The Truth

Chapter 1

The blond 3rd year entered his domain, the abandoned music room. The princesses wouldn't arrive for another three hours, and he always liked to be there before any of the other hosts also.

"It's too bad Haruhi wasn't here today. I had the cutest little outfit for her." He mused to himself.

"Um… About that…" A voice came from the dressing rooms. The boy turned with surprise as a girl with long chestnut hair and a yellow dress emerged from behind the curtains.

"See… I just thought… I want to…" Haruhi gulped. "I… I want to tell the girls the truth!" Haruhi exclaimed.

The boy's upper lip curled. "But… But if you do that… You won't be part of the Host Club anymore!"

Haruhi shrugged. "I need to pay more attention to my studies anyways. The Host Club takes up a lot of my time."

The boy grasped his head. "But…"

Haruhi shook her head. "I have to do this."

"Why? I thought you liked the Host Club!" He was trying to guilt her out of the decision now. "We still have time before the princesses get here. I can cut your hair fast and get you into an outfit. What do you think of Pokémon? I was going to have you dress up as a cute little Bulbasaur-"

Haruhi snorted. "I can't do that, Tamaki. I'll admit that it's been fun and all, but I've paid off my debt. What more do I need to do?"

"I'll give you part of the money we earn when you're requested! You can earn a lot, really fast!" Tamaki was getting desperate.

"But then I'll be earning money for nothing more than lying and playing with people's hearts. I can't do that, Tamaki. When the girls get here, the truth is coming out." Haruhi symbolically stomped her foot on the ground, refusing to budge.

Tamaki sighed, "I guess this had to happen sooner or later."

Haruhi nodded, "At least this way, it's on my terms."

Girls flooded the room, ooing and aahing at the outfits. Hikaru and Kaoru were a Minun and a Plusle, Kyoya was an Alakazam, Tamaki was a Victini, Hunny-Senpai was a Pichu, and Mori-Senpai was a Raichu. They settled down with the host they had requested. Those that had requested Haruhi humphed as they realized that their favorite host wasn't there.

Haruhi walked into the center of the room, unnoticed. She tapped the microphone, and everyone turned to look at her.

"Hello everyone. I've got a story to tell you." Haruhi looked at all of them.

Whispers went around the room. Haruhi only caught snippets- what's going on? Does she know where Haruhi is? She looks so much like him, maybe she's his sister?

Haruhi smiled. "It's a story of a girl. A commoner girl. She was very poor, but she was smart. She even managed to earn her attendance the prestigious Ouran Academy."

The girls that knew Haruhi the best began to put their hands to their mouths.

"Just the summer before she entered, a little boy got gum all stuck in her long hair. She cut it sloppily. Since she couldn't afford a new uniform, she had to buy used, but the only Ouran uniform available was a boy one, so she made do."

Even more girls began to show recognition.

Haruhi smiled.

"Looking for a quiet place to study, she stumbled upon an abandoned wing, with nothing more than a music room. Inside the music room, instead of emptiness, she found six male students. These were the Ouran Academy Host Club- a group of wealthy, attractive boys with too much time on their hands who enjoyed entertaining wealthy, attractive girls with too much time on their hands." Haruhi laughed.

"The girl was immediately pounced on by a blonde guy who babbled incoherently! He said the most ludicrous things, and the girl had to find a way to escape! She tried to get away, and knocked over an expensive vase." Haruhi pushed her hair behind her ear.

"She was now in debt to the Host Club, who seemed certain she was a boy! To pay her debt, she simply had to receive a number of requests to earn money for the vase." Haruhi looked at all of the girls in the room, giving a slight smile.

"That girl's name was Haruhi Fujioka. That girl was me." Haruhi said.

The room was silent. Haruhi lowered the microphone.

"I'm sorry to have lied to you all. It was never my intention to hurt anyone. I'm… I'm so sorry…" Haruhi looked at her hands, twiddling her thumbs. All of the girls could see it now. Haruhi was female, and there was no way to look past it.

A powerful motor started up, sending tremors through the room. Haruhi stepped back as a platform raised out of the ground. There wasn't the regular laughing that signified Renge's appearance, and the platform went directly up rather than rotating. As Renge appeared, she looked directly at Haruhi. Her lips quivered, and her eyes seemed wet. She stepped off the platform, stumbling a bit. She walked to Haruhi, and took her hand.

"Your skin is so soft… I never questioned it, but now…" Renge let Haruhi's hand drop.

"I'm sorry to have lied to you, Renge. I just… I had a debt to repay." Haruhi whispered.

Lights flashed in Haruhi's vision as Renge slapped her across the face. "I don't care about your stupid debt! You played with my heart, Haruhi! You played with all of our hearts!" Renge pushed Haruhi over, now sobbing uncontrollably, "You should have just stayed a boy!" Renge screamed, and then sprinted out of the room. The other girls moved to the side, letting the heartbroken teenager pass.

Haruhi felt someone lift her up, and she turned to them. It was Ritsu Kasanoda. Ritsu looked out at the crowd of girls. They seemed frightened, despite the fact that they knew Kasanoda had changed due to the Host Club's influence.

"Listen, girls. Please, don't be mad at Haruhi. It's true that Haruhi hasn't told you all the truth. I'm not saying she was right to lie like that. But Haruhi is still the same person, isn't she? The person you all talked with, the views, the habits, everything like that- that was all true. So Haruhi lied about her gender. So frickin' what? Haruhi was in a difficult situation. I knew Haruhi when I thought she was a boy as well. I learned only later on through a…" Kasanoda went red. "Mishap, that Haruhi was a girl."

A girl's hand went up. "Um… This is kind of off topic, but was it before or after you fell in love with her that you realized she was a girl?"

Kasanoda's eyebrows twitched. He muttered under his breath, "The girls at this school…" He collected himself. "It was before. I was looking for her, to ask her why she acted so dang feminine all the time. I walked into the changing room and… Well, I got my answer." Kasanoda rubbed the back of his neck, turning deeper red.

The girls laughed. Haruhi smiled.

Kasanoda was right. Haruhi had lied, but she'd still given her total personality to the girls. Not for one second had Haruhi done more to be like a boy than simply wearing the clothes. A wave of incoherent voices came up, then stopped. A girl raised her hand.

"Yes?" Haruhi asked.

"Well, me and the girls were just thinking… What if… What if there were a Hostess Club?" The girl asked.

What?

Uh-Oh… What if there were a Hostess Club? A group of wealthy, attractive ladies with too much time on their hands entertaining wealthy, attractive men with too much time on their hands?

I think I botched that quote…