"That's Ritus Kasonda's sister?! No way!"
"She looks soooo cute!" Whispers erupted across the class the 1D, and I saw my brother Ritsu sitting at a window seat at the back of the classroom. The collars of the male uniform I was wearing was standing up; I was trying to go for a "wild" look, hoping that some people would fear me. I also pulled my hair into a high pony-tail to keep it out of the way. I glared at the class in the most menacing way possible.
"Kawaii!" The idiot girls of Ouran started to squeal and swoon over how adorable I was. Growling like a savage animal, I intensified my scowl. Unfortunately, my actions only seemed to have increased the excitement of the crowd. Almost the entire class was "awwing" me or squealing.
"Class, this is Iku, Kasonda's sister. She was homeschooled and will be transferring starting today." The old man smiled at me kindly, looking at me as if I was some cute child. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I could've introduced myself," I said defiantly. The teacher and everyone else only grinned at me, as if I was some silly little girl.
"How cute, please have a seat now," I wanted to punch his face. Cute?! But before I was tempted to smash my fist into his wrinkly face, my brother's deep voice boomed across the room.
"Just sit down Iku," when the rest of the class remembered his presence, they all froze. Silence almost immediately fell on the room, and even the teacher's face paled after seeing my brother's face. I stormed off towards my brother and slumped in the empty seat next to him.
"You don't have to fuss over nothing," he said in a low voice so that only I could hear him.
"Well I get annoyed when I'm surrounded by idiots," I grumbled mostly to myself. I saw Ritsu smile just a smidgen from the corner of my eye. The rest of the class also saw, and they all visibly shuddered.
"What are you looking at?!" He barked. Heads whipped around instantly. I wish I could make people do that...
The rest of the day was nothing special. I noticed that as usual, whenever people neared Ritsu they would frantically try to get as far away from him as possible. I knew that Ritsu never really appreciated people being terrified of him, but it was something that I was always envious about. While Ritsu's face caused everyone to quiver from terror, mine did the opposite. I have what you would call a "baby-face," and everyone thought that I was "moe" or "kawaii." Everyone acts as if I'm some doll that they could just man-handle or dress up. Just because I'm small doesn't mean that I'm a little kid!(Although I may look like one...) I try to act super tough and scary, but no matter how hard I try, I'm always gonna be considered cute. It's so irritating. These people obviously only think of me as some fragile China doll that's on display for them to look at. I am certainly not weak; I could probably snap any guy's arm with ease, and beat any guy any day in a arm wrestling round. I am not some delicate "darling" little flower. No, I am the daughter of one of the most feared yakuza leaders in Japan! And yet, people still do not fear or respect me. It's so unfair. It's already bad enough that I'm dad's "Precious Princess." Ugh. I find it hard to believe that my father is the most feared and revered yakuza boss in Japan; he can't say no to me and finds me soooo adorable just like everyone else.
I am usually openly stared at without Ritsu around. When he's next to me, everyone averts their gaze and sprints towards the other direction. My brother hates it. Sure, he's used to it by now since people have always been intimidated by him ever since he was young but...I could tell that he's really lonely.
At lunchtime, we retreated towards an isolated corner of the school so that we could eat in peace. As I sat down on a step of the marbled staircase, Ritsu sighed.
"Tiring day, huh?" I said without looking up at him.
"Hm..." He sat down next to me, and took out his lunch.
We ate in silence, the way we liked it. We didn't need either one of us to be chatting because we were comfortable just being next to each other. I glanced over at Ritsu's face, which was scrunched up from concentration. Something was bothering him.
"Ritsu? What's wrong?" Plopping a piece of tempura in my mouth, I waited for his response. After Ritsu finished chewing, he looked up at me.
"I...I don't want people to be scared of me anymore." I nodded in understanding, and waited for him to continue.
"I'm planning on getting help from someone in Music room three after school," I frowned. Music Room three? Isn't that where this one club is? That one club where all the ditsy girls at this school flock to? What was that club called...The hot men club? The hottie club? Something like that.
"Who?"
"Takashi Morinozuka. He's a third year, and he's the captain of the Kendo club. You know, the emotionless giant with a face as vicious as a starving wolf." I blinked a couple of times, as if to say: 'I just got here so how do you exactly expect me to know who he is?'
Ritsu then ranted on and on about wanting guy friends to do guy stuff with. I don't see why he needed friends. Sure, he's lonely but he had me. I had no girl friends and I was completely fine with it. Well, Ritsu was the nicer, friendly one of the two of us.
I was home schooled starting after the first day of the sixth grade because I pushed down this one blonde boy down a set of stairs because he was walking too slow in the hallway. Father thinks that it's improper for a woman, daughter of a gangster or not, to behave in such a way in public. So, I was basically locked up as if I was some princess who needed to be protected from the rest of the world. Well, it's more like the other way around: the rest of the world needed protection from me.
After school, Ritsu and I walked towards the Music Room so that he could ask "Mori-senpai" for help. After pushing open the huge, fancy, double doors, we were greeted by the sound of chattering voices. Looking around, the room was decorated to look traditionally Japanese; it even had sliding doors and everything. The only males in the entire room were all dressed up as samurais, and a sea of tacky, yellow uniforms filled the entire room. Scanning the crowd, Ritsu and I finally found the guy we were looking for. He was easy to spot. Spiky hair, quiet, and he was tall as a building.
"Hey! Tall guy!" My voice sliced through the noise, and I caught everyone's attention.
"Takashi Morinozuka!" My brother's voice said. Fear struck the eyes of everyone in the room, except for the tall, emotionless giant.
"A surprise attack!" cried the five of the seven boys dressed in costume. I stayed at the door while Ritsu walked over towards the statue with gaining speed, the scowl on his face looking as menacing as ever. I noticed everyone tense up, and frantic, hushed whispers erupted across the room.
"He's gonna attack Mori-senpai!" Squeaked one girl.
"Senpai, please, take me on as your apprentice!" My brother abruptly kneeled before the tall boy, and silence settled into the room.
Later...
"Ritsu Kasanoda, 1st year Class 1D. Heir to the 3rd generation head of the Kasanoda syndicate, the most powerful gang in the Kanto area. He was admitted this year into Ouran Academy's High School. He has long red hair, a mean looking appearance, is reserved and has a few friends. It is said that if your eyes meets his, you'll have bad dreams for 3 months. If you bump into him, you'll end up in the hospital. And talking back to him sends you to an early grave. He is so feared by his classmates that they call him the Walking Blizzard." A raven-haired boy pushed up his glasses as he read Ritsu's information off of his fancy laptop.
"Iku Kasanoda, same class as her brother and just transferred today. She was home schooled starting from the sixth grade after being expelled from school, and unlike her brother she has a very childish face that everyone is drawn to," he closed the laptop shut, and I yawned.
"Wait, why was she suspended? She looks absolutely adorable!" The blonde boy, "Tamaki" said. Huh, he looks an awful lot like...Wait, that's him. My eyebrows rose after recognizing who he was. He's definitely taller and louder than the last time I saw him.
"Hey, you're that boy I pushed down some stairs in Middle school. You're the reason I got expelled you know." The blonde's face immediately paled,and his violet eyes widened when he remembered who I was.
"Y-you! You're that horrible girl who pushed me for no reason! I had to wear a cast for a month because of you!" He slid away from me and hit behind the boy in glasses, eyeing me up and down cautiously as if I was going to strike at any minute. I liked his reaction, he was scared of me! I glared at him to see if it had any effect, but his next reaction was the opposite from what I was hoping for.
"Ooohhh! You're forgiven since you're so cuuuuutte!" I sighed in defeat and slumped back in my chair.
"So, why would a human weapon like yourself want to become an apprentice of Mori senpai?" Asked the blonde, switching his attention over to my brother.
"Well, because I look scary all the time. Just because I look this way that doesn't mean that I'm a human weapon. I was just born with a face that makes me look mean all the time, while my sister was born with a face that makes her look cu-young!" Ritsu almost called me cute, but he fixed his sentence after I frowned at him. I was barely able to tolerate everyone fretting over how cute I looked. I didn't need Ritsu doing the same too.
"Well, at least you're aware of it Kasanova," said the twins at the same time.
"It's Kasanoda," Ritsu and I said in unison.
"Bossanova?"
"Do you want to die?!" My brother and I barked. To our dismay, they started laughing.
"Aww, look how cute her angry face is!" Said one twin.
"Her brother is really mean-looking but she is just so sweet!" Finished the other. I angrily grumbled under my breath and clenched my fists. Ritsu placed a hand on my shoulder to calm me down, I can't get into a fight on the first day.
Ritsu talked about how dad trained him so well that he was even scared by our men, and so he was lonely. He mentioned how he was tired of people only judging him based on his scary looks, and wanting to be able to socialize normally with people his own age or play kick the can with our men back at home. His story seemed to have touched everyone in the Host club, and they all seemed willing to help him.
"Morinozuka senpai, that's why I need you to show me, how do you manage to have so many friends, when you're just as mean looking as me? You're expressionless, distant, and you hardly ever talk. Plus, you've got eyes that are cold enough to freeze the Ice Queen herself. So, how come you've got so many friends? What are you doing that I'm not? Please teach me your secrets! I'm begging you!" The tall boy didn't seem so emotionless at this point. He seemed slightly offended and very surprised. I watched, amused. Then, that blonde boy agreed that they'd help too and said that Ritsu actually did have something in common with Mori-senpai.
"And what would that be?" Ritsu asked curiously.
"A lovely item!" Tamaki said while smiling. He explained his concept.
"Bossanova, I would like to introduce you to a lovely item named Mitsukuni. Sure, Mori senpai may be kind of mean looking and he may seem distant when you first meet him. But what if we put Mitsukuni on his shoulders? Suddenly, it's like he's a forest Teddy Bear that all the animals adore! In addition, this lovely item also plays up Mori senpai's strong and silent character. Even without saying anything, just by placing Honey senpai next to him, people begin to have a new found admiration for Mori senpai. Suddenly he's seen in a positive light as a nice, quiet young gentleman. That's the plan. I'm not exaggerating when I say most of Mori senpai's charm's directly related to his friend, Honey senpai. Luckily for you, you already have a lovely item." I frowned. Was he talking about me?
After his explanation, this one short brunette and the twins talked about how "useless" the emotionless boy was without his"lovely item." How mean! The little boy is apparently a senior, and he looks even more adorable than me! And yet, people seemed to listen to what he had to say despite his childish looks and actions.
"Wait, are you saying that Iku is my lovely item?" Ritsu asked.
"Yes!" Said Tamaki while smiling.
"All we have to do is dress up your sister to make her look even cuter than she is now, and then people will be drawn to you more!" Said the twins.
"You see Kasanoda, if Iku switches to full-kawaii mode, then you'll seem like a protective brother and people will automatically flock to you!" They were acting as if I wasn't there. They were basically saying that I was going to be turned into some cute object, a dress up doll. The exact thing that I was trying to divert away from. If I went with this plan, then I'll never be respected or taken seriously. I'll become what I fear most; a useless, dainty daffodil. Some pretty rose that people will admire. Someone-no. Something that has no other purpose than to sit there while looking pretty.
"Stop." No one listened to me. Tamaki and twins continued discussing what type of Lolita clothes they would dress me up in.
"She'll look like a perfect little doll!" Upon hearing the word doll, I snapped.
"No!" My face was scrunched up, and I was almost shouting at the blonde boy who turned his head towards me.
"Why ever not? You'll look so pretty and-"
"I don't want t-"
"Everyone will think that you'll look so cute!" I grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and yanked him towards me, so that his face was only inches from mine. The entire Host club seemed to gasp at once, and my brother was glaring angrily at me. Ritsu grabbed my arm.
"What are doing?!" My grip on the blonde's collar tightened. Tamaki stared at me, surprise etched onto his face.
"Iku, explain yourself now!" Ritsu said. I didn't break away my gaze from Tamaki. Everyone was listening now.
"I am not an item. I'm not something that's just for display. I'm not some toy that is thrown away after you get tired of it," my voice was much calmer and steadier than I expected it to be.
"I will not become some pretty object for people to swoon over. I'm sick and tired of being treated like one already, and I don't need any more of it," I released him, pushing him a couple of inches away from me. As I released him, Ritsu let go of my arm. Tamaki looked as if he was about to apologize, but I cut him off before he could start.
"I'm going home," I turned on my heel to leave, but Tamaki grabbed my arm to stop me.
"I had no idea that my words would offend you so much, I'm really sorry. Is there something I could do to make it up?" The blonde's violet eyes were tearing up, and I arched one eyebrow.
"No. There isn't,"my voice was a lot more quiet than I intended it to be. I gently brushed off Tamaki's arm, and faced Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai.
"Please take good care of Ritsu," I bowed to them, and then left the room, leaving Ritsu behind as well.