Only those with excellent social standing and those from filthy rich families are lucky enough to spend their time here at the elite private school Ouran Academy. The Ouran Host Club is where the school's handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. Just think of it as Ouran Academy's elegant playground for the super-rich and beautiful.
Hi mom, I hope you can see how ridiculous this Club is. I miss you. Dad never says it, but he does too.
I made a new friend, outside of the host club, and Japan. She's a girl from Canada. Can you believe it? She's a pen pal who is going to become an exchange student here, at Ouran.
She's excited to share a cup of tea with me finally; even if I have to do, it dressed as a boy. Dad should be picking her up from the airport soon. Hopefully, he doesn't exhaust her. Oh, and we're going to be her host family. I know; a 24/7 host. Tamaki-Senpai would be so excited if he knew. I only told Kyoya, I will surprise everyone else tomorrow with her introduction.
"Harrruuhiii!?" came the call from her dad. He must have made it back quicker than she expected.
Haruhi Fujioka was still in her uniform from her school, Ouran Academy, she had clipped her bangs aside with a pin already.
"Coming!" she shouted back and jumped from her room, booking it into the main room.
"Mel-chan!" Haruhi shouted upon seeing her foreign friend. "Welcome to Japan, and our home." she bowed happily before opening her arms in a hug.
Standing in the entryway still taking off her shoes stood a young woman, an upperclassman to Haruhi, a third-year student. The woman beamed and pulled back a strand of her long blond hair, tucking it behind her ear from bowing at Haruhi. She was about 170 cm, so she almost towered over Haruhi but was still shorter than her dad.
"Hi, Haruhi," Melody tried her best in Japanese to her as she hugged her friend. "I hope I didn't keep you worried?"
"Never!" Haruhi grinned warmly at her pen pal's shaking voice and pulled back. "You must be hungry; we'll make something to eat. Tell us about your trip!"
Her dad was already busy warming up some leftover rice.
"Pork or beef cutlets?" Haruhi asked from the fridge.
"You pick," Melody smiled as she set her suitcase down and sat at the table in the living room, where we ate.
"Beef it is," her father hummed and set the pan on the oven with some oil in it for the meat.
Haruhi cut up an onion and started prepping the bowls before she kissed her dad on the cheek, heading to the other room.
"I'm going to change," she smiled at Melody. "I can take your bags to our room."
"Oh," Melody blinked and bowed her head low. "Thank youfrom Haruhi."
She smiled and waved it off.
"It's no problem," she wheeled the heavy suitcase into her room. Changing quickly, hoping her dad didn't burn anything or talk Melody's ear off. She could already hear them talking, the low murmuring it sounded like from her room.
"-so I told the guy to buy something or take a hike." her father laughed.
Melody laughed warmly back, her cheeks pink.
"Ryoji-san," she held back a giggle. "I knew you were bold, but that must be too much."
"Oh no san in the household," her father waved his finger scoldingly at Melody. "You're our guest and Haruhi's friend. You can just call me Ryoji."
Melody nodded, and Haruhi's dad brought over the cutlet bowls, steaming and fragrant.
"Alright," her father put his hands together as if in prayer. Melody followed suit.
"Let's eat," Haruhi said, keeping her hands together too before grabbing her chopsticks.
"Let's eat!" her dad and Melody said back before digging in too.
They slowly ate, Melody gave a hum of approval as she ate, relaxing into her cushion.
"So," Haruhi asked, swallowing her food. "How was the plane ride?"
"Horrible," Melody sighed. "I slept weird, so my neck is sore, other than that I think the ride went smoothly."
Melody had a terrible fear of travelling alone and rarely did it as a result. Being in a new town, a new continent, several time-zones away; she was probably stressed and homesick already.
"Oh," she bowed her head a bit. "Can I get your internet password so I can message my mom that I made it okay?"
Haruhi opened her hand to take the phone and after some tinkering found the right menu and typed in their password before handing the phone back.
"There," she smiled.
Melody bowed her head, "Excuse me."
She headed out of the room and to the washroom.
Once the door closed, her dad turned to her.
"She was so shaky on the train," her dad mumbled quietly to her. "She must really miss home, or she might have been shaken from the trip."
"Let's hope it was just the trip," Haruhi nodded.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Haruhi heard her alarm going off, some frantic shuffling and the alarm clicking off.
She relaxed into her bed a bit as she heard her door open and close again before she was being shaken awake by her friend.
"Haru-chan..." she was shaken a little.
"Mmm?" she heard herself groan. "I'm getting up, give me a moment."
She rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up.
Melody already was prepped in her ugly-yellow uniform. Her long blonde hair was kept back with a plain black headband and brushed out so it hung behind her back. Her friend was already holding her bag and sat on the other bed they made up last night.
"Did you grab your bento?" Haruhi mumbled as she sat up and slowly started pulling on her men's uniform over her underwear she had worn to bed.
"Yea," Melody smiled. "I didn't eat breakfast yet-"
"We can grab something small from the bakery on the way to the station," Haruhi chuckled as she buckled up her pants.
"Okay," Melody looked into her little wallet. "I think I might need to grab some yen soon."
"You didn't spend it all-"
"No, no," Melody waved it all. "I just forgot about the exchange.."
Haruhi smiled softly and extended her hand to help Melody off the bed.
"Let's grab some breakfast then and head to school."
"Welcome to Ouran Academy," a blonde man about Melody's age bowed to Haruhi and Melody as they entered the regal and over the top campus gates. The man had a large pinkish scar on his face and bright blue eyes, he shone them a wide smile. "You must be Miss Melody Milan."
Melody and Haruhi bowed back to the man.
"Melody-chan," Haruhi smiled and waved to the man introducing them. "This is student vice-president Sabo-kun."
"Sabo Monkey," he bowed his head again. "I have a few cousins who go here, you might meet them around. Anyway, I'm going to be showing you our campus."
"Thank you Monkey-san." Melody bowed her head smiling weakly.
"Please," he chuckled with a cheeky wink. "It's just Sabo to the ladies."
"I've got to run," Haruhi waved off as she headed to her class. "Have fun, Melody-chan."
"I will Haru-kun." she laughed and waved back. She looked nervous to be left with a boy.
"So," Sabo said as they walked the courtyard. "You are pen friends with Haru-kun?"
"Ah," she chuckled. "It's not written a word. We emailed each other from this site where people are trying to learn other languages. Sh-I mean-he was trying to better his English, and I was trying to learn Japanese."
"Well you speak well for a foreigner," he laughed warmly as they entered the nearest building. "Haruhi must be an excellent teacher."
"He is," she smiled.
She turned the corner after Sabo and collided with someone. "Sorry."
The person stopped and whipped around, she was stunned.
The man was wearing an athletic uniform bottom and running sneakers. But no top. He was utterly shirtless, his entire muscular glory only a few inches from her face.
"Ace, really?" Sabo wined at the man.
She finally found the courage to look up at the taller, topless man. He was gorgeous. He sported thick and wild black locks of hair, a smattering of adorable freckles on the apples of his cheeks, and warm amber-ish eyes that looked black in the light. He grinned warmly at her.
"Hello, milady," he bowed his head a little and took her hand. "You must be the new girl from Canada, Sabo here has been nervous all week to meet and show you around."
"A-ace!?" Sabo almost screeched at the man known as Ace. "That is not very gentlemanly of you."
"Who said I needed to be a gentleman?" Ace laughed and winked at the two of them before continuing off at a jog.
"You pain!" Sabo hollered after him. "Get a shirt on and get to class!"
The man laughed and turned the corner out of sight.
"Umm," she tried to think of something nice to say, that wasn't objective. "He seemed nice."
"Oh, he is," Sabo rubbed the back of his head nervously. "That's one of my cousins; Ace "Fire-Fist" Portgas."
"Portgas-"
"Just Ace," Sabo smiled, "Don't feel the need to be formal with us. If Haruhi speaks so highly of you, then that alone is good enough."
She blushed at the sincerity in his voice. "That's sweet,"
It was his turn to blush, "Think nothing of it."
He cleared his voice and headed to the closest room which was the gym from the look and smell.
"This is the gymnasium," Sabo declared. "Spacious enough for the training. We have a bigger one for sporting events with plenty of seating for the students, teachers and guests of both schools. But it's under construction so this is what we have until the next sporting event."
"Wow," she gasped. "It's beautiful."
"Got that right," a deep voice rumbled form the far side of the room.
It was a man with vibrant, shaggy green hair. That wasn't the most stunning thing about him. He too was in an Ouran athletic uniform, but was lifting an outrageous weight that would undoubtedly shatter the floorboards below him if he dropped it from his hand.
He had a scar on his face like Sabo, but it was a thin line covering his left eye, so it was shut. The one open eye was a deep dark brown. He had golden earrings dangling from his left ear.
"Hey Sabo," he smirked wickedly. "Is this the new girl? Showing her the-"
"Tut-tut Zoro!" Sabo said sternly. "Keep focused on your workout."
"Yea, yea, mom," Zoro grumbled and put his weight back on the rack before walking to the locker room.
"I will have a female student show you the change room," Sabo blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "But that's the kanji for the word woman."
He pointed to the other door that Zoro hadn't exited through.
"Now let's keep up." he smiled. "We have a few more buildings."
She followed him out of the gymnasium.
"And that was?" she asked gently.
"Oh, Zoro Roronoa," he shrugged. "You might meet his cousin, Ritsu Kasanoda."
Melody nodded, trying to remember the names so far and map the school in her head as they walked. So much was happening she didn't find herself speaking much as they walked around.
In the next building, they came across the Student Council room, where a member was. A woman with vibrant blue hair in a ponytail, her brilliant blue eyes and kind face welcomed them in.
"Oh," she smiled. "Good morning, Sabo-kun. You must be Miss Melody Milan. I'm Ouran Academy's school president Vivi Nefeltari."
"Good morning, miss President," he bowed low.
She chuckled warmly and shook her head.
"Oh stop it, Sabo-kun." she closed the filing cabinet she was in.
"Is your class over?" Sabo asked.
"Oh," she nodded. "Yes, I can take over showing Melody around so you can do your classes."
"Thank you," he bowed himself out. "See you later, Melody-chan."
"He's smitten," Vivi chuckled warmly again.
"With you?" Melody asked.
"No," she almost shouted and waved her hand dismissively. "Forget I said anything."
Melody squinted a little, did Vivi mean her?
"Now," she smiled warmly. "Should only take one more period to show you the rest of the school, then we can take our afternoon classes together."
"Okay," she sighed in relief. "I was worried we'd be running into more and more people."
"We will," Vivi grinned. "Hopefully I can introduce you to the other class members at lunch."
Melody nodded, feeling exhausted already from all the walking. Why did the school have to be so large and the dresses so long?
She followed Vivi as she pointed out the rooms for each class.
"So which class are you in?"
She slowly opened up her timetable and booklet Haruhi gave her last night.
"Umm," she read it slowly. "3-A."
"Wow!" Vivi beamed at her. "We'll be in the same homeroom and classes until the last period of the day."
"What is last period for?" she asked tucking her booklet away again.
"Well," she hummed. "You're here for art, so last period will be art for you. I will be doing my political studies class."
"Are you going into politics?" Melody asked.
She laughed warmly, "Possibly," she smiled. "I'm the daughter of a hotel emperor?"
"Emperor?" she asked.
"He owns Cobra Cabana Hotel chains." she waved it off, saying it as casually as one would describe the weather.
Melody stopped in her tracks, that hotel chain was not only five star but also expensive and highly regarded for its outstanding service and locations worldwide. She couldn't even afford to stand in the lobby.
"Wow," she gasped. "Are you set to inherit it from your father?"
"Yes," she smiled. "Dad's CEO and chairman and all the other important names needed to be independent, I'm proud of him."
"That's a big responsibillity," Melody said gently.
"One I will shoulder when the time comes," the bluenette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as they neared the cafeteria. Which was booming. Melody must have missed the bell chiming in her stunned state.
She and Vivi entered the line for food.
"So," Vivi smiled. "What do your parents do?"
She blushed, "N-nothing special," she waved her hand. "My mom is a high school teacher and my dad a real estate agent back home."
"Do you miss it?" Vivi asked, her eyes ahead, but her tone serious.
"Every waking moment," she sighed sadly. "I'm a foreigner, in a language barrier. All I can hope is I can learn and better myself here."
"Strive for it," Vivi took a tray. "You need to excel, Haruhi though is very studious. So he'll be on you to study just as much as you will be on yourself."
She nodded, "I have double the work, learning Japanese and new things for my path in life."
"You can always ask for help," Vivi nodded. "Most of us are honour students in class A. Come on, I'll introduce you to them."
She nodded and headed to the table Vivi was dragging Melody over, small juice in hand from the cafeteria. They were walking to a table where a giant man, a young blond kid that looked like a middle-schooler sat. Along with a black-haired fourth-year woman and a red-headed girl.
"Hello, Vivi-chan!" shouted the redhead, waving a wrist of elegant and exotic looking bracelets.
"Hello Nami-chan," Vivi giggled as she set her tray down and sat down, patting a space next to her for Melody to sit. "Everyone this is our exchange student, Melody Milan. She's from Canada."
"Wow!" said the blonde kid. "It must be so warm here to you."
She giggled, the kid was cute and eating a piece of cake.
"Mel-chan," she smiled. "This is Honey-senpai, or Mitsukuni Haninozuka, Son of the Martial Art master; Yorihisa Haniozuka." the boy flashed his brillant hoeny-brown eyes at her with a smile. "He's in our class and year along with his cousin, Mori-Senpai or Takashi Morinozuka."
The tall man with dark hair and eyes just merely nodded in greeting. His expression neutral but his eyes warm and inviting. Melody was utterly taken back and stunned. These two men radiated strength, and the kid was actually her age. She could feel her brain screaming at her being so starstruck. The boys father was a name she heard her little brothers chant once or twice in crazy fights. He was a crazy good fighter, and master like Vivi said.
"And this is Nami Roma," Vivi nodded to the redhead, who tucked her long hair back. "Her mom is the woman who runs Bella Citrus."
"Belle-mere has the best tangerines," Nami smiled. "Just wait. I'll bring you one from the orchard tomorrow."
Bella Citrus was a multi-million dollar franchise. Started in Japan with an off-shoot in Florida, the woman behind it had bought out the neighbouring orange orchards and sold both now. Melody's head was spinning with all these big names kids sitting next to her.
"Next is Robin Nico," the dark-haired woman nodded as Vivi spoke. "She's in class 4-D. She's the daughter of the famed archaeologist, Oliva Nico."
"Pleasure," said Robin, smiling before sipping her drink.
Her jaw dropped a bit, Oliva was famous for having cracked an ancient language and decoded countless of artefacts from the dead language. When she was younger she loved old artifacts, having watched plenty of adventure movies. She held a particular love of Ancient Egypt, Japan and Rome.
She bowed her head at the group.
"It's an honour to meet you all," she smiled at them.
