第1章 (Chapter 1)
Tsujimine Aiya walked tiredly down the hall, exhausted from her day. Her waist-long black hair fluttered slightly in the mild breeze from the open windows. though she was tired, her lavender eyes continued to dart nervously. The main reason for her exhaustion was the mob of teenage girls that had rushed, squealing, past her and down the hall, leaving her dizzy and disoriented. For the sake of it, and because she had nowhere else to go, she continued to follow the direction the mob had taken. Finally, she reached the end of the hall. In front of her, stood a tall door. Looking up, she saw a plaque that read: Music Room Three. Her eyes lit up. She had found an honest-to-goodness, music room! She had always had an interest in playing music, but had never had the chance. To find a room dedicated solely to music, in this unfamiliar environment, filled her with joy. She creaked upon the surprisingly light door and was instantly greeted with chatter. Once the door was fully open, she took one glance, and gaped.
What she saw didn't resemble a music room at ALL. There were luxurious-looking couches, and expensive-looking chairs and tables set up around the room. Expensive and elegant artifacts were placed seemingly randomly, but in an order that complimented each other. However, what was the most surprising to the girl, was what was going on. Situated on various couches, chairs, or tables, were tons of teenage girls. Aiya now knew the reason for the squealing crowd. Girls were clustered around six different boys. On one couch, was a tall, blond-haired boy who was obviously sweet-talking the girls around him, making them swoon. Sitting, or more like, hugging, on another couch, were two identical twins. One was holding the other by the chin and they were staring into each other's eyes. A few of the girls watching, fainted. On a table, a tiny, blond boy was eating cake and smiling adorably at the girls around him, all the while clutching a pink, stuffed bunny. Standing behind him, was a really tall black-haired boy, who didn't do much but stare. Occasionally, he would take a napkin and wipe at the tiny boy's face, causing their watchers to clasp their hands to their face and squeal. Finally, situated on another table, was a brunette boy who oddly looked like a girl. All of a sudden, the boy/girl smiled and Aiya's guess was confirmed. Though why a girl, was entertaining other girls, was a missed point to Aiya.
The room, however, was beautiful. The walls were a soft pink with a tint of gold, making it look like a sunset. The marble floor was polished and shining. The gold brocade curtains were held back by beautiful, silver ties. She couldn't stop staring at the elegance of it all. However, a hand on her shoulder distracted her from her admiration. She let out a startled, "Eep!" and involuntarily, jumped away, however rude it was. She turned around and found herself face to face with a bespectacled, black-haired boy. He turned away from the clipboard he had currently been writing on to give her a once-over with cool, steel gray eyes. "And you are?" His voice was calm, indifferent, but there was a certain...quality to it, that Aiya couldn't quite put her finger on. The girl being questioned blushed and bowed. "Tsujimine Aiya. Hajimemashite!"
"Mm. Are you, by any chance, a transfer student?"
"Yes. I just got here today to Class 1-A." The boy stared at her for a while, making Aiya fidget under his scrutinizing gaze. Thankfully, he averted his eyes and was about to speak up before he was interrupted by an elbow resting on each of her shoulders.
Aiya glanced to her sides to see the two twins from before. One of them spoke up. "Kyoya-senpai, you're scaring her."
"Yeah. Look, she's shaking." The other one remarked. That's when Aiya realized the difference between the two. The one one her left had a higher pitched voice, while the right's voice was lower inn tone. Breaking through the twins' voices was a feminine-sounding one. "Hikaru, Kaoru, I think YOU'RE the ones scaring her." The three turned around and Aiya saw the girl-dressed-boy from earlier. Thankfully, the twins left her and flanked the other girl. "Ha-ru-hi! Look! A new person!"
"I can see that." Haruhi responded tiredly. She then turned her gaze to Aiya, an apologetic expression on her face. "Moshiwake arimasen. You just happen to be one of the two things they're obsessed with: pretty girls and each other."
Despite herself, Aiya laughed. "It's okay. I think they're pretty cool." Matching devilish grins materialized on the twins' faces. One of them, Hikaru or Kaoru, walked up to her, picked up her chin and placed his face close to Aiya's own. "Oh? You think we're cool?" It was Kaoru. Aiya blushed at the close proximity, until the pressure on her chin was released as a result of Kaoru being lifted up by an invisible hand and thrown carelessly to the ground. Hikaru immediately rushed over. "Kaoru!" Even though it was obviously not her fault, Aiya felt like she had to apologize. That thought was cut off by a regal-sounding voice. "You idiot twins! You can't treat a lady so carelessly!"
The blond boy who had been flirting with the girls awhile ago grabbed her hand and kissed it. "My apologies, princess. I am Suou Tamaki. Are you new to Ouran?" Aiya smiled warmly and bowed her head. "Yes. I am Tsujimine Aiya. Please treat me kindly!"
"Tsujimine?" The group turned towards the voice. It was the gray-eyed boy.
"Yes."
"I see. I thought your name sounded familiar. Would you happen to be from the Tsujimine Royal Clan?" Everyone looked pretty shocked at the concept of a royal being in their presence. However, nothing could have shocked them more than the girl's response. "Eto...I don't remember. Gomen."
By this time, the other two, the tiny blond and his tall companion had joined them, early enough to hear the question and odd response. The room was completely empty except for the six boys and two girls.
"You...don't know?" The same boy asked, confusedly.
"No." The group continued to stare, disbelievingly. Aiya was starting to get uncomfortable.
Haruhi, sensing the other girl's discomfort, took her hand and led her over to one of the couches. "Would you like to sit down?" Aiya accepted the offer with a smile and a nod. It took her all her willpower not to collapse and just go to sleep. The Host Club gathered around her, but not too close. Silence reigned supreme until the supposed-princess broke it, asking the question that had bugged her for a while. "Why is there a girl here? And, why are you dressed like a guy?" The whole group looked sheepish and probably would have started making excuses except that the fact the girl they were talking about, raised her hand, silencing all six. "Yes. I am a girl. The reason I'm HERE, is because I have...something to complete. And if the fact gets out that I'm not who I say I am, I wouldn't be able to complete that. So if you could, so kindly-"
"Keep your secret?" Aiya finished with a smile. Haruhi nodded. "No problem! Your secret's safe with me."
"Well, now that that's out of the way, I'd like to know, if it's of no consequence, why you can't remember where you're from." The question took Aiya aback, but because she decided she really didn't have much to hide, she nodded in agreement. "Ano, two years ago, I woke up in a mansion. At that same moment, a maid rushed in and when she saw me awake, she ran back out only to return with other servants. I had no memory at all. One of the maids smiled and told me my name was Tsujimine Aiya. Oddly, I accepted it, but since then, I've been trying to remember my past." The group went silent, the only sound the smooth rushing of water. Kaoru walked up to her and handed her a glass of water. Aiya smiled and took it, accidentally brushing his knuckles. Because her defenses were down, something like a rush of wind hit her and her surroundings faded.
The room and people were replaced by a plain white background. Materializing from nowhere, Aiya saw two small boys, completely identical, talking to a girl, no smiles evident on their faces. Though they were much younger, the unmistakable auburn hair didn't go unnoticed by Aiya. All of a sudden, the scene shifted. This time, there was an auburn-haired boy on the ground, blood pooling under him, staining the gray stones red. Holding him tightly, was another boy, an exact copy of the one on the ground, crying. It stopped there and the white and scene faded. Aiya knew exactly what happened, even if the ones staring at her worriedly, didn't. She touched a hand to her face to discover her cheeks wet, evidence of tears. She wiped her tears and forced a smile.
"Ya-chan, what happened?" The small boy tugged on the sleeve of her dress.
"Yeah. Your eyes fogged over all of a sudden and you started crying." Hikaru eyed her warily. Aiya sighed. They had seen it, she could tell them. However, she thought she'd put aside the vision for now. She obviously couldn't tell them something so depressing. "Well, I have a sort of...ability."