Hi everybody! I'm back. I'm not going to go into a long explanation of why I was away for so long, but I'm going to do my best to keep up with my stories. For those of you who have been reading my Gundam Wing fanfics, I plan to work on those as soon I can. However, I will be rewriting the previous chapters a bit so that there is more detail and better structure in the stories themselves. Please be patient with me on those.
For some reason I was inspired to write this some time ago and I just finished it now. The title is based off of the Host Club slogan 'Welcome! What type [of boy] do you prefer?' I hope you enjoy it and I just need one favor from you if you review. Please let me know if you think this should be a Yaoi or Friendship fic. I'm going to take a vote from all the reviews I get and decide from that. Thanks so much!
-Midnite
Welcome! What Fruit Do You Prefer?
Chapter 1
"We should visit this area more often. It's very nice for a common folks' town. Ne, Kyoya?"
Making a noise of assent, Ootori Kyoya turned another page in the file he was reviewing and hoped the blond next to him would shut up so he could concentrate. Allowing Suoh Tamaki to accompany him on a routine business trip was definitely a mistake. The Host Club 'King' had rambled on about everything and nothing from the start of the day to the current ride back. He had been obsessed with the common town and finding things to brag to his 'daughter' about, and Kyoya was sick of it. He was more than ready to leave Tamaki behind the next time he opened his mouth. With a silent sigh he scanned the results on the page and-
"STOP!!"
Tires screeching, folders flying, the car had barely stopped before Tamaki was out the door and running onto the sidewalk. "Tamaki, wha-?" Fixing his glasses, Kyoya told the driver to wait and followed his friend outside. He was shocked to see him speaking to a gray-haired girl and a little blond girl in front of a shop both carrying shopping bags. Wait? Girl? As he moved closer he saw that the one with silver hair was wearing a boy's public school uniform and while very effeminate in looks, Kyoya had the insight to see that it was in fact a boy. The blond had on what appeared to be a girl's uniform with shorts instead of a skirt so he decided that coming to a conclusion on that one's gender would have to wait. Instead he focused on what Tamaki was currently conversing about with the very pretty boy.
"Our club could benefit greatly from someone with your looks. Why, the girls would be overjoyed to be in your company. After all, sharing our beauty with women is practically the duty of-"
"No."
Tamaki paused and blinked as the word seemed to echo in the sudden silence. Even his voice is effeminate, Kyoya thought, intrigued despite himself.
"But the club is very into culture, I'm sure you could learn from it as much as give to it," Tamaki tried again. Kyoya rolled his eyes. Culture. Right.
"Maybe you didn't hear me. I'm not interested in your club. Culture or otherwise," the boy spoke up once more. He turned to the blond who was currently unwrapping a lollipop. "Let's go, Momiji. Honda-san is waiting for these groceries to start dinner."
"Ja!" the blond replied with a giggle.
German? A foreigner? Kyoya was finding himself even more interested in these two. Odd hair color aside, they exuded an almost unnatural presence. One that he was finding mysterious enough to investigate.
They turned to go and he watched in amusement as both froze when another voice filled the air.
"Damn it, Haru! I'm not going to fight you!"
"What's the matter kitty cat? Afraid I'm going to mess you up too much?"
An aggravated groan from the gray-haired boy told Kyoya that both voices were familiar to him, and he watched as two boys wearing the same black school uniform came out of the store next to them. He noticed their hair first and foremost. While one boy had bright orange hair and ruby-colored eyes, the other had spiky white hair on top of his head until about halfway down where it was cropped shorter. That part was pure black. Something told him that neither hair color was a dye-job.
"Cut it out, Haru!" The orange-haired boy yelled as he dodged a well-aimed punch. The other boy seemed to expect that and quickly followed up with a kick that knocked his 'opponent' directly into Tamaki who in turn stumbled slightly into Kyoya. Steadying his friend with one hand, he adjusted his glasses with the other to watch as a full-scale 'battle' began to unfold.
"That's it! I don't care if you are black now, you're pissing me off!"
"That's more like it, neko-chan." The antagonist replied with a leer.
"Enough!" In the blink of an eye the gray-haired boy had stepped in between the two and with a graceful kick to the head, sent the orange-haired boy flying up and, to the horror of everyone but Kyoya, into the windshield of Kyoya's car.
"Why is it always me?" he groaned as he rolled off of the car and onto the street. The damage to the windshield was quite extensive, but thankfully the glass was holding together and had not broken in pieces. The boy didn't appear to have a scratch on him and suddenly, Kyoya got a wonderful idea. One that would definitely help him study these strange individuals further. His driver got out of the car but at the wave of his young master's hand, shrugged and returned to his seat.
"I'm... I'm so sorry."
Kyoya turned back to the gray-haired boy whose eyes were wide with apprehension. As well they should be. The car was very expensive looking, and Kyoya was sure he wouldn't know how much it cost to replace what was damaged.
"Oh, Kyoya, that's too bad," Tamaki said with a shake of his head. "That's all right. Kyoya can affor-. OW!!" Pouting, Tamaki rubbed his side where his friend had pinched him.
Don't ruin things, baka! Kyoya screamed in his head. "It's not a problem, uh... I'm sorry what was your name?" He asked the boy.
"Sohma Yuki."
"I'm Ootori Kyoya. You will of course pay for the damage, Sohma-san?" Kyoya said with a smile that left no room for argument.
Yuki visibly gulped. "O... Of course."
Kyoya's smile widened. "Of course that includes your friends as well," he added with a nod to the two troublemakers as the orange-haired one joined them on the sidewalk.
Red eyes lit up with indignation. "WHAT? Why? He's the one who kicked me."
"If you had not been fighting in the first place, I'm sure he wouldn't have intervened," Kyoya replied smoothly. "I seem to recall you nearly knocking my friend over as well. He could have been injured. It's only right for you and your friends to compensate in some way."
"They're not my friends!" Yuki interjected in what sounded like annoyance. At a glance from Kyoya, he elaborated. "We're cousins."
An eyebrow raised itself slightly in surprise. "All of you?"
Four multi-colored heads nodded in unison and Kyoya bit back a wicked grin. How very intriguing. Their names were introduced through forced politeness on Yuki's part and Tamaki laughed when the orange-haired boy was named as Sohma Kyo.
"What a coincidence. Your name is so similar to Kyoya's. It's must be destiny that we met like this."
"How much do you think it's going to cost," Yuki asked, obviously in a hurry to get away from the blond.
"Cost?" Kyoya shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry but money just wouldn't be the right sort of payment for this. I'd prefer you just work off your debt in a way that would satisfy everyone's needs."
"Everyone's needs?" Kyo spoke up. "What the hell does that mean?"
"Well, we need some new faces to encourage more business for our club and you three need to pay me back for damages. I have no need for money."
"Sounds like fun. I'm in," Sohma Hatsuharu, the boy with the black and white hair, said with a chuckle. Kyoya made a mental note. That bad boy image could be a key selling point for him with the customers.
"No you are not!" Yuki snapped in obvious frustration.
"Ne... can I come too?" the little blond, Momiji, asked cheerfully.
Yuki was clearly against it, but Kyoya found it the perfect way to confirm the blonde's gender and perhaps gain a new host as well. "That depends," he replied, "on whether or not you are a boy."
"Ja!"
This time Kyoya did not hold back his smirk. The little one was very much like Hunny-sempai and he now had four new faces to add to their roster. It was an incredible boost for business and he fought the urge to hug Tamaki for spotting them.
"We're not doing it."
The glow of satisfaction and visions of financial increase were halted as soon as he processed what the gray-haired boy had said. "Excuse me?"
Yuki glared. "I have no need to repeat myself. We're leaving." He turned to walk away.
"Hello. Is this Police Chief Matsuda?... Yes. I'm having a bit of trouble with some hoodlums who damaged my car..." Kyoya paused as his cell phone was snatched from his hand.
"Alright! Alright! Don't call the police!" Kyo yelled as he snapped the cell closed. "We'll do it, okay? Right, ya' damn rat?"
Rat? That was an interesting nickname, or insult as the case seemed to be. Kyoya logged it away as another piece of information for a later date.
Yuki turned back to face them with an icy expression. "I suppose we have no choice," he bit out through clenched teeth.
Tamaki and Momiji cheered as Kyoya took out a business card and handed it to Kyo. "Please arrive promptly tomorrow at one pm. I have your names so I know how to find you if you don't." He held out a hand for his phone. Grumbling, Kyo gave it back and turned away in defeat. "Let's go, Tamaki." With a cheerful wave, the blond gleefully hopped into the car.
"Stupid cat!"
Kyoya glanced at the two boys arguing heatedly. A rat and a cat? Interesting. An odd family indeed. He stepped into the car and ordered the driver to take them home.
"That was incredible, Mother! You were in top form! You even got all of them to come," Tamaki babbled in excitement. "Oh, how the delicate flowers that visit us will feel when they..."
"Tamaki! Enough." He couldn't deny the blond his joy, but there was no way he would listen to his chatter the rest of the way home. A pout formed on the face of their host club's self-proclaimed 'king'. "You destroyed my perfectly organized folders," Kyoya reminded him. "I deserve a little silence for the rest of the way." Tamaki's lower lip jutted out and he stared at the floor dejectedly. Kyoya sighed. "Though if you pick them all up, I might shorten the silence to only halfway home instead." As expected, the blond was instantly scrambling to gather every single paper strewn about and Kyoya leaned back to enjoy his few moments of silence. A victorious smile flashed across his face before he schooled it into a calmer expression. Inwardly, he was just as excited as Tamaki and for the first time in many years he found himself looking forward to the next day.