"Tales of the Stars"

Book 1: Homecoming

Chapter 1

"This way miss" the chauffeur lead Staria up to the house, her bags in tow. She looked up at the large mansion and bit her lower lip to keep from cursing at the vastness of it. She knew she had lucked out, but hadn't fully comprehended it. She had somehow convinced her parents to allow her to study abroad for high school.

Though she applied for several, the acceptance letter from Ouran Academy was too good to not take. She had landed a full scholarship to the prestigious school and the chairman himself said that he would provide room and board for her. She didn't expect it to be at one of his own homes.

"I might be farther out of my league than I thought." She muttered. The chauffeur chuckled a little.

"Don't worry miss you're in good hands here." He opened the door for her and motioned her to enter. An elderly woman in a kimono was waiting for them along with a small army of maids.

"Welcome Miss Chiba, I hope your flight was well. We are delighted to have you staying with us. You may call me Shima, I am the care taker of this household. Should you have any questions please feel free to ask me or any of the staff. We are here to serve you as needed." She said in a very formal manner but with a soft smile.

"Oh please call me Staria, there's no need to be so formal. I don't want to be a burden on any one. I wasn't expecting to be staying somewhere so…luxurious..." She trailed off looking around.

Shima smiled. "On the rare occasion Ouran hosts students from other countries the Chairman always insists on housing them. Though I do believe you are a Japanese native, are you not?"

"Yes ma'am. I was born here but I moved to America shortly after turning four. Please be patient with me, I've tried to keep up my Japanese studies, but I'm sure I'm still rough around the edges." Staria bowed slightly in an attempt at respect, but felt a little awkward having not done it for most of her life.

Shima waved her off. "Nonsense, you are doing fine and none of this ma'am business. Let's get you settled in. You've had a long trip and you're classes begin tomorrow. Your uniforms arrived just this morning. Make sure you try one on to be sure it fits. If not Miyuki here will alter them for you."

She motioned towards one of the maids who had her long black hair braided and draped over her shoulder. "Miyuki will you take Miss Staria to her room please." Shima turned to leave but added "Dinner will be served in about an hour when Master Tamaki arrives home."

Miyuki smiled at Staria. "This way, please." They headed up the stairwell and down one of the corridors. "How old are you Staria?"

"Sixteen" she answered, taking in the house as she walked.

"That's pretty young to be traveling abroad alone."

"I know. I had to beg my parents, but they gave in after a while. All I have to do is call home weekly and check in. I can do that."

"Yes you shouldn't worry them." Miyuki gave her a smile and opened the door in front of them. "This will be your room. We can change the colors up if you like."

Inside was a cozy room done in purples and pale gold. A canopy bed was on one wall with an antique vanity beside it. A small walk in closet was in one corner and a nice desk and book case across from it. The bay window had a cute little sitting area filled with pillows and a small plush couch facing the view of the garden.

"Oh wow. This is gorgeous." She walked around soaking it all in. On the desk was a stack of her new text books, as well as a new pack of pencils and pens.

"Shima said something about a uniform?" the younger girl remembered.

"Yes they're in the closet." Miyuki went into the storage space and came back out with a yellow dress that had a white collar and matching cuffs on the sleeves. "Here give it a try."

"Really? That's the uniform?" Staria said in disbelief.

"Yes." Miyuki smiled.

"It's hideous…" she tried not to make a face that matched her disappointment.

"Aw just try it. You'll look cute." Miyuki sent her into the closet to change so she wouldn't feel self conscious. When she was dressed, Staria looked at herself in the mirror. It actually fit her pretty good. It just needed taken in a little, and the yellow was a descent compliment to her long golden brown hair.

"I still don't like it, but…I'll make it work. I'll just pretend I'm in Alice in Wonderland. It'd be better if it didn't have these stupid puffy shoulders." Staria stuck her tongue out at her reflection. She would have rather had a sailor collar or a blazer set.

"Go change. I'll make the alterations to them and you'll be ready to go in the morning." the maid smiled remembering her own high school uniform days.

"Gladly, the less I have to wear this monstrosity the better."

"Isn't it exciting Kyoya!" Tamaki gushed. "We've only had the club open for a month and already we're a success! Though it'll be easier next year when the twins are in the same building."

"Are you still going on?" the raven haired boy pushed his glasses up as he typed at his laptop. "Don't you have to go home early today?"

"Oh yes! Our exchange student is arriving. I can't wait to show her around." The flighty blond paused for a moment as he pondered. "She's been living in the United States since she was four but she's really Japanese, so can she still be considered an exchange student?"

"I don't see why not, she hasn't lived here in over ten years. You should bring her by the club. She might become a client." Kyoya mused thinking of profits rather than the silly question at hand.

"Great idea! It'll be a chance for her to make friends!" Tamaki beamed at the thought of helping the new girl fit in with their fellow class mates.

"Don't overdo it Tamaki. She is just a normal girl, who managed to obtain the school's scholarship. Her family isn't well off like rest of us are. She's going to be quite the fish out of water." He closed his laptop and looked up. "It might be interesting to watch though."

"Kyoya, I don't want to hear that. She will be treated as a princess just like the rest of the girls. I will accept nothing less." The host king proclaimed, waving a finger in his best friend's face.

"As expected. Go home Tamaki, I'll finish up the paper work." Kyoya brushed him off, sending him on his way, but made a note to do a little extra research on their newest possible guest. It'd been a while since he had a new student to do a back ground check on.

Staria flopped down on her new bed, sprawling out for a moment. She had got her cloths put away and started to make the space her own. It'd be a few days before the rest of her things showed up. She'd need the weekend to fully get moved in. She was still a bit overwhelmed with the size of the house, but was warming up to the idea of that life style. She just hoped that she wouldn't get lost in the building.

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. "Just a second." She called and went to the door. She opened it to find a handsome boy with blond hair bowing before her. He looked up showing violet eyes peering through his long bangs and smiled at her.

"Welcome to my home Princess." He greeted taking her hand and kissing it as he stood back up. "I'm Tamaki Suoh."

'Is this guy for real?' Staria couldn't help but think. "Nice to meet you." She took her hand away, but slowly so not to insult him. "So you're related to the Chairman?"

"Of coarse," he chuckled, "he's my father. He's told me a lot about you already, well at least what your enrollment letter had. I'd love to learn more, but first you must be hungry. Shima said dinner is just about ready. If I may escort you?" he offered his arm to her. Staria couldn't help by smile a little and think the act was cute. Even if it made her a bit awkward.

"Dinner sounds great. The food on the plane wasn't." Tamaki laughed and lead her to the dining room.

After dinner Tamaki insisted on giving Staria a tour of the house and grounds. He wanted her to feel at home and that seemed like a good place to start.

"And this is the garden. There's a little pavilion just ahead." Tamaki directed. "Though it might have been better to do this tour in the day when the flowers were actually out."

"It's ok I still have a nice view of the stars." Staria said looking up at her name sake. Though they were close to the city she liked that she could still enjoy the night sky. "Mind if we stop for a bit I'm kinda tired."

"Sure, I'm sorry. I forgot you've had a long day." He lead her to a small fountain and perched on the edge, motioning for her to sit next to him. Tamaki was proving to be a rather genuine person. He was a bit over the top but nothing with him seemed to be an act. He truly wanted to make Staria feel welcome and that helped her feel more at ease. It would be good to be his friend. Maybe she'd finally have someone to confide in again.

"I don't want to be rude but can I ask you a question?" Staria asked, changing her gaze from the sky back to the young man beside her.

"Sure I don't mind." Tamaki smiled. "What's on your mind?"

"Doesn't all this" she motioned around to the large piece of land and house, "feel overwhelming to you?"

"It did at first, but I've been here for a year now so it's not that bad. I'm sure the main house is larger any way, but I don't really know. I've never been there." Tamaki said like it was nothing at all.

"You don't live with your family?" She was a bit confused, but figured there was a reason behind it.

Tamaki shook his head. "Father wishes I did, but my grandmother doesn't like me. It can't be helped I guess, I mean since I'm illegitimate." He gave a smile but it didn't reach his eyes like before. She'd hit on a major subject even though he was playing it off as a minor detail in his life. "Mother and father had an affair while he was on a business trip in France. He wasn't happy with his arranged marriage and he fell in love with mother almost instantly. He later divorced his wife and made a point to visit as often as he could. It drove my grandmother nuts seeing him behave that way, but with no heir to the Suoh family she started to make a few deals with him and my mother. I could come here and have a chance at being my father's successor but in return I'm not allowed any contact with my mother."

Staria stared at him as the details sunk in. She couldn't believe he told her the full situation so easily. She wouldn't have done that. No, complicated maters were not shared that easily. Not at all. Was Tamaki just an open book or did he actually already trust her that much. He hardly knew anything about her and yet he trusted her with this delicate matter.

"How could she do a thing like that?" she finally responded, "Can't your father do anything about it?"

"Not really, or at least he doesn't act like there is. But it's ok. You see, mother was always very sick, and the other part of the deal was that she would be taken care of. As long as I know she's alright I can do this. Though, I do miss her a great deal."

"Well damn." Staria pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. "I just made you spill your guts to me and I've only known you for a few hours. I'm sorry that was really rude of me to pry." She watched him for a reaction as she spoke. She really did feel bad about it, but as weird as it was she felt closer to him at the same time.

"It's alright. It's not really a secret, everyone knows about it. I'm fine with my heritage and my friends accept me for who I am. That's what matters." Tamaki stood up and stretched. "Shall we head back to the house?"

"Yeah probably," she uncurled herself and followed suit. "I guess you and I have one thing in common then."

"What's that?" Tamaki tilted his head with curiosity.

"We're both only half Japanese. My mother was American."

"Was? As in she's passed away." Tamaki poked a little, not sure if she's share like he did. "So when you said parents before you meant you have a stepmother?"

"No, I'm adopted." She gave him a smile. He had shared, so she was going to take a chance and do the same for once. "Chiba is my birth family's name but they died when I was pretty little, around four or so. I've been Staria Wolf for years, but I used my Chiba name to help get me into a school over here. I don't know much about the accident, just that it was a car crash. I never really asked since my parents have been really good to me, and from what they said I don't really have any other family." Staria rubbed her arms feeling a slight chill as they walked back up to the house.

"Aren't you curious though? I don't mean details, that's a bit morbid, but while you're here we could maybe find out where they're buried at least." He held the door open for her. "Maybe see if you have some living relatives after all. Family's important." Staria hesitated for a moment. That wasn't why she had transferred. No she was running from other problems, but it might make a good distraction.

"I'll think about it. I don't know if I want to open that can of worms just yet. Let me get through my first day of high school first." Staria smiled at the last part. "You gonna show me around tomorrow or do I get stuck with the typical school tour guide?"

"Of coarse! I already told Kyoya to plan on it." Tamaki chirped the heavier moments lost to him for the moment. "He showed me around last year so it's only natural he join us. You'll meet the rest of the club too. Oh it'll be so much fun!"

"Club?" Staria questioned, and couldn't help but be amazed by the boy's instant mood swing and excitement level. This little adventure could prove to be very interesting.

"Oh no, no, no. No hints you'll just have to wait and see princess." He winked and tapped the end of her nose with his finger. "Now off to bed. I'll see you in the morning."