachiins and Haruhi. They were close, it seemed, and my mind began to wander. Did they like each other? No, the way Haruhi seemed annoyed and how the Hitachiins teased her in a way that didn't make her blush told me that they were nothing more than friends. But maybe they had had a crush on her in the past? Back when the members of the Host Club were the only ones who knew she was a girl. I could just barely notice the way Hikaru looked at her sometimes.

I sighed. Maybe revenge was useless at this point. After all, I wasn't the only one who changed. Maybe the twins had moved on, long forgotten those days when I was just one of thousands of girls who revealed her love to them.

But something inside me wasn't finished with them, not yet. It may have been a good year since they last broke a girl's heart, but what about all the other things they had done? Besides, you can't change the past, so no matter what they are now, I need to take revenge on what they did back then.

The entire day I noticed little things about them that seemed to make them different. For instance, Hikaru was better at straightforward answers, thus making him better at Math, Science, etc. It almost reminded me of Misa, actually. She was so blunt, and so true at one time. But I mentally slapped myself. How could I compare Misa to the people at the top of our hate list? Karou, on the other hand, was more creative, thus making him better at Art, Foreign Language, etc. I guess that kind of made me like Karou. Now I really felt like slapping myself. Comparing yourself to the enemy isn't exactly how to get revenge.

I noticed other things, as well. Hikaru was louder and more obnoxious. Kaoru was quieter and more in thought, but sly. I kept noticing the obvious looks I was getting from them. At one point, I almost felt like turning around and screaming, "Am I the only interesting thing in this room to look at?!" but I figured I'd rather not look like a freak.

At lunch, I actually had quite a few boys come up to sit by me, and I chatted with a few of the more intelligent girls. I immediately spotted the Hitachiin Twins walking toward me, identical faces staring straight at me, looking slightly smug. I had to resist the urge to slap them. As they neared, Hikaru began, "So you're-"

"Takara Uzuki?" Kaoru finished. They both looked at me, ignoring the fan girls sitting around going green with envy.

I smiled. "Yes, I am. May I be so kind as to ask who you are?"

"The Hitachiin Twins," they replied in unison, not showing much of an interest.

I looked to both of them. I half-smiled. "Can you at least tell me you're individual names?" I could practically feel everyone around me thinking, She has no idea who these guys are, and sweat drop.

"Hikaru."

"Kaoru." They seemed to be slightly annoyed at the fact that I had no idea who they were. Just as I suspected, they didn't even remember me. Of course, I had changed my name as well.

I smiled at them both. "Pleasure to meet you both," I chimed.

They seemed to cut the small talk. "We would like you to stop by the third music room after school," they told me, faking a perfect smile that made all the girls around melt.

"Very well then," I told them. I turned back towards my lunch. "I'll see if I can stop by quickly."

Their shock and everyone else's radiated off of me. They were probably surprised at me not falling all over the two, soaking up their attention. Been there, done that, I thought. The twins simply turned towards their table, still a little stunned from my calm reply.

After my last class, I met up with Misa outside of her class. "Well?" she asked expectantly, looking into my eyes. "What happened?"

I decided to tease her for a bit. I sighed, "They never even batted an eye."

"WHAT?!"

"Shh!" I hissed at her, pulling her aside, and trying to ignore the stares we got. "I was just messing with you. They told me to meet them in the third music room."

Misa looked relieved. She didn't seem to notice the looks she got. That's one of the things I envied Misa for. She could always be herself and not care who's watching her. She told me, "You know, a blond boy named Tamaki in my class told me the same thing. Head over to the music room, and I'll be right behind you!"

She pushed me out into the sea of students. "Wait, where are you going?" I yelled above the chatter, but it was already too late. Misa was out of sight, and I was in a crowded hall, and I had no idea where I was going. I let myself be carried around until the crowd eventually pushed me out unintentionally near a large door. I stumbled for a bit, but looked up at the sign. "Well what do you know?" I asked myself. "This is it."

I opened up the door, but found an empty room. I sweat dropped. This is supposed to be the infamous Host Club? I thought. I looked around. I called out, "Hello?"

Silence.

I sighed. It looked like no one was here yet. I looked around, trying to find something to do while I waited. Everywhere I looked, though, there was just another couch, chair, or table. It was supposed to be a music room, but there weren't even any instruments. That's when my eyes caught a viola.

I bit my lip. The viola, my one true weakness. I looked around one more time, before rushing over to the abandoned instrument sitting on a lonely windowsill. I picked it up gingerly, examining it. I checked one final time before I rested the delicate instrument on my shoulder, picked up the bow, and began to play.

My melodies weren't from other composers' pieces; they just sort of popped into my head. I'd only taken a few formal classes, but I was mainly self-taught. I had memorized and wrote down a few of my favorite pieces, and I played my absolute favorite. It was delicate and light, and reminded me of a lone, beautiful cherry blossom, whirling around in the wind, lost. It took a journey down a gentle creek, whisked away by a breeze, then landing softly in a meadow. I closed my eyes, letting myself be swept away in the notes.

As I drew out the last note, letting it echo in the empty room, I slowly let my eyes open, smiling slightly to myself. The smile instantly vanished as I watched five very shocked faces and two less emotional faces staring at me in the doorway. My first move was to bite my lip, and quickly set the instrument down. I blushed madly, the awkward silence never breaking.

"So, you're Takara Uzuki," a boy who looked to be about Misa's age in glasses broke the silence, sliding his frames up. He jotted something down on a clipboard. I was hoping he wasn't writing trespasser on it.

"Y-yes," I managed to stutter out, my head slightly bent down.

Luckily, Misa saved me. She made her way past the boys who were rooted to the spot, and looked at me. She whispered, "What have you done now?"

I quickly explained my situation to her, emphasizing how powerless I was to the temptation, but Misa just smiled. "Perfect," she whispered, giving me an O.K. sign with her fingers. "Now they know just how talented you really are."

I looked around her to take a peek at the boys. They had regained movement, and I saw that Tamaki was now walking towards us. "Ah, Miss Misa and Takara Uzuki. We are all so pleased that you could make it."

Misa smiled charmingly. "Yes, well we really should be going, seeing as how busy we are," she told him, helping me play hard to get.

It took about five seconds of walking towards the door for Tamaki to shout, "Wait! Please, I beg you fair maidens to stay. At least let us introduce you to the other princesses."

Great, I thought, he's heavy on the fake compliments. I just smiled politely as Misa accepted for the both of us. We both took a seat on a couch, and Misa pulled out a small sketchbook. She instantly took out a pencil and began to sketch. Misa was extremely talented with her art. She could do portraits and abstract, but she adored landscapes. I peeked over her shoulder to see that she was doing one of the school courtyards. I smiled as she became so absorbed in her drawing.

I took out a notebook and pen. My love was in writing. I suppose I could draw a few realistic still-lifes, but that was about the extent of my talent there. I really didn't think my poems and short stories weren't that great, either, but I loved being swept away to a far off place, meeting new people, and writing about adventures I wished I could have.

I started writing a new poem, something I hadn't done lately.

Twas it fate that caught me?

Or mere coincidence?

Was it not the work of luck that I should be caught?

Swept away,

In another time,

Feeling the sweet emotions of isolation.

Twas a cruel awakening by reality,

To be stolen of my moment.

To be brought back to the world,

As a mere, flustered girl.

Oh! What would I give to be back in my world!

To feel all that I had felt before!

Yet, here I am,

Standing all alone,

Turning scarlet by the second.

Why was fate cruel?

Could I not stay in that world forever?

Could I not abandon this dull world and live in my own?

But what was merely a dream-

"What are you writing?" I immediately stopped my creative flow and slammed the notebook shut. I'm sure my poem was coming true. I think I was at the part where I was "turning scarlet by the second".

I turned to them. Right before I was about to hastily tell them nothing, Misa shot me a quick look that practically told me, "Page 37, remember?" Right, don't be secretive, it makes it seem like you have something to hide. It seemed kind of stupid, though, with something as small as this. I turned back to the twins. I smiled. "I just like to jot down my thoughts sometimes."

They got identical mischievous looks on their faces. "You mean," they leaned down so they would be at my eye-level sitting down, "Like a DIARY?"

Oh god, I knew that look. It was the kind of look that no matter what you say, they were going to twist your words around. There was no use escaping it. So, I decided to give them a shock. "I guess it is," I told them, standing up so that now I was just a centimeter shorter than them. I looked on nonchalantly. "Any particular reason why you're asking?"

Their smirks lessened for a quick second as they realized I wasn't resisting. Then they started losing interest and shrugged. "No." Back to single syllables.

I could tell they weren't going to bat another eye, so I set the notebook down on the couch. "Look after it, won't you Misa?" She had stopped sketching. She nodded, a small smile on her face as she turned back to watch Kyoya.

Just as I was about to walk over to the window, someone grabbed me lightly by the wrist, pulling me over to a buffet set up with tea sets. I didn't even have to look up when I heard an enthusiastic voice call out to the crowd, "I would like to dedicate a toast! To Takara and Misa! May your year at Ouran be one filled with friendships and joy!"

The crowd raised their teacups, mimicking, "Takara and Misa!" I just stood there, clueless.

Tamaki lifted my chin, forcing me to look in his eyes, "But I'm sure you'll have no problem attracting many male friends. I just hope that somewhere in your large heart, that you'll always remember me." I saw a few fan girls swoon, and realized I was part of his act.

I stepped back. "Oh, I'm sure to remember you, Tamaki," I assured him, establishing quite a bit of space between us, "You're a kind all your own."

Instead of having to listen to him misinterpreting my sarcastic comment, I walked back over to the couch. Just as I had suspected, Hikaru and Kaoru were reading every single page. I stood, waiting. They seemed absorbed until I coughed, signaling that they had been caught.

Hikaru whined, "This isn't anything like a diary!"

"Oh?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. I walked over to where they were sitting, reading. "Then what is it?"

Kaoru looked up at me. "It's like a collection of short stories and poems," he told me, a sudden smirk appearing on his and his brother's face. He snickered, "And there are a lot of romantic ones."

I sat down, fingering my skirt. "I suppose there are," I told them, trying to make my tone go a little flirty. I looked up at them with big eyes, asking, "Which one do you like the best?"

Hikaru and Kaoru were caught off guard, and looked to each other. Hikaru told me, "I guess the one about the cat and mouse."

I giggled, "That's my favorite, too." I recalled the tale, about an orange tabby whose owner had locked him in the attic until he could catch a mouse. He finally found a mouse hole, but realized that he couldn't catch any of the mice. One of the mice made a deal with him. He told him he would act dead in his mouth, and he would show him to the owner, and he could finally leave them alone. As the orange tabby proudly showed of his fake kill, the owner decided he would stay in the attic to kill off the rest of the mice. However, the tabby realized he had become too good friends with the mice to kill them, so he spent the rest of his life happily in the attic, with his newfound friends, realizing it was better to be happy then pretend he was something he wasn't.

I signaled for them to give back my notebook. They just stuck their tongues out, leaving me to run after them, while they were still skimming my book. Finally, I sat down on a windowsill, defeated. As they sauntered towards me, I asked, "What do I have to do to get my notebook back?"

Hikaru and Kaoru pretended to be in thought. Finally they declared, "You have to meet us tomorrow, Saturday, at the park, wearing what we give you!"

It sounded easy enough. But I thought exactly what they might have me wear. Still, that notebook had all of my best stories in it… "Fine," I sighed accepting the large brown box they gave me. It seemed like they had already prepared it for someone else, perhaps Haruhi?

As I left with Misa after the whole incident, Kaoru waved. He grinned, "We'll be excited to see how you look Saturday."

Misa was pleased. I was anxious. But I guess that's how our plan really got started, because from that Saturday through the rest of the year, things got pretty crazy.

Disclaimer: I don't own OHSHC.

Yay! New fanfic, with all new OCs! Please review, review, review! I'm hoping to get 2 reviews before I post the next chapter... which I should probably start writing... when I have time... reality sucks.