Thank you so much for your support everyone! I am so glad that you are enjoying the story! This chapter doesn't really follow the Ouran timeline, just a little bit of craziness that I thought of when I was writing 'The twins fight' scene which will be coming up in two chapters.
This story is still beta-less so if you notice any errors, typos and the like please tell me. Oh and if someone is interested in becoming a beta, send me a PM!
"Kyoya, are you sure that it doesn't bother you that Renge has requested him?" Hikaru watched as their shadow king abandoned his place in front of the computer screen in favor of checking in on the guests, his notebook opened as he prepared to jot down anything of interest. Which, from the way that his pen flew over the pages, was just about anything.
"No, not really. In fact when she turned her attention towards Haruhi after that accident I could breathe a little easier. Now that she's got her sights on both Haruhi and Kagome, I don't have to worry about her at all."
The grey eyed man pushed his glasses up, surveying the room. The guests were plenty entertained, the new host, despite a few initial drawbacks and his rather unorthodox approach to hosting, appeared to be doing a good job.
Kagome Taisho. Quite a mystery indeed. It was irritating that no matter where he searched and who he contacted, Kyoya found nothing about the heir to the Taisho fortune. It was as if the guy just simply appeared at Ouran and that was the first that anyone has seen him. The Ootori family has been doing business with Sesshomaru Taisho for years and no matter how elusive and secretive the man was, he wouldn't have been able to hide such a vital piece of information. In fact, the young man was clearly not Taisho's son by blood. So why choose him to be the successor? And why would someone as cold and cruel as Sesshomaru Taisho wish to adopt in the first place?
"Curiouser and curiouser," he murmured, moving to stand behind Haruhi as she prepared the host club's famous instant coffee. Kyoya scrunched his nose up in distaste at the aroma that wafted off the liquid. Surely Tamaki ingested it endlessly only to humor Haruhi. He couldn't possibly like it.
"Haruhi."
"Yes Kyoya-senpai?"
"Taisho-san is in the same class as you, is he not?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Um yeah, he enrolled a few days ago. What about him?" Haruhi picked up the tray, the cups gently clinging at the movement.
"Simply curious."
Haruhi snorted in disbelief. Kyoya was never simply curious about anyone. She has only known the guy for a few weeks, and already it was quite obvious that he was never curious about anyone unless there was something to gain from association.
"What does Renge see in him?" Kaoru sulked, propping his chin up with his hand, "In fact, what do all of them see in him?"
"Yeah, he just sits there," Hikaru snorted humorously, "We work our buts off with our act; the boss spends ages on learning which angle makes him look best, Mori and Honey have got their routine worked out and even Kyoya entertains from time to time."
"He just sits there. Doesn't talk. Doesn't even eat cake like Honey! In fact, I'm sure that I've seen him fall asleep once!"
"Boring if you ask me," they concluded in perfect unison, crossing their arms over their chests with a huff.
"Yet the profits keep on flowing," Kyoya materialized behind them, making the twins flinch away, "Twice as many people requested him today and he has regulars already."
Seemingly unaware of the seething twins and their glares, Kagome sat calmly on the sofa between the giggling girls as she tried to stifle yet another yawn.
"Kagome-chan? What is your favourite colour?"
"Kagome-chan, I brought you cake. Would you like some?"
Kagome grit her teeth, deciding to exercise her very special miko power which consisted of ignoring the dimwits around her at any cost. She would have thought that if she stayed silent than gradually the girls would loose interest and then she could ask to do more menial but less annoying jobs around the club. Like making instant coffee or cutting up cake. She was quite confident in her skills in that area. However, her lack of response seemed to just egg the girls on so a demotion was unlikely. They were now playing the 'who can get Kagome to talk' game and so far, she hasn't answered a single question in the five days that she has been a host. Surprisingly, she was requested more and more, instead of being left alone which meant that some of the other hosts were loosing their regulars.
She smirked at the thought. It was so funny to watch how riled up Tamaki and the Hitachiin brothers got when Kyoya told them. Tamaki puffed and huffed, unable to draw in a breath and the twins doubled their efforts in their 'brotherly love' routine.
"Kagome-chan, do you not like cake? I haven't ever seen you eat any. In fact, you don't seem to be eating anything at all, even at lunchtime. Don't boys need their food?"
Kagome sucked in her breath sharply. That reminded her so much of her mum that it hurt. She used to say it all the time when Inuyasha would eat everything in the house. "Growing boys need their food" she would say with unflappable optimism and a bright smile, then grab her handbag and head to the shops for more provisions. She never complained once, not even with the money being short.
Kagome stood up sharply, her hands balled into fists until her knuckles grew white as she reminded herself that the girl was an idiot and not worth her anger. Huffing in annoyance, she walked away from her 'assigned hosting area' and towards the window seat, leaving the guests alone.
"Was it something that I said?" the startled girl muttered dejectedly.
"Oh this is just what bad boys like him do," Renge complimented Kagome with an all-knowing look in her eyes, clearly thinking herself to be an expert, "They come and go as they please, no holding them!"
"Maybe he will eat if we make something that he likes!" another customer suggested cheerfully.
"Yeah!"
"Well then ladies, let's play the 'guess Kagome's favorite food" game," Kyoya offered with a saccharine smile as he once again just happened to be in the right place and at the right time, "whoever guesses, gets to spend the whole afternoon one on one with Kagome."
"Ooooh I will play!"
"Me too!"
Kyoya's smile never wavered as he left the table, his keen mind already calculating the profit that they were about to make. Talking the school chefs into cooking up a few dishes would be a breeze. Than add three hundred percent on top of the initial costs and, as Tamaki would put it, voila! Giving himself a mental pat on the back, he set to work.
With the club's shadow king's incredible and manipulative speech given in front of the chefs, a few calls to the suppliers and the cost of renting out the kitchens added on top of the ever-growing fee that the gullible – generous, he corrected himself - girls would so eagerly want to pay, everything was ready by the time the club assembled the very next day.
"So ladies, you must choose the dish that you think Taisho-san will enjoy the most and our chefs will kindly prepare it for you," he gestured towards the men and women lined up in a row behind him.
"Right!"
"Then let the games begin! You have one hour," he moved out of the way as the girl's stampeded towards the food and fine dining magazines casually laid out on the tables.
~F-M-N~
Kagome yawned. Today was obviously a slow day for her. The other hosts were busy with their guests, Tamaki looking triumphant now that the order in the universe has been restored and no one doubted his status as the king.
Tamaki's eyes slanted onto Kagome who was currently busying himself with constructing a card house. A strange way to spend time, but what was the poor soul to do? He was quite right about Kagome's popularity stemming out of the novelty of having a new face around the club (really he had no idea till Kaoru suggested it) and now his little doves flocked back to where they belonged all along. That is, in his presence.
With a gust of wind, Kagome's house collapsed, the male's hands still poised over where the next floor of the mini house would go. The way his face scrunched up in annoyance, the slight barely visible pout, it was just so…
'Adorable!' Tamaki lit up like a bulb. Perhaps he has misjudged the new host! Maybe all the cruel words and an occasional violent outburst were just signs of him fighting his love for his daddy! It appears that not only he has a daughter, but now a son! His family just keeps on growing by the day!
"Kagome, come over here!" he waved with a wide grin.
Kagome tensed at the look in his eyes, it spoke of nothing but headache for her. Deciding to oblige him this time, she stood up, weaving her way through the tables and sofas.
"Yes?"
"Come sit with me," he smiled brightly, making the yellow harpies around him screech in delight. Tamaki did not even bat an eyelash at their antics. Kagome had to give him some credit for that.
"I'd rather not," she said, looking away to see that Mori and Honey have come back into the room. Perhaps she could go and sit with them, seeing as she actually enjoyed their company.
"I just figured out your secret."
'Which one?' she thought, slightly surprised that a person with observational skills of the sofa that he sat on actually managed to do so.
"Congratulations, that pretty head of yours does actually work occasionally," she said instead of voicing her thoughts.
Tamaki ignored the barb, patting the empty place next to him.
'Is he actually patronizing me?' Kagome snorted, plonking down on to the sofa. Perhaps if she did swing this right, it may prove to be entertaining.
"You see my lovelies," he turned to a rather shy looking girl sitting to his right and grasped her chin gently, "sometimes you have to forgive the atrocities committed against you in order to allow a beautiful and tender friendship to blossom. I and Kagome are but an apology away from it!"
"Um… I forgive you?" Kagome scratched the back of her head in confusion.
"I.. What! It is you who should apologize!" Tamaki gasped in righteous indignation.
"What for?"
"Well, where should I start…" the annoyed man let go of the blushing customer's chin in order to take out a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. As he shook it out, Kagome watched as it expanded until it covered most of the coffee table.
'I can't believe that the guy actually bothered to write it all down. So much for not keeping a grudge.'
"How about the time you doubted my otherworldly beauty? Or-or when you have slammed my head into the Honey-senpai's cake or-"
"-Now that was funny!" Kagome grinned making the ladies, who were paying little attention to what was said even though they watched the two males with hungry look in their eyes, sigh in delight.
"You are such a brute! I've changed my mind! You are just as awful as those despicable twins!" Tamaki wailed, oblivious to the fact that Kagome was no longer sitting next to him but instead chose to relocate herself closer to Mori and Honey.
~F-M-N~
"Kagome! We are ready!" Kyoya announced with his usual profit-generating smile.
"For.."
"For the tasting session to begin," the grey eyed man waved Kagome over to the other side of the room, "Each lady has carefully selected a dish that you may find palatable. Should one of them succeed, she can collect her prize."
Kyoya - aka the scrooge - offering her free food? And what prize was he talking about? Something was not right about this; she just couldn't put her finger on it yet. Her blue eyes not leaving the table covered with a long white cloth of sorts, she moved towards the club's vice president and the whispering, giggling yellow mass behind him. The rest of the hosts stopped what they were doing in and looked at the spectacle in curiosity as they watched Kyoya explain something to the blushing excited women around him.
"What do you think that is all about, Mori?" Honey put his empty plate down on the table and looked up at the silent man. "Should we go and see?"
Mori regarded the throng with a slight look of unease. He really did not enjoy commotion such as this all that much. But then again, he looked at the blonde boy next to him, who could resist the hopeful look in Honey-senpai's eyes? Those brown eyes brought the word 'cute' to a completely new level.
"Yes."
Content with the monosyllabic reply, Honey smiled brightly and grabbed Usa-chan, skipping merrily away with Mori following close behind. The tall male frowned as Kagome's shoulders tensed. From way the young male's fingers twitched in a tell-tale way each time a girl got too close for his comfort, it was clear that he might snap in just about any moment.
"Haruhi's debt," Mori said softly enough for the girls not to hear.
Blue eyes settled on his person as Kagome grumbled something unintelligible in reply and, with some effort, relaxed his stance.
~F-M-N~
"Let the tasting begin!" In one overly dramatic movement that hinted that hanging out with Tamaki did rub off on him, Kyoya flung the cloth off, revealing what was underneath to the rest of the hosts, who have gathered around to watch the show.
Plates with meat and pastries, cakes and confectionaries, strange gaping fish and odd looking lumps were proudly displayed in front of the girl that picked it, waiting to be sampled.
"What is this?" Honey-sempai pointed to the dish directly in front of him.
"That would be Fugu," Kyoya pushed his glasses up with his middle finger, "a rare delicacy that could only be chosen by someone as refine as this young lady," he complimented the girl standing next to the dish, making her blush. The rest of the hosts were not fooled by that smile. It was quite obvious that that odd looking whitish thing probably was one of the most expensive and thus profitable things for the club.
"Isn't that the poisonous puffer fish?" Haruhi suddenly remembered.
"Can be lethal in almost sixty percent of cases," Kyoya chose to supply that useful bit of information, making the hosts gulp.
"Don't," Mori pushed Honey's hand away as he reached out to poke the fish.
"Oh don't worry Kagome! The chef left just enough poison for the fish to leave a tingling sensation on the lips and tongue so it's not dangerous," the girl smiled brightly, offering a rather uncomfortable looking host a fork.
"He wouldn't want to eat that!" a blonde shoved her away suddenly, "Try my steak and fries! The meat was imported from-"
"Ostrich eggs with salad," another exclaimed, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"Lobster!"
"Foie gras and duck innards!"
"Haggis!"
"Poached salmon!"
"Deep friend scorpions!"
Kagome felt her eye twitch at the last one. She knew that with her attitude and their lady manager's efforts to promote the bad boy image of her as a host, the mindless amebas that were their customers probably thought that she drank people's blood for breakfast but DEEP FRIED SCORPIONS!?
"Rich bastards," her and Haruhi whispered in perfect synchrony.
"I am out of here," the blue eyed male grit through clenched teeth and turned away from the screeching, pushing 'ladies' that were on the verge of starting a full scale food fight. It was clearly not about getting time alone with the elusive bad boy type, not anymore. Once the first noodle landed on a blonde's nose, they seemed quite content to fling cake and miso soup into each others faces. The host club wisely chose not to interfere and promptly found themselves covering under the same coffee table, Mori's and Tamaki's legs sticking out no matter how much they tried to pull them in.
"Great, they look like they will be at it for a while," the twins shot accusatory looks Kagome's way but found even the most malicious ones ignored.
"I suppose I should have predicted that something like this could occur. Oh well, I will just have to add the cleaning charges onto Haruhi's debt."
"Now wait a minute! This was your brilliant idea," Haruhi pointed out to Kyoya, her eyes flashing dangerously.
Whilst the rest of the hosts bickered, Mori's dark grey eyes settled on the small male next to him as the look on his face became darker by the second.
"I've got to stop this," Kagome hissed as she was accidently kneed in the stomach by Honey-senpai.
"It is too dangerous," she was surprised to hear Mori whisper in reply.
At that precise moment, Tamaki remembered his role as the father and thus protector of the family. Grasping his 'son's' shoulder, he all but flung Kagome backward as the boy was about to crawl out from the oasis of peace into the roaring inferno. "Look Kagome, risking life and limb just to get us out of here is not-"
"I'm not doing it for you. I just don't want to spend the rest of my school life on paying back the millions of yen that Kyoya will add to Haruhi's debt," she struggled against his surprisingly strong grip. Seeing that he would not budge, the annoyed girl resolved to the only measure she deemed fit. She shoved hard, pushing him out into the technicolor mess that was once a group of ladies. With a loud yelp, Tamaki flew into the middle of a frilly fruit cake, sliding down its mashed creamy side.
She ignored the twins' guffaws and Honey's lament for the wasted cake, and crawled out from underneath the coffee table. Although now was probably not the time, she could not help but wonder how something so small could provide refuge to seven people. She blinked in surprise as a bowl of ramen (if only Inuyasha could see this) flew past her nose. That was the last straw.
"Enough!" Kagome shot up, slamming both his fists against one of the long tables. "Look at this mess, its pathetic!"
All movement suddenly stopped as the girls looked with pure horror on their faces at the enraged young man and then at each other. Kagome snorted humorously at that. It would have been funny if it wasn't so ridiculous.
"Idiots," he muttered, kicking a chicken leg to vent some of his frustration.
"We are sorry Kagome."
"We just really wanted to find out what your favorite food is."
Kagome had the insult on the tip of her tongue but decided to let it go, seeing as nearly half of the customers were on the brink of tears and she was in no mood to deal with a bunch of sniveling hormonal schoolgirls.
"I don't see what the big deal is," the handsome male sighed in exasperation as he pushed the stray obsidian locks out of his face, "It's not as if- hey, is that oden?"
"Yes it is," one of the girl's gave the rest a victorious smile despite the big glob of cream in her hair, offering the male of her dreams a spoon with a sweet smile.
"I like oden," the blue-eyed boy confessed, taking the spoon. Somewhat reluctant to try it for the fear of any super-crazy special ingredients that may have been added, he slid the first spoonful into his mouth.
"Do you like it?"
"Hm, its not bad," he hummed in appreciation, making the dirty, chow covered girls swoon at the genuine look of contentment on his face.
But apparently the kamis sensed that not enough crazy, ridiculous and unexplainable events occurred on this day and decided to remedy that. The winner of the game was pushed forward with force and, as momentum propelled her forwards, she slipped on a banana skin, sending her flying into Kagome. With a squeak, she latched onto the startled male's arm, making the bowl fly through the air. Kagome pushed the shocked female out of harm's way on reflex, getting the food all over the front of his uniform.
"I'm so- sorry Kagome!" she stuttered, watching with horror filled eyes as the broth seeped into the once pristine fabric of his shirt.
"Well, at least it had time to cool down."
The twins snickered in the background, clearly pleased with themselves. Kagome narrowed her eyes at them as she put two and two together. So they liked their little games? Well, they weren't the only ones who could play games around here.
Suddenly, the man smirked, making all take a step back. That smirk, the type that could make any wholesome girl go weak in the knees, spelled nothing but trouble for everyone present.
'Let's see how they can handle an even worse dent in their requests.'
Lifting his fingers closer to his face, Kagome took put one into his mouth, slowly licking the broth off.
"Such a waste of good food," he murmured with half lidded eyes, "and now I am all wet too."
"I'm so sorry. I'm-"
"Better get out of these wet clothes before I catch a cold," he shrugged the school blazer off, completely ignoring his audience. Nimble, slender fingers moved to undo the first two buttons of his stained shirt, revealing the smooth column of his neck. The flash of flesh finally broke the girl's out of their trance, the infernal squealing growing tenfold as his fingers slid down to the next button.
Tamaki reacted faster than anyone thought he could, possibly out of fear that the king statues would be taken away forever, although it could have something to do with Haruhi standing close to the undressing young man and consequently getting the front row seats for the show. Thrusting a towel into Kagome's face, he had the twins drag the still shocked male out of the room, Kyoya closing the door behind them when the girls bolted for their half-naked prize.
"I'm sorry ladies, but the rest is pay-per-view," he chuckled at the chorus of whines and pleads that filled the air, "but," he added, "make sure to look out for pictures of Kagome and other hosts on our website!"
~F-M-N~
Kagome pushed the twins off herself, grateful that they didn't have the chance to touch her concealed but nonetheless there womanly assets. She wasn't really going to strip in public, just a little, to tease their so-called daddy and annoy the twins. So worth it, Tamaki's reaction was-
"Priceless!" Kaoru shook with ill concealed laughter.
"Did you see boss' face? I thought he was gonna pop a nerve shrieking about Haruhi's poor innocent eyes!"
Just as abruptly as it started, their laughter stopped, the two turning to look at the shorter male with contemplative looks on their handsome faces.
"You are ok," they patted the blue-eyed boys head.
"Um, thanks?" Kagome quirked an eyebrow, pushing their hands away.
"You just might be as fun as Haruhi is. Kaoru?"
"Yes Hikaru?"
"It appears that we now have two playthings," they concluded in a sing-song voice.
Kagome may have not known it yet, but when it came to the twins, the world was divided into 'us' and 'others'. Their speech and behavior towards 'others' stemmed out of whether they were interesting enough or not. In this case, the two decided that the newest addition to the host club was definitely worth claiming.
Kagome's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the statement. Five hundred years separated these two and Kouga, but she was sure that they would have hit it off immediately. Arrogant attitude? Check. Can't take a hint? Double check.
"You will keep your arms and hands away from me unless you wish to loose them," she hissed, pulling the curtain of the changing room closed.
"Aw, c'mon! You know you want to," Kaoru propped himself against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Together we can get up to such mischief," Hikaru all but purred, rubbing his hands together as devious plots started forming in his mind.
"Why does it sound so wrong when you say it?" the heard Kagome's muffled reply followed by the gentle plop of discarded clothes.
"Well if that is wrong, than being right is just plain boring."
"Whatever. Can you get me a clean shirt? Seeing as this one is ruined thanks to you?" Kagome flung the dirty blazer and shirt out of the changing room, hitting the place were Kaoru was moments ago to the twins' amusement.
~F-M-N~
"Here," Hikaru was back a few minutes later, a new set of uniform in tow.
"Thanks. I will remind Kyoya to take the cost of the shirt and blazer out of Haruhi's debt."
The older twin grinned at that. It appeared that Kagome and Kyoya would fight tooth and nail for every dollar and, with the former's glacial glares and latter's devious manipulative mind, perhaps the host club would get even more exciting than before.
"So Kagome," Kaoru moved closer to the changing room, "what food do you like?"
"Well.." the preoccupied teen trailed off, "I like pocky."
"Who doesn't?" Hikaru rolled his eyes dramatically, "C'mon tell us."
Her fingers hovered over the button as she looked up, regarding herself in the mirror for a moment. It felt almost strange to see the distorted lines of her own body through the illusion, like being in two bodies at the same time. She shivered at the thought.
"Ice cream."
"Ice cream? Didn't think such tough guy as him would like sweets," Hikaru muttered. After all that took place, he expected it to be something weird or nasty and ice cream was just so… normal.
"Yeah," Kaoru agreed quietly, "You know," he looked up to see his brother looking straight at him, "he might not be as bad as he tries to come across."
"Oh, I am much worse," Kagome pushed the curtain out of her way, walking out of the changing room. "Tell the rest that I decided to go home. In emotional turmoil, unfit to carry on working yada yada yada.."
Fugu is such a cool word, don't you think? I saw the picture of the fish when I was searching for some weird foodstuff for the girls to offer Kagome cos something as normal as ice cream would obviously not even cross their minds. What can I say… I think they are silly.
Don't forget to review and tell me what you think! Coming up next, 'Meet the pack'!