Chapter One
Obviously, if I owned Host Club, this would have happened, and I would be reading these stories, not writing them, blah blah blah.
Once again, the doors opened to the third music room - to reveal a nighttime paradise.
Tamaki-kun, why is your face cast in such shadows?"
"Truly, shadow is the successor of the night, creeping towards us like a harmless creature, and yet revealing the true beauty of its subjects..." The king smiled, leaning closer to his female customer. "And yet, it does not take a shadow to reveal your true beauty, princess..."
The three girls squealed in delight.
"...is that the only thing he can come up with today?"
Kyouya scribbled something hastily on his notepad.
"Knowing the idiot, probably. Haruhi, don't you have customers of your own to attend to?"
"No. Hikaru and Kaoru stole them. They've found...oh, how do I say this...'new uses' for the fake reeds."
"I'll remember not to install those next time." He smiled.
"Speaking of which, how did you get all of this in here? It's pitch black, and you carted in a pond? And there's even stars on the ceiing!"
"It was Tamaki's request - although I'm not going to tell him it was Nekozawa who helped us set it up."
Haruhi sighed. "Don't be too mean to him Kyouya-senpai."
"Haruhi-kun!" Two girls ran up to the "boy", seemingly beaming with happiness. "What do you like best about the night?"
Truthfully, the answer was "Nothing at all", but with a glance from Kyouya, she smiled at the girls.
"The stars - they always seem to be the prettiest things in the sky, and they continue to shine even when the moon doesn't."
The two blushed, whispering to each other. With a sigh, Haruhi reluctantly followed them back to watch more of the twin's antics.
Tamaki admired the room with Kyouya, shooing away his last customers.
"Well done, Kyouya, how did you manage to darken the room just as I requested?"
Kyouya adjusted his glasses. "Nekozawa."
The blonde turned pale and shrieked like a little girl.
"N-not -- Kyouya, don't you know how dangerous it is to mess with him?"
A familiar shadow passed over his shoulder.
"Mess with who?"
Nekozawa rose from behind him, toting his cat puppet as usual. The Host King jumped a foot and spun around to face the dark, robed figure.
"You were right indeed...darkness is so truly beautiful, I applaud you for joining me so soon..."
Tamaki quivered in fear, realizing what he had just done.
"Ah! Nekozawa-senpai!" The twins chorused. "Have you seen our...evil beams?"
They whipped out their flashlights and began to twirl them around like glowsticks.
Nekozawa screamed in pain, fleeing the room with cries of "Evil beams!"
"Hikaru! Kaoru! My saviours! Give your daddy a hug--"
"Oii, hands off, tono. "
"Look, you have some customers."
The blonde spun around to see three timid girls standing silently behind him.
"U-uh, we're you're next designations...
"Yes, yes, princess, shall we go?" He gestured, moving towards the pond.
Somehow, the entire room was transformed to its original state in a few hours, and the Host Club lounged around, discussing the events of the day.
Honey-senpai sat with Mori-senpai, a heaping load of cake sitting in front of him.
"That was kinda fun! It was like a slumber party!"
"Ah." Mori agreed, watching the tiny senior cram another forkful of cake into his mouth.
The twins, of course, were using Haruhi to tease Tamaki again.
"Tono, what's the matter?"
"MATTER?! You ask what's the matter when you are sexually harassing my daughter? -- Get back here, you theives! Scoundrels!" He took off after the twins, who both laughed and played along.
"Come on, you guys, don't you have something better to do?" Haruhi sighed, wiping the spit off her cheek.
"Not really." They laughed, diving for cover behind her as the blonde picked up a teacup and threatened to throw it.
"Tamaki. Hikaru. Kaoru. That's enough." Kyouya glared at the three. "You do not want to break that new shipment of china from France. Our customers would have to drink from the old Chinese ones, and you know what happened to those last month."
Tamaki gingerly placed the cup on a table and pondered aloud. "Speaking of customers...one of my own today was completely unaffected by anything."
"Oh, well that's a first." The twins joked.
"Quiet! This is serious! Kyouya!"
"You're correct." Kyouya whipped out a calculator. "If you can't get your act together, we could risk losing a chunk of our assets by how she affect her friends or other customers. This is also a major waste of your time."
""I don't even understand why she comes, though. It looks like she's been dragged along with her friends."
"But are her friends affected?"
"Of course!" He beamed. "I just can't find out how to charm her as easily as I charm her friends."
Honey-senpai gulped. "Cake! Why don't you give her cake, Tama-chan?"
"...I don't think that would work, Mitsukuni."
"If you're having problems, we could try her out." Hikaru suggested with a smile.
"No, she refuses to abandon her friends, and her friends refuse to request any other host." He shook his head.
Haruhi sighed. "Senpai..." Somehow she felt she was obligated to help this idiot.
"Yes?" Tamaki perked up.
"Not all girls like it when you say repetitive things like it does not take a shadow to reveal your true beauty, senpai." She recited with an apathetic look.
The twins snickered.
"You have to find what works for her - and her only." Haruhi added, seeing Tamaki's mouth begin to work on its own. "It will make her feel...special."
"B-b-but I tried everything! Absolutely nothing works on her!"
She rolled her eyes. "That probably made the situation worse."
The twins laughed again.
"But--"
"Somewhere, deep down inside, you have the right words for her. It can't be found in a book or a magical online database. You just have to find them."
"Beautiful! Very beautiful, Haruhi!" The twins hugged her from both sides. "Who knew you were so poetic?"
"Let go of me, please. It's not that big of a deal." She pulled herself out of their grip and headed towards the door. "If you'll excuse me, club time is over, and I need to study."
The twins grabbed her arms and smiled. "You can't leave just yet."
"Come on. I need to --"
"You can study later. You have to try on the new costume for tomorrow's club." Hikaru winked.
"The theme is 'crossdressing'." Kaoru laughed. "We found the perfect dress for you to wear."
"Haru-chan in a dress?" Honey-senpai jumped out of his chair. "What color? What color?"
"Light pink." Hikaru nudged his prisoner evilly.
"Nooo..." Haruhi cried as the twins dragged her out of the room.
"Haru-chan, you are going to be soooo cute!"
"Ah."
With that, the doors closed, and only the two second-years were left.
The old grandfather clock in the corner, near where the pond had been, filled the room with its characteristic sound. There was silence.
Kyouya was the first to speak.
"Tamaki."
Tamaki, whose eyes were still lingering on Haruhi's expression, seemed to break out of his wonderland with bursting energy.
"K-K-KYOUYA!!" He shouted, jumping to his feet, suddenly realizing what he had done. "What -- are you going to let those unscrupulous twins steal our daughter?! Who knows what they'll do!"
"If you had paid attention in the first place, they are in another room dressing her in feminine clothes. You could have gone with them, had you not been wandering in your thoughts."
Tamaki went to open his mouth, but stopped and pouted.
Kyouya turned to the window. "What are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"About Haruhi."
"What about Haruhi?"
Kyouya sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. Might as well force it into him.
"Tamaki, you -- love Haruhi, don't you?"
"Kyouya!" The blonde turned, an obvious blush across his face. "How dare you say something like that -- a father and a daughter -- you're - you're just jealous!"
That was predicted.
"Tamaki, I would expect even an idiot like you to realize that I do i NOT /i get jealous, and most i certainly /i not over YOU." He glared.
Tamaki gulped.
"I - I - But I only love her as her father should!"
"Do you really buy all of that 'father' act, Tamaki?"
Silence. Maybe it was starting to work.
"I'm sure you know that for someone to be a father, they must either have contributed genetic material, or have legally adopted a child from the state. "
More silence.
"But..." The blonde muttered, swimming in his own thoughts. "I thought..."
As much as he hated to admit it, Kyouya was usually right, and never more so than now. Did he really love her? He had always thought of himself of a 'father figure', but was that - was that really true? At times it didn't seem that way, and he knew it. Was it really all an act? How come he wasn't informed earlier? Was it really that easy to see through him -- was he really that stupid?
"You thought?"
Tamaki snapped out of it, still immersed in his own thoughts.
"I --" He stuttered. "I..." The words wouldn't escape his mouth, but Tamaki heard it inside his mind-- "I love her. You're right." His heart throbbed painfully, and yet, it felt lighter than it had before.
Kyouya seemed to pick up on this, and continued. "And? What are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know." The blonde looked down at his feet, muttering these words quickly to avoid his spreading blush.
"You really are an idiot." Kyouya sighed. "I'd say, besides you, Haruhi is the only other person completely oblivious."
Instead of the usual series of retorts, Tamaki looked at his feet, still contemplating.
"You haven't notice your own feelings, I shouldn't expect you to notice her feelings as well."
"But I---"
"Don't get me wrong. Although you have your moments -- " Tamaki perked up. "You still need me, of all people, to point out the obvious."
"But Haruhi...she..." It was hard enough for him to understand, let alone state it to the air. He blushed at the thought of her feelings, silently returning his own under his nose. Tamaki covered his deepening red face with one hand, flustered and increasingly nervous. Numerous images filled his mind, of all the times she could have been trying to get his attention.
I've overlooked this?
"Tamaki." Kyouya interrupted loudly. "Need I repeat my original question?"
The Host King composed himself, looking up to his friend, smiling gently.
"I...I understand."
"Then you understand what you need to do."
Tamaki muttered a "Yes" under his breath. He paused to think -- wonderful thoughts, carefully choreographed, perfectly executed, his lips moving in the way he always imagined them. He immersed himself in the way she would respond, exactly how he expected, and they would embrace...their eyes locked for a few brief seconds until...
"Do not let your emotions carry you away." Kyouya turned towards the window, apparently sensing his excitement from across the room. "Even someone like you should know the difference between dreams and the harsh reality you have always denied."
For once, it seemed that the blonde truly understood, though he cringed at the frost on the last sentence.
Somewhere, deep down inside, you have the right words for her.
Yes, she had said that, hadn't she? Just as each fangirl at his feet was different, Haruhi was too - and if he could find the right words for her, would it make all the difference?
Somewhere in the distance, a bell began to ring.
"Tamaki." Kyouya moved from the window, crossing the room to the pair of embellished doors. "Every moment you spend contemplating these things is another moment of club time wasted."
The host king, still deep in thought, stretched his arms and wandered silently towards Kyouya.
"Actually...I was thinking of leaving early. You wouldn't ..." He paused, seeing Kyouya's eyes rolling. "...mind, would you?"
The dark lord adjusted his glasses and smiled evilly.
"Very well...if it's that important. I'll just add the loss of profit to Haruhi's debt."
He watched Tamaki slowly and quietly make his way down the hall, hands in his pockets. It was hard to believe it had worked.
"...that wasn't a good idea, was it?" He sighed.