The Twins Meet Their Match
The Imamuras were a wealthy family in Japan. Unlike other wealthy families, however, their approach to raising their daughter was a bit… unconventional. They were more interested in raising her to be self-sufficient than a proper lady.
Imamura Emiko was now twelve years old, and in her second year of middle school. But unlike most girls, she wasn't interested in makeup and fashions. She was interested in anime and fantasy books. Due to this, she didn't really have friends at the middle school she went to. She knew, however, that if she ever revealed her deepest secret, she would be far less liked than she was already.
Emiko was very pretty, with long black hair held back in the front by two silver clips and left long in the back. She had creamy skin, and bright blue eyes. Boys often took notice of her, but she wasn't interested. She knew if she got too close to anyone, her secret might come out.
Emiko's secret was that she had psychic powers. She could read minds and sense other's emotions, but the most unusual thing was that she could tell what someone's name was just by looking at that person.
Emiko's parents had impressed on her from an early age, when they found out, that she had to keep this secret at all costs. If that meant lying, so be it. And Emiko understood. For a long time, she managed to distance herself from others, but at the beginning of her second year of middle school, things started to change. That was the year the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, transferred to her school.
They had girls falling for them left and right, but what intrigued Emiko was that they sat alone together, in every class, at lunch, and during breaks. They didn't interact with the other boys, or seemingly, the girls. Emiko thought that they might be a bit like her; distancing themselves from everyone. She figured they probably had different reasons, however.
One day, however, Emiko was in the girls' restroom when a girl in her class came in, crying. Emiko was startled; she had seen the girl slip a note into Hikaru's desk. "What's wrong?" Emiko asked the girl gently. To Emiko's shock, the girl threw herself at Emiko and sobbed, "Th-they tricked me! They said if I couldn't tell them apart, I had no right to be with either of them!"
"The Hitachiin brothers?" Emiko asked. The girl nodded. Emiko held the girl as she gradually stopped sobbing.
"It's about time for the next class," Emiko said when the girl had stopped crying. "Let me help you get cleaned up."
"Thanks," the girl said, surprised. "Hey, aren't you Imamura Emiko? The girl who's been avoiding all the boys who look at her?"
"Yeah, that's me," Emiko said. "I'm not interested in having a boyfriend, and staring creeps me out."
The girl giggled. "I'm Morikaya Izumi," she said. "It was nice of you to comfort me."
"Nice to meet you," Emiko said. "I was raised to never ignore someone in need of comforting. Want me to help you with your face? The bell's going to ring in five minutes."
"Thanks," Izumi said. Emiko helped her dry the tears away and fix her makeup, then they ran to class.
Izumi and Emiko slowly became friends, which was good timing, since it seemed like every day, they found another girl crying in the restrooms, and they all said the Hitachiin brothers tricked them.
Emiko and Izumi were discussing this problem one day, and suddenly Emiko had an idea. "Izumi, can you help me write a love letter to Hikaru?" she asked. "I think I've got an idea of how to protect the rest of the girls from broken hearts."
"What is it?" Izumi asked.
"You told me that you wrote to Hikaru, and Kaoru showed up while Hikaru hid in the bushes, right?" Emiko asked.
"Yeah…" Izumi said.
"If I know what's going to happen, that might help me out. And besides, I'm not in love with either of them, so I won't get hurt," Emiko explained. Her real plan was to use her powers to tell the twins apart, but she couldn't tell Izumi that.
"That's not a bad plan," Izumi said. "Okay, I'll help you."
The two girls set to work, and soon they had a plausible sounding letter.
Dear Hikaru, it said,
Will you meet me by the fountain in the Rose Courtyard during noon break today? I would like to tell you something important.
Sincerely, Imamura Emiko
Emiko slipped the note into Hikaru's desk before class, and sat down. She went to the fountain early, and sat down to wait.
Five minutes later, Kaoru showed up, and Emiko quickly looked in his mind. This is what she heard: The girl who avoids all the boys has something important to say to Hikaru? Well, she'll find out that we're both not interested. Still, it'll be fun to break another heart- especially one so well guarded.
Inside, Emiko was seething. But she had some acting of her own to do, and she put on a smile. As Kaoru approached her, though, she changed her expression to puzzled. Kaoru came up to her and said, "You had something to say to me?"
Emiko's puzzled look deepened. "No, I had something to say to Hikaru," she said. "Why are you here instead?"
Kaoru looked shocked- momentarily. But it was enough for Emiko to see that she was starting to shake him up.
"But I am Hikaru," Kaoru said.
"No, you're not," Emiko said. "And if you're here to play games, I'm leaving. I know perfectly well that Hikaru is hiding in the bushes over there, waiting for the signal to come out and try to break my heart."
"HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?" Hikaru shouted from the bushes, and he jumped out.
"The leaves were moving," Emiko said, smirking. "There's no wind today, but the leaves on the bush you were behind were shaking."
"What exactly are you trying to pull?" Kaoru asked. Both twins were looking nervous.
"I originally thought you two were a little like me," Emiko said softly, ignoring the question. "You avoid everyone, and don't let anyone into your little world. But you don't try to make friends, while I managed it. I think it has something to do with the fact that no one seems to be able to tell you apart. You distance yourselves because you're afraid to get hurt. I was the same way. I was afraid to get hurt, so I went off into my own little world, and let people think I didn't care. But deep down, I was lonely. You both have each other, but there's no one else. No one else has been able to tell you apart, am I right?"
She heard both Kaoru and Hikaru gasp, and looked up. The twins' eyes had tears in them, and Emiko guessed that she had been right. "You're lonely, aren't you?" she asked softly. "You should let others into your world. I did so, and I was the girl everyone avoided, while I avoided them. I learned, though, that being alone isn't the best way to go, no matter what the reason. And I didn't realize that until I found Morikaya Izumi crying after you two hurt her. Because I comforted her, I gained a friend. You both should try opening up to those around you. I think you'll feel a lot better if you have others to be with and talk to. You've closed the door, now try opening it. I think you'll be less lonely when you find friends. But first, I think you two should write some apology letters. I found at least ten girls crying their eyes out in the bathroom, saying you had tricked them. Just because they can't tell you apart doesn't mean they don't like you. I'm not saying you have to go out with them, but I really think you should apologize to all those you hurt."
"How on Earth did you know all that?" Kaoru asked. "You saw through us like a piece of glass."
"Because, Kaoru, we three are very much alike," Emiko said. "I just learned to open up before you did, that's all."
"How did you know which of us was which?" Hikaru asked.
"I don't know," Emiko said. "I just have a knack for knowing people's names. I guess it came in handy."
"Will you help us?" Kaoru asked. "We could use help, and not only with the apology notes."
Emiko smiled and said, "Sure."
"What was the important thing you had to say to me?" Hikaru asked.
"That was just a pretense to lure both of you're here, so I could talk to both of you," Emiko said. "I'm not in love with either of you. Did my plan work?"
Kaoru and Hikaru laughed. "Yeah, it did," Kaoru said.
"You should laugh more often," Emiko said. "You've both got really nice laughs."
"Thanks, Emiko," Hikaru said with a grin.
"Yeah, and thanks for helping us," Kaoru said.
"You're welcome," Emiko said. The bell rang, and the three teens looked at each other, then ran for the buildings.
Emiko continued helping Kaoru and Hikaru, first with apologies, then with making friends. The three of them became great friends, and spent a lot of time together. All the girls who had been hurt by the twins thanked Emiko, and soon Emiko had a lot of friends. She remained close with Izumi, but had fun with the twins and the other girls too.
One day after school, she was shocked to see the school's most popular boy, Tamaki Suou, heading her way. She stopped walking, and waited. When Tamaki reached her, he said, "I've heard that you're the one who got the Hitachiin brothers to open up. I'm impressed, I've been working at that since I met them, and you managed it in less than an hour."
Emiko blushed slightly and said, "It wasn't much."
"That's a grave understatement," Tamaki said. "How did you manage it?"
Suddenly a car honked, and Emiko said, "Oh, that's my dad. I should probably get going. Can we talk another time?"
Tamaki smiled and said, "Meet me for lunch at the fountain where you met Kaoru and Hikaru?"
"Sure," Emiko said. She waved, then ran to her dad's car.
The next day, Emiko met Tamaki at the fountain. "So how'd you do it?" Tamaki asked after a while.
"I had heard from a lot of girls that those two were tricking them into meeting with the wrong twin, and then telling them that if they couldn't tell them apart, they didn't deserve to be with either of the brothers," Emiko said. "My friend Izumi and I were discussing this, and I came up with a plan. I knew already that they would try to trick me, and besides, I have a knack for knowing people's names just by looking at them. So I decided to play a trick on them. Izumi helped me write Hikaru a love letter, since I don't have a crush on either of them. I went to meet them, and I knew at once that the one who met me was Kaoru. I told him that if he was just here to play games, I was leaving. I also told him that I knew Hikaru was in the bushes, which caused Hikaru to reveal himself. They asked me what I was trying to pull, and instead of answering, I started to tell them a little about myself."
"Why?" Tamaki asked.
Emiko replied, "The Hitachiin brothers and I are a lot alike. I didn't open up to anyone until I found Izumi crying in the bathroom. But deep down, I was lonely. I was pretty sure that Hikaru and Kaoru were lonely too, and by their reactions, I knew I was right. But they had never tried to open up, or even given themselves a chance. They were living in their own world, like I used to. They were afraid to get hurt, so they didn't even give others a chance. But after they realized that I was like them, I think they changed, the way I did. I told them, if I could change, they could too, and it worked. I helped them write the apology letters they sent out to the girls, and I helped them make friends, since they had never done it before. I think what they really needed was someone who could not only tell them apart, but understand what they were going through, and I was more than happy to take on that role. I didn't try to trick them for revenge for the girls they had hurt, I did it because they were like me, and they needed someone like Izumi, who was able to put aside her doubts about me, and be my friend. Hikaru and Kaoru needed a friend, that's all there is to it."
"I'll say it again, you're a really impressive young woman, Emiko," Tamaki said. "I've been thinking about starting a new club once I get to high school, and I really want those two to join. Do you think you could help me? You're welcome to join as well."
"What high school are you going to?" Emiko asked.
"Ouran Academy, you?" Tamaki asked.
"Same," Emiko said. "What's the club?"
"The Host Club," Tamaki said. "It's just for fun. I came up with the idea because some of us have too much time on our hands, and I thought it would be fun to get a bunch of guys together to entertain the girls. But if you and some other girls joined, we could entertain girls and guys."
"Who else are you asking?" Emiko asked.
"Morinozuka Takashi, Haninozuka Mitsukuni, Otori Kyouya and the Hitachiin brothers," Tamaki said.
"I think that asking more girls to join to entertain other guys would be pointless," Emiko said. "You just named the most popular boys in school, and the girls would be more focused them and you than their guests. I'm willing to join, but I think you'd have more trouble with other girls. They all seem to be interested in nothing but boys."
"What would you do there, though?" Tamaki asked.
"It's your club, you figure something out," Emiko said. "But you have to get the guys you just mentioned on board first. I'll help you find Hikaru and Kaoru, but you get to do the talking."
"Okay," Tamaki said. "Should we go now?"
"Sure," Emiko said. "I think they're in the lunch room." She led the way to the table the twins were sitting at, and sat down next to Kaoru. "Eating alone again?" she said teasingly. "Didn't I teach you better?"
"We're only alone because we couldn't find you," Hikaru said. "Where were you?"
"Tamaki Suou asked me to eat lunch with him, and talk over an idea he had," Emiko said. "I thought he wanted to talk to you as well, but I don't see him."
"I do, he's helping that girl over there," Kaoru said.
"Do you have a crush on Tamaki?" Hikaru asked.
"Don't you know me better than that? He stopped me on the way out of school yesterday to talk, but my dad came just at that moment, so he invited me to eat lunch with him in the courtyard," Emiko said. "Besides, the weather's beautiful, we should all eat outside."
Before Hikaru could respond, Tamaki came over and said, "May I sit down?"
"Um… sure," Kaoru said.
Tamaki sat down across from Emiko and said, "I was thinking of starting a new club, and I'd like you both and Emiko to join it. I'm calling it the Host Club. It's for entertaining the girls, and I think you'd be good at it."
Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other. "What exactly would we be doing?" they asked together.
"Whatever you think will entertain people," Tamaki said. "I've heard you're both pretty funny. It's completely up to you how you entertain the ladies, though."
"And if you're only entertaining ladies, where does that leave Emiko?" Hikaru asked.
"Um…" Tamaki hadn't thought of that.
"I can bake," Emiko said unexpectedly. "Doesn't entertaining involve food?"
"That's true…" Kaoru said.
"What do you three say?" Tamaki asked.
Emiko, Kaoru and Hikaru looked at each other and said, "We'll do it."
And there you have it, folks. Just a little idea I came up with. I hope you like it and review.