Title: What a Thing to Have Done
Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club which belongs to it's creator, Bisco Hatori. The plot and character are my original creation.
Reviews are always appreciated for helpful feedback and any suggestions. The pairing is KaoruXOC, although I'm debating which one of the twins to use…preferences?
The sun rose on a cold February wednesday and wrapped its warmth around Aoi's wooden flat, as she slumbered on into the light. A lone bird twittered and cocked his head at her through the glass door, as if questioning whether she was dead or sleeping. Finding that Aoi would not move from her splayed out position, it flew down to the door and started tapping incessantly. Off in the distance, there were the sounds of clanging pots and dishes, a reminder that the house was beginning to come to life. With a jolt, Aoi opened her eyes, roused by the clamor, and her room blurrily came into view. It was not five o'clock in the morning and yet, the cooks were already preparing for one of her family's evening parties, which they held regularly.
Although Aoi was not conventionally beautiful and never could hope to be because her eyes were small and unremarkable, she possessed a confidence and comfort in herself that girls who aspire to be pretty rarely know. Having been raised by her father, a priest, Aoi assumed herself to be good just as her father had always believed in the best side of her. Knowing no falsity by self-reference, it was a contradiction of her father's nature to see it in others. Thus, Aoi was trusting and unaware of the pain she sometimes caused others with her perpetual carelessness.
Sleepily, Aoi cycled through her usual morning routine. She took a long, hot shower in the gigantic washroom next to her room, pulled down a dress from the rotating rack in her monstrous closet and brushed her long hair so that it would remain pristine throughout the day. She knew that the maids would be in her room later to change her bed sheets and to clean up yesterday's snacks but first she scooped Mochi's litter box herself and stoked the white cat so that it purred contentedly.
"Fukazawa-san!" said a maid that had suddenly appeared at Aoi's door.
"Ah, Mori-san, what is it?" Aoi said.
"There is a call from your mother waiting. Shall I tell her you'll receive it?" The maid said.
"Very well then." Aoi said, getting up to pick up the phone across the room. The maid darted out of the room to hang up the phone on the other end.
"Mother?" Aoi said, her voice coming out softer than usual.
"Aoi! It's wonderful to hear your voice. How are you?" Her mothers' voice was cheerily business-like, as usual.
"I'm doing well, Mother. How's the law firm?" Aoi asked.
"How sweet of you to ask!" Her mother said. "Fine, everything is going as expected here."
"It makes me happy to hear you say that." Aoi replied. She was about to say more when Mori-san appeared in the doorway again. "I'll talk to you later Mother, I have to go to school."
"Bye, dear. See you in a couple of months." There was a sigh on the phone and then, Aoi realized her mother had hung up first. Staring at the phone for a few seconds, Aoi shook her head; there would be an exciting day of school ahead, it wouldn't do to be late. Her thoughts wandered to her classes, History, which she was best at, and Physics, in which she did terribly. Of course, it didn't help that her tutor was always late and that his papers were always falling out of his briefcase. Aoi rather thought that he looked as if though the wind was perpetually harassing him, making his hair stick out in odd places. Perhaps this year, tutoring would be put on hold by the school.
The halls of Ouran High rang with a surprising amount of noise as Aoi pushed the front door open. Throngs of people stood in her way, they were loosely congregated, true, but she wondered what a huge crowd could be doing, standing in the hallway when classes were about to start.
"Do you know what's going on?" Aoi shouted into the ear of the boy nearest to her.
"They're picking a new host!" The boy shouted back.
"Who's picking a new host?" Aoi said. To her annoyance, the boy had decided that the conversation was no longer relevant. "Whatever, I'm going to class." She muttered.
Morning classes passed without an incident and Aoi found herself dying to know what the commotion was about earlier. Unfortunately, she had to go to Physics tutoring. Outside the classroom, the usual attendees were clustered. The door was locked and inside, the room was dark. A note on cute stationery was taped to the inside of the door and said:
"We have captured Shirokowa-san for the day. We promise we'll return him safe and sound tomorrow!- Hunny" After this sentence, a pink bunny insignia was stamped.
Aoi stared at the mysterious message, chagrined. Whoever had done this clearly had no tact, on top of not having any subtlety. What kind of villain leaves a cutesy note that could give them away like that? She thought angrily.
"Does anybody know who 'Hunny' is?" Aoi asked. Heads turned to look at her, mostly those of girls.
"Hunny- sempai is a member of the Host club" said a 6th year girl, looking at Aoi disdainfully.
"AGH. This stupid host club. First they block my way to class, now they kidnap my tutor?" Aoi stormed off to find them, her black hair flapping behind her.
"How do you plan to find us, when you don't even know who we are?" Two voices said in unison before Aoi could reach the end of the hallway. Turning around, she found herself face to face with two red headed twins, staring at her with aloof grins.
"Oh!" Was all Aoi could say in the presence of such unusual people. "And who might you two be?"
"Hitcachiin twins- Kaoru and Hikaru." This they said together, so of course there was no way to tell who was who.
"I can't believe she doesn't know who we are…" One twin said to the other. "Maybe we should give her the test." Said the other. The two twins seemed to be at infinite equilibrium with each other, and Aoi found herself confusing them already. She didn't know what to make of them yet and the fact that their names kept switching in her mind didn't help.
"Um- excuse me but how do I tell you apart?" said Aoi.
"How insensitive, do you lack even the skills to tell two people apart? Sad…" drawled Hikaru- or was it Kaoru?
"I guess she's not worth our time after all, brother…" The twins started to walk away with alarming speed and Aoi felt a tug of academic panic.
"Wait a second, that's so unfair! I've known you for five minutes!" Aoi exclaimed. Aoi's thoughts were racing to get these two people to stay interested in her, after all, it might be the only way that she would ever know where in the extremely large Ouran High School her tutor was. However, there wasn't anything she could about the matter and it pissed her off to no end. Once, watching her mother win law cases, she thought she had vastly improved in her persuasion skills but she feared that she stood quite useless.
"If you give me one week, I swear I'll be able to tell you apart!" She blurted out.
The two twins looked devilishly at each other, and then said in equally indifferent voices, "And what do we gain when you lose?"
Aoi ground her teeth and said, "If I lose, you mean. And if I lose, then I will do whatever you want." Then, she added hurriedly: "Within legal boundaries. Also, if you lose and I learn how to tell you apart, then you owe me an apology for being so rude-"
"But we haven't been rude at all!" The twins chorused melodramatically.
Glaring at them, Aoi powered on as if nothing had happened "You owe me an apology, and…You will reinstate my tutor and never bother me in this way again."
"Some people are so mean…" Hikaru- or was it Kaoru said.
"I suppose we might as well tell you where the host club is so that you can observe us." The other one said.
"But Hikaru! What if she finds her tutor…then there will be no more fun…" Kaoru (and finally, there was a distinction!) said. They beckoned for Aoi to follow them and she felt a surge of hope that she might win this outlandish bet.
"Idiot, you called me the wrong name!" The twin who had not just spoken said.
"But you're Kaoru!" Aoi guessed it had to be Hikaru who spoke this time. .
"No I'm Kaoru!" The other twin said.
Or perhaps not, she revised, as a vein started pulsing in her head.