Ouran High Host Club
Chapter One – First Meetings and Reunion
It has been half a year already since school started and Fujioka Haruhi, special scholarship student at the prestigious Ouran High School, joined the Ouran High School Boys Host Club as a girl-acting-as-boy host member to pay off her 8-million yen debt to the twins. To her fellow host club members, her situation was seemingly one of a kind. Little did they know that history was about to repeat itself and they would soon gain a new, unusual member in their ranks…
"Everyone here now?"
Tamaki's eyes scanned over the group as he mentally ticked each person off the list – Kyouya, Haruhi, Kaoru, Hikaru, Mori, Hani … up, they're all here, ready for another afternoon's work as a Host!
"Haru –chan! Come an' play hide-and-seek with me an' Usa –chan!" Hani –sempai tackle-hugged Haruhi around the waist, pushing Usa –chan towards her and sounding as cute and childish as ever.
Instantly, Tamaki turned towards them. "Hani –sempai, I demand that you stop tackling my daughter! She is extremely fragile must be treated with the utmost care!" After saying this in his usual, dramatic way, he grabbed Haruhi from Hani and clung onto her in a bear hug.
"Yare, yare!(geez*)His Highness is such a hypocrite!" said Hikaru, and they all nodded in agreement with mental sweat drops and sighs as they watched Tamaki proceed to almost strangle Haruhi.
"Alright everyone, our customers will start arriving in a mi –"
Kyouya's statement was cut off abruptly as the doors of the Third Music Room burst open. A student rushed in, slammed the door shut and slumped against it, curling up in a sitting position with arms folded around head. They were all too surprised by the sudden entry to say anything, and as usual, it was Kyouya who recovered first. However, he remained quiet, secretly writing down notes about this stranger on his black clipboard. This student appeared to be a boy…
"So…" thought Kyouya, "Probably not a customer then, eh?"
*Kyouya's observations*
"The boy has long, straight, smooth black hair tied up in a high pony-tail, a fringe and his is extremely pale, judging from the skin colour of his hands. Unusual points: the way he is dressed – not in the school uniform; in a shirt, worn out navy jumper and black pants and shoes…"
"He reminds me of the way Haruhi looked the first time we saw her, before we got her a set of uniform." thought Kyouya, thinking back to the way Haruhi was dressed at their first meeting…brown jumper, crumpled shirt, creased black pants and scuffed shoes. Then, he smirked to himself. "Not quite… this boy's clothing is a lot neater…"
Kyouya paused when he noticed the boy's shoulders were shaking - he seemed to be crying - but after a moment, he decided to ignore it.
"After all," Kyouya decided, "I'm not the most suitable person for comforting people or being overly sympathetic…I'll leave that job to Tamaki or Haruhi or someone."
While Kyouya continued to stare at the boy, the other, more compassionate members of the Host Club were all trying to figure out what to do. After a few moments, Haruhi, who had seen the boy in her classroom that morning and had forgotten until just now, stepped out.
"Konnichiwa! (hello) Aren't you the new student in our class? Are you alright?" Haruhi put on her best Host smile as she looked down at the figure below her.
(*In the background, Tamaki begins to rant "Oh, my little daughter! Her smile is wayy too cute! And she's so good at comforting people! …")
Kyouya gazed intently at the boy, analysing his reaction to Haruhi's words. The boy slowly lifted his head and for the first time, the Hosts saw his face. Haruhi and Tamaki both gasped, the twins whistled in unison and even Kyouya was slightly surprised…the boy was stunningly beautiful, so much so that he looked like a girl! Now they could see that he had a long fringe, which parted at the right with stray strands flopping over his eyes, and his skin was extremely pale (as Kyouya had predicted) and smooth as porcelain.
Kyouya's pen immediately started gliding across the page again, this time calculating the profits the Host Club could make if they persuaded this boy to join them. Then, as he gazed up again, their eyes met and Kyouya felt something like an electric shock run through him.
"Amazing…I have never seen eyes like these before!" He stared back at the boy, unblinking.
They were such an unusual colour; a shade of blue-grey so pale and clear that he could see his own reflection in them as clearly as if he were looking into a mirror…and they seemed to be dragging him under. He thought wryly to himself, "Well, if he joins, none of us will ever need a mirror again. And an added bonus – the girls can admire themselves while looking at him." Then he heard a voice, and he snapped back to attention.
"Gomenasai! (sorry) I-I 'm so sorry to have bothered you. I didn't think there'd be anyone in a music classroom at this t-time! I … only wanted … somewhere quiet to go. Please pretend that I never existed at all! I know I am unwanted here and n-not worthy of being at such a prestigious school and … and …" and he drifted off, lowering his head as his eyes watered again.
Even through his tears, the boy's voice was decided masculine.
"Definitely a boy, despite the pretty face…this is going to be interesting" though Kyouya, pushing up his glasses.
"It's all right. We don't mind you being here at all.", Tamaki said kindly, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.
The boy looked up … "You don't?" he asked in a whisper, "Then may I ask, who do you mean by we?"
"Why, all of us in the Ouran High Host Club!" replied Tamaki, producing a red rose and handing it to the boy with a perfect bow, "Welcome to our … you could call it Head Quarters!"
The boy's gaze swept across the room, noticing the other Hosts for the first time. His eyes fell on Mori and Hani, both standing quietly at the back with uncertain expressions on their faces.
With a cry, he jumped up and ran forward, throwing himself at Mori. Mori immediately put his arms around the boy as he started to cry again, and Hani joined in, hugging him around the waist from behind. They stood like that for a long time, Mori and Hani both holding this stranger protectively. "Takashi oniisan…Mitsukuni oniisan… arigatou (thank you*)
The other members looked at each other in confusion – had they heard it right? Oniisan?? Who exactly is this boy?
