To a Different Drum

Summary:

A military brat, through and through, the 'American Rebel' is used to rolling with the punches. Some hits just land harder than others.

Author's Note:

Aurora, or Rory, is an original female character. Unlike Haruhi, who is a female-pretending-to-be-a-male, Rory has been forced to be the 'son-her-father-never-had'. Rory suffers from gender-confusion and identity-issues. In order to make it easy to follow the switch of genders, Rory will have the pronoun 'he' and Aurora will be 'she'. I want to explore the mind-set of someone going through these problems. This story will most-likely end up a Hikaru/Rory/Kaoru trio-romance (not a love triangle). Chapter Titles will be named after song titles, and expect gratuitous use of movie/show/game references (she is American, after all.).

Reader's Keys:

'Hello' = English
'Hello" = French
'Hello' = Japanese

Chapter One
Schism
I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them fall away.

She was born Aurora Soleil. A small, cute child, born as a perfect mirror image of her mother; black hair and light-green eyes. Her father was a soldier in the United States military when she was born, and as she grew, so did his career. Her mornings were spent in school, afternoons with her mother and every weekend she was able to have a video call with her father.

It all changed during an accident. She had survived the impact, but her mother wasn't as lucky. At the age of seven, Aurora Soleil lost her mother and her once-doting father grew distant.

The reminder of his dead wife was difficult to look upon.

Leaving her birthplace of New Orleans, Aurora Soleil began to fade from the world, and Rory took her place. Rory, who went through every 'new student' phase. Rory, who flirted with anything attractive, but never formed attachments. Rory, who pushed boundaries without a care and tried to escape the monotony life provided.

Before she knew it, Aurora was forgotten.

Nimble fingers comb carelessly through purple-streaked, windswept black bangs with a flick of a wrist as Rory Soleil moved through the halls of The Ouran Academy. Having started the new semester of his Freshmen Year, he already found himself in the role he's always assumed. He didn't care much for the uniform, but was thankful the only thing mandatory about the dress code was the Ouran crest. So, naturally he wore a pair of heavy Doc Martin boots and electric-blue skinny jeans. A black blazer jacket was pulled over a light-grey t-shirt 'That's what.' -She etched across the front in electric blue sketchy letters. Over the left breast pocket of her jacket sat the school crest. Unlike many of the pale-skinned Japanese-descended students, Rory's Creole blood flows hot through his veins; his complexion an exotic natural tan color.

"G-good morning, Soleil-san."

Blinking, Rory didn't realize he had managed to make it to 1-A, already seated at his desk. Shaking his head, he looks over at the mop of brown hair and disturbingly-large glasses seated next to him. A week into the new semester and Rory managed to ignore most of the giggling girls around him. This one, Fujioka Haruhi, was a studious, intelligent one. Rory liked the girl's blunt, straight-forward way of talking; though the naivity needed work.

"Didn't I say something about calling me by my first name?" Rory replies, the silver barbell bar pierced through his left eyebrow catching the light as his eyebrow lifts, "I'm American, Cherie. I'm not used to these...honor-fics and respectability."

Haruhi lets out a small huff of laughter, "I'm still getting used to the idea of there being someone normal at this place."

"Normal?" Rory can't help but slip back into American-English, shaking his head at the confused head-tilt she gives him, "Normal? Do I look normal?"

"No, but you don't act like..." she gestures to the glassy-eyed, squealing girls and privileged boys whispering among themselves, "anyone else."

"Tch," he clicks his tongue against the back of his teeth dismissively, "Normality is for rejects. I would never lower myself to conform with the masses."

Rory likes Haruhi. Haruhi is honest. Haruhi is down-to-Earth and pure in a manner Rory hadn't seen in a long time. To be honest, of all the places Sir could send him, he chose a place like Ouran? Rory's pretty sure this is some form of punishment. Maybe he shouldn't have been caught making out with that girl in the spare classroom? Or was it for getting high on New Year's to watch the firework display in Dubai? Rory snorts, shaking his head. No. This place was a punishment for breaking into school in the middle of the night and into the Dean's office and remove all of the screws from his metal desk during Prank Week.

A couple of picked locks and Sir decides to send him to this Hell?

"So, are we still meeting after classes to go over my English studies?"

Yeah. Haruhi was fucking smart as hell, but the girl had difficulty reading English. Not just any English, but American-English. Completely hopeless.

It was kinda cute.

Snorting, Rory nods his head, "Sure. My Music Composition class might run a bit late."

"Oh? I'll wait for you in the library."

Sighing as the teacher enters the room, Rory spares the girl a short, affirmative glance before turning his attention to the front of the room.

"-that follows is the preposition phrase. It helps give a better sense of direction. Preposition words, give direction corresponding to the noun that follows. So, if I was to say; 'We are going to take a walk.', that's all the person reading, or hearing, would get from it. Adding the preposition phrase gives more depth. For instance, 'We are going to take a walk through the woods.', gives the person a better understand of where they are walking. 'Through' is the preposition, 'the woods' being the corresponding noun." Rory looks up from his small, neat handwriting to see Haruhi's gaze fixed firmly on the words. Rory points to the selection of sentences written on her homework, "So, go ahead and try it."

"So, in the sentence, 'I took a swim in pool.' 'In' is the preposition and 'pool' is the following noun?"

Rory's face breaks into a wide, beautiful smile as he nods his head, "Hai. I think you're getting it. Your pronunciation and grammar needs a bit work, but being able to understand what you read comes before speaking it."

Haruhi ducks her head, flustered as she teases her glasses. Really, Rory muses, the girl has got to get rid of those hideous things. Catching sight of the time, Rory lets out a groan, "Damn. I have to get home before Logan starts to worry. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

The brunette nods, "Hai. I need to do some more studying."

Giving the petite girl a lazy, two-fingered salute, Rory slips out of the large library. Moving through the large school building, his messenger bag hooked over one shoulder as his hands slip into the back pockets of his pants, Rory passes a trio of giggling girls, managing a wink in the direction of the blushing red-head. Ignoring the squeals, Rory passes the bottom of the staircase when a shoulder slams into his own. Glaring at the back of the brown-haired guy, Rory moves to continue on his way when a shriek sounds. Unable to help himself, he barely gets a glance of a red blur before his arms move out. Bracing himself, he catches the red-haired girl, her books clattering to the floor at his feet.

"Are you alright, Cherie?" he asks. Seeing the girl struggle to shake her head, Rory's eyes harden as he turns to look at the brown-haired guy just now making it to the top of the staircase. "Hey! Asshole!" Pushing the frightened red-head to her friends, Rory watches as the guy pauses at the top of the staircase, "Watch where the fuck you're going."

"What did you say to me?" the guy turns, brown eyes narrowed in Rory's direction.

"I don't make a habit of stuttering, putain!" Rory retorts, his tone just as sharp as his glare, "And in case you don't understand French, I'm referring to you as a bitch."

"Excuse me?"

Rory flicks a hand in the guy's direction, "There's no excusing any of that," Rory gestures to the kid's person, "Maybe next time you want to watch yourself before someone rearranges that pretty face of yours."

"Are you threatening me, punk?"

"Threats are for weak-minded people incapable of a follow-through. I don't waste my time making threats. If I catch you carelessly knocking over another girl, you can be sure I'll fix that attitude of yours." Rory hisses, glaring at the kid. Waving a hand in his direction, "Now fuck off. Obviously, you're in a rush."

The brown-haired kid makes a dismissive noise, "You aren't worth my time, freak."

"I'm glad we can agree on something."

Watching as the kid stomps off, Rory turns back to the two girls trying to calm down the red-head. Seeing her difficulty catching her breath, Rory gently pushes the girls aside. Taking the red-head's hand, he places it to the center of his chest, his other hand cupping her face. Forcing her wide blue eyes on his own, he gives her a gentle look.

"You need to breathe, Cherie," he says, his tone as gentle and soft as his movements. Taking a deep breath in, "Breathe with me, Sugar." He continues to mutter encouragements as the red-head takes a stuttering, broken gasp of air. "That's it, Bright-Eyes. Give me another."

It takes a full minute to get the girl breathing right again. Moving to his feet, he helps the girl up and with gentle hands, he smooths out the wrinkles in the ugly-yellow dress. Looking up at her wide eyes and blushing face, he grants her a genuine smile before tucking red tresses behind her ear, "There you are. Are you going to be alright?"

The girl nods with jerky movements, "H-hai. Th-thank you...um..."

Bowing shortly, he introduces himself, "Soleil Rory. You can just call me Rory."

"Thank you, R-Rory-san."

Catching sight of the large clock-face outside the window, Rory groans, "Damn. I'm running late. I'm glad you're alright, Bright-Eyes." Nodding to the other two girls, he gives another two fingered salute, "Ladies. I'm afraid I must bid you adieu."

Leaving the trio, he never notices light lavender eyes watching with amazement. The tall blonde watching from around the corner smiles softly at the sight of a rough-around-the-edges student being so courteous. Noticing the time, he turns and makes his way to the Third Music Room, wondering what 'Mama' would think about this information.

"You did what?"

Rory couldn't help but laugh at Haruhi's downtrodden expression. As they walked onto the school grounds, Rory's hands once again shoved into the back pockets of his blood-red skinny jeans, the deep black-purple blazer jacket pulled over a white t-shirt, 'I see a' written over a picture of a small blacked-out shadow, 'Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?' written underneath the shadowed figure.

"It wasn't my fault! They wouldn't stop harrassing me!" Haruhi states fiercely, "I mean, this is hopeless! Why would I want to be around a bunch of pretty-boys while they flirt needlessly with a bunch of brainless airheads?"

Rory lets out a bark of laughter as he holds the door open for the brunette, fluttering his eyelashes in her direction before pouting, "Aw. Are you saying I'm not pretty enough for you, Haru-chan?"

Haruhi's eyebrows shoot up from behind those damn glasses and Rory grins as she stutters in an attempt to deny his words. Seeing his grin, her fist connects with his shoulder, causing the raven-haired teen to stumble dramatically, "Shut up, Rory. You know you look good. You just don't act like those idiots."

"Well, I can flirt shamelessly. Actually, I can be a bit of a slut about it," Haruhi's cheeks flush at his crass language, even as the boy shrugs a shoulder shamelessly, "I don't really care about gender. I will literally flirt with anything I find gorgeous."

"Seriously? Wait? Are you gay?"

Rory raises an eyebrow, "Would that be an issue?" Seeing her shake her head, he sighs as he moves through the halls, "I'm...demisexual. I'm attracted to people based off of personality traits, and it's not gender exclusive. Believe me, I got an earful when I was caught making out with a girl in one of the spare classrooms. Then when I was caught with a guy's hand down my pants," Haruhi's cheeks flush hotly at his words, "I was pulled out of that school when I was caught with my hand down a guy's pants and making out with a girl...at the same time."

"...So, you're not a virgin?"

Rory flashes her flushed face a cheeky grin, "If you mean do I still have a 'cherry' so-to-speak?" He nods, "Yeah. I've experimented enough that some people think I'm a whore, but it was more research-based than romantic. The two I fooled around with knew I was...confused at the time and I wanted to be...safe about it."

Haruhi's blush fades with shock when seeing the exposed expression on his face, "Oh. So, when you realized you found both girls and guys attractive, you had two friends of either gender help ease your mind?"

Rory gives her a rare, sheepish smile, "Yeah. It was a very confusing time for me. I liked both of them, but when I looked at other girls or guys, I didn't get the same feeling. So...I did some research and some...counseling."

"And your parents were okay with it?"

Rory snorts, "Sir is never pleased with anything I do, so I stopped trying to appease to him."

"And your mom?"

Pausing mid-step, Rory's hand rubs at the back of his neck, gaze trained on the patterned tiles at his feet, "She would have accepted me, no matter what."

Haruhi recognizes the expression and instantly feels bad, "Oh. I'm sorry if I brought up bad memories."

Rory shakes his head, giving her a small half-smile, "Nah. Memories of Maman are never bad. She was the most beautiful woman, inside and out."

Haruhi smiles as she listens to the boy speak of his mother. The soft, loving expression on his face makes her heart flutter as she thinks back to her own mother. Nodding, Haruhi nudges him gently, "I get what you mean."

Meeting her gaze, Rory flashes her a wider grin, "I guess you do. So, should I expect to wait for you after you finish dealing with this...Host Club?"

"I guess. It's held in the Third Music Room."

Rory snorts, "Who the fuck needs a third music room?"

"Rich people," Haruhi clicks dismissively.

Snickering, Rory nudges his friend through the door to 1-A. Taking his seat, he drops his messenger bag on the floor at his feet as Haruhi moves to her seat on the other side of the room.

Rory can't find Haruhi at lunch time, so he takes a seat at an empty table. With his boot-clad feet set on the top of the table, legs crossed at his ankles, he leans back in his chair. With his earbuds blaring music in his ears, he takes a bite out of the sour, Granny Smith apple as he stares up at the ceiling. Ouran is definitely hell. His foot begins tapping to the consistent drum beat as 'The Sharpest Lives' by My Chemical Romance takes place of the previous song. It isn't that he hates the school, but having a mandatory dress code sucks. He wouldn't be caught dead wearing such...fru-fru colors. Ugh...periwinkle-blue is not something that would work for his skin tone.

Hesitant fingers tap against his shoulders causing him to shriek, his body jumping in the chair. Unfortunately, with his chair leaning back on two legs instead of four, the jolt of movement causes his chair to topple backwards. Groaning as the back of his head connects with the floor, "Fils de pute!" Blinking away the blurriness from his eyes, he looks up to find bright-blue eyes framed by deep fire-red curls.

Realization flashes in his eyes before he reaches up and tugs an earbud out of one ear, "Oh...Hey Bright-Eyes. You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"Oh my God. Are you okay?" she asks.

Looking at the hand she offers, he flashes her a smile before allowing her to help him up. Brushing himself off, he picks up the chair and instead of taking a seat, he gestures for her to sit. Ignoring her sheepish blush, he moves to the other chair, her two friends from the previous day also taking seats.

"As lovely as it is to see you ladies, what brings you to my Table of Solitude?" he teases, resting his chin on the heel of his hand, fingers curled up.

"I-I just wanted to thank you again for yesterday," the red-head stutters out, flustered as bright-green eyes stare blatantly at her.

"Aw...you don't have to thank me, Sugar. Panic attacks are never easy. So, I'm afraid I left in such a rush that I never got your name. Or the name of your equally beautiful friends here," Rory states, winking at the two blondes.

"Oh. My name is Sumino Sora," the red-head replies, before motioning to the tallest of the two blondes, "This is Haruna Mizuki, and Akino Rei," she motions to the shortest blonde.

"It's a pleasure to officially meet you lovely ladies."

"So, you're from America, ne?" Mizuki asks, causing him to nod, "What made you move all the way to Japan?"

Rory blinks before chuckling, "Oh. Well, I was born and raised American, but my father is a Commander in the United States Navy. We tend to move a lot."

"That must be interesting? Where did you enjoy living most?"

"New 'Awlins," Seeing the blank, lost expressions, Rory shrugs a shoulder, "It's a major city located along the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. It was...home. Born, lived, raised. I miss the multi-cultural aspects. My second favorite place was England. The London Fashion Trends are ace."

"Ace?"

Blinking, Rory chuckles, rubbing the back of his head, "Ace? It means awesome, or incredible. They have an entirely different dialect of English that some terms stick."

"But you spoke French yesterday," Rei points out.

Nodding, Rory takes a sip from his water bottle, "Well, of course I did. It comes second nature to a Cajun such as myself." Seeing the curious looks, he shrugs a shoulder, "Cajun is a term used to describe the French-descendants in New 'Awlins. The Creole blood is strong in this one, it is."

Sora giggles behind her fingers as she chews her mouthful of sushi, the petite girl swallowing before she says, "Star Wars, right?"

"As I live and breathe," Rory flashes a grin at the trio of girls, "I really am a geek in disguise. Just don't tell anyone," he winks, tapping his lips with his index finger, "I like to keep it secret."

Hearing his teasing tone, the girls giggle at his playful nature, Mizuki taking the moment to say, "You are nicer than you look."

"I simply can't help it when around such beautiful ladies," Rory replies with ease, smirking as their cheeks flush.

Distracted by the three girls, he doesn't notice a be-speckled teen watching from across the refractory. At his side, a tall blonde turns his light lavender gaze on him.

"See what I mean? He's so...casual about it. That," the blonde points in the direction of the American, "is a practiced class act."

"Hm...for once, you might be onto something," the dark-haired boy states as his fingers push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

/o/

"I can't sit back and wonder why.

It took so long for this to die.

And I hate it when you fake it.

You can't hide it you might as well embrace it.

So believe me it's not easy.

It seems that something's telling me..."

As 'In Too Deep' blares in his ears, Rory takes the winding staircase two at a time. Grinning to himself, he dodges around a couple of girls, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he sings in time with the music. Locating the door marked Third Music Room, he twists the knob and pushes his way in with a flourished twirl, simultaneously slamming the door shut as he comes to a stand still.

"Haruhi?"

A tall, dark-haired teen currently held a petite brunette in the air by her waist. Rory's eyes widen at the sleek brown hair and wide brown eyes peering over at him. The periwinkle-blue uniform jacket seemed to work with the brunette's pale skin. Rory didn't even notice all eyes trained on him as the girl was placed on her feet, his gaze taking in the nervous way she adjusts the tie around her collar.

"R-Rory. Is it time already?"

Rory is incapable of stopping his cheeks from grabbing the brunette's face, forcing her eyes on his, "It's about damn time you got rid of those hideous glasses."

"Hey!"

"And you brushed your hair!"

"Like you have room to talk!"

"Something as simple as a brush cannot tame these luscious locks," Rory retorts, combing fingers through his windswept bangs with a flick of the wrist. Rory grins at the brunette, "Aww...Haru-chan, you look gorgeous, Cher."

The sound of a throat clearing causes Rory and Haruhi to look over. Seeing the six-pairs of eyes staring at them, Rory feels his hands drop from her face, "What?" When the staring doesn't stop, Rory glances back at Haruhi, "Okay. It's either because your face is stunning, or they've never seen someone as sexy as me."

Rory's words cause Haruhi to burst into laughter. Sometimes Rory says things so bluntly and nonchalantly that Haruhi finds herself taken by surprise, "I think it has more to do with you waltzing into the room than it does our faces."

"Tch," Rory waves a hand dismissively in her direction, "That wasn't a waltz, Cher. That was what we, in America, call a strut."

"Hey, you're the Military-brat, right?" two voices remark simultaneously.

Rory blinks, tilting his head to the side as he looks at the red-haired twins. Hm...wow, he never really thought about Haruhi's description of the Host Club. They were indeed six gorgeous boys.

"How'd you know that?" Rory asks.

"We're in your classes," the red-head on the left states.

"When you introduced yourself, someone asked why you moved," the one on the right continues.

"You simply pointed at yourself and said 'Military-brat'." the one on the left said.

"Your tone made the kid that asked sound like an idiot," the one on the right adds.

"It was pretty amusing," the echo.

Blinking, Rory feels a small sense of dizziness as his eyes ping back and forth between the two, "Hm...you'd think I would have noticed a pair of gorgeous twins."

The one on the left flushes slightly while the one on the right grins, "Oh? You think we're gorgeous."

"Quite frankly, I think all of you are," Rory deadpans, "But you all already know that."

"Who do you think is the most attractive?" the one on the right questions.

Rory looks over the six males. All of them were gorgeous. The tall dark-haired boy that was holding Haruhi when Rory entered was handsome. Like...carved by the Gods kind of handsome. Stoic features were negated by soft gunmetal-grey eyes. On his shoulders sat the diminutive figure of a blonde-haired, honey-eyed boy holding a stuffed bunny. Very adorable. Both of the twins were red-haired and golden-eyed, mischief visible in their expressions. They were long and lean muscled and the only difference between them physically was the way they parted their hair. With a notebook in his hand, a dark-haired teen with glasses stands, studiously writing. Hm...definitely gorgeous, pale-skinned matched with dark accents of hair and eyes would drive any girl crazy. At his side stands a fair-haired blonde, tall and lean, with soft lavender eyes.

"Him," Rory points to the blonde, causing everyone's eyes to widen, "Quite frankly, it's because of those gorgeous eyes of yours," Surprisingly, the blonde cheeks tinge pink at his words, "Hey, take it as a compliment, dude. I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful color. Are they real?"

"Of course they're real!" the blonde shouts, offended.

Rory grins, "Yeah, well, you guys asked. To be honest, I'm not usually a fan of blondes, so if it wasn't for those eyes of yours, I'd have to say twins, who also have gorgeous eyes."

Haruhi rolls her eyes, nudging her friend, "Is this what we were talking about this morning?"

Rory lets out a small laugh, "No way. This is low-key, simplistic compliments. If I was flirting with them, I'd say something along the lines of asking if they twins really do everything together, or if they'd be willing to."

Haruhi notices the pink hue staining both of the twins' faces, "You can't be serious. I thought you were joking about that spare classroom."

"Ha! If I was joking I would have never been sent to that boarding school in Russia," Rory replies, tapping a finger to his chin thoughtfully, "Although, that really didn't help since I learned how flexible those ballerinas really are."

"Rory!" Haruhi remarks with flushed cheeks. "You shouldn't talk about girls like that."

Rory nods his head, "Yeah. You're right." Haruhi lets out a sigh, "Although, I never said they were female ballerinas."

Haruhi claps her hands over her ears, "I'm not listening to this!"

Seeing the expression on his friend's face, Rory chuckles, "Alright, I'll stop teasing. Are you ready to go, because that English paper isn't going to write itself."

"Yeah, let's go."

Rory gives his signature two fingered salute to the Hosts, granting them a wide, flirtatious grin, "It was a pleasure meeting you all." Hooking his arm with Haruhi's he leads the brunette out of the room, "Tout simplement magnifique."

As the door shuts all eyes turn on the Host Club's Prince, who punches a fist into the palm of his hand, "I think we found ourselves another Host."

Author's Note:

Okay, so this is the start of a new story. Let me know what you think. Rory will literally flirt with anything that walks and has a personality that is a mix between the Twins and Tamaki. He can be over-the-top and obnoxious, but he likes making people laugh and feel more comfortable, so he'll make a fool out of himself in order to do so. Also, 'Bright-Eyes' is a reference to a character my friend 'Kay' has come up with in passing and I felt like sticking her in the story, so I have an additional OC that will grow more important as the story progresses.

As a point of the uniform, it has been stated in the series that some people (Haruhi) can't afford the uniform, so they wear their own clothing, but will have the Ouran Academy's crest somewhere on it.

I love to see if any of my readers catch any random references. Rory has already displayed three different ones; one which is Star Wars.

Leave a review.