Shuurei pushed up oversized, round, fake glasses on her nose and checked the school map again. She peered up at the door sign far above her head and chewed her lip.
"No, not this one," she mumbled to herself and moved on.
She adjusted her borrowed scholar's robes again for the hundredth time and nervously poked at the bun on top of her head, covered in a small, white cap. She sighed. With each step that echoed loudly in the empty and cavernous hallway, she convinced herself more and more that she absolutely did not belong here. She was sure at any minute she would be discovered and bodily expelled from the building. After all, despite her clever disguise provided by Headmaster Shou, Saiun High School Academy was a boy's school, and Shuurei was most definitely not a boy.
She moaned and rubbed her head. What had she been thinking, accepting Shou's offer to attend the school disguised as a boy? Why had her father encouraged her? She should have asked to be allowed to attend Saiun's Finishing School for Girls instead, an equally prestigious school. Yet, the Finishing School prepared girls to become the accomplished wives of powerful and influential men, not to become powerful and influential themselves.
Shuurei yearned to study under the finest masters and alongside the sharpest minds destined for greatness in Saiunkoku's future. Her father, the Academy's librarian, had told her all about the school for so long that she felt as though some part of her belonged there. When Headmaster Shou offered her a scholarship to the school in exchange for her help investigating some strange behavior going on at the school, she found it impossible to turn him down. To glimpse her dream even for a short time, Kou Shuurei agreed to become Kou Shuu, the newest boy to transfer to Saiun High School Academy.
At last, she arrived at her assigned class, Society and Human Interaction, double checking the door number to be sure. With a deep, steadying breath, she gave her robes a final tug, lifted her chin and turned the door handle, slowly opening the door.
A glow of white light streamed through the doorway accompanied by a swirling breeze fluttering pink sakura petals in a heavenly fragrance that ruffled her robes and tugged at her carefully pinned boyish hairstyle. When the wind drifted away, she opened her eyes to see a group of boys gathered at the center of the room, and at the center of the center, sat the most beautiful person she had ever seen, swathed in lavender robes and lounging on a plush throne of royal purple.
"Welcome to the Saiun High School Host Club!" they chanted in melodic unison. Shuurei found herself pinned against the door by the overpowering radiance emitted by the group.
"HOST CLUB!" Shuurei yelled in shock and dismay, feeling her legs tremble beneath her.
A breathtaking, silver-haired boy, taller than she and with a gentle, reserved smile approached her first. He carried a clipboard and wore a delicate and elegant pair of silver-rimmed spectacles that he gently nudged up on his straight, perfectly proportioned nose.
"Welcome, special student," he said in a warm voice and inclined his head respectfully, receiving a timid, wide-eyed smile in return from Shuurei.
Suddenly, an intricately carved silver lantern, suspended above the room in a multicolored circle of lanterns, lit on its own and gleamed down. Everyone's eyes shot upward to the light except for the silver-haired boy, who continued to smile at Shuurei with a kind, knowing grin.
"Ah, this is the school's brilliant new student, Kou Shuu?" exclaimed the regal beauty on the throne whose flowing golden locks curved around his porcelain face, setting off warm amber eyes. He swept toward Shuurei in a rustle of lavender and dropped his arm around her a little too casually. She immediately peeled his arm off her and slid toward the door.
"Welcome to our school, Kou-kun!" the golden boy pursued her, clutching her hand passionately in both of his. "Even though you are a commoner trapped in desperate poverty, we invite you to bask in our wealth and taste the sweet life! You must be remarkably intelligent to overcome the squallor of your life and receive a scholarship to our exclusive school. You are an inspiration!"
"Ho-ho-ho," she forced a cheery laugh. "Well…thank you…but I'll be going now," she muttered and lunged for the door, only to be intercepted again by the golden boy, who stretched his long arm across the door, barring her escape.
"We are pleased you've sought out our host club, though we would never have imagined that our special student would be gay," he pondered thoughtfully, but shrugged and smiled generously. "Our host club caters to all those seeking to fill their lonely hours with beauty and tender, affectionate amusement." He leaned down and whispered, "I'm ambidextrous myself," and added a wink.
"Huh? HUH?!" Shuurei gasped and bolted away from the door, seeking another escape. She was certain she had found the right room. She'd checked and double checked the number, but what alternate reality had she entered when she'd opened that door?
Just then, she felt long fingers circle gently around her shoulder, drawing her possessively against a tall, lithe body. Amber eyes peered down at her through silken locks of golden wheat. Shuurei swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Ah, Kou-kun, no need to be shy," the golden boy smiled at her. "We have only to determine your type. Now, let's see…" With his hands on her shoulders he guided her back against his chest and bent to speak softly against her ear. Her face reddened instantly, and she tugged to escape only to be held easily in place.
"Perhaps you would like the wild, silent type?" he held out his hand toward a tall, broad-shouldered boy with dark, disheveled hair and a scar under his eye, leaning casually against the wall.
"Silent?!" the tall boy pouted.
"Works for me," the silver-haired boy muttered satisfactorily.
The tall boy sighed dejectedly, but quickly recovered. "Yo! Rou Ensei at your service!" he winked and shot her a wide, easy grin, causing her eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.
"Or maybe the cute type?" he pointed her toward a chair with a small bundle of something curled up on it. Ensei leaned down and lifted a little boy up by his ponytail. Green hair draped over one of the boy's eyes, while the other stared at her dreamily.
"Wha! Shuu-chan! I'm To Eigetsu. Let's be BFFs!" he urged in a soft voice like a breathless whisper as the taller boy set him down and he scampered to Shuurei's side. "Please meet my bunny-kun." The boy, no taller than Shuurei, held up a floppy, green, stuffed rabbit with purple eyes. "Its name is Yougetsu-kun!"
Shuurei could only smile at the adorable rabbit, which then glared and snarled, "Stop staring at me, wench!" Shuurei's eyes widened in fear—of the scary bunny and of being discovered, though it appeared no one else had heard the rabid rabbit's remark.
"Oh! Yougetsu-kun! Naughty bunny!" Eigetsu exclaimed gently, but his eyes lingered on Shuurei. Up above, a green-colored lantern flickered on. Eigetsu giggled and danced away with Yougetsu.
"Hmm…not interested in either of those?" the golden boy studied her. "Ah, perhaps then the devilish type!" He steered her toward two boys opposite in every way, from their hair to their demeanor.
The dark-haired boy dressed in stylish blue robes shot her a slow, slinky grin. "I'm Ran Shuuei. Let's get to know each other…much better." He draped his arm over the other boy's shoulder. "You won't be too jealous, will you, Kouyuu?" he muttered sweetly in the other boy's ear.
"Why don't you fall in a river and drown!" the other boy yelled and folded his indignant arms over his plain but well-appointed scholar's robes. He turned up his nose at the boy in blue, his aqua-colored hair swishing violently over his eyes.
Shuurei heard the golden boy behind her clear his throat. "Don't mind them. It's part of their charm," he shrugged. "Moving on, we also have the cool type…my personal favorite," the golden boy adjusted her position again, indicating the silver-haired boy who had first addressed her so kindly.
"Shi Seiran," he placed his hand over his heart and bowed formally, "I am most honored to make your acquaintance, Ouji-sama." A soft blush rose to Shuurei's cheeks and a pleasant smile danced on her lips.
"Of course," she suddenly felt warm breath curling over her ear and her shoulders shot up in a tight clench, "if none of them pleases you…" She was spun around and the tall golden boy leaned over her, his mouth so close to hers she could taste his sweet breath. "Perhaps Shi Ryuuki will steal your heart." She shook her head slowly, her eyes wide, backing away. "After all…" his hand slinked around her waist drawing her against him, "We are the king." He bent his head, his lips descending toward hers.
Shuurei clenched her eyes and screamed, "HELP! SAVE ME!"
In an instant, she felt herself swept up out of Ryuuki's arms and held up in the air, safely out of danger. When she opened her eyes, she looked down at the tall boy with the scar, who held her up out of Ryuuki's reach.
"Ensei…" she stared at him breathlessly. "Uh…thank you."
He blinked twice, holding her for a moment, and then grinned and set her down. "No problem, Shuu-kun," he said with a wink.
A brass-colored lantern flared into life above their heads.
As Shuurei caught her breath, she heard Ryuuki moan behind her. Apparently, when Ensei had rescued her from the path of Ryuuki's ardor, the golden boy's passionate momentum had carried him forward and he fell against a pedestal, sending an expensive antique vase crashing to the floor.
While the boy named Shuuei and the boy named Kouyuu laughed hysterically all over themselves at the king's rejection, the golden boy himself sat huddled in a dark corner, his back to the room, mumbling pathetically to himself.
"What's wrong with him?" Shuurei asked the silver-haired boy, Seiran.
"Don't mind him," Seiran smiled sweetly. "However, I'm afraid you have another problem, Ouji-sama," he pushed his glasses up on his face and they glinted under the lantern light. He bent and picked up a piece of the broken vase. "How shall we handle this, your majesty?" Seiran asked, his eyes shifting to the golden boy, who now had resumed his throne and leaned on his hand smiling at Shuurei.
"As king, we are bound to follow the ancient teachings," Ryuuki stated imperiously. "And we believe the ancient proverb says, 'you break it, you bought it!'"
"Eh?" Shuurei stared at Ryuuki's satisfied smile directed at her.
"That'll be fifty thousand gold ryou, please," Seiran smiled at her gently. "I recently had the vase appraised for our upcoming club fundraising auction."
"But…I didn't break it," Shuurei pointed out nervously.
"Well, technically…" the blue boy, Shuuei, popped up beside her, "if you hadn't moved out of the way…"
"Laws of physics made it inevitable that the king would hit the vase if nothing was in the way to stop him," added Kouyuu, the aqua-haired boy, on the other side of her nodding in agreement.
Shuurei looked from one boy to the other in panic.
"So you see, Ouji-sama," Seiran slid his glasses back up on his face, a sly smile lifting the corner of his mouth, "you owe the host club fifty thousand gold ryou. Will that be check or charge?" he poised his pen over his clipboard.
"That's not fair! I don't have that kind of money!" she answered, her heart racing. She pulled out her pocket abacus and calculated how much of her allowance she could save and how long it would take to pay the astronomical sum. She fell to her knees in defeat and groaned.
"Fortunately, we have a solution." Ryuuki knelt on one knee and lifted her chin up.
"Erk!" she drew back sharply, but then quickly looked around to make sure there wasn't anything else nearby to break.
"Seiran, is there not a custom among commoners to work off their debt?" Ryuuki asked over his shoulder, his eyes still locked on Shuurei's wide, panicked ones.
"Indeed there is, your majesty," Seiran answered smoothly.
"Then, Shuu-kun shall work off his debt to the club!" Ryuuki announced proudly.
"Wait a minute…I can't…" Shuurei tried to speak.
"What could this…person…possibly do for the club?" Kouyuu glanced over Shuurei's secondhand, mended robes.
Ryuuki considered the question for a few seconds and then reached up and slowly slid Shuurei's large, dark-rimmed glasses from her face. His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat.
"Hey, those are mine…" Shuurei grasped for the glasses, but Ryuuki flipped them back to Seiran, who pocketed them immediately.
"What do you think, Seiran?" Ryuuki asked breathlessly, his eyes locked on the face before him.
"Heartrending," he remarked and pushed up his glasses. "The waif?"
"Oh, yes," Ryuuki nodded slowly, his voice choking.
"You're not considering…" Shuuei grinned mischievously at Ryuuki and then shot a surprised look at Kouyuu.
"You can't be serious," Kouyuu grumbled. The two boys moved behind Ryuuki to see what he saw.
With her head bowed in embarrassment, Shuurei raised her eyes to them, large, round, warm brown eyes, a little sad and lost, a tear in the corner of one. A soft, pink blush rose to her cheeks and her bottom lip trembled.
Overhead, a blue lantern sparked brightly and glowed down on Shuurei.
"Little one," Shuuei whispered softly, taking Shuurei's hand gently in his and lifting her to her feet.
"He's kind of…" Kouyuu mumbled quietly, "cute." The aqua-colored lantern above stayed dark.
"Beautiful," Ryuuki brushed a tear from his eye. "And our customers will think so too."
Ryuuki quickly swept between Shuuei and Shuurei and wrapped a protective arm around his new charge, whisking her toward the throne, much to Shuuei's displeasure.
"I don't understand…I just want to study…" she mumbled in confusion.
"Starting today, you will become our newest host!" Ryuuki announced.
"WHAT?!!!!" Shuurei drew back in horror.
"If a certain number of our patrons designate you as their host, your debt will be paid," he leaned in close to her, his warm eyes locked on hers, a challenging grin on his lips.
She stared at him aghast, but the numbers began to calculate in the abacus of her mind. "How many patrons have to designate me?" her eyes widened excitedly and a determined expression set on her face.
"Hmm…it's not a large number, but not a small number either," he mused. He leaned down to her ear and whispered the number softly so only she could hear. She sighed and a small smile teased her lips.
He straightened up and took her hand in both of his. "Well, do you accept?" he smiled down at her.
"I do," she said breathlessly, her eyes meeting his.
A light began to grow brighter in the purple lantern glimmering above them.
"You're…you're a girl," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Uh…yes…" she confessed.
The purple lantern instantly flared into a bright, white light, shooting golden beams in powerful rays that bounced off every surface in the room. A tremendous burst of energy pulsed outward exploding all the other lanterns into a shimmer of multi-colored sparks raining down around them.
As the initial explosions subsided, Shuuei squinted into the canopy of glittering lights spilling all around and found the silhouette of the king and his newly discovered protégé locked in a lingering kiss, surrounded by thousands of tiny sparkles.
Shuuei smiled knowingly at Seiran, who scribbled numbers on his clipboard. "How long until she pays off the lanterns?"
Seiran slid his spectacles up on his nose, the sparks glinting in the lenses. "At least until she graduates," he replied and smiled darkly.