Welcome to the host club, everyone. This is my first Ouran story so be kind to me when it comes how I portrayed everyone in the story, though I am sure I was able to stay true. I have been obsessed with this anime for the past month or so, which I was introduced to by a friend of mine who also helped me with the story. I wanted the story to feel like it could have been an episode in the show.
So without further ado, I present to you my first installment in the Ouran High School Host Club fandom. Don't own anything used in this story except the storyline.
(Ouran intro)
'Finally! I get a chance to relax for a moment.'
Haruhi let out a liberated sigh as she slouched on the couch in the clubroom for a much-needed breather. She and the other members of the Ouran High School Host Club just finished hosting guests for the afternoon, over three hundred of them. According to Kyoya, it was the largest amount of guests hosted in the club's history at one time. Haruhi in particular was wiped out as she had to entertain approximately seventy-five girls total that afternoon, which definitely helped towards meeting her quota to pay off the vase she broke on her first day in the club.
"Now to enhance the relaxation," Haruhi said to herself as she pulled her Mp3 player out of her pocket. Plugging in her ear buds, she popped each one into her ears and scrolled through her playlist. Finally settling on a song, she laid back in relaxation as the music blasted into her ears.
"Haruhi," Tamaki peered over the couch with a mischievous smile, hoping to surprise her while she was relaxing. His eyebrow rose, wondering why she didn't react to him immediately. Looking around, he saw that she had ear buds in her ears and was asleep.
'No wonder she couldn't hear me,' he thought to himself. 'She has those things in her ears.'
Pulling one ear bud out, Tamaki nudged her while yelling her name.
"HARUHI!"
"What?" she cried, jumping right up from her sleep. Her head darted from right to left several times before her eyes settled on Tamaki. Narrowing them, she smacked Tamaki with a pillow.
"Don't do that, Senpai!" she growled while Tamaki cried out every time she hit him with the pillow.
"Why are you hitting me?" Tamaki whined.
"Why did you wake me up?" Haruhi retorted.
Tamaki gathered his bearings together so that he was his calm, cool self once again. He was prone to freak-outs but he was not going to have one today. Now that he was back to being calm, he answered Haruhi's question.
"Because I wanted to know what that thing you were carrying was," he replied, looking down at her Mp3 player. "I don't believe I have seen this before. What is it?"
Without waiting for her to say so, he grabbed it in order to examine the device.
"It's an Mp3 player," replied Haruhi as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You download music on to it and you can listen to it anywhere you go."
"Ah, so it's sort of like a commoner's version of an IPod, no?" Tamaki was now even more interested in the device than he was before. How could something so small hold any water to the IPod?
"IPod's are available to the general public as well, Senpai," Haruhi deadpanned. "I just happened to get this at a giveaway at the supermarket last week."
After examining the device for a few more seconds, Tamaki popped in one of the ear buds into his ear and the song Haruhi had been listening to continued to play as he listened attentively.
It was as if something lit up inside of Tamaki. The tight melodies and lyrics struck him at his very core.
"Tell me more about this commoner music, Haruhi," he said. "Who makes this absolutely incredible music?"
"It's a Backstreet Boys song," she explained. "They were pretty big ten years ago or so. I like some of their music and they're pretty cute I guess."
Tamaki went pale with shock. How could his Haruhi think anyone was cuter than him? He felt insulted by the notion.
Haruhi could tell that he was about to start growing mushrooms in the corner so she acted fast before it got to that point.
"Oh come off it, Senpai," she said with a roll of her eyes. "They're all much older now. I would not even consider dating one of them."
"Phew!" Tamaki exhaled with a sigh of relief. "I was afraid that I was going to have to lock my little girl in an ivory tower far away from all the boys."
Haruhi's face dropped into an annoyed frown. This whole act of Tamaki treating her like his daughter was really annoying…but somehow endearing at the same time. Haruhi did not know why she felt that way but her annoyance trumped all of that.
"Please don't call me that."
Title:
Haruhi: The Host Club Becomes A Boy Band
"Club meeting," Tamaki announced as everyone gathered around. "Let's go, everyone. Gather around."
Hikaru and Kaoru frowned as they dropped their cards and made their way to the center of the music room.
"What do you think the meeting's about, Kaoru?" Hikaru whispered to his brother.
"Dunno," replied the other twin. "Maybe the boss found a new way to brush his teeth."
"I heard that!" Tamaki shouted while glaring as they snickered at him. To his right, Kyoya stood with his black notebook in his hand, which meant that it was a financial matters meeting.
Once everyone had gathered, Tamaki cleared his throat before he started to speak.
"My fellow Host Club members," he said. "It has come to my attention that our material has been getting stale as of late."
"I don't think it's all of us that have gone stale," Kaoru shouted as he and Hikaru cracked up laughing, slapping each other five.
Tamaki glared knives into them, fire burning within his eyes and his teeth sharpening. "I swear, a day will come when I hang you two döppelgangers by your scrawny little necks!" he shouted as he prepared to charge until Kyoya kept him back.
"Now, now, Tamaki," he said, calm and cool as ever. "What good will it do us to kill them now?"
Calming down from his flip out, Tamaki cleared his throat once again as if nothing had happened.
"As I was saying," he continued. "A lot of our events have been getting rather repetitive lately so I thought we should come up with new events. I will leave it to Mommy here to tell us what he has to say."
Kyoya frowned at the nickname but stepped forward to say his peace.
"While our profits have gone up recently, especially after our event today, I can't help but feel as though we should find new and more creative ways to make money," the club vice president explained. "Does anyone have any ideas to present in terms of events that we can do?"
"Ooh! Ooh!" Honey cried, shooting his hand up in the air almost immediately while bouncing like an impatient little child. "I have an idea. How about we have an event where all of us dress up as various sweets? I can be cake, Takashi can be vanilla ice cream, and…"
"Yeah, I don't know if we can do that, Honey-senpai," Kyoya quickly shot it down gently. "But that is a good idea."
Honey's face dropped into a pout. He folded his arms across his chest and sank into his chair with a huff. Mori patted him on the shoulder comfortingly.
"Any more ideas?"
Tamaki then stood up, running his hand through his hair suavely.
"I believe I have one," he said, drawing everyone's attention. "In light of recent discoveries, I have decided we should organize a boy band event that has us as the house band performing for our guests."
No one spoke for what seemed like an eternity.
"Well?" Tamaki released a short nervous laugh as he pressed his idea. "Doesn't that sound like a marvelous idea?"
Everyone looked to the other as if awaiting someone to react first. Kaoru grinned at Hikaru, at which he pulled out his phone to open an app. Tamaki frowned watching and before he could protest, cricket sounds played in the air. Everyone except Tamaki snickered, resulting in him sitting in a corner pouting.
"Anyone else have a suggestion?" Kyoya asked writing in his notebook.
Haruhi could have said something. She had brainstormed a few ideas for a day like this, but felt a pair of eyes staring deep into her soul. Her eyes followed the sensation until they meet Tamaki's pouting ones, using his puppy eyes to persuade them. She took a step back with a twinge of guilt.
"What's wrong, Haru-chan?" Honey asked with concern.
"He's doing it again. He's using the puppy eyes against us," she said.
The others automatically looked Tamaki's way to find him playing with dirt on the floor that appeared out of nowhere with his right index finger only to be met with the same puppy eyes.
"No! Don't look!" Haruhi tried to warn them, but it was too late. They reacted the same as she did. "I...I guess we could give it a shot? I'm not sure how I could help since I can't sing -"
"Oh, Haruhi!" Tamaki ran to her and picked her up by her waist swinging her in circles. "Do you mean it? Would you really?"
"Senpai! Put me down!"
Kyoya sighed. "Well, do the rest of us agree?"
Honey looked to Mori, who gave a gentle nod. He then answered for both. "Why not? It'll be fun learning dancing moves!"
"That's the spirit, Honey-senpai!" Tamaki exclaimed, placing a dizzy Haruhi to the floor but being careful to hold her until she found her bearings. "Hikaru? Kaoru?"
The twins sighed with a shrug giving in. "Fine, but we'll pick the outfits," they answered.
"And I'll pick out Haruhi's outfit," Hikaru added with a sly grin.
"You are not dressing my little daughter, pervert!" Tamaki retorted.
Haruhi sighed, shaking her head with a smile while the two bickered back and forth.
Kyoya shut his book, speaking over them. "Alright. It's settled. Unless anyone has any objections, let's get started."
'Powerful motor'
Maniacal laughter came loud as thunder, along with the whirring of machines beneath the floor. A platform emerged from the floor while turning. Once the host club saw who it was, they all winced slightly and groaned.
"A boy band event you say?" Renge cried, her lips curled in a smirk. "Then I will help you all organize it. No one knows more about boy bands than I do and I will do my best to make this the greatest event ever hosted in the club's history!"
She jumped down from the platform and grabbed Tamaki by the outer folds of his jacket before pulling him in until his face was inches from her own. He whimpered in fright due to the proximity.
"I will turn you pretty poster boys into full-blown teen idols!" she proclaimed. "Except for you, Kyoya. You're perfect the way you are."
"Thanks for the compliment," he deadpanned.
Renge pushed Tamaki away from her, causing him to fall to the floor with a crash.
"Ok, here is how it is going to go," she began, switching out her outfit for a military getup. "The twins will be up front because they have the boy band image; Kyoya, you'll be the quiet gentleman; Haruhi, you'll be in the band; and Tamaki…you'll be behind Hikaru and Kaoru."
Tamaki began growing mushrooms in the corner at being delegated behind the twins.
"Stop it, Senpai!" Haruhi chastised him before turning to Renge. "But I can't sing. How would I be of any use at all?"
"You'll just be the bass singer!" Renge shouted back, not willing to back down in the face of difficulty.
"What about us, Renge-chan?" Honey asked, bouncing up and down as he awaited his position in the band.
"You two…" she started before realizing she didn't know what to do with the two of them. She already had the twins taking over as the cute ones in the group and Kyoya filled the position that Mori could have filled.
An idea finally came to her mind. "You two will be the sound engineers. Can't have a great show without great sound."
Honey's jaw dropped to the floor, obviously stunned at having been shot down twice in one day. Mori once again patted him comfortingly on the back.
"Honey-senpai, you can have my place," said Haruhi. "I'll do sound. I really don't mind at all."
"Most certainly not!" exclaimed Tamaki. "You started this whole thing and therefore must follow through with it, Haruhi."
"This whole idea was yours to begin with, Tamaki-senpai!" she shouted back. "I can't sing at all, if you don't remember!"
Realizing he couldn't win a shouting match with Haruhi, Tamaki changed tactics.
"Let's play 'Deal or No Deal," he smiled, bringing his hands together with his index fingers touching each other. "If you participate in the band and everything goes well, you are free to leave the host club if you wish since your debt will be paid off if this event works. Isn't that right, Kyoya?"
Flipping through the pages of the notebook, Kyoya found the section he was looking for.
"That's right," he nodded. "Bring in enough money and you will finally be debt-free, Haruhi."
Haruhi internally groaned. It's not like she had a choice. Besides, like they said, it would pay off her debt and if it was one thing she didn't like, it was having debt weighing on her shoulders.
Feeling defeated, she agreed. "Alright, Senpai. Deal."
Tamaki released a joyful cheer, picking Haruhi up by her waist again and twirling her in the air, praising her.
"Senpai! I said put me down!"
"Ugh! I can't work under these conditions," Renge closed her eyes, trying to gain her composure. It didn't work. "Tamaki! Pay attention! There's a lot to do in a short amount of time!"
Tamaki paused in mid-laughter, Haruhi in mid-fuss, and a sweatdrop appeared on both.
Tamaki quickly lowered her. "Haruhi, dear, please allow me to cover your ears. Grownups have to discuss a private matter."
"What the hell?" Haruhi commented but allowed him to do so.
"Renge," Tamaki addressed, "As I said before, my daughter, as beautiful as the morning dew on the most delicate rose on this planet is," he quickly looked down to Haruhi then back to Renge and finished with a whisper, "is... vocally challenged."
"I can hear you, Senpai," Haruhi said with a deadpan tone.
Tamaki's hair bristled and then quickly answered while hugging her. "And it was said with all my love!"
Renge frowned folding her arms. "Is this true?"
"I'm afraid so," Kyoya replied.
"Like I said," Haruhi insisted, "I'd be fine helping out behind the scenes. Though," she held a finger to her chin in thought, "the last time I helped the Zuka Club, they had a recording and I lip sync -"
"That's it!" Renge shot a finger to the sky. "Honey-senpai! Mori-senpai! When I figure out the perfect songs for this production, your job is to have Haruhi's part recorded."
Honey and Mori looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Taking their silence for hesitation, her gaze narrowed into frustration.
"Ugh! Fine! I'll do that myself!" Renge released her maniacal laugher. "This will be the best boy band this school has ever seen!"
Haruhi gave a reluctant chuckle, trying to sound as though she was looking forward to it as well, but she was completely terrified on the inside.
'Why did I have to bring my stupid Mp3 player to school today?' she wondered.
Transition
"Gong Sound Effect sounds six times"
Ouran High School Host Club
'The Host Club is now open for business'
Two weeks later
A crowd of easily five hundred girls had gathered into Music Room 3 for the host club's newest event. Hearing that they had booked a boy band to appear on stage for the event, girls flocked en masse to see who the band was.
Backstage Tamaki, the twins, Kyoya, and Haruhi all were getting their outfits together before going out onto the stage. The previous two weeks had been hell for them with how hard Renge had pushed them. If they even messed up one step or one note, they were punished with a verbal lashing from their overzealous manager, who also was doubling as their choreographer.
"All right, boys," Renge said. "This is the big event. We have been working hard for this for the last two weeks."
"Yeah, I can still feel the blisters," Tamaki whimpered in a hushed voice.
"Even an idiot such as you, Tamaki, should not be able to mess this up!" Renge shouted in his face, obviously hearing his snide remark, before turning sweet again. "Now just go out there and do what you all were born to do: entertain."
The lights then went down, which the boys (and Haruhi) took as the signal to get ready to go on. Renge made her big entrance with her platform rising through the middle of the stage. The girls in attendance squealed in delight.
"Ladies," announced Renge. "I would like to present to you: the greatest boy band in the history of boy bands! Ouran Academy's own: the Ouran Boys!"
The girls went wild as they rushed towards the front of the stage to be close to it. Dramatic drum roll music played over the loudspeakers as each of the members emerged from trap doors in the stage floor one by one with a spotlight streaming down onto them. Soon all five of them were on the stage. If the girls were not going crazy already, they were sent into full-blown delirium now.
Kaoru and Hikaru started snapping their fingers and were soon followed by everyone else before moving to the positions on the stage they were supposed to be in before their first song started.
"Step by step," they all sang together.
"Oooh baby," Hikaru sang.
"Gonna get to you, girl," they all sang again before the music officially got underway. They began performing their choreographed moves while the girls continued to scream their heads off as the song continued.
The song ended with one final "step" and the girls squealed. The group then transitioned into the next song without a moment's rest. This time Tamaki stepped up to sing lead.
"It's tearing up my heart when I'm with you. But when we are apart, I feel it too. And no matter what I do, I feel the pain, with or without you."
They all started dancing while Tamaki made his way up to the front of the stage to interact with some of the girls. Many of them reached up for him to grab their hand and he did for three.
"Baby I don't understand, just why we can't be lovers," he sang. "Things are getting out of hand. Try too much but baby we can win."
Hikaru and Kaoru then joined in on the action. "Let it go. If you want me, girl, let me know. I am down on my knees. I can't take it anymore."
After that song, the group performed four more numbers with each other member getting a solo at some point. Haruhi's solo went off without a hitch that no one knew that she was lip-syncing to the vocals.
Kyoya was still trying to count all the money they had made from the performance, looking like a kid in a candy store as he did so. They had made such a killing that it went far and beyond their previous record of profits made.
After changing out of their stage outfits, Tamaki knew that it was time for him to uphold his end of the deal since Haruhi did hers, no matter how much he didn't want to.
"Well, Haruhi," he began, trying to fight back the tears that were starting to form. "You held up your end of our deal so it is time I did the same. You are now debt-free and are free to leave the host club if you so choose."
"No, Haru-chan!" Honey cried with tears in his eyes, running as fast as the wind to cling himself onto Haruhi. "Don't leave us! Please!"
He shoved his precious stuffed bunny, Usa-chan, in her face. "I'll let you hold Usa-chan whenever you want if you stay!" he pleaded.
While she was moved by the gesture, Haruhi merely chuckled.
"Guys, don't make any assumptions," she said. "Let me think about it for a second before I decide anything."
Tamaki, the twins, and Honey all waited anxiously as Haruhi began to think. While she had certainly enjoyed her time with the host club, she was happy to be free of the debt she owed. That was the whole reason why she joined in the first place.
Stuck in her own thoughts, Haruhi did not pay attention to what was in front of her foot until after she hit it. She tripped over an exposed cable from the speakers on the stage and fell flat on her face. Not only did she fall, her foot jostled the cables and caused not only the speaker near her to fall with a resounding thud but also the other ones as well.
Kyoya was over her in a second.
"All of that sound equipment was worth 500,000 ¥ each, Haruhi," he said with a smug grin on his face. "So let's see: six speakers times 500,000 means that you owe us 3,000,000 ¥. That's also not counting the rental fee for the outfit."
Giving a defeated sigh, Haruhi smacked her face on the stage floor. Debt again. It was never going to end.
"I guess that means I'm staying," she said through gritted teeth.
"Oh hooray!" Tamaki exclaimed as he and the twins picked her up to toss her up in the air and caught her whenever she would come down.
'Murder me!' Haruhi wallowed in pity.
(Ending credits song)
I cracked up several times just from reading through it. Hope it was good. The song bits are 'Step By Step' by New Kids On the Block and 'Tearin' Up My Heart' by *NSYNC so the rights for those go to them. For the other four songs, feel free to organize whatever songs you want. It's all up to you what other songs they do.
I hope you all enjoyed this little venture into the host club and if you did, be sure to leave a review and subscribe. I'm very keen to see your reactions as to how I wrote the characters due to this being my first entry. Hope to see you all again soon.