Author's Note: Konnichiwa, mina-san! I am Kuroneko, but you can call me K-chan. ^_^
Ouran HSHC is anime I've recently been introduced to, and have subsequently fallen in love with. While I am also of the Slayers fan fiction community, I have decided to try my hand at Ouran fan fiction as well.
The setting for this fic takes places in the anime continuity, the school year following. There is only one major OC for this fic – Rin Tamashizaki – along with a few supporting. I strive to keep everyone as in character as possible. If any characters appear too OOC or if something stands out, please let me know.
Let me know what you all think! All questions, comments, and/or suggestions welcome.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Ouran HSHC. I just like to write. ^_^
True Confessions
By Kuroneko
"Man needs, for his happiness, not only the enjoyment of this or that, but hope and enterprise and change."
– Bertrand Russel
Chapter 1: A Need for Change
It was after the Festival, after the insanity, after fighting to keep Tamaki in Japan that realization suddenly dawned on them: things would be the same, but they were going to be different.
It was an oxymoron, but a fitting one for their situation. Haruhi Fujioka would still be there, would still be their friend, and would still pretend to be a boy. Inconceivably, even after the Ouran Festival no one connected the girl dancing with all of them as being the Haruhi of the Host Club. It caused them to give heavy consideration to the powers of observation (or lack thereof) of the student body, their self-proclaimed manger Renge included.
Late autumn faded into the cold winter, and the Ouran Hosts kept their lovely princesses warm. Different fires kindled, unnoticed by some, recognized by others. Some warmed; others burned. When winter transitioned into spring, many of those fires died while others remained ignited. Mitsukuni "Honey" Haninozuka and his cousin, Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka, graduated after that school year and headed directly into Ouran University, which was conveniently located quite nearby, thus enabling them to continuation participating in club activities whenever they would be able to get a chance. Some of their guests remained and many would leave, having graduated as well. The inevitable newcomers would arrive and the devilish duo would sweep some of them away, leading them into confusion and the twisted fantasy, yet still for them a fire did not kindle.
There was nothing to burn them in that way. There was nothing to warm them. The Hitachiin twins were left in the proverbial cold.
No one would have ever guessed it, of course. They were masters of concealment, having refined their acting abilities throughout their lives. Forbidden brotherly love was the crux of their act, sending their loyal customers into swoons and shrieks of delight. They appeared to revel in the reactions, playing up their antics and resorting to the usual pranks and games. Everyone was judged by their appearances, and keeping up appearances was what Hikaru and Kaoru were all about; the world was a stage, and they were the actors.
But that incident with Tamaki practically left the writing on the wall, and it felt like they were destined to head back to square one. There was no mistaking the emotions the twins felt whenever Haruhi was around them. Even if one of them was barely able to register the meaning of those feelings, it still made no difference that the sharp pain was real. It wasn't just that Tamaki Suoh was actually going to leave them and disband the one thing that had finally made them happy.
It was the fact that Haruhi had been the one to bring him back to them.
Kaoru pondered the events of the previous school year for the umpteenth time that morning. Their second year of high school hadn't even begun yet before he started to think. Of the two of them, he was probably the most philosophical; Hikaru, despite being the elder twin, was more given to acting purely out of emotion and seldom took the time to consider things.
That was Hikaru's whole problem, and Kaoru knew it all too well. Even when given the opportunity, Hikaru had been unable to recognize his own emotions, consequently messing up with his characteristically brash actions. Now with the opportunity very near to being gone entirely, he wasn't certain what would fill up the hole that was surely growing from within.
Tricks, pranks, the "Which One Is Hikaru?" game… the act was a fine stabilizer, but how long until the support finally gave out? Haruhi would still be their friend no matter what her relationship with Tamaki turned out – they both knew that. But friendship wasn't the issue.
'It turned back into a pumpkin, didn't it?' he wondered, watching the scenery pass by as their limo cruised along. 'We almost had a carriage, but it turned back into a pumpkin. I knew this was going to happen.' He sighed heavily.
"Hey, Kaoru?" His older twin's concerned voice drew him reluctantly from his thoughts and he turned from the window. The golden orbs staring back at him were full of anxiety. Kaoru quirked a grin.
"I'm alright. I'm just thinking, that's all," he said, stretching his lanky body a little before relaxing and returning his gaze to the passing trees and houses. "It's going to be a whole new year."
"Yeah," Hikaru said, his voice of mixture of excitement and slight disappointment. Kaoru noticed this immediately.
"Worried?" He looked over lazily, allowing the mischief to wander into his own golden eyes. Hikaru smirked.
"No. What's there to worry about? We're going to be mobbed by first-year guests," he said nonchalantly. "They have absolutely no idea what they're in for… It'll be a nice change to see what we can pull over them."
"Yeah…" Kaoru agreed, looking out the window as the academy came into view. "Change would be nice."
Change was something they would need, he secretly thought. With any luck this new school year and the new students would bring something – someone he dared to think – that would turn things upside down more than the Ouran Host Club already did, and another pumpkin would spring up before turning into a coach. Maybe they'd find a challenge. Or maybe they'd just create some extra mayhem.
They were the infamous Hitachiin twins, after all.
…
Ouran Academy was larger than Rin had anticipated. Much larger. She'd rather assumed it was the size of a mall or so, but she hadn't counted on the enormity of the place! It was monstrous!
And elegant! Her first glance through the double-doors as a set of female students in their yellow dress uniforms walked through only confirmed one of two things: either she was dreaming or she'd gotten the wrong school. There was no possible way that the guaranteed stately halls, the grand staircases, and the chandeliers she swore she saw overhead were part of the academy she'd (miraculously) successfully gained admission into.
No, this was Ouran Academy, no doubt about it. It was almost too much for her to take in. Her old public school was a forgotten churchyard clutched in the vestiges of lonely winter and bitter war in comparison to the luxury unfolding before her.
'Working-class kid makes good,' she joked bitterly to herself, shrugging her bag over her shoulder as it began to slide. She looked down at her class schedule. She was a second-year student coming into a new school at the beginning of the new term. Gone was the public school system, gone were the bland days of surpassing all her peers; today marked the advent of a new life… didn't it?
"You can do anything you set your mind to. And with a mind like yours, you're bound to have fun!"
Rin stumbled at the sudden memory. Looking up at the school again, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt about everything.
'It's ironic, isn't it,' she thought with bitter amusement as she stopped at the front steps. 'I've finally made it this far and it's for all the wrong reasons.'
Taking in a deep breath and releasing it along with the anxiety she knew she was holding back, Rin shrugged her bag over her shoulder as the strap began to slide down again and winced as it hit her side. 'I really should have wrapped this.'
Shaking her head, she looked up and walked up the stair and through the double-doors. It would be different this year, she was certain. So much had changed and very little was the same. And now it was coming down to this.
"Just try to enjoy yourself," Yamanouchi had said. "I know you're under a lot of stress, but this is high school – you're supposed to have fun! Try not to worry so much. It'll be just fine. Trust me."
She'd been reminding herself of that conversation every day since they'd had it.
'I'm gonna have fun,' she told herself firmly. 'I'm not gonna worry. I'm gonna have fun.'
"Here it goes, Mom," she muttered under her breath. "Wish me luck."
