Author: DreamCager
Title: Our Extended Family
Date: 08/19/07 begun
Rating: T
Genre: Romance, Drama, Angst
Pairings: Though it is unpopular, I am planning this to be a complete HostxOC pairing fic. Yes, it's despicable, I know, but check my Reason and give it a try before you judge.
Disclaimer: Ouran High School Host Club is entirely owned by Bisco Hatori and BONES. Please note that I have a high amount of OC's here however and they are not to be touched by anyone without my express permission.
Reason: I thought to myself one day... 'what if Haruhi never did get involved with any of the Hosts?' Soon after, this fic was spawned. It should be a treat for all who have open minds to the possibility of Haruhi and the Hosts gaining their own lives independent of one another after Ouran. Also, I loving dedicate this fanfiction to my friend, 'Kie-chan, for sticking to me through my crazy rants of possible story ideas and dreams. Here's lookin' at you, kid!
Problems: This is going to be a bit of an adult type of fanfiction, but I don't think the rating should exceed that of the young adult range. I have a heavy line when it comes to being ethical when writing but if anyone thinks that I may have just crossed it then please voice your concerns through email or review. This fic, like many others, may also be susceptible to OOC-ness. Unlike general OOC-ness, though, I only use it when it can be explained away. I never use OOC-ness unnecessarily.
Notes: I usually put all thoughts, emphasized words and foreign words in italics (exceptions: honorifics, names, etc. including words such as 'Okaa-san'). Since this is a future fic, fifteen years in the future actually, the way the characters speak to each other, the use of honorifics, that is, may change for a few of them (i.e. less use of 'sempai' since they're not in school anymore). I will reveal more and more about the characters as time goes on, so while there will be gray areas at first a lot will be cleared up as the chapters increase. Though I am still working on The Broken Path I just felt like working on something different. Hopefully this doesn't slow work on either of these stories. Other than that... nothing much to say for now. Just remember, kiddies--I accepts all reviews of any type, be it rant, flame, labu-labu notes or just plain criticism. I like well thought-out notes but whatever you can dish out I'll take.
Our Extended Family
Chapter 1
Opening the Doors
"But after opening this door, I found the Host Club instead."
Fujioka Haruhi, Anime Episode 1
It looks just like it did back then, Okaa-san, Haruhi thought with a look of happy nostalgia spreading across her face.
"Okaa-san! Okaa-san!"
I never did care for the interior, she suddenly thought, her signature cynicism setting into her words. Too pink and plush for any decent learning.
"Ha-haruhi-kun...?"
She sighed.
I doubt the students' carefree lifestyles have changed much, either.
"Silly Okaa-san!" laughed a small voice that finally penetrated Haruhi's thoughts enough to draw her eyes downward.
Blinking her large eyes, she watched her son laugh and tug gently at her hand. His dark brown eyes shined with mirth as he buried his face into her skirt, trying to stop his giggles. She smiled fondly and caressed his face with her free hand, thinking he was just as adorable as the day he was born.
"Have you come back to earth, Haruhi-kun?" whispered a deep, humor-filled voice behind her.
"Ah, gomen, anata!" she chuckled softly before turning her eyes back to the multi-paned windows before her.
Across the grounds the school's clock tower rang out the hour, scattering a flock of birds into flight.
"I was just... lost in my memories."
The man chuckled as he came up beside her. He still looked like a boy to her most of the time but she knew of his strength as a father and provider. He hadn't changed much either.
"Ready to go meet your friends?" Haruhi's husband prompted with the same smile she had come to love.
She smiled back.
"Yes... I believe it is time."
"Ha-ru-hi!!!"
"S-sempai! You're... squashing me!"
She had been ambushed, no doubt about it. Though she could probably have seen it coming Haruhi had not moved fast enough to escape the Otou-san Bear Hug. She had barely even opened the door wide enough to let her own small frame show to the occupants inside only to be glomped by the man she knew would never change.
"Haruhi! It's been too long!" cried Suou Tamaki as he continued to swing her about in joy. "You should never stay so far away from Otou-san ever again!"
"Tamaki-onii-san!"
"Iori-kuuuuuun!"
Though the room was still spinning for Haruhi she could easily see that Tamaki, after releasing her, had moved on to grab up her son. He was now whirling the squealing boy around, a bit too fast for his mother's tastes. She was about to voice her concerns but her husband beat her to the punch.
"Suou-san, easy on the boy, now," laughed the father while moving in to greet the older man.
"Denzo-kun, a pleasure to see you again," greeted Tamaki with a smile; so much more restraint than he had shown for the rest of the family.
Haruhi sighed and kept her son, still teetering after being swung around by Tamaki, in her sights as he made his way over to the crowd of people sitting in couches in the middle of the room. The group consisted of the Suou, Ohtori, Morinozuka and Haninozuka families; only the Hitachiins were left to come.
Hikaru and Kaoru will probably arrive with their families at the same time... Haruhi told herself silently though she felt a slight pang of worry vibrate through her bosom.
"Come on in, Haruhi!" Tamaki was saying now as he grabbed her arm along with Denzo's and began to drag them to the center of the room. "You've both arrived just in time!"
Haruhi let out an exasperated sigh at her old sempai's exuberance. Denzo, on the other hand, only seemed amused by his effort.
"Are you alright, Haruhi?" questioned a young, European woman sitting on the closest couch, her eyes full of concern. "My Tamaki did not hurt you or Iori in his excitement, did he?"
"Of course I didn't, Yvette, mon amour!" insisted Tamaki without even giving Haruhi a chance to answer. "I would never hurt my precious daughter or her child in any shape, form or fashion!"
"D... daughter?"
The poor French woman looked quite stricken. It was then that Haruhi realized Yvette had forgotten Tamaki's term of endearment was not literal. No surprise, since the last time they had seen one another had been years ago at Kyouya's wedding.
"I'm not his real daughter, Yvette-san."
"Indeed," broke in Kyouya with a sly smile. "You forget, our previous club was a pseudo-family for all of us--a mamagoto to use the Japanese term."
"Oh, right..." Yvette blushed and turned away.
Poor girl, thought Haruhi as she sat next to Tamaki, who had seated himself next to his wife and taken her hand in his own. She certainly didn't know what she was getting into when she married him... She seems happy, though.
"Iori, go on and play with the other children," insisted Denzo then and he gave his son a soft shove towards the five other children who were playing a little ways away. Only one child was standing away from the others--Kyouya's eldest daughter, Raina--and she hovered close behind the sofa her parents were sitting at, no doubt trying to act as much as an adult as any ten year old could.
Now that she was settled and greetings were being exchanged around the circle, Haruhi took the time to really look at her friends that sat around her, having been away from most of them for quite a few years now. They all had loving relationships with their spouses, so much could be seen by the way they all regarded one another. It was hard to imagine them all grown and married though. Haruhi had been under the impression that none of them had any prospects for marriage... other than Tamaki, of course. Not that she had ever doubted their abilities when it came to securing a wife but it was hard to think of them all truly falling in love after having shallowly played with women's hearts for so long during high school.
Certainly I don't give them enough credit.
"Haru-chan, cakes will be arriving in about an hour!" announced Honey suddenly, surprising Haruhi out of her cynical thoughts, his now medium-deep voice rather shocking. "I made sure to call ahead and have the chefs make an especially yummy strawberry-filled one for you and Denzo-chan!"
"Arigato, Honey-san," replied Haruhi with a smile. "That was kind of you."
In looks, he had been the most to change, though the others only looked vaguely like their younger selves. It was all a part of growing up--there was always a great change in looks from the time you're eighteen to the time you're thirty. Speaking of thirty...
"Ah, Tamaki-sempai," said Haruhi who had been unable to break herself from using the same honorific for him since high school--he had changed the least of all her friends, after all--"Do you know when Hikaru and Kaoru will be arriving? They did say they were coming and I just thought... maybe something came up?"
"Ah, don't worry about those trouble-makers," the ex-prince assured her with a soft smile to dispel her worst fears. "They haven't had another disagreement or anything like that."
"Kaoru called not too long ago," piped up Kyouya's wife, My Ping, but looked to her husband to fill in the details.
"Hikaru was, apparently, too stressed to call us himself. It seems Marika was feeling rather ill this morning, though I don't see why he's too terribly worried. He knows how women in her condition can be..."
Kyouya's words sounded a bit cold but there was no doubt he was the expert in the area of pregnancy--My Ping had already given him three children while Marika was only experiencing her first. The idea of children brightened Haruhi's dark thoughts and she smiled, unable to restrain herself after realizing her two closest friends from Ouran were indeed going to make it eventually.
"Children sure are lovely," sighed Haruhi as she gazed after her son, watching him interact with Ryou-chan, the child closest to his age.
"If only they weren't such hard work during birth," groaned My Ping with a wry smile, not caring how private such comments were generally kept.
Yvette and Ai, Honey's wife, both giggled in unashamed agreement. Only Morinozuka Naoko remained silent, blushing lightly at the turn of the conversation. Her hand came to rest on her belly lightly, her eyes hopeful.
"Ah, it's a perilous job that God has bestowed on women--to give life to the children we all need to carry on our race," began Tamaki with the same grandeur he had developed through his middle and high school years. His French upbringing had apparently left him without the normal awkwardness that Japanese males would experience when it came to speaking of pregnancy. "While we men work to provide our homes with only the means to continue it is truly the women who work to keep all alive. If not for her hardy strength and sharp intellect how would the race of man survive? Household chores are no picnic, even for those of us with maids who must always report to the wife of the house to ensure all jobs are kept up meticulously, but adding on the weight of birthing and rearing out beloved children... the workload is simply immeasurable!"
Yeah... he hasn't changed a bit, thought Haruhi as she completely tuned out all the rest of what Tamaki might have been saying on the valiant efforts of the female sex. She continued to watch him though, with a slight hint of fascination. All the exuberance he had shown as a high school student was still in his body, just as slim and tall--if not taller--than before. He had continued to dress sharply though Haruhi had heard he had lost favor with his grandmother years ago; she had never really known how it all turned out in the end. Still, he was just as happy and healthy, still as eccentric and abnormal. The only noticeable difference between this Tamaki and the one of the past was he wore a rather thick mustache on his upper lip, nicely sculpted and as golden blond as his hair. It made him look rather... fatherly, if also a bit foreign.
"I don't see why you're the one to be telling us about the endurance of women, Tamaki," sighed Kyouya with a droll smile. "After all, weren't you Otou-san? If anyone should be speaking about motherhood and taking care of families it should be my right before yours."
"Um, well, that is... um..."
Laughter bubbled up in Haruhi's throat then, escaping surprised lips at a scene where Tamaki, King of Unending Babbling, was caught speechless.
I guess some things do change, Haruhi couldn't help thinking even as everyone else began to join in the laughter, even for those of us who seem timeless.
There was nothing wrong with a change or two.
To be continued...
Author's Notes: Ah, a new beginning for us all! It's lovely to be back, everyone! Thanks for waiting patiently for me to come out with something fresh and new. Hopefully it will appeal to you all who have taken the time to read this first chapter. It didn't come out as well as I had hoped but the beginning was cute, I thought. Anyway, on to real notes!
As to opening quotes, I will be using them from both the anime and manga, probably.
Who is Denzo really? Well, we know he knows that Haruhi is a girl but he continues to call her Haruhi-kun, which is not a norm for men to use for women (though -kun at the end of a woman's name is not unheard of, a woman would never intentionally call another woman -kun). That's part of Haruhi's back-story, so don't worry too much about it now. Same goes for most of the other characters. You'll meet them soon enough...
Yes, Tamaki insists that Iori calls him Onii-san rather than Oji-san "like an old man" he says. He insists that all the other kids (other than his own, of course) call him Onii-san. By the way, if you're wondering the children count to family it's Suou family two, Ohtori family four (3 birthed, 1 adopted), Haninozuka family one and Iori from Haruhi and Denzo's family. The children will be explained as chapters continue... Oh! And just as a note, Kaoru is a father too (he has two). It's Hikaru's wife, Marika, who does not yet have children of her own. Naoko, Mori's wife, has had a bit of trouble when it comes to children... but more on that later!
And I can totally see Tamaki with a mustache.
Not much else to comment on in this chapter. The next one may be slow in coming, since I'm still getting used to my new workload of classes this semester, plus my main story priority is still The Broken Path. If you have any questions, comments, critiquing or flames, please post them. I'll cherish every one! And for the next chapter, Part One of Tamaki's Story! Be ready!