Miyuki Claribel Saito isn't your everyday rich kid. So what happens when her parents decide to transfer her to a Co-ed school full of kids that do the most ridiculous things with the power of money? And will she find the love she wanted with one Silent Gentle Giant? Or would someone else take that place?
Chapter One: Old Friends
Summary: Claribel meets one of her dear friends 'coincidentally', flashbacks on how they got to meet here and there. Mostly about Claribel.
A/N: I do not own Ouran Host Club. If I did I would be drooling over my own characters. The only person I claim to own here would be Miyuki!
A starry night, it was all it took for one Miyuki Saito to walk around the streets near her abode. Despite objections coming from the people inside her manor, telling her to at least bring some company she declined. Knowing well that she could handle herself just fine. Though she did not excel in martial arts, it's her odd way of fitting in an environment that made her capable of doing so, this was Claribel. A chameleon of sorts, being able to adjust in even the shadiest of parts. Now if only her features didn't stand out as much, then that would have been even better. Having a foreign appeal to her, some bystanders took an interest in trying to get the young lass, though her eerie demeanor insisted them not to.
A small sigh escaped her lips, it was indeed a beautiful night out. She turned her head and felt a familiar presence within the streets. "Hmm." She said quietly before turning her head back once more, going where the weekend traders market was. It was a commoners place, a place she grew fond of as she gazed at the merchandises. From replica of exquisite vases to little quirky trinkets. She knew she was safe everywhere she goes. Probably because even if she declined offers from the people who worked with her at her home, they'd still be following her around anyway. Hell, the only place they wouldn't be following her around would be in Labella. As much as she appreciated their thoughtfulness at times; she can find it a bit irritating.
Now this was actually comfortable for her. Although she did love people inside her wondrous school, she enjoyed being in this environment more. Her friends often share their experiences in extravagant restaurants, eating but the finest of dishes perhaps all over the world. She on the other hand would just listen and nod, her friends expected her to do the same but to no avail. Claribel wasn't into talking much about her life, let alone talking. She could when she felt like it but that was highly unlikely when it came to doing so in school. She just thought people would think of her differently if she did.
Something caught her eye as she continued to walk around the small shops. It was a plushy of the sort, white cotton fur with blue radiant eyes. It was quite stunning to say the least. A smile etched on her face as the shop owner gleamed at the girl's interest.
"Ah, Claribel! Good to see you again, this plushie just came in today. Would you like to have it?"
Claribel looked up and nodded, silently answering the man's question before taking her wallet out. Although just before she could hand over some money, someone else beat her to it.
"Hnn." Was all she heard when she turned her head, to her surprise one of the host club members was just standing right beside her, as though coming out of no where as her blue eyes gazed into his intense gray ones, "Mori-senpai." She muttered looking at him out of curiosity. This had been occurring for quite awhile now. She would be here, gazing over things and whenever she does see something she fancies, for some reason his warm presence just shows up. It was comforting in a way.
She still remembered the first time she met Takashi Morinozuka. A high society soirée reserved only for the richest and most well-known people within Japan. Claribel was only eleven at the time, new to Japan as she freshly came from London, and she distinctively fit along the sidelines just fine. She enjoyed her time there, though. Mostly because she was with her parents. She watched, as her exterior was concerned, it seemed as though her cold eyes judged every person within the room, no one dared to talk to her as she followed her parents, in fear of what she was hiding behind those soulless eyes. But truth be told, this was her enjoying her time, scanning along the crowd seeing people laughing and conversing along. She looked back at her parents and noticed them happily talking to clients, both of them checking Claribel from time to time before kissing her in the forehead, proceeding to their endeavors. It was during these times where she was the happiest, all three of them together and seemingly not a care for the world around them.
As the night continued, Miyuki decided to head away from the party, thinking that she had already graced them with her presence long enough. It wasn't like she was saying much anyway. People her age came up to her to talk, but since she wasn't at all that fluent in Japanese, she tried speaking to them in English but to no avail.
She went towards the gardens, seeing roses covering every bush as she smiled. The young lass wore something simple that night, a white baby doll dress that accented her in a way, making her look almost porcelain like as she dashed, not looking back towards the party, running as though her life depended on the sweet escape; hoping there was a playground somewhere.
Claribel's ears perked up the moment she heard voices as she continued to venture deeper within the garden, it sounded as though they were kids her age. The moment she found them, she was not mistaken.
There were two boys. One looked like he was a lot younger than her whilst the other looked like someone of her age. Blond hair carelessly sprawled on his face as brown expressive eyes look at you whilst the other had short jet black messy hair with piercing gray eyes. The younger of the two seemed to have a lot of fun, running around the small playground whilst the other stayed in the swing, watching the young one playing and enjoying his time. A sound of a twig breaking caught the seemingly older lad's attention as he looked towards the direction of the sound, only to be looking directly at Claribel herself.
"Eh? Takashi! Look! We have a playmate!" The young one said in a light tone as he jumped off the playground, having a light jog to his steps as he faced young Claribel. "I'm Hani! This here is Mori! What's your name, neh?" The young lad continued to speak as he smiled, Claribel on the other hand, didn't understand most of the things he said, mostly because he was speaking in Japanese.
"I don't understand." She responded softly her British accent as realization dawned on Hani's features. A small smile etched his face as he pulled Mori towards her, the young lass tilted her head for a moment, a bit curious as to what was happening. "You don't understand Japanese, neh? I'm Honey. This is my friend Mori! What's your name?" It came as a surprise for Claribel as he spoke, quite frankly, she never knew anyone else besides her parents could be as fluent. She was but a child after all, and this small interaction made her smile softly. "Miyuki Claribel." She stated as she looked at both Mori and Hani for a moment, they seemed to be quite different compared to the other children that were wandering around. They knew English for one, and well, they seemed to be polar opposites. It was like yin and yang, they complimented each other perfectly and it was quite amusing as they just continued looking at her.
Honey's eyes began to gleam in curiosity as he smiled. "Eh? Miyuki Claribel! That sounds like a pretty name! Doesn't it Takashi?" The young lad darted his attention to the taller lad, who only nodded in response as he continued looking at young Claribel. "Say, Miyuki-Chan, would you like to eat cake with me?" Honey asked gleefully, not even bothering to hear her answer as he took her hand, stunning the lass in the process as they proceeded back inside the party, surprise was evident in her features as she faced Mori, whom in return only gave her a small smile back.
She shook her thoughts away as she brought herself back to the present, Mori still right beside her now with the plush toy in his hands, signaling her to get it. A small blush crept through her features, thinking she might have been zoning out for a moment too long.
"Miyuki." He spoke defiantly as he nudged the plush toy towards her more, the shop owner looking at the exchange as a smile played closely on his lips. Claribel blinked as she continued to watch Mori, smiling a bit as she nodded, taking the plush toy gently from him. "Thank you, Mori-senpai. You didn't have to though." She mumbled before hugging the plush toy tight—it smelled of strawberries, something that strongly comforted her in a sense.
As they walked around the streets together, she had observed different things. People selling things in the market, young kids continued to dwell around these parts playing tag even during the night, commoners walking around having fun of their own and well- a lot of lovers around the area. This somehow disgruntled Miyuki as she rubbed her nose, a thing she does every time she gets nervous. She was a rather curious girl, truth be told. And right now she was wondering why Takashi was here, escorting her back to her place when they didn't even live that close to each other.
"Mori-senpai. How did you know I was here?" She looked up at him as she spoke (her Japanese is quite well now), but only to find his attention focused on the street ahead of them. Miyuki didn't exactly expect a response coming from him judging by his silent nature, but sometimes curiosity just gets the better of you, she supposed. She settled with the silence and accepted it openly until the time came when he decided to speak.
"Honey told me."
"Ah." That was all it took for Miyuki to get what he meant. Mitskuni and her keep tabs with each other though no one actually knew much about it. As to why they never text with Mori? Probably because Mitskuni and him usually hang out together, consider it as hitting two birds with one stone. She was still curious about a lot of things though; as to why he even bothered coming at this time of the evening, why Honey wasn't with him and as to why he bought this for her. This is yet another trait of hers that's more of a con than a pro. She could be quite dense.
The two continued to spend their time walking heading back to Miyuki's place, full of comfortable silence as they ventured nearer. They were nearly there, and she was quite overjoyed from what he gave her, a small smile graced her porcelain-like features as she nuzzled onto her plushie, being nothing but grateful for Mori to have done such a thoughtful gesture. She wore something simple that day, a loose plain shirt with tights and boots. Nothing too fancy of course, her mother did tell her endlessly about how simplicity was always the key to perfection, she wouldn't disagree the slightest. Mori also chose to wear something quite simple that evening. A gray polo with jeans that complimented it, only thing that seemed like an amiss with his clothing were his branded Florsheim shoes.
As they reached the Saito Manor, she noticed a car parked on their driveway, Miyuki looked up and thought this must have been Mori's car. She had seen it on occasion. This time around, Mori looked back at her and smiled, placing a hand on top of her head before ruffling it.
"Are you going now?" She asked quietly as she looked down at her plush toy once more, biting her lip seemingly hesitant for him to take his leave. She had wanted to thank him, not to mention tell him that her parents, were considering taking her to Ouran where it would have been better for her to study in considering she would have been better off in a co-ed school.
Mori simply looked back at the girl then back towards the car, "Mmm." he replied simply as he took his hand away. Miyuki looked back at him and smiled, for some reason, even if he just seemed to pop out of no where when she's around commoners, she felt safe around him. Considering the feeling as platonic if you will. "Would you like to stay for some tea? I like your company Mori-senpai." She said rather bluntly, her gaze never faltered, expecting he'd say yes.
To her surprise, Mori looked at his driver, and waved. Signaling him that he would leave later as he looked back at Miyuki. She was of course thankful. Taking his hand she took her inside the manor, stopping by the gates just to tell the guards that the driver could park inside, and that they could have tea somewhere within her place. She didn't want to be rude to people, and she had a knack of treating the people within her manor as equals. Something that her classmates often frown upon yet some also found it quite refreshing. Not that she needed their opinions anyway.
She had always wondered why Mori was so quiet. Perhaps it was how he was brought up, or maybe it was just how he is. Never a talker, mostly a listener; an observer if you will even. They were quite similar and perhaps this was also why she liked Mori a lot.
The clock chimed as it struck ten, they have already finished their tea and it was quite quiet between the two. No awkwardness going on between them though. They had conversed a bit, perhaps exchanging a few lines before going back to their silent routine, but she had rather enjoyed it—she was hoping he did too. "Mori-senpai, she started placing her tea cup aside as she felt the intense stares from people around the house, "My parents are thinking about enrolling me at Ouran soon. They say it's better than Labella. You think I could get along with the students there well?"
Mori simply looked at her, of course she would fit in just fine. The students there and the students in the all-girls academy were probably no different. Minus the whole co-ed deal. "Mm." He replied as he gently placed his tea cup down, thinking about how it would probably be like when Miyuki would be around. She would probably gain a lot of new friends, and perhaps even visit him and Hani during club activities. As long as he could see her from time to time he supposed it was alright, he did think of her as a sister after all. Didn't he?
As he got inside his car, he bid Miyuki farewell as it headed towards his abode. His brother would probably be looking for him, and Hani would have asked him how things went the next day but that didn't really matter to him for now. He was just happy he was able to catch a glimpse of Miyuki's smile, and since she would be transferring to Ouran, he was hoping he could see her smile more.