Who Said Lantern Hanging Was Easy?---A OHSHC fanfic By Miss Red Rose
Ouran High School Host Club and its characters are property of Bisco Hatori.. If she ever wanted me to take it down, I would do it no questions asked. In addition, I WISH I could make money off this. However, alas, I cannot and will not ever. So enough disclaiming, onto the good stuff.
"You can't do it like that. It won't work."
White Day had finally come upon the Host Club of the Ouran Private Academy. And this year's White Day festivities were to be the biggest in its history. The Pre-Sale tickets for the outdoor tea party were a phenomenal success. To the point where the demand was so high, that Kyoya and Tamaki had no choice to not only host an outdoor tea party, but also a White Day Dance Party that same night to compensate for the overflow..
While Kyoya beamed with pride from the profits that were going to be coming in from both events as well as the profits that had come from the recent publishing's of Renge's doujinshi tales of the Host Club, Kyoya had realized something seriously deficient in the entire holiday's festivities.
This little known detail, was that Haruhi, had given all the boys chocolate coffee candies for Valentine's day. As the holiday tradition dictates, the men were now supposed to give Haruhi gifts in return. But if they all gave Haruhi a gift for White Day, it would most definitely give away the fact that she was indeed a woman. This indeed was a horrible situation that the entire Host Club was now in.
Not only was the entire ballroom a mess due to the lack of time in preparing for the last minute ball, but none of the others had remembered to get her anything as well. As Tamaki and Hunni, desperately try to put together some White Day lantern decorations that Tamaki had insisted on doing himself instead of letting Kyoya handle the details. The tea party was two hours away and the ball followed almost two hours after the outdoor tea party. With no time to run to the nearest store, or have a messenger bring in a gift without being noticed by the entire group as well as customers. Kyoya was desperately thinking of a way to get a gift for Haruhi and still be in time for the festivities.
"What do you mean it won't work? It is a knot. A knot is a knot." Tamaki says as he is trying to tie some paper lanterns to the chandelier. The chandelier continuously swaying side to side as he is trying to tie them securely. Hunni is on the opposite trying to hang some despite the constant movement of the target he is trying to reach.
"Tama-chan, stop moving the chandelier! It's making it really hard to tie the lanterns!" Hunni says while the chandelier moves away from his hands once again. Hunni sighs as the chandelier comes back to his hands once again. He with furious speed, ties the knot and then grabs another one from the hands of Mori who was watching vigilantly to make sure that the rocking would not cause the chandelier to come horrendously crashing down on him, Kaoru and Hikaru who were watching from the ground below.
"If a knot were a knot they wouldn't have so many kinds." Kaoru says looking at Tamaki's knotting skills. Or lack thereof from what he saw, he looks at his brother in worry and then looks back up to see what his Lord was doing. Or destroying more or less.
"Besides, it won't work. It doesn't go up and down!" Hikaru says also looking at Tamaki's horrible inability to tie a knot. Against Kyoya's intense pleadings that they were NOT necessary for this event, Tamaki had THREE HUNDRED white paper lanterns brought to the school to be hung from the chandeliers. Tamaki explained, that he was watching a television show on the traditions of White Day, and he noticed that commoners always brought out the white lanterns and had exchanges of presents underneath them. He figured, that by doing that in the grand salon, would make Haruhi feel more at home.
"Damn him and his commoner exhibitions." Kyoya grumbled watching them from the table where he was sitting with his laptop. He tapped his nimble fingers on the table as his mind was moving almost one hundred miles an hour trying to desperately figure out a great gift for Haruhi.
"Kyoya-Sempai?" Haruhi gently spoke as she tapped his left shoulder, immediately halting his light-speed thought process. Kyoya looked up to see Haruhi already in her cosplay outfit for the White Day event. It was a white and purple silk traditional kimono, the purple tie in the center, accented her petite waistline perfectly. Her simple short brown hair had been trimmed, and her brown eyes gave the absolute look of innocence. Something that Kyoya always admired about her, she was strong, but still innocent.
"Yes Haruhi, what is it?" He says with his usual cool but calculating smile. Haruhi points over at the boys desperately tying to tie more lanterns onto the chandelier.
"What on earth are they doing?" She says looking worried as she turns back to him.
"That's stupid. why would it? If it went up and down, it wouldn't be a knot." Karou asks Hikaru while looking at Tamaki and Hunni's work.
"Yes it would. Look at slipknots. They go up and down, and they're still knots. It's even got 'knot' in the name." Hikaru says looking at Kaoru annoyingly.
"To be quite honest Haruhi," Kyoya says looking at Haruhi annoyed himself with the stupidity of his best friend. "I'm not quite sure what to make of it myself. Damned if I know how anyone has the patience for this.." He says.. There is a moment of silence between the two of them as the two of them continued to listen into the group conversation.
"Look, you've been at this all day and it's almost past three now. Let's finish up so we can get some cake!" Hunni says as he begins tying his last lantern on the chandelier.
"This is not a slip knot. It's a bow!" Tamaki yells down to the twins as the chandelier begins to excessively sway. Hunni who was holding the chandelier in his hands tying on a lantern is suddenly swept up into the movement. He hangs onto the chandelier and wails loudly as he dangles from a side of the chandelier. The entire host club runs underneath the chandelier as Tamaki tries frantically stops the chandelier with Hunni attached wailing in absolute panic.
"How in the hell did you d– never mind! Guys help me out here!" Haruhi, runs over to Hunni and puts her hands out to catch Hunni. Mori, Kyoya, Karou and Hikaru intertwine their arms together to make a basket-like lock.
"Hunni! Let go from the chandelier, we'll catch you!" Haruhi yells aloud.
"NO!!!" Hunni screams in terror, the whole group begins to worry as he still wails.
"Mitskuni, it's alright, we'll catch you I promise!" Mori stated as Hunni stopped wailing.
"I GOT IT!" Tamaki says as he grabs hold of the chandelier and holds it steady. "Let go Hunni, it will be alright!"
Tamaki looks at Hunni as the sounds of the chandelier falling begin to take point. As the wires begin to break, Hunni lets go and is caught by the group. As soon as he is caught, the entire group moves in a forward motion away from the chandelier as Tamaki jumps off the ladder. The last wire gives as Tamaki hit's the ground and Tamaki quickly bolts from the scene as the chandelier with all those white paper lanterns come crashing to the ground sending glass and paper lantern pieces everywhere.
Luckily, everyone was in one piece and unharmed after the entire chandelier fiasco. However, because now the salon was unusable, Kyoya had no choice but to cancel the entire dance party, returning refunds to all the ladies who had purchased their tickets. But instead of putting it in cash, he gave it in the form of vouchers to the Host Club's online auction. Which now was going have tons of pieces of broken lanterns and chandelier pieces signed by the Host Club members up for sale in honor of the situation.
All the white lanterns that weren't destroyed, were later that night at the Host's Club's dinner at Tamaki's house decorated with paint and given to Haruhi as a White Day gift from each of the members. While humbled by the endearment of the boys, she wished that they didn't grab her at random moments and pull her into the traditional rib-breaking embraces that she was so used to. After everyone but Kyoya and Tamaki had left, the three of them were sitting in a traditional koatsu drinking green tea. It was the first time she had seen the Shadow King and The King of the Host Club sitting together and not getting on each other's nerves. Haruhi could not help, but be silent as the two of them interacted.
"You are aware that the whole chandelier mess was your doing." Kyoya says finally breaking the silence between the three of them sitting.
"I didn't expect the chandelier to come crashing down!" Tamaki says in his usual "I'm-real-sorry-Kyoya" voice.
"But it was your idea to put almost one hundred lanterns onto an already heavy chandelier." Kyoya chastises.
"He only wanted to make it more comfortable for me." Haruhi says breaking her silent stance. Kyoya and Tamaki look at her in shock.
"Even though I thought that all those paper lanterns were a little excessive, when I was little, my mom would always bring me white paper lanterns and decorate the house with them. When she got really sick, she spent a lot of time in the hospital, and on White Day, we decorated her hospital room with white lanterns and had a great celebration. Even though she was sick, they were the best times of my life." Haruhi takes a sip of her tea, as Kyoya and Tamaki look at her in awe. It was one of those moments where there were no words to explain the happiness that they both felt for her.
"You're still responsible." Kyoya says later on, once again breaking the silence between the two of them.
"I know, I know." Tamaki says with his head bowed down in shame.
"You'll have to buy the new one you are aware of that? The administration has already billed the Host Club. And you will have no choice but to come up with the difference, since the funds to pay for part of the chandelier including cleanup took all of our profits from the White Day event."
" I'll buyout the difference." Tamaki said with his head still down. Haruhi can't help but chuckle as Kyoya looks at her and back at the teacup. The tea stalks still were upward. Good fortune huh? Kyoya thought as he looked at Tamaki and Haruhi who was still laughing at Tamaki whose head was still down.
"At least it will be an interesting good fortune." Kyoya thought as he took another sip.