Impressions and Aspirations, an ouran high school host club fanfic

"Otori-san you… your in a host club?" My mouth stretched into a massive grin that was soon followed by a fit of laughter. He stood expressionless, silently watching my reaction. He frowned. I felt that there was an entire other level to this guys personality. Perhaps a sense of humour? Or maybe something a whole lot deeper. Whatever it was, I wanted to know. I wanted to find out more about this guy and this host club he belonged to.

One Day earlier

At this time in the afternoon, the shadow of the main building of Ouran Academy glooms over the rest of the school. Harsh, jagged shapes elongate across the gardens as the sun starts to fall behind the clock tower. The fountain that is featured in the centre reflects a ghost like rippling shape against the footpath of which I am standing on.

My first impression of this school has narrowed on its more portentous side.

A few students wander out of the school, but the majority have already left for the day. The ones I saw, of course, wore the Ouran Academy School uniform. The boys each wore a neatly buttoned blue blazer over a shirt and tie. The girls however, to what I assume the style was thought of nothing short of unpleasant for most, wore puffy yellow dresses, a costume of which I would be conforming to as of tomorrow.

"I'm going to look like the fucking sun wearing that," I swore quietly to myself with a slight smirk, amused but very unappreciative of the clothing. I regularly dyed my hair blonde, a habit I would soon stop once I started attending this school.

But the uniform was only a shallow thought on my harrowing mind. There were many troubling things going on in my head to distract me from my amusement. Things such as the fact that by no means or reason should I be going to this school. It was never even considered before only a couple of months ago that I would be attending anything more than a public school, let alone one of the most prestigious in Japan. My name is Myuuka Ide and I consider myself a small person, never bred for success. And yet here I am being given an amazing education handed to me on a platter.

Several passerbys gave me curious looks but made no comment as I made my way around the school, around to the side that wasn't so shadowed in an attempt to shift my perspective.

Second impressions narrowed more on its favourable side. The sun now gleamed onto the light coloured stonewalls that seemed too softly sparkle. I decided I would let this side influence me more.

There was one word that I felt completely described the way I felt about transferring to this school. That word was 'overwhelmed'.

There are two ways to enter Ouran Academy, the standard path or the honours path. The standard path usually involved being born into a family that ran a very successful business or who were very accomplished in their careers. Generally the standard way meant that you had been attending Ouran Academy or similar private institutes since kindergarten. The honours role way, however, required unmatched intelligence. These students had to compete against hundreds of other scholarship-seeking peers and somehow had to climb out of the rubble with some sort of rare, shining gem of a talent.

Now before anyone assumes I'm some sort of diamond in the rock, it's important to take note that I got into this school very much the standard way. I'm not so amazing as to get into this school upon my own ability. While I might not have had enough money when I was a child to afford any sort of private institution, we very much do now.

My father, Daisuke Ide, was a musician, a violinist. Although it still feels so recent, four years ago he was picked up by a certain orchestra and somehow made it to first chair and soloist. We went from living a lower-middle class lifestyle to earning enough money to live comfortably for the rest of our lives.

Still, there is a big difference between being a semi-famous musician and, for example, the CEO of a leading brand or even a first class lawyer.

My father invested in the management of a few small but growing bands. One of the bands named S!NG, recently made it huge in Japan, bringing in a prophet beyond anything I had previously imagined. With this sudden landing of wealth, my father made the decision to give me the 'best chance at my own success', by giving me the opportunity to get the 'best education around'. Which lands me here today gazing at the silhouette of Ouran Academy. The school I will be starting at tomorrow.

"… I swear, the dickweeds who made this school so huge…" I used extensive amounts of colourful language as I ran through the hallways of Ouran Academy trying to find my classroom. It was edging closer and closer to the start of the lesson and I was going to be late if I didn't find the room soon.

"Oomph! Sorry mate," I ran into a tall figure as I went around a corner. I stumbled backwards. I was about to take off again when the figure responded.

"Not a problem. Are you new?" he said. I looked at him properly. He had dark hair and wore glasses. He had a thin angular face and appeared quite handsome.

"Yes I am. My name is Myuuka Ide, 2nd year. Once again, I apologise for running into you earlier," I replied, immediately taking on a polite and appropriate manner. I held out my hand for him to shake. He shook it lightly.

"Apology accepted. My name is Kyoya Otori. You aren't by any chance on your way to Business Management, Ide-san?" he asked. He had a very smooth voice. There was something about his tone, however, that struck me as a bit off. It was true, I was on my way to Business Management, but despite asking the question, I felt he already knew the answer. I smiled.

"Yes I am, actually," I replied. First impressions told me that he was very switched on.

"Well I suppose you're quite lucky you ran into me then. I was just on my way to that class. Please follow me this way," he said. He smiled kindly and allowed me to step into pace with him. He seemed to be a pleasant guy.

When we arrive, I stood at the front of the class, as confidently and calmly as I could, although my heart was racing with excitement and nervousness. Kyoya walked passed me to a seat next to a flamboyant boy with hair brighter than mine.

"Thank you everyone, please settle down," my new sensei commanded. She stared down the class until there was not a sound left. "Today we have a new student joining us. This is Myuuka Ide, a transfer student. Please make her feel welcome."

I was sent to sit next to the other side of flamboyant boy. He flashed me a charming smile and gave me a wink. I stretched my mouth into grin in response. At first impression, this boy came across as amusing enough.

Class started and I shifted attention from the flamboyant boy to our sensei. I took notes carefully and thoroughly. I wasn't going to waste any minuet of an education like this.

When first break started I was immediately bombarded with questions and comments. A crowd of students gathered around my desk.

"So where are you from Myuuka-san?" asked one girl with her arms folded in front of her.

"I'm from this area. Lived here pretty much my entire life actually," I replied smiling.

"Eh? Really? What school did you attend? Saint Lobelia's?" another girl asked. As expected, first impression revealed that these students assumed everyone who was getting the standard way in to Ouran to have been apart of rich and powerful families from birth. I cleared my throat.

"Oh, well actually I attended…"

"Now, now ladies, lets not overwhelm our newest princess with all our curiosities. I'm sure we will learn plenty about her as we see more of her during the year," the blonde flamboyant boy cut in.

"Princess...?" I echoed quietly. Suddenly, before I knew it, the blonde boy had gotten down on one knee and was holding a rose out to me (from where he was concealing it previously that kept in such good condition was beyond my knowledge).

"Allow me to introduce myself, Princess. My name is Tamaki Suoh. I am glad to meet your acquaintance," he said. I could have sworn he was literally sparkling with charm.

"Ha ha, no, the pleasures mine," I responded politely taking the rose. I laughed nervously. "But I'm afraid you must be mistaken, ah, Suoh-san, as I wouldn't exactly call myself a princess."

Sitting a few seats across, I noticed Kyoya silently observing Tamaki and I interact. He seemed to be switching glances between his laptop and us. Every now and then he would make a quick note in a book he had clasped in a folder

I still don't have much more to say about my impression of him except for that he seemed quite focused and aware of his surroundings.

"Please, call me Tamaki. And not a Princess? You must be mistaken! No one as fair as you could be anything but royal," Tamaki said. I felt a nerve twitch. My second impression was that Tamaki was a womaniser more than a charmer.

"Really? That's very kind of you to say. You are quite charming and Prince like yourself, Tamaki-san" I replied. I noticed a few of the female students giggling a few seats away. Were they laughing at me? No. Their laughter was more endearing and light hearted than anything. I switched my view to Tamaki who seemed to be glowing with happiness.

"Do you really think so?" he said as he stook up doing a sort of gleeful spin in the process. "I also think that I am quite the Princely type. Both naturally charming and beautiful…"

"That's quite enough Tamaki. Stop bothering Ide-san with your silly act. This is school time, not club time," Kyoya stepped in and hit Tamaki over the head lightly with his folder. I laughed. I gathered from this casual interaction that Kyoya and Tamaki were friends or on quite good terms.

"It's alright Otori-san. I can see Tamaki-san was just being social. Although I can also see how it could definitely be misinterpreted for egotism," I said, waving my hand to dismiss the act.

"Yes he is just a misinterpreted soul isn't he," Kyoya seemed to mutter sarcastically to himself more than anyone as Tamaki started on a huge speech about himself being a kind and beautiful person.

I did notice that many of the girls seemed to faun after him. I stared at him as he pranced around the classroom. He looked foolish. However, he's a soft features and light hair seemed to make up for this. He suddenly started wooing one of the other girls in our class, making her blush. The other girls squealed with excitement.

"Say Otori-san, is Tamaki-san a halfie?" I asked. Kyoya nodded.

"That is correct."

"I thought so. Man, I used to wish my hair would grow naturally blonde," I said. I rocked back in my seat slightly, with my elbows planted on the desk behind me. "But now with these dresses I think I'm going to dye it black again."

"Hm." He was bored with the conversation. Fair enough.

"So what does your parents do, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked. This would be a conversation that any student here would be able to reply proudly too.

"My Father is the owner and CEO of several hospitals in Japan, he is a businessman," Kyoya replied.

"Sounds extravagant," I said and sent him smile.

"It really is very impressive." Although the sentence itself was prideful, his tone was saying otherwise. It was as it was earlier, smooth. His pronunciation was refined, not like the teenagers I associated with at my old school. It didn't take much conversation to notice how much of a front he had up. "What about your parents."

"Management and production of music. My Father owns a couple of recording studios and Manages S!NG as well as a few other upcoming bands," I replied. Not as impressive as CEO of several Hospitals in my opinion.

"Sounds extravagant…"

"Hardly."

Kyoya sent a curious glance my way. I grinned. If I was deeply analysing him then I guess it would be fair to say he was only doing the same back to me tenfold.

"How is that 'hardly extravagant'?" he asked. Was this an appeal to my own ego? I raised an eyebrow.

"It's unusual you would say that Otori-san. You look like a smart bloke. Very immersed in the becoming of a great businessman yourself, correct? You should know even better than I do that what happened with my father was largely the result of luck," I stated. Kyoya stared at me. "As I previously said, hardly extravagant."

"With correct management of any band even if they lack talent, no offense to S!NG, can be become a very successful business. Although, it can be difficult to do and it is for this reason I would say your fathers work is extravagant," Kyoya replied. I smirked. He really did only know half the story, what he likely considered relevant – nothing of my father's prior lifestyle.

"If you say so," I said. Tamaki waltzed back over to where we were sitting and leaned onto my desk.

"Myuuka-chan I have just had the most wonderful idea!" Tamaki said excitedly. I smiled what I realised must have looked very patronisingly towards Tamaki to most people but obviously not Tamaki himself.

"Oh? What is that Tamaki-san?" I asked. He grinned.

"How would you like to come and visit my club after school today?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah? What kind of club is it?" I asked but before he could respond the bell rang indicating the break was over and Tamaki never had a moment to respond properly.

Kyoya dragged Tamaki off to his next class but before he was fully out of range Tamaki shouted, "Come to Music room 3 after school!"

The final bell rang. All day I found myself having a growing excitement towards visiting whatever club this was Tamaki was apart of. Music room 3 was it? What kind of clubs did Ouran even offer? Surely only prestigious ones like mathematics or literature clubs. Maybe an art club? I wondered what kind of instrument Tamaki played. If it was in a music room, his club must be some sort of classical music group perhaps?

I walked around the halls of Ouran looking for the location but again I found myself oblivious to the workings of this schools classrooms. I ended up approaching a group of girls chatting.

"Hello! Sorry I've gotten a bit lost. I'm looking for Music room 3. Can you point me in the right direction?" I asked as politely as possible. They smiled.

"We were just about to head there ourselves so we will take you there if you like?" one of the girls said.

"Thank you!" I replied. Were there girls apart of the club as well?

I followed them as they chatted politely together. We turned a few corners and I made careful note as to where we were going as to not get lost when I needed to get myself home later this afternoon. We stopped outside a particular room. I looked up at its sign – Music room 3.

"So what kind of club is this…" I started but stopped frozen as one of the girls opened the door. We were greeted with a shower of rose petals.

"Huh?" I stared incredulously at the scene in front of me, a group of boys standing around Tamaki who sat in a chair in the middle. I didn't fail to notice Kyoya was one of those boys seemingly backing him.

"Welcome to the Ouran High School Host club!" a chorus of voices sung. Before I new it I was being lead by Tamaki properly into the room.

"Host club?" I whispered to Tamaki but he took no notice of my question. I started to recover from my surprise. Some of the girls who had taken me up this way were already talking to these… hosts.

"Today I invited a new guest. Everyone this is Myuuka Ide. She is new to our school so please be kind to her," said Tamaki. Suddenly, he was distracted by another girl who came to flirt with him. He was only too obliging in returning the action. I was briefly left on my own until Kyoya made his way over to me.

It was at this point I finally caught up with the situation. I was heavily amused. I stared up at the son of possibly one of Japans highest earning and successful businessmen. I stared up at a boy who I believed too completely immersed in become a success, someone who I was surprised to see in a petty school club in the first placed.

"Welcome Ide-san. May I help guide you to a host of your choice?" he asked.

"Yes… that is the case," he replied indifferently. I stared at him still feeling completely incredulous but highly amused.

"Can I chose you to be my host today?" I asked. It was amazing the change that appeared in him as he put on what seemed to be his 'hosting persona'.

"Of course. I would love to have you as my guest," he replied smiling. I followed him to a table. "Would you like some tea?"

"Eh… no thanks. Not much for tea in all honesty," I replied. I sat down at the table and leaned back into my chair. He sat down but maintained his straight posture.

"Oh really? More of a coffee drinker? We have that as well," he offered.

"Only when I need to stay awake for something. Even then I don't think I would like your fancy coffee here," I replied. Kyoya maintained his smile. Charming. I grinned.

"So Otori-san, what made you join this club? I would have thought you would have gone for something a bit more…. well prestigious," I asked. I noticed a slight shift in Kyoya's expression to that of a smirk more than a smile.

"Well any club no matter how frivolous it is, no offense to the host club, can grant prestige if managed correctly," he replied. I picked up on the reference to the conversation we had earlier.

"Oh really?" I asked. Then something clicked with me. I shifted my gaze around the room. "Do you manage all of this?"

"I do. Although really it's all of Tamaki's ideas," he said.

"So Tamaki-san's the cover? Smart. I think I understand you a bit better Otori-san," I replied. Kyoya continued to smirk. He poured himself a tea.

"I don't think you do," he replied. I quickly shifted my view back to him. I stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Possibly… probably actually. But you've definitely made me think about something a bit more Otori-san," I stated. Kyoya sipped at his tea.

"Oh really?" He asked. "And what is that exactly, princess?"

I grinned at his adoption of the title Tamaki had given me. I leaned in.

"That perhaps it wasn't so much luck that I'm here after all. I'll have you know that like my father and evidently like you and your host club I'm going to work hard these next two years and prepare myself to strategically earn myself a place in this world," I said.

"Those are some big plans. Are you sure you can achieve that?" he asked in a slightly mocking tone. I held out my hand.

"I know I can because I'm going to start creating that place in this world right now. I hope we can be friends Otori-san," I declared. Kyoya considered this for a few moments and then reached out to shake my hand.

"Making friends with the right people?" he asked amused. I nodded.

Later that evening I was considering what had been inspired within me. My father had sent me to this school so I had the 'best chance at my own success'. Ouran Academy was one of the most expensive and prestigious schools of Japan highly regarded for its education and academic opportunities.

However, that is only half the reason why this school is preparing me for my 'own success'. This school give opportunity for the creation of excellence not only through academics but also through contacts and acquaintances, something that I was newly lacking. I would have to work hard.

I understood now why Kyoya would choose to be in such a frivolous club. It gave ease in meeting new people, people who came from rich and powerful families. Not to mention he could easily manipulate a profit from his customers. Yes, this club was frivolous but also very much prestigious if given that second consideration. These things needed more than a first impression to appreciate.

I came from a family living on near minimum wage, a small apartment, basic education and I had a future that was easily predicted as far less than fantastic. But as Kyoya had very much inspired, with the correct management even the most hopeless of cases, no offense to myself, could become great, even fantastic.

Hey guys, thanks for reading!

This was initially going to be the first chapter of an extended fanfiction that would centre around the developing professional and romantic relationship between Myuuka and Kyoya. However I'm a lazy and shit person so I decided to round it off into a oneshot instead. Hope you enjoyed it.