AN: I really should get medical help... here I am, starting YET another story when there are others I should be concentrating on... ARGHHHH *flips table* Anywho, welcome to my first purely Ouran story (doing a crossover already! ;p). Well... sorta purely, anyway.
This is an AU story. This takes place the summer before canon OHSHC starts, so Hikaru and Kaoru have just finished their last year of middle school, Tamaki and Kyoya have just finished their first year of high school, and Mori and Honey are turning into seniors! Haruhi is not part of the host club, nor is she living with her father, or applying to get into Ouran... etc. Where is she, you ask? I don't know... *looks around suspiciously*
There are original characters in this story, but they are very important to the story. I mean, there HAS to be someone who owns their own island, right? RIGHT?
I am not a review-begger and I never will be, but I will say this once: Please Review! They make me so happy :3
I hope you guys like this! It is the longest single chapter I have written for a story so far! Even excluding this abhorrently long author's note!
"This is so exciting!" Honey said happily, taking a large bite from his chocolate cake.
"Agreed," Mori seconded. Tamaki smiled, raising his lemonade glass.
"This, my friends, is the start of a great summer break!" he declared.
Tamaki, Tamaki's father, Kyoya, Hikaru, Kaoru, Honey and Mori were on a private boat, readily speeding towards a private island for the summer, owned by a friend of the Suoh family, Akira Tsukimori. Tamaki's father had gotten a letter from Tsukimori a few weeks earlier, inviting them all to his island to stay for the summer. Even if the host club hadn't wanted to go, Headmaster Suoh would have forced them to anyway; he kept babbling about how it was a great educational experience for them all to meet somebody of such high caliber.
"How much longer..." complained Hikaru, stirring his lemonade with his straw boredly.
"About ten more minutes, don't worry!" Yuzuru Suoh answered brightly. "Furukawa Island is a beautiful place, you'll see!"
"Oh, so you've been there before, Suoh-san?" asked Kyoya, absent-mindedly writing figures in his black ledger book.
"Only once. A few months before Katsu Tsukimori succumbed to liver cancer. His son's the head now. He's about your age, you guys should get along fine with him!"
Hikaru grumbled, "Jeez, you didn't mention that. Now we all have to be polite and friendly and gaaah."
"Oh, he's always been really nice."
"Hello, welcomed guests!" Akira Tsukimori stood at the top of the stairs to the parlour, looking down at the new arrivals. He was wearing a crisply pressed beige suit that screamed wealth at the top of its lungs, and he held a gilded cane adorned with jewels in his hands. His shoes were polished to perfection, and he wore two rings: the family ring on his right middle finger and an opal stone in a silver band on the ring finger of his left. His hair was platinum-blonde and his eyes were a deep blue. He was stunningly handsome. "Welcome to my... humble abode."
"Oh, great. It's one of those people. Ugh, I hate false modesty. It's so narcissistic," Hikaru whispered under his breath as Akira descended the stairs. Yuzuru bowed, ignoring Hikaru's condescending remark.
"It's nice to see you again, Akira-sama. Thank you for letting us stay here."
"Of course," Akira answered. He walked up to them and bowed. "It is an honour to be in the presence of such people. Please, make yourselves at home. My butler, Aoi, can show you to your rooms." Akira gestured to a tall, middle-aged man dressed in a dark grey suit with salt-and-pepper hair. Aoi's expression was stern, but he gave a stiff bow and began walking, expecting the guests to follow him.
"Please forgive him, he's incredibly unsocial. Don't think much of it," remarked Akira with a smile.
"Uh, yeah, sure," said Kaoru as Kyoya led them after the silent butler. Akira watched them leave with a light smile on his face.
"Whoa, this room is so nice!" Honey said happily, looking around at the room that he insisted Mori share with him. Hikaru and Kaoru were staying in a room farther down the hall; Kyoya and Tamaki were next door to them, and Yuzuru Suoh was on the other side of the manor, closer to Akira's bedroom.
"Yes," Mori agreed, looking around the homey guest room. The curtains and bedsheets of the two medium-sized beds were maroon, and the light came from a rather ornate chandelier overhead that was a miniature copy of the larger one above the parlour.
"Akira-sama seems really nice, doesn't he?" Honey asked as he jumped onto the bed.
"Hmm," Mori thought. "He is hospitable."
"Hey, Takashi, do you think he'll let us go outside and explore?"
"Perhaps. We shouldn't be too much of a burden, so don't ask for too much, okay?"
"Okay, Takashi!"
"I really don't like that guy," Hikaru complained. "I get the feeling he thinks he's better than us because he's already the head of his whole family and he has his own freaking island."
"Think about it, Hikaru," Kaoru tried to reason. "He probably had his own private tutors, the best in the world-"
Hikaru scoffed at Kaoru's words.
"-so he doesn't know how to interact with others his age! He just doesn't know the value of modesty! And it's up to us to help him."
"Are you kidding? There's no way I'm going to be nice to some guy who's even more stuck-up than we are."
Hikaru paused in his protest and looked around at the room.
"Though..." he continued. "He does have great taste in décor..."
"My dad's said so much about these people. To think, Akira-sama must have so much responsibility..." Tamaki said almost reverently.
"Hm, from what I've researched about them, the Tsukimoris are very prominent in the real-estate investment business," Kyoya said pedantically, pushing up his glasses. "Most of their fortune is amassed from that enterprise. However, it seems as though Akira-sama must be the only true member of the Tsukimori family left... I think most of the pressure he has to face would be marriage and carrying on the Tsukimori name."
"I guess so. Isn't this island beautiful? The house is, too."
"I admit, it is rather nice. The gardens are particularly enthralling, if you are into that sort of thing."
Tamaki's eyes lit up as he came up with an idea. "Oh! Maybe I can start up a business with Akira-sama! We can pay him for the flowers for the host club! Isn't it a great idea! I am good with business, after all." Tamaki posed grandly as Kyoya sighed.
"We are doing just fine with the imported flowers from Switzerland...," he tried to say, but Tamaki was too caught up in his big idea to notice.
"It's been a long time, Aoi-san. How have you been doing?" Yuzuru asked the stoic butler. Something flickered in Aoi's eyes, but Yuzuru either didn't notice, or didn't comment on it.
"Fine. The young master is particularly interesting to work for. He has engaged in a lot of changes."
"Has he?"
"Yes. The young master is going to issue orders sometime in the next fortnight to have the chapel removed from the island. He says that because he is the only one here, there is no need for a building to organize religion."
Yuzuru frowned. "That seems a little... but he's not the only one here! What about you and the rest of the servants?"
Aoi looked to the wall next to them, that indescribable look once again flashing in his eyes. "I'm not sure... he really notices. But it's not that big of an issue. Please enjoy your stay." Aoi turned on his heel and walked calmly down the corridor, leaving Yuzuru there, confused.
"Hey!" a brash voice echoed in Kaoru's ear. He and Hikaru turned to see a long-haired brunette standing a few metres away from them in the parlour. Her expression would have been intimidating, if it weren't for the French maid outfit she wore, which promptly caused both of the twins to double over laughing.
"Gosh!" Hikaru said in between peals of laughter. "Are you... really expected... to be scary... like that?" The maid scowled and marched up to him indignantly.
"Hey!" she repeated. "Who are you? And why are there two of you?"
Hikaru and Kaoru gasped as they regained their breath after their fit of laughter. "Hikaru... Hitachiin, and this is my twin brother, Kaoru."
"Misa Kitsune," the maid narrowed her eyes. "You two, stop making fun of me! What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing," answered Kaoru. "It's just that you looked like you were trying to be scary but you're wearing an outdated, frilly maid outfit so..."
"Do you have something against my outfit?!" demanded Misa, and Hikaru was certain that she had no sense of humour by this point.
"No," Hikaru drug out the word as if he were speaking to a toddler (or Tamaki). "Geez, never mind. You don't take criticism very well, do you?"
Misa gasped, clearly offended. "My father owns a really good dojo, you know! And I have a taser!" she yelled, pulling a taser out of her frilly outfit. Hikaru's eyes widened and he took a step back.
"So don't mess with me!" Misa finished, clicking the taser to further emphasize her point.
"Okay, okay, wow, we don't need any of that!" Hikaru backtracked, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was just joking."
"Yeah, whatever," Misa pocketed her taser as a boy their age came through the parlour holding a tray of tea. He was a few centimetres shorter than Hikaru, with short, almost-messy black hair and a dull expression in his green eyes.
"Oh, hey, Satoshi!" Misa greeted with a smile, and Satoshi turned his gaze to her and gave her a small nod.
"What's up?" asked Kaoru. Satoshi merely stared at him with a blank look.
Before Kaoru could feel offended, Misa prodded him. "Don't bother. Satoshi's mute, and even if he could speak, he wouldn't have much of interest to say anyway."
Satoshi waited a moment longer before continuing on his way, to where Hikaru assumed Akira's room was.
"So, Misa," asked Hikaru conversationally, trying to make up for his apparently rude behaviour earlier. "If your father owns such a great dojo, then why are you working as a maid?"
"God! Why don't you just stuff me with candy and hang me from the chandelier!?" she yelled at him before taking off angrily.
Hikaru just stood there, taken aback by her response. "Goodness, these servants... they're rude! What the hell is wrong with her?" he asked indignantly.
Kaoru shrugged. "Maybe she just came for pocket money. Besides, we should learn a little more about her before asking questions like that. You did seem to have a pretty rude tone there..."
Hikaru frowned, staring at his twin. "What is wrong with you today? You're supposed to be on my side!"
Kaoru shrugged again. "Probably just spending too much time with Kaji at school."
"Who's that?"
"He's my science partner, remember? He's always talking about not judging people and looking deep into their personality, yada yada... I swear, he's going to be one awesome therapist."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. While you're busy lamenting about spending too much time with Haji-"
"Kaji," corrected Kaoru.
"Whatever. I'm going to look around the house some more. Feel free to join me."
"Nah," Kaoru said. "I think I'm going to see if any of the servants have started unpacking our things yet." He started going up the staircase.
"Keep Misa away from my crap!" Hikaru called after him.
Tamaki was looking at a portrait of the late Katsu Tsukimori. His son greatly resembled him, Tamaki noticed. Katsu smiled warmly out of the picture, making Tamaki smile also. There was something about the man... even in a painting, he exuded charisma and charm.
Tamaki looked at the table nearby the painting. It was bare save for a telephone and a book, lying open. Tamaki walked over to it and picked the book up, looking at the pages that were open. To Tamaki's delight, the book was in French, a nice treat for the teenager who had not read a book in French for several years.
The spirit in white was responsible for the beauty of the nature of the island. The foliage breathed with her, the sun shone for her, the rain washed away her mortal impurities and made her into an ethereal being of purity and love. But when the nature began to suffer, the spirit began to grow very sick, fading from existence until all that was left was the shadow of her form... the White Ghost... who was very vengeful, indeed. The inhabitants of the island began being sacrificed to appease the gho-
"I see you've found my book, Tamaki-sama," a kind, elderly voice caused Tamaki to jump and snap the tome shut. He turned around to see a kindly old woman who reminded him of Shima, but nicer.
"Oh, I didn't know this was your book, I'm sorry..." Tamaki said quickly, earning a kind-hearted chuckle from the woman.
"It's fine, Tamaki-sama. You may borrow it if you want. I have read it so much that I have nearly memorized it."
Tamaki smiled and looked down at the cover of the worn book: Tales of the Island. He caressed the edges carefully. "It certainly seems like a wonderful book."
"It is, Tamaki-sama. I used to read it to the young master and his cousins to help them sleep."
"Which is your favourite tale?"
"The one you were reading, Tamaki-sama. The tale of the spirit in white."
Tamaki frowned. "She didn't really begin to kill people, right? It said she was a lovable spirit... could the destruction of her home really make her so angry?"
The woman chuckled again. "It is just a story, Tamaki-sama. But... I think you are right. The power of love is more powerful than hatred, you know. Perhaps someday you may be able to rewrite it."
Tamaki smiled at the compliment. "What is your name?"
"I am Aiko Furude. The cook, normally, but I also attend to the garden. I have been here for a long time, I've seen the young master grow up into the fine man he is today."
"So, I'm guessing you were here when Katsu-sama was alive too? My father talked about him so much when I was little."
"He was truly an honourable man."
"I would imagine so," Tamaki agreed, looking behind him at the portrait again.
Aiko smiled. "Well, Tamaki-sama, it was a pleasure talking to you, but I must return to my duties. Do read the book, it is a very good collection, I hope you enjoy it." She gave her grandmotherly smile and walked through the doorway into the kitchen.
Tamaki smiled. So that was what a grandmother must be like...
"Isn't this fun, Takashi?" Honey asked as he looked around at the foliage in interest.
"Yes, but be careful, Mitsukuni," Mori cautioned, watching carefully to make sure Honey didn't trip over a root or a rock or something.
They originally went out, after asking Akira if they could go outside, following the path that led them around the manor and past the rose gardens. But then Honey found this boring and began to stray away from the cobbled path, into the woods, despite Mori's short attempts at protest. Mori gave up, knowing that Honey probably wouldn't get lost or hurt in the woods anyway; he spend enough time in them when they visited Kyoya's resort and the beach, anyway.
"I wonder if we'll find treasure!" Honey smiled at the thought as he voiced it, peering in the brush as they went, as if a magical treasure chest would appear in the dark green fern fronds and creepers.
They trudged onward for about ten more minutes. Just when Mori was about to suggest that they turn around and head back, Honey saw something in the distance. Going into overdrive, he grabbed Mori's hand and began to bound forward, his reflexes allowing him to not trip over anything.
"Look, Takashi! Look!" Honey exclaimed excitedly as they saw another, good-sized house in the distance. Ivy crept over the stone walls of the old-fashioned, western-styled house, giving it a beautiful, archaic look. A metal fence, rusted, with creepers climbing up all over it, surrounded a quaint little garden with a small, empty koifish pool and a wooden swing. A small cobblestone path, not unlike the one Honey and Mori had abandoned earlier, led through a spired doorway in the old fence and into the garden, up to the doorway of the house.
"Isn't it beautiful, Takashi?" Honey asked, stopped in front of the fence, gripping his younger cousin's hand.
"Yeah..." Mori answered. It was more than beautiful. It was the type of place that only existed in fairy tales, where fairies dwell and play harmless, mischievous games on travelers for their amusement.
"Do you think it's okay to explore it?" Honey asked. Mori looked down on his cousin, about to tell him that it wasn't a good idea, but when he saw the curious, questioning look on Honey's face, he couldn't decline so easily.
"If the gate is locked..." Mori compromised, "We'll look a little bit, but if it is, then we can assume that we are to stay out and turn back, okay?"
"Okay!" Honey agreed, happy with the compromise. He moved forward and touched the gate. The gate was strangely cold; Honey would have expected it to be at least a little warmer, being such a beautiful place, and the sun was out, after all. However, he paid little additional mind to it, and pushed forward, hoping that it would swing open.
It did, and Honey's smile grew happier. He and Mori stepped onto the path and ventured inside the garden. Honey had a feeling that he shouldn't really be there... but the gate was unlocked, and even so, if Akira hadn't wanted them in there, he would have mentioned it before they went out, wouldn't he? So Honey didn't know why he had such a foreboding feeling upon entering the quaint little paradise.
"Look at that birdbath, Takashi. The design is so cute!"
"Yeah."
Honey admired all of the flowers, and inquired why the pond was empty.
"Probably because nobody lives in this house anymore, Mitsukuni. So they cannot take care of koifish."
Honey shrugged and stepped onto the porch, and tried the door. It also opened with ease, and Honey stuck his head inside.
Although there were no candles or lightbulbs lit, the sunlight streaming in from the windows was enough to generously light the interior of the house, and it made Honey's breath catch. "Oh, goodness, Takashi, it's even nicer on the inside!" He stepped inside just as Mori was about to say that they go back. Sighing ever so slightly, Mori followed his curious cousin and inspected his surroundings. Honey was right, the interior of the house was decorated with a type of old-fashioned class, the drapes open to let the light in. Mori narrowed his eyes. No matter how beautiful the house was, it seemed as though it was lived in. But... that was impossible, right? The only residents on the island were Akira and the servants who lived in the main mansion.
Honey began exploring the rooms adjacent to the entryway, and Mori opted to not follow him in his sporadic exploration, instead deciding to stay in the main entry room, admiring the fabric on the couch and pondering the lived-in quality of the house. Heh... maybe fairies did live in it.
Honey looked at all of the rooms, laughing at the cuteness of the little cottage kitchen and staring in wonder at the tall bookshelves in the dusty library.
Honey ventured down a hallway. There were no windows illuminating in it, the only light being the residual sun seeping in from brighter rooms. Although the hallway was darker, Honey began to feel safer. He smiled, enjoying the almost-supernatural atmosphere of this particular section of the house.
He turned a corner, where it was brighter, looked into a smaller parlour, and he couldn't help but let out a barely audible gasp. All that was in the room was a cute little coffee-table, light streaming in through a window on the far wall. And by the window was a beautiful rocking-chair.
But that wasn't what made him gasp. Because, if it were even possible, there was something even more beautiful in the rocking-chair.
Feet fitted with small, laced-up white boots pushed at a steady tempo against the floor, causing the chair to rock, creating a little creak. A tea-length white skirt with mint-coloured lace swept from front to back with each slight movement. Dainty, moon-pale hands adorned with a single ring delicately held an old-looking book, creating an elegant line from the short, white sleeves down to the fingertips. A mint lace collar accentuated a pale neck adorning a silver cross, and a white-ribboned headband nestled just so in dark brown locks that were cut short to the nape of the neck. The creature was oblivious to Honey's presence, deep brown eyes concentrating on the tale before her.
Honey couldn't believe his eyes. He had never before seen something so beautiful. All of the girls he hosted at the club were very pretty, but there was something... otherworldly about this girl. He admired her for a few more moments, observing everything he could about the creature. Then, Honey moved back into the hallway as quietly as he could, to not disturb her. Once he was well out of the darker hallway, he ran back to the main entrance-room, rejoining Mori. Mori smiled and they left the house, then the garden, and they stayed silent until they reached the cobbled path back to the manor again.
"Takashi, you won't believe what I saw." Honey said.
"What was it, Mitsukuni?"
"I saw a fairy."
Mori smiled. The atmosphere reminded Honey of a fairy tale also, it seemed.
Honey continued. "She was so beautiful, sitting in the rocking-chair reading her book."
Mori blinked.
"She was smiling... but she seemed so sad. So lonely... Takashi, I want to visit her again sometime."
Mori frowned. "Fairies don't exist, Mitsukuni," he remarked in confusion.
Honey looked disappointed. "Yeah... you're right."
Mori patted his cousin's head comfortingly, thinking to himself.
Could it be... that what his cousin saw was a real thing? It would certainly confirm his suspicions that the house was lived in. Was there indeed somebody who lived in the quaint little cottage house on Furukawa Island?
AN: There you have it! I really like writing Misa... she seems so bipolar doesn't she? Harhar.
OH, and before I forget, I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or it's characters. I do, however, own Misa, Satoshi, Aiko, the excerpt from Aiko's book, and the Tsukimoris.
I hoped you liked it! I enjoyed writing it very much- such a fairytale atmosphere... :3