A piece of advice for you all, never sign any contracts with the host club. Just...just don't. Kimiko Ootori is like a young lawyer! I couldn't believe the contract she'd managed to draw up so fast. You know, she is really something.
"Um..." Daisuke mumbled as he looked down at the thick contract that Kimko had placed in his hands, "...Wow. Did you give my a novel or a binding legal document?"
Kimiko smirked down at him, "I am very furrow with these kinds of things Mr. Suoh. Don't worry about it though, all it says is that if you can't make a decent profit then we'll let you go."
"There's like six hundred pages here!"
"...I included a bunch of different scenarios in case you would ever have to leave. Like, per say, you had to get surgery outside of the country and would be staying somewhere else for an undetermined amount of time."
"What would happen then?" Daisuke asked. He did have doctors' appointments lined up every second Sunday just to make sure he was doing alright since the car-accident. There was a chance that he might have to get some surgery down the road.
"You'd pay out of your own pocket to make up for the money you'd usually make during your absence." Kimiko explained, "It's fair. Say you had three regular costumers, you'd pay their fees."
"Oh...Yeah alright." Daisuke didn't like using his parents' money, he preferred to earn it himself because then it gave it more value to him but if he ever had to obey this clause, they wouldn't mind. It would be one of the few, rare cases when he didn't pay by himself.
"Just sign on the dotted line and we'll get started with your host training." Kimiko said and cast a quick glance over her shoulder to see if her fellow club-members were finishing getting everything ready for him. "The good new is it won't take very long."
"..."
She raised an eyebrow at the strange brunet sitting down beside her. He was staring at the paper intensly and she could see that he had a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. "Is something the matter?" She asked.
"...I...I..." Daisuke stammered, "...D-Do you..."
He knew that she was staring at him, he could feel her eyes on him. It was so embarrassing...he really didn't want anyone to know what his deal was...but they'd have to find out eventually. I mean, he couldn't just pretend that everything was fine and sure enough they'd quickly come to their senses and add two and two together. Daisuke leaned in and whispered something in Kimiko's ear, something that made her cold eyes widened in surprise.
Kimiko was the only one I told. The others figured it out...eventually.
The sixteen year old looked at the boy sitting beside her and felt something rare for an Ootori. She felt the strongest urge to help him out.
"Here." She said and pointed to the dotted line, "Sign here."
Daisuke nodded and quickly scribbled his name where he was told, "Thank you." He said softly. "That was really stressful..."
"...If I may ask something?"
"Go ahead."
Kimiko hesitated before saying, "I remember when we were younger, you would play with us at the park but back then you weren't..."
"It happened recently," Daisuke said quickly, "Completely by accident. I was in a car with my friends and...we weren't exactly being model citizens and we paid the price for it." He forced a smile, "But it's okay! Researchers are looking into problems like mine and are getting close to finding a way to fix it!"
Kimiko nodded, "Alright...We should probably let Sora go over the rules with you or else he might start to get anxious."
Daisuke froze, he was worried what would happen and what his host training was entitled for and what they'd make him do but it was better than just sitting around at home doing nothing. "Okay." He said after a little bit and then got up from his spot on the couch.
Sora did seem to be like the type to get worked up easily, after all, he was a bit moody it seemed. He was tapping his foot as he waited for them to hurry up, Daisuke could tell.
"Come on~!" Sora groaned impatiently, "Me and Amaya have to be home by 6:30 for dinner!"
"Mom's cooking," Amaya pointed out, "So I could stay awhile."
"Why?" Daisuke asked as he and Kimko came over to where the other members of the host club were sitting. "Don't like your mom's cooking?"
"He always burns it." Amaya explained, "Tries his best but he just can't cook for the life of him."
"And we don't have the heart to let him know." Sora added, "That's why we should get home so dad isn't put in an awkward situation...You know that he can't keep his mouth shut."
"Well when I get home I'm having frozen pizza so-" Daisuke started to say but Izzy decided to interrupt him.
"I'm sorry but what's frozen pizza?" The fifteen year old asked, "I heard of pizza before but what's it mean if it's frozen? Did you put a nice warm pizza in the freezer?"
"Why would you order or make a pizza just to stick it in the freezer?" Yukki asked, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
Daisuke face-palmed, "You...You're all kidding me right? You really don't know what a frozen pizza is?"
"No." The six others all said in unison making Daisuke sigh,
"Well...it's a pizza in a box. You buy it at the supermarket and to cook it you put it in the oven and follow the directions on the side of the box. It only takes a little while to prepare and it's simple enough so anyone can cook them." Daisuke tried to explain it so they would understand, "I used to eat them all the time in America."
"You are rich right?" Yukki asked, "I mean, you are aware that you don't have to eat commoner food all the time and can have your cooks make you something?"
"I don't have any cooks. I'm living by myself in a loft down town. I cook and pick up after myself."
The entire host club gasped, their faces all frozen in an expression of pure shock and horror at this sudden revelation. "...But why?" Sora asked, looking completely stricken. "The Suoh family has one of the most beautiful manors in all of Japan!"
Daisuke shrugged, "It's too...hallow. Not to mention my parents spend most of their time in the United States anyway and only fly in every second weekend. I tried to stay in the manor but it was too lonely, even with K.S. there. I told my mom and she suggested that I rented a place. Once I finish school and get a job I'm going to pay my parents back for it."
"...You are strange..." Taro said after the others stood there in awkward silence.
"No...I just like to look after myself." Daisuke replied. "I'm going to have to learn to look after myself so why not now?"
"...Is it really okay for you to live by yourself?" Kimiko asked.
Daisuke frowned, "I'm more than capable of keeping myself in one piece but thanks for the concern. Now, when I get home I have to cook my dinner, do the dishes and clean up a bit so could we get this training done?"
"Right!" Sora exclaimed, "We have to get back on track and go over the host rules with you before anyone of us gets distracted again!" He turned slightly to face his fellow hosts. "Now, what's the most important thing about being a host?!"
"To make our guests feel like the treasures they are!" Izzy blurted out, "We cater to their every whim and their every desire and make them feel incredible!"
"Correct answer!" Sora shouted, high-fiving the other boy. "You might want to write this down, Dai-Chan."
"Don't need to, I have a photo-graphic memory."
"Right...anyway, two girls are fighting over you! What do you do?!"
"Oh! Oh! Oh! I know this one!" Izzy squealed, waving his hand in the air. "Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!"
"Yukki? Do you know the answer?" Sora asked, his mouth curling up into a smirk.
"You tell them both that there's no need to fight and there's enough of you to go around." Yukki answered and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Daisuke noticed he had a tattoo on his forearm, one of a small black dragon. He figured it was to make him look even more intimidating if it was possible.
"Very good!" Sora said and slapped his friend on the back, "This is turning out to be easier than I thought! Hey, Izzy, Amaya, why don't you two have a simulation? Pretend to be guests and have Daisuke test himself out on you!"
"I'm alright with that!" Izzy shouted cheerfully and grabbed Daisuke's arm, pulling him towards a couch and coffee table. "I've always wanted to see what it was like to be in the others' shoes! Come on Dai-Chan! Test out your knowledge!"
Daisuke sighed, how his father liked this club, he'd never know.
Izzy and Amaya forced him down onto one couch and then sat down across from him, smiling happily and crazily. Daisuke sighed, he might as well get things over with.
"Hello ladies," He said and forced a smile, choosing to ignore the way that Izzy giggled at being called a lady. "How are you two today?"
"I'm fine Daisuke," Amaya said, "How are you?"
"Yes Daisuke, how are you doing today? Anything on your mind?" Izzy added.
"Oh nothing much," Daisuke said with a shrug, "I've just been waiting for someone interesting to talk to so I'm glad you came along. Would you like some tea? I'll pour while I listen."
"No thank you," Izzy said politely, "Why don't you tell us a little about yourself? What are your interests?"
"Well, I like water. When I lived in Boston I was on the swim team and competed for metals so I really like going to the beach or the pool or even just water-parks. I'm also fond of reading." Daisuke said with a smile, "But I'm more interested in what you two have to say. Why don't you tell me about yourselves?"
"Well," Amaya started, "My mom's a fashion designer like our grandmother and our father sometimes helps him out but mainly works with our grandpa on new technologies. We have a big family and sometimes I think my parents' need to stop reproducing. I'm the oldest by 25 minutes and I'm really interested in fashion and design. When I'm older I plan to take over the fashion side of our family's industry."
"That sounds really nice," Daisuke said, keeping his smile. "It must be a little hectic with a lot of siblings but it must be cool. I'm the youngest of my family so I wouldn't really know."
"I'm an only child," Izzy said, "I live with my mom in this quaint but fancy little villa not far from here. I'm really into anime thanks to my mom and we are incredibly close. I really like manga and comics but most of my free time is spent updating my tumblr blog and dying from shipping feels! Johnlock, Destiel, Stony, Thorki, Percabeth, Drinny, Klaine...so many feels!"
"You know, I would love to watch some Sherlock with you sometime. I heard really good things and am curious to find out what's all the excitement." Daisuke confessed, "And I like anime too! Hetalia and Free are my favorites although I also watch One Piece and that's pretty good and Full metal alchemist."
"So what was your life like in America?" Amaya asked.
"Yes, I would love to hear about America too!" Izzy added.
"Well...There was a lot of Walmarts and MacDonald's but there's a lot of other cool stuff too. I lived in Boston and they have a marathon every year that's pretty cool, people from all over the world come to participate in it. I got to watch it a couple of times...pretty cool. And there's a lot of culture there too, tons of museums and stuff and cool places to shop, hang out, swim and just have a fun time." Daisuke paused before continuing.
"I had some pretty cool friends over there and would hang out and go to movies, you know, do what normal teenagers do. The night before I left we all went and saw a double feature at the drive-inn, The Avengers and Iron Man 3...They called it the superhero special."
"Sounds like fun," Amaya said and smiled, "Would you like some cake?"
Daisuke shrugged, "I'll have some if you two want some."
"I could go for some cake!" Izzy grinned and got them a tray with three small pieces of cake on it. "There's Lime, Strawberry and Chocolate! I'll take this one!" he said and grabbed a piece.
"I guess I'll have this one then!" Amaya smiled and took the second piece. "Unless, you want it?"
Daisuke started to sweat a little again, "Oh, no. You can have it. I'll just have this last one...this...chocolate one." He picked the treat up and took a bite. Too bad for him that it wasn't the chocolate.
Amaya and Izzy started to giggle, "That's lime silly! I have the chocolate one!" Izzy grinned, "What? You can't tell green from brown?"
"..." Daisuke shifted awkwardly.
Both Izzy and Amaya's eyes widened and they exchanged looks.
They both figured it out at the same time although I didn't exactly make it hard for them to piece it all together. It was a big hint that I gave away.
Daisuke looked at them with pleading eyes, "Don't...Tell...Anyone!" He insisted, "Promise me that you won't go around and tell everyone! I hate when people try and treat me different because of it!"
"H-How many people know?" Izzy asked, stuttering slightly.
"...The headmaster does. My teachers do. My parents and K.S. know and so does Kimiko and Taro...and now you two."
"So Sora and Yukki have no idea that you're-" Izzy started to say but Amaya slapped her hand over his mouth.
"That's...Oh my god..." She struggled to say something. "You...I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. I could have died, considering that I got off pretty lucky and it still could have been worse. I could have gotten paralized or something and it really isn't that hard to live with...not as much as you would think." Daisuke said, "I can still do loads of stuff and it hasn't really changed me."
"...Are you going to tell Sora and Yukki?" Amaya asked.
Daisuke shrugged, "I don't really know yet. Maybe." He sighed, "Look, I'm just trying to make it threw the semester here. My parents agreed that if I got good grades and didn't like it, I could go back and finish my education in the united states. Don't take it personal but I'm not exactly happy here."
Amaya and Izzy nodded in understanding, "Well..." Izzy said softly, "I promise that I'll try and make this year a little better for you. We could be friends, hang out and stuff."
The older of the current hosts twins nodded in agreement, "Yeah! We could be friends and go to all those movies and go swimming and stuff!"
The brunet smiled a little, "Thanks for the offer but I'm better off alone."
"That why you don't want to join the host club?" Izzy asked, "You prefer to be alone in your life?"
"That and it's a little degrading."
Amaya was about to say something when suddenly a wild Sora appeared at her side. "WE GOTTA GO!" He informed her, "I just got an emergency text from dad, Mom's almost done cooking and it's already burnt to a crisp! Code Red! I call this meeting of the host club disbanded! We'll see what Daisuke learned tomorrow now come on! Run!"
Daisuke watched the two leave and eventually, the entire host club filed out and soon it was just him alone in the abandoned music room. Why they wanted him around he knew very well, it was a little promotional item, a complete 2nd generation host club. He wasn't stupid, he knew very well that they didn't care about him. He didn't need fake friends and like he said before, he was better off on his own.
So four people had managed to uncover the truth about me and my little secret but whatever. It wasn't like they could do anything to change it and if they said anything about it, I could always drop out of Ouran and run off somewhere, live the life of a commoner...
That wouldn't be so bad, right?