I remember the day when my father told me I was being sent to Ouran Academy in Japan. It went something like this:
I had just entered high school, you know ninth grade, that's how it works in America. My father is a real spontaneous man. I know nothing of any of his ideas, so hearing about transferring to a new school wasn't really a surprise to me, but this time it was a shocker.
"Hey, Jessie-chan!" My father called. Why the hell was he using chan? Was he looking through my manga again?
"What is it, dad?" I ask as he ran up to me.
"I know how much you love Japan, so I've decided we'd go there!"
"For vacation? Sweet!" I say happily. It's what an otaku always wanted, besides manga/anime on sale.
"Even better! You're transferring to a place called Ouran Academy in Japan!"
"Cool! Wait. What?" I say flabbergasted.
"You heard me! Now, I've signed us up both for Japanese classes that assured us we would learn it within a year!" He says giving me a thumbs up. I face palm.
"And why did you do this without me knowing?" I ask a bit irritated.
"It's a surprise of course! I thought you would deserve something nice, besides I heard it's the most elite school in Japan, so you know you're getting a good education."
"If it's elite, isn't it expensive?" I ask.
"Well, since you're an excellent student we were offered a scholarship, so do not fret about anything!"
That is how I ended up coming to Ouran Academy. Real shocker. But, at least I learned Japanese after two years of complaining to my dad about it. Since we're only middle class in America, we didn't have enough money for a uniform. I swear he needs to think things through.
So, I've been here for about three months already and it seems just like any other school. I do get odd looks from everyone though, considering I'm not wearing their uniform. I've been approached by various girls, for some odd reason, asking about me being a commoner and how it's like in America.
"Hey, don't you think he should join the Host Club?" One of the girls in the class asks her friend pointing to me. Did I just hear that right? He?
"But, they already have Haruhi. He's a commoner, why would they need two?" The other girl asked.
"Well, what if there were two commoners? Besides, don't you think having an American in the Host Club would be kinda hot to?" She asked. I'm getting kind of scared now. Sure I have short black hair and refused to wear any type of feminine clothing, but did I really look like a boy to these girls?
Luckily, class ended and I left immediately. I wasn't in any clubs, so after school I just went home. I have to admit it was pretty lonely since only girls came to me to ask questions and nothing more. I sighed. I want at least some friends, but I doubt any one here is an otaku like me.
"Hey, you," A voice, no two voices in unison said from behind me. I turned around to see twins. They were in my class, but I didn't really give any notice to them.
"You two want something?" I ask hoping they'd let me go home. I wanted to finish my homework and go watch some anime. I heard there was going to be a new series so I wanted to check it out. The two examined me, I felt violated in a way.
"I don't see why girls would want you," One of them said.
"Ya, you seem pretty average if you ask me," The other commented.
"So, can I go now?" I ask. They look at each other, then back at me and say simultaneously, "No."
"Lets go take her to the boss," One says.
"Agreed." They take me by my arms and drag me away to who knows where.
"You know I can walk," I say sarcastically.
"But you'd just go home if we let you walk," They both say. I sigh. What did I just get into? I like to avoid attention, but being dragged by these two just caused more eyes on me. They dragged me up to Music Room #3. Never been here before, not even for classes.
"Welcome."
"To."
They opened the doors and rose petals flew in our direction. The twins quickly let go of me and went to stand with the other boys.
"The Ouran High School Host Club!" All of the boys said in unison. I just stared in disbelief at what I was just introduced to.
"It's…it's…"
"Glorious? Magnificent? Extravagant?" The tall blonde of the group asked.
"A reverse harem!" I shouted. They all looked at me in shock.
"Another otaku?" The short brown haired boy commented. I think he was in my class as well, but I wasn't exactly sure.
"An otaku? From America? How interesting," The blonde said.
"We've heard many girls talk about you, but never once mentioning you were an otaku," The one with glasses said.
"Well, those girls only ask me about commoner and American stuff, so I don't think I can really make references to my anime," I tell him.
"Jes-chan! Would you like some cake or would you rather hold Usa-chan?" A little boy asks me.
"Umm, wait a second I want to know what's going on here. Why was I dragged here and why is there a reverse harem here?" I ask, and then I whisper to the little boy, "I'll take the cake if you have chocolate."
"This is the host club, where we entertain and please whoever walks through those doors. And, we've been hearing a lot of talk about you," The taller blonde says pointing at me.
"Me?"
"Yes, you. It seems some of the girls here would like you to join the Host Club, so the twins dragged you here to see if you'd join."
"Well, I don't think I'm suited for being a host. You see I'm-"
"A commoner? Don't worry we can give you a uniform if you choose to work for us," The glasses guy said. I was going to say girl, but ok.
"Thanks, but no thanks. Besides I have to get home," I say hoping they'd let me leave. The tall silent guy moved to block my escape, and the little one had brought me some cake.
"At least stay to eat this cake!" He said.
"Well…fine, I guess. I haven't had any sweets in a while." The little one jumped up happily and led me over to a small table.
"Here, you can eat with Usa-chan," He said handing over his pink bunny.
"Thank you," I say politely. The little one then climbed up onto the silent guy. I ate my cake alone and watched the boys do their work. My gawd they were so good at what they did. I wish there was a host club back in America, or a Maids café. Both would be nice. Then the glasses guy comes up to me.
"I forgot to introduce you to all the members. The tall blonde is Tamaki, the little one is Hunny-sempai, the tall one next to him is Mori-sempai, the twins are Kaoru and Hikaru, the other one is Haruhi, and I'm Kyoya. We also have another member of this club, Renge, who is also an otaku."
"Thanks. Let me see if I can get this right. Tamaki is the prince, Hunny-sempai is shouta, Mori-sempai is wild, the twins are devils, Haruhi is the natural, and you're the cool one, right?"
"I see the knowledge of an otaku is does come in handy."
"Not really, besides why do girls talk about me?" I ask curious.
"You're the new kid from America, why wouldn't they talk about you?"
"Really? So no one here knows?"
"If you're talking about you're gender, I know."
"And you'd let me in this club of yours?"
"Anything to bring in money for the club."
"If you don't want to join, then you can join the Black Magic Club instead," A creepy voice offers from a door.
"Who is that?" I ask Kyoya.
"That is Nekozawa. He has photophobia, meaning he can't stay in the light," Kyoya explains. I get up, place Usa-chan on my chair, and walk over to Nekozawa.
"What do you do in this Black Magic Club of yours?" I ask, but before I could get an answer, Tamaki runs up to me and drags me away.
"NOOOO! You cannot get involved with him! He'll curse you and you're life will be a living nightmare!"
"Sempai, I think you should let him do as he pleases," Haruhi says to Tamaki. "Besides, you shouldn't force him to join the host club, that's being to pushy." Tamaki then goes to a corner and appears depressed.
"Uhh…is he?"
"Happens all the time," The twins comment. I shrug and look back to that Nekozawa guy, but the door is closed.
"Like I said, he has photophobia," Kyoya tells me, obviously reading my mind.
"If I join, will I be able to see more of him?" I ask.
"Well, his door is always here, so I assume you could visit anytime. Of course, you'd either have to be a client and ask for a host member, or join the host club to get to that door."
"I guess…I'll join then," I say and he gives an evil smile. The twins, Tamaki and Hunny all hug me; excited they have a new member. For some reason, I had a feeling I was going to regret this.
At first, I was nothing but their little dog. Doing petty little chores, apparently that was Haruhi's old job, before she started hosting. Yes, I said she. For being in the club for so long, I noticed Haruhi's features and eventually asked if she was a girl. Apparently, it was a secret to the host club, so I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. Then again, I had no one to tell it to.
It was weird having girls fawn over me, but it was totally worth it for the uniform. I figure I could use it for cosplay after I graduated. Eventually, the rest of the host club found out that I was a girl, like Haruhi. Apparently, it was in the same order to.
I did have to sacrifice some of my anime and manga time to be in the host club, but I had to. That Nekozawa had caught my attention for some reason. Everyday, I was hoping he would appear from that door, but no luck. Besides, if he did, the twins usually shined a flashlight in his face to scare him away, and Tamaki as well.
"Jessie, is something bothering you?" One of my clients asked.
"No, its nothing. I just can't stop thinking about how beautiful you all are," I tell them and they all blush. Ahh. Blushing girls. They are so cute! These boys have it good.
"But, you do seem kind of out of it today," One girl remarked. The other agreed.
"I reassure you, I'm perfectly fine. If I'm acting any different it's because I can't stand leaving you ladies. You are the light that shines in my darkness, giving me hope that I'll be able to see you everyday." Thank you references. To bad I couldn't convert these girls into otakus. Kyoya strictly forbid it for some reason.
Today, we all had to stay late to think of new ideas for what the host club would do next. Like what theme we should do next. I would have offered something like angels and demons, light and darkness, but that seemed to me, kind of selfish. I was thinking of those just to see if Nekozawa would appear since the lights would be dimmed.
"Why don't you have a collaboration with the Black Magic Club?" That eerie voice asked. Tamaki was in fear already.
"That would be interesting. Show the girls the dark side of the world," I comment.
"Don't you think the girls would be scared instead?" Mori-sempai said. The others agreed and Nekozawa disappeared behind his door. I sighed. Well, this was a place to make people happy instead of put fear in them.
"What's the matter Jes-chan?" Hunny-sempai asked. "You seem a little down."
"It's nothing," I tell him and smile.
"You know if you're having problems, that could affect your clients as well. I have heard you've been out of character lately as well," Kyoya says. Of course he's worried about the money issue.
"Look you guys, I'm fine," I say hoping they don't dwell on this forever. I see the twins get a mischievous look.
"Kyoya, what was the reason she joined the host club?" They ask.
"Sorry, guys, but I have to go!" I say rushing out. I had a really bad feeling that they were going to do something involving Nekozawa. I couldn't stand around to hear it.
The Next Day
I walked up to the host club, hoping they'd forgive me for my weird reaction yesterday. But, when I saw the twins look, I just know something bad was going to happen. I opened the doors, expecting some type of fancy showing of the other members, but instead I opened the doors to pitch darkness. I had to double check to make sure if this was the right music room.
"Welcome, to the darkness. I hope you enjoy your stay," Tamaki said trying sound evil.
"What is this?" I ask.
"What does it look like? We decided to collaborate with the Black Magic Club," The twins answered. All the members were in some type of gothic get up, which I had to admit looked good on them. Apparently, Tamaki only agreed to do so to get picture of Haruhi when she was younger.
"You're outfit is in the back, go change," Kyoya ordered. I went to one of the changing rooms and saw my outfit. It looked straight out of one of the manga I read! Maybe I could haggle with Kyoya if I could keep this afterward. I began to undress and put on my new clothing for the day. I had the bottom part on and was about to put on the top part, but was interrupted by someone who moved the curtains.
"Hey, Jessie I was just wondering if you wanted a Beelzenef doll…for…your…" Nekozawa had stopped after seeing me in pants and a bra. We both flushed red and I put on the top part of my outfit.
"I'll take the Beelzenef doll," I say nervously, still red.
"You're…a girl?" He said in disbelief.
"Umm…yes." This seems like it would have happened in a manga I read.
"I'm sorry!" He apologizes and runs out of the changing room.
"Nekozawa!" I call out to him, but I couldn't see where he went. Then I felt my feet step on something soft. It was that puppet he was always carrying around. I picked it up and asked if any of the host members saw him. I could tell Tamaki was holding back complaining about the curse that was about to fall upon me, but he didn't know where he went.
"I think Nekozawa went back into his club room," Haruhi told me.
"Thanks, Haruhi!" I say and head off to his clubroom. My eyes adjusted easily since it was already dark in the other room.
"Nekozawa! I have your puppet, Beelzenef," I say hoping he'd come out from wherever he was hiding. A blonde man appears, who kind of looks like Tamaki.
"Hey, do you know where Nekozawa is?" I ask him and he seems to blush a bit.
"I'm Nekozawa," He says gently.
"But…you're blonde," I say stupidly. He then gets a wig and black cape. He puts it on, takes the puppet from and I can see now that he is Nekozawa.
"Whoa," I say shocked.
"I am very truly sorry for seeing you…you know," He says shyly.
"Oh, well I don't blame you for thinking I was a guy. I like my hair short and well I have no boobs."
"Please forgive me," he says.
"Under one condition," I tell him.
"What is it?"
"You let me visit you everyday after my club duties," I tell him. He nods and I think he smiles as well.
Nekozawa's POV
I had promised that girl to see her everyday. She's different from the others. Unlike most people, she actually seems interested in the world of the occult. Yet, I wonder why she had joined the hosts if she was a female? Was she forced to join? I wanted to ask, but would always forget to. Her presence was very calming for me.
At home, I would tell Kirimi about her and she thought of her as my princess. I told her she wasn't but she was a lovely maiden. Kirimi refused to accept that fact. She told me 'every prince needs a princess! Jessie is your princess!'
Maybe I had grown fond of her after spending so much time together. She even introduced me to the world of the otaku. Of course, she picked out dark series for me and I gladly read them.
"Look, it's Nekozawa-sempai," Hikaru said.
"What's he doing peeking out through his door?" Kaoru asked. This caught the attention of the rest of the members.
"Oh, Nekozawa-sempai!" Haruhi called to me. "Jessie wanted me to tell you that she won't be able to make it today. She said she had to go home early."
"Oh, well thank you for telling me," I say disappointed. Why didn't she tell me directly?
"Wait a minute," The twins say, halting me from going back to my darkness.
"Were you hoping to see her today?" Hikaru asked.
"What for? You going on a date?" Kaoru asked. I blushed, so I pulled my cloak over my head so they wouldn't see.
"Hey! Boss, we have a new mission for you!" They called out to Tamaki.
"I'm NOT going over there!" He called out in fear.
"You said we make anyone who enters happy, right? So why not Nekozawa-sempai?" They asked him.
"What do you mean?" Hunny asked happily, curious of what was going on.
"We think Nekozawa has a little crush on Jessie!" They said in unison.
"What? How could I?" I said nervously.
"See, he's blushing," The twins said.
"If we help you…you won't curse us?" Tamaki asked. I think he specifically meant him.
"Well…yes," I finally say. The members cheered and huddled together, trying to form some type of plan.
Jessie's POV
"Yes! It's finally done!" I say to myself as I look at what I have created. I had sewn together a Beelzenef doll holding a black rose, which I too had sewn. I was planning on giving it to Nekozawa tomorrow, so I had to skip out on my club duties. I was just hoping he would like it and not look at my hands. There were bandages on every finger. It was the first time I attempted at sewing something; usually I had my dad sew me something form an anime if I really wanted it, but this was different.
On my way to school, I saw a little girl being bullied by random men. Maybe this is when my dad's genes kick in and I do something impulsive. I didn't even think about what I was doing. I just ran up to them and told them to leave the girls alone. Of course, they didn't listen and I ended up fighting the two. I felt like a hero from a shonen manga, except for the fact that I was injured.
Eventually, I kicked both men where it hurts and we had enough time to get to school. I just took the little girl with me, knowing she'd be safe away from those men. I had to carry her, but at least she was young enough to be light and easy to carry.
"You'll be ok now," I tell the girl. She looks up at me with innocent eyes.
"You look familiar," She says. I've never seen her before. "Well, I'm going to go look for my brother! Bye!" She runs off. So, her brother attends Ouran? Nice to know. But first I have to go to the Nurse's office. My shoulder is hurting like hell.
Nekozawa's POV
Kirimi had run up to me after one of my classes. What was she doing here? Had she snuck out to visit me again?
"Hello, Kirimi," I say as I kneel down to her.
"Brother! Some nice person helped me!" She exclaimed. "It was like in the shojo manga!"
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"You see, I was being attacked by these strange men, when this person came out of nowhere and beat them up! I think it was girl…I'm not sure," She says. Could it have been Haruhi? Or was it Jessie?
"Where is this person now?" I ask and she grabs my hand, leading me to the Nurse's office. Inside, the nurse said that a patient had come in and had sprained her shoulder. She told me she had refused to tell the reason why.
"There she is!" Kirimi pointed to none other then Jessie, who was wearing the male pants and had only a white shirt on. She had taken off the male jacket so the nurse could examine her shoulder. It was all bandaged up.
"Hey, Nekozawa!" She said waving to me. Her fingers…were bandaged up. "Hey, little girl!"
"So you are a girl!" Kirimi said.
"Ya, oh, Nekozawa, I have something for you!" She said ignoring the fact that she had cuts and bruises on her body. How could they not bother her? She digs through her backpack only to pull out a medium sized Beelzenef holding a black rose.
"Look! I made it for you," She says with a smile. I'm in utter shock. This is the first time anyone has ever done something so, so kind to me.
"You…made this for me?" I ask.
"Yes. I was hoping you'd like it…it was my first time at sewing; you can tell by all the bandages on my fingers," She responded. So, those were on accident.
"What about the cut on your cheek? And the bruises on your arm? And your shoulder?" I ask.
"From those idiots who were trying to harm her," She says as she pets Kirimi. "You know her?"
"He's my princely brother!" Kirimi answers.
"A prince?"
"He's known as the Dark Prince." Jessie giggles.
"Really? That's pretty cool. I wish I had a wicked nickname like that."
"Kirimi lets get you home. Will you be going home?" I ask Jessie.
"Nah, I'm going to stay. I have to make up time for yesterday at the host club and visit you too," She said smiling. I nod and take Kirimi away.
"Is that the girl you're always talking about?" She asks once we're outside.
"Yes," I tell her.
"She'll make a nice big sister." I blushed at her little remark.
Jessie's POV
"What happened to you, Jessie?" One of my clients asked pointing to my shoulder.
"Oh, I was trying to save a little girl on the way to school today. I ended up getting this cut, a few bruises and sprained my shoulder," I tell her.
"Whoa! Are you really that strong?"
"I wish I was the girl you saved?"
"Does it still hurt?"
I was bombarded with questions like that for my time spent at the host club today. Maybe I should have gone home, but I already missed out one day with Nekozawa, I didn't want to miss out on another.
"Jes-chan! I brought you cake to make you feel better!" Hunny-sempai said as he brings over some chocolate cake.
"Thank you, Hunny-sempai," I tell him and pet him. "You're so thoughtful." Apparently this made the girls swoon. I wonder if any of these girls wrote fanfictions of us? I would want to read it. The day went by quickly and I was eager to see Nekozawa. I was pretty lucky, seeing him twice in one day.
"Where are you going?" The twins asked me as I was headed off to see Nekozawa.
"Umm, going to visit Nekozawa?" I say scared. This couldn't be good.
"Not just yet," They say and grab me.
"Hey! I have to see him! I didn't yesterday!" I shout at them.
"This is the boss's idea not ours," Hikaru says.
"Ya, so don't get angry at us," Kaoru says. They then take me to the changing room.
"Here, put this on."
"Our mother made it specially for the dark types." They hand me some long elegant black dress and leave. I'm supposed to wear this? I don't want to be seen in a dress! I don't have the body for it! Well, at least nothing bad could happen, right? Wrong. I put on the dress and noticed a few accessories. I was given a Beelzenef doll and a Black Magic Club necklace. I already looked weird with a bandaged arm, but I guess that didn't matter. I put them on as well and headed outside, which was dark for some reason. I looked around, but I didn't see any host members.
"Jessie," Nekozawa's voice said from behind a curtain.
"Nekozawa?" I ask confused at what was happening.
"You are the star that shines in my darkness, the brilliant moon in the night sky, the light of my darkened world," He says. At least its dark so I don't have to cover my blushing face. The curtains pull back to reveal Nekozawa, with out his wig and hood and wearing the same thing as me, male version of course. I was speechless as how hot he looked. He extended his hand to me and I took it. He lead me to a table, which had the Beelzenef I made for him in the center, and the candles he occasionally carried.
"Jessie, I know we live in two different worlds, you in the light and I in the darkness," He said, "but I believe we are meant to be together." I saw him trying to hide a note card. I took it out of his sleeve and he seemed scared.
"Did someone else write this for you?" I ask him.
"Well, it's just an outline…" He mutters looking away.
"Then tell me what you really want to say," I tell him. If this were like all the shojo I've read…does this mean?
"I have told you those metaphors, but…Jessie, I love you. I want to be with you, everyday. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, but give me a chance and I'll do anything for you. No one will hurt you; if they do I'll curse them until they die." He's so sweet.
"Nekozawa," I say blushing.
"I understand if you don't accept me. Like I said, you dwell in the light and I live in the shadows," He said sadly.
"You idiot…why do you think I made that for you," I say pointing to the doll. "I love you to silly. It doesn't matter if we're on different sides; I like the darkness because I know I'll be safe with you there. You don't have to like the light, it's to bright anyway."
I see him smile and blush. Then he hugs me and I hug him back. Suddenly, the lights go on and Tamaki is bursting with tears.
"That…was beautiful!" He cries.
"Nekozawa!" I say, as he seems to die in the light. "Turn off the lights!" Haruhi is the one to do it. I glare at Tamaki. He backs away. Nekozawa looks up at me.
"Thank you, my Dark Princess," He says and kisses me. There's shouting in the back done by the twins and Hunny-sempai. So, they planned this altogether, huh? Well I'm glad they did.
Even though I got with Umehito, I still did my time in the host club, but now I was a member of the Black Magic club as well. Umehito didn't seem to mind me working, but I could tell he got jealous at times. I told him not to worry and that I wouldn't kiss anyone but him, that made him blush. Anyway, Kirimi found out that we were dating and supported us. She said she wanted me as a big sister and couldn't wait for our Dark Wedding. She had told that to both Umehito and me which made us both laugh and blush.
Note: Hope you enjoyed it! I know not much otaku references, but the only other otaku is Renge and sadly she didn't make an appearance. Please R&R! Sorry if you got annoyed by the changing POV's, but its just something I wanted to do.