It was a now familiar sight to Fujioka Haruhi as she stepped into Ouran High School's Third Music Room. Suoh Tamaki, the club president, was entertaining his clients. When the boy realised that Haruhi had arrived, he gave the girl a wink. Haruhi quickly looked away.
Otori Kyouya, their vice president, was typing away on his laptop. The girl would love to smash a sledgehammer into it, if only to make her debt to the Host Club vanish. Still, despite herself, she was now finding her Host Club duties more enjoyable by the day, and she had no idea why that was the case.
The Hitachiin twins were thinking up new pranks to keep themselves occupied. Haninozuka Mitsukuni (aka. Hani-senpei) was having his afternoon nap, with Morinozuka Takashi (aka. Mori-senpei) keeping an eye on the short teen. Today should be a typical day, thought everyone in the Host Club. Not even Kyouya could have anticipated how "interesting" their lives were going to become...
Hani woke up from his nap, while Tamaki sent off his last guest (for the time being). Their bespectacled vice-president cleared his throat. It was time for their briefing. Hani grabbed a slice of cake before it began.
"Everyone, the theme for our party two weeks from now... would be the military." Some of the Host Club members mumbled among themselves. Tamaki went into one of his usual delusions about Haruhi. This time, it was the girl wearing a Girl Guide's outfit (which had nothing to do with the theme).
"Looks like our lord's at it again," sniggered Kaoru. His twin brother nodded his agreement. The two then proceeded to fawn over Haruhi.
"I'm sure Haruhi will look great in uniform. At least, she has that mature air around her, unlike someone we knew," said Hikaru as the brothers looked at Tamaki. The president promptly did his sulking-at-the-corner routine.
"Pardon my interruption, but I have already made the necessary arrangements." He then handed some notes to his fellow club members. Haruhi's eyes almost fell out of their sockets when she read what Kyouya had in mind.
"Chotto matte! Kyouya-senpei, you're using..."
"That's right. The Host Club would be cosplaying one of the most feared military forces in history, one which has stormed through much of the world: the Nazis of the Axis Powers." Despite the care-free personalities of the rich members (and the common sense of the one "poor" girl), everyone in the Host Club cringed slightly, not least because it was Kyouya who was speaking. The vice president smiled.
"Actually, one of my father's business associates is doing an exhibition on them. It would be cheaper if we could borrow their display items for the party." The club heaved a sigh of relief. They could trust Kyouya to drop such bombshells on them.
"Which, of course, brings me to my next point. Make sure all of you take care of the items assigned to you, especially you, Haruhi." Otori's smile didn't do much to cool the fire which was simmering in the girl's mind. Just exactly how much had he added to the debt, thought Haruhi. Mori had a question for the vice president.
"Do they have uniforms our size," asked the tall lad, as he pointed towards himself and Hani, who was munching away happily. Kyouya shook his head.
"Don't worry. The tailor's would have your clothes ready when the time comes."
Haruhi had a weird feeling about all this. It was "bad" enough that she had to dress like a guy most of the time here. But, wearing a military uniform was something totally different. But, there was nothing she could do about it. The twins, however, had their own ideas of how Haruhi would look like...
The day before the party, in the Host Club's room...
The members of the Host Club stared in wonder as Kyouya's henchmen brought in the stuff which they would be wearing. There was just something... special about them, thought the lot. The vice-president then handed out the badges and medals to the rest, while making a note of what they had received. After that, the twins wasted no time in grabbing their uniforms and dashing to the changing room. As the rest followed suit, Haruhi looked at her bundle. The uniform sure looked cool, she thought...
Kaoru and Hikaru grinned at each other. With their uniforms and garrison caps, complete with medals and armbands, they were going to kick up a storm at the next day's party. However, when their president stepped out of the changing room, the twins' mouths dropped to the floor. If they thought they were good-looking, Tamaki was definitely streets ahead when dressed up as an officer. The teen looked as if he had just stepped out of a history book. Tamaki smiled at the twins. He would be in a good mood whenever the twins were stunned by what he did.
"Just as I thought," said Kyouya as he walked towards the trio. Hikaru whispered to his brother.
"Do you think Otori-senpei looks a bit scarier now?" Kaoru shivered a little while nodding. If Kyouya overheard them, he didn't acknowledge it.
"You're going to be the star of the party tomorrow, Tamaki."
"I know," replied Suoh confidently. The last three members now presented themselves to the rest of the club. Mori made his outfit looked good as well. However, Tamaki couldn't resist swooning over Haruhi, even as she was dressed like a man.
"Haruhi...Your father salutes you!"
"What an idiot," commented Hikaru as the president (really) gave Haruhi a salute. The girl wanted to cringe, but she sighed instead. She had somehow gotten used to Tamaki's ways.
"And to think that we were shocked by his looks. He gave himself away whenever he opens his mouth," reasoned Kaoru. As for Hani, the rest couldn't help but grin as the short teen held on to his bunny. No one would mistake him for a real officer, that's for certain.
"Well, you guys should get yourselves into the mood tommorrow. We have a large crowd." The club members (except Suoh) saluted their vice president. Haruhi went along with the crowd. This was fun, she thought.
"Yes, Sir!"
At the party...
Everything turned out according to Kyouya's expectations. The "officers' ball" (as the party was called) was well-received the ladies. Hani's clients giggled at their "kawaii" host, even as he ate his sweets (with his bunny in tow). Mori's "stoic type" received a boost with his new outfit. ("Maybe, Mori-kun should join the military someday," commented a guest.) The twins were leading two guests in a dance (with the rest of their lot going green with jealousy). While entertaining his clients, Kyouya noticed that Tamaki seemed a little different today. The suave "officer" was chatting freely with his clients, as always. But, somehow, the feeling wasn't exactly the same.
Haruhi, on the other hand, had her clients fawning over her and taking pictures. She tried to comply as they snapped away by the room's windows. Suddenly, a creaking sound could be heard around the room. It became louder and louder. Then, "Crash!". Shards of glass were around the windows; every single one of them had shattered. Without further thought, Tamaki barked out his orders.
"Kyouya, see if any of the guests were hurt! Hikaru, call a doctor! Kaoru, get the cleaners here! The rest of you, please stay calm! We have everything under control!" The twins reached for their handphones.
Haruhi stared at the president. It was the first time where she saw that he didn't do anything stupid during a situation like this. Keeping calm and cool, Tamaki checked the guests together with Kyouya. Hani jumped on top of Mori's shoulders. Despite being the oldest, Hani felt that something supernatural was at work here. Mori kept his thoughts to himself.
"Suoh, three of them had been cut by glass fragments," reported Kyouya.
"Lead them to the infirmary." Otori saluted his president and led them away. The accident, not to mention the groans of pain from the three, had definitely spoilt the mood of the party, thought Haruhi. However, Suoh had other ideas.
"If our guests do not mind waiting for a while, I seek your permission in allowing the ball to continue once the mess has been cleaned up." Another first, thought Haruhi. The ladies murmured among themselves. They decided to continue. Tamaki walked towards Haruhi.
"Are you alright, Haruhi?" The girl nodded. She couldn't believe that her heart was racing a little when he spoke to her. As the cleaners arrived and hurriedly cleared away the glass, Kyouya returned from the infirmary.
"Anything serious," whispered the president. Kyouya shook his head.
"Just some scratches. I've arranged for them to be sent home after they've been treated."
"Good. Since our clients have spoken, the show must go on."
Soon, it was back to normal. The Host Club members were professionals, after all. The twins resumed their dance in the middle of the room, under the chandelier. Then,...the object suddenly detached itself from the ceiling and came crashing down. Fortunately, the two were fast enough to get themselves (and their partners) out of the way. Tamaki was furious. Two incidents in a single night wasn't going to help the club's reputation. But, the clients must come first. After expressing his apologies over the night's scares, he "was sorry to announce the end of the party." As the guests filed out of the room, discussing the mishaps, Tamaki gave Kyouya a stern look.
"Otori, get to the bottom of this."
"I will." Without bothering to change out, Tamaki put on his cap and stormed out of the club room. The twins tried to relieve their tensions with small talk.
"Haruhi, you should consider becoming an officer. You looked handsome in this," complimented Hikaru.
"You two look good too. Those garrison caps were a nice touch." Kyouya coughed.
"If there's nothing else, I suggest that all of you take your leave. I'm getting some guys over here to investigate," said Kyouya, pushing up his spectacles at the same time. The gloves and officer cap added a sinister (though unintentional) twist to his words. The rest of them hurriedly went to the changing rooms. The vice president then walked over to the broken chandelier, the glass cracking under his jackboots. After examining the bolts, he realised that they were not tampered with. It was as if the whole thing had unscrewed itself from the ceiling. Kyouya frowned. What could be behind all this? He stood up and looked outside through the broken windows. It was a full moon night, and a cool breeze was now blowing into the room...
Afterthoughts
-I hope that the Host Club are not OOC, except for Tamaki (That's intentional.).
-Inspired by the cover art of Chapter 10 from the manga, where the seven of them dresses up as "Nazi" officers. Had to be seen to believe it.
-Come to think of it, Tamaki would fit the Nazi model of an "Aryan". Just food for thought...
-Please RnR!