Disclaimer: Ouran Host Club and its characters belong to Bisco Hatori. Akahana belongs to me.
So here's what you've all been waiting for. The rewrite of my Ouran fic. I do think my writing skills have grown considerably since the last time I wrote anything to my Ouran fic (one reason I chose to rewrite the entire thing). I warn you guys in advance that the beginning is weird compared to how I wrote it the last time. Things will be quite different in this version. I also had to change the title. One reason being I really didn't like the last one. And two, I don't think the site will let me post a fic with the same title as another (and I've decided to keep the old version of the fic on here, at least until I finish the new version). The new title is based off the song "You Found Me" by the Fray, which I think actually fits Akahana's feelings for Mori quite well.
Chapter 1: The Host Club's New Guest
Hatred, pain, sorrow; These are all things the human heart fears and despises with all its being. We flea from it and try to hide in hope it won't find us. Yet, in the end, such miserable things always somehow catch up to us in this despicable game called life. No matter how hard we fight it, no matter what steps we take to protect ourselves; such a cruel realty is always there, shadowing each and every last one of us. For some, it seems like a never-ending eternity of heart ache. For others, it isn't nearly as bad as it could be.
What about you? How familiar are you with the tragedy of life? Are you close to it, like best friends are? Or do you, like so many others, try to avoid and make an enemy of it? Which parts of life do you hate the most? When it comes down to it, just how heartless has realty been to you?
Everyone hates the darkness. Even those who claim to love it. It surrounds you, consumes you. It changes you. However, darkness is no different than a dimly lit tunnel. Because at the end of every tunnel...There is always a ray of light shining in, extending its hand; inviting you to the true beauty of this world. All's you have to do is reach out...and take it.
Good grief. Will the stupidity ever end? Haruhi Fujioka thought as she looked around at her crowded surroundings. Loud various noises echoed out from the large crowd that was scattered about in small groups, causing the cross-dresser commoner to rub her temples for the oncoming headache that was forming quite quickly.
It was yet again another day in Music Room #3, A.K.A. the home of the ever flirtatious host club of Ouran Academy. Just like any other day, the men were dressed in flashy, expensive cosplay (today's theme was Uta No Prince Sama cast. Crossover, because, why not.) as they complimented, doted on; And quite frankly, B.S.'ed the female guests who were gullible enough to fall for such terrible pick up lines as "My Princess" or "I love all of you beautiful ladies". Yup, just like the heroin of the series said: A never-ending stupidity.
Tamaki Suoh, who was dressed as the most beloved UtaPri singer Ichinose Tokiya, leaned in to a cute girl who had long black locks flowing down her back.
"My dear, you look even more lovely today than you did yesterday," The Host King began, planting a kiss to his guest's pale hand, "You are like something unimaginable from a fairytale. The fair lady as dark as the starry night itself, come riding in on her stead to steal my heart away."
The guest turned scarlet and squealed about in Tamaki's arms as he pulled her close to his broad chest, "Oh Tamaki!"
I swear, his lines just keep getting cheesier and cheesier with each passing day. Haruhi, who was dressed as Aijima Cecil, silently sighed, ridding herself of all her negative emotions for the moment. Putting on her best and brightest smile, the poser-male turned back to the three girls that sat around a table, "Well, ladies. Shall I pour you all some tea?" Haruhi pretended to chuckle into the sleeve of her cosplay jacket, "What am I saying. You girls are already too sweet for your own good."
On cue, all three guests screamed out as steam flew from their ears. Haruhi held the fake smile while she waited for the girls to calm themselves.
Across the room were the incestial twins known as the Hitachiin brothers. Hikari, the eldest brother, was dressed as Kurusu Syo of Starish. Kaoru, the youngest and less rebellious brother of the two, cosplayed as Syo's twin who ironically too, was named Kaoru.
"Seeing you two brothers dressed as the Kurusu twins is absolutely brilliant." A girl with short brown hair sighed as she undressed the boys with her shining hazel orbs.
"So true, you two would make such inspiring music together." Agreed another guest with medium-length blond hair.
"Ladies, please," Hikaru chuckled, removing his hat and running fingers through his styled hair, "Like Syo's twin, MY Kaoru is just as shy and easily embarrassed. Isn't that right, dear brother?" The elder twin reached over to run his thumb along Kaoru's jawline.
Light blush spread across Kaoru's cheeks as he put on his timid act, "Brother, please. You know how I feel about such things in front of so many girls..."
The guests instantly erupted with love from the moe before them.
Kyouya Ootori smirked as he turned his head towards the first-years of the club. He was always happy to see more guests buying the brotherly love act. It just meant more money in the future for the club, or rather, him. Soon though, the megane had his attention pulled back to the two girls that were sitting opposite of him, with dreamy smiles painted on their faces.
"Oh, Kyouya..." Began the first girl as she wiped some drool forming in the corner of her pink lips, "Seeing you dressed Jinguji Ren is truly candy for the eyes."
The smirk on the money-lover's face deepened at the comment. Just like the twins and Tamaki had down, Kyouya knew he could sell his character too. Reaching into his jacket, Kyouya pulled out a single blue rose and handed it to the ladies, "My little lambs, I thank you for such kind words. However, I believe you two are much sweeter candy."
Both guests fell backwards from their seats in an instant, "Oh my!"
A few feet away from the megane's group stood two onlookers in a corner of the room,
"Boy, looks like Kyo-chan is having fun with his guests today, huh?"
"Yeah."
The last of the Ouran group were third-years Morinozuka, who was dressed as Hijirikawa Masato, and Haninozuka, who portrayed Shinomiya Natsuki. Unlike some of the other hosts, the roles this duo was playing seemed to fit them almost perfectly.
"Mori-senpai, I can't get over how amazing you look in Masato cosplay. You even have his face." Squealed a girl who bounced over with a few friends.
A short tan girl popped up on the other side of the smaller host, "Honey-senpai, you're just as adorable like Natsuki and even share his love for sweets and cute things!"
Putting on the most adorable look the eighteen year old could manage, Honey threw his arms into the air and tried to impersonate his character's voice, "Thanks, ladies! But be careful I don't lose my glasses, otherwise I'll turn into my other self."
The tan girl pointed at the karate master's large eyes, "But Honey, you're not wearing any glasses!"
The boy blinked a moment before he realized he'd forgotten to put on the toy glasses Haruhi had lent him earlier. The boy's happy expression was then replaced with that of a pouting child, "Then I guess I'm Satsuki; Natsuki's dark side that always protects him. Hmph."
All the fangirls seemed to scream in unison at the character transformation, even pulling all the attention that was set on Mori, away for a brief moment. Left to himself now, the stoic man stepped to the side so that Honey could have all the space he needed for the girls who were now fangirling over him. It wasn't long after when Takashi heard the Hitachiin brothers calling out to him,
"Hey, Mori-senpai! Come over for a moment, will ya?"
The kendo genius obeyed and walked over to the twins, "Yeah?"
Hikaru pointed to a lone figure sitting on one of the host club's fluffy couches near the doorway, "See that girl over there?"
Mori's eyes widened almost instantly at catching sight of the girl. Somehow, the stranger's looks sent Mori into a mesmerizing state. Even from so far away, it was obvious to the host that the girl was beautiful. No, maybe 'breath-taking' would be a better adjective to use for such a woman. The girl had crimson red hair that was tied into a low ponytail by a small bow. Some of the blood-colored locks that had escaped the bow prison, flowed down the girl's left shoulder, extending all the way down to her thin hips. However, due to the girl's position she was in, Mori could see nothing more then the girl's hair and the typical yellow uniform that all the students of Ouran Academy wore.
"Mori-senpai? Hellooooo." Kaoru waved a hand in front of the tall man's eyes, instantly snapping him out of his trance.
Takashi turned back to the twins, "Sorry..."
Hikaru rose a brow, shaking his head, "Uh, no problem. It's just you don't normally zone out."
"Anyways, about that girl, Mori-senpai..." Both twins threw their arms around Mori's large shoulders and without warning, proceeded to slowly drag the man towards where the unfamiliar girl resided, "Some of our guests said that girl is a new first-year student at Ouran, starting today. Supposedly, the girl is super shy. Some of the ladies thought it would be a nice way of welcoming her to the academy by bringing her here to the club."
Kaoru let go of Mori and stood in front of him, "So, since you're quiet and she's quiet, we figured you'd be the perfect one of us to make her feel comfortable here."
With that being said, the three men approached the girl who still held her head down.
"Well, hello there," Hikaru began, taking a seat next to the new guest. The girl instantly jumped in her seat and began scooting away.
However, Kaoru then sat on the opposite side, making it impossible for her to break free of the hosts now, "Now, now. It's alright, we're not going to hurt you."
"We just want to formally welcome you to the host club." Hikaru tried putting a gentle hand on one of the girl's, when she swiftly took it away. The elder twin frowned at this, feeling a bit uncomfortable, "Miss, my brother and I just want to introduce ourselves. It's like protocol for us when we get a new guest."
Mori, who stood in front of the group, stared down at the girl who seemed to be shaking violently in her seat. Was it because the twins had come on too strong? The girl was supposed to be timid, but perhaps she wasn't good around too many people. Sensing his theory might be the case, Takashi looked to the twins, "Hikaru, Kaoru..."
Both twins noticed the look in their friend's eyes and rose from their seats, "Alright, Mori-senpai. You know quiet people better than anyone else here, so you deal with this one. Good luck." With that said, the twins returned to their moe-loving frenzy of guests.
Now Mori and the girl were left alone in an awkward part of the room, and away from everybody else no less. Honey's cousin looked down to only see that the guest was still shaking as if she was paralyzed with fear.
"Hmm..." Came the deep voice filled with thought. Mori's eyes widened again when the girl jumped and shot a surprised look up at him.
"A-Ahh...?" The young lady's voice was very quiet and high-pitched; almost like a young child's. Takashi let his eyes lock onto the girl's that were now apparent thanks to her uplifted head. Her orbs were an incredible mix of crystal blue, white, and a very light hint of purple. Of all the guests that had come to the host club since its establishment, Mori had never seen one girl with the pretty eyes this girl had. He wasn't sure if the color was natural or if perhaps she was wearing contacts. Though he didn't care; they were exquisitely unique.
"You..." Mori let his voice speak without thinking as he continued to stare into the girl's eyes as if they held some sort of spell on him.
The girl began to shake more and more as she tried to figure out why on earth this stranger was staring so intently at her. The twins from earlier scared her enough...but this new man was far worst. He was incredibly tall with a gruff exterior and eyes that seemed like they were peering deep into her soul. Not only that, but his voice was the deepest thing she'd ever heard in all her sixteen years. Some of the classmates that had dragged the girl to the club had said all the men here were kind and flirtatious in the sweetest of ways, but how in the world was this frightening so called "Host" kind in any way?
"P-Please don't hurt me..." The girl scooted away from Mori as she put up her arms as if she were ready to defend herself.
Takashi simply blinked at this. It was obvious to the stoic host that this female was more than just generally shy. He had to be very careful when speaking to her, less he set her nerves into a jumping fit again. Mori slowly extended his hand in greeting, "Takashi Morinozuka."
The girl's body suddenly stopped shaking as she looked from his hand up to his calm poker face. Her cheeks flushed a deep red when she let her hand reach out and shake his, "I-I'm Akahana Siaoki..."
Feeling as if the new guest known as Akahana had calmed down, Mori opened his lips to speak, but was instantly sent back to the world of silence when Honey suddenly popped up behind them.
"Hi there!"
Akahana instantly flew off the couch, and right onto the floor with a scream. Mori shot a stern look at his cousin, "Mitsukuni..."
The boy-lolita hung his head in shame, "Sorry, Takashi...I just wanted to say hi to the new guest." When Honey saw the girl trying to pick herself up off the floor, the small teenager decided to take a more calming approach to her. The boy bowed and held out his stuffed bunny, "Hi, my name is Honey! Just like Takashi here, I'm a third-year. I love cake, all adorable things, and all of the ladies, which includes you!"
"M-Me?!" Akahana's face instantly turned the same shade as her hair.
Honey nodded and helped the shy guest back into her seat, "Yup. You said your name was Akahana, right? So I'll call you...Aka-chan!"
Mori sweat-dropped at the nickname. Sometimes he wandered if the cake-lover thought about these labels before he spoke them aloud.
The heir of the Morinozuka clan's thoughts suddenly became spoken when the Hitachiin brothers appeared before the growing group again,
"Aka-chan? Honey-senpai, you can't call her that." Both twins spoke in unison as they appeared in front of their friends. When Honey shot a questionable look at the, the brothers began to explain,
"Don't you remember what 'Aka-chan' means in Japanese?" Hikaru looked to his brother,
"It's 'baby'. You can't call her that, senpai. I mean, I could see the boss calling the ladies 'baby', but not you..." Kaoru held in a laugh so he could keep a straight face.
Honey frowned a little and looked to Usa-chan, "I guess you two are right about that, huh..."
"Well, enough about that," Kaoru wove around a hair in exasperation,
"Hey, Mori-senpai. How's it going with the new girl?" Hikaru began,
"All our guests had to leave for the day so we're all alone now..." Kaoru put on his crying face and brought a tissue to his eye.
Hikaru threw his arms around Kaoru in an embrace and acted as if he'd press a kiss to his twin's head, "Don't worry, Kaoru. As long as we're together, we can fend off the growing loneliness that remains deep within our hearts...Oh, the pain."
Honey let out a loud giggle, "You two are acting like Tama-chan with all that melodrama."
"It's a new technique Kyouya-senpai suggested for us to try out." Hikaru explained and leaned down to get a good look at Akahana's still-scarlet face, "So, what do you think of our brotherly love, Princess?"
Akahana stared back at all the men that had somehow surrounded her out of no where. They all seemed very strange. Sort of nice...but just strange. Was this really how hosts were supposed to act, Akahana wondered as she covered her face shyly.
Kaoru smiled at the girl's cuteness, "Awwww. You really are timid, aren't you?"
"How cute." Hikaru coo'ed, grinning widely.
Just when Akahana had thought things couldn't get any more nerve-wrecking than they already were, three more men appeared next to the twins. One was tall with blond hair, the other with dark hair and glasses, and the last with short brown hair. She peaked out at the men through the spaces between her fingers, refusing to uncover her red face.
"Hey, what are you all doing over here? Did your guests leave for the day too?" Tamaki, who along with the others, had changed back into his normal school uniform, asked without taking notice of the girl next to Mori.
"Yours too, boss? The ladies don't typically leave so soon in the day, do they?"
Kyouya opened his notebook and gave a short explanation, "It seems that there is a party tonight, gathering the richest company owners into one place to discuss various matters regarding business issues in Japan. Thus why all of the girls having to take an early leave; In order to prepare for the events involving them and their families." The megane glanced over at the unfamiliar presence next to Mori. Odd...he didn't recognize this girl. Yet he always did thorough background checks on all of their guests, but this girl...where had she come from?
Honey caught Kyouya staring at Akahana and threw up his hands excitedly, "That's right, you guys haven't met Aka-chan yet, huh."
Hikaru and Kaoru sweat-dropped again at the nickname, Didn't he agree to not call her that a moment ago? The short-term memory of boy-lolita was something to be questioned.
Tamaki's blue-purple orbs widened incredibly at Akahana's beauty that shined before him like a star, "Oh my...Are you a new guest?" The Host King flew to Aka's feet and grabbed both of her hands with his own, "My dear, you are one of the most gorgeous women we've had here at the Ouran Host Club."
Though it should have been physically impossible at this point, the shy woman's face turned an even brighter shade of red.
"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen that shade before." The twins spoke in unison; a hint of evil in their eyes.
"Excuse me, Miss, but what is your name?" Kyouya asked, preparing to write the answer down in his handy little notebook.
"A-Akahana..."
Tamaki's eyes lit up like the sun, "Akahana? Doesn't that name mean red rose? What a beautiful name for such a beautiful-" But the narcissistic teen was swiftly shoved to the side by the trouble-making twins before he could complete his come-on.
"Hey, what a moment," Hikaru began, leaning over to get a closer look at Akahana,
"You're from a rich family too, aren't you?" Kaoru stroked his chin in thought,
Both twins leaned back and gave a questioning pose, "So, why haven't you had to leave early like all the other guests? Are your parents not requiring you to go with them to that party?"
Suddenly, the red color vanished from the girl's face and her complexion turned to that of a ghost. Akahana's crystal eyes darkened, all of the emotion seeming to disappear in an instant. Haruhi noticed the change in their new guest and frowned hard,
"Um...Akahana-san?" When the girl lowered her head like it was before, the cross-dresser host looked to the others to see they had also noticed something wrong.
"Aka-chan?" Honey poked away at the girl in hopes she'd return to being her cute and nervous self like before, but it didn't happen.
Instead, the girl rose from the couch as she kept her face hidden. The hosts watched in confusion as Akahana began walking slowly to the door.
"Hey, did we...say something wrong?" Hikaru wondered aloud.
Akahana stopped in her spot and lifted her head slightly.
You're from a rich family too, aren't you?...Are your parents not requiring you to go with them...?
The girl let her head fall to the floor again as she got to the door. The girl mumbled a brief goodbye and thanks before she walked out of the room; leaving all the hosts dumbfounded.
"Well, that was weird..." Both twins scratched their heads.
"Indeed..." Tamaki responded before turning away.
Honey hugged Usa-chan tightly as he sat in the place Akahana had been previously, "Akahana is different, isn't she, Takashi?" When said man didn't respond, the cute host looked over to see what was wrong. His eyes widened when he noticed Mori was still staring at the door, "...Takashi?"
Being pulled back into realty, Mori turned away from the door and back to his cousin, "Yeah?"
Honey unconsciously hugged onto his stuffed bunny tighter. It was strange. Mori had never ignored him before...
"Oh, um...let's go have some cake!" The boy bounced from his seat and began dragging the tall host to the table where all the sweets sat.
Mori glanced back at the door for a brief second, "...Yeah..."
Honey peaked up at Mori from behind long bangs. His smile fell slightly, even as he sat down to taste his favorite thing in the world...
Outside Ouran Academy, Akahana walked towards a black limo that had the logo "Siaoki Pharmaceuticals" painted on the side. Despite the dark windows, the girl could see someone in the backseat, waiting for her. A large lump formed in the girl's throat as she shakily opened the car door and got inside.
"You're late, Akahana." Came a deep voice that was as cold as the winter snow.
The girl didn't lift her head to look at the person as she sat in the seat across from them, "...I'm sorry, Father..."
The man's lips slightly parted as he glared back at his daughter with eyes as like flames, "When we get home, you know what must be done to repay me for waiting."
Akahana felt large tears well up in her eyes as she nodded. As the car took off from the academy, the girl found herself turning back to catch a glance up at the building; specifically where the third music room was.
Ouran Host Club...Akahana sniffled and looked away as the school vanished out of sight, I've never met men like them before. Strange...
The timid girl known as Akahana Siaoki decided to let her thoughts fly away with the wind as the car vanished into the sunset.
Author's Comments: Well, I do believe this first chapter turned out far better than the one in the first version. The only thing I don't like was the party excuse I came up with. It doesn't seem like something that would happen but I needed a way to get all the other guests out of the host club for a moment. Beside that though, I think my writing has improved. But perhaps I'm just being ignorant.
What do you guys think? Is it more in character than the last version? Is it somehow better? Let me know in a review what you thought.
Thanks for reading, guys. I'll try to get started on chapter 2 soon.
**Ironic fact for the UtaPri Ouran cosplay; Tamaki and Tokiya have the same Japanese voice actor. I thought it would fit (though personally, I prefer the Ouran dub, and Vic Mignogna playing Tamaki. Still gotta love Miyano Mamoru though). Though, if we're talking characters wise, I think Tamaki would make a better Ren since they both are hopeless flirts but I went with the voice actor thing. So forgive me for making Kyouya cosplay as Ren.