{Undercover Princess}

.::Round and round the garden goes the teddy bear... One step, two step, what will he find there?::.


Chapter 1} Once Upon a Time

-By Charles-


"Hello?" a lone, melodic voice rang out into the empty room that was the Third Music Room of Ouran Academy, a prestigious school meant almost exclusively for the rich and the powerful. A slim youth shut the door behind him as his long chocolate tresses moved lazily with the movement.

Being new was hard for the beautiful Yuki Hiro. He'd always looked like a girl and it hadn't helped that when his father had died over 10 years ago, his mother, grief-stricken, had decided to bring him up as one, enrolling him in dance, singing, acting, art and cooking classes at a young age and insisting on rather... feminine clothing. He couldn't remember ever playing a real team sport and for as long as he could remember he had had the long chocolate brown waves and large, almond shaped blue eyes that had earned him so many gender confusions by teachers, friends and even sometimes family. Now, at the age of 16, Yuki was a rather conflicted boy.

No, he was sure of his identity as both boy Yuki and girl Yuki, but he certainly wasn't sure which way to go now that he had started at a new school. Was he to act like a girl, or become a man?

For the time being he decided to... decide later. Dressed in shorts, hoodie and sneakers he could be anyone and that was something he liked very much. To be anonymous. Genderless. To be free to be anyone he wanted to be.

After a few minutes inspection, he decided the room certainly was empty enough to serve as a hiding place from his... bodyguards. Four women assigned by his now sickly mother to keep him safe from harm. Classes were still in session and he had been on a tour of the school when he had decided to skip out. He grinned when he imagined them scurrying around the school, desperate to find their charge.

Lazily, he twirled a lock of hair and spied a couch by the window. It was bathed in sunlight and the inner cat in him was immediately attracted to the idea of the warmth and comfort of such a place. He pounced on the soft cushions and kicked off his shoes to settle down into the warm, comfortable couch, stretching out his long slender legs. Quickly, he found himself drifting off to sleep.

He didn't know how long he slept but when his eyes finally did flutter open, the sun outside had sunk to about mid-afternoon, meaning the light that he had been bathed in had been greatly reduced. Now he shivered slightly at the loss of it. The second thing he noticed was that two rather good looking boys were leaning over him, curious looks on their faces as they studied him. The third thing he noticed was that they were completely identical.

"He-Hello?" murmured the boy uncertainly, careful to heighten his voice slightly so it was pitched as a girl. The twins' faces broke in wide grins.

"Sleeping Beauty's woken up," they called in unison behind them and to Yuki's dismay, as he sat up, he realised that there were more people in the room. He pulled his long hair protectively over his shoulder, stroking it carefully. It was a habit he had picked up long ago.

"It's not every day," began one twin as he put his arm around Yuki's shoulder.

"That we get a beauty like you sleeping in our club room," finished the other, leaning in close to trace a long finger along the brunette's jaw line. A slight shiver went up his spine and he knew a light blush was tinting his cheeks but he pushed the hand away and shrugged the arm off his shoulder. He stood up and smoothed the wrinkles out of his shorts.

"You flatter me but I'm afraid it's wasted on me."

"Then why don't you tell us, princess, the reason for your wandering into our den?" crooned a tall blonde as he cupped Yuki's chin in his slender, gentle hand. He stared romantically into the shorter boy's eyes who responded by shoving him away and rolling his eyes.

"I wandered in because I felt like it," he said defiantly as he walked away from the three nosy men, his arms folded firmly against himself.

"So... What is this? Strip-club?" he asked casually, as he lent against the round table that the rest of the occupants of the room were gathered around. All of them eyed him curiously and he really was starting to wonder what all these handsome boys were doing in one room. Maybe this was a modelling club... He'd heard that there was a club at this school that was made up entirely of boys and it wasn't exactly... conventional. There were seven all up and all seemed to represent different types which Yuki found curious

"Not quite," muttered one figure and Yuki looked at him expectantly. He seemed different from the rest. He was shorter, slimmer and had big brown eyes and slightly messy brown hair. The other guys all looked like models but this one seemed more natural. Normal's more like it... though Yuki with a smirk. This boy didn't flaunt his style or looks. In fact, out of all of them, he was by far the most feminine. Yuki smiled at him and was rewarded with a small smile in return.

"So... Elaborate?"

The blonde butted in and coughed importantly. "Ouran Private Academy is defined by one, prestigious families, and two, wealth. And prosperous people have much time on their hands. Therefore, this Ouran Host Club is about these handsome guys that have time, giving hospitality to these lovely ladies who also have time, and profit off of them. It's an elegant game unique to this super-rich school," he said as if it clarified everything.

"Yeah... we're a Host Club," muttered the brunette boy, looking glum.

"I... see. Isn't that a little shallow?"

"Sh-shallow?" mumbled the blonde boy and Yuki blinked in surprise as he seemed to wilt in front of him and melt into the shadows.

"Don't worry about that. He does it from time to time," said a tall, dark haired, bespectacled boy of about the same age as the blonde.

"Oh... so this is normal then," murmured Yuki as he twirled a lock of his hair.

"Mm! Tama-chan is very fragile!" chirped a small boy who looked like he should still be in middle school. Yuki wondered how on earth a kid like him had got into High School. A strong, formidable boy beside him nodded almost solemnly and Yuki had to hold back a giggle at how strange he looked beside the boy.

"Alright then. So, this is a Host Club? When do you operate?"

"After school usually," murmured the brunette boy as he folded his arms against his chest and settled back into his chair.

"Popular?"

"Very," replied the black haired boy as he entered something on his laptop.

"So you're... from the Hiro family?" asked the boy with a wry smile, as he regarded Yuki with a curious gaze. Yuki's eyes widened in surprise when he realised that he must have access to his records, though how he had managed that he didn't know.

"Uh... yeah," he murmured uncertainly, not sure if he wanted his information known so easily. It basically meant he'd have to choose now, girl, or boy. He knew that the dark haired boy already knew who he really was and he knew that he'd hold it against him.

"What about you? If you already know my history, then who are you lot?" he asked defensively.

"I'm Ootori Kyoya, that is Suoh Tamaki," he replied, pointing to himself and then to the still sulking blonde in the corner.

"I'm Haninozuka Mitsukuni, but you can call me Hunny! This is Morinozuka Takashi but we call him Mori," said the honey-blonde boy and Yuki looked at him in surprise. He knew of the Haninozuka's and knew of their son Mitsukuni, though he had never met him. He'd heard he was in his last year of school now but this boy surely wasn't him. He looked way too young.

The twins announced themselves as Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin and the girlish boy called his name softly as he raised his hand," I'm Haruhi Fujioka."

"Nice to meet you all," he said with a bright smile, "Well I'll best be going, see you all some other time then?" he called as he hurried over to the door, very eager now to be gone.

"Will you come and see us again?" asked the twins in unison as they beat Yuki to the door and opened it wide.

"Uh, yeah, sure," muttered the boy as he dashed outside. For once he hoped he would be able to find his bodyguards.

As the doors shut behind him, the boys of the host club looked at each other curiously, all except Kyoya, "Wait, she didn't tell us her name..." said Haruhi.

Kyoya smiled dryly as he closed his laptop and stood up, positioning himself by the window. Below he could see Yuki arguing defiantly with four, serious looking women. It didn't look like he was winning. "Maybe she's in a rush. She's from a very influential family; I can't imagine she can laze around here all the time."

Down in the garden, Yuki grumbled as he was led back out to the stretched limo that sat waiting for him and his guards at the gates.

"Never do that again please Yuki-san. We are assigned to keep you safe and we will do our job-"

"Even if it means I must have no life. Yeah, I get it."

"That's not what we mean," argued a different woman.

"Just take me home... I've seen enough of the school for one day."


A few days after Yuki's encounter with the host club, class 1-A was abuzz with gossip about the new student. It seemed he had already garnered quite a few fans from both guys and girls, and all were wondering who he, or she, was.

"Do you think it's that Hiro girl we found in our room?" asked Hikaru as the twins lounged around Haruhi's desk before the start of class.

"Probably. Was it just me or did she seem a little... I don't know... Odd?

"Haru-chan, are you seriously asking us that question?" asked Kaoru with a grin and Haruhi sighed with resignation.

"But you're right though. It's like when we first met you. It didn't take long to figure out you were a girl and something about that girl reminded us a lot of then..." Hikaru paused for a moment and Haruhi looked at him expectantly, "Ooh do you think Hiro-chan is really a-a-a boy?" exclaimed the boy in mock horror as he put his hands to his cheeks. Haruhi rolled her eyes and the boys grinned widely.

"It's probably just your sick mind that's the issue here."

Meanwhile, Yuki was traipsing around the gardens feeling incredibly bored. In the end he had managed to persuade his mother to let him wear the male uniform. He didn't like the idea of someone being able to blackmail him with something as trivial as his gender. But he also didn't try very hard to hide his femininity, if only to appease his mother, she was very ill after all. On her insistence he would keep his long hair and still act like a girl. If anything he still essentially appeared as a girl but a lot of the other students were debating his choice of the male uniform.

Today he marched into the school with his hair tied up. He thought he looked quite good in the uniform and couldn't help wondering what Ootori Kyoya's reaction would be. He also couldn't help wondering what Haruhi would think. He had suspicions about him. Something about him just didn't sit quite right. It was hard to come by boys who looked like Haruhi did and that was coming from a boy who looked like a girl. Shrugging, he chose to wander the gardens until the bell rang.

He hadn't bothered to research the school much and knew nothing of the layout so by the time he reached his classroom, he had missed half of his first lesson, not that it really mattered; after all, it was math. He excelled in math so would have no problem catching up. He sat down quickly in a spare desk and dug out all his things for school. No surprise half of it was pink and covered in cute characters and the other half were quirky things he'd found himself and weren't particularly girly. He smiled a little when he realised how well his stationery, of all things, seemed to reflect him so well.

"Hiro-san?" whispered a familiar voice as he sat down and Yuki looked around in surprise to find Haruhi seated beside him. Two more figures bent forward and he identified them as the twins. They were all looking at him with looks of mixed understanding, disbelief and amusement. He thought that for a moment they looked like a set of triplets.

"Hey look, it's Sleeping Beauty. Where is your dress?" asked one of the twins and right then Yuki wished he could tell them apart. Maybe it would work if they wore nametags...

"Oh... Hello," replied Yuki, not particularly happy to be in the same class as the so-called Hosts. He figured the other members must be in higher grades so he'd escape scrutiny from them but this was still disconcerting.

"Huh, I wouldn't have picked you as a tomboy. Your name was Yuki right?" asked the other twin and Yuki grimaced. Before he had sat down he had had to introduce himself and that was always painful, for anyone.

"I-I'm not... I am a-" started Yuki before he was interrupted by the teacher who shot him a questioning look. "S-sorry Itaka-sensei," he murmured before concentrating on his work and avoiding all eye-contact with the other three and ignoring their constant ploys for his attention.

By break he was mentally exhausted, not from the school work, but from the three 'hosts'. He had managed to slip away from them at the bell and was now wandering through the halls on his own, trying to find the cafeteria though so far he was unsuccessful. He rounded a corner and was surprised when he felt strong hands grab him by the shoulders and lifted him up into a cradle of sorts.

"Hey! PUT ME DOWN!" he demanded heatedly before realising it was Takashi from the Host Club. "Huh? Mori-senpai?"

Good God, they're everywhere... he thought, disgruntled.

"Nuh-uh~ we've been given orders by Tamaki-kun to take you back to the club Yuki-chan!" chimed Hani and Yuki had to crane his neck to look at the diminutive figure at Mori's side.

"Oh, hello Hunny-senpai," murmured the boy weakly as he gave up and consented to being carried bridal style back to the club. He felt incredibly stupid and embarrassed when he was carried through the more crowded halls and he wondered if it was really necessary to carry him like this. Strangely enough he thought he saw quite a few of the girls throwing him looks of utter hatred and he raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"We here!" called Hani as he pushed open the door.

"Successful capture of the princess?" asked a twin.

"Yup!"

"Perfect!" that was Tamaki as he approached, clapping his hands enthusiastically, "Put her on the throne!"

"Wait, what throne? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" shouted Yuki desperately as he started kicking. This wasn't a host club, it was something far seedier!

"Calm down! Geez!" said the other twin and it took all of Yuki's self-control not to scream again and demand they wear name tags.

He looked at what he was seated on and was mildly surprised to see he was actually sitting on a throne.

"Fine. You've captured me. Now what?"

"We want you in our Club," they all chorused, except Haruhi, who seemed to be looking at him with pity and understanding, sort of...

"What..." he asked dimly.

"You'll be perfect here. There are plenty of girls who like your androgynous looks. Don't think we were fooled though you did a spectacular job of it. Most the student body thinks you're a girl. It would be a great pull to have you here, we might actually bring in some guys with you, though I'm still wondering if that's a good thing or not," stated Kyoya matter-of-factly and right then Yuki felt like hitting him.

"What do you mean, 'don't think we were fooled'. What makes you guys more perceptible of one's gender?"

"Well, other than the fact that you neglected to alter your voice today, you chose the boy's uniform and with your hair back, your face looks slightly less feminine, we also have a secret in our club," explained Tamaki casually as he lounged against a table. Haruhi was shooting him uneasy looks.

"What? Are you all secretly girls and thought it would be amusing if you actually had at least one boy?" he asked sarcastically though by now he had already pieced some things together.

"No, not all of us are girls..."

"But Haruhi is..." murmured the twins as they draped their arms around Haruhi's shoulders.

"Ah... I should've guessed sooner," he replied with a smile.

In all honesty, he'd had a feeling that Haruhi wasn't all he... or rather, she had seemed. And as for the proposal of membership, though their reasoning seemed a little implausible, he was actually intrigued by this whole 'Hosting' idea and when he was asked if he'd accept he answered, with a coy smile, "I'll do three days. If I like it after that, I might stay on. That is my only offer."

"Fine, we'll take it. You can watch some afternoons to learn what to do. Come with the twins and Haruhi. You can start next week," said Kyoya as he walked over to the tables at the back of the room.

"Alright! So you're one of us now!" said one twin excitedly as he came up beside Yuki and took him by the shoulders.

"For now... OK can you please tell me which twin is which?" he asked, finally giving up.

"You have to guess first! If you're anything like Haru-chan, you'll be able to tell pretty easily."

Yuki didn't think he'd get it but in the end pointed at one and said, "Hikaru," and pointed to the other and said, "Kaoru."

"BA-BOW! Wrong!" they squealed with glee but let it go, "Don't worry, hardly anyone gets it right."

"OK..."

"Come on, we have class," chided Haruhi as she left the room.

"So what's the reason for your cross dressing?"

"Mistaken as a boy for dressing daggy on the first day and now I'm forced to be one until I repay my debts to the club... It doesn't bother me much. I mean, being a girl isn't much different to being a boy. What about you?" she asked with a smile and Yuki had to hold back his fit of giggles at how absurd it was to be discussing the fact that they both pretended to be other genders.

"My mother insisted I grew up as a girl from when I was little. I stuck with it to now because she's ill. It's the least I can do, to respect her wishes," he smiled, almost sadly, "And I beg to differ. I'd say there is a lot of difference between being a girl and a boy. It's so much easier to be a boy."

"I suppose..."

"Wait; aren't all the kids here loaded? Why can't you just pay your debt with your own money? Why do you have to work for it?" he fixed the girl with a firm gaze, "Wait... what... debts are we talking about here? I'm not getting involved with the Yakuza or anything am I?" Yuki wasn't stupid; he knew that there were a few students here who had questionable ties in their family. For some, it was the only reason they had managed to get in at Ouran.

"Yeah... I'm a scholarship student, that's why I was wearing boyish clothes... I couldn't afford the uniforms. You know how outrageously expensive that thing you're wearing is? And no... My debts are for breaking a really expensive vase meant for an auction... and various other expenses. It's pathetic really what the rich do."

"You cut me deep Haru-chan. You really do. As one of the elite 'rich people' I feel real hurt in here," he looked at her with mock hurt as he patted his chest where his heart lay beating beneath his flesh, but his face quickly broke into a grin. "So... You've got brains? Beauty and book-smarts. I like," he said appreciatively, giving her a wink. Haruhi rolled her eyes at how easily his mood changed and how similar he was to some of the hosts. But for some reason, she couldn't help smiling. She quickly hid the expression and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Glad to know. I wouldn't have picked you to be the flirt..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, a little put off by her bluntness.

"Don't worry about her barbs. She does that. A lot. She means no harm really, she's just a little socially awkward," explained Hikaru as he looped an arm through one of Yuki's and Haruhi's and Yuki couldn't help but grin as Haruhi shot the twin a look of disgust.

"Come on!" called Kaoru from up ahead as Hikaru shepherded them from behind, "We'll be late!"


Author's nonsensical babbling: "Introducing Yuki! One of my few male leads, by the way. Yeah... I'm not that good at writing from a guy's point of view really... so forgive me but he's pretty much a girl in boy's clothing... sort of. I couldn't resist introducing a male character that cross-dressed into the series that wasn't Haruhi's dad or his colleagues. Ooooohhh that would be an epic meeting right there! The two cross-dressers! UNITE! :P

Anyway, hope you enjoyed~ constructive criticism and reviews are always loved and flamers will be disliked immediately. I can't really do anything to you other than complain and hate you from my dark corner of solitude but I will hope that it stays on your conscience that you probably hurt my feelings and made me cry. Actually... that's probably something I shouldn't say... it might egg the flamers on. Oh well. I suppose I'll have to get used to it if I'm going to write Fanfics right? Actually... enlighten me. Is flaming very common? I'm not experienced at this at all XD I've been on FF for about... 2 months? Yeah...

Also, this is the longest, longest author's note I've ever written... I'm sorry. It probably won't ever be this long again :P