Amira stood in front of her new school, gazing up at the massive building. It was more than double the size of where she used to attend. She sighed, straightening the bow around the collar of her bright yellow dress before walking in to begin her day.
When she arrived at the classroom, no one seemed to notice her presence, or even that she was new. If they did, they just didn't care. She immediately felt more at ease, praying that she would get on with her day and not be questioned a million times about the move to Japan. Her dad, stepmom, stepbrother, and her all moved across the world from the United States to Japan. Her step mom was originally from Japan and wanted to move back home to be closer to her family. Of course, her father decided it was the right decision and completely ignored how this would affect his only daughter.
The school bell rang, pulling Amira out of her thoughts. She glanced around the room as her classmates scattered to their seats. A sea of yellow and blue uniforms filled the room except for one lone person dressed in a sweater and khakis seated at the front row. Tousled brown hair sat atop their head and Amira tried to lean over to see their face, but they never turned around. She smiled to herself, amazed at their bravery to go against the school's dress code. Although she hated the gross yellow dress she had on, she still wore it to blend in with the rest of the student body. She made a mental note to talk to this person after class and introduce herself.
—-
The bell rang to signify the ending of class and the beginning of lunch.
Amira walked over to the brave stranger and smiled warmly at them, "Hey! I'm Amira Williams; I'm new here and I wanted to know how you get away without wearing the uniform."
The other person looked up at her blankly, "I'm Haruhi Fujioka. I can't afford the uniform, I got here on a scholarship." Amira's eyes widened, embarrassed and worried that she had offended Haruhi.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I had no idea. I honestly just thought it was admirable because I really hate this stupid thing," she looked down, tugging at the dress and grimacing.
"Yeah, they look uncomfortable, and they are pretty hideous," Haruhi smiled and both girls laughed, "Are you from America? You have a pretty thick accent."
"Yep. My family relocated because my stepmom is originally from here. She went to Ouran as a kid and wanted her son to come here for middle school and have all of us be closer to her parents. We've came here for vacation every summer for the past few years so we all already spoke the language pretty fluently," Amira's eyes darkened at the mention of her family, and her smile faded.
"Wow, I can't imagine how different it must be," Haruhi gaped. The girls continued talking about their cultural differences while walking down to the lunch room, Haruhi carrying a box lunch and Amira planning to buy lunch. They sat alone at a table, everyone seemed to already be a part of a group of friends except them. Amira immediately became grateful to have met Haruhi on the first day; she made lunch much more enjoyable than it would've been had she been alone.
—
The next day, Amira came to class hoping to sit next to Haruhi. However, she noticed a pair of red headed and rather attractive male twins sitting on either side of her. Both looked thoroughly engrossed in Haruhi, while she just stared awkwardly down at her desk.
Of course, Amira thought, the one friend I made already replaced me. She narrowed her eyes at the trio and began walking across the classroom to a seat in the back.
"Amira!" Haruhi called to her, "Do you want to sit together?" She picked up all of her stuff and abandoned the twins to stand next to Amira.
"Um.. Sure?" Amira answered, glancing over at the now clearly annoyed pair of twins. The two girls sat next to each other in the front row while the twins moved once again to be on Haruhi's other side.
Amira leaned into Haruhi and whispered, "So.. who are they?"
"It's kind of a long story. Basically, I just met them yesterday at a club they're a part of. They just like teasing me," The boys grinned wickedly and looked over at Amira.
"I'm Hikaru," One introduced himself.
"I'm Kaoru," The other smiled.
"We're the Hitachiin twins!" They both said at the same time. It seemed that some of the girls in the classroom were watching the twins intently, hanging on to their every word. Amira rolled her eyes at this. They were handsome, but they literally hadn't done anything to warrant that kind of a response from their classmates. Plus, why were they speaking at the same time? They were past the age of being annoying twins, usually twins at this age would try to look different from each other, not be the same person as one another.
"I'm Amira. I'm new here." She replied shortly.
"A-mi-ra?" Kaoru sounded out the foreign name, tilting his head at her.
"Where are you from?" Hikaru asked.
"America; leave her alone guys." Haruhi answered for her. Amira internally thanked her, smiling over at her. The twins rolled their eyes and turned to talk to each other. Except, their version of talking to each other seemed to be holding each other and whispering their sweet nothings. Of course, all the females in the room swooned at the brotherly love. Amira and Haruhi ignored them and chose to talk to each other instead. Soon enough, the bell rang to indicate class was starting.
The rest of the day passed by quickly, and eventually Amira had found herself a routine. Her mornings started the same, sitting by Haruhi and the twins. Lunch soon became sitting in the classroom with Haruhi, sharing her box lunch. Then, class again until she went home for the day. The next few days flew by. Until one morning, things were different.
—
Amira entered the classroom as usual, walking over to her usual seat. Haruhi sat in her seat, but looked entirely different; her hair was groomed and styled, she had on contacts, and she wore a men's uniform.
"Haruhi, why are you in a suit?" Amira asked, incredibly confused as soon as she sat down. She had known Haruhi was a girl from the moment she met her. She thought Haruhi's facial structure was way too feminine for her to ever pass as a male.
"It's kind of complicated," Haruhi answered, leaning in to whisper, "Basically, the whole school thinks I'm a guy. I'm okay with it, because I don't really think it matters what gender a person is." Amira was absolutely shocked that Haruhi was just fine with that. She imagined herself dressed in the suit and laughed at the idea. Her long, dark red hair and curvaceous body would never pass as anything but feminine. Not only that, but she couldn't imagine having to pretend to be someone she's not.
"Um.. is everything okay?" Amira asked, concerned that Haruhi had gotten involved in something bad.
"Yeah, I can explain it all to you later. Just try to keep the secret for me please, it will help me out a lot," Haruhi begged, meeting her eyes. Amira nodded, noting how beautiful Haruhi actually was. She had a natural beauty, unlike most other girls their age who hid themselves behind layers of makeup. Amira herself opted for a natural approach, like Haruhi.
As soon as the Hitachiin twins walked in, they flocked to the two girls.
"Haruhi-kun!" One said.
"Ami-san!" The other said. Amira raised her eyebrow at that, already annoyed at the nickname they had given her. She still had yet to figure out which twin was which and didn't bother to try, as she didn't care for the two boys.
"Hey guys," Haruhi replied, smiling sweetly at them.
"Haruhi, are you excited for your first day at the club?" One of the twins asked.
"I think you'll do great," The other added on.
Haruhi sighed, "I don't know what I'm doing, I don't really think it's going to work out."
"Wait, what's happening?" Amira asked, worried about her friend.
"Haruhi didn't tell you?" A twin asked. Amira shook her head in response, looking over at Haruhi, who said nothing.
"He's joining our host club! He's going to be a host!" Both twins exclaimed. Amira sat there, confused. Host clubs didn't exist in America and she wondered to herself if it was some sort of customer service industry.
"Um.. what's a host club?" She asked.
The twins smiled devilishly at her, "You don't know?" She shook her head once more.
"Basically it's where girls pay guys to entertain them. Usually the guys fit into certain stereotypes to fit whatever type of person the girl is looking for." Haruhi answered quickly, not giving the twins a second to say anything more.
"They entertain girls? Like how?" Amira asked, growing more and more worried by the second. If Haruhi was prostituting herself to stay at Ouran, then something needed to be done.
"Like by talking to them. Some guys flirt with them, others will just eat with them and be themselves. Hikaru and Kaoru here flirt with each other." Haruhi replied. It all made sense now; the girls in the classroom were so infatuated with the brothers because of the club. And Haruhi wasn't going to be doing anything dangerous, just talking to high school girls.
One of the twins smiled at her and walked over to tilt her chin up to look at him, "You should come visit us at the club." Amira felt her cheeks flush and turned her head the other way to look back at Haruhi who just looked annoyed.
"Hikaru, I thought I was the only one you wanted to see," The other twin, who Amira now knew was Kaoru, whined, "Why do you want her to come?"
Hikaru turned to his brother and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him in closely and caressing his cheek with his free hand, "Kaoru… You know how I love an audience. You're the only one for me, I swear."
The girls in the classroom squealed and Amira's cheeks reddened further. The fact that they were brothers made it kind of gross, but she was also a little appreciative at the sight of two hot guys holding each other.
"If you want to come tonight, you're welcome to. It's Music Room 3, and we meet at 4." Haruhi changed the subject, getting Amira's attention off the brothers.
"Oh, um.. sure? Will it be weird if I just hang out with you the whole time?" Amira asked.
Haruhi laughed, "No, of course not. It's my first night as a host so I need all the support I can get."
"I'll go, but only if you promise to tell me why exactly you're doing this when you're not actually, well, you know," Amira flicked her eyes at other people in the classroom, indicating that she was mentioning Haruhi's secret.
"Sure, I can tell you afterwards. Most of the guys know already anyways!" Haruhi smiled at her.
—
The school day ended at 3pm, an hour before Haruhi said the club started. Yet, since it was only the first week of school, Amira had no homework to work on and nothing to do for that hour. She decided to go straight to the club, hoping that Haruhi would be there early, too. However, when she opened the doors of the music room, she found that the lights were off and no one was present. She debated leaving the room, but decided against it when she spotted a grand piano tucked away in the corner of the room.
She hadn't played one since her family's move to Japan. Her mother used to be a piano teacher and taught her from a young age. Amira became incredibly talented by the time she reached the end of middle school. She won several competitions and hoped to one day be a performer. After her mother passed, Amira quit piano for a year. Her father got rid of all remnants of her mother in their house, including the pianos, keyboards, and sheet music. Eventually, Amira's friends convinced her to continue playing as an accompanist for their school's ensemble, so her talent wouldn't go to waste. Yet, it had been months since she last played a single note.
Amira strolled over to the piano, transfixed by the light shining across it's polished surface. She sat down on its bench, lifting up the keylid. She held her hands in place, gently touching the keys, but making no sound. She took a sharp breath in and began playing, fingers flying across the keys.
Melody streamed through the air. She was playing Winter Wind by Chopin, her mother's favorite piece and the last solo piece she performed before her mother's death. All thoughts fled from her mind as she closed her eyes and felt the music course through her. As she reached the closing notes, she felt tears begin streaming down her cheeks, one by one. Memories of her mother and previous performances began filling her head, distracting her from reality.
Slow claps filled the air, then a handful of other claps joined in. Amira spun around, eyes alight with a mixture of fear and melancholy.
"My, my, princess," A tall blonde man strode over to her, "I'm not sure which is more beautiful, you or your music. I do have to say, you've taken my breath away." He smiled and bowed at her. She felt her cheeks redden and glanced up at the group of people standing behind him. She recognized Haruhi, Kaoru, and Hikaru. Besides that, she noted two tall men with black hair, one with glasses and one without, and a short blonde boy who looked like he belonged in elementary school.
Amira quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and stood up, "I'm so sorry, I was looking for Haruhi and I just got distracted, I don't even know what I was doing, I just lost focus and got wrapped up in my thoughts and-"
The tall blonde man quieted her by wrapping his arm around her waist and caressing her cheek, "Princess, it's quite alright. I don't believe we've met before, are you a new guest?" Amira felt her face redden entirely, at a loss for words due to the sudden contact.
"Senpai, please stop, this is my friend, Amira Williams." Haruhi tugged at the blonde's elbow.
He glanced back at her before letting go of Amira and bowing at her once again, "My apologies, dear girl. I am Tamaki Suoh, leader of the host club."
"Amira, where did you learn how to play like that?" One of the twins, Amira guessed it was Kaoru by his slightly higher pitched voice, asked.
"At home," she replied curtly while staring daggers at them, unsure of what it was about the twins that pissed her off so much.
"Ami-chan!" The little blonde boy ran up to her and hugged her, "That was so amazing, you were so cool!"
"Um.. thanks?" Amira flicked her eyes over to Haruhi and then back at the boy who was hugging her.
"That's Honey-Senpai. He's a third year." Haruhi answered, smiling slightly, "The other two are Mori-Senpai and Kyoya-Senpai." She indicated at the two boys standing further back in the room. Mori nodded at her, moving his eyes back to Honey, who walked back over to him and climbed onto his shoulders. Kyoya met her eyes and remained expressionless before taking his attention back to the notebook in his hands.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all, I'm sorry for coming into your club unannounced." Amira smiled and bowed her head slightly at all of them.
"My lady," Tamaki stepped forward and grabbed her hand, "We would love for you to stay and catch a glimpse of all of our personalities in action. I would love to learn more about you and see what other talents your beauty seeps into."
Amira blushed, "Thank you, but I'm actually just here for Haruhi. She-" she paused, realizing what she had just said, "HE is my friend and I wanted to support him on his first day as a host." Haruhi along with all of the hosts besides Tamaki paled at the slip up.
Tamaki, however, seemed not to notice, "How kind! Haruhi! I'm so happy you have such a strong support system!" He ran to envelope the girl in a hug. Amira immediately wondered if this man knew Haruhi's secret.
"Thank you, Senpai," Haruhi replied into his chest, squished by the hug.
"Are you sure you don't want to," Hikaru appeared at Amira's side, linking his arm into hers.
"Spend your time with us?" Kaoru appeared at her other side, copying Hikaru's action. Amira began noticing little differences between the twins and subtleties that indicated who was who. Hikaru had a deeper tone of voice and tended to lead their actions. Kaoru seemed to put more emotion into things.
"No, please let go of me." Amira replied, annoyed, and tugged her arms away from the twins who cackled at her.
"It's almost four everyone. Get into your places." Kyoya commanded from the corner. Amira looked up at him, shocked, as he hadn't spoken to her yet.
"Amira, please come speak to me in the back room while they greet our guests." Kyoya stated, briskly walking away.
"Uh oh!" The twins both sang out, laughing. Amira rolled her eyes and followed Kyoya into a separate room.
"Hi.." Amira awkwardly greeted as she walked into the room. Kyoya looked her up and down, the way a predator sizes up its prey before attacking. She immediately shuddered in fear. What was with this guy?
"Please close the door behind you," she walked over and did as she was asked before he continued on, "Thank you. Now, I'm just going to cut to the chase. You know Haruhi's secret, and that's a problem. Only club members know about her true gender, and we can't have that getting out to the student body. If she is as successful with guests as I am predicting she will be, I can't lose the assets she will bring to this club." Amira shifted awkwardly and nodded at him. He stared at her, awaiting a response.
"Yeah, well, I wasn't planning on telling anyone anyways, she asked me not to," She replied.
"I wish I could say that I trust you, but I would prefer to not risk it. I have two offers for you. One is that you can access the host club's special services for free. You will be served by the hosts before anyone else and have special first priority access to any of our events or auctions."
"I wasn't planning on coming to the club after today anyways. I'm only here to be with Haruhi." Amira laughed at the uselessness of that offer.
"Then that brings us to my second proposition. You can be the host club's pianist. Our guests would enjoy light music, which would benefit the club. What you played today would not be prohibited. I assume you understand what I mean when I say simply background music." Kyoya said seriously, meeting her eyes. Amira's smile melted into shock. She realized today how much she missed music, but playing as a background pianist was never her goal.
"With that being said, we do have events. We have a dance coming up at the end of the month. You are welcome to perform as a soloist with orchestral accompaniment at the event if you decide to join our club. We will not be paying you, as it is a school club and even the hosts do not receive any income. However, we will invite you to events along with our hosts in the future if we decide to go on any trips this year," Kyoya continued on, as though he was reading her thoughts.
"A soloist? Orchestral accompaniment? Y-yes, sure, that sounds amazing!" Amira smiled, eyes shining. She could bring music back into her life as a daily event. Even as a background pianist, she could still gain experience and practice techniques. This would be perfect.
"Very well. Then spend your time today acquiring music. Let me know if you need help purchasing or finding any pieces. Tomorrow will be your first day as the club's pianist," He glanced over at her, a hint of a smile on his face, "Also, you will be expected to participate in all club activities. We occasionally will wear costumes and you are considered to be part of the club, so you must follow suit."
She nodded, "Of course. Thank you, Ootori-Senpai! I promise to do my best!" She bowed at him. He gave her a small smile and walked out the door of the room. Amira was really looking forward to playing for the club tomorrow!
A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction I actually have a plan for. I know exactly where it's going and how it's going to get there :) Please review and let me know what you think so I will know that it's worth it to pursue this story!
I absolutely love Amira and have plans for strengthening her personality and including more interactions with the rest of the hosts. This chapter may have felt a little drawn out, but I wanted to write a more realistic OC and a way to introduce her to the hosts. In a lot of other Ouran fanfics I've read, the OC was just added in to mirror Haruhi in a way. I wanted to create my own individual character with an original role in the story, rather than just create a second Haruhi. I've also noticed that most OCs are very tomboy-ish and similar to each other, so hopefully you guys will enjoy Amira's distinctness just as much as I do.
Also, each chapter after this will just feature a single episode at a time. This chapter was just an introduction to Amira so please bear with me! Since my story will be revolving around Amira, I will definitely be changing things up from the original story, but not to a great extent. It still will follow the original timeline of the anime and manga. Thank you for reading and for your time, I hope you will all enjoy this story!