The Ides of Ouran

By Allan North

Part One – Twin Defection

March 15

It was a sunny springtime morning at Ouran High School. In room 3-J, Tamaki Suoh read dramatically from his English Literature textbook, causing his female classmates to become far more fascinated by Shakespeare than ever before.

"Soothsayer: Caesar! Caesar: Ha! who calls? Casca: Bid every noise be still: peace yet again! Caesar: Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, cry 'Caesar!' Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear. Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March. Caesar: What man is that? Brutus: A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March. Caesar: Set him before me; let me see his face. Cassius: Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar. Caesar: What say'st thou to me now? Speak once again. Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March. Caesar: he is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass." Having reached the stopping point noted by Takamoto-Sensei, Tamaki stopped and looked up to his instructor.

"Excellent, Tama-Kun. Now, I wonder, can you explain to us what exactly Shakespeare was proving with this little exchange?"

Tamaki's confident voice hid any doubt he may have had about his response. "Caesar was so overly confident of his own power and abilities that he felt no need to pay attention to the soothsayer, Sensei."

"Quite correct. Had Caesar paid more heed, He would have known the misfortunes to befall him on the Ides of March, coincidentally, today." Glancing at the clock, Takamoto-Sensei closed his book. "By tomorrow, you are to have read the remainder of Act One, and be prepared to discuss it in detail. Class is dismissed."

The students stood, eager to leave and pursue their choice of club activities. For Tamaki, of course, there was only one destination: The Third Music Room, home of his beloved Host Club. Opening the door, Tamaki found most of the club waiting for him: The diminutive Hunny-Sempai, staunch and silent Mori, his ever-calculating vice president Kyoya, the ever-studious (and oh-so-lovely!) Haruhi, and Renge, their self-proclaimed manager. Tamaki noted curiously that Haruhi's classmates, the ever-troublesome Hitachiin brothers, were nowhere to be found, but attributed their tardiness to another childish prank. Taking his place in the elegant plush chair, Tamaki turned his attention to Kyoya, and asked for the latest status of the preparations of the upcoming Spring festival.

Before the answer could come, however, the door swung open again, and a hooded figure holding a cat puppet entered wordlessly. Tamaki jumped out of reflex. This was an enemy he feared above all others. "Ne- Nekozawa-Sempai…" Tamaki managed to sputter. "What are you doing here?"

The figure grinned. From under the hood came a familiar voice. "I am not Nekozawa-Sempai, milord."

Renge stepped forward as Tamaki looked the figure strangely. "Hikaru? Is that you?" The hood fell back to reveal the red-haired Hikaru as a second hooded figure, also carrying a white cat puppet, entered the third music room.

"Yes, it is." The second figure answered, his voice instantly recognizable to as Karou Hitachiin. Tamaki looked at them strangely for a moment, and then stepped toward them.

"Very funny, you idiots. Why are you two dressed like that?" he growled.

"I will thank you to not address my new club members as idiots, Tamaki." Now the voice from the third hooded figure to enter to the room was unmistakably that of Umehito Nekozawa. Tamaki fell back a few steps at the familiar voice and devilish grin.

Kyoya, ever the skeptic, stepped forward. "Nekozawa-sempai, what do you mean, new members?"

Nekozawa grinned wider. "It seems that the Hitachiin brothers have discovered their own love for the darkness. Of course, the mystical bond between twin sprits made things easier for me to… persuade them to join, shall we say?"

Haruhi stepped forward now, despite Tamaki reaching for her arm to hold her back from the evil invader. "You two are really leaving the host club?" she asked of her classmates.

"Yes, Haruhi." The twins answered in unison, their voices in a spooky monotone. "Why don't you join us?" Hikaru asked, extending his bare hand.

"Come try the dark." Karou added, extending his own free hand.

Tamaki flew forward and grabbed Haruhi by the arm, yanking her back. "You monsters! How dare you try to take Haruhi with you to the abyss!"

The twins drew their hands back and Nekozawa stepped forward between them. "Calm, calm, Tamaki. If the dear Haruhi wishes to join us, he may. In the meantime, we will return to our work and leave you to yours. Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, it has been revealed to me that you are studying the tragedy of Julius Caesar, is that right?"

Tamaki turned pale but replied, "Yes?"

Nekozawa smiled once more. "Perhaps it is you who should beware the Ides of March." Turning around, he stepped forward past the expressionless twins. "To the club room, my members."

"Yes, Milord" The twins answered in perfect unison. The trio left, the door to the music room closing with a thud behind them.

Tamaki turned to Haruhi. "Oh Haruhi, are you hurt?"

Haruhi glared at Tamaki as she often did. "Of course not. They didn't lay a finger on me. And it was patently unnecessary for you to step in as you did."

Tamaki drew back, sulking. Hunny turned to Kyoya. "Kyoya, what's happened to Hikaru and Karou? They weren't themselves at all! It's like they were under a spell!"

Tamaki flew from the corner, a determined look on his face. "Of course they were under a spell! Hikaru and Karou would never betray us without an evil force at work! It is our duty as their friends to break that spell and bring them back to us!"

Hunny looked at Tamaki's determined face and turned to Mori. "Takashi, is it real? Are they really cursed?" Mori looked at his cousin and shrugged noncommittally.

Kyoya barely looked up from his notebook. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course there's not a spell at work. Such nonsense would only be believed by the youngest of children."

Tamaki glared at his friend. "You always doubt the power of Nekozawa-Sempai. If there are no evil forces at work, how could he have possibly known what I was studying today?"

Haruhi walked forward, unimpressed. "You know each class posts their curriculum in the main common room, Sempai."

Kyoya nodded. "Not to mention the fact that Nekozawa was in Takomoto-Sensei's class last year, if I am not mistaken."

Tamaki returned to his chair, sulking once more. "However," Kyoya continued, "You are right that we must get those two back here and into the Host Club as soon as possible."

"Aha! So the darkness will not devour them whole!" Tamaki blurted out.

Kyoya rolled his eyes. "No, because without them it will be quite impossible to raise enough funds for the club to remain operational." Haruhi grinned slightly. Eyes ever on the profit margin… that was Kyoya.

"Yes!" Renge shouted determinedly. "My prince is right! The Hitachiin twins provide a large share of the designations! They must be recovered at once!"

"Then let's get to the Black Magic Club room and recover them." Haruhi replied.

Tamaki turned pale. "Go near that… dark place? The demons ever present will destroy us!"

Kyoya tossed Tamaki a flashlight. "So take this if it makes you feel better. I'm going." He tucked his notebook under his arm and turned to leave.

"I'm coming too! Wait for me!" Renge squealed.

"Us too, right, Takashi?" Hunny grinned, running after them.

"Yeah." Mori replied, sauntering out.

Tamaki turned to Haruhi. "Haruhi, you can't be going too?" Haruhi said nothing as she followed the others out. Tamaki stood there for a moment looking around the club room, and ran out after his club mates, his flashlight clutched like a sword. He caught up to the others outside the dark wooden doors of the Black Magic club. "Staying outside. Good idea. We can't tempt fate too much." He said with relief.

"The door is locked, sempai." Haruhi countered. "We're listening."

Tamaki leaned forward and put his ear to the door. From inside, he heard the twins laughing. Then, muffled words from Nekozawa. "This potion is perfect. Our next target will be ours easily." The words chilled Tamaki to the bone.

"With him, our numbers will grow greatly, Milord." The twins replied in unison.

"Indeed." Nekozawa answered. "And the Other will follow him in suit."

"But of course," Hikaru replied.

"I guarantee he will" Karou added. Outside the door, Tamaki's heart was pounding.

"He intends to get more of us." Tamaki said in a shallow whisper. Kyoya turned to shush him.

"Then we will strike." Nekozawa's voice continued. "The moon will be in proper alignment in.." Nekozawa's voice was interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing behind the Host Club. The members turned to face the teacher before them.

"May I ask what you are doing, Kyoya-Kun?" Iwata-Sensei asked flatly.

Kyoya smiled innocently. "Just some friendly club competition in preparation for the Spring Festival, sir." He replied.

Iwata-Sensei remained unimpressed, but not overly concerned. "Kindly refrain from espionage, gentlemen." He stated, and turned to leave.

The club members sheepishly returned to the third music room, Tamaki growing ever more paranoid by the second. Upon reaching the safety of the familiar room, he collapsed in his chair, his face pale and his hands shaking. "He's after another one of us…" he whispered.

"Technically, he's after two of us." Kyoya replied quite matter-of-factly. "Remember, Nekozawa-Sempai said the other would follow."

"Kyoya, what will we do?" Renge asked shakily.

Hunny climbed onto Mori's shoulders. "I'm scared, too…" he whispered, clutching Bun-Bun close.

Haruhi stepped forward. "Kyoya, you don't believe there's a curse or magic at work, do you?"

"Of course not." Kyoya replied. "It's all trickery. Fortunately, the rest of us are not as easily influenced as Hikaru and Karou."

"How can you say that! Of course there's a curse at work! The dark forces surrounding Nekozawa-Sempai have reached out to snag us! None of us are safe!" Tamaki babbled from his chair.

"Well, most of us are not so easily fooled, anyway." Kyoya said.

"So what will we do?" Renge asked.

"Quite simple. We wait, we remain on guard, and we see what will happen." Kyoya replied.

Outside the third Music Room, ominous laughter resounded as Nekozawa and his two new members walked by, draped in black. At the sound of it, Tamaki turned to Kyoya. "Kyoya, cancel all our engagements for the week. We have to remain as on-guard as possible."

Now Kyoya's eyes flashed with determination as he flipped open his club ledger. "We will do nothing of the sort. With Hikaru and Karou gone, we will need to work extra hard to make up for it. Relax, this will pass."

Tamaki slumped. "It'll be a long week…" he moaned.

Renge stepped forward and grabbed Tamaki's lapels. "Kyoya is right! We cannot let this setback stop us! We will continue on in the memory of our dear comrades, and continue to take our designated guests!"

Haruhi muttered from the side, "It's not like they're dead, you know…"

"Right! We'll get them back! Now let's start getting ready for tomorrow!" Hunny said with his widest grin. Tamaki shook his head and stood unsteadily to begin preparations for the next day…